Brad Biggs: 10 thoughts on the loss to the Packers
Sept 29, 2017 11:07:20 GMT -6
weneedmorelinemen likes this
Post by JABF on Sept 29, 2017 11:07:20 GMT -6
I always enjoy Biggs take on the games, but I am challenged when I try to cut and paste them here. So here is the LINK to the article.
LINK
10 thoughts after the Chicago Bears were blown out
35-14 by the Green Bay Packers
on Thursday night at Lambeau Field.
1. The undoing of Mike Glennon is going to be the turnovers. When you heard coach John Fox talk about the quarterback position and reference the kind of play the organization got from the three-headed monster it had at the position a year ago, he was talking about the interceptions that put the Bears in a tough spot. Well, at 1-3 right now and chasing in the NFC North, the Bears are in a jam as Glennon has turned the ball over eight times (five interceptions, three fumbles). It’s not about throwing the ball downfield and stretching the defense and check-down passes and all of the other topics that have been raised. It’s about protecting the football. Passing yardage isn’t a very useful statistical tool when it comes to determining the outcome of a game. Turnover margin is one of the best statistical tools and once again the Bears are getting hammered in that category. The Bears and Packers are the only teams to complete four games and we’ll see what the chart looks like at the end of the weekend but right now the Bears are, you guessed it, 32nd in the NFL in turnover margin at minus-7. The Bengals and Browns, who do battle Sunday in the Battle of Ohio, are each minus-5. Maybe one of them will have a particularly unsightly game and that will move the Bears out of 32nd. The point is the turnovers can’t happen for a team with slim margin for error.
“Fortunately we have a mini-bye here, 10, 11 days to evaluate and do things necessary for us to improve,” Fox said. That’s across the board.”
The Bears don’t want to punt on Glennon this early. That’s never been the plan — but if they can’t hold onto the ball, I’m not sure Glennon can survive. It’s going to be very interesting to see what happens. The last thing they want to do is push Mitch Trubisky into action before they think he’s prepared for the role because they made a bad decision to sign Glennon for $18.5 million guaranteed.
Fox stood firmly behind his quarterback after the loss in Tampa Bay that was similarly ugly. He openly talked about change this time. Does that include the quarterback?
“Like I said, we need to make a lot of changes,” Fox said. “We will evaluate everything and we’ve got a lot of work to do here before we line up against Minnesota on Monday night (Oct. 9). We are going to look at everything.”
They can spend the entire weekend looking. Reality is there really isn’t a whole heck of a lot they can do besides change the quarterback. It’s not like they’ve got guys that have been inactive that are ready to step into major roles. There’s no hidden talent stashed on the practice squad that is going to ride to the rescue. Yes, the schedule is frontloaded and the Bears faced a difficult four-game stretch. No, you can’t excuse sloppy play that leads to giveaways.
Here’s an important thing Fox said that you should remember, and I’m translating a little bit here: Swapping out Glennon isn’t going to solve all the problems.
“I don’t think all of those were Mike’s turnovers,” Fox said. “Again, there are a lot of people out there that are involved. We had dropped balls. We had penalties. There was plenty of stuff to pass around.”
Glennon needed to get the ball out of his hand quicker on the first turnover, the sack by Clay Matthews. Glennon executed a play fake and was looking to take a deep shot downfield on the first snap of the game. The Bears asked tight end Dion Sims to solo block Clay Matthews. That seems like an unnecessarily risky maneuver right off the bat and it didn’t work. The fumble that resulted when a shotgun snap went off Glennon’s shin was the result of poor communication between him and center Cody Whitehair. When I talked to Whitehair, he told me the snap was on two and he was at fault for snapping it too soon. Glennon said they were both at fault. It was hard to see what went wrong on the first interception intended for Markus Wheaton but the ball wasn’t close. It appeared like Deonte Thompson ran a particularly poor route on the second interception.
This is precisely what the Bears hoped to avoid this season.
10 thoughts after the Chicago Bears were blown out
35-14 by the Green Bay Packers
on Thursday night at Lambeau Field.
1. The undoing of Mike Glennon is going to be the turnovers. When you heard coach John Fox talk about the quarterback position and reference the kind of play the organization got from the three-headed monster it had at the position a year ago, he was talking about the interceptions that put the Bears in a tough spot. Well, at 1-3 right now and chasing in the NFC North, the Bears are in a jam as Glennon has turned the ball over eight times (five interceptions, three fumbles). It’s not about throwing the ball downfield and stretching the defense and check-down passes and all of the other topics that have been raised. It’s about protecting the football. Passing yardage isn’t a very useful statistical tool when it comes to determining the outcome of a game. Turnover margin is one of the best statistical tools and once again the Bears are getting hammered in that category. The Bears and Packers are the only teams to complete four games and we’ll see what the chart looks like at the end of the weekend but right now the Bears are, you guessed it, 32nd in the NFL in turnover margin at minus-7. The Bengals and Browns, who do battle Sunday in the Battle of Ohio, are each minus-5. Maybe one of them will have a particularly unsightly game and that will move the Bears out of 32nd. The point is the turnovers can’t happen for a team with slim margin for error.
“Fortunately we have a mini-bye here, 10, 11 days to evaluate and do things necessary for us to improve,” Fox said. That’s across the board.”
The Bears don’t want to punt on Glennon this early. That’s never been the plan — but if they can’t hold onto the ball, I’m not sure Glennon can survive. It’s going to be very interesting to see what happens. The last thing they want to do is push Mitch Trubisky into action before they think he’s prepared for the role because they made a bad decision to sign Glennon for $18.5 million guaranteed.
Fox stood firmly behind his quarterback after the loss in Tampa Bay that was similarly ugly. He openly talked about change this time. Does that include the quarterback?
“Like I said, we need to make a lot of changes,” Fox said. “We will evaluate everything and we’ve got a lot of work to do here before we line up against Minnesota on Monday night (Oct. 9). We are going to look at everything.”
They can spend the entire weekend looking. Reality is there really isn’t a whole heck of a lot they can do besides change the quarterback. It’s not like they’ve got guys that have been inactive that are ready to step into major roles. There’s no hidden talent stashed on the practice squad that is going to ride to the rescue. Yes, the schedule is frontloaded and the Bears faced a difficult four-game stretch. No, you can’t excuse sloppy play that leads to giveaways.
Here’s an important thing Fox said that you should remember, and I’m translating a little bit here: Swapping out Glennon isn’t going to solve all the problems.
“I don’t think all of those were Mike’s turnovers,” Fox said. “Again, there are a lot of people out there that are involved. We had dropped balls. We had penalties. There was plenty of stuff to pass around.”
Glennon needed to get the ball out of his hand quicker on the first turnover, the sack by Clay Matthews. Glennon executed a play fake and was looking to take a deep shot downfield on the first snap of the game. The Bears asked tight end Dion Sims to solo block Clay Matthews. That seems like an unnecessarily risky maneuver right off the bat and it didn’t work. The fumble that resulted when a shotgun snap went off Glennon’s shin was the result of poor communication between him and center Cody Whitehair. When I talked to Whitehair, he told me the snap was on two and he was at fault for snapping it too soon. Glennon said they were both at fault. It was hard to see what went wrong on the first interception intended for Markus Wheaton but the ball wasn’t close. It appeared like Deonte Thompson ran a particularly poor route on the second interception.
This is precisely what the Bears hoped to avoid this season.
