Bears Week 6 vs Vikings, Noon CT, FOX

[UMFan83]

Sorry I've been traveling for work today, didnt see the request for me to start but more than happy to since the Bears actually won a football game.

If I told you before the season that in Week 6 the Bears would be tied with the reigning NFC North Champs, I'd think the Bears were like 3-2 or 2-3.  But nope we're both 1-4.  The Lions are running away from the rest of the North while the Bears, Vikings and Packers are all slumming it at under .500. 

Vikings are 2.5 point road favorites here, but with no Jefferson that line may change.  Bears have lost 10 straight games against the NFC North, hopefully that changes this week and Fields keeps it up.

[Tryptamine]

14 minutes ago, UMFan83 said:

Sorry I've been traveling for work today, didnt see the request for me to start but more than happy to since the Bears actually won a football game.

If I told you before the season that in Week 6 the Bears would be tied with the reigning NFC North Champs, I'd think the Bears were like 3-2 or 2-3.  But nope we're both 1-4.  The Lions are running away from the rest of the North while the Bears, Vikings and Packers are all slumming it at under .500. 

Vikings are 2.5 point road favorites here, but with no Jefferson that line may change.  Bears have lost 10 straight games against the NFC North, hopefully that changes this week and Fields keeps it up.

If we see the Fields of week 4 and 5, I think they win. Of course it's entirely possible that Getsy and company inexplicably change the playing calling style once again and it's yet another unmitigated disaster, so who knows. 

[CubinNY]

I had this game as a loss at the start of the season, but Minnesota has come back to ground. I still think they will win, mainly because the Bears D is really bad, but I wouldn't bet on this game either way. 

[bukie]

Oddly enough, I think the Vikings overall are a better team now than they were last year, they just haven't been near as lucky.

With no Jefferson, it should be an easier assignment for the defense, but there is no such thing as an easy assignment for this defense.

If Fields can throw for another 4 TDs, the Bears can win.

[Hairyducked Idiot]

Vikings missing their best player.  Bears starting to get healthy.  This game looks winnable.  Still Vikings favored though, cousins with any receivers vs. this defense has disastrous potential.

Mostly just care about seeing if fields can do it again against a team that has the last two games on tape 

[tfarks]

Looks like there is plenty of optimism Kyler, Eddie and Jaylon will be back. At home, no Jefferson and Fields' recent play, this is as good as I'm gonna feel about a win, I think. 

[UMFan83]

7 minutes ago, tfarks said:

Looks like there is plenty of optimism Kyler, Eddie and Jaylon will be back. At home, no Jefferson and Fields' recent play, this is as good as I'm gonna feel about a win, I think. 

Yeah it would be interesting to see this secondary at some semblance of full strength.  It was supposed to be somewhat of a strength for the team coming into the season, though with the lack of pass rush it's not always going to look good.

[jersey cubs fan]

A competent veteran QB has to lose to this bears team before I will believe it is possible. 

[UMFan83]

1 minute ago, jersey cubs fan said:

A competent veteran QB has to lose to this bears team before I will believe it is possible. 

yeah too bad we won't have a chance to do that this week

[bukie]

Should be a fun offensive battle between the top two passing QBs in the NFL this season.

[UMFan83]

One thing I'm interested in seeing from Fields is what happens when Moore is locked down by an elite DB, how does the rest of the WR group shake out now that Claypool isn't part of the equation.  Mooney is obviously number 2 (or number 3 in terms of pass catchers after Kmet) but he hasn't been too involved other than being unlucky and having both his targets be bad passes last week.  Then after that you have ESB, a guy who was a healthy scratch the first 3 games, and Tyler Scott who hasnt had a target since week 3.  It's clear Fields has built chemistry with DJ and trusts him but who else can he trust?

[BigSlick]

I'll be in attendance, my second ever Bears game. My first game was Fields's start against the Lions in 2021 when he had a pretty good bounce back game and beat them. So, hoping for a repeat. 

 

 

[Brian707]

A little worried about the RBs. Since they have 10 days off can Johnson clear concussion protocol?

[minnesotacubsfan]

screw running backs

 

(but not you sweetness and kansas comet)

 

[raw]

1 hour ago, UMFan83 said:

One thing I'm interested in seeing from Fields is what happens when Moore is locked down by an elite DB, how does the rest of the WR group shake out now that Claypool isn't part of the equation.  Mooney is obviously number 2 (or number 3 in terms of pass catchers after Kmet) but he hasn't been too involved other than being unlucky and having both his targets be bad passes last week.  Then after that you have ESB, a guy who was a healthy scratch the first 3 games, and Tyler Scott who hasnt had a target since week 3.  It's clear Fields has built chemistry with DJ and trusts him but who else can he trust?

Mooney had 4 targets. The endzone one was dropped (also DPI not called). After seeing DJ catch non-perfect passes, I believe Mooney just isn't making plays. Granted, he may not be capable, which separates him from the DJ Moore's of the world. I hope they use(d) these 10 days to get Tyler Scott and/or Velus up to speed. Even if they have to go back to WR screens to get Velus the ball and just draw up a couple deep shots for Scott, they need one of those guys to step up as the 4th option mainly because they potentially have a future on this roster, unlike St. Brown (and probably Mooney as well).

[gflore34]

13 hours ago, raw said:

Mooney had 4 targets. The endzone one was dropped (also DPI not called). After seeing DJ catch non-perfect passes, I believe Mooney just isn't making plays. Granted, he may not be capable, which separates him from the DJ Moore's of the world. I hope they use(d) these 10 days to get Tyler Scott and/or Velus up to speed. Even if they have to go back to WR screens to get Velus the ball and just draw up a couple deep shots for Scott, they need one of those guys to step up as the 4th option mainly because they potentially have a future on this roster, unlike St. Brown (and probably Mooney as well).

As the OL is getting healthier and starting to gel I think Fields will get a little more time.  More time hopefully means taking deep shots with Scott or Jones Jr.  Really don't care about the score just want to see Justin continue to be decisive and aggressive, taking more steps towards being an NFL QB. 

On D, even though Cousins is pretty good against a blitz, I expect Eberflus will keep trying to bring pressure, there's no reason to stop blitzing.

[gflore34]

15 hours ago, minnesotacubsfan said:

screw running backs

 

(but not you sweetness and kansas comet)

 

I really liked Neal Anderson, he was a change up from Sweetness in that he was always a threat to take it to the house.  Once he got behind the defense no one was catching him.  Also remember him playing special teams as a rookie first rounder and literally catapulting himself towards the ball carrier.

Edited October 11, 2023 by gflore34

[BigbadB]

I don't know where the Commanders OLine ranks in regards to protection, but the Bears brought pressure pretty well against them. Definitely way more blitzing, which is what I was screaming for earlier in the year. The rookie DLinemen are starting to take a bigger percentage of the snaps, and one of Pickens or Dexter had the best rating on the defense last week. Moving Walker inside has also shown positive results. Add in the DB's all getting the band back together and I smell a steal this week. The home crowd needs something to be happy about. Actually, they deserve something to be happy about. 

I still wish there was a better ending for the Claypool situation. A DJ Moore injury will turn this currently capable offense into mush. 

[Tryptamine]

7 minutes ago, BigbadB said:

I don't know where the Commanders OLine ranks in regards to protection, but the Bears brought pressure pretty well against them. Definitely way more blitzing, which is what I was screaming for earlier in the year. The rookie DLinemen are starting to take a bigger percentage of the snaps, and one of Pickens or Dexter had the best rating on the defense last week. Moving Walker inside has also shown positive results. Add in the DB's all getting the band back together and I smell a steal this week. The home crowd needs something to be happy about. Actually, they deserve something to be happy about. 

I still wish there was a better ending for the Claypool situation. A DJ Moore injury will turn this currently capable offense into mush. 

At the start of the game the Bears had allowed 18 sacks, Washington had allowed a league high 24. It's a terrible OL.

[BigbadB]

1 hour ago, Tryptamine said:

At the start of the game the Bears had allowed 18 sacks, Washington had allowed a league high 24. It's a terrible OL.

Thanks Debbie Downer! LOL.

[The_Achiever]

19 hours ago, UMFan83 said:

One thing I'm interested in seeing from Fields is what happens when Moore is locked down by an elite DB, how does the rest of the WR group shake out now that Claypool isn't part of the equation.  Mooney is obviously number 2 (or number 3 in terms of pass catchers after Kmet) but he hasn't been too involved other than being unlucky and having both his targets be bad passes last week.  Then after that you have ESB, a guy who was a healthy scratch the first 3 games, and Tyler Scott who hasnt had a target since week 3.  It's clear Fields has built chemistry with DJ and trusts him but who else can he trust?

I've been thinking the same thing.  Moore has been awesome but besides Kmet nobody has been even remotely a threat catching the ball.  

Hopefully someone can step up and provide some balance.  Moore will definitely be getting the bulk of the attention so there is an opportunity there.  

[UMFan83]

 

Rough looking injury report even if some of it is relatively good news.  Looks like Roschon wont be able to make it back from his concussion. 

 

[jumbo]

14 minutes ago, UMFan83 said:

 

Rough looking injury report even if some of it is relatively good news.  Looks like Roschon wont be able to make it back from his concussion. 

 

Radio guys made it seem like the entire secondary will be back and playing. That, along with Jefferson being out, gives me hope that we could win this. 

Donta Foreman's time to shine

[raw]

No IR for Herbert yet, which is a good sign that he's not going to go on it. 

I wonder if Gordon may need some sort of ramp up. IDK what he's been doing on the side, but maybe he's not in game shape, despite the injury being a hand. Stroman has played pretty well too, so I wonder if that factors into if they bring Kyler up this week. That being said, I'd at least have him splitting time with Stroman this week if you think he is healthy enough to play, but not ready enough to go a full game.

EQ St. Brown is a low key big loss if he can't go. It does help with my desire to have Velus and Scott ramped up during the mini-bye.

I wonder what they do with Kramer. With Whitehair moving back to C full-time now that Jenkins is back, they have a lot of centers on the roster w/ Cody, Patrick, Kramer and Feeney. Add in Carter and Davis, and you have 7 OL who can only play on the interior (assuming Jenkins doesn't go back to OT). Either Patrick goes to IR or you activate Kramer just to put him on the practice squad. 

[Hairyducked Idiot]

Running back crises make me think of this scene from scrubs:

 

 

They're running backs.  You can always find 2-3 guys who can run through holes for 3-4 yards when you want to keep the defense honest or when it's time to run out the clock.