The Sun-Times’ experts can answer your Bears questions all week on Twitter. Here’s a sampling of queries sent to @patrickfinley, who responds with more than 140 characters:
Which players or unit should we see the most improvement from in the 2nd half of the season?
— Joseph Fanning (@RealJoey517) November 3, 2017
The bar the wide receivers have to clear is limbo-low. Trade acquisition Dontrelle Inman will make his debut against the Packers, and Markus Wheaton (groin) shouldn’t be far behind. They’ve totaled three catches for 13 yards this year, but they’re still the Bears’ most accomplished receivers. And noodle this one: Since the Bears released veteran receiver Deonte Thompson, he has 12 catches for 193 yards in three games with the Bills. The Bears’ entire receiving corps has eight catches for 159 yards in that stretch.
- Is this the real Kyle Fuller?
— Brian Sandalow (@BrianSandalow) November 2, 2017
- What's Vic Fangio's future with the team?#Bears https://t.co/MeRb6QZvnJ
Two-parter! Fangio is in the final year of his three-year deal as the Bears’ defensive boss and is their only coordinator not under contract beyond this year. He said during training camp that he wasn’t looking to go anywhere, but we’ll see. As for Fuller, this version of him is certainly what former Bears general manager Phil Emery thought he was getting when he drafted the cornerback in the first round in 2014. Coaches attribute Fuller’s attitude to health and a snowballing confidence — he has flipped Cam Newton and Mark Ingram in consecutive weeks — but I need to see more than a half-season before making any grand declarations.
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#Bears when is the 5th year option deadline? Assuming Kevin White is a baller the first weeks of 2019 do u see any chance they go 4 the 5YO
— andrew (@drewmolina) November 3, 2017
Teams have until May 3 to extend a fifth-year option to any 2015 first-round pick. There is zero chance the Bears give White one. The option costs a bit north of $13.3 million; that’d be about $630,000 for each of White’s 21 career catches.
It seems like the offense has abandoned short pass, quick release, screen and Wide out screens off of play action for longer routes if so Y?
— Greg (@Andrelee72) November 2, 2017
The Bears are a bad screen team. Mitch Trubisky’s passer rating is well below the NFL average behind the line of scrimmage, per NFL Next Gen Stats, particularly to the center (54.6 passer rating vs. 91.2 league average) and to the right (70.1 vs. 87.3). The Bears are running more sprint-outs and play-action passes to take advantage of Trubisky’s accuracy on the run. The timing of screens takes a more delicate touch. It should improve with time.
Pro Football Focus has him graded as the second-best safety in the NFL; his 3.2 yards per completion are tops among all safeties. Is it because of Jackson? I doubt it, though the rookie’s ball-hawking tendencies pair well with Amos’ tackling.
With the development of Trubisky what do you think the bears do with Glennon after this season
— Jontel Biles (@LordPettiton) November 2, 2017
There’s no way the Bears pay Glennon $15 million next year to be the backup.
Follow me on Twitter @patrickfinley.
Email: pfinley@suntimes.com
