Second of Three PartsFrom the way the Bears cleaned out the offensive coaching staff, the fired coaches almost seemed to be made into scapegoats.
The offense wasn’t the best, it’s true. Yet, coach Matt Eberflus still found things to take pride in on that side of the football. If there were things to take pride in, then why did he need to fire almost everyone?
“Some things that I’m proud of this year in terms of just statistically, the rush offense continued to really shine, was fourth in the league the last eight games, so the back half of the season, and then the interceptions,” Eberflus said at the postseason press conference. “The interceptions were down the last half of the season. That was really good to see.”
Actually, they were second in rushing a year after they were No. 1, and improved their scoring from 23rd to 18th. the passing attack moved slightly from last to 27th.
Obviously it needs to get better. Some credit was given to Justin Fields, who received the 2-0-0 advice from Matt Eberflus—two TDs, no interceptions and no sacks.
“That’s something we emphasized with Justin, that and the sack total,” Eberflus said. “He did a really good job of doing that.”
It’s quarterback where the focus is.
“We love where Justin is right now,” Eberflus said. “He’s done a good job growing. In the interceptions, keeping those down, the sack totals, he’s doing a good job with that, having his eyes down the field to deliver some strikes down there, and he’ll continue to grow as we grow as a football team.”
Here are final grades for the offense and special teams in a season when their offense took small steps forward but major strides were needed.
Quarterbacks: C
Whether Fields simply failed to improve because of lack of coaching or has plateaued in development is the issue the Bears must determine before the draft. Fields’ passer rating came up only from 85.2 to 86.3 and his completion percentage only from 60.4% to 61.4%. His yards per attempt actually dropped to his rookie level of 6.9. His touchdown percentage declined from a healthy 5.3% to 4.3% All of this happened when he had an elite receiver join the offense. The thumb injury interrupted Fields’ season and he showed better ability to avoid turnovers after the injury, with only three interceptions then, two on Hail Mary throws. His 10 fumbles might seem high but they represent a career low. What Fields improved at most was looking downfield on the move for a target instead of simply running. Then again, this hurt his big gains on scrambles and he had only three runs longer than 20 yards after repeatedly shredding defenses as a runner in 2022. While Eberflus commended Fields for the “2-0-0,” one of those numbers was zero sacks. He usually failed at zero sacks and didnt’ come close. Blame for it falls mostly on his shoulders and not the offensive line. Fields held onto the ball longer than he did even as a rookie, at a league-slow 3.22 seconds according to NextGen Stats. He had a sack rate of 10.6%. When Tyson Bagent played QB, his sack rate was 3.4%. If Fields is ever to make drastic improvement, he needs to learn to throw to slant routes. This should be a staple of the offensive system used. Instead, it was almost never used because in the past he had been hesitant to throw to a route where the ball needs to come rapidly out of his hand. Bagent proved to be a pleasant surprise when he got the chance, although his arm strength is obviously lacking. His arm issues showed with the five interceptions against the Saints, as he tried throwing late and over the middle and defenders just waited on it. His game has severe limitations.
Running Backs: C+
This seemed to be a matter of consistency and keeping people healthy, particularly Khalil Herbert. Herbert’s three 100-yard games came when he was entirely healthy and had momentum. When he had an injury, he’d land in a rut for a few games. It was feast or famine for him with four games of 76 yards or more and eight of 35 or less. He had never been a No. 1 back before and his inability to stay healthy made it seem he’ll probably be best used going forward in a backup role. Roschon Johnson had extreme versatility but didn’t get enough opportunities to display it. What is apparent is he lacks breakaway speed and would be best used in a 1-2 punch with a speedy back instead of as a load back. D’Onta Foreman is a free agent and was capable as a backup with limited use due to blocking and receiving issues. They probably need another do-it-all type as a back. Travis Homer only contributed in special teams.
Wide Receivers: B-
DJ Moore individually rated an A+, but their overall mark got dragged down by ineffective play from everyone else. Moore produced both on the field and in the locker room as a beloved teammate. He played through pain and excelled even when defenses focused several defenders on him. They probably could have thrown to him on deep routes even more. He’s open even when it appears he’s covered because he has that knack for judging throws and going up for them. Darnell Mooney lost targets because of Moore and also because throws to Cole Kmet increased, but didn’t handle any of this well and had a career-worst 50.8% completions when he was targeted. He dropped some passes he should have caught, including the Hail Mary in Cleveland. Some of Mooney’s career-low total of 31 catches goes on Fields for not getting through his progression fast enough to find Mooney. Tyler Scott showed enough flashes as a rookie to give hope he might be capable if given a bigger role, but needs to work on his hands in the offseason. Velus Jones Jr. contributed nothing beyond kick returns. The Bears have a wide receiver, not wide receivers.
Tight Ends: B-
The only down side to Kmet’s year was blocking, and it’s something he admitted on several occasions. He had improved there in 2022 over the previous two seasons but took a step back while advancing as a target. His 81.1% catch rate was No. 2 in the NFL among tight ends and his 13 TD catches the last two years make him one of the top NFL red zone threats at his position. Although his yards/reception declined to 9.8, he had a career-high success rate (62.2%) to go with a career-high 73 receptions. There was still room for Robert Tonyan Jr. to make an impact and he did more than backup tight ends last season but appeared worthy of more than 17 targets on the year and 11 catches. Still, he had some drops, including one huge play that might have changed the game against Cleveland. He’d be worth bringing back as a second tight end if they didn’t want to waste draft resources or pay a good deal more in free agency. Marcedes Lewis was highly rated all year as a blocker by Pro Football Focus and valued as a teammate, but age 40 and with Getsy’s offense gone, he would appear to be done in Chicago.
Offensive Line: C
The same old-same old, as the line shuffled constantly due to injuries and failed to realize its potential. It’s tough to downgrade them a lot for this as they had to switch starting lines nine times and used 10 different groupings. There was no continuity built up for the second straight year. The biggest issue appears to be center, where Lucas Patrick wound up starting after he’d been slated for bench duty. PFF consistently graded him among the league’s worst blocking centers, run or pass. Darnell Wright lived a typical rookie tackle’s life, committing more penalties (12) than anyone on the team while standing up to a gauntlet of dominant pass rushers. He did give up seven sacks, but plenty of rookie tackles have done far worse and did this year. Braxton Jones turned his greatest weakness—pass blocking—into his biggest strength but then saw his run blocking decline some in Year 2. The inability of Teven Jenkins and Nate Davis to stay healthy could get them looking seriously at guard help in the draft or free agency. It’s a contract year coming for Jenkins and he has proven when he is healthy he is among the league’s best at his position. He’s healthy so rarely, it seems. The Bears expected much more from Davis, who also had to fight through personal tragedy besides injury with the loss of his mother. They’ll be looking for him to rebound big time. Another season with 50 sacks allowed weighs heavily on them even if Fields does hold the ball too long.
Offensive Coaching: D
Getsy didn’t do everything poorly. Their first 15 plays usually proved productive, one year after they led the league in first-possession scoring as a 4-13 team. But his inability to adjust and counterpunch through the game flow, was obvious. At the end of games, the Bears were usually ineffective and this falls both on the coordinator and quarterback. Too many times Fields’ passing mechanics broke down and this falls back on QB coach Andrew Janocko, who was also fired. As much as players, coaches and media all loved receivers coach Tyke Tolbert, his pass catchers other than Moore had trouble getting open and hanging onto contested catches in both of his two Chicago seasons. The passing game never appeared in sync and he was also passing game coordinator. It’s easy to see why line coach Chris Morgan and tight ends coach Jim Dray were retained. Kmet produced, so Dray delivered in this respect. Morgan’s line helped make their impressive running game possible, but the consistency of that attack was lacking, especially against above-average defenses.
Special Teams: B-
It was kicker Cairo Santos’ best year yet, as he not only improved consistency but began connecting on longer kicks. He made 7-of-8 from 50 or longer. Only Robbie Gould ever put up similar numbers from 50 or longer, and Gould only made seven beyond 50 once—with two misses, not one. Santos also improved at PATs, a problem area the previous season. No one in the league who returned at least 11 kicks had a better kick return average than Velus Jones (27.2). A shaky season from punter Trenton Gill was one contributing factor to the Bears finishing last in net punting average but he steadied himself by season’s end. It’s always going to be tougher for a Bears punter due to the conditions at Soldier Field and his 46.1-yard average held up fine. He needs more than 18 punts inside the 20 and didn’t force enough fair catches with only 13, ranking 25th in the league. Punt returner Trent Taylor handled the ball fine, but did have one troubling game with muffs. His average of 8.2 yards wasn’t close to the upper echelon of return men. Patrick Scales, as a long snapper, was fine but at 36 years old next season it wouldn’t be surprising to see camp competition.
Special Teams Coaching: B-
Punt coverage was the only issue to consistently crop up for coordinator Richard Hightower. Whenever they had a problem with a particular aspect of special teams, Hightower and assistant Carlos Polk usually addressed it immediately and it never cropped up again. They’re usually on top of the best strategies, such as when Santos is able to make longer field goals during games based on conditions.
Leave a Reply