AZ54

Rome will play because he’s healthy enough to play not because he’s afraid of losing his job. Coaches screwed up last year letting him play through the broken foot injury. We had no depth to speak of and Burden was still working his way back from his injury. Therefore we already know Rome is tough and will play through injury. With the depth we have this year and against Carolina if he needs another week give it to him. The division game against Minn is more important.

Kyler Murray will just be Kyler Murray. A QB good enough to beat you, bad enough to lose you the game (depends on which side you’re on). He’ll be with a very good offensive coach who can mask deficiencies but as a defense you have to force Murray to read things and bypass the first read. I don’t know what other make of Detroit but I don’t see them as tough as the rest of the NFL predicts they will be. They don’t worry me but also won’t be an easy game. Green Bay without Josh Jacobs they have a problem. He’s a very talented RB they know they will need him for the playoff run. Beating them comes down to interior pass rush because their QB gets nervous. Jared Goff has improved a lot in this regard and will stand in the pocket. You can still disrupt Love’s entire game with some pressures early on.

Seems reasonable.

More like Nathan Vasher. Didn’t we pay him some good money only to have him then play soft?

I had Dayo down as a cut right after our last game. That’s gone. Edwards was also a potential cut candidate depending on how his season goes and then the offseason acquisitions.

It’s time for a few days off so their bodies can recharge. So many things improved over last year heading into week one that there really is no comparison. I was surprised when Dennis Allen said Street was our most consistent DT through camp. I don’t think Allen is stretching the truth here. That also means they were able to flip 3rd DT Dexter for CB depth at a position of need plus a pick. they hid Street well and covered up Dexter’s deficiencies. Don't misconstrue that to mean Street is going to be great. I think he’ll just be the same productive player he’s been. Not as many peaks as Dexter but less valleys.

I remember being surprised he made the trip to Cincy when others were left behind to rehab. This video proves the Bears point that he is willing to do things on his own but not with the training staff. While Poles didn’t say that outright he alluded to it.

One day After Poles kicked him to the curb Kyler send out this video. I don’t think this means he’s close to returning I just find it odd he’s training in bare feet https://bearswire.usatoday.com/story/sports/nfl/bears/2026/09/02/bears-kyler-gordon-rehab-training-calf-injury/91581753007/

Never heard that and never heard of Street even getting snaps with the ones.

I haven’t been that enamored with Hightower. I don’t think he’s bad but he’s not one of the best.

At some point I expect these “great” coaches to coach up some of this young talent to replace his performance for less money. if you’re going to pay for a special teams ace IMO they should be an elite coverage player who can consistently shut down returns and/or returner. Or that player should be better capable as a backup at a primary position. The bigger concern is we’re carrying two of these special teams aces in Blackwell and Hardy. Neither plays well at their primary position. That lack of depth at both positions impacted the defense last year.

Hardy can go on the practice squad.

That’s a decent group. Several WR options that could contribute in a pinch I definitely expected Alexander would be in that group. I wonder if the deal with Davenport was always about the practice squad. He’s known Dennis Allen for a long time. If both parties accept he won’t play a full season then he’s hanging around for the final push into the playoffs. The RB from Minn is a clear backup for Roschon. Ahmed backs up Swift/monangai

I don’t care how he arrives at the destination as long as he gets there. I see the many missed draft picks of other teams so I don’t think we’re alone here. If he doesn’t get the superbowl win then the picks ultimately become his accountability. I had a thought last night the Steelers returned our second round pick for Tyson Bagent before next years draft.

A few changes are coming for sure. Being a playoff caliber team as well as one proven to give anyone a chance to earn a spot is going to pay dividends with our ability to attract talent for the practice squad.

We won our division last year and now we have 11 rookies on our 53. Four are UDFAs. 20% of the team has no NFL experience. It’s what you might expect during the first year of a rebuild.

Sure but that player won’t likely be on the game day active list. You can always bring up a player from your PS when needed. Or has Hayden Large been some special teams standout we haven’t noticed?

The initial version of the 53 has some interesting situations. Just 4 LBs kept with Elliot as #4, Sanborn and Hyppolite both cut. I expect one or both back on the 53 or practice squad. Could we also be planning on signing another LB who was cut? 5 Safeties kept around. That doesn’t seem like a long term situation either. 5 CBs…with the new guy on the 53. I’m ok with that. I’d expect Beanie Bishop to get added to the PS while he serves out his suspension and we see what we have with the new guy. 5 DTs: Grady, Jordan VDB, Gallimore (wasn’t real impressed by him in preseason), Loving, and Street. I was critical of Grady’s play last year and not sure what to expect this year, but I’ll admit having him mentor two young and talented players in VDB and Loving is an ideal situation. 5 DEs: Davenport cut likely goes to PS. That’s odd for the former 1st Rd star, but nice you can do that with these veterans now. Congratulations to Kromah for making the 53. Daniel Hardy rounds it out but seems like once he’s primarily special teams focused especially if Davenport is on the PS. 5 WRs: Kaden Davis is likely a PS player. 10 Oline: Ozzy is on the list so that’s great news. I’m less enthused about Benedet as a backup OT this year but I can see him easily being the 6th Oline Ben uses on those rare plays when he goes heavy. 4 TEs: Keeping Hayden Large around surprises me.

agreed. Some players get the big money and that’s it.

More or less all of it although Overthecap just shows his cap hit as 1.075mil, there was no guaranteed money. Contract was listed as $1.2mil value so my guess is there was some type of bonus in there that he didn't achieve.

I don't see how any of that is the coaches fault.

Wills was cut. I wouldn’t be surprised to see him on the practice squad. More importantly this tells me the team has confidence in Ozzy return.

I feel the same. Of course I like both Loving and VDB. Overall I feel the depth at DT has improved but not the top end, that is with or without Dexter. This clears room for the young guys to get snaps and grow so we can know exactly what we have on hand by next offseason. Dexter wasn't going to change between now and February and was not going to be re-signed. That is more important as we head into the next offseason. This is a win now league and there are a lot of coaches who will always prefer to hang onto the veteran over giving rookies playing time. This coaching staff is 100% willing to bet on themselves and their ability to develop young talent. I've only seen highlights of CB Phillips we picked up. Clearly there's a reason ATL doesn't want him so we'll have to learn the downsides. However, I can see that he is an extremely quick athlete. Definitely has that quick twitch you prefer at NB but he hasn't performed well there in ATL. He's not tall nor long enough to really defend boundary throws. I'm curious to see where we try him out first but either way he adds some talent, depth, and experience at the bottom of the roster. Interesting to note that he replaced Jaylon at Utah so that little connection along with Al Harris might help get him back on track.

How many teams will be willing to go single high safety when Loveland and Zavion are on the field?

+1