Week Two 9/15/24 game thread: vs Houston

[beardown3231]

Let's do this ****

[BEAR FACE DOWN ARROW]

Really expect to lose this game, but will be happy if the offense is a little less disgusting and Caleb gets some good throws in. 

[SLCbear]

Super excited for this game!

Texans will not have any where near that TEN iDL strength vs our team weakness, pressing into the pocket every single play, getting hands on balls, Caleb will make the throws that are there ...and he will make some plays that aren't there.

Team will still be on a high from the win yesterday and will start the game in Houston WAY more in sync overall, everyone locked in ready to go in primetime 

 ...an excellent test for our 'nFL's best?' secondary, DL rotation should get some decent pressure on Stroud

Can easily see Caleb having a very nice game after TeN baptism, and get the W to **** alot of people UP

Edited September 10 by SLCbear

[Epyon]

Houston doesn't have the IDL, but their edge rushers are a sizable step above the Titan's. 

They've also got a QB who won't spontaneously combust and probably won't hand us a game sealing pick 6

Finally, I think their OL should be a step above the Titan's. 

All in all, this should be a much tougher test, hopefully one we can overcome. We'll need a dramatically better performance out of the offense, however. 

Edited September 9 by Epyon

[dll2000]

Yay!

 

[lumberjackchris]

[SLCbear]

3 hours ago, Epyon said:

Houston doesn't have the IDL, but their edge rushers are a sizable step above the Titan's. 

They've also got a QB who won't spontaneously combust and probably won't hand us a game sealing pick 6

Finally, I think their OL should be a step above the Titan's. 

All in all, this should be a much tougher test, hopefully one we can overcome. We'll need a dramatically better performance out of the offense, however. 

HOUs ends are better than TEN but our OTs are hardly the weakness our team. Sweat/Simmons killed Davis/Shelton (and Jenkins some😬) 

Not sure HOUs OL is better than TEN either ...losing Radunz did hurt them alot though  

Prime matchup is HOUs passing game (their strength) vs our strength (secondary)

 Our OL will look alot better vs HOU

 

[HuskieBear]

first L of the season

[StLunatic88]

One of the isms that is always true in the NFL is "youre never as good as you were the prior week, but at the same time youre never as bad as you were last week either."

So its very unlikely that the iOL gets as whooped as they did week one, because only a few teams have a Jeffery Simmons in the middle, and Im not sure ANYONE ELSE has Simmons plus T'vondre Sweat. So along with what I have to expect to be an adjustment by Waldron, The boys in the middle have to be better this week. But that does put the spotlight on the young OTs, as Will Anderson and Danielle Hunter are on a much different level than what we saw out of Tennessee. Not to mention that the second wave of Derek Barnett/Jerry Hughes aint too shabby either.

But on the other side of the coin, we arent playing Will Levis anymore. The Defense will have its work cut out for it, with a real stable of healthy weapons to cover. The Run game looked good, and their OL is solid built off one of the best LT in Football. So the Bears D/Texans O battle will be alot of fun to watch

(lets also get something straight, the Titans OL is not bad by any stretch of the imagination, I dont know how some are coming to that conclusion. Our D just played really well. They are one of the most Talented OLs in football with 2 high First rounders in Latham and Skaronski, a high priced FA in Cushenberry, and a highly regarded Run blocker on the right side in Radunz, all with Callahan coaching them up. Not saying they are the Best, but not many will be more talented)

When it comes to our Offense, without constant presser directly in his lap, Caleb should look alot better this week. Hes still an early rookie, so he wont suddenly be Mahomes, but I think we see some wow playmaking on Sunday night. Now without Rome it feels worse, but if Keenan and DJ are healthy enough it should be just fine. Plus I think getting Scott on the field may help spreading out the D that we didnt really do last week. (I still think DJ/Allen/Rome is too much overlapping skill sets). But in addition to actually running the ball (Homer better not get a carry) the TEs are going to be very important to really hit the soft spot of the D over the middle.

We start the game hot, actually running the script we've been working on all offseason (still think that threw the Offense off this week) and is a back and forth first half. The Texans are running smoother than us due to CJ being further ahead than Caleb, and open up a lead in the second half. We get within striking distance in the 4th Quarter, but never really get the chance complete a comeback.

Texans win 26-20

[Sugashane]

My concern is that HOU sees how well stunts did vs CHI's OL. I actually like Wright and Jones vs their DEs, Anderson/Hunter are both super talented but are speed guys a bit moreso than power. But look at Crosby last year, Wright handled him pretty well but his sack for the game came from a hard stunt inside where he beat came through the A or B gap. Anderson/Hunter are WAY more agile than Crosby, and this IOL won't have gelled yet. So I expect them to each get some pressures up the middle. 

Offensively I think the Bears get rolling, still nothing special likely on offense but more efficient at least. Waldron hopefully accounts for pressure coming up the middle, I'd like to see Kmet chipping down on the EMLOS and get Williams on the move. Hell put Lewis in at FB and just be the second level of defense for the IOL if you have to, no different than keeping a TE end to double team an EDGE. But there has to be more movement and quick reads, or some level concepts. Kmet and Swift should each get 3-4 dump offs as safety nets, Everett get 1-2 just from being the dump off. Get Williams throwing and let him step into his throws and he can make whatever throw you need. 

Defense will have a hell of a time, HOU is tough, Stroud has been playing really well since day 1, and Slowik has been one of the best playcallers since the beginning of 2023. HOU isn't running all ove CHI like they did IND but Stroud seems to understand that a 6 yard completion puts them ahead of the chains and won't get desperate, making it harder for the DBs to get some of the slop Levis was willing to offer up. 

 

HOU 24-17. HOU pulls it off in the 4th and CHI can't move efficiently enough to match up and tie. 

[SLCbear]

3 hours ago, StLunatic88 said:

One of the isms that is always true in the NFL is "youre never as good as you were the prior week, but at the same time youre never as bad as you were last week either."

So its very unlikely that the iOL gets as whooped as they did week one, because only a few teams have a Jeffery Simmons in the middle, and Im not sure ANYONE ELSE has Simmons plus T'vondre Sweat. So along with what I have to expect to be an adjustment by Waldron, The boys in the middle have to be better this week. But that does put the spotlight on the young OTs, as Will Anderson and Danielle Hunter are on a much different level than what we saw out of Tennessee. Not to mention that the second wave of Derek Barnett/Jerry Hughes aint too shabby either.

But on the other side of the coin, we arent playing Will Levis anymore. The Defense will have its work cut out for it, with a real stable of healthy weapons to cover. The Run game looked good, and their OL is solid built off one of the best LT in Football. So the Bears D/Texans O battle will be alot of fun to watch

(lets also get something straight, the Titans OL is not bad by any stretch of the imagination, I dont know how some are coming to that conclusion. Our D just played really well. They are one of the most Talented OLs in football with 2 high First rounders in Latham and Skaronski, a high priced FA in Cushenberry, and a highly regarded Run blocker on the right side in Radunz, all with Callahan coaching them up. Not saying they are the Best, but not many will be more talented)

When it comes to our Offense, without constant presser directly in his lap, Caleb should look alot better this week. Hes still an early rookie, so he wont suddenly be Mahomes, but I think we see some wow playmaking on Sunday night. Now without Rome it feels worse, but if Keenan and DJ are healthy enough it should be just fine. Plus I think getting Scott on the field may help spreading out the D that we didnt really do last week. (I still think DJ/Allen/Rome is too much overlapping skill sets). But in addition to actually running the ball (Homer better not get a carry) the TEs are going to be very important to really hit the soft spot of the D over the middle.

We start the game hot, actually running the script we've been working on all offseason (still think that threw the Offense off this week) and is a back and forth first half. The Texans are running smoother than us due to CJ being further ahead than Caleb, and open up a lead in the second half. We get within striking distance in the 4th Quarter, but never really get the chance complete a comeback.

Texans win 26-20

don't like that final score, but everything else on point.

 I believe that we find a way to pull out the W

28-26 🐻

Edited September 10 by SLCbear

[Ty21]

On 9/9/2024 at 7:14 PM, dll2000 said:

Yay!

 

Aren’t grade 1 mcl sprains typically a 7-10 day injury? He’s getting a second opinion on a 7-10 day injury?

[Ty21]

I’m excited for this game for a multitude of reasons:

-it challenges our secondary. We’ll see how good they really are against an already proven qb in stroud and his shifty weapons at wr. Hope JJ can keep his solid start to 2024 going

-the Texans’ defensive line isn’t quite as formidable and hopefully the team workshops Caleb’s issue last game with the numerous batted balls. 
-The Texans are well rounded on offense or project to be, as Mixon had a great game last week. We can’t focus on stopping the pass with a respectable running option back there too. 
-the Texans pass rush comes from the outside as its strength, unlike the titans who were mostly in the inside, where the offensive line is at its weakest. Hopefully this means good things. 
 

Early season stats show the Texans are the 2nd best team in the league in regards to offensive yards, while the bears are 32nd lol. These stats won’t have any bearing til the latter part of the year but I’m hoping Caleb can rectify it a little bit and get us closer to 10-15 by year’s end. 

[dll2000]

House money game.  No one expects Bears to win.  

[CBears019]

3 hours ago, Ty21 said:

Aren’t grade 1 mcl sprains typically a 7-10 day injury? He’s getting a second opinion on a 7-10 day injury?

My guess would be to confirm it’s that minor and not something he’s going to risk aggravating by coming back too early.