AZ54

Orton is going to have it rough this year. Not only does he have to replace Cutler he also has to learn a totally new offense, as does the rest of the offense. We all know that takes time. For Bronco fans that won't matter though because all they'll see is less productivity from the QB and the offense and blame Orton. Until they go back and blame the head coach. That should happen after about midseason.

I spent some time searching for that article where Orton talked about how he hadn't handled his second season the way he should have. I did find this blog post that mentions it back in Aug 2007: http://www.dabearsblog.com/2007/08/remember_kyle_orton.php ******************************************************************************** John Mullin writes a terrific piece in today's Trib. Apparently, Orton has come to camp with a stronger arm and more intimidating physique. Ron Turner has called him lightyears better than he was as a ten-game winner (remember that?) two years ago. According to Mullin, there are two questions: Can Orton emerge from the preseason as the No. 2 quarterback ahead of Brian Griese? And in the event that Rex Grossman does not work out, can Orton possibly play his way into becoming the franchise quarterback of the Bears' future? The answer to both is ... yes. Not gonna lie...I'm interested. All of a sudden, the first preseason game looms not only as a showcase for the development of Rex Grossman but also for the re-invention of his fallen predecessor. Kyle Orton has the next month plus to establish himself as the the quarterback-in-the-wings and I'd be more than happy to see it happen. ******************************************************************************** *** I don't mean to imply he pouted publicly because he did handle things publicly in a professional manner. However, from his change in 2007 vs. 2006 it was clear he didn't work hard at competing for the second string job after Rex was declared the starter in the offseason and then Griese was brought in to be our #2. After leading us to multiple wins his rookie years the fans back then were expecting Orton to make a better showing than he did that year (2006), myself included. Graham's situation IMO appears similar from the outside. Of course, he has had to deal with some position changes and that alone will reduce performance but he's also not new to our system like the rookies. It's all anecdotal stuff, hypothetical, whatever, because all I have to go on is the fact he does not appear to be making a standout impression on anyone, neither media or coaches. If you feel that is because his coverage is so good nobody will throw the ball his way that's fine. I'll wait for a second source to confirm this before getting on that bandwagon.

DM was outstanding on KR. Hester is still PR which is better suited to his talents, not that he can't do both well. At any rate teams were just constantly kicking away from Hester so having him back there worked in the sense you might get 10 extra yards of field position on a kick going out of bounds but you weren't getting 6 pts. We had to find a way to get the ball in his hands. I wish the talk about him being our #1 WR would die down. I still want him effective as a PR and I prefer there be no push to get him a huge quantity of receptions. He's not the biggest WR and IMO over 80 rec with his PR duties will just wear him down and reduce his big play ability in both roles. I'd prefer to see him in more of a #2 role with less touches but more effective as a big play guy. In other words I'd much rather see Hester among league leaders in YPC and YAC versus # receptions. If that helps him get a couple PR for TDs then it's totally worth it. Those return TDs are demoralizing for the other team. Let's spread the ball around to Olsen, Bennett, Forte, Hester, and whoever our #3 WR is, among others and don't worry about making Hester "the #1 WR" .

I watched the weekly highlight film on the Bears website and I have to admit i was impressed with the way Rideau was coming off the line. It seems he finally has learned how to use his size advantage, or maybe he's finally added the strength to his frame. He's not real quick coming out of his cuts and doesn't appear fast but does appear to have sneaky speed that people underestimate. Looking forward to catching next weeks game on TV somewhere someway somehow.

This is kinda funny in a thread titled "Fight at Training Camp".

I still like Kreutz, and yes he's not the mobile blocker he used to be but he is a tireless worker and leader. Mike Brown I don't miss. He's just too slow and broken down to be dependable. His leadership abilities, as much as I admired them, aren't worth much when he's on the sidelines. I still say it was him who blew the last pass play against Atlanta. It was time to move on.

Graham is clearly in the doghouse, how he got there I don't know. Perhaps it was some bitchin' and moanin' over the FS move. Now he's back at CB but let's be clear, if he's as good as many on this board have been touting him to be we'd be hearing more about him. There was talk about him being a potential starter for us and taking a step up this year. Well then a guy with that kind of talent who is going against second string players on our offense (Caleb Hanie QB and a slew of no-names no-experience at WR) and he still isn't making INT's is just not playing well. Years ago another player got a lot of starts in his rookie year and did "ok" filling in for an injured player. He then got put back on third string before camp started and subsequently spent the whole year pouting. He didn't standout in training camp that year, basically looked like a 3rd string QB. That guy was Kyle Orton. I'm not comparing a QB to a CB just saying that history shows some players don't always handle position switches and/or demotions well and that's what I think is going on here. Lovie for his part is making it clear that a job won't be handed to someone, which is good IMO.

Dominique Raiola is Kreutz's best friend and they always workout together in the offseason. I'm sure Raiola's younger brother Donovan has been working out with these two. I'm not expecting much from this kid but it's likely he's a hard worker and could turn into something down the road. Worth a shot to see what he's got and if he's worth putting on the practice squad.

Found this at the end of an article on Rideau and thought I'd post it to give some props to Kreutz. Aside from his play this is why he's one of the team leaders: Center Olin Kreutz, a six-time Pro Bowler, remained on the field after practice to work one-on-one with guard Johan Asiata, an undrafted rookie free agent from UNLV. I've never heard of Asiata and yet here's our Pro Bowl center out there after practice helping him out.

I can't tell you how good it was to hear Chris Williams got a pancake on Adams. I know it's just Adams and it's just one practice play but IMO this is a good sign that his strength and his back are definitely up to the task, and this is 5 days into camp when guys are getting tired and relaxing a bit.

It's muscle fatigue. These guys have been working hard for several days in a row, hitting and sprinting. It was obvious to me yesterday when I watched video of the Dline drills. Everyone was running the drill slower and stiffer than on the first couple days and so I was expecting to start hearing about some soft tissue injuries and sure enough we have one. Hopefully he's just strained it and can get back for at least the last couple preseason games.

Yes, I haven't heard of Ravi signing yet and that can't hurt us at all, especially since conditioning was never considered one of his traits. As far as our speed being on the inside, of course they'd be lined up that way but there's nothing stopping them from running a quick out pattern while the TE is running upfield to clear out the DB, S, LB (whoever is out there). Greg Olsen has pretty good speed too, not elite but enough to get upfield. I'm looking forward to seeing how we match up with them from a formation point of view. I know their CBs are tough at the LOS but I think our TEs and RBs will give us an advantage.

The Packers are switching over to the 3-4 defense and after watching ESPNs update on Packer's camp and listening to their chat about how the DEs and LBs have to change roles somewhat I got to thinking how our offense will fare against them. I view the 3-4 as more of a stout run defense that gets it's pass rush in part because of the opportunities to bring a 4th or 5th pass rusher from multiple locations. Pass coverage with 4 LB has some limitations so the pass rush is key. They've got personnel issues with guys like Kampman, the Packer's best pass rusher, who now lines up as a LB. Which means he'll have to cover someone from time to time. On our side we're going to use Olsen in a lot of different positions (TE, WR, H-back) meaning they won't be able to know pass/run as well depending on personnel. If we go to the recently reported double-split-wide TE formation with WR in the slot positions how will they handle that? You can't really go to a nickel D because we could line up two TEs on the outside of the OTs and run. Are they going to leave their LBs to cover Hester and Bennett? I just see some nice advantages we have with spreading out the offense. On top of that Forte is a pretty good WR making him a threat out of the backfield. If this is effective we're going to find out quickly and in a big way because after Green Bay we play Pittsburgh.

LOL on the stats showing our Oline couldn't block well last year. No shock Forte did better when we ran a spread offense but I'll add one more thing, those were also more likely to be 3rd and long downs so the D was likely a backed off the LOS a bit.

I think you are right. We've been terrible in bump and run and if there's one thing our CBs need to work that is it. I don't mind at all the early emphasis on getting this technique down. Certainly if our pass rush isn't what we think it can be this will put our DBs in a tougher spot so I'd expect we'd back off a bit. However, if our Dline is doing their job and passes are coming out quicker then we need to be in tight coverage.

I think Bullocks is done. I'm pretty sure he got some looks at FS in the OTAs but as near as I can tell he's done nothing to impress the coaching staff. Given all the issues among our DBs if Bullocks were doing anything positive I'm pretty sure we'd have heard about it. Moving DM back to FS, Graham back to CB, combined with Bullocks not even getting shot at being the backup FS just put the icing on the cake. It appears right now he's 3rd string at SS and I think Afalava is taking over that role as I type.

Apparently our new secondary coach is a bit more of the in-your-face type. In the past Lovie favored the "teaching type" of coaches and felt they worked best with the players. Now he seems to have moved toward the task-master side of the equation, not all the way to other side but more in the middle between the two styles considering Marinelli and Hoke. You only need to watch the Sunday camp video on the Bears site to see this is clearly having an effect on Mark Anderson whose effort in the pas rush one-on-one has more urgency than I've ever seen in him, and he made an inside counter move too! It's only practice so far and of course having Melton and Idonije behind him and the desire for a new contract and/or job are motivating factors too. The camera angles for most of the camp video make it hard to see what the DBs are doing so I can't make out if anyone is reacting better to the WR cuts and/or inside slants. Any feedback on this topic from the lucky few who get to camp would be appreciated.

Let's just check in with Josh McDaniels on whether or not Orton is struggling with the long passes: http://www.milehighreport.com/2009/8/1/972...s-training-camp On if he thought QB Kyle Orton struggled with long pass attempts "No. When you are throwing long balls, you try to make them work and make them go. We had a couple chances there, but some days you are going to come up with them and some days you are not. I certainly would not categorize anybody as struggling with the long-ball." Then there are the fan reactions from their second day of practice: http://bleacherreport.com/articles/228927-...ackson-emerging There were mixed reactions about Saturday's session. One fan was complaining about Kyle Orton completing a series of five-to-ten yard passes instead of throwing the ball 30 yards downfield, and some fans were harping on the defense after a couple of good runs by Ryan Torain, Correll Buckhalter, and Peyton Hillis.

It's either good news or bad news depending on your perspective. Perhaps Marinelli is having an effect on the DEs and the pass rush is better with new moves, or perhaps our Williams is bad. Williams is adjusting to a new side of the ball so I expect he'll have a slow start.

They say he's day to day but he walked off the field without much of a limp so it might not be too bad. In any case missing days won't help him especially since they are splitting first team reps between him and Rosenfels. Jackson already had the upper hand in the competition in light of his experience in the system. Now with Sage getting all the first team reps for a few days it could even things up. Being Bears fans we all know what it's like to have a QB controversy in camp. Even Hester said yesterday that it definitely affected the WR corps as far as getting the timing down with Orton.

At the bottom of an article about Zach Bowman was this little tidbit about how Jon Hoke has changed our CBs coverage technique: ******************************************************************************** ******************** http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/footb...0,2983877.story Then came organized team activities, and the new emphasis on coverage technique that played into Bowman's skills beautifully. "We've done more backpedaling this year than I ever have in my life and that has helped me a lot," Bowman said. "They are teaching us to stay square for a longer period of time. Last year they were telling us to open up any time we felt threatened. This year they are telling us to stay square and just backpedal faster." ******************************************************************************** ********************* It's far too early to know how much this will help but it interesting to note that in years past players were told to open up anytime they felt threatened. This explains, at least in part, why so many of us were always screaming at our TVs when our CBs left WR open for so many short routes. When a coach gives guidance like this, IMO it isn't challenging a player to uphold a high standard for performance. There's just no baseline in the expectation for a player to achieve "just open up whenever YOU feel threatened." How about teaching a guy when to open up based on what the WR is doing? Clearly Bowman is benefitting from the new changes in tactics, hopefully it carries over to more players in our secondary. Maybe now we'll be able to defend the inside slant route.

Watching the Dline drills in this video it's clearly different and more intense. He really makes these guys run and change direction in these drills, even Anthony Adams is moving well. Best line "a little more violence". Yeah we need that in our pass rush. Best move: Mark Anderson with a very quick spin move. http://www.chicagobears.com/multimedia/mul...clip=Y&rn=6

Thayer listed the things he'll be watching for during training camp. One thing caught my eye, a very welcome sight indeed is that our Dline is learning to use counter moves on their pass rush. We've all been asking for this for years and perhaps it has finally arrived. If true, just the fact that we mix up the pass rush angles and moves will make our Dline more effective. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- http://blogs.suntimes.com/bears/2009/07/1_...tom_thayer.html There will be a good deal of focus on the secondary and rightfully so. Cornerback Charles Tillman will be an onlooker in camp while he recovers from back surgery. Danieal Manning was just switched back to free safety. These are legitimate storylines, but the key to the defense (and the secondary) improving is the pass rush. I asked Thayer if, in the absence of a real live pass rush, can he get a feel for how the defensive linemen are doing in camp? "Yeah. You can,'' he said. "There is a whole different tempo to their hand fighting. Not only the initial burst off the line of scrimmage and the position and how you're going to fight your hands through, but there is an equal counter move that comes right back and I watch these guys. They are just repititiously going through the exact same thing. The one thing about offensive and defensive line play, if you're not positively reinforced on your fundamentals on an every practice basis, you're going to really slip at these. What [Rod] Marinelli is doing is giving these guys the ability to move to counter move. That's where these guys' athleticism will come into play, I think. You're not just going to come to a stalemate, there is going to be a counter move from the defensive linemen to help them advance upfield.'' --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Yesterday I listened to Lovie's press conference: http://www.chicagobears.com/multimedia/mul...lip=Y&rn=17 and when he was talking about the WRs (5min mark) he suddenly stopped and said "he's excited to see what Greg Olsen can do in his new role, and his role is changing." Lovie usually doesn't say anything beyond his usual cliches so for him to go out of his way to mention Olsen like this means there is something to it. What is his new role? Anyone heard about this? Anyone seeing anything at camp? From the Trib video all I've seen so far was that he lined up wide, outside the WR, on one play. Not sure if that means much as he lined up some at WR last year. He played a fair amount of H-back last year too. If he does take on more of a WR role this year this clearly opens the door to keep 4 TEs. Does it mean we might keep 5 WR?

CUT