Woulda, Coulda, Shoulda, and Other Bears Bullets

California dreamin’? More like California nightmares … am I right?

Yours truly has a day of travel ahead of him, starting with an afternoon flight to Las Vegas, a 7-hour layover, and a red-eye flight back to Chicago. Saving a few bucks while spending some time in Vegas isn’t the worst thing in the world.

  • Last night was pegged as a “Loser Leaves Town” match, and it went exactly how you would expect for one side. The loser left town last night after Sunday’s game at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. Hobbled, wounded, and left motionless on the canvas as his opponent takes a victorious walk up the ramp while raising his arms to the sky triumphantly as his music blares throughout the arena.
  • As the match’s loser pulls himself together, it’s easy to think about the woulda, coulda, shoulda moments. There were plenty. Two early turnovers were turned into a grand total of zero (0) points. There were two missed field goals. A handful of dropped passes, including one that would have led to a fourth down conversion after the Bears rolled the dice in not kicking a third field goal. Two laughable attempts at converting 3-and-1 to keep an offensive drive going. An inability to hold onto what should have been a(nother) Jared Goff interception. And a fourth-quarter fumble recovery that wasn’t pounced on. The Rams tried to give the Bears that game, but the Bears didn’t seem all that interested in taking it. And since this isn’t the first time events have unfolded in this way, it is time to point out this troubling trend.
  • Much like any classic match, even the loser has a moment where it looks like he can pull off the upset:
  • Nothing encapsulates why the Bears offense is so frustrating better than this moment. Mitch Trubisky’s throw was nice. Tarik Cohen’s route was even better. And the athleticism it takes to have the body control to make that catch, spin, and stay inside the pylon is the stuff that should be happening more often when you are in the second year of an offense and third year in the pros. Instead, these flashes are too few and far between to get too excited about.
  • Trubisky’s final line: 24/43, 55.8%, 190 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT, 1 sack, 65.1 passer rating. He now has four games in which he has thrown for *FEWER* than 200 yards. Trubisky also has five games in which he has posted a sub-80 passer rating. We’re at a point where he is playing unacceptable football, but the alternative is Chase Daniel (who is a career backup for a reason).
  • BLERGH:
  • UNACCEPTABLE:
  • At least the Bears’ 2018 first-round pick is showing signs of life:
  • Roquan Smith has 32 tackles, one tackle-for-loss, a pass defended, and an interception in his last three games. He has looked better in the four games since the team’s 11-point loss against the Saints in Week 7. Incremental progress is hopefully a good base for Smith to take off down the stretch and end this season on a high note.
  • This isn’t good:
  • A banged up Rams offensive line that started three players who had four starts (or fewer) prior to Sunday’s game wasn’t what I expected to see last night.
  • If you’re wondering where Khalil Mack has been, here is a clue:
  • Mack had no tackles, sacks, passes defended, quarterback hits, forced fumbles, or fumble recoveries. I can’t imagine the extra attention helped his cause:
  • It isn’t like Mack isn’t trying:
  • I have seen CHI pop up here on this TL far too often for my liking:
  • The Bears are 1-percenters. As in, they have a 1 percent chance of making the playoffs, per the updated QB-adjusted Elo rating from FiveThirtyEight. Beating the Rams last night, coupled with favors from the Patriots (who beat the Eagles) and Falcons (who downed the Panthers) would have made for a more tenable situation. Instead, the simple notion of the Bears making the postseason is laughable. That this is the case just months after opening among the Super Bowl favorites is downright disgusting.
  • Speaking of the Panthers, quarterback Kyle Allen completed 31 of 50 passes and threw for 325 yards, but was sacked five times and threw four interceptions. Those numbers add up to a 47.5 passer rating and a 7.3 ESPN QBR. Or in other words, worse numbers than Trubisky’s 65.1 passer rating and 38.0 QBR from last night.
  • So are the Panthers having second thoughts when it comes to moving on from Cam Newton? Selfishly, I hope not.
  • I don’t believe snitches should be allowed to have “revenge games” but here we are:
  • Aaron Kromer was the Bears’ offensive coordinator during the Marc Trestman era, but made headlines for all the wrong reasons. After blabbing and complaining anonymously about what was happening inside Halas Hall, it was learned that Kromer was the rat. Once he was found out, he issued what the Chicago Tribune described an emotional apology to Jay Cutler for ripping him to a reporter. It was an ugly scene during a dark time.
  • Here’s a nice story I saw on the news while out in LA:
  • Boatload of great Deals of the Day at Amazon today, including pet supplies and beds, toys, MacBooks, knives, blenders, headphones, and more. #ad
  • written by

    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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