After their debacle in Week 1, the Chicago Bears travel to face the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Here are bold predictions for the game.
After their awful showing against the hated Green Bay Packers in Week 1, the Chicago Bears cannot get back on the field quickly enough. They gave a horrible showing and looked as bad as they did last season despite having an overhauled roster.
Another good idea is for the Bears to go on the road. The boobirds were out early and often at Soldier Field last week. Safety Jaquan Brisker was shocked at how quickly the fans turned against the players.
Well, that is exactly what will happen this Sunday. Chicago travels to Tampa Bay to take on the Buccaneers. They look to make up for the rotten egg they laid last week.
At first look at the schedule, this game looked like a win for the Bears. Despite winning the NFC South last season, Tampa was just 8-9. Then they lost Tom Brady to retirement. Having Baker Mayfield as the starter seemed like Tampa would struggle in 2023.
However, Tampa pulled off a great upset in Week 1. They traveled to Minnesota and took down the Vikings and their high-octane offense. Now the victory does not look as good as it did earlier.
The Bears have to regroup and get it together. They have a current 11-game losing streak dating back to last season. This team has much more talent than last season so it should play better. If it doesn’t, things will get very ugly very quickly.
Let’s have some fun and make some bold predictions for this game.
Brisker has a big game
As mentioned earlier, Brisker was shocked and disappointed with the lack of fan support last week. He said he understood the fans’ frustrations, however.
Well, Brisker will earn some of that support in Week 2. He will be all over the field and make plays. While he has the talent to be a future Pro Bowl player, injuries early in his career have held him back somewhat. When he is on the field he already looks like a seasoned veteran. His comments will rile up some of the fans. He wants to put up a good showing to keep those critics at bay. That means he will play with a chip on his shoulder.
Some players perform better that way. Let’s see if that is the case with Brisker.
Prediction: Brisker has 8 tackles, a pass defended, and a forced fumble.
Alan Williams finally makes adjustments to the defense
One of the most frustrating parts of last week’s game was the lack of adjustments defensive coordinator Alan Williams made. This has, unfortunately, been a pattern with him.
Williams has to make adjustments when the opponent gets into a pattern. He has to have the opposing offense guessing as to what the defense is doing — disguise some formations and move players around.
Another thing Williams needs to do is be more aggressive. He continually keeps playing a passive defense. The pass rush had a tough time getting to the quarterback last season. It was more of the same against Green Bay. Jordan Love had too much time to sit in the pocket and find the open receiver.
Things have to be different against Mayfield. Mayfield is the epitome of a gunslinger. He will try to make the big play whenever he drops back. The Bears have to put pressure on him so he makes mistakes. Over his career, he showed that he will give the defense ample opportunities to create turnovers.
If Williams doesn’t change he could find himself out of a job. Remember, he was Matt Eberflus’ assistant with the Indianapolis Colts when Eberflus was the defensive coordinator.
This is basically Eberflus’ defense with some Williams wrinkles. If the unit continues to struggle and make Eberflus look bad, he could take over or find someone else to lead it.
Prediction: Williams calls more blitzes and the defense harassed Mayfield to the tune of 3 sacks and an interception.
Luke Getsy opens up the offense
Last week was not a good one for the Chicago Bears coordinators. Offensive coordinator Luke Getsy showed that he might not trust Fields as he says.
Throughout the game, Getsy called flares or screens. Throwing so much behind the line of scrimmage helped the Packers’ defense make plays and keep the Bears offense in long-yardage situations. It becomes difficult to move the ball when you face continual third-and-longs.
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The offensive line will be better. Right tackle Darnell Wright had a strong debut. He didn’t allow a sack and just three pressures. On the left side, tackle Braxton Jones had four penalties called on him. He showed last season that he was a disciplined player so that was just a blip.
The interior of the line had a rough day. The good news is that it cannot get any worse, right? Let me not jinx it.
With better protection, Getsy should open things up a bit. He has D.J. Moore. He only had two targets last week. That needs to be higher.
Getsy could also lean on the running game a little more. Khalil Herbert and Roschon Johnson could be a good complement. They can both make big runs but in different ways. Johnson will eventually become the starter and he will show it again this week.
Additionally, D’Onta Foreman is a ramrod. His job is to move the chains in short-yardage situations. Last week Getsy tried to get cute and used a direct snap to tight end Cole Kmet on a third-and-short. It failed miserably.
Let the players do what their specialty is. Don’t get too cute and mess around and kill a drive. Getsy has a full arsenal of receivers to use. He has the speedy wide receivers and the big tight ends who can move the chains. He even has the running backs who can catch out of the backfield. If he doesn’t use them then we will continue to see the same struggles.
Prediction: The Chicago Bears offense amasses 349 total yards, scores 3 touchdowns, and the offensive line allows 1 sack.
Scott attempts to bury Claypool on the depth chart
Another player who had a tough day in Week 1 was wide receiver Chase Claypool. There were reports that the team was concerned with his work ethic. The team denied it and he denied it. He even said he would have his best season.
Well, he didn’t have a good start to that best season. He missed both targets that went his way. Additionally, he looked like he lazily attempted three blocks. The defenders got past him on all three attempts.
Rookie receiver Tyler Scott caught two passes for 14 yards in his debut. He is the WR4 in the offense. However, with Claypool looking so bad, he has to know that he has a huge opportunity.
If Scott has good practices and it carries over to the game, he could earn himself more snaps. He won’t take those snaps away from Moore or Darnell Mooney. He could take them from Claypool.
Scott has shown that he is a big-play receiver. In college, he averaged 44.6 yards per touchdown. If Getsy opens up the offense and targets Scott, there is a good chance that Scott will reward him with some big plays.
This league is all about opportunities. Scott has to take his since Claypool seems to sleepwalk through his career. Scott will be the next man up and he needs to step up.
Prediction: Scott makes 4 catches for 71 yards.
Fields tries to get back on track
Fields did not escape criticism for last week. Some criticized him for not trusting his receivers and hitting receivers downfield. It seemed that he did not trust his offensive line, however.
Green Bay sacked Fields four times. Additionally, he was on the run all game. As a result of the pressure, he anticipated pressure, even when it wasn’t there.
Fields has to trust his receivers. He has better targets so he should know that they will make plays for him. We already saw during training camp how Moore practically has stickum on his hands. He should never again have just two targets.
This is a big season for Fields. The whispers about him not being the franchise quarterback the Bears need are growing louder. He doesn’t have to throw like Brady, but he has to show that at this point of the rebuild he is taking the steps needed to lead this team.
Prediction: Fields completes 63 percent of his passes for 253 yards and 2 touchdowns. He adds 63 yards rushing.