W7vsNO: Disappointed

   I did not expect this but the outcome was understandable, to only score a touchdown on a kick return and wait for the next one to be until garbage time at the end of the 4th quarter is a shame for a team with proven talent on the roster. All three phases of the team are playing poorly and its fair to say that it all comes down to the offense not helping the rest of the team and is forcing the defense and special teams to bail them out of the funk there are in. That will not happen until they get the running game started and one could argue that the QB needs to play better for this to happen which I don't see this being the case, although Mitch Trubisky is playing poorly and is not taking the best decisions on the field, I don't believe he is the cause that defenses are stopping the run.
   For starters, I cant imagine a team running the ball less than 10 times in a game and expect to be competitive. There was no excuse for this, the score had a 2 point differential at the half and the time of possession was way in favor of New Orleans with Trubisky struggling once more. So with the QB struggling, the defense getting worked out and the score in reach, this scenario screamed run the ball. David Montgomery has yet to have a big play, I could argue that he needs to improve his vision when picking the lane he will attack but the holes he he has gotten often have been very narrow, if it wasn't for his fight to gain the extra yard this running attack could be even worse. Speaking of fighting for yardage,  I  could be more frustrated with Tarik Cohen this season, he has gotten more opportunities to ignite the offense but is not willing to lower the shoulder, preferring to go to the sidelines or diving before receiving any contact, he is not getting the wide open field plays he got at times last year but unfortunately if he isn't more willing to fight for yards then he wont be helping this team right now, at the end of the game he showed anger and frustration but also showed he can get the though yards and that is what I am expecting he can do more in the games to come.
   The offensive line is improving by game but still the struggle to maintain the lane for the running back has continued, I honestly don't know what is wrong, is it the scheme or is it that on every play there is one lineman per play that isn't executing, I just don't get it.
   The defense is what demoralizes me when it comes to the performance of this team, I started to have doubt about the ability of this unit but what this defense is lacking is not talent or scheme. The big amount of turnovers from last year was a pipe dream to repeat this season, they are being missed but what is hurting more are the little thing that are important, the occasional run stuff in 3rd and short that Akiem Hicks is so good at but has and need to continue to be done by someone else on this loaded defense. They have been getting in a very uncomfortable positions by the offense, whether is by not making enough 1st downs because of poor execution or various penalties, they are making the defense have to show and play to much against the opposing offenses, it wouldn't surprise me that other teams are getting used to how the Bears defense play and are better game planing against them. Special teams is as guilty as the offense by not helping the defense by allowing kickoff and punt returners to gain big yardage against them.
   But of course no problem is bigger that Trubisky, call me pessimist but I didn't expect him to be an elite QB but I did expect him to not be a problem and right now he is, the short version of the problem is that he is not being consistent, he hasn't showed what he could do the previous season and seems to be regressing to a QB that looks to be his first year in the NFL. So how much fault is this on Matt Nagy who inexplicably makes his QB throw for more that 40 passing attempts when he knows he is struggling and even worse not at 100% playing basically injured. Its easy to be disappointed in Trubisky but right now I'm more disappointed in Nagy and will continue to be until the running game works. As for Trubisky, I expect him to play the whole year and to just play as best he can, nothing more. At the end of the season, be it week 17 or later, then I can say if he should continue to be the Bears QB or not, be it because of his talent or because he just doesn't fit with the team, which would be a big blow on Nagy.
   Next game against the struggling Chargers is a chance to get back on track, they have the same shot of wining this game as they did against the Saints, if the Bears offense doesn't at least win the time of possession, then I don't expect this to end well.

Bye week recap

   Recapping last three weeks, what mattered to me was once Mitchell Trubisky got hurt, got pulled out of the game and watching the replay I thought he was done with a clavicle brake and then thought if the season was even worth it anymore while loosing the most important guy that needs to be evaluated this year to see where should Ryan Pace goes once the season is over, I really didn't think for a second that Chase Daniel could take us to the playoffs so it was somewhat a depressing moment. Luckily Trubisky dislocated his non throwing arm an is playing today which is good for the team and himself to prove what he can do in this difficult position where he will have his injury to worry about on every snap and at the same time show if his mentally though to play good enough to win games despite of it.

   The game against the Raiders in London was a real headscratcher, Daniel played like you would expect from a backup QB but what was surprising is how poorly the run defense played, even without Akiem Hicks the Bears defense showed they were good enough to stop the Vikings run game with Dalvin Cook running through every defense they played against this season, but couldn't handle the conservative offensive game plan the Raiders were running with short passes to negate the pass rush and running the ball and then some. Even if the Bears have an offense that still has to make the run game work, the defense cant perform like that again with the talent they have in the trenches.

   Today's game against the Saints is a winnable game with Alvin Kamara and Drew Brees, its still a Saints team that haven't lost with Teddy Bridgewater at QB so its not a sure thing but the chance to get the W is there. The Bears losing their two monster players in Hicks and recently with Kyle Long should not slow down this team, Pace has gotten good talent for this coaching staff to work with and they need to get it done, getting them in the best situations to succeed. The defense has to get fix whatever went wrong at London, the run game has to wake up and open gaps for David Montgomery to exploit and give him a chance to show what he can do with more daylight. Trubisky will have to depend more on his intelligence and learn timing to get rid of the ball like Daniel showed the last two games, he has a dependable WR1 in Allen Robinson and two game changing payers in Tarik Cohen and Anthony Miller he needs to find, Adam Shaheen has showed he can fight for yardage and Montgomery has good hands and wiggle to get extra yardage through the air, Trubisky just need to get rid of it.

   I am of the people that think that this is the end for Long at least n Chicago and its a big bummer, he showed he cared and he showed he is passionate for the game and could be of the best linemen when healthy but he is just to banged up and there is some interesting depth behind him now that can fill for him in the future, he was worth the pick but sadly his body could take the though regime and punishment received in his position, he will be missed and hopefully can hang around the team at the bench as long as possible. As for Hicks, I do believe he will come back for December, so its up the his teammates to keep the season alive to get him back for January.