Week 11: Bears at Vikings, noon on FOX

[jersey cubs fan]

4 hours ago, raw said:

And JJ McCarthy is the one to light up the defense?  I guess, if Tyler Huntley did though, anything's possible. Huntley does have much more experience in the league and in his offense than JJ has in his. 

I also disagree with "lot of holes". The holes have been created by injuries and having their best 2 CBs and starting LB out. Can't really say the offense has holes (except maybe LT). The Bears should beat this team. They should have beaten them before. I think the Bears offense is better than they were Week 1. The Vikings defense isn't as good as they were Week 1 (they have struggled to stop the run, and now the Bears can run). 

LT is a hole but I think the biggest is lack of pass rush and that’s not injuries, that’s self inflicted roster management 

 

the secondary holes are more of an injury thing. But that’s football 

Edited November 13, 2025 by jersey cubs fan

[raw]

9 hours ago, jersey cubs fan said:

LT is a hole but I think the biggest is lack of pass rush and that’s not injuries, that’s self inflicted roster management 

 

the secondary holes are more of an injury thing. But that’s football 

I'll buy that. But to be fair, The DEs did pretty decent rushing the passer last week w/ Booker healthy. He had 5 a team-leading 5 pressures. Sweat had 1.5 sacks and has sacks in 4-5 straight. They are getting nothing from the interior, which is definitely self-inflicted (Grady Jarrett/Dayo signings look awful right now), but certainly doesn't qualify as "a lot of holes".

[Banedon]

Seems like more people out there are picking Bears than Vikings, but it's certainly not by much...maybe 60-40.

[jersey cubs fan]

with one pick in each of the first five rounds and 3 7th rounders currently, I think defensive line has to be addressed early. They need to keep the OL pipeline flowing, especially with three old dudes on the interior. They do not need to draft WR or TE (or punter). They do need RB. And you can never have enough corners. 
DE, DT, OL, RB, CB

[jersey cubs fan]

2 minutes ago, Banedon said:

Seems like more people out there are picking Bears than Vikings, but it's certainly not by much...maybe 60-40.

58/42 taking Bears +3.5 on CBS pick em

[Old Style]

3 minutes ago, jersey cubs fan said:

with one pick in each of the first five rounds and 3 7th rounders currently, I think defensive line has to be addressed early. They need to keep the OL pipeline flowing, especially with three old dudes on the interior. They do not need to draft WR or TE (or punter). They do need RB. And you can never have enough corners. 
DE, DT, OL, RB, CB

I want a LT with the first round and spend the rest on defense. 

[Rex Buckingham]

1 minute ago, Old Style said:

I want a LT with the first round and spend the rest on defense. 

I've seen Kadyn Proctor mocked around 20 a few different places... I'd be very interested in him for the Bears

[jersey cubs fan]

35 minutes ago, Old Style said:

I want a LT with the first round and spend the rest on defense. 

I’d be fine with that…, but still want interior OL added. 

[Old Style]

7 minutes ago, jersey cubs fan said:

I’d be fine with that…, but still want interior OL added. 

We can always upgrade C and RG but I think LT and pretty much every position on defense are bigger needs. 

[BigSlick]

16 hours ago, raw said:

And JJ McCarthy is the one to light up the defense?  I guess, if Tyler Huntley did though, anything's possible. Huntley does have much more experience in the league and in his offense than JJ has in his. 

I also disagree with "lot of holes". The holes have been created by injuries and having their best 2 CBs and starting LB out. Can't really say the offense has holes (except maybe LT). The Bears should beat this team. They should have beaten them before. I think the Bears offense is better than they were Week 1. The Vikings defense isn't as good as they were Week 1 (they have struggled to stop the run, and now the Bears can run). 

I think anyone semi-competent has the potential to light this Bears defense up. It just is what it is: In the modern NFL, if you can't generate pass-rush, any non-complete disaster at QB will complete passes and score points. Running QBs are even more dangerous and frustrating. I hope that JJ is a disaster QB and has a horrible day, but I'm expecting he frustrates us and puts some points up.

Bears have something coming together offensively though. It's still very strange to think about them as a top 10 offense, given how janky and hurky jurky things have been at times, but they, at least statistically in many areas, are. If Caleb can keep building on some good outings, if they can keep that running game going (and I think commit just a little bit more to it) and receivers can keep passes in their hands, they win this. But, a lot of ways for this to go wrong, of course. It's still a work in progress, but the progress is proceeding nicely. 

Edited November 13, 2025 by BigSlick

[jumbo]

1 hour ago, Old Style said:

We can always upgrade C and RG but I think LT and pretty much every position on defense are bigger needs. 

I think a G that can fill in in case of injury or take over in a year is the idea. It ain't Bates or Amigaji.  

[jumbo]

1 hour ago, jersey cubs fan said:

with one pick in each of the first five rounds and 3 7th rounders currently, I think defensive line has to be addressed early. They need to keep the OL pipeline flowing, especially with three old dudes on the interior. They do not need to draft WR or TE (or punter). They do need RB. And you can never have enough corners. 
DE, DT, OL, RB, CB

Time to draft a K to take over for Santos then /s

[mul21]

2 minutes ago, jumbo said:

I think a G that can fill in in case of injury or take over in a year is the idea. It ain't Bates or Amigaji.  

Is there any reason Benedet can't slide inside?  Seems like he's an ideal fit inside with the strong run blocking, solidness against the bull rushes and struggle with the quick moves from DE.

[gflore34]

11 minutes ago, BigSlick said:

I think anyone semi-competent has the potential to light this Bears defense up. It just is what it is: In the modern NFL, if you can't generate pass-rush, any non-complete disaster at QB will complete passes and score points. Running QBs are even more dangerous and frustrating. I hope that JJ is a disaster QB and has a horrible day, but I'm expecting he frustrates us and puts some points up.

Bears have something coming together offensively though. It's still very strange to think about them as a top 10 offense, given how janky and hurky jurky things have been at times, but they, at least statistically in many areas, are. If Caleb can keep building on some good outings, if they can keep that running game going (and I think commit just a little bit more to it) and receivers can keep passes in their hands, they win this. But, a lot of ways for this to go wrong, of course. It's still a work in progress, but the progress is proceeding nicely. 

Caleb and the offense are slowly trending up.  Thought a big leap was going to happen this season for Caleb, I believe it'll happen, just not this season.  Really think the Bears because, of the defense, will be one of those teams that'll score quit a few points and give up quit a few points, be a threat but, not yet a playoff team.  A team playoff bubble teams don't want to face because they'll have to keep up with the Bears on the scoreboard.

[raw]

2 hours ago, jersey cubs fan said:

with one pick in each of the first five rounds and 3 7th rounders currently, I think defensive line has to be addressed early. They need to keep the OL pipeline flowing, especially with three old dudes on the interior. They do not need to draft WR or TE (or punter). They do need RB. And you can never have enough corners. 
DE, DT, OL, RB, CB

Yeah, Poles has picked QB, WR, OT, TE with his 1st round picks. You almost HAVE to take DL in the 1st. 

I wouldn't be even remotely upset about taking a LT, but I kinda feel you have to lie in the bed you made the last 7 months. Benedet is below average, and may never be any better than that, but he isn't killing the OL by being the only clear liability. And you spent a 2nd round on Trapilo and a 3rd on Amegadjie the year before. And while depth is necessary, you may have to sink or swim with the guys you handpicked for at least 1 more year.  

If Ozzy truly can't play LT (which I don't buy), then maybe you move Wright to LT (which I don't prefer). But between the 3, you should be able to get OT play at least above the low bar that the LT position has set this year. Obviously, injuries and attrition w/ older guys on the interior could make things dicey, but I'd probably gamble that 1 of those 3 guys can be serviceable enough at either tackle spot.

[BigSlick]

3 minutes ago, gflore34 said:

Caleb and the offense are slowly trending up.  Thought a big leap was going to happen this season for Caleb, I believe it'll happen, just not this season.  Really think the Bears because, of the defense, will be one of those teams that'll score quit a few points and give up quit a few points, be a threat but, not yet a playoff team.  A team playoff bubble teams don't want to face because they'll have to keep up with the Bears on the scoreboard.

I think a very good, and realistic, outcome for us this year is a repeat of the 2022 Detroit Lions: ends up at a 9-8 record, really good offense that got even better down the stretch, terrible defense, knocks Green Bay out of the playoffs on the last week of the season, all trends proceeding well for the next season. 

It would feel really nice to beat this middling Vikings team though. 

[raw]

11 minutes ago, mul21 said:

Is there any reason Benedet can't slide inside?  Seems like he's an ideal fit inside with the strong run blocking, solidness against the bull rushes and struggle with the quick moves from DE.

That would be the ideal spot for him, IMO. Trapilo (or draft pick) at starting LT, and Benedet can be a supersub. Backup either guard spot inside and obviously has the LT experience to fall back on if needed for injury. He was a UDFA, so there's no pressure to get him playing time or developing him at 1 spot. 

But yeah, his game and build (short arms) are best suited for the interior OL.

[gflore34]

1 minute ago, BigSlick said:

I think a very good, and realistic, outcome for us this year is a repeat of the 2022 Detroit Lions: ends up at a 9-8 record, really good offense that got even better down the stretch, terrible defense, knocks Green Bay out of the playoffs on the last week of the season, all trends proceeding well for the next season. 

It would feel really nice to beat this middling Vikings team though. 

I keep thinking along those exact same lines, would be a great outcome.

[raw]

2 minutes ago, BigSlick said:

I think a very good, and realistic, outcome for us this year is a repeat of the 2022 Detroit Lions: ends up at a 9-8 record, really good offense that got even better down the stretch, terrible defense, knocks Green Bay out of the playoffs on the last week of the season, all trends proceeding well for the next season. 

It would feel really nice to beat this middling Vikings team though. 

While 9-8 would ultimately be a nice outcome......how can you not be disappointed when you are 6-3 right now and playing 2 struggling teams. There's no way around a 3-5 end of the season being a bit of a letdown, especially when you consider 2 of the best chances for the 3 are coming up. Less than 3 point dogs on the road (toss up), early favorite at home next week. If you win these next 2, then that's a 1-5 end of season....including likely Packers and Lions sweeps. 

This game is really big IMO. You can't make the playoffs, even with 10 wins, if you don't get at least 2 in the division and probably the SF game. If you lose this game, you are very possibly looking at 1-5 or 0-6 in the division....again. 10-7 with 1-5 in the division isn't going to be good enough and would turn a promising season dark.

[BigSlick]

33 minutes ago, raw said:

While 9-8 would ultimately be a nice outcome......how can you not be disappointed when you are 6-3 right now and playing 2 struggling teams. There's no way around a 3-5 end of the season being a bit of a letdown, especially when you consider 2 of the best chances for the 3 are coming up. Less than 3 point dogs on the road (toss up), early favorite at home next week. If you win these next 2, then that's a 1-5 end of season....including likely Packers and Lions sweeps. 

This game is really big IMO. You can't make the playoffs, even with 10 wins, if you don't get at least 2 in the division and probably the SF game. If you lose this game, you are very possibly looking at 1-5 or 0-6 in the division....again. 10-7 with 1-5 in the division isn't going to be good enough and would turn a promising season dark.

It might not feel good given how the schedule lined up (and it very well might not feel good for the locker room) but I also don't think we need to have unrealistic hopes and expectations for a team that has some serious issues and is under its first year with a new head coach and multiple new systems. 

It is quite likely the team will be *playing* better football near the end of the season and still losing games against teams like the Lions, Eagles, Packers, etc. Should we feel bad about that? I don't think we should. I think we're only setting ourselves up for being pissed off and angry over a team thats going in the right direction. 

I also think they will steal a game or two off one of those better teams - and that'll be fun. 

[raw]

32 minutes ago, BigSlick said:

It might not feel good given how the schedule lined up (and it very well might not feel good for the locker room) but I also don't think we need to have unrealistic hopes and expectations for a team that has some serious issues and is under its first year with a new head coach and multiple new systems. 

It is quite likely the team will be *playing* better football near the end of the season and still losing games against teams like the Lions, Eagles, Packers, etc. Should we feel bad about that? I don't think we should. I think we're only setting ourselves up for being pissed off and angry over a team thats going in the right direction. 

I also think they will steal a game or two off one of those better teams - and that'll be fun. 

I think you should feel bad if you go 0-5 vs the Lions, Eagles and Packers. I didn't say anything about pissed off and angry, I said disappointed. Doesn't mean you swear off football forever or even get upset, but the hopes are up, as they should be. 

[BigSlick]

I don't think they will! But they may go 3-5 down the stretch and only snag one of those games. Is that a disaster? 

[Soul]

@rawI’m way behind posts, but in terms of the Vikings lighting up the Bears defense, yeah I think it’s possible JJ has a good game and their receivers make some big plays, like how the Bengals did. A guy like Jefferson makes me nervous even with a rookie QB.

Do I hope that happens?  Heck no

[gflore34]

I'm certain a few things will happen - Caleb will a have good day, Ben Johnson knows how to exploit and beat Flores' blitzes, the Bears will score a lot of points, the Vikings will score a lot of points, the Bears will force McCarthy into some TO's.  Don't know if these things will result in a Bears' win, I hope they do. 

Really want the Bears to win, irritates me to no end that fart-knocker got NFC player of the week for one decent quarter.  Had the situation been flipped would Caleb been the NFC player of the week?  I sincerely doubt it.

[raw]

2 hours ago, Soul said:

@rawI’m way behind posts, but in terms of the Vikings lighting up the Bears defense, yeah I think it’s possible JJ has a good game and their receivers make some big plays, like how the Bengals did. A guy like Jefferson makes me nervous even with a rookie QB.

Do I hope that happens?  Heck no

Of course it's possible, but I don't think it's likely. McCarthy has exactly 1 game over 158 yards passing in his short career and it was last week and over 1/2 of that came on the opening drive or in garbage time. Was also easily the worst game of his life (I think he's lost like 4 games since middle school so safe assumption).