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Ten Thoughts on the NFL: Chicago Bears and beyond

Check out my NFL Thoughts for this week, and be sure to leave a few of your own in the comment section.

By Lester A. Wiltfong Jr.
Jared Wickerham

1) The best story in the NFL this year is the story of Devon Still and his daughter Leah. What the New England Patriots did to honor Leah's fight against cancer was an incredible moment. I lost it sitting on my couch so I can't imagine the emotions running through Devon during that 3rd quarter time out.

2) There was also a game Sunday night and Tom Brady and the Patriots came out and quieted all the doubters with a 43-17 win against the Bengals.

3) Not only did the Cleveland Browns win their first road game in over a year, they made history by coming back from a 25 point deficit. That's the largest comeback by a road team ever. If Cleveland quarterback Brian Hoyer keeps playing good football, we may never see rookie phenom Johnny Manziel.

Hoyer committed just his first turnover of the season on Sunday, and in four games he's completing 62.1% of his passes with 1,008 yards for a 97.7 rating. And did I mention he can dance?

4) Aaron Rodgers told the fans and media to relax after his Green Bay Packers lost to the Detroit Lions in week three. Since that loss, the Pack have won two games by a combined score of 80 to 27, and Rodgers has gone 34 for 45 (75.6%) for 458 yards with 7 touchdowns and no interceptions.

5) In my opinion Russell Wilson makes the Seattle Seahawks Must-See-TV whenever they are on.

6) I can't figure Kirk Cousins out. I praise him one week, he royally sucks the next, then last night he plays turnover-free football while putting up 283 yards and 2 TD passes against the defending champs.

7) Lovie Smith remains noncommittal about his starting quarterback after Mike Glennon looked good for a second straight week. This shouldn't be an issue. Josh McCown is a career backup with a recent history of coming off the bench and being prepared to play. The Buccaneers should go with Glennon.

8) I have three quick thoughts on the Buffalo Bills.

One, it's good to see Kyle Orton playing well.

Two, that mustache though...

And three, Jim Schwartz is still a complete douche. He asked to be carried off the field after his new team, the Bills, beat his former team, the Lions.

9) I'm personally not bothered when players start lashing back at fans that criticize them, but it's never a good idea. Lamarr Houston of the Chicago Bears is telling fair-weather fans to eat dirt, and a couple Cincinnati Bengals are pissed off at the fans too.

Football is a highly emotional game. When a team loses those emotions run high and they run angry. As a player it's best to not say anything in the locker room, rather than say something you'll regret later.

10) Before the season started many Bears fans expected the offense to build off their great success of 2013. That's not happening. There have been some injuries slowing down the offense, but good teams are supposed to overcome injuries. In 2013 the Bears' O averaged 381.8 yards per game, this year that number is down by 33.2 yards per. The team's scoring is down 4.6 points a game over last year too.

Bears fans also hoped their defense would improve after an historically poor showing in 2013. Last year they allowed 394.6 yards per game, and this season that number is down to 362.4. Points allowed is down 3.7 points per game.

Even though the defense is showing up in flashes, they are still inconsistent. The offense has been inconsistent as well. The only consistency the 2014 Bears have shown this year is from their special teams, only they're consistently bad.

With 11 games remaining in a topsy-turvy NFL season anything can happen, but time is running out. Marc Trestman, his coaching staff and the players need to win this week against the Atlanta Falcons. Not just to pull their record even, but to gain some confidence in the schemes they are running. After a 3-0 start to the Trestman era, the Bears are 7-11.

Another inconsistent loss can spiral the team into questioning themselves and that's never good.

What are your thoughts on the NFL this week?

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