Crusader

1. Good showing from Josh Hill with Cook being out.

2. Great game by Murray, exactly what we needed for him. No huge runs just a very steady production.

3. Best run blocking I've seen so far by the O-line.

4. I'm glad the two misses from Lutz came at a time when it didn't hurt us.

5. Great defensive effort today but there were some missed tackles that needs to be cleaned up.

6. I think the holding call on Line on Harris return TD was really a 50/50 call and a bit picky.

7. It irks me that we give up the late garbage TDs.

8. Hands team needs some work, both on getting the ball and knowing the rules.

9. Offense as a whole felt more creative this week. It seems like we're lacking options thou, TB holds the ball and can sit in the pocket for ages but don't have anybody open.

10. There probably should have been a couple of picks made on bad throws by Trashbisky.

W.T. Sherman is my favorite General. After all he did order Atlanta to be burned to the ground.

TheOak

Found this in the summary of Sunday’s games and it about sums it up for me.

New Orleans Saints 36, Chicago Bears 25

1. No Alvin Kamara. No Jared Cook. Still no Drew Brees. On the road. Facing a desperate team coming off a bye. No problem for Sean Payton's squad. The Saints dominated the Bears at Soldier Field with a crushing defense, big special teams play, and a ball-control offense that churned out first downs against a suffocating D. Off the bat, the Saints "win every phase" play that has come to epitomize this team showed up with a blocked punt for a safety on the first possession of the tilt. New Orleans' defense was the best one on the field Sunday, forcing two fumbles, allowing just four first downs through three quarters, and held the Bears' offense out of the end zone until two garbage-time TDs. The only blemishes of the day were a 102-yard kick return TD by Bears' Cordarrelle Patterson and an onside-kick recovered by Chicago that made the score look closer than the play on the field showed. It mattered naught in the end. We've seen the Saints carried by Kamara with Brees out. The dynamic running back missing Sunday's tilt seemed like it could spell gloom against Chicago's D. Instead, Latavius Murry churned out 119 yards and two TDs. The offensive line dominated, opening holes and allowing just one sack and four QB hits. Teddy Bridgewater managed the game well. He missed a few open passes but didn't make mistakes and added a couple of chunk plays to stretch the defense. Sunday was a reminder that even without some of their top offensive weapons, the Saints remain a great team.

2. Matt Nagy's offense is broken. Mitchell Trubisky, returning from a left shoulder injury, was inept. The QB couldn't make simple throws. He either airmailed wideouts repeatedly or buzzed worms with darts into the dirt. With no run game to speak of (just five attempts in the first half, seven for the game), the Bears' O was a heaping pile of steaming poo. Of Chicago's first 10 possessions, just two went five or more plays. A six-possession string running from the second and third quarters went 3-and-out, 3-and-out, 3-and-out, 1 play and fumble, 3-and-out, 3-and-out. Through three quarters, the Bears totaled 85 yards of offense and four first downs. Three garbage-time drives will make the box score better, but the product on the field was miserable to watch. The ineptitude of the offense was partially responsible for the Bears' defense being worn out by the end. The play-calling was suspect (where was the run game early in a close tilt with a QB coming back from injury?). The play of Trubisky was abysmal. Falling to 3-3 with back-to-back losses to the Raiders and a Brees/Kamara-less Saints, Chicago is now well behind in the NFC North. The offense isn't close to playoff-caliber at this point, and the Bears are wasting a great defense once again.

3. Sean Payton is the Coach of the Year for the first half of the season. It's not particularly close. Sans Brees, the Saints have won five straight games, three of which have come on the road, including back to back tilts. If anyone says they expected the Saints get to 6-1 after Brees went down, feel free to call them a liar. Yet, Payton has done a masterful coaching job, and the New Orleans defense is a smothering hellion, keeping the Saints as the team to beat atop the NFC South. Sunday, Payton rode Murray against a stout defense and made some masterful play calls, including a freakadelic fullback-option pitch to Taysom Hill that went for 23 yards. Beating this Bears defense without Brees and Kamara underscores Payton's exquisite job through seven weeks. Keep it up, and he'll lock down the COY award before Christmas.

-- Kevin Patra

SmashMouth

SmashMouth

neugey

Official Black and Gold dog -

Garry42

Agree with all of the above! A little surprised with Lutz today. Not concerned, but surprised.

K Major

Josh Hill ...

I thought he played well. Glad to see him have success on yesterday.

Guys are stepping up.

jeanpierre

Really believe Hill just needs more opportunities to build his confidence, let the game slow down so he could be productive as the athleticism was always there...

While the McCoy move was a necessity, really hoped we'd make Hill the starter (as he is) and bring in a vet No.2, blocker like Jesse James, and draft a TE or invest more time, coaching in Arnold...

K Major

I agree with Coach in his presser.

Phantom flag on that Deonte' Harris punt return TD right before the half ...

Questionable call. We had taken away the Bears will at that point.

SmashMouth

We shoulda had a FIFTY burger yesterday against the Bears. Even their fans knew it, if you read their forums.