Bears pull one over on the Pack

[HardRightEdge]

It seems like Football Outsiders didn't include the playoff game in their total number of snaps though.

According to Pro Football Reference Amos played 1,028 and Jackson 905 defensive snaps during the regular season:

https://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/A/AmosAd00/fantasy/2018/
https://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/J/JackEd01/fantasy/2018/

Out of curiosity, how many snaps at LB positions did PFF log for Amos last season? Not many in that defense I'd surmise, but it would be interesting know if he played there at all.

In this defense, however, when all is said and done, I think we're going to see him taking some snaps at nickel ILB with Martinez, synonymous with the "dime LB" designation that Dante and some others prefer.

 

[Pugger]

lots of reason to feel optimistic, and with a vet QB and some other key positions it should go better than average, BUT a new offense, new faces, new coaching etc there is always a learning curve and it's not always smooth or fast.

if everything is according to plan it should go well, but change rarely goes over as planned. I'm expecting some forehead slaps this year, especially early on.

Yes, we might have some growing pains with the new offense scheme, etc., but if Pettine and his staff can get this defense to play well this could be an exciting season.

 

[Mondio]

Yes, we might have some growing pains with the new offense scheme, etc., but if Pettine and his staff can get this defense to play well this could be an exciting season.

I am excited for the defense. There are a few new faces, but a good number of guys have at least 1 year in this defense. They should make a decent jump in year 2 as a defense. If King can stay healthy and on the field with Jaire as our starting DB's, I have a really good feeling about this team. They may just win us a few games this year. We haven't seen that too often around here recently.

 

[Deleted member 6794]

I don't know, I would say when stacking the group as a whole:
Rodgers
Stafford
Cousins
Trubisky

Vs.

Brees
Ryan
Newton
Winston

Isnt apples to apples, but is definitely 2 most competitive QB divisions in the league. I would say if only looking at the bottom 2 in each division, you would definitely go south over north, but going all 4 combined it feels closer.

Most other divisions have a star qb, 2 adaquate QBs, and a transitional qb. I would say our division and the south are the only ones set for next 2-3 seasons with starters entrenched.

That's not to say cousins (from a $$$ perspective) doesn't find his way out before then, but the others I think are what their teams want in both divisions.

Rodgers is the only elite quarterback in the North. There are definitely other divisions with less talent at the position though.

Out of curiosity, how many snaps at LB positions did PFF log for Amos last season? Not many in that defense I'd surmise, but it would be interesting know if he played there at all.

According to PFF Amos played a total of 112 snaps last season in various linebacker positions.

 

[Mondio]

If Cousins and Trubisky aren't on teams with great defenses, nobody is talking about them for anything. Stafford is just above that in that he can play really well at times, but can usually play just as poorly at others. He has the potential to win games with his arm, but usually doesn't. Rodgers can elevate a team.

 

[gopkrs]

If Cousins and Trubisky aren't on teams with great defenses, nobody is talking about them for anything. Stafford is just above that in that he can play really well at times, but can usually play just as poorly at others. He has the potential to win games with his arm, but usually doesn't. Rodgers can elevate a team.

Tell me if I am wrong but minihaha's o line was not very good. Might have an impact on the QB.

 

[Deleted member 6794]

Tell me if I am wrong but minihaha's o line was not very good. Might have an impact on the QB.

While that's true Cousins had pretty good offensive lines for two seasons in Washington and didn't perform at an elite level over that period either.

 

[gopkrs]

While that's true Cousins had pretty good offensive lines for two seasons in Washington and didn't perform at an elite level over that period either.

I saw him make some pretty incredible comebacks in Washington. But that whole team was (is) a mess. Just saying that in my book he should not be written off easily.

 

[Deleted member 6794]

I saw him make some pretty incredible comebacks in Washington. But that whole team was (is) a mess. Just saying that in my book he should not be written off easily.

I agree there's no reason to write Cousins off but in my opinion he will never perform at an elite level. He's an above average quarterback though.

 

[gopkrs]

I agree there's no reason to write Cousins off but in my opinion he will never perform at an elite level. He's an above average quarterback though.

If by elite level you mean hall of fame qb; I agree. But in any given game he can play at an elite level. More often than just any qb in the league.

 

[Mondio]

Tell me if I am wrong but minihaha's o line was not very good. Might have an impact on the QB.

of course it does. I have never watch Cousins and thought "man that was awesome" he's decent enough, but let's not kid ourselves about what he is. Peyton Manning, yes, Brady, yes Rodgers Yes, Brees, a lot of yes's. Cousins? Stafford will at least make you take notice on occassion though there's plenty to hold him back too.

 

[gopkrs]

of course it does. I have never watch Cousins and thought "man that was awesome" he's decent enough, but let's not kid ourselves about what he is. Peyton Manning, yes, Brady, yes Rodgers Yes, Brees, a lot of yes's. Cousins? Stafford will at least make you take notice on occassion though there's plenty to hold him back too.

So you have watched Cousins a lot when he was in Washington? Even last year w/o a good o line I read he had a 92 QB rating. That is not bad.

 

[Mondio]

So you have watched Cousins a lot when he was in Washington? Even last year w/o a good o line I read he had a 92 QB rating. That is not bad.

I'm not saying he's garbage, he makes throws he should make. he has never struck me as someone that puts a team on his shoulders and goes forward. Even in WA he had a decent oline and he had a lot of quality weapons he should have been decent enough. you could put up a highlight reel of his and i'd probably wonder what the big deal was. Put one up of Rodgers, you'll see the difference.
I don't think he handles pressure particularly well. I don't think he's anymore than average or slightly above with accuracy. I don't think he has a strong arm, but then neither does Brady, but but that's besides the point. I don't think he moves all that well, I don't think he turns nothing into something. I think he's better than average at taking what is available. that's fine enough to play in the league. But it doesn't really catch my attention.

 

[HardRightEdge]

Cousins' recent self-effacing comments, that he's been a 0.500 QB over his career, that record is not what is expected of him, it is not what he expects, and 0.500 just does not cut it, are to the point.

Maybe Cousins' problem is he calls too many audibles. If we're led to believe that's the problem with an elite QB who suffered his first losing season in a decade while being one season removed from the Conference Championship game, it might well apply to a lesser figure, no?

 

[gopkrs]

Cousins' recent self-effacing comments, that he's been a 0.500 QB over his career, that record is not what is expected of him, it is not what he expects, and 0.500 just does not cut it, are to the point.

Maybe Cousins' problem is he calls too many audibles. If we're led to believe that's the problem with an elite QB who suffered his first losing season in a decade while being one season removed from the Conference Championship game, it might well apply to a lesser figure, no?

Keep hearing about how football is a team sport and yet people equate a QB's skill with his record and number of super bowl wins. I don't believe it tells the whole story.

 

[Deleted member 6794]

If by elite level you mean hall of fame qb; I agree. But in any given game he can play at an elite level. More often than just any qb in the league.

As I mentioned before Cousins is an above average quarterback in my opinion. There's no reason to consider him as a top tier one though.

So you have watched Cousins a lot when he was in Washington? Even last year w/o a good o line I read he had a 92 QB rating. That is not bad.

Cousins had a 99.7 rating last season but he doesn't win enough games.

 

[gopkrs]

As I mentioned before Cousins is an above average quarterback in my opinion. There's no reason to consider him as a top tier one though.



Cousins had a 99.7 rating last season but he doesn't win enough games.

I admit cousins and trubisky don't get a lot of love from the pundits. I happen to think they are better than the pundits (who really most of the time can't see any farther than the last game/season) think they are and should not be taken lightly. Amazing how much better a player can get just from writers changing their minds.

 

[HardRightEdge]

Keep hearing about how football is a team sport and yet people equate a QB's skill with his record and number of super bowl wins. I don't believe it tells the whole story.

I agree. Many Packer fans don't seem to acknowledge that last season's dismal result can be largely attributed to a talent and/or experience deficit at key spots. The coach-QB sturm und drang didn't cause the losing, the losing brought pre-existing stresses to the fore.

Disagreements, antagonisms and disgruntlements exist in all organizations of any meaningful size, a football team or an office. When that organization perceives itself as successful, those differences might flare at times but subside, smoothed over or talked over, but unhappinesses are kept at low boil. Who wants to be the sqeaky wheel when general optimism is justifiably high? When the performance wheels start coming off, that's when the pre-existing stresses come to the fore.

Compare and contrast to the Saints, where reports emerged last year around the same time as the Rodgers play call override stories came out, that Brees freqently overrides play calls in the huddle, typically a change from run to pass. We can figure Brees might have on at least one occasion said in his head if not out loud, "stupid f*cking call". Payton's reaction was kind of a shrug, analogous to the Holmgren "no, no, yes, yes!" in reaction to a Favre rocketball that worked. That shrug has a lot to do with having a championship caliber team winning games with a couple of seasons coming down to a final fluke play and then a final fluke call.

If the Saints go 6-9-1 this season it will be a different story, just as it was a different story when they fell into losing with Bountygate following a Superbowl win. The Saints slapped Brees with serial franchise tags which Brees eventually took to arbitration. That was not a happy camp. But a couple of great drafts in recent years turned the ship around, Brees is playing under an actual contract, and it's become a happy camp where any unhappinesses or resentments are back on low boil.

 

[rmontro]

Keep hearing about how football is a team sport and yet people equate a QB's skill with his record and number of super bowl wins. I don't believe it tells the whole story.

It definitely doesn't tell the whole story, but the quarterback is still a team leader and handles the ball on every offensive play. So naturally he gets a lot of the credit when a team is successful.

 

[Heyjoe4]

I honestly wouldn't expect them to say anything else. I think the main reason they didn't resign AA was the money and they did get a bargain with HHCD but the real question is would they have resigned AA if they could have gotten him for what they are paying HHCD? I think they would have jumped at that chance.

The article says PFF had him as the 5th rated safety but I would think a decent reporter or journalist would have included AAs rating in their article. If he was lower it would tend to validate their claim so it makes me wonder if he was not rated higher which would undermine their claim.

They had interceptions, passes defended and tackles but I see they didn't include missed tackles and blown assignments.

That was the problem with Dix. He was/is afraid of contact. And don’t get me staRted on missed assignments. I think the Packers got the better end of this “deal”. We’ll find out soon enough.

 

[Heyjoe4]

I mean this is the same team that evaluated Trubisky, Watson and Mahomes and said to themselves "We need to trade a but load of picks to move up one spot to make sure we dont miss out on Trubisky" so.....

Pretty good point, especially considering that they didn’t need to move to get Trubisky. Well, at least I don’t think so.

 

[OldSchool101]

One of the best defenses in the NFL.

They will get better at QB as Trubisky is still developing.

They took a step back on defense losing their DC and trading Amos for Haha.

They didnt add much this season from the draft. Dont think they signed any other FAs that will contribute in a meaningful way.

I think the negatives outweigh the positives, but a good QB is huge. If Trubisky becomes one, the Bears become strong SB candidates.

True. We likely haven’t seen his best season yet.

I believe it’s obvious the Bears have elevated themselves into the playoff grouping conversation until proven otherwise. Their Defense has been stellar and until we see that regress, even an average scoring Offense would keep them in playoff contention.
Its my believe that much of GB’s woes in 2018 were injury related, mixed with relatively inexperienced players in a new system.
In 2019 there’s still a ? because of all the coaching changes create some initial instability. However, the GB player personnel is almost entirely more experienced at the various position spots vs. last year. That, coupled with an influx of raw talent in key areas (most notable the secondary, OL, and LB area)
and this 2019 should conceivably make at least a shallow playoff run at its floor level.

 

[Deleted member 6794]

I admit cousins and trubisky don't get a lot of love from the pundits. I happen to think they are better than the pundits (who really most of the time can't see any farther than the last game/season) think they are and should not be taken lightly. Amazing how much better a player can get just from writers changing their minds.

The opinion of pundits and writers aren't the reason I have a different opinion of Cousins and Trubisky as you.

Its my believe that much of GB’s woes in 2018 were injury related, mixed with relatively inexperienced players in a new system.

The Packers mostly struggled because of a lack of talent last season.

 

[sschind]

Football is a team sport and while having an elite QB makes things easier having an elite defense helps a lot too. Trubisky (which a lot remains to be seen) and Cousins may not have to be Aaron Rodgers for their teams to win. Just don't lose the game and let your defense win it for you. Its happened before.

Some people are making a big deal about the Packers having a new coach. Just remember the Bears had a rookie head coach last year and they won the division. In some ways the situations are similar. The Bears fired Fox and brought in Nagy who kept Fangio around to help with continuity with a very strong defense. The Packers fired McCarthy and brought in LaFleur who kept Pettine around for continuity of a young and hopefully up and coming defense.

In some ways they are polar opposites. The Bears have a great defense and a young but talented and potentially very good QB and the Packers have a great QB and a young and potentially very good defense. Personally I'd rather be in the Packers situation because I'd rather have the great QB but its not all doom and gloom for the Bears. If Trubisky improves a bit more they should be competitive for a while.

In many ways I think a great defense helps a young QB more than a great QB helps a young defense. A great defense can reduce the number of points a QB has to generate by keeping the opponents off the scoreboard and giving the QB more and better opportunities (turnovers, better field position, scoring themselves, etc.) This takes a lot of pressure of a young QB. Yes a great QB can generate a lot of points but the defense still has to stop the opponents and if the QB is scoring quickly he may not be giving the defense a lot of rest which is one thing people claim a great QB does (keeps their defense and the opponents offense off the field) Granted if the QB scores a TD the opponents are playing catch up but the defense still has to do their part. With a great defense a QB can often get by with simply not ******** up and losing the game.

Would you rather have the best QB in the league and the worst defense or the best defense and the worst QB? I'd take the QB but it isn't quite that simple with the Packers and Bears since Trubisky isn't the worst QB and the Packers do not have the worst defense.

The optimist in me says the Packers will take the division this year. The pessimist says they won't but the realist says it is probably going to be a three team shootout. If I had to give the edge to anyone it would probably be the Bears but only by an ever so slight margin over the Packers. The margin is not great enough however that it prevents the optimist in me from winning out and my predicting the Packers win the division.

 

[gopkrs]

You know what...I would go with firing the GM if he can't get a decent D together. But if I hafta. The D for the present and the QB for the future. Sort of depends on how really good the D is. Like old Ravens good?