Running Gabriel out of the backfield multiple times per game is just asking for a season ending injury.

for being an offensive innovator, and I believe Nagy is, he cannot see the what is right in front of his face

He doesn't need fancy formations or trickery to produce a run game. This is a team fully equipped on both the OL and backfield to simply line up even on obvious rushing downs and just win at football in its most basic form. All OL like to run block. If you don't give them that very straightforward task 20 times per game, the ability atrophies. Then, when you have 3rd and 2 you end up having to view it as a pass play.

_________________
O judgment! Thou art fled to brutish beasts,
And men have lost their reason.

The sweep with Gabriel worked every time they ran it. I would keep going back to it too if they can't stop it.

_________________
Fare you well, fare you well
I love you more than words can tell
Listen to the river sing sweet songs
To rock my soul

I thought Cohen would be used more. I'm kinda surprised Nagy has essentially forgotten about him.

_________________
Be well

GO BEARS!!!

What's the point of running the RBs into the ground the first month of the season?

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Mully said that Cohen was banged up a little.

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Disagree entirely with anyone who comes away from that game thinking the run game or Nagy's playcalling were poor. I would say the value they got out of the run game and Nagy's 3rd quarter TD drive that ended with the Miller TD were among two of the largest contributing factors to the win.

The Seahawks at times had 9 men in the box and 6-7 players right on the line of scrimmage. They knew (Pro Bowl QB) Trubisky was not going to throw the ball downfield again so they set up to stop the run, which they did with some success but nowhere near enough. Bears still got short yardage plays when they needed them and the screens to the outside were effective enough to keep driving. As long as the offenses avoided penalties and going backwards/wasting downs they advanced the ball on 3 downs almost every time despite being at a massive fundamental disadvantage. Huge credit to Nagy for knowing what weaknesses he could probe in the Seattle front that was absolutely stacking against what they knew was coming.

When they are stacking the box you definitely need more than a split I formation. We learned with Fox that doesn't work.

I don't think his playcalling was poor. Overall, I thought it was quite good last night. I do agree with those who say that sometimes the formations are too cute. Nagy doesn't have to be the smartest guy in the room. Sometimes a standard formation is all you need, provided your players execute.

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Again, they were dealing with a stacked box. Simply lining up in a standard I formation was like running into a brick wall. The Seahawks may have been banged up but Kendricks can play and they still have enough guys left on defense to stop the run if they put everyone except their corners and Thomas right up against the line of scrimmage to stop the run.

The "cute" formations are great because the Bears definitely can run them. If you saw bobbled handoffs and guys going the wrong way or blatantly missed blocking assignments you'd have cause for worry, but that's not the case. They run wildcat maybe once or twice a game, which if you're going to use wildcat is the perfect amount. I am very impressed with the scheme and I hope he opens the playbook up even more. If (Pro Bowl QB) Trubisky cannot throw the ball downfield at all they will need to be even more creative to get offensive opportunities.

They have tried expanding his role but to no avail. Its fine, I'd rather have a good nickel back than not have a good nickel back.

Broncos ran for 150 yards on this joker Seahawks D. When run blocking is your o-line's specialty just punch them in the fucking mouth.

I'm on board with having a list of 5-10 gadget/gimmick plays in the arsenal. It forces the defense to study the look during the week. If the offense runs a play from a similar formation, it forces hesitation that something could be amiss. Anything that can help to slow a mass rush while Mitch tries to adapt and slow the game down.

Broncos also didn't abandon the throw. Keenum threw for 300+ yards (and turned the ball over like crazy, worse even than (Pro Bowl QB) Trubisky...so be careful what you wish for) not to mention DT and Sanders will always command respect and attention. If the Seahawks stacked the box against Denver the way they did against the Bears the Broncos would've cut the top open on their defense.

Howard has thrived with defensive fronts overplayed to stop the run

_________________
O judgment! Thou art fled to brutish beasts,
And men have lost their reason.

He didn't last night. Nagy rightly found different ways to move the ball because 2 yards a carry wasn't getting it done.

_________________
Be well

GO BEARS!!!

They lose the game if they dont think outside the box on that long 3rd quarter drive.

That was the game deciding drive.

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Be well

GO BEARS!!!

His play calling was better last night. There were still some questionable calls. Running (Pro Bowl QB) Trubisky on 3rd and 2 to the left on boot keeper was a bad call. It killed the drive in a critical sequence. Running (Pro Bowl QB) Trubisky at all is generally not wise. I still hate the lateral passes for WR screens. I would like to have seen more RB screens, instead, for what SEA was showing.

I told y'all SEA was going to stuff the box.

Cohen on kick and punt returns looks like Hester II.

It was really good. Proof of concept for Nagy big time.

Yes it is. It's one of the few things he doesn't suck at.

_________________
Fare you well, fare you well
I love you more than words can tell
Listen to the river sing sweet songs
To rock my soul

As I said in the discord thingie last night, I think an appropriate objective for Mitch is to become the 14th-16th best QB in the NFL by the end of the year. A winning record would be nice, a Wild Card game on the road as the #6 seed would be fantastic. But Mitch's development is the important thing.

If he doesn't develop by the end of the 2020 season, Pace has to consider drafting a QB in the first or second round, so that they can stay with the "qb on a rookie deal" financial philosophy.

As an example, Chris Simms had (Pro Bowl QB) Trubisky ranked at #24 at the end of last season, after a year of lack of coaching from John Fox and company. The folks he had between Mitch and being "median starter" level were:

14. Derek Carr
15. Jimmy Garoppolo
16. Jameis Winston -- median starter level --
17. Alex Smith
18. Dak Prescott
19. Marcus Mariota
20. Jared Goff
21. Case Keenum
22. Joe Flacco
23. Sam Bradford
24. Mitchell (Pro Bowl QB) Trubisky

I don't think Mitch will get to the top of that list, but I think he can certainly pass up Bradford, Flacco, Keenum, and Mariota, and be even with Prescott and Winston. I think Carr, Garoppolo, and Goff stay above him no matter what. But Mitch is going to need repetitions of both simple stuff and difficult stuff to get there, even if the difficult stuff looks ugly at times.

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"When people want their version of the truth, they go find it, no matter how baseless their beliefs." -- Ken Rosenthal

Derek Carr and Jameis Winston have no business being ranked above Alex Smith.

_________________
Fare you well, fare you well
I love you more than words can tell
Listen to the river sing sweet songs
To rock my soul

Completely agree.

_________________
Be well

GO BEARS!!!

I agree. But I'm using the names (not necessarily the order) as an example. Where does Mitch have to get to this year to be considered to have had a successful growth year?

_________________
"When people want their version of the truth, they go find it, no matter how baseless their beliefs." -- Ken Rosenthal

I would love for him to get to Alex Smith's level now but I will settle for Derek Carr.

_________________
Be well

GO BEARS!!!

Stop designing plays where your young alleged franchise QB becomes a running back and only half the time realizes it’s a good idea to slide. It’s dumb play calling and it’s going to get him killed.

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If the rule you followed lead you to this, of what use was the rule?

Callahan has really player well. But for the life of me, I do not understand why Fuller cannot look back for a pass. It is not that he gets caught out of position often but he just doesn't look for the ball. Its frustrating and it really must be frustrating for his coaches.

_________________
An Ode to the Texas man who shot an Antifa terrorist:

Oh, he might have went on livin'
But he made one fatal slip
When he tried to match the Ranger
With the big iron on his hip

This has become quite the quality W

I think that something happened on the Bear's sideline in the 4th quarter of the game. The entire game, Howard could not gain more than 3 yards. It looked like they pulled him and a sideline shot showed him yelling. I think that he was pissed off that they pulled him and that he couldn't get a block. When he went back in the game, he broke a couple of nice runs and looked like a different back. At least I HOPE SO!!!

_________________
An Ode to the Texas man who shot an Antifa terrorist:

Oh, he might have went on livin'
But he made one fatal slip
When he tried to match the Ranger
With the big iron on his hip