A brand new period is underway for the Chicago Bears — however the Week 1 consequence seemed awfully acquainted as coach Ben Johnson’s crew couldn’t preserve an 11-point fourth-quarter lead and misplaced 27-24 to the Minnesota Vikings.
The second-half points have been throughout the board in all three phases, together with quarterback Caleb Williams lacking a number of open receivers and an incapability each to run the ball successfully and cease the run. The Tribune’s Brad Biggs takes a deeper look in his weekly Bears mailbag.
Caleb Williams’ accuracy points have been alarming. Can this problem be corrected? Kurt Warner reviewed his efficiency and mentioned he had a reasonably good sport. The attention take a look at and most different analysts don’t appear to agree. How do you assess his efficiency and may these flaws be corrected? — @gp1127
There’s lots to unpack right here and I’ve little doubt there will probably be weekly questions asking for a definitive judgment relating to the quarterback. The highlight is on Williams, accurately, contemplating he was the No. 1 draft choose a yr in the past. His rookie season didn’t go in addition to anybody would have needed — for myriad causes — and there’s a number of floor to achieve to achieve the extent that Jayden Daniels was at in 2024 for the Washington Commanders.
Prefer it or not, Williams’ improvement is the largest problem for the franchise this season. In a bottom-line enterprise, I feel it’s each truthful and correct to say his progress is extra vital than wins and losses this season. If the Bears go 7-10 and even 6-11, however you may sense Williams is absolutely settling in, enjoying persistently and inside the construction of the system whereas additionally making the great performs off-script like few can do, that’s not going to be a nasty factor. For the long-term well being of the franchise, that will be higher than a 10-7 season the place the Bears are profitable a bunch of video games 20-17 as a result of they’re enjoying good protection and limiting turnovers and Williams stays inconsistent.
I respectfully disagree with Corridor of Famer Kurt Warner and, sure, I noticed his breakdown. I don’t know of some other analysts who noticed Williams’ efficiency (21 of 35 for 210 yards and one landing) in an ideal mild when contemplating the complete sport. He accomplished his first 10 passes and was in a groove the place you have been most likely considering, OK, right here he goes. He’s warmed up and locked in. It went south from there. He was frenetic within the pocket. He was fast to bail from time to time. He rushed throws. He turned down open alternatives for some huge performs. The accuracy went from nice to dangerous, particularly in some essential moments and close to the purple zone. These are all components that plagued his sport final season.
In line with the NFL’s NextGenStats, his completion share above expectation was minus-13.2%, tied with Tampa Bay’s Baker Mayfield for the worst in Week 1.
“It’s irritating as a result of like I mentioned after the sport, you probably did all the pieces as much as that time proper and then you definitely miss a go,” Williams mentioned. “And it’s irritating. That’s one thing that we observe on, one thing that we get after and one thing that I’m going to maintain getting after, hold correcting. Passes that I really feel that I sometimes don’t miss in these moments and conditions, particularly with a few of the passes being what they have been and the way extensive open. You miss and you progress on. You right and you discover methods to get higher.”
We noticed situations the place the ball was on time, particularly early within the sport and it was fluid. However there have been too many performs when it seemed like he was dashing. It will be like listening to a podcast on 1 1/2 occasions velocity. An excessive amount of was hurried when it didn’t have to be. When the footwork is off, the ball can spray all over. Take into consideration what Aaron Rodgers appears to be like like when he’s easily throwing the ball. Or Jalen Hurts. Or Josh Allen. Or Jayden Daniels a number of the time. It’s calm and it’s that approach again and again.
“There was a number of good that got here out of it,” Ben Johnson mentioned Wednesday. “When he was doing it (footwork) correctly, the ball got here out on time and I believed he was delivering correct footballs. But it surely’s nonetheless not 100% on a regular basis and that’s one thing that we’re working by way of.”
There’s a component right here the place Williams will be extremely profitable if he’s virtually a degree guard. The Bears have some actually gifted ability place gamers who simply want alternatives to have the ball of their arms to allow them to create and choose up the yards after catch. The problem is mixing that into his sport with the stuff that makes Williams uncommon and particular. He could make great athletic and off-platform performs with the power to fireplace missiles 30-plus yards throughout his physique whereas working full velocity. He’s obtained a singular expertise. He wants to have the ability to win from the pocket and play at a better degree inside the construction of the offense. It’s been one sport in a brand new system with a brand new teaching workers.
Let’s see how he appears to be like when the Bears are 5 or 6 video games into the season. That’s checkpoint. Everybody needs to hurry to plant their flag and make definitive statements concerning the Bears quarterback — Williams or the various who got here earlier than him. I can’t inform you what number of occasions I’ve watched an underwhelming offensive observe in coaching camp and there have been of us declaring the offense has turned the nook and all the pieces is wanting up. Actuality is, they didn’t even attain the nook to make a flip.
There’s an immense quantity of stress on younger quarterbacks and so they require an unbelievable quantity of assist from inside the constructing and teammates to excel. Sure, his flaws will be corrected, however it’s going to take time and it’s going to require persistence. Let’s see how he appears to be like when he’s had extra time on activity and extra video games beneath his belt enjoying for Johnson.
Johnson emphasised the positives and Williams performed turnover-free ball. He harm the Vikings working the ball and Minnesota security Josh Metellus mentioned he seemed sooner than he was final season. There are 16 extra regular-season video games and Williams didn’t appear fazed on Wednesday.
“A few of it’s simply trusting and believing,” he mentioned. “That’s the largest a part of it’s having the ability to belief Coach Johnson and belief my teammates and issues like that and hold doing what I used to be doing within the first half: Take what the protection provides me and shifting the ball down the sphere and being decisive. There was a number of constructive that got here out of that.
“Clearly, we had negatives. Inside that sport, sort of how Coach Johnson mentioned, we had extra unfavorable performs than they did and we misplaced the sport. It’s having the ability to discover these moments the place perhaps a drive goes dangerous and it’s having the ability to discover these methods to come back again collectively and exit the subsequent drive and be environment friendly and do what we did within the first half.”
What went mistaken with the run sport towards Minnesota? Was it D’Andre Swift not making the correct reads, dangerous run blocking, an absence of dedication to it or some mixture of all? It’s arduous to think about getting any traction in play motion if groups don’t have to fret concerning the run. — @john_f_howard
The very first thing coaches will inform you is, consider it or not, you don’t want a extremely environment friendly working sport to have a profitable play-action passing sport. I do know that’s a little bit counterintuitive, however what makes play motion work is the specter of the run. Positive, if an offense is absolutely profitable working the ball, it’s going to support the play-action sport, however it’s not obligatory.
The Vikings have been actually good towards the run in 2024, permitting solely 93.4 yards per sport. The Detroit Lions had one of many few offenses that ran the ball very well versus Minnesota final season as Jahmyr Gibbs had 116 and 139 yards within the two conferences. That was the Lions offense; this yr’s Bears offense is a unique unit.
The Bears ran for 119 yards Monday, however that determine was propped up by the legs of Caleb Williams, who gained 58 yards on six carries. He did a very nice job of eluding some rushes after which discovering open discipline — a number of it — with three positive aspects of 12 or extra yards.
Swift completed with 53 yards on 17 carries (3.1 per carry). He had extra makes an attempt in solely 4 video games final yr, so the dedication to the bottom sport was there. The offense simply didn’t get the creases wanted on the level of assault, and there wasn’t a number of room for pure cutback lanes.
A few of it was operational. A few of it was the Bears dropping the battle up entrance.
“I’d begin with this: That was a top-five run protection from a yr in the past,” Ben Johnson mentioned. “And of their opinion, they improved their entrance. So it’s arduous to start out with. You’ve obtained to offer them some credit score.
“With that being mentioned, we anticipated being on the identical web page greater than what we have been. There have been some occasions that, once we made the Mike (center linebacker) level, we weren’t all on the identical web page. That’s a little bit bit (of) time on activity. That’s additionally a multiplicity of fronts we have been seeing this explicit week. (Vikings defensive coordinator Brian Flores) makes it very tough. However we’ve all obtained to be on the identical web page.
“The earlier that we are able to develop as a unit, it’s 5 guys all enjoying as one, and should you embrace the tight ends, it’s six or seven as part of it as nicely. I believed Swift ran arduous when the ball was in his arms. There’s most likely a pair reads the place he may’ve hit it perhaps a little bit totally different, however for essentially the most half I used to be fairly happy with how he performed.”
How a lot of the offensive line struggles are as a result of Caleb Williams’ failure to appropriately name out pre-snap protections? How a lot is because of having three new gamers on the road and the complete crew studying a brand new system and nobody has had sufficient time to develop chemistry but? — @michaelinmi
It’s most likely a little bit little bit of all the pieces, plus the actual fact the Bears have been going towards an skilled, gifted protection run by a really calculating coordinator in Brian Flores. The Bears have been pissed off they weren’t ready to make use of pre-snap cadence higher, and points there contributed to a few of the 4 false begins.
“I suppose silent cadence, proper?” Ben Johnson mentioned Monday. “Possibly that’ll assist this week. We’re going to have to be actually good at that as a result of that is going to be a loud surroundings that we’re going to (in Detroit). It’s going to be a playoff-like ambiance. Ford Subject has been one thing else over the past couple of years, so we’re going to should be at our greatest.
“Actually we haven’t been adequate over the course of camp. We haven’t been good Week 1, and so that is going to be an enormous level of emphasis for us going ahead.”
Was the Darnell Wright holding name technically an accurate name? — @ccall1331
Of all of the calls that went towards the Bears, that’s the one I’d level to that the officers obtained mistaken. Wright principally swiped down on Jalen Redmond’s arms and used his momentum to push him to the bottom. I believed it was a nasty name — and definitely a expensive one in a collection of downs through which the Bears went from first-and-10 on the Vikings 24-yard line to lacking a 50-yard discipline aim.
I ponder if the official thought Wright briefly obtained his left hand inside the highest of Redmond’s jersey. That’s the one approach it was a maintain, in my view. Wright threw up his proper arm on the finish of the play as if to sign: No foul right here. In the event you’re not responsible, don’t act like there’s one thing to have a look at.
It wouldn’t shock me if the Bears submitted the play to the league for an analysis. It gained’t do them any good if the NFL agrees it was a bogus name. But it surely seemed like a clear block to me.
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As an “old fashioned” soccer fan, ought to I simply get used to the concept you go for it on fourth-and-3 while you’re in field-goal vary? — @jjbittenbi10623
A ton of things go into fourth-down choices, however on this state of affairs, it was a transparent go.
The Bears led 7-3 with 8:59 remaining within the second quarter. The Vikings had completed subsequent to nothing offensively to that time. The one traction that they had gotten got here on account of a 42-yard pass-interference penalty towards Nahshon Wright. Any fourth-down mannequin you take a look at would inform you that is an apparent go-for-it state of affairs.
Ben Johnson may be very analytically pushed, and in a profile from again in February that is perhaps value your time, I detailed how he did an offseason research on the maths behind punt-or-not choices when he was a Miami Dolphins assistant on Joe Philbin’s workers.
“He’s 1,000 occasions smarter that approach than any of us within the room on this, and he’s left-handed (though Johnson throws a soccer and eats together with his proper hand) and writes humorous,” mentioned Cincinnati Bengals coach Zac Taylor, who was additionally an assistant in Miami on the time. “It’s all these traits that I see these Sean McVay-type guys have, these left-handed, write-funny, brain-thinks-differently guys, and it was a spectacular presentation. Lifeless on.”
The issue Monday wasn’t the choice or the play name. It was the execution. DJ Moore was open and Caleb Williams’ go, with a number of zip on it, sailed extensive of the mark. I’d get snug with the thought of Johnson being aggressive on fourth down, particularly on the plus aspect of the sphere.
The place was the defensive position all sport? Heard little or no about Grady Jarrett, Andrew Billings, Gervon Dexter, and many others. — @pleasantcollec2
I believed the defensive position was fairly good by way of three quarters. There was constant stress on J.J. McCarthy early within the sport. The Bears obtained three sacks, and Tremaine Edmunds, Montez Sweat and Dayo Odeyingbo every had a go deflection at or close to the road of scrimmage.
The issue was the Vikings have been in a position to get their floor sport going within the fourth quarter. They ran 13 occasions for 82 yards within the fourth, with Jordan Mason accounting for 56 of these yards. It shouldn’t have been a state of affairs the place the road was gassed. The Bears protection was on the sphere for under 49 snaps in the complete sport.
The run protection is a giant query. The Bears struggled to cease the run final season, and I feel the addition of Jarrett was extra to have a disruptive inside participant towards the go. This will probably be one thing to look at the subsequent few weeks. Had the Bears remained stout within the fourth quarter, they’d have been in a position to put Minnesota away.
When will the Bears commerce for one more working again? — @kevinwillman
I’d advise towards sitting round questioning when that may occur, at the very least with the present state of affairs. The offense must run the ball extra successfully, no query. That begins with D’Andre Swift, and Ben Johnson made a degree of claiming he must name extra working performs and contain Kyle Monangai.
Monangai performed 9 snaps Monday (Swift performed 54) and didn’t contact the ball.
“We most likely have been at, what, beneath 20 for known as runs within the sport,” Johnson mentioned. “I must name extra in order that we get him within the sport a little bit bit extra. That’s one thing EB (working backs coach Eric Bieniemy) and I’ve talked about, ensuring he has extra carries going ahead.”
Getting RB2 touches is based partially by sport stream. If the teaching workers decides earlier than the sport that the No. 2 again will play the third and fifth collection, that’s nice. But when it’s three-and-out each occasions, there isn’t a number of work for the again and the workers has to regulate to search out touches for him. First issues first, they should block higher up entrance, after which Johnson must name extra runs.
Why wasn’t there extra 12 personnel within the Vikings sport? — @darkseith
The Bears used a great deal of 12 personnel (one working again, two extensive receivers, two tight ends). The offense was on the sphere for 63 snaps and was in 12 personnel for 25 snaps. At 39.7%, that was the sixth-highest charge within the league in Week 1. The league common was 25.1%.
The Bears have been in 11 personnel (one working again, three extensive receivers, one tight finish) for 27 snaps, which at 42.9% was nicely beneath the league common of 60.3%.
Jonah Jackson misplaced a complete of 15 reps in Monday evening’s sport together with a couple of expensive penalties. Appeared like stress was persistently getting by way of the center of the O-line on passing and working downs. Given the “greatest man performs” mantra, how brief is the leash right here? — @_sgoudreau
I don’t find out about Jackson dropping a precise depend of 15 performs. Evaluating offensive line play is very subjective, particularly while you don’t know what the particular blocking task is on every play. What I do know is Jackson didn’t have sport, and he acknowledged as a lot afterward.
“We simply should be higher,” he mentioned. “We are able to’t have self-inflicted wounds and issues like that. It begins with me.”
The Vikings didn’t blitz as a lot because the Bears anticipated, particularly within the first half. That’s as a result of they didn’t should. Defensive tackles Javon Hargrave and Jonathan Allen have been actually robust of their Vikings debuts. Hargrave had seven quarterback hurries and two sacks, and Allen added 5 hurries. The Bears had points blocking them, particularly one-on-one. That falls on the entrance as an entire, not simply Jackson.
In the event you’re placing religion in Ben Johnson as a coach and evaluator, you’re most likely snug with Jackson being proper guard. He must be as a result of not solely did the Bears commerce a sixth-round choose to the Los Angeles Rams for him, they adjusted his contract. He’s incomes $17.5 million this season, and $7 million of the $13.5 million he’s due in 2026 (he can earn extra with escalators tied to enjoying time and qualifying for the playoffs) is totally assured.
The Bears had points with cadence that added to the struggles on the line of scrimmage, and it’s going to take a while for the 5 linemen to get accustomed to working with one another and the delicate but vital communication measures that happen on each snap. I’d be wanting on the thought of continuity up entrance for everybody — Caleb Williams included — and never the opportunity of swapping out offensive linemen after one sport.
Had the Bears kicked the ball out of bounds with 2:02 left within the sport as a substitute of attempting to kick by way of the tip zone, may the Vikings have both declined the penalty to have the Bears rekick or may they’ve accepted a 5-yard penalty and had the Bears kick once more from the 30, making it even tougher to kick by way of the tip zone? — Paul G., Florida
No. Had the Bears kicked the ball out of bounds, the Vikings would have taken possession on their 40-yard line. Had the Bears achieved the touchback they have been searching for, Minnesota would have began on its 35.
“I felt like we may kick it out of the again (of the tip zone),” Ben Johnson mentioned Monday. “We weren’t in a position to get that completed. In hindsight, I ought to’ve kicked it out of bounds.”
What was essentially the most irritating factor you noticed Monday that makes you consider nothing will change? Was there something you noticed Monday that made you have got optimism for the season? — @ntag65567
Essentially the most irritating component of the loss to the Vikings was the Bears had a 17-6 lead getting into the fourth quarter, and all three phases contributed to the defeat. That’s the worst half concerning the loss. In the event you may pin it on solely the offense, protection or particular groups, at the very least you’ll really feel like the problem was extra centralized. The Bears should discover ways to win, and that’s throughout the board. They outplayed Minnesota for 45 minutes and wound up with the sort of “right here we go once more” consequence that’s understandably maddening.
I’m not within the camp that believes nothing will change as a result of it’s a mistake to attract sweeping conclusions from Week 1. I’d be inspired by moments through which you noticed all kinds of playmakers contributing to offensive manufacturing. When the Bears iron out some issues on offense, they’ve a surplus of skill-position weapons. I’d be inspired by the play of left sort out Braxton Jones. It’s only one week, however issues have been mighty quiet for him popping out of the sport and folk have been lots involved about that place. I’d be inspired by proper sort out Darnell Wright, particularly contemplating the holding name on him was very iffy — at most. Defensive finish Dayo Odeyingbo made an influence.
The Bears had a nasty loss, no approach round that. However that doesn’t imply you may’t be optimistic that issues will start to take form over the subsequent two months. Keep in mind, the coaches are studying lots concerning the gamers — and vice versa — at first of the season with a brand new workers in place.
Why do they insist on suckering us in simply to punch us within the abdomen? And can we ever be taught? — @jerrytoufi
Some of us most likely have been responsible of unrealistic expectations for this crew for a while. It’s important to return to the beginning of the 2019 season to have the ability to level to document and efficiency within the earlier yr as justification for perception. I believed they’d be a heck of lots higher in 2019 than they proved to be.
Since then, a number of the hope and predictions have hinged on change. Teaching modifications have been made. Coordinators have been changed. The truth is these ex-coaches weren’t the basis of all the pieces that ailed the group.
I consider the Bears will probably be higher than they have been a season in the past. A dispiriting loss within the opener doesn’t change my opinion. Positive, the best way the Bears frittered away an 11-point lead within the fourth quarter had a number of components you have been accustomed to seeing with earlier groups. It’s one sport, and overreacting now solely will result in a much bigger swing of feelings when the crew does put collectively a powerful 60-minute displaying.
That’s a part of being a fan. My greatest recommendation is to discover a method to mood expectations all through the offseason when you end up supporting your beliefs based mostly on extra change than on precise on-field efficiency. In some unspecified time in the future, you must see it to consider it, proper? There’s probability there will probably be components of this season through which you will notice the wanted enchancment.
