Thoughts and Observations: Preseason Week 1

WindyCity

CCS Hall of Fame
Donator
CCS Hall of Fame '19
Joined:
Dec 12, 2011
Posts:
30,816
Liked Posts:
35,721
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

CCS Hall of Fame
Donator
CCS Hall of Fame '19
Joined:
Dec 12, 2011
Posts:
30,816
Liked Posts:
35,721
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,
 
Last edited:

WindyCity

CCS Hall of Fame
Donator
CCS Hall of Fame '19
Joined:
Dec 12, 2011
Posts:
30,816
Liked Posts:
35,721
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.
 
Last edited:

Enasic

Who are the brain police?
Joined:
Mar 17, 2014
Posts:
13,316
Liked Posts:
9,734
Give Nall a spot over Sowell. Ball could line up at different spots and be a threat running and catching. And he’s pretty tough to bring down. I would think he would be more valuable to Nagy than sowell. Even despite his versatility.
 

hebs

CCS Donator
Donator
Joined:
Jan 1, 2013
Posts:
5,096
Liked Posts:
4,118
Unfortunately, I think Irving has reached his full potential. Whenever I see him for extended periods of time he just seems to get swallowed by Offensive lineman constantly. If I was Pace, I would be looking at the cut downs for someone that might replace him. (I’m gonna go back and watch his snaps again to make sure I didn’t miss anything. )

Bullard isn’t really showing any improvement from last year’s outing... and this was against backups. I need to see something soon, or we should be drafting a replacement next year.
 
Last edited:

hebs

CCS Donator
Donator
Joined:
Jan 1, 2013
Posts:
5,096
Liked Posts:
4,118
Give Nall a spot over Sowell. Ball could line up at different spots and be a threat running and catching. And he’s pretty tough to bring down. I would think he would be more valuable to Nagy than sowell. Even despite his versatility.

I think Nall goes to the PS and they keep Cohen, Davis, Montgomery and Whyte. I also think Sowell stays. They wouldn’t have asked him to drop weight and switch positions if they didn’t have a plan for him.
 

WindyCity

CCS Hall of Fame
Donator
CCS Hall of Fame '19
Joined:
Dec 12, 2011
Posts:
30,816
Liked Posts:
35,721
I think Nall goes to the PS and they keep Cohen, Davis, Montgomery and Whyte. I also think Sowell stays. They wouldn’t have asked him to drop weight and switch positions if they didn’t have a plan for him.

I wonder if the deal is he makes the team or he goes on IR and gets his salary?
 

Enasic

Who are the brain police?
Joined:
Mar 17, 2014
Posts:
13,316
Liked Posts:
9,734
I think Nall goes to the PS and they keep Cohen, Davis, Montgomery and Whyte. I also think Sowell stays. They wouldn’t have asked him to drop weight and switch positions if they didn’t have a plan for him.

I tend to agree. Would rather have Nall than Sowell, but I agree. All I know is they better give Wimsy some burn or I’m going to be seriously disappointed. That guy is ready to break out for real.
 

DC

Minister of Archaic Titillations
Donator
Joined:
Aug 20, 2012
Posts:
11,081
Liked Posts:
9,030
Location:
Colorado
Windys back!
 

hebs

CCS Donator
Donator
Joined:
Jan 1, 2013
Posts:
5,096
Liked Posts:
4,118
I wonder if the deal is he makes the team or he goes on IR and gets his salary?

I was thinking they might want to keep him on the PS incase Davis or Montgomery goes down. Or do you have a different RB in mind for the PS?
 

PeterMbangala

Well-known member
Joined:
Apr 25, 2015
Posts:
2,747
Liked Posts:
1,391
Location:
Te Anau, NZ
Give Nall a spot over Sowell. Ball could line up at different spots and be a threat running and catching. And he’s pretty tough to bring down. I would think he would be more valuable to Nagy than sowell. Even despite his versatility.

On Hoge and Jahns they were saying there must be a handshake deal for him to make the roster given that he is down to 270 and wouldnt get picked up as a OT at that weight.
 

oober

Moderator
Staff member
Joined:
Aug 24, 2012
Posts:
2,883
Liked Posts:
807
Outside the box thinking. You tell Wims, you fake an injury, we put you on IR. In the next 12 months you put on 40 lbs and become a starting tight end that will kill it in this league...
 
  • Like
Reactions: DC

Matt2012

Well-known member
Joined:
Nov 4, 2012
Posts:
675
Liked Posts:
683
My favorite teams
  1. Chicago Cubs
  1. Chicago Bulls
  1. Chicago Bears
  1. Wisconsin Badgers
I was quite happy with the first preseason game as a whole.
My primary concern at this point is about what seems to be the lack of a developing edge rusher. Fitts and Irving were disappointing.
 

Bearly

Dissed membered
Donator
Joined:
Aug 17, 2011
Posts:
41,287
Liked Posts:
23,602
Location:
Palatine, IL
My favorite teams
  1. Chicago Cubs
  1. Chicago Bulls
  1. Chicago Bears
  1. Chicago Blackhawks
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.
Whyte had more shake than I expected. Ives just seems to have a knack for seams. Hall had 2 steps and that was fun see. Bray's throw was disappointing but he actually has the tools and looks less mopey than most other QBs his size, just can't seem to put it together. Monty already looks like the best we've had since Forte but it's only a couple handful of plays in the pre. Wims makes the active or he's gone. I'll continue to harp on the possibility of moving Nall to the TE/HB roll. Is that he's not a good blocker or route runner because he's build clone of Burton with better combine #s.
 
Last edited:

Bearly

Dissed membered
Donator
Joined:
Aug 17, 2011
Posts:
41,287
Liked Posts:
23,602
Location:
Palatine, IL
My favorite teams
  1. Chicago Cubs
  1. Chicago Bulls
  1. Chicago Bears
  1. Chicago Blackhawks
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.
I disagree about last year's special teams. I found them lacking in all phases. https://www.footballoutsiders.com/stats/teamst
They hurt us in field position and had a hand in the games that we lost. Easily the worst of the 3 phases last year. Tabor has a decent resume but it certainly didn't show last year. Some of this year's acquisitions may help out but I'd like to actually see it happen.
 
Last edited:

WindyCity

CCS Hall of Fame
Donator
CCS Hall of Fame '19
Joined:
Dec 12, 2011
Posts:
30,816
Liked Posts:
35,721
I disagree about last year's special teams. I found them lacking in all phases. https://www.footballoutsiders.com/stats/teamst
They hurt us in field position and had a hand in the games that we lost. Easily the worst of the 3 phases last year. Tabor has a decent resume but it certainly didn't show last year. Some of this year acquisitions may help out but I'd like to actually see it happen.

Sorry, I should have said that they were better than the black hole of the John Fox era,
 

Top