OT Bears 2019/20 season

[nomorezorro]

i'm torn between "who gives a ****, the bears won" and "how could you possibly watch the past two seasons of chicago bears football and think 'i am at peace with the entire game coming down to a 36-40 yard field goal by our BACKUP KICKER'"

[johnnyvann840]

i'm torn between "who gives a ****, the bears won" and "how could you possibly watch the past two seasons of chicago bears football and think 'i am at peace with the entire game coming down to a 36-40 yard field goal by our BACKUP KICKER'"

It's just basic logic. So let's just go with "who gives a F, the Bears won and they are 4-1!"......

Spoiler:

oh, one great thing to look at is that their back up FG kicker, Cairo Santos has not missed this season from inside of 40 yards... he's 5-5 and 13-13 if you count 33 yard XP's.

[NZB2323]

That was one of those games where, in real-time, you're angry at both the offense and defense for 90% of the game, and then you have no idea how they ended up winning. They couldn't stop the run—yet again—couldn't get consistent pressure on Brady unless it came from Mack, and on offense, they were pretty brutal with the exception of a few critical plays from Foles. The Bucs killed themselves with penalties.

I was honestly about ready to call for Mitch to come back in the game after the way Foles started with those two horrible throws, one to Robinson in the flat on 3rd down, and the other to Mooney, which would have been a walk in touchdown. He got into a rhythm on those two series leading up into halftime, which turned the game around, and then, like I said, made some huge throws to the RB's to convert on 3rd downs. Some of those throws were hot reads that I don't think Mitch would have recognized.

At 4-1, I still don't think this is a very strong team, but now they are setting themselves up nicely for making the playoffs with several winnable games left on the schedule, including the next game against CAR. I really felt like they HAD to win this game for that to be a realistic goal, given the teams they are about to face after this Carolina game (LAR, NO, TEN, MIN, GB). If they won 2 of those, I'd consider that a surprise.

I agree the Bears aren’t a very strong team, but I feel like our schedule isn’t that tough. Minnesota is bad this year, Tennessee is +6, New Orleans’s +/- is 0, the Rams we stopped 2 years ago when we stopped the run, and the Packers, yeah we probably lose to the Packers, although we have upset them throughout the years.

I think the Packers win the division but with there being 3 wildcards this year I feel like we have a good shot. Those early bad throws from Foles were really discouraging, but after being down 10-0 the team played really well.

[CjayC]

I think Santos was gimpy last year though. He's been an average kicker otherwise.

[Chi town]

If we had Cohen and Goldman we could win it all.

Foles will get better and if we stay mostly healthy we will be a competitive playoff time.

[2018C3]

So far this season has been a nice mixture of suck and luck. There is not one game you can say the team should have defiantly won given what we all seen on the field.

Regardless, there 4-1. that's a big accomplishment anyway you look at it..

[CjayC]

James Daniels possibly out for the year with a torn pec. That one's gonna hurt. He's probably been our best lineman.

[dougthonus]

i'm also astonished that any bears fan would have a problem with nagy passing near the end of that last possession. santos hadn't made a fg over 35 yards all season. with this team's history, no way you play for the fg unless it's the chippiest of chip shots

He had just kicked a 47 yarder. They were on the 23 yd line with 1:28 to go and could have ran the clock down to :08 seconds (Bucs had 1 TO left and you have 3 plays so you can run 80 seconds. . I was wrong earlier they could have ran it down to :08 seconds or almost zero and leave them with no TO's. If you run the ball twice you would hope to get 4 yds (which is what the ultimately gained with the two passes that both stopped the clock). Even if you only gain a couple yards on two running plays your FG kicker is kicking a 36 or 37 yard FG from the 19 or 20 yd line. You have trust your kicker to be able to hit anything less than 40 yards. That is inside what you consider the game winner if you can take the clock all the way down like that. I stand by my opinion that it was STUPID beyond belief if you just think about it all the way. they had the win in hand basically. You take that near sure thing and go home happy.

You're incorrect on the situation, it was bad, but not as bad as you are saying.

1st & 10 at TB 41
(1:50 - 4th) (Shotgun) N.Foles pass short left to D.Montgomery to TB 42 for -1 yards (D.White; V.Vea). TB-V.Vea was injured during the play.
(1:50 - 4th) Timeout #1 by TB at 01:42.
2nd & 11 at TB 42
(1:42 - 4th) (Shotgun) N.Foles pass short left to D.Montgomery pushed ob at TB 25 for 17 yards (A.Winfield).
1st & 10 at TB 25
(1:36 - 4th) (Shotgun) D.Montgomery right tackle to TB 24 for 1 yard (J.Pierre-Paul).
(1:28 - 4th) Timeout #2 by TB at 01:28.
2nd & 9 at TB 24
(1:28 - 4th) (Shotgun) N.Foles pass incomplete deep right to A.Robinson (C.Davis).
3rd & 9 at TB 24
(1:22 - 4th) (Shotgun) N.Foles pass short middle to A.Robinson to TB 20 for 4 yards (S.Murphy-Bunting).
(1:22 - 4th) Timeout #3 by TB at 01:17.
4th & 5 at TB 20
(1:13 - 4th) C.Santos 38 yard field goal is GOOD, Center-P.Scales, Holder-P.O'Donnell.

The Bears only had 1 play where they screwed up the timeout by passing because while they passed twice, one was a completion and TB still used a timeout to stop it. They could have run an extra 40 seconds off the clock, and that would have given Brady the ball back with 33 seconds instead of a minute 1:13. Still a mistake, but they couldn't get down to 8 seconds.

[dougthonus]

oh, one great thing to look at is that their back up FG kicker, Cairo Santos has not missed this season from inside of 40 yards... he's 5-5 and 13-13 if you count 33 yard XP's.

They weren't within 40 yards when they threw the incomplete pass, it would have been a 42 yard attempt at the time they made the decision to pass the ball. He's 60% over the past four seasons from 40-49 yards. Again, I would have probably ran the ball, but if you think he would have been automatic from there, I'd disagree. He looks extremely shaky, even his makes look questionable most of the time.

I figure given he's been very accurate inside 40 and he was close to 40 that he's probably 70%-80% from 42 yards, I'd have taken that and Brady having less time. Granted, you never know what happens on two running plays, if they are completely stuffed for losses and he's kicking a 47 yarder it looks dicey, if he picks up 5 yards across two attempts they're in the same boat they ended up with.

I would have probably trusted my Montgomery to get me 3-4 yards on two attempts and get the ball on whatever hash he wanted to kick from.

[johnnyvann840]

i'm also astonished that any bears fan would have a problem with nagy passing near the end of that last possession. santos hadn't made a fg over 35 yards all season. with this team's history, no way you play for the fg unless it's the chippiest of chip shots

He had just kicked a 47 yarder. They were on the 23 yd line with 1:28 to go and could have ran the clock down to :08 seconds (Bucs had 1 TO left and you have 3 plays so you can run 80 seconds. . I was wrong earlier they could have ran it down to :08 seconds or almost zero and leave them with no TO's. If you run the ball twice you would hope to get 4 yds (which is what the ultimately gained with the two passes that both stopped the clock). Even if you only gain a couple yards on two running plays your FG kicker is kicking a 36 or 37 yard FG from the 19 or 20 yd line. You have trust your kicker to be able to hit anything less than 40 yards. That is inside what you consider the game winner if you can take the clock all the way down like that. I stand by my opinion that it was STUPID beyond belief if you just think about it all the way. they had the win in hand basically. You take that near sure thing and go home happy.

You're incorrect on the situation, it was bad, but not as bad as you are saying.

1st & 10 at TB 41
(1:50 - 4th) (Shotgun) N.Foles pass short left to D.Montgomery to TB 42 for -1 yards (D.White; V.Vea). TB-V.Vea was injured during the play.
(1:50 - 4th) Timeout #1 by TB at 01:42.
2nd & 11 at TB 42
(1:42 - 4th) (Shotgun) N.Foles pass short left to D.Montgomery pushed ob at TB 25 for 17 yards (A.Winfield).
1st & 10 at TB 25
(1:36 - 4th) (Shotgun) D.Montgomery right tackle to TB 24 for 1 yard (J.Pierre-Paul).
(1:28 - 4th) Timeout #2 by TB at 01:28.
2nd & 9 at TB 24
(1:28 - 4th) (Shotgun) N.Foles pass incomplete deep right to A.Robinson (C.Davis).
3rd & 9 at TB 24
(1:22 - 4th) (Shotgun) N.Foles pass short middle to A.Robinson to TB 20 for 4 yards (S.Murphy-Bunting).
(1:22 - 4th) Timeout #3 by TB at 01:17.
4th & 5 at TB 20
(1:13 - 4th) C.Santos 38 yard field goal is GOOD, Center-P.Scales, Holder-P.O'Donnell.

The Bears only had 1 play where they screwed up the timeout by passing because while they passed twice, one was a completion and TB still used a timeout to stop it. They could have run an extra 40 seconds off the clock, and that would have given Brady the ball back with 33 seconds instead of a minute 1:13. Still a mistake, but they couldn't get down to 8 seconds.

yeah, I noticed that I was right the first time when I said :32 seconds. For some reason when I looked back at the Play by play, I saw 1st down at 1:28 and the Bucs calling their 2nd TO, but the TO was actually called after the Montgomery run.

point remains the same..... even though that :24 seconds makes a big difference, it doesn't change the strategy there.... :32 seconds and no TO's is still a tall order even for Brady. Obviously,with :08 secs they would have needed more of a miracle-ish finish.

Anyway, I understand the other side of it. I just thought we were done and blew it when we gave Brady the ball back with 1:17 and their last TO. That is enough time to run a legit 2 min drill and nobody is better than Brady in those situations. Just glad the D stepped up and closed it out. 4-1 is a nice surprise for this Bears team. As long as they keep getting better as the season goes along and make the playoffs... "chip and a chair" is all you can ask at the end.

[johnnyvann840]

oh, one great thing to look at is that their back up FG kicker, Cairo Santos has not missed this season from inside of 40 yards... he's 5-5 and 13-13 if you count 33 yard XP's.

They weren't within 40 yards when they threw the incomplete pass, it would have been a 42 yard attempt at the time they made the decision to pass the ball. He's 60% over the past four seasons from 40-49 yards. Again, I would have probably ran the ball, but if you think he would have been automatic from there, I'd disagree. He looks extremely shaky, even his makes look questionable most of the time.

I figure given he's been very accurate inside 40 and he was close to 40 that he's probably 70%-80% from 42 yards, I'd have taken that and Brady having less time. Granted, you never know what happens on two running plays, if they are completely stuffed for losses and he's kicking a 47 yarder it looks dicey, if he picks up 5 yards across two attempts they're in the same boat they ended up with.

I would have probably trusted my Montgomery to get me 3-4 yards on two attempts and get the ball on whatever hash he wanted to kick from.

Well, actually a 41 yarder (and really closer to 40 since they were on the 24-almost the 23 yard line) if they DON'T gain a single yard on two running plays... I'm not saying they should have kicked the FG on 2nd or 3rd down..and like I said, they still had two running plays also, so I'm assuming they at least get it inside 40 with the two runs, in my argument. The completed pass was only for 4 yards. The whole premise is they would kick from 36-39 yards and leave the Bucs with :32 secs on the clock and no TO's instead of kicking the 36 yarder anyway and leaving Brady plenty of time with 1:17 and a TO.

[dougthonus]

Anyway, I understand the other side of it. I just thought we were done and blew it when we gave Brady the ball back with 1:17 and their last TO. That is enough time to run a legit 2 min drill and nobody is better than Brady in those situations. Just glad the D stepped up and closed it out. 4-1 is a nice surprise for this Bears team. As long as they keep getting better as the season goes along and make the playoffs... "chip and a chair" is all you can ask at the end.

I thought the same. I didn't have much faith in Santos, but I had more faith in two runs, a FG attempt and less time for Brady, especially in 4 down territory where he only needs to drive to FG range then I did in attempting a pass play that still has a 70% shot at ending up with the same FG attempt and more time for Brady.

In the end, Santos came through and the defense came through. Wasn't a pretty game, but a win against a good team, and one that wasn't all about a bunch of dumb luck either.

[johnnyvann840]

Anyway, I understand the other side of it. I just thought we were done and blew it when we gave Brady the ball back with 1:17 and their last TO. That is enough time to run a legit 2 min drill and nobody is better than Brady in those situations. Just glad the D stepped up and closed it out. 4-1 is a nice surprise for this Bears team. As long as they keep getting better as the season goes along and make the playoffs... "chip and a chair" is all you can ask at the end.

I thought the same. I didn't have much faith in Santos, but I had more faith in two runs, a FG attempt and less time for Brady, especially in 4 down territory where he only needs to drive to FG range then I did in attempting a pass play that still has a 70% shot at ending up with the same FG attempt and more time for Brady.

In the end, Santos came through and the defense came through. Wasn't a pretty game, but a win against a good team, and one that wasn't all about a bunch of dumb luck either.

So, we agree then. Yeah, it was a good game though from the end of the 2nd Q on, really. Foles started clicking on the last couple drives of the 1st half and then the D was just on point for the entire 2nd half. They were roughing Brady up pretty good even though he was getting time on a lot of plays. They made the big plays when they had to and got off the field on 3rd downs when they needed to. Foles, Santos and the Defense all came through big time and Graham had that spectacular catch in the end zone.

[Dresden]

cairo santos would not be on an nfl team right now if our main kicker wasn't hurt. i dunno what to tell you man, he hasn't been very good before today and nagy had every reason to not let his leg decide the game when there were still other options available.

I agree- in that situation, TB was expecting us to just run it three times and kick a fg. Given our recent experiences with kickers, Nagy did not want to leave it up that. He wanted to give Foles and the offense a chance to put a nail in the coffin. I heard Aikman bellyache about that too, but he maybe doesn't know quite how many games the Bears have lost due to their kickers the past 2 years.

Plus, the Bears D had been playing great the second half. I think that had as much to do with the decision as anything. Nagy showed a lot of faith in them, and it paid off.

[The Explorer]

Nagy was in the same situation against the chargers last year. They had a chance to win the game late in the fourth, they got to about the 20 yard line, ran some clock, and took a knee. Pinero ended missing the game winning fg. Nagy understandably didn't want to end up with the same result so he was more aggressive this time. I don't think it was a bad decision at all given the history of the kicking position.

[molepharmer]

Thought the Bears were outplayed most of the game between the 20's but the TB penalties and the pressure on Brady kept the game close. Fun to see Mack one arm throwing that o-lineman to the ground.

Not at all impressed with Foles simply because it seemed most of his passes were under thrown to his receivers and his noodle arm throwing 3-4 yard outs to the WR was cringe-worthy. Look like Nagy found a new favorite play of hitting the RB in a swing/wheel route - something we saw more of a couple of years with Cohen. Sure beats the heck out of those 2-3 yd WR screens Nagy seemed infatuated with for awhile. Another game where Kmet doesn't seem to be a part of the passing game, what's up.

Good win against a quality opponent.

[dougthonus]

Right now if you were to put odds on the Bears games the rest of the way, would it look like this?

Panthers - Favorite
Rams - Underdog
Saints - Underdog
Titans - Underdog
Vikings - Favorite
Packers - Underdog
lions - Favorite
texans - Favorite
vikings - Favorite
jaguars - Favorite
packers - Underdog (unless Packers are resting guys)

I think that's reasonably conservative and still makes the Bears the favorite in 6/11 games. Figure you pick up an even number of games you're an underdog in as you drop as a favorite and the Bears are at 10-6 and in the playoffs.

[ATRAIN53]

man Allen Robinson needs trip to the Bad Body language doctor. That guy looked so disinterested in the huddle. Like no one talked to him. Just stands there in the huddle a foot away from everyone with arms on hips looking pissed.

I get not wanting Turbisky, but you're bad attitude has be to be affecting that locker room. I'd trade him him, we can get someone else to catch passes. He looks toxic to me.


Great when they interviewed Mack afterwards. Foles was still on field and he pointed to him and was all about "Big Nicky"

so that tell me they know his nickname in that locker room and they are starting to believe it....

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[Chicago-Bull-E]

I don't think I'll ever fault Nagy for trying to not have the game decided by a kicker. I know Aikman harped on it, but he likely hasn't been in tune with the kicker difficulties the last half decade or so on this team.

This game was won by the secondary and defensive line. Really great performances by those units.

[Susan]

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