AZ54

Game plans actually based on what opponents weaknesses and strengths are. I also like the way he talks about adversity, how it always happens in games you just don't know when it will be. http://www.chicagobears.com/multimedia/vid...49-f903772f5d2b

I haven't been able to post much since the first game but one of the most obvious differences I noticed with our D against the Bengals was the lack of gang tackling. I give Lovie credit because we always had 11 guys running toward the ball and it paid off routinely. Too often against the Bengals we would have one or two players go for a tackle but additional support was either late getting there or never arrived. I'm glad Tucker and the players are addressing this in practice this week as we need this to stop AP this weekend. http://espn.go.com/chicago/nfl/story/_/id/...rn-fundamentals

They need a better drug dealer.

On NFL AM some reporter from Detroit said Suh will not change his ways and summed up Suh's fines this way: He's made $51 million since entering the league. His total fines since he entered the league equate to a fine of $55 for a person earning the average annual salary here in the US. That's not even a speeding ticket, so yes he does not care.

While watching highlights last night I noticed the slight limp Vick had as he walked off the field late in the game, and so it begins. Anyway, Chip Kelly also plans on practicing on Tuesdays which is when most teams are letting their players rest or come in for treatment. We'll see how this all adds up.

Having watched Kelly's offense at Oregon a lot I will say this: Gary Crowton's offense looked unbeatable in his first start. Oregon always struggled when they hit the big name competition. The media would have us believe nobody could stop Kelly's offense and that's not true. Whenever they had the athletic advantage (which was often in the Pac 10) Oregon would dominate. In college it is easier to isolate your faster players (when you have a lot of them) against slower players but talent in the NFL is far better balanced. I believe after 4 games his plays will be figured out and the going won't be so easy. The presumption the only way to beat this offense is to have your offense make long drives is partially correct but keep in mind the point is to win a game not necessarily "stop" his offense. Forcing Chip's offense to go 3-and-out in 30 seconds (or 6 and out in 60 sec) really hurts his defense and gets you more plays as well. I don't think the Eagles defense is that good to begin with but tonight they succeeded by relying heavily on blitzes that left huge holes open behind them. RGIII and the Redskins were not prepared for this, however, teams will figure this out very quickly and I think we will see a lot of big plays given up. As far as the Eagles offense and all read-options...just go hit the QB. These plays have always been around in college there's a reason they weren't used much in the NFL. And I don't buy the story that we haven't had talented running and passing QBs (Steve Young for one) in the past. In the NFL your QB determines your success more than any other player and it's a brutal 16 game season so protecting the QB from hits is of paramount importance. Unlike recruiting for college where elite programs find it easier to keep talent in the pipeline, finding your next NFL QB is a crapshoot. QBs who are predominately runners (average accuracy or below as passers) can take you far in college but who has done that in the NFL? National Championship rosters are littered with the names of these players. I could be wrong but Jim Harbaugh didn't sound as if he likes his QB taking hits on run fakes. I'll stand alone, or in the minority, that this offense won't be looking so elite by mid-year.

No surprise here.

After reading the post-game articles it was intentional play-calling for the first few series to make sure the Oline could keep Cutler upright. Long missed one assignment early that led to a pressure. Once they settled into the game we opened up the playbook and results followed. Going into the next game against the Vikings we will have more confidence with the rookies and they won't have as big of a challenge facing them.

It's game 1, don't get too high and don't get too low with one exception....our brand new Oline did not give up a single sack. The Bengals didn't show much of their two TE offense in the preseason so we didn't have much to plan with. I was nervous as the second half started but after seeing what they were doing we improved in the second half. DJ Williams missed the entire preseason so he was rusty out there, he will get better but if he doesn't we'll be seeing the rookie before the end of the season. Pass rush was the biggest disappointment, not so much the sack total but the lack of pressure overall. Bengals Oline is really good but we were not showing any passion to get after the QB in the first half. It got better in the second half where they kept Dalton to quicker releases and that helped the secondary quite a bit.

Love reading the in-game thread after the game. It's great to see the up and down emotions (mine mood swings were just as up and down) then we get the posts after the win saying "what the hell were you all worried about?" I can't recall too many games where we were dominated in the first half on both sides of the ball and responded like that in the second half on both sides of the ball. The D has done it in recent seasons for sure, but our offense?

I expected the team to fold after we were down by 11 instead they responded to the call and fought back to win the game late and in a decisive way (controlling the last drive). We were the better coached team on the field given how we adjusted to what they were doing and the effective execution of a new offense and that is a very good sign.

I agree on the sample size in terms of number of games but in terms of number of plays we had well over 30 and that's relevant data. If we go back over the last few years could we even find a singular game like that against that good of a Dline? That means this data point is likely part of a new data set. It's hard to believe the league's best DT would come out of the first game of the season going against two rookies on the right side of the Oline with zero sacks. Did Atkins even get a QB pressure? This wasn't all dink and dunk passing either as we hit several big plays down the field in the second half. There is much to improve upon but this was as good a start against that Dline as I could imagine. If we go back and do the draft all over again with 1 game's data and we choose Long at 19 and nobody will question it. Mills will never last to the 5th Rd.

Baltimore's defense was horrible. How many times can a team forget to cover WRs? Pass rush? Coming off a Superbowl win players often don't work as hard to come back for another ring and in this case losing some key leaders and other good role players.

First and foremost I am very happy to finally even have a discussion about a rookie LB starting. Granted we've had Url and Briggs but our 3rd spot has been nothing but a stop gap player since Hillenmeyer departed and the front office had multiple opportunities to fix the gap but didn't. Given the two TEs we'll be facing in this game I prefer to have Williams' experience on the field. Bostic often looked lost on passing plays and he needs some time to learn. With DJ coming off injury and still not in game shape I could see them putting Bostic out there for some first and second downs throughout the game but prefer Williams experience on the field on 3rd downs. Of course there is always hope that we have such a big lead that in the 4th quarter Bostic can take over completely and thus get some valuable game experience.

2nd pay cut in a couple weeks although you could count Webb (or should I say player W) as having taken two pay cuts.

Always nice to hear from the veterans on the board.

Impossible to know but the small amount of cap space created by this is odd. If, as many of us believe, Peppers is going to get cut next year and perhaps then they try to renegotiate a new deal why not pursue more space now to make some other signings? I'm sure LT2 could spell out if that might lead to more dead space on our cap next year and if so how much.

I suspect we no longer have knuckleheads like Tice, Martz, or Turner calling plays and that we will 1) know that they have a solid Dline but less talented LB corps and 2) Work away from their strength and make their D work to the sidelines on very quick plays that stress their LBs to get out there and catch Forte. Doing this will also stress their CBs and force them to keep their eyes in the backfield at the snap looking for either a handoff or the short swing route from the backfield. This (CBs worried about run support) gives an advantage to our WRs. Speaking of WRs, and TE Bennett, these guys can block very well on the perimeter. 3) Doing the above means we will get behind their secondary on some double moves so I expect we will hit a few big plays off play action. On D I don't think we can contain A.J. Green and Eifert downfield and Dalton can be very accurate if given time so let's just get after the QB and not give them time to work downfield.

Yes but the question is why? Someone is going to get a longer term deal soon (not a big one) and then they'll be doing something again with Peppers because I now we've put his cap numbers even higher going into next season.

We used a 3-TE set at least once in a preseason game. Adding Adams while the new guy gets up to speed keeps that in the playbook. So why not do that from the start? Scott couldn't be cut while he was injured or we'd end up in an injury settlement, or we guarantee his salary (I'm sure LT2 knows the details here). If we do an injury settlement Scott could not be on our roster again for some time not sure how long. James Brown was drafted as an OT. Has he practiced some at LT and the Bears are comfortable with that? I doubt that. Or has Mills practiced some at LT and the Bears are good with him sliding over? During the preseason Britton looked too slow to be any good on the left side but could be effective enough at RT. At cut-down time it seemed Scott was being looked at mostly for backup LT so something changed. Or is it as simple as they knew the Vikings were looking for backup OT help and preferred them to sign Webb. Of course they could change direction now and go after Scott but that's less likely since they haven't seen him all preseason. It will be interesting to see if the teams changes course again on this and re-signs Scott once the new TE is up to speed.

My bad ....beer and typing don't always yield good results. It was December but it was almost 70 degrees and we had to leave jackets in the car before heading into the game. Felt more like October so I still can't accept that I was at Soldier Field in December with no jacket, gloves, or hat. That did make it easier to handle the shot glasses at the tailgate party.

I agree, I really don't care much for these rankings. I know the media has to do it but they have no clue. If they did they'd all be drafting Pro Bowlers year after year. I could live with a group of top teams and in that sense I believe we belong in the middle of the pack until we prove otherwise. I could see the Patriots top 10 simply because of Brady and the weak schedule will make them look better than they are but not top 5. They may be the only team that effectively starts out 4-0 because of their division. And you won't find their rose-colored glasses on this Bears board when it comes to discussing Oline issues: http://www.nepatriotsdraft.com/2013/08/rea...son-week-3.html

I vote yes but only UNTIL he gives up a sack to one of our players.

Unga on the practice squad only makes sense from the point of view that he is the immediate backup to Fiammetta, but yes he does seem to have 9 lives. I'm not saying he showed that much in the preseason either but the fact remains he knows our offense better than someone we could bring in off the street mid-season.

A bit more athletic than Adams and not much else. I think TE will be one of our first two draft picks next year. Trestman seems intent on using two TE sets. Bennett will be more of our blocker as he is a bit inconsistent in pass catching and we will add a more dynamic player who can stretch the field both vertically and sideline to sideline. http://www.nfldraftscout.com/ratings/dspro...7&genpos=TE