NEWSLETTER
Well, that sucked. The Bears went into San Francisco with all the positive vibes and good feelings (well, as much as a 4-7 team can have at least) after everyone got what they wanted with Matt Eberflus getting fired. They then responded with their worst performance of the season. Fun times!
Eberflus still needed to go, but for that to be the response we got after the team got what they wanted is pretty inexcusable.
Bears vs 49ers Takeaways
- For a team that had great energy and vibes all week, that really seemed to all go away by 3:25 PM CT on Sunday afternoon, didn’t it? The Bears yet again came out slow out of the gates and seemed to sleepwalk in the first half. While Eberflus’ presence wasn’t helping to get over those slow starts, it would appear he was far from the only problem. It’s hard to win in the NFL. It’s even harder when you spot your opponent a three-touchdown lead. Let’s maybe try to stop doing that.
- It’s kind of wild that THAT was the effort we got from a team that finally got what they wanted. And make no mistake about it, everyone wanted Eberflus gone – not just the players. We all did. But for this team to get that breath of fresh air, get that reset button pressed, and show up and play like that? Come on. Something has to change with the leadership in the locker room. The coach was an issue, but the captains shouldn’t be off the hook either. It’s like when a high school kid begs his parents for a longer curfew, then when the parents finally cave the kid shows up two hours past the new curfew in handcuffs. Just be better.
- You can’t always control talent on the football field. You can always control your effort and your energy, however. Except for a few, the Bears did a crummy job of that yesterday.
- Never forget that Ryan Pace took Adam Shaheen in the second round of the same draft in which the Niners took George Kittle in the fifth round!
- While I still think the Bears had a decently talented roster at the top of their depth chart, the longer the season goes on the more we realize the depth is just not there – especially in the trenches. Montez Sweat is gutting out injuries and doing so while being the sole focus for offensive coordinators to plan for. Gervon Dexter, while still solid, hasn’t been as good since Andrew Billings went down. The rest of the defensive line just kind of seems to be…existing. The secondary misses Jaquan Brisker and the version of Tyrique Stevenson from before his brain was broken in Washington. It just seems like the fun got sucked out of this group.
- Last week I wrote about the Niners being banged up up front and in the backfield, and that this was a great chance for the Bears front seven to get back on the right track in stopping the run game. Whoops!
- This might be the longest I’ve gone in one of these without mentioning Caleb Williams! He wasn’t good in the first half this weekend, but it’s not like there was a ton more he could have done. It feels like his development is just kind of in a bit of a holding pattern for the rest of the year. I’m 100% convinced he’s the Bears franchise QB of the future and the most talented player I’ve seen play that position in Chicago. But with this coaching staff and this offensive line in front of him, it’s just going to be hard to judge much. He still holds the ball a bit too long, but that will happen at times. Most of his issues can be easily corrected with more game reps and a capable offensive line.
- Speaking of the offensive line, I’m not sure what that whole thing was. If Kiran Amegadjie is healthy, which it seems he is since he got in some garbage time Sunday, I want to see what the Bears have in him. Matt Pryor is fine depth, but he is not a starter in this league. I’m not sure if Amegadjie is either, but why not find out? He played some guard yesterday. Start him there, or bump Braxton Jones inside and play him at tackle. Either way, let’s see what we have in the kid who is raw, but did show some flashes in limited playing time this year.
- Rome Odunze is awesome. Ryan Poles has a lot of work to do this offseason, but there’s not much doubt in my mind that Caleb Williams and Rome Odunze can be Chicago’s 1-2 punch offensively for quite some time. He just does everything so well and is the total package at receiver. Hopefully, we get more of the offense schemed around him for the remaining weeks.
- I’m pretty disappointed in DJ Moore and Cole Kmet. I like those two guys and think they’re good players, but they’re just flat-out underachieving right now. And the fact that DJ Moore is putting up the numbers he is but still isn’t playing the best he can should say something about how good he is. Leaders have to lead by example. Drops in the endzone don’t cut it. Half-assing your routes doesn’t cut it. Again, I really like those two and think they’ll be fixtures here for a while, but start building the culture you want to be a part of on and off the field.
- I’ll end on a positive. I mentioned how bad the offensive line was, but that doesn’t apply to Darnell Wright. He was awesome again yesterday and is stacking up a fantastic second half of the year after what was a bit of a roller coaster start. No pressures allowed. Overall PFF grade of 85.1. pass and run block grades in the 80s. At least we have one lineman we can build around!
