2021 Defensive Situation

 

   News that the Bears will be without their DL coach Jay Rodgers is a shame. A positive note was the promotion of their current DBs coach Sean Desai to Defensive coordinator, a known face to the players and organization for many years with knowledge of Vic Fangio’s playcalling looks like an excellent choice, he will keep a good group of guys to work with for next season.

DL

   . Bilal Nichols has taken another step forward as a pass rusher, Pace made a good signing in Mario Edwards Jr. who flashed good pass rushing ability as well and should be someone to consider getting back and if Eddie Goldman chooses to play next year then the Bears should be solid at IDL even if Roy Robertson Harris doesn’t return, I would prefer for another team to sign him and see if it can get the Bears a compensatory pick for 2022. Akiem Hicks could be in danger of being cut because of cap space issues the team is facing, it would hurt to lose him although the injuries may be starting to wear him down a bit. If it weren’t for the money that is critically needed on other areas of the roster, moving away from Hicks wouldn’t even be a thought, he still plays hard and pushes the other guys to do the same.

 

OLB

   The brilliance of the Khalil Mack trade is fading away thanks to the poor play of the offensive side of the ball. Robert Quinn couldn’t help the sack department get better which doesn’t make this group look good even when it’s probably not all their fault. Mack and Quinn are aged veterans who are still playing at their top performance but for how long? Pace made another good signing by getting Barkevious Mingo who played great as a backup, but he’s already at his 30s. Youngsters James Vaughters and Trevis Gipson made a few good plays with the limited snaps they took and looked promising. This group is solid as well if they retain Mingo, but the defensive play calling and the offense need to change/get better to help improve the pass rush. There is a rumor going on that the Bears might switch to play more 40 front, don’t know where this rumor came from when there wasn’t even a defensive coordinator and still no DL coach, but even if it’s true it won’t matter with the players the Bears have at the Dline, Mack and Quinn have experience as DEs. Goldman and Nichols are a good DT duo or it could be Hicks and Goldman which I already know how good they can be together. Only thing I would change my mind on if this would happen is to try bringing back RRH to play DE, Gipson has the built for the DE positoin but I’m not sure if Vaughters could handle it.

 

ILB

   This is where it gets ugly, Danny Trevathan started really bad and as the season went on he started to get his legs back a bit, still he seems to be getting slower which is not good when his best strength was his cover skills, he can still read and react but he is struggling to keep up with the play and this year he missed his assignments quite a few times. Roquan Smith has gotten better even if he still missed some tackles, he was everywhere and always near the ball carrier. The backups don’t really make me feel safe, Josh Woods got playing time due to Smiths injury and didn’t look good at all, so there is need for someone to eventually replace Trevathan and have some better depth on the position.

 

DB

   The secondary lacked imagination and the Dline lacked sufficient hustle to force erratic throws from opposing QBs, but the turnover department was a lack of focus, too many dropped opportunities cost them probably a pair of wins, not like it would have mattered much but still turnovers should always be accepted with open arms. Jaylon Johnson was as advertised as a day one starting CB who made some rookie mistakes but also flashed great potential, maybe he can replace Kyle Fuller once he is done but for the time being it looks like the Bears have their outside CBs set. Slot CB is another thing, Buster Skrine really struggled and backups Kindle Vildor and Duke Shelley where inconsistent to say the least, they may get better in time but it’s never a bad idea to have more good CBs. Eddie Jackson had a very criticized season because of dropped interceptions and missed tackles, I believe he was the most victimized by Pagano’s scheme and could bounce back with Desai calling plays. Tashaun Gipson was solid and was another good signing by Pace. It’s been two years of getting a new guy at SS and has worked but will it be the same this year? I wouldn’t use a high pick for a S this year but gambling in getting another good S in free agency for a third time feels like pushing your luck a tad too much.

 

ST 

   Thank you, Cairo Santos, for not making me miss Robbie Gould for one season, sadly it was that kind of season where it didn’t matter that you had one of the best kickers of the season because your offense played like crap.

2021 Offensive situation

 QB

   Mitchell Trubisky's contract is over leaving the starting role open for competition against Nick Foles who is likely going nowhere because of his massive contract unless some other insane and desperate organization wants to trade for him. Signing Trubisky to a 1 year contract would be a viable option if it weren't for Nagy still coaching the Bears, they did not function for their 3 years together, a fourth year wouldn't change anything. Another option is to trade for another veteran, I would consider Matthew Stafford, Derek Carr or Matt Ryan but I wouldn't give more than a 3rd rounder this year or more than a 2nd rounder next year. Drafting one would be the next best thing but having the 20th pick and having no established Oline is the problem, Mac Jones and Kyle Trask are projected to still be there when the Bears pick but I wouldn't want to use the 1st rounder on either of them, trading up is an option but i would only do it if Justin Fields is still available, Im not a fan of Trey Lance or Zach Wilson, not yet at least. The least viable options is signing one via free agency where only Dak Prescott is a true option but it's still a wait and see if he even hits the market and even if he does he is projected to break the bank in a big way. Crazy that the other option I would consider is Jaimes Winston, he would come cheaper and I think he is still hungry to prove he is still starter material, he does have a good skill set and is still young but he could equally end up just being another wasted QB on the Bears all time list.

   I would prefer to go with Foles as the starter with a revamped Oline and wait to see if Jones falls to the 2nd round or if Trask falls to the third, if none of these happen then draft one in the 5th. Maybe for 2022 we get a higher pick or if the Oline gets better so draft picks can be used to trade up, the Bears could to try and get a franchise QB again and maybe not blow it this time.

   What's probably going to happen is they will go all out for Prescott, if they fail to get him they will trade up for Wilson or Lance, if their taken too early then it will be Jones, I just hope Pace doesnt trade up for him.

RB

   Once the Oline got a bit better, David Montgomery showed he is a dangerous runner, a mix of enough power and speed to hurt defense with both, Montgomery can keep the tradition going of though running football for the Bears. Missing Tarik Cohen this season hurt the offense, his speed and elusiveness is something special that the Bears did not have in the backfield, it would really help the offense get back on track if he comes back at 100%. I believe that the Bears should focus more on Montgomery who they already have and now know what he is capable of with good blocking and build around him to solidify the run game, get real maulers at the Oline to establish a run game to open up the passing lanes, so the Bears could use one more runner that isn't Patterson to help Montgomery take some breathers once in a while or have a really backup if Montgomery goes down.

There are  bunch of options, honestly I don't know if the system would be ideal but I would consider Mark Ingram, Chris Carson and Malcom Brown if they come at a decent price but who I really would like to add is Philip Lindsay who played similar to Cohen but doesn't shy away from contact as much and it's really my only problem with Cohen, still none of these guys should be treated like workhorses and should only be considered as relievers. Maybe a FB? How does one become a FB? Ryan Nall nor J.P. Holtz are FBs and didn't do much at their determined positions.

At the draft I would consider taking someone like Chubba Hubbard, Kenneth Gainwell or Trey Sermon depending of what they get or don't get in FA.

WR

   Allen Robinson hasn't got paid by the people still in the Bears administration and will likely hit free agency. This leaves the Bears with a huge hole and Darnell Mooney. Re-signing Cordarrelle Patterson as a receiver is too expensive, I like him as a returner and situational player but not as a starting WR. Anthony Miller is going backwards, his attitude which was one of the things I liked about him is getting poisonous and his inconsistency in putting effort and dropping balls is not helping him, he could probably turn things around if the QB and Oline get fixed. Javon Wims can be a cap casualty with the way he ended the year and this would force the team to give Riley Riddle more opportunities which are overdue.

   I'm all in on retaining Allen Robinson, him and Mooney are the reasons there was a passing attack with their crisp route running and good hands, this team needs receivers that can get open and they were the best ones to do it, Miller is a good route runner but needs to work on this hands. 

There is a chance that Robinson doesn't want to come back to Chicago, so the next best thing that could hit the market is Chris Godwin who could be an excellent substitute, others that are intriguing are Sammy Watkins, Josh Reynolds, Kenny Golladay. Others that could be skill players are Demarcus Robinson, Marvin Jones, Will Fuller V, John Ross or I could gamble on the likes of  Zach Pascal,Curtis Samuel, Keelan Cole, Chris Conley, Kendrick Bourne to see if their production transcends to the Bears.

   I don't see the Bears drafting a WR with other bigger needs but it wouldn't hurt to get a high skill receiver on day two like Rashod Bateman or Amon-Ra St. Brown if they fall enough.

TE

   For a team that started the season with 10 TEs it's impressive how a need they have in this department. Jimmy Graham showed how old he is but at the same time he showed just how good he once was with flashes of brilliant receiving as a big red zone target. Cole Kmet couldn't make the jump to be one of the few rookie TEs to excel in his first year, he took some leaps but ultimately he is still learning to be an NFL TE.

   I expect Graham to be cut leaving Kmet as the only real TE on the team. If Mo Allie-Cox is a free agent I would consider signing him. 

This position doesn't seem very strong in this year's draft.

OL

   BURN IT ALL TO THE GROUND. I mean for crying out loud, when is it going to get a rebuild, its been YEARS too long to only start THINKING of getting younger and talented players to this group. The only thing you can salvage are the young guys in Cody Whitehair and James Daniels when he returns form injury, Sam Mustipher showed promise but I would try and keep him as a backup with someone better but I wouldn't worry to much if they dont get someone else. I finally got to see Alex Bars play and sadly he looked average and is more of a backup player. Germain Ifedi can stay too, like Mustipher he is more of a trusty backup than a legit starter at RT. I don't understand what happened to Erik Cush, he got signed and never had a crack at the 53 man roster, when he got to play in place of Kyle Long he did a really good job, he should be retained to see if hes still good.

   For the love of the football gods CUT LENO AND MASSIE. Cutting this duo opens much needed cap space and a chance of getting better talent at prime positions. There could be some choices of LT guys that could still be servisable or maybe move them to RT like Alejandro Villanueva or Kelvin Beachum. It would get expensive but it wouldn't hurt to see how much Taylor Moton or Cam Robinson would cost. Maybe Trent Williams or Russell Okung can be veterans that can come with a discount?

   This draft is loaded with not great but good talented linemen that could start day one that maybe could be available at round three. Pace needs to get at least two guys from this group depending what he gets from free agency.

2020 Season recap

    Another year, another let down by the Bears, even when they finished the season 8-8 to make the playoffs as the last wildcard, they ultimately lost by scoring only 9 points, keeping the offensive struggles going against good teams with winning records and this looks to continue with the departure of some players of key positions and retaining personnel that might not be in the best interest of the future of this team but rather themselves.

   With the news that Ryan Pace and Matt Nagy are coming back for another try at fixing this team next season, I look back at what I thought of how the team was at the half point of the season and cant say it got worse but it wasn't because of Nagy or Pace. At one point moves were finally made to try and improve the Oline and Nagy supposedly gave Bill Lazor the play calling duties, things got a bit better and they started winning against bottom of the barrel teams, but you can't give them the pat on the back and congratulate them because of decisions that needed to happen way sooner. I still think Nagy is more to blame for the mess that it was this season, but Pace doesn't get a break from this either, signing Germain Ifedi and Jason Spriggs was a start but it was only a band aid that the team needed, to cure the problem he needed to seriously consider getting real proven talent to either T or RG position, the Nick Foles experiment failed and left the Bears with a serious amount of cap space designated to him and I'm not even blaming Foles for this mess, the combination of bad decisions made by Nagy and Pace made Foles not have a chance. How do they expect an inmobile QB to play the position with no Oline that can neither maintain a pocket or make room for his RB to establish a running game. How do you take your mobile QB out for Foles when you have this clear problem and do nothing to try and fix it until players start getting hurt, because ultimately it wasn't a decision that was taken like when Nagy benched Mitchell Trubisky, the whole shuffling of the Oline and giving Trubisky back his spot was because of need to fill in positions because there wasn't anybody else available, it wasn't because of a big brain move, it was because of chance that turned these moves into positive results, there's no praise for that kind of stuff, it was dumb luck. I get that Trubisky isnt good but Nagy made sure he didn't have a chance to show how good he could be because honestly I do see a starting QB in Trubisky, does he need work? absolutely, I get that even with the bad mix of Nagys play calling, Trubisky shows huge flaws in field vision that makes his decision making questionable, unless this doesn't get fixed he will be limited to a fill in starter at best but that is only if he isn't fixable and the only way for him to find out is going somewhere else. 

   Average or good enough is long overused as an excuse in the Bears organization, from players to the administration, so I don't blame them from moving from Trubisky even if it wasn't completely his doing, but what about the rest that carry some of the blame? The mix of youth of Nagy and Pace to establish new and creative perspectives to their job positions isn't giving enough results to say its working. So I wouldn't have been surprised if both had gotten fired. Honestly I expected Pace to take responsibility and pull the trigger on Nagy because ultimately much of Paces decisions were made because of Nagys needs, Pace made moves that his coach needed and made them, such is the job of the GM. But the GM also needs to realize when the direction of the team isn't going the right way and needs a change, just like Nagy when he sat Trubisky over Foles.

    Ultimately president Ted Phillips didn't do squat, neither did Pace. Gave a garbage speech to end the year for the Bears and done, forward to next season. As expected Trubisky will take the blame and even Chuck Pagano may had gotten tired of this crap and announced his retirement, the coach that some way kept his players fighting. Now what direction will this duo take now that their in the hottest of hot seats? will they sell house to try and keep their jobs or will they finally accept what they are and where they are at and build this team a strong foundation?

   There will be many holes to fill this offseason but nothing as important as the QB position, with the surge of news that Deshaun Watson wants out of Houston, many see a light for the Bears but its a very very small spark of hope that they make it happen. Either way Pace should try getting him, which wouldn't surprise me if he offers them the keys to the city of Chicago while not caring if it means placing the franchise in cap hell and still with needs at OL and WR. Watson would make a difference, he showed he can still be competitive with poor talent around him, but to consider a change to a team that is struggling offensively is probably not very appealing. The only way i see the Bears to have a legitimate chance of getting him is to offer Watson a seat at the big table where he gets to be heard by the organization, which is what he is asking his present team, and Pace makes cap space to pay him, Allen Robinson and focuses on improving the Oline. Sadly the only way to get more cap space will be to let big names at defense go or get traded, as painful as it is to place his name here but Akiem Hicks might have to leave for the Bears to get ammo and make a big offensive splash next season, Khalil Mack could be added to a trade package along with Nick Foles and some big draft capital (two firsts and change or three firsts) for Watson. Others that would need to leave would be Charles Leno Jr and Bobby Massie of course, Jimmy Graham's tutelage to Cole Kmet would have to end and Buster Skrine would go as well. All of this would be worth the price for Watson if he keeps playing like he has, but I don't trust Nagy as the coach and would hate it if he messed it up.

   The other angle I saw of this news is the power that a franchise player has on their team to change the so called culture., Watson and J.J. Watt have expressed their disgust for the way the team has been run and prefer not to play, forcing the hand of the owner of their team to change his ways or change his players. This is some kind of statement I feel the Bears players should show, maybe it's still not clear enough for them, maybe there aren't enough leaders on the team or are not invested enough to lead them to change, now with so much media around all of this and communication being so easy to find and access so many different opinions, it's not difficult to see that Bears fans have had enough of these mediocre results, I get this doesn't save the world and its not important or even close to a relevant or serious topic, but it is a market and as a customer and loyal follower of their product I can demand in all seriousness and respect to have better quality, I am invested in football and the Chicago Bears and will keep rooting for the team and their members, but I think I have enough merchandise to wait until there is better results, even if it doesn't make a big difference. I don't expect a dynasty team that always wins but I do expect them to find stability to build a contending team that cares for the joy and support of their fans, players, personnel and the city they represent which I'm not even a part of but am excited to one day get to know.

  

Wildcard@NO: Bottom was hit

    The Bears were once again outplayed and outschemed by a better team who just knew what they were going to do on both sides of the ball and got shutdown, the score might reflect a very tough defensive match which it was but the Bears offense did little to nothing to beat a Saints defense that was more than ready for them.

   The offense never could get the running game started and that killed any chance they had to get back on the scoreboard, the Oline lacked everything they lacked before this game and then some, getting stuffed at the line of scrimmage in a regular basis while David Montgomery just didn't seem to feel it today, he missed some small openings that could have gotten him going for some extra yards but looked confused and opted often to follow his blockers which were not going anywhere instead of cutting to the middle to try and beat the edge defender coming in pursuit. Cole Kmet didn't have a good day by not getting himself positioned correctly in run blocking and was shutdown in the passing game due to the Saint destroying the Bears play action and bootlegs, his phantom personal foul didn't help him either. Jimmy Graham and Allen Robinson were nowhere to be found and Darnell Mooney was badly missed. Javon Wims will likely remember this game for a while, the TD he dropped in the endzone was the only shot the Bears had to keep it close. Mitchell Trubisky just couldn't get it going, he needed to take shots and be aggressive against this defense but until the 4th quarter when the score was still close, it seemed that the priority was still to keep it safe, they tried to play it like they did against the Packers and it just did not work, the Saints did their homework and it showed, the lack of pride and fight in this Bears offense was just not in par with their opponent.

   The defense on the other hand, although they still struggled, once they got scored for the Saints first TD by playing conservative, they started to play like their lives depended on it. They were getting exposed on zone coverage and changed to play more man but they were getting beaten anyway. like I said, the Saints were ready and knew what to call to get the better of them but the Bears defense fought hard even with the disadvantages against a better skilled and coached offense, they created pressure, they often stopped the running game against Alvin Kamara and the Saints Oline which is no easy task, but their efforts were not answered and again fell victim once more to their opponent by being too long on the field because of a mediocre offensive performance and play calling.

   Hope for improvement died Sunday, just like Graham going directly to the tunnel after his TD catch at the end of the game, it didn't matter that it ended in a positive mark, the result was abismal and couldn't wait to leave this behind and wait for next season. The miracle was too great to achieve and to far to grasp for this team that struggled and at the end could not piece it together to find who they really were and how could they make it work.The news that Matt Nagy and Ryan Pace are returning for 2021 does make it feel like this team is complacent, reaching the last extra spot of the payoffs with an even 8-8 record is enough  for this organization to give it another go with the same driver at the wheel of a beat up car which he possibly doesn't know how to fix. Can't wait to write what I want to see happen this offseason against what I think will happen and dread what could possibly happen.

W17vsGB: Flawed execution

    Even by falling against the Packers for the second time this season, the Bears managed to squeeze into the playoffs as the brand new 7th seed established this year. This only means I get to see this team have at least one more game to see how they desperately try to find their long lost identity.

   Offensively this game was all about the gameplan which seemed to consist in burning the clock by moving the chains in small chunks to keep Aaron rodgers off the field, this was a good plan and was sort of working until the end of the third quarter and even before this the execution of the plan was not performed well enough especially in the running game. The Oline performed very poorly, they could have helped David Montgomery generate bigger gains by blocking better at the second level or just getting there at least but they did not disengage at the right time or not at all sticking with their first assignment too long, the receiver performed even worse especially the TEs making Montgomery and Darnell Mooney try to make people miss or push piles of defenders in bunches. Adding the short passing attack resulted in a lot of third and short opportunities which are not a bad thing but bad execution made these to too many 4th downs. To beat this Packers team the offense needed TDs to reduce the need of the Bears defense to shut the Packers offense down frequently which is not an easy task and was already difficult with Jaylon Johnson missing and then losing Roquan Smith early in the game. The offense failed to do so while trying to maintain this gameplan, they turned three redzone opportunities to FGs, the first one was a tough one because it came after a recovered fumble in Packers territory, it was a big opportunity for the Bears to take an important lead but failed to get the TD and finished taking the FG which was ok at the time because it was still early in the game. The second field goal was because Trubisky failed to punch it in the endzone with a bad throw to Allen Robinson that almost ended in an interception, luck gave them the chance to end up with three more points to end the half.  The third FG was the tough one to swallow, it was made from inside the 5 yard line after a great deep ball from Mitchell Trubisky to Mooney, this was before the defense forced a punt starting the third quarter which was a huge deal to start the second half stopping the Packers form scoring more points, but instead of going for it on 4th and 2 after a pair of really weak lateral passes that got nowhere, Matt Nagy ended deciding to kicking it for only three more point with the score going 21-16 advantage Packers, Nagy the man who wants more TDs less FGs goes for 3 when they were 2 yards away from getting 7 or potentially tying the game against a potent Packers offense led by a future hall of fame QB and down his best middle linebacker and starting corner, it made no sense and cost them the chance of winning the game. The Bears losing the turnover game made a big difference, Cole Kmet´s fumble was a punch in the gut because the Packers didn't mess up and turned it into seven point, almost the same field position the Bears had when they got their only turnover couldn't get the same result. The defense got three chances to pick off Rodgers and couldnt hold on to the ball. Trubisky similarly got picked once, which was the point the game got out of hand, and could have got picked two more times but got dropped by the defense so you could say both QBs had a rough time. So the outcome of the game again was determined by execution, the Bears had a legitimate chance of winning this game and the gameplan, as boring as it was designed, was working and ultimately didn't work because this team is badly coached and is lacking depth in some positions.

   Next against the Saint will probably won't be like the first time, lessons will be learned by either team and players will be lacking and others added to this match by both sides, the Bears will not benefit by these changes, they might have Johnson back but will be without Smith and Mooney, two big key players. Saints will get a better healed Drew Brees with also a recovered Michael Thomas, they will likely have Alvin Kamara back from his COVID designation, so offensively they will be in full force. The Bears need to focus on Kamara, they need to pressure Brees with only their four linemen, they need to play man coverage more often because if they want to get far this postseason they need to get more aggressive, this vanilla concept Chuck Pagano is playing only works when the offense is putting points on the board. They can play it like they did against the Packers and play it safe and simple, it might work this time around but this was something they should have started doing during the early part of the season when they understood what team this coaching staff had on their hands, now they are playing against powerhouse teams that know how to score, they need to go toe to toe with them and for that they will have to gamble on occasions and take risks, I would start early in the game defensively by blitzing often, offensively running the ball is not a bad idea, open the field for the receivers and for Trubisky to run the ball, then you go from there, adjust to the game and finish strong. It's too late (or should be to late) to protect your job at this stage of the season, it's time to go all out or go home.

W16@JAX: Playoffs... sort of

   The Bears keep their postseason hopes alive by keeping their now 3 game winning streak going and aided by a Cardinals loss this week. These three last teams they played were low tier opponents, the Bears had to win against them if they were to be considered a contender and so they did and did it the way a good team should by scoring more than 30 points against all three.

   There is no denying that Mitchell Trubisky is doing his best to protect the ball and is taking the easy/confortable throws, this being said, the endzone interception he flinged against the Jaguars at the end of the second quarter was painful to see, he forgot his plan entirely with that prayer of a throw when it was 1st down and in field goal distance, he messed up big time losing his focus and that can't happen. He had two more throws that were close to be picked and had another pair of deep balls that had touch but were just a bit overthrown or the his WRs got PIed. So it's still a mixed bag we are getting form the QB spot. David Montgomery on the other hand has been great at could be the reason the Bears are still relevant, with the Oline playing better to a descent level, Montgomery is showing just how good he is and can be with better play in front of him. The Oline had an average outing specifically because Sam Mustipher didn't have a good performance this time but what one can also see is when he does play well like on some plays he did this Sunday, the plays go for big gains.

   The defense struggled in the first half, even if it was just 10 point what they surrendered, they got scored by Mike "the statue" Glennon. The pass rush is still a no show most of the time, like 90% of the time, I started to think it was because the secondary is playing too preventive, which it is but still the Dline isn't pressuring the QB as much as one is accustomed to see from what they showed the last 2 years. Is Chuck Pagano's game plan just TOO vanilla? does he need to disguise his coverages more to help the Dline get 1 more second to the QB? would that do the trick? were they playing even more preventive because they were up against a good WR group and were down Jaylon Johnson and Buster Skrine? 

   So the Bears reach the end of the season with the possibility of getting into the postseason with a win against the actual #1 seeded Green Bay Packers which not the best of scenarios. The Chicago Bears as a team has come along way this season, even when they started the season 5-1 they didn't looked like a dominant team offensively, right now they did the necessary changes to benefit their running game and making their QB more comfortable utilising his strengths in the game plan. All of this came to late and now they are digging themselves out of this hole I believe it's all the coaches fault, this team has had the talent in its roster to beat bad to average/struggling teams but Matt Nagy's inexperience as a coach is showing, along its new constructed coaching staff which is getting to know its players. Trubisky might not be a good QB right now or ever, but as he has shown more than once that he struggles in some areas, he also has shown to excels at others, right now he isn't the QB that will do it himself but he can help the ones around him get the job done, it was about time they got that right. Next game against the Packers I don't expect for Trubisky to light up the stat sheet, I do expect him to stay calm, protect the ball and spread it to his star players so they can try and get them the win. The Oline needs to play its best and help Montgomery do what he does. I also don't expect the defense to shut Aaron Rodgers and his offense out, but they do need to slow him down even with 2 of their DBs out I expect they prepare themselves with a plan to solve this issue, whatever the plan is they need to get better penetration and pressure Rodgers. The Bears offense needs to score TDs, keep the chains moving, take what the defense gives. In reality, there is no way you can expect he Bears to win this one, but the stakes are high and this game means too much, I expect to see a tight game where they show that they are a team made of solid and good players that they do have plenty on this roster, they need to show what they are made of and mentally play this game as a playoff game because it basically is, win and you keep playing, lose and you go home unless Cardinals lose but morally there is little to gain by getting the now existing 7th seed with a poor performance against a playoff opponent. They need a spark, something that will make them know that once you get in the playoffs, it's anyone's guess what could happen, something to believe in, at least something I can believe in.