BEARS DOWN — The Weekly Opine

The Bears offense reels under the weight of too many pass attempts. (Photo credit: The Weekly Opine)

The Chicago Bears are listing. Here’s how to right the ship.

Following last season’s surprising 12-4 won-loss record, and disappointing one-and-done playoff performance, the NFL team in Chicago, local media and fans (myself included) had Super Bowl sugar plums dancing in our heads during the offseason.

Dismal performances by the North Side Cubs and the perpetually rebuilding South Side White Sox made it easier to tap into football during baseball season. This was fueled by reports of a team that was intensely focused, yet loose and supremely confident. Comparisons to the 1985 Bears became de rigueur.

Boasting the league’s best defense, the Bears returned virtually the same players who dominated opponents in 2018. On offense, they shored up their wide receiver’s group, tinkered with the offensive line, and brought in a new, multi-dimensional rookie running back to replace a proven runner who had a plow horse but effective style.

The Bears quarterback was rumored to be sharp and much improved, on the cusp of a breakout season. Insiders said the offense was now fully capable of doing their part to help the team win the Super Bowl.

During the offseason, the focus was finding a replacement for field goal kicker Cody Parkey. That was an understandable Job #1 objective, after Parkey blew the Bears playoff game.

Parkey hit the goal post upright six times last season, the final time when he missed the game winning field goal in a crushing 16-15 loss to Philadelphia (the ball hit the upright and crossbar). That failure spelled the end of Parkey’s days in Chicago.

Nothing this side of Texas high school cheerleader tryouts grabs the attention and passions of an entire town the way the Bears FG kicker tryout did. The winner of the Bears placekicker derby, Eddie Pineiro, has proven more than capable and looks like a rock-solid bet for years to come.

Last Sunday, persistently loud booing shook Soldier Field’s foundation. (Photo credit: The Weekly Opine)

Deceiving appearance

Physically, he looks like a stud. His name sounds Chicago tough, like a blue-collar bricklayer’s name. Now in his third season as the starting QB, Mitch Trubisky unfortunately throws too many bricks when attempting the forward pass, as if it counts as a completion if his passes are in the general vicinity of his receivers. Not a stud, so far Trubisky looks like a dud.

Trubisky is playing like a QB who did not start in college until his senior year. Yet, based on just 13 college starts at North Carolina, Bear’s general manager Ryan Pace traded up to select Trubisky with the second pick in the 2017 NFL draft. Ahead of Kansas City’s Patrick Mahomes. Ahead of Houston’s Deshaun Watson.

Both Mahomes and Watson became stars in their rookie season. Trubisky has struggled to grasp command of the position and is among the shakiest quarterbacks in the NFL. He looks uncomfortable in the pocket, with jittery footwork and poor decision-making. During Sunday’s devastating loss to the New Orleans Saints, Trubisky inexplicably threw the ball away on 4th down!

If not already, GM Pace will soon be under intense heat if Trubisky (and coach Matt Nagy) don’t figure this thing out.

Two years ago, Pace gifted a 2-year, $36 million contract to hopeless journeyman QB Mike Glennon. The plan was to allow Trubisky to observe as the back-up. But the best-laid plans of mice and men often go awry. Glennon managed only four starts, with a 1-3 record. Trubisky was elevated to starter as Glennon was forced to take his guaranteed $18 million to the bench.

In another questionable decision, Nagy convinced Pace to trade former Pro-Bowl running back Jordan Howard. Howard was a workmanlike power runner, gaining over 1,000 yards in each of his first two seasons and 935 yards last year. Had Nagy called his number more often during the first half of last season, Howard easily would have gained 1,000+ yards a third consecutive year. A true offensive guru would figure out how to use a bruising runner like Howard, to help balance the offense, rather than discard him like a used paper towel.

Last Sunday, against the Saints, Nagy’s ballyhooed offense ran the ball only seven times. That set a team record for fewest rushing attempts in a game (the Bears have been around for 100 years). Nagy called 54 passing plays in a woebegone display that, if repeated, should force Nagy to relinquish play calling duties.

Up front, the offensive line is sub-par. Even before losing oft-injured former Pro-Bowl standout Kyle Long for the season, the line was sketchy. Without Long in his familiar position, the O-line was worse the past two games.

Here is reality. Despite Super Bowl expectations, the Bears combined record last year and this year is a pedestrian 15-8. That’s the kind of won/loss record teams with a top-level defense and suspect offense achieve. Teams with a top level “D” and top level “O” would go 19-4 or 20-3 over that same stretch. Based on their record, contemplating the Bears making the Super Bowl is fantastical.

So far this season, top high school coaches call better plays than Bears coach Matt Nagy. (Photo credit: The Weekly Opine)

It is fixable

Nagy, who was NFL coach of the year last season, too often out-cutes himself. Cases in point; not playing his starters in the preseason, which caused the out-of-sync Bears to open the season with a home field loss to Green Bay. It is oh so obvious that QB Trubisky needed preseason reps.

Then the Bears showed up in London Friday morning…for a Sunday game! That unforced error ensured a jet-lagged performance in losing to the mediocre Oakland Raiders. Even with the debacle versus the Saints, the Bears should be 5-1. Never a good thing when the head coach literally loses two games with goofy decisions.

The play-caller (Nagy) needs to step up. All the passing makes the Bears look like an arena football team. Run the damned ball! When you do run the ball, stop sending diminutive Tarik Cohen up the middle! Why call run, pass option plays for Trubisky in his first game back from a shoulder injury? The sight of Trubisky wearing a protective brace on his bum shoulder should have been a reminder to Nagy not to put Trubisky in risky situations. (We’ve seen what Chase Daniels can do and he is no Teddy Bridgewater.)

Nagy keeps talking about finding an identity. Try sitting down with Virginia McCaskey. George Halas’ daughter and principal team owner, Ms. McCaskey has witnessed nearly all 100 years of Bears football. She will tell you the Bears identity is smash-mouth defense. On offense the identity should be pass here, and there, but ya gotta run the ball, too.

Yes, the modern NFL is tilted toward passing more and scoring more. Fine. But there should be a balance. Establishing that you can run the ball effectively sets up the passing game. Otherwise, your opponent rushes the quarterback with no fear of your running game. And the QB ends up with his arm in a sling.

The Bears defense deserves empathy. They are on the field constantly. Nonetheless, new coordinator Chuck Pagano, inherited the best D in the league. It’s great Pagano didn’t change terminology. Don’t change anything else, strategically, either. Go back to the exact same scheme that worked flawlessly last year. The return (hopefully) of Akiem Hicks in December will help immensely. Hicks is nearly an equal destructive force as Khalil Mack. For now, bench either Roquan Smith or Leonard Floyd in favor of Nick Kwiatkoski, who played lights out when he started the game when uninjured Smith mysteriously sat out.

And put away the us against them violin. Nagy’s implication the media is trying to turn players against one another is a huge overreach, bordering on paranoia.

Chicago’s lone Super Bowl trophy dates back to 1986. (Photo credit: The Weekly Opine)

Now for GM Ryan Pace. Several teams in the league - like the Saints - have back-up QBs better than your starting QB. A guy picked number two in the draft should be dealing in his third year as the starter. Back-up Daniel has proven he can barely win half the time. Fix this soon, even if it means Trubisky eventually ends up on the bench as the back-up.

The offensive line is the unsung foundation of most great teams. The Bears line is a mess. Right Guard Kyle Long’s career appears to be over. The other guard is inconsistent after being moved from center. A talented second-year man is starting at the pivotal center position. The tackles suffer too many penalties and breakdowns in pass protection. Note to GM Pace: The Big Ten produces stellar offensive lineman the way Motown used to produce hit records. Move up in the draft and draft better linemen.

The Bears started last season with a won-loss record of 3-3, same as this year. But this feels a lot different. This feels like desperate times have returned to Halas Hall, making last year seem like an aberration. Expecting another 9-1 finish this year is lunacy.

Mathematically, the Bears are still alive. Emotionally and mentally, they are a wreck. Bear down Chicago Bears. Thirty-four years since the last Super Bowl is not befitting of the original NFL franchise.