Last Week's Review & This Week's Preview: Saints @ Bears
- nolanbul2
- Oct 31, 2020
- 8 min read
Updated: Jan 15, 2022
Thanks to the Seattle Seahawks' intense loss to the Arizona Cardinals last Sunday night, the Chicago Bears were a win away from stepping into first place in the entire NFC. All they needed to do was to take down the Los Angeles Rams, who were coming off a tough loss against the San Fransisco 49ers, the following day. A beauty of a season for the Bears could take another crazy step forward and see them reign their entire conference for the time being.
Well, Monday night came along, and the Bears were just...awful. In this article, I will review the brutal loss against the Rams and preview our upcoming matchup against the New Orleans Saints.
If you haven't already, please feel free to check out my introduction article, I had a blast putting it together. You will get to know more about me, my background, and my plans for this website here:
Where Do We Begin? Oh, Of Course...The Offense!
If fans thought the game v.s. the Colts was horrific, the Rams game decided to one-up that and prove to be (somehow) much more pathetic to watch. We knew the offense was not talented; we knew they were facing a tough defense led by the best defender in the league, we knew the circumstances were not in our favor heading into the game. But my goodness, that was just BRUTAL to watch.
Every single dimension of the offense was horrific. The exact problems that we are used to this season on offense were consistently present throughout the game's entire 60 minutes: A non-existent run game, sloppy Offensive Line play, and, of course, the cringe-worthy passing game.
Rams Safety Taylor Rapp Earning An Interception Off Of A Humiliating Throw By Foles In The End Zone
(Credit: LA Times)
QB Nick Foles's performance was headlined with missing immense opportunities that would have shortened their deficits at the right time. In particular, the overthrow of a wide-open Wide Receiver Darnell Mooney for what could have been a 90+ yard touchdown and a dreadful interception thrown to (this time) a double-covered Mooney in the end zone. Meanwhile, David Montgomery hardly had any room to run with an average of 3.4 yards per carry. The Offensive Line, as expected, could scarcely contain Defensive Tackle Aaron Donald and provided no help for the offense. The only time the team entered the endzone was with a fumble recovery touchdown by Free Safety Eddie Jackson with seven minutes left in the fourth (at least he did not get screwed by the refs this time! Woohoo!). However, as awful as the offense was, not all blame should be placed on the players.
The Heat Is Back On Nagy
One could argue that this game was Head Coach Matt Nagy's worst as a Bear. You could throw in a few games from the murky 2019 season, but Monday night was the first time this year where (in my opinion) Nagy truly made himself look awful throughout the entirety of the game. There has not been rhythm and consistency in all five wins so far, but at least they could have mustered enough points and yards to get by and take their victories. But, on Monday, they did not show a single glimpse of rhythm and consistency whatsoever, hence why they did not score any points on offense.
Nagy was guilty of constantly calling runs straight up the middle into Aaron Donald. He continued to call run plays involving Wide Receiver Cordarelle Patterson that have proven ineffective on numerous occasions before. Also, he displayed horrible situational awareness, such as not calling a timeout with some time on the clock near the end of the first half, and so on. There were numerous frustrating instances with Nagy that had troubling glimpses of the 2019 season, which no fans wanted to see again.
State Of The Opponent: New Orleans Saints
Despite not having the 2019 NFL Offensive Player of the Year, Wide Receiver Michael Thomas, on the field since Week 1, the Saints have been gaining steam by winning their previous three games. QB Drew Brees currently lives up to his standard and leads the league in completion percentage, while Running Back Alvin Kamara is having a bounce-back season while leading the league in scrimmage yards. On the other hand, their defense has given up the seventh-fewest offensive yards but falls in the bottom quarter of the league in points allowed.
Their defense has always been a rather interesting case. On paper, they have talent all across the field, with names such as Defensive End Cameron Jordan, Defensive Tackle Sheldon Rankins, Linebacker Demario Davis, and Cornerback Marshon Lattimore, to name a few. They are a formidable unit that plays (in a Covid-free world) in arguably the harshest environment in all of football to back them up. But they have never been considered an elite unit, and given how many points they have surrendered this year, they are certainly a beatable group. Fans may look at that notion and believe that the Bears offense may have a chance to bounce back against a team that has given up nearly 30 points a game. However, do not be fooled entirely; one must take a closer look at who the Saints have faced so far.
The New Orleans Saints Defense Celebrating A Turnover In The End Zone (Credit: UPI.com)
They have faced an array of QB's that includes Aaron Rodgers, Tom Brady, Matthew Stafford, and red-hot rookie Justin Herbert. Take a moment to consider how many weapons each of those players have at their disposal and ask yourself if it would be easy to stop those units. Sure, given the talent the Saints have on defense, I would expect a little better from them. But, my point is the Saints defense has had a rough slate of opposing QB's to start the year and will finally be able to catch a break against what appears to be a lost Chicago Bears offense.
As I was typing this, I found out that Michael Thomas will not suit up yet again for the Saints this week. The Bears catch a lucky break in this regard, as Drew Brees will be without his top target yet again. But with or without Thomas, there is no question that the Saints pose as an intimidating opponent. They may not have been the dominant team we are used to (at least not yet), but do not underestimate the damage this team could create this week
State of The Bears
As the Bears were flattened in defeat with only minutes left in the game, ESPN analyst (and former Bears QB) Brian Griese provided more reasons for Bears fans to feel embarrassed. Griese stated that Nick Foles would dislike the calls that Nagy would make and feel destined to fail. He specifically pointed out the lack of situational awareness Nagy has, which (as previously mentioned) has been widely criticized by fans everywhere.
Foles, unsurprisingly, brushed off any speculation of criticism, claiming that his conversation with Griese was misunderstood. Foles did claim that he and Nagy might not be on the same page at times in terms of play calls and discuss what they should do to improve. Nagy, unsurprisingly, then reassured that he and Foles have a good relationship. Despite correcting their stances to the media, something is not working with each other regarding their on-field product.
Nick Foles and Matt Nagy In The Middle Of A Discussion During The Rams Game
(Credit: The Ringer)
Part of it could be that they are not on the same page; part of it could be that there is not enough talent on the field to help anyone involved in the offense. I will agree with both assessments, but no matter what, the last thing this team needs is for Foles and Nagy to have any complications or dysfunctions together. Like most fans, I have almost no hope for the offense. But for there to be any hope whatsoever, they have to be on the same page. It does not take a genius to figure that concept out.
To make matters worse, the Bears decided to get even with the Saints have their top weapon not suit up, too. While he (as I type this) has not been officially ruled out, Wide Receiver Allen Robinson has not practiced all week after suffering a concussion late against the Rams. As shown recently, the Saints have proven to win games without Thomas, as they are far too talented to crash without Thomas's presence on the field. In their current offensive state, the Bears, without Allen Robinson, is a whole different problem that is flat-out ugly to envision.
My Preseason Prediction For This Game: Saints Win
My Pick Now: Saints Win
Final Score: Saints 35 - Bears 20
For the first time since Week 1 against the Detroit Lions, I have predicted that the Bears will lose heading into a game. I never envisioned choosing the Bears to win for six games in a row, but that streak will come to a sad yet obvious end for this week.
There is no scenario possible where I envision the Bears coming away with a victory. Similarly, against the Rams, the Bears had a forgettable loss against the Colts where their performance was ugly, yet they bounced back the following week and beat the Tom Brady-led Buccaneers. What makes me not have faith in the Bears rebounding this week is the lack of trust I have in how the offense (even if Robinson was on the field) can function after a score-less performance, . The reason why we beat the Buc's was because of the defense and their clutch turnovers, along with two important field goals from Kicker Cairo Stanos . The Bears defense is fully capable of causing havoc for opposing offenses, but it would take a great deal of good fortune for those instances to play in their favor again like it did v.s. the Buc's. Even if the defense had a staggering amount of forced turnovers, do you trust our offense in its current state to capitalize on them? The team has struggled to take advantage of golden opportunities, such as defensive key defensive turnovers and favorable penalties,all year long.
It is never out of the equation for the Bears to put up a fight in this upcoming game, but in case you have not figured it out by now, my confidence is relatively low. I will be another person to use the "we are 5-2" card here, as they are still well-positioned to make a run at the playoffs. But the Bears are in the midst of their most challenging part of the schedule yet. These opponents, as mentioned before, are here to prove exactly who the 2020 Chicago Bears are. Are we contenders or pretenders?
Heading into the season, I had a feeling this would be a tough, two-score loss against a quality Saints squad. Now that the game is upon us, I will stick with my gut, but have much more confidence picking the Saints due to the Bears' current misfortunes. It will take a miracle for the Bears to be able to top the Saints this week, as I would kill to be wrong and have the team shock the entire NFL world here and have our fans shut up. But I cannot envision that happening, and most fans would likely agree with me.
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Thank You and Bear Down!
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