AZ54

It’s too soon to know what we’ve got but I wouldn’t start by trading the player that is in the lead of the group. For sure we’re not keeping 3 at LT with ozzy returning this season.

VDB keeps moving up and now this news is starting to make me optimistic about our Dline. We desperately needed one interior pass rusher. What we don’t know is if the rest of the Dline is so average or bad that it’s easy for him to standout. We do know we have a good Oline inside. I’m watching for news on who he’s beating on the Oline to see if I should get on the hype train. There’s been no talk here about the backup DBs we recently signed. I really like the pickup of Xavier Woods. He adds lots of experience and he’s a good football player. He is a bit limited in some aspects and a 25% missed tackle rate likely explains why he was available. Now we roll into the season with two good starters, and then Hicks and Woods as backups along with Cam Lewis. Backups are all backups for a reason but with that much game experience on the bench I think we have the best depth at Safety in a very long time. If you geek out on film as I do then here you go: The Bears also added a promising depth piece at CB in Beanie Bishop. He’s little (hence the nickname?) but quick. Definitely not fast but as a UDFA he had some productive snaps for the Steelers in 2024 after making the 53 and ended up starter. Then cut, goes to NO, gets suspended for 3 games but don’t know why and now he’s here. I said he’s not fast but I see now on his pro day he ran a 4.39 forty I just don’t see that in pads. The Wikipedia link has the full pro day stats. He’s a football player player type, I like how he fights through blocks but for a 180lb guy I have to think there are plenty of times he just gets pushed aside. Seems like a fit in the slot. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beanie_Bishop "Bishop signed with the Pittsburgh Steelers as an undrafted free agent on April 27, 2024.[14]Bishop notably made the Steelers' 53 man roster out of training camp as a UDFA, even earning a starting job in the secondary after an impressive offseason. During a Week 7 game against the New York Jets on Sunday Night Football, Bishop intercepted two passes from Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers, both of which would ultimately lead to touchdowns for Pittsburgh as they won 37–15.[15] During a Week 8 game against the New York Giants on Monday Night Football, Bishop secured a game ending interception against Daniel Jones, Pittsburgh won 26–18.[16] Bishop was named Defensive Rookie of the Month for October having: 16 tackles, 5 pass deflections, 3 interceptions, and 2 tackles for loss."

That’s what I’m thinking. The biggest surprise so far has been the fact that Dayo is almost exclusively taking snaps at DT. That continued even after Sweat went down.

Each day we’re getting a little bit spoiled as we hear about these good plays on offense. Seems like there are always a couple standouts each day. For some perspective a coworker is a Bills fan. He smiled and told me the fans are really happy with DJ. He’s making big plays every day. I said yes he’s good, who else you got? The smile left his face and he said “nobody”. Enjoy this ride it’s been a long time coming.

For PIX

Harbor has been complaining about the DTs and DEs all summer. Haven’t seen much optimism from him on those positions, at least until a couple days ago when he said the DTs overall were moving around much better than he anticipated. Still no single DT has really stood out as a problem for offensive linemen. When you listen to press conferences at Halas Hall, Herb Howard is the one reporter who asks more detailed questions and does not typically ask the stupid and useless “what does it mean to you” style of questions. How people get paid for that garbage is beyond me. Today two reporters asked that of Jahdae and kudos to him because on the repeat he said “like I said earlier…. “

I like Biggs. I like Herb Howard and Clay Harbor more because they’re more detailed on knowledge of what it takes to succeed on the field and how players compare to that standard. If it ain’t good they’ll say so.

Aside from the fact he had an INT today there is no reason to worry about Thieneman after 9 practices. You just have to read the tea leaves a bit and realize the coaches are moving him around. I don’t think that’s a case of not knowing where he fits. It’s because they want him as a chess piece to mask coverages. IMO you don’t do that with a guy who can’t learn.

A week into this camp and some things are becoming clear. LT: Jones is clearly in the lead. There have been plenty of reports that he’s playing stronger and that’s a good thing. However, there hasn't really been any outstanding praise either. Coaches say stuff like “Braxton is doing exactly what we expected of him”. Well I don’t know what you expected of him so is that praising him or just saying he’s doing what he’s always done? Theo is not in the competition at this point. I think he’s being groomed primarily as the backup swing tackle. Kiran nobody talks about except when they realize they forgot to mention his name. He’ll be cut. That leaves Jedrick Wills as the player clearly in the 2nd spot behind Jones. Today Clay Harbor singled him out as having oustanding movement skills and power that shows up well in the padded practices (i.e. his 1st Rd talent is there). Wills obviously has the most to learn about the offense but coaches already have him ahead of Theo who got a lot of reps there last year. Also by keeping Theo as backup RT for now means more meaningful snaps at LT for Wills. Which is a way of saying they want to give Wills every opportunity to win the starting job if he can. If Wills, or even Jones, comes along quickly and shows clear starter potential then the Bears might have an odd problem on their hands. How many OL do you keep? If Theo is good enough to be your swing OT and you have a mending Ozzy available mid-season, do you keep Jones and Wills around? That’s a bit of luxury considering we need DB depth on the roster. This calculus includes the 3 TEs who can all help the LT, whoever that is, with inline blocking. Could we end up trading Jones or Wills before the season starts, or perhaps they let it playout further and trade mid-season? C: Bradbury is the same as expected… I’d love to see more from Logan Jones but it’s early. It’s a key position for Caleb and I don’t think any changes happen here until it’s the athletic upside offers more than the mental drop off. RT: I watch more press conferences or even podcasts with players. I’ve seen Darnell Wright over the years since we drafted him and he’s always come across as a bit of a shy guy, maybe a bit insecure. His press conference after signing the new contract was a totally different guy. I’ve never seen him speak with that level of maturity, clarity of thought, and purpose. I’m very curious to see what confident Darnell Wright looks like on the field. DTs: With pads on we’re learning that Grady Jarrett looks quick. There’s no splash play highlights but you can pick almost any beat reporter and they all say he’s moving much better than he was in camp at this time last year. Dexter looks more powerful per Clay Harbor. Perhaps, as Mongo wished, he’s being asked to be what he is, bulk up, and just take on the double team role. Harbor also said Gallimore, Street, and Van den Berg are all showing up well since the pads came on and that perhaps our Dline depth will be better than expected. Offense: It’s becoming more clear there is talent everywhere. Can’t wait to see them in Week 1. LB: TJ Edwards … just caught a short clip of him running some basic drills but he looks lighter on his feet and quicker. We weren’t the only ones listening to Poles, Johnson, Allen et al talk about the need to add more speed at LB. Being quicker doesn’t mean he’s faster top speed but he should stick with receivers on their breaks better, at least in the short area. DE: Still a concern but Booker looks to be earning the starting job across from Sweat. Dayo is moving inside often for pass rush. If Dayo is DE3 (not too exciting), then Turner is DE4 and we’ve yet to see him.

I agree about Hafley. Felt he had that D setup well for three quarters in each game.

Yikes. I thought $25mil/yr

Lots of run install today, 12 and 13 personnel, and it seems to have really messed up the rhythm of the offense. Van den Berg with the first pancake of camp taking Barnett to the ground.

Braxton has bulked up in a good way at least in his upper body. He’s never looked like that. In his press conference he talked openly about his struggles handling power. I’d assume the same effort went into fixing his lower body. We find out this week if it pays off.

With pads coming on this week there will be lots of things to watch for. One guy I’m curious about is Jayden Loving. He’s a UDFA who could easily wash out and be gone before the season starts. If he shows potential then most likely he makes the practice squad. The top 3 DTs are locks to make the roster: Jarrett, Dexter, Gallimore. Behind them it’s a crap shoot. I’m high on Vandenberg’s potential but he had just as many lowlights as highlights in college. Kentavious Street? DT4 and DT5 (expecting one guy to be on PS) is wide open. I’m hoping there’s a legit 3-man competition for those last two spots. Whoever wins those jobs are they going to be someone we can count on in games? Google Search is dead, AI scours the internet for you and provides a tidy summary: The Bears fit Jayden Loving because they’ve been trying to upgrade the interior defensive line with players who can do two things: hold up against the run and add more pass-rush juice from the middle. Loving’s profile lines up with that in a very “Bears defense-building” way. He’s a run-stopping DT archetype: Reports on his film/grades out of Wake point to him being especiallyeffective versus the run—exactly the type of interior presence Chicago wants to improve at.Sports Illustrated Athletic interior leverage (good “move-for-size” upside): The Bears have emphasized adding rawathleticism up front this offseason, and Loving checks that box—short/stout body, but with real burst andmovement ability for his size. Sports Illustrated1 He gives them rotational depth that can grow: Chicago also added multiple DT/DT-type pieces (via freeagency and the draft), and Loving fits as an upside option who can compete for early rotation snaps whilelearning the NFL game.