Biggs: 10 thoughts on the Bears' 26-6 win over the 49ers
Dec 5, 2016 11:09:14 GMT -6
riczaj01 likes this
Post by JABF on Dec 5, 2016 11:09:14 GMT -6
If you are feeling "down" about the season, then this is a must-read. I know it's tempting to give up on the team at this point, but the players and coaches are not. There's a lot of improvement with these young players that will help the team significantly next year. I like the "fight" in this team.
The team isn't quitting on John Fox like it did under Marc Trestman. I like how this team is gutting out a very tough year with the injuries - and a ton of new/young players having to step up.
Here's just a few that stood out to me:
“I’m definitely ready to be that workhorse,” Howard said. “Even though they might know the run is coming, they still have to stop it.” (gotta love that attitude).
It would really be something if Howard could push is yards per carry to 5.0 for the season. The last time the Bears’ primary running back eclipsed that figure was when Payton was at 5.5 during that monstrous 1977 season.
The defense is now tied for seventh in the NFL with 30 sacks
The return of nose tackle Eddie Goldman has made a difference. He’s more important, in my opinion, than inside linebackers Danny Trevathan and Jerrell Freeman. Goldman and Hicks can provide a solid interior push, either together or individually, and then you’ve got the outside linebackers coming off the edge.
If Floyd can finish strong in the final quarter of the season and hit the weight room in a big way during the offseason, he could be a more well-rounded edge rusher in 2017. If he can take that step, the Bears will have one of the better edge rushing presences in the league
Turned to Football Outsiders to take a look at their special teams rankings and entering this week the Bears were 13th in the NFL and 11th if you use the weighted ranking they have for them. That’s probably better than a lot of people imagined."
The team isn't quitting on John Fox like it did under Marc Trestman. I like how this team is gutting out a very tough year with the injuries - and a ton of new/young players having to step up.
Here's just a few that stood out to me:
“I’m definitely ready to be that workhorse,” Howard said. “Even though they might know the run is coming, they still have to stop it.” (gotta love that attitude).
It would really be something if Howard could push is yards per carry to 5.0 for the season. The last time the Bears’ primary running back eclipsed that figure was when Payton was at 5.5 during that monstrous 1977 season.
The defense is now tied for seventh in the NFL with 30 sacks
The return of nose tackle Eddie Goldman has made a difference. He’s more important, in my opinion, than inside linebackers Danny Trevathan and Jerrell Freeman. Goldman and Hicks can provide a solid interior push, either together or individually, and then you’ve got the outside linebackers coming off the edge.
If Floyd can finish strong in the final quarter of the season and hit the weight room in a big way during the offseason, he could be a more well-rounded edge rusher in 2017. If he can take that step, the Bears will have one of the better edge rushing presences in the league
Turned to Football Outsiders to take a look at their special teams rankings and entering this week the Bears were 13th in the NFL and 11th if you use the weighted ranking they have for them. That’s probably better than a lot of people imagined."
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10 thoughts on the Bears' 26-6 win over the 49ers
Brad BiggsContact Reporter
Chicago Tribune
1. The Bears don’t have the best pass rush in the NFL and they are a fair distance away from even being in the discussion for that. But they do have three defenders with six sacks or more – Willie Young (7 ½), Leonard Floyd (7) and Akiem Hicks (6) – and going into Monday night’s Colts-Jets tilt, the Vikings are the only other team that can make that claim. Minnesota’s Danielle Hunter (9 ½), Everson Griffen (6) and Brian Robison (6) have the Vikings rushing the passer with success.
The Bears had their best game rushing the passer in more than four seasons by sacking Colin Kaepernick five times and Blaine Gabbert once. The Gabbert sack by Floyd was the final one of the game and resulted in a safety. The last time the Bears had six sacks in a game was Week 3 of the 2012 season, the final year for Lovie Smith in Chicago.
The defense is now tied for seventh in the NFL with 30 sacks, trailing the Broncos (36), Panthers (34), Bills (33), Cardinals (31), Vikings (31) and Seahawks (31). The defense ranks 15th in sacks per pass attempt at 6.22 percent.
The front seven looks pretty good when all of the parts are in place – or at least most of them – and certainly the return of nose tackle Eddie Goldman has made a difference. He’s more important, in my opinion, than inside linebackers Danny Trevathan and Jerrell Freeman (who have not been involved in any takeaways).
Goldman and Hicks can provide a solid interior push, either together or individually, and then you’ve got the outside linebackers coming off the edge. They maintained discipline when pursuing Kaepernick. Floyd had a couple plays he would surely like back in the first half but he played adjusted and improved in the second half. Floyd is the kind of guy that can get down on himself but he stepped up.
You’re never going to have a top-flight defense unless you’re one of the best at rushing the passer and the Bears are making true progress in that area this season thanks in large part to the addition of Floyd. His seven sacks have come in only nine games.
If Floyd can finish strong in the final quarter of the season and hit the weight room in a big way during the offseason, he could be a more well-rounded edge rusher in 2017. If he can take that step, the Bears will have one of the better edge rushing presences in the league and you need a scary man coming off the edge to be in that discussion regarding the best overall pass rushers.
It’s a credit to coordinator Vic Fangio, who has probably turned to using more twists and stunts than he did in the past in an effort to get the one-on-one matchups his players can win. Outside linebackers coach Clint Hurtt is highly regarded as well and it’s not a stretch of the imagination to think the Bears could finish with four pass rushers with at least six sacks. Pernell McPhee has two so he could have to get on a hot streak but it could happen.
When you project Floyd into Year 2 with the Bears, I think the first player that jumps out as you is Falcons defensive end Vic Beasley. He’s got 10 ½ sacks and five forced fumbles this season. The Bears left him on the board when they selected Kevin White seventh overall in 2015 and Atlanta grabbed Beasley with the next selection. The Clemson product had four sacks in a full 16 games as a rookie. That doesn’t mean Floyd is going to more than double his production in Year 2 but he will be a more mature player next year and a stronger one and scouts I talked to prefer a young Floyd to a young Beasley.
This is the same defense that went without a sack in losses to the Titans and Buccaneers, so don’t fall into a trap and begin to think the pass rush has been solved. The teams that really rush the passer keep adding pieces as they go. Let’s see if they can end the season with 40 sacks. If they do, maybe they’ll force some turnovers along the way because those have proven to be mighty elusive and a good pass rush is one of the keys to scoring takeaways.
2. I am willing to bet you could hear a pin drop in the booth general manager Ryan Pace watches the game from when center Cody Whitehair went down at the start of the fourth quarter after his right ankle rolled. Whitehair was about to block 49ers free safety Jaquiski Tartt when running back Jordan Howard fell on the second-round draft pick from behind. Whitehair’s right ankle was rolled up, but if there is good news when you watch the replay a couple times, you see that his foot wasn’t completely pinned under Howard. Whitehair missed the next two snaps while he was being evaluated on the sideline and eventually got a heavy tape job before trying some jogging. He was back on the field for the next series and the two plays he missed are the only two Whitehair has sat out this season. Don’t overlook the significance of this. A lot of guys talk about wanting to be on the field for every snap and playing through pain but when the rubber hits the road there aren’t as many as you would think that really tough it out. Whitehair was understandably gimpy in the locker room after the game.
“It means a lot to me to be out there,” he said. “I never want to miss any snaps, obviously, for the other guys being used to who you are playing next to, and I take a lot of pride out there and I want to be out there.”
Whitehair knew with the slick ball in the conditions and with an inexperienced quarterback in Matt Barkley, it was important for him to return to action as soon as possible. The Bears had moved Ted Larsen from right guard to center and inserted Josh Sitton at right guard. The plan was to give Sitton another week of rest and only use him in emergency as he recovers from a sprained ankle.
“Working with only one guy for a whole week and having to switch to another guy can be tough on quarterbacks,” Whitehair said. “But I thought they handled it very well and I was fortunate to come back.”
One of the upsides to drafting Whitehair was his experience as a four-year starter at Kansas State. He missed only one game in that span, a game against Baylor as a redshirt freshman when he had an ankle sprain.
With 12 regular-season games done and four preseason games, Whitehair has gotten as much action as he would in a full college season. He says he feels good for the final four games. Some players, especially linemen, can drop weight as the season wears on. He’s maintained at 310 pounds throughout.
“Physically, I feel great,” he said. “The thing about is you have to take care of your body. I’ve done a pretty good job of it.”
3. Winning the game greatly reduced the possibility the Bears could land the No. 2 overall pick in the draft. The 49ers are a good bet to get that pick at this point and after watching them in person, it’s hard to envision how there is a team out there with a worse record. If the draft were held right now, the Bears would own the No. 4 pick but it will be worth watching the Monday night game between the Colts and Jets. New York is 3-8 right now and if they continue to lose things could get interesting between them and the Bears. Also, it’s worth keeping an eye on the Rams. They’re 4-8 and have the Falcons, Seahawks, 49ers and Cardinals remaining. The 49ers already beat Los Angeles once. If they do it again, it’s not a stretch to think the Rams could finish 4-12. According to playoffstatus.com, the Bears are still at greater than 79 percent to have a top-five pick in the draft. They’ve got a 30 percent chance for the No. 3 pick, 41 percent chance for the fourth pick and a 15 percent chance for the fifth selection. Of course, this will change weekly so stay tuned.
4. Tight end Ben Braunecker said it was easy to tell it was going to be a “pound the rock” kind of day and boy was it with rookie running back Jordan Howard. He carried the ball 32 times for 117 yards in his fifth 100-yard game of the season. The number that jumped out to me was the 32 carries. He is the first Bears running back to get that many rushing attempts in a game since Anthony Thomas had 32 in a 27-24 victory over the Redskins on Dec. 21, 2003. It’s a pretty interesting list of Bears running backs with 32 or more carries in a game. Walter Payton did it on 14 occasions with a career-high 40 in his 275-yard game against the Vikings in 1977. Other than that, Thomas did it twice (33 carries against the Jaguars as a rookie), Lewis Tillman did it twice and James Allen and Raymont Harris each reached the figure once, according to Pro Football Reference.
“I’m definitely ready to be that workhorse,” Howard said. “Even though they might know the run is coming, they still have to stop it.”
Howard said it was the first time he’s played in the snow and it shouldn’t come as a surprise he had a good game against the NFL’s worst rush defense. But it’s turning into a very nice rookie season for the fifth-round pick. He’s got 883 yards on 181 carries and is averaging 4.88 yards per carry. He ranks ninth in the league in rushing and fifth in yards per carry behind only LeSean McCoy, Mark Ingram, Jay Ajayi and Ezekiel Elliott.
It would really be something if Howard could push is yards per carry to 5.0 for the season. The last time the Bears’ primary running back eclipsed that figure was when Payton was at 5.5 during that monstrous 1977 season. For what it’s worth, Matt Forte finished at 4.9 in 2011.
Chances are the Bears have at least a couple more “pound the rock” games to go.
5. Turned to Football Outsiders to take a look at their special teams rankings and entering this week the Bears were 13th in the NFL and 11th if you use the weighted ranking they have for them. That’s probably better than a lot of people imagined. Punter Pat O’Donnell has been good this season and the Bears did get a 65-yard punt return touchdown from Eddie Royal. But this wasn’t a good day for special teams as former Bears running back Shaun Draughn had a partially blocked field goal that should have been turned into a touchdown by the 49ers. Then, kickoff returner Deonte Thompson lost a fumble. Both gaffes led to field goals for the 49ers as they went ahead 6-0.
The punt problem occurred after a delay of game penalty as tight end Ben Braunecker was late running onto the field. Then, he got worked by Draughn. The ball deflected perfectly to Dontae Johnson, who appeared to score but went out of bounds at the 4-yard line. Then, Rashard Robinson received a 15-yard unsportsmanlike conduct penalty for doing a snow angel in the end zone. Players know they can’t go to the ground when celebrating. It was an incredibly ridiculous move and his team paid the price by backing up to the 19-yard line.
Coach John Fox talked about the defense standing tall after sudden changes – the punt miscue and the fumbled kicked off return – and that’s true. Who knows how the Bears would have responded from a 14-0 hole? But it wasn’t a good day at the office for special teams. Braunecker said he lost his footing a little bit trying to redirect Draughn. Thomson had the ball ripped out by Jimmie Ward, the former NIU Huskie. Kickoff returner needs to be higher on the Bears’ offseason priority list than it was last year.
6. General manager Ryan Pace addressed the Jay Cutler situation during the WBBM-AM 780 pregame show. Well, maybe I should say he touched on the subject. Cutler went from being “day-to-day” according to coach John Fox to out for the season as the club announced he was to have surgery to repair the labrum in his right shoulder on Saturday.
“Really, the last two weeks it is an injury we tried to work through whether it was rest or several different forms of treatment,” Pace said on WBBM. “The one thing about Jay, and I know I’ve said this before, he’s tough, he’s a fast healer. So we didn’t want to count him out just yet.”
Cutler’s future is a popular topic and when that subject was broached, Pace treated it as news for another day.
“I understand the questions on Jay and I get it,” Pace said. “There’s a time and place for that. We still have five more games to go in the season so really not in a position to discuss that right now. But the one thing I do want to stress is his toughness and his perseverance through these injuries. Unfortunately, he needs the surgery but I am sure he will overcome.”
My best guess is the Bears part ways with Cutler after this season. Some have speculated that his reasonable contract for a quarterback with experience makes keeping him not only an option but a good option. Those folks conveniently overlook the Bears reached the playoffs one time in eight seasons with Cutler. Just because the contract isn’t bad and there are certainly worse quarterbacks out there doesn’t make it a good idea. The Bears couldn’t bring back Cutler for 2017 with a reasonable expectation of a different outcome. That’s the bottom line.
7. One move the Bears did not make prior to the game – really prior to the 3 p.m. deadline Saturday for roster moves – was to place Jay Cutler on injured reserve. They carried him on the 53-man roster for the game. Before you go criticizing that move, had they bumped a player up for the game just to fill Cutler’s spot, it would have been a player that would have been on the inactive list for the game. My guess is that cornerback Kyle Fuller winds up taking Cutler’s place on the 53-man roster this coming week but that’s just a hunch because I want to stay out of the speculation business when it comes to Fuller. Something about that situation just doesn’t look right. He had the arthroscopic knee surgery in the second week of preseason and the word at the time was it was as smooth as can be. Fuller has missed 12 games now and it’s not like I envision the defensive coaches just handing lots of playing time over to him. But it sounds like the team certainly wants to look at him.
“I think it is important,” general manager Ryan Pace said on WBBM. “It’s been a long time since we have seen a fully healthy Kyle Fuller. He’s a high draft pick that has a lot of talent and he plays a position where we definitely could use his skill set. I know he has worked hard, he’s anxious to get back on the field.”
Stay tuned on this one.
8. Speaking of cornerbacks … rookie cornerback Deiondre’ Hall was inactive once again but he’s getting closer to getting back into action too. Hall was on the sideline for seven weeks after suffering an ankle injury in practice when he stepped on a teammate’s foot. Hall had a cast on his right ankle to immobilize it for a couple weeks and was using a scooter to get around Halas Hall for a bit. He returned to practice two weeks ago and is working his way back into the mix.
“I have been rehabbing for the past two months so I shouldn’t be too far behind but just knocking off the rust,” Hall said. “It’s just getting back in front of somebody.”
The Bears reached a couple points during the past two months when with injuries mounting Hall’s name came up in discussion for a move to injured reserve. But they really hoped to see him get back on the field so I would expect a chance to arise soon even if it means starting out on special teams.
“Hopefully I can play out these last few games,” said Hall, who admitted he was concerned for a while about the possibility he might be moved to IR. “I was just keeping a clear head and knowing that I am a rookie and I have time. It was about just being able to come back and produce.”
He hopes the time away winds up benefitting him in the long run.
“It’s crazy to know you’re not playing so you can kind of take a step back and really dig into the filmwork,” Hall said. “Just looking at stuff differently vs. if I was to be out there and reading this or that. I felt like a coach when I was watching it. I was writing down notes to give to other people.”
9. Third-round pick Jonathan Bullard has been hard to find re-watching the games this season and it will be impossible to find the defensive end this week as he was inactive in what coach John Fox described as a “talent” decision. The Bears wanted to role with veteran Mitch Unrein, who had missed the previous three games with a back injury. It’s not like Bullard was getting a lot of action when Unrein was out as Cornelius Washington has passed him up on the depth chart. Bullard got 14 snaps last week against the Titans and 19 the week before against the Giants. He had 38 at Tampa Bay but didn’t do a lot with his time.
“That’s their choice,” Bullard said when I asked him if there was any explanation provided for his game off.
Hopefully he can show improvement on the practice field to get back in there. Otherwise, the Bears are going to need to think about re-drafting the five-technique position.
10. Marquess Wilson has missed too much time to be real interesting in free agency at the end of this season when his rookie contract expires. He was on injured reserve and designated to return in 2014 and finished last season on IR before missing the first nine games this season on the physically unable to perform list. But Wilson looked pretty good (end zone drop aside) with eight catches for 125 yards last week against the Titans and you figured if he had a nice hot stretch to end the season, he just might catch someone’s attention. Then, Wilson gets two snaps on the Bears’ opening possession of the game, two on their second possession and leaves with a groin injury. Who knows if it’s serious at this point? Hopefully, it’s minor and he can play against the Lions next week but Wilson simply isn’t available as often as needed.
10a. The darndest thing about this defense, like I mentioned back in the opening thought, is the lack of takeaways. The Bears have only eight for the season, tying them with the Colts (who play Monday night) for the second-fewest. The Jaguars are last with seven measly takeaways. That means the Bears are on pace to set a record low. The previous was set last season when there were only 17 takeaways. Anyone see 10 takeaways coming in the next four games? It’s easy to remember back to the Lovie Smith era when the team’s public relations staff would trumpet how many takeaways the team had during his tenure. Here is the year-by-year starting in 2004 and ending in 2012: 29, 34, 44, 33, 32, 28, 35, 31, 44. I am sure coach John Fox and defensive coordinator Vic Fangio would pay top dollar for a solution to this issue.
10b. Thought for a while there Jordan Howard might be able to go for four touchdowns. He got three, which Matt Forte accomplished last for the Bears back on Oct. 20, 2013 at Washington.
10c. Chances are very good the Bears will host the 49ers for a third straight season in 2017. The last-place finisher in the NFC North will have a home game against the last-place finisher in the NFC West, according to the schedule table, and that looks like a match right now. The 49ers won last year. The Bears won this year. Both teams will be aiming to look significant different next season.
10d. The Lions opened as a 7-point favorite over the Bears for Sunday’s game at Ford Field at Westgate SuperBook in Las Vegas.
bmbiggs@chicagotribune.com
10 thoughts on the Bears' 26-6 win over the 49ers
Brad BiggsContact Reporter
Chicago Tribune
1. The Bears don’t have the best pass rush in the NFL and they are a fair distance away from even being in the discussion for that. But they do have three defenders with six sacks or more – Willie Young (7 ½), Leonard Floyd (7) and Akiem Hicks (6) – and going into Monday night’s Colts-Jets tilt, the Vikings are the only other team that can make that claim. Minnesota’s Danielle Hunter (9 ½), Everson Griffen (6) and Brian Robison (6) have the Vikings rushing the passer with success.
The Bears had their best game rushing the passer in more than four seasons by sacking Colin Kaepernick five times and Blaine Gabbert once. The Gabbert sack by Floyd was the final one of the game and resulted in a safety. The last time the Bears had six sacks in a game was Week 3 of the 2012 season, the final year for Lovie Smith in Chicago.
The defense is now tied for seventh in the NFL with 30 sacks, trailing the Broncos (36), Panthers (34), Bills (33), Cardinals (31), Vikings (31) and Seahawks (31). The defense ranks 15th in sacks per pass attempt at 6.22 percent.
The front seven looks pretty good when all of the parts are in place – or at least most of them – and certainly the return of nose tackle Eddie Goldman has made a difference. He’s more important, in my opinion, than inside linebackers Danny Trevathan and Jerrell Freeman (who have not been involved in any takeaways).
Goldman and Hicks can provide a solid interior push, either together or individually, and then you’ve got the outside linebackers coming off the edge. They maintained discipline when pursuing Kaepernick. Floyd had a couple plays he would surely like back in the first half but he played adjusted and improved in the second half. Floyd is the kind of guy that can get down on himself but he stepped up.
You’re never going to have a top-flight defense unless you’re one of the best at rushing the passer and the Bears are making true progress in that area this season thanks in large part to the addition of Floyd. His seven sacks have come in only nine games.
If Floyd can finish strong in the final quarter of the season and hit the weight room in a big way during the offseason, he could be a more well-rounded edge rusher in 2017. If he can take that step, the Bears will have one of the better edge rushing presences in the league and you need a scary man coming off the edge to be in that discussion regarding the best overall pass rushers.
It’s a credit to coordinator Vic Fangio, who has probably turned to using more twists and stunts than he did in the past in an effort to get the one-on-one matchups his players can win. Outside linebackers coach Clint Hurtt is highly regarded as well and it’s not a stretch of the imagination to think the Bears could finish with four pass rushers with at least six sacks. Pernell McPhee has two so he could have to get on a hot streak but it could happen.
When you project Floyd into Year 2 with the Bears, I think the first player that jumps out as you is Falcons defensive end Vic Beasley. He’s got 10 ½ sacks and five forced fumbles this season. The Bears left him on the board when they selected Kevin White seventh overall in 2015 and Atlanta grabbed Beasley with the next selection. The Clemson product had four sacks in a full 16 games as a rookie. That doesn’t mean Floyd is going to more than double his production in Year 2 but he will be a more mature player next year and a stronger one and scouts I talked to prefer a young Floyd to a young Beasley.
This is the same defense that went without a sack in losses to the Titans and Buccaneers, so don’t fall into a trap and begin to think the pass rush has been solved. The teams that really rush the passer keep adding pieces as they go. Let’s see if they can end the season with 40 sacks. If they do, maybe they’ll force some turnovers along the way because those have proven to be mighty elusive and a good pass rush is one of the keys to scoring takeaways.
2. I am willing to bet you could hear a pin drop in the booth general manager Ryan Pace watches the game from when center Cody Whitehair went down at the start of the fourth quarter after his right ankle rolled. Whitehair was about to block 49ers free safety Jaquiski Tartt when running back Jordan Howard fell on the second-round draft pick from behind. Whitehair’s right ankle was rolled up, but if there is good news when you watch the replay a couple times, you see that his foot wasn’t completely pinned under Howard. Whitehair missed the next two snaps while he was being evaluated on the sideline and eventually got a heavy tape job before trying some jogging. He was back on the field for the next series and the two plays he missed are the only two Whitehair has sat out this season. Don’t overlook the significance of this. A lot of guys talk about wanting to be on the field for every snap and playing through pain but when the rubber hits the road there aren’t as many as you would think that really tough it out. Whitehair was understandably gimpy in the locker room after the game.
“It means a lot to me to be out there,” he said. “I never want to miss any snaps, obviously, for the other guys being used to who you are playing next to, and I take a lot of pride out there and I want to be out there.”
Whitehair knew with the slick ball in the conditions and with an inexperienced quarterback in Matt Barkley, it was important for him to return to action as soon as possible. The Bears had moved Ted Larsen from right guard to center and inserted Josh Sitton at right guard. The plan was to give Sitton another week of rest and only use him in emergency as he recovers from a sprained ankle.
“Working with only one guy for a whole week and having to switch to another guy can be tough on quarterbacks,” Whitehair said. “But I thought they handled it very well and I was fortunate to come back.”
One of the upsides to drafting Whitehair was his experience as a four-year starter at Kansas State. He missed only one game in that span, a game against Baylor as a redshirt freshman when he had an ankle sprain.
With 12 regular-season games done and four preseason games, Whitehair has gotten as much action as he would in a full college season. He says he feels good for the final four games. Some players, especially linemen, can drop weight as the season wears on. He’s maintained at 310 pounds throughout.
“Physically, I feel great,” he said. “The thing about is you have to take care of your body. I’ve done a pretty good job of it.”
3. Winning the game greatly reduced the possibility the Bears could land the No. 2 overall pick in the draft. The 49ers are a good bet to get that pick at this point and after watching them in person, it’s hard to envision how there is a team out there with a worse record. If the draft were held right now, the Bears would own the No. 4 pick but it will be worth watching the Monday night game between the Colts and Jets. New York is 3-8 right now and if they continue to lose things could get interesting between them and the Bears. Also, it’s worth keeping an eye on the Rams. They’re 4-8 and have the Falcons, Seahawks, 49ers and Cardinals remaining. The 49ers already beat Los Angeles once. If they do it again, it’s not a stretch to think the Rams could finish 4-12. According to playoffstatus.com, the Bears are still at greater than 79 percent to have a top-five pick in the draft. They’ve got a 30 percent chance for the No. 3 pick, 41 percent chance for the fourth pick and a 15 percent chance for the fifth selection. Of course, this will change weekly so stay tuned.
4. Tight end Ben Braunecker said it was easy to tell it was going to be a “pound the rock” kind of day and boy was it with rookie running back Jordan Howard. He carried the ball 32 times for 117 yards in his fifth 100-yard game of the season. The number that jumped out to me was the 32 carries. He is the first Bears running back to get that many rushing attempts in a game since Anthony Thomas had 32 in a 27-24 victory over the Redskins on Dec. 21, 2003. It’s a pretty interesting list of Bears running backs with 32 or more carries in a game. Walter Payton did it on 14 occasions with a career-high 40 in his 275-yard game against the Vikings in 1977. Other than that, Thomas did it twice (33 carries against the Jaguars as a rookie), Lewis Tillman did it twice and James Allen and Raymont Harris each reached the figure once, according to Pro Football Reference.
“I’m definitely ready to be that workhorse,” Howard said. “Even though they might know the run is coming, they still have to stop it.”
Howard said it was the first time he’s played in the snow and it shouldn’t come as a surprise he had a good game against the NFL’s worst rush defense. But it’s turning into a very nice rookie season for the fifth-round pick. He’s got 883 yards on 181 carries and is averaging 4.88 yards per carry. He ranks ninth in the league in rushing and fifth in yards per carry behind only LeSean McCoy, Mark Ingram, Jay Ajayi and Ezekiel Elliott.
It would really be something if Howard could push is yards per carry to 5.0 for the season. The last time the Bears’ primary running back eclipsed that figure was when Payton was at 5.5 during that monstrous 1977 season. For what it’s worth, Matt Forte finished at 4.9 in 2011.
Chances are the Bears have at least a couple more “pound the rock” games to go.
5. Turned to Football Outsiders to take a look at their special teams rankings and entering this week the Bears were 13th in the NFL and 11th if you use the weighted ranking they have for them. That’s probably better than a lot of people imagined. Punter Pat O’Donnell has been good this season and the Bears did get a 65-yard punt return touchdown from Eddie Royal. But this wasn’t a good day for special teams as former Bears running back Shaun Draughn had a partially blocked field goal that should have been turned into a touchdown by the 49ers. Then, kickoff returner Deonte Thompson lost a fumble. Both gaffes led to field goals for the 49ers as they went ahead 6-0.
The punt problem occurred after a delay of game penalty as tight end Ben Braunecker was late running onto the field. Then, he got worked by Draughn. The ball deflected perfectly to Dontae Johnson, who appeared to score but went out of bounds at the 4-yard line. Then, Rashard Robinson received a 15-yard unsportsmanlike conduct penalty for doing a snow angel in the end zone. Players know they can’t go to the ground when celebrating. It was an incredibly ridiculous move and his team paid the price by backing up to the 19-yard line.
Coach John Fox talked about the defense standing tall after sudden changes – the punt miscue and the fumbled kicked off return – and that’s true. Who knows how the Bears would have responded from a 14-0 hole? But it wasn’t a good day at the office for special teams. Braunecker said he lost his footing a little bit trying to redirect Draughn. Thomson had the ball ripped out by Jimmie Ward, the former NIU Huskie. Kickoff returner needs to be higher on the Bears’ offseason priority list than it was last year.
6. General manager Ryan Pace addressed the Jay Cutler situation during the WBBM-AM 780 pregame show. Well, maybe I should say he touched on the subject. Cutler went from being “day-to-day” according to coach John Fox to out for the season as the club announced he was to have surgery to repair the labrum in his right shoulder on Saturday.
“Really, the last two weeks it is an injury we tried to work through whether it was rest or several different forms of treatment,” Pace said on WBBM. “The one thing about Jay, and I know I’ve said this before, he’s tough, he’s a fast healer. So we didn’t want to count him out just yet.”
Cutler’s future is a popular topic and when that subject was broached, Pace treated it as news for another day.
“I understand the questions on Jay and I get it,” Pace said. “There’s a time and place for that. We still have five more games to go in the season so really not in a position to discuss that right now. But the one thing I do want to stress is his toughness and his perseverance through these injuries. Unfortunately, he needs the surgery but I am sure he will overcome.”
My best guess is the Bears part ways with Cutler after this season. Some have speculated that his reasonable contract for a quarterback with experience makes keeping him not only an option but a good option. Those folks conveniently overlook the Bears reached the playoffs one time in eight seasons with Cutler. Just because the contract isn’t bad and there are certainly worse quarterbacks out there doesn’t make it a good idea. The Bears couldn’t bring back Cutler for 2017 with a reasonable expectation of a different outcome. That’s the bottom line.
7. One move the Bears did not make prior to the game – really prior to the 3 p.m. deadline Saturday for roster moves – was to place Jay Cutler on injured reserve. They carried him on the 53-man roster for the game. Before you go criticizing that move, had they bumped a player up for the game just to fill Cutler’s spot, it would have been a player that would have been on the inactive list for the game. My guess is that cornerback Kyle Fuller winds up taking Cutler’s place on the 53-man roster this coming week but that’s just a hunch because I want to stay out of the speculation business when it comes to Fuller. Something about that situation just doesn’t look right. He had the arthroscopic knee surgery in the second week of preseason and the word at the time was it was as smooth as can be. Fuller has missed 12 games now and it’s not like I envision the defensive coaches just handing lots of playing time over to him. But it sounds like the team certainly wants to look at him.
“I think it is important,” general manager Ryan Pace said on WBBM. “It’s been a long time since we have seen a fully healthy Kyle Fuller. He’s a high draft pick that has a lot of talent and he plays a position where we definitely could use his skill set. I know he has worked hard, he’s anxious to get back on the field.”
Stay tuned on this one.
8. Speaking of cornerbacks … rookie cornerback Deiondre’ Hall was inactive once again but he’s getting closer to getting back into action too. Hall was on the sideline for seven weeks after suffering an ankle injury in practice when he stepped on a teammate’s foot. Hall had a cast on his right ankle to immobilize it for a couple weeks and was using a scooter to get around Halas Hall for a bit. He returned to practice two weeks ago and is working his way back into the mix.
“I have been rehabbing for the past two months so I shouldn’t be too far behind but just knocking off the rust,” Hall said. “It’s just getting back in front of somebody.”
The Bears reached a couple points during the past two months when with injuries mounting Hall’s name came up in discussion for a move to injured reserve. But they really hoped to see him get back on the field so I would expect a chance to arise soon even if it means starting out on special teams.
“Hopefully I can play out these last few games,” said Hall, who admitted he was concerned for a while about the possibility he might be moved to IR. “I was just keeping a clear head and knowing that I am a rookie and I have time. It was about just being able to come back and produce.”
He hopes the time away winds up benefitting him in the long run.
“It’s crazy to know you’re not playing so you can kind of take a step back and really dig into the filmwork,” Hall said. “Just looking at stuff differently vs. if I was to be out there and reading this or that. I felt like a coach when I was watching it. I was writing down notes to give to other people.”
9. Third-round pick Jonathan Bullard has been hard to find re-watching the games this season and it will be impossible to find the defensive end this week as he was inactive in what coach John Fox described as a “talent” decision. The Bears wanted to role with veteran Mitch Unrein, who had missed the previous three games with a back injury. It’s not like Bullard was getting a lot of action when Unrein was out as Cornelius Washington has passed him up on the depth chart. Bullard got 14 snaps last week against the Titans and 19 the week before against the Giants. He had 38 at Tampa Bay but didn’t do a lot with his time.
“That’s their choice,” Bullard said when I asked him if there was any explanation provided for his game off.
Hopefully he can show improvement on the practice field to get back in there. Otherwise, the Bears are going to need to think about re-drafting the five-technique position.
10. Marquess Wilson has missed too much time to be real interesting in free agency at the end of this season when his rookie contract expires. He was on injured reserve and designated to return in 2014 and finished last season on IR before missing the first nine games this season on the physically unable to perform list. But Wilson looked pretty good (end zone drop aside) with eight catches for 125 yards last week against the Titans and you figured if he had a nice hot stretch to end the season, he just might catch someone’s attention. Then, Wilson gets two snaps on the Bears’ opening possession of the game, two on their second possession and leaves with a groin injury. Who knows if it’s serious at this point? Hopefully, it’s minor and he can play against the Lions next week but Wilson simply isn’t available as often as needed.
10a. The darndest thing about this defense, like I mentioned back in the opening thought, is the lack of takeaways. The Bears have only eight for the season, tying them with the Colts (who play Monday night) for the second-fewest. The Jaguars are last with seven measly takeaways. That means the Bears are on pace to set a record low. The previous was set last season when there were only 17 takeaways. Anyone see 10 takeaways coming in the next four games? It’s easy to remember back to the Lovie Smith era when the team’s public relations staff would trumpet how many takeaways the team had during his tenure. Here is the year-by-year starting in 2004 and ending in 2012: 29, 34, 44, 33, 32, 28, 35, 31, 44. I am sure coach John Fox and defensive coordinator Vic Fangio would pay top dollar for a solution to this issue.
10b. Thought for a while there Jordan Howard might be able to go for four touchdowns. He got three, which Matt Forte accomplished last for the Bears back on Oct. 20, 2013 at Washington.
10c. Chances are very good the Bears will host the 49ers for a third straight season in 2017. The last-place finisher in the NFC North will have a home game against the last-place finisher in the NFC West, according to the schedule table, and that looks like a match right now. The 49ers won last year. The Bears won this year. Both teams will be aiming to look significant different next season.
10d. The Lions opened as a 7-point favorite over the Bears for Sunday’s game at Ford Field at Westgate SuperBook in Las Vegas.
bmbiggs@chicagotribune.com
