Bears vs Cincinnati. Game Thread

[adam]

I think the play calling has been conservative for Tribusky's sake. They put something together and was able to run so there was a flow to the offense.

I don't know, Shaheen and Cohen's playtime has been very inconsistent the entire year.

 

The only thing I was thinking of was the Bears were purposely neutering the offense so there was less tape on Trubisky going into next year.

[AZ54]

A fun game to watch (finally).

 

Trubisky: I see lots of comments all over, not just here, about where this play calling has been all season. When you are on a losing team, better yet rebuilding, everything and everyone falls under a microscope. Trubisky has held this offense back far more than any other player except Glennon. That from a fan who was happy we traded up to ensure we got him. Sure we've had one player or another make mistakes with penalties, or drops, missed blocks, etc. that killed drives but with Trubisky we had to be perfect. However, over the last few games the light is coming on brighter and brighter for him. He's reading the defense more quickly at the snap and we are seeing more and more quick hitting passes. I'm a very unsympathetic to anyone saying this was all because the Bengals were missing players. Listening to that during the broadcast proves how ignorant TV announcers are because they know nothing about the Bears team this year.

 

I was expecting this performance moreso against the 49ers. I'll say that if Trubisky continues to improve then a) we must give his coaches credit for that and we need to be more open to keeping them around. I don't think firing anyone mid-season was going to help us evaluate what we have in Trubisky. When you are largely dependent upon rookies and 2nd year players it is important to get the full body of work befor evaluating. That does not mean I'm saying keep them around, I'm ok waiting to see how things play out.

 

Shaheen: Nice to see him coming around. He still has work to do as a blocker. He missed one assignment that led directly to pressure on Trubisky late in the game. When you have a big man with soft hands for catching the ball, even when catching over his head, you have a great redzone target. He is still largely the self-made DII player we drafted but wait until he hits the weight room all offseason. No need to add bulk, just strength.

 

Oline: Played far better than I expected but part of their success was really Trubisky making quicker decisions. With an effective passing game to balance against the running game we saw a glimpse of what can be.

 

RBs: Congrats to Howard...first Bears RB to hit 1000yds in each of his first 2 seasons. Cohen impressed me because he is starting to run with patience and wait for holes to open, then he's using his lightning quick agility. Staying behind blockers on the wildcat play where earlier in the season he'd have been racing to get out front, is further proof that he's learning.

 

Defense: Dalton wasn't that good today but our defense wasn't making it easy for him either. Mostly this was from good coverage from DBs on the backend. I'm glad to see Callahan back on the field, he makes us much better than LeBlanc, if only we can find a way to keep him healthy. I don't know what the future holds but Pace should bring back both Amukamara and Fuller for next year. Both have played well enough all year to earn that, both will make more money than fans think they deserve. Yet I think we can get both for about what is paid to one elite CB, maybe a bit more. Doing so keeps some continuity but more importantly allows us time to draft a good young CB and let him learn and bring in another CB on day 3 to compete for a spot.

 

The last few weeks have been extremely hard on the coaching staff (nobody on this board would be comfortable listening to non-stop chatter at work that they are about to get fired). Through all that and the big hits on injuries the last two weeks (Unrein, Goldman, Long, Amos) they got this team ready to play for a road game. I liked Fox's comments in the post-game press conference recognizing and appreciating all the young players who continue to work hard.

 

 

 

 

[DABEARSDABOMB]

A fun game to watch (finally).

 

Trubisky: I see lots of comments all over, not just here, about where this play calling has been all season. When you are on a losing team, better yet rebuilding, everything and everyone falls under a microscope. Trubisky has held this offense back far more than any other player except Glennon. That from a fan who was happy we traded up to ensure we got him. Sure we've had one player or another make mistakes with penalties, or drops, missed blocks, etc. that killed drives but with Trubisky we had to be perfect. However, over the last few games the light is coming on brighter and brighter for him. He's reading the defense more quickly at the snap and we are seeing more and more quick hitting passes. I'm a very unsympathetic to anyone saying this was all because the Bengals were missing players. Listening to that during the broadcast proves how ignorant TV announcers are because they know nothing about the Bears team this year.

 

I was expecting this performance moreso against the 49ers. I'll say that if Trubisky continues to improve then a) we must give his coaches credit for that and we need to be more open to keeping them around. I don't think firing anyone mid-season was going to help us evaluate what we have in Trubisky. When you are largely dependent upon rookies and 2nd year players it is important to get the full body of work befor evaluating. That does not mean I'm saying keep them around, I'm ok waiting to see how things play out.

 

Shaheen: Nice to see him coming around. He still has work to do as a blocker. He missed one assignment that led directly to pressure on Trubisky late in the game. When you have a big man with soft hands for catching the ball, even when catching over his head, you have a great redzone target. He is still largely the self-made DII player we drafted but wait until he hits the weight room all offseason. No need to add bulk, just strength.

 

Oline: Played far better than I expected but part of their success was really Trubisky making quicker decisions. With an effective passing game to balance against the running game we saw a glimpse of what can be.

 

RBs: Congrats to Howard...first Bears RB to hit 1000yds in each of his first 2 seasons. Cohen impressed me because he is starting to run with patience and wait for holes to open, then he's using his lightning quick agility. Staying behind blockers on the wildcat play where earlier in the season he'd have been racing to get out front, is further proof that he's learning.

 

Defense: Dalton wasn't that good today but our defense wasn't making it easy for him either. Mostly this was from good coverage from DBs on the backend. I'm glad to see Callahan back on the field, he makes us much better than LeBlanc, if only we can find a way to keep him healthy. I don't know what the future holds but Pace should bring back both Amukamara and Fuller for next year. Both have played well enough all year to earn that, both will make more money than fans think they deserve. Yet I think we can get both for about what is paid to one elite CB, maybe a bit more. Doing so keeps some continuity but more importantly allows us time to draft a good young CB and let him learn and bring in another CB on day 3 to compete for a spot.

 

The last few weeks have been extremely hard on the coaching staff (nobody on this board would be comfortable listening to non-stop chatter at work that they are about to get fired). Through all that and the big hits on injuries the last two weeks (Unrein, Goldman, Long, Amos) they got this team ready to play for a road game. I liked Fox's comments in the post-game press conference recognizing and appreciating all the young players who continue to work hard.

Just an outstanding post. I also want to give kudos to the players and coaching staff for having these guys playing hard in what could have easily turned into a disaster. Of course I'm one of the few here who doesn't think Fox is just a total idiot (you don't luck your way into two superbowls with two different teams as the head coach; nor do you luck your way into the playoffs with Tim "freaking" Tebow.