AZ54

If we flipped the 1st and 2nd half performances and we had come back to almost win the game everyone here is optimistic.

Let's just hope the coaches agree.

It's a valid point about getting a bit more playing time for the offense to get in sync. I think the issue isn't so much Trubisky knowing the offense as much as it is reading the defense and knowing where to go with the ball in that coverage. In the preseason he just isn't likely to get good looks at much variety of coverages. Apparently Green Bay used a lot of zone and we prepared all week for mostly man coverage. If we are going to legitimately challenge for a playoff spot this season history says we have to win this next game.

It was frustrating watching Kwiatkoski chasing helplessly after Packers' receivers play after play. Seattle's Oline has issues and we should be able to get pressure early and often on Wilson which means he'll be scrambling. Smith's speed is a must have.

After taking day to catch up on some games and performances around the league I have a sense where the Bears fit in. I see all the angst about our loss, mine included, but I don't think a single new Head Coach won their first game including the one who has won a Superbowl, John Gruden. All these teams are in different states of repair but among this group we didn't fare so poorly. There is a learning curve for all new HCs and their teams. We need to keep that perspective as over-reaction Monday fades into the distance. After looking around and seeing the Raiders, Lions, and Cardinals play. The Giants have plenty of star power and didn't look so good either. Overall after looking at the landscape I'm ok with where we are at after what I saw in week 1. If we had put up the dumpster fire that Detroit just did I'd be much more concerned. They had serious issues on defense, offense, and special teams. If Detroit continues that soft zone coverage with their LBs (including Christian Jones) Trubisky will throw for 400 yards against them with 200 being from the RBs. Patricia will get that fixed but in Week 1 he couldn't have made things any easier for Darnold. Looking at the 2017 QB class including JimmyG, Trubisky's performance falls in the middle of the road, which wasn't too good overall. Only Mahomes put up good numbers. He'll be compared to Trubisky all year long but Mahomes has a 12 month head start in this offense. Plus, unlike Mahomes, it's not just Trubisky learning the offense, it's everyone. I'll be looking for some signs of growth over the next few games. DeShaun Watson isn't moving around as well as he did last year. Hopefully the coaches didn't rush him back too quickly. Among these 4 QBs he struggled the most, which was unexpected. I still see the Bears glass half full and feel this roster can compete well with most teams in the league. Nagy needs to show he's up to the task.

About halfway through the game I commented to my son how much white space Nagy had on his play sheet. And he did have just a single sheet with plays on both sides. In contrast McCarthy was walking around with at least 2 sheets, maybe 3, and they were full on both sides. I expect that white space gets filled in more and more each week. Obviously there's a difference in QBs but in the end what we saw was one team learning a new offense and another where their QB has been doing the same thing for 14 years. That defense threw a ton of looks at Trubisky and the offense. I hate losing but it's great to get that on film for everyone and it will help over the next couple weeks. Tru had happy feet (as he described it) a few times and added his own butt fumble in the process. He also created a lot on his own and that communication with his new WRs about where to go when plays breakdown is a work in progress. Overall I felt he stayed composed as he searched through his options but he's still on the ground floor of this offense looking up. Jordan Howard was fantastic. The work he's done to improve his hands has payed off in a big way. He looked natural receiving the ball even when it required him to quickly turn his hips after the catch. A little bit better run blocking, and really a couple third down conversions and he's easily at 100 yds rushing. As it was he finished with 15 carries for 82yds, 5 rec for 25yds. Tarik Cohen (Tyreek Cone according to the announcers) played well too but still looks like he's finding his way on all these different plays he has on his plate. Oline: They were just average today. Green Bay has a stout front but there were too many simple mistakes that need to be corrected. WRs: We need a lot more from this group going forward. Early on it was good as scheme got some guys open. Later they weren't winning the 1on1 matchups. Whether that was fatigue because they haven't played many snaps or something else, it needs to be better for Mitch to have a chance. TEs: I expected more from Trey Burton. If he wants to sell the pass interference call then he needs to run into the LB while going for the ball and not pull up. Dline: Very good early on. Looked tired later on. Again, it seems lack of reps in game situations hurt but really Green Bay's starters had very few reps in the preseason too so no excuses. Overall we were very stout against the run and Goldman and Hicks made some excellent plays. I think that continues all season long. Pass rush was good at times. RRH looks better than Bullard although I have to go back and watch the game again. Regardless I think we see RRH take over as the starter as the season goes along. Does anyone know what holding is because the officials never threw the flag no matter how many shoulder pads were being pulled, arms fully around players waists. OLB: Mack is absolutely worth the price we paid. If he's in game shape we very likely win this one. I'm not going to worry about that because we got him for the future and that is definitely going to make a difference in a lot of games. Did anyone else notice him diving to stop Cobb at the goal line on that game winning TD pass? Yes, he sprinted all way down the field on that play. Floyd looked good too and showed more power on his bull rushes. I can't wait to see him without the club because I think that really hinders much of what he wants to do with his hands on rushes. Lynch might be ok as a run stopper but that's it. ILBs: Kwiatkoski's days as a starter are numbered. Hopefully close to 0. We really needed Roquan's speed in this game, Trevathan played well and I'm glad he returned from that nearly back-breaking hit. DBs: Some good plays and not so good. I don't know what his injury was but I feel it affected him after he returned. Whatever it was we just couldn't or wouldn't cover the inside slants they kept running once Rodgers returned. Going into this I was hoping first and foremost not to have any serious injuries and it appears we did not. I expected the offense would stumble a bit at times as we did but also thought we might see a few more big plays. They just didn't materialize in the 2nd half. Next up is Seattle on MNF.

There are some details in a few plays that are really going to frustrate the players when they watch the film. Sometimes it was easy missed blocks (Whitehair, Long) and of course the most obvious is Sims coming back behind the 1st down marker for that catch. There are quite a few people picking the Packers to go to the Superbowl. If that's the standard then we've made a lot of progress but don't mistake that for meaning we've arrived. I think the talent gap is largely closed. Now it's a question of getting the offense in sync and of course we need to get Roquan and Mack out there together.

This is the first time in years I haven't had to think "if this one player" plays well we can win. We have multiple options on both sides of the ball for game changing plays. I see the offense and Nagy working to take advantage of their weakness and in experience at ILB. Let's start with Cohen and Howard in the backfield with Cohen motioning out to the slot. Run a play action fake off that.

He arrived at camp this year at 318lbs. Let's see what he can do in the pass rush. One thing missing in years past was depth. We've got it this year and hopefully a better quality rotation across the defensive front keeps everyone in a better position to make plays.

I've been asking for this for some time so of course I'm glad it's done. The money is about where I expected they'd end up. It always seems like 15-20% more than the value of the player but that's the price for the early deal versus letting them hit FA. People forget Goldman is only 24 years so he's just entering his prime playing years when this deal starts. Certainly Goldman has room to improve as a player but with this coaching staff and now stability across the Dline we should see that. I've seen some comments aorund the web that Goldman isn't that good and he's not worth it. I'll trust Fangio on this one because he's squarely in Goldman's corner.

I can't predict because there are too many unknowns on our side of the ball. On D it starts with Roquan and now Mack. How much of an impact will they have the game? On offense we saw nothing of Cohen in the preseason so we have no idea how he will be used, especially in conjuction with Gabriel stretching the field. I think we match up far better than anyone gives us credit for. One thing I'm curious to see is our hurry up offense. Between Nagy and Helfrich we know that is part our arsenal. If we get the offense rolling early expect to see that in the first half.

I've got much higher hopes than that for Trubisky.

Looks good in that uniform.

In the world of football decisions this one was as easy as it gets. Really I'm glad we finally have the proper depth to move on from Grasu. Same thing with Crevon LeBlanc. The bottom end of our roster is starting to have better quality.

I'm shocked to learn that football players get injured. Can't wait to see the list of good GMs who only draft players that don't get injured.

Raiders fans react to the Raiders announcement they have acquired two first round draft picks https://twitter.com/Raiders/status/1036037789979164672

This might be my favorite quote from the Mack trade : https://www.arrowheadpride.com/2018/9/1/17810362/chiefs-gm-brett-veach-on-khalil-mack-trade-were-excited We were excited. Yeah, we were excited,” Veach said during a conference call Saturday. “I think I was probably the first one to call Matt (Nagy) [Saturday], and I congratulated him and I said, ‘The Bears and the Chiefs just got better today.’”

Adding some film breakdown to backup my point about how Mack affects or limits what an offense can do.

Buh bye to Crevon LeBlanc. That's a good sign. He's a tough football player with average athleticism and, at times, poor discipline in coverage. It's much better to keep Tolliver's potential in the mix.

Can't see Grasu being anything more than a trade opportunity. Maybe Pace had some inquiries before cutdowns and wants to take a bit of time to see if anything comes of it. Teams usually want to wait and see who else is cut first around the league.

What would bite us is watching him blow assignments in the regular season like he did all preseason.

I hope Nall makes it to the practice squad. Given Burtons status as a veteran that may have been part of the calculus. It'd be nice to have Nall around just in case of injuries this year and maybe he can develop and take over from Burton next year. Mizzell can go and then sign another FA RB to the practice squad.

Two weeks is good because I have my tickets for week 3 against the Cardinals.

Over at WindyCityGridiron Josh Sunderbruch did an excellent analysis of the Mack trade. Once you read that you'll come away feeling this deal is even better than it first appears. https://www.windycitygridiron.com/2018/9/1/17810200/chicago-bears-khalil-mack-trade-better-than-you-think-ryan-pace-mitchell-trubisky-nfl-2018 One other thought: When considering whether it was worth it to make this trade naturally Pace consulted his coaches. I'm sure Fangio stated the obvious but IMO the key here is that Nagy had to game plan for him twice a season the last four years. He knows as well as anyone how much trouble Mack can cause an offense, and what kind of options he takes away from an offense because of the need to focus on stopping him. We all see the highlight plays but a player like Mack has additional value in the scheme changes opposing offenses have to make whether it's the obvious double team blocking, keeping RBs in for pass protection, or just running away from him.

We don't know, he might have had to give one up to make this deal happen.