Welcome to our first in-season Audibles of 2015!

ACHIEVEMENT OF OPENING DAY

From last week’s game preview:

The 2015 Chicago Bears have to earn back the excitement of people like me. They have to display on the field they are worthy of the passion many have displayed in good times and bad over their lifetimes. They can do that this week, against the Packers, at Soldier Field? How?

Be in the game. With five minutes left, be in it. That’s all I ask. If the Bears achieve that, a week from now I’m in.

They were spirited. They were professional. They were well-coached. Did they make mistakes? Of course. They don’t have a great roster. Were they outplayed? Of course. The Packers are a better team. But they showed signs they will be competitive each and every week, a massive departure from a year ago. Excitement returneth.

The Sun-Times Should Be Embarrassed

For those of you following DBB on Twitter, you would have noticed an attack launched at @suntimes_sports Monday. Why? Because they insist on serving fans, beside the wonderful work of people like Adam Jahns, crowd-sourced, social media horseshit like the “article” titled “Bears fans already want Jay Cutler benched after Packers loss.” It included these two gems:

@ChicagoBears @SoldierField bench jay cutler he throws too many interceptions

— Ryan (@SavnRyansPrvate) September 13, 2015

I don’t know why Soldier Field, which to the best of my knowledge is an inanimate structure on the lakefront, needs a Twitter feed or why this individual thought it necessary to share his thoughts with a building.

Romo…that was pretty clutch! If you lose interest in Dallas come to Chicago @tonyromo#BenchCutler

— Braden Fogal (@BradenFogal) September 14, 2015

“If you lose interest”? Who wrote this, a 5 year old? It’s one thing for the Sun-Times to post this idiocy but do they also have to be lazy about it? Couldn’t you find a fan or two with a coherent, adult thought?

IF HE STAYS HEALTHY…

Get used to this man at the top of this table.

But here’s the real question. If the Bears open in a significant hole and have no intention of signing Forte long-term this offseason, should they look to make a rare in-season trade?

DUCASSE SHOULD SEE THE BENCH IN WEEK 2

From Adam Jahns:

5. I wonder if a switch is coming at RG. Ducasse had two awful-timed penalties and plenty tough moments. Does Omameh get a shot?

— Adam Jahns (@adamjahns) September 14, 2015

This will be an interesting coaching moment for John Fox. His predecessor would not bench Vlad Ducasse off one performance out of, I don’t know, fear? Fox should exile Ducasse immediately to the bench. He is exactly what he’s always been: a liability. And with Kyle Long learning on the job at right tackle, the Bears can’t afford to have an entire side of their line as a weakness.

HOGE BREAKS DOWN EMPTY GOALLINE SEQUENCE

Adam Hoge is doing a really nice job covering the Bears for WGN and here he breaks down the mistakes made during the Bears important, empty trip down around the Packers goalline. From the piece:

Blame Adam Gase for the empty goal-line set all you want, but the execution by his players was very poor. Here’s a list of mistakes for you:

On 2nd and goal: Eddie Royal and Alshon Jeffery looked like two receivers who hadn’t played in awhile. Jeffery was supposed to block Royal’s man, freeing Royal for an easy slant from Cutler. Jeffery didn’t execute the block, but the timing of Royal’s route was also odd, which put Jeffery in a tough spot. Cutler put the ball where it was supposed to be, but he probably should never of thrown it after Jeffery and Royal didn’t execute the play properly. It was nearly intercepted.

On 3rd and goal: Will Montgomery’s snap was low, throwing everything off from the start. Then, Kyle Long was beat by Jayrone Elliott, forcing Cutler to get rid of the ball. Meanwhile, Jeffery and Royal failed to execute their rub route, leaving both covered. On top of that, Packers cornerback Damarious Randall was holding Jeffery and probably got away with a penalty.

Finally, on 4th and goal: Packers safety Sean Richardson came on a blitz between right guard Vladimir Ducosse and right tackle Kyle Long. Long was supposed to pick it up and didn’t.

“That’s my guy,” he said Monday. “There’s a reason Jay can’t make that throw — it’s because there’s a guy with his arms up in his face.”

Royal had a step on cornerback Casey Hayward on the fade, but Cutler couldn’t deliver an accurate throw and it sailed high.

Of course, maybe running the football would have been easier to execute, but the Packers were stacking the box and there’s no guarantee similar mistakes wouldn’t have been made anyway.

You can AND SHOULD read the whole column by CLICKING HERE.