Jeff Hughes | December 21st, 2017

Why Do I Like the Chicago Bears This Week?

Because I always like the Chicago Bears. But really? Browns. Bears. Christmas Eve. Why would I go to this game? I bought this ticket the day tickets went on sale to the general public. What did I think this was going to be?

Ode to Devin Hester

I saw a man fly once.

Without ever leaving the ground, without lifting into the sky,

He flew.

Sometimes I think it was a dream because

a. man. can’t. fly.

But he flew.

And I saw him.

6 Football Thoughts on This Game

Saturday night against Detroit seems to be the first time the national football media actually watched Mitch Trubisky play and they have, of course, formed fully-developed conclusions based on four quarters. Those conclusions are not only silly but ill-informed. Re-watching the Lions tape it was impossible not to come away impressed with Trubisky. Hell, even John Fox thought it was his best performance. (Although who know what that means.) But the turnovers can’t become an epidemic and I’d look for that to be Focus Point No. 1 this week. (Also, if you look at Tru’s splits you’ll notice 7 of his 8 picks have come on the road.)

I’ve watched at least three games of every Bears opponent prior to writing the game preview. I must admit, I caught the second half of Browns/Packers and have seen very little else of them over the last few months. Oddly, that was probably DeShone Kizer’s best game of the season, even though it featured arguably the worst throw in the NFL all year. My feeling on Kizer is there’s plenty of talent there for a productive NFL quarterback but who knows when he’ll even get the opportunity again.

Weird Cleveland stats. Only the Giants, Niners, Colts and Bengals are run on more but the Browns allow roughly 20 yards less on the ground per game. (They’re 7th in the league total.) So that would lead one to believe that the Browns are constantly behind and opponents struggle to put them away on the ground. If John Fox wants to win another game as head coach of the Bears – and Sunday is really his last chance – he will struggle to do so on the ground.

Myles Garrett has had an injury-filled, underwhelming rookie season. Mitch Trubisky is progressing nicely on a losing, uninteresting team. Is this the least ballyhooed meeting of the first two picks in the draft in NFL history?

When you look at the Cleveland stats, they’re not terrible on either side of the ball. But then you look closer and see one stat that explains why they never win: -25 turnover differential. That’s an historic number.

Quoting Dowell Loggains during his Wednesday media meet, re: Cleveland: “They blitz as much as anybody in the NFL.” This will be an interesting week to see how far Tubisky has progressed in that regard.

Tweet of the Week

Now is time for me to fix myself. Wanted you guys to hear it from me. I’m very excited about what the future holds for this team, and I’m jacked up about being healthy again — Kyle (@Ky1eLong) December 20, 2017

This entire thread from Kyle Long, detailing his injuries over the last few seasons, was incredible. A healthy Long in 2018 will go a long way towards a resurgent Bears.

Game Prediction

I think the most exciting part of my experience at Soldier Field Sunday will be watching Mitch Trubisky in pre-game workouts. Then I think the Bears and Browns will struggle to hit the over (38).

Chicago Bears 24

Cleveland Browns 13