• Have something to say? Register Now! and be posting in minutes!

The Norris is ours!!! Thoughts, Grades, Game Balls

Lake Shore Drive

Your retarted
9,225
3,888
293
Joined
Mar 24, 2018
Location
Las Vegas
Hoopla Cash
$ 1,000.00
Fav. Team #1
Fav. Team #2
Fav. Team #3
What a beautiful day!! Not only winning the Norris by beating our historical rivals, but at the same time knocking them out of the playoffs to boot! It was a tough game tho, made tougher by a poor decision to attempt a fake punt on a day when field position was everything. Aside from that and the status of Eddie Jackson, it was a fantastic day and outcome. EJ got the INT, but looked like he caught his cleats in the turf when attempting to go down. Let's hope it's nothing serious, it was at least encouraging seeing him walk on his own into the tunnel, altho he was limping. Time for the grades:

QB: A
Great game by the Mitch monster, who outperformed his HOF counterpart. He seemed to play the role as more of a game manager rather than gunslinger, which was fine by me. He was fluid in the pocket when needed and most of his throws, which were spread around to a number of targets, were spot-on target. His only ding was being a bit careless holding onto the ball on the play where he fumbled, but since we recovered it, no biggie.

RB: A
Cohen was all over the place today, despite the Packers obvious and initially successful attempts early on to neutralize him. What a valuable talent we have in this kid. His only faux pas was not running upfield to at least nail the 1st down near the end zone in that 4th Quarter drive, which resulted in a FG. Meh. Jordan was the primary focus on that all important drive which led to our first score. He moved the chains 4 times before scoring on that TD run.

WR/TE: A
The receivers ran strong routes and were at the right places at the right times. Best game of the year by a TE combo (Burton & Shaheen). Robinson had some big time catches too.

OL: A-
The line did an admirable job of clearing holes and protecting Trubisky, plus they recovered two fumbles (Whitehair and Daniels). I dinged them a tiny bit for a few ill timed penalties.



DL: B+
They performed well at keeping the Packers OL at bay in order for the LBs and Secondary to make some big plays. One goal I'm sure Fangio had was to shut down the run game and force the Packers to win it in the air. I'd say mission accomplished.

LB: A+
The best performing unit of the day. The Mack Sack Attack was in full force, nailing down 2.5 sacks and 3 QB hits. Floyd had another all-around great game highlighted by a 2 sack performance. Roquan continues to show that he is now the best ILB on the team and already one of the best in the league. Just wait until next year when he has a full camp and preseason.

Secondary: B+
Hey, any time you keep Rodgers under 300 yards, I call that a success, especially on a day when their running game was shut down, thereby causing him to pass more than he might otherwise. Breaking that No-INT streak was priceless, let's just hope Eddie's injury is nothing serious. We'll need him for the playoffs.

Special Teams: B
They would have been given an A had it not been for that utterly stupid call for a fake punt and its subsequent failure. This gave the Packers excellent field position and resulted in their only TD of the game. Otherwise, an almost flawless performance by our STs, highlighted by Tarik's super punt return.



Coaching: B+
Again, another A grade would have been handed out had it not been for the really, really dumb call for a fake punt. Not because it failed - I would have still taken the staff to task for the decision. Today was a day where field position was everything. To give the Packers that kind of position as well as giving them much needed momentum made this a really poor call on the Bears part. But the play calling on both sides of the ball for the most part was very well done.
 

Lake Shore Drive

Your retarted
9,225
3,888
293
Joined
Mar 24, 2018
Location
Las Vegas
Hoopla Cash
$ 1,000.00
Fav. Team #1
Fav. Team #2
Fav. Team #3
Oh, forgot....game balls go to:

The Chicago Bears!!!
 

wood20ks

Well-Known Member
Staff member
28,781
18,295
1,033
Joined
Jul 23, 2013
Location
Cubbie country
Hoopla Cash
$ 6,227.93
Fav. Team #1
Fav. Team #2
Fav. Team #3
What a beautiful day!! Not only winning the Norris by beating our historical rivals, but at the same time knocking them out of the playoffs to boot! It was a tough game tho, made tougher by a poor decision to attempt a fake punt on a day when field position was everything. Aside from that and the status of Eddie Jackson, it was a fantastic day and outcome. EJ got the INT, but looked like he caught his cleats in the turf when attempting to go down. Let's hope it's nothing serious, it was at least encouraging seeing him walk on his own into the tunnel, altho he was limping. Time for the grades:

QB: A
Great game by the Mitch monster, who outperformed his HOF counterpart. He seemed to play the role as more of a game manager rather than gunslinger, which was fine by me. He was fluid in the pocket when needed and most of his throws, which were spread around to a number of targets, were spot-on target. His only ding was being a bit careless holding onto the ball on the play where he fumbled, but since we recovered it, no biggie.

RB: A
Cohen was all over the place today, despite the Packers obvious and initially successful attempts early on to neutralize him. What a valuable talent we have in this kid. His only faux pas was not running upfield to at least nail the 1st down near the end zone in that 4th Quarter drive, which resulted in a FG. Meh. Jordan was the primary focus on that all important drive which led to our first score. He moved the chains 4 times before scoring on that TD run.

WR/TE: A
The receivers ran strong routes and were at the right places at the right times. Best game of the year by a TE combo (Burton & Shaheen). Robinson had some big time catches too.

OL: A-
The line did an admirable job of clearing holes and protecting Trubisky, plus they recovered two fumbles (Whitehair and Daniels). I dinged them a tiny bit for a few ill timed penalties.



DL: B+
They performed well at keeping the Packers OL at bay in order for the LBs and Secondary to make some big plays. One goal I'm sure Fangio had was to shut down the run game and force the Packers to win it in the air. I'd say mission accomplished.

LB: A+
The best performing unit of the day. The Mack Sack Attack was in full force, nailing down 2.5 sacks and 3 QB hits. Floyd had another all-around great game highlighted by a 2 sack performance. Roquan continues to show that he is now the best ILB on the team and already one of the best in the league. Just wait until next year when he has a full camp and preseason.

Secondary: B+
Hey, any time you keep Rodgers under 300 yards, I call that a success, especially on a day when their running game was shut down, thereby causing him to pass more than he might otherwise. Breaking that No-INT streak was priceless, let's just hope Eddie's injury is nothing serious. We'll need him for the playoffs.

Special Teams: B
They would have been given an A had it not been for that utterly stupid call for a fake punt and its subsequent failure. This gave the Packers excellent field position and resulted in their only TD of the game. Otherwise, an almost flawless performance by our STs, highlighted by Tarik's super punt return.



Coaching: B+
Again, another A grade would have been handed out had it not been for the really, really dumb call for a fake punt. Not because it failed - I would have still taken the staff to task for the decision. Today was a day where field position was everything. To give the Packers that kind of position as well as giving them much needed momentum made this a really poor call on the Bears part. But the play calling on both sides of the ball for the most part was very well done.

I love your gameball posts every week...…..Good job.

But this one is a little puzzling to me...…

Fangios game plan was to stop the run and force the Packers to use Rodgers to win it...…..?

I think it should have been the other way around......id never want to force Rodgers to win the game,,,,,,,,,,,,,,Hes come back many of times.

but yes,we contained him enough for a lonely td from a botched fake punt...……
even tho he missed a couple of open wrs downfield,we did a good job of holding them down...….

Otherwise I think the rest of your assessments were right on.....
 

Lake Shore Drive

Your retarted
9,225
3,888
293
Joined
Mar 24, 2018
Location
Las Vegas
Hoopla Cash
$ 1,000.00
Fav. Team #1
Fav. Team #2
Fav. Team #3
I love your gameball posts every week...…..Good job.

But this one is a little puzzling to me...…

Fangios game plan was to stop the run and force the Packers to use Rodgers to win it...…..?

I think it should have been the other way around......id never want to force Rodgers to win the game,,,,,,,,,,,,,,Hes come back many of times.

but yes,we contained him enough for a lonely td from a botched fake punt...……
even tho he missed a couple of open wrs downfield,we did a good job of holding them down...….

Otherwise I think the rest of your assessments were right on.....

First off, thanks for the kind words. I always enjoy putting stuff out there for everyone to enjoy, critique, question, and of course generate additonal conversation regarding our beloved Bears.

Now as to what undoubtedly does seem like a contradiction in terms, yes I believe most defensive minded coaches, even in this day and age of pass-happy offenses, still take the position of first stopping the run to make their opponent one dimensional. And this even applies to Rodgers, who BTW is not having nearly the season he's had in previous years. I'm guessing Fangio thought with our incredible pass rush and solid secondary coverage, Rodgers could not beat us today without the aid of a productive running game. I think the proof is in the pudding.
 

Yo Tee

Well-Known Member
11,268
1,842
173
Joined
Jul 28, 2017
Location
Upside Down
Hoopla Cash
$ 5,749.98
Fav. Team #1
Fav. Team #2
Fav. Team #3
My vote for coach of the year is Matt Nagy. Taking a team that won a total of 14 games in the last 3 years total, to be a possible 12 win team this season is highly impressive. Not to mention, the incredible improvements of Mitchell Trubisky, the roster moves to get Khalil Mack and Allen Robinson and the incredibly young talent on offense, Tarik Cohen, Jordan Howard and Taylor Gabriel....this team is a force and I am saying it right now...a force that will last a while, a force that came a year earlier than I expected and I wouldn't be surprised if they are playing in Atlanta for the Super Bowl.
 

Payton

Well-Known Member
10,498
2,214
173
Joined
Aug 15, 2014
Hoopla Cash
$ 1,000.00
Fav. Team #1
Fav. Team #2
Fav. Team #3
I am, of course, thrilled we won. Game was made closer by Nagy out thinking himself a couple of times though. I appreciate an aggressive offensive mind, but 3rd and 1 and we are driving almost in the red zone.... We go wildcat formation? Why?

Again, I love Nagy's creativity, but he seems to have an issue with understanding when to just play it straight up instead of getting cute.

I have ZERO problem going for that 4th down, but hell... just send the offense out and go for it!
 

Lake Shore Drive

Your retarted
9,225
3,888
293
Joined
Mar 24, 2018
Location
Las Vegas
Hoopla Cash
$ 1,000.00
Fav. Team #1
Fav. Team #2
Fav. Team #3
I am, of course, thrilled we won. Game was made closer by Nagy out thinking himself a couple of times though. I appreciate an aggressive offensive mind, but 3rd and 1 and we are driving almost in the red zone.... We go wildcat formation? Why?

Again, I love Nagy's creativity, but he seems to have an issue with understanding when to just play it straight up instead of getting cute.

I have ZERO problem going for that 4th down, but hell... just send the offense out and go for it!

I forgot about that, but you are dead on. Not the time or place to try that particular play.
 

beareezyfaneezy

eezy livin'
32
13
8
Joined
Aug 25, 2014
Location
Bloomington, IN
Hoopla Cash
$ 1,000.00
Fav. Team #1
Fav. Team #2
Fav. Team #3
It was a beautiful day on the lakefront. The Bears are now 2-0 when I am in attendance for a Packers game. It just so happens both times also involved clinching the NFC North title.
 

beardown07

Upstanding Member
69,657
19,392
1,033
Joined
Apr 9, 2011
Location
Pinacoladaberg
Hoopla Cash
$ 4,000.00
Fav. Team #1
Fav. Team #2
Fav. Team #3
Game balls...

O: Trubisky, Gabriel and the o-line


D: Mack, Smith and Floyd.

Floyd has been on an absolute tear the last 5 weeks or so.
 

Lake Shore Drive

Your retarted
9,225
3,888
293
Joined
Mar 24, 2018
Location
Las Vegas
Hoopla Cash
$ 1,000.00
Fav. Team #1
Fav. Team #2
Fav. Team #3
It was a beautiful day on the lakefront. The Bears are now 2-0 when I am in attendance for a Packers game. It just so happens both times also involved clinching the NFC North title.
Eezy, better buy lifetime tickets to all home games against the Pack. :heh:
 

Jiddy

I wear my Meatball Badge with honor.
12,053
4,110
293
Joined
Aug 25, 2016
Hoopla Cash
$ 800.06
Fav. Team #1
Fav. Team #2
Fav. Team #3
A playoff game at home. That's pretty sweet. Let's see how the dominoes fall now. Whatever happens, this season has been a colossal success and one we've needed as a fanbase for quite some time.
 

beardown07

Upstanding Member
69,657
19,392
1,033
Joined
Apr 9, 2011
Location
Pinacoladaberg
Hoopla Cash
$ 4,000.00
Fav. Team #1
Fav. Team #2
Fav. Team #3
Josh Bellamy deserves a mention for his play yesterday. Couple of great special teams plays and one helluva catch/3rd down conversion over the middle.
 

Lake Shore Drive

Your retarted
9,225
3,888
293
Joined
Mar 24, 2018
Location
Las Vegas
Hoopla Cash
$ 1,000.00
Fav. Team #1
Fav. Team #2
Fav. Team #3
Josh Bellamy deserves a mention for his play yesterday. Couple of great special teams plays and one helluva catch/3rd down conversion over the middle.
Yes, his catch of a high pass from Trubisky was one of the best grabs of the day. And his downing of O'Donnell's punt inside the 5 was critical.

And speaking of O'Donnell, I think he's another unsung member of the Bears who deserves some Pro Bowl consideration this year. Without question this has been his best season.
 

NCChiFan

Argumentum artifex
18,319
6,204
533
Joined
Jul 17, 2013
Hoopla Cash
$ 1,000.00
Fav. Team #1
Fav. Team #2
Fav. Team #3
I love your gameball posts every week...…..Good job.

But this one is a little puzzling to me...…

Fangios game plan was to stop the run and force the Packers to use Rodgers to win it...…..?

I think it should have been the other way around......id never want to force Rodgers to win the game,,,,,,,,,,,,,,Hes come back many of times.

but yes,we contained him enough for a lonely td from a botched fake punt...……
even tho he missed a couple of open wrs downfield,we did a good job of holding them down...….

Otherwise I think the rest of your assessments were right on.....

I think GB's running game attack went out the window when their only decent RB, Aaron Jones, went down in the first series and never returned. I'm not sure it was Fangio's game plan or just that's what the Bears do... No one runs on this D with much success, period.

Nagy had a brain fart mid way through the game with two bad calls back to back. The play before the punt fake, the hand of to Mizzel on third and three, was a disaster particularly when you had Howard standing next to Nagy who's been nabbing 3 yards every carry. Then the bad decision to fake punt. Hopefully, the coach of the year, learned something there heading into the playoffs. It is something we mostly forget, Nagy is a first time head coach. And just as prone as any rookie at making mistakes.

Solid assessment Wood20ks.
 

wood20ks

Well-Known Member
Staff member
28,781
18,295
1,033
Joined
Jul 23, 2013
Location
Cubbie country
Hoopla Cash
$ 6,227.93
Fav. Team #1
Fav. Team #2
Fav. Team #3
I think GB's running game attack went out the window when their only decent RB, Aaron Jones, went down in the first series and never returned. I'm not sure it was Fangio's game plan or just that's what the Bears do... No one runs on this D with much success, period.

Nagy had a brain fart mid way through the game with two bad calls back to back. The play before the punt fake, the hand of to Mizzel on third and three, was a disaster particularly when you had Howard standing next to Nagy who's been nabbing 3 yards every carry. Then the bad decision to fake punt. Hopefully, the coach of the year, learned something there heading into the playoffs. It is something we mostly forget, Nagy is a first time head coach. And just as prone as any rookie at making mistakes.

Solid assessment Wood20ks.

A blind squirrel finds a nut once in awhile...…...:lol:
 

richig07

Well-Known Member
14,822
3,091
293
Joined
Jul 11, 2013
Hoopla Cash
$ 200.00
Fav. Team #1
Fav. Team #2
Fav. Team #3
What a beautiful day!! Not only winning the Norris by beating our historical rivals, but at the same time knocking them out of the playoffs to boot! It was a tough game tho, made tougher by a poor decision to attempt a fake punt on a day when field position was everything. Aside from that and the status of Eddie Jackson, it was a fantastic day and outcome. EJ got the INT, but looked like he caught his cleats in the turf when attempting to go down. Let's hope it's nothing serious, it was at least encouraging seeing him walk on his own into the tunnel, altho he was limping. Time for the grades:

QB: A
Great game by the Mitch monster, who outperformed his HOF counterpart. He seemed to play the role as more of a game manager rather than gunslinger, which was fine by me. He was fluid in the pocket when needed and most of his throws, which were spread around to a number of targets, were spot-on target. His only ding was being a bit careless holding onto the ball on the play where he fumbled, but since we recovered it, no biggie.

RB: A
Cohen was all over the place today, despite the Packers obvious and initially successful attempts early on to neutralize him. What a valuable talent we have in this kid. His only faux pas was not running upfield to at least nail the 1st down near the end zone in that 4th Quarter drive, which resulted in a FG. Meh. Jordan was the primary focus on that all important drive which led to our first score. He moved the chains 4 times before scoring on that TD run.

WR/TE: A
The receivers ran strong routes and were at the right places at the right times. Best game of the year by a TE combo (Burton & Shaheen). Robinson had some big time catches too.

OL: A-
The line did an admirable job of clearing holes and protecting Trubisky, plus they recovered two fumbles (Whitehair and Daniels). I dinged them a tiny bit for a few ill timed penalties.



DL: B+
They performed well at keeping the Packers OL at bay in order for the LBs and Secondary to make some big plays. One goal I'm sure Fangio had was to shut down the run game and force the Packers to win it in the air. I'd say mission accomplished.

LB: A+
The best performing unit of the day. The Mack Sack Attack was in full force, nailing down 2.5 sacks and 3 QB hits. Floyd had another all-around great game highlighted by a 2 sack performance. Roquan continues to show that he is now the best ILB on the team and already one of the best in the league. Just wait until next year when he has a full camp and preseason.

Secondary: B+
Hey, any time you keep Rodgers under 300 yards, I call that a success, especially on a day when their running game was shut down, thereby causing him to pass more than he might otherwise. Breaking that No-INT streak was priceless, let's just hope Eddie's injury is nothing serious. We'll need him for the playoffs.

Special Teams: B
They would have been given an A had it not been for that utterly stupid call for a fake punt and its subsequent failure. This gave the Packers excellent field position and resulted in their only TD of the game. Otherwise, an almost flawless performance by our STs, highlighted by Tarik's super punt return.



Coaching: B+
Again, another A grade would have been handed out had it not been for the really, really dumb call for a fake punt. Not because it failed - I would have still taken the staff to task for the decision. Today was a day where field position was everything. To give the Packers that kind of position as well as giving them much needed momentum made this a really poor call on the Bears part. But the play calling on both sides of the ball for the most part was very well done.

The fake punt was dumb. Especially just taking it straight up the gut like that. At least have something better planned than that.

That gave the Pack life when we had been dominating. Just punt and let the D do what they do.
 

richig07

Well-Known Member
14,822
3,091
293
Joined
Jul 11, 2013
Hoopla Cash
$ 200.00
Fav. Team #1
Fav. Team #2
Fav. Team #3
Josh Bellamy deserves a mention for his play yesterday. Couple of great special teams plays and one helluva catch/3rd down conversion over the middle.

I've been on the "Josh Bellamy is a decent football player" wagon for over a year now. People still get on his ass because of that little run of drops in 2016. However, he's a very good SPT'er and a more than serviceable WR. Pretty solid runner after the catch too.

He actually looked like a real receiver on that 3rd down grab. Very legit play.
 
Top