The Importance of Teamwork, Complementary Football, Finding the Draft Diamonds, and Other Bears Bullets

I’ve been looking forward to this:

Feels better than I thought it would.

•   Remember those feelings you had entering Sunday’s game? The ones where you requested — no, demanded — change. Don’t let those feelings go. I realize it will be difficult after watching the Bears play as they did yesterday. But what was true about the franchise before yesterday’s game is true after it ended. There are organizational short-comings that are keeping the Bears from playing how they did against the Texans against every other team in the league. The worst thing that could happen is letting a late-season bounce cloud your judgment regarding the big picture. Search your feelings, you’ll know what’s true.

•   Now, that isn’t to say you shouldn’t have enjoyed Sunday’s win! We, as a people and a fan base, have been through a lot in 2020. So I’m all for enjoying what you can when it’s there for you. The big picture stuff will take care of itself. And whatever will be, will be. But for those three hours on Sunday, I thoroughly enjoyed football. And that was something I hadn’t felt since October.

•   When I say the Bears’ Week 14 was a team effort, I’m not doing so because I want to dabble in the cliché side of the football world:

https://twitter.com/ChicagoBears/status/1338187225587134466

•   Offense. Defense. Special teams. Those three examples embedded above show the Bears at their best. Splash plays where there were a bunch of hands chipping in to make it happen. The Akiem Hicks-Khalil Mack tag team remains undefeated. Blocking by Anthony Miller and Allen Robinson proves that receivers can use their hands for more than catching passes. And the whole special teams unit did its thing in the clip shared by Sherrick McManis. Teamwork makes the dream work.

•   Altogether, it was a satisfying victory. Refreshing, even. I realize this was a win against a bad bunch of  Texans, but I know better than to take anything for granted. Complementary football was played, and it really hit me how much I miss it. Had the Bears done this with any consistency during their six-game losing streak, they’d be sitting in a much better position. Instead, they’re living in the present moment.

(Photo by Stacy Revere/Getty Images)

•   So where do they go from here? They have two winnable games on the road against the Vikings and Jaguars. And who knows if the Packers will have anything to play for in Week 17. But in the more immediate future, how Chicago performs against Minnesota and Jacksonville figures to be the first steps toward letting us know if the talking point about the Bears being fighters under Nagy is one that will be front-and-center at season’s end.

•   From a big picture perspective, the best thing about the Bears’ win is the performance of those who will assuredly be in Chicago next season:

https://twitter.com/MikeClayNFL/status/1338309857364021248

•   Sure, I’m still miffed that David Montgomery had just 11 carries yesterday. In a one-sided affair such as the one we saw yesterday, I thought Montgomery would end up with 20-30 carries. But Chicago used him so well in the short passing game, I suppose I could let it slide because he was still getting touches.

•   Credit Bill Lazor’s game-calling the last two weeks for getting the offense rolling in the right direction. And whomever’s idea it was for the offensive line shakeup deserves plenty of credit, too. This group looks much better with Sam Mustipher in the middle being flanked by Cody Whitehair and Alex Bars at guard. These guys aren’t the 1990s Cowboys, but they’re better than what they were during the season’s ugliest stretch. Should this continue, it’s not difficult to imagine that both Bars and Mustipher playing their way into job security for 2021.

•   Thinking about how some of the Bears’ best contributors were offensive draft picks from the last two years. Cole Kmet. David Montgomery. Darnell Mooney. If only Ryan Pace had more draft picks. Or if he used more of those picks on offensive playmakers.

•   After getting pushed around by the Packers and (ugh) Lions, the Bears defense took out its frustration against Deshaun Watson:

https://twitter.com/brgridiron/status/1338199870239367170

https://twitter.com/ChicagoBears/status/1338198310679670785

•   Didn’t you miss watching THAT Bears defense perform?

•   I had two fun conversations regarding Chicago’s defense yesterday. One was with my dad, in which we discussed how the Bears defense played like a team that was tired of hearing Deshaun Watson get showered with praise at every turn. And on top of that, their play was similar to that of a big brother coming to the aid of a younger sibling. We know who Mitchell Trubisky is at this point. But we also know this team has a band of brothers vibe and that they’ll play hard for each other. It was almost as if the Bears defense played to ensure Trubisky didn’t end the week as a punchline.

•   There was also a conversation with a friend who said Khalil Mack played like someone who didn’t want to be traded to the Cowboys for Dak Prescott and play for Jerry Jones. It was a thing we discussed in Sunday’s Bullets. You had to be there. In any case, I can’t say I blame him!

•   For your listening pleasure:

https://twitter.com/TheAthleticCHI/status/1338300405579649024

•   Candy, chargers, watches, and more are your Deals of the Day at Amazon. #ad

•   Looking ahead to next week:

•   I got an uneasy feeling in my stomach when I saw a push notification that Washington QB Alex Smith suffered  a leg injury in yesterday’s game. But ESPN’s Chris Mortensen tweets there was “nothing major” regarding Smith’s injury, which turned out to be a calf strain. All things considered, that’s good news.

•   This stat is BONKERS:

•   Lovie Smith is out at Illinois. Maybe there’s a job open for him as a defensive coach or coordinator at the next level. Perhaps he might be better off sliding into a broadcast booth, where he can share his knowledge and perspective in that manner. But since leaving the Bears, Smith’s teams haven’t been as competitive as they were in Chicago. That doesn’t mean he doesn’t have “it” any more, but it does suggest he needs to be in a different role in order to fully thrive.

•   Chicago’s other University of North Carolina product looks good running the point in the open floor:

https://twitter.com/BN_Bulls/status/1338295605400129538

•   Might I suggest the Cleveland Football Team’s Baseball Team?

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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