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 😂
I can go into a Dataeque deep dive citing PFF, Next Gen Stats, charts, twitter clips and still-shots, all sorts of links to former players/coaches dissecting every Bear minutia, but frankly, they’re not worth the effort.
My only take away: the ’25 Bears are subpar, soft and stupid.
1 Subpar. Or more accurately, substar in that the team rosters no real blue-chips. MAYBE Jaylon Johnson who is INJed. Maybe Thuney who is on the downslope of his career. That’s about it. In a franchise that boasts the most HOFers full of players like Butkus, Sayers, Sweetness, Dent, Hester…studs who made plays especially when the game was on the line; this current Bears’ incarnation of JAGs is the main reason I predicted Bears would finish last in NFCN. What I didn’t expect that they may finish last in the entire league. This mostly falls on Ryan Poles whom naturally the McCaskeys, in their infinite wisdom, decided to extend.
2. Soft. This is something I suspected but didn’t want to manifest into existence. This team is mentally SOFT AF. I’ve never witnessed a team fold like a cheap tent after one loss like this team did after the Washington Hail Mary. That wasn’t anomalous either, but fast forward to this year. Week 1 they were very much in that game until that bogus Wright holding call. After that obstacle, they never recovered. This week again, very much in it, until that bullshit ending to the half where the Viking should have been ruled down and clock expired. Instead, he was ruled out – Vikings rewarded six seconds back. Predictably they scored a TD, and once more, self-implosion. This team can’t handle adversity or setbacks which is a lethal mix with being…
3. Stupid. They just keep shooting themselves in the foot, whether it’s drive killing pre-snap penalties, holding, pass-interference, terrible time management, angles, situational awareness, challenges, blown coverages, going for 1st downs instead of kicking easy FGs, not kicking it out of bounds, seemingly NO professional game plan or counter-punch, and that’s not even considering the lack of execution like killer drops, missed running lanes and big plays [see #1].
This team reminds me of Mush from “The Bronx Tale.”
We all know a Mush. I have a friend who seemingly gets-off on complaining: work, family, relationships, sports, car, traffic, everything and anything. Just always self-pitying, whining, and somewhat permanently disgruntled. I love him, but I can only take so much before my Boomer-itis kicks-in, “Snap the fuck out of it!” [and he’s OLDER than I am].
I introduced him to the girl I’m dating at a happening club with plenty of skimpy clad women; he proceeded to spend half the night relaying to her his last 3 breakups. At some point she turns to me like ‘is this guy forreal? I just met him’ I just shrugged and went over to save her. We danced. He hit the bar.
He expects life to kick him in the balls, and somehow, life obliges.
“Whether you think you can, or think you can’t, in both instances – you’re right.”
This team is like that. I get it, TBH. I’ve been on some terrible teams where losses completely demoralize players. Everything transforms to doom and gloom. At the beginning of each season, everyone is angelic shining with radiant hope. After a chain of brutal beat downs, that locker room disfigures into “Paradise Lost”. Sometimes a team climbs out of the fall. Often it doesn’t.
This team can’t apparently. They expect for something in the game to go south, and when it does, they quit. No 3 AM grit. No Lach in Zona refusing defeat. No coach at halftime losing his shit, throwing objects around, calling players out as men.
Meanwhile some 7th rounder named Jacory Croskey-Merritt in WK#1: 10 CAR, 82 yds, 1 TD, 8.2 yd/ra, and looked impressive as hell [if I played FF, he’d be my #1 bid on the waiver wire].
INJ report.
I tend to shy away from these this early in the week since much changes game day. Besides, our own Canada Bear does a fantastic job of updating these up to kickoff, so if you want, you can follow him on Canadian Twitter which involves sending smoke signals and quail calls…or just read his stuff here!
Lions: LB Jack Campbell, [Ankle, DNP] OT Taylor Decker [Shoulder, DNP] RB Sione Vaki [Hamstring, LP] LB Trevor Nowaske [Elbow, LP] CB Terrion Arnold [Groin, FP] S Daniel Thomas [Hand, FP]
Obviously the biggest name here is Taylor Decker. We were all relieved when Dayo didn’t dud vs Vikings, but remember, they were playing with their backup RT. Maybe Sweat takes advantage this week. He was pretty quiet week 1.
Bears:
CB Kyler Gordon [Hamstring, DNP] DT Grady Jarrett [Knee, DNP] RB Roschon Johnson [Foot, LP] WR Jahdae Walker [Ankle, LP] LB TJ Edwards [Hamstring [LIP] WR DJ Moore [Groin, FP] CB Jaylon Johnson [Groin, FP]
Both TJ Edwards and Jaylon Johnson are trending in the right direction and expected to start which are major upgrades especially since Sewell can cover about as well as a Coke machine.
Gordon [who has never played an entire season] is projected as out, while Grady Jarrett and DJ popped up on the report, so stay tuned.
What I expect from Bears
Ben Johnson chastised himself for not getting the run going more. I speculated that vs Vikings he’d likely need to pass to open up the run, and I was somewhat right. The problem was, BJ never seemed to get away from the pass, and was in way more shotgun than I prefer. This translated to arguably the least effective run game of all the openers [outside Caleb scrambles] which he took responsibility for. Also, the boot is moot if the D doesn’t respect the run.
On the other side, the Vikings started bashing the Bears late. They flipped the script and won.
Look for more 12 personnel this time, even if it means starting off more slowly. Maybe more draws to keep the D honest. BJ no doubt has more trust that the Bears’ D can serve court especially early, perhaps being more comfortable playing tight games.
On D, I think Allen won’t blitz that much, especially if Decker is out for the Lions.
For some odd reason, Goff has always mightily struggled vs Bears going back to Rams/Fangio. In fact, it was Fangio’s D which set the blueprint on how to stifle Goff. Belichick essentially used the same D against him in the SB, and they only managed a meager FG. It was so bad, McVey traded Goff to Lions, and here we are. But even Flus discombobulated Goff, and neither Fangio nor Flus are known for blitzing.
The bigger question is if Bears’ D can stop the run? They started off strong against Vikings, but boy did they wilt late [allowing 5.5 yds per run in the 4rth QTR]. Was it conditioning or lack of talent/execution? Allen’s #1 priority is to stop the run. They failed miserably last week when it mattered most; now Monty/Gibbs are revving up. You know a salty Dan Campbell would love nothing more than to ram it down BJ’s throat with Ford Field rocking.
X-Factor:
The Bears had, what, four presnap penalty vs Vikings? Some of that was attributed to Caleb’s cadence. Ironically, Ford Field will be so loud, Caleb will be using much more silent count which basically resolves the cadence issue. The drawback is the Dlinemen can fire-off, meaning more pressures. Something to monitor.
What I expect from Lions:
Well, see above. If they establish the run, then they can boot off it which is what Goff does best. At this point, they can basically call whatever they want, but I suspect they’d target our backup NB on a bunch of middle zones if Gordon is out; then it gets ugly.
On, D, should be interesting. Caleb had success, kinda, vs the zone Flores initially implemented. However, Caleb struggled when Vikes started blitzing. Blitzing Caleb is a dangerous game though. 1. He’s great at escaping and scrambling. 2. He’s actually a better passer on the run. 3. This will leave Rome/DJ/TE one-on-one. This is why teams stopped blitzing Trubisky and just sat in zone which turned him into a backup.
My guess – Lions won’t blitz at first and see how it goes much like Flores.
Overall:
Expect a tighter game with many 3 and outs on both sides. This game will come down to a handful of key plays which I think Caleb will make, and Goff won’t because, for some inexplicable reason, the Bears’ D is his kryptonite. They’ll turn it over more than the Bears, and that will be game [if Santos can actually make FGs].
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…
