BigbadB

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.

That game was painful. This one needs to be redemption for that game.

He has two years left on his rookie deal. What the F is Miami doing? Trading Stills and Tunsil right before the season starts is not the best way to instill confidence in your season ticket holders or your new QB.

Only part I disagree with here. I think Montgomery is going to wreak havoc employed in this scheme and end up as ROY. I hope you are right, but I can totally see Nagy using Montgomery, Davis, Cohen and Patterson in the backfield to keep fresh legs in there. Montgomery will likely be the feature guy, but I'll bet his touches between carries and catches will be less than 20 a game.

I'm pretty amazed at how little value Trubisky is given. To me, and I get that I'm as homer as they come, he has all of the tools necessary to be successful this year. ARob was coming off a year with a bad injury. Anthony Miller played with one arm all year. Trey Burton was practically non existent. Jordan Howard couldn't be trusted by Trubisky or the coaching staff to be more than one dimensional. Every receiver except Bellamy and White were new to Trubisky. The coaching staff and offensive scheme was new last year. The OLine was being jogged around quite a bit, making it difficult for them to be more cohesive as a team. This year, not only does Trubisky have an extra year of experience with these receivers, but he's been given even more tools to work with in Davis and Montgomery and potentially added value from Wims and Ridley. Anything from Trey Burton will be an added bonus. Watching game tape and working on his footwork and settling down the overthrows could make him a top 10 QB this year. There is basically no excuse this year for struggling. If he can't make something happen this year with this talent surrounding him, then he clearly isn't the right guy for the job and he's a placesitter until they replace him, which will be pretty sad, because this is a Super Bowl caliber team even with just decent QB play. There is only one potential fantasy stud on this offense and it's Trubisky. I just don't think there is a defense that can cover ARob, Miller, Gabriel, Burton and Montgomery/Cohen all on the field at the same time. Hopefully Trubisky is better at reading the field this year and trusting his guys to make plays. Maybe it's better that he isn't expected to be a top QB. It takes a bit of pressure off.

Chad Kelly has to sit out the first two games of the season for violating the NFL's personal conduct policy. It will be interesting to see what they do about that.

Great overall grades for the Bears draft from many experts. I don't know that they could have gotten better value given the draft choices. A few of the UDFA pickups could have doubled as mid/late round draft picks and gives the Bears a lot of skill position options/battles to make the team. This offense has the potential to be scary good. Let's hope Anthony Miller's shoulder is completely healed and won't be an issue this year. What will drive defenses crazy against the Bears this year is that there isn't that one guy you have to always worry about. Each and every RB/WR/TE are guys of equal talent/ability to make a play, and that's a lot of people to cover play after play, while the Bears have plenty of guys to come in fresh each play. Couple that with Nagy's crazy play book, and I could see a team that scores 30+ this year. Jesus I'm such a homer.

I wouldn't say they got screwed. That cross check was just dumb. You're up 3-0 with less than 11 minutes left in the game, any penalty is dumb. That he cross checked him so hard on a face off that he hit his head on the ice and got knocked the f out while down by 3 goals was just a poor decision and he got what he deserved. I don't blame the officials for making that call. Two Knights players created a penalty situation that injured a player to the point he could not return to the game. A major is certainly warranted in that situation. They didn't lose the game because of the officials. They lost the game because THEY committed the penalty that allowed the other team to create the necessary momentum to come back and win. I was hoping to see the GK's advance until that penalty happened. Then I wanted to see what I saw. An amazing turn around and a great finish. Don't want to lose that way? Don't commit dumb penalties with a big lead that late in a game.

Week 8 actually. There is a bye in week 6.

A night game in London. Sweet! None of that 6am start time nonsense.

I found that between GB and Washington last year, he was ranked as the 14th of all qualifying safeties by PFF.