Post by mpbears68 on Sept 12, 2023 11:07:53 GMT -6
I've consumed a shocking amount of Bears football content since Sunday's debacle and this is what I have learned from observations, reading, and film breakdowns on the internet by analysts who know way more than I do. Sorry for the length and I am gonna concentrate on offense here:
- They spent all offseason coaching the hell out of JF1 to take checkdowns, get the ball out quicker, and minimize sacks/hits. Obviously these were issues he struggled with last year but it feels like it went overboard. Like they "coached the Fields out of Fields".
- Getsy does not trust JF to throw a lot of vertical routes. He's concerned about his ability to read and see the field and of course the protection.
- Speaking of which, the OL is NOT GOOD right now and they know it, particularly the interior. Nate Davis is already looking like a FA bust, Patrick is unreliable, Whitehair is past his prime, and Jenkins (by far their best OL right now) is constantly hurt.
- Sunday's gameplan of mostly horizontal passing was built on those caveats. That explains it but doesn't excuse Getsy's ridiculously predictable screen calls. I recall seeing 2 TEs and Blasingame out wide one play and we all said "WTF?" in the stands. Of course that was a clear telegraph that a screen was coming to that side with no deep route so GB knew the play before the ball was even snapped and blew it up. That happened over and over again all game.
- It made no sense to deactivate EQSB, by far your best WR blocker, in favor of Claypool who is a mid-to-deep-range WR. The coaching staff deserves scorn not only for the terrible gameplan but also the personnel they chose to run it with.
- Speaking of CC, if you aren't going to involve him in the offense early (meaning TARGETS), then he tends to check out and loaf. Again, a very poor tactical choice by Getsy.
- You traded a 2nd rd pick and the #1 overall pick to get Moore and Claypool and only targeted them 5 times COMBINED. That was criminally stupid. Especially considering Moore is easily your best weapon and Claypool should be able to win vs single coverage and a weak Packers safety group. Ming-bogglingly stupid there. DJ Moore needs to targeted a MINIMUM of 10x/game and Claypool 5-7x. You brought them here so USE THEM, dumbshit.
- Having said all that, Fields is not blameless either. There were 3-4 plays pointed out by many where Getsy did scheme Moore and Mooney open for intermediate-to-deep shots and Fields either was too quick to check down even when he had protection (he may not trust the OL either) or he simply didn't recognize the opportunity correctly. Obviously hitting a few of those would have loosened up the D which was crashing down low hard to stop the damn screen game.
- Cracks in the armor appearing: Bears haven't won a game in nearly a year and some mild sniping in the media (reading between the lines) is already occurring. Fields threw folks under the bus with his postgame comments on the gameplan's boringness and predictability and also the poor blocking in the flats. Former was a direct shot at Getsy and the latter was aimed clearly at Claypool. Flus threw some shade on Field with his comments too. If Bears don't start getting some wins here soon, there's gonna be a "losing the locker room" situation and the Flus/Getsy/Williams staff will be fired after the season.
- Where to go from here? Next week is about as MUST-WIN as a week2 ever gets. Otherwise you are staring 0-3 in the face and 13 straight losses.
- Recognize that A) your OL is NOT GOOD right now and that B) JF's legs are one of your best weapons. You need to scheme up multiple designed QB runs along with moving pockets, boots, rollouts, etc. Basically, you need to let Fields do what he does best. You need to target and force the ball to Claypool and particularly Moore frequently. Those guys can break big plays. Also need to recognize you have a beast in RoJo and elevate him to #2 in a RBBC with Herbert.
- Defensively, Alan Williams needs to recognize that he doesn't have the horses (namely a pass rush) that would allow him to play a soft, conservative Cover-2 zone behind. You are going to have to take chances on some creative blitzes and stunts to get pressure as your front-4 simply isn't good enough on its own. Yeah that means your secondary is gonna have to play some man coverage but there's no other choice. What you did Sunday did not work and was dissected by a QB in his 2nd ever NFL start and a group of receivers no one has ever heard of.
- These strategic adjustments can't wait until week6 like last year. They need to happen THIS WEEK. Flus and co. need to show improvement from last year and Poles needs an answer on what Fields' ceiling is if playing in an offense that suits his skillset best. No more pounding square pegs into round holes if this coaching staff wants to be here in 2024.
