It was so nice to NOT be playing SF for a higher spot in next year’s draft. After splitting with the 49ers while doing that the last 2 years (and losing all those picks in the trade for Trubisky because of the win in 2016), this year we already forced ourselves into the bottom 12 picks by winning our division. So the only thing on the line for us was a chance at a higher playoff seed. And with SF already at 10 losses, and throwing a backup QB at us, the table was set. But we played some backups of our own, so it wasn’t exactly a walk. But we got the W, proving once again that the Bears are on Santa’s Nice list this year. We’re now just 4 games away from Supa Bow, Supa Bears!
Backup Sherrick “Who’s My Favorite Bear? Jim”
McManis made the stop on the game’s final play.
The Low Down
Once again, our D only played 3 quarters. In the 1st, we were our usual selves, holding SF to 27 yards and 0 points by forcing two 3-and-outs. But we gave up 120 yards (43% of SF’s total) in the 2nd quarter alone, along with 7 of the 9er’s 15 first downs, allowing 3 straight FGs. But then we put our capes back on for the 2nd half, keeping them under 100 yards, and holding them scoreless the rest of the way. We did give up 65 yards on SF’s 1st drive in the 4th, but then we picked off rookie Nick Mullens in the redzone. We did fumble it back to them, but after killing almost 6 minutes. And our defense answered back with a big stop on the 9er’s last drive. Even for playing just 3 quarters a game, our D is pretty amazing.
Roquan “Miss Saigon” Smith got our only sack, and 9 tackles –
if he gets 8 more, he’ll break Urlacher’s rookie tackle record.
Offensively, we certainly could’ve played much better. We started with 2 punts, a missed FG and a fumble on our 1st four drives, and we trailed at the half. But then we scored TDs on our last drive of the 1st half, and our first of the 2nd half, which were our only points. And they came at the right time, because we only had 2 more possessions in the 2nd half – and we fumbled one of them away. So either we under-performed against a mediocre defense, or we took advantage of our limited opportunities. I’m opting for the latter because, well, it is Christmas.
Luckily, Anthony “Lite Beer From” Miller can hang onto a football
But either way you look at it, we out-played their offense. The Troubador did throw a weird lateral pass that Tarik “The Physique” Cohen dropped, and Allen “Swiss Family” Robinson fumbled with 2 minutes left, but they were solid otherwise. In the 1st half, Truby was 9/12 for 137 yards, and 1 TD (for a 140 QBR!). And in the 2nd, he was 16/17 (94%!) for 109 yards. He finished 25/29 (86.2%!!) for 246 yards (8.5/attempt), 1 TD and a 113.5 QBR. Mullens ended up 22/38 (58%) for 241 yards (6.3/attempt), 1 INT, and a 65.8 QBR, which isn’t too shabby against our D. But Mullens threw as many incompletions on his final DRIVE as Mitchell threw the entire GAME. So.
Who’s backing up Kyle “I’ve Been Sidelined For Oh So” Long?
Bryan “I’m At The End Of My” Witzmann
Cody “Squi” Parkey missed another FG – this one from just 37 yards. He was 2-2 on PATs, but he only scored 2 points when he should’ve had 5 (which would’ve made it a 2-score game). He’s now missed 9 kicks, which is of course concerning to a lot of people. But he’s only cost us 1 game (game #5 in MIA), and our defense allowed over 500 yards that day, so it wasn’t entirely on him. You may remember that we still won when he hit the 4 goalposts (#11 vs. DET), so I’m confident we can overcome Squi. If our O puts the biscuit in the basket and doesn’t settle for FGs, and/or our D keeps them under 10 points (or scores), then P.J., Timmy and Tobin’s friend may not even be a factor.
The Bears have been making Squi practice his kicks without
a ball because they don’t want him to shatter his confidence
Outlook
The Saints (13-2) won, so they clinched the #1 seed. The Rams (12-3) also won, and can now lock up the #2 if they beat SF next week, or if the Bears lose in Minnesota. But if we win and they lose, we’d take the tie-breaker because we beat them. So the #2 – and a BYE – is still within our reach. But…after our bye week, we lost 2 in a row – the only time we did that all season. And when we had 10 days off after the Thanksgiving game, we lost to the Giants. But when we played 3 games in 12 days, we won all 3. So I’m thinking a bye ahead of the playoffs might actually hurt us.
And who, pray tell, is #31? Why it’s Marcus “Aurelius” Williams,
a CB that the Bears signed off the street less than 2 weeks ago.
Quotes of Note
Announcers, before and after Squi’s missed FG: “37-yard try by Cody Parkey, he’s missed 6 times this year…(kick)…and he’s missed 7 times this year. And I can promise you back in Chicago, every Bears fan is wondering how in the world did we ever let Robbie Gould out the door.” ~ Uhm, no we’re not. Robbie Gould missed 6 kicks and lost THREE games in 2015 alone (#7 vs. MIN, #12 vs. SF, and #13 vs. WAS). He was a $3.75M liability (4 years/$15M). He had to go. And the Bears were smart to cut him when they did. The signing of Squi for the exact same contract? Well that’s a whole other matter.
Squi should be thanking Pace instead – for guaranteeing him $9M.
Otherwise, he’d be jobless by now.
Announcers, on Gould’s success: “80 for 83 since Robbie Gould was cut loose (by the Bears). Mercy.” ~ It was still the right move to cut him. Hell, Connor Barth Bag only missed 5 kicks in each of his 2 years, and he only cost us 1 game!
Leno to Squi: “Hey man, at least you didn’t hit a goalpost.”
Jim Miller, on el Truberino: “The two bad decisions – obviously the lateral, and then of course that redzone INT that got negated. Other than that, he had a terrific day. He really had a strong 2nd half, but that 1st half was somewhat suspect with how the Bears were playing.” ~ Jimbo, if it was negated, then it didn’t happen. Just say he was terrific, and then hit Club Dub!
I might call this effeminate slide his 3rd bad decision of the day
Truby Tuesday, on how comfortable he is working with Nagy: “Very comfortable. The more we can communicate throughout the game, and just be on the same page, expecially when we’re making adjustments.” ~ Will somebody please tell this numbskull that there’s no X in “especially?”
Pre-brawl after the late hit.
Note: Nagy is less concerned about our QB than he is about
getting the penalty call. Which is exactly how it should be!
Danny “The BDB Blog Called Me Out After The Ram Game, So I Responded” Trevathan, on his pick: “I’m all hands…my hands is real.” ~ Hey, at least he didn’t say expecially!
Trevathan, to the ball that fell into his lap: “Hello ball.”
Nagy, on the skirmish after the hit on Biscuit (or perhaps referencing a recent trip to a Boystown bath house?): “Guys are just playing ‘hard’…it’s a bunch of big grown men going at it.” ~ It’s a good thing they wear cups! Eeew.
Nagy: “Hey, does anyone know if the Manhole
is open on Christmas? I’m asking for a friend.”
BEAR DOWN!
Supa Bow, Supa BEARS!
#BringOnNewOrleansBringOnDallas
© 2018
Bear Down Baffa 
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