Bear(ing) the News – A Chicago Bears Blog

Bears

• Mark Potash at the Chicago Sun-Times quotes Bears head coach Marc Trestman:
  

  “‘We’ve got to work on our running game,’ Trestman said a day after [Matt] Forte lost two yards on four carries against the Jaguars. ‘We’re not concerned about it. It’s more one guy here, one guy there. We’ve just got to clean it up.’”

  Well, he might not be concerned about it but I certainly am. I’ll feel better if the Bears show us something against a physical Seattle front seven on Friday.

• Hub Arkush at chicagofootball.com apprently shares my concern about the running game. He is worried about the back up options at runningback.
  

  “For my last general impression, I have to tell you I think the Bears have been trying to give the job to [Ka’Deem] Carey since the moment they drafted him. How else do you explain his 23 carries in two games compared to 25 carries for [Shaun] Draughn (4), [Senorise] Perry (9), [Michael] Ford (5) and [Jordan] Lynch (7) combined?”

  The guess here is that its because Carey and, especially, Draughn have shown that they can pass protect whereas the other competitors haven’t. This seems to be a major issue with the staff when it comes to selecting runningbacks.

• Tony Andracki at CSNChicago.com highlights the play of Josh Morgan. Eric Weems has been a fine core special teamer but I think we’ve seen enough of him as the third wide reciever (and kick returner). It might be time to gve Morgan his shot.

Elsewhere

• Brad Biggs at the Chicago Tribune makes a point about Jaguars quarterback Blake Bortles that also occured to me during the game:
  

  “The Jaguars have been pretty consistent talking about Chad Henne being their starting quarterback this season and allowing Blake Bortles, the third overall pick, to sit and learn. But if Bortles keeps performing well, they’re not going to be able to keep him on the sideline for too long. I understand wanting to bring him along the right way and not rushing it…. Bortles (11 for 17, 160 yards) looked smooth, threw the ball well and moved the second offense. He’s going to have to get significant starting time this season. There’s nothing wrong with learning on the fly.”

  I couldn’t agree more. Henne didn’t perform badly Thursday night but I frankly thought Bortles looked every bit as good. If its a tie, its got to go to Bortles. Mike Florio at profootballtalk.com passes on the fact that Bortles will get time with the first team next week. He might be on his way.

Defense

1. The linebackers, including Shea McClellin, played better to my eye. They were more agressive than last week and played down hill to attack the line of scrimmage.

2. Danny McCray had some good open field tackles. That’s a good sign for him. Not so good for the defense.

3. I know that no one worries about Xs and Os in the preseason. But I wasn’t very comfortable seeing all of those Jaguar wide recievers running so free and open in the Bears secondary. I hope that doesn’t carry over into the season.

4. Trevor Scott and Cornelius Washingtone distinguished themselves.

Offense

1. Once again, I’m not to impressed with the Bears ground game.

2. How did everyone feel watching Alshon Jeffrey writhing in pain as a result of a cheap late hit? Your heart stop for a minute? That’s what it feels like when your season is about to go down the drain before it even starts.

3. Looks like the Jaguars’ defense is a pretty hard hitting group.

4. The pass protection was pretty good, I thought, just like last week.

5. Clausen not quite as good with the ball placement this week. He did all of the right things otherwise, though. The interception won’t help him. Palmer looked about the same as last week. Both guys maybe made thier recievers wait for the abll a little too much.’

Miscellaneous

1. Special teams were once agian not stellar. I’m looking at you, Joe DeCamillis.

2. Let’s just say it wasn’t Eric Weems’ night. Having said that, I don’t think he has the burst to be a really good returner. It may be time to move on.

3. It might be best if all of the returners concentrated on catching the ball.

4. All those flags made this a long game. Here’s hoping that one way or another those doesn’t carry over into the regular season.

Bears

• Brad Biggs at the Chicago Tribune answers our questions. He gives his thoughts on something I know many of us are wondering, whether the Bears are going to go with more two tightend personnel groupings with what is a less than stellar wide receiver group on the team. The last point is an interesting one:

  “That is certainly one possibility, one that will depend on how the players behind Martellus Bennett perform. I received similar questions regarding the depth chart at tight end after the fine performance by Zach Miller in the preseason opener against the Eagles. That was one game and we have to wait and see how that group pans out but offensive coordinator Aaron Kromer and tight ends coach Andy Bischoff were confident the Bears had a deeper group at the position when camp opened and they might be right.”

  “Don’t discount the possibility fullback Tony Fiammetta could be more involved as well. Although it is interesting to note Football Outsiders reported the Bears averaged 4.6 yards per carry in a single back formation and 4.0 with two backs. That meshes with what personnel people have told me for some time – Matt Forte does better from a one-back set.”

• Biggs on whether the Bears will keep a third quarterback on the roster:

  “Keeping a third quarterback hinges on how the third quarterback performs. I doubt Jimmy Clausen and Jordan Palmer both make it through so we’re looking at rookie sixth-round pick David Fales. My instinct tells me he’d probably be a candidate for the practice squad but he should get ample playing time between now and the time final decisions need to be made.”

  I would tend to agree. Some fans have told me that they fear that Fales would be claimed by another team if the Bears tried to get him through waivers to put him on the practice squad. As Biggs points out, that depends upon how well Fales performs. I’m guessing that if his performance remains at the level I’ve’ seen so far, he’ll safely clear waivers and it will be the practice squad.

• Hub Arkush at chicagofootball.com talks about the competition at safety:

  “All of the vets at safety are career journeymen, with the exception of [Adrian] Wilson. If [Brock] Vereen can’t play Robin to Wilson’s Batman, it’s unlikely the Bears will take a meaningful step forward at the position.”

  Hub apparently doesn’t think much of Ryan Mundy but I’ve got a sneaking suspicion that he’s your starter at free safety if Wilson claims the other side.

One Final Thought

Hub again on rookie defensive tackle Will Sutton:

“Sutton looked to me to be the best three-technique tackle in this year’s draft and could make a huge impact sharing time at the three with Ratliff if he’s NFL ready. I’ve seen the lightning first step in Bourbonnais that might make him a disruptive force in opposing teams’ backfields, but now it’s time to see it in an NFL game against at least second team competition, if not the ones.”

Hub tends to be sparing in his praise. So when he does compliment a player you can generally believe its not just fluffy talk that’s meant to tell fans what they want to hear. If Hub says Sutton’s talent is for real, there’s good reason to believe it is. He’s a guy to keep an eye on.

Bears

• Rich Campbell at the Chicago Tribune notes this exchange between safeties Danny McCray and Craig Steltz, who are competing for roster spots, on Tuesday at practice during kick return drills:

  “Safety Danny McCray, who lined up on the return unit opposite Steltz, yelled to Steltz about how odd it was to see him on the scout team instead of the active team in that drill. Steltz was on the first-string kickoff return unit last season, but a groin injury sidelined him for most of camp.”

  What seems odd is that McCray would mention it since he wasn’t with the team last year. Some would call that kind of trash talk being “competitive”. I call it being a jerk.

• Adam L. Jahns at the Chicago Sun-Times quotes Bears head coach Marc Trestman on the back up quarterback competition:

  “We grade them every day. We’re watching all the tape. We’re making the corrections with each of them. It’s still a competition, and they know it. We’re repping them that way.”

  Speaking of reps it might be best for Trestman to make his decision sooner rather than later. Reps are scarce enough behind starter Jay Cutler without Jimmy Clausen and Jordan Palmer splitting them.

• Patrick Finley at the Chicago Sun-Times describes this typical scene:

  “One day after receiving a rousing cheer when he intercepted a pass in practice, safety Chris Conte slipped on the wet grass on a pass play that resulted in a touchdown Tuesday.

  “Fans grumbled loudly enough for one veteran to suggest, a bit too loudly, that the hecklers be quiet.”

• Finley goes on to quote Trestman after Tuesday’s playful practice:

  “I don’t know that any of us have been in winning environments where the team didn’t have a sense of humor and know how to use it at the right time.”

Elsewhere

• Well, the Dolphins didn’t sign former Bears quarterback Rex Grossmn. So the Browns did it instead. Via Michael David Smith at profootballtalk.com.

One Final Thought

I thought this perspective on the popularity of fantasy football and the tendency of employees to spend company time looking up stats was unique. The study on lost wages comes from Chicago-based outplacement consultancy Challenger, Gray and Christmas. Via Alexia Elejalde-Ruiz at the Chicago Tribune:

“With the economy still chugging along, and no chance that any measurable dip in GDP in the third or fourth quarter would be the fault of fantasy football ($13.4 billion [in lost productivity] is less than 1 percent of the $1.5 trillion in wages paid out during the same period), [CEO John A.] Challenger said companies shouldn’t crack down on the practice but instead recruit employees into company-wide leagues to build camaraderie and morale.

“‘An across-the-board ban on all fantasy football or sports websites is likely to backfire and cause a drop in morale, loyalty and, ironically, productivity,’ Challenger said. ‘The end result could be far worse than any loss of productivity caused by an hour or two of team management each week.'”

I’m not a fantasy football guy. But if the economy is “chugging along” you wouldn’t know it from where I’m sitting. More camaraderie is always welcome and seems to be in short supply these days.

Bears

• I was glad to hear tight end Martellus Bennett say that he would have handled the episode that led to his suspension “differently”. And the team seems satisfied with what they see. But I would have felt better about his return had he publicly admitted he’d done something wrong. From Dan Wiederer at the Chicago Tribune
• Adam L. Jahns at the Chicago Sun-Times quotes cornerback Tim Jennings on trying to get his conditioning back after recovering from a bad quadriceps:
  

  “That’s what camp’s about — execute even when you’re tired.”

• Linebackers coach Reggie Herring on Shea McClellin. Via Rich Campbell at the Chicago Tribune:
  

  “‘The bottom line is he’s out here and he has had an excellent camp, a nice OTAs,’ Herring said Monday. ‘He moves as good as any of these other linebackers. He has made plays as good as any backer out here.”

  That might be technically true. But if it is, it says more about the Bears other linebackers than it does about McClellin. More to the point was this quote:

  “It’s a process. Y’all be patient. We’ll know after the first [or] second game where we’re at with him.”

  The Bears are supposed to be starting linebackers who are ready to play now. If not now, then certainly by game 1. If you don’t have one, you go out and find one. Instead, in a camp that is supposed to be all about competition, McClellin has been given a starting job that he hasn’t yet earned, probably won’t have earned by the start of the season and may never earn. Kevin Fishbain at chicagofootball.com supports my point as he feels the need to mention this fun fact in his article today:

  “It had been assumed in the winter and then leading up to camp that the two young, early draft picks would compete at the ‘Sam’ linebacker spot, and it’s still early yet, but the Bears have stuck with McClellin as the starting strong-side linebacker, and [Jon] Bostic as the starting nickel linebacker and second-team middle linebacker.”

  Good organizations start the best guys based upon how they play, not their draft status. Apparently this isn’t one of them. Not a good sign for the long-term.

• Special teams coordinator Joe DeCamillis on the possibility that Chris Williams might get an opportunity to return punts and kicks this Thursday. Via Wiederer:
  

  “‘You’ve got to catch the ball in a real live game and catch punts in a real live situation,’ DeCamillis said. ‘So we’ll see those things going forward.'”

  Something tells me that Williams is so far down the depth chart because he’s been dropping balls, not just as a returner, but as a wide receiver, as well.

Elsewhere

• The Dolphins worked out former Bears quarterback Rex Grossman yesterday. Via Josh Alper at profootbaltalk.com.
• Florida State inexplicably asked FSU fans to Tweet questions to quarterback Jameis Winston using the #AskJameis tag. Some of the more creative responses are worth reading. From Sean Newell at Deadspin.The incident is a lesson for those who want to be “edgy” and take advantage of trendy concepts like social media, but don’t really understand the fact that they have zero control over the very public results.
• Brad Biggs at the Chicago Tribune addresses about the annual debate about tackling in training camp. The Bears don’t have live contact practices.:
  

  “Take a visit to Green Bay and you hear more shoulder pads crunching in the first 10 minutes than you do in most 2½-hour Bears practices.

  “‘It’s actually rewarding to hear you say that because sometimes you get criticism from people,’ Packers coach Mike McCarthy said. ‘It’s like, have you ever been to another training camp? How does your line develop? How does the front end of your offense and defense develop if you don’t have those [live] drills? Those combinations, they don’t just show back up where the fits are right and the feet are together and the balance and the anticipation coming off.”

  Ordinarily I would agree with McCarthy. But in fairness, I saw no obvious, systematic deficiencies in the tacking by the Bears in their first exhibition game.

One Final Thought

From Steve Rosenbloom at the Chicago Tribune:

“New NFL rule: Everything that football players do is a penalty.”

David Haugh at the Chicago Tribune adds another aspect related to the suspension of tight end Martellus Bennett that I didn’t think of:

“In acting so boldly, [Phil] Emery did the best thing for the Bears, even if the [general manager]’s show of strength potentially weakened the perception of his coach. It was [head coach Marc] Trestman who ended practice early Monday because of the fight, and it should have been Trestman who announced the discipline because the Bears expect more from their players.”

Its food for thought.

When Jerry Angelo was GM I was constantly berating him in this space for interfering with former head coach Lovie Smith. It was (and still is) my opinion that the GM’s job mostly ends when the season starts because the process of roster building mostly ends. I didn’t think anyone should hear from the GM too much after that point because I think the players need to be answering to one voice in the locker room and I think it should be the head coach’s. You don’t want the players listening to the head coach and wondering what the GM thinks.

Similarly, I (along with many Bears fans) was critical of Smith for interfering too much in scouting and in personnel matters in the offseason. Its fairly obvious that Trestman has no such problem as this excerpt from an article by Adam L. Jahns at the Chicago Sun-Times on wide receiver Santonio Holmes‘s tryout indicates:

“‘I did not [see the workout],’ coach Marc Trestman said Wednesday at Olivet Nazarene University. ‘I’ve got it on tape. I haven’t looked at it.

“‘[How Holmes performed is] something for our personnel department at this time because I don’t have a response because I didn’t look at it.'”

Presumably that means that he didn’t see Greg Herd, the wide out they eventually signed, workout, either.

Should the announcement of Bennett’s suspension have come from Trestman? I’m going to leave it at a definite “maybe”. There are a few reasons why it may be OK in this particular case.

1. Trestman and Emery seem to be on the same page most of the time and they appear to work together better than Smith and Angelo did. They aren’t constantly interfering with each other. With a clear separation of powers, Trestman trusts Emery’s judgment, and that of scouts whose full time job is to evaluate non-Bears personnel, without too much question. Emery appears to be willing to let Trestman do his job and coach in the same way. The relationship reminds me of that between Packers GM Ted Thompson and head coach Mike McCarthy. And that’s a good thing.
2. Trestman is preaching peace, love and family to the team. Having Emery do the announcing, even if its clear that everyone, including Trestman, agreed to the punishment, allows Emery to play the heavy in the relationship while Trestman – to a limited extent – plays “good cop”.
3. The question of discipline of this kind is a mutual decision. Its something that has to be decided on an organizational level. There’s nothing wrong with the head of the organization making the announcement if its clear that everyone was involved in the decision – and it was.
4. Assuming last year was typical, we won’t be hearing much from Emery during the season and Trestman will, indeed, be doing most of the talking. Emery did the rounds on the talk shows to speak about the state of the Bears at mid-season (as is perfectly appropriate). But with maybe a few exceptions that was it.

Overall I’m happy with what I see when I look at the Trestman-Emery relationship. Unlike that between Angelo and Smith, there’s no undercurrent that gives you a feeling that there’s a power struggle going on. Trestman doesn’t appear to want to play GM and the GM doesn’t appear to want to play coach. With that relationship, I see no reason why this team shouldn’t continue to run smoothly on an organizational level.

Bears

• Adam L. Jahns at the Chicago Sun-Times passes on the fact that Isaiah Frey is out with a hamstring issue. The return of Kelvin Hayden and the pick up of first round draft pick Kyle Fuller already put a lot of pressure on Frey. This could be very bad news for a player who I thought might be on the bubble to begin with.
• I’ve wondered a couple times if quarterback Jimmy Clausen wasn’t still behind Jordan Palmer on the depth chart because he wasn’t giving the Bears the feeling that he’d be as good at protecting the ball. So I thought this report from Rich Campbell and Dan Wiederer at the Chicago Tribune was significant:
  

  “Clausen’s push to be Jay Cutler‘s backup gains momentum with each practice in which he demonstrates greater command of the offense. On consecutive plays during team drills Tuesday, he connected with receivers Chris Williams and Josh Bellamy on short, safe passes near the left sideline. Coaches have been pleased by his mechanics and arm strength. For the four-year veteran, comfort in the offense and minimizing mistakes are the keys to winning the job.”

  This quote from offensive coordinator Aaron Kromer also supports my point. Via Jahns:

  “‘By no means are we looking for a superstar,’ offensive coordinator Aaron Kromer said. ‘We’re looking for a guy who can read a coverage and throw it to the correct guy or work with the unit and make him successful.'”

• Campbell quotes grumpy old man Adrian Wilson before tomorrow’s game:
  

  “‘It’s preseason. I don’t, I mean, it’s my 14th year. I hate having to (answer) questions about a preseason game. I just don’t feel like I have to prove anything to anybody. I’ve got (five) Pro Bowls, (one) first-team All-Pros, so why do I have to prove anything to anybody? I just don’t feel like I have to do that.'”

  Well, I hate to break it to Wilson but he does have something to prove. He’ll be 35 years old in October and he’s coming off of an serious injury that caused him to miss last season. He also had a serious drop off in 2012. Those five Pro Bowls don’t mean anything in a “what have you done for me lately” league and nothing should tell that to Wilson more clearly than the fact that he was still available for the Bears to sign to a low risk contract in late June.

  It’s possible, given the context of the answer, that Wilson was strictly saying that he didn’t have to prove anything to the fans and the media (which is absolutely true). But if Wilson’s attitude really is that he doesn’t have to compete for a job, there’s a good chance he’s not going to have one. In fact, he might not make it past the first cut.

• Wilson’s attitude is in direct contrast to that linebacker D. J. Williams, who implies that he, at least, will be putting forth some effort against the Eagles. Via Matthew Paras at chicagofootball.com:
  

  “‘Playing one of the opponents that I say personally embarrassed [us] last season, we’re eager to see how far we’ve come and still see what we have to do,’ Williams said. ‘I want to shut them out. That’s how you approach every game, whether it’s preseason, regular season or practice.'”

• I thought this exchange, as passed on by Wiederer, was rather humorous:
  

  “[Kicker Robbie] Gould later stopped on his way to lunch to chat with a pair of young fans leaving the cafeteria with executive Brian McCaskey. After Gould walked away, it took one of the boys 10 seconds to realize what had just happened. ‘Oh my god! That was Robbie Gould?’ he shouted. ‘I had no idea that was Robbie Gould!’ Gould laughed and shouted back, ‘I had no idea either.'”

• Brad Biggs at the Chicago Tribune answers a question on a topic that continues to fascinate me.
  

  “If Christian Jones continues to improve, is there any way he could he start at strong-side linebacker? If so, would Shea McClellin or Khaseem Greene be cut? — @steveoatms from Twitter

  “Jones has been an intriguing player to watch in training camp because of his combination of size at 6-foot-3, 240 pounds, and his athletic ability. But he’s still raw and I’d be surprised if he pushes for a starting job. Now, maybe he lights it up in preseason but my hunch is he will take some time to develop. A better question right now would probably be can Jones push for a spot on the 53-man roster and based on the practices, I think he has a shot. I doubt seriously McClellin will be let go and figure Greene makes it as a reserve and a core special teams player. But we’ve got the entire preseason ahead of us.”

  The Bears will have to carry an extra linebacker if they want to keep all three along with special teams ace Jordan Senn. That won’t be easy to do and the easiest out for the Bears would be to try to stash Jones on the practice squad. The Bears may end up having to release a good player here and its’s going to be a position to watch closely.

• Rick Morrissey at the Chicago Sun-Times reports Bears head coach Marc Trestman‘s response to a question about the culture he’s trying to build with the team. Not surprisingly, its a pretty windy speech. Here’s the gist of it:
  

  “‘It’s really that simple. If you understand the definition of [trust, respect and humility] and you love football and want to play it and are a baller, we’ll find a place for you. We’re also in a position where we don’t expect everybody to understand that immediately. That’s a process; that’s a transformational process. It doesn’t take one week. It doesn’t take one month. It may not take a year. It may take more.'”

  “Given how long that quote is, you might think that Trestman has hijacked my column. I think he just explained the heart of the trouble with [suspended tight end Martellus] Bennett, without getting into specifics. Bennett apparently has been showing only trace amounts of trust, respect and humility lately.”

  I’d say Morrissey has it right on the button. However, Morrissey goes on to question whether Trestman isn’t over-reacting to Bennett’s problem. I think that, even after noting Trestman’s soliloquy on team building, he might be missing the larger issue at stake. Related to that, I thought this quote via Jahns was to the point:

  “Bennett’s suspension — and how he reacts when it concludes — figures to remain a storyline for some time. Left tackle Jermon Bushrod said, ‘You can’t go against what the head coach and management do [in these cases].

  “‘If they feel like [a suspension is] in the best interest of the team [and] the individual, then so be it. We have to learn from it. He has to learn from it. Everyone who is [watching] has to learn from it.'”

• I’d be curious to know what was behind this little piece of insanity. Via Liam Ford at the Chicago Tribune.

One Final Thought

Paul Bessire at predictionmachine.com suggests on Sports Talk Live that Bears fans temper their expectations. It will surprise no one who knows me that I tend to agree: