Category: Points of View

Bears

• Brad Biggs at the Chicago Tribune points out that rookie Brock Vereen played 16 snaps as a nickel back last Sunday after cornerback Charles Tillman was lost to injury. I’d no idea that Vereen, normally a safety, was spending any time at this position and I’m reasonably sure he didn’t play there during the season. I was wondering if this wasn’t a new “secret” grouping that the Bears had in mind to show off Vereen’s versatility. But apparently not as Vereen addressed the issue after the game:
  

  “‘Before I went out there I was able to get five, maybe seven minutes with Coach (Jon) Hoke and some of the vets and they prepped me with everything,’ Vereen said. ‘They were the only reason I was comfortable out there. Coach Hoke went over everything in a matter of maybe five minutes. That is what comes on the job and that is what you have got to do. It was fun.’

  “Imagine that. The entire work of week delivered in five minutes. In seriousness, it was a real issue. The Bears needed someone in the nickel. Two plays after Tillman was injured, the defense remained in the base package on third-and-11 with three linebackers and Colin Kaepernick hit Stevie Johnson for a 20-yard gain.”

• Biggs also points out that the 49ers only rushed five men twice all game. I think this is, or at least once was, a reasonable plan for Cutler. You could imagine a team planning too drop everyone into coverage and waiting for him to make a mistake.
• Biggs also mentions that tight end Matthew Mulligan missed some blocks. Mulligan hasn’t been performing well and you have to wonder if the Bears aren’t eventually going to have to bring back tackle Ebon Britton as an extra lineman.
• Biggs quotes Brandon Marshall after the game as he addresses the play of rookie Kyle Fuller:
  

  “Going back to my rookie year, (former Broncos outside linebacker) Elvis Dumervil came to me after one of our training camp practices and said, ‘Man, Champ Bailey is in there watching you in one-on-ones,’ because I beat him pretty bad. He was basically studying, and for Kyle Fuller I had to do that this training camp. I had to go in there in the Weber Center and just watch what he was doing because he surprised us. I told him it’s not about starting, it’s not about making the Pro Bowl; for him, he needs to have Hall of Fame on his brain because that kid can play.”

  Biggs also quotes a scout that he talked to before the third preseason game agains the Browns, who drafted cornerback Justin Gilbert ninth overall:

  “‘The Bears got the better cornerback,’ the scout said. ‘The Gilbert kid is more athletic but the Bears got a better football player. This Fuller kid is a football player and he’ll show it.'”

  Marshall has been known to exaggerate on occasion but its hard to argue after the last game that Fuller can, indeed, play. Let’s hope he can do it consistently.

• Biggs also addresses the slew of penalty flags thrown during the game:
  

  “‘That’s something the NFL is going to have to correct,’ 49ers linebacker Ahmad Brooks said. ‘They called about 16 or 17 penalties on us today (actually 18) and I think they called 11 (16) on them. That’s way too many penalties for a football game.'”

  Maybe. But an awful lot of those penalties looked deserved to me. I think the Bears and the 49ers both have to take some personal responsibility and clean it up. That was an ugly game and the first half in particular really seemed to drag on way too long.

Elsewhere

• After an outstanding game the week before against the Saints, Falcons wide receiver Devin Hester had one catch for two yards Sunday against the Cincinnati Bengals. Via Mark Potash at the Chicago Sun-Times.
• Also from Potash, former Bear and current Buffalo Bills cornerback Corey Graham had 10 tackles and three pass breakups against the Dolphins. Graham also had a good game against the Bears the week before.

One Final Thought

Rick Morrissey at the Chicago Sun-Times asks which are the true Bears, the team from week one or from week two?

I’m afraid that the answer is easy: it’s both. Truth be told the two weeks really weren’t that different. The Bears  made plenty of mistakes and committed way too many penalties both weeks. They did make some nice plays to get more turnovers on defense against the 49ers but had Frank Gore‘s 54 yard touchdown run stood, the story might have been a lot different Monday, both about the game in general and about the run defense in particular.

The difference is that the 49ers simply gave the Bears a great deal of help last week and the Bills didn’t the week before. What’s the same is that the Bears had best clean it up and continue to get better week-to-week. Because as much as I enjoyed the comeback, I haven’t seen what I consider to be a playoff-worthy performance yet.

Bears

• Rich Campbell at the Chicago Tribune reads my mind on the problems that the Bears have had defending the run:

  “Dating to last season, we’ve heard coach Marc Trestman, defensive coordinator Mel Tucker and various players refer to problems stopping the run as ‘correctable.’ Yet those familiar issues—missed run fits, overlapped run fits, poor tackling—surfaced against the Bills.”

  I have, for the most part, stood by Tucker. But the time is coming when these issues do indeed become corrected or I, and probably Trestman with me, am going to have to conclude that he can’t correct them. Far too often what Tucker appears to be teaching apparently isn’t being translated on to the field. Ultimately that’s where its at when it comes to coaching.

• Campbell thinks that the Bears may use Matt Forte to run the ball more this Sunday:

  “The 49ers, this weekend’s opponent, surrendered 118 yards on 22 carries in Week 1 to Cowboys running back DeMarco Murray.

  “‘The Cowboys did a nice job (on a) variety of runs,’ Bears offensive coordinator Aaron Kromer said. ‘They ran outside zone plays. They ran an abundance of formations. They changed the formation, they motioned, they shifted, and the outside zone was good for them in that game. DeMarco Murray made some guys miss … and made some plays on his own.'”

• Hub Arkush at the Chicago Sun-Times sees eye-to-eye with me on the Bears game Sunday:

  “49ers 34-20”

  “The Bears don’t match up well with the Niners on either side of the ball and they have the extra challenge of the high San Fran will be on opening their new stadium. This one hurts a bit as the Bears get whipped.”

  This is an awful matchup for the Bears at their most vulnerable time. They’re facing exactly the kind of powerful defense with a lot of strength up front that gave them trouble last year. They probably wouldn’t have beaten the 49ers even with Alshon Jeffery and Brandon Marshall. Without them this is going to be hard to watch.

• Former Bears and current WSCR radio host Patrick Mannelly on what it feels like to be behind the mic after a Bears loss. Via Dan Wiederer at the Chicago Tribune

  :

  “‘I really want to experience a win from this side,’ Mannelly said. ‘Because then I want to get on the show and hear from everybody how great the Bears are and how they beat a Super Bowl favorite and how Jay’s the greatest quarterback ever.

  “‘That’s what I can’t wait for.'”

  Mannelly might be waiting a while for that. The calls come after the losses, not after the wins in the same way that the networks never broadcast good news. Its human nature. I don’t understand it but it is.

  But thinking that the fans aren’t happy because there aren’t as many calls would be a mistake. Many if not most fans watch the game, win or lose, because they’re football fans. But they still want to see them win. Hopefully Mannelly will realize that they’re pleased. Just not as vocal.

• Kromer on the difference in the offense without Jeffery and Marshall. From Campbell:

  “‘Obviously, there are times when you feel like an Alshon Jeffery or Brandon Marshall is a mismatch against certain people, and so you’re moving them around to try to get them the ball. When they’re not in there, you may be just calling more plays in general to beat coverages or defenses, as opposed to having a primary receiver that you’re trying to get it to.'”

  Not exactly quarterback Jay Cutler‘s strength. He’s got quite a challenge ahead of him.

• Rick Telander isn’t always my cup of tea and I frequently do no more than scan his columns. But some times he just nails it.

• Ditto Steve Rosenbloom.

One Final Thought

Wiederer quotes linebacker Lance Briggs:

“While the veteran linebacker said the outside criticism ‘doesn’t bother me at all,’ he does have added motivation. ‘This week,’ he declared, ‘is about proving people wrong.'”

No one would love to see that more than I would. If this team has any shot at all of beating the 49ers, they’re going to need him. That and a lot of help from the 49ers, themselves.

Bears

• Patrick Finley at the Chicago Sun-Times quotes Bears linebacker Lance Briggs:
  

  “Asked on his Comcast television show about a radio report he was out partying until 4 a.m. Saturday, linebacker Lance Briggs said that ‘what I do on my off time is my business — it’s my business.'”

  That’s not a denial.

• Adam L. Jahns and Mark Potash at the Chicago Sun-Times make some good points in this video:

  One thing. If you are depending upon quarterback Jay Cutler to “lead you to victory”, your trust is misplaced. I think its now well established that he might perform well but he won’t lead. If the Bears are paying him to do that then they’re fools.

• Hub Arkush at the Chicago Sun-Times gave what I thought were some fair grades after reviewing the tape of last week’s game:
  

  “The linebackers earned a C-minus. Jon Bostic was the best of the bunch against the run. It was particularly interesting to see how many times Shea McClellin arrived at the pile in time to look down at it just after the whistle blew.”

  Briggs and D. J. Williams weren’t mentioned…

One Final Thought

Potash asks Bears head coach Marc Trestman if the Bears will ever just run up the middle more on 3rd and one:

“‘You look at the third-and-one reel that we looked at during the course of the season and teams do throw the football in those situations.’
“That they do. But the numbers show that nobody does it as much as the Bears. On average, NFL teams rushed 66.7 percent of the time on third-and-one in the 2013 season. The Bears rushed 46.2 percent of the time. But whether the Bears run or pass on third-and-one — or third-and-short for that matter — one thing remains the same. They need to get better at it.”

The Bears are a finesse team. They’re never going to have the fire power up front to just out muscle people because that’s just not what they’re designed to do. That’s what makes the 49ers such a terrible match up for them this week. Its OK if you, as a finesse team, have answers for teams that do out muscle everyone. Unfortunately the Bears don’t and it frequently shows. It did last week. It will this week.

Bears

• Adam L. Jahns at the Chicago Sun-Times didn’t exactly come out and say it. But the messages was clear in the headline: “Bears’ defensive miscues felt like a mistake to the heart“:
  

  “It was running back Fred Jackson’s 38-yard run to the Bears’ 1 in overtime that proved to be the final dagger of the disappointing day.”

  That and the failure of the offense to do anything with the ball when they had it in overtime.

  The coaching staff spent much of the offseason talking about how the team had to get tougher and show some “saltiness”. What they were talking about were winning games like this. Obviously the message didn’t get through.

• Given that the city is two-thirds Cub fans, I suppose it shouldn’t be surprising that 80% of you have already given up on postseason hopes for the Bears according to a Chicago Tribune pole. The players aren’t the only ones who need to get tough in this town.

One Final Thought

Brad Biggs at the Chicago Tribune reviews the film from Sunday:

“Cutler never should have thrown for Holmes on first down [on the series in over time] because Nickell Robey had him covered closely one-on-one deep down the left sideline. Alshon Jeffery, who was out with a hamstring pull, might have been able to make a circus catch if he were running the route. But it was low percentage with Holmes and a departure from what the Bears talked about all offseason — checking the ball down when a play isn’t there.”

One of Cutler’s many problems is that he feels so much like he has to make a play in situations like this that he forces the ball where he shouldn’t, resulting in big plays for the other team. As Rick Morrissey at the Chicago Sun-Times put it:

“He’s 31. He isn’t changing, folks. You’re stuck with him, all of him — the powerful throws, the mind-blowing interceptions. Enjoy.”

But that’s not really the worst thing that you can say about Biggs’s comment. What’s really bad is what it says about Cutler’s main limitation, that he only seems capable of throwing to big receivers who can, as he put it, “go up and get it”. He treated Holmes like Jeffery all game on Sunday rather than adjusting his thinking based upon Holmes’s abilities . That’s not new (Devin Hester gained 99 yards on five receptions Sunday). But the fact that it persists leads you to believe that Cutler, now in his thirties, will never learn to do anything else.

I like the Bears situation at the number three and four wide receiver spots better than most of the media. But they aren’t ever going to fit in to Alshon Jeffery’s role. The Bears are in serious, serious trouble if either Jeffery or Brandon Marshall lose any significant time this year – or ever as long as Cutler is the quarterback. You could argue that more than any other single factor, with the possible exception of the turnovers, Jeffery’s absence led to the loss on Sunday.

Bears

• Brad Biggs at the Chicago Tribune answers your questions:
  

  “Why was Kelvin Hayden re-signed and not offensive line depth given the current situation? Did Phil Emery explain the thought process behind this? — @BDGDEB from Twitter

  “Good question. One area I thought the team might go with the roster spot after Marquess Wilson was shifted to IR with the designation to return was on the line. The other area I thought about was special teams. Emery has not publicly weighed in on the move. Perhaps the Bears want insurance in the event Kyle Fuller’s ankle injury crops up again.”

  Offensive tackle/guard Ebon Britton might be brought back after the first game. If they bring him back before that, they owe him a year’s salary. If they bring him back after that its week-to-week.

• Quarterback Jay Cutler at the end of a very long article focusing on the dynamics in the quarterbacks room and on some philosophical points in regards to the scheme by Dan Wiederer at the Chicago Tribune:
  

  “A lot of this stuff has worked for one year. We don’t really know if it works. Everybody in the media wants to say that we have all the answers. We don’t have all the answers. We’ve done it for one year. And really for probably eight or nine games. A half-season. So we’ve still got a lot of things to figure out.”

  Yes, I think they might have some challenges left. Certainly getting things right in the quarterback room is a good place to start and taking care of protection issues with the offensive line is a good thing to stress up front. But if I had to pick one major challenge that the Bears offense has on its plate its executing as a unit.

  The two biggest factors for success in the NFL are health and execution (i.e. 11 guys all doing their jobs correctly with no penalties and no mistakes). I saw very little of the latter during the preseason. Trestman, Cutler and company may well find themselves growing in a new direction as they focus their attentions in this direction in the coming year – executing plays that not just Cutler is comfortable with but that everyone is comfortable with and executing them correctly as back up personnel trot in and out of the starting line up.

  Things went pretty smoothly last year but that is very uncommon. The odds are good that the offensive personnel are going to face considerably more adversity this year. How they handle that will define them.

• Rich Campbell at the Chicago Tribune makes a good point:
  

  “Running game will gauge right away whether the Bears’ defense has improved. Athletic quarterback EJ Manuel and shifty running backs [C.J. Spiller] and Fred Jackson will test the Bears’ discipline and tackling with some zone-read runs. ‘Guys like Spiller and Jackson, they’re so quick to be able to just — when you get out of your gap one second — they can jump, stop, cut and be right back in your gap full speed in no time,’ end Jared Allen said. ‘It’s just going to be disciplined football.'”

  This was a problem last year. We’ll see if anyone learned anything, especially the linebackers, pretty quick.

One Final Thought

Wiederer along with Campbell makes some good points in this video about the Lance Briggs problem early in the week. Briggs is obviously a child, handling the situation like a 16 year old girl trying to put one over on the doting old father, asking for a “personal day” knowing full well that Bears head coach Marc Trestman would trust him not to ask for it unless it was something on the order of a family problem.

Not any more.  The guess here is that Trestman learned something of a lesson about who he could trust.

Patrick Finley at the Chicago Sun-Times reports that the Bears will be naming captains game-to-game this year. Briggs was one last year when they were naming them for the season. It will be interesting to see how often he’s a captain this year.

Bears

• Defensive end Willie Young explains the catch 22 when it comes to generating a disciplined pass rush to keep a quarterback like Russell Wilson in the pocket while generating sufficient pressure. Via Dan Wiederer at the Chicago Tribune:
  

  “‘It’s like, what am I supposed to do?’ Young said. ‘Just sit here and pitty-pat with this tackle and get hung up on the block and let him just sit there in the pocket? Then I’ll come back to the sideline and hear that we’re not getting pressure on the quarterback.'”

  There’s no doubt that its a delicate balance. But teams do it all over the league. In Wilson’s case, its fairly obvious that the priority was to keep him in there and generate what pressure you can. Most of us understand the issue.

• It was good to see some Bears return to practice this week. Ebon Britton needed to get back on the field. Although Kelvin Hayden didn’t exactly look great Friday night it might be too little too late for Isaiah Frey. I’ve got to believe that he’s on the bubble. Time is running out on Chris Williams, too. From Rich Campbell at the Chicago Tribune.
• Brandon Marshall gets a little love from ESPN as he becomes a major part of their Monday Night Football promotion.
• Patrick Finley at the Chicago Sun-Times makes a good point:
  

  “[Quarterback David] Fales’ odds of making the final roster might have increased. If the Bears had hoped for him to join their practice squad, they likely wouldn’t provide other interested teams with four quarters of game film.”

  Of course that still depends upon how well he plays. Probably the Bears aren’t going to let what other teams might think stand in the way of their own evaluation. So I would say that the fact that Fales will play the whole game is more of an indication of the Bears willingness to keep him on the roster by allowing him the opportunity to play his way on to it.

• Mark Potash at the Chicago Sun-Times comments on the Bears special teams:
  

  “Thanks to the luxury of having [Devin] Hester in his prime, longtime coordinator Dave Toub usually had the Bears’ special teams ranked among the best in the NFL. Even when Hester wasn’t at his best, the Bears still found a way to return kicks and to cover them.”

  No doubt Hester was nice to have, especially at his peak. But let’s not overestimate his importance. Those units were a lot more than Hester. I don’t care how many guys you were shuffling in and out to take a look at, there’s no excuse for the Bears special teams to be as bad as they’ve been. For all of the hand-wringing over the defense, this is where the real point of greatest concern lies.

One Final Thought

Speaking of hand-wringing over the defense, I’ve read and listened to a number of media members who have repeatedly referred to this defense as “old and slow” and most have said the defense looks like last year’s disaster. This column from Rick Morrissey at the Chicago Sun-Times is typical.

Let’s get one thing straight. What we saw on Friday did not look like last year’s defense. We saw all kinds of penetration and all kinds of pressure from the defensive line. That alone is a huge difference.

The Bears were victimized by a good, talented offense that was playing at their best. They hit them on a good night. Even given that, I’m disappointed that they didn’t show better but I understand what they were up against and I’ve a feeling it would have been a different story with a little more development, a little more game planning and with a little more time together as a unit later in the season. They wouldn’t have won. But it would have gone better.

I’m not saying the current version of the Bears defense is going to remind us of the ’85 Bears. But lets cut them a little slack. They’re definitively better than last year. It not going to be great. But its not going to be bad, either, and I think if we just relax and keep things in perspective that we’re all going to enjoy watching them.

Bears

• Probably a lot of people were surprised at some of the cuts from Saturday thinking that players like Adrian Wilson and Nate Collins would stick until the final round. But the Bears were doing these guys a favor by letting them go early. They’ll now have plenty of time to seek out another team. Likely that’s part of the reason they were chosen.

• Brad Biggs at the Chicago Tribune wonders if defensive end Austin Lane didn’t make the team with his performance against Seattle. He’s got a point. It’s something to keep an eye on.

• Biggs also had this note:

  “One of the first players the Bears added to revamp special teams this offseason was linebacker Jordan Senn, who signed a one-year deal on March 13. The move came right out of the gates in free agency and came as a surprise to his former team the Panthers. But Senn has been getting little work with the first team and that would be a sign right now that he is a longshot for the roster.”

  I had Senn down as a core special teamer based upon the assumption that this was why the Bears signed him. But the depth chart at linebacker is crowded and obviously I was wrong as Senn was finally cut on Sunday. The Bears special teams are a mess and who those core players are going to be and whether special teams coordinator Joe DeCamillis is the guy to get them to perform are real issues.

• John Mullin at csnchicago.com predicts that the Bears will keep six wide receivers: Alshon Jeffery, Brandon Marshall, Santoio Holmes, Josh Morgan, Chris Williams and Marquess Wilson.

  He might be right but I’ve got my doubts about that group. Holmes hasn’t shown much yet and a lot will depend on the last preseason game for him. I think the Bears have serious doubts about Williams’s hands (both receiving and returning) and it wouldn’t be a surprise to see Wilson end up on IR with the idea that the Bears will bring him back at midseason. There are some interesting decisions that need to be made here.

• Mullin makes a good point in relation to the now settled backup quarterback competition. He believes that one factor was that the Bears could be confident that Jordan Palmer would be available if needed in an emergency but that Jimmy Clausen might well have been picked up by another team.

Elsewhere

• Devin Hester is making things work in Atlanta not only as a returner but also as a receiver. Hester’s had his problems but the biggest was his size and the fact that he just never clicked with quarterback Jay Cutler. Things seem to be going better down south.

One Final Thought

Another season, another pack of injured Packers. This year they are already fighting the loss of nose tackle B.J. Raji and center JC Tretter. The Packers seem to be particularly adept at gathering themselves to overcome these setbacks, needing to lose Aaron Rogers last year before bowing under the weight. It’s already looking another banner year for major injuries up there and its likely they’re going to have to deal with the storm again.

We can only hope the Bears do as well as they are unlikely to be as healthy on offense as they were last year. This is where you find out what your coaching staff and the men under them are made of. Here’s hoping its of sterner stuff than last year where the defense totally collapsed under the pressure.

Bears

• Dan Wiederer at the Chicago Tribune nails perhaps the biggest problem with the defense Friday night right on the head:
  

  “On the Seahawks’ final touchdown of the first half Friday night, quarterback Russell Wilson might as well have been playing against a Pop Warner team in walk-through mode.

  “After faking a handoff to running back Christine Michael, Wilson pivoted to his right and came right back to Michael with a dump pass on the right side of the field that went for an effortless 7-yard touchdown on third-and-1.

  “Michael was never covered out of the backfield and never touched on his way to the end zone. And for the Bears, that was the defense’s night in a nutshell.

  “Another third down, another blown play.”

  This sort of thing happened far too frequently. Fortunately its almost certainly all stuff that’s easily fixed. Let’s just hope that the situation isn’t too much like last year where you’d fix one problem only to have another one pop up in its place. This can’t be the first of an endless string of leaks in the dam or the team isn’t going to be making much progress this year.

• It’s understandable that over 80% of you thought the defense looked the worst of the three phases in the Seattle game. But I think you’re giving the special teams a pass. At least the defense came close to making some plays. From the Tribune.
• Brad Biggs at the Chicago Tribune quotes Bears safety Chris Conte:
  

  “‘I have to get back to playing at a high level,’ he said. ‘There are a lot of people that don’t believe in me and probably are not sure whether I can do it.

  “‘I want people to look at me and respect me and when they see me on the field, they say, ‘That guy is a good player.’ And when my peers play against me, I want them to think about me and respect me.'”

• Many people have been wondering why wide receiver Chris Williams has been given a better shot at being the kick returner. The word has apparently been given to the reporters that ball security problems early in camp may be the issue. Darius Reynaud has also had his share of problems with this. From Biggs.
  

  “‘Every returner has them,’ Reynaud said. ‘Even the great ones. That is the past. My reason for that was not judging the ball right and trying to watch those gunners out there. By the time I got my hands up, it was falling right in my hands and dropping it. It wasn’t me running and fumbling, it was me keeping my eye on the ball. That is something fixable. That’s the past. We’re here now.'”

• Steve Rosenbloom at the Chicago Tribune doesn’t think Bears head coach Marc Trestman was too thrilled with the signing of Santonio Holmes
• Dan Wiederer at the Chicago Tribune quotes defensive coordinator Mel Tucker on learning to tackle without actually being allowed to tackle in practice:
  

  “…oftentimes in practice when you’re allowed to go and form up and fit up a runner without leaving your feet, sometimes that’s even more difficult than making a live tackle. Because you have to gather yourself. You have to have great contact balance. You have to be in excellent body-in-football position to be able to deliver the blow and keep the runner on his feet and you stay on your feet and stay off the ground. We’ve done a lot of that.”

• Adam L. Jahns at the chicagofootball.com quotes Stephen Paea on the way defensive linemen are expected to play this year compared to last year:
  

  “‘We still have our gaps and responsibilities,’ Paea said. ‘But we help the other guys with the other gaps. Everybody has their own gap, but the way we design our defense now, if the running back doesn’t challenge your gap and goes to the other gap, you go to the other one.’

  “The goal is to make the linebackers Pro Bowl players by providing them with the freedom to move.

  “‘I put my hands on the center, and with the guard trying to block me, the linebacker is going to make the play versus last year where we would just go [penetrate] and the center would have a clean shot at the linebackers,’ Paea said.”

One Final Thought

Rich Campbell at the Chicago Tribune at the end of his Seahawks game story:

“In their last action before the games do count, the Bears’ first-stringers found out they didn’t measure up to the champions, and any talk of them possibly making a Super Bowl run of their own this season can stop until further notice.”

Look, I’m sorry to be a downer but anyone who thought this team was going to the Super Bowl before this game needs to get a grip. I’m a little disappointed that the Bears didn’t do better but I’m not surprised that they were out performed. Bears fans better get used to the idea that this group is going to be beaten this season by at least a few teams that are just plain better than they are.

Bears

• The highlight of my night Friday was seeing undersized wide receiver Chris Williams beat press coverage off of the line and catch a dead, solid perfect pass from quarterback Jimmy Clausen. The fact that it went for a touchdown was just icing on the cake.

  The kicker? Williams pulled his hamstring before making the catch, not after. From Brad Biggs at the Chicago Tribune:

  “‘Things happen,’ Williams said. ‘I felt it right away. I went the distance not feeling 100 percent. I am disappointed I didn’t get to finish (the game).'”

• Biggs continues with this interesting comment:

  “Williams’ speed sets him apart and that is why it’s a little hard to understand why he wasn’t given a shot in the return game. The plan was to work him and he was injured midway through the third quarter.

  “Eric Weems was first up in the return game. The Bears ought to know exactly what they can get from the veteran when it comes to returning punts and kickoffs. Williams is the unknown and the guy they made multiple runs at last season before finally luring him off the practice squad of the Saints. Seems to me they should have prioritized Williams in the return game. We’ll see how long he is sidelined.”

  I think the fact that it was the third quarter and Williams hadn’t gotten a shot at returning the football might say more about Williams than the coaches. He wasn’t on the three-deep depth chart at wide receiver that the Bears released early last week making him at least seventh on the list. Something tells me he’s going to have to make a lot more plays like the one he made Friday night if he want to make the team.

• David Haugh at the Chicago Tribune on tight end Zack Miller, who likely had the best game of any Bear Friday night:

  “Depth behind [Martellus] Bennett represented a preseason concern, but Miller quietly has accrued respect. As far back as organized team activities in June, one offensive coach described Miller as a ‘less-than-one-rep guy,’ who doesn’t forget anything once he is told. On Saturday, wide receiver Brandon Marshall tweeted a picture of Miller above the caption: ‘This boy balled last night.'”

• Kevin Fishbain at chicagofootball.com provides snap count analysis from Friday’s game:

  “It took some time before James Brown got on the field, but he played a team-high 56 snaps, taking over at guard when Brian de la Puente got hurt and then left tackle. He seems to be in good shape to be one of, or the final O-lineman to make the team with his versatility and experience, but the Bears have plenty of tape to watch from Friday.”

  I’m going to disagree with Fishbain here. I think that Brown is in serious trouble. We haven’t heard his name much in camp and a lot of guys have been playing ahead of him. Injuries like the one to de la Puente aside, I’m going to guess he’s not on the roster come September.

  Fishbain also notes that running back Jordan Lynch got no special teams snaps, not good news for those fans hoping the hometown boy will make the roster. Lynch is probably, if anything, headed for the practice squad.

• John Mullin at csnchicago.com is keeping an eye on the linebacking situation and makes some good points:

  “Coaches typically adhere to dictums that the best five offensive linemen will start, the best four defensive linemen will start and so on, often with only marginal allowances for assigned positions. With that in mind, how the Bears approach their linebacker situation this week and into Thursday’s game with Jacksonville becomes of added interest even with the organization’s statement that different starting combinations would be explored all through preseason.

  “Specifically, a question after Friday night is whether Shea McClellin remains the starter at strong-side linebacker, and whether he is tabbed as one of the three best linebackers. That is not a given.”

  The problem – for everyone but McClellin – is that fellow linebacker Jon Bostic didn’t play a whole lot better. Truth be told, Khaseem Greene probably played the best of the three and I’m beginning to wonder if he isn’t going to get a better shot at a starting role.

• Its worth noting that safety Adrian Wilson hit like a hammer Friday night. His conduct during the game and his comments afterward sounded quite a bit different from those he made before the game indicating that he “had nothing to prove”.

One Final Thought

Dan Pompei at Sports on Earth describes a locker room environment in Seattle that is in stark contrast to the message of peace, love and family that Bears head coach Marc Trestman tries to send:

“They are unlike almost every other NFL team — not because they just won a Super Bowl, but because their locker room is a shark tank. Defensive end Michael Bennett said the Seahawks are the most competitive team he ever has been a part of. So in order to restock, the Seahawks need to add players [in the draft] who won’t be eaten alive in a viciously competitive environment.

“It isn’t just the 49ers or Packers who are potential impediments to player development in Seattle — it is the Seahawks themselves. Softer players have been chewed up and spit out on the Renton practice fields by an unforgiving group of veterans. It is no given that a fresh-faced kid out of college can stand up to an accomplished, physical, mouthy, intimidating veteran like Richard Sherman.”

Discuss.

Bears

• During pre-season games like the one last night, most of us watch the pass rush when we evaluate the defensive line and forget about everything else. But Bears head coach Marc Trestman has his head on straight. Via Rich Campbell at the Chicago Tribune:
  

  “Trestman was particularly pleased at first glance by how the Bears defended the run. The Eagles’ top two backs, LeSean McCoy and Darren Sproles combined for 11 yards on four carries.

  “‘I was looking at how we were setting the edge,’ Trestman said. ‘Did we have the opportunity to make some tackles and do some clean tackling? I saw a little bit of that.'”

• Campbell notes quarterback Jay Cutler‘s performance:

“Cutler completed 9 of 13 attempts for 85 yards and a touchdown, good for a passer rating of 112.7. He threw off his back foot multiple times, and he overthrew receiver Eric Weems when he fell away from the target, but he also made several pinpoint throws.”

That’s a pretty accurate assessment from my view. Cutler went through a stretch where his mechanics fell apart in the face of pressure. But when he calmed down and corrected it you couldn’t have asked for better performance. Here’s hoping that the few bad plays were just an anomaly and/or rust.

As to Cutler’s potential backups, I thought both of the contenders, Jordan Palmer and Jimmy Clausen were just OK. Not bad but less than impressive. Like most of the experts, I’d give Clausen a slight edge. He’s a little smoother, a little stronger and a little more accurate with his ball placement.

• Campbell continues:
  

  “[Cutler’s] 23-yarder to tight end Dante Rosario on third-and-10 perfectly cleared the jumping linebacker and dropped down before the safety arrived to break up the pass. And his throw to [tight end Zack] Miller fit through a tight window at the catch point.”

  I was as impressed with the tight ends as I was unimpressed with the wide receivers not named Marshall and Jeffery. Here’s hoping they can fill the void.

• Dan Wiederer at the Chicago Tribune quotes rookie quarterback David Fales before last night’s exhibition game:
  

  “‘I’m excited to finally get some live bullets,’ Fales said after Wednesday’s practice in Bourbonnais. ‘I’m eager to see how I’ll react. It will be a lot different for me than practice when you’re running plays and you can’t tell for sure if you’ve been sacked and you don’t really know what would happen in game conditions. So with these live bullets, you get out there and compete, you go through your reads and you have some fun.'”

  Overall I thought Fales did pretty well last night. He wasn’t asked to throw a whole lot because the Bears wanted to get a good look at that stable of running backs and they wanted to run the clock out. And they probably just wanted the darned thing to end.

  Fales has a big wind up when he throws the ball any distance. It would be nice to see him cut down on the length of that release.

• Matthew Paras at chicagofootball.com quotes Fales on his practice struggles in the red zone:
  

  “‘Everything happens faster,’ Fales said of the red zone. ‘It’s just a different game. Your feet have to be faster and you have to react faster. You can’t go through all your progressions. It’s one or maybe two, but it’s one throw away.'”

• I thought Reggie Herring had an interesting perspective before the match up. From Mark Potash at the Chicago Sun-Times:
  

  “‘Who has play-making ability under the lights,’ Bears linebackers coach Reggie Herring said. ‘When you go against your same opponent over and over, there is a tendency to have a comfort level. And then when you go under the lights and play a game, some guys get stage fright. And some can produce and show maturity.

  “‘So that’s what we’re looking for — who can perform under the lights when everybody’s watching. Who can tackle and make plays and execute the defense under a real game situation.'”

  I’m sorry to say that I don’t think Herring saw a whole lot of good once his pupils hit the field. You can count on Hub Arkush at chicagofootball.com to stay grounded amidst all of the talk about how good many of the starters at other positions looked:

  “Jon Bostic followed a strong early training camp with a disappointing performance, and prized rookies Ego Ferguson, Will Sutton and Ka’Deem Carey were all for the most part invisible.”

  Unfortunately I would add Shea McClellin to that list.

  I don’t think any of the linebackers played very well, including the starters. They weren’t playing down hill and attacking the football. McClellin, in particular, looks lost in space. I think everyone has to improve here.

  In fairness to Carey, I didn’t think he did a bad job in pass protection – a very good sign for him. Some of the other competitors for that back up position didn’t show nearly as well in this respect.

• Scott Krinch at CSNChicago.com on punter Pat O’Donnell:

  “The Bears’ sixth-round pick was nicknamed ‘Mega-punt’ during training camp for his booming, 70-yard punts.

  “That wasn’t the case for O’Donnell in his Soldier Field debut. His two punts went for an average of 43.5 yards, with a long of 47.”

  In fairness to O’Donnell he was trying to drop one of those inside the 20 yard line.

• The Tribune notes that viewers were unable to see half of the first quarter (i.e. when the starters were in) because of technical difficulties.

  After this incident things were fine. But from the pre-game through to the poor video feed, it was amateur hour before that. The student run television station at my alma mater, the University of Missouri, could have done it better. The local FOX affiliate needs to pick up its game for the rest of the preseason.

• Offered a choice of five Bears by a Tribune poll asking who was the most impressive, one which most notably included tight end Zach Miller, over 30% of you picked Jordan Lynch. Come on, guys.

  By the way, shame on the Tribune for not at least including a token lineman on either side of the ball on this list. Both of these starting units were missing key personnel and both were the most impressive as a whole.

Elsewhere

• I’m all for teams finding creative ways to make money that don’t involve extorting fans for it. But even I think this might be going too far…

One Final Thought

Paul Bessire at predictionmachine.com continues to spread good cheer amongst Bears fans: