AZ54

Sanborn is getting time with the 2's today. He earned it.

Looks like a few players returned to practice today: Kmet, Gordon, Velus Jones. Jenkins lined up at RG with the 2nd team early on which I think is good news but we'll see if this carries over to the team drills.

https://www.nbcsports.com/chicago/bears/bears-teven-jenkins-finds-happiness-return-field-ready-show-out

That nonchalant persona carried over to his press conference which was a little disappointing to watch.

Maybe this will help get his head back in the game.

In my first summary of the KC game I stated that this team seemed organized. That was especially true for a new staff, new players, all running new systems and many coaches are in new roles. In his post-game press conference Eberflus was asked about that and this article sums up the preparation that went into that. One item he said that isn't in the article is that the decision to go for it on 4th down late in the game was given to Getsy early. Eberflus told him at the start of that set of downs if he gets to 4th and 3 or less he's going for it. Other things stood out to me as well such as how smoothly we looked when we switched from extra pt to going for 2 after our first TD. It was quick transition with players onto the field with a play to run. The last item that caught my eye was how smoothly the entire offense hurried up to the new LOS after Sharpe's big catch. Fields got everyone into position for a quick snap to limit the opportunity for KC to review the play. I don't know who was on the field on that play but overall we did that with backup TEs/WRs so they are coaching this stuff to everyone in camp, and equally important is that Getsy had the next play call ready to go. Or they have a given set of plays/signals for this situation. There was no fumbling through a play sheet to figure it out. https://chicago.suntimes.com/bears/2022/8/13/23304622/bears-matt-eberflus-debut-long-time-coming-replay-challenge-soldier-field-19-14-final-head-coach-nfl

With below average interior play against he run I think we need to be prepared for the return of bend but don't break. I don't see us forcing many 3 and outs. Just wait for the turnover, drive killing penalty, or a 3rd and long situation. The back 7 is good enough that we should get a few PBUs that force teams into a 3rd and long and at least give the strength of our Dline, the edge rush, a shot at making a play. Don't give up the big plays.

Newsome has a fatal receiving flaw... he's not looking at the ball all the way into his hands. It can be seen on his muffed punt and again the bobbled ball on his TD reception. Take a look at the highlights of Mooney's and Sharpe's big catches and ball, hands, and eyes are all at the same spot.

Sanborn doesn't have Roquan's speed but he does have his intensity. On a different note ... we have a good punter. Gill had some impressive kicks and his ability to dead-drop the ball inside the 10yd line is going to help this team. We saw that on his college highlights but he should just get better at it as a pro.

You are putting Herbert behind Evans and I don't see that happening if for no other reason for his return ability. I didn't see anything with Evans to make me think he outperformed Herbert either. If it's cap space you are after then Evans is a little higher than Herbert (1m vs. 800k). OTOH I do agree that the combination of Herbert and Ebner could mean they don't give Montgomery a new deal. I want to see that play out over the course of the season because 1) I think Ebner is better fit as RB3/ 3rd down specialist. 2). I'm not sure Herbert is able to carry load for 20 carries a game. We saw last year after a few games as a starter he wasn't as effective.

My overall observation from today's game is that we looked....organized. For an entirely new staff the usual hiccups we saw during the Nagy years with player substitutions, late play calls, blown assignments, and then even just executing plays seemed pretty smooth. Execution was perfect at all times for sure but for me this was a positive sign with this coaching staff. Braxton Jones looked like belonged. I was surprised by how well he played overall even if not perfect. For a 5th Rd rookie in his first NFL action it was clear he belonged on the field. During the draft we had multiple conversation about grabbing one of the hustle type LBs late. We ended up with Sanborn as UDFA but he always seemed to be at the right spot and wasn't chasing plays. He also had some standout plays on special teams. Pretty good for a UDFA and I like his chances to make the 53. I watched Micah Dew-Treadway a bit since he was surprisingly listed as a 2nd string DT but saw nothing to make me think he's more than a practice squad player. While Treadway was struggling to get past the LOS some guy named Coley who I never heard of kept making plays in the backfield. Overall though the DTs didn't impress me at all and I think we're going to struggle with consistency here all season long. Nobody is surprised by that and this will be high on the needs list next offseason. DEs on the other hand have me optimistic. AQM and Gipson looked good. When we add Quinn to the mix we'll have a solid 3-man rotation. The surprising rookie had a splash play but IMO beyond that his inexperience showed every time he was engaged with an OT. I like his potential and so we'll see what he learns between now and the next game. Ebner on his first return was impressive cutting at speed. Few players can get to the edge and then turn upfield at speed like he did. Darrynton Evans has an uphill battle to make the roster with Ebner around. Sharpe made a great catch. He wasn''t able to run away from the DB but if he can keep using his body positioning to his advantage he can be productive. Fields looked good overall, maybe a touch slow reading things. Give all the backups he was working with at WR and (all) TEs. While there were struggles I go back to my first comment with organization and this felt like how an NFL offense should be run. Get plays in, get out of the huddle early, and then Just need it turn into better execution.

Considering Jenkins limited time back from the injury and whatnot I didn't think he played poorly. However, I see Mongo's point about DEs getting into his chest. Maybe it is just the lack of arm length but It seemed to me he was constantly grabbing at players from outside their arms, instead of controlling them inside on the pads.

He is trying the court of public opinion and I don't see anywhere where he is getting as much love as he was thinking he would. I haven't seen a single person saying he should be the highest paid LB in the NFL.

That is what I keep hearing but I'm highly encouraged by what I'm hearing (and what little I can see) coming out of training camp. Especially here in the last week or so. I expect things will be pretty vanilla in the KC game but I just want to focus on his composure and mechanics in the pocket.

Roquan is really in over his head. Go get an agent. https://bearswire.usatoday.com/2022/08/12/bears-roquan-smith-someone-calling-teams-to-gauge-trade-interest/

Harry had surgery that is supposed to speed up the healing process. Out 8 weeks and almost certainly an IR candidate. If you're curious like me and don't mind watching surgeries involving drill bits there are videos. https://www.arthrex.com/foot-ankle/tightrope

Looks like Fields and the offense had another good day. Not perfect but definitely moving in the right direction and even better is this is now a couple good practices in a row. Need one more data point like this to make a trend but that will have to happen on Sat against KC. https://bearswire.usatoday.com/lists/bears-training-camp-takeaways-day-13/ It’s safe to say that the Bears defense has “won” most of these training camp practices this summer. But the offense certainly stepped up on Thursday with what many were calling their best practice in a long time.

He requests a trade then shows up to watch practice? https://bearswire.usatoday.com/lists/bears-training-camp-takeaways-day-13/ For awhile there, Roquan Smith wasn’t present at practice. But he showed up with defensive tackle Angelo Blackson during the session, where he proceeded to watch from the sideline. Head coach Matt Eberflus wasn’t happy about it. Following practice, Eberflus was asked if he knew why Smith wasn’t practicing. “The reason why for that is you’ll have to ask him,” Eberflus said. “We expect all our healthy players to practice.”

That is not viewable at least for those of us who don't have a Twitter acct.

https://www.chicagobears.com/team/depth-chart At this point there aren't many surprises unless we're still surprised our 5th Rd rookie is listed as a starter at LT. WR: ESB is a starter opposite Mooney. Not a shocker given he knew the offense coming in and to date it appears he's also earned it. Velus and Pringle are listed as #3 and 4. RB: Ebner is listed as 3rd ahead of Darrynton Evans and he seems to make big plays every practice. I'm looking forward to seeing him play. DE: Trevis Gipson is still holding onto a starting job but with AQM making some noise lately we'll see if that holds. The fact Gipson is ahead of a guy who knows the scheme should indicate we'll have a solid 3-man rotation. Mario Edwards is also listed as 2nd string ahead of Dominique Robinson. Robinson is a player to watch in the preseason and the coaches have been impressed with him so far but he has much to learn. Can he close the gap? DT: We haven't talked much about this spot other than Justin Jones at the 3-tech. Angelo Blackson is the other starter and he's backed up by rookie UDFA Micah Dew-Treadway. Granted we don't have a lot of competition at DT but Micah's gotten this far quietly and he's a local guy from Bolingbrook. I'm curious if this is a case of him being the best among few good options or if he's actually able to handle the NFL. If like me you are really bored waiting for games to start I found an interview with him where he talks about how he matured the last couple years. ~5-10min mark and especially last year with his work ethic. I skipped ahead to ~30min mark where he talks about the Bears and, since he's a Bears fan, his perspective on the team. He talks about the little things Fields is doing well that he wasn't doing last year. Good luck to him. CB: Looks as expected other than Thomas Graham Jr. being way down at the bottom of the depth chart. He was making some plays before the injury and looked to be in the mix to earn a backup role. If he can't recover in time he'll certainly be on the practice squad.

I remember how bad Watson was in a playoff game. That was some of the worst QB play I've ever seen and I say that as a Bears fan. He won the game running for big gains but the passing was awful. After they beat up on Justin Fields last year it feels right that Watson landed in Cleveland.

Can't trade an injured player. Well you can but if Poles is intent on maximizing value he's not going to advertise that Roquan is injured. I also think if a player wants a trade then they shouldn't be in camp. We're building something for the future, send him home because you can't allow him to hang around camp and bad mouth management. Both parties can continue to negotiate if they choose and Roquan can pursue his contract aspirations elsewhere. No better way to find out what your market value is than to be on the market. He'd be far better off seeking his new dream team if he had an agent working for him. They know how to work things behind the scenes and they can also quietly figure out your market value through their contacts before you blow up publicly against your current team.

Hey Ryan, this is Ryan from the Chicago Bears. Interested in Teven and/or Roquan?

Pretty much what I was saying albeit with a bit of sarcasm.

That's true but the locals know what they should be seeing. I don't read it much but I'm sure the national media is still securely fastened to Mac Jones' jock. https://nesn.com/2022/08/mac-jones-frustrated-by-this-aspect-of-patriots-offensive-struggles/