My friend Jeff pointed out something that would have never crossed my mind had he not posted it on social media. But if you were to watch one Star Wars movie every weekend, you can get through 10 of them and transition smoothly into The Rise of Skywalker when it drops in December. But you have to start this weekend!
Of course, that leaves me wondering what order should these films be watched. Any suggestions?
Ignore the final result and check out the sights and sounds of Week 5 through the perspective of Buster Skrine:
Watching this reminded me of how close the Bears were to salting away a win. They picked up a third-down stop, then appeared to get a turnover on a fumbled fake punt on fourth down. But because the ground can’t cause a fumble, the Raiders (rightfully) retained possession and used that moment to catapult them on what turned out to be a game-winning drive. Oh, what could have been.
I have done my best to avoid this line of thinking, but the Bears were one defensive stop away from a 4-1 start and I can’t help but to think about how different things would be had it happened. The narrative voice would have changed, as would have the perspective of what lies on the horizon. But because we have seen the Bears bounce back from demoralizing losses before, all hope moving forward shouldn’t be lost. As a believer in the idea that losses are great motivational and teaching tools, it is possible that we could look at the Raiders loss in the same light in which we viewed the Packers loss in Week 1 of the 2018 season.
But it won’t be easy to get to that point. Four of the Bears’ next five games are against teams that made the postseason in 2018. The Saints and Eagles lead their respective divisions, the Rams and Lions are in the playoff hunt, and the Chargers are due to start their annual hot streak at some time in the near future. And those are just the on-field battles the Bears have to face. Between fighting Mitch Trubisky’s inconsistencies upon his return, taking on the injury bug, rand the struggle to find an offensive identity, these Bears have their hands full.
Things look tough right now, but don’t expect it to change Matt Nagy’s tone as head coach. “I know you’ve heard this from me a lot, but I’ll never lose this,” Nagy said, via the Bears’ official site. “You’ll never get me as far as being negative. Never. You won’t get me. So I’ll be positive and this team’s going to be positive. We’re 3-2 and we’re going to use this as a positive.”
Sure, the Bears were 3-2 last year … but it felt different. Maybe it was just the honeymoon period glow, but there was hope for an offense that looked to be building something while playing alongside of a defense that allowed an offense that was a work in progress to develop at its own pace. The defense is still good, but the offense’s regression has put the defense in a spot where it needs to be near perfect.
I don’t think there is a picture that better summarizes the Bears’ offensive woes than this one from last Sunday:
(Photo by Jack Thomas/Getty Images)
Chicago’s defensive players and coaches need to study this film in order not to repeat the same mistakes over again:
Raiders Film Room: How they stopped Khalil Mack and established a physical identity on offense
– Strategies Raiders used to neutralize Mack – OL dominance – How Gruden set up plays on final dive
So much goes into making a big play happen, but the Bears haven’t been able to do it to this point. Because the offensive line isn’t clearing running room or holding its ground long enough to make things happen in the deep passing game, the explosive plays have disappeared from the Bears offense. And while long scoring drives would soften the blow, no Bears quarterback has been able to sustain those types of drives. It is all a mess right now.
May the Cody Parkey Redemption Tour go off without a hitch:
"Not everything is going to go your way. It’s about how you respond and how you get back to it. Just never stay defeated and just put your best foot forward.”#Titans Kicker Cody Parkey's Perseverance 📰 » https://t.co/foJVZryp7l
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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NEWSLETTER
