STATE OF THE BEARS VOLUME 1
As week 10 of the 2024 season comes to a close, let us take a look at the state of the Chicago Bears. The Bears started off the season an abysmal 0-4. At that time ownership felt it was time for a change and brought in head coach Jackson Flaherty. Since the hiring of Flaherty the Bears have improved to a 5-6 record, going 5-2 in his first 7 games. The offense and defense have both improved. The offense in the 7 games is averaging 37ppg. Quarterback Trubisky has seen much needed improvement in those 7 games averaging over 300 passing yards per game with 21 tds and 6 ints. The biggest improvement we believe has been the defense. The defense is not a complete shut down defense. This defense prides itself on takeaways and sacks. Having forced 20 turnovers and 23 sacks during this 7 game stretch. It will be interesting to see the remainder of the season plays out as the once 1-5 Bears now only sit 2 games back of the 7 seed with 5 games to go. Head coach Jackson Flaherty has this Chicago team headed in the right direction
Bill Cowher is gonna dissect our week 1 matchup with the NYG from pre game and the post game
Pregame- On offense we feel we have an edge in the ground game. We like the way our offensive line matches up with their front 7 and we expect to have Kamara heavily involved early. We wanna esse our rookie qb into it but with the combo of sanders jefferey and Thomas we simply don’t think they can match up with our wr’s. On defense it’s gonna take a total team effort to contain saquon Barkley. He is dangerous. And our lb core is the weaknesses of our defense. We expect Play a lot of man coverage, bcuz we like our cbs ca their wrs. Whoever can establish the run game should win this game.
The saints have revamped and added talent throughout the roster during the offseason. They first drafted their new franchise qb Houston Meyer. Then proceeded to add Lamar Miller, Emmanuel Sanders, Alshon Jefferey, Jared Cook and Clay Mathews via free agency. All of which look to have significant playtime. The team also added Blake Bortles and Tj Ward to provide depth at needed positions. The Saints are in win now mode and these moves prove it
The Miami Dolphins have clinched the Afc East with a 27-7 win over the Green Bay Packers. Miami has won 5 in a row to get into the post season on a hot streak. It hasn't been all good though. The offense can't sssm to find any consistency. The first 2 games of the 5 game stretch Miami piled up an overage of 400 yards and 35.5 points. The final 3 games the offense hasn't managed to get over 250 yards and in 2 of the 3 under 200. The defense however is another story. The Dolphins only allowed more than 13 points 1 time over the 5 game stretch, having forced 15 turnovers 12 sacks and scoring 2 tds. Miami is limping into the playoffs with 3 of the 4 starting lbs out and slot wr Brandon out. Miami gets a rematch with the Titans who they played 3 weeks ago and won in a thriller 33-28. Xavien Howard under cut the route to get an Int with less than 30 seconds in the redzone to seal the game.
This week our spotlight GOTW is the Buccaneers vs Ravens. Tampa comes into this game 6-6 and 1 1/2 games up on Atlanta. The Ravens are at 8-2 and in a top heavy Afc and need a win for the playoffs. This game has huge implications for both teams. The Buccaneers have lost their last 2 and Ben has struggled. When we asked the head coach if he was worried about bens struggles he responded "Ben's a guy always worried about the next game. I'm sure this recent slump won't affect his next game". Also the Ravens have an explosive playmaker Breshard Perriman over 1,100 yards and 16 tds in 10 games. Buccaneers coach knows he will have his hands full saying "OuWe're at the point of our season where we strap on our belts and take a ride on the win streak train. It's imperative for us to win all 6 to pull away from the division and possibly escape with a bye. r first thing is to swap our starting corners making the faster Vernon Hargreaves cover breshad who will more than likely be on the left side of the field more times than not. We cannot press unless we have both over the top safety help and a lb/nickel covering the hook zones. We believe shutting down perriman will pressure the ravens into beating us with his other receivers". It's a tough task for the second year CB. This game is a big game and the Bucs know this "We're at the point of our season where we strap on our belts and take a ride on the win streak train. It's imperative for us to win all 6 to pull away from the division and possibly escape with a bye". Will the Ravens come out with the W and improve to 9-2? Or will Tampa get the Win to pull away from the division? My prediction the Bucs win a close game 21-20
In week 11 we had a highly anticpated matchup between two 8-1 teams from the NFC West. The LA Rams vs the Seattle Seahawks. Both of these teams were top 5 in points allowed so this surley would be a tight defenesive game. Well not so fast, Seattle had other ideas blowing the rams out 44-7 in the heavy rain. The Seahwaks defense came to play only allowing 274 yards 7 points and forcing Timmerman to throw 5ints. Thomas Rawls had himself a day as well vs the typically stout rams defense. Rawls ran for 158 yards and 3 tds on 21 carries. When asked about his teams performance Seattle coach said "the best theyveplayed all year". Also when asked about this team being superbowl ready he said "defintley,the eagles the toughest competition in the way". The Rams coach was upset stating "my team just didnt show up, just one of those games". When asked if his squad could rebound from a loss like this he reponded " my team wont lose another game". Can the Rams back that up and can Seattle have a follow up perfromance vs the 8-2 Cardinals.