Tag: Bears Special Teams

3 reasons why the Bears could beat the Packers in Week 12

Here are three reasons why the Bears have a good chance of defeating the Packers in Week 12.

There’s not much confidence in the Chicago Bears’ chances to upset the Green Bay Packers on Sunday Night Football. The Bears have lost four straight games, and their offense has looked downright abysmal.

It doesn’t help that Green Bay has absolutely dominated Chicago over the last decade, as the Bears have won just three of those last 20 meetings. But even with all of the odds stacked against them, you can never count the Bears out. Because they sometimes find a way to pull out a surprising win.

Here are three reasons why the Bears have a good chance of defeating the Packers in Week 12.

Who is Bears’ special teams MVP through the first 10 weeks?

While Cairo Santos was originally an emergency plan, he’s since become the plan at kicker with the Bears.

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While the Chicago Bears offense continues to sputter out of control, at least one good thing has come from this season — the Bears finally found their kicker.

While Cairo Santos was originally an emergency plan, he’s since become the plan at kicker with the Bears, as he’s had quite an impressive season filling in for an injured Eddy Pineiro.

Even if Pineiro was healthy — which he likely is after two and half months — there’s no turning back from Santos, who has connected on his last 15 field goals and has just two misses this season

Santos has connected on 17-of-19 field goals (89.47%) and made all 18 extra point attempts this season. His three-kick effort against the Carolina Panthers — which included a 55-yarder — also earned him NFC Special Teams Player of the Week honors in Week 6.

‘‘I think it’s just a guy that’s found his rhythm,’’ special-teams coordinator Chris Tabor said.

Which is exactly what the Bears have been missing at the kicker position. Now, if only their offense could find the same rhythm.

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How has Bears K Cairo Santos fared after first 10 weeks?

Bears kicker Cairo Santos has established himself as the kicker of the future in Chicago.

What started as a back-up plan has turned into a plan of action for the Chicago Bears with kicker Cairo Santos, who has established himself as the kicker of the future in Chicago.

Here’s how Santos has fared in his first 10 games this season.

WATCH: Cordarrelle Patterson returns kickoff 104 yards for TD

Just when the Bears needed a spark, Cordarrelle Patterson delivered with a 104-yard kickoff return for a touchdown.

Heading into Monday night’s game, the Chicago Bears had scored just seven points in the third quarter all season. Cordarrelle Patterson changed that with a momentum-changing kick return to open the second half.

Just when the Bears needed a spark, Patterson delivered with a 104-yard kickoff return for a touchdown to give the Bears a 13-7 lead.

That was the eighth kickoff-return touchdown of Patterson’s career, which tied him with Josh Cribbs and Leon Washington for the all-time lead.

Patterson’s 104-yard kickoff return is the longest in Bears history, surpassing Gale Sayers’ 103-yarder against the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sept. 17, 1967.

The Bears lead 13-10 in the third quarter.

Bears K Cairo Santos named NFC Special Teams Player of the Week

Cairo Santos was named NFC Special Teams Player of the Week for his perfect performance against the Panthers.

There’s been plenty to love about the Chicago Bears’ 5-1 start this season. And one of the pleasant surprises has been at kicker, a position that’s snakebitten the Bears in years past.

Bears kicker Cairo Santos has been dubbed the NFC Special Teams Player of the Week following his impressive Week 6 performance against the Carolina Panthers — a 23-16 victory for Chicago.

Santos was perfect in field goals, connecting on all three from distances of 31, 55 and 31 yards, all of which helped the Bears maintain a lead throughout the game.

But it was his 55-yarder — a career long — that was his biggest kick of the day. He drilled it right down the middle with :02 left in the first half to extend Chicago’s lead 13-6 heading into halftime.

The Bears signed Santos back on Aug. 25, and he’s started for them in each of the first six games this season. He’s connected on 10-of-12 field goals (83.3 percent) this season, and he’s made his last seven field goals in a row.

With Eddy Pineiro on injured reserve with a groin injury, it’s hard to believe the Bears will shy away from Santos following his impressive performance, especially over these last couple of games.

You never like to see a player lose a job to injury. But Santos has more than earned the starting role at this point.

 

Ted Ginn Jr. expected to return punts for Bears

All week, there’s been speculation about who will fill Tarik Cohen’s shoes on special teams, and it sounds like Ted Ginn Jr. gets the nod.

When the Chicago Bears lost running back Tarik Cohen to a torn AACL for the season, they lost a valuable weapon not only on offense but special teams.

With Cohen done for the year — an injury suffered returning a punt in the fourth quarter against the Atlanta Falcons — the Bears found themselves without a punt returner.

All week, there’s been speculation about who will fill Cohen’s shoes on special teams — Anthony Miller, Darnell Mooney and Ted Ginn Jr. were all names tossed around.

It seems as if we have our answer as to who will be returning punts for the Bears, as 670 the Score’s Mark Grote has reported that Ginn is expected to be the team’s punt returner against the Indianapolis Colts.

With Mooney’s increased role on offense — he has the second-most snaps for a receiver behind just Allen Robinson — it makes sense to utilize Ginn more on special teams.

Bears roster 2020: Upgrades, downgrades, or level moves for each defensive and special teams unit

We surveyed every unit on the Bears D/ST to decide if they project to be better or worse in 2020, or if we can expect more of the same.

The Chicago Bears have kicked off training camp, where both returning and new faces to the roster have arrived at Halas Hall to begin preparation for the 2020 season. Obviously, the 2019 season didn’t go as planned for the Bears. But the hope is that, with some of the changes made this offseason, that Chicago can prove that last season was more of an anomaly than a trend.

Continuing with the defense and special teams, there’s a lot less change when compared to the offense. Although there are two starting jobs in the secondary up for grabs and the absence of nose tackle Eddie Goldman, who opted out of the 2020 season, looms large.

We surveyed every unit on the Bears defense and special teams to decide if they project to be better or worse in 2020, or if we can expect more of the same:

Defensive line

Chicago Bears defensive lineman Bilal Nichols against the New England Patriots
Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images

Gained:

  • NT John Jenkins
  • DE Brent Urban
  • DT Trevon McSwain (rookie)
  • DT Lee Autry (rookie)

Lost:

  • NT Eddie Goldman (COVID-19 opt-out)
  • DT Nick Williams
  • DT Jonathan Bullard

The loss of nose tackle Eddie Goldman is a brutal one for the Bears defensive line, which means they’re going to need some young guys to step it up. Third-year defensive tackle Bilal Nichols is someone that has the potential to have a breakout year. John Jenkins, who returned for his second stint with the Bears, will likely step into the nose tackle role in Goldman’s absence. But there is good news on the defensive front: Defensive tackle Akiem Hicks is returning from injury, and his presence is needed now more than ever.

The verdict: Downgrade

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Bears 2020 training camp preview: Special teams

The Bears have a much more stable unit than they did last year. Here’s how all key special teams contributors stack up heading into camp.

Special teams in the NFL can change the game for better or for worse. The Chicago Bears experienced the latter in grand fashion back in 2018 thanks to the “double doink” and worked to revamp their unit with one of the most highly-publicized kicking competitions ever and signing an All-Pro returner to kickstart the kickoff.

While the finished product certainly had room for improvement, particularly at the kicker position, it yielded quite a few positive results over the course of the season.

Now, one full year removed from the kicking fiasco, the Bears head into 2020 with a much more stable unit than they did last year at this time. Here’s how all key special teams contributors stack up heading into camp.

K Eddy Pineiro

Harrison Barden-USA TODAY Sports

The winner of the exhaustive Bears Bachelor-esque competition last summer, Pineiro held onto the job all year long after being traded from the then-Oakland Raiders and provided plenty of fireworks, both good and bad, as noted above.

For a while, it appeared the team had found its reliable kicker they had sought since the days of Robbie Gould when Pineiro converted 9-of-10 field goals in his first six games. Then the wheels came off, as he struggled to keep his consistency, going 3-of-7 in the middle of the season. Pineiro did rebound to close out 2019, nailing 11 consecutive kicks but questions still linger. His accuracy wasn’t consistent enough over an entire season and is his leg strong enough to hit deep field goals? Pineiro didn’t attempt a kick longer than 50 yards after his game-winning 53-yard field goal to win against the Broncos.

Going into the season, Pineiro is still the favorite to win the job, with far less competition breathing down his neck. Still, the kicker position is one of the most fluid in the NFL and if he endures another tough stretch, he probably won’t have the opportunity to rebound from it in Chicago.

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Bears D/ST ranks among top 10 in ESPN’s fantasy projections for 2020

In ESPN’s 2020 fantasy football projections, the Bears defense and special teams ranks ninth among the rest of the NFL.

While last season was far from a disappointment for the Chicago Bears defense, they certainly regressed following a truly impressive 2018 outing. Certainly injuries to defensive stars and learning a new system under defensive coordinator Chuck Pagano had something to do with that.

But heading into 2020, this defense is looking to get back to their 2018 form. Then there’s Chicago’s special teams, which saw a boost from kick returner Cordarrelle Patterson. In ESPN’s 2020 fantasy football projections, the Bears defense and special teams ranks ninth, which is due in large part to their fantasy decline in 2019.

One season after dominating the NFL with 55 more fantasy points than any other D/ST, Chicago plummeted to 15th in 2019. The Bears fell from a league-high 11 top-10 fantasy weeks in 2018 to three (24th) in 2019. Chicago was still solid in terms of yardage (eighth) and points (fifth) allowed, but plummeted from first to 22nd in forced turnovers and third to 24th in sacks. On the plus side, impact KR Cordarrelle Patterson scored his fifth return touchdown in as many seasons.

The Bears lost three of their top six and seven of their top 12 defenders in terms of snaps during the offseason, including Ha Ha Clinton-Dix, Leonard Floyd and Prince Amukamara. The addition of Robert Quinn and return of Akiem Hicks will help, but, even with the likes of Khalil Mack, Eddie Jackson, Danny Trevathan and Kyle Fuller, this unit isn’t nearly as intimidating as it was in 2018. Consider it a back-end starting option.

ESPN projects the Bears defense to have a better outing in 2020, which should be a given with the return of three injured starters in defensive tackle Akiem Hicks and linebackers Danny Trevathan and Roquan Smith, as well as the addition of pass rusher Robert Quinn.

They predict Chicago’s defense will notch 39 sacks, 11 interceptions, 11 fumble recoveries and three touchdowns. On top of that, they have the Bears allowing more points than a season ago with 343 and yards with 5,461.

When looking at this roster that general manager Ryan Pace has put together on defense — including one of the NFL’s best front sevens — you have to believe that Chicago’s defense is trending more toward the 2018 season than 2019. Then again, they’ll need a little help from their offense to ensure that they get a breather every now and then. That, and luck on the injury front.

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Bears roster comparison: 2019 vs. 2020 defense, special teams

Let’s take a look, position by position, at how the Bears defense and special teams in 2020 compares to 2019.

With the Chicago Bears’ 90-man roster full — although, it can change at any time — we thought we’d take a look at just how much their roster has changed since about this time last season.

Continuing with defense, the Bears return their core group that have been among the top in the NFL over the last two seasons. They’ve also upgraded several positions this offseason, including pass rush and secondary. While there are some depth concerns at a couple of positions, this Bears roster is stacking up nicely where it could possibly rival the dominant 2018 group.

The expectation for Chicago’s special teams is that it’ll look identical with kicker Eddy Pineiro, punter Pat O’Donnell and long snapper Patrick Scales.

Let’s take a look, position by position, at how the Bears defense and special teams in 2020 compares to 2019.

Defensive Line

Patrick Gorski-USA TODAY Sports
2019 2020
Akiem Hicks Akiem Hicks
Eddie Goldman Eddie Goldman
Bilal Nichols Bilal Nichols
Roy Robertson-Harris Roy Robertson-Harris
Nick Williams Brent Urban
Jonathan Bullard Abdullah Anderson
Abdullah Anderson John Jenkins
Jonathan Harris Trevon McSwain
Jalen Dalton Lee Autry
Daryle Banfield

The Bears defensive line was arguably the deepest position group on their roster last season, which served them well when Akiem Hicks and Bilal Nichols struggled with their respective injuries. Nick Williams and Roy Robertson-Harris rose to the occasion during their different absences, alongside one of Chicago’s most under-appreciated players in nose tackle Eddie Goldman. Their depth was certainly tested last season, and they handled the loss of Hicks the best they could’ve been expected to.

Heading into 2020, the Bears are returning the core of their defensive line, anchored by Hicks, Goldman, Nichols and Robertson-Harris. While they lost Williams to the Detroit Lions in free agency — a testament to his breakout season as a seven-year veteran — they did add some depth with former Bear John Jenkins and Brent Urban, who returns after signing with Chicago midway through last season.

Advantage: 2019

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