It was nice to see this tweet from NBC Sports Chicago’s Adam Hoge…
Matt Nagy just went into pretty significant detail about what he’s doing in-game now that he’s not calling plays, but the gist was this: “I’m seeing the bigger picture, which is good.”
— Adam Hoge (@AdamHoge) October 22, 2021
…because this is when it should matter that the head coach is seeing the big picture.
The Chicago Bears enter Week 7 off a soul-crushing loss. And there is no time to throw a pity party when Tom Brady and the defending Super Bowl champion Buccaneers are sitting across the field. So this would make for a good time for Matt Nagy’s A-game. Because this team can ill-afford a clunker one week after publicly being owned by Aaron Rodgers. Both figuratively and literally, as well as by way of hyperbole.
We’ll soon find out about #TheCulture that President Ted Phillips spoke so highly of in the offseason. And we’ll get a better glimpse of who these Bears are, in terms of big-picture thinking. Let’s keep it real. Teams don’t show their identity when they lose. Instead, it’s how a team responds from adversity that is most telling. In other words, it’ll be a rough look if the Bears fall flat in a game after the week they’ve had with social media distractions and a breakout of COVID cases. But if they show some resilience, then we can discuss the possibility of treading water for the time being.
All the games feel big when it’s just a 17-game season. But this one has an extra layer.
Game Info
Chicago Bears (3-3) vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (5-1) – on CBS-TV (Jim Nantz, Tony Romo, Tracy Wolfson), WBBM-AM 780 and WCFS-FM 105.9 (Jeff Joniak, Tom Thayer, Mark Grote)
Kickoff time: 3:25 p.m. CT
Site: Raymond James Stadium; Tampa, Fla.
Referee: Alex Kemp
Odds: Bears +11.5 (-110), O/U 47 (via DraftKings Sports Book)
Game Thread (Week 7 Preview)
Your game thread is down in the comments, so let’s have some good, clean (safe-for-work) fun.
Hype Video
Coaches
Bears Matt Nagy (31-23) vs. Buccaneers Bruce Arians (72-45-1, 23-15 with TB)
Starting Quarterbacks and Projected Game Stats
BEARS: Justin Fields: 20/31, 219 passing yards, 1 TD, 1 INT; 4 carries, 16 rushing yards
versus
BUCS: Tom Brady: 27/40, 312 yards, 2 TD, 1 INT; 2 carries, 2 yards
Projected stats via ESPN projections
Bears Offense (Projected Starters in Bold)
RB Khalil Herbert
Reserves: Damien Williams, Ryan Nall
WR Allen Robinson II, Darnell Mooney, Marquise Goodwin
Reserves: Damiere Byrd, Jakeem Grant
TE Cole Kmet
Reserves: Jesse James, Jesper Horsted
LT Jason Peters
LG Cody Whitehair
C Sam Mustipher
RG James Daniels
RT Alex Bars
Reserves: Arlington Hambright, Lachavious Simmons, Dieter Eiselen
Bears Defense
DT Angelo Blackson
NT Eddie Goldman
DE Bilal Nichols
Reserves: Khyiris Tonga, Mario Edwards Jr., Margus Hunt
OLB Khalil Mack, Trevis Gipson
Reserves: Sam Kamara, Christian Jones
ILB Roquan Smith, Alec Ogletree
Reserves: Danny Trevathan, Joel Iyiegbuniwe
CB Jaylon Johnson, Kindle Vildor
Reserves: Duke Shelley, Xavier Crawford, Artie Burns
S Eddie Jackson, DeAndre Houston-Carson
Reserves: Marqui Christian, Teez Tabor
Bears Special Teams
Cairo Santos (kicker), Pat O’Donnell (punter), Patrick Scales (long-snapper), Khalil Herbert (kick returns), Jakeem Grant (punts)
Bears Inactives
Inactives for #CHIvsTB: pic.twitter.com/VjgNXp1b83
— Chicago Bears (@ChicagoBears) October 24, 2021
Buccaneers Projected Starters
Offense
• QB Tom Brady
• RB Ronald Jones II, Leonard Fournette Jr.
• WRs Mike Evans, Chris Godwin,
• TE O.J. Howard
• LT Donovan Smith, LG Ali Marpet, C Ryan Jensen, RG Alex Cappa, RT Tristan Wirfs
Defense
• DLs Ndamukong Suh, William Gholston, NT Vita Vea
• OLBs Jason Pierre-Paul, Shaquil Barrett; ILBs Devin White, K.J. Britt
• CBs Carlton Davis III, Jamel Dean
• S Antoine Winfield Jr., Jordan Whitehead
Specialists
• Ryan Succop (kicker), Bradley Pinion (punter, holder), Carson Tinker (long snapper), Jaydon Mickens (kick and punt returns)
Buccaneers Inactives
Inactives for #CHIvsTB ⤵️ pic.twitter.com/L6HY4pQje0
— Tampa Bay Buccaneers (@Buccaneers) October 24, 2021