AZ54

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).

Looks like we'll owe Aguayo $428k if we cut him and nobody else takes him off waivers, or signs him. That's quite likely if a second NFL team cuts him before the season starts. This is not the cheap way of doing business and not much different than all the veteran FA WRs Pace brought in. He's likely to lose some guaranteed money among one of those deals.

I see no risk in taking a chance on a new kicker.

I think Wentz has a bright future but let's hope Trubisky does better than what Wentz did last year. Wentz's play against the Bears last year was the highlight of his season and after that it went downhill.

No, because this man said it: http://www.chicagobears.com/news/article-1...19-0b7755a274c0 "he'll be a damn good player." I enjoy reading everyone's opinion here and I respect them, including yours, but I really respect Fangio's opinions. If says that about Floyd then he's seeing not just physical talent but maturation in the technical skills and understanding of the defense and what the offense is trying to do. In fact, I'm not even sure I've ever heard Fangio compliment any Bears defender beyond "he's doing good". I think Bullard has been able to take advantage of Long's absence and then Kush's absence to abuse some backups. However, if he were to be playing at a starter level wouldn't you expect him to play well against backup Oline players? He certainly wasn't doing that last year in camp so that, combined with Fangio's comments that Bullard has improved, make me think he has improved quite a bit. How much we won't know until we see him in the regular season. I'm not expecting Jason Smith I just need him to be better than Unrein. Admittedly that's a not the highest bar but it does mean we've improved. If he can achieve that before game 1 then I think it's reasonable to assume that after another full season he'll be even better.

Right now it is looking like a pretty good draft class. One thing about Pace is that he's bringing in good talent among the UDFAs. I don't think we've had this many UDFAs over a 3 year period contribute or show this much potential early. Meredith is at the top of the list, Callahan, Timu, Braunecker, HJQ, RRH looks like he could eventually contribute at DE even if he only makes the practice squad this year as he transitions to a new position, and Gentry has turned heads all throughout camp. Expand out to UDFA finds from other teams and we've added LeBlanc, and Brown. I think Brown is in position to take Miller's spot on the roster. That's not to say these players are stars but they are good depth on the roster, or potentially so in the case of Gentry and RRH. It's no longer UDFAs hanging around because of the lack of talent on the roster.

I don't know what the future holds for our WR corps but I don't miss dealing with all of Jeffrey's issues. http://www.philly.com/philly/sports/eagles...y-20170806.html

Admittedly I've never liked much of what Jones has done on the field. Despite having outstanding athleticism he seemed to have little ability to diagnose a play and get into the right position to stop it. Now just two weeks into this camp and here's Jone's being listed as one of the most improved players. If true he along with Kwiatkoski could give us excellent depth at ILB. Jones ability to run (and hopefully cover TEs) fits better as the backup to Trevathan while Kwit's skills fit better behind Freeman. I don't expect Trevathan to get many plays in preseason so we'll get plenty of opportunity to compare Kwit and Jones. http://www.chicagobears.com/news/chalk-tal...2c-6a9a1d26ee18

The player who has really improved is Leonard Floyd. He's reportedly been un-blockable most plays and is doing a great job setting up and executing his moves so it's not pure athleticism getting him to the QB.

I'll be at the Bears/Cards game in a week and hopefully Trubisky is on the field for a couple quarters.

I don't think net results with Cutler running their offense will be that much different from Tannehill, although their style of play is different. There will be some more turnovers but there will also be more big plays. Reality is Miami still has the 2nd best QB in their division and they have a better QB than the Houston Texans. That's not a bad place to end up after losing your starter a week into training camp. Concern with Cutler isn't all with his turnovers. He has trouble staying healthy.

Tough loss, I like Kush as a backup. This helps Grasu a lot. With Kyle Long slowly working his way back into action moving Whitehair out to LG makes sense. Morgan's a pretty good athlete I suspect he needs a year to get acclimated to the NFL.

Thanks for getting us rolling again DBDB.

3 fumbled snaps were with Boggs. Sunday the fumbled snap was with Whitehair. Sanchez is horrible and consistently makes bad throws. While taking snaps requires more work by Trubisky people (media) are too focused on that and not reporting on what he's doing well in the passing game. Moving ahead of Sanchez is a low bar but I don't think it will be long before Trubisky moves into the #2 position. Maybe another week or two. At that point Trubisky will start to work with the same group more consistently and he'll also see better talent among the defense. From there it's a long way to go to catch up to Glennon.

I'm not that surprised Trubisky is fumbling some snaps early in camp. One of the plays involved a safety running up right up over the center just before the snap. No doubt Trubisky started over-thinking the situation and maybe even pulled back early. With more practice the snap timing will become more second nature. I've seen multiple people say Fuller has looked good after a shaky first day. I expected he'd get cut or traded but if he turns into a good CB for us that's a huge boost for the secondary. Then our backup becomes Cooper who is much better depth than what we had last year. It's worth watching closely as we get into the first preseason games. They are letting a lot of safeties get a shot with the #1 unit next to Demps.

I read that Gentry had made some good plays. He must be giving Bellamy the shakes because Bellamy has already had a couple drops.

Hope springs eternal and then reality sets in. Here's my thoughts on who steps up and who steps down. Surprise: Mitchell Trubisky. I think from the first week in camp it will be clear he can play in this league. A rookie practicing against the same team every day and playing preseason games against backups does not make him ready to start in week 1. Nonetheless I expect to hear quite a bit of positive reviews about Trubisky during camp. Disappointment: Eddie Jackson. I was going to put Fuller in here but he's fighting for a job at this point even if it's not in Chicago. I've seen a lot of hype about Jackson after the draft but IMO he was just ok on film and he's not a hard-nosed player. He hasn't been able to practice at this level because of his injury and knowing his lack of physical prowess I expect little from him this year. I think he sticks around because of his athleticism and long term potential at FS. His best chance to play will be as a returner but will he embrace that role after he takes his first big hit?

I got two: Houston-Carson and Grasu I think the numbers at S catch with DHC. We have Demps, Amos, Bush, Jackson, and HJQ and Hall moving over there from CB last year. I think at the bottom of the roster the team picks the player who can fill in both at FS and CB and that's Hall. HJQ and DHC depart although DHC could end up on the practice squad. Grasu has to expand his game into the backup OG and there he has some very tough competition. I like what Kush did last year as a backup and I expect Morgan to earn a spot as a backup OG. Unless we keep 9 Oline where does Grasu end up? If Kyle Long is still struggling to return to form then there is a chance we keep 9. Then again, if Grasu looks good at OC, and he figures to get quite a bit of playing time there in the preseason, then I can see a needy team calling Pace to make a trade. I guess the corollary to this is: Will Kyle Long be the last of Phil Emery's draft picks on the Bears roster this year?

Why we won't make the playoffs: 1) Mike Glennon I actually share much of your enthusiasm for the Bears this year but reality in the NFL is that without a solid QB, or an elite defense that can carry the water for an no-name QB like Hoyer, the playoffs are not likely. Glennon might become a solid QB for us but it won't happen in the first month of the season. Our defense will not be elite either because of all the new pieces in the secondary. Pace has quietly put players who were in key roles last season in competition to where they may not even make the roster. Unrein, Zach Miller, Langford, Kyle Fuller (he was expected to be our starter), HJQ, and even Grasu. While the top end of the roster still has some significant gaps the bottom end depth in many positions far better this year. Couple that with some (not even all) of the 2nd year players showing improvement and we should be seeing more consistent play across the board even if when we have a few injuries. However, there are some key weak spots in the depth such as ILB until Trevathan returns. OT too. I see this as a 6 to 8 win team. Something dramatic would have to happen in our division such as Rodgers and Stafford going on IR early in the year for us to win 10 games and make the playoffs. There is no scenario where I can see us winning more than 10 games.

This will be very interesting. How long before Cutler says of Glennon: "He should have taken the check down."

Found this article on SI.com. It's a good read, and yes, he played "End" at 170lbs. https://www.si.com/vault/1977/12/05/622015/...-woman-under-48

That will help him when Trubisky is giving him a quiz on the offensive plays at night. If Trubisky sees the field this year it will be no surprise when he looks toward Shaheen early and often.

Thought this was an interesting read especially for those of us who follow the draft closely. OTOH this does explain a lot of the head-scratching picks Emery made because I now i know he was too focused on the "athlete" and draft position and not enough on the performance on the field. There is a place for analytics but I like the fact Pace puts more emphasis on what he sees on the field. Yogi once said "you can learn a lot just by lookin' ". http://chi.247sports.com/Bolt/Bears-have-s...n-Pace-53394075

Trubisky says there will be no hold out.. http://chicago.suntimes.com/sports/mitch-t...-will-get-done/