AZ54

Great win. We beat GB and the officials all in one. Nothing pretty about this game but then again when you step back and look at it we stayed the course won a duel in bad weather 17-13=4.

Even if he's on the field I doubt we'll see him play at his full capability so that wouldn't help the division much for next year. In his own words he's making significant improvement week to week but I still don't think he'll get there physically before the season. OTOH what will help him is getting glimpse of how physical the DBs are in the NFL and the play speed. Right now an aggressive return target might be the 13 Dec Redskins game, more likely target the 20 Dec Vikings game. In that case he'd see action against two division rivals, Minn and Detroit.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/footb...1124-story.html Good interview with White and where he's at in his rehab.

Why assume they are rushing him? We've seen nothing of the sort from the team regarding this situation to date. I think it's safe to say he's just on track and healthy. He started light jogging on the grass about a month ago so we have to think he's been going at or near full sprint by now with no setbacks. After all this there's no way I could see them risking him in a contact situation, even moderate contact like practice, if he hadn't handled the full stresses of running routes with no issues.

Makes sense for them, where else could they get someone who knows what Trestman is doing on offense? It was going to be Fales or Clausen.

Great news and opens the floor for debate. Who plays the most games this year: Jeffrey, Royal, or White?

I think you are correct. Aside from bringing up Fales we waived Terrance Mitchell from the practice squad. So we have two openings on the practice squad. It's pretty surprising that we brought up Fales and cut Clausen. If Fales was the better backup they should have just made the decision earlier. At this point the roster is becoming more about the future and this says Clausen is not in next year's plan but Fales is. I'm sure Clausen was kept around because they felt he had a better grasp of the offense since Fales missed so much time in preseason. Barring disaster at the QB position Clausen has played his last game as a Bear. Fox said nothing about Kevin White but he did say the open spot on the practice squad would likely go to another QB prospect down the road. Since you can't sign another team's practice squad player to your practice squad that would mean taking a QB off the street. That would seem like a waste of time to be honest because what good young QB prospects are FA right now? Or do we just need someone to run the scout team, anyone who has a pulse? That only explains one of the practice squad openings. This leaves open the possibility of bringing White to the 53-man roster and pushing another WR to the practice squad, likely Cam Meredith. More disappointing for Jason and others would be that this means Mariani (who is not eligible for the practice squad) stays on the active roster. Tue 4pm is the deadline to have White start his 3 week practice window or move him to IR.

I'm with you on the Thur night game. For once I'd like to see what Cutler can do with most of the weapons we have on offense. There is no indication White is doing anything other than watching games so I think he's done for the year.

Defense Coming into this game it seemed clear Fox was more focused on being healthy against Green Bay. The most surprising inactive, or the one I wasn't expecting, was Antrel Rolle and I think he was missed a lot. Why was Prosinski out there instead of Jones-Quartey? We'll never know but I'm pretty sure I saw JQ out there on special teams. I trust these coaches to put the best players out there but I also recognize that they are not afraid to develop new talent keeping an eye toward the future. Overall the D held up but it wasn't pretty. Yes it was the Broncos with a backup QB but they gave up 17pts and that should give your team a fighting chance. There were a lot of breakdowns that I'm not accustomed to seeing in the last few games. Some of this might have been because we blitzed like I haven't seen Fangio blitz before. Correct me if I'm wrong on that but how often have we seen Amos blitz? Blitzing like that with Prosinski back there was asking for trouble. It was effective at times but more often seemed to give up big plays. It's all speculation but I can't shake the feeling that we used this game somewhat to learn some of these blitzes in preparation for Thur. Dline: They were dominated by the Broncos up front and that caused most of the issues behind them. We got free runs at the QB on occasion but it seemed that if we didn't blitz we'd never get there. Too often the players on the edge gave up the edge. The hit and miss type of game confirms for me that a dominate DT is a key to making the rest of the D effective. Put someone like that on the inside and it makes it harder for Oline to run out and hit the ILBs. Safety: Prosinski was mostly lost out there on the field but improved as the game went along. Amos was his usual steady self with a few good plays throughout the game. CB: I think overall we regressed quite a bit in coverage this week and it was across the board. LBs: I think we regressed in run support this week and pass coverage. Both players often got moved around and were late getting to the ball. Offense: Once I saw Royal and Jeffrey were out it was game over against this defense. Despite that we did move the ball enough to get into the red zone but without real threats nothing was going to happen inside the 10yd line. QB: The first INT by Cutler was nothing but a bad pass. There's no other way to see that because even if that route was run incorrectly, unless it was a come-back route, then any type of cut Wilson made would have left the ball behind him and open for an INT. The second INT was just what will happen from time to time in a season. For the most part Cutler kept his wits about him as he navigated a turbulent o...d WRs: It was surprising that guys got wide open in spots deep down field throughout the game but other than that there wasn't anything consistent we could execute. Among the backup WRs nobody's performance said "you must to keep me around next year". TEs: It was an ok day but with Jeffrey and Royal out there was an easy focus on these two guys. Oline: Run blocking largely went nowhere. Pass blocking was good in spots but Cutler had to move around on almost every play to keep it alive. We expected a challenge going against the best defense in football and we got it. Despite all this had we kicked a FG with 10min left in the game we could have won it. One day when this coaching staff gets talent on the roster and some depth we''ll be tough to play against.

Agreed on that...going to tough sledding on offense today.

It has been years since I watched him play at ASU but here is what little I can remember... Osweiler is a good athlete, similar to Cutler, who won't really run away from people but can move well enough to save a play that broke down. I never liked how he read defenses and he often seemed late on making throws. However, he only started at ASU for one year so there is that. He wasn't the type of QB that can throw a guy open, he saw the open player and then threw to the target which was often static. Was it setup that way because of his limited accuracy or just how the offense was setup? It has been several years and so this is one thing that NFL coaching from a guy like Adam Gase may have improved upon. Arm strength was good. If he stepped into throws he can get the ball downfield for sure but if there was pressure around him he'd throw quickly and passes often tailed off as they reached their target. Many passes on out-routes 10yds or more were often easy targets for INTs. In the NFL those windows are even smaller. Keep him from stepping up and opportunities for INTs might be there. If you are bored there is this...which not surprisingly shows some of his throws coming up short and being intercepted or nearly intercepted. Others are driven right on target especially if it's his first read. He'll move the ball against us but we'll definitely want to take away the early read and force him to think a bit. What do Fox and Gase know? Why isn't Peyton Manning attending practice and at least sitting in meeting rooms helping this kid win games? What would you say if that were Cutler doing the same?

Bummer. I don't think Denver has the push up the middle like the Rams do from their DTs. Their pass rush relies heavily on the ends crashing in and forcing the QB up in the pocket. They still have Shane Ray and Von Miller so speed on the edge is there but perhaps not the power to stop the run.

The only way I see the playoffs happening for this team is if we win the next two games. Don't win both, don't worry about it. I'm sure there are other mathematical possibilities but IF this team truly is what we think they are becoming they should beat the Broncos at home against their backup QB. After that it's payback time on T-day. I think health is the biggest factor so we need to get Grasu back at C which returns Slauson to LG and Ducasse to bench, have Jeffrey at full speed so we have a deep threat, and have Royal on the field which conveniently takes Mariani off the field. I'm not going to sweat it because of the progress I've seen this season with all the new players. We're still going to have some ups and downs.

This team is trying to rebuild and is getting closer to what they want to be. The last thing they need is a player who makes mistakes on a muffed punt or fumble on a return as that kills the momentum the defense is starting to build, takes opportunities away from an offense that needs as many shots at scoring as they can get. Most of us would have been fine with Mariani for the rest of the season if the ball security was there. Since we have that guy making mistakes in Mariani we need to find some alternative. I still think part of the problem delaying the change is that with our WR health being poor we need to rely on Mariani as a WR, however little he contributes, and we won't get that from any new KR/PR. One option could be putting Zach Miller split out more often, instead of Mariani, and try to benefit from the matchups. Given that defenses matchup based on personnel that could put teams in a spot wondering if Miller was out there as FB, TE, or WR. Do they keep 3 LBs on the field or go Nickel given the speed and receiving ability he showed the past two weeks?

Maybe the better question to Jason is why can't we fix the Oline with $50mil in cap space? I realize Kyle Long and Jeffrey will get a big chuck of this but still we'll be left with $30-35mil. Cut Bushrod and we have another $4mil to spend. Aside from Long's increased cap hit Slauson and Grasu will stay. I expect Leno will continue as our starting LT so we're looking at adding perhaps either a RT or RG depending on where they want to lineup Long next season, and then some guys for depth.

Bennett is a far better blocker than Miller and he's a good receiver. We already have $50mil in cap space for next season and TE is a position we finally have some strength at. I don't see any reason to cut Martellus and we should re-sign Miller. There is plenty of money to sign players for the Oline. If more is needed we will likely cut someone like Willie Young or Antrel Rolle as those actions would free up another $2.5- 3mil each but that would also have to go toward likely replacements for those spots. Or we can cut Bushrod and save $4mil (with $4mil in dead money). Houston was another potential target for cap space but he's playing better the last two games so we'll see if that continues.

No. The two plays are identical except one helps the Patriots and one does not.

I recorded the game and reviewed it late last night. Rolle played a big part of the in-the-box defense in this game making several plays for minimal gain. On the Rams first drive that pass to Gurley that took them down near the red zone: Jones completely blew his assignment and got lost standing around behind the Dline as Gurley ran out of the backfield. If you see that highlight you'll see Jones about 8 yards behind chasing after Gurley the entire way. I think right after that Anderson got on the field for the first time. Anderson was a little lost on his assignments yesterday (little bit of a position change) but once he saw it he went after it. I'm not sure how much longer Jones will be a starter. It's not that Anderson was much better than him but Anderson is learning on the fly and rapidly catching up. If Jones doesn't improve he might get passed up. Ducasse looks just as bad on replay as watching live but Slauson also didn't play well at times. That might have been a game where Grasu's quickness would have helped more than Slauson's power.

Seems certain the Broncos are resting Manning in this game. It's not a division game and now that path is their most critical for entering the playoffs. I haven't watched much of Osweiler since he left ASU. All I remember from him back then was a QB who was often late in his reads, not a guy who anticipates well nor can he throw someone open. That's been several years so a lot can change. Regardless he's not going to read NFL defenses like Manning does. Forgot to add: Good call about Fox and Gase knowing what Osweiler can and can't do well. We have a big advantage here even if Kubiak is running a different offense.

Offense: Overall Gase did a good job especially considering he had to work with a limited Alshon Jeffrey and Royal was out again. There are still gaps on the roster that need to be fixed but more on that later. Considering what he's working with on our Oline, WR, and the backup RBs (not that they were a problem) against a very fast defense he called a good game. He stuck with running the ball late when everyone knew it was coming. Cutler: Rarely did he have more than 2 seconds in the pocket before he had to avoid pressure. Despite all that he kept his cool and moved around well enough to extend some plays. Other times when it wasn't there he just folded and took the sack and moved on to the next play, or the next series. I'm not sure how he was able to block out of his mind that each drop back he knew Ducasse would be a turnstile and let Aaron Donald up the middle but he did it. Numbers aren't great especially considering the two long TDs added a lot to yardage, 3rd down efficiency was horrible, but mentally this was Cutler's best game since he game to Chicago. Oline: This was a bad game. We had some well blocked runs throughout the game but had trouble doing it consistently. Pass protection was bad. I hoped Grasu would be back so we could get Slauson in at LG but we had to see Ducasse spin around all game long. We hear it all the time but it is about match ups and that Dline was a bad matchup for our Oline. They are a tough matchup for any Oline. Gase however took advantage of their pressure up the middle and dialed up a few plays to the outside at just the right time to take advantage and on these plays the Oline executed well. RBs: Can't say enough about Langford and his speed is a welcome change to the backfield. He's starting to have a better feel for the game as seen on his TD run where he cut back to the left away from the direction of the play and found a crease into the end zone. Forte may return soon but he'll be sharing carries more than he did the first half of the season. Carey runs hard between the tackles and it's a nice mix between him and Langford. Carey finished with 4ypc, a good bit of it after first contact. He took the big hit late and fumbled but overall a good game from Ka'Deem and I think as he gets more reps he too is getting a better feel for the blocking. Nobody misses Jacquizz Rodgers. WRs: Quiet game in large part because there was so little time to throw and because of injuries. Jeffrey was limited in what he did and Marquess Wilson just doesn't run his routes well enough to get open. He's rounding off his cuts and then fades a bit downfield making it easy for a DB to undercut the pass. If I were Cutler I wouldn't be looking his way much at all. I can't wait to see what we can do with Jeffrey and Royal both healthy for a few games. TEs: One thing is clear Zach Miller will be a bigger part of this offense going forward. Defense: This largely no-name defense grew up today. Fangio's and his coaching staff are turning these guys into consistent performers. Dline/OLB: Missing McPhee off the edge was worrisome especially knowing what Gurley and Tavon Austin can do. The edge players were disciplined and largely shutdown the reverse game. RBs had tough sledding up the middle. I saw guys like Bruce Gaston (who I didn't remember being on our team) making plays inside. We have to start giving some credit to Jay Rodgers for what he's done with all these backup DTs. ILB: Welcome back Shea! 8 tackles, 1 forced fumble. The first drive the defense looked to be too focused on stopping Gurley. That stopped for the rest of the game and the defense, looking well organized up front, only gave up 3 more points. I didn't watch closely enough but I know I saw Anderson out there on some plays so it would appear he split time with Jones. Anderson finished with 3 tackles while Jones had 2. I don't know if they alternated series or if Anderson was used more on passing down while Jones had the early downs. CB: Porter with 3 PBU late in the game. Kyle Fuller continues to improve in coverage. Foles had some options but pressure kept him inaccurate or indecisive throughout the game. Some will point out that STL is last in passing yards per game but they are also 5th in rushing. In the overall scheme of what we had to do on defense the CBs played their part. S: They didn't stand out. Might be the first game in years where I didn't find myself saying over and over "I hope the safety is there". They kept everything in front of them. Special Teams: We're getting good on kick coverage. Prosinski (I think it's him) flies down the middle of the field on punt coverage often arriving first at the returner. I'm not sure where he's at in the blocking scheme but he's handling that and hustling downfield. I'm more accustomed to seeing our gunners arrive first from the edges. I'm giving some props to Jeff Rodgers for the improvement. Mariani is about to get benched. I doubt we'll be putting Royal back there when he's healthy simply because he's likely to be less than 100% when he first returns. Mariani's poor decisions, lack of vision as a KR, and muffed punts won't stay on the field long with this coaching staff. It's possible we put someone out there just to make a fair catch on PR. Unfortunately part of the challenge is the active roster and setting that up when we have so many WR injuries. If we didn't need Mariani at WR we might be seeing Antone Smith, or even Langford, on KR. It will be interesting to see what happens this week. HC: John Fox has won this team over. It was great to see all the camaraderie on the sideline late in the game. I know winning cures everything but this has been a long road and a decisive win like this while missing several key players, and with so many new additions contributing, says a lot. 8 weeks ago this upcoming Denver game looked like a sure loss. Right now with Denver sliding and the Bears ascending it sure looks like we have a chance to pull off a win at home. Key will be protecting against Denver's edge rushers but Ware might still be sidelined.

We have players returning from injury but there are questions about who will remain a starter. Bushrod should be close to returning. I haven't heard anyone clamoring for him to get back on the field, not even our Oline guru Jason (not that Bushrod was a favorite of his). Will Leno stay as our starter when Bushrod is healthy? I think we're going with the future here so I say yes. Grasu...I think once he recovers from his neck injury he'll be back at center. That brings up the option of Ducasse moving back to RG or do we keep Omameh at RG and put Ducasse on the bench? I think our starting Oline becomes Leno, Slausson, Grasu, Omameh, and Long. SMC... I haven't been happy with the ILB play since he went out. Not that it was great while he was on field but there was a clear drop off when he left and IMO the level of play still hasn't recovered. I thought Anderson was abused in pass coverage this past week yet after the game I was surprised to learn he had the radio and was calling plays for the defense. Obviously the coaches see something there that they weren't seeing with Jones. I think it's clear Fangio prefers to get SMC back on the field but I have no clue who his sidekick will be: Jones or Anderson. At this point I think Fangio will lean toward putting Anderson out there with SMC but he could also rotate plays among Jones/Anderson.

I don't think this is as much about record as it is about the future and getting White any reps this year will help him next year. Of course they won't risk anything with this injury so I agree we will know soon if he has a shot to return this year. He's had a lot of weeks without running and that takes a long time to recover from. If he makes it back to the field I doubt we'll see the athlete that ran the 4.3x forty. It's the same with Dez Bryant watching him these last two games, he just can't run away from players as he used to. Dez will recover his speed within a week or two but White hasn't been running for many more weeks than Dez was out so his recovery will take longer. If White makes it back to the field this season we need to temper our expectations.

I look forward to Fangio's weekly updates. He's so straightforward with his words it's sometimes funny. His matter-of-fact approach when talking about the players is never far off from what you'd read here on the board. http://www.chicagobears.com/news/article-1...f3-172828460cb5 ... on Houston ------------------------- "[The sacks] were huge plays," Fangio said. "Now if we can just eliminate the offsides, he'll play even more and more. But that should do a lot for his confidence, to go in there and make plays at a crucial time like that." -------------------------- From the same link the most surprising statistic I've seen at midseason: ----------------------------- After allowing nine touchdowns in the first two games of the season, the Bears defense has permitted just 10 TDs in its last six contests. The unit has yielded only one touchdown in three of its last four games against the Chiefs, Vikings and Chargers. ----------------------------- We're not a shutdown D by any means, often not even close to being pretty, but something good is starting to happen on the defensive side of the ball. That's with some very significant injuries and/or losses in personnel (Ratliff, Ferguson).

This has turned into the best "Cutler" thread ever.

I'm with you on the decision making. At the end of the day you have to find a QB you can win with and I think playing as he is now Cutler can be that guy. It is interesting there is a sticking point for AG no matter what on that route it had to be Cutler's bad decision and Jeffrey, or the defensive PI, had no culpability whatsoever. Even if you want to go down the route of Cutler killed the team with the Pick 6, it's easy to find many other culprits who made equally critical bad plays from Robbie Gould missing two FG, Jeffrey dropped a sure TD pass that hit him in the hands, among other dropped passes. Acho and the defense blew a coverage that gave up an easy TD. Kyle Long took points off the board with a 15 yard penalty, not his only penalty by the way. OTOH I get the fact that your QB is a leader on the team and shouldn't put the team in a bad spot. Then again he also led them back to a win in the 2nd half. Review the list of QBs with more INTs than Cutler this season and it's a who's who among future HofF QBs, Pro Bowl QBs, or 1st Rd draft pick QBs (except for 2): Peyton, Luck, Stafford, Bortles, Bradford, (Cousins), Newton, Tannehill, Flacco, Brees, (Fitzpatrick), Rivers, Matt Ryan, Winston, Bridgewater, Eli, Palmer, Roethlisberger, Wilson, and then Cutler. There is more to the story of any QBs play than just INTs of course but by any measure that's a pretty good list of QBs widely respected around the league. The alternative among "good" QBs is to end up with a guy like Alex Smith who will consistently have good QBR numbers and low INTs but consistently won't throw TDs and stretch the field. I don't think you win big games with a guy like that unless you really have an elite defense, in which case you can have Trent Dilfer as your QB. There are just two players of note that aren't ahead of Cutler on INTs: Rodgers and Brady and both of them have been in the same offense for at least a decade. Two recent 1st RD picks that standout are Derek Carr and especially Mariota.