Impact of Trey Burton Injury

[AZ54]

It's not being discussed but Trey Burton was a very late addition to the injury report and didn't play.  At that point the entire game plan is in and practiced and there's no time to adjust.  I see a lot of chatter about the play calling early in the game, and to be honest all those short passes outside really bothered me.  Last year in the playoffs Nagy lost Kelce in the middle of the game and it basically shutdown the Chiefs offense.  He interviewed for the Bears job a day later.  On the flight to Chicago he made it clear to Pace how important having a TE who can stretch the field was to his offense.  For him losing that player two seasons in a row like that has to feel like a curse.  I just wonder how much it impacted Nagy's play calling early in the game or if the boring short plays were all by design to get Trubisky comfortable.  

[Connorbear]

The loss of Burton was huge as was Eddie Jackson not being able to play. 

Peace

[BearFan2000]

Both of those guys not being on the field hurt us.  It is part of the story that flies a little under the radar.  Great point AZ having practiced all week the game plan was set for the most part. Trey is a big dependable target.  There were passes to Shaheen that he dropped that Trey likely catches.  And the times when Adam just needs a yard or 2 for a first and does something dumb and ends up short where Burton is better at fighting for that yardage.  Shaheen is still stuck at the P word potential, but has a lot to learn about being a TE in the NFL.  He's not ready for prime time yet.  

Not having Jackson back there showed.  He truly is the MVP of that secondary. If there is a silver lining he can now focus on getting 100% healthy without trying to hurry that process up for playoff games.  The Bears need to make keeping him around a priority.  He's the one that makes that secondary work and allows the Kyle and Prince to be more aggressive in jumping routes knowing He's back there.  

[adam]

It doesn't excuse the lack of Cohen in the game plan though. The most dynamic player on the field had one carry. We also had 3 timeouts after PHI had a first and goal. Time is the most important thing at that point and Nagy allowed 40+ seconds to come off the clock when he didn't use a timeout after the first down play. 

To me, the game came down to Pace (Parkey not replaced earlier in the season) and Nagy (game plan and clock management). 

I am being critical but the season was a huge success so it is easy to be picky. I just think they had another week of football in them. 

[Alaskan Grizzly]

2 hours ago, adam said:

To me, the game came down to Pace (Parkey not replaced earlier in the season) and Nagy (game plan and clock management). 

I get what you’re saying on the clock management, but at the time what Nagy was doing made sense.  If I remember correctly, it was within 2 mins of the end of the game and Phi had either 1 or 2 TOs left.  They were needing a TD to win and conceptually had to drive against our vaunted defense in order to score.  I think Nagys thought was to have them use up the clock and their TOs and all our D had to do was make a stand and they’d run out of time and opportunities.  

But then there was the small thought of...’what if they do score and WE dont have any time left to do anything?’.  I think that’s why he delayed originally in making that call and at about 1 minute (or so) left decided to make the call for a TO.  He was in a ‘catch 22’ situation no matter what and why he’s making the big bucks to make big boy decisions.  

And I get the critical thinking, believe me.  Thinking back to week whatever when he hit the goal post 4 times I think I was one of the first to ask why we got rid of Gould (around that same time), but was reminded of Goulds failures at the time he was cut.  Pace hasn’t had much luck in replacing Gould since he left. Maybe there’s a chance he’ll consider bringing back Gould now that he’s a reformed man?  I think it would be worth a shot. 

[AZ54]

6 minutes ago, Alaskan Grizzly said:

I get what you’re saying on the clock management, but at the time what Nagy was doing made sense.  If I remember correctly, it was within 2 mins of the end of the game and Phi had either 1 or 2 TOs left.  They were needing a TD to win and conceptually had to drive against our vaunted defense in order to score.  I think Nagys thought was to have them use up the clock and their TOs and all our D had to do was make a stand and they’d run out of time and opportunities.  

But then there was the small thought of...’what if they do score and WE dont have any time left to do anything?’.  I think that’s why he delayed originally in making that call and at about 1 minute (or so) left decided to make the call for a TO.  He was in a ‘catch 22’ situation no matter what and why he’s making the big bucks to make big boy decisions.  

And I get the critical thinking, believe me.  Thinking back to week whatever when he hit the goal post 4 times I think I was one of the first to ask why we got rid of Gould (around that same time), but was reminded of Goulds failures at the time he was cut.  Pace hasn’t had much luck in replacing Gould since he left. Maybe there’s a chance he’ll consider bringing back Gould now that he’s a reformed man?  I think it would be worth a shot. 

With Gould sitting in the stands with his family watching the Bears lose on a last second kick, I'd say there's a fair chance that will happen.  SF may even offer him more money but I could see him returning.  Unless SF were to franchise tag him.  

[jason]

The loss of Burton was big because was a security blanket this year, had over 50 catches, and is a completely different TE than Shaheen...even if Shaheen thinks he's a shifty, elusive, jump-cut TE.

[BearFan2000]

Replacing a kicker mid season isn't as easy as it sounds, finding dependable kicker off the street or possibly someone's practice squad isn't a given.  However, the refusal to bring in kickers to compete or try to find a better option when your kicker is clearly struggling and costing you games. I know you gave him a lot of money but why not kick the tires on some other options.  

[Connorbear]

1 hour ago, AZ54 said:

With Gould sitting in the stands with his family watching the Bears lose on a last second kick, I'd say there's a fair chance that will happen.  SF may even offer him more money but I could see him returning.  Unless SF were to franchise tag him.  

Hub Arkush said last night that the reason Gould was let go was 2 part: 1st he had a decline in performance; 2nd he was the players rep and Fox did not like how he was leading the team.  Fox went to Pace and said I can't trust my kicker and Gould was gone. 

Peace

[BearFan2000]

I'd like to see Gould back.  He's said that his getting cut woke him up and he has played much better.  He looked like he'd lost his way before we cut him.  He could continue his career with the Bears.  I'd say he has some productive years left.  Look at Vinatieri who's like 100 years old and still getting the job done in Indy.  

[Connorbear]

22 minutes ago, BearFan2000 said:

I'd like to see Gould back.  He's said that his getting cut woke him up and he has played much better.  He looked like he'd lost his way before we cut him.  He could continue his career with the Bears.  I'd say he has some productive years left.  Look at Vinatieri who's like 100 years old and still getting the job done in Indy.  

I'd offer him a 2-year contract and an opportunity to be a team ambassador after he retires. 

Peace

[Mongo3451]

Two things that stick out to me regarding the Burton injury.

1)  If he's that important, where's the contingency game plan? (If true, a clone must be found)

2)  I read today, that Burton was largely responsible for creating mismatches for Cohen.  If so, where was the contingency game plan?  

A little power running and play action can go a long way this time of year.

[Stinger226]

14 hours ago, adam said:

It doesn't excuse the lack of Cohen in the game plan though. The most dynamic player on the field had one carry. We also had 3 timeouts after PHI had a first and goal. Time is the most important thing at that point and Nagy allowed 40+ seconds to come off the clock when he didn't use a timeout after the first down play. 

To me, the game came down to Pace (Parkey not replaced earlier in the season) and Nagy (game plan and clock management). 

I am being critical but the season was a huge success so it is easy to be picky. I just think they had another week of football in them. 

Eagles schemed to take him out of the game,  they succeeded. 

[Bill]

Yes the Burton injury was big as was E. Jackson.  But also was Callahan earlier in the season.  Those three added to our team would off been a great addition.  But bottom line is at this time in the season all teams are missing key players and dinged up.  My main thought is that the Def. and Mack in particular just did not get the job done when it counted the most.  Five minutes left in the game and the  player you made the highest paid def. player in the league and gave up two numbers ones just did not make the play.  We would not of been in the playoffs without Mack.  Going forward he will be a difference maker.  But on Sunday that type of investment has to make a game winning play.  If you look at the off. side of the ball would you expect any less of Brady, Rogers,  or any of the great off. players.  Not saying he was the reason we lost.  But he did not make a play for us to win.

[adam]

On 1/7/2019 at 12:09 PM, Alaskan Grizzly said:

I get what you’re saying on the clock management, but at the time what Nagy was doing made sense.  If I remember correctly, it was within 2 mins of the end of the game and Phi had either 1 or 2 TOs left.  They were needing a TD to win and conceptually had to drive against our vaunted defense in order to score.  I think Nagys thought was to have them use up the clock and their TOs and all our D had to do was make a stand and they’d run out of time and opportunities.  

But then there was the small thought of...’what if they do score and WE dont have any time left to do anything?’.  I think that’s why he delayed originally in making that call and at about 1 minute (or so) left decided to make the call for a TO.  He was in a ‘catch 22’ situation no matter what and why he’s making the big bucks to make big boy decisions. 

That's my exact point though, time was not a factor for Philly. They had to score based on the amount of downs. They had 4 chances to score with goal to go. Time was not a concern for them. It was for us. Since they couldn't get another first down and needed a TD to take the lead, time was our biggest enemy there. If we stop them then our timeouts wouldn't matter anyway. Our timeouts only mattered if they scored a TD. That's why he used them the next two downs, but by then we lost over 30 seconds. Hindsight being 20/20, that may have been the biggest mistake. Just think if we have the ball at the Eagles 25, 2nd down after spiking the ball with 40+ seconds. 

[Stinger226]

If Nagys play calls work, everyone thinks he's a genius.  If they don't work everyone questions his sensibility. The truth is , he is going to make mistakes,  but the overall decision making is pretty good and will get better the more experience he gets. The reason Cohen didn't have a lot of touches was because the Eagles gameplan was to take him out of the offense and they succeeded.  To say Nagy didn't use him enough is  a stupid statement. 

[Connorbear]

16 minutes ago, Stinger226 said:

If Nagys play calls work, everyone thinks he's a genius.  If they don't work everyone questions his sensibility. The truth is , he is going to make mistakes,  but the overall decision making is pretty good and will get better the more experience he gets. The reason Cohen didn't have a lot of touches was because the Eagles gameplan was to take him out of the offense and they succeeded.  To say Nagy didn't use him enough is  a stupid statement. 

Exactly.  Nagy said today that he wanted to get the ball to Cohen more in the game but the Eagles did a great job of scheming him out. 

Peace