Bears 1st qrt 2017 season

   I got the Bears record for the first 4 games right, but that was it, well sort of. They finished losing horrendously against the teams I though had a better chance of beating and won against the Steelers and almost beat the Falcons who are more balanced and superior teams, but it’s a new year and this kind of things happen at the beginning of the season until teams have a better feeling of what the opponent can and can’t do.

   With these 4 games watched I can see what this Chicago Bears team is and that is an old school type of team that John Fox envisioned along with Vic Fangio. Finally, they can say they have a team that can run the ball and play defense, but it’s still in its infant stage because of a poor passing game which doesn’t need to be great but it’s not even average. I believe Mike Glennon was brought to the team for one thing and it’s to protect the football, but he hasn’t. It looks like he’s trying too hard to make plays that aren’t there and is not in the same page with his average WRs. This reminds me of the 2009 season when they traded for Jay Cutler, had a great defense, a good offensive group and Matt Forte to be a great running team, they had to because at receiver they had speed and nothing else. If I compare these two teams, then I can truly say with confidence that Glennon is a downgrade at QB. The 2009 team finished 7-9 but counted on Cutler to keep them on the game, Glennon hasn’t showed he can do this aside that last drive against the Falcons. They both have average accuracy and a tendency to make harsh to bad decisions and be sloppy protecting the ball, but what Cutler had that Glennon doesn’t is athleticism that he used to extend plays, Glennon can’t even get out of the pocket. Only positive I’ve seen from Glennon until now is he can take hits and hasn’t gotten injured, not yet.

   The Packers challenged the Bears to throw the ball stacking up the line and Glennon couldn’t get it done, take the two fumbles away and chalk it up as bad luck but he still threw two interceptions because he tried to do too much instead of taking the sack not even considering he could get away from it with his legs. The O-line is what it is, above average unit that needs to play more disciplined. The receiving core is what it is, a below average unit not getting help from the QB, the majority of them new to the system and aren’t in synch. A team can’t run effectively enough if the opponent is not worried about the passing game and even less if they are behind in the scoreboard, that’s the reason they had a chance against the Falcons and Steelers because they kept it close.

   The defense is good enough to make any game a close one, the offense just need to not get so many 3 and outs. They can stuff the run and if they could be more aggressive on pass plays I can see them getting those turnovers this team desperately needs. Corners are average but I’m happy to see that Kyle Fuller is playing good ball giving the team depth at the position. If Adrian Amos doesn’t cut it as SS, can we now get a safety with the first pick next draft? Here’s hoping Eddie Jackson keeps getting better and don’t need to draft two. Seeing John Timu alone in open space scares the crap out of me. Where’s Roberto Aguayo’s picture? Connor Barth needs it on the bench, he’s sucking again.

   So, what now. Well next is against the Vikings who are looking good although I don’t trust Case Keenum to keep it up so there’s a chance but not much. Same situation with Baltimore, having some issues offensively and have a chance there as well. Against Carolina I don’t see many holes unless it’s like playing Pittsburgh over again and against New Orleans I do believe they can win this one having an inconsistent average defense and an offense that right now looks lost behind a mix bag of a running core trying to establish a running game that feels like it doesn’t let Brees do his thing.  

   But to answer the big question many have, will or should Mitchell Trubisky play on Monday. I say no he shouldn’t just because I don’t know where he is at this point as in if he knows the playbook, not worried if he lacks footwork or under center snap issues because what flaws I saw on him in preseason don’t worry me. I’m more worried about if him and Loggains can communicate and prepare for a game, this is a good game to prepare him for because he would have 10 days to do so although it’s against a very though defense on the road on primetime, but eventually he will have to be in this situation. I do believe that his athletic skill set is a plus in this situation and can give the running game opportunities for big plays. But what I also believe is if he plays on Monday night it’s because Fox and Pace admit they blew it with Glennon and will try to salvage the season leaving Fox with one foot out the door and Pace on the hot seat, it would be a make or break situation for this staff and will have me glued to twitter next week waiting to hear the decision although trying to ignore the criticism of Bears reporters that now instead of being realistic and crude, prefer to just be plain negative and sarcastic e.g. my Barth comment.

2017 Chicago Bears Roster

   The official depth chart is out for the 2017 Chicago Bears, the unofficial one had me scratching my head and giving me more questions than answers but now with the official one out I can say I feel better now.

   Deciding on keeping Mark Sanchez? Whatever, but making him the backup was not funny. This got corrected when John Fox announced that Mitchell Trubisky would be the backup because he earned it, which he did. Kudos to Tarik Cohen on getting to be the backup to Jordan Howard as the premier change of pace RB, he makes the offense feel different and probably more fun to watch. Letting go of Jeremy Langford was a bit surprising but it doesn’t feel the group will miss a beat without him and getting Taquan Mizzel of the waiver wire was a good pickup. Getting to the TEs and keeping a FB is where it gets interesting. At one point the team was keeping 5 TEs which felt there were too many, then Ben Brauneker got to the PS and now with 4 TEs it feels right because it feels that the coaching staff is all in on the run game and we might see a lot of 2 TE sets for better blocking and gain short yardage which I’m ok with that. Not keeping Tanner Gentry over Josh Bellamy was not ok and I almost lost it when they released him to hopefully get him on the PS which they did, but come on! that was way to risky. Letting Victor Cruz go I understood but getting Tre McBride off the waiver wire to insert him on the team only because Dowell Loggains knows him when he was with the Titans doesn’t seem right, let’s see if he even plays. The O-line group makes a comeback from last year as an O-line should, I don’t believe Kyle Long will be playing this Sunday and that is going to hurt the team a lot, the guard position was the most established position with Erick Kush as backup but now with him out and Long struggling with his ankle makes it a high concern. Who would have thought that we are one more injured guard away from being in deep shit.

   The front seven looks awesome and love that Roy Robertson-Harris convinced the coaches to give him a spot with his great play in the preseason. Having him, Jonathan Bullard and Nick Kwiatkoski as solid backups and counting Eddie Goldman and Laonard Floyd as rising young stars gives a good feeling for the future. Adding the return of Pernell McPhee to the lineup is huge even if he only plays half the snaps. Love that Willie Young will get to play the strong side while Floyd is on the field at the weakside giving the team a rushing duo in almost every play but this only happens because of the injury and consequently the release of Lamarr Houston which is tough because he really gave his all when on the field. I was skeptical with the decision of not having a backup NT but then saw they got John Jenkins signed and all was good again. The secondary is a sad bunch with all the injuries looming, losing Deiondre’ Hall for the season hurts, it’s like Kevin White all over again but not as costly. The bright spot is that Eddie Jackson gets the nod at FS but is also with a lingering groin injury, so is Prince Amukamara, Marcus Cooper, Sherick McManis and you can’t ignore that Bryce Callahan tends to get injured frequently and add that Kyle Fuller is getting back from a season ending injury. This would be the group with the biggest question mark going into the season due to health, but we have enough questions at QB to be worried enough.

   I wonder if we could have a picture of Roberto Aguayo on the bench in every game just to keep Connor Barth honest. Jeff Overhaugh out, Andrew DePaola in. Why? Don’t know, don’t care. It’s done, let’s move on.

   The future looks brighter with the young talent on the team and Trubisky looking good in the preseason. There’s still a necessity to get better depth at the O-line, specially at tackle and although Charles Leno Jr. got signed long-term, we can still get better at RT. WR is also a position that wouldn’t hurt to have more promising prospects. As good as the front seven on defense looks, getting young on the edges would be beneficial. The secondary is still a mess.

    Still believe they finish 6-10 against a strong schedule and a not established enough Bears team.

   Predicting the 1^st quarter of the season is gruesome and pessimistic. Going against a traumatized Atlanta Falcons group that is loaded on offense and quick on defense will be thought to say the least. There’s just too many weapons on offense but shutting down Julio Jones is priority, next is to not lose sight of the running backs on pass plays. Then the Bears must do what they need to do on every game, grind the defense and clock with the run and pressure the QB as much as they can to alleviate the DBs.

   I’m expecting to see a competitive game at Tampa Bay which is not a bad team but is not a top 10 team yet, right now they feel like a bit better Bears team with more experienced WRs.

   Going against Pittsburgh and then at Green Bay can get demoralizing. The Steelers are a better team than the Packers because of a better-established running game and O-line, but it’s the QB play and WRs that make these teams scary as well as their LBs.

   I believe they will beat at least the Buccaneers and start the season with a 1-3 record.

   Here’s hoping they can beat one other team like the Packers in a not so cold Lambeau Field with a weak interior O-line where the Bears could have an edge. Let’s see if they can get some momentum going early in the year.