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AZ54

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Everything posted by AZ54

  1. I see nothing in there about off the field or non-football related guarantees. Roquan has the protections he sought against football related suspensions but that was reportedly agreed to weeks ago. I don't see where the bar moved much, if at all, over the last three weeks.
  2. We'll never know but the fact is shortly after Jalen Ramsey and Dante Fowler were suspended for non-football stuff the Roquan Smith deal was complete. Unless you count Fowler fighting his defensive teammate over and over again as a football act. I was going to post something yesterday that, if anything, that incident should just make Pace further dig in his heels. Then I logged in and saw the rumor that Roquan had agreed to terms. I'm sure there are multiple facets to this as there always are in negotiations. For one, with just 3 weeks left in the preseason it is now or never if Roquan wants to be a starter. I'll just say that I don't believe Fowler and Ramsey helped Roquan in his contract dispute over non-football behavior not affecting his salary guarantee. When you look toward next year's negotiations all GMs are going to keep that in mind as well when CAA comes calling. Based on history we know a few more NFL players will surely provide more fodder during the season and next offseason.
  3. It's unusual for Jeffrey to be injured before the season starts.
  4. AZ54

    Knile Davis

    Cunningham is injured but I don't know how serious it is. We still have a lot of practices to get through, not to menton preseason games. I think the ways we are going to use Cohen is being kept under wraps as well so he'll be very limited. Add in that Smoke Mizzell didn't look good in the first two games so why not bring in Davis who already knows the offense?
  5. It's his versatility that makes him an intriguing addition to the offense. From RB, to FB, to h-back or U-TE there's nothing great but a lot of good. If he can handle the special teams roles well then there's a lot of value in having someone so like that at the bottom of the roster.
  6. CAA had 5 of the top 10 or 12 draft picks. Isn't that collusion on their part since almost all of them held out or where among the last to sign? Pace and the Bears should just hold firm.
  7. AZ54

    Chasing Autographs

    It seems every year the 3rd string QB looks good. They have the biggest throwing lanes and the most open WRs. FWIW last year the 3rd string QB at this time was Trubisky. Besides him we've had favorable reviews come through this board on QBs like Fales, Barkley, and others against preseason fodder and our hopes were set that they could be viable #2's. It never happens. In this case Bray has a very weak arm.
  8. I haven't seen the game and since NFL Network won't show a replay until Wed I won't even waste my time. From reading the comments and articles with a lot of "here we go again" it seems surprising to me. Nagy has a very long camp and preseason in which to evaluate players. On offense he has been rotating almost all players through with the one's. Or at least Trubisky is throwing to everybody. As we headed toward this last game that started to shift and Trubisky was throwing more to 1's and 2's. Nonetheless we're a whopping 3 weeks into this team learning a new offense and many expected they'd come out and play well. Why? They've barely put together two good practices on offense in camp. There is a lot to this offense with read options (not RPO's) on WR routes based on coverages. It's going to take some time for Trubisky and Co. to get on the same page. Add in that he's been working with "everyone" which must be about 20 different receivers when you consider all the RBs, WRs, and TE's in camp. Over the next couple weeks the first string offense will start taking shape, including the Oline starters, and they can work on fine tuning the details. In the meantime Nagy has been able to evaluate many of the depth players against his starters. For a coach who insists he's looking for a diamond in the rough he using the extra time in camp this year wisely IMO. I don't think we need to go further than Rashad Coward and all the positive comments on him to see the benefits of this. I'm not as critical, or worried, about Kevin White's performance as others are. After 3 straight years being seriously injured he has to get over the mental hurdle of surviving a real tackle football game without being injured. Until he puts that behind him, if he can, we won't see him making those highlight reel plays that he had in college. Anyone who has played as a receiver knows that to truly focus on the ball in the air you need to trust your body to take on the physical hits that are coming. Plus, despite the lack of catches he did find his way open against a good starting NFL CB. I expect he came out of this game with some newfound confidence and we'll see what he does with it. Even then this process will take the entire preseason and part of regular season but I think each week we'll get more and more glimpses that the confidence is returning. I really want to see Daniels play but from all I've read, and highlights I've seen, I strongly suspect that he ends up our starting Center in week 1. Of course I have zero issues that the coaches are making him earn that. Whitehair IMO has never looked fully comfortable there and sliding him back to LG would be good for us and him. If Daniels can earn the starting C spot then we've got Whitehair and Kush as backup OCs. That's not bad at all and I still think as we get closer to the regular season we can start considering trading Grasu. It might be a bit early to make a trade but after next week's game if the right offer comes along? Trading him early I wouldn't bite on a conditional 7th Rd pick.
  9. I have no problem trading Roquan Smith for Mack.
  10. It is more pertinent everyday he holds out. I don't know what the hold up is about but at this point I don't even care anymore. If he wanted to be here he'd have been here, even if it meant negotiating face to face with the Bears. If I were in Pace's shoes I'd be silent with my best and final offer already on the table. However, soon that can start turning into saving money and you just look at your losses and write them off and learn from them. In the meantime I''m good with no-Kwiat and Trevathan. I like Iggy too and I think he can turn into a pretty good backup ILB for us now, and a starter down the road, so I look forward to seeing him play in the preseason.
  11. There's very little discussion here but the practices on Sunday and Monday were excellent for the offense. Trubisky is starting to put it all together and instead of trying to place the ball as he did earlier in camp he's just slinging it into tight gaps in the defense. Plus he seems to be building a very good connection and trust with Robinson, not to mention Anthony Miller. If you aren't able to catch some of the videos out of camp Jordan Howard continues to catch the ball much better than last year. This one may look like nothing much but last year he'd have either dropped this ball, or come to a complete standstill to make the catch. This year he has the ability to flip his hips while getting his hands in the right spot to catch ball and quickly and smoothly transitions to running upfield. Defenders will have to be a step closer to him this year on pass coverage or he'll make them pay.
  12. That's what I was thinking but that's still better than nothing.
  13. AZ54

    Ex-Bears

    I'm just scanning reports from around the league and have come across a few surprising "starters" who used to play for the Bears: Vikings: Cornelius Edison will be the starting center for the Vikings this week. Elflein is still their starter but I was still surprised to see them relying on Edison to protect Cousins on his first outing. Tom Compton will be next to him. http://www.startribune.com/vikings-kai-forbath-in-tough-roster-battle-with-daniel-carlson-s-big-powerful-leg/490179021/ With Easton, Elflein and right guard Mike Remmers — who is battling an ankle injury — out again Monday, the Vikings put Tom Compton at left guard, second-year man Cornelius Edison at center and Danny Isidora at right guard. Steelers: Jon Bostic is in the lead to be the starting OLB replacing Ryan Shazier. https://triblive.com/sports/columnists/kevingorman/13938984-74/kevin-gorman-steelers-jon-bostic-embracing-opportunity-at-inside-linebacker Colts: Andrew Luck will have his blind side protected by J'Marcus Webb this week. Given the nature of the injuries on their Oline that might carry into the regular season. http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap3000000945235/article/nfl-training-camp-winners-and-losers-young-receivers-flashing General manager Chris Ballard admitted that he "screwed up" the team's 2017 offensive line and spent the offseason building depth on the unit. That depth is already being tested, with recent signee J'Marcus Webb going from the street to first-team left tackle in less than a week.
  14. With the unexpected good play of Kush continuing as we near the end of camp the news yesterday was that Daniels will spend the next week practicing at Center. Keep in mind Kush just started the Hall of Fame game at Center and Hiestand said he played well. That means is Kush is the starter at LG he might be the backup Center on game day, or it could be Daniels. Right now it appears the top 3 options at Center are Whitehair, Kush, Daniels. It seems clear Grasu is on the outside looking in as he competes for a roster spot. It's hard to know what coaches think of other interior backups like Morgan and Watford but if they feel they can be viable backups this could be the right time to swing a trade and get something in exchange for Grasu. The Cardinals just lost their starting Center AQ Shipley to a torn ACL. They have options on their roster but you never know who else might be looking for help. We won't get much for Grasu now but we won't get anything after final cuts are made. http://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/24287110/2018-nfl-training-camp-preseason-position-battles-watch
  15. AZ54

    Hall of Fame game

    Nothing says Wims can't excel but there's been nothing from camp saying he's doing that consistently. There's a ton of positive coverage on Miller beating Fuller and Amukamara at times, and all over the field. Wims played ok against 3rd/4th string players from Baltimore and to be fair he's made some good plays in camp as well. I just don't see him breaking into the top 3 WRs on our roster. I do see him filtting in as a 4th/5th WR but right now White is clearly ahead of him. I don't think Wims will beat out Bellamy on special teams. If we keep 6 WRs Wims has a good chance of being #6. If we keep 5 WRs I think special teams win out and Bellamy has the edge. I'm not as sold as others are that we'll keep 6 WRs because with a coach heavily focused on using multiple TE sets it seems we'd be more likely to keep 4 TEs. Plus Cohen is going to be used quite a bit as a receiver, even lining up there often. That could mean we keep 4 RBs, or 3 RBs and FBs. It's hard to predict how the last few roster spots will be filled and of course injuries will factor into that too.
  16. https://www.chicagobears.com/news/urlacher-shows-humility-gratitude-in-speech Class act all the way. As a fan I'm proud to say he's a Hall of Fame Chicago Bear. I'm glad he introduced my kids to great Bears defense and that great MLB tradition we have.
  17. There are some early signs the offense is starting to come together. Anthony Miller is going to surprise a lot of people this season. I can include myself in that group as I wasn't that high on him in the draft process although the 2nd Rd seemed to be the right value for him. He's going to line up against other team's second or third best CB and that looks more and more like a huge advantage for the Bears. It also appears that Trubisky is starting to feel more confident in this new WR group considering all the tight window throws he completed today. https://www.nbcsports.com/chicago/bears/postcard-bears-training-camp-allen-robinson-anthony-miller-mitch-trubisky
  18. I'd do it. Now is the time to take that chance while Trubisky is on his first contract. We gotta get Goldman setup as well IMO but we could do that if get a bit creative. We have $26mil in cap space right now, and projected to be -$40mil next year. That's from OvertheCap.com project cap space for our For sure Kevin White would be gone, replaced by Miller of course. Amos too, replaced by Bush. A bit of that $40 comes back to us because we wouldn't pay 1st or 2nd Rd picks next so that should push cap room closer to $43mil. Depending on how well he plays we might lose a player like Callahan, and that may or may not be a big deal. However, DBs become less of an issue with a strong pass rush. We'll probably start shedding some of these million dollar special teams players like McManus, Bellamy ($2mil/yr). Bellamy's deal is done anyway, McManus is on the books next year at $2mil, this year $1.5mil.
  19. AZ54

    Hall of Fame game

    Forgot to add that Bilal Nichols looks strong and he moved better than I expected. How quickly he can grow his skills into those of an NFL player could prove interesting given the battle we have for RDE. Or would the Bears keep him exclusively behind Hicks so Hicks get more snaps off?
  20. AZ54

    Hall of Fame game

    I watched the game and tried to focus on a few players. Fitts ... first off he's more stout taking on blocks than I expected. Considering he was going against Orlando Brown Jr, who was considered a 1st Rd talent until he ran the slowest forty ever, Fitts had reasonably good competition to evalaute his play. I thought Fitts held his ground against the 6-8" 345lb RT and was able to use his speed to his advantage at times. It did appear as though Fitts had little pass rush plan at the snap but that's pretty much any rookie pass rusher. He looked agile in coverage too, able to turn and run. Overall he belongs on an NFL field and has some good long term potential. Irving ... it's hard to remember him from last year but it appears he's in better shape and a bit quicker off the snap. I don't recall much variation in pass rush as he seemed to rely on his speed to win the edge. When he won the edge he turned the corner but when engaged with the OT he offered little. He too has much work to do on his pass rush techniques but felt like he might be able to contribute in a backup role this year. Between him and Fitts I give Fitts the edge at this point in time but that's mostly because I see him having more potential. RRH vs. Bullard... Only noticed a couple plays by RRH and his bull rush for a sack IMO showed a lot of growth on that technique versus last year. For Bullard, all I can say is that against this level of competition I wish he would have been more noticeable. The camp battle continues. Wims... looks great on contested catches but unlike most I wish he didn't have to make so many contested catches. Outside of scheme getting him open I saw little to no separation and this was against players who won't be in the NFL this year. Tanner Gentry has the same issues but Wims is better going up high for the ball. Despite all the hype I still predict Wims makes the practice squad. Unless there is an injury, when it comes to WRs who is he going to beat for a roster spot? When you get to the 5th spot he will not beat out Josh Bellamy. People will say ah but he has better hands than Bellamy. True but he clearly doesn't have the speed for coverage teams that Bellamy has. Nall... He looks a little slow in his cuts. I did like how he handled pass protection blocks as he was tossing around blitzing DBs. Need to see more to evalaute him. Burton... It appears he worked on his agility this off-season because he seems a bit quicker in his cuts and he made at least one very difficult catch over his head, and almost had a second IIRC. At least they are difficult for a FB in those huge pads he's wearing. If the battle is between him and Nall for a roster spot it won't be settled until the end of preseason as it appears the coaches are giving Nall (based on his playing time) a good shot to learn the offense and let the best player win the job.
  21. Not so sure about next year's first in that deal but the trade concept I like. Having to pay out one of the biggest contracts, if not the biggest, for a defensive player is a tough pill to swallow.
  22. There are still a lot of timing and execution issues to iron out especially when you consider the volume of plays and especially all the read-options both WRs and QBs have depending on the what the defense does. Still it is good to hear that Trubisky has at least learned the playbook quickly. https://www.chicagobears.com/news/trubisky-exceeding-daniel-s-expectations
  23. The league has created a system where it fines defensive players far more often than offensive players. For years defensive players have been fined while RBs and even WRs and QBs (Cam Newton) sometimes barreled head first into them. I'm not surprised at all to see players being more cautious when the league throws out some new rule even they can't properly explain.
  24. I like this about Nagy. https://chicago.suntimes.com/sports/bears-training-camp-report-observations-analysis-eighth-practice/ Other observations After Mitch Trubisky threw interceptions to Nick Kwiatkoski, Prince Amukamara and Cre’Von LeBlanc, Nagy reiterated that he wasn’t concerned: “I love the fact that he’s trying to learn this offense and make throws. I’d rather him do that than take the five-yard check-down.’’ ----------------------------------- I haven't been to camp but on some of the videos it's obvious to me that Mitch is going to make the downfield throws. Every play we run seems to have a checkdown option. When you think back to Alex Smith who was known for playing it safe, it was Nagy who helped him open up his vision and make more deep passes the last couple seasons in KC. The only way to get comfortable and get the timing down is to throw the ball that way. We have 5 weeks of training camp, the first game is still about 40 days away. There is plenty of time to before the season starts.
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