VIKES @ da BEARS 9/8/25

[gunnarthor]

2 minutes ago, Vanimal46 said:

The offense is gonna look so much better with Darrisaw back at LT. The backup #67 had a brutal game. 

Agreed. And they'll look better with more reps as well. I thought Donovan Jackson was pretty solid, too. 

[Aggies7]

Price and mason, look like good pickups. Price undrafted!

[Vanimal46]

6 minutes ago, Aggies7 said:

Price and mason, look like good pickups. Price undrafted!

Price looking like the best punt returner we’ve had in I can’t even remember. I’m just used to guys like Brandon Powell catching a punt and diving forward for a 3 yard return. 

[Aggies7]

Probably going to be some more rough games for JJ as expected of a rookie. But at least he didn’t fully go in to the tank. Keep the pick 6s to a minimum is all you can really ask of a true rookie

[gunnarthor]

Also, while McCarthy looked lost for parts of the game, he made some huge throws. The TD to Jones was perfect. 

[Vanimal46]

7 minutes ago, gunnarthor said:

Agreed. And they'll look better with more reps as well. I thought Donovan Jackson was pretty solid, too. 

Lucky we’ve got some previous chemistry with Kelly and Fries playing together in Indy. I didn’t notice too many pressures from the right side. It was almost exclusively from the LT spot 

[Aggies7]

I don’t count last year because he never even suited up like a red shirt, but it would be interesting to see how many QBs started their first ever game and how they did. And how their careers went. I bet there aren’t more than 30 guys in the modern era who have done that. Not even tarkenton, apparently 

[Vanimal46]

2 minutes ago, Aggies7 said:

I don’t count last year because he never even suited up like a red shirt, but it would be interesting to see how many QBs started their first ever game and how they did. And how their careers went. I bet there aren’t more than 30 guys in the modern era who have done that. Not even tarkenton, apparently 

 

[AlwaysinModeration]

To be fair, McCarthy threw 3 TDs in his debut.  

[Aggies7]

3 minutes ago, AlwaysinModeration said:

To be fair, McCarthy threw 3 TDs in his debut.  

2 throws, 1 running. Couple drops too. That pick was classic rookie bad 

[Parfigliano]

3 minutes ago, Aggies7 said:

2 throws, 1 running. Couple drops too. That pick was classic rookie bad 

I hope a learning experience for JMc

[Aggies7]

Just now, Parfigliano said:

I hope a learning experience for JMc

Won’t be the last surely 

[gunnarthor]

I love Moss

 

[Aggies7]

9 minutes ago, gunnarthor said:

I love Moss

 

Randy looking good

[Hosken Bombo Disco]

None of the other 2024 rookie quarterbacks had a TD throw until week 3 last season 

[The Great Hambino]

3 hours ago, Aggies7 said:

Damn I thought I was tough 😂

I might’ve over corrected a bit there.  Must’ve been something I drank 

[sampleSizeOfOne]

What i miss?

[AlwaysinModeration]

5 hours ago, Aggies7 said:

2 throws, 1 running. Couple drops too. That pick was classic rookie bad 

3 throws, 1 running.  Just that one of the throws was to a Viking - from last year’s team.

[shortround81]

6 hours ago, Aggies7 said:

Randy looking good

Wishing him well

[gunnarthor]

That was a really nice victory. Few thoughts- 

1) Mason and Jones are going to have some nice combined numbers but I wouldn't be surprised if neither hits 1000 yards. But they are both good running backs and both were instrumental in the victory. 
2) I thought the Vikings coaching staff did a great job. Williams started 10/10 on passing but went 11/25 the rest of the way. On the Bears posts, someone pointed out that Williams early success was on scripted plays (teams generally script the first 15 plays) and Flores played a very base defense early. After he was out of his script, he struggled and the Vikings defense started doing more exotic packages and blitzes. I'm not sure how much those two things are related but, either way, the defense kept the Vikings in the game until the offense showed up. And KOC made things simpler for McCarthy until he got going. He didn't keep banging his head against the wall like he did in the Rams playoff loss. Really good to see that. 
3) Special teams were really amazing last night. Blocked punt, 59-yarder, Price looks legit. Wright is still scary as a punter but huge night for the ST. 
4) Lastly, I thought the interior OL was pretty good. On one of Mason's long runs, the replay showed Jackson pushing the DL out and getting into a safety. On the Jones TD, the replay from the endzone shows Fries literally pancaking a Bear in the background. Once Darrisaw is back, the line is going to be really, really good. Even without him, McCarthy had some nice pockets in the 4th quarter. 

[Vanimal46]

It really is amazing that Chicago continues to make the wrong decisions at QB over and over again. Thank God they didn't take either Jayden Daniels or Drake Maye. 

[gunnarthor]

Oh, this was a fun bit to read - 

 

Next Gen Stats Insights for Vikings-Bears (NFL Pro): In their Vikings debut, Javon Hargrave and Jonathan Allen generated six pressures each, with Hargrave also recording two sacks and two quick pressures (under 2.5 seconds). They did so despite being double-teamed at 41.9% and 47.1% rates, respectively. All three of the Bears’ newly acquired interior linemen (Joe Thuney, Drew Dalman and Jonah Jackson) yielded at least four pressures to the duo alone.

[gunnarthor]

  

[TheLeviathan]

What a comeback!  My observations:

1) Run the damn ball more.  This game turned around when we let the new OL and the new RB pound the Bears into submission.  KOC was way too cute early.

2) B-Flo was way too vanilla early.  We weren't even playing a containment style rush very well.  There were a lot of third downs where we deliberately weren't pushing the pocket.  I think somewhere midstream he said "Eff it....bring the house.  Big boys go eat" because the pass rush looked totally different in the second half.

3) JJ was late getting to a lot of throws.  Even on completions like the out route to JJ (not the pick) and the Oliver 2 pt....he just was a second or two late to his progression.  Ball got there, but they lost opportunities due to giving defenders time to recover.  

4) Skule got bullrushed into JJ's lap on 125% of the dropbacks.  I'm pretty sure I did that math right.

On the plus side:

1) Hargrave is a beast.  He's still every bit the disrupter he was.  Hopefully he's getting enough breaks to stay healthy and dominant.  LDR had some big splashes too.  I thought Turner played better than Greenard.

2) DBs looked fine even without Smith.

3) O-line had some nasty in them in the second half.  We bullied the Bears.

4) The coaching advantage in the second half was enormous.  Both our OC and DC had bad first halves, but then the second half showed they are on a completely different level.

5) Mason was a steal.

[Vanimal46]

1 hour ago, TheLeviathan said:

5) Mason was a steal.

No kidding. We got an RB 1 for what, a 6th round pick? He's basically what the coaching staff dreamed Mattison would be, but Mason has so much more talent than he ever did. 

Other observations:

- The demeanor and body language between McCarthy and Williams is night and day. McCarthy was bouncing around the sideline pumping up the OL and talking to KOC/McCown. Especially when it was rough going the first 3 quarters. Once the wheels were falling off for the Bears, Williams was pouting on the sideline not talking to anyone. 

- Rough first game for Ben Johnson as HC. Going for it on 4th down in the 1st quarter when they could have used the 3 points. Challenging the Hockenson down by contact play was bizarre. 

[TheLeviathan]

QB School Review

[TheLeviathan]

2 hours ago, Vanimal46 said:

No kidding. We got an RB 1 for what, a 6th round pick? He's basically what the coaching staff dreamed Mattison would be, but Mason has so much more talent than he ever did. 

Other observations:

- The demeanor and body language between McCarthy and Williams is night and day. McCarthy was bouncing around the sideline pumping up the OL and talking to KOC/McCown. Especially when it was rough going the first 3 quarters. Once the wheels were falling off for the Bears, Williams was pouting on the sideline not talking to anyone. 

- Rough first game for Ben Johnson as HC. Going for it on 4th down in the 1st quarter when they could have used the 3 points. Challenging the Hockenson down by contact play was bizarre. 

I would add that I thought that 50 yard field goal was dicey call with how bad Santos first kick was.  

Glad we're done with that garbage field.

[nicksaviking]

A great 4th quarter saved a scary first three. Definitely lots of optimism now.

I was surprised how often they tried to stretch runs outside though. For a decade this team did not have the personnel for interior runs, but last night. the Vikings tackles were the weakest part of the line. I'm still trying to figure out why they didn't run up the middle more, or do a QB sneak; they were 3rd and 1 several times. 

[Vanimal46]

5 hours ago, TheLeviathan said:

Glad we're done with that garbage field.

Soldier Field being treated by Chicago's Parks and Rec department is crazy... The Bears themselves is a $4-5 billion organization! 

[gunnarthor]

Yeah, as much as we missed him, I'm really glad Darrisaw wasn't playing on that.