An exclusive interview with Mike Burzawa of “Bear Goggles On”
The Philadelphia Eagles meet the Chicago Bears on Monday, and prior to the game, we sat down with “Bear Goggles On” to get the inside scoop.
Bear Goggles On is a site on Fansided dedicated exclusively to covering all things concerning the Chicago Bears, and recently, we sat down with Mike Burzawa for an interview prior to their contest with the Philadelphia Eagles on Monday Night Football.
Here are the results of the interview:
1. ITI: How would you grade Jay Cutler at this point in his career? He’s sliced us up before, but are the concerns about his so-called lack of killer instinct valid? How do you see him performing on Monday?
Burzawa: Is “meh” a grade? I think Cutler has been a disappointment based on what the Bears gave up for him and their lack of playoff appearances during his tenure. When the Bears shipped Kyle Orton and a pair of first round picks to Denver, the Bears thought they were getting a Pro Bowl quarterback, yet he’s failed to get back to Hawaii since his arrival in 2009.
Cutler is what he is. He’ll dazzle you with throws into seemingly impossible window and then he’ll throw the most lame-brained interception or cough up a strip sack fumble on the next play. I wouldn’t say Cutler doesn’t have the “killer instinct” as much as he just can’t seem to put it all together consistently.
For Monday night, I actually have high expectations for Cutler. He’s got a 93.4 quarterback rating with 26 TD’s to just 11 INT’s on Monday nights. Against the Eagles, he’s got a 2-2 record in his career with 8 TD’s to just 2 picks. Those stats would point to a decent night. Add to that another week of preparation and work with the new offensive line that should hope to improve on their poor performance where Cutler got battered and beaten up by the Houston Texans. Look for Cutty to go for about 270 yards with a couple of TD’s and the requisite interception.
2. ITI: What are the names, on both offense and defense, that Eagles fans need to be made aware of if they haven’t gotten an opportunity to research this Bear’s team?
Burzawa: I’ll give you a pair of rookies to look out for. On the offensive side of the ball, we’ve got pseudo-rookie wide receiver Kevin White. He got off to a rough start to his professional career with just three catches for 34 yards on seven targets. Most importantly and what’s most remembered from his debut performance, White ran the wrong route that led to a Cutler interception. People are questioning whether Cutler and White can get on the same page. I expect the Bears to try to answer that on Monday night.
On the other side of the ball, look out for rookie outside linebacker Leonard Floyd. With the Bears best pass rusher Pernell McPhee on the PUP list to start the season, Floyd is being thrust into action. He played in 80% of the Bears defensive snaps in Week 1, more than anyone expected. He notched a half sack against the Texans and flashed some crazy speed off the edge. The big knock of Floyd is that he’s undersized, so if a blocker locks in on him, he’s toast. It will interesting to see how both rookies progress in Week 2 in prime time.
3. ITI: How good can Chicago be in 2016? How close are far away are they from consistently being able to compete with the Vikings and Packers?
Burzawa:
The Bears brought head coach John Fox in because he’s got a reputation of relatively quick turnarounds. In his previous two head coaching stops, he’s taken teams to the playoffs within his second season. Many Bears fans had hoped for that but wonder whether that’s too lofty of an expectation.
The Bears needed to overhaul and upgrade their talent on both sides of the ball. They let their last class of stars, guys like Brian Urlacher, Lance Briggs, Charles Tillman, get old without grooming competent successors. Fox came in and wanted to push out guys that weren’t on the same page like Martellus Bennett and Brandon Marshall.
Now the Bears have a lot of fresh faces and this group needs time to gel and come together. Fans are expecting improvement over their 6-10 season last year, touting an increase in talent and an easier schedule. They have to remember that the (Minnesota) Vikings and (Green Bay) Packers will play largely the same easier schedule. That leaves the Bears hoping for a Wild Card berth, but even a chance for that will require some luck.
4. ITI: Where are the strengths and weaknesses of this team on offense and defense? What’s been the talk your way about what they plan to do against Wentz and the offense?
Burzawa: I think the Bears are still trying to find their identity on offense. They say they want to be a running team yet they only ran the ball 18 times where they held the lead for much of the game and heading into the fourth quarter. I’d like to see the Bears try to run the ball early to be able to establish a play action passing game.
On the defensive side of the ball, their front-7 has to be their strength. They invested a lot of free agent dollars and draft picks to rebuild their defensive line and linebacking corps. Add the re-built front-7 to defensive guru Vic Fangio‘s scheme and you’ve got an opportunity to try to confuse and confound a rookie quarterback like Carson Wentz. He had a nice debut, but he’s not facing the Cleveland Browns this week.
5. ITI: What’s your prediction for Monday night? How does this one turn out?
Burzawa: The Bears were a pathetic 1-7 at home last season, so a big emphasis has been on improving their record at home. That starts Monday night against the Eagles, who are in a bit of a rebuild after ousting Chip Kelly last season. I expect to see the Bears run the ball and hit some play action passes on offense. On defense, I’d expect to see a lot of different looks from the defense in an attempt to confuse rookie signal caller Carson Wentz.
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It should be a good game between fairly equally matched teams, but I expect the Bears to prevail. Let’s say Bears 24, Eagles 20 in a game decided in the fourth quarter.