Just got back from training camp

[bradjock]

First I'll reiterate what Crackerdog has said: Training camp's awesome because you're able to get so close to the players, practice, etc. Got autographs from Gould, McGowan, Rashied Davis, Zack Bowman, Kevin Payne, AND even Jerry Angelo.

 

JA was off by himself on a mountain bike. I said, "great off-season . . . are we going to get Hester taken care of? He said, "We hope so." He signed my football: "Go Bears! Jerry Angelo." Then I reared back, punched him in the nose & screamed, "That's for drafting Benson you bastard!!!" (Ok, I made that last part up. But it's strange that a guy so many have wanted to murder seemed friendly and laid back. He's actually a human being. Weird huh?

 

On practice I was seated on the side-line near the 30 yard line and had a great view of the QB's & WR's. On QB's:

Rex: Seemed determined to step up into the pocket yet continues to hold onto the ball for too long. He still tries to "needle it" into double coverage. And he appeared to fumble a snap. Ugh. IMO he's shown little improvement from last year.

Orton: His wind-up & release are much better/faster, but he shows no interest in throwing down-field. He threw tons of great passes that John Shoop would be proud of. Based on today's practice, he should be our starter.

Caleb Haney & Nick Hill: Neither looked especially impressive

 

WR's:

Booker: Damn he's smooth. When he runs his shoulders constantly go back & forth to confuse the corner. They practiced catching lob-passes with one hand. Every other WR caught it with their palm out flat, then shoved it to their chest. Booker simply snagged the football out of mid-air the way you'd catch a baseball. I about shit when I saw that.

Earl Bennett: Quick as hell, the QB's already look for him, & he never dropped a pass all day.

Lloyd: Also looked good but I didnt' see the blazing speed we'd heard about.

Bradley: Where I was sitting I heard the WR's coach Daryl Drake repeatly yelling at him for missing his route or making a bad cut. He dropped one pass right in front of me & some fan yelled, "Come on Mark!" Bradley just glared at the fan & looked pissed. Last season I wondered why Bradley didn't get more playing time. Now I know.

Monk: He's tall/fast & lanky as hell, but Drake was repeatedly unhappy with his routes & cuts

Hass: When Drake wasn't yelling at Bradley or Monk he was yelling, "Nice job Mike!!! That's it Mike!!! I've never lobbied much for Hass, but he appeared to work harder then anybody out there & caught everything. He might make it.

Davis: He's a gamer & looked good as hell. Mike Brown claims Rashied shoved off on a TD pass he caught. Mike Brown is correct. It was a two hand shove to the chest of Graham.

Riddeau: He's just not quick enough to have an impact.

 

I could ramble forever but I'll end it at that. I bought way too much Super Bowl XXI merchandise that was on clearance. Great day.

[Pixote]

Thanks for the update!! Always great to get info from fellow posters attending practice. No fluff. Just facts!

[madlithuanian]

Thanks for the first hand post bradjock!

 

I think I would have had to been escorted out from the profanity tirade I would have screamed when Rex bobbled another snap!

 

I really would love to see more of Hass... Glad to hear about Bennett...

 

Maybe we will see Booker, Lloyd, Bennett, Hass and Davis as our 5 WR's. Unless the team and Hester can come up with a deal soon enough...

 

First I'll reiterate what Crackerdog has said: Training camp's awesome because you're able to get so close to the players, practice, etc. Got autographs from Gould, McGowan, Rashied Davis, Zack Bowman, Kevin Payne, AND even Jerry Angelo.

 

JA was off by himself on a mountain bike. I said, "great off-season . . . are we going to get Hester taken care of? He said, "We hope so." He signed my football: "Go Bears! Jerry Angelo." Then I reared back, punched him in the nose & screamed, "That's for drafting Benson you bastard!!!" (Ok, I made that last part up. But it's strange that a guy so many have wanted to murder seemed friendly and laid back. He's actually a human being. Weird huh?

 

On practice I was seated on the side-line near the 30 yard line and had a great view of the QB's & WR's. On QB's:

Rex: Seemed determined to step up into the pocket yet continues to hold onto the ball for too long. He still tries to "needle it" into double coverage. And he appeared to fumble a snap. Ugh. IMO he's shown little improvement from last year.

Orton: His wind-up & release are much better/faster, but he shows no interest in throwing down-field. He threw tons of great passes that John Shoop would be proud of. Based on today's practice, he should be our starter.

Caleb Haney & Nick Hill: Neither looked especially impressive

 

WR's:

Booker: Damn he's smooth. When he runs his shoulders constantly go back & forth to confuse the corner. They practiced catching lob-passes with one hand. Every other WR caught it with their palm out flat, then shoved it to their chest. Booker simply snagged the football out of mid-air the way you'd catch a baseball. I about shit when I saw that.

Earl Bennett: Quick as hell, the QB's already look for him, & he never dropped a pass all day.

Lloyd: Also looked good but I didnt' see the blazing speed we'd heard about.

Bradley: Where I was sitting I heard the WR's coach Daryl Drake repeatly yelling at him for missing his route or making a bad cut. He dropped one pass right in front of me & some fan yelled, "Come on Mark!" Bradley just glared at the fan & looked pissed. Last season I wondered why Bradley didn't get more playing time. Now I know.

Monk: He's tall/fast & lanky as hell, but Drake was repeatedly unhappy with his routes & cuts

Hass: When Drake wasn't yelling at Bradley or Monk he was yelling, "Nice job Mike!!! That's it Mike!!! I've never lobbied much for Hass, but he appeared to work harder then anybody out there & caught everything. He might make it.

Davis: He's a gamer & looked good as hell. Mike Brown claims Rashied shoved off on a TD pass he caught. Mike Brown is correct. It was a two hand shove to the chest of Graham.

Riddeau: He's just not quick enough to have an impact.

 

I could ramble forever but I'll end it at that. I bought way too much Super Bowl XXI merchandise that was on clearance. Great day.

[Connorbear]

Thanks for the update. I wished I lived closer so I could come down.

 

I think it is way, way to early to judge if Rex or Kyle has improved over last yr. As I have said before, I don't care who wins the starting QB job. I just want them to succeed.

 

I think Bennett is a steal. He is going to be starting by next yr. Bradley will not make this team - mark it down.

 

Peace

[BearsFan]

Lloyd: Also looked good but I didnt' see the blazing speed we'd heard about.

Thanks for the report, Brad!

 

I don't know how the idea that Lloyd has blazing speed ever got started with Bears fans. He's fast enough to burn a corner who's not paying attention, but he's never had Hester or Berrian kind of zip.

[ChileBear]

Great report Bradjock. Now, just go back every day for reports, and lay off the outdated, reduced for quick sale merchandise!

[CrackerDog]

Thanks for the update. I wished I lived closer so I could come down.

 

I think it is way, way to early to judge if Rex or Kyle has improved over last yr. As I have said before, I don't care who wins the starting QB job. I just want them to succeed.

 

Yep. Well said. And I'll just add that Brad was there on the day Orton was working with the #1 offense while Rex was with the #2's.

 

I think Bennett is a steal. He is going to be starting by next yr. Bradley will not make this team - mark it down.

 

Unless they enact a new rule whereby every team has to have at least one female player... In which case, we'll just keep Bradley.

 

[KiLoc69]

Orton was working with the #1 offense while Rex was with the #2's.

 

 

So Rex's fumbled snap was from a center other than Kreutz? That would be understandable. It would also explain why Orton fumbled one from Kreutz if both are working with centers they don't normally work with. I hope they decide on a starter quick so they can get in sync with the 1st offense.

[CrackerDog]

So Rex's fumbled snap was from a center other than Kreutz? That would be understandable. It would also explain why Orton fumbled one from Kreutz if both are working with centers they don't normally work with. I hope they decide on a starter quick so they can get in sync with the 1st offense.

 

I don't think Olin is back in camp yet. A fumbled snap this early in camp is meaningless. The only reason people are fixated on it is because of Rex's history.

 

By the way, ESPN Radio reported Kyle fumbled and threw two picks within 4 or 5 plays from scrimmage today. He had a really bad day today. Of course, if I'm keeping this straight, he was working with the #2's today.

[bradjock]

So Rex's fumbled snap was from a center other than Kreutz? That would be understandable. It would also explain why Orton fumbled one from Kreutz if both are working with centers they don't normally work with. I hope they decide on a starter quick so they can get in sync with the 1st offense.

 

Kreutz was not playing, he was standing behind wearing a baseball cap. I'm pretty sure it was Beekman.

 

Here's what bothered me: Grossman looked like Peyton Manning before the snap yelling & pointing at a receiver. The next thing I know the ball is out. We've seen him do this in the past where he gets distracted & he's not paying full attention to the ball.

 

Orton didn't fumble a snap when I was there, & I can't remember him ever doing so in a game, so if it happens once in training camp, to me it's no big deal.

 

With Grossman this has been a chronic problem and every other time it's been with Kreutz. IMO it makes it worse that it was with a different center (didn't Kreutz take the blame previously???)

[DABEARSDABOMB]

I don't think Olin is back in camp yet. A fumbled snap this early in camp is meaningless. The only reason people are fixated on it is because of Rex's history.

 

By the way, ESPN Radio reported Kyle fumbled and threw two picks within 4 or 5 plays from scrimmage today. He had a really bad day today. Of course, if I'm keeping this straight, he was working with the #2's today.

The weird thing is I saw no comment of what Rex did today.

[DABEARSDABOMB]

Here's a question, If Grossman is screaming and pointing and not expecting the ball, maybe it was the center who snapped things early. I really am not concerned with a fumble this early. I know Rex has his history of them and its inexcuseable but this early in camp its going to happen and relatively often (Orton did it today). Plus Rex and Kyle aren't working with the #1 center yet either so they are both working with someone they are unfamiliar with.

 

I'm more concerned with how the guys throw as opposed to who isn't fumbling snaps at this point.

[bradjock]

Here's a question, If Grossman is screaming and pointing and not expecting the ball, maybe it was the center who snapped things early. I really am not concerned with a fumble this early. I know Rex has his history of them and its inexcuseable but this early in camp its going to happen and relatively often (Orton did it today). Plus Rex and Kyle aren't working with the #1 center yet either so they are both working with someone they are unfamiliar with.

 

I'm more concerned with how the guys throw as opposed to who isn't fumbling snaps at this point.

 

Rex turned his head back & called for the hike. He was expecting it.

 

It doesn't concern you that Rex has a history of fumbling? How many botched snaps has he been a part of? I tried finding the stat but couldn't. I remember it happened in the Super Bowl and happened more then once last season.

[BigDaddy]

Rex turned his head back & called for the hike. He was expecting it.

 

It doesn't concern you that Rex has a history of fumbling? How many botched snaps has he been a part of? I tried finding the stat but couldn't. I remember it happened in the Super Bowl and happened more then once last season.

 

I blame Kruetz for alot of those fumbled snaps. It happened with Miller, matthews, and Orton as well. He tends to snap it straight up in the air and hits himself in the ass with it. Just watch some film. NO I am not worried about Rex fumbling snaps or Kyle for that matter.

[madlithuanian]

Really? I honestly do not remember Miller or Matthew having nearly the fumbling of snap issues Rex has... I just don't recall that at all. Maybe my recolection is off...

 

I personally worry about it with Rex. He fumbles also when scrambling... I saw it first hand in San Deigo last season.

 

I blame Kruetz for alot of those fumbled snaps. It happened with Miller, matthews, and Orton as well. He tends to snap it straight up in the air and hits himself in the ass with it. Just watch some film. NO I am not worried about Rex fumbling snaps or Kyle for that matter.

[GakMan23]

Really? I honestly do not remember Miller or Matthew having nearly the fumbling of snap issues Rex has... I just don't recall that at all. Maybe my recolection is off...

 

I personally worry about it with Rex. He fumbles also when scrambling... I saw it first hand in San Deigo last season.

 

 

The only person I saw that had the same kind of fumbling issues in a Bears uniform was David Krieg, and isn't he the alltime fumble leader for qb's? Or if not pretty close. I'm not saying, I'm just saying....

[madlithuanian]

I do remember that! (unfortunately)

 

The only person I saw that had the same kind of fumbling issues in a Bears uniform was David Krieg, and isn't he the alltime fumble leader for qb's? Or if not pretty close. I'm not saying, I'm just saying....