Post by brasilbear on Dec 19, 2016 8:37:08 GMT -6
Brad Biggs go to the link for more detail. I'll summarize the points here.
1. Perhaps in the coming days there will be a better explanation for the coverage the Bears were in on the 60-yard bomb from Aaron Rodgers to Jordy Nelson with 27 seconds to play and the game tied at 27 but color me skeptical. I can’t come up with a good reason to expose rookie Cre’Von LeBlanc, or really any cornerback on the roster, man-to-man against Nelson 50-plus yards downfield. Why?.....
2. What was interesting about John Fox’s decisions in the final two minutes is that one decision seemingly conflicted with the previous....
3. They’re not going to tip their hand one way or the other and I’m only working on instinct here, but my hunch tells me Saturday’s game against the Redskins at Soldier Field will be the final home game for Alshon Jeffery in a Bears uniform. There’s no way the Bears play the franchise tag game with Jeffery for a second time as the price tag for that would climb to $17.5 million for one season.....
4. Since training camps opened across the NFL, the Bears lead the league in one category – transactions. The Bears have made 159 moves since reporting to Olivet Nazarene University in Bourbonnais on July 27....
5. Revolving door at TE: Here is a list of the 15 tight ends: Busta Anderson, Ben Braunecker, Daniel Brown, Rob Housler, Marcel Jensen, Khari Lee, Marcus Lucas, Zach Miller, Tony Moeaki, Logan Paulsen, Justin Perillo, MyCole Pruitt, Greg Scruggs, Gannon Sinclair, Joe Sommers. Keep in mind the Bears also signed Josh Hill to an offer sheet as a restricted free agent in March. The Saints matched the contract but technically that’s a 16th transaction at the tight end position.
6. Howard went over 1,000 yards in the loss. He carried 17 times (think offensive coordinator Dowell Loggains can get him a 20-carry game in the next two weeks?) for 90 yards and now has 1,059 yards on the season. I’ve always thought the mark of a nice season for a running back is 1,200 yards and that’s certainly within reach for Howard, who is 141 yards away. The game also put Howard over 5.0 yards per carry on the season. He’s at 5.0189 right now and that’s as impressive as anything. The last primary back for the Bears that averaged above 5.0 was Walter Payton, who was at a whopping 5.5 during his 1977 season.
Here is a list of rookie running backs to top 1,000 yards for the Bears:
Matt Forte, 2008, 1,238
Anthony Thomas, 2001, 1,183
Rashaan Salaam, 1995, 1,074
Jordan Howard, 2016, 1,059
Beattie Feathers, 1934, 1,004
7. That was just a lousy effort trying to defend Packers running back Ty Montgomery, who rolled for 162 yards on 16 carries. Montgomery and Christine Michael, who scored on a 42-yard dash, have the three longest carries against the Bears defense all season. Montgomery’s 162 yards is the third most against the Bears since the end of the Lovie Smith era with Adrian Peterson gaining 211 yards in a 2013 meeting at the Metrodome, the final time the Bears played there, and DeMarco Murray running for 179 as a member of the Cowboys in 2014.
8. Cornerback Bryce Callahan was held out, marking the fourth game this season the cornerback did not play. He’s got a knee injury and he’s had other ailments this season as well. Callahan is a little undersized at 5-foot-9, 191 pounds, and like it or not availability is a question. Some Twitter followers have been quick to criticize Cre’Von LeBlanc but they’re not putting this in perspective. If the Bears get the secondary set the way they would like, I don’t know that LeBlanc is starting on the outside and caught in that matchup with Jordy Nelson.
9.Speaking of cornerbacks … it is impossible to handicap the Kyle Fuller situation but what I can tell you is Wednesday is the deadline to either move him to the 53-man roster or have him finish out the season on injured reserve.
10. College Bowls and which QBs are playing where.
10a. The Bears determined the two variable opponents on their 2017 schedule on Sunday. The 49ers’ loss at Atlanta locked San Francisco into a trip to Soldier Field next season. The Bears and 49ers will both finish last in their respective divisions. It will mark the third consecutive season in which the 49ers will play at Soldier Field. The Bears will play at Philadelphia next season as well. The Eagles lost to the Ravens to fall to 5-9 and ensuring they finish last in the NFC East. The Bears will play home games against the Browns, Steelers, Falcons and Panthers and road games at the Bengals, Ravens, Buccaneers and Saints along with the traditional games with their division rivals.
10b. The Bears have now gone six games this season without a takeaway. With two games remaining, they have a grand total of 10 takeaways. The franchise low of 17 for a full season was accomplished in 2015.
10c. Inside linebacker Jerrell Freeman is eligible to return from his four-game suspension for violating the NFL’s policy on performance-enhancing drugs Monday morning. I’d guess the Bears will get a roster exemption for Freeman should they seek one. They will need to create a space on the 53-man roster for him, which as we know will not be a problem. For what it’s worth, Freeman has yet to be involved in a takeaway.
10d. Getting ready to re-watch the game. Seemed like there were a lot of missed tackles. Might have been more misses than there were dropped passes in the loss to the Titans last month. We’ll see.
10e. For as much flak as Josh Bellamy has caught the past few weeks for dropped passes, it was nice to see him get a touchdown. Yes, he had a dropped pass along the way. Cameron Meredith (nine catches, 104 yards) and Deonte Thompson (eight catches, 110 yards) had solid games.
10f. The Redskins opened as a 3.5-point over the Bears for Saturday’s game at Soldier Field. The Bears are catching the Redskins on a short week as they host the Panthers on Monday night at FedEx Field.
10g. Fox has assigned the crew of Dick Stockton, Brother Rice’s David Diehl and Kristina Pink to call Saturday’s Redskins-Bears game at Soldier Field.
1. Perhaps in the coming days there will be a better explanation for the coverage the Bears were in on the 60-yard bomb from Aaron Rodgers to Jordy Nelson with 27 seconds to play and the game tied at 27 but color me skeptical. I can’t come up with a good reason to expose rookie Cre’Von LeBlanc, or really any cornerback on the roster, man-to-man against Nelson 50-plus yards downfield. Why?.....
2. What was interesting about John Fox’s decisions in the final two minutes is that one decision seemingly conflicted with the previous....
3. They’re not going to tip their hand one way or the other and I’m only working on instinct here, but my hunch tells me Saturday’s game against the Redskins at Soldier Field will be the final home game for Alshon Jeffery in a Bears uniform. There’s no way the Bears play the franchise tag game with Jeffery for a second time as the price tag for that would climb to $17.5 million for one season.....
4. Since training camps opened across the NFL, the Bears lead the league in one category – transactions. The Bears have made 159 moves since reporting to Olivet Nazarene University in Bourbonnais on July 27....
5. Revolving door at TE: Here is a list of the 15 tight ends: Busta Anderson, Ben Braunecker, Daniel Brown, Rob Housler, Marcel Jensen, Khari Lee, Marcus Lucas, Zach Miller, Tony Moeaki, Logan Paulsen, Justin Perillo, MyCole Pruitt, Greg Scruggs, Gannon Sinclair, Joe Sommers. Keep in mind the Bears also signed Josh Hill to an offer sheet as a restricted free agent in March. The Saints matched the contract but technically that’s a 16th transaction at the tight end position.
6. Howard went over 1,000 yards in the loss. He carried 17 times (think offensive coordinator Dowell Loggains can get him a 20-carry game in the next two weeks?) for 90 yards and now has 1,059 yards on the season. I’ve always thought the mark of a nice season for a running back is 1,200 yards and that’s certainly within reach for Howard, who is 141 yards away. The game also put Howard over 5.0 yards per carry on the season. He’s at 5.0189 right now and that’s as impressive as anything. The last primary back for the Bears that averaged above 5.0 was Walter Payton, who was at a whopping 5.5 during his 1977 season.
Here is a list of rookie running backs to top 1,000 yards for the Bears:
Matt Forte, 2008, 1,238
Anthony Thomas, 2001, 1,183
Rashaan Salaam, 1995, 1,074
Jordan Howard, 2016, 1,059
Beattie Feathers, 1934, 1,004
7. That was just a lousy effort trying to defend Packers running back Ty Montgomery, who rolled for 162 yards on 16 carries. Montgomery and Christine Michael, who scored on a 42-yard dash, have the three longest carries against the Bears defense all season. Montgomery’s 162 yards is the third most against the Bears since the end of the Lovie Smith era with Adrian Peterson gaining 211 yards in a 2013 meeting at the Metrodome, the final time the Bears played there, and DeMarco Murray running for 179 as a member of the Cowboys in 2014.
8. Cornerback Bryce Callahan was held out, marking the fourth game this season the cornerback did not play. He’s got a knee injury and he’s had other ailments this season as well. Callahan is a little undersized at 5-foot-9, 191 pounds, and like it or not availability is a question. Some Twitter followers have been quick to criticize Cre’Von LeBlanc but they’re not putting this in perspective. If the Bears get the secondary set the way they would like, I don’t know that LeBlanc is starting on the outside and caught in that matchup with Jordy Nelson.
9.Speaking of cornerbacks … it is impossible to handicap the Kyle Fuller situation but what I can tell you is Wednesday is the deadline to either move him to the 53-man roster or have him finish out the season on injured reserve.
10. College Bowls and which QBs are playing where.
10a. The Bears determined the two variable opponents on their 2017 schedule on Sunday. The 49ers’ loss at Atlanta locked San Francisco into a trip to Soldier Field next season. The Bears and 49ers will both finish last in their respective divisions. It will mark the third consecutive season in which the 49ers will play at Soldier Field. The Bears will play at Philadelphia next season as well. The Eagles lost to the Ravens to fall to 5-9 and ensuring they finish last in the NFC East. The Bears will play home games against the Browns, Steelers, Falcons and Panthers and road games at the Bengals, Ravens, Buccaneers and Saints along with the traditional games with their division rivals.
10b. The Bears have now gone six games this season without a takeaway. With two games remaining, they have a grand total of 10 takeaways. The franchise low of 17 for a full season was accomplished in 2015.
10c. Inside linebacker Jerrell Freeman is eligible to return from his four-game suspension for violating the NFL’s policy on performance-enhancing drugs Monday morning. I’d guess the Bears will get a roster exemption for Freeman should they seek one. They will need to create a space on the 53-man roster for him, which as we know will not be a problem. For what it’s worth, Freeman has yet to be involved in a takeaway.
10d. Getting ready to re-watch the game. Seemed like there were a lot of missed tackles. Might have been more misses than there were dropped passes in the loss to the Titans last month. We’ll see.
10e. For as much flak as Josh Bellamy has caught the past few weeks for dropped passes, it was nice to see him get a touchdown. Yes, he had a dropped pass along the way. Cameron Meredith (nine catches, 104 yards) and Deonte Thompson (eight catches, 110 yards) had solid games.
10f. The Redskins opened as a 3.5-point over the Bears for Saturday’s game at Soldier Field. The Bears are catching the Redskins on a short week as they host the Panthers on Monday night at FedEx Field.
10g. Fox has assigned the crew of Dick Stockton, Brother Rice’s David Diehl and Kristina Pink to call Saturday’s Redskins-Bears game at Soldier Field.
