Post by GrizzlyBear on Nov 27, 2016 16:52:50 GMT -6
Steve Rosenbloom's not impressed.
www.chicagotribune.com/sports/rosenblog/ct-matt-barkley-bears-titans-rosenbloom-20161127-column.html
www.chicagotribune.com/sports/rosenblog/ct-matt-barkley-bears-titans-rosenbloom-20161127-column.html
Matt Barkley looked like a perfect Bears quarterback, unfortunately
The whole point of Matt Barkley is that he’s not Jay Cutler.
That he wouldn’t be Jay Cutler.
That he would provide some hope that the Bears could finally move on from Jay Cutler.
Ending all of this unhealthy, unproductive Cutler love is the right thing to do. It’s him, not us. The relationship is toxic. It has to end.
Problem is, the Bears never seem to know what the right thing is, no matter which McCaskey is in charge and which coach is signing off on which general manager.
But that’s a rant for later in the week. Every week. This is about Barkley. Wearing Caleb Hanie’s old number, the new Bears quarterback making his first pro start looked sketchy early against the Titans on Sunday. Like, on his first play. Barkley underthrew Marquess Wilson deep down the left sideline, but benefited from a pass interference call.
The Bears ended that series by turning over the ball on downs when Logan Paulsen couldn’t hold Barkley’s pass on fourth-and-1 at the Titans 33.
Why Paulsen is considered a target, I’ll never know. Who’s judging Bears talent?
Why the Bears wouldn’t go with Jordan Howard, their best offensive player, I’ll never know. Who’s calling Bears plays?
But, whoa, look at that: Barkley and the Bears looked professional on the next series — professional in the red zone, if you can believe that.
On third-and-goal at the Titans 7, Barkley fired a perfect pass at Daniel Brown’s knees, and the tight end nobody had ever heard of grabbed it as he dived to the turf in the end zone for a 7-0 Bears lead.
So, in Barkley’s second series as an NFL starter, he directed a 13-play, 84-yard TD drive that survived his bad handoff to Howard inside the Bears 20, survived another embarrassing dropped pass by Howard inside the Titans 10, and survived a hit on the TD pass that had doctors on the sideline checking for blood afterward.
Like his first drive, Barkley’s day had some bad moments. On one play, he overthrew Howard on a screen off his back foot, and really, kid, stop watching those Cutler DVDs.
Then Barkley underthrew Deonte Thompson down the right sideline, but the Bears were lucky again when the play drew a pass interference penalty, this one worth 45 yards.
Two plays later, however, on second-and-6 at the Titans 16, Barkley was intercepted by Wesley Woodyard. It was a play on which Barkley didn’t set his feet and then compounded the problem by forcing the ball to Ben Braunecker in the middle of the field when he was covered.
So, the guy whose mission was not to be Jay Cutler was almost as Jay Cutler as you can get with a red-zone interception.
But hey, at least it wasn’t a sack-strip. Or a sack-strip-score, the Cutler house special.
Down 21-7 at half, the Bears recovered an onside kick, creating a chance for some redemption. Barkley hit some sweet passes to move the Bears to the Titans 5, but then, on third-and-goal, Barkley was picked off again, this time in the end zone.
Stop me if you’ve heard this before: A Bears quarterback threw an interception in the end zone while off-balance as his team seemed to be taking advantage of whatever felt like momentum.
Barkley directed 14-play and 13-play TD drives in the fourth quarter, but the Titans had gone up 27-7 and seemed to be happy to make it a slow bleed.
Things became surprisingly serious when the Bears forced a punt with 2:06 to go, and Barkley moved them to the Titans 7, but that’s where the drive, the dream and the game died.
Barkley will get praise for trying to come back and standing in the pocket amid pressure. He’ll also have people bemoan some drops at the end. But if Barkley hadn’t made some early horrible decisions and plays, things might’ve ended differently.
You had one job, Matt Barkley, and that was to not be Jay Cutler. You failed. David Fales, come on down.
That he wouldn’t be Jay Cutler.
That he would provide some hope that the Bears could finally move on from Jay Cutler.
Ending all of this unhealthy, unproductive Cutler love is the right thing to do. It’s him, not us. The relationship is toxic. It has to end.
Problem is, the Bears never seem to know what the right thing is, no matter which McCaskey is in charge and which coach is signing off on which general manager.
But that’s a rant for later in the week. Every week. This is about Barkley. Wearing Caleb Hanie’s old number, the new Bears quarterback making his first pro start looked sketchy early against the Titans on Sunday. Like, on his first play. Barkley underthrew Marquess Wilson deep down the left sideline, but benefited from a pass interference call.
The Bears ended that series by turning over the ball on downs when Logan Paulsen couldn’t hold Barkley’s pass on fourth-and-1 at the Titans 33.
Why Paulsen is considered a target, I’ll never know. Who’s judging Bears talent?
Why the Bears wouldn’t go with Jordan Howard, their best offensive player, I’ll never know. Who’s calling Bears plays?
But, whoa, look at that: Barkley and the Bears looked professional on the next series — professional in the red zone, if you can believe that.
On third-and-goal at the Titans 7, Barkley fired a perfect pass at Daniel Brown’s knees, and the tight end nobody had ever heard of grabbed it as he dived to the turf in the end zone for a 7-0 Bears lead.
So, in Barkley’s second series as an NFL starter, he directed a 13-play, 84-yard TD drive that survived his bad handoff to Howard inside the Bears 20, survived another embarrassing dropped pass by Howard inside the Titans 10, and survived a hit on the TD pass that had doctors on the sideline checking for blood afterward.
Like his first drive, Barkley’s day had some bad moments. On one play, he overthrew Howard on a screen off his back foot, and really, kid, stop watching those Cutler DVDs.
Then Barkley underthrew Deonte Thompson down the right sideline, but the Bears were lucky again when the play drew a pass interference penalty, this one worth 45 yards.
Two plays later, however, on second-and-6 at the Titans 16, Barkley was intercepted by Wesley Woodyard. It was a play on which Barkley didn’t set his feet and then compounded the problem by forcing the ball to Ben Braunecker in the middle of the field when he was covered.
So, the guy whose mission was not to be Jay Cutler was almost as Jay Cutler as you can get with a red-zone interception.
But hey, at least it wasn’t a sack-strip. Or a sack-strip-score, the Cutler house special.
Down 21-7 at half, the Bears recovered an onside kick, creating a chance for some redemption. Barkley hit some sweet passes to move the Bears to the Titans 5, but then, on third-and-goal, Barkley was picked off again, this time in the end zone.
Stop me if you’ve heard this before: A Bears quarterback threw an interception in the end zone while off-balance as his team seemed to be taking advantage of whatever felt like momentum.
Barkley directed 14-play and 13-play TD drives in the fourth quarter, but the Titans had gone up 27-7 and seemed to be happy to make it a slow bleed.
Things became surprisingly serious when the Bears forced a punt with 2:06 to go, and Barkley moved them to the Titans 7, but that’s where the drive, the dream and the game died.
Barkley will get praise for trying to come back and standing in the pocket amid pressure. He’ll also have people bemoan some drops at the end. But if Barkley hadn’t made some early horrible decisions and plays, things might’ve ended differently.
You had one job, Matt Barkley, and that was to not be Jay Cutler. You failed. David Fales, come on down.
