a few thoughts

[bradjock]

1. I can't believe Soldier field is packed. There doesn't seem to be an empty seat. Unbelievable for a pre-season game.

 

2. Tonight our ST's is the weakest link. That's awesome.

 

3. DA & Riddeau appear to be our #3 & #4 receivers.

 

4. Forte was a monster but I'd have like to have seen Kevin Jones with the #1's.

 

5. We need to keep Rashied Davis at the bottom of our roster. I've said this all along: He's a great #5.

 

6. To hell with Basinez. We need to give Hanie as many reps as possible. I hope he finishes the game. IMO it would make sense to put Basinez on the practice squad. Assuming he's eligible.

 

7. The most awesome part of Cutler's throw to Hester was that he was scrambling. Unbelievable.

 

8. Glad to see Corey Graham has emerged from the scrap-heap. We'll need him.

 

9. Vasher looks equally worthless on cb duty and return duty.

 

10. Mark Anderson looks like a new man.

 

 

 

 

[bowlingtwig]

1. I can't believe Soldier field is packed. There doesn't seem to be an empty seat. Unbelievable for a pre-season game.

 

2. Tonight our ST's is the weakest link. That's awesome.

 

3. DA & Riddeau appear to be our #3 & #4 receivers.

 

4. Forte was a monster but I'd have like to have seen Kevin Jones with the #1's.

 

5. We need to keep Rashied Davis at the bottom of our roster. I've said this all along: He's a great #5.

 

6. To hell with Basinez. We need to give Hanie as many reps as possible. I hope he finishes the game. IMO it would make sense to put Basinez on the practice squad. Assuming he's eligible.

 

7. The most awesome part of Cutler's throw to Hester was that he was scrambling. Unbelievable.

 

8. Glad to see Corey Graham has emerged from the scrap-heap. We'll need him.

 

9. Vasher looks equally worthless on cb duty and return duty.

 

10. Mark Anderson looks like a new man.

Of course Mark Anderson looks like a new man. He is playing for a fat contract lol.

[Wesson44]

Of course Mark Anderson looks like a new man. He is playing for a fat contract lol.

Well he had better be playing for the right reason to win not money.

[SoxFan1]

Anyone know where I can see highlights of the game? I totally forgot it was tonight. I only got to see a bit of the 3rd.

[adam]

Anyone know where I can see highlights of the game? I totally forgot it was tonight. I only got to see a bit of the 3rd.

I believe it will be on NFL Network tomorrow night.

 

Cutler highlights: http://www.nfl.com/videos/nfl-game-highlig...tler-highlights

 

Forte highlights: http://www.nfl.com/videos/chicago-bears/09...orte-highlights

 

Game highlights: http://www.nfl.com/videos/chicago-bears/09...ars-17-Giants-3

[Pixote]

NFL Network 6 PM Central Sunday 23rd - Replay minus commercials.

[Wesson44]

1. I can't believe Soldier field is packed. There doesn't seem to be an empty seat. Unbelievable for a pre-season game.

Bears fans are waiting for the explosion at Soldiers Field which it great for the 12th man home field advantage

 

2. Tonight our ST's is the weakest link. That's awesome.

More room for the Offence and defence to win games

 

3. DA & Riddeau appear to be our #3 & #4 receivers.

Cutler needs some bigger targets to throw to glad they are stepping up

 

4. Forte was a monster but I'd have like to have seen Kevin Jones with the #1's.

Just as lond as Forte stays Forte we can rest him with the other three, Jones Wolfe & Peterson

 

5. We need to keep Rashied Davis at the bottom of our roster. I've said this all along: He's a great #5.

Totally agree withyou and have Knox the speedster pushing him for a spot

 

6. To hell with Basinez. We need to give Hanie as many reps as possible. I hope he finishes the game. IMO it would make sense to put Basinez on the practice squad. Assuming he's eligible.

We need to hope the Redskins cut Chase Daniels...he looked great as a backup QB

 

7. The most awesome part of Cutler's throw to Hester was that he was scrambling. Unbelievable.

This will make us better, i.e when plays are blown up he can make something out of nothing

 

8. Glad to see Corey Graham has emerged from the scrap-heap. We'll need him.

Yes we need the whole secondary to step it up a bit.

9. Vasher looks equally worthless on cb duty and return duty.

I won't say worthless he just needs to get that swagger back like he had when Brown was roaming the D backfield, the one he could count on to be there when he took chances.

 

10. Mark Anderson looks like a new man.

He is a must and needs to show up off the edge to give up a better pass rush

 

[AZ54]

Now that the afterglow of seeing a real NFL offense in a Bears uniform is fading a bit I can jot down some thoughts.

 

This can't solely be due to Greg Olsen but he certainly is going to be a huge part of our offense this year. That's the first I've ever seen a WR screen to a TE and it was pretty effective and almost went for a big gain. It probably wasn't noticed as much but Olsen had a great pass-protection block on one play, not sure if it was a DE or LB he stopped but they went nowhere and Cutler had time to throw for a big gain. He is going to give opponent DC's trouble figuring out how they want to matchup.

 

WRs...we found some. They weren't always able to get separation and at times the coverage was pretty good but Cutler got the ball into a tight spot and our guys held on. That's what you have to do in this league. DA made an incredible catch. Bennett I thought was solid but for him this alone is a big improvement just to get the monkey off his back. Rideau finally played like the big WR he is. Hester had a TD if he didn't hesitate while running deep and the image of that play will be in the back of the minds of every DB who covers Hester this year. Overall not too much spectacular but a solid showing nonetheless. The most important thing was that good plays were spread around and this group needed to have a day like this to gain confidence. I needed a day like this too!

 

Oline. Showed improvement against a very good Dline. Some mistakes were made but they are on the upswing of the curve.

 

RBs... Forte, are you kidding me? Some of his moves and vision were first-rate tonight. Jones did some good some bad but he's no Forte. Wolfe seems to be a lot stronger in his leg drive, he is actually going forward after contact even in runs up the middle. Fumbles need to go away especially near the goal line. AP was AP.

 

Hanie....after watching him play so deep into the 4th quarter I am thinking the Bears will go with 2 QBs on the final roster. Otherwise I think the Bear would have given Basanez more reps late in the game. I don't know if Basanez is eligible for the practice squad, I just don't see him doing anymore for us than a vet we'd pickup off the street if things got that far. I liked what Hanie did with the second team, he was effective putting drives together, even the one in the last two minutes of the first half where penalties kept pushing us backward. Once the third string got in the game nothing looked right.

 

Dline...Alex Brown are you going to get double digit sacks this year? It just might happen. I'd still like to see more consistent pressure but there were flashes this game as opposed to none last game. I'll gladly accept the progress. Mark Anderson seems to be MIA. Jaron Gilbert looks like the real deal but while I think he'll contribute this year I don't think we'll see his upside until next year. Harrison still plays like a beast if he ever gets his act together and gets in great shape he'll be a stud for us.

 

LBs...trouble wrapping up early but it got better by the second quarter. Pisa will start for us.

 

DBs...I thought Payne played well but it's hard to isolate on safeties until I watch the game tomorrow. Afalava was ok. Steltz is nothing more than a backup. Our corners were again soft but they were lined up tighter this game. Still need to see more pass breakups, can we at least get one? I'm not going to count Bullocks PDs late in the game.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[GrizzlyBear]

I agree with all that was said except for Safeties. Payne did well and Afalava did real well. His run support was outstanding, he was on almost every tackle in the first quarter. That kid just sticks in head in wherever that ball carrier is. I was really impressed with his position play. He will start with Payne. If he does not then I will truly at the talent eval going on, Manning is not the answer.

[Connorbear]

I usually go to 1 preseason game a yr and this was the most fans to attend by far. The place was packed.

 

I think the Bears will go with 2 QBs this yr so they can keep 4 TEs and 4 RBs. Look for them to keep a practice squad QB to take the extra reps in practice.

 

Peace

[bowlingtwig]

I usually go to 1 preseason game a yr and this was the most fans to attend by far. The place was packed.

 

I think the Bears will go with 2 QBs this yr so they can keep 4 TEs and 4 RBs. Look for them to keep a practice squad QB to take the extra reps in practice.

 

Peace

I was just thinking about that this morning.

[BearFan2000]

I was just thinking about that this morning.

 

And to think I had tickets to this game and sold them.... lol

 

Some thoughts

 

I had a feeling that Cutler would rebound and play better. I'd like to have seen him and Devon connect on that pass Soldier field probably would have exploded had they connected. Overall the offense was much better this week.

 

- RB good to see Forte out there and that TD run reminded me just how quick he is. It was a big hole but he was gone from the moment he got the handoff. I thought Jones did a good job driving his legs and getting positive yards after contact. He did put the ball on the ground by holding it too low in traffic. Why are we trying to make Wolf a short yardage between the tackles back he doesn't have the size for that and it doesn't play to his abilities he's a scat back with speed not a bruiser I'd rather see him used better to suit his skills.

 

- QB I agree that Baz is probably the odd man out and will either get cut or put on the practice squad if possible. He has not impressed me in the least. On the other hand Haine gives me more confidence that he can be a good backup option. If we carry just two QB's it makes sense that Caleb is getting the extended playing time. Thought he got robbed of a rushing TD.... that holding penalty was BS. Question is do we carry 2 QB's or do we carry three if it's 3 then who do we pick up as I just don't see Baz sticking. Then there's this one quarterback I think his name is Jay looked pretty darn good out there.... I think he's a keeper lol

 

- TE/WR I liked what I saw here particularly the show of good hands. The catch by AD was a thing of beauty the way he laid out and kept his concentration. The first pass to Bennett I assumed it was incomplete when the ball got there but somehow Bennett hung on and made a good gain out of it. If this group steps up we may have a balanced offense that can run and pass on you and potentially do both well. Good to see Olsen back out there.

 

- OL I thought played well some stupid false starts late in the game but they were backups.

 

- D-Line good to see pressure. I want to see our defensive line disrupting the offense I thin the line did a good job of this there is room for improvement but I like the improvement over last week.

 

- Tackling, the D did start to improve as the game went on but way to much not wrapping up early. Backs like Jacobs you will not just hit to the ground you have to use leverage and wrap up. We need to see better tackling and fewer yards after contact.

 

- I like what I've seen from Payne and Alfalfa who seems to be right around the ball every play. Payne made a great play on a deep pass deflection.

 

- Defense overall I like the improvement i've seen and I really like the way even at the end of the game we were still fighting to keep them out of the end zone. That shows this team has a lot of pride desire. It's a good thing to see.

 

- Something I caught in the commentary early in the game that there's a chance a guy like David Tyree may not make the cut if he is waived, any takers?

 

- I think this game was good confidence boost and good momentum builder going forward. Once this offense gets on track and the defense plays well and special teams plays well the Bears will be a dangerous team. I say that without the word if and it's more a when. Once the Bears get clicking look out, this could turn out to be a dream season. And unlike a fairy tale season the team won't turn back into a pumkin when the season is over. We keep it in tact and we could see the Bears being a perennial force. That my friends excites me

[jason]

1. I can't believe Soldier field is packed. There doesn't seem to be an empty seat. Unbelievable for a pre-season game.

I was there...it was awesome

2. Tonight our ST's is the weakest link. That's awesome.

And yet there was still a nice return

3. DA & Riddeau appear to be our #3 & #4 receivers.

Neither had more than one play that automatically makes them 3 or 4

4. Forte was a monster but I'd have like to have seen Kevin Jones with the #1's.

Meh. I'd rather see Wolfe more. Kevin Jones is a known commodity; Wolfe STILL is not.

5. We need to keep Rashied Davis at the bottom of our roster. I've said this all along: He's a great #5.

See #3

6. To hell with Basinez. We need to give Hanie as many reps as possible. I hope he finishes the game. IMO it would make sense to put Basinez on the practice squad. Assuming he's eligible.

Agreed. Johnny Damon has a better arm than Basinez

7. The most awesome part of Cutler's throw to Hester was that he was scrambling. Unbelievable.

Wow...the arm strength is there. Hopefully that doesn't happen very often. Hester was WAY behind the D.

8. Glad to see Corey Graham has emerged from the scrap-heap. We'll need him.

Agreed

9. Vasher looks equally worthless on cb duty and return duty.

Sadly, I have to agree with the fact that he looks bad right now

10. Mark Anderson looks like a new man.

Really?! I think Alex Brown and Dusty Dvoracek caused more havoc than Mark Anderson. Hell, even the play that "he" got the sack, it was really Dusty who got there first.

 

[Ed Hochuli 3:16]

Forte. What a beast. 31 teams couldn't use him last year. I'm glad we drafted him. Imagine him in New England...

 

Over/Under: 1100 RUSH yards for him this year?

[bowlingtwig]

Forte. What a beast. 31 teams couldn't use him last year. I'm glad we drafted him. Imagine him in New England...

 

Over/Under: 1100 RUSH yards for him this year?

Over as I am guessing between 1150-1300 yards with another 300-400 receiving while catching 45-50 balls.

[bowlingtwig]

Over as I am guessing between 1150-1300 yards with another 300-400 receiving while catching 45-50 balls.

Over/under 10 rushing TD's???

[defiantgiant]

Over/under 10 rushing TD's???

 

Push. He had 8 on the ground and 4 in the air last season. I think 10 on the ground and 2-3 in the air sounds about right this year, as his rushing production will likely go up while his receiving workload decreases. Honestly, I'll be happy with his total production even if it stays the same; if he can put up another 1700 yards from scrimmage and a dozen TDs, that's good enough for me.

[balta1701-A]

Over/under 10 rushing TD's???

I think the only thing that stops him from getting well over 10 of those this year is if the Bears decide to use either Jones or Wolfe as a change-of-pace guy in the last 5 yards. Is there any reason they'd do that?

 

He'll get more scores just because the passing game will march them down the field a lot more often.