THANKSGIVING // CHICAGO BEARS @ DETROIT LIONS

[Boris13c]

don't know what demons Miller is fighting ... but dropping passes that would have been first downs is not a good thing

as someone else has noted, the Bears right now are bum slayers, and not overly efficient at that ... they continue with the level of play against the Lions against any actual team and they likely will be down by 20 before they even get a clue

anyone think they will go 4-0 to finish out the season and snag a WC? Cowboys, Packers, Chiefs, Vikings ... unless they magically get their act together, the answer is no because the closest thing to a bum left for them is a pissed off Cowboys team

[The Marshall Plan]

11:01 (Shotgun) M.Trubisky pass incomplete deep right to A.Robinson.
Floated too far by a yard or so. (Sailed is not a fair description.)

This throw is clearly not in Tribiskys arsenal. Everyone has a thing they struggle with. Some more then others. Curtis Conway struggled with over the shoulder catches, Cutler struggled throwing to the flat, john Lester throwing to first base, Shaq free throws, etc.

Trubs struggles to throw the out/corner routes. He either throws to shallow or deep. Its probably the hardest throw in general. The reciever moving towards the sideline puts the window very tight.

However watching every throw from college and the nfl this route is clearly an issue. It's what they say is a pro throw. Mitch sucks at it.

And good coaching, which we don't have, would say to Mitch get your ass out on the practice field with a couple WRs and throw that ball 50 times until you get it right.

Mitch also has to take the initiative and do that himself if Nagy is just gonna dude-bro his way through coaching.

This season has turned my head into a bag of marbles.

I do know that I want a new HC and an OC.
I do know that I want Pagano to stay.
I don't know what to think of Mitch.
I do know that I want us to draft a QB in round 2 (PLEASE LET EASON BE AVAILABLE!) no matter what as a replacement for Chase Daniel.

I just hope that Mitch does nothing but kick ass and take names for the rest of the season so that I know that he's THE GUY. If he's 50/50 or obviously if sucks we need to do something different which would be sign a veteran.

[Richie]

don't know what demons Miller is fighting ... but dropping passes that would have been first downs is not a good thing

as someone else has noted, the Bears right now are bum slayers, and not overly efficient at that ... they continue with the level of play against the Lions against any actual team and they likely will be down by 20 before they even get a clue

anyone think they will go 4-0 to finish out the season and snag a WC? Cowboys, Packers, Chiefs, Vikings ... unless they magically get their act together, the answer is no because the closest thing to a bum left for them is a pissed off Cowboys team

Cowboys are bumslayers themselves. Their PPG offensively goes from 32 vs teams with a losing record to 16 against teams with a winning record. Their turnover differential also goes from +9 to -5. They're 0-5 vs winning teams with horrendous numbers and 6-0 vs losing teams with incredible numbers.

Pretty comparable situations.

GB is also littered with issues. If their run game doesn't get going they're pretty hopeless. Rodgers has clearly hit a decline at this point. Their D is back to being horrific. They much more closely resemble a 6-5 team at this point with a +16 point differential. We will also have Hicks back for this game.

I think we will have a shot in each game. I certainly wouldn't pick us to win them, though. But a few bounces go our way? We could definitely go into the final couple of weeks in a legitimate Wild Card hunt.

[Richie]

Oh, and are we waiting for Monday to get a Bears/Dallas game-thread going? No biggie. Just killing time in between putting up Christmas decorations and wondering.

[G08]

I think we will have a shot in each game. I certainly wouldn't pick us to win them, though. But a few bounces go our way? We could definitely go into the final couple of weeks in a legitimate Wild Card hunt.

That's all any of us can ask for at this point. Let's get a win against Dallas, use the 9 days off to prepare for Green Bay with the hope that Hicks can return and play like the dominant force that he is.

[Moriarty]

I think we will have a shot in each game. I certainly wouldn't pick us to win them, though. But a few bounces go our way? We could definitely go into the final couple of weeks in a legitimate Wild Card hunt.

That's all any of us can ask for at this point. Let's get a win against Dallas, use the 9 days off to prepare for Green Bay with the hope that Hicks can return and play like the dominant force that he is.

I'm rooting for a loss against Dallas and mathematical elimination ASAP, so that they can get on to serious business (evaluating some non-starters) and abandon any ideas about getting Hicks back on the field this year.

[G08]

That's all any of us can ask for at this point. Let's get a win against Dallas, use the 9 days off to prepare for Green Bay with the hope that Hicks can return and play like the dominant force that he is.

I'm rooting for a loss against Dallas and mathematical elimination ASAP, so that they can get on to serious business (evaluating some non-starters) and abandon any ideas about getting Hicks back on the field this year.

To each his own, but that sounds like hell to me as a Bears fan.

[docc]

//play to win..or get used to playing and losing..

[Richie]

I think we will have a shot in each game. I certainly wouldn't pick us to win them, though. But a few bounces go our way? We could definitely go into the final couple of weeks in a legitimate Wild Card hunt.

That's all any of us can ask for at this point. Let's get a win against Dallas, use the 9 days off to prepare for Green Bay with the hope that Hicks can return and play like the dominant force that he is.

Agreed. Wish we would have put him on IR immediately after the Oakland game instead of waiting until after the bye. We would get him back this week.

Hicks doesn't just make us dominant in shutting down the run again. He frees up Mack to wreak havoc. He frees up everything. It's not a coincidence that our big plays (sacks/turnovers) have disappeared along with him. We're still a really good unit but we bend and don't break.

He also brings a contagious energy out there. I really would love to see what happens if we can just hang in there another week and get him back. I think we can make things interesting.

[G08]

That's all any of us can ask for at this point. Let's get a win against Dallas, use the 9 days off to prepare for Green Bay with the hope that Hicks can return and play like the dominant force that he is.

Agreed. Wish we would have put him on IR immediately after the Oakland game instead of waiting until after the bye. We would get him back this week.

Hicks doesn't just make us dominant in shutting down the run again. He frees up Mack to wreak havoc. He frees up everything. It's not a coincidence that our big plays (sacks/turnovers) have disappeared along with him. We're still a really good unit but we bend and don't break.

He also brings a contagious energy out there. I really would love to see what happens if we can just hang in there another week and get him back. I think we can make things interesting.

He's a tone-setter on defense, I completely agree. You always have four eyes/hands on him when he's on the field and that opens things up for the rest of the line and the outside backers.

Wouldn't that be something, though? Beat Dallas, get Hicks back and go on a nice run to close out the season. The bitter fan in me is still pissed off that we could easily be 8-4 right now but it is what it is.

[Boris13c]

Wouldn't that be something, though? Beat Dallas, get Hicks back and go on a nice run to close out the season. The bitter fan in me is still pissed off that we could easily be 8-4 right now but it is what it is.

yes, that would be something ... and the Bears have the individual talent to do that but they do not have the team that is ready to do that

the Bears are like a jigsaw puzzle with a few pieces missing to get the whole picture ... the needed pieces are there for them, but instead multiple attempts to fit the wrong pieces into the open spaces keep occurring so the picture never gets completed

[Mikefive]

OK, YOU are the QB. For simplicities sake, you throw a handful of balls that are either off the fingertips or just overthrown a bit further, some under pressure. They publish an article about YOU that passes judgement that YOU are wildly inaccurate. Would that be OK with you?

Inaccurate or unfair reporting sucks for any number of reasons. I don't know how anyone could deny that.

Biscuit just had his best game of the year. Was he perfect? Of course not. Was he playing against a good defense? Nope. You know what he did do though? He threw 2 fourth quarter TDs that were each his THIRD READ. How long have we been complaining about him not being able to go thru progressions? There's a word for it... Progress.

And he did it after getting 2 head shots, one of which ROCKED him where he struggled to get up and ended up in the tent.

Good grief. This is what we've been begging for from him.

1) I am not a QB so really don’t know how they feel about reports/articles about them.

2) Speaking as me, as a fan, I could care less what writers write, good or bad. Writers make attempts to get people to click on their articles. Writers want people to discuss their articles. The more comments, good or bad, the better for the writer.

3) My comments about “sailing”, “lofting”, “led to far” were comments about how they basically mean/talk about incomplete passes.

4) Nowhere in my comments did I mention or discuss his performance from yesterday. He had a game that fans have been waiting for. He just needs to continue to do that and do it against Ds that are not ranked in the bottom of the league.

Sorry about that. I shouldn't post right after games. I should take wab's approach and wait a day.

[Mikefive]

Its become apparent to me that there is 1 guy on this offense who really needs to make plays for the whole thing to work.

Anthony Miller.

That 2nd receiving threat is crucial and what is missing from last year. Last year Burton was playing well, Cohen wasn't 50/50 to drop the ball, and Miller when not injured was playing more like he played in this game. Gabriel is NOT a solid 2nd receiver no matter how hard they try to force him into one.

I can see why you'd say that. Miller had a very nice game. But what was really different about the Lions games was that they were almost always playing man, when the way to beat Biscuit is to play zone and I'm not sure Miller goes off like that against zone. I think it's a struggle without a TE who can contribute in the pass game and I'll bet we see more of Horstad going forward. He looks like he's earned it.

[Richie]

Agreed. Wish we would have put him on IR immediately after the Oakland game instead of waiting until after the bye. We would get him back this week.

Hicks doesn't just make us dominant in shutting down the run again. He frees up Mack to wreak havoc. He frees up everything. It's not a coincidence that our big plays (sacks/turnovers) have disappeared along with him. We're still a really good unit but we bend and don't break.

He also brings a contagious energy out there. I really would love to see what happens if we can just hang in there another week and get him back. I think we can make things interesting.

He's a tone-setter on defense, I completely agree. You always have four eyes/hands on him when he's on the field and that opens things up for the rest of the line and the outside backers.

Wouldn't that be something, though? Beat Dallas, get Hicks back and go on a nice run to close out the season. The bitter fan in me is still pissed off that we could easily be 8-4 right now but it is what it is.

We're a missed field goal vs LAC and a running into the punter vs OAK away from 8-4. Yup. Just the field goal and honestly. 7-5 is a world of difference at this point.

[IE]

don't know what demons Miller is fighting ... but dropping passes that would have been first downs is not a good thing

as someone else has noted, the Bears right now are bum slayers, and not overly efficient at that ... they continue with the level of play against the Lions against any actual team and they likely will be down by 20 before they even get a clue

anyone think they will go 4-0 to finish out the season and snag a WC? Cowboys, Packers, Chiefs, Vikings ... unless they magically get their act together, the answer is no because the closest thing to a bum left for them is a pissed off Cowboys team

Since taking off the shoulder harness that was bothering him (causing him to alligator-arm a few passes) mid-game a while back, Miller has been pretty good. If he has any demons, if it can cause him to bust out 140 yards a game and some of the tough catches he makes - bring on the demons.

I think he's a stud. He's got a mouth on him - but he can back it up. He's literally like a clone of Steve Smith, and should be one of the focal points (if not THE focal point) of the passing offense. There are exactly zero times when Taylor Gabriel should be out there instead of him. Or Cohen. Unless they are sprinting deep and stretching the field.

[The Marshall Plan]

I think he's a stud. He's got a mouth on him - but he can back it up. He's literally like a clone of Steve Smith, and should be one of the focal points (if not THE focal point) of the passing offense. There are exactly zero times when Taylor Gabriel should be out there instead of him. Or Cohen. Unless they are sprinting deep and stretching the field.

That's exactly how I see it too. Steve Smith is an outstanding comparison although Smith was much more of a warrior in terms of going up to the get the ball. Now Smith was an amazing talent so the comparison may not be fair and maybe Miller has that we just haven't seen it. But Smith WANTED that ball and was going to GET it.

I still believe that Miller comes around and evolves into a #1 or #1a (behind ARob) WR.

ARob is a rarity in that he's a true #1 WR but you don't see the prima donna personality traits. With Miller I think he'd become that and that's something that would have to be watched. I love a good prima donna WR, it's a meatball thing I have, but there's a difference between Ocho Cinco and AB.

[IE]

I think he's a stud. He's got a mouth on him - but he can back it up. He's literally like a clone of Steve Smith, and should be one of the focal points (if not THE focal point) of the passing offense. There are exactly zero times when Taylor Gabriel should be out there instead of him. Or Cohen. Unless they are sprinting deep and stretching the field.

That's exactly how I see it too. Steve Smith is an outstanding comparison although Smith was much more of a warrior in terms of going up to the get the ball. Now Smith was an amazing talent so the comparison may not be fair and maybe Miller has that we just haven't seen it. But Smith WANTED that ball and was going to GET it.

I still believe that Miller comes around and evolves into a #1 or #1a (behind ARob) WR.

ARob is a rarity in that he's a true #1 WR but you don't see the prima donna personality traits. With Miller I think he'd become that and that's something that would have to be watched. I love a good prima donna WR, it's a meatball thing I have, but there's a difference between Ocho Cinco and AB.

I love a WR like that too - if he can back it up. "The passion and the fire" lol. ARob could back it up but it just isn't his personality. It IS Miller's personality - and he CAN back it up. He can make the same kind of athletic, contested catches Smith did. I think he is capable of putting up huge numbers, and is the kind of guy that just gets more and more juiced and fierce when you get him into the heat of the game - like a Smith or Edelman. Not 1, 2 or 3 targets - but more like 6-8 targets.

[Middleguard]

Scores for week 13:
6 Boris13c
18 IE
24 UOK
26 AZ_Bearfan
32 Mikefive
72 The Marshall Plan
74 southdakbearfan
78 GSH
98 WagonForce / G08
158 Bears Whiskey Nut
168 Otis Day
222 Ormazd
278 mmmc_35
446 Mr.Irrelevant
942 MoFugger
Duplicate prediction:
26 Middleguard
The following need a prediction in all 4 remaining games to remain elegible for my contest:
Atkins&Rebel, BearButtseks, crueltyabc, HurricaneBear, malk, skamanfrank, VA_Mountain_Bear, and Xee.
DaSuperfan needs 3 of the 4.
Everyone else is already in or out.

[Mikefive]

As much as I'd like to take just 32 this week, you calculated based on my first prediction, which I later edited to be 23-7 Bears. So my score should be 170 or thereabouts.

[AZ_Bearfan]