raw

Hard to break a run, when you don't get the ball. And it doesn't matter who the RBs are if they get the ball a combined 5 times. Broken runs typically happen late in the game, when the OL can wear a DL down. The only "broken" run by a RB this year was Montgomery for 25 yards against Washington.....late in the game when the Bears O was on the field a bunch.

Fewest in the history of the franchise.

Yep. Been saying this. Mitch is the QB this and next year. Don't have the money or picks to get anyone better for 2020. Best hope is Nagy man's up and gives Helfrich playcalling duties, and he turns out to be a genius. But this is what the Bears have to work with for the next 26 games minus some minor tweaks. Best case is one minor tweak becomes a major change. Sent from my moto e5 supra using Tapatalk

I actually think the Saints run offense gets tougher to stop without Kamara. Latavius Murray is a good tough runner, who will run more straight ahead, inside the tackles than Kamara typically. I feel like the Bears are better against quicker backs that try to jump cut laterally than just hit the hole straight ahead. They've stopped smaller, quicker guys like Dalvin Cook and Philip Lindsay. But they gave up some to bigger backs like Jacobs and even in that same Broncos game where they shut down Lindsay, they gave up nearly 5 ypc to Freeman. The Saints have a really good OL too, and I'd imagine the gameplan will look a lot like the Raiders game. In the pass game, they don't have to worry about Murray as much as Kamara, which will be huge. They can pay extra attention to Michael Thomas. But the key with or without Kamara is to rush Bridgewater and get him off his spot. He had a really bad knee injury and still hasn't played much the last 3 years. He's not extremely mobile and can be forced into bad throws on the move. Offensively, gotta get a run game going. Hopefully, NOT having Kyle Long anymore and Leno's soul searching during the bye week is enough to get this group putting a hat on somebody. Robinson will likely see a lot of Marshon Lattimore, a top 5-10 CB in the league. I wouldn't completely shy away from Robinson, because he can get the ball over anyone, but someone else has to step up. Gabriel is back after a few weeks off, but his last game was a 3 TD performance. Anthony Miller, Trey Burton and Tarik Cohen showing up in the pass game would be welcomed too. Mitch needs all the help he can get. Don't imagine he'll be great today with a few weeks off and against a solid defense with a good pass rush. Defense should be hungry after their last game. I'd vote the under in this one. Bears should win, and while over 20 points would be very encouraging, I'm thinking this game could settle in the 17-9 range.

Mahomes should have been picked off twice in addition to one time he was - we're always reading this about Mitch. Mahomes and Watson both looked terrible at times, made dumb mistakes, Mahomes threw the ball up grabs on several occasions. I'd imagine most would still take either over Mitch and rightfully so, for the most part Mitch has been terrible. Keep hearing about a "good" Saints defense, don't see it, statistically, they're middle of the pack perhaps, it's the sacks, think it's the only statistic in which they're top 10. Do not think it unreasonable that the Bears should be able to move the ball and score some points. Shouldn't have to score too many. Other than a 31-point outburst against the terrible Tampa Bay defense, the Saints under Bridgewater have scored 9, 12, 20, and 13 offensive points in 4 of 5 games. Put up 33 against Seattle on the road, but got a defensive and special teams TD, and 1 of their 2 offensive TDs on a 28-yard drive. That being said, I'd really like to see 4-5 scoring drives in this game by the Bears offense. Whether that's 2 TDs, 3 FGs, or 3 TDs, 1 FG. I'll feel a lot better if the Bears can put up 22+ against a decent defensive team. Trubisky played pretty well out of the bye last year vs. Miami. But he played his worst game after coming back from the same injury last year. So which Mitch we get will determine the outcome of this game.

Gosh I don't know. I will fully admit that I stand a chance of being completely wrong, but I just don't see it even in a diluted eastern conference. Moving the ball better and establishing some cohesive play offensively would be great, especially with a full season from Porter, but even with him this team is atrocious defensively. It's not due to a bad system or whatever, they are just collectively not a group of players that can play defense. They also still don't shoot the 3 for a high enough percentage to win shootouts. I will say though, I'm very high on Otto Porter and think he's one of the most underrated players in the NBA, and the stuff he does well doesn't always show up on the stat sheet. I think they COULD shoot the 3 well enough. They were 19th in the league in 3pt percentage last year. Porter's a pretty good 3 shooter. He's basically gonna get the attempts that Parker and Portis got last year and did very little with. Lauri has been a pretty consistent 36% shooter. LaVine has gotten better shooting every year, and based on preseason and workout videos, I don't see why this year he wouldn't take another step. Satoransky can also shoot, but doesn't take a lot. Coby can go either way. I'm sure he'll be inconsistent, but he's a guy that could shoot a pretty decent percentage.

Whispers around the team make it seem like Rashaad Coward will be the starting RG coming out of the bye. I know he's still developing and who knows when he'll be ready and what he'll actually be in the future, but what is the current projected role on the line for Bars? They obviously think he's got potential since they matched New England's offer. I think he'll be on the team before the end of the season and be in a swing role. Would likely be the top option to backup at either OG spot or RT for sure, maybe left tackle too depending on how they feel about Lucas. Next year, I'd imagine he'd be in a similar role and maybe even competing with Coward, FA, or draft pick to start at RG.

Yep. It'd be hard to justify coming out or the bye with zero changes to that unit, but I'm sure that will be what happens.. At what point does Nagy try something different though? Just when an injury forces him to? They can always make Long pretend his aches and pains are worse than they actually are to save face and get someone else in there. Whispers around the team make it seem like Rashaad Coward will be the starting RG coming out of the bye.

So I don't hate this Bulls team. Based on the preseason game vs. the Pelicans, they should be kinda fun to watch this year. LaVine is a star. I could see him ascending to one of the top 20 players in the league this year. If he, Lauri and Carter can play 65 games together, the Bulls could be a playoff team. If they shoot and pass like they did in the preseason game, they'll score a ton.

He would be a decent replacement. But I've already been thru this. It cost 15Mil for Mike Glennon. It cost 23Mil for Alex Smith. Bridgewater is currently 2-0 as a starter, was a former 1st rounder, and is getting valuable starts in the NFL right now. He'll cost 25-30Mil to the team that wants to sign him this offseason. This is what QBs cost. This is not money the Bears have to spend. Even if the Bears had that money to spend, they already have Trubisky under a guaranteed contract for next year. Pace traded a bunch to take him as the 1st QB off the board. He's won 13 of the last 18 games he's started (and finished), and 2 of those 5 losses were blown by the kicker. As it stands now, the Bears are still probably good enough to win 9-10 games with Trubisky this year even if he doesn't get any better. There's no way they can justify (and no evidence that Pace even wants to) getting rid of or benching Trubisky and killing the salary cap by bringing in a veteran QB. I think the Ws are key to why Pace won't be looking to replace him, but if the Ws do change the next 11 games and Mitch is still putting up replacement level passer numbers, Pace could look for something splashier. And he could do it with maneuvering, and Pace is the type that would do so if he felt "conviction" That conviction would have to include him saying, "I was wrong" about trading up for Mitch. Don't know if he's ready to do that.

I'm hoping their declining play has something to do with Kyle Long being an empty jersey and the two tackles being completely replaceable. This team needs a big upgrade at a tackle spot sooner rather than later, which would go a long way toward taking the pressure off the inside guys. I wonder what the odds are of Alex Bars coming off the practice squad after the bye week, presumably replacing Long. I would definitely like to see Bars sooner rather than later. Even if he's not thrown into the starting lineup. The run O looked best last week when Larsen was in at RG. Cornelius Lucas also played well at RT vs the Skins. Coward also played some RG when Larsen went down. Long clearly is not the best for the job right now. The issue with tackle is the Bears have money tied into both guys. Leno's not going anywhere coming off a pro bowl season where he was pretty good. Massie has 10.8M in dead cap if cut. Gotta fix RG, then hope for improvement across the board for the other 4 for the next 1 2/3 seasons.

He would be a decent replacement. But I've already been thru this. It cost 15Mil for Mike Glennon. It cost 23Mil for Alex Smith. Bridgewater is currently 2-0 as a starter, was a former 1st rounder, and is getting valuable starts in the NFL right now. He'll cost 25-30Mil to the team that wants to sign him this offseason. This is what QBs cost. This is not money the Bears have to spend. Even if the Bears had that money to spend, they already have Trubisky under a guaranteed contract for next year. Pace traded a bunch to take him as the 1st QB off the board. He's won 13 of the last 18 games he's started (and finished), and 2 of those 5 losses were blown by the kicker. As it stands now, the Bears are still probably good enough to win 9-10 games with Trubisky this year even if he doesn't get any better. There's no way they can justify (and no evidence that Pace even wants to) getting rid of or benching Trubisky and killing the salary cap by bringing in a veteran QB.

Yeah Daniels and Whitehair both look worse at supposedly their more natural positions. The longer the offense looks incompetent, the more is on Nagy. The OL changes. The sitting in preseason. The offensive minded coach with an innovative offense should be getting more out of this unit for sure. Sent from my moto e5 supra using Tapatalk

Could be. Still like the Bears chances at home, coming off a bye and a mediocre defensive performance. No Hicks against his old team won't help though.

Man, did i nail this game. Didn't go as far as predicting a loss......but it's pretty crazy how similar this season is to 2018. Start with a tough loss against the Packers in both seasons where the team and coaching looked unprepared to start. 16-14 win against a bad team in an early season road game (AZ week 2 last year, Den week 3 this year) Blowout win and promising offensive performance against the worst defensive team they'll face all year (Was week 3, TB week for last year) Mitch got basically the same injury earlier this year than last, so instead of Minnesota (Week 3 2018 win) and Miami (week 5 loss), i compare the last 2 games to when Mitch was out last year.....at Detroit and vs. NY Giants. Daniel played solid last year vs. Detroit, Bears fans and media alike were wondering loudly if he was a "better fit" for a potential at QB for a Superbowl worthy defense. Nevermind the fact the defense dominated and won the game while he did nothing special. Then when he has a full week to prepare as starter, he throws a couple bad picks, has his team playing catch up and then the defense can't bail the team out again.....same story, NY Giants game last year and again today. End result, Bears 3-2 after 5 games. Granted the schedule is tougher on paper this year, but I still think the Bears are in a pretty decent spot. Coming out of the bye the Bears have 4 of 6 at home. Saints are 4-1, but will still not have Brees. Bridgewater had a great game today, but it was home against the aforementioned terrible Tampa D. Their 1 loss was a tough team on the road (Rams), and they beat the Hawks in Seattle thanks to defensive and special teams scores. The Chargers haven't started out great and get them in Chicago also. Lions and Giants are also beatable at home. With the Eagles and Rams being the road games. If the Bears can fix their OL issues (WTF is going on with Leno) and whatever is happening with Roquan over the bye week, there's no reason they can't go 5-1 or 4-2 over the next 6. 7-4 still puts them in a decent spot going into the home stretch.

Decision made. Bray is up. Bradley Sowell's revolving door taking him back out. Interested to see if they bring him back after the bye when TRubisky's healthy again.

Saw a poll on Twitter that asked would you trade Mack straight up for Russell Wilson. 58% said "No" they would not make that trade. Am I crazy in thinking I would take Wilson almost easily over Mack? A top 3-5 QB is just more valuable than a top 3 defensive player in the league.

Yep. Exactly what's gonna happen. Bears are in the fun place where they don't have the picks to find a new QB of the future, and they don't have the cap space to find a stopgap veteran until they have picks. Sent from my moto e5 supra using Tapatalk While not flush with cap space, as long were just talking "stop-gap", I don't think cap space is going to stand in the way of them adding a new QB. Even a little more than stop gap, they could probably swing it (like if Rivers or Brees didn't return, both are FA. Nor will the draft picks stand in their way. Neither would be an easy pill, but you're talking about the most important position to fill. A note on Mitch's 5th year option. I forgot that until his option year actually starts, it's only guaranteed for injury. So unless he's rehabbing some major injury, it will be pretty low risk to pick it up this offseason, and they can always get back out of it in 2021, as long as he is healthy by the time year 5 rolls around. That fact opens up an extra wrinkle in Paces ability to maneuver the cap, as necessary. Yes, yes it will. A Mike Glennon like stopgap cost 15Mil. That's obviously not an upgrade to Trubisky. A slight upgrade like Alex Smith costs 23Mil. A guy like Rivers/Brees would be upwards of 30Mil. The Bears don't have the money for even Mike Glennon if they want to keep guys like Floyd, Robinson, or fill open spots on the OL, ILB, safety, and corner.....because they also don't have draft picks.

Yes, the deadline for Leonard Floyd and the other 2016 1st round picks was May 3rd this year. So presumably early May 2020, they'll have to decide on Mitch. I'd probably be of the mind to pick up the option, not sign an extension, and try and get competent/mediocrity out of him with a 5% chance of a late bloomer season, then start fresh in 2021. Yep. Exactly what's gonna happen. Bears are in the fun place where they don't have the picks to find a new QB of the future, and they don't have the cap space to find a stopgap veteran until they have picks. Sent from my moto e5 supra using Tapatalk

Doesn't that option have to be picked up after year 3? Yes, the deadline for Leonard Floyd and the other 2016 1st round picks was May 3rd this year. So presumably early May 2020, they'll have to decide on Mitch.

This game is a trap. This is basically the Giants game from last year, all over again. Raiders are bad, but are pretty decent running the ball (just like the Giants last year). They've gotten off to a fast start (double digit early lead) in 3 of their 4 games so far. Their defense stinks, and will be worse without Burfict, but the Bears don't have the offense to do anything about it. And if they get out to a 10 or 14 point lead early, the Bears may be playing catch-up all day. Granted, I know this defense doesn't even give up 14 per game, but they can only win games by themselves for so long. We saw them give up points last year vs. NE, Miami, and the aforementioned Giants. There will be a couple lapses this year. Just the nature of being a defense heavy team. And with Smith, Hicks, and Nichols' statuses up in the air still, you can't really expect the defense to completely dismantle even a bad team, while playing overseas and potentially missing multiple starters again.

Pretty sure that only applies on the road. They have a team hotel they all stay in. Can't really regulate on a home game when guys are sleeping in their own beds. Can't make them be in bed by 11 in their own house.

Uh, so maybe this is partly true.

Speculation is that Roquan was out til 5 AM last night and showed up hungover for the game. He was apparently on the sidelines during the game and left before the lockeroom was opened to the media.

Nick Kwiatkoski, Nick Williams, and Kevin Pierre-Louis, combined for 20 tackles, 3 sacks, and a forced fumble. Next man up indeed.