The Chicago Bears misplaced their seventh recreation of the season Sunday in New Orleans, coming unraveled late and committing three of their 5 turnovers within the fourth quarter of a 24-17 loss to the Saints.
Rookie quarterback Tyson Bagent had three interceptions and a misplaced fumble within the recreation and no Bears participant was in a position to ship the game-on-the-line playmaking affect the workforce has lacked for the previous two seasons.
The Bears will now make a fast turnaround earlier than their Week 10 Thursday evening dwelling recreation towards the Carolina Panthers.
As the mud settles from Week 9, Tribune writers Dan Wiederer and Colleen Kane sift by 4 notable matters in “true or false” format.
Kane: True or false? Montez Sweat’s debut as a Bear was encouraging Sunday in New Orleans.
Wiederer: True. The “encouraging” label suits. Officially, Sweat performed 41 of the workforce’s 63 defensive snaps and flashed a few of his most precious presents. He was credited with a cross defensed within the third quarter when he beat Saints proper deal with Ryan Ramczyk across the edge and swatted Derek Carr’s shoulder as he threw, forcing an incompletion and virtually getting there early sufficient to trigger a fumble. In the fourth quarter, Sweat’s deal with on a 13-yard Taysom Hill run was H.I.T.S. precept train tape with the 262-pound defensive finish coming from the bottom of the play and showcasing his velocity to run Hill down from behind and maybe save a landing. For a participant who first walked into Halas Hall on Wednesday afternoon, Sweat dealt with himself properly in his first recreation as a Bear and drew early raves from teammates for becoming in so rapidly throughout such a chaotic and eventful week.
So, sure, this primary recreation was encouraging. But now? With a $98 million contract extension? The Bears want Sweat to be productive. Every week. In reality, he must make an affect in each half of each recreation going ahead. He has been rewarded with a star’s wage which now brings expectations that he performs like a star for so long as he’s with the Bears.
Kane: I’m glad you introduced up that deal with towards Hill as a result of it was fairly a play. He ran in a semicircle throughout the sphere after which closed with an enormous burst over the ultimate 5 yards to take Hill down, the type of second that makes you higher perceive the kind of athlete Sweat is. And it was spectacular that he and Bears coaches had been in a position to get him able to go for the sport so rapidly after simply 5 days.
But you’re completely proper that there must be extra forward. The Bears paid Sweat as a result of they want a playmaker, somebody who’s going to assist them improve their totals of 10 sacks (ranked thirty second within the NFL) and 9 takeaways (tied for twenty fourth). The Bears acquired neither of these Saturday towards the Saints and Derek Carr. Sweat, who joins the Bears with 35 1/2 profession sacks and 9 profession pressured fumbles, goes to be anticipated to supply them regularly.
Wiederer: Sticking with the same matter. True or false? Ryan Poles can be ok with what he achieved simply earlier than and after the commerce deadline.
Kane: True. I used to be of the assumption that Poles’ commerce of a 2024 second-round choose to acquire Sweat made sense so long as Poles was in a position to signal Sweat to a long-term deal. And 4 days after making the commerce, Sweat signed his $98 million extension with $73 million assured. Would it have been higher if Poles may have signed a participant akin to Sweat to that contract with out giving up a draft choose? Of course. But Poles paid that draft capital to not miss his probability at securing an affect participant for one of many Bears’ largest areas of want, reasoning the marketplace for edge rushers could possibly be depleted by the point free company hits in March. The Sweat commerce was a greater resolution than the Chase Claypool commerce in 2022. Now, whether or not the contract was price it’s one thing we’ve got to let play out.
Poles additionally signed nostril deal with Andrew Billings to a two-year, $8.5 million extension final week, a great transfer to safe a participant who has been key to the run protection this 12 months. Because of these two offers, I feel Poles can really feel good — however perhaps not nice. The stalled contract negotiations with cornerback Jaylon Johnson are unlucky, with a disconnect between the 2 sides. Poles ought to attempt his greatest to repair the state of affairs as quickly as he can.
Wiederer: At this level, Johnson could have added incentive to get to the open market of free company to measure his true worth to groups across the league. So will probably be attention-grabbing to see if the Bears consider in his future sufficient to sweeten any doable extension provides between every now and then.
As you talked about with Sweat, Poles was definitely decided to get a soar on addressing a few of this workforce’s largest wants earlier than the 2024 offseason. Hence, the aggressive deal to accumulate the standout cross rusher and the large funding rapidly made in Sweat through that four-year contract extension. Poles talks rather a lot about “moving the needle” and the hope is Sweat is the type of participant who will do exactly that. Poles calls him a “multiplier” and the contract reward reveals religion that Sweat will turn into a significant difference-maker and playmaker. That’s a field checked.
But I’m additionally cautious to supply rather more than a nod of approval for these sorts of strikes and to maintain any celebration urges tempered till a profound affect is actually felt. Think again to the March commerce for DJ Moore, which was justifiably lauded for addressing a necessity with a confirmed participant. But the evaluation of that commerce additionally wanted to account for a number of the roster-building errors made — the drafting of Velus Jones Jr. and the commerce for Chase Claypool amongst them — that made the addition of Moore a need-based transfer for the offense. Moore has been strong by his first two months. But his presence alone hasn’t considerably elevated the offense or the workforce but.
Kane: An enormous-picture query. True or false? The Bears’ incapacity to recurrently beat even middle-tier opponents is telling concerning the workforce’s total route.
Wiederer: True. Telling and dispiriting. I used to be in my resort room Sunday evening catching up on all of the day’s highlights from across the NFL and it was wild to see so many atypical or below-average groups having a lot enjoyable. The Vikings, who had been simply 1-4 once they got here to Soldier Field final month, someway stole a 31-28 win in Atlanta — their fourth consecutive victory — with an emergency quarterback in Josh Dobbs who didn’t know his teammates’ names, hadn’t thrown a observe cross to any of his receivers and was instructing his offensive line his cadence on the sidelines in the course of the recreation. The Washington Commanders, recent off buying and selling away a handful of key gamers together with Sweat and Chase Young, went to New England and toppled the Patriots. The reeling Raiders, who fired common supervisor Dave Ziegler and coach Josh McDaniel final week, rallied behind interim coach Antonio Pierce and blasted the Giants to get again to .500 for the season. And these feisty Houston Texans, who foolishly gained their manner out of the No. 1 total choose in final season’s finale, improved to 4-4 behind explosive rookie quarterback C.J. Stroud. (More on that shortly.)
The Bears, in the meantime? They misplaced for the seventeenth time of their final 19 video games. Read that once more. Seventeen losses within the final 19 video games. With stumbles this season towards atypical or below-average groups just like the Packers, Buccaneers, Broncos, Vikings, Chargers and Saints, there’s a mountain of proof to point out that this workforce doesn’t have sufficient game-changing expertise and/or strategic benefits to climb even one degree within the NFL’s pecking order. With eight video games nonetheless remaining, that is one other season that’s circling the drain far too early. And sure, that’s telling.
Kane: I don’t suppose you’re the just one round Chicago watching all these middle-tier matchups and questioning why the Bears haven’t been in a position to money in additional typically towards a weak early-season schedule. It has been a shock to me that the Bears haven’t at the very least climbed into this very giant tier of common groups this 12 months. With offseason additions like DJ Moore and Tremaine Edmunds and the anticipated enchancment of Justin Fields, I didn’t suppose the Bears can be on tempo for simply 4 wins on the midway level of the season. The Fields damage has made it tougher to ascribe big-picture that means over the previous couple of weeks although. Backup quarterback Tyson Bagent has seemed good at instances and in addition has made too many errors, as you would possibly anticipate from a rookie, and the Bears workforce round him hasn’t been adequate to assist make up for such errors.
But the large query as we take into account the route this workforce is headed: What will occur when Fields returns? Will he choose up the progress he confirmed in a few video games this 12 months and elevate this Bears workforce? Will his thumb damage hinder him in any respect as he tries to get again on monitor? And what if he and the Bears present extra inconsistency? You can’t pin the state of this workforce fully on Fields, however the solutions definitely will play a giant half in how the remainder of the season performs out.
Wiederer: One extra on Poles. True or false? Bryce Young’s early-season struggles for the Panthers validate Poles’ resolution to commerce away the No. 1 choose final spring.
Kane: False. And I say that for a couple of causes however largely as a result of I feel the decision just isn’t one thing that may be decided but. On Sunday, in a loss to the Indianapolis Colts, Young threw three interceptions, together with two pick-sixes to Colts cornerback Kenny Moore. Young has had his struggles whereas throwing for 1,375 yards and eight touchdowns with seven interceptions, 26 sacks and a 1-6 document. But he nonetheless is simply seven video games into his profession and ought to be given extra time to develop and develop. Young additionally wasn’t the one quarterback Poles may have picked at No. 1. He may have taken C.J. Stroud, whom the Houston Texans chosen No. 2 on this 12 months’s draft. Stroud simply set NFL rookie data as he threw for 470 yards and 5 touchdowns with a 147.8 passer score in a win towards the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
And there’s much more to contemplate when evaluating Poles’ resolution to stay with quarterback Justin Fields for this season and commerce that No. 1 choose for DJ Moore and a few draft picks. How will the remainder of Fields’ 2023 season play out? What would be the full scope of Moore’s affect in Chicago? What will Poles do with the 2024 first-round choose he acquired from the Panthers within the commerce? We are nonetheless a great distance away from having the ability to correctly consider the choice.
Wiederer: It’s arduous to disagree with any of that. And we have to watch the quarterback state of affairs play out a bit of longer to really know whether or not the Bears made a sound resolution or a major error. Poles mentioned final winter that he’d must be “blown away” to draft one of many Class of 2023 quarterbacks and pivot off Fields. And the early March commerce with the Panthers minimize quick the Bears’ analysis alternatives late within the pre-draft course of.
Sticking with Fields made sense given the flashes he confirmed in 2022 and the guesswork concerned in making an attempt to establish potential stars at quarterback within the draft class. But if Fields isn’t a part of the workforce’s plans in 2024 and if Stroud or Young emerge as stars for his or her respective franchises, the second-guessing can be inevitable.
Stroud’s explosion within the first eight video games of his rookie season has been spectacular. In eight begins as a rookie, he has already thrown for extra yards than Fields did in 15 begins in his second season. He certain seems like the actual deal. And when the Bears landed the No. 1 choose for the 2023 draft, they’d the power to decide on any participant within the class to alter the fortunes of their franchise. In quick, the strikes they made with that No. 1 choose will proceed to be judged over time and contextualized correctly.
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Source: www.bostonherald.com