5 Thoughts and Observations on Dolphins-Bears

Rory Sparrow · Oct 15, 2018

5 Thoughts and Observations on Dolphins-Bears

*The first thing that stands out to me is that the Adam Gase/Brock Osweiler tandem rang up 541 yards on the Bears defense. Holy hell.

*Perhaps the biggest result of this game is that Mack hurt his ankle. If this is a lingering injury, then Ryan Pace’s ‘House of Cards’ might collapse completely, if it hasn’t already. I had made a comment last week that the biggest reason the Bears are 3-1 is because they hadn’t needed anything from Leonard Floyd. Well, they really needed Floyd to step up against Miami, and the result was 4 QB pressures of Brock Osweiler in 44 pass attempts.

*One thing about Lovie’s defenses is that while they were usually vanilla in scheme, they were great at tackling. The Bears’ tackling yesterday was terrible. Eddie Jackson seemed to have money on Miami. Adrian Amos pulled a Major Wright and wasn’t even on the TV screen for most of these plays. Danny Trevathan continues to be a liability. His biggest contribution was tackling Kenyan Drake on a pass play (which somehow was missed by every official on the field) at the end of regulation, which probably cost Miami a shot at a game-winning FG before OT.

*Turnovers obviously hurt the overall performance of the Bears’ offense, but I was actually impressed with Trubisky. He made some good plays, made some bad plays, but he was also the unquestioned leader on the field for the Bears. The broadcast and announcing of the game was terrible, and they didn’t really delve into the offensive PI against Trey Burton. It seems like the refs only throw the flag on the ‘pick play’ when it’s a goal-line situation, and Burton did a really poor job of not turning and looking for the ball…he basically just ran into the Dolphin player and shoved him down. I thought it was kind of dumb to be passing on 1st and goal from the 3, but I guess Howard did have a goal-line fumble earlier in the game.

*Aside from Mack’s gimpy ankle, the other big takeaway from this game is the similarity to the Trestman era. Bears started 3-1 under offensive genius Trestman. The wheels came off when it appeared the Bears were headed to a big road win over the Vikings, but instead of driving down the field in OT to kick the game-winning FG, Trestman elected to have Robbie Gould try a 47-yard FG on 2nd down. Gould missed, the Bears lost. Nagy started 3-1, got to Miami’s 41 in OT, then did 3 up the middle runs (one involving Tarik Cohen, OMG) and settled for a 53-yard FG attempt. Miami has such a spongy turf that its difficult to kick long FGs…at least Trestman had Gould kicking in a dome (but 2nd down, tho). Either way, the optics are terrible.

All in all, its hard to categorize this game as a 'disaster', unless Mack is less than 100% for the rest of the year. Its basically a 'missed opportunity' to get a road win, and if the Bears regroup and put forth a good effort against New England, this will be forgotten.

Dragon Slayer · Oct 15, 2018

I have a hard time pinning this loss on the offense. The defense looked horrid. Where was our dominant DL against their weak OL? Hicks looked gassed. I don't even know what Floyd was doing most of the game.

Have to give Gase some credit. He got the ball out of Osweiler's hands as quickly as possible all day and into the hands of his playmakers who were apparently impossible to tackle.

Eddie Jackson and Bryce Callahan did make some solid tackles at the LOS.

playthrough2001 · Oct 15, 2018

Rory Sparrow said:
5 Thoughts and Observations on Dolphins-Bears

*The first thing that stands out to me is that the Adam Gase/Brock Osweiler tandem rang up 541 yards on the Bears defense. Holy hell.

*Perhaps the biggest result of this game is that Mack hurt his ankle. If this is a lingering injury, then Ryan Pace’s ‘House of Cards’ might collapse completely, if it hasn’t already. I had made a comment last week that the biggest reason the Bears are 3-1 is because they hadn’t needed anything from Leonard Floyd. Well, they really needed Floyd to step up against Miami, and the result was 4 QB pressures of Brock Osweiler in 44 pass attempts.

*One thing about Lovie’s defenses is that while they were usually vanilla in scheme, they were great at tackling. The Bears’ tackling yesterday was terrible. Eddie Jackson seemed to have money on Miami. Adrian Amos pulled a Major Wright and wasn’t even on the TV screen for most of these plays. Danny Trevathan continues to be a liability. His biggest contribution was tackling Kenyan Drake on a pass play (which somehow was missed by every official on the field) at the end of regulation, which probably cost Miami a shot at a game-winning FG before OT.

*Turnovers obviously hurt the overall performance of the Bears’ offense, but I was actually impressed with Trubisky. He made some good plays, made some bad plays, but he was also the unquestioned leader on the field for the Bears. The broadcast and announcing of the game was terrible, and they didn’t really delve into the offensive PI against Trey Burton. It seems like the refs only throw the flag on the ‘pick play’ when it’s a goal-line situation, and Burton did a really poor job of not turning and looking for the ball…he basically just ran into the Dolphin player and shoved him down. I thought it was kind of dumb to be passing on 1st and goal from the 3, but I guess Howard did have a goal-line fumble earlier in the game.

*Aside from Mack’s gimpy ankle, the other big takeaway from this game is the similarity to the Trestman era. Bears started 3-1 under offensive genius Trestman. The wheels came off when it appeared the Bears were headed to a big road win over the Vikings, but instead of driving down the field in OT to kick the game-winning FG, Trestman elected to have Robbie Gould try a 47-yard FG on 2nd down. Gould missed, the Bears lost. Nagy started 3-1, got to Miami’s 41 in OT, then did 3 up the middle runs (one involving Tarik Cohen, OMG) and settled for a 53-yard FG attempt. Miami has such a spongy turf that its difficult to kick long FGs…at least Trestman had Gould kicking in a dome (but 2nd down, tho). Either way, the optics are terrible.

All in all, its hard to categorize this game as a 'disaster', unless Mack is less than 100% for the rest of the year. Its basically a 'missed opportunity' to get a road win, and if the Bears regroup and put forth a good effort against New England, this will be forgotten.

The tackling was horrible all game. They turned Albert Wilson into a superstar for the day.

Rory Sparrow · Oct 15, 2018

HawkBear said:
Have to give Gase some credit. He got the ball out of Osweiler's hands as quickly as possible all day and into the hands of his playmakers who were apparently impossible to tackle.

Yeah, I was dissing Gase prior to the game. One of Osweiler's INTs was basically a heave-ho at the end of the 1st half. Fuller did a great job on his 2nd INT, but other than that play Osweiler was error-free the entire game. Unreal to me, since I have seen Osweiler play before. It makes me wonder how terrible Jay Cutler really was, if guys like Tannehill and Osweiler can appear to be competent, 'move-the-chains' type of QBs.

The vast majority of Osweiler's throws were less than 10 yards. The YAC obviously killed the Bears defense. If the Bears could tackle better, or if they could have stopped Frank Gore and made Miami one-dimensional, this game could have been an easy win for Chicago because the Dolphins defense couldn't stop Trubisky and the Bears offense.

DaaBears · Oct 15, 2018

Although I agree with the entire post of the OP, my inclination is to just blow the whole thing off and look towards next week. But, like he said, if anything, concerned a bit about the ankle of Mack.

We spent the first 4 games literally living in the backfield of the opponent. Now against a team with an offensive line in trouble, we do absolutely nothing. And the defense looked absolutely exhausted as early as the first quarter, and functionless by the 4th. It happened, it's over, regroup and move on.

My feeling is we end up having a defensive gem at home against New England who put up 43 last night. The top 3 defenses all got smoked yesterday, especially Jacksonville. I remember from my old days of totally sending it in every Sunday, there was always that one week where everything is whacked out. I think that was yesterday.

If we get smoked next week, I will change my viewpoint. Nagy looked and sounded totally fuming after the game yesterday, and a bit defensive.

Let it play out.

Angry Boomer · Oct 15, 2018

"And the defense looked absolutely exhausted as early as the first quarter, and functionless by the 4th."

They looked like they came out of the locker room exhausted

FirstTimer · Oct 15, 2018

I wonder if there was an advantage for Miami starting Osweiler(just threw up saying that) only because of how late the change was made and the Bears really weren't prepared for how Gase would call the game with Brock vs how Gase would call things with Tannehill.

Overall a crappy road performance that neither team really deserved to win.

First half was discouraging coming out that flat, but it was a positive for a young HC and young QB to adjust so well at the half and play really well in the 2nd half and rebound. The defense was disappointing but if you look at any great defense they had a turd game(or more) during a season. Shit happens.

Zion · Oct 15, 2018

Everyone is talking about Mack's injury, but Akiem Hicks looked like he got injured too. After Miami's final goal line turnover, Hicks was laying face down on the turf writhing in pain over something and hobbled off very gingerly. Everyone seems to have missed this

Novak · Oct 15, 2018

This was the craziest Bears game since the Cardinals game in 2006.

Absolutely bonkers. Horribly officiated, absurdly fluky, B0rk Lobster infused, craziness.

I feel like I'll never understand what I just watched...

Quick takes:

Dolphins definitely wanted this game more than the Bears. Literally zero heart and passion on the defensive side of the ball in this game, aside from Fuller.

Mack was invisible... that ankle injury may be something that hampered him, but he wasnt as disruptive in this one as he was the first 4 weeks.

Trubs and Cohen are really the only reason this game was competitive. Cohen decided he would throw the game away by handing the ball to the dolphins, and then picking the wrong side of the coin on the all-important overtime coin toss.

Another bad performance by the offensive line.. Howard through 5 games has showed that he cant do anything with this run blocking.

wazzupi · Oct 15, 2018

ikkoikki said:
Everyone is talking about Mack's injury, but Akiem Hicks looked like he got injured too. After Miami's final goal line turnover, Hicks was laying face down on the turf writhing in pain over something and hobbled off very gingerly. Everyone seems to have missed this

When he stripped drake i think he pulled his arm weird but i don't think it was a major injury i guess we will find out ?!?

wazzupi · Oct 15, 2018

Novak said:
This was the craziest Bears game since the Cardinals game in 2006.

Absolutely bonkers. Horribly officiated, absurdly fluky, B0rk Lobster infused, craziness.

I feel like I'll never understand what I just watched...

Quick takes:

Dolphins definitely wanted this game more than the Bears. Literally zero heart and passion on the defensive side of the ball in this game, aside from Fuller.

Mack was invisible... that ankle injury may be something that hampered him, but he wasnt as disruptive in this one as he was the first 4 weeks.

Trubs and Cohen are really the only reason this game was competitive. Cohen decided he would throw the game away by handing the ball to the dolphins, and then picking the wrong side of the coin on the all-important overtime coin toss.

Another bad performance by the offensive line.. Howard through 5 games has showed that he cant do anything with this run blocking.

Pretty sure the Oline did great besides 1 sack, howard just doesn't seem to fit this scheme...

remydat · Oct 15, 2018

Not sure why Fangio didn't press more or blitz. Dude let Brock throw short stuff all day by having CBs play off and not blitzing.

I understand going into the game like that but when it is obvious your D is not applying pressure and Brock is too comfortable back their dinking and dunking then you need to adjust.

As for the O, I have no clue what Nagy was thinking on the last set of downs. Dude refused to give Trubs a chance to get the first and with 7 better options he gives it to at best our 8th best playmaker on 2nd down in Benny. Throw the ball dude.

Novak · Oct 15, 2018

Trubs was pressured or flushed out more times than not, and the dolphins front is nothing special. Aside from Leno, everyone is a turnstile.

Long had his worst game of the season, and he was getting extra help from whitehair almost all game. Kush was being asked to take 1 on 1s so Kyle wouldn't have to.

I haven't reviewed the film yet, so I don't have any rough tallies, but I'll update once I get a chance to watch the all-22.

Outlaw Josey Cutler · Oct 15, 2018

FirstTimer said:
I wonder if there was an advantage for Miami starting Osweiler(just threw up saying that) only because of how late the change was made and the Bears really weren't prepared for how Gase would call the game with Brock vs how Gase would call things with Tannehill.

Overall a crappy road performance that neither team really deserved to win.

First half was discouraging coming out that flat, but it was a positive for a young HC and young QB to adjust so well at the half and play really well in the 2nd half and rebound. The defense was disappointing but if you look at any great defense they had a turd game(or more) during a season. Shit happens.

Agree with all of this. JAX just laid a turd game defensively in Dallas, but that doesn't mean they are not still an elite defense that just happened to have an off game.

I hope that is true for the Bears. Like Rory said, it would be a shame if Nagy gets the offense rolling and the defense regresses into Mel Tucker D over the course of the year. Even if only to good offenses. We have too much talent on paper that wouldn't happen ... I hope?

legendxofxlink · Oct 15, 2018

I swear it was rigged. It was like the defense was told to take it easy this game, let's be fresh for that Pats...

1. Hicks didn't blow up the guard one time. Couldn't even hold his ground for the majority of the game.
2. Floyd REFUSED to use his hands when rushing, when i thought they " came alive ". He would literally jump into the arms of the tackle.
3. Mack took multiple plays off. Was held when he did try. He talked to the ref several times about it, didn't help.
4. Eddie Goldman was pushed backwards almost the entire game.
5. Trevathans worst game of the season by far. One play, he let his guy go free to come after Brock when he scrambled out, like he was afraid Giraffe 2.0 was going to scramble. Pie completion for 30 yards.
6. Is Amos even on the team anymore?
7. The amount of offensive picks and PI that the Phins were feasting on the entire game was just a smack in the face by the refs for calling Burton on it.
8. Brock played like absolute shit IMO. If there was a better QB back there, the Phins would have put up 50 points on this halfassed defense.
9. Props to Gase for exposing the lack of gap control. Too many Bears defenders being overly aggressive in trying to make a play, leaving their gap wide open. Gore's vision is stellar.
10. Bryce Callahan was a machine and they went after him hard. He was picked/blocked numerous times to be taken out of the play, and he still made some badass tackles. Bryce and Kyle played good, but they need to be right in there for the ass chewing.

Outlaw Josey Cutler · Oct 15, 2018

remydat said:
Not sure why Fangio didn't press more or blitz. Dude let Brock throw short stuff all day by having CBs play off and not blitzing.

I understand going into the game like that but when it is obvious your D is not applying pressure and Brock is too comfortable back their dinking and dunking then you need to adjust.

As for the O, I have no clue what Nagy was thinking on the last set of downs. Dude refused to give Trubs a chance to get the first and with 7 better options he gives it to at best our 8th best playmaker on 2nd down in Benny. Throw the ball dude.

I saw you and botfly go back and forth on this.

My take is that Nagy should have thrown, but I do have the feeling that he thought it was the right move: the "out-smarting" the defense move.

This feels different than the first 3 games where I questioned if he had any faith in 10 to make a throw. Ironic ... he has the faith in Week 1 and Mitch missed it. I think he had the faith in Week 6 but outsmarted his own damn self. Smh.

remydat · Oct 15, 2018

Outlaw Josey Cutler said:
I saw you and botfly go back and forth on this.

My take is that Nagy should have thrown, but I do have the feeling that he thought it was the right move: the "out-smarting" the defense move.

This feels different than the first 3 games where I questioned if he had any faith in 10 to make a throw. Ironic ... he has the faith in Week 1 and Mitch missed it. I think he had the faith in Week 6 but outsmarted his own damn self. Smh.

Once you put Howard in on 3rd and 4, you put the D on notice you might run as that is the biggest concern any D has when they see Howard and when you had been using Cohen on 3rd down for most of the game. He ain't outsmarting anyone on that play.

I mean everyone I was sitting with guessed run when we saw Howard and not Cohen getting substituted for Benny so pretty sure that is what Miami was thinking as well.

DaaBears · Oct 15, 2018

Outlaw Josey Cutler said:
I saw you and botfly go back and forth on this.

My take is that Nagy should have thrown, but I do have the feeling that he thought it was the right move: the "out-smarting" the defense move.

This feels different than the first 3 games where I questioned if he had any faith in 10 to make a throw. Ironic ... he has the faith in Week 1 and Mitch missed it. I think he had the faith in Week 6 but outsmarted his own damn self. Smh.

Nagy said right after the game, on the defensive and a bit annoyed, you do not risk a sack in that situation taking you out of field goal range. I am not saying that I agree or don't agree, just stating Nagy's stance.

Rory Sparrow · Oct 15, 2018

DaaBears said:
Nagy said right after the game, on the defensive and a bit annoyed, you do not risk a sack in that situation taking you out of field goal range. I am not saying that I agree or don't agree, just stating Nagy's stance.

Not really in FG range, tho, to begin with.

DaaBears · Oct 15, 2018

Rory Sparrow said:
Not really in FG range, tho, to begin with.

I don't know what our time out situation was, don't recall. If available, my call would have been to call a time out, and pick out a play, with little to no chance of sack or loss of yards, and run it, at least try to pick up 10 yards or so. Moving the ball was never a problem in the game, at least in the second half.

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