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(670 The Score) A much awaited heat check for the undefeated Bears indeed accomplished just that, and their 19-11 loss to the Colts at Soldier Field on Sunday afternoon has left them with only cold comfort.
That the superior team won was as clear as could be to anyone intrepid or masochistic enough to continue paying attention to the bitter end, and now we can begin to ask what positive aspects the Bears have that can be replicated against quality opponents like, for example, the Bucs on Thursday night. Seriously, what is it that Matt Nagy’s team does well?
It wasn’t about the quarterback story for the first time this season, unless the issue is the truth that Nick Foles really isn’t all that good. He may know the offense, but his timing and ball placement were both off against an aggressive, physical and sudden pass defense whose approach evinced no fear of the Bears’ weapons. The Colts’ backfield jumped routes and closed spaces, all but daring Nagy to trust Foles and his protections to wait on longer-developing plays that only arrived after the game was effectively over and they saw a zone shell. It was Foles’ first full week as starter, yes, but we were reminded of his lack of athleticism and arm strength to fire passes into tight windows.
A Bears rushing attack must account for significantly more than 28 yards to even earn the right to call itself an “attack.” What that was would more accurately be termed a rushing “suggestion,” “capitulation” or “caress,” as it failed to win blocks and create creases. Tarik Cohen can’t matter that much, although he may in the punt return game, where Ted Ginn was as interested in doing it as we eventually were in watching.
There are big names and huge contracts among the Bears’ front seven, but they too rarely register sacks. Allowing conversions on third down means fatigue for both the fat guys and a less-than-healthy Khalil Mack too, something that can only be mitigated by rotating in some lesser talents. And the tackling has to improve at the second level, unless the goal is to have Tom Brady carve them up.
What happened Sunday was what could reasonably be expected at the conclusion of the softest part of their season’s schedule, and now it’s on Nagy to do what he has proved able — keep morale high and attention to detail ongoing after getting knocked down a peg. It’s that kind of head coaching responsibility at which he has distinguished himself more than the feel for play-calling, a better fit as executive leader than de facto coordinator.
So now what we thought has been confirmed with no uncertainty. The Bears aren’t what their record said they were, a perfect team at the top of a divisional race. They’re something decidedly less than that, an extent that will be determined further by an outcome that will be upon us in just four days.
This has been a brutal weekend for Chicago sports fans, in some ways an all-time buzzkill considering the increasing desire to not want to consume anything far more important and depressing, even if temporarily. The White Sox and Cubs combined for about eight hours of misery, and the Bears just added another three on the pile.
But they’re 3-1 now, very much extant with three-quarters of a regular season left to go.
I’m trying to cheer you up, I promise.
Dan Bernstein is the host of the Dan Bernstein Show on middays from 9 a.m. until noon on 670 The Score. You can follow him on Twitter @Dan_Bernstein.
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