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Halfway through Chicago’s 24-17 loss to the Tennessee Titans on Sunday, Bears running back Tarik Cohen decided to say the quiet part out loud, for the whole world to hear.
“We can’t make s- – -” Cohen tweeted. “F – – -.”
It was in the second half and the Bears were excluded at the time, followed by 17. Cohen’s tweet racked up 214 comments, 318 retweets and 3,700 likes at the time of this column, with more than a few Bears fans, many of them stared at their team’s hatred, openly yearning for the days of Mitchell Trubisky.
It sounds crazy given the heartache Trubisky grabbed for his struggles before his bench a month ago. But after watching Nick Foles, his replacement and the Bears’ offense open the game with a roll on the lows followed by six consecutive kicks, many began to tweet at Trubisky, apologizing to him or calling for his return to action once it heals the shoulder. injury that made him inactive on Sunday.
So if you want to know where the bears (5-4), losing three in a row, are standing, this is as good a place as any. Six games in the Mad Age, the same issues that plagued the attack – lack of consistent execution, silly penalties, and bad offensive online play – still exist, and maybe that’s more than anything. what is most frustrating about this latest loss. .
Does Matt Nagy have the answers for bears?
“Being 5-4 when you were sitting at 5-1 hurts,” Bears coach Matt Nagy said. “But now… we just need to make sure that we, at some point, get this thing back on track.” It’s my job as the head coach to do that, and trust me, I’ll watch it all.
And one can’t help but wonder if that will ultimately mean a return to Trubisky, who is more erratic as a pocket passer than Foles but has the athleticism to create with his feet and escape trouble. This is important given the major problems in the offensive line.
With three starters and a superior save due to injuries or the COVID / reserve roster, a unit that struggled to establish the run and protect the quarterback all season was once again burned throughout the game .
Tennessee massive defensive tackle Jeffery Simmons was unstoppable, consistently overpowering or overtaking the Bears’ outclassed reserve linemen. Linebackers Harold Landry III, Jayon Brown and Rashaan Evans were also disruptive, which is telling given how the Titans struggled to consistently generate a pass rush. On Sunday, Tennessee had three sacks and nine quarterback hits.
“We knew as we approached today’s game that it was going to be difficult in some areas, when you’re in the position we’re in,” Nagy said.
The Bears’ offensive fights are certainly not all about Foles. Even though the bulk of his production on Sunday came long after the game was decided – he pitched for 335 yards and two touchdowns, most in the fourth quarter against the Titans’ soft zone coverage – he’s a real one. pocket passer, which shows better balance. under pressure than Trubisky and is a better, more consistent and deeper ball pitcher. He also has a Super Bowl MVP pedigree that his teammates believe.
With an average line, he would be a better choice for this attack than Trubisky. He probably is anyway, hence the reason Nagy unplugged Trubisky in the middle of a 2-0 start to the season.
I imagine most Bears fans, who are some of the most passionate people in the NFL, understand this.
Crying draft of breath, thirst for Deshaun Watson or Patrick Mahomes
Seeing so many people openly pining for Trubisky tells me more about the original sin committed by GM Ryan Pace in 2017, when he moved to take Trubisky instead of selecting Deshaun Watson from Clemson.
(Leave Patrick Mahomes out of that. Yes, he’s amazing, but no one has moved him up to 3rd overall. If the Bears had taken Watson following his heroic CFP championship performance, no one ‘would have smiled.)
Some fans might call Trubisky, but it’s clear they really want Watson, or someone of that ilk. And if Nagy had a player like that on his roster, we’d probably be talking about a completely different story this season.
But unless Trubisky improves significantly and quickly over the next few weeks, a quarterback like this doesn’t walk through the doors of Halas Hall until the next offseason at the earliest.
And for Foles to be effective he needs good pass protection and a good running game, and the line isn’t good enough to do either.
So what are bears supposed to do?
“Right now we are in a situation where we determine who we are and who we want to be,” Foles said.
But answers are needed now, and Nagy says they’re on the list right now. The Bears will then host Minnesota (3-5) in the first of three straight division games.
Chicago’s offensive line will likely continue to struggle through all phases and the more mobile Trubisky has apparently only been out for a few weeks, so one can’t help but wonder if Foles needs to ‘kick start’ soon. he wants to hang on to the job.
“We have to right the ship, and we have to do it with a single victory,” Nagy said. “We have to be able to – anything, by any measure – find a way to do it. And I think our guys will. I think they understand where we are.
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