Week 1 Official Game Thread - TEN @ CHI, 9/8, 12PM CDT, CHI -4.5 O/U 43.5, FOX

[Stinger226]

Be key to the game is they are not running the ball well.

[jason]

1 hour ago, Mongo3451 said:

I'm your guy.  It's well documented.  Welcome, BTW!

I thought that was my lane. I’ve only been complaining about it for 20+ years.  But for some reason, and multiple 1st round QBs, the Bears never make OL a priority.

[bears_gal_aly]

Just now, jason said:

I thought that was my lane. I’ve only been complaining about it for 20+ years.  But for some reason, and multiple 1st round QBs, the Bears never make OL a priority.

Last time the Bears had a decent OL was when they lost the SB to Indy. 

[jason]

1 minute ago, bears_gal_aly said:

Last time the Bears had a decent OL was when they lost the SB to Indy. 

Bingo. But, yeah, let’s keep drafting and signing WRs to run around while the QB is scrambling. 

We will never know what could have been with Trubisky and Fields, and Cutler for that matter, since they had shell shock and PTSD from constantly trying to look downfield while running for their lives. Same will be true of Williams unless the OL protects him.

[ASHKUM BEAR]

2 minutes ago, jason said:

I thought that was my lane. I’ve only been complaining about it for 20+ years.  But for some reason, and multiple 1st round QBs, the Bears never make OL a priority.

The Bears have some good draft capital that should go into both trenches next draft.  It still doesn't help now, but it can be addressed with 4 top 100 players.

[Mongo3451]

12 minutes ago, jason said:

I thought that was my lane. I’ve only been complaining about it for 20+ years.  But for some reason, and multiple 1st round QBs, the Bears never make OL a priority.

You and I have been on that platform from day one.  If you remember my old tag line, "it all starts up front".  Yours was something like "a good OL makes average players better, good players great and great players elite".  🍻🍻

[AZ54]

Wild game, great come from behind win.  I mean that sincerely because with a rookie QB and a lot of hype coming into the game you don't know how they will respond to the early adversity.  Good teams over come those hurdles and find a way to win and we did that.  

Almost nothing went right on offense.  Caleb looked every bit like a rookie in his first game.  Still his talent was evident, he just needs to settle down and let the game come to him, and play in rhythm with more quick passes.  The rumor that Coleman Shelton is better than Lucas Patrick crashed and burned before halftime.   As Bates gets healthy he'll take that job from him.  Let's hope that is next week.  

Nobody will ever miss the 6th Rd pick we gave up for Darrell Taylor.  The defensive front played well with highlight plays from players across the board, Dexter, Billings, Sweat, Taylor, Walker.  There were some gaps of course but overall for a first game this is a very good start.         

[Bears4Ever_34]

Needless to say, that was one of the most ugly wins you'll ever see. I don't really feel all that great after that one, to be honest. A win is a win, but also, not really. This formula is not sustainable. You can't score zero touchdowns on offense, throw for less than 100, and expect to win very many games.

Caleb played about as bad as one could for their first start. His accuracy was atrocious. Deep balls weren't close and neither were most of his short throws. He looked rattled after they fell behind early. 1st game jitters or something else? All I know is that it HAS to get better next week. That wasn't acceptable today, even for a rookie. Too much talent on this offense for it to look like that. Play calling, run game, OL, Caleb, everything has to be better.

As for the good:

-Darrell Taylor was the most important player out there today. He was flying around out there. Poles might have gotten a steal if he can continue to show out like this.

-Andre Carter had some nice kick and punt returns.

-Hardy had the play of the game to jump start the comeback with that punt block.

Other concerns:

- Waldron's play calling lacked creativity. Very little misdirection, no up-tempo to change things up, only 1 WR run late in the game (which happened to be their 2nd biggest run play of the day). His fingerprints were all over this, too.

-Keenan Allen looks washed. Terrible drop in the endzone, and it looks like his foot is already bothering him again. Early returns on that trade aren't looking so hot right now. He had a bad pre-season, too.

-OL couldn't block anybody. What else is new? Poles decision to ignore the center position two years in a row is going to haunt this team. Shelton and Bates are both ending up on their ass too much. RB's were getting touched far too often in the backfield.

 

[Mongo3451]

Here's my week one assessment with the good bad and ugly.  

Good:  Defense and Special Teams get the star award for the day.  DJ Moore made some plays and believe it or not Caleb.  Caleb didn't turn it over and managed the huddle well.  He also looked like he played with poise.  I believe he found out what real game speed is and will adjust accordingly this week.  I don't expect the terrible overthrows and terrible footwork going forward.  He's 1-0

Bad:  Tevin Jenkins and Keenan Allen.  For being in a contract year, Jenkins didn't look like he wants paid.  He gave up a few pressures.  Waldron was bad as well.  Keenan simply has to catch a touchdown pass.  Where was the run game?  The run game was supposed to be a staple and the key to helping Caleb ease into his first game.  Poles, you gave us this IOL...

Ugly:  Velus. Nuff said.  Shelton, your weight lists you at 285 and you played light in the ass.  I haven't seen a center get ran over as much since, oh, last year's Bears centers.  Nate Davis if you care about your teammates, please retire so Poles can use the money, you are stealing, on a player that gives a shit.  Your two year stint has shown me the worst teammate in Bears history. 

Hey guys, it's a three phase game.  Minus Velus, two out of three phases were dominant.  We got the W.  On to Houston...

[ASHKUM BEAR]

WR Rome Odunze will have an MRI on his knee. Keenan Allen also reinjured his heel.  This is why depth is so important. 

[Stinger226]

Its never as bad as it looks or as good as it does sometimes, its always inbetween. After we went down by 17 points, I didnt say same old Bears, I made 2 in game bets got 7 1/2 and the Bears and bet on a defensive/ST TD. Both paid well, I never thought that there was no way we were as bad in the second half. This type of game will never fly against a good team, but I think we play better this week.

Stroud was sacked 4 1/2 times, so the OL isnt the best. Joe Mixon run for 180 yards so we cant let that happen and we will be in the game. Their two big guns on defense didnt have much of an effect on the game, Will Anderson and Danielle Hunter. 

[DABEARSDABOMB]

3 hours ago, ASHKUM BEAR said:

WR Rome Odunze will have an MRI on his knee. Keenan Allen also reinjured his heel.  This is why depth is so important. 

It sounds liek Flus is a bit concerned with Odunze's knee.  I'm a bit worried here - hopefully it is minor and no longer term issues/concerns.  

[Stinger226]

Rome has a sprained MCLweek to week. Probably 2 weeks.

[adam]

Concerns about Waldron and the Oline more than Williams. Definitely some missed throws but some odd route concepts too.

Booker was held bad on Pollard TD run, would've had the tackle easily. He needs to sell it better and put his arms up.

Stevenson had a 2nd INT in his hands but Okonkwo should've been called for OPI then got the TD.

Taylor and Hardy are going to make this an above average line. Walker also played really well. 

Another week and another top graded game for JJ. That contract looks amazing.

They should've traded Velus when they had the chance. They look silly now. Muffing it is one thing, but mistiming it so bad that you kick it 20 yards forward is cartoon level stuff. 

Carter and Herbert should be the returners going forward. Don't overthink this.

Scott should be playing and with Rome down for a few weeks, bring up Johnson.

[BearFan PHX]

The JT OSullivan breakdown this week highlights some weird personnel groupings. Favoring Gerald Everett over Cole Kmet, and using Keenan Allen on routes that would better fit the skill set of faster receivers. I mean, using Allen as a speedster in a route that is meant to do nothing but clear out a zone makes NO sense if he takes longer to do it?!

I think Waldron has some growing to do. We need a cohesive approach, not just calling plays on an Xs and Os basis without regard for who is resting etc.

 

[Pixote]

For those overly concerned about Caleb's NFL debut, I got this blurb from a Google search about John Elway's 1st game as a starter for Denver:

Quote

Besides lining up under the wrong offensive lineman (Elway lined up behind a guard instead of the center on one play, LOL, I would have loved to have seen the face of the guard when he felt Elway's hands under his ass!), Elway was 1-of-8 for 14 yards and an interception. He was also sacked four times (before being pulled late in the game). 

It didn't prevent him from being a first ballot HOF QB with SB hardware.

 

[BearFan PHX]

I watched my favorite film study guy, and he made a LOT of good points about flaws with the Bears' run blocking scheme rules. Now Im more concerned about the OL than I was. Hopefully, they find a way to show me that there is more than one good way to do it, and their way works too, but what i saw last week was NOT good.

Im not speaking about whether players won their battles or not, that's a whole other topic - but whether the blocking assignments were even solid or logical.

Hmmm

[AZ54]

1 hour ago, BearFan PHX said:

I watched my favorite film study guy, and he made a LOT of good points about flaws with the Bears' run blocking scheme rules. Now Im more concerned about the OL than I was. Hopefully, they find a way to show me that there is more than one good way to do it, and their way works too, but what i saw last week was NOT good.

Im not speaking about whether players won their battles or not, that's a whole other topic - but whether the blocking assignments were even solid or logical.

Hmmm

I'm not sure how much has changed.  Plus I know nothing about these concepts and what options there are to choose from.  Let's see what we get in Week 2.    

 

[BearFan PHX]

57 minutes ago, AZ54 said:

I'm not sure how much has changed.  Plus I know nothing about these concepts and what options there are to choose from.  Let's see what we get in Week 2.    

 

right, hes the same guy we had last year. I cant claim to be an expert on blocking fronts, but the guy i watch does, and i think he's right. It may also be possible that there are new innovations that the guy i watch doesnt know about and our team is trying to install. But what he diagrammed and showed sure made a LOT of sense to me.

I really hope Im wrong, but I am concerned lets say.

[Stinger226]

One game is a small sample size to make season long projections. It wasnt a good first game but we now get to see round 2. Shelton was getting slammed for getting run over , come to find out Jenkins tripped him. The offense was shabby so lets see how they rebound. A very common reaction is first game over reaction. I always think a team is not its worst game or best game in a season, its somewhere in between. The key is we won the game. What we know is we have a very good defense and that usually keeps teams in games to the end. 

[Mongo3451]

13 hours ago, AZ54 said:

I'm not sure how much has changed.  Plus I know nothing about these concepts and what options there are to choose from.  Let's see what we get in Week 2.    

 

Nate Davis is a coach killer.  You absolutely can not get continuity if your starter doesn't practice.  A lot of the center's poor play can be attributed to trust and familiarity, or the lack thereof.  Davis should be out of the league next year. 

It all starts up front and I've argued continuity for years.  They got a wakeup call.  If health remains ok, we'll get better.

[BearFan PHX]

3 hours ago, Mongo3451 said:

Nate Davis is a coach killer.  You absolutely can not get continuity if your starter doesn't practice.  A lot of the center's poor play can be attributed to trust and familiarity, or the lack thereof.  Davis should be out of the league next year. 

It all starts up front and I've argued continuity for years.  They got a wakeup call.  If health remains ok, we'll get better.

I agree about Davis. Screw that guy.

I also agree that the players will gel and play better, and we wont always be facing a defensive interior that is as talented as the Titans.

But I do now worry that the scheme, the blocking rules etc were fundamentally flawed in our first game. We're doing things like pulling a tackle and asking him to come all the way across the line and then turn up and make a block, and of course that player will be late, because it's not sound football.

They are trying to out trick the defense, and reinvent the run blocking assignments. That might be something you do when your team sucks and needs an edge, but this roster is pretty good, let's just play football?

It reminds me of Nagy's cuteness. Smartest guy in the room crap. I REALLY hope they see it on tape and make adjustments to get back to regular running plays.

It's one thing to have a player lose physically, you tell your guys to toughen up and you hope to get better. But when the play is flawed the way it's drawn up, that's something else entirely.