adam

Yeah, it is frustrating, I do the same thing, but I am cussing up a storm when he does that. It is literally a drive killer. The odds of him breaking a long one off without a penalty is so low that it makes no sense to even attempt a return. The chance of a block in the back or holding is much higher than anything else. So take a knee, take the ball at the 25 and be happy with that. Who knows, those few extra yards could make the difference between a 51 yard FG and a 47 yard FG later in the drive.

Daniels Time:

In a way, the spotlight has been off of Smith, which is probably better for him. Especially with the Mack trade. I would just like to see week to week improvement. If it doesn't show on the stat line, at least let it show up on the tape.

Floyd's is very springy, and doesn't have a quick turn, so it is odd that they ask him to drop into cover and cover an RB man-on-man. If he can get pressure, it changes the entire game because the offense can't commit to both sides of the line. If they do, with max protect, we should have the coverage to stop it. The issue lately is they have been stacking Mack's side making Floyd beat them and he hasn't.

Just the fact that he doesn't tell Cunningham to take a knee if the ball is in the end zone is enough for me. Here were Cunningham's 4x returns (3 were downable) from Sunday: 1Q - 1-yd deep, returns 18 yards to the 17 (-8) 3Q - 4-yds deep, returns 31 yards to the 27 (+2) (+15 yard NE penalty) - only worthy return 3Q - 1 yd line, returns 24 yards to the 25 4Q - 3-yds deep, returns 19 yards to the 16 (-9) So 3 kicks into the end zone, and on those kicks, we lost a net of 15 yards total compared to if we just downed it and took it at the 25. The issue with the two bad kicks was the first one was our first drive after NE scored, and the last one was in the 4th quarter when we were trying to mount a comeback. Cunningham is averaging 22 yards a return and only has two returns longer than 25 yards (out of 7). On his only other return longer than 25 (28 against TB), he caught it 5 yards deep and only got it out to the 25. So out of 7 returns, Cunningham has got past the 25 once (to the 27).

Yeah, for the most part, it looks like he is not comfortable or is not acting intuitively. I really hope he pans out because we can't afford to have another high draft pick wasted on a bust. White is already there, Floyd is getting there, and now Smith, who doesn't seem to be living up to his billing. On the flip side, Bilal Nichols continues to make impact plays. I would love to see him get more PT, and I am wondering when Daniels will start seeing regular reps.

Everyone has talked about how bad the team as looked with Mack hobbled by the ankle the last two games. However, we were a good defense without him last year, and Floyd was a big part of it. This year Floyd looks more like a UDFA than a first round pick. His numbers have actually gotten worse every year and he has never played more than 12 games per season. I know there is still some time, but if he continues to play like this, I don't see them picking up his 5th year option.

He was the biggest story during the preseason, and is almost the forgotten defender 6 games in. He is 2nd on the team in tackles, but I haven't seen him put a complete, dominant game together yet. He was supposed to be the ball hawk tackling machine, yet there have only been a couple of standout plays to date. What do you think the issue is? Lack of reps in preseason, Fangio?

Trubisky is now 10th in QBR and 13th in QB Rating. He is also 2nd amongst QB's in Rushing Yards (behind Cam). In his last 3 games, he is averaging 334 yards per game, 62.6% Comp, and has 11 TDs and 3 INTs. He is the first Bears QB (ever) to throw for 300+ yards in 3 or more consecutive games. He just needs to clean up some stuff and hit the open guys when they give him a chance. I would love to see less over throws or crazy throws into triple coverage. Based on his last 3 games, the stats are there, but to me, he still hasn't passed the eye test.

After two straight losses, this is a must win if we want to have any chance at making the playoffs. If we can't beat the Jets at Soldier Field, we do not deserve to sniff the playoffs. We are favored by 9 and need to dominate for 60 minutes and put this team away. I am hoping for a better game all around. Please just have Cunningham kneel for every kickoff kicked in the end zone. Bears 31-17 Detroit is playing Seattle, Green Bay is playing in LA against the Rams, and Minnesota draws New Orleans at home. They all could easily lose, giving us a chance to leapfrog back to the top of the Division.

Bad special teams. We are easily a top 15 Offense (13th in DVOA), and even after two bad games, still the #1 Defense for DVOA. The problem is our ST is #25.

If we play like we did today, we will be hard-pressed to beat 3 more NFL teams. Will we? Absolutely, but not if we continue to play like this. It was just a bad game all-around. Zero pass rush makes everything else tougher on defense. When you add playing a soft zone to no pass rush, that is a recipe for disaster. I am surprised NE didn't score more and probably would have if not for the turnovers. The offense is still a work in progress but you would like to see some improvement every game. If not for the great scrambles and the Hail Mary to White, Trubisky would've had a completely awful game. He had 3-4 good throws all game, but we will need more from him in order to be a contender.

It's hard not to be disappointed after a 2nd straight loss which drops us to last place in the Division. As bad as we have been, we could easily be 6-0. 23-17 Lead with 2:39 left in 4th Quarter, lose to GB 24-23. 28-21 Lead with 3:17 left in 4th Quarter, lose to Miami 31-28 in OT. 24-21 Lead with 12:04 left in 3rd Quarter, lose to NE 38-31 with ball on 1-yard line as time expires.

Mahomes is clearly the one in the 2017 draft class. He looks very comfortable in the pocket and seems to be able to find the open man on almost every play. Right now that's what separates him from Trubisky, he hits the open man. Trubisky overthrows him.

Trubisky's worst game passing-wise. 2 bad INTs, 52% completion percentage, a bunch of overthrows to wide open receivers. He had a few nice runs but is missing too many easy passes.

They need to find White some more reps.

It's not that black and white. Two of the TD's were off NE turnovers with a short field. They needed to score those and they did. Which is encouraging. However, our longest TD drive was 63 yards. Also, when the game was on the line, the offense disappeared. We had a 24-21 lead with 12:04 in the 3rd and had the ball and a tie ball game at 7:40 in the 3rd. We essentially had a 3 and out and then the blocked punt (-7 points). Then with 3 drives to redeem themselves, Trubisky scrambles and instead of just throwing the ball away, throws a pass to Josh Bellamy, which is intercepted. Ok, bad decision, but you can redeem yourself the next drive. The defense holds and forces a punt, you drive down the field and throw ANOTHER interception, but this time at the 4-yard line. OOF. So NE goes 96 yards and scores a TD (-14). How are you going to respond? A 3 and out, and punt. Game Over! 4 Drives after 3rd Quarter TD: 4 play drive, Blocked punt 6 play drive, INT 8 play drive, INT 4 play drive, punt Obviously, the Defense and Special Teams need to shoulder most of the blame. The defense is absolutely perplexing. How can such a dominant pass rush basically disappear over the last 2 games, especially coming off the bye? The Special Teams? What the hell was that? Cunningham should not take a single kickoff out of the end zone, at most he gets to the 27 or 28, but most of the time is stopped before the 20. Just like our defense we can't tackle, you can't allow a kickoff return like that with no one contesting him for 50 yards even though there was a blatant block in the back that wasn't called. On the blocked punt, you need max protect there, or take a timeout when you see 10 on the line.

That is what was on display today, just the facts. The team is not playing to potential. Burton looked great on offense and Nichols did on defense. Outside of that? Trubisky missed more open receivers than he had completions, some with zero pressure. He could've easily had 2-3 more INTs. How about some more passes to Howard, he made a great catch and they don't honor the pass when he is in. What is crazy is the commentators were calling the plays "oh, Cohen is in, run or screen to the outside, Howard is in RPO/run up the gut. Bellamy was targeted 4 times (1 was intercepted), Sowell was targeted once (almost intercepted), and Sims was targeted once. So essentially 6 wasted passing plays, 5 incompletions and an INT. Gabriel and Bellamy both had 4 targets. Gabriel caught 3, Bellamy none. Not rocket science. I don't know if this is Trubisky or the play calls, but it needs to change.

LMAO, this is not a 5-win team. What an embarrassing loss.

This team is hot garbage right now. Trubisky cannot read defenses, has happy feet and throws bad INTs. He doesn't need more time, this is who he is. He misses NFL throws and doesn't throw to wide open receivers. He flashes every now and then, and can make some plays with his feet, but that won't win you many games. Pace gambled and lost. This defense is an absolute joke, no one can tackle, zero pass rush, no can cover. Fool's gold. Floyd is a bust, he can't pass rush, can't cover, so I really don't know what he is good at. The Special Teams Coach should be fired after this type of game. Two Special Teams TD's allowed, and Cunningham allowed to run it out to the 15 on every kickoff. Then O'Donnell kicks a 37 yard punt and can't get it past the 50. What the hell is going on. I will be surprised if we win 5 games playing like this.

No Gronk is huge. No excuses today.

After the Miami loss, this game is way more important. After starting 3-1, it will suck to drop to 3-3 after 6 games. 4-2 would keep us in 1st place in the Division regardless of what GB or MIN do. Detroit and Jacksonville both beat NE when NE was on the road. The Bears have a chance to do the same. The Bears +43 points differential is tied for 3rd in the league only behind LAR and BAL. The Bears are 4th best in points allowed, lead the league in INTs per game (2), are 3rd in sacks per game (3.6) even after not getting one against Miami. Based on Wilson's performance, you have to think Edelman will be a main target for Brady. We need to get pressure and get him off his spot. Otherwise it will be a long day with him tearing our secondary apart. I would like to see Nagy stay aggressive the entire game and only mix in the gimmick plays and not make them the entire offense. Don't be too cute. Weather will be in the high 40's with some wind. Good time to unleash Howard and the ground and pound. Hopefully the team is pissed from the Miami game and will come out angry. This is a winnable game, but only if we keep NE's offense in check. NE is only favored by 3, so with the 3 point home field advantage bump, this is expected to be a one-score game. Bears 23-20

A NE loss helps everyone it seems, and I am sure a little bit of this goes on around the league. NE is on fire lately, 38, 38, and 43 points scored in their last 3. They are 4-0 when they score 27 or more, and 0-2 when they score 20 or less. We are 3-0 when we allow 17 or less and 0-2 when we allow 24 or more. So we have a chance if we can limit them to 24 or less.

On #1, he has hit a few, but has also missed badly on others. We are probably 5-0 if he hits on the ones he missed. For #2, it seems like he gets happy feet without any pressure. Hopefully this will calm down with more reps. On #3, almost every game he has a couple of bad passes, which he probably got away with in college. With the tougher competition, he has to be better. The INT against Miami was to Braunecker with multiple defenders there, it almost looked like he threw it there blindly because the DB was standing there the entire time.

I really like this site's take on stats: https://www.footballoutsiders.com/stats/qb Check out the QB stats, Trubisky is 13th best QB based on DVOA (11th in QBR). The Bears as a team are 3rd only behind LAR and KC, even after the loss to Miami. Miami is 6th and NE is 9th. We have the 4th best odds to make the playoffs (74.7%) only behind LAR, KC, and NO.