Thoughts and Observations: Preseason 1

[WindyCity]

Offense

-Mike Davis looked like a solid NFL RB, I would have liked to see him targeted in the passing game, but you cannot control everything. The runs he was stuffed it looked like nothing was there.

-David Montgomery has me very interested and I say that as someone who was a skeptic. His open field cuts, his vision, and his hands may have me eating my words.

-Kerrith Whyte is as fast as advertised and his ability to bounce and run is a weapon that I am sure the Bears can use. He is legit fast.

-I am now legitimately intrigued by Ian Bunting. His size and hands look good, he flashed more speed than I was expecting for a guy who tested pretty poorly in the 40. The missed block that led to the sack was on Daniel, Bunting was expecting him to be further outside of him. This is pretty important as the Bears need some guys to emerge at TE.

-Dax Raymond did not do a lot for me and he is clearly behind Bunting.

-Sowell had a couple of nice blocks, but I am not sure I see a path for him making the team if he does not show that he can be somewhat of a weapon in the passing game. He still looks like an OLmen running routes.

-Ellis Richardson can run, but I need to see him catch some passes if he wants to be the Y.

-My man Rashad Coward did not have a great night. The holding call was complete nonsense, but the sacks were him over setting and getting beat. The rest of the game I thought he was much more under control in his pass sets, but a couple of times he just got way out of his angles and gave up easy inside moves. He needs to settle down.

-I am going to go back and watch the OL again, but I felt Alex Bars had some nice moments. He plays a little high, which will happen at 6'6", but for a guy coming off a knee injury I thought he looked like he belonged. The game was not too strong for him, which is big for young OLmen to show.

-I want to take a deeper look at Clemmings and Lucas as one of them looks like they could be the primary swing tackle. 

-Ted Larsen looked good and had an incredible open field block on Montgomery's screen. He is better than Witzmann, so if Long does go down there will not be as big a drop off.

-James Daniels has unique power for a centre, He can be a unique player at that position.

-Javon Wims is the best 4th WR I can remember in my time following the Bears,

-Please do not bother playing Anthony Miller in the preseason if you are not going to at least target him. Too much risk for no reward.

-Marvin Hall can flat out fly and would have had a TD if Bray had better than a high school arm. Would not be shocked if he was the 7th WR kept.

-Thomas Ives, welcome to the PR.

-Ryan Nall s a fascinating guy as he plays all over the place, but really doesn't flash at any of them. Solid runs, solid blocking, solid receiving skills. I am just not sure where he makes the team.

[WindyCity]

Defense

-Deon Bush not going quietly into the good night is awesome news. He looks like a starting NFL safety and the fact that he will be lurking behind HHCD only means we should get the best from both of them. Both are free agents and that is a lot of motivation.

-Jonathan Franklin impressed me with his physicality. I was not expecting that from a WR/QB convert.

-Clifton Duck may be something.

-Duke Shelley had a couple of really nice tackles and looks really physical which is nice to see from a smaller guy with size questions.

-Man there is a lot of CB depth, that is all without mentioning Tolliver or Denmark.

-Time to put Roquan in the bubble wrap. He is going to be a star.

-Kwik is simply not fast enough to start a lot of games. Physical guy, good tackler, but he simply cannot run with the coverage responsibilities.

-Pierre-Louis is going to make the team. Core special teamer and was the first backup in. Experienced and athletic.

-Iggy needs to flash for me a little more. He is a super athlete and I would like to see more flash from him at a position that allows it.

-Josh Woods was up and down for me. Some really nice plays and a couple of others where he lost the edge because he did not read the play properly.

-Irving and Fitts did not show me much. Irving flashed last year so I am willing to wait, but if Fitts could show something at some point that would be awesome. I just never see him really threatening the edge and forcing OTs to be uncomfortable.

-Betts and Harris look 2 years away from being 2 years away,

-RRH is very good. His length is impossible for smaller interior guys to deal with,

[WindyCity]

Specials 

I do not really care how bad the coverage teams were, none of them will be on the team. The Bears did not really have special teams issues last year and added a number of special teams upgrades like Patterson, Peirre-Louis, Davis.

Eddie Pinero, if you are going to swagger and talk about being traded for peanuts make your damn kick,

Elliott Fry does not have a cannon but he kicks a nice straight ball.

The Panthers kicker looked better than both of them.

[soulman]

Nice summary Windy.

[dll2000]

9 hours ago, WindyCity said:

Offense

-Mike Davis looked like a solid NFL RB, I would have liked to see him targeted in the passing game, but you cannot control everything. The runs he was stuffed it looked like nothing was there.

-David Montgomery has me very interested and I say that as someone who was a skeptic. His open field cuts, his vision, and his hands may have me eating my words.

-Kerrith Whyte is as fast as advertised and his ability to bounce and run is a weapon that I am sure the Bears can use. He is legit fast.

-I am now legitimately intrigued by Ian Bunting. His size and hands look good, he flashed more speed than I was expecting for a guy who tested pretty poorly in the 40. The missed block that led to the sack was on Daniel, Bunting was expecting him to be further outside of him. This is pretty important as the Bears need some guys to emerge at TE.

Me too.  This guy did nothing in 5 years of college and now he is flashing in NFL training camp?  Wut?!?  Fascinating story.  We'll see how it plays out.  

-Dax Raymond did not do a lot for me and he is clearly behind Bunting.

-Sowell had a couple of nice blocks, but I am not sure I see a path for him making the team if he does not show that he can be somewhat of a weapon in the passing game. He still looks like an OLmen running routes.

I think they want his blocking at that position so bad that they are hoping he can catch just a little bit.  Massive position change at highest level.  Tough sledding.  I think he has a good shot as they really like him and his dedication and they asked for the change.  Although they were thinking he could be a project and now it might look like they need a guy to play quite a bit.  Might change things.  Interesting to watch.  

-Ellis Richardson can run, but I need to see him catch some passes if he wants to be the Y.

A lot of these UDFA TE guys are kind of blending together for me to be honest and not always sure who is who.  

-My man Rashad Coward did not have a great night. The holding call was complete nonsense, but the sacks were him over setting and getting beat. The rest of the game I thought he was much more under control in his pass sets, but a couple of times he just got way out of his angles and gave up easy inside moves. He needs to settle down.

This is pure speculation, but I was like 10 feet from these guys drills at Bourbonnais and Coward from eyeball looks like he didn't do a lot of aerobic activity in offseason if you know what I mean.   I suspect he may not have prepared for this season like he should have.  

-I am going to go back and watch the OL again, but I felt Alex Bars had some nice moments. He plays a little high, which will happen at 6'6", but for a guy coming off a knee injury I thought he looked like he belonged. The game was not too strong for him, which is big for young OLmen to show.

Bars is a high potential guy, but isn't that great right now.  Might be partially because of recent knee injury which he had to rehab in offseason and then another bad shot to that knee in camp.   Partially because all rookies aren't usually that good on OL.  If he sticks this is a guy that might be one or two years from being a player.   

-I want to take a deeper look at Clemmings and Lucas as one of them looks like they could be the primary swing tackle. 

Agreed.  

-Ted Larsen looked good and had an incredible open field block on Montgomery's screen. He is better than Witzmann, so if Long does go down there will not be as big a drop off.

I don't know.  Ted has let me down before and Witzmann came on strong later in year.  No injuries is the hope.  

-James Daniels has unique power for a centre, He can be a unique player at that position.

This dude will be good this year and I think starting next year he starts getting recognized as one of best interior OL in league.  

-Javon Wims is the best 4th WR I can remember in my time following the Bears,

He is definitely on the rise.  

-Please do not bother playing Anthony Miller in the preseason if you are not going to at least target him. Too much risk for no reward.

Tough call.  He seems to need the work to knock off shoulder related rust, but I hate preseason injuries.  

-Marvin Hall can flat out fly and would have had a TD if Bray had better than a high school arm. Would not be shocked if he was the 7th WR kept.

Agreed.  

-Thomas Ives, welcome to the PR.

-Ryan Nall s a fascinating guy as he plays all over the place, but really doesn't flash at any of them. Solid runs, solid blocking, solid receiving skills. I am just not sure where he makes the team.

Agreed.

 

[dll2000]

 

9 hours ago, WindyCity said:

Defense

-Deon Bush not going quietly into the good night is awesome news. He looks like a starting NFL safety and the fact that he will be lurking behind HHCD only means we should get the best from both of them. Both are free agents and that is a lot of motivation.

Agreed.

-Jonathan Franklin impressed me with his physicality. I was not expecting that from a WR/QB convert.

Agreed.  His elite speed makes him worth keeping around given his technical improvement.  He needs to keep working and not get stupid like so many other Last Chance U guys.   

-Clifton Duck may be something.

I don't agree.  If cuts were today he would be gone for me.  Too small and weak.     

-Duke Shelley had a couple of really nice tackles and looks really physical which is nice to see from a smaller guy with size questions.

I think Shelley is going to be a real player.  Thought it from day one of reviewing his college film and he hasn't done anything to change my mind yet.  

-Man there is a lot of CB depth, that is all without mentioning Tolliver or Denmark.

I haven't seen anything from Denmark yet.  Been mostly hurt to be fair.  

-Time to put Roquan in the bubble wrap. He is going to be a star.

Agree 1000%

-Kwik is simply not fast enough to start a lot of games. Physical guy, good tackler, but he simply cannot run with the coverage responsibilities.

Cut him.  Sorry I like him, but he is a liability.  

-Pierre-Louis is going to make the team. Core special teamer and was the first backup in. Experienced and athletic.

He takes Kwik's spot.  

-Iggy needs to flash for me a little more. He is a super athlete and I would like to see more flash from him at a position that allows it.

Flash at all would be nice.  

-Josh Woods was up and down for me. Some really nice plays and a couple of others where he lost the edge because he did not read the play properly.

Agreed.  He gets some slack as they keep changing his position.  

-Irving and Fitts did not show me much. Irving flashed last year so I am willing to wait, but if Fitts could show something at some point that would be awesome. I just never see him really threatening the edge and forcing OTs to be uncomfortable.

Irving has at least been good in practice.   Fitts isn't doing anything.  

-Betts and Harris look 2 years away from being 2 years away,

LOL.  I think Betts could be a player if he spent 2 hard years in a weight room or took a PED shortcut and got away with it.  He has some slick combo moves he can pull off at times that no one on team outside of Mack can do.  He is just too weak for NFL right now.  

-RRH is very good. His length is impossible for smaller interior guys to deal with,

RRH needs to be more consistently good.  Not just good sometimes.  It is time for him to move from high potential flash guy to a good every rep player.   

 

[soulman]

17 hours ago, dll2000 said:

-Sowell had a couple of nice blocks, but I am not sure I see a path for him making the team if he does not show that he can be somewhat of a weapon in the passing game. He still looks like an OLmen running routes.

I think they want his blocking at that position so bad that they are hoping he can catch just a little bit.  Massive position change at highest level.  Tough sledding.  I think he has a good shot as they really like him and his dedication and they asked for the change.  Although they were thinking he could be a project and now it might look like they need a guy to play quite a bit.  Might change things.  Interesting to watch.  

Sowell can't possible be worse than Sims.  I'd be somewhat patient with him.

[dll2000]

6 hours ago, soulman said:

Sowell can't possible be worse than Sims.  I'd be somewhat patient with him.

Thing to remember is no matter who goes on a route, he still has to be covered.   A high school kid will catch a ball if left all alone.   So if he is a plus blocker than he can always occupy one defender on a route as well.  You don't have to always run when he is in game.   

Heck if they go base or heavy every time he is game put him outside numbers and make someone walk way out there with him.  Better than a block if a run and someone has to go out there with him if its a pass.  LOL. 

Still you want somewhat of a dual threat guy.  

 

 

[dll2000]

https://chicago.suntimes.com/bears/2019/8/10/20800177/bears-training-camp-2019-khalil-mack-trade-raiders-circus-antonio-brown-helmet-feet-akiem-hicks

[dll2000]

Brown, however, is injured — and in the strangest way possible. He has extreme frostbite on both feet after not wearing proper footwear during a cryotherapy session last month in France, ESPN reported.

[soulman]

3 hours ago, dll2000 said:

Thing to remember is no matter who goes on a route, he still has to be covered.   A high school kid will catch a ball if left all alone.   So if he is a plus blocker than he can always occupy one defender on a route as well.  You don't have to always run when he is in game.   

Heck if they go base or heavy every time he is game put him outside numbers and make someone walk way out there with him.  Better than a block if a run and someone has to go out there with him if its a pass.  LOL. 

Still you want somewhat of a dual threat guy.  

 

 

Sowell doesn't have the speed to be a threat downfield but within 5-6 yards of the LOS he's big enough and athletic enough be a threat for a first down or a TD or a 2 pt conversion. 

If Nagy can use him effectively within those limitation then he probably has himself a good blocking TE and if not then he'll replace him with someone else who can handle the dual role more effectively.

Maybe Bunting can be developed as that guy or Shaheen finally stay healthys enough to take it on.  But for now it's one position that still has some major question marks.

 

[WindyCity]

17 hours ago, soulman said:

Sowell can't possible be worse than Sims.  I'd be somewhat patient with him.

Who are you releasing?

Burton

Shaheen

Braunecker

Are locks.

I would hate to lose Bunting who has flashed in camp and game 1, for a blocking only TE who offers nothing in the passing game.

[blkwdw13]

I say we let the rest of the pre season play out.

[soulman]

3 hours ago, WindyCity said:

Who are you releasing?

Burton

Shaheen

Braunecker

Are locks.

I would hate to lose Bunting who has flashed in camp and game 1, for a blocking only TE who offers nothing in the passing game.

I don't know that I'd release anyone yet and the current reports from camp on Sowell sounded good.

You seem to favor keeping a rookie UDFA TE who offers nothing as a blocker AND who has PS eligibility over an experienced  vet who does all on the basis of 3 weeks of camp and one preseason game.

Betcha a buck that if it comes down to it Sowell makes the 53 man roster and Bunting spends time on the PS where they hope he may become a guy like Sowell if he can add some weight in the offseason.

[Sugashane]

3 hours ago, WindyCity said:

Who are you releasing?

Burton

Shaheen

Braunecker

Are locks.

I would hate to lose Bunting who has flashed in camp and game 1, for a blocking only TE who offers nothing in the passing game.

Braunecker is a guy I was high on pre-draft and like his athletic upside. But if Nagy can't adjust his scheme to throw Robinson, Wims, Miller or someone take over slot duties should Burton go down then both his system and creativity is woefully underwhelming. Shaheen may not be able to stay healthy and gets kept around only due to his rookie wage. On a positive side Sowell isn't likely to get many offers as a TE due to lack of experience and is too light to return to OT IMO. He could be an emergency option.

 

If you see more potential in Bunting than you will get for either of them, then toss one of them to the wolves. At worst he gets some sort of IR deal.