I don’t know much but I do know this: If Allen Robinson is miffed at you, the problem is you and not him.
Bears general manager Ryan Pace has a checkered ledger on player acquisition. But he’s been consistent on two fronts: signing players who earned a contract — Eddie Jackson, Akiem Hicks, Kyle Fuller, Cody Whitehair, Charles Leno, Danny Trevathan; and dropping players who didn’t — Mike Glennon, Cody Parkey, Mike Davis, Leonard Floyd, Adam Shaheen.
So what’s taking so long to sign Robinson to a long-term contract? On a team that values culture as much as performance, Robinson is the perfect Pace/Matt Nagy Bear. He arguably is the most valuable player on the team — without his 98 receptions for 1,147 yards and seven touchdowns last season, Joe Burrow might be quarterbacking the Bears today.
He’s as dependable as he is productive. He’s clutch. He plays well against the Packers. He’s a security blanket for fledgling quarterback Mitch Trubisky. And he’s an invaluable role model for Anthony Miller — helping Miller develop into a star wide player while curbing the third-year receiver’s diva instincts.
And, as a good guy and team player who speaks his mind but knows where to draw the line — and sets an example of professionalism that every one of his teammates would be wise to emulate, Robinson exemplifies the Bears culture Pace and Nagy cherish so much. More than Khalil Mack or Trubisky or Hicks, Robinsonb is the essence of the term, “face of the franchise.”
So when a guy like Robinson eliminates references to the Bears from his Instagram and Twitter account bios — as he did sometime after Sunday’s victory over the Lions — Pace should sit up and take notice. This is like anyone else spouting off or sitting out. If Pace can read the room, the message is clear: Get the deal done.
2a. What to make of the Bears’ 27-23 victory over the Lions? The Bears’ opener historically has been a pretty good barometer — from the victory over the Packers in 1963 to last year’s dud against the Packers at Soldier Field. The three-phase 26-0 rout of the Packers in 2006 signaled a new day under Lovie Smith — a wave the Bears rode to the Super Bowl. Even competitive season-opening losses to good teams in 2001, 2005 and 2018 were harbingers of playoff seasons.
The mixed-bag results — from Bad Mitch/Good Mitch on down — present all sorts of possibilities. But based on Sunday’s game, this season could be similar to 2012 under Lovie — when the Bears started 7-1 against a weak schedule (and a timely opener against Chuck Pagano’s Colts in Andrew Luck’s NFL debut), then lost five of six against good teams and finished 10-6 and out of the playoffs.
2b. For What It’s Worth Dept.: With the Bears’ victory over the Lions, the Bears’ first six opponents this season lost their opener — the Lions, Giants, Falcons, Colts, Buccaneers and Panthers are all 0-1.
3. Mitch Trubisky’s three-touchdown fourth quarter notwithstanding, the Bears’ running game was the best sign for future success. The Bears ran early, often and even when they were down 20-6 in the second half — with consistent effectiveness. They gained 149 yards on 28 carries (5.3 avg.).
The Bears had 14 carries of five yards or more — a number they exceeded only once last year, against the Vikings’ subs in the season finale. And only once did they have back-to-back carries of fewer than three yards.
4. Here’s a good example of how a good run game impacts the entire team. When wide receivers coach Mike Furrey was asked if there was a subtle performance he felt good about, he didn’t point to any of his receivers, but to the offensive line and the run game.
“It started from the first play of the game with a 6-yard run,” Furrey said. “Our offensive line and the running game and the way Cordarrelle Patterson was hitting the middle and [Tarik Cohen’s] spurting out some big runs, and [David Montgomery] doing the same thing in the run game.
“Our wide receivers are looking back saying, ‘Hey, you can’t just drop seven or eight people every play now. You need to respect our run game.’ A-Rob’s big play over the middle on the dagger, [Darnell] Mooney’s ball that he caught for the first catch of his career — some of those catches that we’re getting now that are longer than what you guys are probably used to — those are gonna start happening a lot more because of our run game.”
5. One more on the run game: New offensive line coach Juan Castillo can expound on any subject, but he was as succinct as he ever will be when asked what he saw Sunday that portends to future success.
“The guys came off the football. They finished the plays. And that made them physical,” Castillo said. “Pretty simple, sometimes.”
It remains to be seen if Matt Nagy sticks with the new-look run game. Last year, after the Bears had just seven carries in a loss to the Saints, Nagy responded by utilizing the I-formation — and the Bears had 38 carries for 162 yards against the Chargers. A week later against the Eagles in Philadelphia, they had four carries for eight yards as they fell behind 19-0 in the third quarter and finished with 62 yards on 18 carries.
6. Is Nagy feeling the pressure? The Bears’ coach has been getting more and more into all-business mode this season. Nagy’s complete shutdown of injury information — whether fans care about such information or not — is a departure from previous seasons.
Two years ago he clearly indicated Khalil Mack would play in the opener against the Packers. Last week he would divulge nothing about the availability of Robert Quinn or anybody on the injury list. And his explanation, “Going to do everything possible to win,” is more revealing than convincing.
And perhaps it’s the distant nature of Zoom teleconferences, but Nagy doesn’t seem to be enjoying the back-and-forth with the media anymore. Nagy’s Monday press conference after the Lions game was 11 minutes — and that was after a win. Last year, Nagy talked for 30 minutes about the discouraging season-opening loss to the Packers in the day-after press conference.
7. Thursday is the 100th anniversary of the Sept. 17, 1920 meeting at Ralph Hay’s car dealership showroom in Canton, Ohio that gave birth to the American Professional Football Association, which became the National Football League in 1922.
George Halas, who, as the story goes, conceived the idea of a professional league that led to the meeting, represented the Decatur Staleys — sitting on the running board of a 1920 Hupmobile. And the rest is history. The Bears and the Cardinals are the two remaining franchises from the 11 that were awarded at that meeting.
8. It didn’t take long for the Bears to miss Eddie Goldman — or look like they missed Goldman. Adrian Peterson gained 19 yards up the middle on his first carry, en route to a 14-play, 93-yard game. When Peterson faced the Bears and Goldman last year with the Washington club, he gained 37 yards on 12 carries.
As Bilal Nichols gets acclimated to being a full-time nose tackle, that’s one area where you can expect improvement.
“I thought he did some good things and some things he can improve on … pad level and hand-placement and eyes,” defensive line coach Jay Rodgers said. “But that was the same across the board. This was the first real bullets these guys have seen this year and we’d love to start out perfect every game, but Bilal had some opportunities to affect the passer. He had a couple good rushes in there. It didn’t materialize to any production but it showed some promise and showed some growth.”
9. Josh McCown Ex-Bears Player of the Week Award: Rams outside linebacker Leonard Floyd made an impressive debut, including a final-drive sack in a 20-17 upset victory over the Cowboys. The Rams signed Floyd to a one-year, $10 million contract after the Bears released him in March.
Floyd’s performance was particularly noticeable with his replacement on the Bears, Robert Quinn, out with an ankle injury. Still, while Floyd figures to be an impact player with the Rams, he has a long way to go before making the Bears regret their decision. He beat an undrafted rookie, right tackle Terence Steele, for the sack. And Floyd had two sacks in last year’s opener against the Packers — and finished with four.
10. Bear-ometer: 9-7 — vs. Giants (W); at Falcons (L); vs. Colts (W); vs. Buccaneers (W); at Panthers (W); at Rams (L); vs. Saints (L); at Titans (L); vs. Vikings (W); at Packers (L); vs. Lions (W); vs. Texans (L); at Vikings (L); at Jaguars (W); vs. Packers (W).
