Month: September 2015

Nowhere Is Safe Against the Packers. And Other Point of View.

Bears

  • Color me surprised that the Bears put quarterback Zac Dysert on waivers. It probably means that Jimmy Clausen will be OK for the Packers game but, still, I thought Dysert might have a chance to make the practice squad. It makes you wonder if the Bears might not try to sneak David Fales through instead and, more to the point, whether he’ll make it.
  • Dan Wiederer at the Chicago Tribune on outside linebacker Willie Young surviving the cuts Saturday:

    “Young is now one of five outside linebackers left in Lake Forest, joining Pernell McPhee, Jared Allen, Lamarr Houston and Sam Acho.

    “Still, the 53-man roster the Bears established Saturday will face revisions in the coming days as [head coach John] Fox and general manager Ryan Pace scan the league’s waiver wire, searching for castoffs from other teams who might fill a need.”

    But they’re probably not going to find any decent pass rushers. Those just don’t shake loose and if they do, someone ahead of them in the waiver process will scoop them up. Young’s about as safe as anyone on the roster at this point.

  • You have to wonder, given Zack Miller‘s injury history, if the Bears aren’t going to be sorry they didn’t keep another tight end. They need to be able to run from the double tight end formation and rookie Khari Lee is the only other player opposite Martellus Bennett.
  • I’m also mildly surprised that the Bears didn’t try to sneak tackle Tayo Fabuluje on to the practice squad. They’ve only got one back up at guard: Vlad Ducasse.
  • Adam Jahns at the Chicago Sun-Times answers the biggest questions entering the season:

    “Biggest area of concern .?.?.”

    “The secondary. The Bears are looking at four new starters in the secondary, if you include nickel back Sherrick McManis. The depth is razor thin. The Bears need cornerback Kyle Fuller to be the player they think he can be and veteran safety Antrel Rolle to show off his old Pro Bowl skills at times.”

    Couldn’t agree more. I’m starting to suspect that Fuller isn’t the player we thought he was and I’m positive that Rolle has lost a step. Right now there isn’t a single player I have any confidence in and the secondary is weak at every position.

Elsewhere

  • The Giants have cut wide receiver James Jones. You have to wonder if the Bears ar desperate enough to give him a try.
  • The Vikings cut second year offensive lineman David Yankey. Yankey didn’t play much last season and didn’t survive an unsuccessful move to the tackle position. Patrick Omameh was a starting guard for the Bucs but couldn’t make the same transition. Once again, both are the type of player I have to think that the Bears are at least considering claiming. As a guard, signing him would move Kyle Long to right tackle. I’d say that former first round pick Derek Sherrod might be on this list of potential claims, as well.
  • Jo-Lonn Dunbar might look good in a Bears uniform.
  • The “independent” neurologist who evaluated RGIII has resigned from the neurological consultant program leading once again to the question: “What the hell is going on in Washington?”
  • Sounds like the Packers have yet another wide receiver to worry about. It isn’t fair.

    Can you imagine how good Alshon Jeffery would be with Aaron Rogers throwing to him? My guess is that he’d be right behind Calvin Johnson as one of the best in the league.

  • Once again, its not easy to be a Bears fan lately. But its nothing compared to being a Washington Redskins fan. Via Jerry Brewer at the Washington Post:

    “The lewd news is that Jessica McCloughan, the wife of the GM, had to apologize Wednesday night after it was discovered that she took to Twitter to accuse ESPN’s Dianna Russini, a former WRC (Channel 4) Washington sports anchor, of having an affair with her husband and exchanging sexual favors for news tips. When Jessica issued a statement via the team, it turned gossip into mainstream discourse and added more humiliation to the franchise’s farcical preseason.

    “It also should be used as a delicate precaution: Despite how much McCloughan has thrived in Washington the past eight months, his off-field behavior will always warrant concern and monitoring.”

    McCloughan has admitted to having a drinking problem, one that got him fired from the 49ers. Things like this won’t help.

One Final Thought

Having mentioned my feelings above about the defensive backfield, I should add that Hub Arkush at chicagofootball.com has a point about the linebacker position:

“I believe the Bears should have cut Shea McClellin – as Fox has explained to us, there is absolutely nothing personal in this – and kept Mason Foster, because I’m convinced Foster is the better player.”

“Vic Fangio went all in early on McClellin and now will continue to roll the dice even though he got progressively worse as the preseason went on, and that is complicated by Christian Jones’ youth and Jon Bostic’s multiple boo boos.”

I have to agree. My initial thought was that the Bears started McClellin and have kept him because he’s the younger player. But Foster is only 26 and he’s clearly the better of the two. I can only assume that the Bears believe that Foster has peaked whereas McClellin still has some upside. In any case, Arkush continues:

“With Jeremiah Ratliff out the next three weeks, and only Eddie Goldman seemingly able on the nose, if you’re Packers coach Mike McCarthy and you’ve got running back Eddie Lacy, where are you going to attack the Bears next Sunday?”

Everywhere, Hub. Everywhere.

When Sacrificing Your Body Isn’t Enough. And Other Points of View.

Bears

  • Hub Arkush at ChicagoFootball.com thinks that nose tackle Terry Williams stood out on Thursday night and I’d agree. But here’s what I thought was the really interesting observation:

    “Now, I’m not so sure Tayo Fabuluje isn’t the second best tackle on the Bears – not including Kyle Long, of course – and shouldn’t be moved into the starting lineup at right tackle.

    “If the Bears are going to have to cover for and live with mistakes from their right tackle, why not suffer with a player with a huge upside.”

    I’ll be honest. I watched Fabuluje during the game and thought the same thing. But the thought was too ridiculous and I forgot about it. But if I wasn’t the only one to notice, maybe its not such a stupid thought after all. Fabuluje moves well for a big man. But there would be a lot of growing pains and most of them would be inflicted upon quarterback Jay Cutler.

    Hub was also happy with David Fales but here I’ll very mildly disagree. I’d have liked to have seen him go down field with the ball more. The same could be said for Jay Cutler. Good for him in that he’s not turning the ball over. But he’s not making any plays, either. John Mullin at csnchicago.com agrees:

    “The other shoe, however, is doing something with the football while you’re not giving it away, and that hasn’t dropped for the 2015 Bears. The No. 1 offense didn’t score a touchdown on any of those 80 Cutler snaps.”

    Cutler’s defenders will point out that he didn’t have Alshon Jeffery, Kevin White or Eddie Royal. Nonsense. All that tells me is that Cutler still can’t throw a receiver open with anticipation. Other people see improvement in Cutler this preseason. I see a guy who will once again be middle of the pack statistically but who will head an offense that won’t be able disciplined enough to run the ball consistently and won’t be able to pass its way out of trouble. Cutler won’t – and will never – produce enough to win.

  • Jeff Dickerson says that he “can’t rule out” the possibility that the Bears would be interested in RGIII. Heaven help us all.
  • Steve Rosenbloom at the Chicago Tribune comments upon Thursday’s game against the Browns:

    “Maybe it’s a result of the lesser quality of opponent throughout the practice games, but it looks like Mason Foster should be starting ahead of [Shea] McClellin or Christian Jones.”

    Just watching the game, I would agree with this. But Foster was cut on Friday. Get used to it.

    To those who genuinely believe that the Bears are going to defy predictions this season and compete for the division, Foster should be a warning sign. The Bears are rebuilding and nothing says that louder than cutting Foster before younger linebackers like John Timu, and Jonathan Anderson. The Bears are evaluating based upon future potential, not present performance.

Elsewhere

  • Related to my comment on Cutler above, Mike Rothstein at ESPN.com answers your Lions questions:

    Q: “I still don’t see nearly enough shots. [Matthew] Stafford has been good but very few passes traveling more than 20 yards.”

    A: “It’s the preseason, so you aren’t going to see a ton of shots. Plus, Calvin Johnson wasn’t on the field at all during the exhibition season so that is going to limit the shots taken anyway. I don’t expect the Lions to turn into an Air Raid offense or anything, but with a healthy Calvin Johnson, a more experienced Eric Ebron and a returning Golden Tate, the chances are there to take more shots downfield. It wouldn’t shock me to see if the Lions take one or two more big play shots per game — but not too much more than that.”

    I was down on the Lions after they lost Ndamukong Suh. And I was dead wrong. They’ve been very impressive in the preseason, both offensively and defensively. Unlike the Bears, they do show signs of being disciplined enough to run the ball with a nice stable of runningbacks, most notably rookie Ameer Abdullah.

    It’s going to be a big year in the NFC North with the Packers, the Lions and the Vikings all showing signs of being playoff level football teams and the Bears have a great opportunity to play spoiler. Failing to take care of business against the Bears could be the difference between a wild card and being on the outside looking in for any of them.

  • Something to keep an eye on within the division is the Vikings kicking situation. Blair Walsh signed what is a lucrative contract extension (for a kicker) with the team in the offseason. Now he’s missing field goals all over the field in the preseason and there’s a great deal of concern in Minnesota. A valid question to ask is whether the team will start going for two point conversions rather than risk Walsh missing extra points. There’s a case to be made that any good offensive team that thinks they can gain two yards more than half the time in such a situation should be doing it anyway.

One Final Thought

Patrick Finley at the Chicago Sun-Times quotes Timu on his experiences as a three-time captain at Washington:

“‘Our thing was, ‘Sacrifice your body and glorify your soul for the team,’’ he said. ‘I took that mindset out of (Washington) and brought it here as a Chicago Bear.'”

Intelligence Is a Talent, Too. And Other Points of View.

Bears

  • I’m not going to bother to post much related to the fourth preseason game Thursday night. But if you want some things to watch, Dan Wiederer at the Chicago Tribune has a list:
    • Zac Dysert Vs. David Fales
    • Charles Leno Vs. Jordan Mills
    • the wide receivers
    • Ka’Deem Carey
  • The Bears are supposed to be accumulating draft picks, not trading them away. Particularly for undrafted free agents.
  • Rick Morrissey at the Chicago Sun-Times thinks right guard Kyle Long should b playing right tackle:

    “Will it cause chaos along the line? Not as much chaos as
    Charles Leno and Jordan Mills have caused while attempting to play right tackle. Find somebody else to play right guard and let Long get comfortable as the Right Tackle of the Future. Unless he’s actually the Left Tackle of the Future. But first things first.”

    First, I’m not happy with the idea of Leno playing right
    tackle, either. I have a nasty suspicion that, like Mills, he’s not
    going to develop. But Mills got three years to show that he could be
    better. To my eye Leno shows some athleticism and it might be a bit
    early to be giving up on him completely. Hub Arkush at
    chicagofootball.com thinks that “it’s very unlikely both Jordan Mills and Charles Leno make the team”. In that case, I’m guessing that Mills is in serious
    jeopardy.

    I might add that I don’t think I agree with the commonly
    given reason for moving Long: that tackle is a more valuable position
    than guard, especially right tackle. Like many football experts, I’m not
    too sure I wouldn’t rather stay strong up the middle and keep the pocket
    clean in front of Cutler so that he can step up.

  • The Bears apparently didn’t like quarterback Shane
    Carden     much. He didn’t even get a chance to throw a pass in the
    preseason before they released him in favor of signing Zac Dysert on Tuesday.
    Via Wiederer.  I liked Carden before the draft because, as far as I could tell, he’s about the only reason East Carolina won a game last year. But he was reportedly
    long on release and short on accuracy.Dysert is an interesting signing because he was on the practice squad for Denver under Bears head coach John Foxand offensive coordinator Adam Gase. He was released by Denver this year in their first round of cuts. It will be interesting to see if he’s just a short term signing who knows the offense and can get the Bears through the fourth preseason game with Jimmy Clausen out with a concussion or if he might stick around long-term. It could well be the latter. Carden knew the offense and likely could have played with fellow quarterback Fales on Thursday night.
  • Weiderer reports that Kyle Long is willing to move to tackle but
    no one knows yet whether it will be necessary. My guess is that the
    Bears are looking for a starter as other teams make their cuts. Where
    Long ends up may depend upon whether they find a guard or tackle.
  • Mark Potash at the Chicago Sun-Times on the growing list of injured
    players     and the Bears’ secretive way of dealing with them when it
    comes to the media:

    “[Matt] Forte, who has all of 14 carries in the preseason, has been given back-to-back veteran’s days off ahead of five consecutive days without practice. Anybody buying that one?”

    Noupe.

  • Brad Biggs at the Chicago Tribune answers your questions:

    “Any guesses for surprise cuts to get to 53? — @sylv0028

    “Not sure there can be any surprise cuts from 75 to 53 for an organization that was 5-11 last season and has undergone complete turnover in the front office and in the coaching staff. If veteran Willie Young, who looks like a defensive end out of place at outside linebacker, is released you will not be able to classify that as a surprise. Young is a better fit in a 4-3 scheme and he is coming off a serious injury. I don’t think anything the club does this weekend will catch you off guard.”

    Biggs wouldn’t be surprised but I would. Young will be a pretty good end in the nickel package, which by all accounts the Bears will play at least half of the time. It would help if he played special teams but still, I dont see it happening.

  • Former Bears linebacker Lance Briggs on his retirement:

    “‘Outside of freak injuries, I’ve been durable,’ Briggs said. ‘I want to play. At this point in my career, I understand a whole lot.’”

    What Briggs doesn’t say but is pretty likely is that he “wants to play” only for the right price. The guess here is that the 49ers made him an offer but, similar to former linebacking partner Brian Urlacher in similar circumstances, he didn’t consider the money to be worth the wear and tear on his body.

Elsewhere

  • Chip Kelly admits that he didn’t
    understand the rule     by which quarterbacks can be hit if they are
    handing off the ball. But that doesn’t make avoidably diving for a guy’s
    knees in an effort to hurt him in a preseason game any less dirty. Terrell Suggs any less of a jerk. Via profootballtalk.com.
  • Read this open letter to Bills head coach Rex Ryan, substitute “Jay” in “EJ” and tell me that you don’t want to send it to John Fox. Immediately.

One Final Thought

Greg Gabriel at the National Football Post on why Robert Griffin III has failed in the NFL:

“He looked like he would have a great future, but that hasn’t happened. He has regressed every year since. It is entirely possible that in the near future Griffin III may be a former Washington Redskin.

“How can this happen? How can a player with that much talent not continue to improve and grow? Some may say it’s coaching, but that isn’t the answer. The answer is simple: RGIII lacks any kind of football character.”

“Football character is about the desire each player has to become great. It includes his work ethic, leadership, passion for the game and ability to be coached. Most players fail or bust because they lack a degree of football character. RGIII has great talent, but he lacks football character.

“When RGIII was growing up and in college everything came easy to him. He was a very smart kid and the best athlete on campus. When a player gets to the NFL, every player on every team is a great athlete, the best of the best. If a player wants to improve he has to work at it. Once RGIII got to the NFL he had never been in that kind of environment before. Things no longer came easy. He had to work and he didn’t know how.

I don’t doubt that this is true to an extent. But to be fair to RGIII have the talent to play the position. Something tells me that this goes beyond “want to”.

People always thing of “talent” in terms of physical properties. How far can you jump? How fast can you run? I think in this case that we might be talking about natural talent that has nothing to do with physical characteristics. Some of it is instincts and a lot of it is mental.

People have a bad habit of assuming that someone with great physical ability who fails at something like football did so because they didn’t work hard enough. And that’s really not fair. Mental gifts are talents just like the physical ones. I’m not in any way saying that RGIII is stupid. On the contrary, most reports about him coming out of college said the opposite. It’s just that the ways that he’s smart might not be the ways that are needed to play quarterback in the NFL.