On opening day, the Chicago Bears managed to steal one against the San Francisco 49ers. Unfortunately, effort and intensity can’t always substitute for talent. The Green Bay Packers reminded them of that yet again. They still have Aaron Rodgers. They still have two excellent running backs and a defense loaded with 1st round picks. While most people expected a closer game, the reality is the Packers outmuscled the Bears with their sheer talent advantage.
Rodgers took advantage of a dominant Packers ground attack to build a commanding 24-7 halftime lead. It was pretty much the same script the Bears have grown used to over the past three years. The most frustrating part continues to be the offense. People can blame Justin Fields all day. Darnell Mooney and Cole Kmet were supposed to be his go-to guys this season. Both have been shockingly invisible through the first two weeks.
Kmet keeps dropping passes. Mooney isn’t playing anything like last year.
Nobody else is capable of stepping up to be a true focal point. Nobody wants to admit the critics were right. It’s only been two games, after all. Yet the Packers always have a way of showing the Bears how far they are from being actual contenders. Forget Rodgers. If this team wants to win, they must score points against good opponents. If Kmet and Mooney wish to survive in Chicago long-term, they must play better.
HUGE 3rd down sack for Robert Quinn 😤
📺: #CHIvsGB on NBC pic.twitter.com/KLadQonavB
— Chicago Bears (@ChicagoBears) September 19, 2022
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Chicago Bears’ off-season plans are growing obvious now.
They badly need weapons for Fields. That isn’t new. GM Ryan Poles will likely focus on wide receivers and tight ends in the draft. The same goes for defensive tackles. Matt Eberflus can’t hope to run his defense unless it can stop the run. That isn’t happening without better defensive tackles. With all due respect to Justin Jones and Armon Watts, they showed in Green Bay they aren’t good enough to hang with the big boys.
Unfortunately, this is the reality for the Chicago Bears. This is what a rebuild looks like. Sometimes they’ll pull off an unexpected win. Other times they will get dismissed by a true contender. Poles isn’t dumb. He knew the task ahead of him was a difficult one. He had no 1st round pick and little spending money during his first spring as GM. He will have both going into 2023. With some strong scouting and a little luck, the Bears can become a much better team by this time next year.
Patience isn’t easy. It is required, though.
The silver lining is the rookie class this year is already showing promise. Dominique Robinson, Jaquan Brisker, and Braxton Jones have massive potential. Kyler Gordon has struggled, but his talent can’t be ignored. Poles has a plan. That, more than anything, is a reason for optimism. There is no reason to abandon hope, far from it. Rebuilding teams have these moments. What matters is how they recover from them.
Mental and physical toughness is a hallmark of this new regime. They won’t stop preaching that because of one bad loss. This is the talent issue to overcome now.
on to cincinati
I thought our LBs looked slow.
I look forward to the day when the Bears have the talent again to soundly beat the Packers.
Interesting that Gordon’s best play was on the outside and yet they have him playing in the slot. Not sure he’s a good enough tackler to play there. Seems like we cut a guy that was improving in the slot. Roquan is costing himself money and looked rusty, out of shape and overmatched. E.Jackson had a couple of hits but most of the time avoided contact. Look for a new safety next year. Brisker looked confused but will get better. The O-line remains a work in progress but really showed something in the run game. If we can get back… Read more »
Sorry for all those who want to blame the WRs, the LBs, and J Fields, but this loss falls directly upon L Getsy. He gave this game to GB and the failure of Williams to use a few Blitz packages was simply bac coaching. Both coaches knew the key to this game was 2 fold…stop the run and keep pressure on A Rodgers.