AZ54

You won't find that very often in college these days so you have to coach up the player. The ones who throw quickly are often just given an easy single read that simply doesn't work in the NFL. Even Mahomes coming out had issues with holding the ball too long for the big play and really, if you watch his game closely, he's still got that in him.... work deep then underneath. Yet on quick WR screens he has a quicker release than Fields, a quicker mind when scrambling, and just a cannon for an arm. I haven't watched much of Mayes (1 game) or Williams (maybe half a game) to make a decision. In the time I've seen of both neither impressed me enough to be #1 overall. As the season winds down I'll catch them again. It'll also be better to see them later in the season since college changes so much during the course of a season as young players getting their first playing time improve quite a bit.

As backups go, I like Carter but when he's in the game the Oline simply isn't the same. Kudos to the coaches for getting their best 5 on the field today and sliding Jenkins over to RG with Whitehair back at LG. Sorry but the Oline coach does not manage time outs in the game. Fact is Chris Morgan has given us several very good games of Oline play, both pass protection and run blocking despite not having a consistent starting 5, and while starting a rookie at RT. Find a QB who would hit the easy quick hitting routes more often and things might feel much different for the Oline play. I agreed with calling a timeout there. The rookie was playing well enough with his decision making to at least bring him over the sideline and talk about strategy for a bit. In the end if you still want to be cautious to end the half just run the ball and the clock on the next play. That's HC issues.

When you rewatch that QB sneak you will see the defensive front stacks 3 Dline in tight over the center/G. LDE stays out wide over the RT. Bagent simply took what he saw and slid to the gap on his right and got into the gap between RG/RT. Even the tush pushers weren't expecting that, you'll see them pause as he slides right, but it was simply the logical thing to do. Football can often be difficult but sometimes it's just easy if you take what's given to you.

The same coaches who got the oline to get this run performance even with backups on the field?

Some of last years starters ended up on the practice squad for other teams this year. Some, like Quinn, are out of the NFL.

I've been a Bears fan for so long there's too many snake bites to compare against. It certainly has made some things challenging on D for sure and then Oline. However, I think I've seen enough goodness from the Oline starters when they are on the field in their position to feel good about the starters. I've never seen what happened to our RBs in one game and I really think it limited what we could did offensively against Minn ...mostly for the protection plan. That still doesn't explain some of the brain freeze of the QB.

Equally concerning is the fact he played the balance of the game with that injury.

Awesome. I saw some good things from him in the last game, then I saw some bad things. Hopefully a couple weeks to clear his mind helps and then he can get after it.

For sure. To show how hard finding a QB is....wasn't Walsh also involved in drafting Druckenmiller? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jim_Druckenmiller In the 1998 season, Druckenmiller played only two games: week 2 against the Washington Redskins and week 6 against the New Orleans Saints.[6] After the season, General Manager Bill Walsh belittled his football skills and implied that Druckenmiller would have been released but for salary cap ramifications.[7]

I don't believe that is entirely correct. He was traded and part of the reason was they thought he'd never become a pocket QB. https://www.britannica.com/biography/Steve-Young "his NFL rights belonged to the equally hapless Tampa Bay Buccaneers. In the two seasons there, Young had a .533 completion rate, throwing 11 touchdowns and 21 interceptions." From 1987... https://www.sun-sentinel.com/1987/04/25/bucs-send-qb-young-to-frisco-2nd-and-4th-round-draft-picks-obtained/ “We think Steve’s style of play will fit into our system, and he will be able to exhibit his vast talents,” 49ers coach Bill Walsh said. “This does not reflect on Montana, who will continue to be our leader. “We admire Steve’s quick release and fine instincts. And he’s probably the fastest runner among quarterbacks in the league.” Opinion will vary on who got the better of the deal. Those who think Young can be a winning NFL quarterback will say he’s perfect for the 49ers’ attack and praise Walsh for the trade. But others believe Young does not have the arm strength or mindset of a pro QB.

It's Secret Bagent week. Let's go!

Right now I'd guess he hedges his bet with 2 QB options. I don't know if that's Fields/Bagent Fields/Williams or Maye. or Bagent/Williams or Maye.

For those thinking of best case scenario for the Bears it's this: Bagent show's he's a legit starter. https://www.windycitygridiron.com/2023/10/18/23921311/a-scouts-take-what-the-chicago-bears-need-to-see-from-tyson-bagent-justin-fields-nfl-draft We can then trade Fields in the offseason. He'll garner at least a 3rd Rd pick, maybe as high as a 2nd Rd. Trade back from Carolina's 1st overall pick for another king's ransom. We then have 2 more seasons with Bagent on a cheap deal, if we choose. https://overthecap.com/player/tyson-bagent/11238 Do I think this is likely? My history as a Bears fan says not in the least. Coming off the best defensive performance of the season it does make things more interesting.

That injury looks bad for Fields.

The speaking with a helmet earlier was illegal too

I think that was one of Fields best drives as a Bear. We only got aFG but he was under constant pressure and still finding guys quickly and avoided the big mistake. With all that he still looked calm.

Looks like he’ll play. How many snaps is unknown. https://www.chicagobears.com/news/roster-move-bears-activate-kyler-gordon-off-ir

With ESB now on Injured Reserve we're going to have to see what the speed options look like in Velus Jones Jr. and Tyler Scott. That comes with a lot of question marks but it also comes with a lot of big play potential against a defense that likes to blitz. One missed tackle and those two are off to the races. It likely also requires Fields to hit quick slants more than we've seen him do so far this year.

More than rushing yards I'm worried about the pass protection aspect. From a Vikings point of view that only invites the blitz more often. What would I do if I were Getsy? More rollouts? That can be risky as we've seen before with wide-9 type pressure. More sets with two TEs, maybe even all 3 TEs on a few? I like that. More screens? Might catch them a few times but the LOS will be too crowded IMO to do that often. There's a bunch of options but the one I like best is to just run the ball right at them with D'onta Foreman. Then just work off play action for the chunk plays.

DRob doesn't have any burst and so he can only win via pass rush moves, or scheme, or the QB gets flushed his way. Lack of burst requires winning the rep via strength and he's stronger this year. That helps him hold up better on run downs to contain the play (set edge smaller gap) but he still doesn't have enough strength to get off blocks to make a tackle. I wouldn't count him out long term just yet but the clock is ticking faster. If we had a normal decent Dline he'd still be on the practice squad. He'll need to make another similar step up in bulk and strength next year. However, the Bears have their little mass machine and know exactly how much he can bulk up.

Ton of work, lots of permutations. Toss in the variables of college football injuries and it gets crazier. For me after we play Carolina in Wk 10 we'll have an idea of just how bad they are and what is realistic for them in the draft. By then we'll also have a sense if we pick top 10, or top 20.

Yeah, after I mentioned him I went and looked him up out of curiosity. I was also surprissed to see his numbers were good. A game against a bad Bears defense certainly helped.

Over at Pro Football Reference they have Field with the highest TD% in the league. On the flip side he’s bottom 10 on INT%.

And yet they shall remain nameless. I have a sneaky suspicion it’s not Russell Wilson.

Absolutely not. He’s got nothing more to give than Dom Rob so might as well let the younger player try to improve. Or at least save the money.