AZ54

I have been a proponent of this going back to Trubisky's days. There is one caveat in that play action takes the QBs eyes off the defense. To keep QBs looking forward I think coaches fell in love with the RPOs and it had initial success when it was new. On those plays the QB has a simple read for a run/pass option to one side of the field but that is extremely limited in terms of what a defense must defend against. Defenses adapted quickly as they always do and now nobody really cares about RPOs. Where RPOs force the action into a narrow window I feel like play action opens up the entire field and allows a good OC to take advantage of weaknesses or bad tendencies of specific players (susceptible to double cuts, LB with coverage issues, etc.) which create more opportunities for big plays. You have to coach the QB how to interpret the defensive shifts that happen while his back is turned, and he also has to read the rush package properly and be in sync with the Oline blocking assignments before the snap. With athletic QBs like Trubisky and Fields you have options on moving the pocket, and hot reads if a guy blitzes to mitigate that. I think all this takes more commitment and effort on the part of the players and coaches versus learning college-style RPOs but there's a reason it's lasted so long as an effective play call in the NFL. It's going to be interesting to see this play out this year.

Good call.

Justin has been working on an improved more compact throwing motion this offseason. It appears here that Getsy is pushing him to get rid of the little hop he takes before he throws.

Wow that is a seriously underthrown pass. Hard to say if it was the wrong route but for Gordon to be able to come back on that and pick it off says a lot. I'm guessing this is the same play but Finke is listed as #8 on the Bears site but jersey numbers at this point change frequently. In any case that WR doesn't have the burst to challenge Gordon and he was going nowhere against his coverage. I look forward to seeing Velus against Gordon. https://www.chicagobears.com/news/quick-hits-bears-top-pick-gordon-lighting-it-up The ball skills that second-round pick Kyler Gordon demonstrated at Washington were on display during the Bears' first two OTA practices Monday and Tuesday. On one play, the rookie cornerback ran stride-for-stride with receiver Chris Finke, stopped on a dime, turned around and leaped high in the air to intercept the ball. "Kyler's been lighting it up the last two days, I'll just tell you that," coach Matt Eberflus said following Tuesday's practice. "The guy's got tremendous ball skills. He's been playing defense the right way and we're very impressed with him.

Other than the fact Eberflus reportedly moved to more Cover 3 to close some of the Cover 2 issues teams we able to take advantage of. That's good news IMO because I got sick of the Cover 2 getting burned on the same throws again and again. I was all for drafting offense early in this draft but I thought it would have been nice if we were in position to take advantage of the Rd 2 DB talent. The Vikings got my guy Lewis Cine at 32, which seemed high, but left us Gordon on the board who I think is a very good fit for our scheme. And so here we are with an upgraded secondary. The mixed coverages is why having a legit Field General out there in Brisker was such a good pick. My assumption is that his leadership is what we coveted as much as his physical ability. He seems like one of the few safeties in the draft capable of getting everyone aligned before the snap. We badly need that so I don't have to see Eddie Jackson waving his hands up in the air on every blown coverage. If Brisker is that guy, then the DC can mix in coverages during a game with more confidence.

He has some good insights into our offseason with the new coaches, strength and conditioning program, Oline, and the WRs. Most of that is in the first half of the interview and the second half goes further back to his days with Angelo.

If he's even he's leavin' and so I'm taking Velus on this one.

He ran a limited route tree in college, pretty much like all of the drafted WRs, even some of those that went in the first round (or Christian Watson). Doesn't mean he can't be effective since most rookie WRs start out the same way. Regardless, his YAC ability might make him the better slot option but I think long term he lines up in a variety of spots and we force the defense to sort out how they want to cover him. There aren't many NB who can stay with Velus 20 yd downfield or even on a drag route across the field.

They obviously see some potential with him but did this to clear up a 90-man roster spot for training camp. That's good so we can evaluate one more player.

I agree familiarity with Getsy likely gets St Brown the first crack at X. We'll see how they line up in OTAs but then we'll see what changes happen when training camp starts. If Velus, who is not a great route runner, passes him up quickly that's not a good sign we can expect anything at all from St. Brown.

Easy. There is just one team I can't see any way we can defeat: Bills. Getting the Packers early is good before their WR situation is sorted out. Not that I expect to win that game on the road but it's in the realm of possibility. Getsy should know how to exploit their defensive weaknesses, I'm just not sure he'll have the tools to make that happen. All the other games we should be competitive but will a young roster know how to win close games? I say 6 to 8 wins.

It explains a lot about how he lost his heart for the game, all understandable. Writing that had to be hard but I also think it helped with the healing process, which will never stop. I wish him nothing but the best and hopefully he can find that football spark again. I'd like to see him smiling again on the sidelines one Sunday.

Tajae Sharpe is some reasonable competition for a roster spot. Pettis I"m not too interested in but we have to see. We need some WRs for camp and this adds competition for those last 1 or 2 roster spots. Sharpe ran a 4.55 forty at the combine so he's not a speed merchant but having players who have run NFL routes before certainly helps in camp, especially if there is an injury.

Bummer I wonder what the injury is.

Great QB if you want to practice running screen plays.

I hope Mooney's targets drop... by a lot... and we're getting better distribution across the field. I also hope his receptions stay the same meaning we're finding him when he's open and not forcing throws at him just because there are no other good options.

I think this is worth watching. A couple highlights: 1) He is the anti-Nagy: "This is our offense it's not my offense". He is incorporating things from everyone on the coaching staff. 2) On EqStBrown: He matured a lot last year, and he's glad we were able to sign him and expects him to role model what they want on offense and that he'll contribute quite a bit this year. Lots of questions on Velus and of course Fields.

Albright will be fun to watch in preseason.

I read somewhere that Teague liked body building which is a different style of workout versus being the best RB you can be. He was fast but with any of these guys if they bulk up too much they lose quickness and agility. Maybe that's what he prefers to focus on. Whatever it was it is interesting that the RB they signed, Tuggle, is small and has average agility and speed but it appears he can run routes, catch, and do KR. He's a versatile RB who can help you in a variety of ways in practice. In an emergency if you call him up you likely don't have to change too much in the game plan. https://247sports.com/Article/Master-Teague-Ohio-State-Buckeyes-weight-room-photo-goes-viral-muscle-162398684/ "Teague is a physical specimen whose background in bodybuilding gave him throwback size for the running back position."

I actually start with the highlights. If I can't see anything that stands out stats are meaningless. They can be affected by the scheme, talent around the player, or just how the coach used the player both good or bad. Then if the stats don't match what I think I see then I gotta go back and find more video, preferably games, which I try to find anyway if I have time. I have my share of hits and many misses like anyone else but Trevis Gipson was a Day 3 guy I wanted a couple years ago. He had just 8 sacks in his last and best season at Tulsa, and just 4 the year prior, which is far from what I want to see from a guy at a small school. He had 7 sacks last year in the NFL. To be honest I expected that'd be his ceiling in the NFL but he kinda got there a little quicker than even I hoped for. I don't think he'll ever be a starter who can handle 70% of the snaps, but maybe that's his ceiling in a couple years as long as it's in a heavy rotation like Eberflus runs. Even then he likely needs someone like Quinn opposite him. I learn something new every year from this board in how to evaluate players at different positions. I enjoy that and watching how the players' we like evolve during their careers even if they are on other teams.

One of the biggest improvements Adams made was finally getting on the same page with Rodgers when plays broke down. Rodgers is excellent at buying time but in the early years he just couldn't figure out which way Adams was going to break. Of course earlier in Adams career Rodgers had some other options too. Point here isn't about Adams it's about Mooney and Fields and what can happen when plays break down. These are the big plays off-schedule we've rarely seen but we got a little taste here and there last year. I'd say we have some good pieces in place for this, except perhaps a good Oline. Then again Oline breakdowns often lead to broken plays. Between Montgomery, Mooney, Velus, Pringle, Ebner, we have several players who have the quickness and/or speed to get separation during a scramble play. Mooney working out with Fields should only help that but I'd like to see some others on board this summer. Getting some of this down with a new offense will take time but hopefully we see some nice gains on broken plays in the 2nd half of the season.

Seems like these 3 have more athletic talent than most of the players we initially brought in. They might have a good shot at making the practice squad.

I agree, great writeup. I ignore NFL pundits because they are always late to the bandwagon after a team starts winning, or they promote people like Carson Wentz when his stats weren't all that great in his first season. He just had a great team around him. We can list all sorts of love affairs they've had with QBs: Garoppolo, even Gardner Minshew had a brief few moments fame where he was "the answer" when it was clear to anyone who watched he had limitations. The NFL defenses adapt quickly to what you like to do and then the media dumps those guys pretty quickly. Fields looked lost much of last year but it did start to come together for him later but injuries, or his lack of staying away from contact, kept him off the field. It will take a few weeks for a rebuilt Oline and WR corps to come together with the new playbook but I remain optimistic Fields is our guy. I agree, we should be able to see that even with the talent limitations around him.

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