AZ54

I think Wheaton makes the team over Cruz based on his contract and what he offers in terms of a deep threat. Cruz just doesn't offer much of anything and we'd be better off going with at least one of the younger WRs. Plus I still think Cohen fills in as a slot WR for us and offers far more there than Cruz ever could. Kendall Wright has bad hands, but he's at least mobile enough to get open. The RB situation is interesting because Langford showed some patience and looked ok there. But he offers nothing on special teams so I think Cunningham is ahead of him. I don't think we'll keep 4 on the roster but we will keep a FB (Burton) and likely see Stevenson on the practice squad. I think we'll look to offset the loss of Meredith by keeping 4 TEs too. That helps both the running game and between Brown and Miller can provide some decent mismatches when they are split out wide.

It is preseason and he's learning a new offense with almost all new WRs who are learning this as well. It should have been no surprise that Meredith, the one WR who knew the offense the best, was his favorite target. More than anything for me the inaccuracy on his passes over 10 yards it was worries me. I just think that's his own limitation and it will never get better. Other things like reading defenses, knowing the playbook will. At least for once we can say he is just keeping the seat warm until our rookie QB is more comfortable with the playbook and reading defenses.

Have you looked at the Jets roster? Of course for them it doesn't matter because they don't have anyone who can be a decent QB.

If we keep Wright, and it appears that we will, then we should go with the youth movement in someone like Gentry or Davis. I was very surprised Davis was out there so early in the game. It seems we might have two options who have been productive this preseason to backfill Meredith's spot. That's not to say either can replace his production just that they might be viable NFL receivers.

I'm good with the players we have. Yes, that includes Houston. However, if Lord Fangio wants him over Houston then so be it. I know he's better than Acho but can or will he play special teams as well as Acho?

...and this is how Meredith got his start.

We almost paid Ricky Wagner $8 or $9mil/yr. It's impossible to know how high Pace was willing to go on his contract but he was in negotiations nearly to the end. Detroit ended up paying him $47.5mi, $17mil guaranteed, or $9.5mil/yr. That's for a RT which carries a bit less of a premium although the gap is no longer what it used to be since so many pass rushers line up at LDE (see Von Miller). Leno is making $9.5mil/yr. Look over the LT contracts in the league and, considering Wagner's deal, there is no doubt he'd have found at least this much and likely more in FA. https://overthecap.com/position/left-tackle https://www.profootballfocus.com/news/pro-r...hit-free-agency Wagner has been a starter for the Ravens for three seasons now, and his play has been all over the place during that time. His best season came in 2014 when he just missed the top-10 in overall grade, but did rank eighth as a pass blocker, along with an above-average run-blocking grade. Wagner is coming off a similar performance in 2016, with just slight steps back in both aspects of blocking. Sandwiched between those two seasons was a disastrous year in which Wagner allowed a career-high 52 total QB pressures, 20 more than his next-highest season. He also struggled as a run blocker on a fairly regular basis. Wagner very well may be the player we saw in 2014 and 2016, but teams will also need to be wary of what exactly happened in 2015 that caused such a stark drop in performance.

Unfortunately the media just wants to play up the Trubisky angle because it's a better headline. Look at these photos and you will see that he gave "pointers" to several players including Trubisky, Meredith, White, and Glennon. https://twitter.com/ChicagoBears/status/900...ars-practice%2F

When Trubisky got that TD on the 2min drive to close out the 1st half of the first preseason game all you had to do was look at Glennon's face to know he's not bought into having Trubisky succeed this year. He was probably the only one on the sideline not cheering that we scored a TD. He may have accepted a QB competition for next year but he sure doesn't want one this year. After what I saw in the AZ game I don't think Glennon's mentally up to the task. His physical skills are not in the same class as Trubisky but he should at least be far more comfortable with the mental aspects of the game (as Brian Hoyer is). That just doesn't show up and it's a serious red flag. More notably because as we see things in the games more and more information trickles out that these type of issues have been occurring in practice as well. On his side, it appears Trubisky has never forgotten when he was benched his sophomore year despite showing better passing skills. He's all-in now and he ain't going down without a fight.

I love his running style but it leads to this recurring theme with injuries. I could see him on IR just for the team to keep him around. I'm not sure how the designated to return IR works. Can you start out one way and then get designated to return later or does that have to be decided up front? If we can stash him there and make a decision later that would be ideal. We have a lot of question marks for the 53-man roster around RBs, FBs, WRs, and TEs. If you view Cohen as an alternate slot WR, which he is learning, then do you need 6 WRs or 5? If he fills a dual role then do we keep 4 RBs? Likewise with the TEs Miller and Brown who can both split out wide and create mismatches. FWIW I don't believe the Bears have shown Cohen as a slot WR this preseason. That shouldn't change in game 3.

I'm good with the deal. Use the cap money now and take some time in the next year or two to find and groom his replacement.

It is still too early to get a feel for this year's class. I will say that this year's draft looks far better now than it did a month ago. That's mainly because of Eddie Jackson, who has really surprised me, and Cohen who both look like they will contribute significantly this year. In comparison last year's 4th round DBs are at best backup players. That's not all bad as you don't expect to find starters on day 3. Kwiatkoski was also a 4th Rd pick and he was a hit IMO. He could develop into a starter level player although he needs to be in Freeman's role instead of Trevathan's. At a minimum he looks like a solid #3 LB on the roster and that is fair value in the 4th Rd. From last year: Floyd, Whitehair, and Bullard... by week 4 we'll know what we have there. It does look good right now.

Setting high expectations: Added Jeffery: "It's the game of football. Every once in a while you're going to run a wrong route, make some mistakes on a few plays. But I'll be all right." http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap300000083...says-not-behind

I know it's only two preseason games but for many years we were in the mode of saying that the offense is behind the defense and by game 1 of the regular season things will be better. Keep in mind this is without Jordan Howard and a good QB leading the #1 offense. Plus we've played against the two of the better defenses in the NFL in Denver and Arizona. Cohen gets much of the credit but he's getting some help up front too. We're still getting new players up to speed as well in Sims and Shaheen, plus Long in at LG. I think there's reason to be optimistic here. https://twitter.com/ZachZaidman/status/8996...season-games%2F

I watched some of Kizer's first game with the Browns. He doesn't compare to Trubisky so at least here the numbers are irrelevant. I've only seen a small amount of Watson's plays but it seems his highlights are mostly running but it's a small sample. Watson is an intelligent player and I won't be surprised to see him be their starter but I'll wait to see him under pressure. I haven't seen anything from Mahomes but he's the one rookie who needs time to learn behind a "play it safe" Alex Smith.

As always with Fox you have to read between the lines but without the resolute denial we've had in the past it seems clear Trubisky is moving up the depth chart. I still don't think Trubisky is ready to be our starter week 1 he's definitely ready to see better competition and have better players on his side. If he wants a glimpse of the rookie with the 1's it has to be now. Then we'll take it from there. http://chicago.suntimes.com/sports/bears-l...rst-team-snaps/

The fact they aggressively went after Trubisky in the draft means they knew all along Glennon was never going to be the answer. Cutler hands down would have been a better and cheaper stop gap option but they clearly wanted him out of the locker room. How many times can you explain the multi-INT games to the rest of the team? Hoyer would have been a better option as well but leaving him as the starter would have clearly signaled Pace's intentions to draft a QB. I think with more reps Glennon can get to the same efficiency level Hoyer played at but he'll never truly threaten a defense. Was Glennon's signing nothing more than a big bluff ahead of the draft? Right now it appears that way. We're now built to run the ball well with Howard and Cohen. The TEs we brought in with Sims and Shaneen are both good inline blockers. I know Shaheen needs more reps but he was moving some guys around last night. Quietly we ran several 1st team plays last night with a FB (Burton) in front of Cohen. I think this is what our offense will be early in the season with Glennon's main job to be handing the ball off and running the occasional play action fake. Glennon can be ok against an 8-man front (3 Lbs) where there is more room to hit WRs. Last night he showed that he'll quickly go to the RB covered by a LB. This type of offense will be the perfect setup for Trubisky to take over mid-season when he's ready. Looking at the schedule there is no doubt that having Trubisky start after the bye would be perfect. I don't think we'll make it that far with Glennon. I estimate Trubisky's first start to be either Wk 5 Vikings at home, or Wk 6 Ravens on the road.

Had good seats for tonights game here's my observations. I tried to key on some players throughout the game. Watching the TV broadcast (which just started) will give me a different perspective. We owned half the stadium tonight. I was surprised at how many Trubisky jerseys were being worn. All the talk back in the summer of all Bears fans hating that draft pick don't appear to be true. I don't think they all got purchased this past week. Offense: Glennon sucks. The play calling was clearly designed to get him, and perhaps the entire offense, into a comfort zone early on with some positive plays. It was disappointing to suffer through that. Once Glennon got to throwing beyond the LOS it is clear he's just not that accurate of a passer and he never looked comfortable out there going through progressions. The INT was just a horrible read as the double coverage was obvious as soon as he was looking that way. In fact I expected he pivot over to his next option. He also has a problem in that he likes to pat the football once he's about to throw. That does two bad things: It delays the timing of the throw and CBs and S are going to be all over this once they see it on film. IMO there is zero chance he stays our starting QB all season. Sanchez: In warmups Zach Miller looks like the better QB, and he probably is. Trubisky: The talent was still noticeable but tonight he didn't have much help. I also think it was clear that he still has a ways to go before he's ready to take over. On the deep pass play to Gentry the WR never had separation and ran a poor route (or it was very good defense depending on your point of view). The ball was placed in the right spot if Gentry had been able to hold his route further off the sideline as he should. IMO Trubisky needs to be playing with the 2nd string. He needs some NFL talent around him to properly develop and we must show some patience to allow that process to happen. Cohen: Everyone who likes football will know his name by the end of the season. He makes something out of nothing in a way we haven't seen in a long time. On the way home we listened to Cards post game show on the radio. They were complaining about all the missed tackles by the first team defense. We are going to have a great RB combo this season and I can't wait to see him as a slot WR. Kevin White: Didn't do much but Glennon won't even look his way. On one play Glennon rolled out left and actually threw right over a wide open White into triple coverage 10 yards behind him. You gotta be stupid to make that decision or you just don't like that WR. In the 2nd quarter I think they we're force feeding passes towards White. He can play and while he didn't look great there were a few moments where his speed still showed up. When Trubisky gets time with White I think we'll see some good things. Cunningham: He is not as fast as I expected but he's a good versatile player. I won't be surprised if we keep 4 RBs and Langford isn't one of them. Defense: Bullard is the real deal. He looks good. I know he left the game with an injury and I hope it isn't serious. He was alternating with Jaye Howard (good to see Jaye getting significant reps). Dline overall looked very solid. Tough to run on these guys. Floyd looked much better than last year. It's going to be fun watching him. I still think he needs another offseason to add strength before we see the full repertoire. Once he develops a good bull rush he'll be close to unstoppable. You know Willie Young is working with him on that. Roy Robertson-Harris. I decided to focus on him late in the game. Early on he was playing too high and getting pushed around. Somebody must have gotten in his ear because later in the game he was playing with better leverage and then he just started making plays. On one series the Cards had the ball around 20yd line and he either made or caused all three stops in a row. Even with the added bulk he can still run pretty fast and he has the strength to anchor well on run plays. It will be interesting to see how they use him in the next game. If he's in consideration for the 53 I expect he'll see snaps with the 2nd string. Maybe with Bullard injured he'll get a few with the ones. If he can continue to progress the long term outlook with him, Bullard, and Floyd in pass rush on 3rd-and-long looks pretty good. That still might be next year but he's worth developing. Kyle Fuller: meh He made good play on a screen but otherwise his coverage ranged from ok to bad. Marcus Cooper: He's another ok cover guy. Demps: I like how he plays the game. Coming in for the strip on tackles and seems to be in the right spot. Hopefully his leadership helps bring a little more attitude and discipline among the DBs. Eddie Jackson: He stands out in a very positive way when he is in deep coverage. If he played it right with his steps he likely makes an INT in the end zone. Nonetheless knocking down that deep pass was something we haven't seen from a safety in a long time. He needs to quit spinning around on punt returns or he's going to get another broken leg.

He is not nearly as good a QB talent as Trubisky. That doesn't change the equation if the rookie isn't ready. You only had to see the look on Glennon's face when Trubisky led that 2min scoring drive to end the first half to know he won't handle this well. Nonetheless, it is still better to throw Glennon to the wolves early in the season. Then at least the expectation bar for Trubisky won't be that high if he stumbles, as he surely will. If we go the other way and Trubisky stumbles big early then it won't be so easy to go in reverse with Glennon. In fact, the Bears will get torched publicly for buying an $18mil insurance policy against having to use the rookie early and then not using it. The only thing I really want to see early is that Trubisky earns the official 2nd string QB job so that he's getting plenty of reps in practice and these preseason games against and with better players.

He has a very long way to go to get the playbook down. No matter what happens the rest of preseason Glennon should be the starter in week 1 because Trubisky won't be ready for NFL defenses. If after 4 weeks Glennon is still playing as poorly as he has in training camp then make the switch to the rookie. That at least gives Trubisky 4 weeks to see on film what NFL defenses are doing against our offense. If Glennon and the offense are coming around and playing ok then just let it play out for a few more weeks. I don't see Glennon holding off Trubisky all season long, and in any case we aren't a likely playoff team. Either way Trubisky should absolutely get a few starts to end the season.

The worst thing you can say about Langford is that nobody has missed him.

Depends on your point of view. If the issue is correcting mechanics then it can be a relatively easy fix if you get him with the right coach. That is as long as Aguayo is ready to be coached. I might be the only one who watched Robbie Gould shank kicks for the 49ers opening preseason game. I know there is still some sentimental support for him but the Bears made the right decision letting him go.

No word yet on what type of injury or how serious. http://bearswire.usatoday.com/2017/08/14/b...ndays-practice/

Fighting with players, apparently on both sides of the ball. http://chicago.suntimes.com/football/boili...-be-frustrated/

After re-watching the first game there a couple things that stood out. Oline: Even with backups in there we still had decent pass protection. Run blocking was hit and miss on all units but in years past once we had our backups on the field it was like a jail break with defenders all over the QB. Overall it appears we've made some progress adding depth to the Oline but Arizona will give a better indication. I don't know if Morgan was any good but I have seen a couple positive comments regarding him at training camp. I'm a bit surprised nobody commented on Compton getting the start at LG over Grasu. I expected Whitehair to be at LG with Grasu at Center, or maybe ideally we'd have seen Grasu start at LG. With Kush out Grasu's chances of making the 53 improved but it appears he's still in a battle for a roster spot. Special teams was also improved with more consistent play (again for a first preseason game).