Hub Arkush: Bears' grades vs. Jags is a tale of two halves
The first thing you notice studying the tape of the Bears 41-17 win over the Jaguars Sunday is more than a tale of two halves, it was a tale of two game plans on offense making it hard to grade individuals and position groups, so let's start with the guys in charge.
Coaching and Quarterback: Matt Nagy and company deserve tremendous credit for revamping their offense on the fly coming out of the bye.
The new scheme has Mitch Trubisky spending a lot more time under center than in the shotgun, a much better run/pass balance and the outside zone read run game and Trubisky being a lot more effective.
So why did the Bears come out in Jacksonville with Trubisky lining up in shotgun on 19 of 33 plays in the first half, including almost exclusively on the second to last possession that ended on the pick in the end zone? And why did he drop to pass 21 times while running it just 12 including the silly tight end, jet sweep to Cole Kmet on 1st and goal from the Jaguars one-yard line?
The results were clear. In the first half we saw more of the old Mitch - 12-20, 60.0%, 145, 7.3, 1 touchdown, 1 interception and 1-4 rushing. In the second half with Nagy and Bill Lazor reverting to what they'd done so well the previous four weeks he was 12-15, 80.0%, 8.0, 1 TD, 0 interceptions and 1-6 with 1 TD rushing.
The offense ran 33 plays - 182 yards and scored 13 points in the first half on just 13:41 time of possession, and then reverting to the newer scheme in the second half it put up 37 plays - 209 yards and 28 points, running 21 times and throwing 15 passes and holding the ball for 19:19.
It did allow the Bears to excel in one area they've really struggled, halftime adjustments and solid third quarter play, they knew when to get back to what was working and most importantly they did get a must win. Grade: B
Running Backs and Receivers: Both groups were more effective in the second half but strong all day. Allen Robinson, David Montgomery and Jimmy Graham were flat-out studs.
Darnell Mooney's yards after catch/contact on receptions is almost as impressive as Montgomery's on run plays and Artavis Pierce's first NFL touchdown were highlights. Grade: B-plus
Offensive Line: This group continues to improve but it is more than just the additions of Sam Mustipher and Alex Bars and position switches for Cody Whitehair and Germain Ifedi.
They are more effective in the offense's "new scheme" than the old one and were better in the second half than the first.
Mustipher is doing a great job "organizing and directing" this group but he is undersized and his technique has to be perfect or he will get overpowered occasionally by bigger, more powerful tackles as he was a couple times Sunday. Grade: B
Front Seven Defense: Roquan Smith's two picks were turning points in the game and Danny Trevathan is all the way back, Sunday with a sack, another QB pressure, two passes defended and a tackle for loss, but the rest of this group was fairly pedestrian allowing 16-76, 4.8 rushing and failing to pressure Mike Glennon most of the day.
They didn't have the scheme changes the offense did but were also much better in the second half. Grade: B-minus
Secondary: Kyle Fuller flashed all day as he does every week and Tashaun Gipson was extremely active. Eddie Jackson was around the ball more than he has been but still didn't make many plays and the youngsters in Jaylon Johnson's and Buster Skrine's spots competed well although Kindle Vildor did get schooled by D.J. Chark on the Jags' first touchdown. Grade: B
Special Teams: Cordarrelle Patterson probably should have been given the day off but Cairo Santos was perfect again. Patrick O'Donnell only had to punt three times but continued to be a weapon with one inside the 20 and a 44.3 net average. DeAndre Carter showed some toughness and a few nice moves on punt returns. Kickoff coverage could have been a little tighter but for the most part it was a very solid day. Grade: B-plus
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