AZ54

I have to say between our two teams I expected this headline for Chicago. Oh, and look who has Oline issues... https://www.nfl.com/news/niners-qb-trey-lance-not-going-to-make-too-big-of-a-deal-of-ugly-preseason-outin

I don't really worry about people feeling the need to call him a #1 WR. Fact is he's a proven 1000 yard receiver. I'd like to see his targets go down and catch% go up. He is not the biggest WR so we need to keep him healthy. The real issue is that nobody knows if we have anyone else capable of being a WR2. There's plenty of 3's, 4's, and 5s on the roster will anyone step up? I like what Adam said about Montgomery's targets increasing but I also think that extends to Ebner. His talent as a receiver will offset some of the production gap from the WRs. All things combined it's hard to see us getting 300 receiving yards in any game unless there is at least one big play, a very big play.

All I said was Jenkins as a RG has at least as much versatility as Schofield to kick out to OT if needed, and probably more because no matter where he is, he is a better run blocker than Schofield. That doesn't mean he's even the swing OT. If Schofield's best asset is as backup RG, 4th OT (RT), is that needed as much with Jenkins? We have starters in Jones, Borom, and backup Reiff. Schofield or Jenkins is the 4th OT. If we keep both we have 4th/5th options. It's hard to see how one of Carter or Zach Thomas are kept on the 53 when they can only play one spot. Unless we keep 9 Oline.

No to the rookies or you don't think we'd ever put Jenkins at RT if injuries caused us to have someone from game-day active roster finish out a a game? Or do you just like Schofield at OT that much? I haven't seen him play there but some of his struggles inside haven't given me a good feeling about seeing him on the outside.

He looks like he is in a much better place mentally vs. two weeks ago. Yet still focused on what he wants to get done. It's nice to see his sense of humor coming through.

Jenkins has more position versatility as LT/RT, and probably better performance than Schofield. I still give Schofield the edge to make the roster over the rookies but I think there is a small window of opportunity this weekend for the rookies to change that.

Sanborn gets the Baldy treatment...

Based on what I've seen of Herbert's poor pass protection I think Ebner is trending to take over his spot as the #2 RB. The season might not start that way but as Ebner gains experience against different defensive fronts/rush schemes and his blocking assignments I think he get more snaps. Ebner is also a much better receiver.

There are some interesting points in this article including why Gordon is likely to be our slot CB. Not to mention Velus was again held out of practice. https://www.si.com/nfl/bears/news/bears-running-back-shortage-causing-problems

I'm thinking Sanborn makes the 53 primarily as a special teams player. He's downfield and in on so many plays each game it's impossible not to notice him. He might be a 4.7 guy but he's got to be running that all the time. After how he looked against the 9th overall pick I can't see them hiding Robinson on the practice squad. I doubt they even want to. From what we've seen with this coaching staff they are willing to accelerate the learning curve of talented rookies by giving them significant game and practice reps. From Poles' viewpoint, Quinn isn't part of the Superbowl roadmap so you have to replace that production. At such a key position, if this kid has a chance to be good Poles will want to know it before the next offseason. Even if something else gets sacrificed they'll find a way to make it happen. Robinson plays special teams too so that helps. Oline it's hard to say if we'll keep 8 or 9. For depth we just need the 8 since Reiff and Schofield have position versatility. I'm not sure if Carter has shown enough. I don't see Eiselen making it as I rewatched the last game and he wasn't that good (struggled to anchor). Zach Thomas has looked better recently and has likely surpassed Simmons to earn a PS spot.

I was expecting this, maybe hoping for it, since they weren't able to get much done in the short week before traveling to Seattle.

We can't hide this guy any longer...

Almost certainly meant Dominique Robinson at DE. We've had BRob, ARob, MRob, and now DRob. They are going to need that energy because we'll almost certainly be giving up some long drives but hopefully they'll be terminated with a turnover. Wait for the offense's mistake, then capitalize on it.

His coverage skills might have inspired Roquan to ask for more money. I like Sanborn. He's a good football player but he is a limited athlete. He will get the maximum production out of his skill set and eventually I see him landing as the SLB, Hunter Hillenmeyer role, in this defense.

Any team that can find starting OTs in the 5th Rd is doing something right. However, I'm not that high on Borom yet as he still seems like a stop gap. Plus he's competing against a vet in his 11th season who has had some up and down seasons in recent years, plus injuries. As I said before, for me Reiff represents the floor. Coaches right now are trying to work on the upside with a younger player. I'm ok with that but I don't think they are married to that long term if he stumbles. Battles I'll be watching this coming weekend (if I can find the broadcast) are what they do with Mustipher, Eiselen and Carter. I haven't watched Eiselen in the Seattle game much but around the internet I've seen where people were impressed with his blocking at Center, more than what they saw from Mustipher. Snapping was not ideal but would that improve with reps? Carter has quietly performed well too. I think Schofield makes the 53 simply because of his experience and ability to play both RG/RT but will they be able to stash Carter on the practice squad? Or do they just hide Carter this game, let Schofield take all the snaps, and then move Carter to the practice squad? It is unexpected but now there appears to be real competition for the last few spots on the Oline.

Saw that and it's unfortunate. Hopefully it's not serious. With Ebner banged up we're getting some questions around the RBs. Evans is not as versatile as Herbert on special teams but fortunately we have a lot of options there. Tuggle is going to get a lot of carries this next game.

Mooney didn't seem to want to make the tackle for some reason. I also saw Montgomery out there so we should expect him to play this week.

I won't be surprised if he signs a new deal soon. He needs to save face after all he's done to bad mouth the organization. He cannot make it appear like he bent to their demands. I keep thinking how all the former Bears players must have been laughing at him when he appealed to Bears ownership for more money. You have to know your history. Now after demanding a trade and making a fool of himself with Saint Omni making calls around the league on his behalf he announces he's playing on his previous contract. Take a break from "active" negotiations and then announce in a few weeks, perhaps right before the season starts, that the Bears came back with a better offer. Nobody has to know the truth but I don't think Poles is going to move very much from his current offer. If anything this circus act might make him more leary of committing to Roquan long term. The organization has gone out of their way to protect Roquan from himself. No fines, they let him travel and hang out on the sideline with his teammates. No leaks on the offer to make Roquan look bad. The team wasn't even the source of the Saint Omni rumors, that came from the league itself in a memo.

We definitely have a few things to clean up but the positive takeaway for me is that overall everyone is on the same page on each play.

Some analysis of Jenkins performance against Seattle. I'm not so sure about the commentary on technique because I'd say Jenkins got caught off-balance quite bit. To his credit he never gave up on a play and stayed with his man and was usually able to get back in balance. At least with the slo-mo you can decide for yourself. IMO for a guy who practiced at RG for just 2 days he performed very well with finding his assignments especially as Seattle was mixing in a lot of blitzes. Physically I'd say he's got to get used to the timing and power but he has the strength to hold his ground and then some. One nice thing I saw is that when he did get beat to the outside shoulder he has the speed and strength to carry the DT past the pocket. He's really just doing what an OT would do but most OG can't turn like that and stay engaged. That's something Fields will have to get used to because in the past if an OG got beat early like that he's coming free.

This game was a snapshot of two rebuilding teams. One with an existing coaching staff and front office both of which have been successful in the past. The other an all new organization. Seattle had full slate of draft picks to help their rebuild and they were also 7th in available cap room heading into the offseason. Chicago had limited draft picks and was 11th in available cap space heading into the offseason (referenced link below). Remove the uniform colors... which team are you taking home with you? I'm not talking talent per se just what was done with the talent on the field. IMO it was no contest and the Bears were head and shoulders above the performance of the Seahawks. That bodes well for the future. https://seahawkswire.usatoday.com/lists/seahawks-ranking-projected-2022-salary-cap-room/

With 8 days between games to practice and then 2 weeks practice before Wk 1 I think we'll see the starters play at least a full quarter. Under the old schedule we had just 1wk between last preseason game and Wk 1.

Overall again I'm impressed. We have talent gaps but this was another well organized, disciplined, hustle/effort game. It's just night and day compared to any of the recent coaching staffs. Unlike the ESPN crew I don't have to sit here and justify mistakes as being good for lessons-learned like they did for Seattle. What I liked best is that our rookie LT left town and the announcers still don't know his name. And now for deep thoughts... I think the RG situation is settled. On a short week of practice and Jenkins, while maybe not always looking comfortable inside, did well IMO. While pass protection is still unsettled at times the run blocking again seems to be good. Eiselen seemed to do alright at center at least I didn't notice any glaring missteps. Ebner still has a ways to go reading the blocking on runs, especially inside. He danced out of some good gaps (at least one behind Jenkins) and ended up with a short gain. He just needs a bit of patience to let the big guys do their thing. Velus is easy fast. Fields knows the plays... meaning it appears he's got his reads down. The processing is still a bit slow but time and experience will improve that. As will consistency from his Oline. Love the little bootlegs. We see the emergence of some of our screen plays that will be worked off the running game. I still feel like Kmet is more agile this year versus last and it showed on that little screen pass he caught. Kyler Gordon didn't have his best game but it's his first action and his timing will improve. His athleticism is obvious because few players can make that u-turn at speed to chase a QB back the other way as he did. I wasn't impressed by any of the starting LBs. Sanborn played a ton and again he seems to just end up where the ball is which is good, and that's also on special teams. I can't see how he doesn't make the 53 and maybe even game day rosters as a core special teams player. DTs are still a concern as I see little besides "effort" guys. I wouldn't be surprised to see us add someone here after cuts are done. Our DEs will be ok this year. I read some articles on Seattle before the game and their good news was how well both of their rookie OTs were playing. We won a few battles against them even with backups. Eberflus is going to use the late game mistakes to drive home his point on execution. Ryan Poles face said it all when Seattle called a timeout with 22s left in the game to force us to punt. He had seen all he wanted to see and was ready to go home.

...and maybe a better Oline coach.

I liked both Watson and Doubs but both were limited in route running skills and it will just take time. It couldn't have helped Watson to miss time with the knee surgery but I'm not complaining.