AZ54

Why was he released?

I'm not worried about his 1 year try-it-before-you buy it FA plans. Contracts like that cost more in the short term but it's worth it in terms of flexibility down the road. We again have $40mil in space next year and can easily get to $50mil by cutting players like McPhee and Wheaton. I think McPhee will restructure his contract and stay with the team another year. Moving on from Mike Glennon frees up another $11mil. We have lots of flexibility for FA but expect at least $15mil of that to go to signing CBs. At WR I preferred Robert Woods but he signed for a lot more than Wheaton did. I'm ok that Pace was looking more toward slotting that money to Cam Meredith. Unfortunately for him, Cam is a restricted FA in 2018 and his deal will not be as big as he was hoping for.

If his health allows him to return then I think he'll be back on the field. Pace will want to know if he can count on White for anything at all heading into next year. We all know he won't consider him as a starter but is he at least part of the depth chart? Markus Wheaton suffers from the same brittle player disease so I'll predict he ends up on IR with White taking his place later this season.

Watson isn't becoming more effective on longer passes. He's still inaccurate but sometimes his receivers are making the plays. Sometimes. His completion % on passes over 20 yards is little over 25%. Prescott in comparison is well over 50%. These are small sample sizes here so stay tuned. http://www.espn.com/nfl/player/splits/_/id.../deshaun-watson Jay Cutler can tell you that throwing up a jump ball isn't exactly precision passing but if it's Alshon Jeffrey downfield or Brandon Marshall then in some games it works. Other games it doesn't. Watson has work to do in order to be consistently accurate on his medium to deep routes. His work ethic and intelligence may get him there years down the road. I feel the same about Dak Prescott although he seems to struggle more in tight traffic throws (see redzone). Last year everyone put Prescott in the Hall of Fame. This year Texans fans are already putting Watson there (I've read some of their message boards). Patience is required. When you routinely see Prescott complete passes to players standing still with no defender around them (as it was often last year) you should question things a bit. This year so far Prescott is just an average QB and he already has as many INTs as he did all of last year. He still has a great Oline, great RB, one of the league's best #1 WRs, and a HoF TE to throw to. I don't see a Tom Brady here who is making others great. I see a QB you can win with. That's not all bad and IMO Watson fits in this category as well, but we knew that before the draft. I still think Trubisky has a higher ceiling despite his (or the Bears') slower start. He has some innate qualities that few possess. I look forward to seeing how this plays out with the rookie QBs if for no other reason to see if I'm right or wrong, and I like the debates. I've been wrong plenty of times about players we drafted over the years but since I started studying the draft a few year ago I've tried to learn more each year about what details to look for in the various positions.

I like this. We can't win early on plays with all the small WRs we had running around out there. The 8-in-the-box theme will continue until we beat it downfield and Gentry has the talent to do that.

I'm in a different place here. I thought our defense looked very good especially given the 4th and 5th string ILBs we had in the game. Losing Timu hurt, a lot, and afterward the Vikings went into almost nothing but screen passes which the ILBs couldn't read or stop. I suppose you can blame coaches for not preparing the 6th String ILB to play but I prefer they prepare the starter, Timu, and he looked prepared. Does anyone even know our defense is 6th overall in the league for yards/game? That's been done with quite a few moving pieces at ILB, CB, and OLB. So far we've done this against offenses from Atlanta, Green Bay, Pitt, and Tampa. Minn was the worst offense we've played. Get Kwit and Trev back inside and I'm looking forward to seeing this defense mature this season. The offense looked physically over-matched throughout at WR. Nobody is shocked at this. This is the best defense we'll see this season with the Panthers being a close second. I'm not worried about the conservative game plan with a rookie QB in his first game against this defense. For all the complaining about how bad our Oline is they gave up just a single sack. Yes it was a strip sack but going into this game I'd have bet most pundits here would expect the Oline to give up far more pressure and sacks. Nor do I care about Trubisky breaking out of the pocket under pressure a few times because that's what other QBs do to us. Other than that strip sack, things were handled well enough for Trubisky to make some reads downfield and then find an outlet to extend the play. The Vikings showed numerous blitzes overloading both sides of the line and for the most part they were handled well. Yes we kept in TEs to help often but I'm not going to fault Loggains for doing that with a rookie QB in his first start. Maybe others are expecting Trubisky and the WRs, TEs, RBs to all be on the same page for hot reads but I think that stuff will take some time. The scramble plays will get better as receivers get on the same page as Trubisky. He won't always have to use hand signals to tell players where to run. Defenders were reading those too. Now with game 1 of the Trubisky era out of the way it's time to start sending these TEs, Shaheen/Miller, on some play-action seam routes to start busting up these 8 in the box defenses.

Usually every year in FA you can add depth at WR, CB, S, and ILB. OT is more challenging to fix via FA and so is OLB if you want starter quality. If Eddie Jackson develops as we hope at FS then we are trying to find someone to play SS which is much easier to fill. ILB will still be deep next year with Freeman, Kwit, and Trev. With those three out this week it looks bad. Our CBs have played well. Not great. If we bring Prince and Fuller back and add a good young talent we should be ok here next year. All the good CB talent that was drafted this year could mean quite a few good vets are released for salary cap reasons.

Torn tricep. I still think OLB will be highest draft need next year. http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/footb...1007-story.html

By definition all potential is uncertain. Signing any player to a contract who has never played in the NFL is purely speculation about their potential, and nothing more. That speculation may be based on facts, but in some cases it may be based on hope (see Phil Emery drafts of players who were injured most of their college career). There is zero evidence Pace had (or now has) that much doubt about Trubisky. His trade up for the player was not done because he had strong doubts about his future. I think the media and their reaction to our draft day trade demonstrated a tremendous amount of doubt. That doubt among the media in itself has nothing to do with Pace. I think the deal for Glennon was all about protecting his young player early in his career so that he could reach his full potential later. You have to protect a tree when it's a sapling. It is obvious Pace never thought Glennon had that much potential to be an NFL starter or he'd have never made the trade for Trubisky. You have a strong draft philosophy regarding year 1 starting caliber players in the first round, especially in the top 10. You disagree with Pace's confidence in the value of the trade up for Trubisky and prefer to minimize your risk early in the draft by taking the higher certainty player. In later rounds you would draft players with more risk/potential. In most positions I agree, that makes sense. IMO there are a few positions on a roster where it takes more time to develop skills needed to perform well at the NFL level and at the top of that list is QB. How much time depends to a great extent on what they were asked to do in college. Part of the problem with proving this theory (play well early)is that teams drafting any player in the top 10 are usually bereft of talent at that position. That makes it easier for them to be a "starter" in week 1. That doesn't mean they are playing at a starter's level of play. Would you have drafted Urlacher with the 9th pick overall? My guess is no because that was a pure potential pick. I wasn't following the draft that closely back then but I'm doubtful I'd have supported that decision. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brian_Urlacher#NFL_Draft "Urlacher struggled to perform consistently in his first professional game, and lost his starting position to Rosevelt Colvin.[20] Jauron left Urlacher on the sidelines during the following week, as the Tampa Bay Buccaneers shut out the Bears, 41–0."

Trubisky showed class as well. I don't want to take away from Glennon's mature approach to his demotion because he deserves credit for handling this well. Read all the articles that are showing up with quotes from Bears' players. You can't help but feel that there's a new leader taking over this team, not just a new starting QB. In the end Glennon's role will have been to help Mitch learn how to be that leader even in tough times. I don't think he was brought here to be more than that. Well that and maybe be a ruse on what position we were drafting in Rd 1. Pace couldn't have pulled off the ruse with Cutler, Hoyer, or even Josh McCown.

I think it will take him at least another year to get to the weight and strength he needs to excel in pass rush. He will get sacks for us this year, at least as many as he had last year. We've played the Falcons, Bucs, and Steelers. In two of those games he was largely used in coverage. That won't be the case against the teams we'll see later in the season. One thing he must do is get off the snap quicker. Too often he's the last man moving forward.

Today's game plan made it more clear than ever that Trubisky time is headed our way. They now know Glennon's limitations (severe limitations) and are flat out just staying away from exposing them as much as possible. When they do make a change it will be a surprise because you much prefer the opponent game plans for 8 in the box to stop the run all day. Since winning the division is what matters most for making the playoffs this will likely happen against either the Packers or Vikings. I'm not sure they'll rock the boat after a big win this week but if the Packers game isn't going well for Glennon I have to think Trubisky plays in the 2nd half. We can't lose that game big without pulling out all stops.

Two weeks in a row Glennon throws an INT on a short route to a TE. In each case the TE, last week Sims this week Miller, cuts out to the right and the ball is thrown behind him to the defender.

If we can get our passing game going beyond 10 yards from the LOS then we will like Cohen in the slot a great deal. I don't see this happening until Trubisky takes over. Even if Wheaton can get open deep Glennon is too inaccurate to make consistent plays. Defenses will risk giving up one big play in a game to smother our running game and short passing game.

When questioned directly Loggains this week refused to say if Trubisky was running the scout team or was throwing to the 1st team. "Glennon is our starter." For now...

I go two plays and it's clear we just evaluate passing totally differently. 5. Horrible read and like Glennon it was all he read. 6. No doubting his elusiveness and running ability. Stupid, and bad inaccurate throw off his back foot into tight coverage in the red zone. In the future I hope he learns to just throw that one away but this is what we saw on his college tape too. 7. Again, I see inaccurate throw to an open WR Miller who has to extend out so far to make the catch he loses his footing. 8. I agree, good pocket awareness and he stays in to make the pass. He has two safety valves underneath and takes one for a good gain. It is hard to know what he had downfield if anything but this was a positive play.

I'm curious how many highlights were there of a QB who threw for 125 yds and a 5.2ypc average? We'll just agree to disagree about what successful QB play is because I don't see a guy coming off his first read very often at all. I see a lot of inaccurate throws too and quite a few bad reads where he was very lucky he wasn't picked off. Quite often they give him a roll out with simple high low reads. We'll be doing some of the same things with Trubisky when he starts because he'll be overwhelmed at times and we'll want to simplify things for him to help get him into a comfort zone.

You want me to elaborate on someone who can make one read and run? In that sense he's better than Glennon who can just make one read. Here's one article on his week 1 performance that "earned" him the starting job. http://www.espn.com/blog/houston-texans/po...tart-him-week-2 He has a whopping 4.8ypc but did manage to throw for 125 yards in Week 2. That compares to cement shoes Glennon's 6.5ypc career average and 301 yards last week. Glennon has one more TD and one more INT than Watson. Watson is throwing to Deandre Hopkins, Will Fuller 1st Rd pick, and Braxton Miller. Even though you want a comparison to Trubisky I used Glennon's numbers because he's horrible and that offers some perspective on Watson's performance as a starter. Which is what matters most. --- I don't believe either Watson or Kizer are ready to play in the NFL. I don't believe Trubisky is either but he's getting closer. None of this changes the fact I still believe Trubisky is the best QB among them, and has a good outlook long term. For all my anxiety waiting to see Glennon get benched they are doing the right thing by making sure the rookie has his playbook down, at least enough to command the huddle within the weekly game plan. He's also learning how defenses attack our offense without getting hit, and where there are plays to be made when they blitz. Beyond that, I think the throwing and pocket presence aspects of being a QB Trubisky has down far better than Glennon. We aren't very far from seeing the rookie take over.

I agree but that doesn't mean he knows the plays as well. Bellamy can work from multiple positions on the field. When Meredith eventually was brought up to the 53 his rookie year it was because he had become comfortable with much of the playbook as well.

Clips of Glennon's turnovers are showing up and after watching things he was even worse than I first thought. First thought was that he's terrible. https://www.windycitygridiron.com/2017/9/19...nfl-week-2-2017 https://duckduckgo.com/?q=glennon+sack+fumb...iai=DgX8pE9pzKM I've seen blame on the Oline for the sack fumble but in reality he has a hot read in Wright wide open. When they bring 6 you should throw into the coverage gap behind the blitz. People talked about Massie giving up edge pressure but Noah Spence ran 10 yards upfield to get around Massie. On the INT when throwing to Bellamy after the game Glennon said Bellamy had turned his defender around. Just watching the game live we all knew that was never truth. The DB sat on the route, an obvious read for any QB, and if you are throwing there it has to be high outside over the DB. Then you look at the film and see both Jordan Howard and Wright wide open across the middle with room to run. Neither was close to the 1st down marker but Bellamy was also 2 yards short of it. We got rid of Cutler because of reads like this, and the subsequent INT. I should give Jay more credit though because he would have at least tried to get the ball over the top of the defender instead of putting it into his chest. The first INT we've already spoken about Shaheen being left alone 5 yards outside of Sims. The guy covering Shaheen leaves him immediately after the snap. The Buccaneers were free to blitz however they wanted because they knew Glennon was only going to his first read. His first read never included the blitz even though it was obvious what was going on at the LOS before the snap. The worst part of this is that I have to watch this guy again this Sunday.

He'll be back.

http://www.chicagobears.com/multimedia/vid...94-4d17d533faf9

After the Atlanta game was so close the coaching staff (and likely Pace) decided they could shelve Tru for a bit and have him run the scout team. If a change is headed our way, not necessarily this week, then Trubisky will get reps with the starters this week instead of the scout team.

Much focus is put on the Glennon show but there were a couple good things in the Tampa game. Eddie Jackson...still a rookie and still learning but he looks like a long term starter for us. On more than one occasion he ended up arriving at the WR with the ball. Given our CBs were Cooper and Fuller I was worried about DeSean Jackson having a big day. That didn't happen and I think Jackson was a big part of that. He made a great TFL in the 2nd half. Overall he finished as our leading tackler. Kyle Fuller... through two games against two very good offenses Fuller has been good. Not great but good, and I'm one who wanted him off the team. He's been good enough that he may stay on the field when Amukamara returns. Tanner Gentry... just his first game in but looked like he belongs.

I'm sticking with Trubisky. I liked Kizer at one point but his throws into the dirt, which continued at the combine, and continue in the NFL, plus his interviews convinced me he doesn't have the ability to win long term. Watson I never liked. He's a smart guy but he's clearly overwhelmed this early in the season. For the 2018 draft from what I've seen so far among the supposedly wonderful 2018 QBs I only like Darnold. He has some limitations but I think he'll be a good QB in the NFL. Rosen is a statue and makes the occasional Cutleresque throw. The only thing I see from Josh Allen is that he needed Tanner Gentry more than Gentry needed him. Nonetheless he'll be a 1st Rd pick.