clock menu more-arrow no yes mobile

Filed under:

Examining 6 “Lowlights” from Bears vs Bills

NFL: Buffalo Bills at Chicago Bears Jon Durr-USA TODAY Sports

Bears fans, I’m all for positivity. But after a loss like Saturday’s game, we’ve got to ask an all-important question: Why did things go so wrong?

In this weekly “Lowlights” thread I’ll look to answer just that — we’ll look at various issues of the week (“Lowlights”) and their potential solutions (the “Bright Sides”). It should be a fun way to talk about the Bears’ problems, so let’s dive right in!

Note: In effort to not drown you in repeated text, make sure you read the tweet each video is attached to — it’s part of the article! Feel free to let me know if you have any issues!

Lowlight 1: 1st-Half Nickel Cornerbacks

The Bright Side: The Bears’ NCBs likely won’t improve soon, but the ILBs supporting them will — Roquan Smith, the Bears’ elite coverage LB, could be just what their D needs when defending passes over the middle.

With Quan back by Week 1, Desai might be able to help the NCBs.

Lowlight 2: Confusion on the Defense

The Bright Side: Say it with me, “it’s the preseason”.

While that doesn’t make these mistakes any better, it’s helpful to remember that now’s the season for making mistakes and correcting them with practice. Watch for similar issues against Tennessee, hopefully we see improvement

Lowlight 3: Kindle Vildor’s “feel” in zone defense

Lowlight 4: Sam Mustipher’s run blocking struggles

Lowlight 5: Pre-Snap Penalties

The Bright Side: While not being able to line up is obviously not good, at least the Bears’ offense is schematically moving in a pro-analytics direction via offensive motion & play-action. In the 1st half, they used motion on 15/26 plays, with play-action on 7/17 passes. They followed that up in the 3rd quarter with motion on 10/18 plays and play-action on 5/13 throws. That’s solid!

Lowlight 6: Poor punt coverage

The Bright Side: I was shocked when I looked into this, but Pat O’Donnell is absolutely HAMMERING the ball this preseason. In just two games (12 punts), he’s cranked the ball 60+ yards 4 times and another 3 have been 55-60yd. Hopefully the coverage unit can live up to his kicks soon!

That wraps up this week’s Lowlights — let me know what you think of the concept! I’m always out to provide the best content I possibly can, be it critical or not, and I’m always on the hunt for better ways to say “this didn’t go well, hopefully it improves”. Let me know!