Week 14 Official Bye Week Thread

[adam]

The Bears had a nice mini-bye and 1st game back, so let's see how they do after their real bye.

Herbert may be back, Brisker and Gordon should be. The O-Line may be more solidified with Leatherwood at RT. This will be the first time to really put some plays in for Claypool as the WR1. 

The two games out of the bye will be good tests for the Bears, and we will get to see Hurts and Allen at Soldier Field. BUF is #1 in DVOA and PHI is #3. DAL is #2, so these games will probably end up like the DAL game. 

I don't care if they lose at this point, but it would be nice to have competitive games with at least a chance to win late. 

It would be really cool if Fields breaks Jackson's rushing record, he needs 302 in 4 games (76 yds a game) to break the record.

The Bears also need 838 yds to break the Ravens single season record of 3296 rushing yards for a team. Both are still in play with how much they are running this year.

 

After the Rams win, the Bears will be watching the following games, hoping for some upsets:

JAX (4-8) at TEN

CAR (4-8) at SEA 

NE at ARZ (4-8) on MNF

[Stinger226]

It would be very (Bear like) for them to go out and beat Philly. Beat the best team in the league and lose the 2nd pick slot.

[AZ54]

I guess this fits in this thread.  What if I told you the Bears have the most explosive offense in the NFL?   Of course Justin is driving this but nobody (myself included) saw this coming especially given the talent surrounding him and all the injuries, etc.  We've always said great players make the others around them better.   You can feel it when you watch a game because despite how inconsistent our offense can be, you don't want to miss any plays. 

How many 56yd passes to ESB does Aaron Rodgers have?  How many did Harry have in NE?    I'll save you the trouble Harry's longest play prior to that was 43yds from Jones, and in 3 season at GB ESB had one long reception of 54yds in 2018 and 24yd and 26yds in 2020/21.   We know this to be true but I doubt the majority of the national media has it figured out yet:  Fields is carrying the entire offense on his shoulders.  We might have to resurrect the old City of the Big Shoulders line.  

 

[lemonej]

21 hours ago, adam said:

The Bears had a nice mini-bye and 1st game back, so let's see how they do after their real bye.

Herbert may be back, Brisker and Gordon should be. The O-Line may be more solidified with Leatherwood at RT. This will be the first time to really put some plays in for Claypool as the WR1. 

The two games out of the bye will be good tests for the Bears, and we will get to see Hurts and Allen at Soldier Field. BUF is #1 in DVOA and PHI is #3. DAL is #2, so these games will probably end up like the DAL game. 

I don't care if they lose at this point, but it would be nice to have competitive games with at least a chance to win late. 

It would be really cool if Fields breaks Jackson's rushing record, he needs 302 in 4 games (76 yds a game) to break the record.

The Bears also need 838 yds to break the Ravens single season record of 3296 rushing yards for a team. Both are still in play with how much they are running this year.

 

After the Rams win, the Bears will be watching the following games, hoping for some upsets:

JAX (4-8) at TEN

CAR (4-8) at SEA 

NE at ARZ (4-8) on MNF

How about KC at Denver?

[Stinger226]

4 hours ago, AZ54 said:

I guess this fits in this thread.  What if I told you the Bears have the most explosive offense in the NFL?   Of course Justin is driving this but nobody (myself included) saw this coming especially given the talent surrounding him and all the injuries, etc.  We've always said great players make the others around them better.   You can feel it when you watch a game because despite how inconsistent our offense can be, you don't want to miss any plays. 

How many 56yd passes to ESB does Aaron Rodgers have?  How many did Harry have in NE?    I'll save you the trouble Harry's longest play prior to that was 43yds from Jones, and in 3 season at GB ESB had one long reception of 54yds in 2018 and 24yd and 26yds in 2020/21.   We know this to be true but I doubt the majority of the national media has it figured out yet:  Fields is carrying the entire offense on his shoulders.  We might have to resurrect the old City of the Big Shoulders line.  

 

We were considered the worst offense in the league, yet we went out and lead the league is rushing and most explosive plays. Go figure

[adam]

5 hours ago, lemonej said:

How about KC at Denver?

I posted winnable games. I doubt Denver beats KC. 

[Alaskan Grizzly]

Here’s another ‘how bout that’ story for the bye week.  (From FB / Chicago Sun Times).

 

[Stinger226]

As of right now, Sanborn is averaging 12.1 plays a game ( TT 54. TFL 5, 2 Sacks) (5 games)

Zaire Franklin (INDY) leads the league with 10.7 plays per game. TT 130, TFL 9, 1 sack

Rashaan Evans leads the league in TT 134 with 5 TFL and 1 sack

Roquan Smith TT 114. TFL 7., Sacks 3.5

If he started all the games he could lead the league at less than 1 mil a year. 

This is Poles best find of the year. 

[AZ54]

15 hours ago, Stinger226 said:

As of right now, Sanborn is averaging 12.1 plays a game ( TT 54. TFL 5, 2 Sacks) (5 games)

Zaire Franklin (INDY) leads the league with 10.7 plays per game. TT 130, TFL 9, 1 sack

Rashaan Evans leads the league in TT 134 with 5 TFL and 1 sack

Roquan Smith TT 114. TFL 7., Sacks 3.5

If he started all the games he could lead the league at less than 1 mil a year. 

This is Poles best find of the year. 

I have to disagree.  Braxton Jones is by far his best find of the year.  He's playing one of the premium positions in the NFL and it's far more challenging to do that as a rookie than it is to play MLB.   Jones struggled early on with some things but he's never completely fallen off in any game and he's played every snap on offense.  He's been one of our most consistent run blockers and per PFF has graded out as our 2nd best Olineman thus far in the season.  He's had 3 holding and 2 false start penalties.   Quietly in the last month he's become very consistent in his pass protection.  Go look at the complaint section on this board (just kidding) and you won't see his name but you get the point that nobody is really talking about him failing.  Compare that to what you hear about Mustipher or Borom.

Here's a better take:

https://www.sportsmockery.com/chicago-bears/braxton-jones-continues-what-has-been-a-dominant-stretch/

[adam]

Can't it be both? Jones was a 5th round pick that might be a starting LT while Sanborn is a UDFA who may be a starting ILB. Any time you can lock down a starter role with a 5th and beyond is nice.

I would say he hit with Brisker, Jones, Sanborn and Gill but right now it seems like he whiffed on Gordon and Jones pretty hard. There were so many other starting options at both of those picks. I really don't know what he was thinking. I think he got a little too cute. He even drafted Gordon above Brisker. 

[AZ54]

41 minutes ago, adam said:

Can't it be both? Jones was a 5th round pick that might be a starting LT while Sanborn is a UDFA who may be a starting ILB. Any time you can lock down a starter role with a 5th and beyond is nice.

I would say he hit with Brisker, Jones, Sanborn and Gill but right now it seems like he whiffed on Gordon and Jones pretty hard. There were so many other starting options at both of those picks. I really don't know what he was thinking. I think he got a little too cute. He even drafted Gordon above Brisker. 

It could be but a bigger sample size would be helpful for evaluating Sanborn's weaknesses.  With more film on him will teams attack him differently?  How will he respond?   

[Stinger226]

1 hour ago, adam said:

Can't it be both? Jones was a 5th round pick that might be a starting LT while Sanborn is a UDFA who may be a starting ILB. Any time you can lock down a starter role with a 5th and beyond is nice.

I would say he hit with Brisker, Jones, Sanborn and Gill but right now it seems like he whiffed on Gordon and Jones pretty hard. There were so many other starting options at both of those picks. I really don't know what he was thinking. I think he got a little too cute. He even drafted Gordon above Brisker. 

Granted Gordon has not lived up to what Brisker has done but most 2 nd round picks dont gel in their first year. Brisker playing well is not the norm for rookies. It is noticeable to me that Gordon has gotten better than from the first game. His second yr will define what he is . V Jones has not did anything but did have some injuries coming out of camp that affected his learning process. It is not common for GMs to move on from high draft picks because they did not have a good rookie yr. 

I look at Sanborn since he started ,leading the league in solo tackles as a UDFA as remarkable to me. I will give you B Jones has gotten a lot better at a premium position. I think as he gains strength he will end up being more than an average starter in the near future which does make that a remarkable feat also.

[Alaskan Grizzly]

3 hours ago, adam said:

I would say he hit with Brisker, Jones, Sanborn and Gill but right now it seems like he whiffed on Gordon and Jones pretty hard. There were so many other starting options at both of those picks. I really don't know what he was thinking. I think he got a little too cute. He even drafted Gordon above Brisker. 

Overall I’d think Poles had done a pretty good job. Most everyone here picked the Bears to have the schedule they have currently ( I was not one of them - oddly enough, they’re only about two games out of contenting for the playoffs).  Anyhow, if you consider all the money he saved in trading away some of the star players and replaced them with lesser known, less expensive players (like Roquan for Sanborn) that’s a huge success.  Even your list of hits and misses from the draft are in our favor 4:2.  
 

I especially like his trying to bring in former 1st rounders (Leatherwood, Harry, Reiff, Charlton) at a discount rate to see how they pan out.  

[adam]

41 minutes ago, Alaskan Grizzly said:

Overall I’d think Poles had done a pretty good job. Most everyone here picked the Bears to have the schedule they have currently ( I was not one of them - oddly enough, they’re only about two games out of contenting for the playoffs).  Anyhow, if you consider all the money he saved in trading away some of the star players and replaced them with lesser known, less expensive players (like Roquan for Sanborn) that’s a huge success.  Even your list of hits and misses from the draft are in our favor 4:2.  
 

I especially like his trying to bring in former 1st rounders (Leatherwood, Harry, Reiff, Charlton) at a discount rate to see how they pan out.  

Yeah, I like that as well. You don't get first round grades or picks if you didn't have potential. I think Leatherwood and Harry will stick. 

[BearFan PHX]

I hope theyre using the bye week to get Eislen ready for some action. As long as we are kicking the tires on all these people, let's see Eislen in action. More for Harry & Leatherwood too.

I hope we keep losing games 32-31 that would be great. I hope it happens against our DL mostly on the ground, and not too much on the secondary.

[scs787]

Gordon hasn't been great, but man, it's gotta be tough coming in to play CB on a team that has noooooo pass rush. 

 

That's why I think it's so important to invest heavily into the lines. It all starts up front on both sides. You have good lines and it makes everyone else look better. 

[DABEARSDABOMB]

3 minutes ago, scs787 said:

Gordon hasn't been great, but man, it's gotta be tough coming in to play CB on a team that has noooooo pass rush. 

 

That's why I think it's so important to invest heavily into the lines. It all starts up front on both sides. You have good lines and it makes everyone else look better. 

I expect they will sign at least one big money dlinemen, maybe two plus a high pick (for example if they don’t trade down I expect they go with one of the linemen). 

[Stinger226]

What if we win our last 4 games? There not going out there to lose , what if Philly doesn't take this game seriously ?

[BearFan PHX]

I hope the coaches keep up this mysterious playcalling problem in the 4th quarter and we dont win another game.

I seriously think they may be thinking that they want to win halftime, and the 3rd quarter, but not the game.

[adam]

9 hours ago, Stinger226 said:

What if we win our last 4 games? There not going out there to lose , what if Philly doesn't take this game seriously ?

That would be terrible. They would end up with a mid-teens pick. I am sure Pittsburgh would be pissed too.

[Stinger226]

1 hour ago, adam said:

That would be terrible. They would end up with a mid-teens pick. I am sure Pittsburgh would be pissed too.

That's not what I'm hoping for but with Justin at QB , he's capable of being a difference maker 

[adam]

7 hours ago, BearFan PHX said:

I hope the coaches keep up this mysterious playcalling problem in the 4th quarter and we dont win another game.

I seriously think they may be thinking that they want to win halftime, and the 3rd quarter, but not the game.

Whatever it is, they have had the lead in pretty much every game. 

The Minnesota game is going to be interesting. The Vikings will have nothing to play for at that point with the division wrapped up, but no chance at the bye. So they might as well treat it like a bye and rest every starter.