Thoughts and Observations Week 4

[I Just Want To Read]

Pace has to go OL and TE in the second right? Maybe you switch out TE for a CB but you definitely have to go OL with the raiders pick

Probably not. Should keep a steady trickle of late round OL picks.

OL has struggled a bit in the run game, but it's not like we have any RB who can dynamically hit the hole. They've also pass-blocked well overall.

 

[Wild_x_Card]

Everson Griffon is a stud though. I'd expect him to beat Leno on more than one occasion.

Cohen is pretty overrated at actually running routes down the field. His hands are very suspect. He's good at catching short passes in open space, that's it really.

Jackson is another that is kind of disappointing this year so far. He's really not a great tackler and he's kind of playing out of his natural position, so it's not really his fault. But still.

Leno has historically struggled with E.G. I think last year was the first time he held his own against him.

 

[WindyCity]

If you are going to be a great defense and have middle of the pack QB play then embrace it and build Dallas' OL.

Leno has been bad in every game. His run blocking has gone from okay to putrid soft.

 

[WestCoastBearsFan]

Probably not. Should keep a steady trickle of late round OL picks.

OL has struggled a bit in the run game, but it's not like we have any RB who can dynamically hit the hole. They've also pass-blocked well overall.

Lol what? Pass pro was dog shit before last week. Montgomery would be a lot better if he didn’t have to juke a line backer 2 yards behind the line of scrimmage.

 

[I Just Want To Read]

If you are going to be a great defense and have middle of the pack QB play then embrace it and build Dallas' OL.

Leno has been bad in every game. His run blocking has gone from okay to putrid soft.

We don't have the 1st round picks for that.

 

[NorcalBear]

Always appreciate the time you take to do these writeups. Thanks much. I may be in the minority.. but to me ARob is a tad better than Alshon or at least equal. He seems to catch everything as well, and perhaps a bit more agile. AJ was never a burner.. had some good hands.. and of course the injury issue. With the injury issue ARob is the better player to have but even without that he seems a little better to me regardless.

 

[Huxster]

-I will never wrap my head around someone trading Khalil Mack.

Majority opinion everywhere but in Oakland

 

[I Just Want To Read]

Lol what? Pass pro was dog shit before last week. Montgomery would be a lot better if he didn’t have to juke a line backer 2 yards behind the line of scrimmage.

It's been fine. We've given up 9 sacks all season and lost 50 yards to sacks thus far. They gave up only 1 sack total to the Broncos and Viking who have elite pass rushing talent.

I know it's basically tradition for message board posters to bemoan their offensive line, but we likely have an above average unit there. Perhaps the best unit we have on offense honestly.

 

[botfly10]

I don't really get why there is so much confusion or lack of understanding around Nagy's overall conservative playcalling on O.

To me it seems really obvious.

1. Bears have the best D in the NFL
2. Nagy lacks confidence in his QB
3. Run blocking is shit on obvious run downs with obvious run plays
4. Bears have the best D in the NFL

I am not absolving Nagy from some of the weirder shit he does, but more broadly - to me, this is Nagy pulling way back to cover up problems with the OL and the QB.

When you see how he calls games, the message is clear. Bears think aggressive QB play presents a net negative in a risk/benefit analysis.

It's frustrating to watch, especially since it is a regression from last year.

But people have to know that this is not how Nagy wants to run his O, right? It has to be frustrating to him too, tho he can never show it.

I mean, isn't it obvious that this all stems from working around some severe personnel limitations?

 

[baselman1974]

Windy you forgot about special teams.
They were great.

 

[Wild_x_Card]

If you are going to be a great defense and have middle of the pack QB play then embrace it and build Dallas' OL.

Leno has been bad in every game. His run blocking has gone from okay to putrid soft.

If you are going to be a great defense and have middle of the pack QB play then embrace it and build Dallas' OL.

Leno has been bad in every game. His run blocking has gone from okay to putrid soft.

Easier said than done without the resources. Dallas also had the luxury of a top 10 talent falling in the lap later in the draft. It's also worth noting where Pace came from. A football team that prioritized building the O-line from the inside out without spending big on the edges. Which allows for a ton more cap flexibility. Bears can't afford Jason Peters and Khalil Mack.

 

[Bolek]

That penalty wasn't even dumb, IMO. It was soft as hell. Official just should have swallowed his whistle there.

I think the reason E Jackson put his hands on the dude, was that the guy slammed Skrine to the ground, head first. I didnt see it slo mo, but it seemed that way to me. So he just stood up for his teammate. It was rather costly but I have mixed feelings on that type of action. Somehow this defense can play undisciplined and still zero out the opposition.
Nice breakdown btw, thanks. I didnt think Massie had a good game, he let a quite a few pressures through and I thought Leno did no worse than Massie. But then again, I havent rewatched any of the game

 

[WindyCity]

You do not need to pick in the 1st round to improve the OL.

You can build a dominant OL from all rounds. But a 2nd round OT competing with Leno and maybe starting his career at RG would be nice to have.

 

[remydat]

I don't really get why there is so much confusion or lack of understanding around Nagy's overall conservative playcalling on O.

To me it seems really obvious.

1. Bears have the best D in the NFL
2. Nagy lacks confidence in his QB
3. Run blocking is shit on obvious run downs with obvious run plays
4. Bears have the best D in the NFL

I am not absolving Nagy from some of the weirder shit he does, but more broadly - to me, this is Nagy pulling way back to cover up problems with the OL and the QB.

When you see how he calls games, the message is clear. Bears think aggressive QB play presents a net negative in a risk/benefit analysis.

It's frustrating to watch, especially since it is a regression from last year.

But people have to know that this is not how Nagy wants to run his O, right? It has to be frustrating to him too, tho he can never show it.

I mean, isn't it obvious that this all stems from working around some severe personnel limitations?

So Nagy is basically John Fox. Our O with more weapons is scoring about the same as a John Fox offense when he had considerably less weapons.

 

[Angry Boomer]

Tarik Cohen has been garbage this season in every facet of the game

making him our full time returner has looked like a waste

He isnt a returner..He is a fair catcher...lol

 

[didshereallysaythat]

So Nagy is basically John Fox. Our O with more weapons is scoring about the same as a John Fox offense when he had considerably less weapons.

Kinda yes. However, Fox was a dumb ass because he relied on his defense to win the game when the defense was garbage. If Nagy was calling conservative running plays in a tie game when he had Lamar Houston and Willie Young as his best pass rushers, it would be different.

 

[Les Grossman]

Always appreciate the time you take to do these writeups. Thanks much. I may be in the minority.. but to me ARob is a tad better than Alshon or at least equal. He seems to catch everything as well, and perhaps a bit more agile. AJ was never a burner.. had some good hands.. and of course the injury issue. With the injury issue ARob is the better player to have but even without that he seems a little better to me regardless.

ARob is a complete receiver imo. He can play any WR position and can run any route. He's good all over the field. That's not true for Alshon imo. At least he's not as versatile.

I've been banging the ARob drum for awhile. But at this rate, he'll probably leave after next year when his contract is up because of the dumpster fire QBs we have.

 

[Pegger]

-I will never wrap my head around someone trading Khalil Mack.

The real reason for Mack being traded was because Dummy Davis is poor. It's a widely known NFL rule that when a team extends a player they need to take the amount guaranteed to that player and put it in a separate account. This ensures if the team/league goes bankrupt the player still has the money that was guaranteed to him. Davis just didn't have the $60M that was needed to get that deal done, so he had to trade him.

I know it's extremely weird and doesn't make football sense. Mark Davis is worth and estimated $500M, but it's all tied up in the value of the team and no one will lend him enough money to extend core players. That's also why Cooper was traded. Things will change when he moved to Vegas. That will increase the value of the team by at least $1B, which he will benefit from and it should open up additional revenue generating opportunities.

 

[Les Grossman]

I don't really get why there is so much confusion or lack of understanding around Nagy's overall conservative playcalling on O.

To me it seems really obvious.

1. Bears have the best D in the NFL
2. Nagy lacks confidence in his QB
3. Run blocking is shit on obvious run downs with obvious run plays
4. Bears have the best D in the NFL

I am not absolving Nagy from some of the weirder shit he does, but more broadly - to me, this is Nagy pulling way back to cover up problems with the OL and the QB.

When you see how he calls games, the message is clear. Bears think aggressive QB play presents a net negative in a risk/benefit analysis.

It's frustrating to watch, especially since it is a regression from last year.

But people have to know that this is not how Nagy wants to run his O, right? It has to be frustrating to him too, tho he can never show it.

I mean, isn't it obvious that this all stems from working around some severe personnel limitations?

Well regarding #3, why try and run the clock out when you know you can't run the ball? LOL. Again, we run a WCO basically so it's not like we have a very risky passing game. Pass the ball to get a couple of first downs to put the game away. It doesn't have to be 7 step drops looking for a long TD...

 

[Pegger]

ARob is a complete receiver imo. He can play any WR position and can run any route. He's good all over the field. That's not true for Alshon imo. At least he's not as versatile.

I've been banging the ARob drum for awhile. But at this rate, he'll probably leave after next year when his contract is up because of the dumpster fire QBs we have.

He had a 1400 yard, 14 TD season while catching footballs from Blake Bortles.

No additional information is needed to describe how good he is.