AZ54

and counterpoint... I'm still on Fields side in this and believe we'll get him where he needs to be. I see the plays where he should recognize things quicker but also those where he gets it right. All of them need to speed up a bit. None of that is a surprise to me for a guy in his 18th game and in a new offense. A little more stability in front of Fields should help immensely if we can figure that out. At least allow him to get past the first read before having to think about the protection. I thought I was one of very few in my assessment of Griffin running his route poorly when Fields overthrew him in the endzone. Turns out Keyshawn and Dilfer agree although Trent has a unique way of explaining that running style.

I'm glad they moved Coulter up. He's not necessarily an upgrade but he's also not a downgrade considering how many mistakes ISM made. It's low bar to cross over and get better. The flip side is the message to the rest of the team that they are still competing to keep their job. I'm good with that.

Context matters in all this. Simple statements like that are as bad as Kirk Herbstreit on TNF stating a WR was "open" downfield when you can clearly see the DB undercutting the route as he made his break. Fields knows he's not throwing to a fast WR who is going to pull away from the DB after the break so he holds onto the ball. On a shorter route you can fit that ball in but not 15-20yds downfield. On the flip side, maybe when Fields gets more confidence in his WRs he'll throw that pass earlier. I see all sorts of QBs holding onto the ball like that including Aaron Rodgers when they aren't sure where the WRs are going to be.

After watching most of the MNF game I am still perfectly happy to have Justin Fields as our QB. Between Wilson throwing for 188yds and Herbert needing 57 passes (37 comp) to hit 238yds it seemed as if any second players would rip off their jersey to show a Bears uniform underneath. None of that is to say Fields doesn't need to improve, because he does. It's just that I don't see as big a gap between him and players like Herbert as there might appear to be when looking at a stat sheet. I'm willing to stay the course that Fields develops and then that next year with better talent around him his stats will take a corresponding bump upward. IMO that's far better than giving up 3 1st RD picks for Wilson, then paying him $$$$. He simply isn't as fast as he used to be but he still wants to play like he did when he was younger. For him that means positive plays outside the pocket in years past are now sacks or throwaways. Lots of throwaways. Herbert was throwing to a $20mil WR but you'd never know it watching that game. Williams had 2 for 17yds on 6 targets! Then on some obvious blitzes Herbert wasn't hitting his open outlet quickly and sometimes chose to backpedal thus making the play more difficult. Like Fields does, he also missed some easy open reads. It wasn't all bad, he has arm talent but no throws I haven't seen from Fields. Herbert is also in his 2nd season with that offense so it seems reasonable that blitzes and such should be handled better. Time will tell but for now, if there was a correct choice to poach among the offensive coaches in Green Bay we got the right one in Getsy. Denver fans had to suffer through Fangio who was a great DC and now Hackett who was not a great OC. I've watched 2 Broncos games so far this season and I've not seen nor heard (press conf) anything that impressed me.

Looking ahead a bit I see 1) our whiny neighbors to the north have a bit of a cap issue in 2023. $4mil in cap space and no easy/logical players to cut without big dead money hits. They have to sign Elgton Jenkins who Spotrac has with a market value of $14mil/yr. If they can't do something there I'd say he becomes FA target #1 for us. 2). We currently have $115mil in cap space for 2023. Likely cuts: Quinn. $8.5m dead money, $9.8m cap space Muhammed. $0.5k dead money, $4mil cap space Patrick. $1.5m dead money, $3.9m cap space Bears adjusted cap space: $132.7m Sign Jenkins and move Borom to supersub. If they are highly confident in Borom and/or Leatherwood, they could cut Whitehair and let them compete to take over at LG. Additional savings of $5.8mil. Likely extensions: Mooney, Jaylon Johnson, possible Montgomery I'm not so sure Poles will want to spend $20mil/yr on Roquan. Sign and trade seems logical here. I like the proposed trade to Houston and Lovie.

Nothing magical here. Jets won behind 110yds of passing from their 2nd year QB and a strong running game from a former Iowa St. Cyclone at RB. The difference between them and us is they shutdown GBs running game. But yeah, per NFL media if you win the game the QB played well.

Not missing a thing. Without the talent he had around him last year he's not the same player. Just in that highlight video you can see how quickly the Utah DB runs him down. He's a good route runner and would make our WRs group better but not a top 10 pick. We need Oline and Dline. Carter or Bresee and if not there trade back to 2nd half of the 1st Rd where the WR/Oline talent lies.

If there is to be a breakout this season it's the 2nd half of the season when Fields should have Whitehair back at LG, Patrick C, and then WRs Pringle, Jones, and Harry on the field along with Mooney. I'm not expecting anything great from any of the 3 WRs but Pringle is a better option than ISM or Pettis on contested catches, and he's a better blocker so run game improves. Jones' route running will always be compromised but he's capable of ripping off chunk plays at any time. It's obvious on Jones' TD run and then his WR screen play against Washington that he covers a lot of ground quickly. That gives Fields a great option on some WR screens or short routes. Harry can help in the red zone and again is an elite run blocker. Each of them adds something we just don't have on the field right now and none are a receiving downgrade as compared to Pettis, ISM, or even St. Brown.

I'd say Poles went after BPA pretty clearly in the draft although there was a big emphasis on Oline on Day 3. Yet at that point draft grades are basically flat/even so it's easy to match BPA with needs. I expected 1) we'd go offense early in the draft and 2) our secondary would be a complete mess this season. The draft didn't fall our way but the defensive players did. I don't see any chance they move on from Fields in the manner you propose. That would be like scrapping your entire first season as GM/coach and the clock is ticking on their contract extensions. If they had those doubts it would make more sense to draft competition for him and see who wins the job. Then you trade away the one you don't want.

Already it's obvious the culture isn't even close to the disaster those two built. One example, Trestman refused to discipline our TE (Martellus Bennett?) for his fights and other laziness during practices. Do you see that same tolerance from Flus with Teven Jenkins? He has a bad practice on a Wed (not a fight) and Patrick gets the start. Example 2: Eddie Jackson. Poles was handicapped with limited budget in FA and overweight contracts on vets. He managed to turn much of that around in one offseason. That made things tight in 2022 but gave him a lot more leverage in 2023. There's no denying his draft was solid. Brisker is already playing like a solid starter. Gordon has struggled but after re-watching the last game it's obvious he's improving. He's already been making several negative plays and had others where he kept Washington to short gains. His play recognition will only get better in the 2nd half of the season.

I'm 100% with you on the rebuild and what we see on the field so far. I agree less on the use of Fields. I'd rather he learn the details of being a pocket QB and I consider putting him in the pocket as developing him. Letting him do what he does best isn't likely to improve what he's bad at. He needs one WR who can win early. I don't see that player at the top of the draft. Mooney can win but it's usually late on routes at the top of the stem. We might have to just add another good piece. That brings us back to the Oline because he'll need time for those WRs to get open. I agree here... fix the Center position. If we had a good Center right now it would make a world of difference for Fields even with Patrick at LG. Finding one in FA isn't likely so that leaves the draft. I have no doubt this is already a top assignment for our scouting department. I'd bring back Montgomery hopefully on a reasonable deal. I don't trust Herbert to start and with our needs I wouldn't use anything but a day 3 pick on a RB if we went there. Keep Monty, Herbert, and Ebner for next year. I'd like to see Ebner take Herberts place long term. At this point I'm considering letting Roquan walk away. I simply don't see a player worth $20mil/yr. I might tag him and see if I could get a day 2 pick in a trade but that $20mil could help in a lot of other places. Would I rather pay Jaylon Johnson or Roquan? Despite his injury issues Jaylon contributes more to the D and he'd be more difficult to replace. Hopefully the 2nd half of the season is better for Roquan but right now I'd bet Poles is feeling like he dodged a bullet.

If the 2nd half of the season can unearth another diamond in the rough on the Oline it's a huge win for us. Leatherwood has the best chance of being that guy. He won't get a shot at RG and I've been happy with Whitehair at LG. I wanted to cut him after last year but like Eddie Jackson he's reinvigorated and playing well. We have a lot of money and a lot of gaps to fill on the roster so I don't see a reason to create another gap especially one we have to spend money to fill. Cutting Whitehair has dead money of $8.3mil and saves just $5.3mil in cap space. RT seems like the logical choice for Leatherwood since Borom has limitations there. OTOH I wish he hadn't been on NFI when Whitehair went down because it would have been interesting to see if he got a shot at LG. Maybe that still happens we'll see if we can get rumors about where he's practicing.

Short week, short practices that's all very challenging for a young QB in a new system. You can't minimize the game plan stuff either because the defense has different talent and schemes. Players have to digest that quickly when they are already struggling with the plays on a full work week. I watched the replay and have some additional thoughts on a few players. Braxton Jones was really struggling with Montez Sweat's speed. Sweat routinely got into his chest before Jones could get his arms on Sweat. Just pure timing and once Jones was late Sweat moved him backwards quickly and it ended ugly for Fields on several plays. On the other hand there was quite a few plays where Jones gave up some pressure around the outside but if Fields could have stepped up it wouldn't have been an issue. That's where Patrick showed his worth. On run blocks Patrick is either hit or miss. He'll have some good blocks and then he'll just completely miss a guy or get pushed around. On pass protection he's mostly miss (still had some good plays) and nobody is having issues getting him off balance. Jenkins isn't perfect but he's obviously the best Olineman we had on the field. Gotta love his future at RG. Herbert is frustrating to watch at times because he overruns the plays and misses the good cutback creases. OTOH he makes some good plays but he's not a starter IMO. We're best off with Montgomery getting more snaps but they seemed to be alternating series. The 4th and goal play was just poor design. We had Jones and Patrick crash down on the DTs and it worked to create a crease for Herbert. However that left Kmet to slide down and block Sweat and that ain't happening. The LB filled the gap but if Sweat isn't there Herbert likely pushes through to the goal line. Sweat simply took Herbert sideways off his feet. Nonetheless, if we're going to run that play I'd prefer to put in Montgomery who is better at getting low and finding tough yards. Justin will be alright long term. This game wasn't as good as the Vikings game but I still see progress from where he was early in the season. However, we have to get rid of that early pressure in his face. Sadly I don't expect any changes on the Oline especially on the road and MNF. I do expect N'Keal Harry on the field for some plays and that should help both the run game and red zone plays. It's not like he doesn't know how to play against the NE defense. It will also put ISM on the bench where he belongs. He's got speed but he's just not a very agile athlete, has issues separating, and he's not big enough nor strong enough to win in other ways. Mooney was putting his hat on some big DEs including Sweat and doing alright blocking on several plays. He's not a #1 WR but neither is he a guy you cut. You keep players like him and then add more help. Armon Watts has improved since the beginning of the season and was big factor in keeping their running game stifled early. I still don't see much pass rush from him. Maybe we'll see that improve over the season but he's already a starter ahead of Blackson. That's not a high bar but it is progress for the roster. LBs...both Morrow and Smith were good but could have been better filling their gaps to create negative plays. The DBs are the heart of this defense. If we can find Dline players this offseason who can get consistent early pressure, and maybe stop the run so the DBs don't have to make so many tackles, these guys could really shine next year. Tough loss but it's so easy to see us winning that 20-10. I get it, that's the way it is in the NFL for most teams. I don't like the loss but I'm also not opposed to taking the higher draft pick for a team with so many holes.

Worse than some of the football being played was the Amazon team trying to cover the game. Now for the rest of the story... Everyone has been all over the issues with Patrick and Mustipher, rightfully so. I like our coaching staff but what were they seeing that convinced them on 4th and goal to call a run behind those two? I don't blame Fields for not looking at Pettis on that 3rd and short where he tried to hit Mooney over the top. At this point the odds of Mooney making a great catch are higher than the odds of Pettis making a routine catch. With all the uproar over the lack of offense our D quietly had a very good game. Gordon is starting to get quick stops on plays. The blitzes got home often or forced some errant throws. Eddie Jackson is flying around. I'd prefer to see him wrapping people up but an incoming missile that hits it target has a positive effect. There will be no hiding the DT issues on this roster all season.

I could be wrong but I don't think they had to start the 21 day window, he just had to be on IR for a minimum of 4 weeks. If his return was many weeks away they could have just kept him on IR another week or two. The big thing with the 21 day window is to let them practice and get back into shape before being active. If they do not add him to the 53-man roster within 21 days then he's on IR the rest of the season.

https://www.windycitygridiron.com/2022/10/12/23400628/chicago-bears-washington-commanders-injury-report-jaylon-johnson-returns-nfl-thursday-night-fantasy

Of the rumor mill is correct and he was out with Mono then it's hard to know where his conditioning is at and how many weeks to get back in shape. I'm very curious if they'll give him a look at LG with Whitehair out. He's only practiced with this team for a week or two so he's definitely not a near term fix anywhere but they obviously didn't like any of the other options at LG (Carter, Schofield, etc.). https://www.chicagobears.com/news/bears-ol-alex-leatherwood-returns-to-practice

I forgot ... Charles Leno is their LT. https://www.si.com/nfl/bears/news/top-individual-matchups-for-commanders-and-bears The Bears run up against their longtime starting left tackle and he is still fooling the people at Pro Football Focus, who for years have loved his production even while Bears quarterbacks had to watch their backs. He is rated currently as the 10th best tackle in the league and the NFL's third-best pass blocker at tackle. Overall, PFF puts him two behind Washington right tackle Samuel Cosmi.

I haven't watched or even noticed a thing the Washington Football Team has done this year. It appears their HC blames the QB for their 1-4 record so that's cool: https://commanderswire.usatoday.com/2022/10/10/ron-rivera-on-why-other-nfc-east-teams-are-ahead-of-washington-commanders-quarterback-carson-wentz/ Of course he's backpedaling as fast as he can but on a short week there is no better way to get your 1-4 team fired up to go on the road for a nationally televised broadcast where every single player has to answer the "QB" question. WFT offense: Passing 6th in yds but they are bottom 4 in Rushing. but they've tossed 6 INTs. WFT defense: Passing middle of the pack, Rush middle of the pack They have a few injuries including Jahan Dotson who likely won't play. Their starting RT missed practice with a finger injury so if he has to wear any kind of a cast or even tape on his hand it could affect his ability to block. Starting TE Logan Thomas also can't practice. https://commanderswire.usatoday.com/lists/washington-commanders-week-6-injury-report-vs-chicago-bears-tight-end-logan-thomas-didnt-practice-tuesday/ I don't like TNF because I don't think it's enough rest for the players and these games are often chaotic. Our defense, in particular our pass rush finally needs to show up in this game. Get on the QB early and often and make everyone think, like their HC, that they are losing because of Wentz.

I’m guessing That’s Braxton Jones run blocking or blocking for a screen with everyone else pass blocking. After the screw up Mustipher just decided it would be best to block nobody.

I'm going to pretend I didn't hear what he said because I don't really want that much hope for my Bears future.

Until I see him quit throwing weak arm passes off his back foot under pressure I won't be a Goff fan. That was his issue in college and so far in the NFL. Beyond that he's a terrific and accurate passer. Maybe he has overcome that issue.

Yes, you need desperate HCs and GMs of playoff eligible teams to get a good deal.