The Chicago Bears offense struggled mightly Monday night in a 17-9 loss to the Minnesota Vikings at Solder Field. Despite a spirited effort from their defense, the Bears (4-10) were eliminated from playoff contention with the loss, so the focus officially shifts to 2022. Brad Biggs answers questions about Bears ownership, rookie offensive tackle Teven Jenkins, quarterback Justin Fields and more in his weekly mailbag.
When will Bears fans get an organization that cares as much as we fans do? — @cause1369
The people who have worked in the organization for an extended period of time care deeply about the performance of the team. I haven’t spoken with George McCaskey in a long time but I’ve spent plenty of time with him over the years, and I promise you the success of the franchise motivates him daily. Outside of the health of his family, I can’t imagine anything else is more important to him. So in my opinion, when you question the commitment of the Bears ownership and leadership in terms of their care and motivation, you’re wide of the mark. Have they made the right moves all the time? No. Have they made some critical errors over the last decade or so? No question. Is that from a result of them not prioritizing the success of the team? Absolutely not. They get that too. They understand how passionate Bears fans are about the product on the field, and I think that drives them even more in their quest to build a winner. It hasn’t happened this season. The Bears are 4-10 and spiraling to the finish line. It’s going to be a critical offseason for the organization with many major decisions looming in the coming weeks. There are more nuanced ways to be critical of ownership and senior leadership at Halas Hall than saying they don’t care as much as you do.
Who is Germain Ifedi to shove rookie left tackle Teven Jenkins for being the only lineman all season with gumption to defend the franchise quarterback? — @smokingcutty
I’m flabbergasted by the suggestion Jenkins made the right decision by retaliating and being flagged for a personal foul after Justin Fields was tackled out of bounds. Getting a 15-yard penalty is never a good idea. How is setting back an offense that is 29th in total yards, 32nd in passing, 31st on third down and 29th in scoring ever a good thing? Jenkins throwing a punch or shove — whatever you want to call it — after the play didn’t send a message to Vikings defenders. It played into precisely what the Vikings hoped for. I would guess Ifedi was sending exactly that message to Jenkins — don’t do something stupid that will put a struggling offense in a bigger hole.
Those eager to defend Jenkins have propped up their argument with what Fields said after the game. Let’s explore that.
“I told him I liked what he did there, and I appreciate him,” Fields said. “But at the same time he’s got to be smart. But I definitely love the mindset and I love him sticking up for me. That’s what we need more of. But I just told him, I love it, but just do it between the whistle.”
Do it between the whistle. Send a message during the next play or later during the series or on the next possession. Don’t lose your cool after the play and cost the team yardage. Jenkins wasn’t being tough, he was being undisciplined, and future opponents will take notice of that and try to bait him into similar shenanigans the next few weeks.
Jenkins has seven penalties in less than eight quarters of play on offense. He’s one behind James Daniels for the most penalties on the team. Charles Leno, everyone’s favorite punching bag, had the most penalties for any Bears offensive lineman last season — seven. Leno led Bears offensive linemen with penalties in 2018 with seven. Ted Larsen led Bears offensive linemen with seven penalties in 2016. Jenkins has a ton of learning to do and a ton of improvement to make, and he was playing against a Vikings defense that is without any legitimate edge rushers at this point. He has to be better and use these next three weeks to improve his technique and play under control so he has a foundation for the offseason to begin preparing for a second season when hopefully he can take a major step forward.
Where has Justin Fields shown improvement/regression? — @hotrodblago30
That’s a good question and a layered one, something if and when the Bears hire a new coaching staff that they are going to have to tackle candidly. The performance to this point hasn’t been good. I wrote last week before the Green Bay Packers game how Mitch Trubisky’s rookie season in 2017 with a lower-caliber cast of skill position players around him was statistically better. Kevin Seifert of ESPN authored a story Monday pointing out Fields’ QBR in his rookie season ranks him with Blaine Gabbert, Jimmy Clausen and Josh Rosen in their rookie seasons. Fields’ QBR fell after Monday night’s game as his stats (26 of 39 for 280 yards, one touchdown, one lost fumble) were hollow. Seifert took a measured approach to the story.
The experience is going to benefit Fields. He’s comfortable when making plays outside the pocket. He’s dangerous with his legs. He needs to make major strides as a pocket thrower reading defenses and anticipating throws. He has a lot of work to do, and I think he’ll be driven to show he can turn the corner going into Year 2. But it’s about as bad as it can be right now.
“Literally every week I feel more and more comfortable just with the whole dynamic of the play, knowing where all my answers are and stuff like that,” Fields said Thursday. “So I think each week I’m getting more comfortable back there and taking it slowly.”
Fields has an overflowing tool box of skills. That’s not a question for him in his young career and it’s what gives him a chance. Whomever is coaching the Bears next season will do everything in his power to harness Fields’ immense skills. What direction this heads, no one knows. What’s undisputable is he’s off to a rocky start.
While the Bears were still in the game on the Minnesota side of the field, David Montgomery was wrapped up badly on third-and-1. On the ensuing fourth down, the Bears clearly were not lined up correctly, and the play went south quickly. Was it Justin Fields or the coaches who should have called a timeout? Maybe not the most important play of the game but to me it was a poster for the 2021 season. — Jeff S.
That was perhaps the Bears’ worst play of the game as Fields rolled out right and wound up eating the ball for a sack and turnover on downs with 54 seconds remaining. It sure looked as if there was a level of confusion for the offense before the snap, and a lot of folks wondered if the sideline should have called a timeout. But after the game, Matt Nagy and Fields chalked it up to a better call by the Vikings than they could handle. I thought the play encapsulated the 2021 season and everything that has been wrong with the offense. The Bears clearly needed a better call in that situation, and maybe a timeout would have produced one.
Who will play at defensive back for the Bears if the starters are cleared? The backups played so well. — @timcobb44141437
That’s a good question. I certainly would expect cornerback Jaylon Johnson and safeties Eddie Jackson and Tashaun Gipson back on the field when they are cleared from the COVID-19 protocols. I think rookie Thomas Graham Jr., who had three pass breakups and seven tackles, showed enough to warrant more playing time. Is that as a starter? Is that being rotated in on the outside? Is that playing in the sub package? Those are questions defensive coordinator Sean Desai will need to answer. But considering the options for the other starter are Kindle Vildor, who also played better Monday, and Artie Burns, why not give Graham a shot? I don’t think they want to move Graham to the slot if he’s not comfortable practicing there. Let him stay where he’s had some success and see what he can do.
Is trading Robert Quinn a viable option this offseason? — @fredo_chi
I have raised that question in recent weeks because if the Bears are in a full rebuild during the offseason, I’m not sure they will want to pay two pass rushers over age 30. Quinn does not have any guaranteed money remaining on his contract, but his base salary for 2022 is $12.8 million, and he has a $100,000 workout bonus, which would mean the Bears would need to move a super-hefty contract. In other words, they might not get a premium draft pick in return. Keep an eye on Khalil Mack and Quinn and wait to see if something happens to the front office and what moves the Bears make. There will be some clues in February and early March. But boy, Quinn has had a fantastic season and is on an absolute roll with 16 sacks, closing in on Richard Dent’s 1984 franchise record of 17½ sacks.
Is it time to admit the Bears are four years away from what we all really want? Is it attainable is less than four years? – @analogspins33
Here is where I bring you some good news. If Justin Fields can take the kind of major step forward the Bears will be envisioning this offseason, they are a LOT less than four years away from being relevant, challenging in the division and being a factor in the NFC. It’s all going to hinge on the quarterback. It always has. If you have a franchise-level quarterback, you’re going to be in the mix every season — unless injuries tear apart your roster. Of course, the flip side of this means the Bears are more than four years away if Fields isn’t the guy.
Why does Matt Nagy’s offense go unconventional when it’s in the red zone? – @vazquezromie
The Bears have tried everything in the red zone. They’ve tried running the ball. They’ve used it as an area to get big target Jimmy Graham involved. They’ve schemed for wide receiver Darnell Mooney. Nothing has worked with any regularity. Consequently, they are 29th in the red zone at 48.7%, which has cost them time and again. They would have beaten the Vikings and done so handily had they played well in the red zone. It has been a collective failure, from coaches to players, and Justin Fields has really struggled in the area.
Why didn’t the Bears kick the extra point after Jesper Horsted’s touchdown? You only pass on the extra point for an overtime touchdown. The Bears cost fans a lot of money with the point spread at 7. — @cabledude101
I can’t imagine there was a lot of money riding on the Bears at plus-7. The line was below that for the entire week leading up to the game before it moved up Monday. An NFL rule change three years ago removed the extra point on touchdowns scored with no time remaining in the game if a successful try would not affect the outcome. See Rule 4, Section 8, Article 2 C from the rule book: “If a touchdown is made on the last play of a period, the Try attempt shall be made (except during a during a sudden-death period, or if a touchdown is scored during a down in which time in the fourth quarter expires, and a successful TRY would not affect the outcome of the game).”
Sorry if you lost some hard-earned money on no extra-point attempt for Cairo Santos.
Do the Bears release information as to how many no-shows are at a game? Watching on TV, there sure seemed to be a lot of them. — @pfeinlaw
The Bears used to provide numbers for tickets sold and unused tickets, but that is no longer the case. The only information provided is paid attendance, which was 60,082 Monday night. Yes, there were empty seats in all directions at Soldier Field, but considering the team’s struggles and the cold weather, I thought it was a pretty robust and engaged crowd. Bears fans showed up, and at least they witnessed a spirited defensive performance.
Happy holidays.