Bears Week: Studs, Duds, and Hat Tips

[Canadian Hog]

I strongly considered naming this thread "Duds, Duds, and Hat Tips." It seemed more fitting given that Thursday night vs. Chicago was one of the ugliest Washington football games we have witnessed in quite some time. Sadly, the trend of teams figuring things out at the expense of the Commanders continued this past week, as the Bears ended a 14 game losing streak. Tom Petty once said, "even the losers, keep a little bit of pride." The Bears played with pride and energy while Washington was flatter than a pancake. Let's get to this week's list...

Studs:

It's absolutely impossible to justifiably name someone a "stud" following an embarrassing 40-20 loss at the hands of the winless Bears.

Duds:

Where do we start...

1. Jack Del Rio - it was imperative on Thursday night following the gut-wrenching loss to the Eagles that the defense started fast and made life uncomfortable for Justin Fields. It was crucial for the group to break his will early and give the Bears zero reason to believe. Instead, Del Rio's scheme of bringing absolutely no pressure played right into the hands of Fields and Chicago. He had all day to throw the ball and had a memorable 4 TD night. Del Rio's lack of aggressiveness at this point is crippling a defensive unit with 6 first round picks who are starting. They should be far better and their massive struggles are a direct product of Del Rio's stubbornness.

2. Ron Rivera - the gut-wrenching loss at Philadelphia was likely difficult to accept for everybody within the organization. The head coach's responsibility though is to ensure the players are in the right frame of mind to put difficult losses in the rearview mirror and focus on the game in front of them. It was a shame that we were unprepared and not emotionally invested as a football team in a nationally televised game against the lowly Bears. Rivera's seat is white hot at this point and outside of a miracle, he is gone. It's time.

3. Defensive Line - Del Rio's rushing 4 practically every play in hopes that their individual talent will win. The four guys up front are all 1st rounders and to this point this year, they are establishing a reputation as being maybe the most overrated group in the NFL.

4. Emmanuel Forbes - my gosh. It looks like the kid's confidence has been destroyed. He is struggling in coverage and even more concerning than that, he can't make a tackle. We are in real danger of potentially having not even one draft choice from this past April's crop be a contributor this season. It's hard to make a jump as a team when the draft-class is a top-to-bottom bust. That seems to be the case early on.

5. Cody Barton - what else is there to say? It's beyond time to find a defensive QB and real NFL starting level LB.

6. Josh Harris - I am likely nitpicking and just angry still, but don't get caught laughing up a storm on national tv when fans who invest decades of time, energy, emotion, and money into this team are having their hearts ripped out. We appreciate beyond belief that you saved us from Satan, Josh, but chuckles and smiles aren't the right look when the Bears are kicking our asses around our home field.

7. Joey Slye - as ugly as the game was, Slye had an opportunity to amazingly get the Commanders back within 7 points with just over 4 minutes to play in the fourth quarter. His 46 yard field goal miss took the wind out Washington's sails for good. There is no kick, regardless of distance, that feels like it is going to be automatic with this guy and that is a major problem.

Hat Tips:

1. Logan Thomas - #82 had a pretty active night in the passing game, hauling in 9 receptions for 77 yards and a TD. A crucial fumble in the third quarter really hurt this team's hope of making a comeback, but overall, it was probably one of Thomas' very best games in recent memory.

2. Sam Howell - 37/51, 388 passing yards, and 2 TD/1 INT was Howell's stat line on the night. He continued to give us reason on Thursday night to keep tuning into the Commanders' games the rest of the way, even if many of us have lost hope that this season can still amount to something worthwhile. It will be fun watching Sam develop over the final 12 weeks and hopefully the best is yet to come.

That's it for this week. Do you agree/disagree? Who did we miss?

NOTE: I strongly considered handing in my fan card at halftime against Chicago. The last two weeks have been one of the most difficult experiences as a fan of this team in a while for me. I am battered, bruised, depressed, and I desperately hope next week at Atlanta brings an end to the pain.

I am going to trust Boone, take his advice, and hold on...

Happy Canadian Thanksgiving to you all - I am very thankful for this community.

- CH

 

[Kel Varnsen]

Thank you Canadian Hog for doing this. I know after that effort, it's hard to muster up anything. But I appreciate you doing this. And to that end, I'll add a stud.

Studs:
All fans who sat through that whole game. Either in person or on TV. I kept in mind that the Bears had blown a lead just as big the week before. But I also told my family that they will probably do just enough to draw us back in, give us hope, then let us down. And that's what they did, so to all the fans that stuck with the game to the end, you are a stud.

 

[Kel Varnsen]

I wanted to make this a separate post because I wanted to separate it from recognition of the fans. But I would caution anyone not to read into a picture or video of Harris or any member of the organization without any context. We have no idea what Harris was talking about when they showed him on screen smiling and laughing. They could have been talking about how they are going to fire Rivera. They could have been laughing about someone who farted in the suite. He could have been laughing about how drunk he was going to get after watching this debacle. This wasn't an interview where he was laughing or enjoying the beat down. He was shown for a few seconds in his box during single point of the game. We don't know what he was like the rest of the 3 hours of the game. I wouldn't assign a small glimpse as a representation of how he was during the whole game.

 

[Boone]

If it were one time, it probably wouldn't bother me. But he was shown laughing it up during the Buffalo game as well. Hell, I haven't seen a shot of him where he was actually watching the game yet.

I'm sure you're right that it doesn't mean a thing, and of course it's just a few seconds in a 3 hour plus game. I think he is liberally lubricating at games and team events. Might be wise to dial that back a little being the franchise savior and getting the media attention he is getting. But annoying or not, yeah, I don't think it means much.

 

[Boone]

Great write-up CH. I would probably give Chase Young a hat tip. He put in a good effort and seemed to have shown up for this one. And one could argue that Sam Howell was a stud. Some of those rushing yards he racked up were super physical but he just kept on fighting. He made a game of it in the 2nd half even when EB completely abandoned the running game and put it all on Sam's shoulders. He wasn't perfect, but for a quasi-rookie, I found his 2nd half performance pretty studly.

 

[Chris]

Though not related to the game I would like to give a shout-out to the TNF crew. I can’t remember the last time that a national broadcast group was so openly positive about the franchise, maybe 2012?

The on the field product hasn’t changed much (yet) but off the field there has been an absolute sea change.

 

[Chris]

One more from left field- Say what you want about coach Deion Sanders, as everyone probably including Taylor Swift has an opinion, but here is his press conference after a win last night. Compare and contrast for yourselves his message with Rivera’s post game presser on Thursday night.

 

[Neophyte]

I don't have a problem with the shots of Harris during the game.

I can pretty much promise that we would all be drinking if we had just spent $6 Billion on this hot mess.