Welcome to the Week 12, and Thanksgiving, edition of our Bears Mailbag. The Bears lost to the Lions last Sunday, and while it was a disheartening loss, we saw a lot of positive growth from QB Mitch Trubisky and his command of the offense. We also saw Dowell Loggains open up the playbook and mix in a lot more creativity and situational balance, something that’s been lacking in the offense all season long.
The Bears are 3-7 and heading to Philadelphia this Sunday for a date with the league’s hottest team: The Eagles. They’ll also be facing their former star receiver, Alshon Jeffery, who’ll have extra motivation to dominate this Revenge Game. The spread, as of this writing, was 13.5. That tells you all you need to know about how this game will probably end up going for Chicago.
With that, we reach into the Mailbag and tackle this week’s pressing questions. Thanks to everyone who participated, and have a happy and safe Thanksgiving weekend!
With Trubisky comment about “what fox let’s them do” Is it safe to say he’s tying loggains hands behind his back?
— Nick Miller (@Mtime61) November 22, 2017
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That comment was the most fascinating tidbit I’ve heard in a Bears press conference in quite some time. I don’t know if Mitch Trubisky meant to take a veiled shot at John Fox with that comment, but it certainly came across that way. And for good reason. All season long, the Bears ran the most conservative, vanilla, and worst of all, predictable offense in the NFL, and it got worse balance-wise when Trubisky was named the starter. I understand wanting to protect your inexperienced rookie quarterback, but this was borderline ridiculous.
I don’t think there’s any doubt Fox was handcuffing Dowell Loggains and influencing a run-heavy game plan. Loggains shares some blame for not doing a better job of scheming some things better in his play designs, but there’s no doubt Fox’s fingerprints were all over the conservative nature of their attack. Fox finally removed the shackles a bit against the Lions, and we saw how much better the Bears were able to move the ball.
This first possession is some of the best play calling I've ever seen from Dowell Loggains. Something new, something different. Mixing it up. FINALLY! #Bears
— Dhruv Koul (@DhruvKoul) November 19, 2017
For a good portion of the game, Chicago kept Detroit on their heels when on offense. It was refreshing to see and certainly an indicator that Trubisky understands this offense better than what was previously displayed, and it should be an indication that they should continue to run a more open offense going forward.
Here’s the thing about Loggains, and I’ve written this in previous columns and Mailbags: We knew he was a better play caller than we’d seen so far this season. He got a ton of productivity last year when the Bears played three different starting quarterbacks, the latter two being Brian Hoyer and Matt Barkley.
Dowell Loggains has me confounded. Last year, he had Brian Hoyer and Matt Barkley (!) moving this offense pretty damn efficiently. He showed legitimate promise in Year 1 w/ #Bears. This year, John Fox has influenced these shit game plans, but Loggains's scheming has gotten worse.
— Dhruv Koul (@DhruvKoul) November 14, 2017
And we saw Loggains outduel Mike Zimmer and the Minnesota Vikings on Monday Night Football last Halloween night when Jay Cutler returned from injury in a 20-10 victory that wasn’t as close as the score would indicate. We knew he could do this. Let’s hope Fox lets him continue that for the rest of the season.
I know that wide receiver is a big priority this offseason but with the injury to Leonard Floyd this past game shouldn’t edge rusher be a priority to? #gobears
— Tom P (@TPietrowicz) November 21, 2017
I actually think that EDGE is arguably Chicago’s biggest need now going into next season. We know the wide receiver position needs help — that’s no secret. But what has flown under the radar a bit is how much help the outside linebacker position needs.
Leonard Floyd avoided disaster on the hit to his leg from Kyle Fuller, but will likely miss the rest of this season with MCL and PCL sprains. Pernell McPhee has had balky knees since he signed with the Bears, and looks like he’s running on fumes at times. He’s a very likely cap casualty candidate. And Willie Young was lost for the season early this year, too. Sam Acho is a serviceable run stopper, but isn’t much of a pass rusher. With all this in mind, the cupboard is bare right now at the EDGE position.
I expect the Bears to double, maybe even triple, dip at the EDGE position this offseason. Free agency options are extremely limited, so the Bears will have to really do their due diligence on college prospects. I expect them to draft one early, look for more depth in later rounds, and prioritize the position in college free agency.
Some of the names I like, in no particular order: Bradley Chubb, Clellin Ferrell, Arden Key, Dorance Armstrong Jr., Marquis Haynes, and Ogbonnia Okoronkwo. If the Bears can get one or two of these guys at some point in the draft to play with a healthy Floyd next year, that’s a massive win.
Can this great city get a second NFL franchise that will build a legit indoor stadium to host a Super Bowl and actually compete to play in it? It might just be a quicker path to a championship in Chicago. #Bears
— MTGBrewing (@MTGBrewing) November 22, 2017
I don’t speak for everybody, and certainly not for anyone else at SM, but my own personal viewpoint on this would be: NOOOOOO!
The Chicago Bears are the NFL’s founding franchise. And despite some rough seasons recently, Chicago is a football city. Introducing a new franchise could be interesting, but it’s not realistic, especially from a business standpoint. The only way that could happen is through league expansion, not with another team moving here. And even then, a new team would have to compete with the Bears for viewership (both in attendance and local television) … and they would lose.
And as far as an indoor stadium goes – absolutely not, even if it was for the Bears. When the Bears are actually competitive, Soldier Field is a nightmare for opposing teams to play in. The cold and wind, and honestly the natural grass field, are absolutely a competitive advantage — neutralizing that wouldn’t be in the Bears’ best interest.
With Leonard Floyd missing time, do you envision the Bears signing anybody to help? Or maybe bring Christian Jones back out for the time being?
— Hunter Williams (@willyumz11) November 21, 2017
The Leonard Floyd injury certainly threatens any semblance of a standard pass rush this season. Without Floyd, Akiem Hicks is certain to see double teams, and as it is the Bears were having trouble generating pressure without blitzing.
I’m not sure whom the Bears could sign to help at this point in the season, to be honest. Dwight Freeney was just released, but I doubt he comes to the Bears. More than likely, we’ll see an increase in snaps for Isaiah Iriving. He’s a young player who won a job as an undrafted free agent this year, and looked good on special teams last week against the Lions. He played a couple snaps on defense, and I expect his playing time to increase to make up for the loss of Floyd.
Christian Jones moving to OLB also makes a lot of sense. He’s played very well at ILB (minus relaying the plays and getting guys lined up) in the absence of Jerrell Freeman and Danny Trevathan. But Nick Kwiatkoski has outplayed him, and now that John Timu is back from injury, I could see the Bears playing those two at ILB until Trevathan returns from his calf injury, and moving Jones to OLB. He has rushed the passer well on blitzes this year, and played some OLB in the past, and is best suited there, in my opinion. It’s a switch I could certainly see happening.
I also expect to see the Bears rotate on their defensive line more, with an increase in snaps for Jonathan Bullard and Roy Robertson-Harris to keep guys like Hicks fresher as the season wears on.
What type of free agents will we need to pursue in the offseason and which ones will we realistically get?
— michael (@Rascop_) November 21, 2017
I expect the Bears to be heavy players in free agency yet again to fill some starter-level holes and quite a few depth holes, especially when it comes to the wide receiver and cornerback positions. I don’t see much scope for improving the OLB position in free agency at this time.
Look for the Bears to be players for Paul Richardson and Jarvis Landry at the receiver position — both guys have tremendous hands and would be great weapons next year for Trubisky. At corner, I could see the Bears doing work to try to re-sign Prince Amukamara and Kyle Fuller, along with making a play for Trumaine Johnson. It all depends on how much Ryan Pace is willing to spend and whether these players believe in what’s brewing in Chicago.
Imagine fox/Loggains putting the biggest playmakers on the field all at the same time throughout the game…
— thekupps27 (@garykuppers) November 21, 2017
This coaching staff’s personnel decisions have been fascinating, haven’t they? They got destroyed in their press conferences during the week after the Packers game, leading up to the Lions game on things like why Tarik Cohen wasn’t featured more in the offense, which led to some unbelievably dumb answers.
Fast forward to the Lions game, and the Bears made a concerted effort to fix those mistakes. Cohen was used on the field as a playmaker and a decoy, as he should be. Adam Shaheen was targeted more as the primary tight end. Jordan Howard and Cohen were used on the field concurrently at times. All great ideas!
And then, somehow, Howard, Cohen, and Shaheen all disappeared from the field on the final drive where Trubisky heroically got the Bears within range, only to have Connor Barth shank the kick and get himself cut. Fox provided some blubbering answer about the players not knowing the two-minute playbook, but that’s a knock on the coaching staff if that’s the case. It was Week 11, they should know the two-minute playbook. You need your best playmakers on the field in crunch time!
Here’s hoping we see them featured more when the game is on the line as we move forward … the Bears need their playmakers.
All the talk about Fox getting fired, how would that affect Vic Fangio whose contract is up this year? He has done a good job with Floyd (whom I am not sold on). And is it time to play our rookies more since we know that we are not going to make the playoffs?
— Steven Marshall (@pastormarshall1) November 22, 2017
In all honesty, I don’t expect Vic Fangio to be here next year. There have been reports that he’s unhappy in Chicago, and so I don’t think he would stay on as defensive coordinator if a new head coach is brought in. And no, I don’t think Fangio will be made or seriously considered for head coach, either. The Bears will need to find a defensive coordinator who runs a 3-4 scheme, given the personnel. I don’t expect the Bears to have any shortage of suitors, given the talent that they have.
John Fox is extremely hesitant to play rookies, especially on offense, as has been evident by his personnel decisions all year. I would love to see the rookies play with no restrictions — it’s best for their development. Unfortunately, Fox is going to do what he believes gives them the best chance to win games. Fans, including myself, may not agree that his decisions are in the best interest of the Bears, but as long as he’s the coach, he’s going to run things his way.
That being said, I’d be legitimately surprised if he continued to limit the rookies. His seat is on fire, and he essentially sealed his fate after that brutal Packers loss. And given the fact that the rookies are the Bears’ best playmakers, he should be playing them every chance he gets.
