Sunday Post Game; Dan Pompei

[soulman]

 

Bad day for a lot of players who are supposed to be the Bears’ future: Postgame Pompei

By Dan Pompei Dec 6, 2021 80

The Bears never had a chance in their 33-22 loss Sunday. The Cardinals did everything better from the first series on and controlled every aspect of the game. The team from Arizona even looked more comfortable in the wet, wintry conditions.

The depleted Bears still show they want it, but they can’t compete with the NFL’s elite teams.

Here are my other postgame thoughts.

• Jakeem Grant provided a little sunshine Sunday. Someday, maybe in another universe, Grant and Tarik Cohen together will create matchup nightmares for defenses. Credit to Ryan Pace for acquiring Grant in an October trade.

• One thing about Grant: At 5-foot-6, he needs more accurate throws than most wide receivers. That was evident on the high first-quarter pass that he tipped into the hands of Cardinals safety Jalen Thompson.

• The value of Andy Dalton is supposed to be in his ability to be an effective game manager. He was far from that on Sunday.

• The problems in the passing game weren’t all on Dalton, though. His passer rating of 54.9 reflected overall offensive system failure. The absences of Allen Robinson and Marquise Goodwin clearly had an impact.

• On a day when the best running back should have been the most influential player on the field, David Montgomery carried the team the way Walter Payton used to. He did it all, and he did it well. Montgomery has not had a more impressive game.

• It was not a great day for many other players who are supposed to be the organization’s future. Justin Fields didn’t play. Teven Jenkins played only on special teams. Darnell Mooney had only 27 receiving yards. Cole Kmet flipped a pass to a defender. And Jaylon Johnson gave up a 20-yard touchdown pass on fourth-and-2.

• Decisions on how much someone like Jenkins should play are why general managers exist. If I were Ryan Pace, I’d tell Matt Nagy that Jenkins needs to get significant playing time Sunday, with the goal of making him the starter at left tackle as soon as possible.

• The Athletic’s Jon Greenberg reminds us Nagy’s record is 32-28. You would think from the way he is perceived that his record is 22-38.

• The decision to punt on fourth-and-2 at the Arizona 49 late in the first half was a statement about Nagy’s lack of confidence in his defense.

• Or maybe it was a statement about his lack of confidence in his offense.

• The final statistics were flattering to the Bears defense but misleading. The defense didn’t make a single big play. For the Bears to win, this defense needs to make big plays.

• The cornerbacks have been much more vulnerable with Khalil Mack and Akiem Hicks on the sideline.

• There almost assuredly is not a team in the NFL that would trade its cornerbacks for the Bears’ cornerbacks.

• Arlington Heights can entice the Bears with more revenue streams, a retractable dome and fewer traffic jams. The deal maker, however, might be if it can promise functional headset communication.

(Photo of Budda Baker intercepting a ball lost by Cole Kmet: Quinn Harris / USA Today)

[soulman]

I'll tackle a couple of these.

1) And Jaylon Johnson gave up a 20-yard touchdown pass on fourth-and-2;  And Hopkins was pushing off on him the entire way and should have been called for offensive PI but I guess that what happens when an All Pro goes man an man with a young guy.  We got screwed and it happened right in front of an official.  He should have thrown a flag immediately.

2) Cole Kmet flipped a pass to a defender; Meh, **** happen when the ball is wet.  He had 3 catches for 41 yds/13.7 ypc.  At least he's playing now and get thrown to.  40 receptions for 402 yards/10.0 ypc.  That's better production than we've seen most years.

3) Darnell Mooney had only 27 receiving yards; So what makes anyone believe Mooney can be a #1 WR without the help of a true #1 WR like ARob?  With a weak receiving core all an opponent has to do is take him away with dual coverage and he can't overcome it.

4) The decision to punt on fourth-and-2 at the Arizona 49 late in the first half was a statement about Nagy’s lack of confidence in his defense;  That was dumb but another classic example of just how poor a game day HC Matt Nagy truly is.

5) Decisions on how much someone like Jenkins should play are why general managers exist. If I were Ryan Pace, I’d tell Matt Nagy that Jenkins needs to get significant playing time Sunday, with the goal of making him the starter at left tackle as soon as possible; If he's 100% recovered from back surgery and in 100% football shape sure but I question whether or not he is 100%.

 

OK, someone else can take a shot at this.

[dll2000]

The danger of playing Jenkins is overreactions.   Not fair to judge him on anything he does this year, but if he plays and plays bad he will immediately get a bust label.  

[dll2000]

Jaylon Johnson and Mooney are good football players, but not stars.  

Solid contributors.  

Kmet is just a guy at best.  

Bears need more talent.  

[topwop1]

18 minutes ago, dll2000 said:

Jaylon Johnson and Mooney are good football players, but not stars.  

Solid contributors.  

Kmet is just a guy at best.  

Bears need more talent.  

I really hope Kmet picks it up and becomes a solid starter for us.

I remember wanting Antoine Winfield Jr badly with that pick and am still thinking that would have been the way better pick for us.

But you know Pace and his 2nd round TE's right?

[topwop1]

35 minutes ago, soulman said:

I'll tackle a couple of these.

1) And Jaylon Johnson gave up a 20-yard touchdown pass on fourth-and-2;  And Hopkins was pushing off on him the entire way and should have been called for offensive PI but I guess that what happens when an All Pro goes man an man with a young guy.  We got screwed and it happened right in front of an official.  He should have thrown a flag immediately.

2) Cole Kmet flipped a pass to a defender; Meh, **** happen when the ball is wet.  He had 3 catches for 41 yds/13.7 ypc.  At least he's playing now and get thrown to.  40 receptions for 402 yards/10.0 ypc.  That's better production than we've seen most years.

3) Darnell Mooney had only 27 receiving yards; So what makes anyone believe Mooney can be a #1 WR without the help of a true #1 WR like ARob?  With a weak receiving core all an opponent has to do is take him away with dual coverage and he can't overcome it.

4) The decision to punt on fourth-and-2 at the Arizona 49 late in the first half was a statement about Nagy’s lack of confidence in his defense;  That was dumb but another classic example of just how poor a game day HC Matt Nagy truly is.

5) Decisions on how much someone like Jenkins should play are why general managers exist. If I were Ryan Pace, I’d tell Matt Nagy that Jenkins needs to get significant playing time Sunday, with the goal of making him the starter at left tackle as soon as possible; If he's 100% recovered from back surgery and in 100% football shape sure but I question whether or not he is 100%.

 

OK, someone else can take a shot at this.

Well said.

I'm not concerned with Jaylon Johnson's play from last Sunday.  He's been pretty solid throughout the season and Hopkins is a future Hall of Famer in all likelihood, so you're not going to win them all.  Like you said may have been slight push off but it was also a heck of a catch too, so let's give some credit to Hopkins.

 

[soulman]

39 minutes ago, dll2000 said:

The danger of playing Jenkins is overreactions.   Not fair to judge him on anything he does this year, but if he plays and plays bad he will immediately get a bust label.  

Or that he may injure himself again because he's not in football condition as far as playing an entire game on offense.  Pompei acts as if the kid never had back surgery in September and missed the entire summer camp and preseason.

[soulman]

39 minutes ago, dll2000 said:

Jaylon Johnson and Mooney are good football players, but not stars.  

Solid contributors.  

Kmet is just a guy at best.  

Bears need more talent.  

Granted but if Fields can become what many feel he can be we can win with good football players and JAGs.  GB has been doing it for years because they've had Aaron Rodgers and at least one or two very good receivers for him to use to exploit defenses.

We're in good shape at RB so the emphasis has to be on getting a very good group of pass catchers assembled whom Fields can develop the kind of rapport Rodgers has typically had with his guys.  Kmet isn't gonna be a Kelce but he shown enough to believe he can contribute in the passing game until we can sign or draft better.

Build a good passing game to go with the run game and don't allow the defense to submerge due to age and with some decent coaching the Bears could be back in the playoff picture next year but there's a whole lot of work to be done all over the place if anyone expects that to happen so start with WR and at CB and OC.

[dll2000]

1 hour ago, soulman said:

Granted but if Fields can become what many feel he can be we can win with good football players and JAGs.  GB has been doing it for years because they've had Aaron Rodgers and at least one or two very good receivers for him to use to exploit defenses.

We're in good shape at RB so the emphasis has to be on getting a very good group of pass catchers assembled whom Fields can develop the kind of rapport Rodgers has typically had with his guys.  Kmet isn't gonna be a Kelce but he shown enough to believe he can contribute in the passing game until we can sign or draft better.

Build a good passing game to go with the run game and don't allow the defense to submerge due to age and with some decent coaching the Bears could be back in the playoff picture next year but there's a whole lot of work to be done all over the place if anyone expects that to happen so start with WR and at CB and OC.

IMO Fields is real deal, but needs a good coach to unlock it.

He can easily bust.

Bears really wasted a year of his life giving him a bad lame duck coach with a Dalton plan until Dalton gets hurt and then throw him to wolves with no support or proper plan.

 

[dll2000]

1 hour ago, topwop1 said:

I really hope Kmet picks it up and becomes a solid starter for us.

I remember wanting Antoine Winfield Jr badly with that pick and am still thinking that would have been the way better pick for us.

But you know Pace and his 2nd round TE's right?

They were flailing for a TE at the time.

You get stuck in dire position need and you don't take BP on the board.  Bad GMing.

 

[soulman]

1 hour ago, dll2000 said:

IMO Fields is real deal, but needs a good coach to unlock it.

He can easily bust.

Bears really wasted a year of his life giving him a bad lame duck coach with a Dalton plan until Dalton gets hurt and then throw him to wolves with no support or proper plan.

 

True.  It was a rinse and repeat of Mitch's rookie year but with somewhat different results and a different perspective on just how high Fields ceiling may actually be.

But as long as they get him the right HC and OC/QB coach and commit to building around him at least his experience to date hasn't gone to waste as it did with Mitch.  Mitch went from the frying pan into the fire and got burned trying to run Nagy's schemes which we now know plain ol' fashion don't work.

We can't make that same mistake with Fields.

I'm actually far more focused on who we can get as an OC and QB coach than I am a HC.  I believe the HC needs to be the best generalist, team builder, and game day strategist we can hire.  His job should not be Justin Fields development other than to oversee it and set specific goals for him that his OC and QB coach must meet if they value their jobs.

Fortunately Field has shown far more football intelligence already than Mitch ever showed even after four seasons so I really don't believe the job will be that difficult but it will require good teachers and strategists to get the most out of him and his surrounding cast.  Gimme a HC committed to building a winning team around Fields and staff to help make it happen.