Chicago Bears: 3 Duds from Week 8 vs. 49ers

Chicago Bears Week 8 Dud No. 2: Sean Desai

A lot of the defensive blame starts with the first-year defensive coordinator Sean Desai. After a Week 1 flop against the Rams Desai has called some great games. The defense, while not elite, has kept the Bears in games throughout the year and has played rather well, for the most part.

Desai was just outcoached by Kyle Shanahan and the 49ers brass. They have designed some quality schemes in that offense, and while it has not always looked super great this year, they are always able to move the ball thanks to Shanahan’s clever play design and play-calling. The Bears were simply unable to jump any plays mainly due to the steady balance and lots of misdirection.

Desai knew going into this week what he was going against. Shanahan has long been regarded as an offensive guru going back to his days with the Falcons. Opposing defensive coaches know how he can design an offense around specific players and use everyone’s strengths very well. That is what happened today as they were able to utilize the speed and elusiveness of Deebo Samuel and the aggressive running of Elijah Mitchell.

The 49ers’ offensive line dominated the line of scrimmage and kept Garoppolo clean for most of the game and gave Mitchell lots of running room. Unfortunately, Sean Desai could not figure out how to stop this offense and it cost them the game.

Desai should go into the film room and identify exactly how players were moving against such a schematic offense and how they can put themselves in better positions to stop such an offense. They will be facing some super-smart coaches and offensive coordinators going forward so he needs to be prepared in order to call a better game.