AZ54

Swift kicks in with some good All-22 breakdown on Fields and the Oline. I listened to Getsy today and I think this staff is done with Mustipher. That doesn't mean we have good options but IMO they should be thinking after the first 4 games we haven't seen the improvement we expected. If we were to give someone else 4 games experience would we be in a better spot? Teven Jenkins doesn't even have 4 games experience and he's improved. He's not perfect as he gets beat on the very last play in this review but more often than not he's blocking his man the furthest away from Justin as compared to everyone else. Patrick continued to practice some at Center so that means he's not a lock at LG as Eberflus said on Mon. If he was they wouldn't take away valuable LG reps from him. That also means someone else, maybe Carter, got snaps at LG.

More good feedback on the offense as a whole.

Sorry Adam, I've been waiting but we gotta get this in gear. I don't expect much with Whitehair and Montgomery out this week. Things will only be tougher on Fields in the passing game and without Montgomery this week we'll struggle again to get the tough yards (3rd and short) where Herbert struggles. However the Vikings, despite being 3-1, are bottom third in both pass and run defense so they don't appear to be as good as they were in years past. They are also going through a transition to a new scheme under our former coach Ed Donatell. Just like us there are likely some growing pains. On offense they are 21st in rushing yards, but 12th in passing yards. That tends to play into our strength as a passing defense but we'll likely be missing Jaylon Johnson again this week since he didn't practice today. Jaylon is the perfect antidote to a WR like Justin Jefferson because he's consistent in his technique and you want to get Jefferson's head out of the game if at all possible. He's already shown this year some tendencies to break off his routes if he doesn't win early. The only way I can see us winning is if we have a few surprise big plays.

No doubt Mooney needs a sidekick but I'm happier (relatively speaking) watching ESB and Pettis trying to sort that out than if we had re-signed ARob in desperation.

https://www.profootballrumors.com/2022/10/lions-waive-k-dominik-eberle-to-add-k-michael-badgley

I thought about that too. I think Borom is a better fit at OG anyway. https://www.nbcsports.com/chicago/bears/justin-fields-was-under-pressure-50-percent-his-dropbacks Very interesting stat: Justin Fields was under pressure on 51.4% of his dropbacks against the Giants. On plays where he was kept clean, he went 10-of-14 for 168 yards, with a PFF grade of 90.3 Justin Fields’ average time to throw on plays where he was kept clean was 2.84 seconds, according to PFF We'd all like to see some quicker throws in there but we'd also like to see some WRs win early on the route. Add in that we had 5 drops and it's not hard to see Fields putting up an average statistical game if he had an average supporting cast. I'm not giving up on him.

It's so bad I just can't stop laughing: PFF scores for Bears Oline in wk 4 and they weren't all horrible, weren't all good either, but that one below for Mustipher is something I didn't think was possible. https://bearswire.usatoday.com/lists/bears-pff-grades-how-the-offensive-line-fared-in-week-4-loss-to-giants/ "Pass protection: 1.5"

Actually that might not be a bad option but if Patrick can snap he needs to play Center. It's just too pivotal a position both for the line calls and performance. I'd be ok with Eiselen from a physical performance standpoint he's a bit more stout but I don't think he'd handle the calls very well at this stage. That's where Patrick at Center helps even if you have a rookie like Carter next to him. I hope what Eberflus said Monday about Patrick staying at LG was just early week chatter because I haven't been impressed with him at RG. I can't see that getting better with a position switch to the other side. Monday is all about grading out the previous game with the players, then they start game planning. Tue should be when the coaches reconvene and hopefully they decide to experiment a bit with the LG spot: Reiff, Schofield, or even Carter. At least then if it's Patrick we can know it's the best option.

The WRs I see early in Rd 1 aren't that impressive. Ideally we can find a bigger WR to compliment Mooney and to help in the red zone. The other need IMO is a really good slot WR who can just help move the chains. 6th overall: Jordan Addison. 6'. 175lbs. Not very physical, might be touch faster than Mooney but not elite speed. Seems like a similar player as compared to Mooney. Not a bad thing to add to the roster at all but not at 6 overall where TDN has him. I'm not even sure he'll be a top 15 pick when it's all done unless he runs really fast at the combine. 10th overall: Jaxon Smith-Njigba. 6'. 198lbs. He's not fast but is very quick and a good route runner. He's a likely slot WR in the NFL but we need one. At 10th overall as a slot WR I don't quite see that on film. Having said that he's easily the best WR among this group IMO. 12th overall: Kayshon Boutte. 6'. 185lbs. More speed here but he's a head case (like many WRs). He doesn't like working inside routes and sometimes just gives up on plays. I don't see him as a culture fit for Flus but most of us grow up sooner or later. 22nd: Quentin Johnson. 6'4". 212lbs. Decent long speed, some burst in tight spaces but not very nimble and doesn't seem to have a great vertical. Route running is what he'll need to demonstrate this year to cement his draft position. Later in Rd 1 the value proposition is getting better and he fits a need or does he if N'Keal Harry returns and plays well enough? 36th: Parker Washington. 5'10". 207lbs. This is the first WR that's "different" and along with Smith-Njigba would really fit what we need as a slot WR. I'll just quote TDN: "Washington has experience in a slew of alignments but his best work and highest volume have come from the slot. He’s very savvy running MOF routes that sit down versus zone, break vertically on delayed attacks up the field, or work across the face of traffic when running the shallow and rubbing to come clean against man coverage. His ability to take throws in stride and play off contact for RAC is accentuated by how dense he is as a player—he’s built like Amari Rodgers from Clemson several years back and carries his weight like a running back. But the story with Washington that will garner the most attention is the ball skills". I'll be trying to catch a Penn St. game one of these weekends.

For the draftniks out there who are y'all watching on Saturdays? I'm guessing we'll land at 15 overall and could be as high as 10th. The top player I want is Jalen Carter DT but he'll be long gone before we draft. The next DT who might still be on the board is Bresee who can also play 3-tech and has the motor we want. He seems to be more 1-gap style vs. 2-gap so might still be around for us. Beyond that I'm not seeing anyone jump out at a position of need. I'm not that enamored with Jaxon Smith-Njigba, not that high anyway. Maybe Boutte but I can't watch these clips and say that's the WR I want 15th overall. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Cda_oTnIBQ I'd grab an OT but the two in that range (Duncan and Skoronski) have questions marks and might be interior players. I'm just working off TDN's list right now, we don't have a list of early entrants, but if I can't get one those DTs I feel like it's time to trade back. https://thedraftnetwork.com/nfl-draft-rankings-tdn100-2023-september/

I'm pretty sure they did and the plan was if the rookies were talented enough they were going to play and learn on the job. It's a much better way to know what you have before going into an offseason with all that cap space but it does hinder Fields' progress.

I remember the Gardner Minshew hysteria too.

I'm not nearly as down after watching this game. I'm not that high either rather I just see this as the 6-8 win team I was expecting. One with some ups and some downs. I'm not sure I'd even want this team sitting at 3-1 and all the media noise that comes with it because they really aren't ready for that. However I really wanted to see Fields and the offense on that last drive opportunity. Keep fighting as the underdog, keep working, and if we get a better draft pick so be it. There are just different players making mistakes on different plays. Sometimes on the same play. One example in the running game: Both Herbert and Ebner too often stretched plays to the outside instead of taking the designed cutback inside. Those cut backs were open. One of those led to a holding call on Kmet who had a great seal block on the edge. Kmet's fault or RB? Lucas Patrick continues to look like the backup he was in GB. He has good plays and then plays where he just gets blown up. I'm not sure what Fields is supposed to do with Patrick in his lap. Our edges are still too inconsistent now that players have film on our OTs. Nobody in the protection figured out the dual LB blitz. That's on Getsy. Pettis dropped a perfect pass from Fields that would have been a 1st down. He's never been a contested pass type of receiver and that's why he's at best a backup. For his part Fields is still thinking too much even when he's outside the pocket. I could go on about those things but among the positives I saw were some good adjustments from the defense in the 2nd half. Again, this staff can help the players to adapt which IMO bodes well for the future. When these young players like Brisker get more experience those adjustments will happen quicker on the field. Mooney picked up 4 rec for 94yds so the monkey is off his back. Eddie Jackson had a pretty good day and Roquan made some good plays, mostly in the 2nd half as did Brisker and Morrow. Specials teams coverage was good. Our new kicker went 4-4, not bad for one day of practice.

Yes this doesn't appear to be an injury just personal issues. Whatever it is I wish him the best. Now here are the backups: https://bearswire.usatoday.com/2022/10/01/bears-elevate-rb-darrynton-evans-to-the-active-roster/ https://bearswire.usatoday.com/2022/10/01/bears-are-signing-k-michael-badgley/

ISM: Ihmir Smith-Marsette

On Patrick's first week back he wasn't a sure thing to even play. Then by end of the week the plan to rotate him in with Jenkins showed up. I'd say there is a plan for "what we'd like to do" and another for "what we have to do".

Eberflus has clearly worked with many talented rookies, or young players, and really seems like he has a good sense of how to help them handle the ups and downs of the season. He spends some 1on1 time with Gordon each week to help him too. Both coordinators seem to echo that as well.

Roquan started and he didn't practice all week before the Houston game.

I'm not sure if it was mentioned here but in his press conference on Mon Eberflus stated that Jenkins didn't start at RG because he had a poor practice on Wed. Thur and Fri practices were better but Patrick got the start at RG. The tough love project continues but his potential to be a top RG in the NFL has been on display on many plays.

Yes, years of running behind poor blocking, including all the years I watched him at Iowa St., can do that to you. This year so far our run blocking has been good and he's also running behind a FB for the first time. I'm curious to see how he adapts to this and if those bad habits fade away. His adjustment from SF to GB games was pretty big IMO. Against SF he routinely went away from the lead blocking and tried to find his own path too quickly without letting the play develop. A week later he held to the initial path longer and then found his way forward with a lot of success.

I'd like to see some of that as well. Make a good quick decision and then down the road we'll work on how to make a better quick decision. After watching the film reviews I'm not as discouraged as I was, not even for the passing offense as a whole because players can get open. Pass protection could definitely be more consistent. I'd guess DEs have tape on our OTs now and are attacking their weaknesses better. A quick check of the stats shows the Giants near the bottom of the league in sacks so perhaps this week Fields gets a bit more time to settle down in the pocket and gains some confidence.

More from Tim Jenkins...

I realize there will be tougher defenses but one of them was GB and we ran for 180yds. Sadly our D has been equally as bad at stopping the run but at least against Houston the LBs showed signs of slowing that down. The Giants have been nearly as bad stopping the run so they know what's headed their way.

At what point can we start saying we have a good run blocking Oline?