The Bears are sitting at 5-3 at the halfway point of the 2020 season, with big games that lay ahead including Tennessee and five inter-divisional games. The Bears have often received criticism for their play, being a different tale from what their 5-3 record would imply. The Bears started off the season hot with a blazing 5-1 start, but that would decline to 5-3 over the course of the next two games.
The Bears have fallen victim to the injury bug as their offensive line has been gutted by injuries and COVID. The Bears will likely be without six of their top seven lineman, and the line is already being bad since they’ve had to deal with the James Daniels injury that occurred halfway through the game vs Tampa Bay. With the offensive line being an apparent issue, the quarterback play and play calling have begun to come under question by the media.
Is Nagy/Foles the problem in Chicago?
I firmly believe that neither Foles or Nagy are the problem, and the offensive struggles should be a reflection of that absolutely volatile offensive line; not an indictment on the play calling or the man under center. When it comes down to it, Nick Foles was quite frankly not brought in to send the offense into another realm, he is and has always been a mere reflection of the talent around him.
So why do people expect so much of him when he’s sitting behind an offensive line that has been brutal at times and is constantly in flux because of injuries? Not only that, but Foles should have the same privilege that Trubisky had to build chemistry with his receivers, as last game vs the Saints we finally got to see Anthony Miller, Darnell Mooney, and Allen Robinson fire off on all cylinders, combining for 229 yards against a defense that is no slouch by any means.
What is there to look forward to for the Bears?
Well like I said earlier, we finally got to see our wide receiver trio fire off on all cylinders and click during the same game, something we haven’t seen all year.
Also, how about David Montgomery Bears fans? That man has looked like an absolute monster in the past two games, and is finally looking like he’s gaining some of the confidence. We have been watching a running back that is not afraid to trust his eyes and bounce it outside, something we haven’t seen in a long time. That’s not even considering his league leading 24 broken tackles coming into the Saints game. Long story short, Montgomery running with confidence is a scary sight.
How about that defense too? Roquan Smith looks like an absolute beast and Khalil Mack is doing Khalil Mack things. Akiem Hicks is dominating inside, and their elite secondary has been playing with Kyle Fuller, Jaylon Johnson, and Eddie Jackson all playing insanely well. The Bears’ backs are to the walls to be completely honest, especially going into Tennessee, but luckily enough for the Bears they are used to that. In particular, QB Nick Foles has made a career off of having his back to the wall. The main takeaway though, don’t count out the Bears.
Photo credit: Tim Fuller – USA Today Sports
