[Kirsten Tanis] Bears offense is averaging 1 big play per game more than any other NFL team. That’s 8.1 per game. [Through Week 8]

32 comments

  3. Big plays aren’t the problem. Penalties and mistakes are killing drives. Also field goals over touchdowns is a recipe for disaster. But it is something to build on

  4. They really have to work on getting in the end zone, maybe I’m wishful thinking but it feels like the offense is rolling in general but can’t close it out

  5. Football 301 brought this up but also pointed out they have a bunch of plays that gained no yardage or negative yardage (I can’t remember the exact number). It’s been very boom or bust.

  8. Ben is tha homie. Ship needs to tighten up and lock in. We been through a shitty last year and watched this young man get beat tf up and power through them trenches. He ain’t playing no passenger princess like JD5 or JJM so fuck tha narratives. Bear down.

  9. There are so many positives on this offense right now it’s exciting given there are still a lot of mistakes happening each week that are correctable. Figure it out in the red zone, minimize penalties, and hope Caleb continues to develop.

    I’ve said it a few times today on here, but this feels like the floor of this offense the next 3 years and it’s an above average floor.

    – 12th in yards per game.15th in points per game. 10th in rushing yards per game. 10th in passing yards per game. Bottom 10 in sacks per game for Caleb at only 12 on the year so far.

    – every current starter is currently signed through next year.

    That’s just a very balanced offense that can create explosive plays in the air and the ground right now.

  10. I love how we move the ball. IF we just improve our TD efficiency in the red zone our offense will be top tier. Can’t keep settling for FGs.

  11. Don’t matter if we can’t finish with a TD. I’d trade all big plays for short small gains but more TDs

  12. The last 3 games our TD% percentage is 33%. That is atrocious. That’s a huge key. If we even get that up to our season avg. of 47% (which still isn’t good) the season looks and feels a lot different.

  16. It’s the redzone and negative plays that are holding us back. If we can stop shooting ourselves in the foot then we will be putting up big numbers in games.

  17. One of our problems is the “big plays” appear to be just that. A 10 yard run or a 20 yard pass. We don’t really get the 60 yard bomb TD or 40 yard run TD big plays

    The other teams Defenses are professionals too. They may lose someone once on a drive but if you don’t actually take that for a TD the Defense will more than likely lock back in and hold you to 3

  21. Too bad those plays don’t go to the endzone. We have one of the worst red zone conversion rates in the league

  23. And there was a post this week about how this team looks the same under Johnson. Ray Charles had better vision than some people in this sub. 

  24. It is probably because they NEED a big play, because they get so many penalties they need 20+ yards to get a 1st down.

  27. People need to understand this. Ben Johnson has literally schemed up a game where we either throw for 15+ yards or run the ball in wide zone/screen game for big chunks (Brett Kollman talks about this on Bootleg Football in one of their latest videos). It’s a huge big game hunting scheme where he’s almost trying to force big plays. It causes Caleb to hold the ball (which he’s being criticized for) and it also will force more sacks. There were 3-4 (at least) plays vs the Ravens where Caleb had instant pressure and the routes didn’t develop in time. The Mike Green sack on the 10 yard line is a good example in the red zone.

    We are going to live and die by the sword this season. When it works we’re going to dominate, but we need to remember that Ben is still learning this team too. I think he has a pretty good grasp of how to move the ball with open field in front of us, but I don’t think the offense is tailored well to scoring in the red zone off passing plays unless there’s picks/motion creating separation.

    Give it time. Ben will re-evaluate in the redzone and have us scoring more. I can almost guarantee it.

    Edit: And I’ll add that Caleb has been really good considering Ben tailored his offense around Caleb in a manner that’s making Caleb hold that ball and thus be open to pressures. Caleb not taking as many sacks this season and being as efficient as he is on 3rd down is insane progress imo.

  32. What playing the 31st, 30th, 24th,  23rd, and 21st rank defenses in your 7 game sample does. 

    Luckily we still got 32, 27, and 22 on the schedule! 

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