AZ54

Got some free tickets for the Cards game so I decided to take in a game. Realizing it's only preseason but this is typically the best preseason effort of the first string here's some of my thoughts on the first half of the game and what it might mean for us in game 1. The final score of the game doesn't indicate all that happened. Green Bay defense vs. Cards offense Packers liked bringing pressure especially up the middle. Sometimes they were very effective but often this was due to the Cards WR running some deep routes and Warner had nowhere to throw. That and/or Warner held the ball too long on some plays instead of hitting the quick dump off. Overall Warner was pretty bad, seemed out of sync. I think our Oline is better than the Cards Oline but given pressure up the middle Cutler is much better at rolling out of the pocket than Warner. In fact, if they show these looks I expect Turner will call plenty of rollouts to counter it. Forte is also better at picking up pressure than Hightower. Cards WRs were able to get open. Now they have a better receiving corps than we do and clearly they were respecting Fitzgerald. I think the Packers have a decent secondary but they consistently found openings in the coverage underneath among the LBs. In fact the Cards TE was open all night. They had several huge gains with the TE running up the middle. Their TEs are nothing like Greg Olsen so I think Olsen will have a good game against GB. Cards were able to consistently run the ball. Packers had some stops for no-gain but for everyone of those it seemed the RB got two gains of 7-10 yards. Most of that was Tim Hightower and he isn't fast or quick. Forte would fare even better if given the same holes. While the first half score doesn't incidate it, if the Cards didn't make some stupid mistakes (Warner fumble on a scramble) they likely would have matched GB on the score board. Green Bay offense vs. Cards defense. Cards D is pretty bad and Green Bay offense is pretty good. Jennings went down on his first catch with a head injury but walked off the field. The Cards D got dealt some bad hands with turnovers from the offense but they never once stopped the Packers. This game was decided before halftime with the Packers up 31-10 or something like that and put up about 350 yards in the half, 100 of that on the ground. There was little pass rush putting pressure on Rodgers. Cards secondary bit on some plays fakes and gave up long TD passes which is what they did all last season. Given the issues in our secondary I'd expect similar problems so we better have a good pass rush when we play them. We'll need to score quite a few points to beat Green Bay but from what I saw we'll be able to mount some long drives. We just need to avoid the turnovers.

I wouldn't say we fell apart last year, we were still ranked 8th overall. If only we could say that about either our offense or defense. Hester called out his teammates last year for poor blocking. I'm sure to some extent it was not as good as the prior year but if he's just going to run out of bounds like he was doing instead of heading upfield the blocking doesn't really matter. Danieal Manning proved just how bad the blocking was when he came in on KR midway through the season and immediately led the entire league in return yards and held that over the last 7 games. They should have put him in there a couple games sooner so everyone could be talking about how great it is to have two guys on the Bears who went to the Pro Bowl as KR. http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dw...de.38f0fd2.html

I'm not seeing a problem here. When was the last time we had a leader on offense that would tell others to shut up and do their job right? We had Kruetz who punched Fred Miller and broke his jaw and that wasn't even related to football and he's still considered a team leader. Why? Recall the story about Kreutz staying after a training camp practice to help an undrafted rookie with his technique. You can be a demanding prick on the football field if your work ethic and performance warrant it. When Peyton Manning does the same thing nobody questions him, and I've seen him criticize players on the sideline. Of course I don't know what's said or how it's said but I don't think Manning to his high level of play without hurting some feelings. Cutler is far from Manning's resume but it's a fact he put in a lot of extra work this offseason with the WRs and coaches. This isn't selfishness, it isn't moodiness, it isn't arrogance, it's creating a high expectation for how things get done. He has to hold himself to the same high standard too. It's how you succeed.

No way would I trade for him. He is likely better than Basinez but at this point he doesn't know anything of our offense and he won't be better than Hanie. He might be as good as Hanie but then why make a trade? No need to make a move here.

He's supposed to be our PR.

I agree with that assessment.

Again, we know what Davis is on the field, there's no reason to think differently. I think the coaches this year are doing the right things by giving young players who have shown ability in practice to get some first team reps to see if they have what it takes. We can't get a better roster if we keep deferring to veterans just because they're veterans, like we did last year. If at the end of the preseason the vet hasn't really stood out above the younger guy I think we have to start going in a new direction.

I look at Knox the same way I looked at Hanie last year. I see potential on KR/PR and on the few receptions he's had I see some very nice quick moves to get some YAC. Would I like to see more, absolutely but it's only been two preseason games. As far as Davis he hasn't done much more than Knox and given all his experience and what should be a better rapport with Hanie you'd think he'd really standout. The point here isn't that Knox has looked better than Davis at WR, rather that Knox hasn't looked that much worse. I know he bobbled that first pass from Basinez but Davis has had his share of those in games all last year. Davis is a known commodity and at 30 years old the 5' 9" WR is not going to dramatically get better. Knox at 6' has the arrow pointing up. I know special teams play is valued with the Bears but the reality is that we have a lot of good special teams players. We also have one of the best specials teams coaches in the NFL. Players like Garrett Wolfe, Kevin Jones, and even Rashied Davis have gone from minimal contribution on special teams to standing out on coverage. I don't know his work ethic but I haven't heard of any problems with him so I don't see why Knox wouldn't end up like that. What I've seen of Knox on kick and punt returns looks better than Davis just because he has more shiftiness in his moves while Davis is just a straight ahead speed guy. This battle gets decided in game 4 but I'm clearly in favor of Knox.

I'm not worried about Denver's D versus our O. I'm not really worried about our D against their O either but what I really want to see is our Dline get after Orton. Not because its Orton just because we really need to see this pass rush light up.

What was one of the biggest problems for Bears WR last year? They couldn't get off the LOS under press coverage. Davis was a big part of that problem. What was the other big issue for our WR....drops. Rashied Davis was big part of that too. At some point you have to come to the conclusion he's a guy who could contribute but just is never going to be more than what you have already seen. He also seems to be a better practice player than game player. I can't believe Iglesias, Knox, or Aromashodu can't replace this: 2008 SEASON: Started a career-high 12 games and appeared in all 16 games for the third straight season... Posted career highs in receiving yards (455) and receptions (35), while matching a career high with 2 TD catches... If the Bears keep 6 WR then Davis can stick around, if they keep 5 then let him go.

It's too many injuries in too few seasons. No matter how you feel about him as a player or as a person it's impossible to look at him and feel like you can count on him. For whatever reason injuries are like that for some guys. I think it's best for the team and him to part company. At best he was going to be #2 and more likely #3 NT so give another young guy a shot. Toeina has done some good things for us in the past so I say it's time to open the door for him.

I wasn't counting on him but it's still tough to see him get injured like this again. I hope it's just a sprain but that alone might be enough to keep him off the final roster.

At a minimum Knox has already shown the league he can be a good KR/PR, and while he hasn't made a big splash at the WR position just yet he hasn't been non-existent either. Give him a couple more games and I think you'll see what he's about and I think it will be clearer that he makes the final roster.

I still feel that Orton is a good QB. I just don't see him as a great QB. He is still going to move their offense and put up some points but he's not Jay Cutler. I watched some of the Denver game and much of the big gains came on short pass plays (WR screen for 50 yds). Kyle can and will do those things well but so can a lot of QBs. However, I much prefer our situation where the opposing defense has to cover another 20 yards on the field.

In either case I like the idea of having a backup OG who we know can play. This is a nice change after years of hoping we'd never have to see Metcalf on the field.

Cutler threw the ball to the spot Hester would have been at if he (Hester) didn't stop running.

As I understand it, he had that bicep tendon tear repaired by having it fully cut clean. It takes a couple months to get over that change but then the pain is gone for good with no impact to his throwing ability. While all that was going on they found a torn rotator cuff. That will cause him some issues if he throws too much. Since he doesn't like to practice he should be ok.

Now that the afterglow of seeing a real NFL offense in a Bears uniform is fading a bit I can jot down some thoughts. This can't solely be due to Greg Olsen but he certainly is going to be a huge part of our offense this year. That's the first I've ever seen a WR screen to a TE and it was pretty effective and almost went for a big gain. It probably wasn't noticed as much but Olsen had a great pass-protection block on one play, not sure if it was a DE or LB he stopped but they went nowhere and Cutler had time to throw for a big gain. He is going to give opponent DC's trouble figuring out how they want to matchup. WRs...we found some. They weren't always able to get separation and at times the coverage was pretty good but Cutler got the ball into a tight spot and our guys held on. That's what you have to do in this league. DA made an incredible catch. Bennett I thought was solid but for him this alone is a big improvement just to get the monkey off his back. Rideau finally played like the big WR he is. Hester had a TD if he didn't hesitate while running deep and the image of that play will be in the back of the minds of every DB who covers Hester this year. Overall not too much spectacular but a solid showing nonetheless. The most important thing was that good plays were spread around and this group needed to have a day like this to gain confidence. I needed a day like this too! Oline. Showed improvement against a very good Dline. Some mistakes were made but they are on the upswing of the curve. RBs... Forte, are you kidding me? Some of his moves and vision were first-rate tonight. Jones did some good some bad but he's no Forte. Wolfe seems to be a lot stronger in his leg drive, he is actually going forward after contact even in runs up the middle. Fumbles need to go away especially near the goal line. AP was AP. Hanie....after watching him play so deep into the 4th quarter I am thinking the Bears will go with 2 QBs on the final roster. Otherwise I think the Bear would have given Basanez more reps late in the game. I don't know if Basanez is eligible for the practice squad, I just don't see him doing anymore for us than a vet we'd pickup off the street if things got that far. I liked what Hanie did with the second team, he was effective putting drives together, even the one in the last two minutes of the first half where penalties kept pushing us backward. Once the third string got in the game nothing looked right. Dline...Alex Brown are you going to get double digit sacks this year? It just might happen. I'd still like to see more consistent pressure but there were flashes this game as opposed to none last game. I'll gladly accept the progress. Mark Anderson seems to be MIA. Jaron Gilbert looks like the real deal but while I think he'll contribute this year I don't think we'll see his upside until next year. Harrison still plays like a beast if he ever gets his act together and gets in great shape he'll be a stud for us. LBs...trouble wrapping up early but it got better by the second quarter. Pisa will start for us. DBs...I thought Payne played well but it's hard to isolate on safeties until I watch the game tomorrow. Afalava was ok. Steltz is nothing more than a backup. Our corners were again soft but they were lined up tighter this game. Still need to see more pass breakups, can we at least get one? I'm not going to count Bullocks PDs late in the game.

Considering the is just the second quarter of play for this new Oline I think the effort was pretty good. There are still things to work on but I like the progress. I feel exactly the same about our Dline except most of them have been together for years.

Hester clearly underestimated how far that ball was going, he hesitated nearly to a full stop before taking off again. Cutler made that 60 yard throw while on the run, and had Hester not stopped running it would have been on the money. Even the DBs quit on the play because they probably thought they were deep enough being 50 yards off the LOS. They also must have forgotten who our QB is. Talk about having to cover the entire field when the QB scrambles! The last time I saw a pass like that it came off the hand of Brett Favre and it was many many years ago. I remember our DB quit covering because he thought he was deep enough. Only on that play the Packer WR kept running. Hester will learn to keep running too.

Wasn't it Jacobs Urlacher steamrolled en route to a near sack? We don't practice tackling in camp so going from zero to tackling Jacobs is tough but I was glad to see they got better as the game went along.

I'd like to say Afalava stood out in large part because our safety situation is so tenuous but with DManning out the coaches felt good enough about him to move Payne over from SS to make room for Afalava with the number ones, and that all happened very quickly. So yes, with weak competition he has a good opportunity but to stand out but doing so that early means he knows his assignments and isn't just a big hitter. I think we'll still see DManning return to FS in large part because it sounds like Corey Graham is starting to settle into the nickle role.

More entertaining was watching take the direct hit on a blitz up the middle. He rolled off the carpet pretty slowly. I wonder what he was thinking after that play.

Far less concerned about WR than CB. If a decent vet is cut OR is dangled for a trade I bet we're making a move to bring them in.

Favre leads the NFL in INT's, all time. The only coach who got him under control was Holmgren. Since then you might as well flip a coin because it's good Favre -- bad Favre and just like a box of chocolates you never know what you have until he opens it up on gameday. Do any of you think when a head coach like Childress gets on his knees to beg Favre to come play for him, violates two distinct deadlines ("it's now or we move on"), then starts training camp ready to move on yet backtracks two weeks later and calls for help again. Then when the guy gets in town the same head coach drives down to the airport to pick him up. Anyone think that when Favre throws multiple INTs in a game that Childress is going to get in his face? How about the second time it happens? He can't because Favre will just look at him from his (Favre's) office and say "you begged me to come here." It's clear the tail is wagging this dog. Their season starts off with several easy games they should win. I expect the entire league to be all over the Vikings and how they are going to the playoffs and the Superbowl. This part of the season is also when Favre will be the strongest. Then in week 4 their real season starts with Green Bay, then StL (easy), followed by Balt, Pitt, and again Green Bay. I expect the Green Bay games to be very physical. I'm curious to see how Favre does after this stretch.