Camp notes

[Stinger226]

It's starts now. They brought in Riley Rieff on a contract. Signed Schofield, , Quinn reported, signed Brisker. It seems to be coming together. Got Harry a while back. For all the things Poles was criticized for , he's addressing it right now when it matters.

[adam]

13 minutes ago, Stinger226 said:

It's starts now. They brought in Riley Rieff on a contract. Signed Schofield, , Quinn reported, signed Brisker. It seems to be coming together. Got Harry a while back. For all the things Poles was criticized for , he's addressing it right now when it matters.

Yeah I started another thread for the Reiff signing. That is huge. So Patrick, Schofield, and Reiff? That is a very solid haul and upgrade at every spot. 

[Pixote]

9 minutes ago, Stinger226 said:

It's starts now. They brought in Riley Rieff on a contract. Signed Schofield, , Quinn reported, signed Brisker. It seems to be coming together. Got Harry a while back. For all the things Poles was criticized for , he's addressing it right now when it matters.

So Poles is a big tease!  Bringing in Schofield and Rieff is huge, adding reliable veterans with loads of experience to protect Fields.

Hopefully our young OLmen will continue to develop and be ready to step in to start if/when one or both of these vets get injured.

Quinn reporting is comforting, but does not rule out the "rumored" trade possibilities.

Even Smith reported, although he will not practice.

It's fantastic having Brisker signed!

[Alaskan Grizzly]

10 minutes ago, Pixote said:

Quinn reporting is comforting, but does not rule out the "rumored" trade possibilities.

Even Smith reported, although he will not practice.

It's fantastic having Brisker signed!

With Quinn, I think it’s a win / win for the Bears if he stays or goes.  Have to believe last year was not a fluke for him and although it may not be 18 sacks he’ll still be in the double digit category this year. Like was discussed  before, if he does well and a team in a better position wants him they’ll give a decent trade piece in exchange.  If not, the Bears have him producing and contributing.  Still believe the team is a 9+ win team.

Great news on Smith showing up despite his contract.  Makes me think he’s not as far off as originally indicated.  And that he legitimately wants to be a part of the change in Chicago. 

[adam]

1 minute ago, Alaskan Grizzly said:

With Quinn, I think it’s a win / win for the Bears if he stays or goes.  Have to believe last year was not a fluke for him and although it may not be 18 sacks he’ll still be in the double digit category this year. Like was discussed  before, if he does well and a team in a better position wants him they’ll give a decent trade piece in exchange.  If not, the Bears have him producing and contributing.  Still believe the team is a 9+ win team.

Great news on Smith showing up despite his contract.  Makes me think he’s not as far off as originally indicated.  And that he legitimately wants to be a part of the change in Chicago. 

The Bears had $20M in cap space before the Reiff and Schofield signings. Will have to see what is left, but I figure they can still add maybe a DL to the roster which would be the last "hole" to fill in my opinion. 

[Stinger226]

30 minutes ago, Alaskan Grizzly said:

With Quinn, I think it’s a win / win for the Bears if he stays or goes.  Have to believe last year was not a fluke for him and although it may not be 18 sacks he’ll still be in the double digit category this year. Like was discussed  before, if he does well and a team in a better position wants him they’ll give a decent trade piece in exchange.  If not, the Bears have him producing and contributing.  Still believe the team is a 9+ win team.

Great news on Smith showing up despite his contract.  Makes me think he’s not as far off as originally indicated.  And that he legitimately wants to be a part of the change in Chicago. 

IF the Bears have any thoughts of trying to be winning team, Quinn needs to stay. I think things come together and it will show on the field.

[Mongo3451]

This week was huge for Poles.  Getting Brisker in without BS, with Quinn and Smith reporting are 100% victories.  Getting the two veteran linemen to provide depth and experience is simply icing on the cake.  They not studs by any stretch, but solid is OK at this point.

[AZ54]

12 hours ago, adam said:

The Bears had $20M in cap space before the Reiff and Schofield signings. Will have to see what is left, but I figure they can still add maybe a DL to the roster which would be the last "hole" to fill in my opinion. 

I agree on DTs but I don't see much available.  I wouldn't be surprised to see us grab a vet who gets cut late in camp.   

Poles has quite a few Oline on board and will be hoping to stash at least a couple on our practice squad but for DT I don't think we have any promising UDFAs or late round rookies.  Therefore, I also expect us to be watching the rookies and young practice squad players who get cut and grabbing a few DT prospects for our practice squad.  We definitely have opportunity for a talented young player who just needs time to develop and smart agents look for that.     Not to mention a coaching staff that has proven to give young players opportunities if they've earned it.  You could say they are all new and there is no history of that with the Bears but we've already seen Braxton Jones, Dom Robinson, Brisker, and Gordon get time with the 1's.   

[AZ54]

If, as Eberflus stated, this is what is about to happen:

https://bearswire.usatoday.com/lists/bears-training-camp-takeaways-report-day-ryan-poles-justin-fields/

“Offensive line moving guys from outside to inside, and if it’s defensive line, moving a guy around for pass rush purposes, inside or outside, we’re going to do that all across the roster,” Eberflus said. “Moving a corner from outside to inside, moving a receiver from outside to inside, we’re going to do all those different things to find out the best combination for the Chicago Bears going forward.”

---------------------

then there are two things related to our OT position: 

First, Reiff likely isn't moving inside because he hasn't played there in his 10 year career and he's paid too much to be an experiment.  He's a bit of a liability in pass protection but for a run-first offense working off play-action he should be ok.   I'd prefer him at RT vs. LT but it all depends on the best 5 combination.   

Second, I really doubt they'll experiment inside with Braxton Jones.  It appears they feel they have their LT of the future and they are going to keep him there to focus on that role.  He is unlikely to be ready to start in Week 1, and realistically needs a full year of practice before starting.  I don't even think he'll rotate to RT in camp but he might get a few snaps there.  We'll see, but I'd wager any experimentation at OG is likely out of the question.   

That leaves Borom and Jenkins to see if either fits at RG.  Schofield is good enough to challenge both for the starting role so nothing is given.  They will experiment early on and likely have a target date for when they want to lock-in the starters.  We'll see if a smart reporter asks them when that is, and if they are even willing to declare that.  Coaches don't like to be boxed in but you have to think they'd want the starters on the field at their position for at least a few snaps in one preseason game if not two.      

[Stinger226]

I think somewhere in the scenario, Jenkins is a starter. Several ex OL suggest that Jenkins has the most talent of anyone the bears have on the OL. I think Borom may be the odd man out, Jones is definitely the future at LT but may not start this year. I have always thought that the reason Jenkins ended up on the second team is because they knew what they had in him and were evaluating the other players at those spots. The sure starters are Whitehair and Patrick and the rest will be determined in training camp. I looked at all the O line rating I could find and Schofield and Reiff were rated C+ . A little better than average. I look at sacks and penalties, and all the new vets were not bad. Reiff 4 sacks- 1 pen, Schofield, 2 and 2, Patrick 2 and 3. Those were better than what we had. I think under a new line blocking scheme (outside zone) we will see if any do better. 

[adam]

1 hour ago, Stinger226 said:

I think somewhere in the scenario, Jenkins is a starter. Several ex OL suggest that Jenkins has the most talent of anyone the bears have on the OL. I think Borom may be the odd man out, Jones is definitely the future at LT but may not start this year. I have always thought that the reason Jenkins ended up on the second team is because they knew what they had in him and were evaluating the other players at those spots. The sure starters are Whitehair and Patrick and the rest will be determined in training camp. I looked at all the O line rating I could find and Schofield and Reiff were rated C+ . A little better than average. I look at sacks and penalties, and all the new vets were not bad. Reiff 4 sacks- 1 pen, Schofield, 2 and 2, Patrick 2 and 3. Those were better than what we had. I think under a new line blocking scheme (outside zone) we will see if any do better. 

Reiff would've been higher but he got hurt. I would say they are both B level players. It also depends on the guys around you. Reiff was probably the best player on a bad O-Line.  Schofield started off with a bad game, but then improved over time. However, his grade was for the entire season, not how he ended up. 

[AZ54]

https://www.chicagobears.com/news/roster-moves-bears-put-smith-kamara-on-pup-3-on-nfi

"The Bears on Wednesday placed linebacker Roquan Smith and defensive end Sam Kamara on the physically unable to perform (PUP) list and put cornerback Michael Joseph, safety Dane Cruikshank and receiver Tajae Sharpe on the non-football injury list (NFI).

Players on both lists can be activated at any time during training camp."

-------------------

The one player I want to see healthy and practicing is Cruikshank.  No reason to worry about Smith as he negotiates his new deal as long as it doesn't drag on past camp.  Kamara, Joseph, and Sharpe are all longshots to make the 53.  

 

[Alaskan Grizzly]

Saw the same thing about Smith on the PUP list.  Then this…”result of his physical”…hmm.

 

[AZ54]

I think in terms of the league rules it has to be the result of a failed physical.  I'd wager he failed his conditioning run when he struggled to leave the starting line.  

[AZ54]

 

I'd say it's as expected with Reiff manning the LT spot competing with Jones.   I still think they see who has the edge (sorry for the pun) and the other one gets kicked inside to RG to see what they can they do.   

[adam]

7 minutes ago, AZ54 said:

 

I'd say it's as expected with Reiff manning the LT spot competing with Jones.   I still think they see who has the edge (sorry for the pun) and the other one gets kicked inside to RG to see what they can they do.   

With injuries, you can't have enough depth. If Jones is 2nd String LT, Jenkins/Borom end up as RT1 and RT2, Mustipher is C/G2, we are pretty solid. 

[GakMan23]

Jack Sanborn LB from Wisconsin gets first Int of training camp.

[adam]

Reiff is definitely the LT, looks like Jenkins vs Borom for RT. Jones as backup LT. 

 

[killakrzydav]

Wow, a LT awesome

[AZ54]

16 hours ago, killakrzydav said:

Wow, a LT awesome

This is actually a plus move for Braxton Jones' development.  We didn't have anyone on the roster with good LT experience for Jones to learn from.  He was just competing with Borom with both learning on the fly.   Reiff has limitations in pass protection but at least now Jones can see how it's done while also getting some pointers on pre-snap tips to help him come up to speed.  Jones himself said he had to learn a pre-snap process to be mentally prepared for each play.   Then there are the "tells" from DEs and what they plan to do.   

I'm looking forward to this weekend when we get feedback from fans attending practices this weekend.  I saw somewhere that Velus "broke Kyler Gordon's ankles" on a cut in the endzone.  It's day 1 of camp and whatnot so that in itself isn't a big deal but Jones said he's learned more about how to get in/out of his cuts and was focusing on that during the break.  If he's showing consistency with his cuts then with his deep speed he'll be difficult to cover even if his route tree is limited.   Can our new WR coach, Tyke Tolbert, help N'Keal Harry in the same manner?    

https://www.nbcsports.com/chicago/bears/bears-training-camp-observations-what-we-learned-day-1

"Elsewhere on Day 1, Velus Jones Jr. beat Kyler Gordon one-on-one in the red zone with a slick, out-breaking move that allowed the rookie receiver to break wide open for a touchdown."

[AZ54]

Looks like no Teven Jenkins at practice today.  

[AZ54]

More of this please...  FWIW Kmet appears to be running and cutting quicker than last year.  I don't know if the new staff had him loose weight but he looks more fluid out there on the few routes I've seen.   

 

[BearFan PHX]

Right, youd love to see Jenkins take the job from Reiff halfway through the season. And if not, then you know what you have going into the offseason.

[Stinger226]

On 7/27/2022 at 12:17 PM, Alaskan Grizzly said:

Saw the same thing about Smith on the PUP list.  Then this…”result of his physical”…hmm.

 

The only reason Smith got put on the pup list is so he wouldnt be fined for not practicing with the team while he is negotiating for a contract. The  league doesnt require to report why you put a player on the PUP list.

[Alaskan Grizzly]

9 minutes ago, Stinger226 said:

The only reason Smith got put on the pup list is so he wouldnt be fined for not practicing with the team while he is negotiating for a contract. The  league doesnt require to report why you put a player on the PUP list.

Did see that speculation elsewhere. The article I read continued the thought that would be skirting the rules and may not be wise considering they got “caught” doing contact drills earlier when they weren’t supposed to.  The article continued that may not be a good idea for a new admin. 
 

At the end of the day, it’s probably not a big deal.  Flus’ being a little bit evasive for the reason caught people’s attention.  Maybe worth monitoring, maybe not.