InternetFM.com

Hand Curated Radio

You are here: Home / Archives for Mitch Trubisky

Mitch Trubisky

The Sports Report – July 2019

by

with Packer Dave and Steve Leventhal

Dave and Steve are joined by Jeff Rich to discuss the start of training camps for the 2019 season NFL. We talk Green Bay Packers, Chicago Bears, Cleveland Browns, and Arizona Cardinals, and more. Also covered are updates on the Chicago White Sox, Chicago Cubs, and Milwaukee Brewers.

Featuring audio from Packer GM Brian Gutekunst, coach Matt LaFleur, along with Chicago Bears players Khalil Mack, Tarik Cohen, and Mitch Trubisky. Don’t miss cameos from Chris Berman and Bob Uecker.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 38:37 — 35.4MB) | Embed

Subscribe: Android | Stitcher | RSS | More

2019 Chicago Bears Open Training Camp

by

The 2019 NFL season in Chicago gets underway in earnest as Bears players began arriving at Olivet Nazarene University in Bourbonnais, Illinois.

Mitch Trubisky is looking ahead at 2019, but mindful of how 2018 ended. “We want to pick back up where we left off. At the same time we didn’t accomplish what we did last year because we were worried about expectations. Nobody expected us to do what we did last year. Now it’s flipped where there’s all these expectations. We have to do a good job of staying focused and blocking all that out, and doing exactly what we did last year to help us win those games. On top of that do even more, so we can accomplish more than we did last year. There’s a lot of work to be done.”

Cohen sports a Walter Payton jersey

Tarik Cohen described his approach to this season, “We hold ourselves to a higher standard now. The older guys that have been here who watched us go from last place to winning the division, know what it takes to have that success, and to have that work pay off in the regular season coming out of camp, so we’re all going to put our best foot forward. Help everybody that’s new to the team. Help the rookies, so we can achieve a higher goal this year.”

Trubisky insists he hasn’t even shown his best stuff yet. He wants to get rid of mistakes and “continue to make those good plays and being a consistent overall quarterback. Doing the little things like working hard and being a good teammate, and taking care of my brothers.”

Khalil Mack stressed that success starts in training camp. “It starts with camaraderie, and the focus, determination, and the will to win, ultimately. One game at a time, one week at a time. It’s going to be a long season.”

One of the biggest hurdles the team faced last year, was learning coach Matt Nagy’s offense. Having that behind them is big plus for 2019. “It allows us to go further within the details. It allows us to watch more film and install, and talk about every other thing. It allows us to accomplish a lot more throughout meetings. We are also allowed to add more. We can teach the new guys. As a quarterback, you want to master every part of it, so if you know a play insid out, you can teach it to someone else, then when you are on the field, you’re not thinking about it, you’re just playing ball.”

Hear comments from Mitch Trubisky, Tarik Cohen, and Khalil Mack

Photo Gallery

  • A Rolls pulls up
  • Tarik Cohen snaps a pic
  • It’s Taylor Gabriel
  • Cohen’s ride
  • Khalil Mack checks it out
  • Mack talks to the media
  • Cohen sports a Walter Payton jersey
  • Posing with Jarrett Payton
  • Mitch Trubisky at the mic

@radiomogul tags: Chicago Bears, training camp, Mitch Trubisky, Tarik Cohen, Khalil Mack

The Sports Report – June 2019

by

with Packer Dave, Steve Leventhal, and John Poulter

The guys are back to discuss the Toronto Raptors’ first ever NBA Championship, the St. Louis Blues and their seven-game Stanley Cup win over Boston, as well as talk of the Chicago Bears and Green Bay Packers offseason football. John also gives his thoughts on the Major League Baseball season. Lastly, Jeff Rich joins us to talk Cleveland Browns football and the upcoming NBA Draft. We also discuss the trade between the Lakers and Pelicans that sent Anthony Davis to Los Angeles for the fourth overall pick and three players.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 44:34 — 40.8MB) | Embed

Subscribe: Android | Stitcher | RSS | More

2019 Chicago Bears OTA’s – Part Deux

by

Khalil Mack and Mitch Trubisky were the story this week.

Last year, head coach Matt Nagy had to learn his new players, and the Chicago Bears in turn had to absorb his offensive scheme. In 2019, it is all about building on the success of the previous season.

coach Matt Nagy at OTA’s

Nagy talked about Trubisky’s growth. “He’s learning this offense. But now what he’s trying to do, is master it. Last year he learned it. This year he’s trying to really master it. He’s done a wonderful job right now at trying to get to some of the adjustment s we have withing the plays and the concepts and the schemes.” Nagy intimated that we would see that come to fruition in training camp and preseason games. He added, “He’s watching tape. He’s leading meetings. He’s vocal in the meetings that we have. He’s understanding that when we teach this offense that there’s different levels to it.”

When asked about having Mack for the entire offseason, Nagy commented, “It’s amazing how much he affected everybody (last year.) Now that he’s here, you get to see that he’s does things by his actions. He continues to do that. He shows some of these younger kids who want to be leaders. There’s different ways to do it, by showing up every day. By making plays.”

Khalil has been looking forward to the camaraderie, and getting a deep understanding of the defense early on. Unlike last year where, “having a one and a half weeks before the season wasn’t enough time to prepare.” As typical of his approach last season he vowed to let his play do the talking.

Mitch Trubisky at OTA’s

“It’s feels really great out there,” says Trubisky. “It’s a lot of fun to be back in Chicago, with the boys playing football again. Everyone’s on the same page. Everyone knows what they’re doing. Being year two in this offense. It’s a lot of fun going through it. Having fun executing it.” The third year QB was asked about the new acquisitions. “We got a ton of weapons on offense. It’s a lot of fun for a quarterback. We got a lot of talent around me in free agents we signed, that came in here and learned the offense. They picked it up real quickly. We continue to add great guys that contribute to our culture.” He went on to confirm Allen Robinson’s assessment that the team was way ahead of last year. “Everyone knows what they’re doing. We don’t have to spend a lot of time going in depth on each play, because we know most of the details. We’re helping the new guys, the rookies.”

Hear audio from Nagy, Mack, and Trubisky

Twitter: @radiomogul

2019 Chicago Bears OTAs check-in

by

The Chicago Bears begun 2019 organized team activities on Tuesday, kicking off the team’s first edition of on-field work as a team. Other than the imminent possibility of injuries, OTAs serve as an introductory and refresher period. It is a time for install and little else.

Last year’s session of OTAs focused on the installation of Matt Nagy’s offense. Quarterback Mitch Trubisky and the rest of the team got their first look at Nagy’s playbook, and some of them got their first look at each other. Trubisky got his first reps with a then-revamped receiving corps of Allen Robinson, Taylor Gabriel and Trey Burton. This season, however, Trubisky has an established connection with his targets and a familiarity with Nagy’s system.

“Versus last year, which is all I have to compare it to,” Nagy said, “The speed of the plays, especially offensively, breaking the huddle, they know where they’re going. Now they just get to play football. They don’t think as much.”

“Mitch is in and out of the huddle, he sees the defense, and so from the time that we’ve been out here, it’s exciting. You stay cautiously optimistic that he’s going to take that really big jump, which, I’ve been saying that since I got here that it takes time. You see the vision from him within the huddle and at the line of scrimmage.”

Bears head coach Matt Nagy during OTAs

The above quote on Trubisky was an unprompted comment, highlighting how great of an offseason storyline the third-year quarterback has been. As great as the Bears’ defense was last year, and likely will be this year, it will keep that “next step” that Nagy referred to for the Bears to break through their ceiling and into the Super Bowl.

Along with the familiarity that comes with the second year of a new system, changes have been made on the offensive side of the ball, namely that James Daniels and Cody Whitehair appear amidst a position switch and that swing tackle Bradley Sowell is switching to tight end.

“We’re going to try it out and see what he can do,” Nagy said of Sowell’s position switch. “It’s a position right there of that Y-tight end type spot that we could use some more depth, and Bradley has shown us the ability, not just off a two-point play or a touchdown play, but he’s shown it repetitively in practice that he has the athletic ability, the hands, he’s very smart, he knows how to block, all that stuff. So let’s test it out and see. And when I tell you he’s all in, he’s all in.”

You may recognize Sowell more for his appearance in Nagy’s funky plays that turn linemen into receivers, and you may recognize him specifically for this touchdown celebration:

https://twitter.com/nfl/status/1071968839129133061?lang=en

However, Bradley Sowell’s position change signals a possible solution to the need for an in-line blocking tight end that Nagy refers to as the “Y.” Ideally, that role would go to Adam Shaheen, but durability and performance issues have necessitated depth. One of Nagy’s lynchpin philosophies is being as versatile as possible, and Sowell’s presence on the field may tell the defense a run is coming more than Shaheen’s presence. However, depth was needed at the spot and the in-house position change could be an answer to that need.

The other piece of big news was James Daniels and Cody Whitehair switching positions, sending Whitehair to guard and Daniels to center, where he played in college.

“That’s what we’re looking at,” Nagy said. “You know, we’re giving them a chance to look at it and see where it’s at. We feel comfortable with it”

The move was slightly clamored for last year in response to Whitehair struggling with snaps at times. But the chemistry between Trubisky and Whitehair was too important for the installation of the offense to be messed with. With the offense now familiar to Trubisky, existing quarterback-center chemistry is not as prioritized.

Whereas this year’s OTAs is a refresher for the offense, the defense will be introduced to a new coach and system in defensive coordinator Chuck Pagano.

Pagano, who was fired from the Indianapolis Colts’ head-coaching job is energized and excited to work with the league’s number one scoring defense from a year ago: “When what you have has been taken away from you, and now you have an opportunity to be back doing what you love, that’s coaching and being around great coaches and great players and guys that love ball, it’s really easy.”

Pagano has said in the past he won’t mess with a great thing in the Bears’ defense. Other than the language, the Bears’ defense will likely look similar to last year’s from a schematic standpoint. One of the anchors of that defense is second-year linebacker Roquan Smith, who led the team in tackles last year.

Bears offensive coordinator Chuck Pagano during OTAs

“You talk about football character and you talk about football IQ, we know the measurables, he’s one of the brightest, smartest guys I’ve been around for just a second-year player,” said Pagano, who coached Hall of Famer Ray Lewis in Baltimore.

The Bears drafted Smith with the eighth pick in 2018 with the hopes that he could be a dominant presence in the middle of the field for years to come, and so far, that seems like a wise investment. Smith had 121 tackles last year, despite missing all of training camp in a contract holdout. He now gets the experience of a full offseason without any contract stalemates, allowing maximum improvement.

“It feels great to be out here with my guys,” Smith said. “So I’m just focusing on getting better with the guys each and every day, so you can’t ask for more than that.”

OTAs are either the first taste of massive changes or a continuation of previous schemes and coaches. Fortunately for a still-growing Bears offense, they fall into the second category. The defense, with such stars Khalil Mack, Eddie Jackson and Smith, is good enough that new terminology won’t be a barrier in its success. The Bears’ mandatory minicamp takes place June 11th-13th. We’re still months away from the Week One kickoff against Green Bay, but the Bears are in a good position after OTAs.

Follow on Twitter: @crbevins11 @radiomogul

Hear audio from Matt Nagy, Chuck Pagano and Roquan Smith:

Monday Mulling: 2018 Bears knock out Minnesota Vikings

by

The 2018 Chicago Bears closed out their season with a 24-10 win over the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday, setting up a playoff matchup with the defending Super Bowl champions, the Philadelphia Eagles. Their Wild Card showdown will take place Sunday at 3:40 CT, but there’s a whole week before then. For now, it’s time to unpack the Bears’ dominance over the Minnesota Vikings.

A thriving run game

Jordan Howard has not thrived this season the way he has in years’ past, but he’s been an available go-to when the Bears have felt the need to establish physicality or drain some clock. Sometimes both. He was that and more Sunday, rushing for 109 yards and two touchdowns on 21 carries.

The offensive line, bolstered by the temporary insertion of Kyle Long, controlled a fearsome Vikings’ defensive line at the point of attack. Long’s impact was felt early by his down block that sprang Jordan Howard for a 42-yard run, setting a quick tone that would carry throughout the game.

“We were moving around and creating holes so that the defense could not keep the line open,” Trubisky said on the team’s run game. “We did that which created one-on-one matchups on the outside which allowed us to change up our plays. For us, our goal is to keep the defense off balance.”

“You have to be able to run the ball, especially when you’re in the environment we’re in with the fans being so loud,” coach Matt Nagy said. “They have 33-out-of-50 sacks this year at home, on the turf with the crowd noise. If you can’t run the football you’re in trouble for being one-dimensional. We did not want to be one-dimensional.”

Howard read the holes set up by his line better than he has all year, and that resulted in his 5.2 yards per carry. Tarik Cohen was a similar beneficiary, totaling only 24 yards but averaging 4.8 yards per carry and a touchdown.

Bears Quarterback Mitch Trubisky: SRN Broadcasting

The strong showing from the run game allowed the Bears to bully this game away. The Vikings’ front was unable to contain Howard and his relentless, efficient running allowed the Bears to dominate the possession time battle (37:08 to 22:52). He often set his team up with second and five, or second and four, allowing the playbook to fully open up (Though, it couldn’t be fully opened up, as Nagy didn’t want to give too much away before the playoffs). The old-school style of football, running the ball and playing suffocating defense, has prevailed in even the modern NFL’s playoffs. That formula was executed against the Vikings, and sets up the potential to do it again throughout the playoffs.

The monsters came to play

The Bears had far less to play for than the Vikings, but you wouldn’t have been able to tell from the way the two teams played. Especially as it became apparent the Rams would win their game and get the second seed in the NFC. The Bears’ defense came out with an intensity the Vikings simply could not match. Their defensive line completely overpowered a woeful Vikings’ counterpart for a four-sack performance. Kirk Cousins’s inability to improvise when things broke down along the offensive line was exacerbated by a Bears’ front that simply wanted it more, and it made Cousins look far less than the $84 million man he is. He finished his day 20 for 33 with a touchdown and a quarterback rating of 17.7.

“Collapsing the pocket, getting hands up,” Nagy said on how they pressured Cousins. “That green grass we always talk about. Being able to make sure he can’t see where he is throwing. The guys just kept going all the time. Forced him sometimes out of the pocket, to throw on the run.”

The Vikings’ offense placed more emphasis on the run game, upon the firing of former offensive coordinator John DeFilippo. Minnesota’s success in establishing a ground game with Dalvin Cook made opposing teams respect the run, thus opening opportunities for Cousins as a passer.

That strategy is moot when you can’t run the ball, however, and the Bears made sure the Vikings would not get the ground game going, allowing only 63 yards on 15 rushing attempts. The Vikings’ offense was completely anemic, and the Bears’ defense was dominant to the point of causing a screaming match between Kirk Cousins and Adam Thielen along the sidelines. While turmoil bubbled over for the Vikings, the Bears rode happily into the playoffs.

Getting up to play

Bears coach Matt Nagy: SRN Broadcasting

The two seed and a first-round bye were still in play entering Sunday, although the probability of a Rams loss to the lowly 49ers seemed unlikely. Any hopes of that were quickly dashed by the Rams’ outpour that took them into halftime up 28-3. The Vikings, on the other hand, were playing for their playoff lives. A loss meant they were out with a likely Eagles win. They had far more on the line than the Bears, so it speaks to coach Nagy and his staff’s ability to get their players up to play so well against the Vikings.

“What do they know, right?” Akiem Hicks said when asked about the pundits thinking the Bears should take the foot off the gas. “What I will say is this, coach has a great plan in place for us. I believe in him. He has done us right so far, going through OTAs, training camp and now in the regular season. If he feels like it is time for us to play, we are going to go out there and play ball.”

Yes, Club Dub was alive in Minnesota, and Nagy’s trademark “BOOM” was screamed for the last time of the regular season. That’s who this Bears team is. They were simply better than the Vikings and they played like it in what could be seen as the bow on top of Nagy’s Coach of the Year case. They dominated their opponent when they didn’t have to, and as WBBM’s Jeff Joniak would put it, it was a fade to black moment for the Vikings. The Bears now get ready to face the Eagles in a matchup of familiar foes in Doug Pederson and Matt Nagy, both of whom were members of Andy Reid’s staff. To be the best, you have to beat the best, and the Bears will have to do so against the defending champs.

Follow on Twitter: @crbevins11 @radiomogul

2018 Bears look to dash Vikings’ hopes after defeating 49ers

by

The 2018 Chicago Bears came to San Francisco with little on the line and still escaped with a victory over the 49ers. Chicago now comes to Minnesota to face the Vikings, struggling for their playoff lives, with the two seed still in play.

It may not have always been pretty. Poor execution hit the Bears a few times, including an early turnover on Mitch Trubisky’s lateral to Tarik Cohen and Allen Robinson’s late fumble that opened the door for a 49ers comeback.

Their miscues proved to not be costly, however, as the defense continuously prevented any momentum from swinging in the 49ers’ favor. Akiem Hicks was a wrecking ball, batting down three passes while Roquan Smith continued his standout rookie season with nine more tackles and a sack. A late interception from Danny Trevathan essentially sealed it, and the Bears’ defense once again proved it is a unit to be leaned on.

Bears Quarterback Mitch Trubisky: SRN Broadcasting

“Because we’ve been in this situation so many times and have come up big, it’s almost expected of us,” CB Prince Amukamara said. “Like when we had to go back on the field to help win it for our team. Everyone was poised and no one was shaking. We expected great things to come out of it and we’re glad we stood up for our team.”

This is not to say the offense performed poorly, however. Trubisky worked efficiently in the short game and on run-pass-options, but he also delivered some remarkable throws downfield. The one everyone will remember was his deep connection to Robinson in the early goings, but he fired two beautiful balls on extended plays with his feet, one along the sideline to Taquan Mizzell and another on a throw across his body to Ben Braunecker.

The deep plays mostly ceased in the second half, replaced in favor of the short game. Matt Nagy increased the number of screens, hitches and RPOs in the second half in an effort to salt the game away. Trubisky rarely missed, completing 25 of 29 attempts on the afternoon, and finished with 246 yards and a touchdown.

“It was just finding rhythm in the offense, taking what the defense was giving us,” Trubisky said. “It came down to we had to dink and dunk a little bit just to move the ball down the field. They’re bailing out, playing zones. They wanted to take away the deep ball and the explosive plays and they did a good job of that. So, we knew they were a tough defense and we just had to spread them out, dink and dunk. Take what they gave us. Create a rhythm first and second down, stay out of third down and get the run game going a little bit.”

“Any time you throw a lot of completions in this game, you give yourself a chance to win because you stay ahead of the sticks and you don’t get into third-and-long situations,” Nagy added. “He did that. I don’t know his exact numbers but, in the game, it felt like he had a bunch of completions in a row. When you do that in this league, good things happen.”

Bears coach Matt Nagy: SRN Broadcasting

The Vikings’ defense got to Trubisky in week 11 and limited him to only 165 yards and two interceptions. Minnesota’s defense, though shaky at points this year, has recently found a stride of consistency, allowing less than 275 yards of total offense in each of their last three games. Danielle Hunter’s 14.5 sacks this season place him in an elite company of pass-rushers, and coach Mike Zimmer, now with a game of film on Nagy’s offense against his defense, will surely have something in the works to keep Trubisky off balance.

Their offense has also found its groove lately, following the firing of OC John DeFilippo. Their ground game, in particular, has found its footing, accumulating 220 yards two weeks ago and 100 last week. A solid run game is nothing new to the Bears, though, who have allowed only 1,217 yards on the season, second in the NFL behind only the Saints.

Kirk Cousins was a mess the last time these teams played, finishing with a state line of 30 for 46 for 262 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions. The Bears’ pass-rush proved too much for the opposition again as they sacked him twice. The Vikings’ offensive line has not gotten any better, allowing two sacks in each game since. The short game will be a big part of Minnesota’s game plan for that reason, so second-level players will have to make tackles in space and prevent another big YAC (yards after catch) game from Stefon Diggs, who had 126 yards Week 11.

As mentioned, the two-seed is still up for grabs. It would take a Rams’ loss to make it happen, but the 49ers have given them challenges in the past. Their game kicks off at the same time as the Bears, so Nagy won’t have the benefit of a known outcome. For that reason, he will play his starters Sunday.

“We’ll have a plan and process to get an idea of what we need to do,” Nagy said. “But that’s, again, where it gets real easy is that when you just and you just play your guys to win. To me, it would have to be something that’s, you know, somebody comes to me and says ‘Hey listen it’s a complete blowout,’ or something. And then you still have decisions to make as well.

“So, we’re going there to win the game. Regardless of who is in the game, we’re going (there) to win the game and so none of that’s going to change for any of the players, any of the coaches.”

The Bears can deliver the kill-shot on the Vikings’ season on Sunday. There will likely be no Eddie Jackson heroics as he continues to heal his ankle. A sound game on both sides of the ball should be enough against a Vikings’ team that has played so sporadically through the season.

Follow on Twitter: @crbevins11 @radiomogul

2018 Bears @ 49ers preview

by

The newly crowned 2018 NFC North Champion Chicago Bears will be in San Francisco this week to face the 49ers. The 49ers carry with them unfamiliar momentum, having won their past two games. The Bears will play for seeding this week, with a first-round bye still very much in play after the Rams loss to the Eagles. A win over the 49ers could end up as the deciding factor between the two seed and the three seed.

Controlling Kittle

The 2017 Draft, the year where John Lynch was thought to have fleeced Ryan Pace, has yielded poor results two years later. If there is a diamond to be found in the rough, however, it has been tight end George Kittle. Kittle, who served a mostly limited role last year, has blossomed in his sophomore campaign, being selected to his first Pro Bowl after hauling in 72 receptions for 1,154 yards. He moves exceptionally well for a player his size (6’4, 250 pounds) and has become the go-to option for 49ers quarterback Nick Mullens.

“I think they do a good job, and Kyle [Shanahan] in particular, of understanding how teams are playing certain coverages,” defensive coordinator Vic Fangio said. “And maybe where the weaknesses are or where they can pop a guy free. And they’ve been able to do that here lately, more than a few times.”

One of Kittle’s biggest advantages over competition is the guy calling his plays. Head coach Kyle Shanahan has kept his offense steady (13th in yards) despite the absence of Jimmy Garoppolo. He throws a heavy dose of play-action at opposing defenses, giving his receivers an extra step against hesitant defenders preoccupied with the run. Kittle is one of the biggest beneficiaries of this, and he has taken full advantage of it this season

“It’s a very good offense from a scheme standpoint,” Vic Fangio said. “(Shanahan) does a good job of calling the game. They marry their run game and their passing game together very well. Even if they were to put in a new play, new running play, they’re going to have some form of play-action pass off of it.”

Discipline will be of the upmost importance against play-action. The Broncos failed in that regard, and it resulted in 210 yards for Kittle. The Bears had no issue keeping everything in front of them against the Rams, a team even more reliant on play-action. They will slow down the 49ers’ offense if they are able to repeat that discipline.

Possible air-show

Bears Quarterback Mitch Trubisky: SRN Broadcasting

While the 49ers have a young defensive line that features DeForest Buckner, their secondary leaves an awful lot to be desired, even with the addition of Richard Sherman. Though they have performed respectably against the past (13th in yards allowed), the defense has failed to take the ball away, ranking dead last in the NFL with only two interceptions.

Taking care of the football is always a priority, but the 49ers’ inability to take the football away will allow room to be more aggressive and throw the ball into tighter windows. The playbook will likely open up more and we could see coach Matt Nagy at his most creative.

“I think just as far as, you know, an offensive stand point, there’s still things we want to get accomplished,” WR Allen Robinson said. “You know, and continue to try to build this momentum, you know, going into the playoffs.”

We’ve seen what Trubisky can do against defenses that struggle to force turnovers; His two best games came against the Lions and Buccaneers, who are 30th and 24th in interceptions, respectively. He is at his best when playing loose and not concerned about interceptions, and he can very well play like that on Sunday.

Staying focused

Bears coach Matt Nagy: SRN Broadcasting

The Bears have clinched the NFC North and come off a great win over their rival, so the 49ers may be looked at as a letdown spot. The season is not over, and as Nagy put it, resting starters “is not even in the world of consideration for us. We’re trying to win.”

He added Thursday, “I think that’s what separates the good teams from the great teams is they know how to focus each week and not make any game more significant than the other. And that’s where we’re at right now.

“I’ve been fortunate enough to be on other teams where we’ve won division championships,” he said Wednesday. “And it’s nice. It’s important because, you know, it gives you advantages. It gives you a home game in the playoffs… But you can’t be satisfied. And that’s who our guys are.”

The Bears have the edge over the 49ers across the board. San Francisco is simply a lesser team than the Bears and their already precarious situation was worsened with the injury to Jimmy Garoppolo and eventual insertion of Nick Mullens. Their offensive line is 7th in sacks allowed and their receiving corps is average at best. Mullens is young and limited, and the degree of separation between the 49ers’ offense and Bears’ defense is too big for even Kyle Shanahan to overcome. The 49ers can only win this if the Bears make preventable mistakes. Avoid those errors, and this will turn into a warmup for the playoffs.

Follow on Twitter: @crbevins11 @radiomogul 

Hear audio from Matt Nagy, Vic Fangio, Allen Robinson and Roquan Smith

Monday Mulling: 2018 Bears clinch NFC North with win over Packers

by

The 2018 Chicago Bears exorcized their demons with a win over the Green Bay Packers on Sunday, giving them their first win over the Packers in five games and, more importantly, their first division win since 2010.

Bounce-back game from Trubisky

Bears QB Mitch Trubisky
photo by SRN Broadcasting

Bears quarterback Mitch Trubisky had arguably the worst game of his career against the Rams a week ago. A week of criticism ensued, further adding to the mounting pressure on Trubisky.

He responded with a big day when it was needed most, a day in which he was 20-for-28 with 235 yards and two touchdowns, posting a passer rating of 120.4. He tacked on an additional 16 yards on the ground. Trubisky played with a confidence that simply wasn’t there against the Rams. The game never became too fast for him, and that was shown by him not breaking down in mechanics or decision-making. 

“I know what I can say about my teammates is that they always have my back no matter what,” Trubisky said. “I think they see how hard I work and how much I care about this thing and how I’m hard on myself and I always continually want to do better. 

Perhaps more noticeable than his confidence was Trubisky’s performance was his poise. Green Bay’s pass-rush got home on multiple occasions, but Trubisky used his feet to create space for himself and reset his body to deliver a throw. If he was forced to throw off-balance, he did so without putting the ball in harm’s way. That mobility became useful on multiple occasions when he was him to extend a play with his feet to make a timely throw, or just take off for positive yards.

“Yesterday, Mitch made some great plays with his legs in the pocket, where it broke down, and then made the pass,” Nagy said on Monday. “Or made a scramble on a third-and-long there in the fourth quarter.”

It may not be represented by jaw-dropping deep throws, but Mitch Trubisky played a very good game Sunday. It was particularly encouraging to see him bounce back from his struggles against the Rams, and he did so in one of the biggest games of his career. It is a performance he can build off of, and the arrow is back to trending up for Trubisky.

Rushing Rodgers

Chicago Bears head coach Matt Nagy: SRN Broadcasting

Aaron Rodgers has made a habit of tormenting the Bears for a while now. And at times on Sunday, the nightmares or Rodgers-magic crept back into the minds of Bears fans. Alas, the Bears’ defense kept the foot on the gas all game, and Rodgers was unable to do what he does so often.

“They all battled. Really proud of them,” Rodgers said of his offensive line. “Good defense. Really good front. Crowd was loud. They had a nice plan for us.”

Aaron Rodgers is particularly dangerous when forced to improvise. His instincts and sometimes freaky chemistry with his receivers means coverage integrity is a must. The Bears’ secondary knew this and, instead of losing their focus with eyes on Rodgers, stuck with their receivers through the whole play.

Save for a couple quick throws and screens, the Bears prevented Rodgers from setting into any sort of rhythm and held him to a completion percentage of less than 60%. Rodgers was under duress all day, falling victim to a Bears pass rush that totaled five sacks. 

Khalil Mack was his typical, dominant self, sacking Rodgers two and a half times, while his counterpart, Leonard Floyd, had two of his own. Roquan Smith flew all over the field to lead the team in tackles with 10, plus, he tipped the pass that Eddie Jackson intercepted. It just so happened to be Rodgers’s first pick in over 400 pass attempts.

“Another lesson,” Nagy said of the timely interception. “Sometimes it’s a fortuitous bounce that you get. Sometimes it’s just you didn’t make a play. I talked to our guys last night in regards to those situations. We talked about them and how when you get an opportunity in this game, you got to make it and you cannot look back and have any regrets at all.

Lessons learned

Although it was the first week of the year, the Bears’ second-half collapse was still fresh on everyone’s minds. Rodgers tied the game early in the second half and the, “Here we go again” feeling began to sink in.

“I was even holding my breath on the onside kick just because I’ve seen it so much,” cornerback Prince Amukamara said. “Even on the Hail Mary before the half, you’ve just seen it so many times. [Aaron Rodgers] is so accurate and precise, when he throws the ball he is going to give the receiver a chance. We’re just glad that we finished. I think the pressure that Vic [Fangio] was sending in different looks made a difference in the game.”

These Bears are different than the ones from Week one, however, and they responded swiftly, scoring two possessions later. The defense stuck to what worked instead of reverting to soft coverage like they did before. The offense didn’t become a shell and run conservative play-calls; instead, they let Trubisky do what works best for him: Easy throws that move the chains, misdirection and run-pass-options.

The Bears are at a place they haven’t been since 2010. A place people hoped they would be in a couple years. Their defense is good enough to win the Super Bowl, and if Trubisky plays sound, mistake-free football like yesterday, there is no reason to think they can’t play in Atlanta this February.

Follow on Twitter: @crbevins 11 @radiomogul

Hear audio from Matt Nagy:

2018 Bears vs Packers preview

by

The 2018 Chicago Bears face the Green Bay Packers on Sunday for the second time this year, but this time, a lot more than pride is on the line. A Bears a win clinches the NFC North and, combined with a Vikings win, would eliminate the Packers from postseason contention.

A chance for the run game

The Packers enter Sunday with the 29th ranked run defense by FootballOutsiders, allowing 1,641 rushing yards (24th) and 12 touchdowns (21st). The Bears’ run game has struggled at many points this season, but one of its best days came the first time these teams squared off, a game in which Jordan Howard averaged 5.47 yards per carry, his highest mark of the season. The Packers are without Mike Daniels, Mohammed Wilkerson and Nick Perry, and Mike Daniels is questionable for Sunday. Jordan Howard will have his chances to get some big yards on inside runs against a depleted Packers front.

Howard got going against Los Angeles, collecting his first hundred-yard game of the season, and looking like the effective runner he usually is. “It was really good,” quarterback Mitch Trubisky said. “Sometimes that’s how it goes. We have a mindset that we want to establish the run and the other team made a decision that they were going to take away our pass and kind of zone us out and that opened up the run game.”

Chicago Bears head coach Matt Nagy: SRN Broadcasting

In week One, Tarik Cohen was not used as heavily as he has been of late. He had five carries for 25 yards and three receptions for 16 yards. He has had at least 10 touches in his last five games, however, and the Bears are 4-1 in those games.

The Bears have a third element to their run game, and that is in their quarterback Mitch Trubisky, who is fifth in the league with 386 QB rushing yards. Trubisky had 32 yards on seven rush attempts and a fumble in Week One and has only grown as a runner since. Trubisky and Josh Allen are the only true run-threat quarterbacks the Packers have faced this year, so it is hard to have a feel for their ability to stop a mobile quarterback. Regardless, his legs will be a threat against the Packers, as they will against any team.

“It would be really big for us to (establish the run game,)” coach Matt Nagy said. “Any quarterback you talk to will tell you that, to have that run game going, man, it makes things a lot easier. It opens up the play-actions. It opens up the shots downfield.”

The Bears have trended towards a pass-first offense, currently with a pass-rush ration of 429 to 374 attempts. Some of this is by design and the nature of today’s NFL, but much of it has simply been in response to an inability to establish a run game. They currently rank 20thin the league in yards per rush attempt, and that ranking includes Mitch Trubisky’s scrambles. Howard is coming off his first 100-yard game of the season, and Sunday will give the Bears an opportunity to continue their success in the run game.

Stopping Aaron Rodgers

The Bears have an advantage over the Packers in nearly every aspect of the game. But, like every other NFL team, the Packers have an edge at quarterback with Aaron Rodgers. So long as Rodgers is in the game, the Packers have a chance.

Chicago Bears QB Mitch Trubisky: SRN Broadcasting

“He’s a guy that’s seen a lot of different defenses, he’s been in that offense for a long time, so the game’s slow to him,” Nagy said of Rodgers. “And then he’s got that extreme talent. He has some of the best arm talent that this game has ever had.”

We saw the sheer dominance Rodgers is known for Week One. It seemed the Bears were to start 2018 on the best foot possible, a convincing victory over their rival Packers at Lambeau. Rodgers trotted out at halftime on his injured knee and ripped the Bears’ hearts right out of their chests, mounting a 20-point comeback victory.

“We came out strong in the first half on offense and then second half we didn’t come out as aggressive and didn’t finish,” Trubisky recalled.“So, the theme for this week is just finish as a team, have a great week of practice and then we’ll get our opportunities in the game.”

Though there was a thought that such a comeback was going to be emblematic of the teams’ seasons, wherein the Packers ride a wave of Aaron Rodgers magic to the playoffs and the Bears continue their rebuilding ways, the Bears and Packers have gone in completely different directions. Packers coach Mike McCarthy lost his power struggle with Rodgers, and the team is now led by Joe Philbin. Green Bay has toiled their way to a 5-7-1 record with a mathematically impossible chance to win the division, while the Bears have gone against the grain of the modern NFL, winning nine and losing four with a dominant defense that is third in points allowed and yards per game allowed, and first in takeaway differential.

“They’re a different team,” Nagy said. “You know, they’ve had some injuries. Again, the course of the season, you run the course of the season and you kind of create the identity of who you are. And same with us too, you know. So, every game is its own game.”

It is fair to say that the Bears and Packers are different teams than they were week one, but the most important constant is Aaron Rodgers. Rodgers has dominated the Bears his entire career with a 16-4 record in 20 regular season games. Chicago has enjoyed a degree of success that’s been unheard of for most of the last decade, but they have not yet shown they can defeat the thorn that pricks them in the side twice a year. Sunday is not only a chance to clinch the division for the first time since 2010, but, given the sustainable model for success Ryan Pace has built and the state of disarray thePackers are currently in, it could be a catalyst for a swing in the oldest rivalry in the NFL.

Follow on Twitter: @crbevins11 @radiomogul

Hear audio from Matt Nagy and Mitch Trubisky: