It was a fantastic week of football. Bears won. Cowboys lost. Puke Lost [to Browns no less]. 1-2 can easily turn into 2-2, heading into the bye on an up note.
By the PFF scores, Shemar Turner did not have a good game in his first outing.
He had the 2nd lowest PFF score on the defense with 30.0
HOWEVER, before everyone jumps all over this.
He only played 23 snaps.
His pass rush score was 59.6.
While that seems low, 60.0 is the starting score for all players when PFF grades games.
His low overall score is based on 1 missed tackle. Because he had so many fewer snaps than most players, one bad play can swing the PFF score wildly. That put his tackling & run defense scores in the basement.
He didn’t record any pressures & as someone said “looked on ice skates” out there, but I don’t want to rush to judgement yet
It was his first game after missing almost all of training camp
Let’s wait to see a handful of games of reps from him before we draw any early conclusions
Gervon Dexter had a 55.4 pass rush grade in his first Bears game, btw
Some QB/Caleb info.
it's still early but for all the talk of the six QBs from last year's draft class, it's starting to look like only the first three matter – Caleb, Daniels, Maye
Nix is dead last in PFF grade McCarthy is the only QB to ever make KOC's system look bad Penix has been brutal so far
Caleb’s deep ball accuracy, an issue we were all fretting about, has improved which is great because Ben Johnson is taking deeper shots with Caleb than with noodle-armed Goff.
A positive trend for Caleb Williams early in the season has been his improved deep ball accuracy.
On 20+ yard throws per PFF, here are his numbers this year.
7/14, 50% (T-7th) 240 Yards (4th) 2 Touchdowns (T-5th) PFF Grade: 92.8 (7th) 6 Big Time Throws (5th)
One difference between Ben Johnson's lions offense and Bears offense. Bears are attacking downfield.
Goff's average air yards per target with DET was 6.6. Williams is 8.8. And he's not just chucking it. It's by design which makes sense with the skillsets of Williams and Odunze https://t.co/4dZwEbG1Os
Watching TNF MIA@BUFF felt eerily familiar. I know a guy whose first two wives were Asian. Met the 3rd, déjà vu, also Asian. To his credit, 3rd time seems to be the charm. Will that be the case for Da Bears?
It wasn’t for the Miami Dolphins.
Dolphins were 0-2 playing some horrendous football; they lost to the Colts and Pats. Not exactly SB favorites.
On a short week travelling to Buffalo, everyone expected them to get curb-stomped; however, they put up a fight, and the score was tied at 21-21 with 10 mins left. Dolphins made a crucial stop, forcing Bills to punt on 4rth and 7.
Then, Fins Finned, as once the Chargers Charged and the Lions Loined.
Fins ran into the punter, giving the Bills a 1st down [can you imagine how the schmuck who put down $37K on MIA to win felt?].
Predictably, the Bills marched down the field and scored a TD.
Fins clawed back only to end on a Tua INT just the way the universe scripts it.
Despite the close score, the game felt pre-determined from that start.
Somehow, someway, I knew MIA was going to lose. The details were nearly irrelevant to anyone outside bettors and FFers.
Everyone knew MIA would find a way to sabotage themselves, because, well, that’s what atrocious teams do.
Now they’re 0-3.
Sound familiar?
I’m at the point where I simply don’t want the Bears to embarrass the city any further. It’s gotten Trestmanesque, pronto, and if BJ flops, he’ll be the last ‘nerd’ to ever HC the Bears in our lifetime.
I’ll settle for a MIA-type effort where they come out showing some fucking pride and professionalism, even if I know they’ll find someway to blow the game.
The booth showed how Allen changed his mechanics from his rook year. Can get all technical, but essentially Allen’s shoulders are more square while trusting the torque over rifling. He is taller than Caleb, so I wonder if that factors? Also, it’s not as if Prime-Rodgers had picturesque tech, and he’s about the same size as Caleb.
I’m not saying Caleb Williams is on Josh Allen’s trajectory
But Caleb Williams dysfunctional rookie season was statistically comparable Josh Allen’s 2nd year in the NFL.
Here, next time PFF tries to gaslight you that Braxton is actually an above avg LT. I wouldn’t be shocked to see Benedet start over Braxton and Monangai over Swift to send a message.
I just laugh when people throw PFF numbers at me 😂
After watching the MNF opener vs Vikings, I can only quote The Irishman, “I’m more than a little concerned.”
While plenty of blame can go around, the loudest 5 alarm fire was definitely Caleb as once more he wilted; in contrast, JJ McCarthy started off shaky, but literally gathered his Olinemen, then mounted a comeback as Caleb flailed.
I won’t rehash the trauma. We’re all in a safe place now. Also, TBH, I didn’t really have to watch the All-22 to know what went wrong with Caleb; still, I thought it might reveal some details I may have missed initially.
“All Things QBs” with Tim Jenkins masterfully breaks down every Caleb throw.
Jenkins reinforces what we already talked about in the last thread ad nauseum.
1. Caleb isn’t throwing in rhythm 2. Caleb’s not seeing the open receivers 3. Even if he sees them, he’s not pulling the trigger. 4. If he does pull the trigger, the accuracy’s ‘manic’.
And that’s when the Oline doesn’t allow pressure, which it did especially Dalman and Jackson.
Jenkins observed that Caleb appears to struggle throwing to his left [wasn’t that McNowns’ downfall?]; He shows it’s tied to his feet and how wide he’s opening his shoulders. Ironically when Caleb scrambles, these mechanical issues don’t usually surface, so he may be a better scrambling QB than pocket at this stage.
Another pundit put it another way, think it was Biggsy, ‘Caleb’s accuracy is worrying. In baseball terms, it’s not just that the pitch is off, but that it’s entirely out of the batter’s box.’ This might help explain his lack of INTs – neither the receiver nor CB have a shot. Such errancy robs the O of YAC [hitting in stride] and cheap pass-interferences on top of, ya know, COMPLETIONS, 1st downs, TDs…
a common thing on the caleb williams misses is he's trying to look off zone defenders until the very, very last moment. then his release is rushed and his feet aren't fully lined up.
Some interesting tidbits. Since 2013, Bears are 22-51 in NFCN games [43%] if they lose next two sink to 38%. 12 penalties most since '21. Most in opener since '52. 127 yards most ever in opener.https://t.co/QKezfc9DKv
Over the last year & 1 week, Caleb Williams leads NFL quarterbacks with 52 incompletions due to an overthrow (per TruMedia). 17 more than the next highest and added 5 more last night pic.twitter.com/whEBRcKDJb
I’m not sure where to even begin. This was a true team loss.
1. Ben Johnson BJ decided to go for it instead of settling for a relatively easy FG. He could’ve tried to draw them offsides for a cheap 1st down, but instead BJ let the playclock expire, called a TO, allowed their D to regroup, then left 3 points that would return to haunt them. That wasn’t BJ’s only blunder. Apparently the ball is part of the player in the process of the catch. yet he challenged the play. It was never in question that Sewell touched the ball, so in effect it was a totally wasted challenge/T.O. that again, Bears could’ve used later. BJ also screwed up with the final kickoff. Apparently, he said he did tell Santos to kick it out of the back of the endzone, but it wasn’t even close. He either failed to realize Santos was too limp-dicked to do so, or he never even considered maybe Tori could do it. At the very least kick it out of bounds. Sure, they’ll move the ball to like the 40, but who cares by then? Finally, BJ seemed to make no adjustments while O’Connell DID make adjustments. Wunderkind my ass.
2. Caleb. Even more concerning was Caleb. Sure, he started off ‘hot’ 10/10, but a lot of those were on scrambles to checkdowns. Not exactly Joe Montana highlights.
Caleb looked gun-shy or oblivious. I would like to see his QBR when he stayed in the pocket and threw to WRs. Couldn’t have been better than Fields this weekend.
He still held on to the ball for too long; the only difference is that this year the Oline isn’t complete dogshit, so it bought him more time to escape instead of getting crushed.
But Flores caught on, and in the second half started blitzing more once he saw that Caleb morphed into Chase Daniels.
Then when Caleb did throw beyond 10 yard, he seemed erratic. None more so than missing a WIDE open DJ for a big play.
Still, as Kurt Warner often says, if a QB can’t make the layups consistently, then he’s not a good QB. Can’t win a SB with a QB like that, and I don’t know if Caleb has ever put an entire game together where he was consistently good from start to finish. He simply cannot throw in rhythm from the pocket for 4 QTRs.
It’s like he’s good Rex/bad Rex, but not from game to game, rather half to half.
3. Specials. Santos was terrible. Those 3 points he flopped also could’ve helped tremendously. Then he was too weak to drive it through the back of the endzone in that last KO.
Tori got blocked. The gunners sucked.
Specials were a liability all-around.
4. Defense. They actually started off strong, Dayo specifically while the JV secondary punched above their weight climaxing with Wright’s pick-6
Nahshon Wright picks off McCarthy and takes it to the house!
However, Byard kept taking bad angles, Sewell as we all know couldn’t cover, and they ran out of gas and failed to stop the run in the second half despite knowing it was coming.
Add some bullshit reffing, and voila, another abysmal Flusian chokejob.
This is the Puke’s version of the Khalil Mack Trade. Remember how elated Bears’ fans felt after that went down? I think Waffle rosterbated for a month straight, ’85 dreams stirred, lots of kids and dogs likely still running around Chicago named Mack.
Well, Green Bay just got their Mack Attack in Micah Parsons paying him a whopping $47m/yr; $188m/4yr total.
To make the deal worse, the Pack only had to give up two 1st rounders [likely mids or later] and a soon to be 30 yr old DT Kenny Clark.
Micah Parsons is 26. He’s notched 13, 13.5, 14 and 12 sacks [52.5 total] in his career.
It would take Booker and Dom-Rom about 50 years each to match Parsons at their rate.
Bears will have to block Parsons with Braxton/Kiran/Ozzy/Benedet for the next 4-10 years barring some bizarre twist of fate.
No denying it: Packers just got a whole lot better, trade-raping the Cowboys.
Maybe this is karmic justice for the Cowboys trade-raping the Vikings in what is still infamously known as “The Herschel Walker Trade” [If so, Cowboys still have more to pay, though perhaps the universe bakes playoff choking into the equation].
How did this unfold?
Well, as with most things Cowboys, the twists-n-turns, subplots, and drama rival any soap opera, but this concisely sums it up.
TLDW. Jerry would often prey on player’s massive egos dealing ‘man to man’ without agents, usually getting what he wants.
The more interesting part is when Jerry essentially says, ‘Michael Irvin dealt with me directly, and maybe he didn’t net as much as possible, but getting me as a business asset, advisor and friend was better long run’
It’s kind of a way around the cap like when corporations paid to stay in Trump hotels then never even checked in – or grossly overpaying for Hunter Biden paintings.
The problem this time?
Well, Jerry isn’t going to be around for another 30 years, so players like Dak, Lamb and especially Parsons weren’t going to be duped into that trap. They insisted on their agents dealing firmly believing in Robert Frost’s advice:
While Jerry tragically forgot about two major rules:
Never make business personal – Michael Corleone
Pride cometh before the fall – Proverbs 16:18
Even the goddamn Browns remembered those lessons and managed to keep Garrett.
THE BROWNS.
And indeed, the Boys have fallen. One may argue that they do a great job of drafting and developing, but even so, does Jerry even have THREE years left? He could up and die come January when his team chokes again in the playoffs.
To add salt to the wound, Jerry traded Parsons in conference to the team that eliminated them from the playoffs in ’14, ’16 and ’23. I mean, WTF Jerrah!
Who does he think is going to be competing for that last playoff spot? Or to host a home game during playoffs, or even if things go right for both, to finish #1 in NFC with the bye and homefield advantage at stake?
Hell, the Cowboys are facing the Packers in exactly a month – you don’t think Parsons is circling that date like Rocky circled Drago?
For fuck’s sake Jerry, at least trade a top 3 pass rusher in his prime to the AFC.
The only hope for us Bears’ fans [without getting too sinister – remember – karma, Kramer…] is that this actually DOES turn out like the Mack trade in which, Mack joins a team that had an overrated QB/HC, then sorta throttles down ending in mediocrity and no Super Bowls.
It could happen. Everyone is expecting Jordan Love to rebound, but why?
In ’22 Love played 4 games, finishing with 1 INT and an 83 QBR.
In ’23 and ’24, Love finished with 11/11 INTs and 62/69 QBR while also missing two games.
That seems to be who he is.
In ’18, when Mack was traded to Bears, Trubisky finished with 12 INTs and a 77 QBR.
Oh, and Matt Nagy won Coach of the Year.
Huh. Now that I think of it, maybe we should be happy the Parsons’ Pendejada so eerily resembles the Mack trade.
It will only make the disappointment that much deeper and bitter.
🚨NEW: Jay Cutler takes plea deal in his Oct 2024 DUI arrest. Here's what we know about the deal: 🔐He will spend four days in Jail 💰 $350 fine + DUI safety Class 👮Unsupervised probation for 1 year
Cutler was arrested Oct 17 2024 after rear-ending another driver in Franklin,… pic.twitter.com/JBCdRVQrqL
I don’t even expect the starters to play much, if at all. Matt Eberflus didn’t set much of a high standard, so Ben Johnson only has to avoid looking totally lost.
Speaking of which, history has empirically proven that winning/losing in PS is mostly irrelevant.
So, in no particular order:
1. Look sharp. No sloppy PS penalties – illegal motions, delay of games, offsides, subs running in/out late, lining up wrong, terrible TOs… Get the basics right. Football 101.
2. On D, some sort of pressure from the Dline. I don’t care who, but SOMEBODY must crush. Word is Sweat has been making Oline sweat, so it would be sweet if he returned to form. However, I’m very curious about the new crew:
Dayo, Jarrett, even UDFA Carlton Xavier [Too bad about Shemar Turner].
Naturally, zero in on Booker as well.
3. Oline? Well, Moses Christ – it’s basically all rebuilt, so all of them? Well yes, but in particular I wanna see if Trapilo isn’t weak or cement-footed. I need to see he belongs [no Kiran 2.0]. Same for Kiran – at this point he’s gotta prove he’s not a lost cause. Also of interest will be how Newman handles himself and if he plays Center. I loved the edge Bill Murray brought. See if he’s still got that fire.
4. HB, well, we all want to see if Monangai is too small/slow/brick-handed, or if he can be our Pacheco. Everyone forgets about Ian Wheeler, but he’s going to be battling for a roster spot.
They both need to be able to pick up a blitz.
5. WR – All eyes on Burden. If he’s healthy and up to date. Can he separate at the NFL level? Will his YAC translate? Never know. Every year we seemingly get a new “Deebo” yet it never materializes [hello Treylon Burks].
Been hearing mucho about Olamide Zaccheaus , so draw a Madden circle on him.
6. TE. C’mon now. LOVELAND. The first “wow” pick of the draft. He better look at least as good as Greg Olsen. No pressure.
7. LB/Secondary is more or less set, still Hyppolite was a big head-scratcher for many, so highlight him on program. Will his 4.4 speed translate? Can he stack and shed? Does he flash instincts?
I was curious about Frazier who allegedly knocked the socks off Halas brass on his rookie visit; however, he’s missed a lot of camp [personal reasons], so I don’t believe we’ll see much of him.
8. On specials. Just don’t fuck up. Can Taylor nail a coffin-corner? Cairo make anything beyond 53? [he ended on a high note, that’s for damn sure].
WTH are our returners again?
9. Misc. Bagent!
10. Whatever the new rules are. From the HOF game, it seems they’re finally implementing some sort of chip system.
Padded practices are here, but unfortunately whatever rosy reports we’re getting has been somewhat dimmed by the news that Shemar Turner, the Bears’ 62nd overall pick, severely injured his ankle and is out for a minimum of a month.
– S Jaquan Brisker excited for opportunity to fill variety of roles
– WR Luther Burden finally hits field
– Sights and sounds of full pads in a day heavy on ground game work
That’s a bummer since many like myself had high hopes for his rookie campaign. Heck, Greg Gabriel comped him to Tommie Harris!
Won’t be T-Harris on one ankle, and ankles are notoriously easy to re-injure especially if rushed back.
I had a friend who seemed to sprain his ankle every other month once he suffered his first severe sprain. I’m no Dr., but from my experience they seem to work like concussions or shoulders popping out. After that first major one, it seems much easier to reaggravate going forward.
I’m not so certain where this leaves the Bears at DT. They aren’t exactly thin, but Andrew Billings is big, 30, and coming off an injured ’24 season. If he or Grady Jarrett go down, we’ll be seeing way more of Zach Pickens or the immortal Chris Williams in the mix.
Last week I would’ve bet Pickens wouldn’t even make the cut. Now? Not so sure.
Maybe Christian Wilkins, freak or not, becomes more of an option.
I mean, Charles Haley used to jerk off in the locker room and meetings while talking about teammate wives!
What’s a little Wilkins’ forehead kissing from time to time?
[Guess we should ask WHICH head Wilkins was trying to kiss though…nttawwt]
In other news, here’s Greg Gabriel’s in-depth breakdown of padded practices.
Transcribing or even summing up would take too much writing, but Gabriel basically echoed what I wrote yesterday.
Don’t get too carried away by the micro.
For instance, we heard over the weekend that Montez Sweat came in practically untouched.
Oh oh, time to worry about Darnell Wright!
Then later it was reported that was by design.
Oh, NVM!
A lot of times the coaches are making it harder than it might otherwise be. It’s like Maverick hitting Mach-10 then pushing it. Sometimes gotta crash and burn to find out where the limits are.
That’s what summer practices are for.
Other tidbits.
1. Vets tend to pace themselves in July. Roberto Garza was an infamous ‘pacer’. He asked Lovie once, ‘You want me to last 16 games? During the season is when I’ll give it all’
2. Gabriel seems to think that Kiran Amegadjie won’t make a good OG. ‘He’s got 36+” arms. In my experience, olinemen with arms that long tend to struggle inside. It’s that much harder to get their arms up in a split second’
3. Thinks Austin Booker’s frame is a bit too slim, and deep dish ain’t going to change that.
4. Georgie ain’t bringing back the Honey Bears; however, the obscure trivia I didn’t know?
Apparently the Bills would only hire cheerleaders [the Jills] who were married!
I guess the logic was – cut down on player hanky panky.
That’s funny.
If you prefer a quick concise Bears’ update, view this one instead.
Offensive line looked good in 1 on 1s today first 5 reps were all wins for the offense.
1. Darnell win vs Sweat 2. Jackson win vs Dexter 3. Dalman win vs Big Bill 4. Thuney win vs Grady 5. Kiran win vs Dayo#DaBears#Bears#BearsCamp
We’ll likely get more info today, but not much happened over the weekend. More of the usual ‘camp reports’ which should be taken with a gigantic grain of salt since no one really knows the coaching agenda.
I once heard a story that Bill Parcells warned the coaching staff the day BEFORE practice that he was really going to lay into the offensive line because, well, for Bill Parcells’ reasons.
Sure enough, practice ensued, and of course some olinemen fucked up because, ya know, it’s practice, and Parcells right on cue just goes off on the hapless mark and punishes the line.
Parcells shoulda got an academy award for it.
The coaches all must’ve been dying inside, but they played their part.
Now if you were covering the Gmen in the 80s and saw this, you’d write some headline like:
“Parcells Furious with Underperforming Offensive Line! Is it time to worry?”
I mean, it was theatre. A lot of coaching IS micromanaged theatre.
So keep that in mind next time Ben Johnson goes off on the offense, or throws some shade at a player on the podium. Sometimes it’s just a way to motivate or squeeze the most out of talent, nothing more.
With that in mind, here’s some camp catch-up.
Improved day for the #Bears offense Saturday. Lot of focus on 3rd down and Caleb Williams wrapped things up for the starters with a TD pass on a short fade to Rome Odunze to end a 2-minute period.
Tyson Bagent with a couple easy touchdown throws in Red Zone 7 on 7s with the 3rd team. One to Roschon Johnson on a quick out left. One to the corner Samori Toure. Wide open.
Tyson finishes his series rolling out to his left and threading the needle to Ian Wheeler for the…
Kyle Monangai has looked quicker than anticipated and like he belongs. Obviously the real battle begins when pads come on but I like his chances of getting some carries this year. #DaBears#Bears#ChicagoBearspic.twitter.com/EAqR1ZdJrm
But perhaps the biggest ‘Hot Take’ was Dan Orlovsky arguing that it’ll likely take YEARS for Caleb Williams to master Ben Johnson’s offense, so fans shouldn’t expect much out of him this season. Lotta Bear fans didn’t want to hear THAT.
In non-Bears news, the Christian Watkins saga got freakier. Apparently he wasn’t cut just because of meds, but some odd incident with a teammate no one really wants to talk about. Same ole Raiders…
Strange: Christian Wilkins reportedly had an 'incident' with a teammate that led to his release by the Raiders, per @JosinaAnderson
One source says, "it was weird… like, a very weird incident,"
