The Chicago Bears showed some fight (literally) in their latest loss — a 26-23 overtime loss to the New Orleans Saints at Soldier Field. Six days after their 24-10 drubbing at the hands of the Rams in LA, they built a lead, melted down as they gave it away, fought back, and lost anyway. Here was my post-game thread:
Thread: A few extra thoughts on Saints-Bears…
1. Two straight weeks, two straight NFC tiebreakers lost for the Bears. Chicago now has to root for New Orleans to win the NFC South, but let's be serious — nothing will matter if the Bears don't right this ship. Quickly.
— Dhruv Koul (@DhruvKoul) November 2, 2020
They’re 5-3 at the halfway point of the season, but they’ve lost two key NFC tiebreakers to teams whom they’ll be competing against for the playoffs. They should hope the Saints win the NFC South, because the Bears have the tiebreaker against their competition (the Tampa Bay Buccaneers).
But things won’t really matter unless the Bears get themselves together. Discipline, details, and the offense overall remain a problem for Matt Nagy’s team, and they have a tough date in Nashville this Sunday against an angry Tennessee Titans team.
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With that, let’s reach into this week’s Bears Mailbag. Thanks to everyone who submitted questions! I always appreciate the participation. Follow me on Twitter @DhruvKoul to continue the conversation.
Bears Mailbag
Nagy won't admit it, but he's disappointed with Foles. The issue is Nagy put all of his eggs in the Foles basket by benching Trubisky in Atlanta. The Bears are 3-3 since (including the ATL comeback). What message would it send to the rest of the team by flip-flopping again?
— Dhruv Koul (@DhruvKoul) November 3, 2020
Let me elaborate on this one a bit more. We know what Mitch Trubisky is — a bad processor who can’t read the field and has spotty accuracy and spotty decision-making. He’s had many, many games to prove himself, and he hasn’t. The challenge, though, is that the Bears thought they were getting a steady, bona-fide, reliable veteran in Nick Foles, and he hasn’t quite lived up to that billing so far.
Let me be clear, Foles has directly contributed to two wins the Bears would not otherwise have — Atlanta and Tampa Bay. We don’t know if Trubisky could’ve beaten Carolina, but Foles didn’t do anything special in that game, per se. The miscommunication, alignment, confusion, etc. issues that plagued the Bears’ offense with Trubisky at QB are some of the same problems that are happening with Foles. Some of that is on coaching, certainly, but the Bears expected Foles to help get the team aligned and ready much more smoothly and properly than he is.
It’s only been five starts for Foles, and he’s 2-3 in his starts, but the offense has looked messy at best and downright destroyed at its worst. There are rookies in the NFL who are looking much better at QB in their offenses than the Bears are with their veteran, Super Bowl MVP QB who knew the offense coming in. That’s bad!
But does it merit a move back to Mitch? There’s an argument to be made, sure, but I don’t think the Bears will do that and I don’t blame them. Here’s why: Trubisky is a free agent this offseason and he is NOT coming back. The Bears need to know if Foles can be the guy in 2021 so the Bears can focus on reloading the offense (namely, the OL and skill positions with Allen Robinson likely on his way out, too). If he *can*, great. If he *can’t*, then the Bears need a new QB urgently.
So the Bears will likely keep giving Foles his chances. And worst case, if the Bears miss the playoffs and there’s a regime change in the offseason, then the new regime gets to reload this team (and the QB) the way they see fit.
The interesting thing is the Bears really used Patterson as a decoy against the Saints, and it worked pretty well.
I'd imagine Lamar Miller is called up soon. I thought it might be against New Orleans, but he just must not be ready yet.
— Dhruv Koul (@DhruvKoul) November 3, 2020
My first call would be to Cordy Glenn, especially with Bobby Massie out for at least a month.
— Dhruv Koul (@DhruvKoul) November 3, 2020
He actually does — this shows up quite a bit on tape. Nick Foles targeted TEs eight times against New Orleans, but they caught only three passes for limited yards.
— Dhruv Koul (@DhruvKoul) November 4, 2020
Other than a few drives, I thought Nagy's play calling was decent against New Orleans. Not "benchable". If he didn't give it up after the brutal Rams game, there's no reason to think he'd give it up after an OK performance.
— Dhruv Koul (@DhruvKoul) November 3, 2020
I think the WR group is actually pretty good, talent-wise. If Anthony Miller can be more consistent (which is a big question), their top three receivers are great.
— Dhruv Koul (@DhruvKoul) November 4, 2020
Keep in mind, the Bears are still 5-3. If the Bears fail to make the playoffs after a 5-1 start, there will likely be major changes.
Trades didn't make sense for a couple reasons — more teams feel they're contenders, and COVID protocols make it harder to bring guys in.
— Dhruv Koul (@DhruvKoul) November 4, 2020
It certainly does appear so. The fact that Nagy is getting frustrated with Foles tells me one of two things:
1) Foles just isn't what the Bears thought.
2) Nagy needs to simplify things significantly.
— Dhruv Koul (@DhruvKoul) November 3, 2020
Depends on who has home field advantage.
If it's up in the Arctic, gimme the polar bear. Otherwise, the grizzly might prove to be too much.
— Dhruv Koul (@DhruvKoul) November 3, 2020
Trade market? I doubt it. Pace will likely explore free agency first.
If Trubisky and Foles are pissing Matt Nagy off, his head might explode with Jameis Winston…
— Dhruv Koul (@DhruvKoul) November 3, 2020
Unfortunately, this season might be the last one we see with all of these defensive pieces. I expect significant changes to the roster for 2021.
— Dhruv Koul (@DhruvKoul) November 3, 2020
The 2010 team is certainly near and dear to me.
I honestly loved the 2018 team, too. Everyone on the team was likeable, Nagy's energy was infectious, Club Dub, etc. To see the Bears become "good again" in such a manner was awesome.
— Dhruv Koul (@DhruvKoul) November 3, 2020
The Bears started 5-1. Finishing worse than 9-7 should clean out the regime.
— Dhruv Koul (@DhruvKoul) November 3, 2020
In the offseason, it needs a significant overhaul. I'd imagine three new starters.
For now? There isn't an easy one. Perhaps the following:
Leno-Whitehair-Mustipher-Ifedi-Spriggs is what holds them over until a free agent acquisition (Cordy Glenn, perhaps?) can join.
— Dhruv Koul (@DhruvKoul) November 3, 2020
I thought he held his own pretty well against a solid New Orleans front — at least from a play perspective. What we don't know is how good the communication was pre-snap with protections, Mike ID, etc.
— Dhruv Koul (@DhruvKoul) November 3, 2020
If Zach Wilson is there, I sprint to the podium. If not, I take an offensive lineman.
— Dhruv Koul (@DhruvKoul) November 3, 2020
Just last week I thought they would, but now, I'm not so sure.
That Saints loss really hurts, because they've now lost two NFC tiebreakers to playoff contenders. But if the Saints can win the NFC South, that helps the Bears, because they own the tiebreaker against Tampa Bay.
— Dhruv Koul (@DhruvKoul) November 3, 2020
Around the time DeAndre Houston-Carson wins Defensive Player of the Year.
— Dhruv Koul (@DhruvKoul) November 3, 2020
