Bears Week 1 vs Titans: Sunday 9/8 noon on Fox

[Brian707]

10 minutes ago, jersey cubs fan said:

this game is really setting up to be a disappointment. 4.5 point favorites at home to a team that probably wasn’t as bad as it’s record indicated last season. The bears defense was awful against competent QBs, and it’s entirely possible Levis is competent in his second year. 
Chicago could look bad and lose this game but still have a solid season. 

I hope they don't come out and seem unprepared like last season's opener. A lot of the "experts" are saying this might be an upset of the week. I think it's AZ at Buffalo 

[Hairyducked Idiot]

Anything's possible, especially in the first game of the season, but if we have to be scared of Will Levis then pack it up 

[We Got The Whole 9]

2 minutes ago, Hairyducked Idiot said:

Anything's possible, especially in the first game of the season, but if we have to be scared of Will Levis then pack it up 

No horsefeathers

[Bertz]

I tend to think the Titans are going to be competing with the Vikings for the #1 overall pick.  They look pretty damn bad.

That said, September is always upset city.  And even if Caleb's amazing as a rookie, it taking a month or two for him to become that guy is imminently reasonable.

[CubinNY]

More than a few pndits saying the Packers are going to win the division. I don't see it. 

[Tryptamine]

58 minutes ago, CubinNY said:

More than a few pndits saying the Packers are going to win the division. I don't see it. 

If Jordan Love channels his inner Tom Brady in his prime again like he did the 2nd half of last year I could see it happening. I find that extremely unlikely though.

[Hairyducked Idiot]

I know it's a bit hypocritical because I'm 100% sold on Williams, but I feel like the world is becoming way too optimistic on rookie/young QBs.

9 first rounders plus Levis (first pick of the second round) have entered the league in the last 2 years and I believe all of them are starting except McCarthy, who got hurt.

Most of them are going to suck.  A couple of them will end up being good, and it's hard to tell which ones, but forgive me if I'm not scared of Will Levis or excited for the Bronocs to be starting Bo Nix.  There's literally not enough room in the league for all these QBs to be good.

 

[JudasIscariotTheBird]

41 minutes ago, Tryptamine said:

If Jordan Love channels his inner Tom Brady in his prime again like he did the 2nd half of last year I could see it happening. I find that extremely unlikely though.

...extremely?  Why?  The Packers in the second half of the season last year were one of the better teams in football.  They were the youngest team in the NFL by a metric shitton, and still are the youngest team in the NFL.  There's reason to believe it wasn't just a fluke, and that improvement is much more likely than regression. 

They addressed the biggest weakness of the team (safety play) and return practically the entire offense (apart from an arguable upgrade at RB).  But the thing I'm most excited about is the new defensive scheme.  I don't especially care about 3-4 versus 4-3, but the Packers were playing a type of glorified prevent defense at all times last season.  It was gross.  Most anything would be a improvement.  New, young coordinator is saying all the right things.  We'll see how the scheme actually shakes out.

Now when it comes to Love, I think Love is definitely going to be an above average QB (which might be enough to win the division on it's own), and possibly an MVP candidate, Based of off last year, I think it's weird to claim it would be a surprise to see the Packers win the division.  The Lions should be and are favored...but I think it's closer to a coinflip between the two, with the Bears being a 1-in-5 darkhorse.  

[Derwood]

On defense, the center just has to hold enough to let Caleb figure things out. I'd be thrilled with a handful of 17-14 wins this season

[BigSlick]

3 hours ago, jersey cubs fan said:

this game is really setting up to be a disappointment. 4.5 point favorites at home to a team that probably wasn’t as bad as it’s record indicated last season. The bears defense was awful against competent QBs, and it’s entirely possible Levis is competent in his second year. 
Chicago could look bad and lose this game but still have a solid season. 

Well I mean it's probably going to be a competitive game. Good! I hope so. 

I don't think anyone serious is jazzing up the Bears as some sort of juggernaut when they were a 7-10 team with a rookie QB. Every game should be competitive, and we shouldn't be surprised by any result. Except the Panthers game.

The Bears really should win that Panthers game. 

[Tryptamine]

34 minutes ago, JudasIscariotTheBird said:

...extremely?  Why?  The Packers in the second half of the season last year were one of the better teams in football.  They were the youngest team in the NFL by a metric shitton, and still are the youngest team in the NFL.  There's reason to believe it wasn't just a fluke, and that improvement is much more likely than regression. 

They addressed the biggest weakness of the team (safety play) and return practically the entire offense (apart from an arguable upgrade at RB).  But the thing I'm most excited about is the new defensive scheme.  I don't especially care about 3-4 versus 4-3, but the Packers were playing a type of glorified prevent defense at all times last season.  It was gross.  Most anything would be a improvement.  New, young coordinator is saying all the right things.  We'll see how the scheme actually shakes out.

Now when it comes to Love, I think Love is definitely going to be an above average QB (which might be enough to win the division on it's own), and possibly an MVP candidate, Based of off last year, I think it's weird to claim it would be a surprise to see the Packers win the division.  The Lions should be and are favored...but I think it's closer to a coinflip between the two, with the Bears being a 1-in-5 darkhorse.  

Yes I think Love regresses. He's not the best QB in football and in the 2nd half of last season he statistically was. They're also playing in a significantly improved division. 

[We Got The Whole 9]

40 minutes ago, Derwood said:

On defense, the center just has to hold enough to let Caleb figure things out. 

[JudasIscariotTheBird]

12 minutes ago, Tryptamine said:

Yes I think Love regresses. He's not the best QB in football and in the 2nd half of last season he statistically was. They're also playing in a significantly improved division. 

Sure, it's hard to be the best QB when there are 31 others you have to top.  But I think Love 2024 will be better than Love 2023, and the Packers doubly so. 

The Bears will probably be better, but how is the division significantly improved?  Did a team get added that I didn't notice?  

[raw]

Why not us?  Chicago Bears Season Preview

This season will no doubt be one of the most interesting in a long time. For the first time in recent memory, the Bears are going through what looks like the big 3^rd step of a franchise makeover. The Bears have gone thru makeovers and rebuilds before, but it always has been deterred by Year 3 by failure at the QB position. And never has it been a true tear down where the team got rid of aging vets, instead of trying to get a last run out of them. This makeover was completely bottomed out, to the tune of #1 overall pick bad in 2022, a modern day franchise first.

On one hand, you have a team that progressed from 3 wins, to 7 wins, to adding a pair of top 10 picks to a team already with a decent amount of young talent. But on the other hand, this talented young team is led by a rookie QB. Then on the 3^rd hand (it’s the Bears of course there’s a deformity), the rookie QB is likely an upgrade in many ways and potentially one of the most talented rookie QBs of all time. So, many predictions of the Bears’ potential this season comes with the caveat of “Yeah, but it’s a rookie QB”. Granted, the Bears are sort of the “IT” team at this time with the #1 pick, Hard Knocks, and flashy amounts of talent outside of the trenches. But I still feel like Bears fans and non-hot take media alike are all like, “yeah, but it’s the Bears”-ing this team.

One of the things I look at on a schedule are QB matchups and defensive matchups. As bad as Fields/Bagent was at QB, they were better than 6 of the 7 QBs the Bears beat (Howell, Hoyer, Dobbs, Young, Ridder, Murray fresh off ACL tear). And the Bears had the lesser QB in nearly all of their losses vs. Love x2, Mayfield, Mahomes, Herbert, Goff, Flacco, and Cousins, with Russ and Carr as toss ups at worst, with beating Goff as the only exception.

This year, the Bears face 8 QBs who I think are inferior to what I modestly expect out of rookie Caleb Williams (Levis, Richardson, Young, Daniels, Darnold x 2, Brissett/Maye, Geno in a new offense). The Bears had a good showing against Goff and Kyler last year. The clearly better QBs, I’d say, are Stafford, Love x 2, Stroud, and Purdy. One of those guys is on his last legs and 3 of those 4 guys haven’t put together THAT big of a body of work…..which leads me to my next point.

The rookie QB thing is a bit overblown, IMO. I think it’s been pretty consistent that we get a QB or 2 every year who plays well as a rookie or simply wins games because he has a pretty good team around him.  Obviously, Stroud was great last year. Even in 2022’s terrible class, Kenny Pickett went 7-5 for the Steelers. In 2021, Mac Jones went to the playoffs with a strong team. 2020 had Herbert and one of the top rookie QB seasons in the last 20 years. Lamar only started 1/3 of the season, but he went 6-1 down the stretch for a loaded Ravens squad. And I think it’s fair to include 1^st year starters like Purdy, Love, and of course Mahomes as guys who hit the ground running as the only change to a really good team. It’s also fair to conclude that if there’s ever a rookie that could be expected to hit the ground running, one of the top prospects of the last 10 years, who joins a team that was 90%+ win probabilities from 10 wins last year, and had access to the Bears’ playbook since mid March…might be the guy. The Bears also are bringing back 9 of the 11 guys who started most games on D. While bringing back 4 of 5 OL starters, starting TE, their top WR, and the starting RB is now RB2, while also adding a HOFer and a top 10 pick at WR.

That being said, this team is still very flawed in some very important places. I’m not saying they will be a Superbowl contender in any way. There are probably 2 more complete teams in this division alone, and another 2, maybe 3, teams in the conference that are better teams on paper. But this year should be a fun one for our Bears. This is new territory for most of us. The Bears actually are building something, instead of piecing together teams and praying for kick returns and defensive scores to win games. The build up did NOT start with Caleb. It started in 2022, it just so happened in this build, the Bears were also able to upgrade the most important position in the game with arguably, a generation talent. So basically my point is, don’t feed into the old adages that rookie QBs can’t do this/that. Don’t lose sight of the fact that this is a VERY talented team and that it’s NOT too good to be true.

Everything has gone mostly to plan under Poles so far. He tore down the team. Fields showed enough in 2022 that the Bears weren’t forced to take a 5’8 QB at the top of that draft. But not enough to the point where they were forced to commit to him long term. A lot of fortune has been involved in this process and I feel like most of us are waiting for the other shoe to drop. But this absolutely is what it looks like when a team builds in the correct way. There are misses. There are frustrations. And there aren’t necessarily linear projections. But there’s no reason why this team with this QB can’t be really good, really soon.

****Sorry for the long post......it's been a while

[Derwood]

10 minutes ago, We Got The Whole 9 said:

I didn't mean the center position, I meant that defense needs to take care of business and hope the offense does just enough to win

[Tryptamine]

16 minutes ago, raw said:

Why not us?  Chicago Bears Season Preview

This season will no doubt be one of the most interesting in a long time. For the first time in recent memory, the Bears are going through what looks like the big 3^rd step of a franchise makeover. The Bears have gone thru makeovers and rebuilds before, but it always has been deterred by Year 3 by failure at the QB position. And never has it been a true tear down where the team got rid of aging vets, instead of trying to get a last run out of them. This makeover was completely bottomed out, to the tune of #1 overall pick bad in 2022, a modern day franchise first.

On one hand, you have a team that progressed from 3 wins, to 7 wins, to adding a pair of top 10 picks to a team already with a decent amount of young talent. But on the other hand, this talented young team is led by a rookie QB. Then on the 3^rd hand (it’s the Bears of course there’s a deformity), the rookie QB is likely an upgrade in many ways and potentially one of the most talented rookie QBs of all time. So, many predictions of the Bears’ potential this season comes with the caveat of “Yeah, but it’s a rookie QB”. Granted, the Bears are sort of the “IT” team at this time with the #1 pick, Hard Knocks, and flashy amounts of talent outside of the trenches. But I still feel like Bears fans and non-hot take media alike are all like, “yeah, but it’s the Bears”-ing this team.

One of the things I look at on a schedule are QB matchups and defensive matchups. As bad as Fields/Bagent was at QB, they were better than 6 of the 7 QBs the Bears beat (Howell, Hoyer, Dobbs, Young, Ridder, Murray fresh off ACL tear). And the Bears had the lesser QB in nearly all of their losses vs. Love x2, Mayfield, Mahomes, Herbert, Goff, Flacco, and Cousins, with Russ and Carr as toss ups at worst, with beating Goff as the only exception.

This year, the Bears face 8 QBs who I think are inferior to what I modestly expect out of rookie Caleb Williams (Levis, Richardson, Young, Daniels, Darnold x 2, Brissett/Maye, Geno in a new offense). The Bears had a good showing against Goff and Kyler last year. The clearly better QBs, I’d say, are Stafford, Love x 2, Stroud, and Purdy. One of those guys is on his last legs and 3 of those 4 guys haven’t put together THAT big of a body of work…..which leads me to my next point.

The rookie QB thing is a bit overblown, IMO. I think it’s been pretty consistent that we get a QB or 2 every year who plays well as a rookie or simply wins games because he has a pretty good team around him.  Obviously, Stroud was great last year. Even in 2022’s terrible class, Kenny Pickett went 7-5 for the Steelers. In 2021, Mac Jones went to the playoffs with a strong team. 2020 had Herbert and one of the top rookie QB seasons in the last 20 years. Lamar only started 1/3 of the season, but he went 6-1 down the stretch for a loaded Ravens squad. And I think it’s fair to include 1^st year starters like Purdy, Love, and of course Mahomes as guys who hit the ground running as the only change to a really good team. It’s also fair to conclude that if there’s ever a rookie that could be expected to hit the ground running, one of the top prospects of the last 10 years, who joins a team that was 90%+ win probabilities from 10 wins last year, and had access to the Bears’ playbook since mid March…might be the guy. The Bears also are bringing back 9 of the 11 guys who started most games on D. While bringing back 4 of 5 OL starters, starting TE, their top WR, and the starting RB is now RB2, while also adding a HOFer and a top 10 pick at WR.

That being said, this team is still very flawed in some very important places. I’m not saying they will be a Superbowl contender in any way. There are probably 2 more complete teams in this division alone, and another 2, maybe 3, teams in the conference that are better teams on paper. But this year should be a fun one for our Bears. This is new territory for most of us. The Bears actually are building something, instead of piecing together teams and praying for kick returns and defensive scores to win games. The build up did NOT start with Caleb. It started in 2022, it just so happened in this build, the Bears were also able to upgrade the most important position in the game with arguably, a generation talent. So basically my point is, don’t feed into the old adages that rookie QBs can’t do this/that. Don’t lose sight of the fact that this is a VERY talented team and that it’s NOT too good to be true.

Everything has gone mostly to plan under Poles so far. He tore down the team. Fields showed enough in 2022 that the Bears weren’t forced to take a 5’8 QB at the top of that draft. But not enough to the point where they were forced to commit to him long term. A lot of fortune has been involved in this process and I feel like most of us are waiting for the other shoe to drop. But this absolutely is what it looks like when a team builds in the correct way. There are misses. There are frustrations. And there aren’t necessarily linear projections. But there’s no reason why this team with this QB can’t be really good, really soon.

****Sorry for the long post......it's been a while

Welcome back

[WrigleyField 22]

Raw coming back straight into regular season form. 🔥

[raw]

8 hours ago, jersey cubs fan said:

this game is really setting up to be a disappointment. 4.5 point favorites at home to a team that probably wasn’t as bad as it’s record indicated last season. The bears defense was awful against competent QBs, and it’s entirely possible Levis is competent in his second year. 
Chicago could look bad and lose this game but still have a solid season. 

Possible Levis is competent, but not likely yet. He was the 31st worst QB in the league last year. He's learning a new offense and is learning new weapons across the board other than a 32-year old WR who just came back to practice this week for the first time since July. 

New teams typically have trouble coming together early in the season. Titans have 5 or 6 new starters on offense, EIGHT (8) new guys on D, including a LB they got last week. I'll be disappointed if the Bears don't cover. I'll be floored if they outright lose.

Then again, Eberflus won his debut against the juggernaut Niners. 

 

[jersey cubs fan]

1 hour ago, raw said:

Possible Levis is competent, but not likely yet. He was the 31st worst QB in the league last year. He's learning a new offense and is learning new weapons across the board other than a 32-year old WR who just came back to practice this week for the first time since July. 

New teams typically have trouble coming together early in the season. Titans have 5 or 6 new starters on offense, EIGHT (8) new guys on D, including a LB they got last week. I'll be disappointed if the Bears don't cover. I'll be floored if they outright lose.

Then again, Eberflus won his debut against the juggernaut Niners. 

 

New phone who this 

[BigbadB]

13 hours ago, raw said:

Possible Levis is competent, but not likely yet. He was the 31st worst QB in the league last year. He's learning a new offense and is learning new weapons across the board other than a 32-year old WR who just came back to practice this week for the first time since July. 

New teams typically have trouble coming together early in the season. Titans have 5 or 6 new starters on offense, EIGHT (8) new guys on D, including a LB they got last week. I'll be disappointed if the Bears don't cover. I'll be floored if they outright lose.

Then again, Eberflus won his debut against the juggernaut Niners. 

 

News just popped up last night that D'Andre Hopkins is trying to play through an MCL tear. He injured it July 31 and was expected to be out 4-6 weeks. 

[Brian707]

31 minutes ago, BigbadB said:

News just popped up last night that D'Andre Hopkins is trying to play through an MCL tear. He injured it July 31 and was expected to be out 4-6 weeks. 

Yeah heard that too. 

[UMFan83]

4 hours ago, BigbadB said:

News just popped up last night that D'Andre Hopkins is trying to play through an MCL tear. He injured it July 31 and was expected to be out 4-6 weeks. 

And he's gonna attempt to play on Soldier Field's turf?  Yikes, good luck buddy.

[UMFan83]

Long 'anonymous FO' article about the Bears, breaking down the team by each position group.  Thought it was an interesting read.  Not sure I agree with all of it but there's good insight and obviously these people know way more about football than I do.

There is much much more interesting stuff in the article than projected record, but of the 10 FO people, 2 predicted 7-10, 4 predicted 8-9, 3 predicted 9-8 and 1 predicted 13-3 (which isnt even a record you can have)

https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/5744706/2024/09/05/bears-2024-roster-scouting-report/?source=tw_c_chi

Here are a couple of the position breakdowns for those that don't have The Athletic:

Quote

Quarterbacks

The Bears have seen encouraging signs from Williams in the summer, but it isn’t easy to get a handle on a rookie quarterback until he starts playing in the regular season.

 

“We’ll see when teams are game planning against him with NFL starters,” Scout B says. “But I think the ability — the arm strength on the move, the improvisational skills — is real. What we don’t know is if he can do it when defenses take away targets.”

Scouts C and B agreed that in the preseason, Williams has looked like the same player he was at USC, with the penchant to make “wow” plays, especially after the pocket breaks down.

Interestingly, two of the scouts brought up the same player when talking about Williams — Russell Wilson.

Scout A: “He reminds me of a more talented Russell Wilson in that he can make something out of nothing. But I don’t think that’s a way to survive for the long haul. He’ll have to operate on timing, especially on early downs to be a volume passer. They will need to help him with the run game and minimize the number of straight dropback situations he’s in. You don’t want to put him in situations when he’s down two touchdowns.”

Scout 😄 “Will everything be off script with him like Russell Wilson or will it be once in a while off script? He’s at his best playing backyard football.”

Scout C says Williams will be must-see TV, for better or worse. Scout B thinks Williams will be a good one, but he expects some inconsistency. “He makes the game complicated because he won’t throw it to the first guy even when he’s open,” he says. “He pats it, scrambles — it’s the thrill of dramatics with him. But he’s special outside the pocket.”

Scout A believes Williams tends to hold the football too long and take too many sacks. So he will need to learn to get the ball out, and the coaching staff will need to have an effective strategy to survive negative plays.

All the scouts like backup Tyson Bagent as a No. 2. Scout B cited his grittiness and the chip on his shoulder. Scout A credits Bears coaches with developing him. Scout C says he has more talent than anybody knew.

 

Quote

Offensive line

The scouts see some vulnerabilities here. Surprisingly, the position they have the fewest questions about could be center. That’s because they have seen free-agent signee Coleman Shelton play consistently over 32 starts. They also like the potential of Ryan Bates, who will likely begin the season as a swingman.

“There is a comfort level with Shelton,” Scout C says.

Scout A calls Shelton a serviceable journeyman who knows how to play. Scout B points out Shelton doesn’t handle a bull rush well, but he knows how to use his athleticism and technique to his advantage.

Scouts A and C expect Bates, who has had a shoulder issue, to be a starter at some point of the season, whether it’s center or guard. And if history is a guide, opportunity could come at guard, where Nate Davis missed 11 games over the last two years and Teven Jenkins has never had more than 11 starts in a season.

“Davis is a solid player when he’s healthy,” Scout B says. “He just hasn’t been healthy.”

Scout B also thought Jenkins came into his own in 2023. Scout C likes Jenkins better at guard than tackle, and says, “he’s improving.”

The scouts expressed concerns about left tackle Braxton Jones and right tackle Darnell Wright giving up pressures and committing penalties. “They will probably do some systematic and schematic things to help them,” Scout A says.

“Jones produces, but it feels like he wins ugly,” Scout C says. “He has the length, size and athleticism, but he hasn’t been consistent.”

Scout B says Jones is not a throwaway, citing his youth (25 years old) and potential to improve.

“(Wright) can be a really good player if he plays more consistently,” Scout B says. “He takes some plays off and doesn’t always have ideal effort.”

 

Quote

Safeties

Scout B calls this position “the weak link of the defense.” All the scouts expressed doubts that free agent Kevin Byard, at 31, can play like the two-time All-Pro he once was. Over eight seasons, Byard was considered one of the pillars of the Titans, but they traded him to the Eagles in October of last year. The Eagles released him after the season.

Scout A points out Byard’s ball production has dipped considerably. Last season he had one interception and three passes defended. In his best season seven years ago, he had eight interceptions and 16 passes defended.

“He’s not the same guy he was,” Scout B says. “He was subpar with the Eagles. He needs to be a box safety because he’s lost speed. But (Jaquan) Brisker is a box safety. In coverage, they both are liabilities.”

Scout C says Brisker is best around the line but can be functional in the middle of the field. Scout A calls Brisker a “young, talented player.” Scout B is impressed with Brisker’s toughness.

Scout C says Bears coaches will have to try to protect Byard.

“You don’t want him consistently playing free safety,” he says. “But he understands the game in condensed spaces, so there is value there. He’s also a great leader, so he will add to the defense as far as alignments, assignments and being a calming factor.”

The scouts view Jonathan Owens, signed as a free agent in the offseason from the Packers, as a special teams player with limited value on defense. Scout B sees some potential in Elijah Hicks entering his third season.

 

Edited September 6, 2024 by UMFan83

[cl smooth]

Heading to my Chicago bar in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn for today’s game. Girlfriend was nice enough to let me leave for a few hours on her birthday to watch some football (she will be at home watching the US Open Men’s Final). 

[UK]

I have this game 20-17 Titans. Hope I'm wrong.

Hopefully they're not conservative with Williams.