5 Questions with Windy City Gridiron: How will the Bears DBs match up against the Lions WRs?

Careful research has been conducted for decades on the virulent phenomenon known as the Chicago Bears. Is it contagious? Is it lethal? Does it cause cancer, or skin irritation? Is it FDA approved? Does the CDC even know about this or are they silencing the truth?

Unfortunately, the spread of the Chicago Bears in 2018 has been rampant. The Bears are right now playing as one of the best teams in the NFC North and have only recently been challenged for their position atop the division. Still, a killer defense and an offense clicking on all cylinders is hard to knock, even if you’re not a believer in what they’re doing.

Speaking of that, why is it always about cylinders? We have enough car talk on the Pride Of Detroit PODcast. We don’t need more car analogies. None of know how to operate one anyway.

I forgot where I was going with this and now I should introduce you to Patti Curl from Windy City Gridiron. She’s going to be helping us understand the Bears. Strap in, because there are five questions, and she’s going to answer all of them, madcap she is.

1. What has been the most surprising or out-of-character loss for the Bears this year? How about most surprising win?

Sadly, I can’t with a straight face tell you that losing in heartbreaking fashion at Lambeau Field is out of character for the Bears, but the biggest change in expectations came between halftime in Week 1 and the games tragic resolution.

If you missed it, the Bears were up 17 to 0 at halftime and both Aaron Rodgers and backup DeShone Kizer were injured. I had finished writing an indulgently triumphant post-game blog post and kicked my legs up with a pile of wings ready to enjoy a long-awaited Packer smackdown. Then Golden Boy Rodgers decided to hop back onto the field for an infinitely-obnoxious one-footed comeback to win 24 to 23. It was disgusting.

As far as wins, none have been particularly surprising. The best team that the Bears have bested is probably the Seahawks, and they hadn’t quite figured things out when the Bears played them. I’ll say that the way the Bears won against the Buccaneers was pleasantly out of character: seeing a Bears offense move effortlessly down the field and score six passing touchdowns was a rare delight that I hope we can witness many more times and never take for granted.

2. How would you assign the Bears cornerbacks to guard these Lions wide receivers?

I’m definitely putting Kyle Fuller on Marvin Jones. Fuller had 22 swat-downs last year and has 10 already this year. I want someone who can paw at the ball against one of the best contested catch receivers in the NFL and make plays when Jones is inevitably targeted deep.

Prince Amukamara is more of a tight-coverage corner than a playmaker, and if he plays his game well, Stafford will be quickly moving on to his next look whenever he glances Kenny’s way. Hopefully that will be towards TJ Jones who’ll have his work cut out for him when he lines up against the Bears most underrated defensive stud, slot corner Bryce Callahan.

3. With the game on the line, would you rather see Tarik Cohen or Jordan Howard take the last carry of the game? I dunno where from or any circumstances, I’m just trying to make a RB question interesting.

This is basically like asking me if the grizzly bear or the black bear is better. I love them both for their differences as much as their similarities, and I hate you for making me choose.

Since I have to, I’ll take Jordan Howard. He’s been the heart and lungs of this Bears offense for the last two years, and his less central role in Matt Nagy’s diverse offensive scheme has caused too many people to doubt his importance. I want Howard to have the ball in that moment, not only because I trust him to get the job done, but because I want him to get the glory when he does and return to his proper place, universally beloved by Bears fans and savvy NFL analysts everywhere.

4. We’ve heard plenty of QB comparisons on Mitchell Trubisky based on upside and skill, but what is his comparison based on his level of “bro”?

This is tough. Trubisky is too earnest to really fit into bro culture, but he seems either unaware or unphased by the fact that deep bros undoubtedly think he’s a little dorky. I’d put him somewhere between Drew Brees and Eli Manning. Like, less likely to get in a legal battle over ill-advised jewelry purchases than Drew Brees and more likely to be in on the joke than Eli.

5. Could Dick Butkus....?

Good question. I would think not. Presumably, a Butkus would kiss all the butt he could kiss if a Butkus could kiss butt, and I didn’t see Dick kiss butt for a single second in his Hall of Fame career.

Thanks to Patti for putting up with our nonsense.