Well this has certainly been an eventful season eh?
From pre-season optimism, the blockbuster trade for Tyreek Hill, the magnificent opening 3 weeks, Tua’s controversial concussion issues, his underwhelming return game, followed by his dominant game last week. And now, throw in the deadline day move for the elite pass rush option in Bradley Chubb. We can’t say we have been short of entertainment and talking points.
And now we roll into the Bears game with people taking us seriously, and only the most staunch haters not giving us credit. We roll into the Bears game with them having lost some key, high-level defensive pieces. We roll into the Bears game as favorites.
But each week, brings another potential banana skin. We should rightly be favorites, but this is a Bears team that have an offense that is starting to click in an under-the-radar way. They hold the #1 rush offense, even if their pass offense is at the other end of the scale. Justin Fields is not starting to get credit for his play and is starting to show that NFL starter calibre people have been waiting to see. Much like Tua, he has been cut down time and again by the media, but is now starting to get whispers of praise for what he is doing on his under-talented roster.
So there is the potential for the banana skin slip-up, but if we are serious about being a playoff team, about contending, then we have to find ways of avoiding slip-ups and dominating on a consistent basis. We overcame the adversity and potential slip-up against the Steelers, we overcame the flaming hot Detroit start, and avoided the potential slip up, time to go again and add Da Bears to this list.
So with the game looming on the horizon, I spoke with the impressive guys over at @IrishBearsShow, specifically Ciaran, to get their take on how this match-up is likely to go down…
Hello mate, I am delighted to have you on board for this week. My brother is a big Chicago Bears fan and he is a big follower of your show. When looking for a Bears contribution he spoke highly of you so I was delighted to get your response. For those who are less familiar or who have no link though, or maybe for those who just know the brand, give us a brief introduction into who we are listening to.
Hey, cool man, I’m happy to be here, and great to hear your brother is a fan. But yeah, my name is Ciaran, and i’m the Host and Creator of The Irish Bears Show, A Network of Bears podcasts and articles. Really appreciate you reaching out to talk about some football.
No doubts man, I love these articles and am happy to have you with me on this one. And there really is only one place to start, the trades that you guys have made. Getting Justin Fields a much-needed weapon in Chase Claypool but also the two big defensive losses. How have all these moves gone down? I have to assume it’s part of a bigger plan, so are fans buying in or are they more concerned in what you have lost?
I think all Bears fans expected the team to be active at the deadline. Most expectations were that Robert Quinn at some point would be traded. He was going to get released at the end of the season and with the Bears needing to spend this offseason, there was always little hope of getting any comp picks so trades needed to be made. There was a surprise with the Roquan Smith trade but the writing was kind of on the wall with Roquan as there seemed to be a disconnect in relation to his contract situation. This didn’t help that he was not represented by an agent.
Ultimately, the extra draft capital made Poles and the front office comfortable going out and getting a receiving target in Chase Claypool for Fields for 2022 and beyond. Overall, the majority of Bears fans seem quite happy with the Trade Deadline Moves by the Bears.
The Quinn one makes sense when you contextualize it like that. If you are not contending right now and you are going to lose him for nothing, then you’re right to try and get some sort of value back to add to the rebuild pot. Smith was a less understandable one from the outside, he seemed such an elite piece. I understand that there was a contract disparity between the two parties, but with the significant amount of cap space you guys are walking into 2023 with, I would of thought it could be a statement of intent to earmark some of that for a guy you drafted and could build a defense around. That said, this is built on little knowledge and only an outsider’s view.
We have seen firsthand what reliable weapons can do for a QB, so getting Chase Claypool could be the beginning of making all this work out for Fields.
But back to the season now, and your negative record. There is a perception from the outside that there are many roster holes in your group, so how has the season start been viewed by the fanbase? Aren’t you guys tired of being patient?
I think the season playing out was expected. Most fans knew it wasn’t a very talented roster as the new GM was forced into tearing down the roster due to the terrible contracts handed out by former GM Ryan Pace.
The main focus has been the development of the young players and the coaching staff. We are starting to see development but ultimately we just aren’t talented enough to win against very good teams in the NFL.
A situation not unlike our own just a few years ago. It’s bizarre watching Mike Tannenbaum as an analyst after watching firsthand the raft of mistakes he made and the situation he left us in. But after tearing it down, Chris Grier is now moving aggressively to build it back. But to get to this point we had to go down a similar path that you’re on now.
I’ll be honest, I feel sorry for Justin Fields. After seeing the world drag on Tua in his first couple of seasons, I see a lot of similarities with Fields. Poor OLine, weak hands to throw to, he seems to be having to survive games on his own at the moment, and Tua is proving if you fix those issues and let him grow, that it can work out beautifully. Fields looks like a guy worth giving time to, but that’s looking from the outside in, so what’s the perception from the fanbase?
From the Bears fan base there’s huge confidence in Fields. Especially recently. He essentially carried the team vs the Vikings, Patriots, and Cowboys. He has been a major factor in the progression of the offense and that’s with a terrible OLine and below-par receiving options overall.
Against, Dallas #2 Ranked Defense in the NFL prior to the game last week, Fields put up a 120.0 QB Rating and had a Rushing TD and 2 Passing TDs. I think a lot of the negativity surrounding Justin Fields has been from the outside and with the National Media. As Bears fans, this is a normal thing to happen. Justin Fields gets criticised more than the likes of Zach Wilson and Trevor Lawrence from his draft class yet outperforms them with less around him.
Most Bear fans are sold that Fields is the guy and it’s time to build around him. The GM Clearly feels this way with the trade for Chase Claypool. Hopefully, it’s the beginning of improvement.
Yeah man, this sounds so similar. Substitute Wilson and Lawrence for Burrow and Herbert and you could be talking about our QB1 in his first two years. Stick with the guy, he’s worth it. Just like our own guy.
A guy who has not yet lost a game this season, 5-0 with Tua this year, yet we find ourselves 5-3, having won the games where Tua completed games, and lost the games he didn’t. We really saw the best of him last week, yards, TDs, key third downs, keeping pace as the home team came bursting from the traps. This was a fantastic game for our QB1 and this roster. How does the Bears fanbase see the Miami Dolphins? Do you guys see us as the team that has won 5 games or the team that has lost 3?
I think a lot of people are high on the Dolphins’ offense. Lots of really good options and dangerous weapons. I don’t know if the majority are sold on the Dolphins being a legit Super Bowl-caliber team yet. Is it because of other teams in the AFC or people outside of the Dolphins fanbase waiting for the Dolphins to show them how good they can be when it really matters? Overall, I’m a fan of the offense they’ve built and it’ll be interesting to see them come playoff time.
We have to get there first, but if we do make it to the playoffs, that ABSOLUTELY will be the interesting time. It has been so, SO long since we won a playoff game, an embarrassing amount of time really. It will be completely gripping to see us in that arena again, but that is incredibly presumptuous, and we have to keep winning games to get there first.
Is there anyone in particular you are concerned about from our roster? We have had good performances from both our offense and defense at different times this year, is there anyone specifically from either of these units who worries you?
On the offensive side of the football, I think the obvious ones are Tyreek Hill & Jaylen Waddle. They’re just really good playmakers and it’s coming at a time where there’s a change on the Bears defense with Roquan and Robert Quinn getting traded so I think this will be a high-scoring game overall. On defense I think just the acquisition of Bradley Chubb is an interesting matchup. See
how involved he will be in the game plan.
I think that will be the key at this stage. He only joined practice later this week, so I would be surprised to see him overly involved immediately, and see his role and impact grow as the next weeks pile up. That said, with some of your documented OLine struggles, and his ability to get to the quarterback, he could have an impact through brute force and talent, even on limited snaps.
So with Fields already discussed and with a couple of big names leaving the Bears, who should we looking out for? Is there anyone flying under the radar who deserves more credit than they are currently getting, and who could cause us problems this Sunday?
I think the Bears have been a bit under the radar in terms of how we play. We’re the #1 Rushing attack on the NFL. And what makes it potent is if you have success stopping Montgomery, it doesn’t really make much of a difference because then Khalil Herbert tends to have a good game and if you struggle at all against the passing attack, it opens up the game completely for Fields.
I’d say overall, the Dolphins need to be consistent against the run. But with Chase Claypool & Darnell Mooney on the outside the Bears finally have a bit of a 1-2 Punch at WR. Not sure how involved Claypool will be for this game but despite the talk around the Bears offense, since Week
4 we haven’t had a problem moving the ball up the field. The RZ offense has really determined a lot on offense. Some weeks we are really efficient ie against the Patriots and other times we look bad in the RZ like against the Commanders where we were in the RZ 4 times and came away with 3 points.
So a real lack of consistency then? And we shouldn’t be seeing you as a walkover either. I think that’s partially the issue with areas of the fanbase. There are sectors that pre-decide what the result or outcome could, should or will be. Setting themselves up for disappointment if things don’t pan out that way. The defeat against the Jets being the obvious example, and I do get the sense that some areas of the fanbase are doing the same for Sunday. Whilst I agree, we are favorites and therefore should be winning this game, we have four quarters of football to show up to and complete to put ourselves in that position.
And that comes down to the new man, Coach McDaniel. In fact, both our teams have new coaches this year, and you guys have a new GM too. A GM who has very much making himself a focus of the league over the last week. How are you guys viewing the start under this new tandem? Is this something you can believe in or are they just placeholders for the next staffing change?
Surprisingly enough this is something the majority of Bears fans agree with (this is not normal) that there’s belief in the coaching staff. They’re making these players better and we compete and are in the majority of games despite the lower talent level this year. Again this was kind of forced on this team with the bad moves by the former GM.
There are positive signs though. The offense is developing, we have $130m in Cap Space and 8 Draft Picks heading into 2023. So overall there’s positivity.
Oh I remember the days of having all those resources. Draft picks and big budgets for the rebuild. We had hits and misses within those early days of rebuilding stages, but it was an exciting time, although not more than now.
For us we have the main man back now, QB1 Tua Tagovailoa, and he is playing well. Do the fans in Chicago have a specific opinion on him? He was building a head of steam despite missing the games he’s missed. Do you guys think he can continue his form or have we seen him peak?
I think kind of like with Fields, the casual fan uses the narrative from the National Media. I’ve heard people saying how Tua doesn’t have the arm strength or he’s just not a good QB. But honestly, Bear fans that pay attention around the league like what Tua has done. I always say development at the QB position is not linear. There are complexities in the offense and Tua has shown a few years in the NFL and things slow down and becomes easier. Obviously, it helps to have guys like Hill but at the end of the day, he had a decent receiving core last year and seemed inconsistent. What I like is Tua is playing with command of the offense and with a level of consistency needed to win in the NFL.
An unbiased and reasoned view there. I like particularly how he is starting to answer those narratives. He’s gone from being unable to avoid the deep ball, to having one of the highest QBR ratings and the longest yards-per-completion average. He’s even started calling some of this out in his press conferences too. And I am HERE for it haha.
Finally, though, let’s get back to the game and get some match predictions. How do you see this playing out?
Normally I have a pretty good feel for Bears games. However with the Bears making so many changes this week and not knowing what the defense is going to look like it makes it more difficult. For me the Dolphins are clearly the more talented team but I think this will be won and lost in the discipline battle. The team that gives away more penalties and puts their offense/defense in a bad position loses this game. My Prediction: Dolphins 33 – 24 Bears.
I also think we come out of this with a win. Maybe not as straightforward as some of the fans would like or are expecting, but in the end, I expect Tua to lead us to another win.
I wouldn’t be surprised to see it be quite high scoring again, like with the Lions. But Tua will get yards, he will get TDs and he will continue to maximize the skills available to this offense while your defense makes the transition after these roster changes.
I’m going to take 35 – 20 in favor of the Dolphins.
Thank you once again for being part of this, it’s been a good one. Enjoy the game and all the best for the rest of the season.
We have to win this game. We are clear favourites with two exciting new pieces, whilst they have struggled and then lost big players. It won’t be the walkover that some people are expecting, it never is with Miami but if we are serious about getting into the playoffs, this one needs to be a win.
Playoff teams don’t slip up in games like this. Time after time, playoff teams take these challenges and bury them, make their advantage count.
So if we are the playoff team we are all convinced we could be, then Sunday has to be a win for Miami and I am confident that we can make that happen and we will be gearing up for a new photo on the elevator doors and another victory Monday.
Fins Up!
