Football

Signal Caller Spotlight – Aaron Rodgers: This is what’s it’s like to win the lottery

By Wes French 1607 0

1991, Brett Favre, Aaron Rodgers.

1991 is the last year the Green Bay Packers had to worry about who might start at Quarterback.

1991 is the last time Chicago fans had anything on Green Bay. It’s been misery since.

Aaron Rodgers (against what have to be wildly absurd odds considering what you see when you scan this hellscape for capable, reliable, nearly indestructible, nevermind no-doubt HOF QBs) extended this misery that started almost three decades ago. Green Bay lucked into Brett Favre and nearly 15 years of his wizardry/bullshit and then hit the jackpot again when Rodgers slid into their lap and became the best QB of this generation. Fight me, all of Boston.

Rodgers, now 35 (!!), isn’t really showing his age. 2019 marks his 15th season and 12th straight as leader of the Pack. He’s coming off a subpar season in record only, as you’d assume throwing for 4,442 yards (2nd best of his career), 25 TDs and only TWO INTs (career low) would get you better than 6-9-1, but that gives a better idea of his surrounding cast of late. The season was basically Rodgers vs. his former Head Coach Mike McCarthy, or the guy that kept trying to get Rodgers killed the last 2-3 years. Rodgers entered 2018 coming off his shortest and worst season in his career, an injury shortened campaign that saw him start only seven games, a product of his garbage offensive line and McCarthy’s aforementioned affinity for putting his meal ticket in the worst situations possible at all times.

Enter Matt LaFleur, Green Bay’s dive into the pool of Sean McVay disciples/clones. LaFleur could barely be described as Rodger’s senior at just 39 himself, and honestly I don’t think most NFL fans know anything about him outside of he’s now the HC of the Packers. This feels a bit like an odd sort of experiment for Green Bay. LaFleur has nothing in the way of a resume, at least not one you’d think would get him the top job for a team trying to get what they can out of the last few years of Aaron Rodgers. This could be the team giving in a bit to their mega star, and trying to catch HC lightning in a bottle at the same time. LaFleur learns from Rodgers on the job and plays 1b to his QB1. This would actually be a pretty interesting and possibly successful situation….but this is the NFL. This is Green Bay thinking they’re getting the next young genius, but will he be smart enough to stay out of his own way?

Rodgers sure hopes so, and the blueprint is really laid out for him. McCarthy’s play calling, while clearly pissing off the most important man in the building, had become stale and easy to solve. Rodgers gets a lot of credit/flack for throwing the ball away so often, but that was mostly a product of the bad play calls. He’s smart enough to know when not to take a chance on a small window or when they play is just busted and he can extend his career with an incompletion. Sure, the meatheads wearing cheese might take issue with this, but doing this his entire career has helped him remain the best for so long.

Rodgers is more than just a guy living for the next play, though, and his ability to get his is something a defense can hope to contain more than stop completely. The Bears at least pose a strong threat to Rodgers and the Packers, being able to rush the quarterback effectively. McCarthy’s ineffective play-action won’t be a factor, though, and we’ll see if/how laFleur’s differ. Aaron Jones should contribute to the latter, with establishing a rushing attack now quite important to aiding Rodgers. Chuck Pagano and his league-best secondary will play a huge role as well, and they’ve got a high bar to clear after Vic Fangio’s work the last few years.

Everyone is well aware of the heartbreak from last season’s opening loss to Rodgers in Green Bay, and Rodger’s 4th quarter comeback is the type of thing he’s always capable of – three TDs in one quarter, two over 35 yards, one of which went for 75. The good news? In seven other quarters the Bears held Rodgers under 400 yards passing, picked him off once and sacked him seven times. Essentially, don’t take your foot off the gas against him on defense. Keep the pressure up and be relentless with it while trusting your coverage to make the plays that rush creates.

Khalil Mack said his favorite part about Packers week is sacking Aaron Rodgers. Chicago will need him and the rest of the defense to start the year the way everyone wants to – atop the NFC North and help Rodgers out of his gatekeeper role for this division.

 

Football

Khalil Mack Is The Bears “He Go We Go”

By Brian Schmitz 1526 0

Here’s a quick Public Service Announcement: take some time this fall to appreciate the greatness of Khalil Mack.

Watch a guy who is better at his job than everyone else. Understand that he can do things that some of the greatest players to ever play the sport can’t do.

Last year, Mack had, arguably, the greatest individual season in the history of the Chicago Bears. Take a quick glance at these numbers:
• 12.5 Sacks
• 47 Tackles
• 1 Pick 6
• 6 Forced Fumbles (2 Fumbles Recovered)

What is as scary as it is exciting is that 2018 wasn’t even the best year of his career. Digest these numbers when comparing last years stats to the DE/LB’s 2015 season:

                       2015            2018
  Sacks:             15                 12.5
Tackles:         77                  47
QB Hits:        24                  18

While both seasons are Hall of Fame worthy, these numbers show that it’s not entirely obnoxious to expect more from #52 in 2019. To take this a step further, note that Mack’s 2016 season, the one in which he was named the NFL Defensive Player of the Year, was probably his 3rd best season to date.

Barring injury, here are some tepid numbers you can expect from Khalil Mack in 2019. These projections are based on what can be deemed an average year for the 6th year pro from U-Buffalo:

  • 1 Interception
  • 1 TD
  • 4 Passes Defended
  • 3 Forced Fumbles
  • 11 Sacks
  • 70 Tackles
  • 16 Tackles For Loss
  • 21 QB Hits

As a point of comparison, NFL Defensive Player of the Year Aaron Donald finished the 2018 campaign with the following numbers:

  • 0 Interceptions
  • o TDs
  • 1 Pass Defended
  • 4 Forced Fumbles
  • 20.5 Sacks
  • 59 Tackles
  • 25 Tackles For Loss
  • 41 QB Hits

In Mack, we are witnessing a guy who is everything your best player should be, and most importantly, a guy who makes the other 21 guys on offense and defense better. Continued dominance from Mack means that the expectations for Leonard Floyd have metastasized. When your stud is getting double teamed and chipped, the guy on the other end needs to take advantage of the lack of weak side help. Floyd should make a living off 1-on-1s and ultimately make the Bears decide if the $13.2M option for 2020 is worth it. After the first three years of his career, it’s hard to fathom that a $13.2M deal for Floyd is even being considered; but that is the type change Khalil Mack has brought to this defense.

In addition to making individual players better, Mack’s play make’s the entire offensive unit better. Giving the Bears offense a short field is exactly what a 3rd-tier offense needs. 3rd tier huh? Yes. You are what your stats say you are. The Bears were ranked 21st in total offense last year and Mitch Trubisky was, statistically, the 23rd best QB in the league last year. What these numbers tell us is that for the Bears to be great in 2019, Khalil Mack and Bears defense need to overcome what may be a subpar offense.

So again, appreciate Khalil Mack for exactly what he is – A generational game changer. Ultimately, and as crazy as it sounds, he is one of a few guys who will ultimately be responsible for how well this team plays on the offensive side of the football.

Football

The Chicago Bears Will Not Make A Deep Playoff Run In 2019 If…

By Brian Schmitz 1624 0

…Mitch Trubisky doesn’t make a marked improvement in his game.
I am big Mitch supporter. He is one of the hardest working guys on the roster and he may be the most athletic quarterback in the league. But, (and with Mitch there is always a “but”) you are only as good as your stats, and so far, those stats have been underwhelming. Most preseason prognosticators have the Bears winning a lot games despite Mitch, not because of him. And at this point in his career, Trubisky is a 3rd tier QB.

…Kahlil Mack gets hurt
The success of the entire organization rests on the shoulders on Kahlil Mack. This goes so far beyond his individual numbers. This is a guy who makes everyone around him better – just ask Leonard Floyd, who went from bust to baller in the lone season he played with #52. To take this a step further, Mack’s play greatly affects field position, which in turn affects the Bears special teams units which affects the offense. Walter Payton was the last Bear whose individual success will determine the entire organizations prosperity.

…Playoff Matt Nagy returns
Matt Nagy’s last two playoff game performances can be described anywhere from below average to shit down your leg choke job. For whatever reason, Nagy tightens up the playbook in the playoffs and becomes as predictable as Sam Fel’s being drunk on a weekend night. Nagy is one of the best play callers in the league, but, thus far, this hasn’t translated when it matters most.

…Chuck Pagano Does Chuck Pagano Things
Chuck Pagano has been given the keys to a Lamborghini; his only job is to not crash it (What up Lance Briggs?). Pagano doesn’t even need to improve the defensive unit, just keep the status quo and they will win games. The Bears Defensive Coordinator is one of the best/easiest jobs in football – Pagano’s defensive meetings should play out something like this: “Hey you, number 52, you’re better than every other player in the league. Just be you and the rest of us will be fine.”

Tarik Cohen Is Overused
Tarik Cohen is not an every down back. And while that is a curse, it is also a blessing. The 2nd-year RB cannot withstand the wear and tear of being an every down back and scheming against him becomes easier each time you see him on the field. The Bears need a Robin for their backfield Batman, an Ice for their Fire. While it’s not fair to label him as a novelty back; he is definitely not a player who has all the tools to be your lead back when your need is a 3 yards on 3rd down.

Everything Else

Friday Foofaraw: Our Definitely World Famous Chicago Bears Roundtable

By Sam Fels 1749 0

Unlike Hess, Rankin, and Pullega, the “core four” still live in this wonderful city and call it home. We have not abandoned it for some horseshit covered outpost or soulless suburb. Which means, we still bleed blue and orange. We know the Bears are the soul of this city, for better or for worse (so much worse). And like everyone else, we’re pumped about Sunday and the season ahead. So in a tradition unlike any other, we share our football thoughts, carrying on the tradition of “The Committed Idonije.”

We barely saw Mitch Betta’ Have My Money in the preseason. We really don’t know what’s in store for this season. Do you think the limited preseason action will matter and what are you expecting from our boobies-loving QB?
McClure:  First of all, it’s “tittiess”, and the Mack acquisition is such a trajectory-changer that it alters the prism through how we the giardiniera soaked masses view Mitch Please. IN THEORY, Mack takes a significant amount of pressure off of Mitch and will give him shorter fields to work with and hopefully leads to protect. Not that a QB drafted at #2 overall needs to project as a dreaded Game Manager (not Laramie), but Mitch’s margins just got a lot wider, and any rust that could be in place by Nagy giving the finger to the tradition of the dress rehearsal pre-season game should be knocked off by the end of the first half on Sunday. So, cliff notes answer- no probably not.
Feather: Like our new overlord Matt Nagy said, if Mitch falters early, it won’t be because he didn’t take 20 snaps in the preseason. 

I’m very interested to see what this offense (and Mitch) will look like when the bell goes off on Sunday. Clearly, the Bears were making a concerted effort to avoid putting anything on film. And they were obviously doing something worth watching in the Denver scrimmages to have the ever-weird John Elway paying complements to Mitch. So I’m not too worried about the lack of preseason reps. 

Realistically, I just want to see A) Mitch stay healthy the whole season and B) new wrinkles continually added to Nagy’s offense as the year progresses. I don’t ask for much. Just make my Sunday’s interesting again. Please.
Slak: I don’t worry about the preseason because I’m not a loser like Hub Arkush. That said, I think they’ve kept a ton of stuff re: the playbook from the public and it should be interesting to see if it plays out in our favor. Mike McCarthy’s comments seem oblivious as he is wont to sound, but then again he’s not gonna come out and say “here’s what we’re going to do to stop the Bears.” There’s an element of surprise and I am excited because Mitch does have one thing in his favor and it’s his unpredictability and athleticism. The big question is can he throw? 
Fels: I’m a touch worried about accuracy. The athleticism is there, the offense is going to be a learning curve for everyone so I’ll take those mistakes, but the one thing I noticed last year is Mitch sometimes struggles to find a tight window (don’t we all?) Especially on a deep ball, because Fox never let him throw one last year. If he can’t hit some 40-, 50-, 60-yard bombs occasionally, then everything is going to get scrunched. If he can, sky’s the goddamn limit. MITCH BETTA’ HAVE MY MONEY.
How good is this defense gonna be?
McClure: There is no limit to how good this defense can be. Everyone and their obese uncle on twitter has posted positional parallels for Vic Fangio’s fearsome defense in San Francisco to the personnel that slots in here, and things certainly look favorable. If nothing else, this defense will look more aggressive than Lovie’s bend-but-don’t-break and takeaway the ball system, and could very well be better if everyone stays healthy.
Feather: This defense SHOULD be as much fun as the first three years of the Lovie Staff and his Smith era when Tommie Harris still had two attached hamstrings. 

As McClure said, the Mack acquisition completely changes the prism by which this unit should be viewed. Of course, Roquan Smith missing the preseason (and to a lesser extent Mack) probably means this defense won’t come out of the gates breathing fire. More likely, it’ll take a couple weeks of the Bears getting slightly torched; people losing their minds and then getting on a roll after everyone gets a good feel for each other.
Vic Faaaaaaangio. Just wanted to get that one in. 
Slak: Injuries, as always, will dictate that. Trader Vic is no slouch though and I think he’ll get as much as one can from this group and goddamn is it talented. I am really excited to see them get back to being the terrifying takeaway machine we remember from the mid 2000s. 
Fels: I don’t even want to compare it to Lovie’s, as fun as they were at full-strength. This defense has the potential to be our mid-80’s group because unlike Lovie’s, this one’s gonna come and get ya. There will be angles and blitzes and ferocity and outright terror and I am here for it. There will also be swagger, and that’s when things are going to get really fun.
Khalil’s gonna kill you…Khalil’s gonna kill you…Khalil’s gonna kill you…
 
Is Allen Robinson going to be a weapon? Does he even have to be with Taylor Gabriel, Anthony Miller, and Slak’s boy Javon Wims?
McClure:  If nothing else, Robinson has to be respected if not double covered, and with the plethora of on-paper skill position weapons this offense should have. Robinson doesn’t seem to have an excessive amount of WR Diva in him so playing decoy for a while for the betterment of the team should be alright, but eventually he’s going to need his touches to keep DB’s honest, and it will be on he and Mitch to make the most of those targets.
Feather: You also forget to mention Slak’s other boy Kevin White. I’m probably drunk on Bears Kool-aid but this really could be an embarrassment of riches if all things come together. Hell, even if Anthony Miller is the only one of the young guys mentioned who pans out that will still be a success…by Bears standards. 

The key to it all taking off, though, is Robinson. If he starts strong and draws the attention of the opposition, it’ll open single coverage on guys like Miller, Burton, Wims, etc. 
He’s such a huge target. So long as his ACLs don’t shatter on impact, I cant think of a good reason why he wouldn’t be considered a major weapon. 
Slak:  I think he will be if Mitch can find him. I love Wims because I watched a lot of Georgia football last year and I think Anthony Miller can be a super dependable guy for us. Jury’s out on Gabriel but the guy you didn’t mention is Trey Burton. I think he’s gonna be really good. 
Fels: The amount of weapons the Bears could have is kind of astonishing. And that leaves out what could be a really decent running game and a coaching staff that can maximize the fun of Tarik Cohen. They’re going to get goofy and I can’t wait. Really, All Robinson has to be is a cog.
How many things in your house did you punch in joy when you found out about Khalil Mack?
McClure: Well, not nearly as many as Slak, who sent us all a 7:30AM “WAKE UP MOTHERFUCKERS THEY DID IT” text last week.
Feather: One, myself in the face. 
Slak: I think I texted you clowns immediately. I felt higher than giraffe balls. 
Fels: This is probably too much info, but I got Slak’s text on the toilet, Now that’s an experience.
Ok, seriously, can the Bears actually be like, good this year?

McClure: Short answer “Yes” with a “Maybe”, long answer “No” with a “But”.

Feather: I feel like my answer to this is the same every year – yes. Not to be a St Louis Blues fan “this time will be different” but this season has a different feel than any in the past decade or so. There are so many things to like about this roster and there’s still that new car smell of the coaching staff that there doesn’t seem to be much wishcasting when you start trying to imagine a 9 to 10 win team.  So what we have is 100% pure, unfiltered optimism. God help us all.

Slak: t’s a really tough division – the hardest question is who finishes *last* in the NFC North? It’s loaded. Based on that, it’s going to be a tough year for any of those teams and I welcome relevance. We’re not asking for much – just let us care again. Let us love. 

Fels: I’m all fucking in. I think 10 wins is right there. Everyone barks about the schedule but you honestly have no idea what the schedule will look like come Halloween. Yeah, the division is tough, but it’s not like Green Bay or Detroit are fucking juggernauts. And you can Kirk Cousins this, beeyotch. There are three pretty winnable AFC games there, The Bucs and Giants blow. Win your division games at home and those five and there’s eight wins already. Then it’s just about picking off one or two others. It can be done. It will be done.

FOOTBALL’S COMING HOME.