AZ54

I'm with you here, go for a comp pick.

First and foremost I saw something I hadn't seen all last year and that was an NFL offense in a Bears uniform. Everyone seems to be focused on the mistakes, and there were too many, but still against the Broncos defense our offense belonged on the field. I especially liked how much pressure the Broncos brought on many plays. They mixed up all sorts of pressure packages and coverages and this was excellent for our offense to learn against. For the majority of the plays Trubisky looked like he was in command of things and comfortable in where he should go with the ball. Nothing showed that more than the play where they blitzed heavy off the right side and the Oline picked it up and Trubisky calmly and quickly hit Burton on an in cut 15 yards down field. There was an easy underneath option for Trubisky, maybe it was Cohen, but he knew he had something better if he just waited another second. I didn't expect we'd see that maturity in a new offense with so many new players in just the 3rd preseason game. Much work remains to be done but IMO this was a big step forward for the unit as a whole and gives them some solid ground to build off of. See the first play in these highlights: https://www.chicagobears.com/video/highlights-bears-vs-broncos Oline. Kyle Long and Whitehair still have to get blocking assignments down. Long does not look like the player he was two years ago but he's progressing. Again, the looks Denver provided on blitzes will help them when they review the film. Daniels looked ok this game. I tried to focus on him and Coward in the 2nd half. I don't see much negative in Daniel's play and maybe some things he can improve upon. Likewise with Coward who held up well against the backups and can mirror pass rushers far better than Massie. I'm not sure how well he can anchor against starting level players but his arrow is still pointing upward and he plays with a bit of a bad attitude which I like. His potential might put him on the 53, but his inexperience might keep him off it. WRs: Miller is the real deal. Nobody is really talking about Kevin White but for the first time this year I saw him return as a football player. He was aggressive coming back for the deep pass that led to a PI call. You don't go up for the ball like that if you are worried about getting hurt. On several short routes he ran with confidence into traffic. RBs: Tarik Cohen is a bit lost in this offense still. They've put a lot on his plate and he still has a lot to learn. DTs: Between RRH, Bullard, and Nichols I see three backup players. Each had their moments of good and moments of bad so expect a rotation of players here until someone settles into a starting role. Goldman was moving well with his lighter frame and was disruptive up the middle on several plays. We need to sign him long term. OLBs: I think Acho is much better than people give him credit for. He's not a star, so don't get your knickers in a twist, but he's become a good OLB for us. I think I saw the play where Floyd was injured. It didn't look like much but you never know. Between Kylie Fitts, Irving, and now Edebali there's not much to write about. Edebali's sack was when he got to the edge quickly but beyond that there isn't much to his game and he doesn't have much length to hold off blockers. Irving too looks like a 1-trick pony needing to win with speed or nada, but I see more versatility in his game than Edebali's. Fitt's did hold up well on several run plays but his pass rush was not very creative, just straight into the OT and were easily handled. Fitts is the most fluid of the 3 when dropping into coverage. If I'm choosing two of the three it remains Irving and Fitts. DBs: Didn't miss Cooper at all, and that's not to say Doran Grant looked good. Grant played so conservative giving up lots of ground but at least his fundamentals on tackling were more sound than Cooper. In the 2nd half It was easy to see the potential of Joseph and Tolliver. Joseph lacks deep speed but was more physical than I expected him to be, and showed some good quickness when driving on out cuts. Tolliver looks like he has starter potential but was giving up too many plays. Tolliver had one outstanding tackle in run defense stopping the RB cold and putting him on the ground. I'm done with Crevon LeBlanc. Stupid plays like catching a punt at the 5yd line and athletically he just doesn't match up well as a DB. If we're keeping 5 CBs Amukamara, Fuller, Callahan, and ?, ?. Watch who plays in the 2nd half next week, and who doesn't. LBs: I know Roquan is penciled in by many to be our starter but Kwiatkoski is playing well and is much better in coverage than last year. Iggy moves well too in coverage. Trevathan hinted that 3 ILBs could see the field in some packages and I can see that. I saw one defensive play where we had just two down linemen so I'd say we'll see all 3 at times.

We'll know a lot more tonight. At this point we're almost a month into the camp/preseason so I hope a lot of the basics are getting habitual for Coward. More importantly he's had two games' experience and film study to learn from and now two days of practice against some good Dline players in Denver. He should be much more confident in his ability which will slow things down on the field.

I finally got to watch the game, at least the first half and focused on Coward. He definitely moves much better than Massie and his power was evident on more than one run block. He still looks tentative in his kick step and maybe his hand use so he's clearly thinking his way through things. With experience that should smooth out but for now he's just a better athlete than Massie so he can recover quicker from mis-steps.

I haven't yet seen the Bengals game but Rashad Coward is getting a lot of positive reviews for his play at RT. Many are saying he's doing well enough, given his very limited experience, that he could be the replacement for Massie at RT next year. I haven't seen the Bengals game yet although there is a replay at 7am. Anyone here take notice of Coward and how he played this past weekend? It sounds as if he had a ton of snaps. If true it would appear the coaches are definitely giving him a chance to learn the position and perhaps stick on the final roster. He's someone to keep an eye on as we get reports back from practices in Denver and then the game.

No, and that's why Pace agreed to that stuff early on in the process.

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.

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.

It's unusual for Jeffrey to be injured before the season starts.

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?

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.

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.

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.

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.

I have no problem trading Roquan Smith for Mack.

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.

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.

This is funny...

That's what I was thinking but that's still better than nothing.

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.

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

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.

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.

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

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.