Enemy Fan Forums: Chicago Bears

This is probably "The" game where we will see if Eberflus can coach or not. We (and Eberflus) have seen what works with this team in 2023 and what doesn't work. Both on O and D we have seen this. Will he revert to the stuff that failed, or will he ride with what is working? Let Fields loose to be Fields. Let the D bring some extra blitz heat on Cousins (if they don't I'm gonna have a coronary). The book on Cousins isn't complicated. If you give him the time, he will kill you. If, on the other hand, you make him uncomfortable, he is not the same guy... he will fold like a lawn chair. This isn't rocket science here. Do what works. Stop the crap that doesn't work.

This is in effect an elimination game for both teams. Loser will be 1-5 and down two tie-breaks in division.

Bears have finally shown some life last two weeks, they're at home, and they're getting healthier while Jefferson is out -- huge game for Flus and Fields.

MUST WIN

+1

It is a huge opportunity for Justin Fields to stack a 3rd good game and at least BEGIN the redemption process regarding him being a possible franchise QB in the NFL (if not here then somewhere). Fields was pretty much given a "pass" in the Nagy offense rookie year. Last year he was given a "pass" for lack of talent around him. Then the first 3 games of this season the Bears OL was pretty bad due to injuries and Nate Davis not playing (or even practicing early on). And Getsy at OC was abysmal.

But in games 4 and 5 we saw the OL perform better and we have 1 good WR now. Kmet is doing a bit better too. So there is "enough" there for Fields to show the NFL what he can do. Doesn't mean he has to suddenly be elite, but at least show he belongs as a starting NFL quarterback. I don't even think Fields needs the team to win to do this. I agree, the team SHOULD win. But this defense and the coaching staff may not have what it takes to get a win here. But regardless FIELDS needs to showcase some good stuff all game long. And if it is a close game at the end, Fields needs to show that he can close out a game by performing well in a critical situation.

On a side note, I'm really disappointed in Mooney and Tonyan. Tonyan has just 4 catches for the season going into the 6th game. He is pathetic blocking and a liability to the team in that respect... but I get it, that he is considered just a receiving TE. But he has only 4 catches averaging 7ypc. And Mooney has only 8 catches for the season (1.6 catches per game average). The dude has totally disappeared as a WR. The reason why I bring this up is that teams from here on out can simply take D.J. Moore out - or at least focus on minimizing him a bit (yes they can do that) and the leftovers as far as receivers is not good. I honestly thought Mooney and Tonyan were better than this.

Bears 31 Vikes 24. Least bad defense wins.

Crazy that he is only the 2nd Bears WR to ever win the award... going back to Marcus Robinson in 1999. It sure has been a slew of bad offenses here in Chicago. I am so hoping we see improvement all season long now, over these 12 remaining games. That is a LOT of games ahead for Getsy and the offense, and in particular for Fields. I keep thinking that DJ had an amazing game getting open and catching those passes. But without Fields delivering (what I though) were amazing passes - this wouldn't have happened. Same with the Bears not having a WR in all those years win the award... that is not just damning of the receiver talent here. It is just as damning of the QB play here.

It will be interesting to see what he does in the remaining 12 games now. He is beginning to look more like he did at Ohio State. He was lethal as a passing QB there. Beautiful and accurate long ball in particular. Hope to see more of that now. I keep waiting for Mooney to start looking better as a WR2. Since the ankle surgery/injury he has not quite looked as good as pre-injury yet. He's due to have a breakout game. Sure would like to see that against the Vikings.

Speaking of Justin's college days, I thought it was really cool that he finished his studies earlier this year and got his degree from OSU. He sure seems like the kind of high-character guy you want in your QB. I'd love to see him prove to be a good franchise QB this season... there's plenty of time for him to do that. I'm not too enamored by what we're hearing from Caleb Williams and his sports dad wanting part ownership of the team that wants to draft him. I'd rather have Justin Fields turn out to be the guy and just continue to build up the talent on our offense.

Bears get 2 in a row. The Vikings are terrible.

Bears 31
Vikings 20

I don't want to get out over my skis yet, but I feel like the Bears can win this one if they get a lead early.

Bears 27
Vikings 20

The Bears are going nowhere this year. Therefore I do not want us to win another game. I also don’t want Everf*cked to keep his job.

Vikings 34
Bears 27

My heart wants to believe this team has figured some stuff out and are going to compete in every game the rest of this year.

My brain is saying don't set yourself up for an obvious letdown.

I’m not worried about the offense, the biggest thing which determines our result is whether the defense is vaguely competent or a dumpster fire.

If the defense turns up, don’t worry, the offense will outscore them.

Justin Jefferson is out, Jaylon Johnson is back. JF1 is starting put things together and lean heavily on DJ Moore who has proven to be the dynamic playmaker we thought he was. Not sure who is going to carry the rock, but if RoJo can come back this week, we should be OK. The defense showed signs of life last week, but still went missing for stretches of the game. The good news is that it looks like Flus is adjusting to his talent (or lack there of) an is getting creative bringing pressure. I think we win two in a row.

Bears - 34
Vikings - 24

Cousins is going to light up this defense, his dink dunk style is just perfectly matched against Flus soft cover zones. And the offense can’t possibly keep up the torrid pace of the last two weeks. Lastly, I see way too many people here predicting wins and we always seem to lose when that happens.

Bears - 32
Queens - 19

We'll probably lose this one.

I still can't trust this team to beat anyone.

If we do win, though, and look good offensively in the process? I'll admit that my curiosity going into the next couple of weeks will be growing.

Minnesota 27
Bears 24

We let a late lead get away at home, again. Jordan Addison has a big day with Jefferson out.

I don't trust the defense even if Jefferson sits and the Bears have a relative return to health.

Bears - 31
Vikings - 34

So. Is there anything that the Bears can build on from their first win in 15 games? Other than get the ball into DJ Moore's hands? I did like the way that Flus started dialing up pressure. I think Justin is used to winning, and maybe this one win gets his head right. Don't know. I think the Bears put two together.

With Jefferson out... I think Cousins will have a day against us, even without him. Our lack of pass rush will be a breath of fresh air to him. At the same time, their defense isn't going to stop our offense the way we've been playing. Missing Herbert will be an issue, but not THAT big of one. I predict this game comes down to the wire. Who do I trust in a last minute drive? Fields and Moore or Cousins and whoever he's throwing to not named Justin Jefferson? I'd pick the same score flipped if Jefferson was playing. This is going to be a barn burner.

Bears 30
Vikings 27

I love the recurring theme of trust here. That's exactly right. I think on the heels of Fields' last 2 performances, we all WANT to believe.

But we all have been Bears fans long enough to see coaches do something that works and then inexplicably revert to what doesn't because their ego matters more than victories, we all have been let down before, so we're asking the Bears to earn our trust.

And after a 1-4 start, I think that's completely fair. Show us more. I want the offense to explode. I want Getsy to stop calling games conservatively in the second half. Defense is going to be what it is with no pass rush but Flus at least knows this and is sending the house time and again. It's the right call - if you keep calling blitzes, you will get burned, but count on it eventually paying off, and then ask your offense to stay aggressive and try to win high scoring games. It's the only path forward for the Bears to collect wins this year.

With Jefferson out, I will bite. Cousins will have more time to throw, but without Jefferson the fear of the big play is gone for the most part. He will use the backs and the TE. He will get greedy and have that bad INT which will cost him.

I don't see the Bears lighting it up like the past two weeks, just because........Bears.

Bears - 20
Vikes - 13 ( not because the Bears D will dominate, just that the Vikes will falter)

I have more faith in our offense than the D at this point, but still don't trust the staff to win two in a row.

34-31 Queens

So Justin Jefferson's not just out for this game against the Bears but is reportedly heading to IR meaning he'll miss at least 4 games. Furthermore Kevin O'Connell has said Jefferson will be seeking multiple medical opinions on his hamstring, indicating the injury might keep him out for significantly longer.

Suddenly I'm less worried about whether the Vikings will beat the Bears and more worried about whether the Vikings will be competing with the Panthers for that first overall pick...

This is not directed at anyone in particular, but "viqueens" and "fudge packers" and similar wordplay has always been a pet peeve of mine. We aren't 12.

Carry on.

The key to this game is going to be the blitz on both sides and how teams respond to that. The Vikes blitz 60+% of the time. It's their MO. How will the protection hold up and Fields respond to situations where the pressure is coming fast? Note that they are bad against the pass, so there's reason for hope there.

On our side, we blitzed more in the last game than we have all year, managed to generate a pass rush and held a team to under 25 points for the first time in a year. Safe bet we double down on that strategy against the relatively immobile Cousins. If they can protect him, that's a good sign for them. Our defense isn't exactly a strength, either.

Maybe my feelings of hope has been overly revived, but I'm thinking we have a good chance this week, based on what has changed recently. For us, "add Jenkins and Davis, Whitehair moves to C, minus Patrick and Herbert". For them, "minus Jefferson". Advantage Bears.

As for the game, I think the Bears take this one. I'm still confused as hell from what we've seen this season and my hopes were so battered by those first few games but I'm returning to the thinking that the Bears are not the dumpster tier team we saw out of the gate. While the parade of injuries to the RBs and secondary is a big drag, I wouldn't be surprised if the team puts together much better performances in general going forward.

This is probably just delusion given that we all had to wait nearly a calendar year to see the Bears, you know, win a game, but it's where I'm at.

Vikings 18
Bears 21

This game, I think is the real bellwether for the season....

Is the defensive performance against Washington an outlier or are things trending in the right direction? (or was it merely us forcing them to throw 55x in a row to "catch up")

Is Fields' recent offensive success only because of incredibly poor opponent play, or is this sustainable? (IE was washington having a bad night on the DL or where we actually good on the OL?)

Can Fields actually throw to WR other than DJ Moore? (His production level simply isn't sustainable)

I EXPECT Minnesota to put up points on us.... I'm also starting to expect more our of our own offense. I THINK it will be at least competitive..... but if we get blown out, I'll probably be back driving the Tank and trying to trade Fields before the deadline. Statistically the numbers have looked good the last two weeks from a surface level, but a deeper dive on the Washington numbers is also pretty concerning, and leaves plenty of questions.

JF1 controls his own destiny at this point, and it's on him to keep stringing together games and prove he's the guy.

Vikings total defense: 20th
Passing defense: 20th
Rushing defense: 16th
Scoring defense: 19th
Red zone: 17th
3rd down: 16th

Our passing game should theoretically be okay. Our defense of course is worse than theirs in every category but rushing. We’re surprisingly 10th in rush yards.

Jam the receivers and blitz the QB all day. Lfg. Justin Fields cooks for the 3rd week in a row.

What's Justin going to make of being blitzed over and over again? Really curious to see if they make the Vikings pay and get big pass plays out quickly, or if Justin just eats a yard of dirt. Hope the bears start fast and get the ball out quickly or it might be a long day.

I'm seriously thinking this is one of those games that gets decided in the first couple possessions. If the Vikings blitz Justin Fields back three weeks of confidence the Bears are screwed. Otherwise I feel like this should be a win. As much as I love draft position and the prospect of having two super high picks, once the game gets going I am all about a win.