Falcons at Bears Official Week 1 Game Thread

[jason]

Considering this is a rebuilding team that isn't going to win alot of games a moral victory is exactly what we needed. We hung with them despite no WRs really

 

Agreed. I wanted to win like anyone else, but these are good games for the Bears. The team is obviously a few players away from really being able to contend.

 

Earlier and more draft picks is what this team needs.

[jason]

Questionable coaching and playcalling almost all day...

 

Exactly. Basically they neutered Glennon the first three quarters, and then only threw the ball when they had to.

[DABEARSDABOMB]

If we had a receiving corps, we win the game. Or if the safeties could prevent the "big" play.

[Alaskan Grizzly]

I'm not sure what game Jeff Dickerson was watching but he referred to Glennon as "impressive"....

 

http://www.espn.com/blog/nfcnorth/post/_/i...by-mike-glennon

 

Have to say I agree to what he said. In 'crunch time' he produced. Had it not been for two drops in the end zone at the end of the game we'd be talking a different story. Both drops were not because Glennon put them in bad places but because the receivers simply didn't catch them.

 

 

[DABEARSDABOMB]

Have to say I agree to what he said. In 'crunch time' he produced. Had it not been for two drops in the end zone at the end of the game we'd be talking a different story. Both drops were not because Glennon put them in bad places but because the receivers simply didn't catch them.

And for those knocking our play-calling, we don't exactly have the type of personell to just run some big wide-open offense and try to beat someone in a score-fest. We have to be deliberate with this personell group and try to keep the game close and hope we will win. Ground and pound with creative uses of Cohen and TE's because we have literally no one who can stretch the field / get open consistently at wideout (or at least no one who has proven to have that capability). If we asked Glennon to air it out 40 times, we'd have gotten creamed.

 

Instead, if the team executed at critical times, we'd have beaten a team who played in last year's superbowl. I've said it before and I'll say it again, we are a playmaker in our secondary and a QB away (along with an upgraded WR corps) from being a very very good team. If we just had a good QB and league average receiving corps, I'd feel pretty confident in our ability to be a playoff team. As we stand today, I think we are going to be on the losing end of quite a few close games and then have a few games where we just get destroyed). And of course we'll win some too.

 

The good news is, talent is being built and we might actually have the QB we need on the roster. While our end season record might indicate far away, I predict it will actually be the closest we've been in a long-time to a sustained strong wrong...I just hope ownership / front office keep faith in the plan / process.

[Lucky Luciano]

I'm not sure what game Jeff Dickerson was watching but he referred to Glennon as "impressive"....

 

http://www.espn.com/blog/nfcnorth/post/_/i...by-mike-glennon

 

i missed some of the game but...

 

i thought glennon had a good game. he moved the ball downfield when he had to and made some very nice passes. on the long ball he threw it was a fraction of a second slow but still a very catchable ball if the defender didn't make a good play on knocking it away (or was it holding him? whatever). critical drops at critical times and everybody praises his game for the most part. i am optimistic he can play with adequate protection.

 

i thought our offensive line was average at best. whitehair struggled in that game in my opinion and caused some critical mistakes. the two penalties hurt us not to mention the bad snap. massie looked ok with the exception of the final play where he got beat at a critical game changing moment. i thought leno also looked ok to good through out the game. we need to get long back in the mix.

 

our run blocking was not very good. if not for the moves by cohen it would have been a sad day for our run offense. this was our game plan... run the ball.

 

wide receivers were average at best with no threat downfield and not much separation. out te's looked good, especially simms.

 

on defense i thought our DL looked mediocre at best. not a lot of pressure on the qb in passing downs but they did look good on run defense. hicks looked like he was recovering from a hangover from celebrating his new contract. he looked lethargic at times and out of gas on others. not much from floyd on the outside either. i don't know how good the falcons o line is but the controlled our DL for most of the game.

 

freeman had a monster game at lb. our safeties were ok with the exception of the long gains which killed the game. fuller looked ok at cb and they seemed to limit the falcons offense to a short zone attack.

 

not happy with the outcome but it could have been a lot worse. this team does NOT give up.

[bowlingtwig]

I completely get the fact that our receiving corps sucks donkey you know what doesn't mean we that refuse to throw the ball down field. It really sucks that white and cam are both down and I agree with not throwing the ball 40+ times. With all this said what ever happened to "next man up". We signed guys like wright to 1 yr prove it deals. This is now a golden opportunity for those guys to show what they can do to possibly get that big pay day that they all dream of. Instead what I saw was either designed play calling or the inability for Glennon to get the ball to some one besides Cohen. Look I get it Cohen was simply amazing yesterday but I think we can all agree he can't continue to get blown up like he did yesterday otherwise he will be gone by mid season. Big time props to Cohen for taking that punishment and bouncing right back up from those. Little man is obviously tougher than nails. I need to see us at least trying to get the ball to the receivers to see if 1 of them can step up and be that guy. I will say 1 very good thing about Glennon. He was doing everything in his power to ensure he didn't cost us the game.

[DABEARSDABOMB]

I completely get the fact that our receiving corps sucks donkey you know what doesn't mean we that refuse to throw the ball down field. It really sucks that white and cam are both down and I agree with not throwing the ball 40+ times. With all this said what ever happened to "next man up". We signed guys like wright to 1 yr prove it deals. This is now a golden opportunity for those guys to show what they can do to possibly get that big pay day that they all dream of. Instead what I saw was either designed play calling or the inability for Glennon to get the ball to some one besides Cohen. Look I get it Cohen was simply amazing yesterday but I think we can all agree he can't continue to get blown up like he did yesterday otherwise he will be gone by mid season. Big time props to Cohen for taking that punishment and bouncing right back up from those. Little man is obviously tougher than nails. I need to see us at least trying to get the ball to the receivers to see if 1 of them can step up and be that guy. I will say 1 very good thing about Glennon. He was doing everything in his power to ensure he didn't cost us the game.

I'm hoping we see Wheaton become the player the Steelers once we thought he could be (injuries have gotten in the midst of it), but they were the type of injuries that shouldn't derail his upside.

[Mongo3451]

Something weird is going on in Bear's media with Glennon. I just heard Jim Miller on the radio talk about how well Glennon played yesterday, too. It's almost like these guys have been programmed by Fox to set the bar so low for Glennon because Trubisky is a rookie and is "not ready."

I thought Glennon played well. He almost got it done. He did his part.

[Wesson44]

And for those knocking our play-calling, we don't exactly have the type of personell to just run some big wide-open offense and try to beat someone in a score-fest. We have to be deliberate with this personell group and try to keep the game close and hope we will win. Ground and pound with creative uses of Cohen and TE's because we have literally no one who can stretch the field / get open consistently at wideout (or at least no one who has proven to have that capability). If we asked Glennon to air it out 40 times, we'd have gotten creamed.

 

Instead, if the team executed at critical times, we'd have beaten a team who played in last year's superbowl. I've said it before and I'll say it again, we are a playmaker in our secondary and a QB away (along with an upgraded WR corps) from being a very very good team. If we just had a good QB and league average receiving corps, I'd feel pretty confident in our ability to be a playoff team. As we stand today, I think we are going to be on the losing end of quite a few close games and then have a few games where we just get destroyed). And of course we'll win some too.

 

The good news is, talent is being built and we might actually have the QB we need on the roster. While our end season record might indicate far away, I predict it will actually be the closest we've been in a long-time to a sustained strong wrong...I just hope ownership / front office keep faith in the plan / process.

will someone please telll me why we have a 6'7 TE that played basketball and did not use him as a mismatch in the red zone...i mean it was a play to go 5 yards and turn around for a jump ball against a 6 ft LB that would have won this game

[jason]

And for those knocking our play-calling, we don't exactly have the type of personell to just run some big wide-open offense and try to beat someone in a score-fest. We have to be deliberate with this personell group and try to keep the game close and hope we will win. Ground and pound with creative uses of Cohen and TE's because we have literally no one who can stretch the field / get open consistently at wideout (or at least no one who has proven to have that capability). If we asked Glennon to air it out 40 times, we'd have gotten creamed.

 

Instead, if the team executed at critical times, we'd have beaten a team who played in last year's superbowl. I've said it before and I'll say it again, we are a playmaker in our secondary and a QB away (along with an upgraded WR corps) from being a very very good team. If we just had a good QB and league average receiving corps, I'd feel pretty confident in our ability to be a playoff team. As we stand today, I think we are going to be on the losing end of quite a few close games and then have a few games where we just get destroyed). And of course we'll win some too.

 

The good news is, talent is being built and we might actually have the QB we need on the roster. While our end season record might indicate far away, I predict it will actually be the closest we've been in a long-time to a sustained strong wrong...I just hope ownership / front office keep faith in the plan / process.

 

There is a wide margin between Crowton and Shoop. This was waaaaay too close to Shoop, and offense like that is almost guaranteed to fail. The passing in the first half was, if I'm not mistaken, 100% under 10yd targets. That is unacceptable because the defense doesn't have to stay honest, and they can creep up to stop the run. There has to be SOME form of mid-range passing at least, otherwise the defense doesn't respect the threat.

 

On top of that, Glennon didn't look too bad when they finally let him throw it beyond 10 yards. And that's WITH the subpar group of receivers.

[Lucky Luciano]

There is a wide margin between Crowton and Shoop. This was waaaaay too close to Shoop, and offense like that is almost guaranteed to fail. The passing in the first half was, if I'm not mistaken, 100% under 10yd targets. That is unacceptable because the defense doesn't have to stay honest, and they can creep up to stop the run. There has to be SOME form of mid-range passing at least, otherwise the defense doesn't respect the threat.

 

On top of that, Glennon didn't look too bad when they finally let him throw it beyond 10 yards. And that's WITH the subpar group of receivers.

 

agree. they have to open up the passing attack into the medium range and at least once or twice on a long ball to spread the defenses even if glennon doesn't have the touch on those long balls. i think the coaching staff will adjust. this was a shakedown game.

[BearFan PHX]

will someone please telll me why we have a 6'7 TE that played basketball and did not use him as a mismatch in the red zone...i mean it was a play to go 5 yards and turn around for a jump ball against a 6 ft LB that would have won this game

 

Because the game is still too big for him. He drops easy passes.

 

I think he will be good after he gets over being so green, but right now, he's not ready for the NFL, except on special teams.

 

That could change in a month, but it's where he is right now.

[adam]

I am going to re-watch the game tonight and will try to provide some good feedback.

 

The biggest issue I saw with Glennon was his complete lack of mobility in and outside of the pocket. In the pocket, he could've moved around to potentially buy more time on few sacks/plays. Outside the pocket, he provides basically nothing and not even the threat to run. This allows at least one LB (the Spy) to drop back into intermediate passing lanes. This took away a lot over the middle and is why you saw so much to the outside to Cohen.

 

Cohen is an absolute stud and is going to really provide an awesome 1-2 punch with Howard. If Pace can draft WR's like he does RB's, we will be good to go very soon. My only concern with Cohen is overuse (too many hits).

[Wesson44]

Because the game is still too big for him. He drops easy passes.

 

I think he will be good after he gets over being so green, but right now, he's not ready for the NFL, except on special teams.

 

That could change in a month, but it's where he is right now.

I DON'T by that at all. He had catches in the preseason.......wjays too big to go 5 yards and turn around and catch the ball? Right now I can go in there and go 5 yards and do that...Cohen did it all day so he is not too green as you say and if he was not ready why is he on the 53 man roster

[adam]

Ok, starting rewatching the game and my assessment of Glennon is worse than I originally thought. There were numerous plays where he would ignore a wide open receiver for what seemed like the check down. Almost all passes were underneath or short of the line to gain. He had some decent plays, but was too inconsistent

 

On the last drive, he did look better, but it seemed more on ATL than on the offense. They started to play prevent and off the receivers, giving the underneath stuff. On the 4 plays goal to go. The Bellamy drop was more due to defensive holding than anything else, he couldn't get out of his break clean and turned late. No blame there other than refs. On the Howard drop, definitely on Howard, but I doubt he gets in and time probably runs out anyway if he catches it and gets tackled in bounds. The better play would've been to Howard immediately. On 3rd to Miller, just a bad pass by Glennon behind Miller. Then on 4th, Glennon was indecisive and held ball too long for a 5 yard pass, ends game on sack.

 

Earlier in the game on another sack, he could've thrown the ball but held it and took a long sack.

 

 

Here is one play on a 2nd and long, Glennon stares down Cohen, completely misses a wide open White who cut immediately in with no DB within 7+ yards of him. Glennon actually leads Cohen into the defenders, where if he turned and threw it to White, he had a lot of space to make something happen, even running underneath Cohen then down the far sidelines. You could even see a better passing lane to put it to White on the run. There was a good pocket, so it wasn't like there was an urgency to get it out quick. Glennon never looked at another receiver. This is a microcosm of his game.

[Alaskan Grizzly]

Ok, starting rewatching the game and my assessment of Glennon is worse than I originally thought. There were numerous plays where he would ignore a wide open receiver for what seemed like the check down. Almost all passes were underneath or short of the line to gain. He had some decent plays, but was too inconsistent

 

On the last drive, he did look better, but it seemed more on ATL than on the offense. They started to play prevent and off the receivers, giving the underneath stuff. On the 4 plays goal to go. The Bellamy drop was more due to defensive holding than anything else, he couldn't get out of his break clean and turned late. No blame there other than refs. On the Howard drop, definitely on Howard, but I doubt he gets in and time probably runs out anyway if he catches it and gets tackled in bounds. The better play would've been to Howard immediately. On 3rd to Miller, just a bad pass by Glennon behind Miller. Then on 4th, Glennon was indecisive and held ball too long for a 5 yard pass, ends game on sack.

 

Earlier in the game on another sack, he could've thrown the ball but held it and took a long sack.

 

 

Here is one play on a 2nd and long, Glennon stares down Cohen, completely misses a wide open White who cut immediately in with no DB within 7+ yards of him. Glennon actually leads Cohen into the defenders, where if he turned and threw it to White, he had a lot of space to make something happen, even running underneath Cohen then down the far sidelines. You could even see a better passing lane to put it to White on the run. There was a good pocket, so it wasn't like there was an urgency to get it out quick. Glennon never looked at another receiver. This is a microcosm of his game.

 

Simply put; Glennon started out slow. Whether it be the play calling or him getting into rhythm, he played well enough to maintain the starting role. I think he should be given the opportunity to air it out now but to who? Once they pull the trigger on Trubisky that's it, Glennon is done in Chicago. There will be no going back; especially if Biscuit stinks it up; which is very possible. Remember both Hoyer and Barkley played well in this offense last year...at one time. In fact Barkley played a similar 'roll out of the pocket' style as does Trubisky. Glennon (and to some degree, Hoyer) is a pocket passer plain and simple. As long as he's protected he'll do fine. He certainly didn't lose the game this last weekend.