NFL 2018 IV: A Hue, A Cry and now Goodbye

[Iskaral Pust]

Really solid play so far by the Bears in both directions.  But they need to sustain it.  I expect the Vikings will make some adjustments, especially to stop Mack and to cover Trubiskey’s runs. 

[KingintheNorth4]

That Eddie Jackson pick 6 had me up and screaming. This Bears defense is has me so excited.

[Iskaral Pust]

Great win by the Bears.  That’s the best team they have beaten so far.  It was game over at 22-6 after the pick six.  Vikings offense finally woke up after that but there was no chance of closing the gap in the remaining time. 

Bears need to learn from those last two drives by the Vikings.  Chicago D had them bottled up all game, stopping the run completely and bringing good pass rush.  But that high tempo, no huddle, all throws offense late in the 4th meant the pass rush was gassed (although they did better on the second drive) and suddenly there was a ton of space for Diggs and Thielen to make a lot slot catches for 10-15 yards.  The corners were doing ok but they were getting no inside help.  Perhaps that was deliberate to deny the long pass, knowing that the Vikings couldn’t win in the remaining time if they had to plod down the field.

Bears have struggled before to see out the fourth quarter against good teams.  They need to look at this and decide if they need fresher legs or something else.  No point in being a dominant defense just for three quarters.

And Bears need to learn to protect the ball: Trubiskey threw two picks and Cohen fumbled twice (one recovered by a teammate).  That’s just not smart play in a game where you have completely stifled their offense.  Defense did well to cover them on those turnovers, but still meant we missed the chance to score on our possession.

Mack and Hicks were great, the secondary was good for 53 minutes, Trubiskey was mostly solid but threw some risky attempts against tight coverage.  Receivers were only OK and needed to create more separation.  Robinson, Miller, Gabriel and Burton all made some solid grabs to keep drives moving, but didn’t get open enough.  Both teams have two very good lines but I think Bears edged it. 

Coaching priority: Trubiskey is too easy to shut down if his first option is covered well.  He runs well as an alternative but he also needs to be able to locate and hit a Plan B receiver.  But perhaps not every secondary will be as tough as the Vikings.

Nevermind my carping, the whole city will be grinning tomorrow.  Great win and a huge change in tone for this team after the last few years.  

[Iskaral Pust]

There are many twists and turns ahead but suddenly the NFC play-off spots look wide open.  Rams and Saints are nailed-on certainties but after that there are lots of teams still with a shot. 

Panthers dropped to 6-4 after a head-scratching decision to attempt an extra two points instead of going to OT.  They have some easy games ahead against the Bucs and Browns but they also have to play the Saints twice. 

Alex Smith’s horrific injury means the Redskins could struggle to hold off the Cowboys (previously underwhelming) who are only one game back. 

Bears move into pole position in the North, which gives them a decent shot of at least a wildcard, but Vikings and Packers are both good enough (and Packers have an easy schedule) to rack up some wins.  Plus Bears still have the weakest QB of play-off chasers (but now the Redskins are unknown).

Seahawks aren’t buried yet and get to play the 49ers twice. 

Eagles look down and out but they have four division games remaining, including two against the Redskins with a back-up QB and one against a weak Giants.  They could conceivably rally. 

Falcons look out of contention.  Too inconsistent.  But only two of their remaining opponents have a winning record. 

 

[Mr. Chatywin et al.]

Ugh. That’s now twice in three games on the road that we lost due to a fumble on a good drive and a pick six, and this time we dropped two pick sixes of our own.

[The Last Storm]

Smiths injury leaves the East pretty open. I dont expect the Giants to win out, but if they beat Phili, who looks awful, things might get interesting.

[Bronn Stone]

15 hours ago, Iskaral Pust said:

Bears move into pole position in the North, which gives them a decent shot of at least a wildcard, but Vikings and Packers are both good enough (and Packers have an easy schedule) to rack up some wins.  Plus Bears still have the weakest QB of play-off chasers (but now the Redskins are unknown).

 

Trubisky is worth at least three each of Mark Sanchez and Colt McCoy.  If Washington wins, they'll do it without a QB.  Or a WR.  or much at TE or RB (save one old warhorse, long in the tooth, who cannot carry the load alone).

I like their defense, but not that much.

[Mr. Chatywin et al.]

Tonight is going to be the biggest game of the year. I really hope they cover the over.

38-34 Chiefs win with a late drive. 

[Lord Lyman]

Just noticed that the entire AFC East is on a bye this week. When was the last time an entire division had the same bye week?

[Iskaral Pust]

Mental game this.  It’s like two ten year olds playing Madden. 

[mcbigski]

I don't know but with the current 17 week schedule they really ought to have one division off each week from 5 to 12 and rotate through all possible bye weeks over 8 seasons.  Since division games have the most weight.

[BigFatCoward]

 

8 hours ago, Iskaral Pust said:

Mental game this.  It’s like two ten year olds playing Madden. 

I only watched the highlights (it took about 20 mins). 

[unJon]

9 hours ago, mcbigski said:

I don't know but with the current 17 week schedule they really ought to have one division off each week from 5 to 12 and rotate through all possible bye weeks over 8 seasons.  Since division games have the most weight.

That’s a fantastic idea. 

[Mr. Chatywin et al.]

That was the third highest scoring game of all time, and you could make the argument that it was the best regular season game ever. Lately I’ve been watching football and basketball games on mute while reading.  I think I read a paragraph last night….

[Mr. Chatywin et al.]

10 hours ago, mcbigski said:

I don't know but with the current 17 week schedule they really ought to have one division off each week from 5 to 12 and rotate through all possible bye weeks over 8 seasons.  Since division games have the most weight.

17 weeks is the flaw. They need to make it 18 weeks and give each team two byes.

[Rhom]

45 minutes ago, Tywin et al. said:

17 weeks is the flaw. They need to make it 18 weeks and give each team two byes.

They did that for a season or two.  Don’t remember why they killed it.

I was talking with my brother this morning about last nights game.  I told him that between Chiefs/Saints/Rams, I have to make Chiefs the fave for the Super Bowl just because either the Saints or Rams will be out before the championship.

But then we got to talking teams with speed and weather.  The Rams and Saints are both in good position at home with warm weather/dome.  The Chiefs ironically though are built to win in good weather... but home field for them means bad weather.  Might they be better off on the road somewhere if it meant playing inside or somewhere warm?

[Maithanet]

56 minutes ago, Rhom said:

But then we got to talking teams with speed and weather.  The Rams and Saints are both in good position at home with warm weather/dome.  The Chiefs ironically though are built to win in good weather... but home field for them means bad weather.  Might they be better off on the road somewhere if it meant playing inside or somewhere warm?

The AFC teams they need to worry about are New England, Pittsburgh, Tennessee, Houston and San Diego.  Playing in KC will be both warmer and easier than playing in New England or Pittsburgh.  Of the other three, I guess it might help a little?  Although stylistically I'm not sure how well suited any of those teams are to playing in the cold either.  Tennessee maybe, although I think that team is the weakest of the five, and might not make the playoffs at all. 

[Lord Lyman]

But where in the AFC would that be? Your other two likely championship locations are Foxborough and Pittsburgh. Although Houston could sneak through, I don’t see it happening.

[Maithanet]

So in the pick em with my friends, we need to take one upset every week.  I'm split between Browns over Cincy or Lions over Bears.  Both picks seem possible, but not particularly likely.  Cincy is playing really poorly, but they are at home and AJ Green might be back.  Plus the Browns won last week and two in a row is asking a lot for that team.  On the other hand, the Lions are at home, on a short week playing a Bears that just had an emotional win less than 4 days ago (SNF game to Thursday @noon.  Plus apparently Trubisky is limited in practice.  That's rough.  However, the Bears (particularly the Bears D) are quite a bit better than the Lions, so its hard to feel confident about the upset possibility. 

Thoughts? 

[Bronn Stone]

9 minutes ago, Maithanet said:

So in the pick em with my friends, we need to take one upset every week.  I'm split between Browns over Cincy or Lions over Bears.  Both picks seem possible, but not particularly likely.

That the Lions overperform on Thanksgiving is practically a truism in my mind.  I've watched over four decades of crappy Lions teams play like it was their Super Bowl that day.