Da Dos

Tag: Saints

  • Packers@Bears III. Playoffs, baby!

    Packers@Bears III. Playoffs, baby!

    So I got a little busy this week, but couldn’t think of anything awe-inspiring to write about the matchup.

    A major part of that is because this is the THIRD time the Bears have faced Green Bay this season.

    Divisional games are always a toss-up. That’s how you end up with Commanders defeating the Eagles last week, or the Bears prevailing against the Packers’ in the ’24 finale. Then you add this is the 3rd time [in 5 weeks] playing against one another in the same season, and voila, near coin-flip.

    As they say, familiarity breeds contempt, and you know the Packers are still fuming over the dramatic loss, so they are going to come out brawling.

    An interesting factoid though which caught my eye.

    How many points have the Bears scored against the Packers in the first half this season?

    If your answer is 3, you are sadly correct.

    Clearly, the Bears can NOT sputter out of the gate this time around.

    We saw what a slow start does to the crowd in the final Lions’ game; it totally nullifies the homefield advantage, NVM breaking any offensive rhythm while exhausting the D and sapping any psychological mojo.

    Bears are not a juggernaut. Regardless of record, they are the underdogs [Vegas agrees: Pack are -1.5 road favorites]. They are young with little to no playoff experience. Difference makers like Rome, Gordon and Ozzy will be playing through INJs.

    Soldier Field forecast predicts 9°F, snow and possibly 39 MPH wind!

    Halas has heavily invested in transforming the Bears into a modern offensive-minded team. Ben Johnson, Caleb Williams and crew simply cannot afford to cede an entire first half or else “The Iceman” is going to mean starting cold.

    The Chicago media-machine has conjectured what has gone wrong early. Some surmise it is BJ’s initial opening script, specifically that the NFL has figured it out. Some theorize Caleb is too unfocused and erratic when the game is not on the line. Clay Harbor pushes that it simply comes down to execution and eliminating mistakes, especially on 3rd down; he further elaborates the defense “bending” but not breaking for 8 minutes straight ices the offense. It is going to be hard to get into any sort of rhythm if Caleb, Swift and Burden are thawing in their snowy trench coats through two commercial breaks.

    Whatever the issue for slow first halves, the Bears MUST solve it, PRONTO.

    The easiest solution would be for the Bears’ oline to open up lanes for Swift and Monangai to win TOP and keep a shaky D off the field.

    No reason Bears can not start hot either. The Packers’ D in the past 4 games[w/out Parsons] has imploded:

    Which brings me to why I struggled a bit with a preview since I am going to sound cliche:

    The team that wins the trenches, turnover and redzone battle will likely prevail.

    This applies to the defense as well. They cannot for the life of them get off on 3rd down, which allows for QTR long, soul-sucking drives.

    They began [up to Nov] the season top 6ish in opponent third-down conversion. They finished like 22nd [allowing around 40.8% success], and we have witnessed this downward trend in the two losses against SF and DET.

    It does not even seem to matter what Dennis Allen calls either. He mostly played zone vs SF, and they lit that D up for 42 points.

    He mostly played man vs DET, and they lost the TOP battle (19:12-10:48) while their WRs abused Wright, CJ and JJ to 7.7 yards per attempt.

    So what is the answer?

    Well, again, this is going to sound trite.

    Bear players must rise to occasion. The roster must overperform. Sweat, Booker, Jarrett, Brisker, Wright…gotta play out of their minds.

    An interviewer [Manziel] once tried to blame Rex Grossman for the SB loss, but Urlacher was having none of it. Urlacher pointed out that the Colts racked up 250 yards passing and a mind-boggling 190 yards rushing when season long that ’06 D gave up 300 TOTAL. Fans often forget that part.

    In other words: The ’06 Bears’ SB D underperformed.

    [Granted, no MB or Tharris hurt]

    That cannot happen this time around. The Bears must not just meet but SURPASS their potential.

    Since this is a trilogy, think Rocky.

    I compared the ’25 Bears to the both the SB winning ’08 Giants and ’10 Saints.

    In short, both teams “overachieved”.

    Racking up key TOs, clutch moments, and bold decisions. That is how a team overcomes a talent deficit.

    Much like in life, the Bears gotta be the BEST versions of themselves on this unexpected playoff run because as Urlacher relayed, nothing is guaranteed going forward.

    So Godspeed, Chicago Bears.

    For once in 40 years shatter our cynical ‘same ole Bears‘ mantra.

    Rewire the Favre-Rodgers trauma and make us once again BEARLIEVE.

    Bear Down and FTP!

  • Bear-lieve!

    Bear-lieve!

    I was going to write up another in-depth Packer Preview, but the Bears just played them not two weeks ago, so nothing much has changed statistically.

    That being said, much has changed personnel-wise, specifically, the INJ report.

    As of Thurs night, here’s the Packers-Bears’ INJ report:

    Packers Final Injury Report
    Out: RB MarShawn Lloyd (calf/hamstring), TE Josh Whyle (concussion), G John Williams (back).[Parsons – OUT OUT]

    Questionable: RB Chris Brooks (chest), DE Brenton Cox (groin), DE Kingsley Enagbare (illness), RB Josh Jacobs (knee/ankle), T/G Darian Kinnard (neck), DE Collin Oliver (hamstring), RT Zach Tom (knee/back), WR Christian Watson (chest/shoulder), WR Dontayvion Wicks (ankle), S Evan Williams (knee).

    Note: Oliver, Cox and John Williams have been designated for return from injured reserve and are within their 21-day practice windows.

    Bears Final Injury Report
    Out: WR Luther Burden III (ankle), WR Rome Odunze (foot), LB Amen Ogbongbemiga (hamstring).

    Questionable: DE Joe Tryon-Shoyinka (personal), LB Tremaine Edmunds (groin), TE Cole Kmet (ankle/knee), RB D’Andre Swift (groin).

    Note: Edmunds has been designated for return from injured reserve and is within his 21-day practice window

    Naturally, Micah Parsons [ACL tear, 9 month recovery] out plus Christian Watson and Josh Jacobs as Questionable are tremendous losses. Even if Jacobs and Watson suit up, they can’t possibly be anywhere close to 100%.

    Bears without Rome/Burden sucks as well, but Bears are a run first, 12 personnel team at heart, so all Zaccheus, Duvernay and Walker have to do is stay upright, block, and catch occasionally.

    I think BJ will be smart enough to target DJ, Loveland and Kmet on key downs.

    What I really want to write about though is that for the first time since maaaybe ’18, I believe the Bears can finish – not just with a winning record, or Wild Card appearance – but with a SB. The ’25 Bears can win it all.

    Yes – all. The whole enchilada. The whole 9 yards. The entire shebang or whatever other phrases exist for them winning a SB.

    It’s a confluence of many factors.

    1. No real super-team this season.
    Week in, week out, I have witnessed playoff teams ‘upset’. Whether it’s Pats losing to Raiders, Pack losing to Browns, Rams losing to Panthers, Bills losing to Dolphins, Broncos losing to Chargers, etc it’s one of those years where seemingly any team can indeed beat any favorite any given Sunday. So why not us?

    2. Bears find different ways to win in crunch time.

    Whether it’s a QB scramble, a big KR, a blocked FG, a forced fumble, an incredible INT, improbable throw/catch, or bruising runs to close, the Bears just get ‘er done. By now, they simply BELIEVE they will win. How barely matters. They’ve essentially been in playoff mode since week 3 [Cowboys], so a little pressure isn’t going to phase them.

    3. Bears’ formula wins late season.

    Don’t know if you noticed, but it’s getting pretty freaking freezing out there.
    Luckily, the Bears are a run first team. The 1-2 punch of Swift-Monangai is now spoken in the same breath as Gibbs-Monty, Kyle Williams-Corum while The Oline ranks top 5 on many sites. And, oh yeah, they have two great blocking TEs in Kmet/Loveland.

    Caleb Williams is arguably the best scrambler too which I appreciate even more after watching Stafford-v-Darnold on TNF.

    Another part of the Bears’ formula is they don’t turn it over much.

    Caleb rarely throws INTs, actually breaking the record for fewest INTs through the first 1K passing attempts. Unlike his predecessors , [looking at you Smoking Jay], he rarely gets strip-sacked [or even sacked].

    Swift also doesn’t fumble much while Monangai at Rutgers attempted 669 rushes with ZERO fumbles.

    So Bears don’t give away many freebies.

    Which dovetails well with CREATING defensive TOs. #1 in NFL with 20, and #2 Texans aren’t even close with 14.

    I, like many, was initially skeptical about Bears’ D keeping it up. As they say, TOs are unpredictable – not a good bet; nevertheless, Dennis Allen has made it just that – bankable. Somehow, someway, that D forces INTs/Fumbles, and they create momentum to win especially in hostile environments.

    So, Bears…

    Run fiercely+ block well+ limit TOs+ Force TOs= Wins

    Oh, and they’re clutch!

    4. Bears have elite coaching.

    Wow. Can’t believe I just typed that. I’m having an out of body experience just reading that aloud.

    Bears have elite coaching for the first time since Zubas were cool; I TRUST our brains outsmarting theirs.

    The easy example is Ben Johnson which doesn’t need much explaining, but Dennis Allen may actually be doing a superior job at DC given what he has.

    It’s not just them either. Look at the incredible turnaround of the Oline in just one season. Gotta give props to Dan Roushar for that.

    The secondary is playing out of its mind, big pat of the back [to future HC] Al Harris.

    Def Line coach Jeremy Garrett may even be sneaky good.
    Sweat has quietly notched 8.5 sacks, Booker in 7 games has 3 sacks, while the run D has recovered from being a sieve early season.

    via Matt Marton/Imagn
    I don’t really believe in ‘moral losses’, but sometimes, they do happen. After Philly, many still claimed Bears were “fun frauds”. However, after nearly stealing a win at Lambeau, the league no longer scoffs.

    I compared this team to both the SB winning Saints and Gmen; the Gmen in their finale took the Pats to the limit, ultimately losing 38-35.

    Now you figure, ‘wow, tough loss. Gut punch and no way to lurch into the playoffs’, but it was quite the opposite.

    “I know what everybody wrote and what everybody said we should do (against the Pats) and all the experts. Well, these are the same people that said we weren’t going to be in this position (10-6) and be in the playoffs, so we really don’t care what they say…[Antonio] Pierce [continued]. “All the experts supposedly said we were going to get beat by 20 or 30 points or whatever it was. That came down to the last couple minutes of the game.”

    “With that mentality, again we are going into a place where our backs are going to be against the wall, where we play our best. And I hope we can go out there and show it off.”

    Sound familiar?
    Let’s hope history repeats. No reason it can’t.

    Bearlieve.

    and FGB.

  • Victory Monday! Bears 26, Saints 14

    Victory Monday! Bears 26, Saints 14

    Lots of thoughts, but here’s a condensed version.

    The Defense came out on fire [most of] that first half. That was a championship D akin to the famous ’18 and ’06 predecessors.

    We heard about ‘bend don’t break’, but the Allen D was more like ‘break but force a turnover’. In that first half, they were not even bending; in fact, fuck you, we’re stuffing the run, sacking your QB, then taking that ball. Absolute dominance.

    Tez Effect seems to be back, and he was SORELY needed.

    Talked about it last week, but TJ Edwards back seems to line up everyone properly, thusly making them play faster and more downhill. Minimized are the wide open lanes, bad angles, missed tackles and total blown coverages.

    Tremaine Edmunds [3 INTs] is now free to use his speed; Brisker and Gordon sniffing the LOS is making QBs shit-bricks while Kevin Byard suddenly patrols the back end like Ed Reed.

    I also wonder how much Shemar Turner at DE has helped stabilize that line, especially vs run. If Austin Booker returns full-force, watch out.

    NGL, this offense, specifically Caleb Williams, sputtered for much of the game. It was just funky from the start, from taking the snap, penalties, dropped passes, scramble drills that had little chance to questionable play-calling [like those WR screens]. Did Caleb even complete 5 passes from inside the pocket?

    Caleb Williams completed 15-of-26 passes for 172 yards and an interception.

    It wasn’t pretty, and Caleb admitted as much. TBH, it’s a bit concerning particularly when one sees what Drake Maye is cooking in NE.

    Luckily for the Bears’ O, their run game continued to steamroll.

    Trivia Time:

    D’Andre Swift had 124 rushing yards and Kyle Monangai had 81, marking the first time the Bears had two running backs rush for more than 80 yards since??? ANSWER

    I loved Ben Johnson’s attacks. Yes, it was meat-n-potatoes traps, stretches, and combo blocks; however, he also mixed in some misdirection that perhaps didn’t pop, but at least helped to keep the Saints’ D honest and somewhat freeze them from just busting in.

    More importantly, BJ made great halftime tweaks. He finally began using more playaction [boot] to get easy passes for a struggling O. This was enough to milk the clock, scratch some points together, and close it out; other wise, it could’ve been a one score game had the refs not bailed out BJ on that 4rth and goal disaster.

    The specials didn’t shit the bed, and the rest was sorta just Judo – letting a bad team defeat itself, and here we are with the Bears at 4-2 riding momentum.

    Chicago relying on turnovers and a strong run game?

    “History doesn’t repeat but it rhymes”

  • Saints@Bears WK7

    Saints@Bears WK7

    If it ain’t broke…

    Is this a ‘trap game’? Seems to fit the definition – catching a meh team on a short week at home after an emotional win.

    I’ve caught some Saints this season. Numbers say their pass D suck, but outside the Bills and Seahawks beating them handily, and stomping the GMEN 26-14, they’ve been in one score games including the last one against a tough Pats’ team.

    In that game, Spencer Rattler completed 76.9% for 227, no TD/INTs, and 106.7 QB rating, so these guys aren’t just gonna roll over

    Bears have racked up 11 TOs on their win streak, and one must imagine that streak will end sooner or later. I mean, if they go +3 TOs the rest of the way, they can damn near beat anyone.

    The real test will come when they don’t create those TOs.

    How will they respond then? Will their D give up a bunch of TDs, or will they force FGs?
    God forbid make 3rd down stops…

    Will the O take it up a notch to make up for essentially 3 extra drives?

    One of my biggest question is if D’Andre Swift can continue stacking big runs off his 7.7 YPC performance?

    Ben Johnson went with the K.I.S.S. philo for the run, and it worked; however, NFL watches tape too.

    If everything goes right – D continues to steal TOs – Swift runs for over 4.5 ypc, Caleb plays efficiently with tactical strikes…

    Then this game should be in hand by the late 3rd.

    Though let’s be real, we’re all Bear fans. No such thing as an ‘easy win’ for this team especially if it’s super windy and rainy.

    As such, I expect more nail-biting Tradewinding into the crunch. At least they won’t be playing against the refs, right?

    Once more, into the breach!