There is very little drama to writing about yesterday’s performance by the Chicago Bears. It was a simple game to dissect. Let’s get right to it.

• Jimmy Clausen is dreadful. And with word across the internet yesterday suggesting Jay Cutler tore his hamstring and may miss up to six weeks, the Bears can’t rationalize putting Clausen under center for the next month while actually claiming they are trying to win games. Clausen overthrew open receivers deep, threw balls to the feet of guys running basic crossing routes and just generally looked like he was completely incapable of executing the most basic of game plans. If David Fales is breathing he should start against Oakland next week.
• There is no point in commenting on anything else offensively. It is impossible to execute as an offense when you’re quarterback is non-professional.

Read More …

Chicago Bears Schedule

FrontRowTickets.com has been a great sponsor of the game previews this season. I encourage all our readers to give the above image a click and check out what they have to offer. (I’m imagine prices will be quite reasonable by the time the weather changes.)

THE GAME POEM

In a caffeinated city, darkened by the nimbus of perpetual rainfall

An umbrella is raised.

                      Quietly. Sadly.

As if by a man apologetic for wanting to remain unsoiled by the coming drizzle.

A NOT-SO-QUICK THOUGHT

There is a growing movement of individuals wishing for the Bears to “tank” the season to increase their draft position. This is a flimsy position. Here’s why:

• The only position tank-worthy is the sure thing quarterback. And people don’t realize how rare those are. How many QBs in the league essentially guarantee their team will be in the playoffs/a playoff contender? 4-5? And outside of Andrew Luck and Peyton Manning, how many of those do you think were top 10 draft picks? Roethlisberger wasn’t. Brady and Rodgers weren’t. Do you believe Drew Brees or Joe Flacco or Russell Wilson is one of those guys? None of them in the top ten. (Eli Manning and Phil Rivers have proven they don’t put their team in the postseason every year.)
• Is there a guaranteed elite quarterback in this draft? The two consensus first rounders are Cal’s Jared Goff and Michigan State’s Connor Cook. Are either organization changers? (And for me, Robert Nkemdiche is the second coming of Suh.)
• The Bears don’t have to tank. They’re not any good. They can go out there and fight like hell every week and still not win more than 5 games. (Especially if Jimmy Clausen remains involved.)

Read More …

Made some overreacting mistakes to the first week of the season, especially in the Rams/Redskins game. Still can’t believe the Rams team that played the Redskins Sunday was the same that beat Seattle to open the year. Lines can be found here.

BALTIMORE -3 OVER CINCINNATI

Here’s the logic: I don’t believe the Ravens are an 0-3 team. And I think they (much like the Seahawks) will be refreshed by playing their first home game and deliver a big effort.  Ravens 30, Bengals 24.

Chicago at Seattle: TOTAL POINTS OVER 43.5

The Bears are going to have trouble scoring points with Jimmy Clausen starting at quarterback but I don’t think that means they’ll be shutout by a defense that has struggled mightily coming out of the 2015 gates. And the Seahawks would be disappointed finishing this game with less than 28 points. I say the game goes over. Seahawks 31, Bears 20

Tennessee Titans Total Points Over 21 vs. Indy

I have been unabashed in my hatred of the way Colts GM Ryan Grigson has built this roster around Andrew Luck. In lieu of offensive linemen or defenders, Grigson has stockpiled aged skill players the team doesn’t need. Luck will probably throw another pick or two and Marcus Mariota should be able to gauge the Colts for large chunks of yardage on the ground. Colts 34, Titans 30.

Season Record: 2-3-1 (-$140)

Looking Back

It wasn’t all bad.

Really, it wasn’t.

Without their best wide receiver and with a makeshift offensive line, the Bears drove down the field against one of the best defenses in the league and scored touchdowns twice.

Then Cutler got hurt.

Read More …

David Fales may be shit. He may be no closer to a starting NFL quarterback than Caleb Hanie or Jonathan Quinn or Henry Burris or, hell, Henry Rollins for that matter. A look at the image above reveals three words that ask a million questions: “No stats available.” Fales is an unknown. But an unknown is better than a known when that known is…

Jimmy Clausen is shit. Everyone knows this. And the Bears, according to multiple reports across Chicago, will be starting the ex-Notre Dame signal caller for as long as Jay Cutler is unable to take to the field. It’s a mistake. And another example of the Bears taking a short-sighted view of the 2015 season instead of playing the long game.

Read More …

Had some sound issues with my phone line on the below pod. Some of Adam Jahns’ beliefs:

• Jimmy Clausen was terrible in Bourbonnais and looked similar on the field this week. Nobody should be surprised by his struggles.
• The same goes for Kyle Fuller. He was torched by just about every Bears receiver all summer and was thoroughly embarrassed by TY Hilton during the co-practice with the Colts. Jahns reports an ornery player at his locker long after the game, delivering a series of one word answers and deflections. He believes Fuller is at “a crossroads” and I agree.
• I asked how the locker room after Sunday compared to the 2014 locker rooms after blowout losses. His response was disconcerting. (I was hoping to hear about an angry room. It just sounded sullen.)
• Bears biggest problem in the pass rush is their overwhelming failure to win one-on-one matchups. Their rush is not being schemed out. It’s being talented out.
• Kyle Long is the only offensive lineman on the Bears without a penalty, per Jahns.
• Jahns gives David Fales a good chance to start should Cutler miss any time.

After the jump, listen to the entire interview.

Read More …

We wanted to see improvement. We wanted to have hope. No improvement. Hope gone. Season over? Reactions…

• Up until the interception, Jay Cutler may have been playing his best game as a Chicago Bear. He had remarkable awareness in the pocket, made smart decisions and didn’t throw a single inaccurate pass. He also seemed to thrive with the read option concepts Adam Gase installed. Then a poor throw is compounded with the ridiculous decision to try and make a tackle. Now he’s got a “hamstring” injury. Those who hate Jay Cutler can hate him all day long but they should recognize this team this will be non-competitive without him.
• But wasn’t this Jay Cutler’s Bears career in a nutshell: flashes of brilliance, terribly pick-six, injury.
• Jimmy Clausen’s performance reminded me an awful lot of Shane Matthews in the 2001 playoffs. Jim Miller throws a pick. Gets injured trying to make a tackle. Matthews forgets how to play football.
• Clausen’s appearance also brought out the worst in Adam Gase. His play-calling once the backup entered the game fell off a cliff. Abandoning the run, stretch runs when only inches are needed…etc. John Fox has to step in during these sequences.
• Bears may have nothing in David Fales. They KNOW they have nothing in Clausen. Start Fales if Cutler can’t go.
• Kyle Fuller. Not good.

Read More …

Buy Chicago Bears Tickets

The Game Poem

I entered this NFL season

Abounding with patience and reason

A week in the books

Da Bears dug in their hooks

I hope they weren’t only teasin’

A Not-So-Quick Thought

Sunday is a playoff game for the Chicago Bears – figuratively speaking.

The Bears, whether they want to admit moral victory or not, gave many of their fans hope for a 2015 campaign that began with the tiniest expectations in more than a decade. They had every opportunity to beat one of the best teams in the league. So why is a contest with the Cardinals in week two a “playoff” game?

• The NFC is not particularly deep and the Cardinals will be a team in the mix for one of the six spots in the tournament. If the Bears pulled off a win Sunday, who is going to argue they can’t be playing meaningful games in the month of December?
• Fans were pleasantly surprised Sunday but remain skeptical. If the Bears improve off Sunday’s performance you could see expectations rise around the city of Chicago very quickly. Fans want to believe. Will the Bears give them that opportunity?
• The Bears are not going to win in Seattle in Week Three. And they are not recovering from an 0-3 start.

Read More …