Prepare to be underwhelmed!
Today is a friendly reminder of why Poles SHOULD have been terminated along with Flus, but hey…
I don’t expect any fireworks for the Bears. Poles’ big moves were Dayo, Jarrett, Thuney and Dalman [Count Sweat too. All because he couldn’t draft blue-chip players at premium positions].
I know everyone’s going to be dreaming about some Micah Parsons mega-deal, but
A. Parsons doesn’t even fit Allen’s preference of a big DE.
B. Jerrah will want Poles’ first born. Though I admit, he’s gone full Al-Davis, so who the hell knows with him anymore.
I’m sure Da Dos bloggers will keep us all up to date, so check in throughout the day.
Category: NFL, Bears, Preseason, Game Day
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53 Man Roster. Deadline: 3PM (CT)
Every Bears’ Fan Today -
Rapid Fire PS#3
This will be short since I left the PS Game 3 thread up over the weekend.
1. Pass-rush was non-existent. Dayo especially to me looked like a JAG. Everyone else disappeared. Watching Billings try to chase down dad-runner Mahomes was like Benny Hill chasing around bikini-clad buxoms.
2. The first team O struggled vs first team KC D. Granted, Thuney wasn’t in, but it just looked sloppy and, well, Nagy-esque.
3. Even if “PS wins don’t matter”, I still put forth that win was good for overall morale. They played in a hostile environment, clawing back.
Bills, Chiefs, Eagles, Ravens, etc don’t need PS wins.
Poles’ Bears have done little but lose, so even it’s a PS game, it’s some momentum.
Better than losing.
On Blog note, the cuts will happen manana. We may see some early rumors and whatnot, so I’ll likely just post a ‘cut thread’ for Tues. -
PS Game #3. Chiefs
Thread. You know the routine.
Apparently KC is going to play their #1s, so the Bears followed suit. I think more teams don’t want to come out totally rusty that 1st game. It feels like it takes almost 3 QTRs of an opener for the Os to wake up, which is why we get opening day shockers like the Pats over Bengals.
I suspect the starters won’t play much. A series if it’s good, maybe two if they go 3 and out or are sloppy. Let’s hope Chicago keeps the momentum going.
In other news, Bagent gets extended. This is well-deserved, and his rational is interesting. Instead of trying to be a starter elsewhere [I mean, Jesus, I’d start Bagent over Daniel freaking Jones], he argues that studying under Ben Johnson will make him a better QB, and as such, a more desirable commodity, so the BJ affect already paying off.
I love Bagent. He’s a great backup, and relatively cheap now. Here’s his emotional reaction to the extension. -
Rapid Fire Post PS Game #2 – Bills
My overall impression?
Excellent. I think only one starter [Dalman] committed a penalty while Caleb played.
BJ came out swinging with a 12 personnel PA Boot/pass to Loveland.
Boom.
Clean. Effective. Message sent.
Then Caleb lined up in shotgun, barking calls, which answers some of my questions about who’s going to be making line adjustments, him or Dalman.
Seems like Caleb.
Wide open seam route. Boom.
In fact, that could be the title of the PS Game for Bears:
EVERYONE WIDE ASS OPEN!
It was astonishing to witness. We’re used to seeing this from GB or other quality teams.
For Bears getting a reception was always like pulling teeth.
In this game it felt that every receiver, not just the starters, were open at will.
Then Olamide Zaccheaus runs a beautiful route, catching the ball in stride, shaking the defender on his way to a 36 yard TD.Couldn’t have scripted it any better.
1st drive [92 yds]
Every receiver WIDE fucking open.
Caleb hitting them in stride
A bit more shotgun than I expected, but Caleb is on fire
Loveland and Olamide look like they can separate
Game Highlights
Other thoughts.
– Tori still can’t coffin corner. Needs to work on that.
– Returners and gunners concerning me
– Bagent sharp, instinctive, mobile
– Hankins did ok but left. Brown/Wheeler performed well at HB, but I doubt they make the 53.
– Neither Swift nor Monangai suited up; the latter was a surprise, but Poles during the in-game interview stated nothing to worry about
– Booker looked ok but went to the blue tent then walked back to locker room [update]
– Burden blocked his ass off in goaline. BJ set him in motion, and he drove the Safety back twice. He’s big, physical and twitchy. The type of WR Irish always pined for every August [RIP Cameron Meredith, Kevin White, Daniel Brown, Wims…]
– On a down note, CB Terrell Smith carted off. CB is the one position Bears had depth, but with JJ nursing an INJ, and whatever the hell was going on with Zah Frazier [who played and nearly blocked a punt]; it’s something to monitor
– Also, Greg Olsen is 1000X better than BradyI also believe this is the first time in 31 years the Bears have shut-out a team in PS.
However, as Dr. Rev Huge Bear Penis reminded us in the last thread ‘Bears beat the Bills last year in PS 33-6‘ [How’d that turn out?].
Oh, and Eberflus was 8-2 in PS, so, maybe we need to slow down on the circle-jerk.
Still, seeing the offense click that way was sooooooo cathartic.
No back-to-back TOs, whiffed blocks, delay of games, stupid challenges, cutesy bubble screens getting blown up on 3rd and 1, presnap dumbfuckery, or in general, no ‘WTF moments’
Everything appeared purposeful, logical and lethal.
Great momentum to ride to MNF. -
What I’m Looking for in PS Game #2
Basically the same as the 1st PS Game.
However, the plot has thickened as Caleb, Thuney, Dalman and Jackson [?] are set to start and play MAYBE a QTR?
Bills are a SB caliber team. They’re at their pinnacle. Vet coach, experienced playoff team, MVP QB, solid D.
All eyes will be on Caleb. Every throw, every snap, every ‘hut’. His every gesture will be micro-dissected. This is a given.
What I’m more curious about is who calls the line protections at the LOS? Will that be Dalman, Caleb – Thuney?
I’m wondering if Caleb is allowed to audible, go hurry up, or call TOs?
Can Caleb hit anyone DEEP? Lemme repeat that: Can Caleb hit anyone DEEP?
Where is his chemistry with the new guys like Loveland, Burden and Zaccheaus?
Remember last year, after a slow start for Keenan Allen, it seemed that after midseason, Caleb was targeting him a lot. I wonder if he continues being comfortable throwing to the slot, or if he was just comfortable with Allen specifically who is an excellent route runner.
On D, I want to see if anyone can pressure or sack Josh Allen. If they can rush in disciplined, not allowing Allen to break contain and extend plays with his legs. Are Dayo, Sewell, Dom Rob and Austin Booker athletic enough to chase Allen down?
On that note, obviously we’ll want to see if Austin Booker and gang can remain dominate vs the varsity, heck, even the JV.
Misc.
Theo Benedet, aka, “The Canadian Eagle” has been causing waves [in more ways than one].
Dan Roushar threw a lil shade at Wright, and doesn’t seem all that ecstatic about Braxton Jones or Trapilo.
Benedet had a nice outing in PS game #1, and has seemingly followed it with strong practices, moving up to play with the twos.
So he’s someone to keep an eye on
[Hey, move your eyes UP !]
Other misc…
I suspect Brisker will play. Man, I almost don’t want him to. Last thing he needs is another concussion in a PS game…
I hope Monangai and Wheeler get some reps with the 1st team.
We know what we have in Swift. RB is grueling. Save him some hits and see if the youngsters can provide anything vs starters.
This is also going to be a night game. It doesn’t seem like a big deal, but at least it’ll give the team some experience with it.
Hopefully, the Bears will get flexed into more night games after they start 6-0! -
Post PS Game #1
It went about as well as one can expect a PS game to go.
#1 thing is that no apparent serious injury hit any Bears unlike that poor Lion.
Some bad, but a lot of good; it’s hard to judge 2nd, 3rd and 4rth stringers in the 1st PS game, in a new system, with new coaches plus lots of new faces. Rule of thumb is about 4 REAL NFL games to even get a clue.
But my overall general impression of the Bears’ outing?
Professional.
Us Bear fans are fed so much BS; it’s sometimes hard to remember that for all the handies BJ gets, this was still his first NFL game [or scrimmage] as the head honcho, and nothing really prepares you for the big chair til you sit on it.
Or at least that’s what countless hours of Star Trek has taught me!
For those who missed the game, you can easily check out Da Blog’s general impression and live input here
Interesting twits:Though for sure the belle of the ball was Austin Booker.
Now, before we get too ahead of ourselves, I actually watched the game. Booker definitely looked fast, and hustled his ass off, but he still seems to lack that powerful anchor that can get him in trouble vs run. He also didn’t seal off the backside to one of MIA’s goaline runs that resulted in a TD.
Dom Rob however did look stronger at least to my untrained eyes. If any of this will translate vs starting linemen when games count, who knows?
Nice to see though, and tip o da hat to them.This is a bit premature. I get wanting Jimbo Covert at LT, but more often you end up with Webbnation. Braxton Jones is a proven average starting LT who’ll likely get paid by some team. Whether that’s the Bears or not is up to Trapilo.
Another tip o da hat goes to Noah Sewell. He was Neo in the Matrix – seemingly everywhere including shooting in like a scud missile to stuff a goal line run. Allen essentially used him as a 5th Dlinemen which is smart since he’s not exactly nimble in coverage.
While Kyle Monangai looked like he belonged. Monangai doesn’t look special, but rather a meat-n-potatoes RB who can get tough yards. His low center of gravity makes him hard to get down. Kinda reminds me of Maurice-Jones-Drew [MJD] in that sense.
All-in-all, a solid showing for Ben Johnson’s debut.
Misc…
