Post by Deleted on Oct 1, 2016 14:26:49 GMT -6
Bears Takeaways: Week 3
by Mike Flannery
Another week, another embarrassing loss for the Bears. If that wasn’t bad enough, the Bears have played progressively worse in each loss. They had the lead going into the fourth quarter against the Texans in week one and played a competitive first half against the Eagles (9-6) in week two before collapsing in both games, but in week three the Bears came out flat and were down 17-0 before they even recorded a first down.
The Bears defense, specifically their front seven, were arguably their only bright spot the first tow weeks. They had shut down both the Texans and Eagles for over half the game before eventually getting worn down by a significant time of possession differential due to the Bears inability to string together first downs on offense. Coming into the game, the Bears were last in the league in time of possession, but the defense had still given up the ninth fewest yards in the league.
This week, the defense had no stamina excuse as they were blown off the ball from the first snap by a powerful Cowboys offensive line. The Cowboys ran the ball at will (199 rushing yards, 4.9 ypc) and gave their rookie QB so much time to throw that he didn’t once look flustered. Injuries are somewhat of an excuse as the Bears were missing five players protected to start this season, including promising NT Eddie Goldman, high priced free agent ILB Danny Trevathan, 2014 1st round pick CB Kyle Fuller, and of course last year’s free agent prize OLB Pernell Mcphee who is stil on injured reserve.
The Bears defense is beat up, with over half of the starters expected to be backups this year and four rookies in the starting lineup. It would be convenient to blame the defense’s lack of effectiveness on inexperience with starters like slot corner Cre’Von LeBlanc, ILB Nick Kwiatkoski, DE Jonathan Bullard, OLB Leonard Floyd, and starting CB Jacoby Glenn all having less than five NFL games under their belts, but the youngsters held their own. There are defensive problems at every position and possibly some with the coaching as well. There is no convenient excuse or easy fix for how bad the Bears have played on both sides of the ball.
There were a few bright spots on Sunday night, but not many. I’ll cover those and some of the more glaring problems in my week three takeaways below.
Bears Takeaways: Week 3
1.) QB Brian Hoyer is not the answer
Unless the question is who the Bears should start if they want to tank for a top five pick. His stat line (30/49, 317 yards, 2 TDs) looks impressive, but it was basically garbage time the whole second half with the Cowboys in soft coverage most of the game. There was a reason that Hoyer was available for just $2M this offseason, despite putting up a respectable 19 TD / 7 TD ratio last year.
HC John Fox insinuated this week that the starting QB job is up for grabs even if Jay Cutler is healthy, but that might be the dumbest thing Fox has said yet in his time with the Bears (which is saying something). The Cowboys have a toothless pass rush, an injured secondary that was one of the worst in the league before the injuries, and the Bears O-line gave Hoyer plenty of time to throw. Despite those factors, Hoyer still couldn’t move the Bears downfield until the game was all but decided.
The Bears probably aren’t going to win many games this year, but the idea that Hoyer gives them a better chance to win is ridiculous.
2.) The Jordan Howard era is here
It may have taken John Fox another few weeks to figure out that Howard is a more talented running back than Langford but with Langford spraining his ankle and likely to miss 3-4 weeks, Fox has no choice now but to give Howard the 15-20 carries that fans have wanted since week four of the preseason.
Despite elite speed and decent power, Langford hasn’t shown the ability to either make people miss or break tackles and Howard can do both. I’m a little biased as I’ve been high on Howard since before the draft, but I think he’s the perfect fit for the power running game that Fox wants to implement. He’s also flashed the ability to catch the ball out of the backfield. If he can pass block (a legitimate question), Howard could lock down the job over the next few weeks and give the Bears a rare building block on offense.
3.) The offensive line is improving
It’s hard to get excited about any part of an offense that is 27th in the league in total yards and 30th in points scored, but the offensive line was pieced together days before the first game of the season and they are showing signs of improvement. The Cowboys lack of pass rushers certainly had something to do with it, but the Bears o-line gave Hoyer way more time to throw than Cutler got at any point of the Bears first two games.
With two starters with less than a months experience at their positions (Whitehair, Sitton), some growing pains were expected. Whitehair has gotten better every game and should continue to get comfortable at center, while Josh Sitton hasn’t even been on the Bears for a month but could be their best o-lineman so far.
Right tackle Bobby Massie struggled again with speed rushes, giving up pressures to David Irving and Jack Crawford (who?) and there were too many running plays blown up in the backfield, but for the most part the o-line kept Hoyer clean despite the Cowboys knowing the Bears had to throw the ball most of the 2nd half.
The run blocking needs to improve for the Bears to have a somewhat balanced offense, but the talent is there for them to be an above-average unit and they are starting to show signs of getting there.
4.) The defensive line is getting worse
The loss of Goldman to injury might be the most impactful loss the Bears have suffered this year besides maybe Jay Cutler. Goldman was becoming a force inside and had led the Bears defense in allowing less than four yards per rush through the first two games. Even opposing players like Texans guard Jeff Allen and Eagles center Jason Kelce have been complimentary about Goldman’s presence in the middle of the line.
Without Goldman the Bears turned to backup defensive end Will Sutton at nose tackle. It didn’t work out well to put it nicely. The Bears gave up 199 rushing yards, most of which came between the tackles, at a clip of 4.9 yards per carry. It wasn’t just Sutton’s fault, but without a presence in the middle to occupy blockers, the Bears inside linebackers were neutralized by blockers more often which led to big gains on inside runs.
With Goldman out a couple weeks and versatile DE Mitch Unrein banged up as well, the Bears will be relying on at least one backup in Sutton and possibly more with reserves Cornelius Washington and Jonathan Bullard getting more time at defensive end. Both players have promise and unlike Sutton are playing their natural position at DE. At least one, if not both, of them need to step up or the Bears defensive line will get gashed again verse the run.
5.) I’ve seen enough of Deonte Thompson
Last season Thompson was a pleasant surprise, averaging 29.2 yards per kick return which would have been good for the 2nd best average in the league had he enough returns to qualify. So far this season, Thompson has been a disaster. He’s averaged just 20.9 yards per return and has made the wrong decision to bring the ball out of the end zone on over half of his returns.
It’s like no one told Thompson that teams start on the 25-yard-line now on touchbacks. His decision making was a little better in week three, but he still didn’t do much with the one kick he brought out of the end zone, gaining just 22 yards and costing the Bears a few yards of field position.
The Bears recently signed running back and return specialist Raheem Mostert, who is one of the fastest players in the league (4.28 40-time) and could get a chance to take Thompson’s job as early as this week against Detroit.
6.) I have week nine in the Dowell Loggains firing pool
There are very few positive things to say about Dowell Loggains first three games as offensive coordinator. The Bears are last in the league in rushing attempts with just 53 carries, despite averaging the ninth best per carry average in the league (4.1 ypc). They have been terrible on third downs, consistently running screens and dump off passes on 3rd & long. The only downfield plays that have worked so far are jump balls to Alshon Jeffery which aren’t a sustainable strategy.
It’s only been three games and possibly too soon to be judging the Bears new offensive coordinator, but to me the play-calling has looked high school level simple. Regardless of what it looks like the Bears just haven’t been effective, ranking 30th in the league in both total yards and points scored. I’m sure the Bears management will give Loggains a long leash, but if things don’t improve by the halfway point of the season that could be it for the Loggains experiment.
When HC John Fox was asked about Loggains, he responded with an ominous, “Not good enough”. It’s looking like the Bears may be out of playoff contention by their week nine bye and if they aren’t comfortable with Loggains at the helm of the offense, then they might as well try a new coordinator and give him a head start on implementing his scheme for 2017.
7.) Kevin White still doesn’t look like a top ten pick
White had his best game a pro with six catches for 62 yards on a whopping 14 targets. There were some signs of progress including an amazing one-handed grab behind the defender’s back on a deep ball and an 18-yard catch-and-run which was called back due to a Leno Jr penalty, but White left a lot of yards on the field last week.
A perfectly thrown deep ball went right through his hands and would have been a big play for an offense that badly needed it. White also doesn’t play like a guy who runs a sub 4.4 40-yard-dash. Hopefully that is due to his lack of familiarity with the offense and not a reflection of his talent ceiling.
With Alshon Jeffrey still hobbled and defenses focused on him when he’s on the field, White should see plenty more targets in the next few games. If he can continue to improve than the Bears might have the playmaker they thought they were getting with the 7th overall pick, but White still has a long way to go.
8.) Is DC Vic Fangio still relevant?
The Bears DC Vic Fangio came to the team with the reputation of being a defensive mastermind. He had a built-in excuse his first season as the Bears didn’t have enough talent on the roster to play well in any scheme. After a year of replacing the dead weight on the roster with players chosen to fit Fangio’s scheme, more was expected in year two.
So far the results have been underwhelming at best. The Bears have just four sacks total and have only forced four turnovers in three games. At this pace they will have even less sacks and turnovers than last season’s pathetic totals. It’s early in the year and perhaps too small of a sample size to draw any conclusions, but it’s disappointing regardless.
Even more troubling than the lack of impact plays is the lack of pressure that the Bears have been able to generate, especially facing rookie quarterbacks in the last two games. The lack of pressure made both QBs look like seasoned vets as they picked apart the Bears inexperienced secondary. Giving opposing QBs all day to find an open receiver is no way to protect the Bears young defensive backs.
Fangio has seemed stubborn in trying to generate a pass rush with just four d-linemen. By now it’s pretty clear that the current front four isn’t going to get it done on their own. There hasn’t been enough blitzes called and when Fangio does call for a blitz, the blitzers have been ineffective. If that wasn’t bad enough, the Bears secondary appears to be in a Lovie Smith-esque soft zone, allowing the rookie QBs to gain confidence by completing short, easy throws.
I have yet to see a series of defensive plays that made me think the Bears had an effective or creative defensive scheme. It’s early, but Fangio needs to start living up to his reputation.
9.) Bears rookies are getting valuable experience
There were very few bright spots in the Bears week three loss, but some rookies flashed talent at least. The upside of so many injuries is that the Bears rookies are getting a chance to play sooner than planned.
ILB Nick Kwiatkoski, slot corner Cre’Von LeBlanc, and DE Johnathan Bullard all got more snaps than expected and made a few mistakes, but held their own for the most part. All three should get even more time next week which could speed up their development curve.
10.) The Bears are last in the NFL in time of possession
Through three games the Bears have had the ball just 40% of the time. That’s good for dead last in the NFL and a big reason why the defense has collapsed in the second half in two of the Bears three games. The Bears aren’t going to win any games until they can string together a few first downs. The play calling, the lack of a running game, too many penalties, and poor execution on third downs have all contributed to the disappointing offense so far.
11.) The Bears passed on Cowboys QB Dak Prescott three times in the 4th round of this year’s draft
With Jay Cutler in the last year of guaranteed money, the Bears should be looking for a developmental QB. Does anyone have faith in GM Ryan Pace to draft the right one? The fact that he passed on Cowboys rookie Dak Prescott three times in the 4th round of this year’s draft isn’t encouraging.
Prescott picked the Bears defense apart, completing 19/24 passes for 254 yards, one touchdown, and no interceptions in just his third NFL start. Would the Bears trade any of their 4th round picks (ILB Nick Kwiatkoski, S Deon Bush, CB Deiondre Hall) for Prescott right now? Wouldn’t they trade all three for him?
12.) The Bears chances to make the playoffs are slim to none
The last team to start 0-3 was the 1998 Buffalo Bills. That team had a Pro Bowl QB in Doug Flutie, 5-time Pro Bowl RB Thurman Thomas, and two Pro Bowl wide receivers in Andre Reed and Eric Moulds. Those Bills had slightly more talent than the 2016 Bears.
