Grading the Bears' Full First Half
The damage done by the NFL with a 17-game schedule includes traditional mid-season grades for teams.
It's not really the middle point until about Friday of the ninth week, which is now. They need to add that 18th game in a hurry for symmetry's sake.
For the Bears, the midpoint this year is a demarcation to their season if not their future.
There was before GM Ryan Poles finished traded away their remaining chances to score a few wins, and then there will be after he did it.
Others would say it was before they decided to tank and then after they chose to do it.
At least that's how some would look at the departure of Roquan Smith and Robert Quinn, two players who had big impacts last year. Quinn didn't figure in next year's plans at all and judging by what coach Matt Eberflus said about Smith's lack of production for his position in this defense, the same may have held true there.
"Yeah, I mean, yeah, Pro Bowl, All Pro," Eberflus said, although Smith never made a Pro Bowl. "But I would say that when you look at that, I would just say that we always base things on numbers and production and to us, we covet ball production in that position.
"So that right there is a very important thing that Will linebacker needs to do. Again, we loved Roquan. We made him an offer and they couldn't find common ground and that’s where it went."
Bottom line was Smith didn't make plays, get the forced fumbles and interceptions required of a Will linebacker in their Tampa-2, so they traded him to get something back in return rather than quibble with him over the same old arguments next March before free agency. He had only four tackles for loss, no forced fumbles and two interceptions off tipped passes. In fact, Smith has only one forced fumble for his career.
If they valued him so little, they definitely didn't want to pay him like a franchise or transition free agent next year. And then he would have left in free agency without compensation beyond possibly a late third-round comensatory pick in 2024.
These mid-term Bears grades are made with that same definitive statistical production in mind that they say they use in determining what their weakside linebacker should do in their scheme.
Quarterbacks: C+
The terrible start for Justin Fields could be blamed partly on a new offense in just his second year, no offensive line, and little receiver support. His strength has been resourcefulness as he found ways to move the team despite lack of support. League average is 224 passing yards a game and the Bears come in well short of it at a laughable 127 yards a game. An 81.2 passer rating isn't a plus but considering where Fields was four weeks ago he is actually "en fuego." It's also eight points above his rookie year and accomplished with only Darnell Mooney as a dependable wide receiver target. Fields' running also has to be taken into account when grading QB play. It doesn't make up for the 97-yard discrepancy between league average passing yards and the Bears' average, but is important. Another encouraging sign was throughout Fields' early struggles, his yards per attempt remained high. Now it's climbing more. Without the trending-up part to this equation, Fields' grade could have looked very poor. Right now it's one of the most rosy aspects of this Bears season.
Running Backs: B-
Khalil Herbert ranks right alongside Fields as the big positives to the season. His breakaway runs have boosted his average to top three for running backs in the league (6.2), trailing only Tony Pollard and Travis Etienne. David Montgomery's season was interrupted by an ankle injury and his rushing average is down to 3.9 yards, but every offense needs a power back who can carry in short yardage. He still has value as a receiver and pass blocker, but the emergence of Herbert seems to be eating away at Montgomery's chances for a big contract or even of staying in Chicago.
Receivers: D+
Even Darnell Mooney experienced trouble at first. With all the receivers brought in during the offseason, none made a real impact. Equanimeous St. Brown might have helped everyone understand the offense better, but hasn't made critical catches. If he did help other receivers understand the offense better, what difference did it make when they can't hold onto passes, anyway. Byron Pringle has been a washout. N'Keal Harry doesn't draw much praise from the coaching staff now that he's back, if that's a gauge. Dante Pettis has made himself useful but not an asset. Cole Kmet has been used largely as a blocker but had occasionally gotten open and produced a catch or two. It's very easy to see why they felt the need to acquire Chase Claypool, even if he won't be up to speed on the offense for several weeks. The extra plus on their D grade comes from the blocks they've made in the running game and short passing game.
Offensive Line: C-
With 23 sacks allowed, they're right where they were when last year ended -- they've allowed the most sacks in the league. The NFL average is 18.3 allowed. Some analytical assessments of the Bears line place too much blame for the inability to keep sacks down on Fields' relatively slow pass delivery. They may have used their stop watch, but they couldn't have really watched how individual linemen are performing each play because sometimes these blockers are completely manhandled to the point where Fields has two seconds to get rid of the ball. This can't happen in the NFL. On the other hand, the offensive line has gone through five different starting groups and that's never easy. They've still had big roles in a running attack that is the best the Bears have had since Matt Forte was in town. The numbers say it's as good as any since 1968 but it's a tricked-up total considering it's a quarterback's scrambles because of their own pass blocking failures that have been key to padding overall rushing yards.
Defensive Line: D-
Advanced analytics say they are getting pressure without getting sacks, and it's helped with forcing turnovers. Their ability to tip passes is doing this, as well. However, their defensive line has a total of 7 1/2 sacks and their run stopping has been even worse. The line is the main reason they have 15 total sacks, 3.3 below league average. Dallas' offensive line exposed them both in the run game and pass game. Pro Football Focus analytics can sometimes be overrated but none of the four Bears defensive tackles is graded in the top half of 126 defensive tackles who were graded and Mike Pennell, Justin Jones and Angelo Blackson are all in the bottom 18 of 126 who are graded. There's no other explanation necessary for why the Bears must count three-technique as their primary draft need.
Linebackers: C-
Nicholas Morrow has missed only three out of 59 tackle attempts. That's the good news. When defensive linemen are out of their gaps on runs, frequently linebackers are, as well. The entire front caves in. It did with frequency against Dallas. This is why they're 31st defending the run. In defending the pass, the linebackers have been a bit better in ways not always reflected by their play. Roquan Smith is gone now, but did have two interceptions on passes deflected to him. Only against Minnesota and Green Bay did the Bears get consistently burned by tight ends and running backs in the passing game, and these would have been the responsibilities of the linebackers. Speed was supposed to be the big asset of this linebacker crew and if it is, they haven't used it well.
Secondary: B-
Development by Jaquan Brisker and Kyler Gordon have helped make the secondary the most productive part of their defense. Even after getting torched by Dak Prescott, the Bears are seventh in passer rating against, far better than last year when they finished last. Kindle Vildor has had a few down games but overall has been greatly impoved. Eddie Jackson plays the ball now out of a deep position and it shows in being tied for the NFL lead in interceptions with four. Jaylon Johnson is so much better than their other cornerbacks that he doesn't get challenged much. The Patriots game showed what they are capable of with just a little bit of pass rush. The secondary is the main reason they are fourth in interceptions with nine, a total that's only one short of their best effort for a full season from 2019-2021.
Special Teams: B-
Cairo Santos is again Mr. Automatic like in 2020 and Trenton Gill might be the biggest surprise in their rookie class. A seventh-round punter and he steps right in and averages 48.5 yards, 13th in the league and a Bears record for a season if he quit today. He's 11th in net punting at 42.6. Punt and kick coverage teams are ranked right in the middle of the pack. Average starting field position for the Bears is sixth best at their own 29.1 and in terms of defensive field position it's 10th best at the 27.5. Special teams dictates most of that. The only real special teams flaw is their punt return in terms of actually fielding the ball. Velus Jones Jr. cost them chances to win two games.
Coaching: B-
Matt Eberflus' HITS principle quickly became ingrained in the team's fiber and Luke Getsy has done exactly what he said he would do—design an offense around players available. The talent is changing, with Chase Claypool coming in and Byron Pringle returning from injured reserve soon. So will he continue morphing the offense toward the passing game more? Defensive coordinator Alan Williams had no answer in his game plan early against good quarterbacks like Dak Prescott, Kirk Cousins and Aaron Rodgers. However, he is persistent and the defense had turnaround moments in every game except against Dallas. He deserves credit for adjustments there. About the only flaw in Richard Hightower's special teams was making Velus Jones Jr. punt returner after only a short career doing it in college. He seemed to get worse at judging punts as the season went on before losing the job. Adjusting in-game has been a strength of this staff throughout the season on both sides of the ball. The biggest challenge for the coaching staff so far is currently in progress, and that's how they handle losing key players. Some teams have this happen with injuries. For the rebuilding Bears it was with trades. See weekly results for details.
Personnel: C
All of those receivers Poles signed, and it seems none of them can catch sufficiently catch a pass. Too much stock was put in Jones' ability as a rookie to work into the receiver group. This all necessitated trading a second-round pick away for Chase Claypool, who is a bit of a question mark himself. They probably would have been better off trading Robert Quinn prior to the season but Poles' couldn't be sure they had sufficient young defensive ends, and even now that question persists. Poles let the Roquan Smith situation get out of hand, just one of several crisis situations he's had to face. However, some blame goes to Smith for not having an agent. Of the free agents the Bears brought in, only Morrow and Al-Quadin Muhammad had positive contributions. Pettis has lent occasional assistance. Pringle, Lucas Patrick and Harry had injury issues while Riley Reiff has been buried among offensive line reserves. Perhaps the best thing Poles did with free agents was sign them all to short-term contracts so they can be easily dispensed with after the year. The draft turned out far better than Poles could have expected this soon. They got three starters, a punter and a few key backups out of the group immediately and no team with six initial draft picks but no first-rounder could have expected more.
Overall: C
Football remains a game won in the trenches and the Bears each week are trying to make up for their deficiencies there on both sides of the ball. Expectations were low, so it makes three wins and upsets of New England and San Francisco all positives. The way they've managed to stay in most games despite an obvious lack of talent is another plus. The inexplicably poor start for their passing game and a run defense badly in need of help count as real negatives. Only seven teams had fewer games lost to injury than the Bears, according to mangameslost.com, and it's the kind of health they might wish they had once they finally do get things turned around.'
TICKETS TO SEE JUSTIN FIELDS AND THE BEARS THROUGH SI TICKETS
Twitter: BearDigest@BearsOnMaven
