[1. Was a link to Bowen's piece.]
2. Defensive end Willie Young showed off his length in one-on-one pass rush drills by getting his right hand into Eben Britton’s chest and punching him back. Britton was at right tackle, and Young got into Britton before Britton could reach him. On Sunday, Young batted down a pass at the line of scrimmage. Keep an eye on how his long arms help him once preseason games start.
3. Some other highlights from OL/DL one-on-ones, a drill in which defensive linemen have an advantage:
-- Nose tackle Stephen Paea clubbed center Roberto Garza off balance on one rush, but Garza recovered in time with quick footwork.
-- Defensive tackle Nate Collins, who won twice with a powerful bull rush on Sunday, was stopped by guard Brian de la Puente. de la Puente won against that particular bull rush because his pad level was lower.
-- Left tackle Jermon Bushrod beat defensive end Jared Allen’s bull rush by anchoring with a sound base. Bushrod stood Allen up at the point of attack. After the whistle blew, Allen gave Bushrod props by tapping him on the helmet.
-- Rookie defensive tackle Will Sutton has such a quick first step and such quick hands that he’ll beat a lineman who isn’t balanced coming off the ball. That’s what happened when de la Puente appeared to lunge a bit as he went to set. Sutton’s quickness won the play.
4. Staying in the trenches, two poor shotgun snaps stood out. Garza bounced one during team drills and second-stringer Taylor Boggs snapped one at the quarterback’s shoe tops. This was problematic at times in 2013. It’s detrimental because it either disrupts the timing of handoffs or takes the quarterback’s eyes off the defense.
“That's certainly unacceptable,” coach Marc Trestman said after practice.
5. Undrafted rookie strong-side linebacker Christian Jones continues to stand out because of how fluidly he runs, especially for such a big backer (6-foot-3, 240). The more I watch him drop in coverage, change directions and run, the more convinced I become that he’s going to make the 53-man roster.
In one-on-one pass coverage drills, rookie running back Ka’Deem Carey tried to beat him with a double move -- an out and up -- and Jones stayed on Carey’s hip throughout the route. Jones has good feet and fluid hips. I’m very interested to see him tackle. During team drills, I saw him get stood up a couple times by offensive linemen at the line of scrimmage, but it’s difficult to know his exact responsibilities on those plays. Position coach Reggie Herring called Jones raw on Sunday, but the Bears really like his physical ability.
6. The matchup between defensive end Lamarr Houston and right tackle Jordan Mills might be the most compelling of camp. In addition to the fact they’ve already fought each other a couple times, it’s interesting to watch Houston push the second-year lineman.
Houston got past Mills in team drills with a strong slap down that shed Mills’ hands. Houston also bullrushed Mills back into Jay Cutler on one pass play. It would have been a sack. When Mills wins, it’s because his feet are quick enough to keep him square to Houston.
“They’re both physical, strong, athletic guys, and it has been entertaining,” offensive coordinator Aaron Kromer said. “They win some, they lose some. They learn from losing, and it’s beneficial.
7. Cutler threw an interception during team third-down situation drills when he tried to fit a throw past linebacker Jon Bostic to receiver Brandon Marshall down the right seam. Credit Bostic with getting the necessary depth on his drop to tip the ball to cornerback Kelvin Hayden.
Cutler’s throw was the type that has gotten him in trouble in the past—trying to force a ball into a window that’s not really open. Quarterbacks coach Matt Cavanaugh has talked about the need for Cutler to make sure he’s progressing through his reads to find the open receiver instead of sticking with a receiver for too long, and Marshall wasn’t open on the play. Will he ever change? Maybe not. In fairness, though, it was practice, the ideal time for Cutler to test which throws he can make.
8. Cutler hit Marshall for a touchdown earlier in practice during red zone team drills. Marshall ran a fade from the right slot and stayed inside rookie cornerback Kyle Fuller on the outside. It was an easy pitch and catch for Cutler, who put the right amount of air under the throw. Cutler knows how to take advantage of his big, athletic targets. This play was perfectly designed to exploit Marshall’s size and athleticism because he had so much space to work with in front of the sideline.
9. Rookie Pat O’Donnell did not punt as well Monday as he did Sunday. O’Donnell didn’t hit the ball consistently cleanly. In the second punting period -- the one I charted -- Tress Way unofficially averaged 51 yards and 4.26 seconds of hang time on four punts. O’Donnell unofficially averaged 45 yards and 3.74 seconds on his four punts. And, no, there were no “Mega Punt” chants for O’Donnell on Monday.
bamainatlantaYou wake him up, you keep him up