The Chicago Bears are on the clock! OFFSEASON OPEN THREAD!

[adam]

11 hours ago, Pixote said:

Agree.

On another note, it appears from every site I visit that the Bears' offensive line is BAD.

Wright is being blown up by Sweat on every attempt to block him. Both of the guys fighting for Center are being overpowered by Dexter. Davis continues with his missed practices. Jenkins had a scare in practice but he was able to shake it off and return a play later. Jones was 50/50 on success against the rush. This SUCKS!

DAMN IT! We need to get this fixed, and FAST!

I think the DJ Moore extension freed up some cap for this season. Normally that is not done for no reason. Connor Williams anyone? A line of Jones-Jenkins-Williams-Bates-Wright with Coleman, Carter, Amegadjie, and Borom as the subs is a lot better. Davis just needs to be cut at this point. Take the loss. He is a waste of a roster spot.

[Stinger226]

21 hours ago, Pixote said:

Read this on the net this morning while making my normal round of visits. It seems there are those who believe the Bears might be a suitor for NE's Mathew Judon. He is upset he is not getting an extension. He is 31, soon to be 32, but if healthy (He had an injury last year) would be awesome opposite Sweat. Could be just blowing smoke. I have mixed feelings. It seems to me that Poles and Flus believe in Dexter & Booker to give our pass rush a boost. Here is the article:

Insider Confirms Matthew Judon is in Play for he Bears

There are tons of Bear media now and everytime there is a disgrunted player, they jump on. Old, pre-injuried and looking for a 30 mil contract is not what Poles looks for. He acquires players with an eye to the future, that was Sweat. Only cheap add ons are coming if at all.

[BearFan PHX]

7 hours ago, Stinger226 said:

There are tons of Bear media now and everytime there is a disgrunted player, they jump on. Old, pre-injuried and looking for a 30 mil contract is not what Poles looks for. He acquires players with an eye to the future, that was Sweat. Only cheap add ons are coming if at all.

I agree he is not likely to pay big long term money to aging players, but you cant say we wont make another big signing if the right younger player is available in a trade etc.

You also cant discount a short term deal for a player like this either.

[Pixote]

I just read that Tennessee, our week 1 opponent, lost its #1 WR (DeAndre Hopkins) for four weeks due to a knee injury. (I doubt, at the age of 32, he will recover in time to start week 1.) That leaves them with Ridley as their top receiving threat. JJ will have no trouble shutting him down.

So many injuries this preseason, seemingly many more than normal. 

Happy we are sitting out our starters in this 'extra' preseason 'meaningless' game.

[Pixote]

Something every Bears fan should take pride in:

23,204 men have played pro football. 6,082 have died. 17,122 players are still living. As of 2024, there will be a total of 378 members of the Hall of Fame. Of the 378 members of the NFL HOF, 32 are Chicago Bears. 

[BearFan PHX]

37 minutes ago, Pixote said:

Happy we are sitting out our starters in this 'extra' preseason 'meaningless' game.

Yeah, it's not just the inherent risk of injury, because I am hoping Williams gets more snaps this year than Fields or Trubisky had. Im a big believer that you get ready to play football by playing football, and we have come out flat in game 1 too many times.

But this Hall of Fame game is after only a short amount of camp and players are not dialed in yet to what theyre supposed to be doing. The OL is still shifting around, and hasnt had enough time together yet. That all increases the likelihood of injury for sure, so I'm glad they are sitting this one out too.

I do hope the starters get a lot of preseason snaps going forward though.

[ASHKUM BEAR]

Velus Jones to practice at RB this week.  Looks like a desperate sign to find a place he can contribute other than KR. Or maybe they are short handed this week due to undisclosed injury?  

[Mongo3451]

23 minutes ago, ASHKUM BEAR said:

Velus Jones to practice at RB this week.  Looks like a desperate sign to find a place he can contribute other than KR. Or maybe they are short handed this week due to undisclosed injury?  

My guess it's for giving him RB training for the new dynamic kickoff.  His footwork, timing and acceleration in hitting holes will be crucial.

[ASHKUM BEAR]

6 hours ago, Mongo3451 said:

My guess it's for giving him RB training for the new dynamic kickoff.  His footwork, timing and acceleration in hitting holes will be crucial.

That is what the Score mentioned tonight.  The blocking will be similar and will help him choose and punch through the line. 

[BearFan PHX]

SO I guess the Steelers have some QB guy named Jeremy Fieldman or something like that. Anyway apparently, we could have had him as our QB instead of Caleb and then fixed the OL and DL and a lot more.

I dont know much about the kid, but hes playing in about 15 minutes, and I will probably check in and take a look.

[Pixote]

1 hour ago, BearFan PHX said:

SO I guess the Steelers have some QB guy named Jeremy Fieldman or something like that. Anyway apparently, we could have had him as our QB instead of Caleb and then fixed the OL and DL and a lot more.

I dont know much about the kid, but hes playing in about 15 minutes, and I will probably check in and take a look.

You might be right. "Fieldman" looked good to me. ?

 

[BearFan PHX]

19 minutes ago, Pixote said:

You might be right. "Fieldman" looked good to me. ?

 

LOL

He looked the same to me - great arm, good long ball, pats the ball before he throws, didnt score on the drive where he had the long pass, lazy play action from like 2 feet away from the RB.

So hes like the 25th ish best QB or something.

[Mongo3451]

He took a sack cause he couldn't find a guy, then threw a check down on third and long.  Same player...

[BearFan PHX]

two fumbles too - but as long as he isnt here, I do truly wish him well. He gave everything he had.

I feel differently, for example, about Nate Davis right now.

[adam]

On 8/9/2024 at 8:02 PM, BearFan PHX said:

two fumbles too - but as long as he isnt here, I do truly wish him well. He gave everything he had.

I feel differently, for example, about Nate Davis right now.

Fieldman might actually play his best ball in Pittsburgh but mainly due to his supporting cast. I don't know how much better that will be, but I do think he is going to be a result of his surroundings more than anything else. 

[adam]

JJ McCarthy needs knee surgery. Tough break for the kid. Darnold will start for MIN. I don't expect them to win more than 6 or 7 games this year. After McCarthy, the only other draft pick of significance was Dallas Turner. They didn't have any other pick in the first 3 rounds. Turner is replacing Hunter, and if McCarthy is out, they essentially went from Cousins to Darnold and Hunter to Turner and the rest of the team is basically the same as last year.

[ASHKUM BEAR]

58 minutes ago, adam said:

JJ McCarthy needs knee surgery. Tough break for the kid. Darnold will start for MIN. I don't expect them to win more than 6 or 7 games this year. After McCarthy, the only other draft pick of significance was Dallas Turner. They didn't have any other pick in the first 3 rounds. Turner is replacing Hunter, and if McCarthy is out, they essentially went from Cousins to Darnold and Hunter to Turner and the rest of the team is basically the same as last year.

Jamar Gibbs RB left with a hamstring, but that should be fine by the time we face Detroit.

[DABEARSDABOMB]

That sucks - really like JJ. 

[Pixote]

5 hours ago, adam said:

JJ McCarthy needs knee surgery. Tough break for the kid. Darnold will start for MIN. I don't expect them to win more than 6 or 7 games this year. After McCarthy, the only other draft pick of significance was Dallas Turner. They didn't have any other pick in the first 3 rounds. Turner is replacing Hunter, and if McCarthy is out, they essentially went from Cousins to Darnold and Hunter to Turner and the rest of the team is basically the same as last year.

Injuries, especially preseason injuries to promising rookies or your key players, can be devastating. Now I hear NYG doctors are evaluating an ankle injury to their 1st rd pick, WR Nabers.

As much as I want to see our projected 1st string in action, and as much as I feel the preseason reps are valuable, I can see why HCs & GMs are reluctant to expose them to possible injury in games that are simply tune-ups for the regular season.

I also read that CIN may not start the 1st string. If that is the case, will the Bears put in their starters? I doubt it. Usually when playing a team that has announced they opt to keep their 1s on the sidelines, the other team follows suit.

[Mongo3451]

1 minute ago, Pixote said:

 

I also read that CIN may not start the 1st string. If that is the case, will the Bears put in their starters? I doubt it. Usually when playing a team that has announced they opt to keep their 1s on the sidelines, the other team follows suit.

This is is a polarizing topic.  I'm on the other end of it, with believing guys need the time to develop muscle memory and thicker skin.

[BearFan PHX]

6 hours ago, Mongo3451 said:

This is is a polarizing topic.  I'm on the other end of it, with believing guys need the time to develop muscle memory and thicker skin.

I think everyone agrees with both statements, that "nothing can replace live reps" and "injuries are devastating"

The question is how to balance them, and I agree wit you Mongo, I like to see them get more action. But i totally understand why people go the other way. They arent wrong either. I guess it just comes down to an opinion about which is more important or how big the risk is etc.

[Stinger226]

7 hours ago, BearFan PHX said:

I think everyone agrees with both statements, that "nothing can replace live reps" and "injuries are devastating"

The question is how to balance them, and I agree wit you Mongo, I like to see them get more action. But i totally understand why people go the other way. They arent wrong either. I guess it just comes down to an opinion about which is more important or how big the risk is etc.

Last year we had a slow start to the season, and I think because of the lack of reps. I think you need to not worry about injuries, they seem to be aware of taking it slow with small injuries but healthy players need to get reps. 

[Pixote]

On 8/13/2024 at 11:31 AM, adam said:

JJ McCarthy needs knee surgery. Tough break for the kid. Darnold will start for MIN. I don't expect them to win more than 6 or 7 games this year. After McCarthy, the only other draft pick of significance was Dallas Turner. They didn't have any other pick in the first 3 rounds. Turner is replacing Hunter, and if McCarthy is out, they essentially went from Cousins to Darnold and Hunter to Turner and the rest of the team is basically the same as last year.

According to "The Herd," McCarthy will miss the 2024 season. He had to undergo a full procedure on the knee, not just a cleanup. He seems like a good kid, and I'm sure he will bounce back next year.

I didn't hear how this all came about. Did he have this damage to the knee from his last year at Michigan? I'd be surprised it would slip through without GMs knowing. Did he injure it in preseason practices or 1st preseason game?

 

[Stinger226]

1 hour ago, Pixote said:

According to "The Herd," McCarthy will miss the 2024 season. He had to undergo a full procedure on the knee, not just a cleanup. He seems like a good kid, and I'm sure he will bounce back next year.

I didn't hear how this all came about. Did he have this damage to the knee from his last year at Michigan? I'd be surprised it would slip through without GMs knowing. Did he injure it in preseason practices or 1st preseason game?

 

Also Jordan Addison got carted off the field. Not sure how bad it is.

[Pixote]

Flus has announced starters will get reps this Saturday, although CIN may not do the same. If our 1s start against CIN backups, it may be difficult to access our team's growth? Here is a quote from bearswire.usatoday.com: (Typo included, where they mistakingly said Bills instead of Bengals).

Quote

Bears will play starters vs. Bengals

Rookie Caleb Williams will make his Soldier Field debut this Saturday when the Bears face the Bills in their third preseason game. Coach Matt Eberflus announced that we "will see starters in that game," which will mark the second consecutive game where healthy starters will see on-field action. There was speculation this week about whether Eberflus would decide to sit the starters after Thursday's joint practice, which is similar to what he did when they practiced against the Indianapolis Colts last summer. Bengals coach Zac Taylor previously said that his starters likely wouldn't play on Saturday. Williams, coming off his impressive preseason debut, will likely see a series or two against Cincinnati as he continues to build a rapport with his cast of weapons.