BearFan2000

Agree, and it sucks to lose we had multiple dropped TD's that would have won the game. Belemay was held and it should have been 1st and goal at the 1. We were within inches of beating the defending NFC champs who's high powered offense was held to 23 points. Tackling does need cleaned up and there's no excuse for the Hooper TD but that is one play. The Bears didn't quit they fought hard and put themselves in position to win this game. A game almost no one gave them a chance to even be in. Atlanta escaped with a win. I don't usually like moral victories there are different kinds of moral victories. Not getting blown out by the Falcons could be considered a moral victory, but we not only didn't get blown out but we should have won this game we had it there for the taking. This is the type of loss you can build on and build confidence from. I feel like our defense will keep us in games, and our offense will take time to find it's identity. There was a point when they seemed to open the playbook and we got our WR's more involved and that sparked the offense. We're thin there and it's going to take contributions from all of them and our TE's. For a rebuilding team, you want to become competitive first, then there is a point between finding ways to lose and finding ways to win. In a game inches that can be a very fine line. Today we had a win in our grasp and came up just short. Here's hoping it makes the players hungry and work on taking these "almost victories" and make them wins.

Sucks and could be the last straw on his career here if you can call it a career. Gotta be honest, will he be missed? Through preseason and up to the injury today It's been a where's waldo with him. I had high expectations when we drafted him and he's done nothing to shake the bust label. Sad but it's time to move on and give up on him. WR should be a priority next draft obviously we need to find a stud. Hard to know who to throw to with a lot of average to mediocre at the position.

Of the top 4 (Trubisky, Watson, Keizer, and Mahomes. I do feel we got the most pro ready and possibly the best of the 2017 QB class. If that holds true it would sure be nice to finally solve that position long term especially having drafted him instead of trading for a potential franchise QB, because I feel that bodes well for Pace and our scouts. IMO any GM can recognize a player who's emerged at whatever position and try to trade for them. The good teams and good GM's build through the draft and argument with pieces in FA/trade. Having observed these QB's myself and this and other articles it sure seems we got the cream of the crop. Too early to tell for sure but there are good signs to that end. We'll see how these 4 progress this year and beyond. Keizer is the only day one starter but it's the Browns. Not exactly a high bar achievement. Watson and Trubisky could get starts this season. If the Bears stick to their stated plan, he and Mahomes will be the 2 in the group that don't see the field this year much if at all. Watson most likely will get some starts at some point. What's interesting is that my initial thought on these guys has mostly panned out through the preseason. Mahomes is a young Jay Cutler type. Bad/inconsistent footwork. Reckless with the ball and struggles with pocket presence. But will wow you with amazing ad lib plays when things break down and it turns into street ball. When he's on he can be really good, when he's off he's off and it can be ugly. I see a very streaky player that needs to work on fundamentals and clean up his footwork if he's going to be consistently good. Sound familiar? Keizer his write up nails him to a T. I watched a lot of Keizer as a ND fan and he can be a very frustrating QB to watch because you can see the talent, and tools are there to be a good to great QB. And he can display it for games at a time but he tends to have stretches where he makes poor decisions and appears overwhelmed and doesn't have a handle on a wide range of types of throws needed. When he first got onto the scene he looked like the real deal but as his career at ND went on his consistency suffered and he was an up/down kinda player. High ceiling but also a low basement. Reminds me a little of a Rex Grossman with the good Rex, bad Rex. In both cases the coaching didn't help matters. Watson was touted by some as the best QB in the draft coming from a winning program at Clemson, but NFL's don't run Watson's type of offense. At Clemson his athletic ability to ad lib and make plays with his feet doesn't quite fit the existing Texan's offense. The solution is probably somewhere in the middle, reworking things in their offense to suit his skills/talent and Watson working on versatility to be able work from the pocket, make his reads, and be more careful with the ball. What you can get away with in college can make you a turnover machine in the pros. Trubisky has impressed me with his pocket presence, ball placement, accuracy both from the pocket and on the run. He never really looks overwhelmed out there like the game is too big for him. He has things to work on of course. What I like about Trubisky is that he has a lot of the intangibles that are either difficult or impossible to teach. His work ethic I will serve him well as he learns to read NFL defenses that are much more complex and aggressive than college. He needs to work more with the 1's. Perhaps as the season goes he can get some 1st team reps in practice. I know the plan is to sit him all year but that may change if Glennon struggles. We have a week 9 bye if a change was going to be made that might be a good time to give him an extra week of practice before going out there.

No worries Pix. Thanks for taking the time to try and get a redraft league going. Maybe next year.

It is too early to get a real sense of how good or bad the recent drafts have been. There certainly is reason to be optimistic about our Pace's draft classes. We've seen players (all across the league) flash early in their careers only to fizzle out, we've seen players look like busts early only to figure it out and have good careers, and others play as advertised good or bad. The short term is looking positive. Time will tell what the long term holds. I do like what I've seen from our recent drafts/udfa's and I feel like the bottom end of our roster has gotten much better since Pace took over. I think that shows in special teams, both coverage and return. We see it especially in the defense. I think this is so important as we've seen more than our share of starters go down, the well run teams have the depth that they can withstand injuries especially key players.

It is interesting to look at the numbers. I'd say this years QB class could prove to be better than advertised and reenforce perspective GM's choice in drafting them. In other ways they are matching up to their scouting reports. I watched Kizer at ND and he is boom/bust. Watson is more of the running type QB like a Cam Newton, Trubisky is more of the pocket passer but has mobility and pocket presence to make the most of his accuracy both from the pocket and on the move. Mahomes is a lot like a young Jay Cutler I thought Houston gave a bit too much for him but we'll see. He has the tools but like Cutler can get sloppy in his mechanics but will make highlight throws. Small sample size but will be interesting how the numbers look with real games.

Trubisky's debut sure made the rounds and turned heads last weekend. At PFF he made their preseason week 1 team of the week. If he keeps up the level of play he showed last Thursday he's going to make a lot of "experts" eat large quantities of crow pie. We Bears fans have long suffered through poor QB play, it's exciting to think we possibly could finally have a legit franchise QB. No one will care about the move up one spot to take him. It is only one preseason game, and it was against 2nd and 3rd stringers, but a lot of "experts" talked a lot of crap about the pick, and how it all went down. PFF Preseason week 1 team of the week

I see it as nothing more than bringing in someone to compete. If he out performs Barth you keep him, if he doesn't you cut him. I don't mind them kicking the tires on a player who has some potential. We won't have 2 kickers on the 53 so it's just a competition thing at this point. He hasn't lived up to his potential in the NFL yet and may not be on the team long. Barth isn't a long term solution Aguayo is a tryout. We'll likely have to invest a pick at some point on a long term kicker like we had in Gould

Congrats on the engagement, I sure don't miss the wedding/honeymoon planning. We did most of the organizing, and decorating ourselves with the help of a few family and friends. I was up pretty much all night prior to the day of finishing up the slide show for the reception. By the time the day came we were exhausted but it made the wedding itself seem so easy and stress free.

Same here, Long is a fiery guy. It just got the best of him here. Even if it's for his own good it's hard for him to be patient and work his way back onto the field after that injury and the complications. Add in changing positions, and other personal issues. It just kinda reached a point where he acted out. Staff just needed to send a message so things don't get out of hand. I'd be more concerned if Long had a history of picking fights with teammates at practice. He's well liked and respected in the locker room. It's not like he's Kruetz the "enforcer." It may not have even been that big of a fight, might more be like a small skirmish at the end of a play that's quickly broken up.

I'm in. Should be a good fun challenge. Most leagues I've plaid in have been 10 team PPR with 15 man roster 9 starters 6 bench one flex spot on NFL.com. Is the scoring PPR or Standard? Email sent

I'm up for joining the free redraft league I'll post in the other thread on that topic. You can have dibs on the money league Pix. We are in the middle of buying stuff for a home remodel and I'm pretty much signing my checks away to Menard's lol. I think the wife would kill me if I joined a money league right now. Free I can afford.

I have to remind myself it is preseason game one. Not to get over excited about the good or too down about the bad. Offensively Glennon... um thought Jay was gone. He seriously looked shaky. Bad ball placement on most of his passes. Pick 6 on the first series then later a turnover on a bad snap (albeit that wasn't Glennon's fault) He looked like a career backup trying to be a starter. First team offense overall looked out of sync and sloppy. Line play wasn't very good especially run blocking. There were a few runs where there was daylight and our RB's would just plow into t the mass of bodies when they could have bounced it outside. Receivers dropping balls that should be caught, maybe they were surprised by a catchable ball. All in all the 1s on offense didn't look sharp, didn't improve much if any with Mr. Butt Fumle. Though he seemed to make better decisions than Glennon. Trubisky looked sharp from the get go. I know it's preseason but like others have said it's hard not to get a little excited about him. There definitely felt like a change in the attitude and moxy of the offense when he came in. He looked confident, and made it look effortless. I had the same thought as Bowlingtwig, that I made the comment while watching that it's been some time since we've seen a Bears QB look that good. his first three drives 50yds TD, 75 yds TD, and then the FG drive that was practically an extra point FG. He got a shot at regaining the lead with a 4th quarter drive under 2 min. Sure it was against 2nd and 3rd stringers but by the same token had he looked awful or pedestrian or say like Glennon against backups that would have been reason to be concerned. Things that jump out to me are of course the ball placement is amazing, the accuracy both from the pocket and on the run. He made it look effortless. The pocket presence something that you either have or you don't. He appears to have the ability to sense where the pressure will come from and and can either buy time to make a play or make a play with his feet. His deep ball does need a little work. I was glad to see there were no bad exchanges from under center. He had some fumbled snaps in practice. Where was Kevin White I know I saw someone wearing #11 but was he even targeted? I was hoping to see him at least somewhat involved. Shaheen and Cohen looked good too. Shaheen has good hand and quickness for his size, he could turn out to be a future starter. Cohen looks like a good elusive change of pace back/specialist kind of like a Sproles or Megget type. Dude is short but he has playmaking ability. Defense Wow, I expected a hit and miss showing with some sloppiness, but the tackling was crisp for a first preseason game. I think there was only a couple missed tackles that I remember seeing. Some really nice stops short of the sticks including a 4th down stop. No picks or turnovers but should have had 1 for sure it went through the DB's hands. Coverage was much better than it's been. Didn't get sloppy till the 4th quarter. The depth on our D has definitely improved to give up just 3 points and something 100 yards allowed through 3 quarters. Much of that yardage on Denver's lone scoring drive early in the first half. Would like to see some turnovers forced but for a a first preseason game It's a good showing and a good place to start. IF they get better from here and stay healthy this could be a dominant D that will keep us in game. Special teams Much improved both in the return game and the coverage game. I think that is due to the bottom end of the roster improving over previous seasons. Makes a huge difference when you can control field position.

What are the details on the league, like format, scoring, starting lineup/roster, entry fee etc. If there's an opening I could be interested, I haven't paid much attention to the Talkbears league. I run a small pot money league at work, and participate in a couple others.

I think he's referring to the Cutler trade where Angelo gave up 2 firsts. That would awesome and ironic. Turnabout's fair play. I had forgotten that Glennon's deal was a 3 year deal I was somehow thinking it was 2 years. Freeing up cap space for QB needy teams is a great bargaining position as there will be some teams that could find themselves in that spot. Miami could be one Jay's contract hit their cap hard with some key players that will be come FA after this season. There's even the midseason possibility should a teams starter go down and Glennon playing well and Trubisky is in a spot to take over.

I agree most of us were not thrilled with the draft at the time because it didn't go the way we'd thought it should go. It's why it got such bad press because it didn't go the way the "experts" thought it should. The trade thing is something we may never find out the truth about what phone conversations were made etc. We very well could have stayed at 3 and gotten Mitch, but Pace and the entire draft team had strong conviction on Trubisky made the move to ensure we got him. I know it would have taken a lot for some of the other teams but we've seen crazier things happen on draft night. At the end of the day if Trubisky turns out to be a stud, and the majority our draft class turns out good to great, no one will care how or why we drafted who. Time will tell. There's reason to be optimistic though. How awesome would it be if Trubisky turned out to be a stud for a decade or more. What would make that sweeter would be to see Aaron Rodgers retire and the packers struggle for the next 2 decades to find a competent QB. He has practically carried that team and their sub par D. Take him away and they are average at best. I for one am ready for the tide to turn and let their arrogant fan base suffer as we have.

What are some things you'll be looking for in tonight's game. Hard to believer the preseason is upon us and soon the regular season will be too. I'm hoping my local stations pick up the game. I don't get NFL network. My top item is one I'll have to wait for. I want to see how Trubisky does. I'll be watching how smooth the center QB exchange is and how well he's transitioning from primarily shot gun in college to being under center here. Also how smooth are his drops, his footwork, pocket presence, and accuracy both deep and short. After Mr Butt Fumble, he'll probably look like a breath of fresh air lol. Not sure how much he'll play before Shaw goes in. I'd give him plenty of burn. Kevin White, want to see what he has and can bring to the table after missing practically his first two seasons. He could be a sneaky breakout. He hasn't been on the field in game action much but he has had time to absorb the playbook, be in meetings, and learn the mental part of the game. I'm sure he's chomping at the bit to show he was worth a 7 overall pick in 2015. How well he translates the knowledge onto the playing field in live competition will be the key. First team defense secondary and the backup secondary. With all the shuffling and new faces it will be interesting to see if this area improved this offseason. On paper it should but want to see it play out. I feel like our D should be improved overall but the secondary is going to be the key. If our CB/NB/Safety play improves a lot (not that the bar there has been set too high), that really helps our front seven who should be a strength of this D as it is. Want to see how well Mike Glennon runs the #1 offense, it's opening night for his audition for a starting gig somewhere once Trubisky takes over. He's going to be pumped and will want to show well, and prove he's worth the money we're paying him as a rent-a-starter. I have a feeling he's going to look fine. Not sure where to set my expectations but, I'm cautiously optimistic about him and Trubisky. I will also be reminding myself this is preseason game 1. There will be a certain level of sloppiness expected, especially as players start to sub in. But it's still football, more importantly it's Bears football!

How much leverage would we have with teams knowing we don't likely see Glennon as the long term with Trubisky looking to likely take over after this season. However Glennon's contract past this season is pretty cheap we could do Glennon a solid and trade him to a team that is a good fit for him and get something back in return. It'll be interesting to see what trade options are available after the season is over. Now the other scenario is mid season some team's QB goes down and Glennon is on their radar and Trubisky could potentially be at a point to step in. Maybe that becomes a viable option and the return on Glennon would be higher at that point. I know the plan is to have redshirt Mitch this season. But things happen.

Thing about Glennon is that he could have been a victim of circumstance and timing. It was his gig till Lovie brought in McCown and when McCown got hurt Mike got a chance and played well at the end of the season. Then they draft Winston and it becomes Winston's gig. Not the best environment/situation for any young QB to thrive. It's made Glennon mentally tough learning to deal with personal adversity. My gut feeling is he's going to give it all he's got and embrace this opportunity this year. He knows his time in Chicago might be short if he wants to be a long term starter in the NFL. This is his opportunity to showcase that he belongs. If he does well this year and accomplishes that it will benefit him personally and the team. A good audition as a starter will land him a starting gig somewhere, and it will help us win games and not have to rush Mitch into the fire before he's ready. Could wind up being the win win that we saw as a possibility post draft that what if both turn out to be good starter quality QBs? On Trubisky's accuracy and work ethic we could potentially be on the verge of turning the corner at the QB position. How awesome and crazy would it be to be set at that position as being one of those teams who's QB will pick an opponent's D apart like a surgeon. Could we finally have a QB who has the full package? Not just the skills minus the brains, or the brains minus the skills but one who can run an NFL offense with precision? Course it's all speculation at this point but the are reasons to feel optimistic about the longterm potential. It's about time, we have suffered long enough.

Tough break... But we do have depth at the interior of the line. I know Whitehair did pretty darn good at center last year and you'd like to leave him there but one thing about this season concerning a shuffle in the interior of the line is this season we have 3 new QB so it's not like a long time QB/Center combo is getting disrupted. This does provide a good opportunity for Grasu to show what he's got. This all could work out well. And better to happen now than during the season, sucks for Kush, hoping for a full recovery.

It'll be interesting to see. Fantasy implications could mean those who stream defenses could see an uptick in starting whatever D is playing Miami that week. Does make one wonder about the fantasy implications of Miami's skill positions. I don't think it effects Ajayi much but could effect Landry, Parker, and Stills. It could hurt their value. But also could be a wash. Gase likes a run heavy offense and asks his QB's to be more game managers than play makers. The argument could be made that Gase's offense protected Jay from Jay. It suits Tannenhill fine because he's not that great. Jay has the talent and arm to be great but it's the brain farts that get in the way. Did read that Jay made the comment albeit likely jokingly about a QB not needing to be in great cardio shape to play. I am glad his ups and downs are no longer our concern.

"On the sideline: Fox told reporters Thursday that outside linebacker Pernell McPhee was placed on the physically unable to perform list late Wednesday night because a “little irregularity” was discovered in his right knee during a team physical. McPhee missed the first six games last season while recovering from surgery on his left knee. “He truly is day-to-day,” Fox said. “They’re still evaluating that and we’ll keep you posted as that moves forward. I don’t want to be too negative or positive with the idea that we don’t really know yet.” From an article On Kevin White that included updates on Kyle Long, and McPhee. They discovered the issue Wed likely after the presser. It seems like a bang bang deal where possibly after the presser they found out from the physicals that there was an issue with his knee. That said Bears staff hasn't always been transparent concerning player injuries/recovery progress in the past. This could have been optimism in the presser only to find out later that McPhee would have to be put on the PUP List. Either way, it's disappointing that for the second season McPhee has had to start camp on the list. Even worse for him and the team that it's the other knee. It sucks but it is what it is.

Sadly it could end his career. It is a shame the talent is there but if he can't get healthy and stay healthy. There's still a chance he can return so we'll see but it's not looking good. Two straight seasons starting camp on the PUP isn't a good sign.

McPhee again like last season starting training camp on the PUP list. SMH McPhee Pup List On the bright side however, White will not be limited in practice. Hope he finally stays healthy and we see what he can do. White