Confidence in Defense, Nagy’s Message to Trubisky, Bears Odds, and Other Bullets

Sep 15, 2018

Because I like tying up loose ends, I’d like to share that the cheesecake I referenced in Friday’s Bullets turned out great. Allow me to use this minor success to remind you to treat yourself on this wonderful Saturday. Enjoy it!

This is a different way to look at what the rest of the season could bring:

Updated NFL Survivor League tool – Each team's projected Win% by week pic.twitter.com/DSukoBfNM2

— Mike Clay (@MikeClayNFL) September 14, 2018

A part of me wonders how much (if at all) these percentages would’ve changed had the Bears won in Week 1, but a bigger part of me sees this as the team still having a good shot at reaching what I believe to be its floor of an 8-win season with an opportunity to win more if things break right. The future is still bright, even if last week’s game took us to a very dark place.

As for the Bears’ Super Bowl odds, they’re not as bad as you’d think they’d be after watching a team suffer such a gut-wrenching loss:

Super Bowl 53 odds for EVERY team

1. Patriots +600
2. Rams +800
15. Bears +3300
29. Colts +10000
32. Bills +25000

View them all ➡️ https://t.co/EQDqWeCpAP pic.twitter.com/YD0BO63KTf

— NationalFootballPost (@FootballPost) September 14, 2018

Matt Nagy’s Week 2 message for Mitch Trubisky is as simple as it gets:

Nagy on Trubisky: "Admit your mistakes, correct them and move on. I'm not going to let him be super hard on himself." The Bears QB was transparent about his week one review in the loss to the Packers. @WBBMNewsradio
— Jeff Joniak (@JeffJoniak) September 14, 2018

If you think about it, that line of thinking we can all apply to our lives. See mistakes, admit to them, fix them, and move forward. Don’t be too hard on yourself because it’s never worth it. Trubisky wasn’t allowed to make mistakes last year because the offensive coaching staff had him in a bubble. Now that he has a little bit of freedom, he’s going to make his share of miscues. What he learns from them and what he does after them will tell you everything you need to know about his future moving forward.

The Bears aren’t the only team looking to make offensive adjustments:

Seahawks OC Brian Schottenheimer said he's got to do a better job of sticking to running game this week against Bears. Said he might have overreacted to some of the early long-yardage situations and got away from the run too quickly.
— Bob Condotta (@bcondotta) September 14, 2018

On the other side of the ball, two Seahawks starting linebackers missed practice again:

One more reason the Seahawks signed LB Mychal Kendricks, despite his legal issues: Seattle LBs Bobby Wagner (groin) and K.J. Wright (knee) did not practice today as Seattle continued its preparations for Monday Night’s game vs. Bears.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) September 14, 2018

If Bobby Wagner and K.J. Wright can’t go for the Seahawks, the Bears would be wise to run Jordan Howard early and often. In Week 1, both of the Broncos running backs averaged 4.7 yards per carry as both Phillip Lindsay and Royce Freeman gained 71 yards on 15 carries. This could be one of those games where Howard is a workhorse for an offense that still needs to establish an identity.

As for the Bears defense, that group is feeling good going forward as they move away from Week 1. JJ Stankevitz of NBC Sports Chicago explains why there is good reason for that unit to have confidence as they go forward with the rest of the season.

Remember all those things we thought about the Bears defense before Week 1? They’re still valid. All those things that happened in the first half? They definitely happened. The stuff that occurred in the second half (sigh) also happened, but the issues they had are correctable. Most of this defense played on last year’s team that limited big plays and limited opposing offenses to the ninth fewest yards per play … and they have since added a top-10 pick and one of the league’s top pass-rushers. Not only does this unit have a high floor, they have a high ceiling with a ton of untapped potential.

For the sake of clarity, it turns out that an Associated Press poll lists Khalil Mack as the second-best pass-rusher in football.

Hahahahahahah:

Look away Raiders fans… pic.twitter.com/b51F1n3QM3

— NFL Memes (@NFL_Memes) September 11, 2018

Nearly a year after Baltimore poached offensive lineman Dieugot Joseph off Chicago’s practice squad, the Ravens are trying out a pair of ex-Bears with an eye on adding depth to the group. NFL Network insider Ian Rapoport tweets that center Hroniss Grasu and guard Jordan Morgan were in for workouts on Saturday. Morgan was a fifth-round pick in 2017, but spent the entire season on injured reserve and didn’t make this year’s season-opening 53-man roster. Grasu was released after the final round of Bears cuts in order to accommodate Khalil Mack on the roster.

Closing out on a high note:

"Bears on me! Bears on three!" – Steve, a 17 year old two-time cancer survivor, breaks down the huddle at the end of #DaBears practice today. pic.twitter.com/a1ooAQ0sf5
— Bears Outreach (@BearsOutreach) September 15, 2018

written by

Luis C. Medina

Luis C. Medina, who you can find on Twitter at lcm1986, has been covering the Chicago Bears at Bleacher Nation since 2017. Since then, he has written about 3 head coaches, 5 play-callers, and 11 starting quarterbacks. Previously, Luis wrote about the Cubs and MLB at BN (2015-16) and worked in the Chicago Tribune sports department (2011-16). He also co-hosted a Cubs postgame show, Outside the Ivy, in 2019.

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