soulman Posted September 2, 2021 Share Posted September 2, 2021 (edited) 10 takeaways from Bears GM Ryan Pace’s conference: On Justin Fields, Andy Dalton, Teven Jenkins and more It’s not usually a good sign for an NFL team to be making changes to its active roster the day after final cuts were made. The more waiver claims a team makes after cutdown day, the more help it needs. It’s also the time to put players on injured reserve. Generally, no news is good news, unless one of the additions could emerge as an impact player. As such, the Bears were busy Wednesday, claiming wide receiver/returner Nsimba Webster off waivers, placing linebacker Danny Trevathan and offensive tackle Teven Jenkins on injured reserve, bringing defensive backs Marqui Christian and Artie Burns back to the roster and waiving wide receiver Rodney Adams. They also are in the process of signing wide receiver Breshod Perriman and will have to make a corresponding cut. The new 53-man roster, the one the Bears will take to Los Angeles to face the Rams in Week 1, isn’t necessarily better than the one they announced Tuesday night, or even better than last year’s group. That is, except for the presence of rookie quarterback Justin Fields. General manager Ryan Pace, who traded up in the draft to select Fields, spoke to the media Wednesday. Here are our takeaways from the session, touching upon the team’s injuries, the quarterback plan and a few young players being thrust into the spotlight. 1. Fields is everything the Bears thought he’d be, but they’re trusting the process What Pace said: “For us to move up and take him where we did, you know how we feel about him. I think he’s exactly what we thought he was gonna be. He’s exactly what we hoped he would be. And I don’t think it changes our plan at all. I know the fans are excited and we’re excited, too. “We obviously knew about the arm talent, the athleticism, the work ethic, all of those things. But when you get him out there in an NFL environment, he stays calm in the moment. I think his heart rate stays low, he processes fast. He goes through progressions. I think you feel like you see a lot of young quarterbacks who kind of stare down an intended target — you see (Fields) working through his progressions, which I think is really good to see from a young quarterback.” Our take: That sure sounds like a quarterback ready to step into the huddle on Sunday night, Sept. 12, in Los Angeles, but Pace and head coach Matt Nagy are not deviating. One reason? There still are things they still want Fields to learn to improve his readiness to start. What Pace said: “Especially playing quarterback in the NFL, there’s so much that goes into that and so much different than you’d even see in the preseason. The weekly preparation, seeing NFL defenses in the regular season and all those things. I just think the more time he has to learn that and observe that, the better off for him.” Our take: There is no doubt Fields can benefit from learning all of those things in the film room, by running the scout team and getting the extra coaching without having to play in games. Fields could be in position to have his development hampered if he starts too soon, if he can’t handle the challenges NFL defenses throw at him with an average to below-average offense. We’ve talked ourselves in circles and will continue to do so about this, but it is OK for a team to be patient with a young quarterback. However, it’s also possible for a rookie quarterback to learn everything coaches want him to learn by playing the game as opposed to being the backup. The other challenge to making Fields wait? One of the biggest reasons is how confident the Bears are in Andy Dalton. They feel good about him, although that doesn’t seem to make anyone outside the building feel the same. Adam Jahns @adamjahns "The first few weeks we were here, I knew it. I’ve seen him make some throws. I’m like, 'Oh, he’s going to be special.'" What the Bears’ reserves learned about Justin Fields by playing with him the most. (50% deal for new subscribers available) 'He cares about winning': What the Bears' reserves learned... Bears rookie QB Justin Fields spent most of training camp and the preseason playing with reserves, and they were impressed by his demeanor. theathletic.com 2. It’s true, the Bears like Dalton. A lot What Pace said: “What we’ve seen from Andy this whole offseason, throughout practices, in all the different situations we put him in, we feel good about where Andy is. So we’re not going to get into hypotheticals, but we like our plan. … I just feel we’re in a good position with Andy. It starts with how we feel about Andy. And we’re very confident in him and where he’s at. So there’s no need for us to rush Justin. “We feel like Andy’s in a good spot, too. We’re confident in Andy. There’s a lot of things with Andy — I know we’ve talked about it before — but his experience, he’s won a lot of games in this league; his decision-making; his intangibles; his leadership; all the things that he’s doing, there’s so many veteran players that have come up to me and have made comments about Andy Dalton and what he’s doing in practices, in the locker room, in the huddle. All those little things that I think we’re gonna see pay off as we get into the season. It’s more about Andy right now. We’re excited about Justin. I’m more excited than anybody. But we’re just going to let this thing play out.” Our take: Dalton is going to get his chance to prove Pace right on the field in less than two weeks against a pretty good Rams defense. Offensive players have been impressed by Dalton. Sometimes you can tell if players are just talking or actually believe in someone. And yes, they see that Fields is special, but there is a confidence that Dalton carries that his teammates have noticed. The problem is expecting that to translate to a regular-season game for a quarterback who, even at his best, was still not a top-10 signal caller in the league, and someone who struggled last season. The key to success early on is for Dalton to avoid turnovers and get a lot of help from the run game, receivers after the catch and his defense. That’s what worked in 2018 and for a few other average quarterbacks to come through Chicago. That said, they didn’t have a future franchise QB with rare traits as their backup. 3. There is confidence that Teven Jenkins will be just fine What Pace said: “When he showed up for training camp, he was experiencing different symptoms than he ever had in college, so we kind of worked through that. We tried to go through all of the natural processes. At the end of the day, (Jenkins’ back) did require surgery. It was a common surgery. The good thing about it? As soon as we did it, those symptoms went away. So we feel good about it. There’s a reason why we waited to put him on IR until today. It gives us the possibility to bring him back at some point this season. “We were strict with our medical through all of that. The symptoms that he had was totally different than he ever experienced before. There were new symptoms. We worked through it. And this was the end conclusion. And the good thing is, guys, just because he had back surgery doesn’t mean he’s not going to have a good NFL career. We’re excited about the player, excited about where he’s heading. Now we feel like we fixed the problem.” Our take: The best news from Pace is that the surgery appeared to do its job. Whether Jenkins will truly be “just fine” won’t be determined for a while, but the fact that the Bears waited to place him on IR is a sign they expect him back this season. So now we settle into wait-and-see mode with Jenkins. I’m not ready to write off a guy who hasn’t taken an NFL snap, but at the same time, he shouldn’t be anointed as the true long-term answer at tackle coming off back surgery. Kevin Fishbain @kfishbain News story on Bears offensive tackle Teven Jenkins, with analysis from @adamjahns and me Bears rookie Teven Jenkins to undergo back surgery Jenkins was drafted out of Oklahoma State by the Bears in the second round of the 2021 NFL Draft. 4. Alec Ogletree’s emergence has allowed the Bears to be extra careful with Trevathan What Pace said: “He’s had a knee that’s kind of been bothersome this camp and our plan, especially with these IR rules being pretty flexible for us, is to go ahead and get him on there and let him kind of take his time, make sure he’s 100 percent before we put him out there. We’re just kind of working through that. It’s what is best for him. It’s what is best for us.” Our take: This would’ve been a tough thing to manage if not for Ogletree’s emergence in camp. The Bears might have had to either watch Trevathan gut through it or add another inside linebacker off waivers. Trevathan’s playing time in the preseason finale was a sign that the starting job was not definitively his, and if there was any surprise with the 53-man roster, it would have been his status. On Wednesday, we found out the real situation. We’ll see what happens when Trevathan returns. If Ogletree is playing at a high level, he’ll keep the job, and Trevathan isn’t going to play special teams. Will he take up a roster spot and be inactive each week? 5. Future Hall of Fame offensive tackle Jason Peters impresses a group that hasn’t seen many great tackles What Pace said: “Yeah, it’s exciting. It is. He’s working back into football shape. He knows that, so we’re being smart with it. But if you just watch his foot quickness and how he moves, his technique, his experience, he’s just a savvy vet that’s still moving very well. I think that’s a credit to the athlete he is and just keeping himself in good shape.” Our take: Pace was specifically asked if Peters can still play. That question seems to have been answered, so now we wait to see how long he can hold up. How many snaps per game can he be that effective? With Peters, it might be as simple as, “Play until you’re a liability.” That could involve a pitch count, and certainly “load management” days during the week. Pace also expressed his confidence in rookie Larry Borom, who would be the next man up at left tackle. The Athletic Chicago @TheAthleticCHI Five lingering questions about the Bears: Quarterback and offensive tackle among areas of concern Five lingering questions about the Bears: Quarterback and... Questions remain for the Bears at QB, offensive tackle, cornerback and other areas with less than two weeks to go before the opener. theathletic.com 8:36 AM · Aug 31, 20216. 6. There is still no update on RB Tarik Cohen What Pace said: “It’s day by day so he goes to reserve PUP (list), so I believe he’s out the first six games under that transaction and we’ve just got to keep taking it day by day with him. He’s working his tail off. He’s such a heartbeat of our team. He’s in all the meetings. These guys see him in practice every day. It’s just going to be a natural progress with him. I feel like he’s getting better.” Our take: It’s really more like week by week at this point, if not month by month, since Cohen is out until at least mid-October. It’s nice to hear how well Cohen is handling his recovery, but no one will put a timeline on him. Not Nagy, not Pace. 7. What Akiem Hicks does on the field is what matters most to the Bears What Pace said: “For me, Akiem has been in an unbelievable place. How he’s been as a teammate, how he’s been in our building, the shape he’s in right now, the effort that he’s playing with right now has been awesome. So I think he’s gonna have a really big year and we’re excited about that.” Our take: And really, that’s all that needs to matter at this point for a player in the last year of his contract. The challenge here is that a stalwart for the team for five seasons, someone who has become a fan favorite, hasn’t spoken to the media. All we know is that he wants an extension and he has been great in camp, but believe it or not, sometimes we like to know what a player of Hicks’ stature has to say. Pace wouldn’t address the time Hicks abruptly left practice and didn’t return. There remain more questions than answers with Hicks, but he can silence most of it by harassing Matthew Stafford and the Rams’ offense. If he does, hopefully we’ll get to talk to him about it after the game. 8. The Bears are asking a lot so they can get the most from their cornerbacks What Pace said (on the nickel position): “That’s been a steady competition throughout. They’re different. I was talking to coach (Sean) Desai about that as we kind of worked through it. Duke (Shelley), to me, is scrappy, tough, instinctive. Marqui (Christian) is athletic and versatile and can play safety, too, so they’re kind of different flavors and maybe there are scenarios where we can use all of them, so it’s been a good competition. It’s made them both better. The good thing about it (is) our defensive coordinator (Desai) will put those guys in advantageous positions.” What Pace said (on Kindle Vildor): “He plays with so much confidence, you know, he’s just well-rounded. He’s got ball skills, he has speed, he has man cover ability, he has zone awareness. … He’s one of those guys that I think the scouts did a really good job on, and he’s getting better. He works his butt off. This game means a lot to him, and I think we’re going to continue to see an ascending player.” What Pace said (on Jaylon Johnson): “He’s had an awesome camp. He’s probably had one of the best camps of any of our players. He’s taken on a leadership role. I can tell he feels way more confident being vocal here, and again, he’s also a well-rounded player. His ball skills, every practice, jump out. The amount of interceptions that he has, the amount of (passes broken up) that he has, he’s just got a really good feel for the game. He prepares extremely hard in the film room and also physically taking care of his body. I think he’s set up to have a really good year.” The Athletic Chicago @TheAthleticCHI Bears initial 53-man roster, by the numbers: Help wanted at cornerback for the oldest team in the NFL Bears initial 53-man roster, by the numbers: Help wanted at... After a few surprise cuts Tuesday, the Bears have the oldest 53-man roster in the NFL and clearly still have moves to make at cornerback. theathletic.com 7:40 AM · Sep 1, 2021 Our take: The good news? Johnson has been as advertised during camp. The Bears may have a legitimate No. 1 corner from a second-round pick. But as much confidence as Pace has in Vildor, Shelley and Christian, those are the corners that Stafford, followed by Joe Burrow and Baker Mayfield, will be throwing at, and said confidence could be challenged. He echoed what we’ve heard from Nagy about Desai regarding the belief that the new defensive coordinator will help put the corners in good positions to be successful. That’s also where an improved front seven comes into play, and the Bears are hopeful these young corners ascend themselves. That’s a lot to rely on at a premium position. 9. Maybe edge rusher Robert Quinn will be OK? What Pace said: “Just the physical nature that he’s bringing every single day, the relentless effort. It’s almost like we have to slow him down in practice because he’s coming so close to the quarterbacks on every single snap. But I think he’s really kind of gotten into his role. He understands what his role is. … I think he’s really comfortable on and off the field, and I think we’re seeing that out there right now.” Our take: Quinn did have some noticeable pass rushes both in the preseason and training camp. He seems to be in good shape. He missed some time in the middle of camp but has been healthy since. This is another case of counting on Desai, too, to help Quinn maximize his abilities to help the team. The bar is low for Quinn after last year and the Bears can’t expect him to play up to his contract, but would they take, say, five sacks and double-digit QB hits? Considering what happened in 2020, probably. 10. The offseason of adding speed extended into September What Pace said (on Perriman): “First thing: speed, big-time speed. We’ve talked about him, I feel like, every year. We’ve gone back and looked at our grades; we’ve got tons and tons of grades on him, from all of our coaches and all of our scouts. That’s been the one trait. He’s big. He’s 6-2, he can still run and that’s just continuing the speed and explosiveness in this offense.” What Pace said (on Webster): “Nsimba is not only a good returner but also a really good full core special-teams player. He’s a really good gunner, he’s really good on kickoff coverage.” Our take: Well, the Bears always need speed, and the preseason magnified that they had to find someone to help on special teams, both in the return game and in coverage. Perriman is coming in as a No. 5 receiver, making that a pretty low-risk move. If Webster can hold down the punt return job and be effective in coverage, that’ll turn out to be a savvy waiver claim. (Photo of Ryan Pace: Robin Alam / Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) Edited September 2, 2021 by soulman Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Madmike90 Posted September 3, 2021 Share Posted September 3, 2021 Speaking of pressers what is Matt Nagy thinking when he says "the speed is totally different between the regular season and preseason so yeah I would say when you get through week 7 week 8 that's when you should feel like we should be where we need to be"... Week 7 week 8? Is he for real? His job and the job of every member of this staff is on the line and his urgency level is almost half way through a season you should be where you need to be? That is mind blowing to me and completely unacceptable...I like Nagy but if that is truly his attitude about having communication ready after being here 4 years then he shouldn't be a head coach. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
soulman Posted September 3, 2021 Author Share Posted September 3, 2021 18 minutes ago, Madmike90 said: Speaking of pressers what is Matt Nagy thinking when he says "the speed is totally different between the regular season and preseason so yeah I would say when you get through week 7 week 8 that's when you should feel like we should be where we need to be"... Week 7 week 8? Is he for real? His job and the job of every member of this staff is on the line and his urgency level is almost half way through a season you should be where you need to be? That is mind blowing to me and completely unacceptable...I like Nagy but if that is truly his attitude about having communication ready after being here 4 years then he shouldn't be a head coach. It's getting to the point where with all of Nagy's "word salad" pressers someone at Halas Hall needs to write up interpretations based on "What Matt said" vs "What Matt meant". Maybe whoever he's talking to gets it but most fans don't so he's not helping his cause if he's been misunderstood. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Madmike90 Posted September 3, 2021 Share Posted September 3, 2021 2 hours ago, soulman said: It's getting to the point where with all of Nagy's "word salad" pressers someone at Halas Hall needs to write up interpretations based on "What Matt said" vs "What Matt meant". Maybe whoever he's talking to gets it but most fans don't so he's not helping his cause if he's been misunderstood. He just isn't helping perception at all...hopefully it is coach speak and trying to downplay expectations but if he honest does feel he has till week 7 or 8 to have it all figured out the season is already over...crazy comment to make. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dll2000 Posted September 3, 2021 Share Posted September 3, 2021 If you win everything you say is wonderful no matter what it is. If you lose everything you say grates on fans nerves no matter what it is. Nagy has lost Bears fans patience. Not because teams have been horrible, but because the offense mainly has and he hasn’t coached defense at all. Most of their good offensive performances over years have come at hands of awful defenses having a really bad day and they have been few and far between. On other hand it seems like we regularly go entire half’s of football with like 1 or 2 first downs and many 3 and outs. I have always equated three 3 and outs with a score for defense with way it tires your defense and gives other team field position and opportunities. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
soulman Posted September 3, 2021 Author Share Posted September 3, 2021 (edited) 9 hours ago, dll2000 said: Nagy has lost Bears fans patience. Not because teams have been horrible, but because the offense mainly has and he hasn’t coached defense at all. Amen.....spot on. Nagy was sold to us as an offensive guru who would boost the Bears offense into the 21st century and so far it's not even been a good 20th century offense. His understanding of what Bears fans are looking for from him and his team is sadly lacking. It's pretty much a complete disconnect. All that is fine if you're winning but as you posted he's not. All too often the defense has saved his bacon but you can't win 17 games on defense alone. Even the '85 Bears couldn't do that. IMHO this should be his very last chance to prove he really can coach an offense. Edited September 3, 2021 by soulman Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dll2000 Posted September 4, 2021 Share Posted September 4, 2021 14 hours ago, soulman said: Amen.....spot on. Nagy was sold to us as an offensive guru who would boost the Bears offense into the 21st century and so far it's not even been a good 20th century offense. His understanding of what Bears fans are looking for from him and his team is sadly lacking. It's pretty much a complete disconnect. All that is fine if you're winning but as you posted he's not. All too often the defense has saved his bacon but you can't win 17 games on defense alone. Even the '85 Bears couldn't do that. IMHO this should be his very last chance to prove he really can coach an offense. I lead a youth group in church and some of my boys are football players. I asked them how their game went last weekend. Answer was not good because our line sucks. I totally expected this answer. Not because I am a prophet, because this is most common thing in all of football at every level. The offensive ‘guru’ always wants to design cool pass patterns and plays that ‘trick’ a defense. Scheme the guy open we hear all the time. There are guys that coach in HS or youth ball and they always win. Doesn’t matter what team they go to. Bad news bears whatever. In 2 - 4 years they are going to kick your tail. They can win with theirs and they can win with yours. I studied those guys. I learned that it is isn’t about tricking or outsmarting the other guy. It is about good teaching and fundamentals and execution and discipline and team culture. The bad coaches spend all their time worrying the WRs and QBs and play design. The good coaches will worry about line play, proper fakes, exact routes, timing, reads, and perfect technique. Being able to execute 12 plays perfectly beats knowing 200 plays and there are 2 mistakes made on each one any time it is called. Another place where Nagy tends to fail, and is common to mediocre coaches, is every play you have should look like another play and it isn’t that play. You use the one play to set up the other. The feint. Too often Nagy has a whole game plan with 50 different plays that don’t marry up with each other. It will be same 3 run designs nearly every time, but he doesn’t use that fact for passing game. It is two separate things most of time. It makes him much easier to defend. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
soulman Posted September 4, 2021 Author Share Posted September 4, 2021 (edited) 3 hours ago, dll2000 said: The good coaches will worry about line play, proper fakes, exact routes, timing, reads, and perfect technique. Being able to execute 12 plays perfectly beats knowing 200 plays and there are 2 mistakes made on each one any time it is called. This is a point I've made before. The '60s Packers under Lombardi ran about 15 plays on offense and even if you knew what was coming he dared you to stop them. Everything was about perfect execution and many of those teams were built initially with castoffs from other NFL teams. Although it was a different era IMHO it still holds true today. Nagy likes to talk about this same thing but we rarely if ever see it. What I do see though is a whole lot of confusion up front, missed blocks, two OL blocking the same guy, poorly schemed run blocking, etc. Ever since he arrived there has always seemed to have been more emphasis on trickery and one off plays than there ever has been and what's made the Bears a success at time and that's creating a dominant run game to build the passing game off of. He hasn't gotten it done. Edited September 4, 2021 by soulman 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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