The Offense Was Doomed From The Start and Other Bears Bullets

You thought your night was bad? At least you didn’t leave a tub of Cool Whip you were going to use to top a cake you baked in the afternoon out on the counter for seven hours.

Little did we know, the offense was doomed from the start:

.@bears first play from scrimmage was “classic Nagy” if only they could catch the “egg toss”. #BaldysBreakdowns pic.twitter.com/lsjpvt0O9L

— Brian Baldinger (@BaldyNFL) September 6, 2019

All Tarik Cohen had to do was catch the ball that hit him in the chest and he’d have been off to the races. This play is well-designed and well-blocked. But the execution … oof. That was no good. Nothing like playing from behind the sticks from the outset. And it turned out to be a sign of things to come for an offense that never was in rhythm and never got into drive mode.

A run-down of the Bears’ offensive series last night: Punt, FG, punt, punt, punt, punt, punt, punt, turnover on downs while declining to attempt a 51-yard field goal, punt, back-breaking interception, turnover on downs while taking a sack on your final play from scrimmage.

Ah, yes. The kicking game. At minimum, I was hoping to come out feeling something (one way or another) about the Bears’ kicking situation. But we couldn’t even get that. Sure, Piñeiro made his only field goal attempt … but he also shanked a kickoff that went out of bounds that gave the Packers premium field position. And when given a chance to kick a 51-yard field goal in pristine weather conditions, the head coach decided to go for it on 4th-and-10. That certainly seemed odd in real time, and the Bears came that close to scoring again only once.

Nagy’s explanation leaves a lot to be desired and is borderline unacceptable:

Matt Nagy's explanation of going for it on 4th and 10 and not kicking a 51-yard field goal: "We weren’t at our number, what we said at halftime and during the beginning of the game. We knew already on third down if we don’t get it, we’re going for it."

— JJ Stankevitz (@JJStankevitz) September 6, 2019

If you aren’t willing to kick from distance in ideal temperatures, then it is impossible to imagine doing so in January where the wind-chill is bitter and the winds are unforgiving.

Then again, imagining the team that played last night playing in January feels like a pipe dream.

What was the point of withholding David Montgomery from the preseason if this was going to be the the split share in Week 1?

#Bears Week 1 RB Usage:
Tarik Cohen- 46 snaps (70.8%), 0 carries, 10 targets
Mike Davis- 38 snaps (58.5%), 5 carries, 7 targets
David Montgomery- 23 snaps (35.4%), 6 carries, 1 target

— Michael Florio (@MichaelFFlorio) September 6, 2019

If you were like me and wondering why Cohen wasn’t in the backfield often, here is your answer:

Remember when the Browns out of nowhere played Duke Johnson as a receiver a couple of years ago?

Bears basically did the same thing with Tarik Cohen yesterday.

44 of 46 snaps on O either in the slot or out wide. 47/51 inc no-plays.

— Sam Monson (@PFF_Sam) September 6, 2019

I love what Cohen can do as a pass-catcher out of the backfield, but I think trying to shoe-horn him into the game solely as a wide receiver is going to be problematic.

A heads-up observation from Johnathan Wood of Da Bears Blog, who notes the Packers averaged 5.8 defensive backs on the field per play on Thursday. Or in other words, Green Bay’s base defense was dime. That should have been enough for Nagy to call more than 12 designed run plays. Instead, Trubisky dropped back to pass 53 times. That clearly wasn’t a winning formula.

THE ACCURACY:

Bears defense vs Bears offense pic.twitter.com/vbe3yxO5N0

— NFL Memes (@NFL_Memes) September 6, 2019

In sum: pic.twitter.com/wjJ3xqP5wY

— Bleacher Nation Bears (@BN_Bears) September 6, 2019

This was one of James Daniels’ better reps in his first game as the Bears’ starting center:

https://twitter.com/olin_kreutz/status/1169975962534109184

Projectors, coding games for kids, and more are your Deals of the Day at Amazon.

There was so much of this last night:

Here’s a headline from The Ringer: “The NFL Is Back, and We’re Already Sick of Watching Mitchell Trubisky.”

That headline probably isn’t a thing today if Trubisky is given one more second to throw on this 1st-and-10 wheel route:

These are the throws Trubisky has to hit to be a viable NFL starter. Terrible placement pic.twitter.com/dMJYVHFl3Z

— Ian Wharton (@NFLFilmStudy) September 6, 2019

Great design. Perfect call. But ultimately, a missed opportunity because the offensive line just didn’t get enough push when it needed it.

A few plays later, this happened:

Just reviewed the Trubisky pick. Inexcusable.

Packers showed single high, brought a zone blitz. Seam defender was sinking with eyes on Mitch the entire time.

Absolutely no reason to throw a corner route with that bracket defender carrying it all the way. Tarik was right there. pic.twitter.com/9QvBcLtoyn

— Brett Kollmann (@BrettKollmann) September 6, 2019

We’ll dive deeper into Trubisky’s night later, but this is just the tip of the iceberg.

Playing quarterback doesn’t look like fun from this angle:

Fun exercise. Try playing quarterback on this play when you watch it for the first time. Good luck. pic.twitter.com/jQvq9myjjI

— Andy Herman (@AndyHermanNFL) September 6, 2019

The offense was atrocious last night. And while it’s all-systems-go on getting it together next week, it’s tough to envision that offense going on the road to Denver and putting up yards and scores with Von Miller and Bradley Chubb coming off the edges, Chris Harris Jr. and Bryce Callahan lurking in the secondary, and Vic Fangio calling the shots.

A promise for a better tomorrow:

Thanks to the fans tonight #Beardown we will come back stronger pic.twitter.com/BDyOT4UHG0

— Taylor Gabriel (@TGdadon1) September 6, 2019

I chuckled because I’m glad someone shared my sentiments:

The Packers offensive line is literally holding on every offensive play and crickets.

But the Bears had a first-and-40.

— Adam Rank (@adamrank) September 6, 2019

I griped a lot about the officiating (because, I mean, everyone saw it) but let’s be clear in stating that non-calls weren’t why the Bears didn’t win. They were the reason I often was screaming and pointing at my television looking like a lunatic.

Michael does Bears TikToks, too:

Nagy how you feel? @BN_Bears pic.twitter.com/7Ed0Dm5GaB

— Michael Cerami (@Michael_Cerami) September 6, 2019

Was Jay Cutler the best Bears quarterback on the Soldier Field turf on Thursday?

Jay Cutler's hair: still elite pic.twitter.com/xmKzgeU5e9

— The Checkdown (@thecheckdown) September 5, 2019

Weird timing to complain about compensatory draft picks:

I love Warren but the comp pick thing has literally nothing to do with Ryan Pace https://t.co/PPSKvCCNDO

— Brad_OTC (@BradOTC) September 6, 2019

I feel ya, Robert:

The one Mitch play I was happy about: He hit that intermediate crossing route throw to Gabriel! The one he always misses!

It was incomplete because Gabriel is tiny, and he had a dozen horrendous plays today. But he hit that one!

— Robert Mays (@robertmays) September 6, 2019

…but I’d rather care. I’ve held onto my fandom even as a reporter in large part because the relationship I had with my dad was built on the Bears. And with him gone, believing in them makes me feel close to him. That’s the long and short of it.

— Robert Mays (@robertmays) September 6, 2019

 

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Need something for your ears? Ep. 1 of MYPOD is out! @Michael_Cerami and I talk working in sports media, MLB stardom and movies. Oh, we also play a fun round of What Would it Cost? (sound bite below)

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