How Bout Dem Bears?

Quick reaction...much better than last week. I think Kyle Long just won the starting job, and maybe Mills as well. Didn't see them get beat once and most of Forte's runs were to the right side.

- Early sacks didn't look good, but I think are fixable ones, Bennett missed block and Cutler coverage sack.

- Cutler int was bad this time, had protection.

- Liked the variation on the play-calling.

- Small thing: was noticing Trestman's demeanour on the sideline, very calm, unflustered.

- If Long and Mills can repeat that performance next week, it's really something to build on.


@SI_DougFarrar:
When was the last time you could use "Bears offensive lineman" and "dominant" in the same sentence? Kyle Long, everybody.

Didn't get to watch this but it sounds promising. Did Marshall get many snaps? And how did Jeffrey get on? Good news on the o line by the sounds of things.

Realt Dearg Sec wrote: »

Didn't get to watch this but it sounds promising. Did Marshall get many snaps? And how did Jeffrey get on? Good news on the o line by the sounds of things.

That was one disappointing thing, don't think Jeffery or Bennett got a target. But when you're only playing 10-15 snaps, that kind of thing probably happens. They were obviously looking to go to Forte, and the Marshall picked up the others.

kennyb3 wrote: »

How did Shea look in general, I know he got a sack/forced fumble but interested in his overall game.

Wasn't watching him especially, don't think he did much before the sack. Defense looked great in general with Peppers and Melton out, but thought it was more the Chargers looking a bit of a shambles (had 4 turnovers in the first half).

Good to see a bit of continuity in the defense. I've been kind of concentrating on that side less, because seems it will be fine.

Article on Mel Tucker:
Seamless transition for Bears defense

They did a sideline interview with Lance Briggs at the last game and he said a similar thing, that the players appreciated the way he's come in and listened to them, instead of trying to impose his own system too much.

http://www.chicitysports.com/forum/showthread.php/37983-Preseason-Game-2-Long-and-Mills-Film-Review

Some analysis here play by play of long and mills in the chargers game. Obviously it's from a biased bears fan but still it's a nice read.

And the first game here:

http://www.chicitysports.com/forum/showthread.php/37775-Jordan-Mills-Film-Review

The o-line looked s'hit against some very poor D's last year - so this looks a massive upgrade already. Yes it was the Raiders, yes it was a preaseason game but it's still pretty obvious it's a lot better than last year.

If it gets a little beat up by a good Bengals D, it shouldn't be panic stations.

kennyb3 wrote: »

The o-line looked s'hit against some very poor D's last year - so this looks a massive upgrade already. Yes it was the Raiders, yes it was a preaseason game but it's still pretty obvious it's a lot better than last year.

If it gets a little beat up by a good Bengals D, it shouldn't be panic stations.

Yeah their d-line is great and they'll look to go at the rookies, Bostic will probably be targeted as well, if he gets the start at MLB.

Saw this article the other day, only Bleacher Report, and I don't know the author, but some nice praise:

Why Chicago Bears' Kyle Long Has Been Most Impressive Rookie in NFL Preseason

Innish_Rebel wrote: »

unbelievable - how was that "highlight reel" hit illegal. Last time I checked it is a contact sport. Listening to the explanation of what he should have done - moving his head to the side, or keep his head up - 1. would mean he could damage his own neck 2. would have lead to a helmet to helmet which would have led to a more dangerous hit...

Yeah, the tackle was good, but don't think it's much to worry about. I think it's just the NFL flexing their muscles in pre-season, trying send out a message to the league.

If the Bears are smart, they'll say to Bostic 'there was nothing wrong with that, just keep doing what you're doing' (and judging by Lance Briggs' tweet, I think that's probably what they've done).

I'm guessing he doesn't pay the fine out of his own pocket either, that the vets chip in and pay it for him (not strictly allowed, but I'd say it's easy enough to get around).


I notice DJ Williams is back in practice, so interesting to see who they give the start to for week 1. Bostic has has a great pre-season, but I could still see them going for the more experienced guy early on.

Marquess Wilson hasn't played offense yet tonight. Looks like he will make the 53! He's a very exciting talent!

padraig_f wrote: »

Kicks off tomorrow, here's the schedule:

1. vs. Bengals
2. vs. Vikings
3. @ Steelers (SNF)
4. @ Lions
5. vs. Saints
6. vs. Giants (TNF)
7. @ Redskins

8. Bye week

9. @ Packers (MNF)
10. vs. Lions
11. vs. Ravens
12. @ Rams
13. @ Vikings
14. vs. Cowboys (MNF)
15. @ Browns
16. @ Eagles
17. vs. Packers

Really looking forward to this season, think it's gonna be a fun one. There won't be major expectation in Trestman's first year, that will come later, so I think that takes the pressure off to an extent.

The schedule is a tough one, but it's virtually the same for every team in the division, and if you don't mind the toughness of it, actually I think it's a fantastic schedule. With the exception of maybe the Browns and the Rams, 14 cracking games against quality opposition. 4 prime-time games, Packers after the bye-week, and again in the last game of the season at Soldier Field. With the tough schedule for the NFC North teams, it could be that no team in the division gets a wildcard, so that last game of the season could be a winner-take-all.

Expectations…I'm kind of thinking 7-10 wins, below that I'd be disappointed, above that, delighted. I think the division is winnable, I don't think there's all that much between the Bears and the Packers.

Getting to a Super Bowl would be tough, the NFC is loaded this year. I thought the best two teams in the NFL last year were the 49ers and the Seahawks, and you have to get past both of them. Still, get to the playoffs, and anything can happen.

Other schedule notes…4 of the first 6 games are at home, 4 of the last 6 on the road. So think it's important to get a good start. You probably want to be 4-2 after the first 6 games.

Anyway, very pleased with the off-season and pre-season, and looking forward to a new era with the Bears.

It is a tough schedule, but I also think the Bears are being nicely underrated coming into the season. Of course there'll be a learning curve and mistakes along the way, but I for one think our defence will be even better than last year. It at least LOOKS like they have developed some real options for Cutler in the passing game, and as long as Marshall's hip holds up and Bennett and Jeffery work out (plus the promise that they will begin using Forte in the passing game as well) I can see us causing some surprises.

In terms of our record for the season, maybe 9-7? I'd be happy with 8 or higher, given the new coaching staff and very tough schedule. Sadly I don't see us beating the Packers (although with a little luck I'll be in Soldier Field to be proven gloriously wrong in December), but hell, you never know. God knows it's been a while. I think the Super Bowl is far beyond us right now, but a playoff place is a slim-to-decent possibility this year. And what's more, I'd be happy with that. Some consistency on offense and we can start putting results together, maybe avoid the late season collapse...who knows?

Anyway, playoffs or not, I'd be happy to see evidence of a more dynamic and unpredictable offense developing (hopefully the changes in the O-line will pan out medium to long term), maintaining defensive dominance, and a half decent few results, particularly within NFC North.

kennyb3 wrote: »

Great win - delighted

Da bearsss

Innish_Rebel wrote: »

Wow - good win - 1 very interesting stat.
Sacks - yards lost
0

---

0

Well done O-Line, credit to the Mills/Long combo - did v well against Geno Atkins & co...

Yeah they did great. Run-blocking could've been better, but the pass-protection was great considering the d-line they were up against. Was expecting to see the pocket collapsing much more than it did.

Great win. Wasn't a perfect performance...defense was worse than I thought, no pass-rush to speak of and AJ Green caused massive problems (he's a beast in fairness).

They stepped it up in the second half to get some stops, but some definite room for improvement there.

Offense was mixed, but good overall I thought. Iffy first half, one bad interception, but I liked the way they were able to close out the game with sustained drives at the end.

The 4th-and-1 call from the Bengals' 27 was a gutsy one. Down by 4 with 8 minutes left, a lot of OCs will go for a field goal there. I like that Trestman is prepared to be aggressive that situation....not for the sake of being aggressive, just that it's normally the right strategy, when a lot of OC's will take the safe option of a field-goal.

Fortune favours the brave, and they got it. Game could've gone either way, but great to get the win against a good Bengals team.

The Fighting Illini played Washington at SF last night and the grass isn't in good condition. Hopefully it'll slow down AP a little and make him slip! Rain expected as well.

Very good article on Trestman here if anyone wants some pre-game reading.

Oat23 wrote: »

Very good article on Trestman here if anyone wants some pre-game reading.

Good article. I'm still learning about him, but seems a very interesting guy with some different ways of doing things.

I like this detail:

New players, accustomed to a traditional football world where each position group had separate meetings, were stunned to find themselves asked to sit in another position's meetings. London, for instance, didn't understand why Trestman wanted the receivers to watch film with the offensive linemen, listening as the coach broke down designed runs that had nothing to do with wide receivers.

That seems to be a big thing with him, building a cohesive team.

Bears were far from impressive but fantastic spirit to keep it together and make the touchdown in the end. Defence needs work but great to start the season 2-0

Realt Dearg Sec wrote: »

On another note: Hester was great, looked completely fired up and focused. Took a lot of (largely deserved but far too venomous) abuse last year, but quite clearly still has the instincts to do what he does. More importantly he did it at a moment (just after the opening TD) when it would have been very easy to bottle it and give the Vikings another little boost.

I dunno about ye but I'm happy with the start. Dunno how much longer we'll remain underrated by everyone else though.

Yeah Hester was great, he seemed to take that TD return from the rookie Patterson personally. I read afterwards that he set a franchise record for return yards in a game. I was wondering why they kept kicking to him, and not out the back of the end zone, but I wasn't really complaining.

You could find fault with a number of things in the performance, but it'd probably be petty to point them out after that last drive. Lot of things going against them for that....the rain, the ball deflecting off the ref, the holding penalty, and still they punched it in.

I was playing around with capturing video from Gamepass, and put up the final drive on YouTube. My video-editing skills aren't great, but here it is if you want to see it again:

Realt Dearg Sec wrote: »

Bah, the video is blocked already...

Feck, I guess I can still view it cos I uploaded it, knew it wasn't gonna last long. Was just the drive pretty much ripped from Gamepass, so you can watch the same thing there if you have that.

Watching it again...some great catches on the drive from Jeffery, Marshall and Bennett. And as Brian Billick pointed out in the commentary, a great back-shoulder throw from Cutler for the TD pass.

Realt Dearg Sec wrote: »

Yeah it kind of summed up what's most optimistic about the Offense in general this year: multi-dimensional, exciting, not really conservative and cagey, up-tempo, using Cutler's arm, and most of all they showed some serious heart on the drive. None of these things were true last year. It's not always going to go as well as that drive (hell there were some terrible moments in the game too) but it shows what's possible.

I wonder if the Bears fanbase will be patient with all of this, or will it be all Superbowl talk again?

Yeah that's it, there was significant flaws in the performance, but the last drive was probably not something that could've been done last year.

Actually I see they have an analysis of it up on NFL.com:
Drive of the Week: Jay Cutler does it again

Not sure about Bears fans in general, my guess is, while there will be optimism, people won't be getting carried away, just because the NFC is so tough right now.

baddebt wrote: »

I don't know too many Bears fans talk about superbowls,
personally speaking , sunday was an ugly win , but a win is a win .
roll on Sunday night

It's just that reading bears discussion forums (like dabears.com or whatever) there is a tendency to talk about winning the superbowl, to the point where some of the posters don't regard anything less as a successful year. More generally, I think Bears fans (by which I mean people actually from Chicago, rather than the rest of us) are highly impatient and venomous towards their own players and coaches when things are going wrong (Devin Hester is a prime example, but Cutler and Lovie Smith spring to mind too - the latter being somewhat more justified but it was remarkable to me how negative people were last year about him coming up to the second Packers game). Nothing wrong with criticism, it's just that often there is more expectation than realism around the Bears.

I love watching games back play by play trying to learn about defensive and offensive plays etc. It’s so hard to not just watch the ball and quarter back in real time. I’m not fully technically proficient having only got into the game seriously a couple of years ago so it’s a great way to learn. Anyway I got to watch the first quarter of our game back last night – hopefully get the rest in over the weekend.

Anyway here’s some stuff I noticed from this quarter – mainly regards the DL and OL;

The DL;

What was said about Peppers being ill is true and not just an excuse, in the first quarter he only took the first 3 plays or so (about 9 snaps) and didn’t return. McClellin played right DE for most of the first quarter.

McClellin still relies entirely on his speed, seems to want to beat his man without getting a finger laid on him. Still he got two decent pressures this way. But it seems if he gets held up he has no push and he was being run/pushed by the pocket on a regular basis. Kalil was pushing him back easily in the run game. He seems to look good or awful on plays not much in between.

Melton was being double teamed on nearly every play and so was finding it hard to collapse the pocket. He did well a few times though.

Wooton looked good against the run, they seemed to run a lot to his side in this quarter for some reason. I didn’t watch him enough pass rush wise but it was evident that Wooton and McClellin weren’t getting much pressure so this makes it easier to leave the tackles 1 on 1 and double team the defensive tackles.

Briggs was brilliant against the run and came up quickly twice to stuff two runs early.

The OL;

Mills was generally brilliant in pass protection – he uses his arms and size brilliantly against the bull rush. He can knocked back a bit put usually holds off the DE comfortably. He only got beat once the whole quarter and that was when he got locked up early, forgot to finish the block (mental error) and the end went again and beat him.

Mills and Long we’re given TE blocking help when required. Long looked good – really strong but made a couple of mental errors.

Bushrod was left 1 on 1 against Allen for every play – Allen is a beast and Bushrod did well to only give two pressures – no sacks.

Garza, Slauson and Long did well to hold the pocket. Their DT’s couldn’t get much of a push at all and at times the guards and Centre were completely dominant.

Cutler had time on most plays (80/90%) and on 15-20% of these he literally had all day.

Hester aside with the first return our special teams had a nightmare Q1 – allowing a kick off return and then having 12 men on the filed for a punt which caused an automatic 1st down and could have been another costly touch down. Trestman seems like a details guy so this was surprising.

As I said I hope to watch more but not sure I’ll get time to post on it.

Hopefully be back posting about a win on Monday morning!

Also on last nights game, few points of note;

- The blocking for Forte's big run before the 2nd down was a thing of beauty. Mills and Long picked up the blitz perfectly and used it against the Steelers. fote is having a great season so far.

- Loving the fact that Trestman plays each team on it's merits, working on blitzes all week. Getting Cutler comfortable dumping off the ball early in the game. Watching tape and working on the opposition really pays off.

- Loved that a 1st year head coach, who just lost a challenge and watched his team unable to run it in on 2 attempts before goes for it on 4th.

- I think Peppers is being used inside too much, with Tucker trying to get McClellin on the field. I'm not sold on Tucker yet to be honest. The blitzes were picked up second half and still we were persisted leaving man coverage down field rather than playing nickel - it got too close at one stage. Yet the defence keeps getting turnovers so it's a hard one to guage.

Tough one today, first time the Bears are underdogs this season. Had a look at Lions-Redskins last week on condensed view.

My impressions of them:
They seem to be spreading the ball round more this year. Similar to the Bears and Brandon Marshall, they're apparently trying to be a more balanced offense and not be over-dependent on Calvin Johnson. Reggie Bush was out last week, but looked very good when I saw him before. He'll be back today, and will be a challenge for the linebackers.

Defensively, their strength is in the pass-rush, with Suh & Fairley. I don't think the linebackers and secondary are great. The Redskins were able to move the ball whenever they used it quickly....running the ball, quick slants, short throws underneath. Whenever RG3 held onto the ball, he was in trouble.

The Bears like to get it out quick anyway, but the execution needs to be good, and I think Forte will be an important player. If you find yourself in 3rd-and-long situations, it's gonna be difficult.

Will be a 50-50 game. I don't have a great feeling about it, with the loss of Melton and Tillman being questionable (confirmed playing), just a few possible holes there. Will need to play better than last week to win.

After watching New Orleans on Setanta today i'm not very hopefull for the Bears but you never know, we have a very tough run of games coming up tho the Giants don't look great this year.

We'll, first up I suppose we have to look at what really went wrong last week, and it was more than just Cutler. The o line was cut up, as bad as last year. I dunno if they're likely to be as bad again, and hopefully they'll have learned a bit. Probably should keep in mind it was their first road game so it was a big challenge.

The d line is a serious worry too and would be very worried for them if they can't start getting the pressure on. Meltons absence is a headache that will require some rethinking of things.

Then there's Cutler, but everyone has bad days and junk time or not, he nearly had is back in it. Ordinarily, according to the bears website, Cutler follows virtually any game in which he throws three ints with a big win. But that kind of wild variation is kind of the problem and the jury is still out, it seems, on whether trestman can work his magic.

But there were some really good points too. Forte is still playing great, and the run game is still strong. I also thought Jeffrey was excellent. On defense Calvin Johnson was pretty well held (for the most part).

Can we win at the weekend? Yeah, I don't see why not. We'll, I see exactly why not, but I'm not reading too much into one performance and we definitely have the weapons to challenge the saints d.

Read somewhere we're the second highest scoring team in the league...which is...kind of surprising.