Pompei: Observations From Bears-Vikings
By Dan Pompei--
(CBS) The Bears aren't a very good team. We knew this. What we didn't know is that they're a fairly entertaining team. They have put on very good shows in three games this season. And the potential for them to remain entertaining is strong now that No. 10 is under center.
Here are my observations from their 20-17 loss to the Vikings on Monday.
1. Mitchell Trubisky played with no noticeable nerves or fear. You couldn't say the same about the veteran quarterback who started for the other team.
2. Trubisky gives the Bears something that Mike Glennon didn't — a chance to extend the play and make things happen off script. In today's NFL, that's huge.
3. Trubisky's mobility is a godsend for the Bears, because his receivers struggle to get open. He's capable of stalling them open.
4. I don't want to spoil the party, but the truth is unless Trubisky gets much, much better, he will be a bust.
5. But Trubisky's performance was about what we should have expected in his first start, and I believe he's going to get much, much better.
6. Trubisky the rookie handles the press conference better than Jay Cutler did as a veteran.
7. To develop a quarterback, a team needs reliable receivers and consistent offensive linemen. The Bears need more reliability and consistency around Trubisky.
8. Snaps were supposed to be a problem for Trubisky, but they've been a bigger problem for center Cody Whitehair.
9. Kendall Wright is the only wide receiver on the roster whom coaches have any confidence in. And no one can blame them.
10. With the exception of the timeout/delay of game fiasco, Bears coaches were on point with game-planning and play-calling. They put their players in position to succeed and attacked the Vikings' vulnerabilities well.
11. That was the Leonard Floyd we've been waiting for. However, he still needs to make plays with more than speed and persistence in order to become an upper-tier player.
12. With four injured inside linebackers, the Bears had a donut defense. That explains how backup running backs led a ground game that accounted for 159 yards and a 5.9-yards-per-carry average.
13. A lack of playmakers in the back end of the defense remains a considerable problem for the Bears. They have no chance of winning consistently without defensive backs who can get the ball back.
14. Jerome Boger and his officiating crew need to let them play. That game was brutally officiated.
15. Is it just me or do you have a difficult time envisioning someone like Olin Kreutz playing duck-duck-goose to celebrate a touchdown?
Dan Pompei has been covering the NFL since 1985 and is a regular contributor to 670 The Score and a host on 670's Bears pregame show. He writes for Bleacher Report and theathletic.com. You can follow him on Twitter @Dan Pompei.
