Studs & Duds in Chicago

[OldSchool101]

This is getting Offensive! Talk about sticking it to him !

 

[Firethorn1001]

I don't remember them using Kraft at all.

Wasn't on Kraft. Obviously on the interception he was open and overthrown. On the long pass to Watson down to the 7, IMHO Kraft was the better option since I believe he was wide open around the 37. My guess is a completion to him gets it to around the 25. Those were the 2 that stuck out. Love just seemed to be looking way more down field rather than shorter for Kraft it seems.

 

[Pokerbrat2000]

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[Calebs Revenge]

Imagine if Da Bears had done the smart thing! Instead of running the clock down, they ran a few more plays and got closer! Had they done that, the kick would have been good, despite the excellent block!

nahhh...Bears gotta be Da Bears.

Cry harder, you're starting to sound like a Viking fan.

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not sour grapes. It's been established that LVN admitted to pushing/lifting the guy that blocked it. It's illegal.
My coach couldn't successfully h.ump a football with a handful of via.gra and a pocket full of rubbers.
His coaching deficiencies have nothing to do with winning on an illegal play.

 

[Calebs Revenge]

Zero leverage was applied.
Total fabricated Story

NOW I know what’s wrong with the Bears organization. They play Victim mentality and blame everyone and anything other than themselves for their Woes. It’s a pretty pathetic low point for the Chicago Bears.

What’s worse is their schedule. The Chicago Bears got through the easy part. They are about to get brutalized.

8-2 Vikings
9-1 Lions
5-5 49ers at SF
8-2 Vikings
9-1 Lions
5-5 Seahawks
7-3 Packers at Lambeau

Good luck with that!

Oh no a top 5 pick AND Ben Johnson. Cool

 

[rmontro]

Gee, outside that one pick I thought he played pretty well.

You have a point. Even with the pick, he finished with a passer rating of 113 (Williams had a 95). Interestingly, Williams had a better QBR (83.3 to 80.7), with his 70 yards rushing. I don't usually pay attention to that stat though, being an ESPN invention. But it seemed like the Packers couldn't stay on the field too long (their TOP of only 23:39). They couldn't convert their 3rd downs like the Bears were (1-5 compared to 9-16. Plus GB was 0 for 1 on 4th downs).

Anyway, this season I've gone from being concerned about Love (I feel better now that he's healthy) to being concerned that our defense has taken a huge step backwards.

 

[Heyjoe4]

Studs: Watson, Jacobs, 11 straight wins
Dud: MLF - KICK THE DAMM FG!

I'm all in a a coach who "plays to win", and some would call that what MLF did on 4th and goal from the 6 yard line. But there's a difference when the likelihood of success is so low. What made it worse is that they didn't need 7 there. Taking 3 meant another 3 would win the game.

That was a weird call. And kudos to the new OC for the Bears for a game plan featuring CW running. They had the Packers d on their heels all day.

 

[Heyjoe4]

Studs - Brooks, Watson

Duds - LaFleur, Hafley, Doubs

Pike I'm curious. Why Doubs. I guess it could be because he was invisible all day.

That win came down to two people, Watson and Brooks. I don't like saying it but the Bears should have won that game. But MLF is right about one thing, never apologize for a win. Sounds like Bisaccia had them prepped for a block based on game tape.

 

[Heyjoe4]

2nd and 1 was inside the 10, they chose to pass, ended up with an extended play and got called for a 5 yd penalty on OL downfield. Then they tried the hand off to Reed for another 5 yd loss. On 3rd down Love threw the INT.

That was an awful series. And why pass on 2nd and 1 that close to the goal line? OK if they score a TD it's genius but looking to go up by 11, that close to the end zone, take the easy first down, burn some clock and keep going. Actually I'm surprised it didn't work cause pass is just not the right call. The Bears' D deserves the credit for that one. And another unforced error by Love on the pic.

How TF did they win that game?

 

[Heyjoe4]

You have a point. Even with the pick, he finished with a passer rating of 113 (Williams had a 95). Interestingly, Williams had a better QBR (83.3 to 80.7), with his 70 yards rushing. I don't usually pay attention to that stat though, being an ESPN invention. But it seemed like the Packers couldn't stay on the field too long (their TOP of only 23:39). They couldn't convert their 3rd downs like the Bears were (1-5 compared to 9-16. Plus GB was 0 for 1 on 4th downs).

Anyway, this season I've gone from being concerned about Love (I feel better now that he's healthy) to being concerned that our defense has taken a huge step backwards.

There are plenty of dud candidates in that game. Hafley and the D get top honor on my list. The Bears' OC had a brilliant game plan - who knew CW could run? But there were no adjustments made. Guys were way out of position. It's a miracle they won that game. Then again, it's the Bears. If a team is going to grab loss from the jaws of victory, it'll be the Bears.

 

[Pugger]

There are plenty of dud candidates in that game. Hafley and the D get top honor on my list. The Bears' OC had a brilliant game plan - who knew CW could run? But there were no adjustments made. Guys were way out of position. It's a miracle they won that game. Then again, it's the Bears. If a team is going to grab loss from the jaws of victory, it'll be the Bears.

Our D isn't playing as well as we had hoped but against Chicago with a new OC they were an entirely different unit than they were all season. I wasn't surprised to see Williams play well. He was the #1 player taken in that draft for a reason.

I hope the guys are still adapting to Hatley and losing Jaire yet again isn't helping. Our guys should be pressuring the QB a lot better too. Disappointing to say the least.

 

[PikeBadger]

Favre did that a lot and Rodgers did it repeatedly between 2015 and 2019.

 

[PikeBadger]

Pike I'm curious. Why Doubs. I guess it could be because he was invisible all day.

That win came down to two people, Watson and Brooks. I don't like saying it but the Bears should have won that game. But MLF is right about one thing, never apologize for a win. Sounds like Bisaccia had them prepped for a block based on game tape.

Dropped pass. I couldn't think of hardly any others that stood out. Yeah he was invisible and we have the 2nd worst dropped passes in the league. It's really annoying me. That and the penalties have derailed so many drives this year and put Love in too many bad situations.

 

[Thirteen Below]

I only partially disagree. Because I think you mean this as a compliment though, from a reverse viewpoint. Let me show you why this game was not usual if I may?

In games that Watson has been targeted (8 contests in ‘24) he averaged 3.85 targets per game. Yesterday he had 4 targets, so, in fact, he was not targeted more than normal. However he caught 4/4 and it’s only the 2nd game in 2024 (Tennessee 2/2) where Watson was 100% reception rate. Here it was on a bigger sample though as maybe you suggested. So this is his best performance in 2024 by a mile.

Here's another interesting stat for you, that I came across this afternoon. I know that these days, there's a stat for everything, and a lot of them are trivial and meaningless. But I think this one's interesting.

Christian Watson has played in 32 games for Green Bay. In 10 of those games, Watson has caught 4 or more passes, and Green Bay has won 7 of those 10. In the 22 games in which he caught 3 or fewer, Green Bay is 10-12.

If Watson catches at least 4 passes, we're .700. Fewer than 4 catches, .455.

This supports the argument that just having Watson on the field is not (in and of itself) a significant game-changer for the team - but having him actively involved does have a substantial impact. 3 years in, we have enough history to say that when he's consistently making a fuss, both teams play differently.

The opposing defense has to make enough significant changes to account for him that they don't have any choice but to give other playmakers more space to work with; and because of that, our offense plays better when he's catching footballs - the coaches have more options in the plays they call, and other offensive weapons have more space to work with.

When he is an active part of the game plan, it's almost as if the field is basically 5 yards wider and 5 yards longer - because like a black hole, his very presence warps space.

Lafleur has to get Watson more footballs. It's just irresponsible not to. I know that I was one of those saying last year that Green Bay has so many talented WRs that we really don't need a true #1 receiver, but I don't know if I can agree with that position anymore. I think we need to accept that we do need a #1 wideout, and thankfully we already have a damned good one on our roster.

 

[Heyjoe4]

Our D isn't playing as well as we had hoped but against Chicago with a new OC they were an entirely different unit than they were all season. I wasn't surprised to see Williams play well. He was the #1 player taken in that draft for a reason.

I hope the guys are still adapting to Hatley and losing Jaire yet again isn't helping. Our guys should be pressuring the QB a lot better too. Disappointing to say the least.

Yeah Williams looks like he was worthy of the #1 overall pick. He's playing very well for a rookie QB, and we learned on Sunday that he can run as well.

Maybe the players are still adapting to Hafley's 4-3 defense. The decrease in production from Gary is the most obvious example that it may not be working, or that the guys are still learning. Even so, I would expect them to be pretty well acquainted with his system by now. Didn't look that way on Sunday.

Is it harder to generate a solid pass rush with four down linemen rather than three? I don't know. The Packers seem to have the talent. Part of the problem imo is the lack of consistent production from Walker and LVN. Walker compensates somewhat by being great in coverage. LVN is starting to look like a miss. He can't bend at the waist/hips the way the best DEs can. He is routinely pushed around and behind the QB by the OT.

The CB group is gonna need an overhaul in the off season, much like the S group last year. JA is very good when he can play. The rest of them are JAGs, nothing special from Nixon, Stokes, Ballentine, Valentine, et al. Too late to fix now - but Gluten will surely make it a priority next season.