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10 thoughts after the Bears lost against the Patriots 38-31 on Sunday at Soldier Field.
1. Bear Quarterback Mitch Trubisky has come a long way, but he still has a long way to go. Even when freshman Matt Nagy seems to be on the defensive, he argues while delivering his thoughts. He appeared on Sunday as a defense witness to support Trubisky. But he did not do it in the way "I am the coach and I know more than you" that some use. Nagy made a handful of points that made a lot of sense. He did some that did not seem to pass the eye test for those who had just watched another game get away from the 3-3 Bears, who led in the second half of the three defeats.
Trubisky was not terrible. He was not great either. In the end, he was not good enough to beat the Patriots, but certainly not enough to defeat the touchdowns of the two special teams allowed by the Bears.
Trubisky's last line was 26 of 50 assists for 333 yards with two touchdowns, two interceptions and a passer rating of 69.8. He was also the best running back with six passes for 81 yards and one touchdown. More on his fleet feet in a bit. A good part of his career came with the Patriots' secluded defense, and when you interpret the numbers, it's significant.
The Bears took possession of the ball on their own 38-yard line with 14 seconds remaining in the second quarter. Trubisky hit tight center Trey Burton in the center for 17 yards before the Bears used their second timeout. Then running back Tarik Cohen passed a 5-yard pass that skidded on the 40th Patriots' lap to stop the clock with a second to go. Spending on what would have been a 58-yard field goal, the Bears played a game (a Hail Mary might have been a good idea here?), And Trubisky kicked an intermediate pass to Cohen, who won 20 yards but never did it. a chance to take off. It's 42 yards on this possession.
Trubisky completed 4 of 5 passes (the only unfinished one was a spike to stop the clock), and the Bears moved the 79-yard ball, stopped at the 1 yard line on the Hail Mary to Kevin White. Add it up and you have 121 of its 333 yards against anti-shell cartridges.
I wrote before that every Sunday is not a referendum on Trubisky's future as leader of the Bears and trigger of Nagy's offense. This was not the case when Trubisky bombed the Buccaneers for six touchdown passes, and it's not here. He made real progress over last season, more than enough to excite a front office and a fan base heavily invested in him. With the experience and more time in this system, it should continue to improve.
"I thought Mitch had played a good game," said Nagy. "There are many things you will not see on tape that I will see. He had a very good game mentally. He made a couple of passes where he was the first to pull out and say, "Shoot, I should not have done that throwing, have you?" And I liked that because he knew.
"But there were a lot of shots where he gave chances to some guys. We had big drops. And again, it is collectively. So, everyone out there, we all need each other to make games. … you saw he was using his legs and it's a huge weapon. When you use your legs, he is a killer for the defense and he made good decisions.
"I left feeling satisfied with the way he played. It's unfortunate, because we were just not good enough in all three phases, and every time you give up two touchdowns, and oh, by the way, it's the Patriots with Tom Brady, your chances are slim. "
When Nagy and the offensive coaches review the film, they will find something they like and the fans, who will read the game as many times as they want, will not understand. To begin, Nagy and the coaches know the necessary adjustments before each game. They know the progression of the road. They have all kinds of insights.
Trubisky could have finished with four interceptions if the Patriots had not had the drops, and there was a bad one from linebacker Elandon Roberts in the end zone. But you can say that about most quarterbacks in most games.
Other missed shots stood out.
Take, for example, the first and the tenth of the Bears '37 with 6:24 to play. Rookie wide receiver Anthony Miller, lined up in the slot, made a nice move inside to shake cornerback Jonathan Jones. Miller was open on the seam and Trubisky was missing him for what would have been a gain of at least 30 meters – maybe a touchdown. The ball was knocked down and a bit off-line. Previously, there were spilled balls.
"If you throw the ball 50 times, some will be inaccurate," said Nagy. "This is the second year this kid in the NFL and it's his first year in our offense. So everything is not going to be dead.
"You go back to week 1 against Green Bay. … Remember that you asked, "Why do you always have eyes on linemen?" You see now that he has gone one step further, OK, it's down, that hit the countdown to be able to run now, and when the teams will play some covers and try To distance some types of our offense, it's a weapon we have to use, and I thought it was doing a great job. "
I totally agree that Trubisky improved in his pocket and did a better job keeping his eyes down. It's really in the Packers game, and it has improved since. I just can not believe it was a "good" match, especially if we evaluate the passenger aspect, which is much more important than anything he can do with his legs.
2 In the sixth game of the season, After 70 shots without a target, Kevin White is finally involved in the passing game. He caught two assists – including 54-yard Hail Mary in the final game – on three targets. One of them was canceled by an accepted penalty. The Whites made a good game in the last game to pass Mitch Trubisky's pass just outside the end zone.
"I knew where I was," White said. "For a split second, I thought (I could get into the end zone) until I felt like a group of guys. Then I knew it was over, but I just tried to stretch the ball and I actually tried to put it back to TG (Taylor Gabriel) but it was not good. There was more time. "
Gabriel called White's balloon. Patriot security Duron Harmon heard him and tried to wrap his arms around White and Gabriel in the fray of humanity.
"We practice it all the time," said White. "I was not anywhere I could go to throw it. Basically, the whole defense was back in the end zone. I knew it would be like a jump ball, and I just tried to make the most of it and play well.
"Maybe it would be a different game if it was a touchdown, but those are the ones we must have, even before this game." We should have won this game. I just tried to beat myself and enter. I tried to change the game. Make a big game. After catching it, I thought I had a chance. That sucks a little. If I had had Kyle Long or one of the line players to push me, it would have been a different game. "
White admitted that it was good for him to finally get involved in the passing game. He had some good blocks in the run, but the ball did not come for him when he arrived on the field. In my unofficial Sunday clichter count, which includes games eliminated by penalty kicks, I had White for 20. He had more action towards the end of the match as receiver Allen Robinson , which was questionable with a groin injury, was not on the field for the last three offensive possessions.
"It took a long time," said White. "I just have to say ready. It would have been really good (mark the last match), calm the noise and show everyone that I'm the same guy – even better and I'm playing big games. I just have to stay focused and control what I can control. "
White did not necessarily feel like playing more against the Patriots, but he had to know that it was possible with Robinson embarrassed somewhat in practice during the week.
"You never know," says White. "It's kind of happened like this. Every week, in practice, you try to do my best and do what I can to help the team. "
The throw came just short. Trubisky certainly has the strength of the arm to place the ball in the end zone, but he was in a difficult position, as linebacker Kyle Van Noy lowered him and he was not able to follow him completely.
"I tried to get closer to the end zone," Trubisky said. "The offensive line was very successful in saving me time, moving forward, going left and betting down the throat. I saw a group of our receivers there, Kevin made a big catch, and it was much closer than a lot of people, but I thought that from my point of view, I thought so.
"So you have a mentality to never give up, and that's what we have here. We were so close. It was like 1 yard, 2 yards. Kevin and the rest of the guys made a remarkable effort, especially in advance, leaving me just enough time to share that, so yes, the mentality of never giving up was really tight.
"It's never a play. Throughout the game, the outcome of the games made the difference. We just have to find them, we need to improve them, be tough on ourselves in the movie theater and make sure we get better this week. "
3 The connection on Hail Mary makes one wonder why the Bears did not throw the ball into the end zone in the last game of the first half. They were on the 40-meter Patriots' line and Nagy explained that the bad weather conditions in the South Zone caused Cody Parkey to lose what would have been an attempt to get into the field.
Instead, Trubisky threw at Cohen, who was cutting in the middle. Cohen caught the ball at 33 and managed to reach the 20, but was never free in the end zone.
Nagy said, "Generally, what you hope for there, and I have seen it many times, is … you have a quarterback-wounded escapist, at the end of half, where a bad room is getting worse. But that's what has been done when a player catches the ball underneath, throws it or touches a mask in the face, and the defense takes advantage of a face mask. Now there is a penalty and a free play to give a goal. It's a bit of a state of mind behind some of these things. "
In any case, the percentages are superimposed against the offense, whether you throw the ball in the end zone or below and that you rely on a series of missed tackles or a penalty to extend half.
4 You can bet the patriots will spend a considerable amount of time reviewing their ability to prevent shifts from hurting their legs. Trubisky had 81 yards in six runs, an impressive 39 yards and an 8-yard touchdown in which he ran forever, just 22 yards from the original line of scrimmage. Cade McNown racked up 87 yards in the defeat against the Vikings early in the 2000 season. Trubisky now has five career games with 47 yards or more. According to Pro-Football-Reference, which has been following quarterback statistics since 1999, the Bears have played only nine games in which a quarterback has done the same – five of McNown, two of Kordell Stewart, one of Caleb Hanie and one of Henry Burris. I was surprised that Jay Cutler, who ran well for the quarterback, was not on the list, but his best day on the ground for the Bears was 39 yards, which he did twice. Trubisky's 81 yards were the biggest quarterback win against the Patriots since Tim Tebow racked up 93 yards in the Patriots' 41 to 23 win over the Broncos on Dec. 18, 2011.
"(Trubisky) has done some great plays," said Patriots quarterback Tom Brady. "Even this last, this last flight was an incredible throw. While driving, he had a guy in his face and he obviously has the ability to throw him and he has done great racing games in his pocket. "
What is impressive when Trubisky pulls the ball on the ground and runs away is that he seems to have a strong impression of not only where his blockers are, but also of danger, and he has a tendency to collapse and to avoid hard contact.
"We are working on it," he said. "It's just – I mean, some people are nervous because the quarterback has to stay healthy and stay healthy. So you have to keep your head straight, know when you can extend the games and when to go down. But I will continue to use my ability to run for the teams to pay, and I feel more and more comfortable running the ball every week.
"In general, when you run the ball, you do not have live reps in practice, and the defense in practice, they do not react when you run the ball because they expect you to slip or tombiez. You improve in the games throughout the week after having lived these experiences, and yes, I work a little on this hesitation. "
Bobby Douglass holds the Bears record for rushing yards in a season by a quarter with 968 in 1972. Douglass had 127 rushing yards in the final that season against the Raiders and 117 against the Browns. The Bears do not want Trubisky to race for this kind of distance, but he has 245 points for the season, which puts him at 66 seconds from Jordan Howard for the lead of the team and the pace for 653.
5 Trey Burton had a big game, scoring nine passes on 11 goals for 126 yards and one touchdown. It was the first 100-yard match of his career against the team he had played in the Super Bowl LII with the touchdown pass "Philly Special".
"He's overshadowed by the loss," said Burton.
He thought that he could have a lot of opportunities with the Patriots known to heavily rely on male coverage.
"You know what's going on," said Burton. "You can plan something and when the game time is up, it's totally different.It changes quickly.It was just a competition with (security Patrick) Chung throughout the match." a great competitor.I love going against this guy.I love to watch him for years and being able to play against him was fun.
"They play a lot of men. They always did that, so that's what we get a lot. I was just winning my battles in competition with Chung all the time. Mitch was throwing me bullets at the hour. I knew I could play. Statistics did not really worry me. I just want to win. "
The emergence of Burton helped the Bears one day when the big receivers combined only eight catches for 129 yards. Take out Kevin White Hail Mary from the attack and it's seven catches for 74 yards.
6 Hard day for the Bears in the special teams. They had a big play early when linebacker Nick Kwiatkoski fired Cordarrelle Patterson, the kicker who returns the kickoff, creating a fumble on which DeAndre Houston-Carson fell. But after that, Patterson's 95-yard kickoff is back for a touchdown and the Dont'a Hightower kick that Kyle Van Noy has scooped up and picked up for a goal was decisive for a one-point game. It's certainly a lack of character for the Bears, who have done a good job with special teams.
Tight End Ben Braunecker, who was crushed by Hightower before the blocked punt, was drained of his abilities after the match. Braunecker is a reliable performer in the special teams since his arrival in 2016.
"It was unacceptable and, frankly, it embarrasses me a lot, but that's what it is," he said. "Everything happened so fast, I often protected myself from punctures and it felt like I'd fallen on my back right away and I'm still trying a lot … I did not see the movie Just a small picture, but that's the best idea I have of what's going on.
"He is very strong and he has 265 pounds. I know that if he goes up, I'll have to relax and drop anchor. I could not do it with this game. "
Hightower said that it was the first time that he was stuck at any level. I asked him if there was anything that led him to believe that a movement of force would create an opening.
"I'm just playing myself," he said. "I am the power. I am not a finesse guy. If I'm there, I try to play hard, to play physically. That's what it was.
Many other players had a difficult day with the special teams. The Bears will have to settle for what went wrong when Patterson sent back the kickoff, which combines speed and strength. It was his sixth career comeback, a TD. His first clash with the Bears in his second career game in 2013 with the Vikings.
"We just have to do our work," said Sherrick McManis, having special teams from the Bears. "We all have responsibilities and, you know, things to do and we have to do them. We have to play games. Every return that we will face will be dangerous otherwise he would not come back there. He is a very good player back and we can be excellent cover-people. We just have to do our job and run. "
7. The rush in the pass was unsuccessful, and Khalil Mack's sprained right ankle embarrassed him a bit. Interestingly, Mack rushed mostly to the right side, contrary to what they had done with him before. My hunch is that they made this decision because they partly believe that Leonard Floyd is a little better on the left. Unfortunately, it was another quiet match for Floyd, who has recorded seven straight starts without a sack since his last meeting last season, when he suffered a knee injury against the Lions on Nov. 19. . Mack did not have a lot to do. of success against left tackle Trent Brown, and he finished with a single tackle. Floyd was three.
"I do not know if that has ever touched him," Nagy said of Mack's ankle. "Once again, in my role, I do not have the chance to see the individual – what he feels and what he does. Obviously, our team did not feel the overall pressure needed (Tom Brady), so I can not wait to really see where he was, how he was, and then we have to do it. evaluate it and listen to it too: "OK, now you have just played a game on this topic, how did you feel and where are you?"
"He felt very good and could try his luck, and we trusted him. So we are going to check this on tape and see how it happened last week and this week. "
8 Rookie defensive lineman Bilal Nichols had an impact. He forced a fumble from Sony Michel when he twisted the Patriots rookie back on the pitch, and he hit Tom Brady. Nichols was credited with four tackles, and he recovered the fumble that he forced.
"I really started to get an idea of the situation and my teammates have helped a lot," Nichols said. "Akiem (Hicks), Eddie (Goldman), Nick Williams, all these guys have helped me a lot and give me the opportunity to play these pieces.
"When you play with dominant guys like Khalil (Mack) and Akiem, this gives you the opportunity to get one-on-one opportunities."
Nichols totaled 34 shots according to my unofficial count, and it's really becoming a great find for the Bears as a fifth-round pick. It will be interesting to see him grow over the season.
9 The NFL has made it a habit to recruit top players to maintain their health. Defensemen Leonard Fournette and Christian McCaffrey, linebacker Bradley Chubb and cornerback Denzel Ward all recently jumped to the ball. Nick Bosa left school last week to prepare for the repechage. He suffered a muscle injury to the heart that required surgery. Originally, he thought that he would come back for the Buckeyes this season.
Get ready for more of this, predicted a national scout for an NFL team. This is the tip of the iceberg.
"I think there is a semblance of injury that could keep a child out for a long time, the players will walk and it suits me," said the scout. "They are going to go back to health and for the project, can you blame them? It seems that we have reached the point where the only thing that matters is that they are paid. They do not earn money in college.
The scout noted that Cowboys linebacker Jaylon Smith injured his knee in the game against Notre Dame in the Orange Bowl. A certain choice of the first round, he fell in the third round. In his third season in the NFL, Smith is finally playing well for the Cowboys.
The scout also referred to Oklahoma cornerback Aaron Colvin, who was torn into an ACL in the Senior Bowl in 2014 and was eliminated in the fourth round by the Jaguars.
"That Colvin boy was the back of the guy from the first round," said the scout. "What was the injury cost to the child? Maybe $ 3.5 million. Maybe more. There is a risk for these kids, so any child who looks like a first-round pick will not play in the Senior Bowl. Why would they do it? We will now see how much it runs to play bowling.
"It does not bother me. Some guys, it bothers them because of the whole thought process that you should always fulfill an obligation and be a team guy and blah, blah, blah. You can be a team guy, but this university does not make fun of you. How much does a purse cost? Fifty thousand. Schools do a lot more than that for kids.
"Of course, there is," he's a team guy and he's fulfilled his obligation. He is an excellent teammate and has played for a national championship. "Okay, that's fine, but does it matter if a child goes to week 9 and gets injured in the knee?" There are advantages to a guy who stays and everyone wants to see it, but does it really make a lot of difference in the evaluation process?
I asked the scout if Bosa was among the top five picks in April. He said absolutely. I asked if he was among the top three.
"I would say it's probably," says the scout. "But I have not seen everyone yet."
ten. Bears get the best CBS results this weekwhen the Jets arrive in town. For Sunday's game at Soldier Field, the network is expected to have its number one broadcast crew consisting of Jim Nantz, Tony Romo and Tracy Wolfson, a sideline reporter, calling the match. This is the first time in a while that the Bears have attracted the network's No. 1 broadcast crew for a match without prime time.
10a. The Bears opened the scoring as a 6-point favorite over the Jets at the Westgate SuperBook in Las Vegas.
10b. Cody Whitehair Center and Defenseman Roy Robertson-Harris changed their representation to Sportstars. Whitehair is now represented by Jonathan Perzley and Brian Mackler, and Robertson-Harris is represented by Ron Slavin, according to the NFLPA archives. Whitehair, the second round pick in 2016, is eligible for a new contract after this season. Robertson-Harris will be an exclusive rights-free agent after this season. Sportstars represent six other Bears: left tackle Charles Leno, tight ends Adam Shaheen and Dion Sims and defensive linemen Nichols, Jonathan Bullard and Williams. They also represent cornerback Michael Joseph, who is part of the coaching team.
10c. Veteran Dion Sims was on the field only two shots in the second half, by my account. This came after a bad pass passed earlier in the game. This created more offensive opportunities for Braunecker, who got 13 hits, a top in the season. Sims was not the received threat that the Bears had envisioned; It's a good thing they have Burton for this role.
10d. The calendar is preparing well for the bears. They close the first half by hosting the Jets and then going to Buffalo to face the Bills in trouble. A 5-3 record midway would put them in a good position and equal the number of wins they had won in 2017. They must go out and win these games.
Twitter @BradBiggs
Brad Biggs: Even with a lot of breaks, the Bears are not good enough to bring down one of the NFL's elites.
Dan Wiederer: After a bumpy performance, Bears quarterback Mitch Trubisky explains: "Close does not cut"
David Haugh: It's good that the Bears are expecting more from Mitch Trubisky in a big match »
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