Chicago Bears Drop Season Opener: Don’t Panic Yet
It’s not time to panic yet despite the Chicago Bears disappointing 23-14 loss to the Houston Texans in the season opener.
“Da refs screwed us! Dat was a horrible spot!” “Bring back Da Coach!” “Da McCaskeys are cheap. Why’d dey get ridda Gould?!?!”
You might as well stop watching now and start preparing for the Cubs playoff run, Blackhawks hockey, and the 2017 NFL Draft if you listen to most pundits following the Chicago Bears frustrating 23-14 loss to the Houston Texans. I’m here to tell you to climb in off the ledge, put away the panic buttons and Take. A. Breath. Exhale with me.
It wasn’t all doom and gloom in the season opener. Am I satisfied with the performance? Heck no! But there were plenty of positives to take away from that game.
The Bears Led Going into 4th Quarter
The Texans pulled away from the Bears in the fourth quarter, but the Bears actually led going into the final frame and in fact led for much of the game. An impressive drive to end the first half gave the Bears a 14-10 lead that seemed to provide important momentum heading into halftime. Who knew those would be the last points the Bears would score?
The Inside Linebackers
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Danny Trevathan and Jerrell Freeman proved to be worth their free agent contracts right out of the gate. The duo combined for 28 tackles in the unofficial game stats. They provided a big lift over the duo of Shea McClellin and Christian Jones, who were the Week 1 starters in 2015.
Some might argue that your improved defensive line should have more tackles than the linebackers, but this defense is designed to funnel the ball carriers to the linebackers. These guys are a major upgrade and should continue to improve as the season goes on.
Improving Run Defense
Lamar Miller had 15 rushes for 83 yards in the first half, yet finished the day with 28 carries for 107 yards. That’s 13 carries for 24 yards in the second half, less than 2.0 YPC. That tells me the run defense figured some things out and found themselves in the second half as the game went on.
A Takeaway!
There was a lot of concern about the Bears secondary heading into the start of the regular season. Tracy Porter answered some of those concerns by nabbing an interception on the first defensive series of the season!
Young Players Developing
With Kyle Fuller sidelined while recovering from a preseason knee scope, it opened up some opportunities for the youngsters in the secondary. Deiondre’ Hall had a nice pass breakup in the red zone and didn’t seem out of place. Jacoby Glenn added five tackles and two passes defended in his first career start.
Rookie first round draft pick Leonard Floyd came through with half a sack, six tackles and a couple of QB hits. He showed flashes that give Bears fans hope for more to come this season.
The Texans Are Good
People seem to forget that the Houston Texans were a playoff team last season and arguably improved in the offseason, upgrading for Brian Hoyer to Brock Osweiler at the quarterback position and adding weapons like running back Lamar Miller and rookie wide receiver Will Fuller to their offense.
If the Bears look as shaky against rookie Carson Wentz and the Philadelphia Eagles in the home opener next Monday night, I might dig around in my junk drawer for the old panic button. In the meantime, I’ll look forward to seeing an improved effort and a Win in Week 2!