Tag Archives: Chicago Bears

Observations from Browns win over Bears

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Thoughts and observations from the Cleveland Browns comfortable 26-6 win over the Chicago Bears.

Myles Garrett is incredible

Myles Garrett not only led the team in tackles with seven, but also led the team in sacks with 4.5, a new franchise record. The record was previously held by Andra Davis, quite the surprise considering Davis was an inside linebacker. Either way Garrett was impressive and it should be a good sign moving forward the best pass rusher on this defense.

Jadeveon Clowney finally did something

Garrett was not the only Browns defender to register multiple sacks as Jadeveon Clowney registered two. These were the first two sacks of the season for Clowney as he finally made a real impact in the pass rush department. 

Matt Nagy did the Browns defense a ton of favors

Poor Justin Fields. Matt Nagy did not put him in a good position at any point in the game the Browns defense teed off on him time and time again. Cleveland totaled nine sacks as the defense managed to hit Fields a combined 15 times. Nagy set up Fields to fail and that is exactly what happened. 

The return of Odell Beckham Jr.

Remember when people tried saying that the Browns are better without Odell Beckham Jr.? Pepperidge Farm remembers. The whole narrative surrounding the relationship between Beckham and Baker Mayfield was based on flawed information, context, and not enough data. Beckham made his season debut with a casual five receptions for 77 yards in addition to rushing for 10 yards. With Beckham in the lineup it gives Cleveland a big time threat in the passing game, something they truly needed over the second half of last season and in Week 1’s loss to the Chiefs. 

Kareem Hunt stepped up big time

Kareem Hunt is clearly not the featured back in this offense as that title deservedly belongs to Nick Chubb, but Hunt still managed to make an impact in the game. Hunt carried the ball 10 times for 81 yards and one touchdown, an impressive 29-yard run into the end zone. The running game was not the only area that Hunt made an impact in as he stepped up in the passing game leading the team with six receptions for 74 yards through the air. While the return of Beckham surely gets the focus, Hunt’s contributions cannot be dismissed as the Browns really needed someone to take on some of the workload that usually belongs to the injured Jarvis Landry and Hunt did just that. 

Only two touchdown drives

The Browns scored 26 points, won by 20, and there are a few concerns offensively. Cleveland only scored two touchdowns with Chase McLaughlin making all four field goal attempts to end up with their point total in the win. While this works just fine against a team like the Bears, when facing teams that are playoff contenders this is not acceptable. The Browns need to find a way to turn those field goals into touchdowns if they want their postseason run to last longer this time around. 

Baker Mayfield was okay, but needs improvement

Baker Mayfield finished the game 19 of 31 for 246 yards and a touchdown, the touchdown pass going to Austin Hooper which was his first passing attempt into the end zone this season. The numbers are a bit deceiving as Mayfield did have his fair share of off target throws, even having to be saved by Beckham a couple of times to prevent an interception. This was a case of the Browns winning a game with Mayfield and not because of him. Overall Mayfield still needs to improve and become more consistent over a longer period of time.

Final Thoughts

The Browns won and that’s great, they are now 2-1 on the year. This game, like the win last week against the Texans, was pretty gross to watch. Cleveland is obviously a better team than Chicago and were helped out by some mistakes from the Bears coaching staff. What the Browns really need to do next is win a game by a big differential and look good doing it. If they can do that things would definitely be falling into place for this team. 

With A Jimmmitude: Nets, CBJ retro, Bears

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Kyrie, KD, and Harden in Brooklyn?

A superteam appears to be on the horizon in Brooklyn. Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant came to Brooklyn last season and now the Nets are looking to add James Harden. That is a lot of star power on one team and this is not something new. All players involved have played on some version of a team with a lot of talent.

The question is will the players actually fit together? Brooklyn does not even know if the duo of Irving and Durant works yet and now they are looking to add Harden into the mix. There is going to be some rough patches, but on paper this would be one of the most talented teams in the NBA. The problem is that the game is not played on paper, it is played on a court. The only way to find out if this trio works is once they get on the court together and play games.

Columbus Blue Jackets Reverse Retro

The NHL released a series of Reverse Retro jerseys and I am not necessarily a fan of the concept for the Blue Jackets. The issue I have is the logo, I have never liked this particular logo. It seems too busy and like it is trying too hard.

I understand the concept of what they are doing with the Reverse Retro concept is to mesh the past and the future, but there is a reason this logo was left in the past. Even the current primary logo is not all that exciting, but the secondary cannon logo is excellent and should be more of a focus in future uniform concepts.

Chicago Bears drop to 5-5

Just about a month ago the Chicago Bears were 5-1 and almost seemed like a legitimate contender. Chicago has since lost four straight games and appear to be on the brink of completely falling out of playoff contention. The issue has been and continues to be the offense. Matt Nagy turned play calling duties over to Bill Lazor and that really did not help all that much. The only touchdown the Bears scored came on special teams as their offense was only able to manage two scoring drives which ended in field goals.

There is no easy fix for what is going on in Chicago. The switch to Nick Foles has not provided the offensive boost they were hoping for and Mitch Trubisky is not the answer. Chicago is stuck with their incredibly flawed offensive until the end of the season when they need to make wholesale changes. Changes that not only come in regards to the personnel on the field, but the coaching staff as well. Continuing to go with Nagy as their head coach will not yield the results they are looking for.

NFL Week 4 thoughts and observations

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Thoughts and observations from NFL Week 4

1. San Francisco 49ers miss Jimmy Garoppolo

First things first, I do not think much of Jimmy Garoppolo. That being said he is significantly better than San Francisco’s other options (Nick Mullens, CJ Beathard). The 49ers are a better team with Garoppolo compared to without him. While Jimmy G may never be a Top 5 quarterback, he at least plays at a level that is not detrimental to the team.

2. Nick Foles unable to continue magic in Week 4

Nick Foles was not able to rally the Bears to a second straight victory as they lost to the Colts by a score of 19-11. Chicago had to punt 7 times and it is not easy to win when the punt unit comes out that often. Big Dick Nick didn’t build off of last week but the fact of the matter is that he played better than Mitchell Trubisky would have.

3. Bill O’Brien stinks

As long as Houston continues to employ Bill O’Brien they will be doomed. Nothing more needs to be said.

4. Monday Night doubleheader should be fun

This is less of an observation and more of projecting a thought onto tonight. There are two games on Monday night and they should be fun. The Patriots and Chiefs should be an entertaining matchup, but the absence of Cam Newton will take a bit of the star power out of the game. Falcons and Packers may not be competitive, however Aaron Rodgers should have a field day against the joke that is the Atlanta Falcons defense. Rodgers airing it out is always entertaining, sit back and enjoy the show.

NFL Week 3 thoughts and observations

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The third week of the NFL season did not disappoint. There were quite a few talking points from the week that caught my eye and I have some thoughts on them.

1. The Mitchell Trubisky era in Chicago is over

This was going to happen sooner or later, Mitchell Trubisky is out and Nick Foles is in. Once the switch was made it has to be permanent. Matt Nagy cannot go back and forth like a yo-yo with his quarterbacks and end up with ineffective performances from Mitch and Big Dick Nick. Best of luck to Mitchell Trubisky and his future endeavors as his time as the starting quarterback of the Chicago Bears appears to be over for good. Perhaps another NFL team is willing to take a chance on the former second overall pick.

2. Another disastrous ending for the Falcons and Dan Quinn

The Atlanta Falcons are cursed. Another heartbreaking loss and Dan Quinn is squarely on the hot seat. Entering the 4th quarter Atlanta was up 26-10 and the aforementioned Bears made a change at quarterback. Chicago proceeded to score 20 unanswered points and the Falcons are left just standing there drenched in failure yet again. Making a coaching change midseason might not do anything, but what we’ve seen so far from Dan Quinn has been unacceptable on so many levels.

3. Josh Allen elite?

When evaluating Josh Allen before the draft it was quite evident that he was a quarterback that was going to take some time to develop. Simply looking at numbers or grades or whatever advanced stats that some treat as gospel was not going to give an accurate representation of what Josh Allen was going to be. To quote clown show Mel Kiper Jr., “Stats are for losers”. Just kidding, sort of. Josh Allen was going to take time, but anyone who understands football saw the potential and upside with Allen. After 3 weeks Allen is 2nd in passing yards (1,038), 2nd in TD passes (10), 8th in completion percentage (71.1%), and 4th in QBR (86.1). Sure, Allen will make the occasional mistake or hilarious play, but the fact of the matter is he is among the best quarterbacks in the NFL right now.

4. Doug Pederson: Gutless

Remember when Doug Pederson released a book titled “Fearless”? Fun times. Apparently he is no longer fearless as his decision making at the end of the overtime period was not only confusing, it was gutless. Pederson was perfectly comfortable settling for the tie rather than trying to win, hardly the attitude that should be present in the NFL. Philadelphia should have defeated the Cincinnati Bengals easily, but a 23-23 tie was the final result. Doug Pederson should be embarrassed by this result. Maybe he should take some time this week and channel some of his previous fearless energy, because right now it is non-existent.