BearFan PHX

we did that a bunch today too - and I agree i like that a lot better than the constant giant zone weve played for years.

I dunno how you hide a lack of pass rush tho?

I think he doesnt have the horses. Maybe he IS bad, but its hard to know until he has talent.

In addition to being awful, the defense is getting tired now too.

After many years of having to go to sports bars to see the Bears games during the 90s, and 00s, I learned to watch the game without audio - or worse with loud audio for another game going LOL Now, with Sunday Ticket, watching at home all these years, I often mute the audio, the announcers are always ridiculous in some way or another.

I think DA is ok - he's higher risk, higher reward, and im good with that. I think the problem, which was completely predicted before the season started, is we have no pass rush at all, and compound that with JJ and Kyler out and we are terrible. We desperately need to revamp the DL.

yup - we need to fix it this offseason.

Looking forward to seeing Johnson's halftime adjustments.

We are lucky as hell to have Caleb as our QB.

yes

I think there is some talk that he could come back for the last 4 or 5 weeks, but I'll believe it when i see it!

yeah and its not just today. as we get into the tougher part of our schedule it's gonna be a real problem, unfortunately.

our pass coverage is awful

true on all accounts. the ball is likely very hard today, not so easy to grip, especially as hands and the ball are slippery too. But yes, Caleb is getting the ball out fast today.

so many drops today

I agree. We are right there sniffing the playoffs, but at the same time, we dont have the pass rush to really match up to playoff teams. I expect that to be addressed this offseason, and then the window really opens next year. So yeah if we are expecting to be a contender next year, we ought to be at least sniffing the playoffs. In my opinion its going to be close.

of course we all want a dominant team, a top 3 QB. I dont think that putting Caleb's growth into context is excuse making exactly. It is what it is - it takes time, and we are progressing every week? That's just reasonable and the way it happens in the NFL. No one hits the ground running that isnt later exposed to have been incomplete as a player. It youre building a complete veteran top QB, there is a process, and you gotta go through it. Good news is that he seems to be making his way through the steps. But yes, next year it is what it is, and patience will be much shorter. I cant wait for that either.

We are currently sniffing the playoffs - that puts everything in our own hands. I don't think this team is ready for any kind of run, mostly because of the lack of pass pressure. And i think that will become more evident when we play some of the better teams coming up on the schedule. But if this season was for Caleb and Johnson, then I think next season playoff expectations are fair. We have to get the defense right this coming offseason. I'm enjoying this developmental year, and Im seeing the markers i felt I needed to see for this year to be a success. I want to see us upset one of those good teams too, if possible. I expect Caleb to keep growing and be a better QB in week 17 than he is now, which is miles better than week 1 was. But next year - it's go time, and I expect us to start winning a bunch of games. I will be less patient with Caleb and everyone, and start to expect results. That's gonna be fun.

well I agree he could end his career in the 60%s and that wouldnt mean he hadnt been great, your list shows that, but I also think that no one ever coached him on his footwork before, and Johnson is working with him on it, so there are reasons to be optimistic too. He's still so new, I see a really high ceiling for him.

yes, exactly. and I think two weeks ago he was throwing behind his WRs, so in making adjustments, he was throwing too far out in front this past week. hopefully he gets it dialed in soon.

Watching the all 22, one thing that stood out to me is that Caleb was overthrowing guys. the previous week he was underthrowing them, and he needed to do a better job of getting the ball out in front of receivers so they can run. That feels like he's trying to dial it in. And it's not making the same mistakes weeks in a row.

It's been working for me. Plus I use an ad blocker with my browser. It lest me unblock posts from X, and still block ads. Hope that helps.

Right. He sees problems and then he fixes them. Cant wait to see where he takes us.

It's all narratives. Clearly Caleb is up there already, even as he is making lots of mistakes still. All the recent QBs we've had were nothing like Caleb is right now, imperfect as he is. The reason the word "generational" is thrown around is that we can clearly see that Caleb has LOTS of room for improvement, and yet he's still on pace to shatter the all time best season by a Bears QB. after 2 years, Caleb as a rookie put up the 5th best season, and he is on pace to have the best season as a passer in Bears history. Right now, the Bears offense is 3rd in the league for yards. Our Passing yards is 10th, and our Running yards is 2nd. We are 6th in scoring. And remember those first two weeks where we were awful? They account for 1/4 of those stats too. That's how good Williams and Johnson have been. Some guys are just mediocre. Caleb is amazing and great, but he is still making a lot of mistakes, so he averages out to mediocre. The consistently mediocre player wont get better, but when Caleb becomes more consistent, and makes fewer mistakes, he is going to be elite.

I agree (or not at his current price per AZ's post above, hes got a point), and there's some chance they look at CJGJ as a safety too - because I think his skills set makes a good fit there.