Any hope for the playoffs from the beginning of the season is long gone. The Chicago Bears have dropped to 4-10 following a 30-12 loss to the Minnesota Vikings on “Monday Night Football.” With three games remaining, it’s just a matter of how long their now-eight-game losing streak will last.
Is it time for a “my bad” about this season? Brad Biggs answers your Bears questions weekly.
Would head coach or possible GM candidates consider Kevin Warren and the whole ownership group too toxic to work with? — John N., Mattoon, Ill.
I don’t believe so. Are candidates going to have questions they want answered in the process? Absolutely. But the impression I am getting is that the Bears have been pretty forthright about their shortcomings. I am told, by sources outside the building, that the team’s top leadership, and this includes Warren and general manager Ryan Poles, have been reflective and have communicated the right message.
Does that mean they will be in line to get their top choice? There’s no way of telling that, but they’ve at least created a scenario where, I believe, the top candidates will be receptive to listening to the Bears’ pitch and hearing from them. They have to convince candidates they’ve got their house in order and everything will be aligned to give a coach every opportunity needed to succeed.
The ball is going to be in the Bears’ court. It’s going to be up to them to sell what they have to offer while also being open-minded and listening to what the candidates have to say and what they believe they will need. There are elements of the job that will be attractive. For the Bears to get it right, everything must be aligned when they are finally done.
Everyone has been looking for the next villain since Matt Eberflus was fired. As I told folks repeatedly in this space, firing the coach in-season rarely cleans everything up and turns around dismal situations for struggling football teams. The Bears have had a tough time since Eberflus was let go. Yes, he needed to be fired after the loss at Detroit on Thanksgiving and I think everyone understands that. But there’s a lot of work to be done to get the team turned around and until that can begin in earnest — after the season — you have to be prepared to handle a lot more noise. I don’t believe the noise will affect the team’s chances of getting a good hire but it is going to create questions, ones the team needs good answers to.
I don’t recall where you stood on this but it seemed like most in the media felt like Ryan Poles had put together a roster good enough to compete for the playoffs. Given how the season has played out, was that just not true? Not really seeing any media saying “my bad.” — @hickeymj
Certainly, the Bears built a roster that was positioned to be much better than the 4-10 record the team currently has. I thought the Bears would be in the mix for a playoff spot and with seven spots, they really should have been. Nearly half of each conference qualifies for the postseason. Everyone felt like Detroit was the class of the NFC North and Green Bay was expected to be good again given how well Jordan Love played during the second half of last season. The Minnesota Vikings have been the surprise of the division and really the surprise of the entire league and a ton of credit should go to coach Kevin O’Connell and his staff.
The Bears have fallen short in nearly every close game they have been in and I think you can lay considerable blame on the coaches when you look at losses at Indianapolis, at Washington, at Detroit and even the home losses to the Packers and the Vikings. That’s five games right there. It’s hard to say every close game is going to go your way but if the Bears are 4-1 in those games, they’re 8-6 right now and in the hunt. If they’re 3-2 in those games, they’re 7-7 and still alive. If they’re not reeling from the fourth-quarter meltdowns, maybe they don’t lay eggs at Arizona and at home against New England.
This wasn’t a perfect roster. The Bears were not positioned to win the conference. But they’ve got a better quarterback and things should have gone better than they have. I figured nine wins, which would have been a two-game improvement, was realistic. I thought if they got off to a good start and built some confidence, 10 wins was a possibility. Certainly a lesson for everyone in this.
Assuming Darnell Wright is the only sure thing to return on the offensive line, what does a realistic rebuild look like with another pick in the top 10 and three in the top 40 or so? How is the draft for OL this year and available free agents? — Todd, Oak Park
That’s a good question and I am glad you are asking about what is realistic because there’s already pie-in-the-sky thinking. Trey Smith, a standout guard for the Kansas City Chiefs, is coming out of contract and no one I have chatted with believes he will reach the open market. The expectation is the Chiefs pay Smith — he could become the highest-paid interior lineman in the NFL — or secure him with the franchise tag. So, let’s tap the brakes on the idea any sort of rebuild for the Bears could be centered around Smith, who the Chiefs drafted in the sixth round in 2021 after he slid down boards because of medical concerns.
I’ve written a couple of times that I believe the makeover of the offensive line focuses on the interior. The Bears want to build a firm pocket for Caleb Williams which means looking at ways to improve from guard to guard. I think you’re looking at a free-agent signing, a high draft pick and then another rookie or a second free-agent addition. Some of the current players could return as depth pieces depending on how the new coaching staff views them and that’s something the Bears will have to sort out moving forward.
The Bears have to evaluate the situation at left tackle with Braxton Jones and Kiran Amegadjie. It’s not a great draft for left tackles from the standpoint that there isn’t a consensus stud left tackle who has people excited when you look at a top-10 pick. LSU’s Will Campbell has gotten a lot of buzz but NFL folks I have chatted with don’t believe he’s a slam dunk selection who will solidify the position for some team for five-plus years. He’s got short arms and there are concerns about his game. In other words, some believe he’s been vastly overrated.
The Bears need to try to get a center they can draft and develop. It’s not a great draft for that position and it’s hard to find those guys. The player a lot of folks covet — a guy who is stout against massive defensive tackles and has the movement skills to play in space — is really a unicorn. I’m not sure that player exists. So, you’re going to have to pick what you want. A guy with a really strong anchor who can create some push or a guy who is nimble enough to play in space. We’ll have a lot of time to dive deep into options on the offensive line over the next few months.
If Braxton Jones can’t go this week again would the Bears really march out Kiran Amegadjie for a second time given how atrocious his performance was and how limiting it seemed to the passing game? With more time, could they be more aggressive in shifting someone over? — @kittenromney
If Jones cannot play — and he was listed as “did not participate” on the injury report Wednesday as the team held a walk-through and not a practice — I expect Amegadjie to start again. He should benefit from first-team reps when the team practices on Friday. The experience he got at Minnesota should help him. The Lions don’t pressure the quarterback in the same manner the Vikings do. There really isn’t another option unless you want to see Larry Borom at left tackle again and the Bears surrendered 15 sacks in two starts he made when Jones was sidelined with a knee injury. Sure, the Bears could consider moving Matt Pryor but he’s settled in at guard and then they’re plugging in someone new there. I think they hope that Amegadjie takes a step forward.
Mistakes by Kiran Amegadjie and Doug Kramer just the latest in a long list of Chicago Bears mishaps
The Kansas City O-line is not very good this year so Andy Reid has made adjustments. Often, Patrick Mahomes takes just a couple of steps back and fires a quick slant or quick out only a few yards beyond the line of scrimmage, getting rid of the ball in a bit over 2 seconds. Why can’t the Bears and Caleb Williams do the same? — Mike B.
The Bears have been doing a lot of that. There are quick outs designed for Keenan Allen nearly every week. DJ Moore was targeted eight times at Minnesota on Monday and caught all eight throws for 46 yards. Those were quick routes where Williams got the ball out swiftly. I don’t think it is accurate to say the Bears have not put stuff in their offense to have Williams get the ball to his playmakers quickly. The problem is the Bears haven’t done the other stuff particularly well. They’ve struggled too often when they have been asked to pass protect for longer periods of time and they haven’t broken enough tackles on the short throws to create more chunk plays.
Latest on Jaquan Brisker? — @jporigel
At this point, with three games remaining and the quick turnaround next week when the Bears play on Thursday, Dec. 26, I do not believe we will see Brisker on the field again this season. The team has yet to open the return to practice window for the strong safety and given the amount of time he’s missed, my hunch is it would take a couple weeks of practice in order for him to get back up to speed. He suffered a concussion in Week 5 way back on Oct. 6, so you’re talking about a guy who has missed an awful lot of time. The Bears are holding only one practice this week to get their bodies right coming off the Monday night game and my bet is it is walk-throughs only on a short week before playing Seattle. Hopefully, Brisker is in a much better place in his recovery from the concussion and he will be in good shape for the offseason. The Bears were initially optimistic about the chances Brisker would return but he simply didn’t clear all of the hurdles necessary.
In your experience covering the Bears and the league in general, can you recall a team that has played from behind as much as the Bears have this year? It seems like in basically every game the other team has scored first and many times extended the lead to two scores, including when the Bears have won. I’d be hard-pressed to think the Bears have played with a lead for more than 75 minutes total all season. — Jake
The Bears haven’t spent a lot of time playing with a lead this season but they are not the worst in the league in this category. That distinction belongs to the New York Giants. The Bears are averaging playing with a lead for 10 minutes, 33 seconds in each game. We know some games they’ve been tied or playing from behind the entire way. That means the Bears have spent a total of nearly 148 minutes of game time leading this season — or about double your guess. The Giants are leading by an average of only 6 minutes, 33 seconds in each game. The Las Vegas Raiders are averaging only 9 minutes, 46 seconds of time playing with the lead. Best in the league? The Packers have played with a lead for an average of 36 minutes, 29 seconds each game.
Why do the Bears struggle to cover opposing tight ends? — @edmundjburkeiii
The Bears are 28th in the league as opposing tight ends have averaged 61.9 yards per game against them. They’re 32nd in the league in yards per catch by tight ends at 12.6 yards and that is largely due to the huge game George Kittle had at San Francisco when he made seven receptions for 155 yards. Evan Engram had 10 catches for 102 yards in the London game when the Bears blew out the Jacksonville Jaguars and Minnesota’s T.J. Hockenson had seven grabs for 114 yards in the Week 12 game at Soldier Field. Take those three games away — and I realize you cannot do that — and the Bears have been solid against opposing tight ends.
Defensive coordinator Eric Washington called the 49ers game an “anomaly” and I think that is fair from the standpoint that the secondary had all sorts of breakdowns. Zach Ertz also had a productive game against the Bears at Washington but by and large, this hasn’t been a problem. The extended absence of strong safety Jaquan Brisker is no doubt an issue here. The Bears are facing another good tight end this week in Detroit’s Sam LaPorta. He had two touchdowns in the Thanksgiving Day game but both came at the goal line as he totaled only three catches for 6 yards. We’ll see how the secondary handles him on Sunday at Soldier Field. The reality is the Bears rank poorly against tight ends because of one really bad effort against Kittle and a couple of other substantial games by some quality players.
Keenan Allen, while making a spectacular catch Monday night, also seems to have a ton of drops this year. Where does he rank in the league for drops, and where are the Bears as a whole? — John B., New Hampshire
Allen has five dropped passes on the season, the most on the team. He’s been a sure-handed guy throughout his career. Twenty-two players have more drops. Amari Cooper of the Buffalo Bills leads the league with 11. Giants rookie Malik Nabors and Denver’s Courtland Sutton have nine. The most problematic hands in the league? That’s probably the Packers’ Dontayvion Wicks. He has eight drops on 58 targets.
