W6vsREFS: Still paying rent

    Aaron Rodgers remains a thorn in Bears history, has always been and it seems that he will continue to be until he retires, the only thing that made this game winnable was because the Bears made attempts to change things for the better and the Packers had enough injuries to consider it an advantage for the Bears who can still not be considered a good team, so when a game is officiated as bad as this one it does affect the end result, you can argue that there where bad plays called for both teams but what is not up to debate is that there were HORRIBLE calls against the Bears and it doesn't take many bad calls to bring down an unstable team playing a rookie QB led by a coach that cant get his head out of his ass. Still the Bears fought through adversity but ended coming short as usual, the end result was more of the same and it sucks and its tiring. But looking at the process, the plays and players, there is something good to come away with even if it wasn't the win that Bears fans so much wanted against this team and its QB.

   The offense got their shoe laces tide together when that offside wasn't called for a free play, making Justin Fields get picked when he threw the ball deep to Allen Robinson who in two occasions stopped his route instead of going to the end zone, almost ending in interceptions on both plays. They continued to stumble after that until the 4th quarter where they managed to score once more since their first drive, the game was close thanks in great part because of their defense of course but ultimately couldn't keep up and the offense AGAIN couldn't do enough for a comeback. So as I said, it ended being more of the same in a nutshell, but looking closely there were things that can be salvaged. The Bears left point in the field, the penalties and stupidity by the refs all mixed up in this game were in part the reason why they couldn't capitalize, putting all that aside they managed often to move the ball across midfield and had a chance to make enough FGs to tie or even win the game but three things failed on offense, the IOL, the play calling and Fields. I'm having problems trusting Sam Mustipher and Cody Whitehair including new plugged T Elijah Wilkinson, if they aren't getting beat by the big nasty NT and DTs they are just getting sloppy or not finishing their blocks, they are a big reason the Bears don't have splash plays because they don't give Fields enough time making him hesitate or don't sustain the blocks enough for the running back to get bigger gains, where did the nasty blocking from las week go? This brings me to the play calling specifically when trying to go deep, knowing that the Oline is getting blasted from the inside, how is Fields suppose to get time if you got your Olinemen are blocking one on one resulting in your G/C getting pushed and destroying the pocket? Why implement boot legs in PA plays and make them so long to develop if Fields is going to have a defender in his face when turning to look for the WR because his Olinemen are losing? This brings me to Fields which I don't blame him much, he doesn't NEED to change things but he HAS to understand and react to these problems, he cant continue to take sacks and get taken out of FG range. I feel like Fields is trying too hard not to make mistakes or force the ball to much, on the play where Robinson got open on the PA boot after Fields evaded the in coming defender it did look like he spotted Robinson and winded up for the throw but at the last second decided not to do it and ran, possibly because he got worried the defender he evaded was too close to him and might punch the ball lose. But then on his second long end zone throw it did look like a desperation pass where he THOUGHT Robinson was going to keep running deep but it wasn't the route so it looked like he was getting a bit desperate in the 3rd quarter and then calmed down for the 4th quarter TD drive, so maybe he didn't want to make difficult throws when it wasn't necessary with a close score in a big game. These are things that I presume he is experiencing and will learn from, the Oline and play calling are definitely not making it easy, what I would expect him to get better at short term watching this game is for him to keep calm and not forget to throw with a good base when there isn't any pressure around and to get rid of the ball when in FG range on a close game. 

Upside players: Khalil Herbert had a huge game and was part of the reason why Fields didn't need to pass the ball so much and that is always a good thing, I expect Herbert to debunk Darrel Williams as the RB2. Cole Kmet had his chance to catch the ball and didn't disappoint, he looks to be on his way to become the two dimensional player that the Bears envisioned him to be. 

Downside players: It might be to soon to judge Wilkinson but Mustipher and Whitehair need to step up and keep Fields clean and keep pushing in run blocking. Robinson and Fields need to be on the same page on broken plays, they can seriously do major damage when they are in sync.

   The defense held the Packers for most of the game but I expected them to have the running game more in control with all of their starting players on the field, but once Aaron Jones reached the second level and Roquan Smith was out of the picture there was no stopping Jones to gain huge gains making Rodgers job less complicated. I do believe that Jaylon Johnson is a good CB and that it was a good idea to let him follow Davante Adams all around the field, but you can expect him to do it by himself all day especially at the end of the game where Johnson already was beaten badly by Adams when lining as a slot receiver, if you aren't blitzing Rodgers then double team or bracket Adams right?  It was a difficult game for the defense but they could of had a better game especially if they managed to stop Green Bays on their last TD score.

Upside players: Khalil Mack and Robert Quinn are trying their best and are getting results, still they need some help from the middle guys. 

Downside players: There wasn't a player on defense that had a worst day than Tashaun Gipson, everybody is blaming Eddie Jackson for bad tackling but if someone is going to get heat for not making a tackle is the guy playing SS, Gipson missed so many important tackles that resulted in huge gains and even a TD, if he was hurt which maybe was the case and why Marquee Christian was playing snaps with Deon Bush also hurt, then I can understand. Mario Edwards and Jaylon Johnson didn't have a bad game but showed poor attitude, Edwards needs to cool down and stop hurting the Bears because he is continuing to fail at handling his temper when the other teams start taunting him (oh yeah which should be PENALTIES AGAINST THE OTHER TEAM), on the play where Johnson gets beat by Adams in the slot on the Packers last drive where Jackson shows his inability to take people down, Johnson displayed what I only can describe as nauseating hustle, he stopped running like three times in that play hesitating to make up his mind if he needed to finish the play himself, WHY?! JUST GO GET HIM! DO! NOT! STOP!

Side note, speaking of not stopping, I got no beef against WR coach Mike Furry, I like his intensity but he has GOT to make his players keep with the play and not stop to just watch the outcome, TEs included even if Mooney and Kmet seem to get it, it just makes the future look a little bit brighter.

   Next up for the Bears is a trip to Tampa Bay, boy is that going to be fun to watch. The Bucs may still be down some DB help but the Bears showed little against the Packers to warrant that they will take advantage of a depleted secondary. Even if Williams returns to help Herbert, the Bucs have one of the fiercest front sevens in the league which is not ideal for the Bears strength on offense. Defensively the Bears will go against Tom friking Brady with only Rob Gronkowski maybe missing this one, still its going to be really difficult to slow this team down, they managed to do it somehow last year, that would be a major surprise if they somehow pull it again probably without Akiem Hicks and whoever can play SS. Still its a game the Bears will not be favored to win, the worse that can happen is if it turns out to be another Browns game which wouldn't help at all with Fields growth, this one may be too tough to watch.