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.
As a long-suffering Bear fan, it’s become a semi-tradition to dust this gem off every September as kick-off nears.
Maybe it’s to try to hype myself up like a haka dance – maybe it’s to steel myself – maybe it’s so I just don’t check out entirely in order to do something more “productive”, or at least, far less infuriating, than watching yet another Bears’ season.
I glance at IG stories with a hint of envy. There’s my buddy on top of a Malibu hiking trail overlooking the Pacific; there’s my other friend training for a marathon and MMA; another smoking a blunt at a BBQ or open air festival; there’s that chick I’m trying to bang sipping mimosas poolside.
And here I am in my mancave screaming at pirated-pixelated Bears while venting online to some internet Fight Club support group.
Yet, I keep doing it…week after week, month after month, season after season, year after year, decade after decade…
My step-dad, a hard working earnest man, always asks me every September with a shit-eating grin, “You ready for a new season?” It’s a question tinged with a mixture of pity and admiration; then he simply drawls off, “I dunno how you do it” before returning to work on his ’57 Studebaker truck which will likely never run.
Honestly, I never used to think about it. It just became habit – like being stuck in a bad marriage. Aristotle once observed that most don’t even recognize the best times of their lives until much later; well, the same can apply to the worst times.
Or as a proverb goes, “Habit is greater than love.”
Ironically, it wasn’t even until the Cubs FINALLY won the World Series that emotions I never even knew existed stirred up. See, I was jubilant like many, but my elation was infused with a languid sorrow. I thought about my uncle, who loved the Cubs since Ernie Banks, not being able to rejoice in their once in a century triumph because he died some years ago. Sadly, he was not alone.
I thought about how passionate Doug Buffone expressed all our outrage, contempt and frustration after every post-game; I envisioned the spittle flying as his face reddened with righteous indignation.
Then he died.
Trestman was the last Bears’ incarnation he witnessed before leaving this earth. Imagine that.
Do I want to be like that? Like my uncle, Buffone, and countless others, expending my psychic energy on a team that has been incompetent since “The Breakfast Club,” “The Goonies,” and “Commando” played in theaters, since “Sussidio,” “View to a Kill,” and “Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go” blasted from radios?
Remember radio?
Moses Christ that’s like a tragic Cohen Bros’ vignette.
MB retreating to surfing and a jacuzzi becomes more and more appealing.
“Success is the ability to go from one failure to another with no loss of enthusiasm.” – Winston Churchill
Then I cast myself as a 1940’s Brit stoically shuffling to the underground both resigned and rebellious, both acknowledging reality nevertheless not entirely accepting nor submitting, both cautious yet optimistic in that strange netherealm of foggy uncertainty.
The act itself is a reaffirmation of belief, a defiance to not surrender to the dark cynicism that rattles in every heart –
As such, out of some ridicules sense of loyalty, Pavlovian conditioning or sheer stupid stubbornness, I will once more march into another September with all the bitching, yelling, bemoaning, rooting, cheering, whooping, booing, throwing of random objects, scaring of pets, all the ecstasy and agony which another Bears’ season entails.
Maybe one Sunday my circle will catch me on an IG story on top of a hill overlooking the Pacific, smiling and basking beneath a breeze, sunburnt forehead and shimmering beard….
But not this season.
If this shitty year has taught us one thing and one thing only – it’s this:
Never take anything for granted.
Not a concert, not a haircut – not a seemingly trivial sport. NOTHING.
I’m throwing on my Sweetness, Jimmy Mac, Butkus, Peanut gear, cracking open a beer, flipping over a brawtz… prepping for Bears’ ball.
At this point it would be negligent of me to NOT share Tyler Dunne’s trilogy “House of Dysfunction.”
I won’t cover it all, and TBH, it’s a bit of a bummer reading this right before the season kicks-off. It’s like sniffing a turd emanating from a wrapped gift before Christmas.
🧵Just finished reading the 2 parts of that Ty Dunne piece that are out so far. I have thoughts.
I know Chicago fans are going to want to disregard it, but Dunne is an excellent reporter, and there are very specific claims about Caleb attitude/behavior from multiple sources pic.twitter.com/w3OM4AqPfA
1. Caleb Williams seems disrespectful towards the coaches: Waldron, Brown, and likely Eberflus.
2. The Vets didn’t like Caleb, a rook, busting on the scene, making coaches and vets conform to him.
3. Caleb might be football dumb; apparently his mental struggles were so extreme, Dunne muses if Caleb actually possesses a learning disability.
I hate to give Dunne more attention for this clickbait article, but he is insinuating that Caleb Williams might have a learning disability. Crazy low effort journalism. pic.twitter.com/NH6qu2f24p
1. Ryan Poles rigged the selection. Like Kim Jung Un, he let his biases be known and expected the lackies to follow. Here’s a reenactment.
2. Poles’ autocratic manipulations essentially made Caleb Williams the only viable option at QB despite it being arguably the strongest QB draft since ’83.
“To those seeking a vibrant debate, these draft meetings were a farce.”
Part III has yet to drop, but this is their outline:
In Part III, we zoom out: Who’s to blame? The Bears have become an organization repellent to independent thought. The GM inherited a bad situation and managed to make it worse with a 15-36 record. All roads in this league tend to lead back to ownership.
I won’t rehash my thoughts. If you’re curious, just click on the previous post; however, I do disagree with Jeff on one point.
The article by @TyDunne isn’t good. It’s magnificent. Brilliantly reported and expertly crafted. It is a riveting indictment of everything 2024 Bears, all of which appeared ON THE FIELD last season. Impressive work.
(And Bears fans, it doesn’t have ANY impact on Ben’s Bears.)
How in the world can this news, if true, NOT impact Ben Johnson’s tenure?
If the QB is entitled, challenged and lazy, what can the HC do to fix THAT?
What kind of culture will those traits create?
[Didn’t we get a sneak peak of that last season when rumors swirled that the vets wanted Bagent to start over Caleb?]
That being said, as a fellow late-bloomer, this doesn’t mean that Caleb is Jeff-George-Leaf-Manziel-Fated. Even if all those reports are legit, something can click inside Caleb to turn it all around.
Happens all the time. Everyone loves a 2nd act.
Still, I expect Poles and sycophants to vigorously deny, deflect, and distort the details because that’s what ‘strong-men’ do when criticized, exposed or challenged.
Heck, maybe Poles will claim that Dunne is a Detroit constructed AI to undermine the Bears’ season and his reign – Fake News!
I would absolutely love for some intrepid reporter to ask Mercedes Lewis, Keenan Allen or DeMarcus Walker if the trilogy is accurate. The current Bears like DJ will likely lie through their teeth. That’s fine, but those ex-Bears are free to relay the truth.
And as with all things, the truth will out. The die is cast. The chips are all-in.
Like those Turkmenistan cabinet members, we too are now forced to cheer, root and clap as Poles raises the fu-bar to another level…
As y’all know, I’m new to this whole Blogging biz. So, I snoop about. Seems like everyone is making a bunch of predictions. I was going to do some in-depth 4-parter… no need.
Poles whiffed on the previous HC, Flus. And YES, as Jeff the ultimate Bears’ insider has stated emphatically, Poles WANTED Flus; furthermore, Poles vouched for Flus the off-season he should’ve been canned.
In La Cosa Nostra, when mobsters vouched for Joe Pistone, AKA, Donnie Brasco, they were KILLED. Dead wrong was literal.
Seems the least that should’ve happened to Poles is a pink-slip. Yet, he somehow stuck like shit on soles, and stunningly even managed to get extended! So Bears…
Poles hiring, and backing Flus stunted the Bears on multiple levels. But this isn’t the only way Poles has hurt the Bears. In addition, his mediocrity [at best] has left them bereft of not only blue-chip talent, but DEPTH.
Now the chickens have come home to roost.
Poles tried his best to compensate for his misses, doing what most mid-GMs do to salvage their rosters and careers – trades for players other teams developed since the Bears can’t develop their own. Plus FA shopping spree.
Nevertheless, it’s still not enough, is it?
Too many questions persist: can Sweat rebound, or is he essentially the new Alex Brown? Can Dayo, ya know, sack QBs, or should that $ have been funneled to possibly Trey Hendrickson or Micah Parsons? WTF’s going on at LT? Was Wright overdrafted and merely an avg RT? [cough, Carter, cough] If Jonah Jackson was so good, why did McVey happily send him packing? What happens if Brisker gets another concussion? What if Swift or Byard go down?
And the million dollar question:
Can Caleb become better than Jayden Daniels?
Poles didn’t draft Caleb #1 overall to be Kyler Murray or worse than Bo Nix.
NTM , no matter how much Ben Johnson is praised, we simply don’t know if he’s an NFL-winning HC.
Remember when Chip Kelly stormed into the league in a whirlwind of praises?
Meanwhile, the Lions, Vikings and Packers pose far fewer questions. They won 15, 14 and 11 games, respectively, and all are legit SB contenders.
Then the lowly Bears.
That’s a tough road to slog with so many unknowns, lack of All-Pros, and paper-thin depth at key positions under a rookie HC.
As such, my predicalator computes…Bears finish last in NFCN.
Now, this might seem pessimistic at first, but don’t throw your laptop at your TV quite yet!
If the Bears were in a weaker division, say, the NFC or AFC South, I’d argue they could win the division, but that’s not our reality.
They can win 9 games, yet be last and out of the playoffs. In that scenario, we can still be optimistic as long as the team appears heading in the right direction.
This is like a middle-weight being thrown into a division with prime Sugar Ray, Hagler, Hearns and Duran – via con dios…
How the Bears don’t finish last:
Like Dr. Strange navigating multitudinous futures, I’ll offer some possibilities where Bears leap-frog their rivals. I’ll try to leave the obvious ‘if player-x gets INJed.’
1. Lions. They’ve been remarkably consistent. In some ways, they’re like the Bills. A blue-collar gritty out. However, both their lauded OC and DC left, and no one knows exactly how it will negatively impact them. It can’t be good, but how bad can it make them?
2. Vikings. Perhaps the biggest X-factor in the division – is JJ McCarthy a franchise QB? If he’s not, or even just starts off slowly like Bryce Young, well, Vikings could drop to the dredges.
3. Packers. Much like the Vikings, their future firmly rests on the arm of Jordan Love and the back of Micah Parsons. I just feel something askew with that team. They were a blocked FG away from the Bears sweeping them last season, and they couldn’t beat the Bears in the finale despite the Bears playing for only pride. Jordan Love could be their Sexy Rexy. A streaky, sometimes INJed QB, who can push a team far but always tumultuously. Plus, if Parson’s back is more messed up than previously assumed, then that truly cripples the team as he cost two first rounders and an astounding $46M against the cap.
4. Bears. Throw all the doubts out. Ignore the lack of a premiere pass rusher, questionable LT, thin depth, rookie HC…
If Caleb becomes Mahomes, then game on. Not only won’t they finish last, it’s entirely plausible they overtake the Lions and make a strong playoff-push.
Look at the Bengals. Their ’21 team was OK, but I don’t believe many predicted they’d make it to the SB. Bengals like the Lions were a joke for decades. They made the SB mainly on the phenomena that is Joe Burrow [and to a lesser extent, Ja’Marr Chase].
If Caleb throws for 4,600, 34TDs, runs for another 500 while earning an 108 QB rating, then it won’t matter what the Lions, Vikings, Packers, or any team honestly, does because Caleb will simply impose his greatness, and all the D and specials have to do is not suck.
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
Today is a friendly reminder of why Poles SHOULD have been terminated along with Flus, but hey…
I don’t expect any fireworks for the Bears. Poles’ big moves were Dayo, Jarrett, Thuney and Dalman [Count Sweat too. All because he couldn’t draft blue-chip players at premium positions].
I know everyone’s going to be dreaming about some Micah Parsons mega-deal, but
A. Parsons doesn’t even fit Allen’s preference of a big DE.
B. Jerrah will want Poles’ first born. Though I admit, he’s gone full Al-Davis, so who the hell knows with him anymore.
I’m sure Da Dos bloggers will keep us all up to date, so check in throughout the day.
Bears waived: DB Millard Bradford⁰DL Xavier Carlton⁰DB Alex Cook⁰LB Power Echols⁰DB Kaleb Hayes⁰QB Austin Reed⁰RB Ian Wheeler⁰TE Joel Wilson
Bears released: DB Tre Flowers⁰RB Royce Freeman⁰OL Joshua Miles
This will be short since I left the PS Game 3 thread up over the weekend.
1. Pass-rush was non-existent. Dayo especially to me looked like a JAG. Everyone else disappeared. Watching Billings try to chase down dad-runner Mahomes was like Benny Hill chasing around bikini-clad buxoms.
2. The first team O struggled vs first team KC D. Granted, Thuney wasn’t in, but it just looked sloppy and, well, Nagy-esque.
3. Even if “PS wins don’t matter”, I still put forth that win was good for overall morale. They played in a hostile environment, clawing back.
Bills, Chiefs, Eagles, Ravens, etc don’t need PS wins.
Poles’ Bears have done little but lose, so even it’s a PS game, it’s some momentum.
Better than losing.
On Blog note, the cuts will happen manana. We may see some early rumors and whatnot, so I’ll likely just post a ‘cut thread’ for Tues.
