AZ54

Something is clearly wrong with this offense. Our defense is still playing well for the most part but missing some key players in the last few games does make a big difference. Billings being out the rest of the season with known depth issue on the defensive front is going to be a problem. Above all it is the offense issues that bother me the most. Shane Waldron seems to have played favorites and coddled to egos. He might not be a bad OC but he's also not a leader of men (sorry to borrow that phrase). When mistakes are made own it yourself and hold others accountable. Caleb Williams can't figure out how to consistently take the quick reads although he has done that at times with good success. He seems to favor Keenan Allen on critical downs. As talented as he is, he is also lost in his emotions and pouty on the sidelines. Keenan Allen and DJ Moore seem to hate each other. I remember reporters asking them how it was going to work out with so many mouths to feed. Now we know. Keenan Allen is too slow to get open in the NFL. He has some quickness in his cuts and his route running but against man coverage he's an easy cover. He still has value against zone coverages but there is no reason to consider signing him next year. DJ Moore seems to be banged up and it's slowing him down and affecting his game. When he's not struggling to move he's struggling to get his emotions in check. If he can't be a leader then see the next line... Rome Odunze was often not been running routes correctly, or at least not in the same manner Caleb is reading things. That's gotten better in recent games. He is the one WR who can consistently get open and IMO he should be getting more snaps than Allen, just make him the starter and feed him. He also threatens teams deep and forces some safety coverage his direction, more than Moore can right now. Does Waldron have the leadership needed to bench a guy in Allen who used to be one of the elites in the NFL? Cole Kmet. Use him and that includes Caleb who too often is not taking the easy reads with Kmet, or he's going that direction too late. Get him back in the game. Gerald Everett .... seems mostly useless. We should have kept Brendan Bates. Poles... he catered to Waldron with Homer, Everett, and brought in Keenan Allen. It all seemed to make sense coming into the season. The mix has been bad. He also helped hire Waldron. He also signed a cancer in Davis, who if he were the leader we intended to have on the interior we'd be in a much better spot. Oline... we have depth better than last year but not to the practice squad level. We're relying on players like Borom and Kramer (at LG) which is just a really bad place to be. None of that helps Caleb who is not a quick read QB. It killed us in the last game. I'm not an expert but it seems to me we've lost the ability to call screens, outside running plays with pulling players was also very limited or poorly executed.

Unless he needs that cap space and roster spot.

Lots of hand wringing over the coaches. I’m far more concerned Williams is a mental midget like Trubisky was and plays worse the brighter the lights are. FWIW Jayden Daniel’s didn’t impress me either as he looked lost on most of his drop backs too. Now in fairness I did miss about 1/2 the game off and on throughout the broadcast. Finding a good coach is easier than finding a good QB.

https://www.windycitygridiron.com/2024/10/26/24280287/bears-roster-moves-jacob-martin-and-travis-homer-activated-from-injured-reserve-tarvarius-moore

https://www.windycitygridiron.com/2024/10/25/24279514/jayden-daniels-caleb-williams-bill-belichick The problem with this static look at a passing chart is that it's not showing the trend lines. Early on I'd say this would work against Calen. After the last two games I'd love the Wash safeties to do what Ryan Clark says and stick between the numbers and play downhill. Caleb is doing a very good job reading the safeties.

I agree with playing Sanborn more if Daniels is out. If Daniels is in he's fast and you need more speed to spy on him.

It seems the most obvious roster changes would be bringing some players back from IR like Bates and Homer.

Roster spots have opened up but for who?

There was some f'n fire in there.

Elite NB we keep him but yes they are a concern. I suspect that’s true for any smaller player filling a hybrid LB CB role. Brisker is easier to replace in this defense as proven last week. That’s not to say he was as good as Brisker rather just that the scheme can survive with lesser talent at safety.

The balance here IMO is really the money. How much financial and roster commitment is reasonable for the downside risk vs. the upside risk? I don't think anybody would argue against giving Tev $3mil/yr. I think everyone would argue against giving him $15mil/yr. What I usually do not grasp well enough is market value.

I've reached the age where I know if everyone agrees with me then I know I'm likely the one who is wrong, and they're just going to enjoy watching me step in it.

You must mean Jonathan Allen who is on IR.

So far we haven't been able to bank on Jenkins for an entire season. However, I don't think he is at the top of our problems to focus on replacement right now. I'd be fine giving him a mid-level 2-3 year deal that gives us time to find his replacement. It's short enough that he'd be in his prime to seek another big money contract. If that turned out to be in Chicago because he's playing well that'd be ok too. Pre-season PFF had Jenkins ranked 16th overall among OGs. I don't pay for that stuff so I'm not sure where he grades out now. He had a rough start but lately he seems to be playing in that same range. Based on that and OTC valuations for LG that's somewhere between $8-10mil/yr. With the bonus being the deciding factor--- more bonus less $/yr.

The fact we still have no RB on the practice squad tells me he’s staying.

After watching the film of the last game he's already proving the point that having the right QB makes up for mistakes around him. Unblocked DE on 3rd and goal....just stand there calmly with the guy in your face and throw a strike on a fade route to Allen right over the DBs head.

Data for Adam et al...I get this every week but data like this is best digested after 4-6 weeks so I haven't posted it yet. https://www.matchquarters.com/p/nfl-weekly-data-download-week-6 We are not a cover 2 team, Cover 3 is our primary staple. Some excerpts... "Nickel: Houston, Chicago, and Washington run Nickel more than anyone in the NFL. The Texans and Bears have elite Nickels in Jalen Pitre and Kyler Gordon, respectively. ...In Baltimore, the ability to use Kyle Hamilton as the $-backer has come with the free agent pickup of Eddie Jackson, who started games for Chicago. " Interestingly Caleb has mostly seen Cover 3 among the teams we've played. There is something called a Havoc rating which I've never heard of and I have no clue on the grading for. The Bears have two NBs among the top 15 in Gordon and Blackwell, no safeties in the top 20, and TJ Edwards listed among LBs. Then there's this stuff below that maybe Adam can decode better than me but for better or worse we made the lists several times.

NFL trade deadline is approaching. Devante Adam’s reunited with Rodgers Amari Cooper is traded to the Bills. Poles has stayed the course so far. Now with Caleb improving rapidly it’s fair to say we are going to compete for a playoff spot. What move for which position would you make to shore up the playoff run? For me I’d trade for a legit starting DT to shore up that rotation

I’m looking forward to watching Newton. I didn’t like him in the draft because I felt he was slow off the ball and his short arms wouldn’t help after an OG got his hands on him. In college he could run around blockers but IOL in the NFL are dancing Bears who can move with you. Watching him against our Oline will give me a good idea if I was right or wrong.

As a fan of the game I never like seeing these types of injuries. That has to be heartbreaking to Detroit. Yet, even more heartbroken are the Cowboy's fans. That team looks totally lifeless.

On this I totally agree but I measure it based on my "nervous feelings" a lifetime Bears fan has had every time we get into the redzone. Oddly those bad vibes seem to have just gone away in the last couple games.

All a defense can know is that Velus Jones, Everett, and Scott are not the favorite targets. Everyone else has to be covered. That kind of balance is very good for a rookie QB in his first 6 games and already he's forcing defenses to cover the entire field. What will we add to the offense in the bye week?

Yeah that was a really bad call to overturn that play.

I'm more concerned that Caleb was the right choice for the Bears. IMO Daniels is better than just a 1-read QB but in the very limited games I've seen him play in I've also not seen him look nearly as comfortable scanning the entire field as what we've seen from Caleb in the last two weeks. Like any decent NFL QB Daniels is more than talented enough to hurt you especially if you make a mistake in coverage. Although he can throw on the run Daniels does not have as much off-platform talent as Caleb does, nor do I think his pocket presence is as good. Daniels is faster and more elusive running plus he has had far better pass protection to date this season than Caleb. I think both are good leaders for the locker room. Given what I've seen in the first 6 games, especially the last 3, Caleb was the right choice IMO. He made a lot of "NFL" throws today. Both TDs to Keenan Allen were not easy opens. The back shoulder throw for the first TD was perfection. The toss over the defender for the 2nd TD though was IMO an even more difficult throw because you have to get the right amount of arc on the ball to drop it in over the top. There are a lot of NFL QBs that struggle with those throws. Those slants to Keenan for 1st downs were big time throws and, at least on the last one, the DBs hand was right there just behind the ball. Improve the pass protection for him and there's no telling what Caleb will be doing to defenses.