Training Camp Begins

[Stinger226]

10 hours ago, adam said:

Man, if Kyler Gordon plays to his potential, this secondary is going to make some plays, and that celebration is sick:

 

 

I like the idea of talented WRs are making the DBs better and talented DBs are making the WR room better. Worth the watch.

[adam]

14 minutes ago, Stinger226 said:

As we praise the additions to the OL this year, the players that were here have been working to get better. Leatherwood, Jones, Carter, Patrick, Borom, Eiselen. This coaching staff gives me the impression they are developing players, something I really havent been noticeable in the past regime. As far as metrics, they have specifically  designed the players workouts for each player. I think we will see the due diligence of a good coaching staff.

I also like the ramp up thing they are doing, basically giving all players the same amount of reps, then stepping them up slowly. So that is why some subs are playing with the 1s, and starters playing with the 2s and 3s. Rep chart, not a depth chart.

 

[Mongo3451]

5 hours ago, adam said:

I also like the ramp up thing they are doing, basically giving all players the same amount of reps, then stepping them up slowly. So that is why some subs are playing with the 1s, and starters playing with the 2s and 3s. Rep chart, not a depth chart.

 

I love this form of training for several reasons, but I'll only give two.  1) It gives the young guys the confidence of knowing they can do it.  2)  It lets the starter know that the young guy can do it... 

[BearFan PHX]

4 minutes ago, Mongo3451 said:

I love this form of training for several reasons, but I'll only give two.  1) It gives the young guys the confidence of knowing they can do it.  2)  It lets the starter know that the young guy can do it... 

ha! good point!

[AZ54]

 

4 hours ago, Mongo3451 said:

I love this form of training for several reasons, but I'll only give two.  1) It gives the young guys the confidence of knowing they can do it.  2)  It lets the starter know that the young guy can do it... 

Maybe but if the backup isn't doing so well the starter will know how much leverage he has with the team.  In Jaylon Johnson's case he knows there are 2 good young CBs vying for one starting job opposite him.  Does the club re-sign Jaylon for big $ now or wait and see how the rookies do early in the season?   If Vildor was still holding onto the starting spot then Jaylon (and the team) might be thinking differently.  

[Mongo3451]

7 minutes ago, AZ54 said:

Maybe but if the backup isn't doing so well the starter will know how much leverage he has with the team. 

Not really, IMO. (Tag, draft, FA)  If a guy knows he's the dog, then nothing will sway his option of himself.  If a guy knows everyone around him sucks, like last year's DL, he may feel secure for a season but knows a reckoning is coming.  There are twice as many guys on the cusp of making it compared to those that already have.  This creates a dog eat dog environment.

[BearFan PHX]

3 hours ago, Mongo3451 said:

There are twice as many guys on the cusp of making it compared to those that already have.  This creates a dog eat dog environment.

nice

[Stinger226]

There is a history of players seeking a long term contract of having an upscale year. Many of them are  on this team. Some just don't have the talent but Poles signs players with upside .  He will hit more than he misses.

[Alaskan Grizzly]

On 8/1/2023 at 5:00 PM, Alaskan Grizzly said:

Bears claim DT Bravvion Roy off waivers from Carolina.  

 

Something I didn’t know (or forgot) was that the Bears maintain the #1 waiver priority through week 3.  Good to know. 

 

[jason]

On 7/25/2023 at 2:22 PM, AZ54 said:

I know this is just guys walking in from the parking lot but Alex Leatherwood looks soft as if he spent the offseason like I did sitting on the sofa.  In contrast Borom looks lean this year.  
 

https://www.chicagobears.com/photos/players-report-to-training-camp-behind-the-scenes-2023#2aae8a15-4ea7-477c-83d4-1338f953f4b5

Agree. And Sanborn looks like a guy who was born to tackle and eat glue. I love that dude. If he improves off of last year, the 2023 LB corp are going to shock the world.

[ASHKUM BEAR]

5 hours ago, jason said:

Agree. And Sanborn looks like a guy who was born to tackle and eat glue. I love that dude. If he improves off of last year, the 2023 LB corp are going to shock the world.

They are saying Sewell looks good too.  He's been playing MLB since Edmund's has missed alot 

[AZ54]

After listening to his press conference yesterday I'm even more of a fan of Gervon Dexter.  Class act, humble but confident in what he believes he can do, and he's putting in the work.  He was open about the work he's doing to improve his "get off" but feels that our scheme is more of a natural fit for him versus what he did in college.     

Today he's in the backfield wrecking a bunch of plays.  

[adam]

26 minutes ago, AZ54 said:

After listening to his press conference yesterday I'm even more of a fan of Gervon Dexter.  Class act, humble but confident in what he believes he can do, and he's putting in the work.  He was open about the work he's doing to improve his "get off" but feels that our scheme is more of a natural fit for him versus what he did in college.     

Today he's in the backfield wrecking a bunch of plays.  

Dexter is HUGE. 6'6" and 313. I love the work ethic and he didn't have to stop his pro day because he was too tired either.

Dexter and Wright are always going to be linked to Jalen Carter. We will see if Poles got it right. 

Dexter looks like a steal in the 2nd and if Wright becomes a perennial starter at RT, then it was the Wright move  because I don't know if there was another player drafted after Dexter that would be as good as Wright is/will be.

[adam]

Going back to the draft, Poles is banking on highly athletic dudes at all positions:

RAS Scores
Wright - 9.45 (4th OT)
Dexter - 9.21 (2nd DT)
Stevenson - 8.64 (14th CB)
Pickens - 8.97 (5th DT)
Johnson - 8.09 (8th RB)
Sewell - 9.04 (6th LB)
Scott - 8.3 (16th WR)
Smith - 8.48 (16th CB)

The lowest RAS guy was Roschon, with 3 guys over 9 (Wright, Dexter, and Sewell), and one right there (Pickens). That still is an impressive draft plus they got an extra 2024 1st and 4th, and some guy named DJ Moore.

[Mongo3451]

Watching NFL Network today.  Brian Baldinger is there.  He was saying that pre-draft Darnell Wright was his number one tackle prospect.  He raved about how heavy handed he is and that he's just a naturally big thick dude.  

[adam]

It seems like Poles slightly changed his view compared to last year:

Gordon - 9.69 (7th CB) 
Brisker - 9.11 (7th SS)
Velus Jones - 7.1 (53rd WR)
Braxton Jones - 8.42 (14th LT)
Dominique Robinson - 9.74 (5th DE)
Zachary Thomas - 8.97 (12th OG)
Trestan Ebner - 4.75 (Bad)
Doug Kramer - 8.46 (10th OC)
JaTyre Carter - 6.3 (Low)
Elijah Hicks - NS
Trenton Gill - NS

Robinson the highest RAS guy, followed by Gordon/Brisker. then Kramer (lol). Ebner was really low and Velus was lower than I expected. 

[adam]

23 minutes ago, Mongo3451 said:

Watching NFL Network today.  Brian Baldinger is there.  He was saying that pre-draft Darnell Wright was his number one tackle prospect.  He raved about how heavy handed he is and that he's just a naturally big thick dude.  

Baldy knows ball. I believe him.

[Mongo3451]

17 minutes ago, adam said:

Baldy knows ball. I believe him.

Oh yea, he was in the league a long time...

[BearFan PHX]

Wright is gonna end up in the Hall Of Fame. You can see it on film. He's not just an impressive specimen, he's a hell of a football player.

[AZ54]

35 minutes ago, BearFan PHX said:

Wright is gonna end up in the Hall Of Fame. You can see it on film. He's not just an impressive specimen, he's a hell of a football player.

It seems to have taken him 2 weeks to adjust to the NFL.  This doesn't mean he's complete but that's a short ramp up in practices against our players.  Now carry it forward in games but that learning curve is nice to see and hopefully he's playing well early in the year.    

Getting less press has been Braxton Jones starting to show improvement in handling the power rush.   Not that he's a power rusher but Jones pancaked  Ngakoue earlier today.  Maybe he's finally learning how to use those long arms properly.  

https://bearswire.usatoday.com/lists/bears-training-camp-day-12-justin-fields-darnell-wright-dj-moore/  

[AZ54]

I got this wrong.  Dexter is clearly moving into our 3-tech after expecting him to focus on NT.  Judging by how often he's in Justin Fields' face he might be a starter before the end of the year.  OTOH I expected Pickens would be the 3-tech but now he's doing nothing but NT.  Travis Bell is also getting snaps at 3-tech. 

Pickens has been relatively quiet in camp so far.  Given the performance trends right now I expect in week 1 it'll be the top 3 (Billings, Jones, and Dexter) getting the vast majority of the snaps. 

Dexter might split time at 3-tech/NT.  He only slid over to focus on 3-tech a little more than a week ago, maybe 2 weeks at most.  If he continues to become dominant at 3-tech and keeps blowing up plays like he did again today they won't waste his energy at NT.   We all know the 3-tech is the little engine that makes this D work well.   

Week 1 is very important.  By the end of preseason I expect they'll start hiding him (i.e. less preseason snaps or maybe some NT snaps) so the Packers have less of an idea what's headed their way.  

https://www.si.com/nfl/bears/news/zacch-pickens-steered-toward-nose-tackle 

[BearFan PHX]

3 hours ago, AZ54 said:

I got this wrong.  Dexter is clearly moving into our 3-tech after expecting him to focus on NT.  Judging by how often he's in Justin Fields' face he might be a starter before the end of the year.  OTOH I expected Pickens would be the 3-tech but now he's doing nothing but NT.  Travis Bell is also getting snaps at 3-tech. 

Pickens has been relatively quiet in camp so far.  Given the performance trends right now I expect in week 1 it'll be the top 3 (Billings, Jones, and Dexter) getting the vast majority of the snaps. 

Dexter might split time at 3-tech/NT.  He only slid over to focus on 3-tech a little more than a week ago, maybe 2 weeks at most.  If he continues to become dominant at 3-tech and keeps blowing up plays like he did again today they won't waste his energy at NT.   We all know the 3-tech is the little engine that makes this D work well.   

Week 1 is very important.  By the end of preseason I expect they'll start hiding him (i.e. less preseason snaps or maybe some NT snaps) so the Packers have less of an idea what's headed their way.  

https://www.si.com/nfl/bears/news/zacch-pickens-steered-toward-nose-tackle 

I think they thought Dexter would play NT this year and get reps at 3T and grow. If hes showing faster, then he will go to 3T, which is why I think we claimed Bravvion Roy - to add bodies at NT.

It also makes sense that Pickens will get reps at NT, and of course, Bell will only be at 3T, he's not really a nose.

One wonders how long Justin Jones will hold Dexter off as the starter.

On the other hand, Billings is going to be there at NT for a while, especially without Dexter to push him.

[Mongo3451]

Dexter was always going to be a 3T.  He's a bigger Deforest Buckner and Richard Seymour.  All are 6'6.  Dexter just has 20# on them.  Nasty....

 

[Stinger226]

I think they will switch the IDL around. Not with Billings but with  Dexter, Pickens and J. Jones. They brought in Roy but that was to elevate the bottom of the roster. The only true NT is Billings but for sake of finding minutes for Dexter and Pickens, having them all play at 3 T doesn't seem likely.  I think they only keep 4 DTs because of the need for STs players, they use the fifth spot at DT somewhere else. Remember Green and Walker can slide inside.

[BearFan PHX]

3 hours ago, Mongo3451 said:

Dexter was always going to be a 3T.  He's a bigger Deforest Buckner and Richard Seymour.  All are 6'6.  Dexter just has 20# on them.  Nasty....

 

in the long term, yes. I think they hoped that Dexter would eventually be their 3T, but also thought hed get snaps at NT until he was ready. I think he is developing fast, and so they signed Roy to backup at NT now that Dexter is going to be pushing to start at 3T.