Justin Fields was the major positive to come from Sunday’s loss to the Vikings. But that ground has been well covered. Today’s column looks elsewhere.

Second Half Defensive Dominance

The Bears have now allowed 26 points total in the second half this season, and one touchdown. They’ve also shown a knack for making the big play in the final two quarters, with Kindle Vildor continuing his solid season, adding his first career interception.

Jaylon Johnson isn’t playing. Roquan Smith whiffs on a big tackle every week. The middle of the defensive line is terrible. The pass rush is often nonexistent. But the Bears are emerging from halftime each week an inspired defense. It is a testament to the coaching staff.

Cole Kmet’s Season Begins?

Kmet had two catches against the Texans, three against the Giants, and now four against the Vikings. But if Fields is going to start attacking defenses underneath, like he did Sunday, Kmet is going to be the biggest beneficiary. He is also the only Bears receiving weapon that seems to work the middle of the field.

Rookies Making Plays

Kyler Gordon was a sure tackler and was inches from a game-changing pick six. (His coverage is still an issue.)

Dominique Robinson blocked a field goal.

Velus Jones Jr. scored a touchdown and looked to have a burst in the kickoff return game. (Why was he only on the field for 6% of snaps?)

You don’t win in the NFL playing a bunch of rookies, but their performances suggest a promising future for the franchise.

This is an essay written as a midterm assignment for Sidney Gottlieb’s course, The Films of Alfred Hitchcock.

Framing the Fall_Hitchcock’s Camera and the Journey Downhill

Justin Fields wasn’t brilliant on Sunday against the Minnesota Vikings.  But, for the first time this season, Fields looked like a fully capable professional quarterback, pitching to a rating of 118.8, and displaying discernible signs of progress at the position. That progress must continue Thursday night at Soldier Field, when a bad Washington Commanders team comes to town.

The leap Fields took from weeks one through four to week five was somewhat seismic. He was calm and confident in the pocket. He felt pressure. He surveyed the entirety of the field and consistently took the underneath options, completing more than 70% of his passes. When the play wasn’t there to be made with his arm, he used his legs to extend drives.

Was his running game there for support? No. Was his pass protection good? No. Did his receivers play well? Outside of one remarkable Darnell Mooney catch, no. But that makes the performance from Fields even more promising. Fans on social media never blame Fields for anything. If it’s not the receivers, it’s the blockers. If it’s not the blockers, it’s the play calls. Fields was indisputable awful over the first month of this season. But the young QB showed in week five what many of us have been preaching: progress is possible despite the lack of talent in his supporting cast. Fields’ teammates delivered their worst performance of the year. Fields delivered his best.

Now he needs to back it up. There is no talent gap between the Bears and Commanders; these are both bad football teams. Regression cannot happen. Bad habits can’t resurface. The Bears are not going to win many games this season, but this campaign will be a winning one should Fields build upon his performance in Minneapolis and establish real hope at the position.

The concrete was poured Sunday. The building begins Thursday night.

This Justin Fields TD run was nullified by a penalty but it was AWESOME.

(: @TrainIsland) pic.twitter.com/SdmL9iwz34

— Field Yates (@FieldYates) October 9, 2022

Love what we're seeing from Fields today. He's much calmer, more decisive, feels in control of the offense in a way that he hasn't really yet this year.

— Johnathan Wood (@Johnathan_Wood1) October 9, 2022

Darnell Mooney, WOWpic.twitter.com/xNtWx1NBRO

— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) October 9, 2022

In Minnesota,

The quarterback plot persists.

Can Fields be so-so?

So-so would be great.

But it feels so far away.

Just like contention.

Four Things I Think Will Happen:

• Minnesota has scored 23 and 28 points in their two home games. Chicago has scored 10 and 12 in their two road games. What evidence do we have that these trends won’t hold?
• Justin Fields will have a quarterback rating in the 70s. Why? Because quarterback ratings vs. Minnesota this season reflect a defense that handles opposing QBs far better at home. Home in BOLD.
  • Andy Dalton: 108.6.
  • Jared Goff: 79.
  • Jalen Hurts: 108.7.
  • Aaron Rodgers: 67.6.
• Kirk Cousins has his best game of the season. Cousins has been up-and-down because he hasn’t had a consistent run game and he’s a play-action quarterback. But run games miraculously find their way against this Bears defense and one would expect Minnesota’s to be no different.
• It would also be surprising if the Vikings don’t line up Justin Jefferson in the slot and pick on Kyler Gordon. If they do, Gordon is in for his worst nightmare of the young campaign.

Minnesota Vikings 27, Chicago Bears 13

Last week was ugly, so…

Why Do I Like the Chicago Bears This Week?

I.

Always.

Like.

THE.

Chicago.

Bears.

Stat of the Week

Mitch Trubisky. Baker Mayfield. Marcus Mariota. Daniel Jones. These are (were) the four quarterbacks of the teams ranked directly above the Chicago Bears in passing yards per game. The Bears are currently throwing for 97.5 yards per game, more than 40 yards per game fewer than the 31st ranked team.

Last year, the New Orleans Saints were last in this statistic. They threw for 187.4 yards per game.

If these numbers don’t dramatically improve for the Bears, this could the worst passing attack in modern football history.

From Twitter on Monday

I put the following commentary on Twitter Monday, but I wanted to repost it here. It should help towards understanding how I’m going to be writing about the 2022 Bears, and their quarterback, moving forward. 

There was always going to be a contingent of Bears fans who started panicking once the team started losing ugly – an inevitability. These were the “Justin Fields will own the division” and “11 wins are possible” crowd. True believers; nothing wrong with it.

For the first year of a new program, there are definitive positives on the field. (I’ll have a piece about some of them tomorrow.) And you hope that over the next 13 games we simply continue adding to this list, building excitement / momentum for 2023.

But you have to understand that the Bears are far closer to the worst team in the league than the best. We could be looking at a group picking in the top 3 next spring. But two picks in the top 35 might be EXACTLY what this roster needs. (That’s where these fancy WRs are.)

I’m going to stay macro for the remainder of the season and cease the micro stuff. It’s not going to make me a particularly fun follow on game days but that’s where I’m at emotionally/mentally with this team and I feel it’s the smartest way to engage them.

Top “5” Folks from Minnesota (in video form)

This was NOT an easy list to compile. But I’m happy with my choices. And for all you Bob Dylan fans, I apologize. But I would rather listen to my cats scratch the couch cushions than an 11-minute Dylan mumble. So, I guess I don’t really apologize. I do apologize to the Judy Garland fans, though.

____________________

5. Mitch Hedberg

____________________

4. Terry Gilliam

Read More …

The research on this project began on something of a whim. While looking at the Charles Musser documentary Beyond the Nickelodeon (for this course), I was struck by two pieces of information I had not previously known. First, that saloons were utilized as early exhibition spaces at the turn of the century, specifically in the lower class and immigrant neighborhoods of New York City. Second, that Edwin S. Porter actually made films satirizing prominent figures in the temperance movement, most notably Carrie Nation in Kansas Saloon Smashers (1901).

I grew up in barrooms and have been lucky enough to travel the world and visit some of the oldest bars, taverns, saloons, inns, public houses, and cafes in existence. It has gone beyond a hobby. It is a passion, and on this very blog I published a list of my 100 favorite such establishments, open or closed. The notion of my two life passions, saloons and the cinema, having a “special relationship”, was exciting. It sent me on this research journey.

Read More …

The Bears are not a good football team. But they have won two of their first four games, so there must be positives to take from this early portion of the season. Here are four.

Second Half Defense

This coaching staff has clearly displayed the ability to make defensive adjustments at halftime, as the Bears have allowed only 18 total points in the second half and zero touchdowns. This group still needs an injection of talent in coming off-seasons, but Matt Eberflus and Alan Williams are showing they can put a competitive unit on the field with whatever they’re given.

Eddie Jackson’s Return to Form

EJ will be 29 when the all-important 2023 season begins, and many of us believed he would not be part of this new leadership’s plans. But through four games, Jackson has been the team’s best and most consistent defender, rediscovering his ballhawk abilities (3 INTs) and looking determined/aggressive in run support. With Jaquan Brisker looking the part beside him, the Bears look like they have the back of the secondary solidified for the next several years.

The Run Game

Everyone wants to make the blanket statement – “the offense is terrible” – but it’s factually untrue. The Bears have one of the best running games in the league, averaging 5.2 yards per carry and 177.3 yards per game. What they are terrible at is throwing the football and throwing the football is how you score points in the modern NFL. But the Bears are establishing a run-game baseline for the future that will be essential.

The 2022 Draft Class

The Bears did not have a first rounder in the 2022 NFL Draft, but they seem to have found some real players. Brisker is playing like a first rounder. Braxton Jones is showing signs that he can develop into a serious answer at left tackle. Trenton Gill is a terrific punter, delivering his best performance in the conditions in the Meadowlands on Sunday. Dominique Robinson has 1.5 sacks and is showing to be a playmaker.

Two questions remain. Can Velus Jones be worked into this offense post-injury, and can Kyler Gordon recover from a brutal start to his career? But otherwise, this draft class is reason for front office optimism.