W12vsNYG: Run?

   Bears win a game they should have won in a close but not that close game, there were some positive but also huge negatives and this team still looks not ready to win against the real competition.

   Mitch Trubisky was the offense in this game because the running game was none existent, it was no where to be found, the Oline just can push or open holes for their lives, its a nightmare. Trubisky got picked two times, the one in the end zone should have been a touchdown but Allen Robinson didn't help him out by running his rout to deep to the area Anthony Miller was, the second one was of concern because is was a ball that didn't go deep enough to his receiver for some reason, it looked like he just didn't have enough strength, could he be hurting still? He did get to score through the air and ground despite the lack of a running game and TEs.

   The defense is still giving one huge play a game for a score, still they do enough to give the offense a chance to win the game, very silently getting better at the run stuffing department.

   Bears get a short week to go Detroit for another must win game, there is no reason they should lose this one, but right now what is important is improvement, find the running game, decide who you TE is going to be, give Eddie Piñero all the shots, give Trubisky more confidence and give your new guys a shot, now with Bobby Massie and Taylor Gabriel out for this one its time for Alex Bars and Riley Ridley to see what they got.

W11@LAR: What a waste

   Mitchell Trubisky was average against the Rams but looked to be throwing with more determination, still his flaws of field vision and anticipation are present but he needs to be showing he is trying to get better and I did see it and it shows how bad the Oline is playing and how rusty the WR corps is, still they need help everywhere from TE, get bigger at WR and getting better scheme or fresh bodies at the line of scrimmage. Still nothing is more frustrating than the game plan that, for eleven weeks it has struggled, it still DOES NOT CHANGE. Matt Nagy pulling Trubisky out of the game is what it is, at the moment it showed a braking point fo the hole organization where Nagy seemed to pull Trubisky out because of performance, then it showed that it was to protect the QB from a posible worsening injury from an already lost game, its just really frustrating to not get a chance to see if he can get a winning score at the end of a tight game, this one sadly wasn't the case.

   The Bears are struggling at the TE positions and some say that this is what is bringing Nagys whole system to the ground in flames. If it is, well for me its just another way to see that he is preferring to place the fire out and rather getting another system that works with what he has. Its infuriating to see the Bears TRYING to run the ball, David Montgomery will maybe need to stat trying to bounce out to the outside on some occasions to try and get some daylight because the holes are not getting open and Nagy is just not accepting that the only shot they have is to get the FB J.P. Holtz in the game and involved in the passing game, I still believe that Ryan Nall can go in as FB on some plays with Montgomery and use him to mix things up. Its time to give Alex Bars a chance with Rashaad Coward still looking like someone learning the position and Bobby Massie regressing to Bobby freaking Massie the one I keep yelling at the TV the whole game, some even say that Bars should go in to replace Charles Leno Jr. but that's a tad to much to throw a rookie in there at LT, he could show how good he is at the other two positions even if he isn't the strenght type and he is more finesse he can still get good tape out of it, right now anything helps. Giving the young WR coprs a shot is a bit more difficult, it is somewhat frustrating to see Taylor Gabriel and Tarik Cohen not getting the shot of showing their speed because of poor run blocking or Trubisky not seeing them get open but the drop passes are a killer as well and both have gotten their fair share. Anthony Miller has to get his passion for the game under control a bit, just a bit.The Cordarelle Patterson offensive experiment is not giving fruit, this can easily be minimized to one trick/run(ugh) play a game and give the snaps to some one else be it a TE or WR. Trubisky showed some good side stepping footwork and getting out of the pocket to extend plays, still he need to be more decisive with what to do next but keeping his eyes down the filed is good, not spotting the open receiver is still in the works as is stepping inside the pocket... when there is one. Nagy need to understand where he is at right now, 4th and 1s are not punt situations anymore, he need to get the offense rolling, 3 and shorts are not for fancy or gimmicky plays anymore, they need to punish the line, punch it in and run the ball over the line of scrimmage!

   There is not much to say about the defense aside that they have been solid, the pass pressure has been lacking and they are still giving up one big play a game but the situation is the same, the offense is still waiting of the defense to bail them out and not the other way around. 

   The Bears could win every game that is left of this season and still get the 10-6 record I said they would end up with, still it doesn't seem it would be enough to get them in the playoffs at this point with Seattle and Minnesota being the wild card leaders having very respectable records, the other factor being that it doesn't seem very likely this Bears team can muster a 6 game winning streak when they still have games against the Packers in Lambeau and another against the Chief's at home. Right now they have the Giants to worry about to get this miraculous journey started, they even get a legitimate chance of getting some to believe by winning today and Thursday against the Lions in Thanksgiving, the real challenge starts one week after against the Cowboys on Thursday night and still if the Bears can get it together its still a winnable game, but it only takes one more sloppy game to call this season a total waste and for Ryan Pace to move some pieces to evaluate the rest of the season and decide where this team should go next year. 

W10vsDET: Building blocks

   Close win against a very banged up team, the Bears offense were slow to get things in order to put some points against a weakened defensive secondary while the Bears defense is giving every team a scoring drive due to penalties, bad reffing or because a series of fluky or lucky plays, this time being the later got the Lions in position to steal the game but couldn't get it done. But a win is a win to move forward and continue to polish this team.

   Mitchell Trubisky once the Oline got some stability help his squad score some touchdowns showing he can put some touch on the ball and can execute good plays drawn by Mat Nagy, still there are some plays that need to go out of the playbook and the Oline is still shaky when with the change of Cody Whitehair back to center pushing James Daniels to LG. Daniels needs to get stronger and Whitehair needs to learn how to snap the ball, still every other Olinemen is struggling in someway, but overall they all need to hustle more and to not stop blocking until the whistle blows, Trubisky need this from them but still there are things he can do to help himself like learning to climb the pocket and recognize the blitzer and go to his hot route or run it himself, saw him looking to go long on 3rd downs while getting blitzed and couldn't escape and the pair of times that he did he could have done more if he got rid of the ball to the receiver that got open when the defender separated from the receiver to go tackle him, these are quick decisions that if he learns to make can show that he is in his way to be a good QB. Lessening Tarik Cohen touches is smart, he is still a weapon but Nagy needs to give him in space where he can show his speed, Cohen shying away from contact has to be used in special packages just like Cordarrelle Patterson, give David Montgomery all the line work and bring Ryan Nall in to give him a breather. 

   Losing Danny Trevathan is big, losing another team leader is worse. I don't know what to think about Nick Kwiatkoski but he balled replacing the injured Trevathan, its no surprise that Kwiatkoski plays the run very well and his blitzing is a pleasant surprise but I don't know his his cover skill have gotten better or if its because the Lions didn't look to exploit this OR if Chuck Pagano disguised the defense to use him specifically to play at the line of scrimmage. Roquan Smith can handle the coverage better and will need to be well communicated with Kwitkoski to get themselves in the most optimal position before snaps and it wouldn't be a bad idea to send Kwiatkoski an blitzes more often with the front seven struggling to get to the QB, looks like the screens and crosses are making this unit play less aggressively and opening up run lanes, Pagano needs to shake things up.

   The Rams are struggling on offense lately and the Bears need to take advantage of this to get the winning streak going, right now both teams seem to be a mirror of each other so lets see who can correct their miscues in time to get the needed win, Mongomery being a game time decision is very concerning but Nagy cant abandon the run specially with Aaron Donald on the other side of the line of scrimmage, if the Oline cant keep him on check then he needs to help Trubisky get outside the pocket or get it to his RB, its now or never to get this Oline fired up or light a fire on their asses.

W9@PHI: Half glass... I dont know

   They say that hope is the last thing you lose, well I guess right now its the only thing it remains from this season for the Bears finding different ways to lose games giving flashes of good play making abilities just to come up short again in what was another disappointing performance overall against the Eagles.

   Matt Nagy and Mitchell Trubisky aren't in the same page, Trubisky is showing to be a very limited mentally prepared QB, he is still learning but he might not get a chance to prove he can be a good one and it doesn't help him that Nagy doesnt play him at what he is good at right now, just as he seems to understand how to establish the run game with the players he has. The Oline is not there yet by still missing blocks and losing against the Dline but David Montgomery looks to belong on the bell cow group of running backs in the league with his gritty running and cutting ability to gain extra yardage. The same cant be said about Tarik Cohen who looks lost in this system for some reason, he need daylight to make damage and he isn't getting it this year together with some really nasty case of the drops. Adam Shaheen is a similar case, he was brought to dominate with his size but just hasn't displayed it on the field when blocking or with the ball in his hands which have been very limited and will continue to be if he doesn't get open and keeps dropping the ball.

   The defense has their hands full and are limited to mistakes by their offensive play, still they got penalized to much (and the others to little...) and made very poor decisions in coverage on this game that cost them points, its a bit concerning that the front seven hasn't been as aggressive as before, I didn't want to believe that it would make a huge difference but it seems they are really missing Akiem Hicks.

   The season is on the balance, a loss to any divisional opponent would mean the end of the road and more than two losses overall would do it as well. So its now or never and tomorrow I expect to see Mike Davis get released so Ryan Pace can get a chance of getting a fourth rounder in next years draft, he is going to need it and what he doesn't need is Davis on the team. Get Ryan Nall in as a backup to Montgomery, its time to limit Cohen to run pass options in 1st and 2nd downs, never in 3rd down where Montgomery or Nall need to be in, especially in 3rd and short distances, Nagy needs to sell the run at all cost, no more empty back formations that get destroyed by blitzes or because Trubisky cant read the play in time before there is someone in his face, get an extra blocker and let the guy have a chance to scramble. Dax Raymond and Jesper Horstead need to be on the roster to see want they can do on the field. Its all in for the Bears at this stage of the season, a win against the hot Lions could change everything, lets start by moving the ball and scoring on the first drive, how about that? is it to much to ask?

W8vsSD: Got to finish

   The return of the infamous "doink" should have felt like a bad omen from the moment it happened, especially to Matt Nagy who got spooked and left the game in the right foot of his not so established kicker instead of trusting his offense to get him a few yards closer. Of course all of this could have been prevented if not for bad red zone plays and one really bad defensive series by the Bears.

   Mitchell Trubisky played better in this game but had a ball get picked because he got played by the corner and on the next drive pressure got to him and lost the ball for another turnover. The interception is was makes Trubisky not great, the fumble was bad luck by his part, this could change with what he showed at the end of the game when he finally remembered he is a good runner and a dangerous one at that, one can not deny that Trubisky took a step back from last year but one thing he still can do very well and was an issue on his first year, he wasn't good coming back from games. On the final drive he got the ball where they could win the game and could have made it on the previous drive after they got the PI on Allen Robinson II but on 2nd and 7 they ran a run play that left the MLB unblocked and Montgomery looking lost for a loss of 3 yards, then went for a long pass that only got destroyed by Joey Bosa who was giving Bobby Massie a though time all game, maybe getting another blocker on him would have been a good idea. Finally the run game showed it had a pulse letting rookie David Montgomery chunk up big gains for 135 yards and it could have been more if they stuck with the run a bit more in some occasions, what will matter now is that they keep doing it.

   The defense played a good game that got stained by one drive, where Phillip Rivers threw a long ball to Mike Williams that should have been defended or maybe even picked by Eddie Jackson but played it to soft and got beat by Williams by going up for the rebound, this followed by a long run by Melvin Gordon braking tackles in route to the end zone. The other score was after Trubisky's fumble at Bears territory but the first score was what bothered me, its not the first time this season that the Bears defense gives a big long pass, basically they play against this type of plays to not happen. This hurt the Bears to lose this game basically because the team still is depending on the defense to play solid.

   Then there is special teams, Eddie Piñeros doink was a thing of horror for fans, then came the final play where Nagy decides that the ball is close enough for Piñero to kick it in for the win, despite having 40 seconds in the clock with a time out worried that the offense could lose yards or lose the ball. This goes against everything Nagy told the media last year once Cody Parkey started struggling where he basically said that the offense goes for touchdowns not field goals, so what changed here? Piñero isn't a veteran, he hasn't even kicked in Chicago not even for an entire season, so where did this trust on the kicked and not on the offense that was all fired up at that time come from? It made no sense to me.

   The Bears played a sloppy game all around but they had the opportunity to win that game and build on it, instead it slips through their fingers (or toes?) and now their back to finding themselves out of a hole that is getting deeper. Today to win against the Eagles in Philadelphia will be no easy task, they have been there before and didn't make it. The Bears record is almost at win or go home time, they can still lose a pair of games and still have a shot at the post season but they have to show improvement or they are only kidding themselves.