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10 thoughts after the Bears lost 15-14 Sunday afternoon at Soldier Field to the San Francisco 49ers, who couldn’t get in the end zone but got five field goals from ex-Bear Robbie Gould and a 297-yard effort from former Rolling Meadows High School star Jimmy Garoppolo.
1. Here is something no one is talking about yet and the Bears aren’t going to admit when this season comes to a merciful end on Dec. 31 at Minnesota: Whatever opening or openings the Bears have for employment at Halas Hall aren’t going to be nearly as appealing as they’d like you to believe. They’re going to pass it off as a premier destination in the NFL — but it sure isn’t right now.
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Yes, the Bears will have more appeal than the Browns, who have the worst job for a football coach this side of the University of Tennessee. Maybe it’s not surprising Browns owner Jimmy Haslam has deep ties to the Volunteers program? There are going to be a bunch of openings following the end of the season, and one veteran agent who represents coaches forecasted a minimum of seven when I chatted with him last week. It’s not difficult at all to envision the Bears being in the market for their third head coach in a five-year span. In fact, it is practically expected. And the point here is a handful of other jobs are going to look a lot more appealing than the Bears’ gig at Halas Hall. That could force the Bears to get in line for their preferred candidate or candidates and who knows how that would go.
Yes, there might be candidates that really like quarterback Mitch Trubisky. It’s going to be hard for anyone to fall in love with him based off game tape from this season. There will be a couple candidates that are OK with Trubisky and see potential upside in this year’s second overall pick. Then, there will be candidates that aren’t real interested in Trubisky or are more enamored with another job where they could have the freedom to go out and get their own guy with potential for a flurry of veterans to be available as well as some intriguing draft prospects.
Going beyond the quarterback position, the Bears have a serious lack of playmakers. It’s an ongoing issue and it’s why they are destined for a fourth consecutive losing season. They declined the fifth-year option for cornerback Kyle Fuller entering this season and it would be a stunner if they don’t decline the fifth-year option for wide receiver Kevin White this coming offseason. Failing to hit on first-round draft picks is just one example of why the roster remains critically flawed. Failing to keep the roster healthy is another serious issue and it would be foolish and unfair to pin that on the head coach alone.
Sure, the Bears will try to sell the idea that there’s rich history within the franchise and that’s certainly true. But there’s one lonesome Lombardi Trophy in the lobby at Halas Hall and the great tradition they talk about is really rooted in the 1940’s as legendary linebacker Dick Butkus references in the video they play at Soldier Field in the minutes leading up to kickoff at each home game. Up-and-coming coaches aren’t concerned about tradition, they’re laser-focused on their chances to succeed with what can often be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
Once upon a time, the Bears were an attractive landing spot because they were viewed as a patient organization and with patience comes job security. That will no longer be the case if they make moves after this season. Chairman of the board George McCaskey fired Lovie Smith after a 10-6 season in 2012. Marc Trestman lasted two seasons. John Fox is in Year 3.
How do you work around being an unattractive landing spot? It’s not easy but the 49ers seemed to have pulled it off this past offseason when they lured Falcons offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan away from the NFC champions. Shanahan is the club’s fourth coach in four years and the only way they talked him in to coming was money. The 49ers signed Shanahan to a six-year contract. That’s two more years than the typical deal, particularly for a first-time head coach. That’s two more years than the Bears gave Fox. The six-year deal for Shanahan matches the six-year contract the club gave new general manager John Lynch. Those are guaranteed deals meaning there is a ton of money invested in the men. You know what else Shanahan got? He received control over the 53-man roster. That means Shanahan can select who stays and who goes and that can be an important chip for a coach when he needs to make it clear to the locker room he has the most juice in the building. It’s difficult to envision Bears general manager Ryan Pace ceding control of the 53-man roster to a new head coach if Pace is out and about looking for a new head coach in the first week of January.
Bears quarterback Mitch Trubisky
Photos of quarterback Mitch Trubisky, who the Bears selected with the No. 2 overall pick in the 2017 NFL draft.
The 49ers had a bad image and bad reputation when they sought to rebuild – again. The roster was and still is a mess but they bucked up and offered huge security to get two men to come in and take over. It now appears they’ve found a quarterback for the future after flipping a second-round draft pick to the Patriots to acquire Jimmy Garoppolo. Boy, he looked pretty darn good against the Bears in completing 26 of 37 passes for 293 yards. The 49ers can sell a little hope right now and that’s one thing that is in short supply at 1920 Football Dr. in Lake Forest.
2. It’s possible we’ve seen the last of right guard Kyle Long on the field this season. His final offensive snap on Sunday came with 10:37 remaining in the second quatrter on the 9-yard run quarterback Mitch Trubisky had. Remember, that was the play coach John Fox unsuccessfully challenged. It didn’t look like Long was injured specifically on that play but the left shoulder has been giving him ongoing issues. Tom Compton replaced him for the snap the Bears had with 24 seconds remaining in the first half and Long watched the second half from the sideline wearing turf shoes even though the team labeled him as questionable to return.
“I don’t know the extent of it,” Long said after the game. “I jacked up my shoulder pretty good. I’ll know more tomorrow.”
Presumably, that means Long is headed for some tests on the shoulder, which I originally reported was injured prior to the start of the 2016 season. Plenty of folks have suggested in a lost season why not shut Long down as soon as possible and divert his focus to doing whatever it takes medically to get fixed up about 12 months removed from reconstructive surgery on his right ankle?
The short answer there is Long is not programmed that way. He’s a competitor and wants to be out there with his teammates when at all possible. The other thing I think most people have managed to overlook is the fact that you want the best possible offensive line on the field as possible for the quarterback that is struggling through his rookie season. Shut down Long prematurely, have a fill-in miss a few blocks and get Mitch Trubisky clobbered and, well, that’s not a good thing. It’s gotten to the point that Long may not be able to battle through what are multiple injuries. The left shoulder is the most serious one right now and he knows he needs to get it fixed. It might be a matter of whether or not that procedure happens this month or next month.
“Kyle is one of the toughest people I know,” Compton said. “He has been battling through a ton of stuff and he usually stays in there even if it’s really hurting him. We’ll see what happens with him. I am always eager to step up. Every week, I tell myself I am playing. I am starting. That is how I have to prepare so when I go in there it is not foreign to me. They do a good job of giving me a lot of reps during the week so that helps.”
3. It looked like Robbie Gould had a couple early birthday presents sitting in his locker on the visiting side of Soldier Field after the game. I’m talking about a game ball and at least one other souvenir from the victory. Gould turns 35 on Wednesday and he’ll surely still be riding high in a couple days after knocking through all five field goal attempts. Gould is a remarkable 36 of 38 on field goals since signing with the Giants and kicking for them for the final 10 games last season. He was 10 for 10 in New York and is 26 for 28 this season with one miss and one block.
“This one meant a lot,” Gould said when asked if coach Kyle Shanahan presented him with a game ball afterward. “I have a lot of respect for Kyle and what he’s trying to build here and the type of coach he is and the offensive mind that he is and just the way he carries himself. He knew how much this one meant to me too. I am just glad we got a win.”
Gould turned to the Bears sideline briefly after his 24-yarder sailed through with four seconds remaining.
“I was just excited about getting a win,” said Gould, who signed a $4 million, two-year contract with the 49ers. “It’s been an awesome two years ago. When I left here and took some time off to try to get my technique and things that I missed at the end of my career, it’s been an awesome run for two years.”
I asked Gould if he tweaked anything mechanically in the month-and-a-half or so he was out before the Giants scooped him up last year.
Photos from the Bears-49ers game at Soldier Field on Sunday, Dec. 3, 2017.
“No,” he replied. “Just got a little more motivation.”
The Bears clearly made the wrong choice in booting Gould to sign Connor Barth and they more than admitted is much when they released Barth last month after a rocky season-and-a-half or so. They thought they were doing the right thing and making an upgrade with upside for the future by adding Cairo Santos, the former Chief. But Santos tweaked his groin muscle, at least that’s what the team believes happened, in pregame warmups and was limited to extra points and maybe some short field goal attempts, tries that never happened during the game.
Santos injured his groin in preseason and then re-injured it in Week 3 before the Chiefs reached an injury settlement with him. Word was he might need to sit out the remainder of the season to heal up but the thinking was Santos was ready and he passed the team’s physical when he came in, signing a one-year contract.
“I am a little heartbroken right now for myself and for the team because I did feel healed and strong enough to endure all the kicking and I felt great in practice,” Santos said. “Didn’t miss any periods in practice. Did all of the load. In pregame, sometimes it happens. It’s out of my control. It just flared up on me again. We’ll take a look at it tomorrow and see how it is.
“I kicked the extra points. I could feel something. I could manage it. So there is some optimism. It’s maybe just some tightness. Some nerve irritation. They checked me before the game and they thought my strength level was actually impressive. Maybe it’s not muscle related. We’ll just have to take a look at it tomorrow.”
I’d expect there is a good chance the Bears will bring in a new kicker or host a tryout with a couple options. It’s disappointing for Santos, who looked at the end of the season as an opportunity to bolster his resume for free agency just a little bit. The Bears had punter Pat O’Donnell kick off and he did pretty well with two touchbacks and one that was five yards deep in the end zone that was run out. O’Donnell handled kickoff duties part of the time he was in college.
“He’s a stud,” Santos said. “I told him, ‘Just like the Miami days.’ He was a great kickoff guy at Miami. I am proud of how he handled it like a pro. It didn’t look like he was nervous at all.”
With some luck maybe Santos is not badly injured but you have to think the Bears will need a new kicker for this coming week. Meanwhile, Gould is on pace to have the best percentage of his career. He’s at 92.9 right now this season. His previous best was 87.9 which he accomplished in 2008 and 2013 when he made 26 of 29 attempts.
4. The Bears caught a break near the end of the game when Jimmy Garoppolo hit running back Carlos Hyde off a play fake and Hyde attempted to give himself up before he reached the sideline. It appeared like he had successfully done that but officials ruled him out of bounds at the 10-yard line and stopped the clock with 1:46 remaining. The Bears got in deep trouble when Kyle Juszczyk ran three yards on the ensuing third-and-2 play. That forced the Bears to use their second timeout with 1:40 remaining. At that point, the Bears were leading 14-12 and had one timeout remaining with 100 seconds to play. What do you do? That’s called being stuck between a rock, a big one, and a hard spot, a really hard spot. One option is to play the best defense possible and hope for a takeaway or the chance that the kicker missed the chip shot field goal or you can block it. Another option is to let the 49ers stroll right in the end zone and score a touchdown, which would have put them ahead 18-14 pending an extra point or two-point conversion try.
“I didn’t think about that,” Hyde said when I asked him if he’d considered the possibility.
Tight end George Kittle was right next to Hyde in the locker room, though, and it was something he was wondering about.
“I thought they were going to let you go in,” Kittle told his teammate.
“We talked about it,” Bears coach John Fox said. “But it would have had to be done at about 1:36 or 1:40 or whatever it was. We felt good about the block we had on the potential field goal. Neither one of those are great options at the 5- and 4-yard line.”
Some scoffed at what Fox said about the possibility of a short field goal being blocked but that’s what happened earlier this season when Eagles rookie Derek Barnett blocked a 27-yard attempt by Gould. Had the defense allowed the Niners to score, the offense would have needed a game-winning touchdown drive and the offense had produced a meager 147 yards. Fox made the right call there. For what it’s worth, that was the best performance by a San Francisco defense since it allowed only 143 yards in a 32-9 victory over the Bears on Nov. 19, 2012 at Candlestick Park. That game marked the first career start for Colin Kaepernick.
Photos of Bears rookie running back Tarik Cohen.
5. How about the dazzling 61-yard punt return for Tarik Cohen? The Bears don’t have a replacement for Robbie Gould but Cohen, at least a little bit, has some Devin Hester to him in the return game. Cohen said the return the team called was designed to go left. The kick by punter Bradley Pinion was left though, even with the numbers on that side of the field, so it left the Bears very little room to get anything set up. Cohen backtracked across the field and was fortunate wide receiver Aldrick Robinson didn’t tackle him. Soon, he had six 49ers in pursuit of him on the opposite side of the field. By the time he got back to the left, he’d more or less left those six original pursuers in the dust and by then it was a numbers game. The Bears had the 49ers completely outflanked and really the only block necessary was a nice one by Benny Cunningham on running back Matt Breida. Cohen did the rest.
“I was worried I might get tackled for a loss of yards,” Cohen said. “But then in that case, like my coaches always tell me, I had to trust my speed. Just go with the plan, go back left.”
Cohen becomes the first rookie since Gale Sayers in 1965 to have a rushing touchdown, receiving touchdown, punt return touchdown and passing touchdown in the same season. As the NFL’s Randall Liu noted, the last player to do it was Terry Metcalf of the St. Louis Cardinals in 1975. Metcalf was a remarkably dynamic player and his son Eric was a greater returner and slot receiver.
Cohen remains electric and he’s leading the team with 39 receptions but it’s a problem when the most dangerous player on the roster is a gadget guy. That’s not a knock on Cohen. It’s reality. He’s a joker back and that means he’s limited. Hopefully he can provide some more sparks and a couple highlight plays in the final four games.
6. I need to re-watch the game and see if there was a common thread to some of the wide-open receivers that Jimmy Garoppolo had. There were too many occasions where he had guys really open over the middle of the field. Instinct tells me it wasn’t a very good outing for nickel cornerback Cre’Von LeBlanc but need to dig in on things first. LeBlanc did flash a little in Philadelphia last week and this marked the fourth consecutive game Bryce Callahan has missed with a knee injury. The good news is Callahan did practice this past week, perhaps a signal he will be able to give it a go next Sunday at Cincinnati. But that’s the knock and it’s an earned one for Callahan. He has difficulty staying healthy. When the Bears think about overhauling the cornerback position in the offseason, and they’re going to have to add pieces at the minimum, nickel cornerback needs to be on the to-do list.
7. In the final few weeks of the season is when you sometimes see teams knock out contract extensions for a player here or a player there. The Cardinals extended defensive lineman Corey Peters with a three-year deal last week. It used to be that clubs had to use their remaining cap space for the given season or find a creative way to try and roll it into the next season. Now, teams can simply carryover leftover cap space so there’s not a situation where it’s use it or lose it. Punter Pat O’Donnell is maybe the best candidate the Bears have for a player on the roster that could be extended before the end of the season. O’Donnell is in the final year of his rookie contract and he’s shown steady improvement the last two seasons. It probably would not require a top of the market deal to get him done and if the Bears knocked it out now, it would remove one item from the club’s offseason to-do list. A punter that kicks in Soldier Field for half his games every season is never going to lead the NFL in some of the statistical categories. It’s simply not going to happen. O’Donnell has a net of 39.4 yards and that ranks 25th for punters with a minimum of 36 kicks. It’s a yard better than where O’Donnell was last season and just off his 2015 career-best of 39.7. He’s landed 22 punts inside the 20-yard line and forced a fair catch on 13 punts. One point that should also be noted: O’Donnell has improved as a holder over the last couple years and that’s critical. We’ll see if a deal gets done or he heads to the open market in March as an unrestricted free agent.
Photos of John Fox, the Bears' 15th head coach.
8. There’s no chance Lamarr Houston figured he would be on the field for nearly the entire game but that is the predicament the Bears found themselves in when Pernell McPhee fought off a block by tight end Garrett Celek and attempted to tackle running back Carlos Hyde on the seventh play from scrimmage. McPhee saw the ball in Hyde’s right arm and thought he might be able to jar it out but banged up his left shoulder on contact. McPhee went out and didn’t return. By my completely unofficial tally, Houston was on the field for 68 snaps, including plays wiped out by penalty. The Bears were forced to turn to the veteran after disappointing efforts last week by Isaiah Irving, who was injured in practice Wednesday and placed on injured reserve, and Howard Jones. Really, it’s just additional fallout to losing Leonard Floyd to a season-ending knee injury. Houston just happened to spring available when the Texans made the public decision to go young on defense once playoff chances were just about extinguished.
“They just wanted young guys playing because they’re not going to the playoffs any more,” Houston said. “I completely understand that. They’re pretty much building for next year. It is what it is. They didn’t need any more vets. I want to be in it. I want to be playing. I want to finish the season on a team, be able to finish playing. Then see what is there for next year.”
Houston clearly wasn’t in the Bears’ plans when they gave him a deep and long run in the preseason finale and then he suffered a minor knee injury that led to a two-game injury settlement. He figured all along he was going to make the roster.
“I was shocked,” Houston said. “It’s business, man, and that’s just how it is.”
It’s too bad the Bears lack young players at the position they can trust and want to see more of in the coming weeks. At least they have a guy that knows the scheme in Houston but if McPhee is going to miss time, it’s going to necessitate at least one more roster move.
Meanwhile, safety Chris Prosinski was easy to reach as he remained in Deerfield after he received a short injury settlement for a hamstring issue following final cuts. His wife was teaching yoga in the area and Prosinski trained at EFT Sports Performance in Highland Park. He said he healed up after about the first month of the season and had tryouts for the 49ers, Falcons and Bills before the Bears signed him and inserted him into the starting lineup with Adrian Amos out. We’ll have to see what shakes out at that spot in the weeks ahead. Amos was doing some light conditioning work under the watchful eye of the staff before the game but that doesn’t mean he’s necessarily back in the mix this week.
9. With the CFL season concluded, pretty soon we’ll see a few players from up north landing workouts for NFL teams as they consider possible reserve/future contracts to sign after the NFL season ends. I don’t know if the Bears have plans to bring any CFL guys in but they have on occasion in the past few years. After making some calls and digging in on the subject a little bit, here are a few names that popped up: Saskatchewan DE/OLB A.C. Leonard, Edmonton wide receiver Brandon Zylstra, Montreal defensive back Jon Mincy and Ottawa defensive back Jon Rose. That’s a really short list and there will surely be more names. Leonard is a converted tight end who was an undrafted free agent with the Vikings in 2014 but didn’t stick. He transitioned to defense in Canada.
Photos of Bears running back Jordan Howard.
10. With only one quarter of the season remaining it’s not too early to look ahead to the 2018 schedule. The NFC North is paired up with the NFC West and AFC East next season. So in addition to the home-and-away series with divisional foes, the Bears will have games at Soldier Field against the Rams, Seahawks, Patriots, Jets and the corresponding finisher in the NFC South. The Bears will play road games at the Cardinals, 49ers, Bills, Dolphins and the corresponding in the NFC East. If the Bears finish last in the NFC North – they are three games behind the Packers and Lions – it would almost certainly mean a home game with the Buccaneers and a road trip to the Giants. If the Bears can climb into third place in the division, it’s totally up in the air because those other divisions have teams clumped together. Keep in mind the Packers swept the season series, so if the teams finish with the same record, Green Bay will be ahead of the Bears in the final standings. The Lions won the only encounter between the teams so far this season so the chances the Bears have of climbing out of last place are very thin.
10a. At this point the Bears are on pace to finish the season without a 500-yard receiver for the first time since 1989. Maybe you’re like me and are a little surprised it’s happened that recently but then again these are the Bears and when the franchise has had quarterback issues for decades and decades, that leads to wide receiver issues. Ron Morris was the leading wide receiver that season with 30 receptions for 486 yards. Right now, Kendall Wright is on pace to have 44 catches for 493 yards. At least the Bears had six players with 392 yards or more in 1989, Morris included. They could easily finish this season with only three players above 300 yards – Tarik Cohen (306 already), Wright (370 currently) and Dontrelle Inman (216 currently). In fact, that’s a pretty good bet unless you figure on Josh Bellamy going for 125 yards or more in the next four games.
10b. The Browns (0-12) now have a two-game lead on the 49ers and Giants, who are both 2-10, for the No. 1 pick in the 2018 draft. Right now, the Bears are on course to pick in the top five but that could shift. They are one of three teams with a 3-9 record. The Colts and Broncos are also 3-9 but they play each other on Thursday, Dec. 14 at Lucas Oil Stadium. Barring the seldom seen tie, one of those teams will pick up a fourth victory. The only other game involving two teams from this terrible mix is Dec. 24 when the Browns visit Soldier Field to face the Bears.
10c. More disappointing free agent named Marcus/Markus? Cornerback Marcus Cooper can’t find his way onto the field even when the team goes to a dime package on rare instances. He had one snap on defense and has essentially been relegated to special teams duty. Wide receiver Markus Wheaton was on the field for one offensive snap as well. Wheaton probably is the more disappointing from the standpoint that it wouldn’t take much to be an upgrade with what the team has going on at wide receiver. But this has been a double dose of unproductive and both could easily be elsewhere next season.
10d. The franchise’s college scouts were on the sideline before the game and that is a sign they have been in town for pre-draft meetings as the team gets organized with the college season pretty much at the end. They will be preparing for the light scouting that occurs during the bowl season and then the postseason circuit of all-star games.
10e. The Bears will catch an opponent on a short week for the second time in five games. The Packers were coming off a “Monday Night Football” appearance before the Nov. 12 meeting and the Bengals are hosting the Steelers this evening on “Monday Night Football.”
10f. Solid game by cornerback Kyle Fuller, who ripped the ball away from Louis Murphy for an interception and the only turnover of the game. He was credited with six tackles and although he missed two, he got a lot of action and responded well.
10g. The Bengals opened as a 6 ½-point favorite for the game against the Bears at Paul Brown Stadium at Westgate SuperBook in Las Vegas.
bmbiggs@chicagotribune.com
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1. Here is something no one is talking about yet and the Bears aren’t going to admit when this season comes to a merciful end on Dec. 31 at Minnesota: Whatever opening or openings the Bears have for employment at Halas Hall aren’t going to be nearly as appealing as they’d like you to believe. They’re going to pass it off as a premier destination in the NFL — but it sure isn’t right now.
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Yes, the Bears will have more appeal than the Browns, who have the worst job for a football coach this side of the University of Tennessee. Maybe it’s not surprising Browns owner Jimmy Haslam has deep ties to the Volunteers program? There are going to be a bunch of openings following the end of the season, and one veteran agent who represents coaches forecasted a minimum of seven when I chatted with him last week. It’s not difficult at all to envision the Bears being in the market for their third head coach in a five-year span. In fact, it is practically expected. And the point here is a handful of other jobs are going to look a lot more appealing than the Bears’ gig at Halas Hall. That could force the Bears to get in line for their preferred candidate or candidates and who knows how that would go.
Yes, there might be candidates that really like quarterback Mitch Trubisky. It’s going to be hard for anyone to fall in love with him based off game tape from this season. There will be a couple candidates that are OK with Trubisky and see potential upside in this year’s second overall pick. Then, there will be candidates that aren’t real interested in Trubisky or are more enamored with another job where they could have the freedom to go out and get their own guy with potential for a flurry of veterans to be available as well as some intriguing draft prospects.
Going beyond the quarterback position, the Bears have a serious lack of playmakers. It’s an ongoing issue and it’s why they are destined for a fourth consecutive losing season. They declined the fifth-year option for cornerback Kyle Fuller entering this season and it would be a stunner if they don’t decline the fifth-year option for wide receiver Kevin White this coming offseason. Failing to hit on first-round draft picks is just one example of why the roster remains critically flawed. Failing to keep the roster healthy is another serious issue and it would be foolish and unfair to pin that on the head coach alone.
Sure, the Bears will try to sell the idea that there’s rich history within the franchise and that’s certainly true. But there’s one lonesome Lombardi Trophy in the lobby at Halas Hall and the great tradition they talk about is really rooted in the 1940’s as legendary linebacker Dick Butkus references in the video they play at Soldier Field in the minutes leading up to kickoff at each home game. Up-and-coming coaches aren’t concerned about tradition, they’re laser-focused on their chances to succeed with what can often be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
Once upon a time, the Bears were an attractive landing spot because they were viewed as a patient organization and with patience comes job security. That will no longer be the case if they make moves after this season. Chairman of the board George McCaskey fired Lovie Smith after a 10-6 season in 2012. Marc Trestman lasted two seasons. John Fox is in Year 3.
How do you work around being an unattractive landing spot? It’s not easy but the 49ers seemed to have pulled it off this past offseason when they lured Falcons offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan away from the NFC champions. Shanahan is the club’s fourth coach in four years and the only way they talked him in to coming was money. The 49ers signed Shanahan to a six-year contract. That’s two more years than the typical deal, particularly for a first-time head coach. That’s two more years than the Bears gave Fox. The six-year deal for Shanahan matches the six-year contract the club gave new general manager John Lynch. Those are guaranteed deals meaning there is a ton of money invested in the men. You know what else Shanahan got? He received control over the 53-man roster. That means Shanahan can select who stays and who goes and that can be an important chip for a coach when he needs to make it clear to the locker room he has the most juice in the building. It’s difficult to envision Bears general manager Ryan Pace ceding control of the 53-man roster to a new head coach if Pace is out and about looking for a new head coach in the first week of January.
Bears quarterback Mitch Trubisky
Photos of quarterback Mitch Trubisky, who the Bears selected with the No. 2 overall pick in the 2017 NFL draft.
The 49ers had a bad image and bad reputation when they sought to rebuild – again. The roster was and still is a mess but they bucked up and offered huge security to get two men to come in and take over. It now appears they’ve found a quarterback for the future after flipping a second-round draft pick to the Patriots to acquire Jimmy Garoppolo. Boy, he looked pretty darn good against the Bears in completing 26 of 37 passes for 293 yards. The 49ers can sell a little hope right now and that’s one thing that is in short supply at 1920 Football Dr. in Lake Forest.
2. It’s possible we’ve seen the last of right guard Kyle Long on the field this season. His final offensive snap on Sunday came with 10:37 remaining in the second quatrter on the 9-yard run quarterback Mitch Trubisky had. Remember, that was the play coach John Fox unsuccessfully challenged. It didn’t look like Long was injured specifically on that play but the left shoulder has been giving him ongoing issues. Tom Compton replaced him for the snap the Bears had with 24 seconds remaining in the first half and Long watched the second half from the sideline wearing turf shoes even though the team labeled him as questionable to return.
“I don’t know the extent of it,” Long said after the game. “I jacked up my shoulder pretty good. I’ll know more tomorrow.”
Presumably, that means Long is headed for some tests on the shoulder, which I originally reported was injured prior to the start of the 2016 season. Plenty of folks have suggested in a lost season why not shut Long down as soon as possible and divert his focus to doing whatever it takes medically to get fixed up about 12 months removed from reconstructive surgery on his right ankle?
The short answer there is Long is not programmed that way. He’s a competitor and wants to be out there with his teammates when at all possible. The other thing I think most people have managed to overlook is the fact that you want the best possible offensive line on the field as possible for the quarterback that is struggling through his rookie season. Shut down Long prematurely, have a fill-in miss a few blocks and get Mitch Trubisky clobbered and, well, that’s not a good thing. It’s gotten to the point that Long may not be able to battle through what are multiple injuries. The left shoulder is the most serious one right now and he knows he needs to get it fixed. It might be a matter of whether or not that procedure happens this month or next month.
“Kyle is one of the toughest people I know,” Compton said. “He has been battling through a ton of stuff and he usually stays in there even if it’s really hurting him. We’ll see what happens with him. I am always eager to step up. Every week, I tell myself I am playing. I am starting. That is how I have to prepare so when I go in there it is not foreign to me. They do a good job of giving me a lot of reps during the week so that helps.”
3. It looked like Robbie Gould had a couple early birthday presents sitting in his locker on the visiting side of Soldier Field after the game. I’m talking about a game ball and at least one other souvenir from the victory. Gould turns 35 on Wednesday and he’ll surely still be riding high in a couple days after knocking through all five field goal attempts. Gould is a remarkable 36 of 38 on field goals since signing with the Giants and kicking for them for the final 10 games last season. He was 10 for 10 in New York and is 26 for 28 this season with one miss and one block.
“This one meant a lot,” Gould said when asked if coach Kyle Shanahan presented him with a game ball afterward. “I have a lot of respect for Kyle and what he’s trying to build here and the type of coach he is and the offensive mind that he is and just the way he carries himself. He knew how much this one meant to me too. I am just glad we got a win.”
Gould turned to the Bears sideline briefly after his 24-yarder sailed through with four seconds remaining.
“I was just excited about getting a win,” said Gould, who signed a $4 million, two-year contract with the 49ers. “It’s been an awesome two years ago. When I left here and took some time off to try to get my technique and things that I missed at the end of my career, it’s been an awesome run for two years.”
I asked Gould if he tweaked anything mechanically in the month-and-a-half or so he was out before the Giants scooped him up last year.
Photos from the Bears-49ers game at Soldier Field on Sunday, Dec. 3, 2017.
“No,” he replied. “Just got a little more motivation.”
The Bears clearly made the wrong choice in booting Gould to sign Connor Barth and they more than admitted is much when they released Barth last month after a rocky season-and-a-half or so. They thought they were doing the right thing and making an upgrade with upside for the future by adding Cairo Santos, the former Chief. But Santos tweaked his groin muscle, at least that’s what the team believes happened, in pregame warmups and was limited to extra points and maybe some short field goal attempts, tries that never happened during the game.
Santos injured his groin in preseason and then re-injured it in Week 3 before the Chiefs reached an injury settlement with him. Word was he might need to sit out the remainder of the season to heal up but the thinking was Santos was ready and he passed the team’s physical when he came in, signing a one-year contract.
“I am a little heartbroken right now for myself and for the team because I did feel healed and strong enough to endure all the kicking and I felt great in practice,” Santos said. “Didn’t miss any periods in practice. Did all of the load. In pregame, sometimes it happens. It’s out of my control. It just flared up on me again. We’ll take a look at it tomorrow and see how it is.
“I kicked the extra points. I could feel something. I could manage it. So there is some optimism. It’s maybe just some tightness. Some nerve irritation. They checked me before the game and they thought my strength level was actually impressive. Maybe it’s not muscle related. We’ll just have to take a look at it tomorrow.”
I’d expect there is a good chance the Bears will bring in a new kicker or host a tryout with a couple options. It’s disappointing for Santos, who looked at the end of the season as an opportunity to bolster his resume for free agency just a little bit. The Bears had punter Pat O’Donnell kick off and he did pretty well with two touchbacks and one that was five yards deep in the end zone that was run out. O’Donnell handled kickoff duties part of the time he was in college.
“He’s a stud,” Santos said. “I told him, ‘Just like the Miami days.’ He was a great kickoff guy at Miami. I am proud of how he handled it like a pro. It didn’t look like he was nervous at all.”
With some luck maybe Santos is not badly injured but you have to think the Bears will need a new kicker for this coming week. Meanwhile, Gould is on pace to have the best percentage of his career. He’s at 92.9 right now this season. His previous best was 87.9 which he accomplished in 2008 and 2013 when he made 26 of 29 attempts.
4. The Bears caught a break near the end of the game when Jimmy Garoppolo hit running back Carlos Hyde off a play fake and Hyde attempted to give himself up before he reached the sideline. It appeared like he had successfully done that but officials ruled him out of bounds at the 10-yard line and stopped the clock with 1:46 remaining. The Bears got in deep trouble when Kyle Juszczyk ran three yards on the ensuing third-and-2 play. That forced the Bears to use their second timeout with 1:40 remaining. At that point, the Bears were leading 14-12 and had one timeout remaining with 100 seconds to play. What do you do? That’s called being stuck between a rock, a big one, and a hard spot, a really hard spot. One option is to play the best defense possible and hope for a takeaway or the chance that the kicker missed the chip shot field goal or you can block it. Another option is to let the 49ers stroll right in the end zone and score a touchdown, which would have put them ahead 18-14 pending an extra point or two-point conversion try.
“I didn’t think about that,” Hyde said when I asked him if he’d considered the possibility.
Tight end George Kittle was right next to Hyde in the locker room, though, and it was something he was wondering about.
“I thought they were going to let you go in,” Kittle told his teammate.
“We talked about it,” Bears coach John Fox said. “But it would have had to be done at about 1:36 or 1:40 or whatever it was. We felt good about the block we had on the potential field goal. Neither one of those are great options at the 5- and 4-yard line.”
Some scoffed at what Fox said about the possibility of a short field goal being blocked but that’s what happened earlier this season when Eagles rookie Derek Barnett blocked a 27-yard attempt by Gould. Had the defense allowed the Niners to score, the offense would have needed a game-winning touchdown drive and the offense had produced a meager 147 yards. Fox made the right call there. For what it’s worth, that was the best performance by a San Francisco defense since it allowed only 143 yards in a 32-9 victory over the Bears on Nov. 19, 2012 at Candlestick Park. That game marked the first career start for Colin Kaepernick.
Photos of Bears rookie running back Tarik Cohen.
5. How about the dazzling 61-yard punt return for Tarik Cohen? The Bears don’t have a replacement for Robbie Gould but Cohen, at least a little bit, has some Devin Hester to him in the return game. Cohen said the return the team called was designed to go left. The kick by punter Bradley Pinion was left though, even with the numbers on that side of the field, so it left the Bears very little room to get anything set up. Cohen backtracked across the field and was fortunate wide receiver Aldrick Robinson didn’t tackle him. Soon, he had six 49ers in pursuit of him on the opposite side of the field. By the time he got back to the left, he’d more or less left those six original pursuers in the dust and by then it was a numbers game. The Bears had the 49ers completely outflanked and really the only block necessary was a nice one by Benny Cunningham on running back Matt Breida. Cohen did the rest.
“I was worried I might get tackled for a loss of yards,” Cohen said. “But then in that case, like my coaches always tell me, I had to trust my speed. Just go with the plan, go back left.”
Cohen becomes the first rookie since Gale Sayers in 1965 to have a rushing touchdown, receiving touchdown, punt return touchdown and passing touchdown in the same season. As the NFL’s Randall Liu noted, the last player to do it was Terry Metcalf of the St. Louis Cardinals in 1975. Metcalf was a remarkably dynamic player and his son Eric was a greater returner and slot receiver.
Cohen remains electric and he’s leading the team with 39 receptions but it’s a problem when the most dangerous player on the roster is a gadget guy. That’s not a knock on Cohen. It’s reality. He’s a joker back and that means he’s limited. Hopefully he can provide some more sparks and a couple highlight plays in the final four games.
6. I need to re-watch the game and see if there was a common thread to some of the wide-open receivers that Jimmy Garoppolo had. There were too many occasions where he had guys really open over the middle of the field. Instinct tells me it wasn’t a very good outing for nickel cornerback Cre’Von LeBlanc but need to dig in on things first. LeBlanc did flash a little in Philadelphia last week and this marked the fourth consecutive game Bryce Callahan has missed with a knee injury. The good news is Callahan did practice this past week, perhaps a signal he will be able to give it a go next Sunday at Cincinnati. But that’s the knock and it’s an earned one for Callahan. He has difficulty staying healthy. When the Bears think about overhauling the cornerback position in the offseason, and they’re going to have to add pieces at the minimum, nickel cornerback needs to be on the to-do list.
7. In the final few weeks of the season is when you sometimes see teams knock out contract extensions for a player here or a player there. The Cardinals extended defensive lineman Corey Peters with a three-year deal last week. It used to be that clubs had to use their remaining cap space for the given season or find a creative way to try and roll it into the next season. Now, teams can simply carryover leftover cap space so there’s not a situation where it’s use it or lose it. Punter Pat O’Donnell is maybe the best candidate the Bears have for a player on the roster that could be extended before the end of the season. O’Donnell is in the final year of his rookie contract and he’s shown steady improvement the last two seasons. It probably would not require a top of the market deal to get him done and if the Bears knocked it out now, it would remove one item from the club’s offseason to-do list. A punter that kicks in Soldier Field for half his games every season is never going to lead the NFL in some of the statistical categories. It’s simply not going to happen. O’Donnell has a net of 39.4 yards and that ranks 25th for punters with a minimum of 36 kicks. It’s a yard better than where O’Donnell was last season and just off his 2015 career-best of 39.7. He’s landed 22 punts inside the 20-yard line and forced a fair catch on 13 punts. One point that should also be noted: O’Donnell has improved as a holder over the last couple years and that’s critical. We’ll see if a deal gets done or he heads to the open market in March as an unrestricted free agent.
Photos of John Fox, the Bears' 15th head coach.
8. There’s no chance Lamarr Houston figured he would be on the field for nearly the entire game but that is the predicament the Bears found themselves in when Pernell McPhee fought off a block by tight end Garrett Celek and attempted to tackle running back Carlos Hyde on the seventh play from scrimmage. McPhee saw the ball in Hyde’s right arm and thought he might be able to jar it out but banged up his left shoulder on contact. McPhee went out and didn’t return. By my completely unofficial tally, Houston was on the field for 68 snaps, including plays wiped out by penalty. The Bears were forced to turn to the veteran after disappointing efforts last week by Isaiah Irving, who was injured in practice Wednesday and placed on injured reserve, and Howard Jones. Really, it’s just additional fallout to losing Leonard Floyd to a season-ending knee injury. Houston just happened to spring available when the Texans made the public decision to go young on defense once playoff chances were just about extinguished.
“They just wanted young guys playing because they’re not going to the playoffs any more,” Houston said. “I completely understand that. They’re pretty much building for next year. It is what it is. They didn’t need any more vets. I want to be in it. I want to be playing. I want to finish the season on a team, be able to finish playing. Then see what is there for next year.”
Houston clearly wasn’t in the Bears’ plans when they gave him a deep and long run in the preseason finale and then he suffered a minor knee injury that led to a two-game injury settlement. He figured all along he was going to make the roster.
“I was shocked,” Houston said. “It’s business, man, and that’s just how it is.”
It’s too bad the Bears lack young players at the position they can trust and want to see more of in the coming weeks. At least they have a guy that knows the scheme in Houston but if McPhee is going to miss time, it’s going to necessitate at least one more roster move.
Meanwhile, safety Chris Prosinski was easy to reach as he remained in Deerfield after he received a short injury settlement for a hamstring issue following final cuts. His wife was teaching yoga in the area and Prosinski trained at EFT Sports Performance in Highland Park. He said he healed up after about the first month of the season and had tryouts for the 49ers, Falcons and Bills before the Bears signed him and inserted him into the starting lineup with Adrian Amos out. We’ll have to see what shakes out at that spot in the weeks ahead. Amos was doing some light conditioning work under the watchful eye of the staff before the game but that doesn’t mean he’s necessarily back in the mix this week.
9. With the CFL season concluded, pretty soon we’ll see a few players from up north landing workouts for NFL teams as they consider possible reserve/future contracts to sign after the NFL season ends. I don’t know if the Bears have plans to bring any CFL guys in but they have on occasion in the past few years. After making some calls and digging in on the subject a little bit, here are a few names that popped up: Saskatchewan DE/OLB A.C. Leonard, Edmonton wide receiver Brandon Zylstra, Montreal defensive back Jon Mincy and Ottawa defensive back Jon Rose. That’s a really short list and there will surely be more names. Leonard is a converted tight end who was an undrafted free agent with the Vikings in 2014 but didn’t stick. He transitioned to defense in Canada.
Photos of Bears running back Jordan Howard.
10. With only one quarter of the season remaining it’s not too early to look ahead to the 2018 schedule. The NFC North is paired up with the NFC West and AFC East next season. So in addition to the home-and-away series with divisional foes, the Bears will have games at Soldier Field against the Rams, Seahawks, Patriots, Jets and the corresponding finisher in the NFC South. The Bears will play road games at the Cardinals, 49ers, Bills, Dolphins and the corresponding in the NFC East. If the Bears finish last in the NFC North – they are three games behind the Packers and Lions – it would almost certainly mean a home game with the Buccaneers and a road trip to the Giants. If the Bears can climb into third place in the division, it’s totally up in the air because those other divisions have teams clumped together. Keep in mind the Packers swept the season series, so if the teams finish with the same record, Green Bay will be ahead of the Bears in the final standings. The Lions won the only encounter between the teams so far this season so the chances the Bears have of climbing out of last place are very thin.
10a. At this point the Bears are on pace to finish the season without a 500-yard receiver for the first time since 1989. Maybe you’re like me and are a little surprised it’s happened that recently but then again these are the Bears and when the franchise has had quarterback issues for decades and decades, that leads to wide receiver issues. Ron Morris was the leading wide receiver that season with 30 receptions for 486 yards. Right now, Kendall Wright is on pace to have 44 catches for 493 yards. At least the Bears had six players with 392 yards or more in 1989, Morris included. They could easily finish this season with only three players above 300 yards – Tarik Cohen (306 already), Wright (370 currently) and Dontrelle Inman (216 currently). In fact, that’s a pretty good bet unless you figure on Josh Bellamy going for 125 yards or more in the next four games.
10b. The Browns (0-12) now have a two-game lead on the 49ers and Giants, who are both 2-10, for the No. 1 pick in the 2018 draft. Right now, the Bears are on course to pick in the top five but that could shift. They are one of three teams with a 3-9 record. The Colts and Broncos are also 3-9 but they play each other on Thursday, Dec. 14 at Lucas Oil Stadium. Barring the seldom seen tie, one of those teams will pick up a fourth victory. The only other game involving two teams from this terrible mix is Dec. 24 when the Browns visit Soldier Field to face the Bears.
10c. More disappointing free agent named Marcus/Markus? Cornerback Marcus Cooper can’t find his way onto the field even when the team goes to a dime package on rare instances. He had one snap on defense and has essentially been relegated to special teams duty. Wide receiver Markus Wheaton was on the field for one offensive snap as well. Wheaton probably is the more disappointing from the standpoint that it wouldn’t take much to be an upgrade with what the team has going on at wide receiver. But this has been a double dose of unproductive and both could easily be elsewhere next season.
10d. The franchise’s college scouts were on the sideline before the game and that is a sign they have been in town for pre-draft meetings as the team gets organized with the college season pretty much at the end. They will be preparing for the light scouting that occurs during the bowl season and then the postseason circuit of all-star games.
10e. The Bears will catch an opponent on a short week for the second time in five games. The Packers were coming off a “Monday Night Football” appearance before the Nov. 12 meeting and the Bengals are hosting the Steelers this evening on “Monday Night Football.”
10f. Solid game by cornerback Kyle Fuller, who ripped the ball away from Louis Murphy for an interception and the only turnover of the game. He was credited with six tackles and although he missed two, he got a lot of action and responded well.
10g. The Bengals opened as a 6 ½-point favorite for the game against the Bears at Paul Brown Stadium at Westgate SuperBook in Las Vegas.
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