Bear Down Baffa

Yes, the Bears suck.  At least right now.  Teams ebb and flow over the course of a season, and at 5-4, we’re definitely ebbing.  But we’ve been starting 3 backup O-Linemen.  And that’s on a line that wasn’t any good to begin with!  It’s not an excuse, it’s an explanation.  Our line has been our weak link for years, and like everything else in 2020, it finally came to a head.  But the Bears are otherwise solid, mostly because of our defense.  OK, entirely because of our defense.  But they’ll keep us in games as we fix (or figure out how to work around) our line.  And now that every NFC team has at least 2 losses, and none has more than 6 wins, we’re only a game and a half behind the #1 seed.  So unlike the Bears, who did NOTHING at last week’s trade deadline, I’m not throwing in the towel on our season just yet.

Their names and numbers are on their jerseys, but I
still don’t know who half these guys on our O-line are!

The Low Down
The Bears finished with just 56 net yards rushing on 20 carries. That might not sound TOO bad at first, but 11 of those yards came on a fake punt.  So we REALLY had just 45 yards on 19 carries, which is a 2.3 average.  It’s no wonder we trailed by 21 points with 6 minutes left in Q4.  And yet we STILL gained 150 MORE yards than the Titans (375-228), had twice as many 1st downs (22-11), and gained almost a yard more per play (5.0 – 4.1).  Foles even threw 2 TDs, though he did fail to throw the ever-important INT that typically enables him to get the W.  But he did bring his average back down to 1 pick per game.  So this loss ain’t on “1 Pick” Nick.

“1 Pick” TRIED to get that 1 pick in, but TEN refused to let him

Our defense AGAIN got 0 turnovers, but we only allowed 17 points, as 1 of the Titan’s TDs came via a Fumble-6 against our offense.  Yes, our O is so bad that they’re GIVING UP points!  If you take those points away, the Bears actually would’ve finished this game tied.  TIED!  Despite our O looking as awful as we did.  Despite starting 3 backups on our line.  And despite TEN being a 1st place team.  And do you know why?  Because TEN’s offense looked just as bad against OUR defense.  Titan QB Ryan Tannehill failed to complete a pass on 6 of his first 8 drives, was knocked around all day, and finished with fewer completions (10) than incompletions (11).  So this loss isn’t on the D either.

Tannehill faced an uphill battle of his own, as his
QBR was actually lower than Foles’ after 3 quarters

Typical Heartbreak Series That Makes You Question Your Bears Fandom
At the end of the 1st half, trailing 10-0, the Bears got the ball back at midfield with a minute left.  On our 1st play, we committed a False Start penalty.  On our 2nd play, we committed an Illegal Use of The Hands penalty.  The clock ran out a few plays later, and we finished that drive with -2 yards.  To start the 2nd half, we fumbled on our 1st play, and though we did maintain possession, it didn’t last long.  Five plays later, on 4th-and-1 in TEN territory, we AGAIN committed BACK-TO-BACK penalties – this time, both False Starts.  So, in a matter of about 4 game minutes, our line committed 4 penalties in 12 plays.  We only had 5 penalties all game.  This loss was clearly on them.

While LS Patrick “Tip The” Scales didn’t commit a penalty,
he gave new meaning to the term “head-butt” on this play

Doubtlook
Look, we knew this downturn was coming.  We just went through the toughest part of our schedule, with our last 6 opponents combining for a 28-13 (.682) record.  So even if we were healthy, this drop-off could’ve happened.  But we’re still over .500, and we’re now entering the WEAKEST part of our schedule.  We only have to face one more winning team.  Granted it’s Green Bay (6-2), and we play them twice, but our other 5 remaining games are against losebag teams (MIN x2, DET, JAX & HOU) who are a combined 9-23 (.281).  And though we’re no longer as good as we were a few weeks ago, we’re still undefeated against losebag teams.  So our season ain’t over.  At least not yet.

OK, maybe it is over

Quotes of Note
Fox announcer Dick Stockton, at the end of Q1:  “I’d say so far the punters are the most outstanding players in this game.” ~ 7 punts and just 1 FG on 9 combined drives between both teams?  I’D say the DEFENSES did more than the punters, Dick.

Dick probably thought Tannehill was “outstanding” on this play

Fox announcer Greg Jennings, on the Bears at the end of Q2:  “This team is leading the league in penalties.  And you wonder how you can overcome this week-in and week-out.” ~ Or you just continue to lose every week, and then you don’t have to wonder anymore, Greg.

Jesus H, he even looks slow in photos!

Jennings, on the Bears at the start of the 2nd half, right after our strong penalty run:  “When it’s bad, it’s bad.  And it’s bad right now for the Chicago Bears…it just does not look good.  Nothing has worked.” ~ At that point, though, we had completed twice as many passes as TEN, gained just 28 fewer yards, and had out-sacked them 3 to 1.  So I think his description was inaccurate.  But the optics, man, the optics were the worst part.  Other than the score, of course.  Or the outcome.

Nagy, to whichever incompetent assistant this is:  “OK, so I
just post my resume on Monster.com?  That’s still a thing?”

BEAR DOWN!

#FolesIsSlowEvenInPhotos
#ItAintOverYetOKMaybeItIs

© 2020

This entry was posted on Mon, Nov 9, 2020 at 9:56 pm and is filed under a) NEW 2020 Posts. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.