All Systems Go For the Roquan Smith Show and Other Bears Bullets

The Bears have a low-bar to clear to be better than what the Bulls showed when I saw them in person on Friday. Let’s do that football, shall we?

  • The time for Roquan Smith’s takeover has come. And as Tom Thayer explains in the video below, Smith’s role is only expanding without Danny Trevathan next to him in the lineup:
  • With Trevathan out of the lineup, Smith is going to have expanded opportunities to make plays. The Bears will need to see Smith use his speed in coverage, his football IQ to take smart angles to ball-carries, and his sure-handed tackling ability to limit opposing big plays. When he was healthy, Trevathan was the guy who set the tone in the middle. But without Trevathan, Smith needs to be the man in the middle who is the play-making enforcer at the second level. These are the moments Smith was drafted for back in 2018. First challenge on the board is a look at Saquon Barkley, the stellar Giants running back who is coming off the bye and ready to get back to his old ways.
  • The Bears haven’t beat the Giants since October 10, 2013. That’s 2,236 days, if you’re keeping score at home. Jay Cutler posted a 106.5 passer rating, Prince Amukamara was a member of the Giants, Ryan Pace was in his first season as the Saints’ Director of Player Personnel, and Matt Nagy was in his first year as the Chiefs’ Quarterbacks Coach. Time flies. You can check out a victorious Bears box score here.
  • Bears GM Ryan Pace isn’t wrong here …
  • … but it would be nice to see Leonard Floyd stuff the stat sheet some more, especially if the quarterback sacks, hits, hurries, and pressures help lead the Bears to victory. Then again, it is tough to hassle the quarterback when your 81 coverage snaps are the fourth most among edge defenders.
  • Here is an assessment on Justin Herbert, the Oregon QB who figures to have a first-round grade in the 2020 NFL Draft (even though he didn’t really look the part last night against Arizona State):
  • Thank goodness the Bears don’t have a third-round pick, am I right?
  • BRING THIS BACK:
  • SOON:
  • https://www.instagram.com/p/B5QKbgOF2SE/

  • A re-sodded Soldier Field for the stretch run? It’s Christmas in November:
  • Amazon’s Black Friday countdown deals continue, and your Deals of the Day are here, including a cheap MacBook Air. #ad
  • The bad news is that the Bulls needed Zach LaVine to be a miracle worker to beat the Hornets. But I suppose the good news is that the Bulls appear to have something to rally around after their coach kinda sorta bus-tossed their best player:
  • 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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