BigbadB

He had one good season and was probably the worst 'feature' running back in the league last year (maybe Carlos Hyde was worse). Glad to see he had one good game with the Eagles, though. Tough one for the Packers last night when you consider the injuries. Adams is so key for their offense. I felt that Howard's usage by Nagy's playbook is why Howard was rated so poorly. Howard in the game= running play or pass to potentially anyone not named Jordan Howard. Cohen in the game=more likely a pass play. Howard was open on check downs repeatedly and ignored as an option time and again. Screen plays were just not an option when Howard was in the game, allowing the safeties to key on the run between the tackles. That predictability lessened the strength of the running game and eliminated a potential backfield threat in the passing game.

Offensively, they are definitely a talented group. Defensively, they look pretty bad.

Jordan Howard sure looked good last night. Caught a screen pass for a TD. Ran well. Not sure how his accomplishments offensively don't fit Nagy's system. You are welcome, Philadelphia.

Big brain=big helmet

Those incomplete passes are the ones he needs to complete. That would have improved those number tremendously. Unfortunately, I'm not sure he has that tool. So he should have a 100% completion rate? We'll have to live with the inexplicably missed throws. But I think he's still not seeing throws that are there. If that can't be fixed, that will be his downfall. But if he traded some weak dump offs for higher reward passed downfield that are there, he could throw every 10th one onto the rafters and be an above average passer. No, I'm not saying he should be 100%. My point is the throws beyond 15 yards are there and he isn't connecting on them. I think those are the most important connections he needs to make for the health of this offense. Defenses will continue forcing the short stuff for no gains and 3 and outs until Mitch proves he can hit one of those open receivers downfield.

That stats are somewhat misleading honestly. Will be interesting to see what the average yard per pass is by the end of the game. Lots of easy throws. But easy throws against an atrocious D leads to good stats. 7.94 ay/a. That would rank 8th overall in 2018 team stats. Suffice to say, barely performing in the upper quartile against a D like Washington leaves a lot to be desired still. And while I normally hate "take out this one play" type analysis, take out that Gabriel TD at the end of the half and they gained 6.5 y/a. That'd be bottom quartile type production. If week 2 was Nagy not trusting Trubisky at all, week 3 was trusting him with the absolute bare minimum. Not a bad tactic to ensure a W against a terrible team, but leaves a lot to be questioned as to his development. I still hope Mitch is at least as good as he was last year (average), but week 3 wasn't really different than week 1 or 2 save the opponent. So its definitely a concern to me that Mitch has actually regressed from last year. Those incomplete passes are the ones he needs to complete. That would have improved those number tremendously. Unfortunately, I'm not sure he has that tool.

Versteeg has already been sent to Rockford where he'll tutor the younger guys. Kruger was part of the price of unloading Hossa's contract. Surprisingly, Shaw isn't the worst player ever. He might actually be a useful player this season and I have never really thought much of Shaw. I love Saad so there's that. A lot of the season comes down to de Haan. He could be the other half of the shut down pairing that the Hawks so desperately needed last year and didn't have. Have their 2nd and 3rd pairings gotten any better though? I'm guessing no because any pairing involving Seabrook at this stage is going to suck. Love the dude for what he did from 08-16 but he's just horsefeathering bad now. How many years does he have left on his contract?

He looks ridiculous out there with his tiny body and huge helmet. HEED! PAPAH! NAHHHW! "So I Married An Axe Murderer" is one of my favorite movies.

Every incompletion by Mitch was to a wide open receiver. I know I can't expect him to be perfect, but none of those were actual drops. They were overthrows every time. I felt bad for Miller because 4 of those balls were his targets. One was in the backfield where Trubisky threw it over his head. That was probably a nothing play anyway, but it's pretty sad when you can't place a ball within a 10-12 foot window where the receiver can actually catch the ball. Also, 3 or 4 of those passes were potentially big plays. My excitement leading into this year was because I felt like Trubisky would get in tune with his receivers this year after having an entire offseason to work with them. Unfortunately, I am starting to believe that Trubisky is just not going to be an accurate passer. I guess there is still a possibility to win with an offense that punts a lot as they proved last year, but it's certainly asking a lot of the defense to repeat what they did last year.

I thought he looked constipated.

Giving up 27 points and over 400 yards passing (over 500 yards total) is what you call a force? 20 of those points and 244 yards (so half their total yardage) came in the 4th quarter which the Saints entered with a three touchdown lead. Seahawks were held to 7 points in the 1st three quarters. Saints D was pretty much in prevent that entire quarter. It's also relative as well. The Saints D has been pretty bad historically in the Payton era, so in terms of recent Saints history, even a good defense is a force in our eyes. So forgive the hyperbole. I didn't see much of that game, so all I have is post game stats. I did notice that 20 of their points came in the 4th quarter.

Indeed. I'm stunned. Eli Apple is shaky at CB, but this might be the best defense of the Payton era. The 2009 SB team had a nice D but relied on getting turnovers. This D is a force. Giving up 27 points and over 400 yards passing (over 500 yards total) is what you call a force?

I'm actually surprised he lasted that long.

I did say "team", so I'm guilty of including Stockton. It's Schlereth that impressed me.

Holy horsefeathers NFL favorites. There aren't exactly a whole lot of decent broadcast teams to pick from.

This team definitely loves bringing guys back. Versteeg, Saad, Kruger, Shaw.....

I didn't get to watch this past Bears game live, so I had to watch the repeat later on NFL Game Pass. I have to say that Mark Schlereth and Dick Stockton are now my favorite broadcasting team. Schlereth was amazingly knowledged on everything both offenses were doing wrong in that game, and he did a great job conveying that to the listener/viewer.

I don't recall two missed passes. There was one that should have been a touchdown that was badly underthrown and while it did hit Cohen's hands, the defender got his hands in there to knock it out. I don't count that one as "dropped". this season, Cohen has had 2 dropped passes https://scores.nbcsports.com/fb/leaders.asp?type=Receiving&range=NFL&rank=232 Oh, this season. Yeah, that seems more likely. The previous poster seemed to be referring to this past game, so I thought you were referring to just that game, also.

Kaep's agent apparently reached out to 3 teams. That would instantly make this team mor interesting! Or they can trade for Eli Manning! Have less than 0% interest in trading for Eli, but just for curiosity's sake: what would a trade for Eli look like? Backup QB plus a 6th rd pick? If Mitch looks like sht the next few weeks, would anyone be in favor of such a deal? Isn't he making $22m this year? I would imagine the return would depend on how much of that contract you are willing to take on.

That 4:1 ratio seems like a reasonable assessment of last season. The 1 good throw a game might be hyperbole. Just based on rewatching game 1, I'm not sure there were 10 good throws to even make the whole game (excluding check downs). He probably missed 3 or 4 of those completely (i.e. Didn't even see it), missed 1 or 2 with inaccuracy. Had 1 or 2 dropped, and made the rest (but only 1 or 2 were "wow" throws that could be used when someone wants to put a mixtape together showing how Mitch can "make all the throws") Cohen had two dropped passes by himself.... I don't recall two missed passes. There was one that should have been a touchdown that was badly underthrown and while it did hit Cohen's hands, the defender got his hands in there to knock it out. I don't count that one as "dropped".

There is nobody they can bring in from the outside that would be competent and Chase Daniel already showed how awful he is, losing to the Giants last year. It's Mitch or nothing this year. Yeah seriously, are we suggesting that Tyler Bray is the way to maximize having an elite defense this year? Look Mitch has been terrible this year and is likely not the answer long term at QB, but with Bray you are getting Mitch's performance on Sunday without the one good throw at the end. I still have faith that Mitch can play adequately enough to be the clear better option than anyone else on the roster or anyone who would be available midseason. The suggestion is that if Trubisky can't hit open receivers, find someone who can. Trubisky got a pass from me last year because he did occasionally find receivers downfield between bad throws. So far this year, there has been very little to be excited about at the QB position. I'm not really opining for Bray, but some unknown cat named Gardner Minshew can step into the spotlight on short notice and connect with his receivers. I was hoping a full offseason would get Trubisky in tune with his receivers, and it appears as though he has taken a step or two backwards instead. Another lame effort against Washington (and in the national spotlight) and I'll be ready to move on. Maybe they can get Fitzpatrick on the cheap.

Tyler Bray was hitting UDFA receivers in stride time and again in the preseason. I know he was going against 3rd string defenses, but he was also being protected by 3rd string offensive line. There are only 16 games in a season. If Trubisky can't offer up something better than what we've seen so far, I'd like to see what Bray can do. Stop making excuses and fix this problem. Guys are getting open and Trubisky is missing. That first drop by Cohen should have been a touchdown if he hits him in stride. Instead, he underthrew that one. Most of his other passes were overthrows. He had good protection and still can't make the throws that need to be made. I watch a lot of other games, and the level of play from the QB position is light years ahead of what the Bears are getting from Trubisky. I swear he looks scared out there. If he doesn't have confidence to make the throws, he shouldn't be out there.

Oakland outplayed Denver from the opening tick of the clock to the end. I don't know if that's Oakland being good or Denver being bad. Carr didn't seem bothered by the pressure, or the lack thereof. Carr targeted his TE more often than any other receiver, which is not a strength on this Bears offense. Based on what I saw of Denver last night, the Bears should be able to have their way with Flacco. Whether or not the offense shows up is the million dollar question.

It wasn't about just running it more. Many of the pass plays that were called were of basically the same concept. Look 10 yards down the field. If that pass isn't available, force it anyway or dump it. There was no attempt to spread the field in the entire first half. The safeties were leaning forward on every play call because every play that was called was in front of them. You brag about having all of this amazing speed (Cohen, Gabriel, Patterson) and you do absolutely nothing with it. Maybe the coach knows more about Trubisky than we do, and that spreading the field is just not an option with this QB. If that's the case, it's going to be a long season.

There were plenty of stupid play calls last night, and many have already been mentioned in this thread. The one that put me on tilt was the 3rd and half a yard fairly early in the game and they lined up in shotgun formation. That turned into a really slow developing play on 3rd and half a freaking yard. Trubisky could have sneaked it, jumped forward above the line, handed off to a back and helped push the line forward, or rolled out. Instead, shotgun and a handoff that was executed even slower than the play call itself. It's like they weren't even trying to win a ball game last night. I really hoped that Trubisky was going to turn the corner this season, but last night let all of the air out of my sales. Nagy was even worse than Trubisky. The most embarrassing part of this is that they didn't play in the preseason at all and then treated an actual real game like it was preseason. I'm actually cool with protecting your team from injuries. However, this offense has been practicing against the best defense in the entire league all preseason and what did that get us? I saw Patterson and Gabriel out there a lot more than I saw Miller, also. I trust that's because Miller isn't fully healthy yet and not that they think Patterson or Gabriel is better than Miller. Actually, if this is what we can expect from Trubisky every week, then it really doesn't matter. This team is sunk.