Bears Week 14: Deshaun Watson Makes his Soldier Field Debut

[CaliforniaRaisin]

Fire Pace (we already knew most of this stuff): https://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/bears/ct-chicago-bears-deshaun-watson-mitch-trubisky-20201209-ddczbz4l5fhb3iwe34o6q3xpqy-story.html?outputType=amp&__twitter_impression=true

[Hairyducked Idiot]

I think we should try to find a franchise QB

[Old Style]

I think we should try to find a franchise QB

I think we are due for one. The team has been around for 100 years.

[WrigleyField 22]

I think we should try to find a franchise QB

Stop with the hot takes. This is Bears football. We run dive plays straight up the gut, bubble screens, and count on the Defense to score just like Papa Bear Halas intended.

[minnesotacubsfan]

I think we should try to find a franchise QB

Stop with the hot takes. This is Bears football. We run dive plays straight up the gut, bubble screens, and count on the Defense to score just like Papa Bear Halas intended.

 

 

...bu bu bu Papa Bear invented the pass

[raw]

Before the season, this was probably the non-division game I wanted to win more than any....mainly because the Bears are 0-4 all time vs. the Texans franchise. Now it's probably the most important game for them to lose for draft position purposes. Of course, if the Bears manage to win this and the Vikings game, and Arizona just loses 1 of the games vs. the 2 hot NFC East teams....the Bears will control their playoff destiny. LOL.

 

But yeah, the Texans' games have all been gut wrenching.

 

2004- Bears score 5 points. Cut the lead to 7-5, then allowed 17 points in a 9 minute span in the 4th quarter.

 

2008- My personal favorite, win and in the playoffs. That year, Christmas was on a Thursday, and the day after went out to a nightclub w/ my friends. Sure I told the story before, but saw Lance Briggs in the makeshift VIP section w/ a ton of wings and 2 ugly girls. Briggs and the Bears flew to Houston w/ him likely hung over and proceed to lose and end their season.

 

2012- The 7-1 Bears lose 13-7. First half, Bears would get past midfield pretty easily and then turn the ball over like 5 times. Cutler gets hurt early in the 2nd half and Jason Campbell happens. Bears would go on to lose 4 more times in the final 7 and end Lovie's tenure despite a 10-win season.

 

2016- Season opener. Rebuilding Bears showed promise in 2015. Cutler coming off his statistically best season. Bears are led by Cutler, Forte's promising replacement (Jeremy Langford), sure to be future all-time Bears leading WR (Alshon Jeffery), and stud #1 pick Kevin White. Bears score on their opening drive, score to take the lead seconds before halftime, but then get wiped out by Bears' (and only Bears) killer, Brock Osweiler. Cutler gets hurt, Bears season is a disaster, Cutler is cut, and the Bears go into the 2017 draft looking for a new franchise QB......and here we are.

[Hairyducked Idiot]

Wanna hear something really dumb?

 

I know it can never happen, but I wouldn't hate Trubisky hanging around as a backup after this year. He's fine as a backup, he's fun to root for, and he's "homegrown."

 

It would be too weird/distraction-y and Foles is already under contract, though.

[BigbadB]

Wanna hear something really dumb?

 

I know it can never happen, but I wouldn't hate Trubisky hanging around as a backup after this year. He's fine as a backup, he's fun to root for, and he's "homegrown."

 

It would be too weird/distraction-y and Foles is already under contract, though.

 

No thanks. His footwork, his inability to read defenses and his inaccuracy on anything beyond ten yards makes me want to move on without him. Bought my wife a Trubisky jersey thinking he was going to be the franchise guy for many years, so I wasn't always anti Mitch. I gave him chances. Foles will be decent enough to tutor the rook until he's ready, with hopefully some new offensive linemen.

[champaignchris]

Wanna hear something really dumb?

 

I know it can never happen, but I wouldn't hate Trubisky hanging around as a backup after this year. He's fine as a backup, he's fun to root for, and he's "homegrown."

 

It would be too weird/distraction-y and Foles is already under contract, though.

 

rawaction mentioned in the Detroit thread that Mitch was now the Bears career leader in QB rating among players with at least 300 pass attempts.

 

He’ll pass Ed Brown for 7th in all time passing yards this next game, Billy Wade for 6th if he starts another game after that, and probably Erik Kramer for 5th if he plays out the rest of the season. Of the four guys still above him - Cutler, Luckman, Harbaugh and McMahon - he’ll have a higher completion percentage and lower interception percentage.

 

I realize all of this is way more a testament to how bad the Bears qbs have been than anything Mitch has achieved. That said, the biggest problem with Mitch remains the fact that the Bears traded up to get him with the 2nd overall pick. If he’d been taken with the 52nd pick, his performance would be deemed “fine.” You’d still want to bring in a better qb, but no one would be particularly disappointed in Mitch’s performance.

[raw]

Wanna hear something really dumb?

 

I know it can never happen, but I wouldn't hate Trubisky hanging around as a backup after this year. He's fine as a backup, he's fun to root for, and he's "homegrown."

 

It would be too weird/distraction-y and Foles is already under contract, though.

 

Funny, I was thinking about this when I went to bed last night. Foles contract isn't really that rough to get rid of. He'd get 6.67M (cap hit) next year to stay on the team. If you designate him a June 1 cut, you only have to pay him 1M more to get rid of him. And it isn't unprecedented for the Bears to have a large dead cap hit on their payroll. Trey Burton counted 5.75M against the Bears cap this year to not be here. Throw in another 1.75M from Burton in 2021 and you're talking similar money overall (though Foles would cost another 2M in 2022).

 

Assuming a new coaching staff, with a coach (HC or OC) that is an experienced playcaller that has demonstrated multiple years of success (Daboll, Arthur Smith come to mind), I would MUCH rather have that new coach trying to make something out of the talented Trubisky than throwing Foles back there as a lame (and sitting) duck. Foles is what he is. And I'd rather bank on new eyes tapping into Mitch's potential over hoping Foles gets another hot streak. And if you draft a QB and want him to sit, Foles is more likely to get hurt or be Glennon 2.0 and get the rookie in there before you want him to.

 

The biggest issue is the lack of cap space. Trubisky's situation is most similar to Ryan Tannehill's a couple years ago, and Mariota this past offseason. Mariota probably got overpaid at 7.5M this year (10M hit next year). Tannehill's deal was confusing w/ the Titans but looks like he got around 2.5-4M after incentives, but the Dolphins ate a ton of money. So, if Mitch would take 4-7Mil to come back under a new coaching staff it would definitely be doable, but you're talking about it at the expense of an offensive line improvement or maybe an Allen Robinson return/replacement.

[WrigleyField 22]

Wanna hear something really dumb?

 

I know it can never happen, but I wouldn't hate Trubisky hanging around as a backup after this year. He's fine as a backup, he's fun to root for, and he's "homegrown."

 

It would be too weird/distraction-y and Foles is already under contract, though.

 

rawaction mentioned in the Detroit thread that Mitch was now the Bears career leader in QB rating among players with at least 300 pass attempts.

 

He’ll pass Ed Brown for 7th in all time passing yards this next game, Billy Wade for 6th if he starts another game after that, and probably Erik Kramer for 5th if he plays out the rest of the season. Of the four guys still above him - Cutler, Luckman, Harbaugh and McMahon - he’ll have a higher completion percentage and lower interception percentage.

 

I realize all of this is way more a testament to how bad the Bears qbs have been than anything Mitch has achieved. That said, the biggest problem with Mitch remains the fact that the Bears traded up to get him with the 2nd overall pick. If he’d been taken with the 52nd pick, his performance would be deemed “fine.” You’d still want to bring in a better qb, but no one would be particularly disappointed in Mitch’s performance.

Its also just a testament to general league wide improvement in passing numbers. I'd take Cutler obviously over him still. Kramer too. The rest I didnt really get to watch, but I'd probably take the lot of them as well.

 

Adjusting for passer inflation he's basically a Jim Miller level QB. So yea, Kyle is right. A good backup and in a perfect storm can start and lead a 12/13 win team (with a great D obviously) and then lose to PHI in the playoffs.

[minnesotacubsfan]

 

Adjusting for passer inflation he's basically a Jim Miller level QB. ....

 

what is "passer inflation" and how do you calculate it? I don't disagree that the league is far more QB friendly today then in the past, but I want to see those numbers on the Jim Miller claim

[minnesotacubsfan]

also, horsefeathers Nick Foles. He's old and sucks and was only brought here because of Nagy. If Nagy is gone, which it certainly looks like he will be, Foles serves no purpose that cant be filled with better talent

[WrigleyField 22]

 

Adjusting for passer inflation he's basically a Jim Miller level QB. ....

 

what is "passer inflation" and how do you calculate it? I don't disagree that the league is far more QB friendly today then in the past, but I want to see those numbers on the Jim Miller claim

The league wide improvement in passing efficiency.

 

Pro-football has era-adjusted rating numbers. I'd probably chose ANY/A+, but they have several others too. Miller is a weird comp since he really just started one season, but he was a decent Bears-centric one. Not stylistically similar obviously. But the whole win 12-13 games and then lose to Philly ended up being poetic to the comparison too.

 

Miller

http://pfref.com/pi/share/ADNc2

 

Trubisky

http://pfref.com/pi/share/0w4aI

[minnesotacubsfan]

 

Adjusting for passer inflation he's basically a Jim Miller level QB. ....

 

what is "passer inflation" and how do you calculate it? I don't disagree that the league is far more QB friendly today then in the past, but I want to see those numbers on the Jim Miller claim

The league wide improvement in passing efficiency.

 

Pro-football has era-adjusted rating numbers. I'd probably chose ANY/A+, but they have several others too. Miller is a weird comp since he really just started one season, but he was a decent Bears-centric one. Not stylistically similar obviously. But the whole win 12-13 games and then lose to Philly ended up being poetic to the comparison too.

 

Miller

http://pfref.com/pi/share/ADNc2

 

Trubisky

http://pfref.com/pi/share/0w4aI

 

how do you generate that on PF? I'm having trouble pulling up Foles and Cutlers numbers for my own curiosity.

 

 

eta: nvm, I found the chart in there bios. unsurprisingly, Foles and Trubisky are pretty close career-wise, Cutler ahead of both. Interestingly however, despite the benching, Trubisky has outplayed Foles this year by a decent margin in RATE+, 95 to 86 respectively. 100 being average QB play

[WrigleyField 22]

 

what is "passer inflation" and how do you calculate it? I don't disagree that the league is far more QB friendly today then in the past, but I want to see those numbers on the Jim Miller claim

The league wide improvement in passing efficiency.

 

Pro-football has era-adjusted rating numbers. I'd probably chose ANY/A+, but they have several others too. Miller is a weird comp since he really just started one season, but he was a decent Bears-centric one. Not stylistically similar obviously. But the whole win 12-13 games and then lose to Philly ended up being poetic to the comparison too.

 

Miller

http://pfref.com/pi/share/ADNc2

 

Trubisky

http://pfref.com/pi/share/0w4aI

 

how do you generate that on PF? I'm having trouble pulling up Foles and Cutlers numbers for my own curiosity.

 

 

eta: nvm, I found the chart in there bios. unsurprisingly, Foles and Trubisky are pretty close career-wise, Cutler ahead of both. Interestingly however, despite the benching, Trubisky has outplayed Foles this year by a decent margin in RATE+, 95 to 86 respectively. 100 being average QB play

One of the surprising rate statistics for me was Miller's strong sack%. It's one of those things thats less O-Line dependent than you think, and ANY/A takes Sacks into account whereas passer rating doesn't, which is IMO it's biggest improvement over it. And Mitch, despite his legs, has crappy pocket awareness which passer eating doesnt dock him for. So even not adjusting for era, Mitch is still behind Kramer and Cutler in ANY/A and just barely ahead of McMahon.

[minnesotacubsfan]

The league wide improvement in passing efficiency.

 

Pro-football has era-adjusted rating numbers. I'd probably chose ANY/A+, but they have several others too. Miller is a weird comp since he really just started one season, but he was a decent Bears-centric one. Not stylistically similar obviously. But the whole win 12-13 games and then lose to Philly ended up being poetic to the comparison too.

 

Miller

http://pfref.com/pi/share/ADNc2

 

Trubisky

http://pfref.com/pi/share/0w4aI

 

how do you generate that on PF? I'm having trouble pulling up Foles and Cutlers numbers for my own curiosity.

 

 

eta: nvm, I found the chart in there bios. unsurprisingly, Foles and Trubisky are pretty close career-wise, Cutler ahead of both. Interestingly however, despite the benching, Trubisky has outplayed Foles this year by a decent margin in RATE+, 95 to 86 respectively. 100 being average QB play

One of the surprising rate statistics for me was Miller's strong sack%. It's one of those things thats less O-Line dependent than you think, and ANY/A takes Sacks into account whereas passer rating doesn't, which is IMO it's biggest improvement over it. And Mitch, despite his legs, has crappy pocket awareness which passer eating doesnt dock him for. So even not adjusting for era, Mitch is still behind Kramer and Cutler in ANY/A and just barely ahead of McMahon.

 

 

that's not surprising. Its clear Trubisky cant read defenses, and that alone could account for him spending too much time staring down the field and not paying attention to the pocket he's in and/or making sound decisions with where to throw the ball.

 

you have to wonder if better coaching could have helped him with that, or maybe not

[WrigleyField 22]

 

how do you generate that on PF? I'm having trouble pulling up Foles and Cutlers numbers for my own curiosity.

 

 

eta: nvm, I found the chart in there bios. unsurprisingly, Foles and Trubisky are pretty close career-wise, Cutler ahead of both. Interestingly however, despite the benching, Trubisky has outplayed Foles this year by a decent margin in RATE+, 95 to 86 respectively. 100 being average QB play

One of the surprising rate statistics for me was Miller's strong sack%. It's one of those things thats less O-Line dependent than you think, and ANY/A takes Sacks into account whereas passer rating doesn't, which is IMO it's biggest improvement over it. And Mitch, despite his legs, has crappy pocket awareness which passer eating doesnt dock him for. So even not adjusting for era, Mitch is still behind Kramer and Cutler in ANY/A and just barely ahead of McMahon.

 

 

that's not surprising. Its clear Trubisky cant read defenses, and that alone could account for him spending too much time staring down the field and not paying attention to the pocket he's in and/or making sound decisions with where to throw the ball.

 

you have to wonder if better coaching could have helped him with that, or maybe not

Probably some combination of more college experience and better college coaching and better rookie year coaching. But a lot (most?) is probably just the player still. As far as Nagy is concerned, I'm somewhat skeptical it's a coaching issue, but it's obviously hard to know.

[jersey cubs fan]

I think Mitch would be a great backup QB option. The only way I see something like that happening is if they manage to allow Pace to fire Nagy and hire a new coach. Pace could try and convince Mitch to take a cheap deal and basically chalk up his failings to Nagy's coaching, with the idea that the next guy will give Mitch a chance to revive his career.

 

But Mitch would have to be hoping for a fresh start somewhere else, and Pace getting to replace Nagy is a terrible idea.

 

It would be funny as hell though if they clean house and the next GM somehow convinces Mitch to return as the last man standing.

[WrigleyField 22]

I very much doubt it would happen too. Has a first round bust QB ever resigned with his team to be the backup?

[minnesotacubsfan]

I very much doubt it would happen too. Has a first round bust QB ever resigned with his team to be the backup?

 

Kordell Stewart, Matt Leinhart. very different situations, however

[WrigleyField 22]

I very much doubt it would happen too. Has a first round bust QB ever resigned with his team to be the backup?

 

Kordell Stewart, Matt Leinhart. very different situations, however

Stewart was a second rounder. And was still the starter when he resigned for a new deal.

 

Leinart did not resign with AZ for a second deal.

[bukie]

The Bears have paused all activities and closed the practice facility after a fourth positive COVID test:

https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/30489846/chicago-bears-close-practice-facility-fourth-positive-test-week

 

Alt joke: Bears have paused all football activity for 7 weeks, finally find justification in fourth positive COVID test today.

[minnesotacubsfan]

I very much doubt it would happen too. Has a first round bust QB ever resigned with his team to be the backup?

 

Kordell Stewart, Matt Leinhart. very different situations, however

Stewart was a second rounder. And was still the starter when he resigned for a new deal.

 

Leinart did not resign with AZ for a second deal.

if we draft a QB, Trubisky would also likely still be the starter at the point of resigning. Like I said, different situations, but just because this situation hasn't happened exactly the same way before doesn't mean it couldn't work out

[raw]

 

Kordell Stewart, Matt Leinhart. very different situations, however

Stewart was a second rounder. And was still the starter when he resigned for a new deal.

 

Leinart did not resign with AZ for a second deal.

if we draft a QB, Trubisky would also likely still be the starter at the point of resigning. Like I said, different situations, but just because this situation hasn't happened exactly the same way before doesn't mean it couldn't work out

 

The thing with Trubisky is he hasn't been a complete failure like many 1st round busts. More importantly, he's on a team that doesn't have a Ryan Tannehill (or Kurt Warner in Leinart's case) type that flat out took his job or the ability to sign a Tom Brady in the offseason or the ability to draft a top of the draft phenom like the Jets do right now.