Month: August 2017

Everyone Thinks Playing Trubisky in the 4th Preseason Game Is a Good Idea. Until It’s Not. And Other Points of View.

“[Mitch] Trubisky’s time is coming. I firmly believe it will arrive this season. But [Mike] Glennon showed enough for the Bears to continue with the plan they set forth back when they bucked up for the veteran and then traded up to draft Trubisky. How long Glennon remains the starter is going to depend on three variables: how well he performs, how the team performs and how Trubisky shows growth during practice. The latter might be the most significant.”

My guess is that how well Glennon performs will be the most significant. Trubisky is a head of where I thought he’d be but he’s still not ready and as Biggs points out in the same article, he’ll probably be getting fewer reps in practice as they ramp up towards the first game of the season.

Unlike Biggs, I think the Bears would like to give Glennon a genuine shot to show what he can do this year. If they get the version we saw in the third preseason game, they could win quite a few games with him.

They paid Glennon $18 million guaranteed this year to keep Trubisky on the bench and to let him learn to do things like not let the play clock run out. Twice.

Trubisky shows a lot of promise and I couldn’t be more pleased right now. But he’s got a lot to learn.

As an added bonus, probably best case scenario Glennon’s got some trade value at the end of the year if he plays well and lasts the season. Assuming they don’t want to pay the money to keep him.

  • According to Biggs The Falcons, Packers and the Raiders have been at all of the Bears preseaon games. It will be interesting to see if either team picks up a players that is expected to be released in final cuts.
  • The Bears defense is getting a lot of love after a solid preseason performance and with some justification. I think most fans always knew that the front seven had a great deal of potential if it could stay healthy. That looks like it might be the case.

Having said that, let’s not pretend that all is well with the unit as a whole. For instance, the team tied an all time NFL record for fewest takeaways last year and the defense has shown no signs through two preseason games that this year will be any better.

Like they have with the offensive line and the running game on offense, the Bears have built a good nucleus at the line of scrimmage this year. I think that’s always what you want to do.

But, also like the offense at wide receiver, the defensive backfield is barely mediocre. The Bears went with second tier talent in free agency to shore up the cornerbacks with only one draft pick – albeit an apparently solid one – at safety. And one of those cornerbacks is already looking ike he might be on the shelf for a while. Via Biggs:

Cornerback Prince Amukamara acknowledged when training camp opened that he needs remain healthy and that has been a knock against him. But he left Nissan Stadium with a walking boot on his right ankle. He also missed time previously with a hamstring issue. Hopefully he’s good to go when the Falcons come in.

Hopefully.

But even with him, the unit has a long way to go before it ranks among the NFL elite.

  • I don’t know any Bears fans that are really upset by the new contract extension that the Bears put together for left tackle Charles Leno but for what its worth, the contract is actually only a 2 year deal for $12 million. That’s the guaranteed money. There is $8 million guaranteed for injury only in the 3rd year but that doesn’t become fully guaranteed until the 3rd day of the new league year (effectively making it 3 years for $20 million).

The national perspective on Leno has not been very positive, partly due to some lackluster Pro Football Focus ratings, but the Bears are high on him and they backed it up with this deal. Left tackles don’t grow on trees nor are they cheap if they’re any good.

My own eyes on game day tell me to agree with the Bears on this though I’ve had a hard time convincing other people in other cities nationally. If Leno can become a bit more consistent he’ll be a pretty good player at a valuable position.

  • David Haugh at the Chicago Tribune continues to write what has been a consistent theme with the media since the offseason, albeit with a bit of a twist:

“Eventually, [head coach John] Fox might realize the chances to keep his job beyond 2017 improve if Trubisky beats out Glennon and becomes the starter.”

“A 6-10 season, for example, with Glennon starting 16 games and Trubisky learning whatever backup quarterbacks learn by watching would cry out for a coaching change likely to coincide with Trubisky’s promotion in 2018. But a 6-10 season with Trubisky showing flashes under Fox and his staff might allow the coach to complete the final year of his contract when — lame-duck status or not — the continuity could benefit the young quarterback. Maybe positive signs despite a 5-11 or 4-12 record would have a similar effect.”

What is most important for Fox right now is wins and losses. And 6-10 with Glennon or Trubisky would be a significant improvement in that area. Whether that justifies keeping Fox would, as always, depend on the circumstances, but I’d say that should be good enough under most conditions.

What people have to understand is that when the Bears hired GM Ryan Pace and Fox they embarked on a long, painful process of breaking this team down and rebuilding it almost from scratch. It’s true that most people probably didn’t think that it would take three offseasons to complete just the breaking down part but, thanks to Jay Cutler, it did.

What that means is that from here on out is that the Bears and their fans need to look for improvement starting from a 3-13 base, their record in 2016. A progression from 3-13 to 6-10 to 8-8 or 9-7 to 10-6 would be slow but should be perfectly acceptable under almost any circumstances as long as its consistent and shows signs of being sustainable long-term.

Many in the media have pointed out that, thanks to pulling the plug on Marc Trestman and Phil Emery so quickly, the Bears are in danger of becoming “one of those teams” that is constantly turning over their front office, threatening consistency. They wonder why this happens even as they press to replace coaches like Fox, setting conditions that go beyond simple improvement and slow and steady progress. They demand that the Bears win immediately even as they bemoan the organization’s lack of patience.

Getting back to the point of the article, would starting Trubisky and having him perform well help the perception in terms of how the teams is progressing? No question and the point is well taken. But on the other hand, starting him and watching him fall apart before our eyes because he was rushed and wasn’t ready wouldn’t be good for morale anywhere in this city.

In any case, what needs to be appreciated is that, in terms of Fox’s job status, the point is irrelevant. Whether they start Trubisky or not, the organization needs to be patient and the bar for keeping Fox needs to be at an appropriate level. Coming off of 3-13, I think 6-10 ordinarily should be just fine.

  • As most fans know, teams can pick up a lot of useful pieces after roster cuts following the last preseason game. The Bears are third in the waiver order and figure to have a good shot at some players who can help. In this respect, Biggs makes a good point:

“The Browns and 49ers are the only teams ahead of the Bears, meaning Pace would have first shot at any player those teams pass on.

“The Browns and 49ers both have 4-3 base defenses, so players profiling a 3-4 scheme might not be attractive to either of those teams. Of course, the front seven is arguably the strongest part of the roster right now.”

The Bears need the most help at wide receiver and in the defensive backfield and its not impossible that the Bears could get some help there, too. For instance, the Brown’s release of former Pro Bowl cornerback Joe Haden on Wednesday will be of note. but the guess here is that they wouldn’t turn their noses up at anyone who could improve the depth in the front seven, especially on the defensive line.

  • On a related note, here’s hoping Eddie Goldman being in the concussion protocol doesn’t become a major issue. He’s the most irreplaceable part of the defense, which never looked the same after they lost him last year.
  • I think starting Mitch Trubisky in the fourth preseason game is a good idea. Unless he gets hurt. If he does, head coach John Fox will be getting death threats from fans.

That’s not a joke.

  • Perhaps more noteworthy is the fact that Mark Sanchez isn’t playing despite getting very few snaps during the pre-season to date. There are 2 possibilities:
    1. He’s already got the #2 job. He’s a veteran who doesn’t need the reps and they want him healthy going into the season.
    2. He’s already lost the #2 job to Trubisky and they want to make sure he doesnt’ get hrt before they release him, putting them on the hook for some money.

I’m guessing #1 is the most likely. But I’m not discounting #2 and it wouldn’t be totally shocking if he’s released after the game.

Trubisky’s Play Against the Titans Could Be Disappointing and Other Points of View

“I anticipate the Bears drafting at the top of the draft again next year. If an All-Pro left tackle is available in the draft, do the Bears still take one that high or do they look at other positions now that Leno is signed for the foreseeable future?”

“— Corey S., South Side”

“I wouldn’t be surprised if the Bears were to include offensive tackle among the positions they would consider with a first-round draft pick in 2018 but [Charles] Leno profiles better on the left side than the right side… The Bears have made a solid financial commitment to Leno and I’d be awful surprised if they were to go away from him after one season. They believe he can be entrenched there for several seasons to come. That being said, right tackle Bobby Massie was shaky last year, particularly in the first two months of the season. The Bears made a run at right tackle Ricky Wagner in free agency and that signaled to me they were willing to make a change at that position. Depending on how Massie performs this season, certainly tackle could be a need for the Bears once again.”

I wouldn’t be the least bit surprised if the Bears tried to replace Massie this year, yet. Pre-season cuts are coming and if the right guy is released for the right reasons, the Bears might well choose to pick up a player in the same way that they signed Josh Sitton right before the season started last year.

Continuity is an issue in those situations but the Bears obviously aren’t afraid of disrupting that. Their actions with Sitton last year and Kyle Long’s switch from right to left guard and the movement around the line we’ve seen in the preseason with players like Cody Whitehair to close the gap pretty much tell us that getting the five best players on the field supersedes everything there.

“The team clearly likes Kendall Wright better as a slot receiver right now. I don’t think Braverman has much of a shot to make the 53-man roster and he might not stick around on the practice squad.”

I blame Jay Cutler.

“Kicker Roberto Aguayo might be running out of time to earn a roster spot.

“Coach John Fox doesn’t often criticize players to the media yet opened Friday’s news conference by highlighting Aguayo’s practice struggles. After the second-year kicker sliced a 49-yard kick wide right against the Cardinals last weekend, he faces an uphill battle to unseat Connor Barth. Fox wasn’t sure how much the Bears could do to help Aguayo get out of his rut.

“‘It’s like working with golfers,’ Fox said. ‘It doesn’t really matter much what they do on the driving range, it matters what’s on the course. … We’re going to mess with him. We don’t have a long look but he’s been very receptive. And that’s an area where we need to improve.’”

Aguayo pretty much blew any chance he had to make the team when he missed the field goal that Wiederer mentions. Which brings us to the real question – why is he still on the roster?

There are two possibilities here.

  1. As valuable as positions on the 53 man roster are, as Fox mentions, a change in needed at kicker because Barth, as accurate as he is at short range, doesn’t have the leg to kick longer field goals or, more to the point, handle kickoffs effectively. It’s entirely possible that they’re going to keep Aguayo just for that.
  2. Aguayo could still be placed on a practice squad.

Both possibilities would allow the Bears to continue to try to correct his mechanics and make him a more accurate field goal kicker.

“This is supposed to be a pivotal season for the dynamic receiver. But through two exhibition outings, White has been invisible. Two catches, 2 yards. The Bears passing game needs a spark in a bad way. And White needs some production to build confidence heading into the regular season. On the whole, the Bears’ top receivers have been disappointing this month. In the nine possessions the first-unit offense has had, their receivers have managed only seven catches for 51 yards.”

Amen.

Mike Glennon is taking some flack for his preseason performances and rightfully so. But when we look as his putrid 4.2 yards per attempt, we have to remember that his receivers are partially responsible. Specifically, that they aren’t getting open deep. that has to change or it isn’t going to matter who is at quarterback.

I agree. To an extent.

I always thought the front seven would be a strength for the Bears if they could keep them all healthy. But I have more doubts than most about the defensive back field.

One thing that absolutely must change is the turnover ratio. The Bears tied an all-time NFL record for fewest takeaways last year with 11 and I’ve seen little evidence during the preseason that this will improve enough to keep the Bears competitive consistently when playing decent teams.

Sunday is probably their last chance to give us some hope in this area. It will be a challenge not just to get the ball away but to continue to show why Bears fans are optimistic about them.

The Titans are an old school smash mouthed run first football team. They added speed to the offense in the offseason in the form of first round wide receiver Corey Davis and they brought in Eric Decker to play the slot. Derrick Henry has also been lining up in the slot in the preseason.

All-in-all there has been a significant effort to diversify the offense and the Bears defense is going to have their toughness and skill tested at every level of the defense.

  • There’s a lot of excitement about Mitch Trubisky starting the second half against the Titans and Fox has said that he hopes the Titans keep their starters in.

I really hope that Bears fans aren’t going to be too disappointed if Trubisky doesn’t play well. Two things define Dick LeBeau’s defense: amoeba fronts and complex five-man blitzes on passing downs.

It could get ugly out there for a rookie quarterback who wasn’t even very experienced by college standards.

The Bears Are Gradually Challenging Trubisky to Transition to Pro Style And Other Points of View

“Mitch Trubisky’s second preseason outing was far less attention-grabbing than his first. His final numbers — 6-for-8, 60 yards, a TD pass and a 135.4 rating — were solid. And he once again took care of the ball, now up to 65 preseason plays and eight possessions without a turnover.

“Trubisky got away with a throw to Titus Davis that was nearly intercepted. He was also sacked for a loss of 7 in the fourth quarter when he couldn’t escape a six-man rush and held the ball a beat too long.

“It’s still hard to envision Trubisky making a rapid leap to unseat [Mike] Glennon as the starter by Week 1.”

Agreed.

Trubisky was not as good as last week for 2 reasons:

  1. The Bears asked him to do more. He didn’t roll out, cutting the field and his reads in half, nearly as much. They put him under center more.
  2. The Cardinals showed him and the third team offense more. They got him on a sack that didn’t count on a delayed blitz and on one that did on another blitz that he likely hasn’t seen before. He had one near INT.Trubisky naturally isn’t going to look as good as the Bears challenge him to leave his comfort zone and become the quarterback he needs to be in a pro style offense.  Bears fans are going to have to be patient as that happens.
  • Brad Biggs at the Chicago Tribune answers your questions. Biggs does a shrewd analysis of the players on the special teams units during the Arizona game to see what can be gleaned in terms of who makes the backend of the roster and who doesn’t:

“The one thing that jumps out a little bit is the absence of Kyle Fuller. If he’s going to stick with the Bears as a reserve cornerback, you’d figure he’s got to have a hand in the action on special teams. That could be coming but we’ll have to wait and see.”

What jumped out at me was the absence of Ka’Deem Carey. Carey is in his annual battle to make this team and with the emergence of Tarik Cohen and the decent possibility that tight end Ben Braunecker becomes a core special teams player, Carey’s roster spot is in serious jeopardy. A lot may come down to what the Bears decide to do with running back Benny Cunningham. Cunningham returns kicks and was getting a look with the punt coverage teams.

I’d say that, along with Jeremy Langford, who also was absent from the list of special teams players, both Carey and Fuller may be in serious trouble.

  • Brian Urlacher was very positive in this interview. I’m much more likely to listen to him when he has negative comments now that I’ve heard some positives.

    Urlacher may not be the grumpy ex-player I thought he was.

As White Struggles Don’t Blame the Bears for Not Signing Jeffery

Brad Biggs at the Chicago Tribune answers your questions about what appears to be old news but probably won’t be:

“With Markus Wheaton’s latest injury setback, I’ve been reflecting on how few bona fide wins Ryan Pace has enjoyed in free agency. For every Akiem Hicks there is a litany of Antrel Rolles, Eddie Royals and Pernell McPhees. Mike Glennon might have the hottest seat in the NFL right now and there’s little doubt Alshon Jeffery would still be the WR1 on this roster. Now there’s this Roberto Aguayo business. Is this merely attrition/bad luck or a legitimate blind spot for the young GM? — David D., Rogers Park

I’ve always said that free agency is no place to build a foundation for a franchise. It can be a nice place to plug a hole here or there or add a little depth but you’re not going to successfully build a 53-man roster via free agency… As far as Jeffery, he didn’t have a lot of personal interest in returning to the Bears so it’s difficult to place blame on Pace for his departure. Had the Bears topped other offers by a wide margin I suppose it’s possible he’s still with them, but that’s rarely prudent. Keep in mind also that free agency is a two-way street.”

Exactly. Jeffery took a 1 year deal with the Eagles for $14 million, much less than anyone thought he’d get and probably less than the Bears offered long-term.

Let’s be honest. It wouldn’t have been smart for Jeffery to say it but the Bears were going to have to offer him the moon to stay with a losing franchise with a poor quarterback situation. Jeffery couldn’t find a groove here and Philadelphia is a rising franchise with a good, young, somewhat proven quarterback where he could put up numbers for a year and re-enter free agency. Chicago couldn’t offer that at the time and, really, couldn’t offer it now without further demonstrable progress from Mitch Trubisky.

The fact that the Bears couldn’t lock up Jeffery isn’t because Pace didn’t want him or failed to offer him a reasonable amount of money. Former Bears wide receiver Mushin Muhammad once said that Chicago is where wide receivers go to die. Jeffery obviously felt that he didn’t want to get stuck doing that here.

You may wonder why I’m dedicating an entire entry to talking about this now, months after Jeffery decided to go elsewhere. Well, one reason was that I was basically hibernating over the offseason and didn’t get a chance to offer my opinion then. But a better reason is wrapped up conveniently in another question to Biggs:

“Keep hearing that the Bears need Markus Wheaton because they lack a deep threat. Why wouldn’t Kevin White who runs a 4.3 be a deep threat? — @roybal5598

White set the scouting combine on fire before the Bears drafted him seventh overall in 2015 when he ran in 4.35 seconds. But when you consider the term “play speed,” it’s clear that White doesn’t play that fast… There was a notable difference on the field in the season opener last year when you saw Texans rookie wide receiver Will Fuller (who ran a 4.32-second 40 in 2016 at the scouting combine) play very fast. The leg injuries White has suffered could make him a somewhat different player. He didn’t show up in the preseason opener against the Broncos but the same can be said about the majority of the first team offense… Let’s see what White can do this season. Maybe he possesses the speed and route running to consistently make plays downfield. Like I’ve said in previous mailbags, we’re not going to be able to make a judgment on what White is and is not based on what he does in training camp and preseason. Let’s see how he produces when it counts.”

Again, true enough. But I think there’s good reason to doubt that White is going to improve his route running or his play speed quickly, if at all. And that’s if he stays healthy.

If White struggles to reach his potential amongst a scatter shot group of nondescript wide receivers, these questions about letting Jeffery go are going to come up frequently and fans are automatically going to blame the organization for not doing what it takes to keep Jeffery, particularly if he thrives with Carson Wentz in Philadelphia.

Should that happen, it will be important to keep the situation in perspective. Jeffery almost certainly didn’t want to be here and there was probably very little that the Bears could reasonably do about it.

Slow and Steady Progress Should Define John Fox’s Job Status

David Haugh at the Chicago Tribune continues to write what has been a consistent theme with the media since the offseason, albeit with a bit of a twist:

“Eventually, [head coach John] Fox might realize the chances to keep his job beyond 2017 improve if [Mitch] Trubisky beats out [Mike] Glennon and becomes the starter.”

“A 6-10 season, for example, with Glennon starting 16 games and Trubisky learning whatever backup quarterbacks learn by watching would cry out for a coaching change likely to coincide with Trubisky’s promotion in 2018. But a 6-10 season with Trubisky showing flashes under Fox and his staff might allow the coach to complete the final year of his contract when — lame-duck status or not — the continuity could benefit the young quarterback. Maybe positive signs despite a 5-11 or 4-12 record would have a similar effect.”

I don’t have a huge problem with the sentiment or the major point of the article (but see below).  My problem is with the “cry out for a coaching change” at 6-10 part.

What is most important for Fox right now is forward progress. And 6-10 with Glennon or Trubisky would be a significant improvement. Whether that justifies keeping Fox would, as always, depend on the circumstances, but I’d say that should be good enough under most conditions.

What people have to understand is that when the Bears hired GM Ryan Pace and Fox they embarked on a long, painful process of breaking this team down and rebuilding it almost from scratch. It’s true that most people probably didn’t think that it would take three off-seasons to complete just the breaking down part but, thanks to Jay Cutler, it did.

What that means from here on out is that the Bears and their fans need to look for improvement starting from a 3-13 base, their record in 2016. A progression from 3-13 to 6-10 to 8-8 or 9-7 to 10-6 would be slow but should be perfectly acceptable under almost any circumstances as long as its consistent and shows signs of being sustainable long-term.

Many in the media have pointed out, thanks to pulling the plug on Marc Trestman and Phil Emery so quickly, that the Bears are in danger of becoming “one of those teams” that is constantly turning over their front office, threatening consistency. They wonder why this happens even as they press to replace coaches like Fox, setting conditions that go beyond simple improvement and slow and steady progress. They demand that the Bears win immediately even as they bemoan the organization’s lack of patience.

Getting back to the point of the article, would starting Trubisky and having him perform well help the perception in terms of how the teams is progressing? No question and the point is well taken. But on the other hand, starting him and watching him fall apart before our eyes because he was rushed and wasn’t ready wouldn’t be good for morale anywhere in this city.

In any case, what needs to be appreciated is that, in terms of Fox’s job status, the point is irrelevant. Whether they start Trubisky or not, the organization needs to be patient and the bar for keeping Fox needs to be at an appropriate level. Coming off of 3-13, I think 6-10 ordinarily should be just fine.

Can the Bears Succeed with Aguayo Where the Buccaneers Couldn’t?

Dan Wiederer at the Chicago Tribune reports that the Bears claimed kicker Roberto Aguayo off of waivers Monday.

The kicker has a very strong leg but his accuracy has been suspect since he was drafted in the second round by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Aguayo’s accuaracy was only 71% in 2016, last in the NFL.

The Bears agreed to pay his $500,000 guaranteed salary and though head coach John Fox said that the money wasn’t “significant enough to not take a look” it indicates that this isn’t just a question of signing camp competition for kicker Connor Barth.

Barth is extremely accurate within 35 yards but you never got the feeling that the Bears were completely happy with him, especially after he had a bit of a rough start last year before pulling himself together for the majority of the season. His range is limited and, though Barth has a history with special teams coordinator Jeff Rogers, the Bears front office may figure that it’s time to sign a kicker who can do a little bit more.

It’s hard to know what’s been going on with Aguayo but guaranteeing him half million dollars may indicate that the Bears have an idea of what is wrong with him and how to fix it. If its mental, that may be tough to do but Aguayo was considered to be one of the best prospects ever coming out of college at Florida State where he must have faced at least some high pressure situations. The Bucs traded third- and fourth-round picks to move up 15 spots in the second round last year to select Aguayo.

According to Brad Biggs at the Chicago Tribune at least one unnamed special teams coordinator said Aguayo was confounding to him because the kicker struggles to replicate the same mechanics from kick to kick. The Bears appear to be betting that Rogers may be able to help with that in a way that the Buccaneers coaches couldn’t.

It will be interesting to see how it works out.

Poor Offensive Preseason Performance a Concern for Bears and Other Points of View

  • I found this article from Tom Peilissaro at NFL.com about Bears rookie quarterback Mitch Trubishy to be interesting:

“If I get unprompted texts from people with other NFL teams about something, I usually take that as a sign it’s resonating within the league. It happened with Dak Prescott last year. It happened again Thursday. One NFL scout who watched Trubisky’s debut live said he’d like to see him get some snaps with the starters next time out: ‘He looks like he’s in control.’”

It’s not just fans who saw something Thursday, though. People around the NFL took notice. And that was one early, encouraging sign for a Bears regime that, regardless of its present plans, has clearly invested in Trubisky as the future.

I’m really glad I’m not the only one who thought he might have seen something special from Trubisky Thursday night. Though I really do try to guard against it, sometimes you wonder if your hopes aren’t confusing your eyes and your brains. It’s starting to look like they weren’t.

As a precaution, this is still worth remembering:

  • Dan Durkin at The Athletic makes very good points about some of the things that offensive coordinator Dowell Loggains did to help Trubisky out.

“Loggains had Trubisky operating both from the pocket and on the move during that drive. Getting him moving on “swap” bootlegs not only gave him a run-pass option, it also cut the field in half to simplify his reads.”

“’I had the playsheet, I was able to study a little bit,‘ Trubisky said. ‘So I knew all my calls, I knew my plays, I knew what I was comfortable with. I talked it over with Dowell, so we were kind of on the same page, so I could go out there and just play free. That’s what I wanted to do. Go out there and play, do what comes natural and get into a rhythm.’”

These are all good thoughts and I pointed out some of them myself after the game.

It is, perhaps, no coincidence that the much maligned quarterback class of 2017, including Patrick Mahomes (Kansas City), Deshaun Watson (Houston) and Deshone Kizer (Cleveland) did so well last weekend. It seems obvious that the desperate need for quarterbacks has driven better coaching throughout the league and quarterback coaches seem to have a much better handle on how to bring these rookies, including the ones from spread systems in college, along.

“The consensus in talking to people around the league is the Bears will likely attempt to trade cornerback Kyle Fuller before roster cuts are due at 3 p.m. on Sept. 2. That’s what I gathered after speaking with a variety of folks from other cities over the last week. They seem to think it’s a matter of when and not if the Bears try to deal the 2014 first-round draft pick. Whether this is legitimate or not remains to be seen but there’s an awful lot of smoke and usually where there’s smoke you’re eventually going to find a fire.”

Assuming that he’s not going to make the roster, if the Bears can get anything at all for Fuller, it would be a win. But I’m not so sure that’s the case. Fuller was playing on the second team and I’m thinking he probably earned the spot.

Fuller was draft by another regime to be a zone cornerback and he’s found himself in a scheme that values man-to-man coverage skills. That means that there may be a market for him among teams with defensive schemes closer to what he was drafted for.

But if Fuller shows something on special teams – a big if, he may still be their best option as a back up. If that’s the case, they aren’t going to give him away by outright releasing him.

“Trubisky wasn’t the only draft pick to show up and play well. It was a nice debut for rookie guard Jordan Morgan and that’s a positive and a sign he could fit in as a backup. Of course, running back Tarik Cohen, who had been extra slippery in training camp, proved elusive in the open field. He’s got a nice burst and in my opinion what separates him from the last very undersized back the Bears had is Cohen had more lateral quickness than Garrett Wolfe. Just my take.”

Like almost everyone else who was paying attention, I also liked what I saw from Cohen. His small size allows him to hide behind the offensive linemen, particularly as he closes to press the hole and waits for an opening. That could sever him well. His performance was an indication that, maybe, he won’t also disappear once the season starts.

Morgan was a different story. He may have done well but he’s buried on the depth chart and no one is exactly pushing to make him the starter with backup Eric Kush out for the year and Kyle Long still recovering from surgery.

If Morgan has potential, the Bears need to push him up the depth chart and get him more snaps.

  • Kevin Fishbain from The Athletic points out that The competition at Safety is heating up. Ricky Eddie Jackson is splitting reps with a veteran Adrian Amos next to free-agent signing Quintin Demps.

“‘He missed a lot of the offseason, being a rookie, but he’s got a really good football IQ,’ [head coach John] Fox said. ‘I think you saw his return skills are capable. We averaged 10-plus yards in our punt return, which we were a non-factor a year ago. All-in-all I think he’s just going to continue to improve.’”

Amos isn’t around the ball much when it’s in the air and the Bears are a bit desperate to improve the production at the position. Mark Potash at the Chicago Sun-Times thinks it’s only a matter of time before Jackson replaces Amos. I’m not so sure.

DeAndre Houston-Carson is making the transition to safety and had two picks in Saturday’s practice. In the end, his range may make him the guy to watch once coaches are satisfied that he knows his way around the new spot.
‘=
* No one is making a big deal out of it but Potash points out that promising linebacker Nick Kwiatkowski is in the concussion protocol. Kwiatkowski is one of the players I’d like see emerge to play faster this year.

“While that may not be what the suddenly exploding Trubisky Fan Club wants to hear, is anyone screaming for Charles Leno to be benched after nearly getting Glennon killed on the pick-six he threw to Chris Harris, Jr.?

“Cody Whitehair was awful Thursday night, yet we don’t hear anyone screaming for Hroniss Grasu.

“Kevin White was invisible, Cam Meredith wished he was after dropping Glennon’s first pass and the first defense notched four penalties for 35 yards on its opening foray, yet only Glennon and Trubisky are in the spotlight.”

Hub is, of course, correct.

Don’t get me wrong. Glennon really wasn’t sharp and I think he knew it. He had no pocket sense or movement. He was too slow in his decision making. He was noticeably high and behind his receivers with his throws. He looked stiff and didn’t look comfortable or confident.

At least part of the problem seems to be that he’s having a hard time getting the timing down with the receivers and he looked like he was what you might kindly refer to as “rusty”.

However, I have some hope that Glennon will show better in the future if for no other reason than he was better on tape with the Bucs than he was Thursday. I am far more concerned about the rest of the offense, particularly at the wide receiver position where a scatter shot approach to the offseason has not led to a great deal of confidence that the group has any real playmakers. Fox elaborates:

“Asked how soon he will throw Glennon to the wolves, Fox answered, ‘I think like everything, the quarterback gets a lot of the credit, a lot of the blame regardless of what happens.

“’But our whole first unit was not very good. I don’t think we blocked very well. I thought we had some drops. We didn’t get off man coverage, which wasn’t something we were surprised about.

“So all in all, I think there was a lot of things that we saw on the tape, the players saw.‘”

Personnel problems at wide receiver aside, the Bears have new coaches both there and at offensive line. It has to be a major concern that both groups got beaten like a drum at the line of scrimmage Thursday night. I think that should worry Bears fans far more than Glennon at this point.

  • On the other hand, there’s this basic truth from Kevin Patra at NFL.com on Glennon’s performance:

    “[E]xcuses are like avocados; every millennial has one – or 60 – and they rot quickly.”

Suddenly Having to Fight to Keep Perspective When It Comes To Rookie Trubisky

I am not, by my nature, a positive person, at least when it comes to football. I don’t look at the world through navy and orange glasses. I don’t poke out my eyes and shutdown my brain to blind myself to and defend the team despite obvious problems because doing so is the only way to be a “real fan”.

And I absolutely, positively, under no circumstances, get excited about performances in the preseason.

But I admit it. I am happy today.

Despite the circumstances, I was impressed by I saw from Bears rookie quarterback Mitch Trubisky last night. The guy looked like he belonged and that means so far so good for a team that is desperate to see Trubisky or Mike Glennon, somebody, anybody, succeed as a franchise quarterback.

Yes, it was the preseason. Yes, the team under Trubisky was playing against Denver’s second and third stringers and, even if it was the first stringers, all-world defensive end Von Miller sat out. And, yes, the defenses were more vanilla than what the the Bears will see once the real bullets start flying.

But I was impressed anyway. I was impressed because Truibsky did so many things that were really good regardless of the level of competition:

  1. Trubisky is every bit as accurate as advertised. He was leading receivers and he generally put it in the right spot. For example, he should have had a third touchdown. He did just what he needed to do by throwing the ball low and away where only the receiver, tight end Daniel Brown, could get it, Brown dropped the ball despite the fact that it still hit him in the hands.
  2. Bears offensive coordinator Dowell Loggains put Trubisky on the move where he was still quite accurate. He rolled Trubisky out quite a bit and it allowed Trubisky to avoid pressure that both Glennon and Mark Sanchez were susceptible to. There were one or two really good throws despite the presence of guys who basically came free on the rush to get right in Trubisky’s face.
  3. Trubisky was completely unflustered despite of a lot of blitzing and movement from the defense, especially on the late TD drive in the first half. This was in contrast to what we’d read in camp reports where Trubisky was fumbling snaps after losing concentration in the presence of pre-snap movement. In this respect, Glennon was the one that looked like the rookie as he was noticeably nervous whenever anyone made a move at the second level of the defense.
  4. Trubisky showed good pocket presence and movement to avoid the rush. This might be the most important thing an NFL quarterback needs to be able to do – step up against pressure into a throwing lane to deliver a ball. I’m guessing it doesn’t usually come easily to spread quarterbacks who had 13 college starts. Trubisky didn’t have to do it often but when he did he looked like a pro.

All of these are things very good professional quarterbacks can do independent of the level of competition.

I can’t blame Glennon for the look on his face immediately after Trubisky’s first touch down to basically end the first half.

I’m sure he was anticipating what the media reports in Chicago would be like this week. I would warn Bears fans to not get too high or too low after one preseason game.

But, for once, I’m even having to remind myself of this basic rule. Because, against my nature and my better judgement, I’m very encouraged by what I saw from Mitch Trubisky.

WTH is Going On at Back Up Guard? And Other Points of View.

  • With the torn biceps injury to backup guard Eric Kush, Rich Campbell at the Chicago Tribune says that the Bears have apparently been trying different line combinations in left guard Kyle Long’s absence. One involved moving center Cody Whitehair to guard.

“That’s the thing I’m trying to work on,” Whitehair said, “Being able to play every inside position, just in case we do have injuries.”

Versatility is nice but shuffling guys like Long and Whitehair from position to position keeps them from stabilizing one spot and becoming the best that they can be. I’d much rather see Whitehair, who was developing rapidly last year, stay where he’s at and become a Pro Bowl center.

  • Another option according to Campbell is to put swing tackle Tom Compton at guard.

Brad Biggs, also at the Tribune, thinks the Bears will be looking to pick up a back up guard after final cuts are made but what’s wrong with rookie guard Jordan Morgan? Morgan, a fifth round draft pick, was listed as fifth (or sixth) on the depth chart at guard this week behind Will Poehls and Cyril Richardson. Not good.

Are the Bears really reduced to moving Whitehair or using a tackle at backup guard before the season has even begun?

  • On a related note, we had this Biggs question about the situation:

With the loss of Eric Kush on the O-line, how does that affect Taylor Boggs‘ chances of making the roster? — @seanquincey

Boggs was out with a concussion but returned to action quickly, so that was a positive sign. He has the ability to play center and guard and the loss of Kush certainly improves his chances. He’s got previous experience with offensive line coach Jeremiah Washburn as they were in Detroit at the same time. My guess is it could be a bit of an uphill battle for Boggs but he’s in the mix. He’s a smart player and offers a little bit of versatility.

Similar to the situation with Morgan, the fact that they’d rather put Compton in at guard with Kush gone and Long out tells you everything you need know about what they think about Boggs. He’s not good enough to back up Long at guard and former third rounder Hronis Grasu is most likely to get the nod at backup center. That leaves Boggs on the outside looking in.

How is the backfield shaping up behind Jordan Howard? — @thepallister

That’s a good question. Jeremy Langford has missed nearly all of training camp with a sprained right ankle suffered in a walk-through. Tarik Cohen has been exciting in Bourbonnais and I am interested to see how he performs in preseason. Ka’Deem Carey and Benny Cunningham are in the mix. It’s a little fuzzy how things are going to play out right now but Howard was electric last season and that’s a strength for the offense. Perhaps this is a position where the Bears could seek to add a player that gets cut loose by another team in a few weeks.

True enough but I’ve got a feeling that, once again against the odds, Carey sticks. Carey isn’t what you’d call dynamic but he’s a solid backup who contributes on special teams. It’s possible that Cunningham wins the return job and, if that’s the case, it may come down to a receiver or Carey. My gut tells me that with Cohen being a “joker back” with limited size and utility as a blocker, Carey gets the nod.

Langford is in deep trouble.

  • I also wanted to highlight something one more thing that Biggs mentions. The Bears really need 2016 third round pick Jonathan Bullard to step up this year and Biggs wrote just about the first positive thing I’ve read about him when he said that Bullard “ has been much better in training camp” than last year. That’s encouraging and I’ll once again be looking forward to watching him tonight against the Broncos.
  • I thought this comment from new quarterback Mike Glennon about the Bears receivers via Kevin Fishbain at The Athletic was interesting:

“I’d say it’s way deeper here [than in Tampa Bay],” said Glennon, whose Bucs had a clear No. 1 wideout in Mike Evans. “I mean there are guys here, I hate to say it that could be on a lot of different teams and make the team. So obviously realistically only 53 guys make the team and so that receiver number has to get cut down but I think it’s a very deep group, a lot of guys that are NFL-caliber players and I think we’ll just spread the ball out.”

Hmmmm… Sounds like Glennon has been drinking the navy and orange Kool Aid. I suppose “deep” might apply in a way because the scatter shot approach to the position this offseason led to there being a lot of bodies. But the Bears don’t have a proven number one receiver and I don’t think many competitive teams would want this group over their own.

  • Despite getting a lot of preseason buz, its notable that rookie tight end Adam Shaheen was third on the depth chart behind Dion Sims and Zach Miller this week. Most figure the Bears might be ready to move on from Miller given his injury history but this certainly doesn’t reflect that thought.