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Good morning. The Bears went from first place in the NFC North to last place in the span of about 15 seconds.
And it’s not necessarily because they haven’t been able to hang with either the Dolphins or the Patriots. The two biggest culprits have been two sets of catastrophic breakdowns on either defense or special teams, coupled with a couple throws from Mitchell Trubisky that likely could have ended up interceptions, coupled with the two acts of thievery the Patriots pulled off to actually pick up their two interceptions on the day.
But those “near-interceptions” have also been accompanied by scoring outputs of 28 and 31 points in some solid offensive performances, as Trubisky’s thrown for five touchdowns and run for another in the Bears’ last two games (and 11 if you count the Buccaneers game as well).
Meanwhile, the Bears next opponent, the Jets, knows a thing or two about turning the ball over, as their own young quarterback Sam Darnold has so far thrown ten interceptions on the year.
If the Navy and Orange are going to get back above .500 this year and push for first again, they’ll need to add to that total, as well as keep a Jets squad without a huge pass-rusher from adding to their 15 sacks on the year. Vic Fangio also needs to figure out how to get pressure without Kahlil Mack, as when he’s been hobbled, it hasn’t gone as well for the Bears on that front - well, short passing games may have had an effect as well.
Make a young quarterback make young quarterback mistakes, pick up the win. Simple formula. Bear Down, my friends.
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We have a lot to talk about today on the WCGSL. Specifically, where the bar is for the Bears, offensively, defensively, playoffs, all of it. No Sam today, but you’ll have me for about two hours or thereabouts, and I’m interested in your thoughts and comments.
And of course, leaving those for me is easy!
- Here. Right here. Down in these comments.
- On the Twitch site at SJS_illini
- and over on the Twitter. I’m at @SJS_illini, Sam would be at @SamHouseholder.
We’ll be live in about 30 minutes. See y’all then...