AZ54

We've had one game to evaluate Reggie Herring and that's far from enough for me to make a judgment. Considering the guy who played the worst was the guy who has played in another system his entire career, Briggs, and has proven he does not want to lead this new group of LBs (prefers to open a restaurant) doesn't make me think Reggie is the issue. Doesn't say he is the solution either…there's just not enough data. I really don't get how we would expect that our young LB crew would be assignment sound against all these varied NFL offense in just their first game? I get that there is training camp and some preseason snaps but in camp all they see is the same offense day after day. In preseason they see a generic version of what other teams will run. Urlacher didn't get it in his first season, most certainly not in his first 8 games. Neither did Briggs. Great players often don't make great coaches, or even good ones. For one, most of the players you get to coach are of average ability. Great players often expect others to see and react to things as they used to see them and don't necessarily know how to break things down properly to get the most out of a player's talent. You can't simply walk into a room and say I demand excellence. It's not that easy. Richard Dent had zero impact on improving our pass rush years ago. Singletary, who I respect a great deal, made how many great LBs in his tenure with the Vikings? Where were the posts the last few years with people worried about the LB's Singletary was coaching? That doesn't mean he's a bad coach because talent and other factors (DC) come into play as well. But by no means does it give me data to say he's going to make stars out of our players more so than Reggie Herring will…and do it one game. Ray Lewis' qualifications? Hall of Fame career, coached zero players. We've played one game. I don't disagree with the assessment's of our performance but I'll sit back and watch how we progress over the next few games before casting aside coaches. Although Briggs isn't on my "best of" list anymore.

Briggs was awful on these big plays and the world keeps going back to Conte as the guy to blame. Thank you for calling it correctly. I suppose if we had a $5mil safety he would keep this to a 15-20 yd play but I really expect the $6.5mil LB to do his job right and make these plays. Briggs issues were apparent even to those who visited training camp and I asked weeks ago what it would take for the coaches to bench him. If we're going to live with mistakes like this early in the season I'd rather it be with one of the younger guys who a) wants to learn is more likely to listen to his coaches and c) is likely to be on the team next year.

Briggs is not the leader of this defense and that was clear when he decided to spend his practice day opening a restaurant. None of that impacted his play. He was always a gambler but in the past he had a guy named Urlacher who could clean up and coverup a lot of his mistakes.

Nice work.

Offense… We have an oline, even without two of our starters. When Slauson went out and then soon after Garza I was worried how the backups would handle it. Buffalo's Dline is the strength of their defense and for most of the game, even with the backups, Cutler had time to throw and Forte had holes to run through, enough to get a 4.8ypc avg. Cutler was in control of the offense throughout. He must stop the boneheaded decision like the late INT but there is plenty of discussion of that in the other threads so no need to belabor the point here. Jay looked comfortable before the snap, calling protections, and when making audibles and making sure everyone was lined up. We were usually at the LOS with plenty of time to get all that done and execute the play. RBs…we used Forte too much and he dropped a TD pass. I get that we were trying to get back in the game and I'd have kept him out there too but over the course of the season he's going to need more rest. WRs…without Alshon and Wilson we're not very good. Thankfully Marshall did not blow out his knee when it was bent backwards. Holmes doesn't know enough of the offense yet to be fully engaged but I remain optimistic for him as the season moves along. How was it not defensive holding or PI when that DB held him on that entire route near the end of regulation? Defense Pass rush where are you? Jared Allen looks old and slow. He didn't play much in preseason and said he was ready to go for the game but if that's all he's got things aren't looking good for the rest of the season. Dline held their own in the run game and there were no highway lanes like we gave up last year…unless Briggs gambled and took himself out of position. He did that at least twice, including the big play that gave up the huge run to end the game. Sutton made a nice play for a loss late in the game, hopefully a sign of things to come. LBs..Briggs looks fat and slow. On top of that his mistakes were often glaring in that he gave up big plays. I didn't see much of SMC out there, seemed like we were in nickel D most often with Briggs and Bostic the only LBs. It's hard to focus on this when I'm not at home but Bostic, while not spectacular, seemed like our best LB today. DBs…too often the coverage was poor especially in that soft spot in the middle between CB and S. People are ripping on Conte because he went after the ball and not the tackle on the overtime run but at that point I'd go for the strip too. He had a nice read on his INT. Special teams kick coverage has improved a lot since a few weeks ago.

The issues are that he is arrogant and treats people like crap. The more success he has had the more it has gone to his head and I've read a couple reports of this over the last couple years. The complaints you hear are symptoms of that problem. Taking the team to Baltimore by itself isn't the issue it's that the players (or player.. as I don't know the source) felt it was mainly done just to hang out with his brother. I could see where someone would draw that conclusion if the coach missed some of the meetings that he would normally be at during camp. IMO all this chatter is the main reason for the 49ers being a bit hesitant to sign him to a huge contract. Everyone knows he can coach. However, if the talent drops a bit or if his act wears thin on the players and he loses the team do they want to be stuck with a massive guaranteed contract that could prevent them from moving in another direction? I think they are wise to move carefully. There's a bit of irony in Harbaugh's treatment of players being an issue similar to what he went through under Ditka.

It's exactly what I want from a Packer's safety.

Looking around on some of the Packers message boards is very enjoyable. I was hoping to see what they think of the $8.5mil they spent on Peppers but there is so much doom and gloom overall about their D they can't even focus in on one player. http://forum.packerchatters.com/index.php?topic=2630.135 From May 10th: We now have 6 first-round picks -- including 2 top 10 picks, on D (Clinton-Dix, D. Jones, Perry, Matthews, Raji, and Hawk). Julius Peppers is also a former 1st rounder (#2 overall). We also have 3 second-round picks (Heyward, Worthy, and Neal) and 2 third-round picks (Thornton and Burnett) on D. (Ironically, 3 of the 4 best defensive players currently are 4th rounder Mike Daniels and UDFAs T. Williams and Shields). TT has also devoted significant financial resources to the D (Peppers, Shields, Neal, Raji, Burnett, B. Jones) the past couple of years. Given this roster, is there any reason this defense should not be a top-10 unit in 2014? ………………………………………………………….. To Sep 4th: Giving up over 200 yards rushing and 100+ QB rating to an allegedly mediocre QB, oh my so much has changed on D. Perhaps we can wait until next season for another 1st round defensive pick to develop into a player because it will not happen in 2014.

When, or if, Conte does a complete whiff on an open field tackle the same as HCD did last night to give up an easy TD what will be said about him? That was not Percy Harvin he missed, it was Ricardo Lockett and it was not some crazy move he put on HCD. I said before the draft that there were some "Major Wright moments" from HCD. He has the speed and fluid movements you want to see in coverage but the "highs" were mixed in with a fair amount of "lows" that were covered up by his rather good teammates. I'll be watching and comparing him to Kyle Fuller as their careers progress.

I think if you are a leader in any sense, especially if you realize your team has a shot at going deep into the playoffs, you are there on the first practice with the young guys to help them get settled in their LB roles. It's not that he wasn't there for the practice, nor that Trestman gave him the day off. It's that Briggs himself does not feel the personal obligation to be there to help his teammates out. His response to the media questions confirms it. That says all I need to know from him. As for Trestman, I don't think he views Briggs to be a key component as far as helping the younger guys. Maybe he's more of a hindrance since he spent his entire career in a different system? If Briggs isn't in that meeting room then Reggie's message will be that much clearer to the rest of the group. I'm a manager and at times I've had people on my teams that made me feel that way. It was more about them at work than the team and they weren't committed to helping others except for when it helped them personally. I don't mind when they take days off because I can coach their future replacement without interference, or back-talking, on how to do the job properly. It's wild speculation on my part based on 25 years of experience but my gut feel in the non-chalance responses from both Emery and Trestman says there might be something here. I know if there is any hint of this behind the scenes that Trestman and Emery will never admit it because a) it would be unprofessional and Briggs is still in a position of stature among the LBs and defense overall, as he should be. They need to keep him in that stature so they can use it to their advantage when it's appropriate.

Terra may be an ass but he's our ass! He is Glum "we'll never make it" from Gulliver's Travels cartoons but he is observant and sees the details of play better than what he is given credit for. However, I am going to disagree with him and what seems like the rest of the thread here. I don't think we'll be mediocre at best, which I'd say puts around 25th in the league. I think we'll be closer to average. I really like our Dline. We don't have a great player inside at this point but Ratliff was definitely causing a lot of commotion and disruption, moving far better than anything we saw from him last year. Next to him we have standouts but I think Ego can develop fairly quickly into that guy who people can't move, at least not easily. Sutton will also pick things up quickly from Ratliff as the season goes on and we will come to love his hustle. I view Paea as a do no harm type…won't necessarily help but won't hurt things either. Nothing great here but we'll be solid at DT as the season moves on. DE is very good IMO. I know what Allen will bring every play but Houston and Young impressed me as well. They are both more physical than I expected and can get upfield quickly. Bottom line here for me is that this line is good enough to stop the run and get QB pressure. LBs…I'm definitely out on limb among Bears fans but I like the movement I see from SMC at LB. He fits far better than he did at DE. I've already seen on some plays when he "sees it" he gets through the traffic quickly and gets upfield to make the play. He's got a lot to learn but as he gets more playing time he'll show up more often making plays for losses. Bostic I'm less optimistic about but I do love his athleticism. I think Reggie Herring can get him to settle down. Until that happens DJ Williams can do enough to keep things reasonably settled in the middle, at least against the run. Briggs worries me because he looks slow and out of shape. He'll be ok on 1st and 2nd down and his experience will carry him for the most part. I know the LBs are going to miss some plays, especially early in the season, so we'll see some big plays given up here and there. I also expect we'll see some big plays from them as well. CBs is where we shine more than I think we're giving these guys credit for. I like Fuller a lot and I think having him on the field with Tillman and Jennings tips the pass coverage balance back in our favor. Tillman and Jennings are both bait and switch players who will give up yards but then make the play later in the drive. Tillman was still punching footballs loose during preseason and all throughout training camp. He's not great in coverage but he's good and he's good against the run as are Jennings and Fuller. Safety is a crapshoot but as long as they just play solid and don't give up too many big plays for TDs I'll be happy. I just think the other levels of the D will handle most of what needs to be done. As the season progresses I think we will have a decent run defense but will struggle with the elite passing attacks. That means GB, Detroit, Saints, and Patriots are going to be tough games and we're going to need outstanding pass rush to compete. I'm just expecting us to be average and average in scoring defense means we'll give up 24pts and ~350 yds per game. There is nothing great there but enough that should allow a good offense to win the game for us. Are we that worried about Gino Smith and the Jets that we can't attain that? Panther's WRs? Dolphins? Who is catching the ball for the Vikings? Who is throwing it? Buffalo? Stop Spiller and you stop them. I think we'll have 4 sacks in this game, maybe more, mostly because EJ Manuel looks completely lost reading the defense and he has nothing to prepare for against our team. Take away his first read and he wants to run. There's a reason they spent so much going after Kyle Orton. http://www.chicagobears.com/news/article-1...55-84fbbba529e3 "I think (EJ has) shown to have good mobility and be able to run at times," Marrone said. "He can throw with consistency at times, that's one of the things he has to do a good job of. But he'll have a great challenge going against Chicago." BEAR DOWN!

I'm a bit surprised they went after Hayden over Britton. Seems to indicate Hurst made the roster moreso for special teams play than CB play.

There has been a lot of chatter about Emery's first draft class and rightly so with only Jeffrey panning out so far. Since then he put together the front office the way he wanted it and at this point here is the result from the last two drafts: http://www.csnchicago.com/bears/wins-still...ears-foundation "On the other hand, all eight 2014 draft choices are among the 11 rookies placed on the 53-man roster. And all six of the 2013 selections were and still are on the roster."

According to Mark Potash via Twitter: https://twitter.com/MarkPotash #Bears have waived long-snapper Brandon Hartson. Not a big surprise after Marc Trestman expressed dissatisfaction with Hartson vs. Browns. ReplyReplied to 0 times RetweetRetweeted 0 times FavoriteFavorited 0 times Issues in the last game explains why we waited for final cut downs to make that decision. Once you get to that point you might as well see all that is available before making a decision. Biggs is saying we are signing Cain to be the long snapper https://twitter.com/BradBiggs "I don't have anything official or confirmed, but two people I've spoken to hear #Bears signing Jeremy Cain as new long snapper. Stay tuned." 4 Hours Ago from Tw

Agreed.

Don't see why he'd be better than Clausen. Fales, ok but it wouldn't matter if we get down to the 3rd QB we're done.

No. Can't switch at the end of a career with no practice whatsoever.

One more roster option: http://www.csnchicago.com/bears/offensive-...r-keeping-eight Eight is thin; one likely scenario is to pick up an addition lineman (veteran Eben Britton is the leading candidate) once the Bears are able to protect Marquess Wilson on short-term injured reserve next week.

Things that caught my eye.. I'm not totally surprised they let go of Britton as Ola came on pretty good in his absence except they also kept Charles Leno who I expected to be a practice squad candidate. I can't complain if our 7th Rd pick was better than a multi-year veteran like Britton. Are we on the path to truly building some depth in our Oline? Very surprised to see Senorise Perry make the cut. This has to come back to special teams and in that he can return kicks and I'll assume, if he was out there, he was better than Chris Williams on kick coverage. What are we planning to do with 4 RBs on the roster? I didn't expect 10 players for Dline either, with 6 DEs. I didn't see Washington do much at DE but there were times on kick coverage where he got downfield in a hurry and made the play. Do we need both Washington and Bass? Kelvin Hayden cut in favor of keeping Demontre Hurst. Among all this there is easily room on the bottom end to free up a roster spot between RB or DE, or both if someone hits the street from another team that can help us this year.

Option 1/3: Kyle Orton agrees to tell Marrone everything he knows about the Bears and then signs with Buffalo, then Jordan Palmer gets cut. http://www.dallasnews.com/sports/dallas-co...ffalo-bills.ece EJ Manuel looked really bad in the 3rd preseason game IMO. I don't understand why Orton would retire and then come back and play for Buffalo. He's going to see the field sometime this season so perhaps Buffalo gave him a good contract but he was also well paid in Dallas. Plus I'm sure he had other suitors.

Pass…don't feel the need to do anything on this right now and whoever the 3rd back is I'm sure there is an expectation of playing special teams.

Nobody really stood out among the bottom end DEs last night IMO. I didn't see Trevor Scott but might have missed him early and assume that's a sign he made roster. Other than that, I didn't see much from Lane, Bass, or Washington.

I agree on Fales playing well considering the position he was in with very few reps throughout camp and the preseason games. Most of the backup QB reps have gone to Clausen or Palmer and what was left had to be very sparse. His release is odd but he showed a lot of accuracy and a bit more arm strength that I thought he had. His timing in the pocket and for reading defenses was clearly poor but with little practice or game time, and being out there with our 3rd and 4th stringer players I can't expect much more than what he did. I'm not sure he makes the final roster though but I'd agree that he might have put enough good out there for someone to gamble on grabbing him if we cut him with intentions of putting him on the practice squad. Had Palmer not been signed so quickly we might have been more likely to take that gamble. I'm very curious how this final roster shapes up at the bottom end. It's hard to sort out the bottom 5-7 players we'll keep. One interesting thing I saw at the Suntimes was the possibility of putting Marquess Wilson on IR. I had forgotten that we now have the ability to have a player (or is it players?) from IR return to the roster mid-season. That makes it easier to keep both Bellamy and Holmes for the first half of the season.

I give Emery credit for setting up some good competition in training camp at DE this year. In watching the first few games I've been impressed with Trevor Scott at times, and the last game Austen Lane made me login and scan the roster list to see who he was. I didn't think much of either when we signed them but they've proven effective in pass rush at times. I won't speak for their run defense as I haven't watched for that as closely. We'll see how this shakes out very soon but players like Washington and Bass are not on solid ground. Not much of a shock with Washington as he did little last year but Bass looked to have a spot on the bench locked up heading into camp. We haven't seen much of Allen at all but I've been very happy with Houston's play and Willie Young has surprised me as well. I don't see myself missing Julius Pepper's one bit. In fact Houston looks like a steal in terms of his skill set vs. Peppers when compared to the contract Peppers signed in GB. I can't recall feeling like we had this much depth at DE in a very long time. DT seems set at 4 (Ferguson, Ratliff, Sutton, Paea). If they consider Houston as a swing player inside at DT do we keep 9 or 10 DLine and, if it's 10, does that mean 6 DEs? Someone would have to be a stud on special teams to force us to keep 6. I don't see it. I don't think anyone has seen a stud on special teams period. I say we end up with 9 and it appears Bass and Washington will be gone but this may well come down to how well they all play in tonight's game. None of these guys will be taking it easy. http://www.suntimes.com/sports/football/be...ml#.U_8-qlY8icM

Emery was hired so late that offseason he was forced to use the existing scouting department and their existing grading system. Of course he had his notes from his work at KC but that was offset by the need to keep Lovie (not saying he'd have done otherwise anyway that late in the game). Emery owns it all but his scouting organization and system was fully in place for the 2013 and 2014 drafts. Right now 2013 looks pretty good…Long Pro Bowl, Bostic still in that upside phase, Greene looking to be a good 4th Rd pick, Mills, Washington (might get cut), and our likely 3rd WR Wilson. So far 2014 has yielded effectively one starter in Fuller and punter who is faster than Earl Thomas.