The Chicago Bears are essentially a third of the way through their season. Sitting at 2-4 and third in the division they’re about where many thought they’d be at this point. There have been ups, but mostly downs, which was also to be expected. Offensive struggles across the board and sloppy special teams play has lost games that were there for the taking. How the Bears have gotten to this juncture has been anything but conventional and more than frustrating. Coaches, players, and fans alike are already tired of being so close, yet so far away every week.
So, How did we get here Caleb? Well, turns out no money, no draft capital, and an aging roster creates quite the predicament when constructing a roster. I’ll take a dive into whether the areas of struggle can be fixed in season or if it will require an upgrade in talent. Everyone on the team has lent a hand in this frustrating season, but some more-so than others. I will rank the usual suspects one through three, one being the worst. On the flip side I’ll highlight our few building blocks of the future, one being the most encouraging.
I’ll give you the bad news first so we can end this on a good note because Lord knows we need something to be happy about in Chicago. Not everything has to be all doom and gloom just because it’s the Chicago Bears though right? At least my fellow Illini fans still have a lot of meaningful football to cheer for.
Where There Must Be Improvement And Does It Need Replaced Or Fixed
1. Pass Protection:
To nobody’s surprise this has been public enemy number one for the Chicago Bears. It was a concern going into the year, but I don’t think many saw it to be this much of a liability. Justin Fields is quite literally running for his life — According to ESPN Stats & Info Fields has now been pressured on 46% of his dropbacks this season, the highest rate of pressure a QB has faced in the first 6 games of a season since ESPN began tracking pressures in 2009.
Some of that could be attributed to holding the ball too long, but realistically nobody is getting open down field. Offensive coordinator Luke Getsy must get wildly creative in order to better protect Fields and scheme guys open. The last thing the Bears want is to create a David Carr situation. You must give your quarterback space to step up in a clean pocket. Teams know the interior line can’t provide that which is why there is a free runner in Field’s face on almost every roll out. Nearly impossibly to grade anything Getsy or Fields are doing on a weekly basis.
The only solution they have in season is to move Lucas Patrick to center, Michael Schofield to left guard until Whitehair comes back, and never take Teven Jenkins out of the lineup again. Larry Borom has been less than desirable so Reilly Reif is probably worth taking a look at at right tackle as well.
Simply put, Sam Mustipher is the greatest liability and does not need to be in the starting lineup. Braxton Jones is going through growing pains, but has shown promise. This group will require an overhaul in the offseason –there are a lot of future career backups starting every week.
2. Rush Defense:
Despite looking better vs. Washington the Bears have been ate up on the ground. Two reasons for that is the Interior defensive line lacking overall talent, and the linebackers lacking gap discipline. Switching from three down linemen to four can be a major adjustment. A 3-4 defense gives your linebackers a lot more freedom while a 4-3 requires them to be extremely disciplined in not over committing.
Roquan Smith leads the league in tackles, but that doesn’t matter when the defensive line is getting blown off the ball and he is making the tackles five yards down field instead of near the line of scrimmage. Justin Jones and Armon Watts are nice enough players but they should be depth pieces, not your starting IDL, and there is not much depth behind them.
Washington was a great example of how much a great interior defensive line can wreck an offense. The Chicago Bears need to find their own Jonathan Allen and Daron Payne to anchor that defense. I suspect that will be a main focus in the draft and free agency.
I’m willing to sacrifice the Chicago Bears defense first identity for some offense, but not this much, and not for how poor this offense has performed. Overall, this group gives me Mel Tucker vibes except the Bears offense isn’t putting up nearly 30 points a game. Obviously this group is better. They’re young with high upside and Alan Williams is a good defensive coordinator. It’s just missing it’s space eaters in the middle and a bonafide pass rusher.
3. Special Teams:
The kicking game is excluded from this conversation. It has been excellent — Cairo Santos has been solid and Trenton Gill has turned out to be a valuable seventh round pick.
The return game has been nothing short of abysmal. Velus Jones will end up adding a lot of value on offense in due time, but it’s time to go another direction returning kicks. In only three games he has muffed two points, both in critical moments that ultimately cost the Bears both games. Might be time to turn those duties over to Dante Pettis for ball security sake.
When you are the least talented roster every week you have to do the little things correct to give yourself a chance. Special teams is made up entirely of those little things. They won’t necessarily win games, but will undoubtedly lose games. Lack of discipline and situational awareness flipped a surprise 4-2 start into a grim 2-4 record.
What Can The Bears Build On?
1. Pass Defense:
With the “arrival” of rookie cornerback Kyler Gordon over the past couple weeks, the defensive backfield has been quietly reliable. Jaylon Johnson back from his quad injury made all the difference in the world after missing the past four games. Johnson was pivotal in a team effort to hold Carson Wentz under 100 yards passing on Thursday night.
The Chicago Bears did a phenomenal job achieving their objective in the draft. What was that objective? It was build a defensive backfield that can keep offenses in check in order to keep games low scoring and within reach for their less than desirable offense.
It has worked to near perfection — outside of the Green Bay game the Bears have had the ball with a chance to steal a win in each of their losses. Unfortunately their special teams unit has failed them miserably. Having the fourth best passing defense in the league will do that for you. Rookies Jaquon Brisker, and Kyler Gordon of late, have been key contributors.
An even bigger player in this group’s success has been the turnaround for Kindle Vildor. Once thought to be another wasted pick has been a bright spot and held down the CB1 duties in Johnson’s absence better than could have imagined.
My only gripe, and often times it is more luck than anything, is the lack of takeaways. Other than Eddie Jackson’s three interceptions, Vildor (1) is the only defensive back to get on the board. That’s me being picky. It will always be hard for a Jaylon Johnson to record gaudy INT numbers because he is rarely targeted. All in all this group has been stellar and the praise should be shared all around.
2. Run Blocking:
There have rushed for over 200 yards in a game, twice, as they have rushed for under 100 yards. For a team that can’t seem to get out of it’s own way in the passing game it can certainly gain some yardage in chunks on the ground. The same anemic offense that is averaging a dead last 122 YPG in the air is league’s second best rushing attack (170.8 YPG). The Bears offense doesn’t do much right, but they can sure bully a front seven as good as anyone.
I don’t know that I’ve ever watched an offensive line impose their will running the ball, yet look completely lost in pass protection. It’s like watching two different teams from one play to the next. The Chicago Bears have brought the NFL back to the 1960s in the worst possible way. The Only guys happy about this is probably David Montgomery and Khalil Herbert.
Until you fix things up front it will be difficult to gauge Luke Getsy’s scheme because he really is unable to establish one when half your line gets beat at the snap on every dropback. Upgrading the center and left guard positions alone would drastically elevate the passing attack. There has been one guy who has proven week after week that he is the real deal; right guard Teven Jenkins. Him along with rookie left tackle Braxton Jones may be the foundational pieces for this group.
3. Teven Jenkins:
He may be last in my ranking, but he has been the most impactful. The Chicago Bears second year lineman is the key cog in what makes the rushing attack so successful. He is by definition, a “mauler”, “road grader”, or whatever other endearing term you can think of. The first to protect Fields, the first to pick his running back up, and the one guy you don’t want to meet in a skirmish. He has an attitude about him that sets the tone, and he has the talent to back it up. He has been an absolute joy to watch manhandle opposing defenses and turn himself into the cornerstone player this offense desperately needs.
During training camp if someone would have told me what kind of season Jenkins was going to have — and that it would be in Chicago nonetheless — I would have laughed at them. This man has virtually come back from the dead like nobody I have ever seen. From being on the trade block and getting next to no reps in camp, to almost being cut, to being the anchor of the offensive line. He’s been about the only redeemable lineman on a horrible line, but he’s not just a standout in Chicago, there’s been a lot of buzz about the 24 year old making his first pro bowl. Who’d a thunk it? Cheers to you Teven, and Bear Down.
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