Remaining Schedule

[adam]

Right now, with current records, we only have one game vs a prospective playoff team (LAR), and 3 games against potential playoff teams (GB and MIN x2). If we split the division and go 3-2 the rest of the way, beat the teams with 2 or less wins (BUF, SF, NYG) and lose to LAR, that's 6-3 the rest of the way without too much stretching.

Week 9 at BUF (2-5) - Bills are coming off a MNF game and a short week. They have scored 81 pts on the season in 7 games. We should and need to dominate this game. I would consider resting Mack and Robinson again if they are not 100%. 5-3.
Week 10 vs DET (3-4) - Lions games are always determined by which team or Stafford shows up. Are they the team that beat NE and GB or the team that lost to the Jets and SF? Lions will be coming off a road game against the Vikings. At home, playing a dome team, this needs to be a win. 6-3.
Week 11 vs MIN (4-3-1) - This one will be tough. Minnesota will be coming off their bye. I am going to say this one is a loss for that reason alone. 6-4.
Week 12 at DET (3-4) - Same as last DET game, which team will we be playing. I say we split with the Lions. So 6-5.
Week 13 at NYG (1-7) - Wow the Giants are bad, and I assume they will be mailing it in for the #1 pick at this time. 7-5.
Week 14 vs LAR (8-0) - I don't see the Rams going undefeated and they looked beatable against GB this week. 3 of their last 4 wins have been by 3 pts or less. I don't see us winning the way we are playing right now, but if we play to our potential, and the Rams lose a game or two before we play. This game may have more playoff implications than they do right now. I will go with the Rams right now, 7-6.
Week 15 vs GB (3-3-1) - GB is not as good as the media makes them out to be. They beat us on a fluke, and have only beat BUF and SF. Between now and Week 15, they play at NE, MIA, at SEA, at MIN, ARZ, and ATL. At best I see 7-5-1, but realistically 6-6-1 or 5-7-1. Either way, we will be close enough in the standings that this will essentially be a playoff game and a great payback for Week 1. Bears win. 8-6.
Week 16 at SF (1-7) - If we can't win against this team with playoffs on the line, then we don't deserve to go. 9-6. 
Week 17 at MIN (4-3-1) - This will be another playoff game, and will more than likely decide the Division. I could see the Vikes coming in at 9-5-1 at best. Since I have us splitting, then this one is a win. We go 10-6 and Vikes are 9-6-1.

Vikes remaining (DET, @CHI, GB, @NE, @SEA, MIA, DET, CHI) 5-3 (9-6-1 at best), 6 games vs teams .500 or better. Worst team to play, DET at 3-4 twice.

Packers remaining (@NE, MIA, @SEA, @MIN, ARZ, ATL, @CHI, @NYJ, DET) 6-3 (9-6-1 best), 5 games vs teams .500 or better. Worst teams to play: ARZ, NYJ, ATL, and DET. 

[DABEARSDABOMB]

It is going to be a cluster at the end of the season in the North.  My prediction is that Dolphins / Packers game from early in the year will be our undoing, but man, either way, its fun to have this vision to play in meaningful games.  I also have a vision of super bowl contention in the future. Arrow is pointed up...lets hope it stays that way (and maybe the speed at which it points up just gets quicker :)).  More importantly, I want this to be a sustained rebuild where we have a long window of contention.  Because....we deserve it as Bear fans

[adam]

On 10/29/2018 at 9:18 AM, adam said:

Right now, with current records, we only have one game vs a prospective playoff team (LAR), and 3 games against potential playoff teams (GB and MIN x2). If we split the division and go 3-2 the rest of the way, beat the teams with 2 or less wins (BUF, SF, NYG) and lose to LAR, that's 6-3 the rest of the way without too much stretching.

Week 9 at BUF (2-5) - Bills are coming off a MNF game and a short week. They have scored 81 pts on the season in 7 games. We should and need to dominate this game. I would consider resting Mack and Robinson again if they are not 100%. 5-3.
Week 10 vs DET (3-4) - Lions games are always determined by which team or Stafford shows up. Are they the team that beat NE and GB or the team that lost to the Jets and SF? Lions will be coming off a road game against the Vikings. At home, playing a dome team, this needs to be a win. 6-3.
Week 11 vs MIN (4-3-1) - This one will be tough. Minnesota will be coming off their bye. I am going to say this one is a loss for that reason alone. 6-4.
Week 12 at DET (3-4) - Same as last DET game, which team will we be playing. I say we split with the Lions. So 6-5.
Week 13 at NYG (1-7) - Wow the Giants are bad, and I assume they will be mailing it in for the #1 pick at this time. 7-5.
Week 14 vs LAR (8-0) - I don't see the Rams going undefeated and they looked beatable against GB this week. 3 of their last 4 wins have been by 3 pts or less. I don't see us winning the way we are playing right now, but if we play to our potential, and the Rams lose a game or two before we play. This game may have more playoff implications than they do right now. I will go with the Rams right now, 7-6.
Week 15 vs GB (3-3-1) - GB is not as good as the media makes them out to be. They beat us on a fluke, and have only beat BUF and SF. Between now and Week 15, they play at NE, MIA, at SEA, at MIN, ARZ, and ATL. At best I see 7-5-1, but realistically 6-6-1 or 5-7-1. Either way, we will be close enough in the standings that this will essentially be a playoff game and a great payback for Week 1. Bears win. 8-6.
Week 16 at SF (1-7) - If we can't win against this team with playoffs on the line, then we don't deserve to go. 9-6. 
Week 17 at MIN (4-3-1) - This will be another playoff game, and will more than likely decide the Division. I could see the Vikes coming in at 9-5-1 at best. Since I have us splitting, then this one is a win. We go 10-6 and Vikes are 9-6-1.

Vikes remaining (DET, @CHI, GB, @NE, @SEA, MIA, DET, CHI) 5-3 (9-6-1 at best), 6 games vs teams .500 or better. Worst team to play, DET at 3-4 twice.

Packers remaining (@NE, MIA, @SEA, @MIN, ARZ, ATL, @CHI, @NYJ, DET) 6-3 (9-6-1 best), 5 games vs teams .500 or better. Worst teams to play: ARZ, NYJ, ATL, and DET. 

2

Holy crap was I wrong, I had us at 6-5 after this game, what a difference a few weeks make. I didn't see us beating Minnesota coming off a bye or DET on a short week, and we did both. That's pretty crazy and shows we are more than just a fluke team. Any team would be hard-pressed to win that many division games in 11 days, and 2 in 85 hours.

Week 13 - Giants (win - 9-3, Giants playing better but coming off an emotional game against Philly, trap game for us after extended break and Rams looming)
Week 14 - Rams (win - 10-3, Rams in Chicago without Kupp, if we can limit Gurley, I think we win)
Week 15 vs GB (win - 11-3, GB still hanging on to a WC chance and we kill their playoff bid with a win at home, Bears get payback for Week 1)
Week 16 at SF (win - 12-3, SF playing for draft position at this point)
Week 17 at MIN (win 13-3, this one will be tough, especially considering they will be vying for a WC bid and would more than likely face us as the 6th seed (assuming CAR gets 5th vs NFC East). So this game will come down to who we want to face if we are locked in at the #3 seed. 

My hope is that we beat the Rams and they somehow lose another game allowing us to tie them at 13-3 and get the 2nd seed based on tie breakers.

GO BEARS!

 

[Connorbear]

55 minutes ago, adam said:

Holy crap was I wrong, I had us at 6-5 after this game, what a difference a few weeks make. I didn't see us beating Minnesota coming off a bye or DET on a short week, and we did both. That's pretty crazy and shows we are more than just a fluke team. Any team would be hard-pressed to win that many division games in 11 days, and 2 in 85 hours.

Week 13 - Giants (win - 9-3, Giants playing better but coming off an emotional game against Philly, trap game for us after extended break and Rams looming)
Week 14 - Rams (win - 10-3, Rams in Chicago without Kupp, if we can limit Gurley, I think we win)
Week 15 vs GB (win - 11-3, GB still hanging on to a WC chance and we kill their playoff bid with a win at home, Bears get payback for Week 1)
Week 16 at SF (win - 12-3, SF playing for draft position at this point)
Week 17 at MIN (win 13-3, this one will be tough, especially considering they will be vying for a WC bid and would more than likely face us as the 6th seed (assuming CAR gets 5th vs NFC East). So this game will come down to who we want to face if we are locked in at the #3 seed. 

My hope is that we beat the Rams and they somehow lose another game allowing us to tie them at 13-3 and get the 2nd seed based on tie breakers.

GO BEARS!

 

I don't think the Rams are that good.  The Saints are the real deal and will most likely be representing the NFC at the Super Bowl. 

Peace

[adam]

3 minutes ago, Connorbear said:

I don't think the Rams are that good.  The Saints are the real deal and will most likely be representing the NFC at the Super Bowl. 

Peace

Right now NO has played MIN and TB as common opponents. In those games, they are 1-1, and we are 2-0. I agree they are the favorites in the NFC, but with our defense, I am not counting us out. The Rams are right there too. Whoever comes out of the NFC should be the favorite to win the SB, especially after the Rams beat KC. 

If our offense gets better, and our defense stays where it is at, we are going to be a hard team to beat. NO, KC, and LAR have to score 30+ to win. We don't. Either way, it is exciting to be relevant again, especially at the expense of Green Bay.

[BearFan2000]

I think the Saints will most likely represent the NFC in the Super Bowl.  They finally have a defense to go with their offense, they are a more complete team than the previous saints teams that could only play offense and had to score a lot because they would typically give up a lot.  Now I do feel that with our D and and improving offense that's already putting up about 30 a game can give them a fight.  Win or lose I don't think we'd get our butts handed to us.  

The Rams are great on offense, but their D is capable of giving up lots of points as well.  When they played the chiefs (who's offense ours is based off of). There was an ungodly amount of points scored by both teams.  I see the Rams as a beatable team.  More beatable than the saints.  Our Sunday night matchup vs the Rams at Soldier Field could be the biggest win of the season and would put us in a solid position to shoot for the #2 seed.  There could be a lot riding on that game for both teams.   Till then we have to take care of the Giants.  Could be a field day for our D.  Eli can be very generous to defenses, and we have a pretty decent one   Who'da thunk we'd be at this position where we could face the current #2 NFC team with us being 9-3 and the Rams at 11-1.  A win puts us at 10-3 and drops the rams to 11-2 making their lead on us for the #2 seed a virtual half game due to tie breaker.  Whatever happens from now on is gravy, Bears playing meaningful games in December is a great feeling and one we've not enjoyed for some time.  Nagy is proven to be a great hire.  I know it's only 11 games into his coaching career here but what a turnaround!.     

Last night's game was bitter sweet.  On one hand, had the Packers won they'd both be 5-5-1 and it's give us more distance from the Vikings.  But the Packers losing ends their season.  And how can't I enjoy a Packers loss it's like enjoying your favorite candy.  It always tastes sweet.  

[Stinger226]

Lets say we finish 2-3, unlikely but possible. we finish 10-6

Minnesota has to play 3 road games against SEA, NE, and DET plus us and Miami at home.

So lets say they lose to SEA and NE but win the rest also beating us. 

We finish 1/2 ahead of Minny. WIN DIVISION.

Personally I think we go 4-1 and lose on the road to Minny. Finnish 11-5, UMMM I will take that , I did predict 10-6 but they are but than I imagined. I think we beat LA for two reasons, weather will affect play and they easily win there division and will be hard to get up for every game  going forward, in others words they relax to much.

[BearFan2000]

Not sure I see LA relaxing.  They'll have the division wrapped up but they will want to lock up a #2 seed to have a bye and a home divisional game.  I don't see them not fighting till they either get it or are eliminated from getting it.  

[BearFan PHX]

37 minutes ago, BearFan2000 said:

Not sure I see LA relaxing.  They'll have the division wrapped up but they will want to lock up a #2 seed to have a bye and a home divisional game.  I don't see them not fighting till they either get it or are eliminated from getting it.  

agree

[adam]

4 hours ago, Stinger226 said:

Lets say we finish 2-3, unlikely but possible. we finish 10-6

Minnesota has to play 3 road games against SEA, NE, and DET plus us and Miami at home.

So lets say they lose to SEA and NE but win the rest also beating us. 

We finish 1/2 ahead of Minny. WIN DIVISION.

Personally I think we go 4-1 and lose on the road to Minny. Finnish 11-5, UMMM I will take that , I did predict 10-6 but they are but than I imagined. I think we beat LA for two reasons, weather will affect play and they easily win there division and will be hard to get up for every game  going forward, in others words they relax to much.

If we finish 4-1, we would finish 12-4.

What's crazy is we already matched our last two seasons cumulative win total in 11 games (8 wins), and have a shot to match the best regular season record since 2006.

[BearFan PHX]

also, this team is markedly better every couple of weeks. by the time we meet the Rams, who knows what we can be.

The window is open, and looks to stay open for several years at least. Pace and Nagy are doing a fantastic job, and that goes for getting talent and coaches, putting them into a winning structure, and creating a culture.

 

[adam]

1 hour ago, BearFan NYC said:

also, this team is markedly better every couple of weeks. by the time we meet the Rams, who knows what we can be.

The window is open, and looks to stay open for several years at least. Pace and Nagy are doing a fantastic job, and that goes for getting talent and coaches, putting them into a winning structure, and creating a culture.

 

Yeah, to think our oldest player is Chase Daniel at 32, McManis and Scales at 30 and a bunch of dead money comes off the books next year (Glennon $4.5M, Cooper $2M, Demps $1.3M, McPhee $1M, Houston 990K, Young 990K, etc totaling $15M. The only dead money for next year is $325K. Sims can be cut and save another $6M. That's over $20M in cap space without a single starter gone, which immediately goes to $25M with the current available cap space. We are in great shape to make a long sustained run starting now.

[ASHKUM BEAR]

1 hour ago, adam said:

Yeah, to think our oldest player is Chase Daniel at 32, McManis and Scales at 30 and a bunch of dead money comes off the books next year (Glennon $4.5M, Cooper $2M, Demps $1.3M, McPhee $1M, Houston 990K, Young 990K, etc totaling $15M. The only dead money for next year is $325K. Sims can be cut and save another $6M. That's over $20M in cap space without a single starter gone, which immediately goes to $25M with the current available cap space. We are in great shape to make a long sustained run starting now.

Massie is a free agent after this season, he would be the first one I would target to bring back. I would front load the deal to give us an out after 1 year. I would not feel condident putting Cowerd in or a draftee and risking Trubisky or our marginal run game. If they want to experiment next season, start mixing that replacement player in like they did with Daniels. I would also look at keeping Callahan.

[adam]

22 minutes ago, ASHKUM BEAR said:

Massie is a free agent after this season, he would be the first one I would target to bring back. I would front load the deal to give us an out after 1 year. I would not feel condident putting Cowerd in or a draftee and risking Trubisky or our marginal run game. If they want to experiment next season, start mixing that replacement player in like they did with Daniels. I would also look at keeping Callahan.

Oh yeah for sure, Massie is $6M cap hit this year (14th highest paid RT), so even if we gave him $1M more than this year, that would be the only difference coming out of that $25M. Callahan is $1.9, and I could see that going up to $4-5M a year. Even at $5M, that's only $3M more than this year. So we would still have $21M left after re-signing them. 

[Lucky Luciano]

10 hours ago, ASHKUM BEAR said:

 I would also look at keeping Callahan.

in my opinion, callahan is one of the most improved players on defense this season. i would offer him a good contract to stay. he's worth it.

[BearFan PHX]

we wont have draft picks, but we are at that "Add a piece or two with free agency to push you over the top" scenario. wow that happened fast.

We have cap money, we will spend some on the OL, whether it's Massie or someone else, there are dollars to fill that position. we might look in the secondary, at another OLB/Pass Rusher, and possibly a running back, although I expect that in the draft, with picks we get from trading howard. if not, then we get the new rb in 2020.

The roster is in great shape, and draft picks notwithstanding, we are in great shape for free agency too.

[adam]

2 hours ago, BearFan NYC said:

we wont have draft picks, but we are at that "Add a piece or two with free agency to push you over the top" scenario. wow that happened fast.

We have cap money, we will spend some on the OL, whether it's Massie or someone else, there are dollars to fill that position. we might look in the secondary, at another OLB/Pass Rusher, and possibly a running back, although I expect that in the draft, with picks we get from trading howard. if not, then we get the new rb in 2020.

The roster is in great shape, and draft picks notwithstanding, we are in great shape for free agency too.

The good thing is we don't have too many top end players in each draft.  Whitehair in 2020, then Floyd (5th yr)/Jackson/Cohen in 2021, then Trubisky (5th yr), Daniels, Miller in 2022.

[ASHKUM BEAR]

On 11/26/2018 at 9:38 PM, adam said:

Oh yeah for sure, Massie is $6M cap hit this year (14th highest paid RT), so even if we gave him $1M more than this year, that would be the only difference coming out of that $25M. Callahan is $1.9, and I could see that going up to $4-5M a year. Even at $5M, that's only $3M more than this year. So we would still have $21M left after re-signing them. 

I was a little worried endorsing Massie, but I do not see an upgrade stepping in next year.  Keep that continuity along the line and we can draft a decent prospect in 2020. If a decent one falls to the late 3rd, then maybe get that guy a year early. Feels great seeing the blossoms starting to form into fruit. 

[jason]

Week 13 at NYG - W
Week 14 vs LAR  - L
Week 15 vs GB  - W
Week 16 at SF  - W
Week 17 at MIN - W

If the Bears can beat the Rams, they are legit Super Bowl contenders.

[BearFan PHX]

regarding Massie, I think it depends on who is available in free agency, and what Hiestand thinks about it. I wouldnt be surprised if we resigned him, and I wouldnt be surprised if we went with someone else, depending on what is available. The pass protection has been pretty good, but the run blocking hasnt been very good at all.

 

[BearFan PHX]

1 hour ago, jason said:

If the Bears can beat the Rams, they are legit Super Bowl contenders.

you are right. I dunno if we are ready to do that yet. It'll all come down to pass rush I think. But if we can beat them, then we are as real as any team in the league.

[ASHKUM BEAR]

2 hours ago, BearFan NYC said:

regarding Massie, I think it depends on who is available in free agency, and what Hiestand thinks about it. I wouldnt be surprised if we resigned him, and I wouldnt be surprised if we went with someone else, depending on what is available. The pass protection has been pretty good, but the run blocking hasnt been very good at all.

 

Not sure what the cap hit would be or if any FAs would hit the market that would be an improvement. Jordan Mills? or Jake Fisher are two that will have youth and maybe upside. I know Kyle Ling would love to have Mills back next to him. There are a small handful of OTs and we know good ones don't hit FA.

[Alaskan Grizzly]

1 hour ago, ASHKUM BEAR said:

Not sure what the cap hit would be or if any FAs would hit the market that would be an improvement. Jordan Mills? or Jake Fisher are two that will have youth and maybe upside. I know Kyle Ling would love to have Mills back next to him. There are a small handful of OTs and we know good ones don't hit FA.

This is primarily for Jason because I know he's a HUGE fan of his but J'Marcus Webb is still out there and may be available as a tackle option.  He was slated to be the starting RT for Indy until he hurt his hammy.  Apparently he's currently on IR.   But there's hope....     

[jason]

6 hours ago, Alaskan Grizzly said:

This is primarily for Jason because I know he's a HUGE fan of his but J'Marcus Webb is still out there and may be available as a tackle option.  He was slated to be the starting RT for Indy until he hurt his hammy.  Apparently he's currently on IR.   But there's hope....     

LOL!! Hard pass.