Chisoxfn

On Trubiksy front, I think best news would be him getting back after the bye week. There is zero chance they are flying him across the pond and getting him to play in London. Zero. Will be interesting to see who the Bears bring in on the back-up front. I presume Bray will be activated from PS.

I really can't imagine anything regarding Roquan Smith coming out and being good news. I kept wondering why none of the announcers made a big deal about it during yesterdays game. Fact that he was still at the game is what draws the alarm. Something happened and drew the team to make a decision.

I give Chase Daniels credit for making enough plays to win. He had me terrified because he really holds the ball a long time. He also doesn't have the arm strength (and he will get picked more on balls that just "hang up" there. What he does have is the stones to hang in there and make enough throws and obviously tons of experience to quickly disect a difference. Major difference between Daniels & Trubisky in upside and potential though, but the good news (in the sense that Chase is in there), not a huge downside difference given their more recent play (bad in the sake that Mitch hadn't been super sharp early in the season...albeit was progressing nicely). The key goes back to the fact that young NFL QB's just can't dissect defenses the way certain coaches expect them to. You really need to simplify things for a few years before you truly unleash them. I heard that comment from a couple offensive minds recently and they essentially mentioned that the difference between college & pro is so distinct that more and more teams offensively are starting to learn that to best adjust QB's you really simplify things and go on 1st couple reads and really pare things back for more sustained near-term success. Give them a few years of starting and seeing defenses and than you can start to see them become true disecters of D. Look at the best young QB's and they all tend to have one trait in common...their ability to scramble and make plays with their legs, which in turn helps them get out of the pocket, cut the field in half and enable far easier decision making. Phenomenal defensive performance by the Bears yesterday...I thought they were in really bad shape with the injuries & personal issues, but they came through. This Raiders game, with the travel and injuries, is going to be a lot tougher than people think and it is a pretty critical came at this point in the juncture (given how tough the Bears schedule is about to get).

He’s a very good running back. Glad to see him having an awesome game!!!

I’ll take it. Kicked ass and Mitch had some tds. Still more room to grow but a win is a win! Vikings game is going to be tough.

That a boy. TD DIX!!!

Most DE's don't run as fast as Sweat (4.42).

I heard Joe Thomas interviewed (former Browns lineman) and he essentially said in his view, it takes 3 full seasons for a QB to actually learn to read the D. Before that, they just got to play and a coaches job should be to help them get through progressions simple and play fast. Essentially...don't let them be a pure drop-back QB, you have to scheme for them to enable them to play quick and be themselves. If you don't do it and let them just read the D, they just aren't ready yet given how complex NFL defenses are. Thought it was interesting. Part of it goes to the fact that the Bears needs to find ways to enable quicker reads for Mitch and get him out of the pocket so he can read and react faster (and get the most of his strengths).

Tarik should have caught that.

He was limping pretty bad. Would appear (visually) like a very questionable decision and one that I hope doesn't backfire (either in terms of a key miss and/or making the injury worse). Just WIN baby!

I kept wondering why we wouldn't have had a kicker signed or pretty much ready to sign (just in case). Just watch Pinerio miss like the next 6 weeks. It's okay...Mitch is throwing for 4+ TD's tonight. No need to field goals And we'll convert 4 2 point conversions too (no need to kick)!!!

Alright boys...let’s win and win big on the road!!! Just do it!!!

Wohooo

I thought this was a really good read - Calvin Johnson interview. Dude was so good. https://www.si.com/nfl/2019/09/20/calvin-johnson-lions-big-interview

Fantastic news. My main advice...work hard, put your head down, and do your best. And if you need to..try yoga or other techniques to calm your nerves. Oh and think and be positive...the power of positivity is huge.

Raiders aren't as bad as you indicate and I genuinely don't put the Jets in that camp (with Darnold back). I don't think the JEts are great, but I can see Raider and JEts winning 6 to 7 games. The NFL is all about mediocrity so yes, I could see a Steelers team, which has relied heavily on a strong offense led by Big Ben taking a major step back (it isn't like they have an elite defensive unit).

Pretty huge risk to take given they could end up with a horrific record (without Big Ben). So that could be a top 5 pick.

The thing no one is talking about...outside of Allen Robinson, I have seen nothing from Cohen / Burton (thankfully he's back), Miller (recovering from his injury but still very little to show) and Gabriel (albeit Mitch's worse ball of the day was a pass to Gabriel). Shaheed made someone miss for the first time in his NFL career today, so I won't say anything negative about him. Still, I don't see a bunch of guys wide-open. Even Robinson, dude makes contested catches but he isn't exactly a speed demon who creates a ton of separation (see Chiefs offense where Mahoney is regularly throwing to guys with massive separation). I expect as we see the Bears offense take off, it will be because Burton & Miller are getting healthy and producing. Cohen too.

And not to state the obvious, but Deshaun Watson only threw for 150 yards this week. The Bears just beat a team who had won 17 or 18 home openers and somehow powered through it. The altitude is real. This game is going to bet the catalyst. Strap on and get ready for a fun ride!!!

Let's see how Nagy adjusts back. I have faith.

Trubisky is not good enough that you can let him just throw and throw and throw. You need to scheme for him and be creative, etc. If you do that right, he can be good to very good (IMO). He is not Patrick Mahoney or Aaron Rodgers.

Mitch had that nice read to Cohen on 1st drive of the game where he used his feet too (ball hung up just enough and Bronco DB made a good play). They haven't really leveraged Mitch's legs enough, imo. That said, online was better today. Progress still needs to be made though. Mitch had a couple misses but I still don't see the Bears playmakers doing much either. Either way...this was a huge win. I'm calling a 3 TD+ performance from Mitch next week.

Both of those calls were awful. As was the call on the final drive against Trubisky. Albeit, I think the Floyd/Goldman one were worse than the one called on Trubisky.

How did that homer stand through review? Was the yellow line a homer under Safeco rules?

I don't think the Bears are in a position to continue to deplete there already depleted draft capital. I have long complained about it, but I really hate robbing from the future and think there are a few times where Pace wasted opportunities. That said, in general, Pace has done a good job. This game against Denver feels way bigger than it should and unfortunately it is really tough playing at mile-high (even if the Broncos aren't all that good and they too are coming in with a must win). The one thing I like (match-up wise) is that Flacco is very immobile which should play well to the Bears pass rush. The flip-side is the Broncos pass rush is superb and they are coming off a pathetic effort, so I see them coming out energized. This will be an important game where the Bears really need to start with the foot on the gas and grab the momentum early and go go go (without looking back).