|
I know we had a lot of guys out of this game, but we've got some serious question marks that need to be answered over the course of the preseason.
As a unit, the O-line looked horrendous. We had a limited pass rush and looked like we were in a soft prevent on defense pretty much the entire game.
Here are some other notes at random:
1. Olin Kruetz may have regressed yet again. I'm beginning to wonder how many years this guy has left in the tank. He was routinely tossed around the field today and looks like a shell of his old self. Finally his lack of bulk is having an affect on his play to a significant degree.
2. Corey Graham had a nice sack off the edge, but ultimately was one of the primary culprits in our "Prevent" defense. He gave up slant after slant after slant. And even if that was the call, his receiver was routinely picking up 5-10 yards after the catch. Very poor game by this guy.
3. Marcus Hamilton had no business manning up on a 6'5" TE on a goal line play. Horrible defensive play call/adjustment to what was on the field in front of you.
4. Trumaine McBride was solid at CB. He made some nice tackles in run support, but gave up a lot of underneath stuff. He is not a starting CB in this league, but he may be a quality backup.
5. D.J. Moore was right there with everybody else on the underneath stuff, but he did demostrate excellent break on the ball, nearly coming up with a pick. He also highlighted some impressive agility on his punt return. Backup this year, but he could develop into a fine cover CB. I felt good on him after watching him play his first game.
6. Woodny Turenne had a couple nice plays, but a lot of junk, too. To make this roster from that far down to start, they all have to be nice plays.
7. Regarding Vasher, it all depends. Either every DB we have is inexplicably atrocious or our gameplan of a shell defense all game sucks. One or the other. Either way, it is very frustrating watching teams march the ball down the field on us and having turds look like Joe Montana along the way because we are playing 10 yard cushions in the NFL.
8. Mark Anderson showed some nice explosion off the edge, but more often than not, over ran the play. I guess he got his burst back, but he was still taking plays off and I didn't see anything that made me think we are getting the original Mark Anderson back.
9. Ervin Baldwin was in on a couple of nice plays, but also played unremarkable football.
10. Did Alex Brown or Ogunleye even play? I want to say I saw Brown make a nice play today, but I'm not positive. Either way, our pass rush was non-existent again, and that didn't help our weak secondary any.
11. Henry Melton has no business returning kicks. For as fun as that was for the coaching staff, I'm sure, all it did was flashback to Jauron with that fat Leon Hall we had returning kicks for two years because he was the only one who wouldn't fumble according to Jauron. Melton looked out of place or lost on Defense a lot.
12. Anthony Adams had two very nice plays and the Bills running game didn't do a whole lot against our top unit.
13. Jarron Gilbert is a massive man. He really does look like Julius Peppers in pads. That being said, he also looks like a slob with his shirt hanging out everywhere, and doesn't appear to play with good leverage at this point. Only twice did I see him penetrate and more often than not, he was getting pushed downfield 3-5 yards.
14. I think Tommie Harris was held out, but I'm not sure. If he wasn't, I don't remember seeing him do anything of note.
15. Marcus Harrison was solid, but not remarkable in any way. He stuffed a couple of running plays and had a couple of minor backfield penetrations. He didn't screw up and would get a solid grade from me.
16. Idonije had a couple of nice special teams tackles. That may be where he is best suited this year.
17. Toeaina laid a couple of massive hits down on the QB this game.
18. Our FB Ta'suaus'sjlsjlsjfls or whatever caught a TD. It actually was a nice play, showing the ability to catch, tip toe the sideline, and then power into the end zone.
19. Our Guards were not really our problem on the O-line today, so Garza, Beekman, and the often walking around Omiyale get a pass from me.
20. Robbie Gould was solid, knocking down a long 50+ yarder with ease and hitting his other attempts.
21. Lance Briggs had a couple of nice tackles. As did Brian Urlacher. The Bears were tought against the run, but got worked in the passing game.
22. Hunter Hillenmeyer had a solid game working against the 2's, but I'm not sure he has a future here.
23. Mike Rivera had a couple of nice tackles, one in the backfield.
24. Nick Roach and Pisa Tinoisamoa did little to impress me.
25. Jamar Williams was beaten in coverge, often getting sucked up and allowing slants to be dumped just over his outstretched fingertips...
26. Dusty Dvoracek's major contribution in this game was a late hit. And it was a clear late hit/illegal hit on a QB.
27., I'm not particularly concerned about Cutler at this point, but his INT was clearly his fault. He should've throw two, but an easy one was dropped. Cutler has a lot of work to do. Maybe some of it was due to the offensive line not really giving him a pocket to throw in, I don't know. Either way, we know he's capable of getting the job done. He was without Olsen and Forte, who are two of the top receivers he has, and Hester looked good. Plus without Pace, the O-line suffered. He has some excuses, but that INT was inexcusable, even though on 3rd and long it was basically like a punt.
28. Caleb Hanie is a decent #2 QB and should beat out Basanez. BB is inconsistent and while not all of his INT's were his fault, two of them were. He also missed a couple of wide open receivers before hitting Iglesias for a TD.
29. Forte didn't play.
30. Kevin Jones does not look smaller or faster to me. I'm sure he is, but I just didn't see it. I did see a back who powers his way between the tackles and can be a decent backup. That being said, I'm still intrigued by AP and think it should be an open competition for the job.
31. Garrett Wolfe would be tough to release. He runs hard, catches the ball, and made three major special teams plays.
32. Afalava is a big hitter. He's like a clone of Payne, so when both are back there, we should have outstanding run support, but weak coverage. That's concerning. Is it a liability to have him and Payne on the field at the same time since Payne becomes the FS when that happens?
33. Josh Bullocks?
34. Kevin Payne and Craid Steltz had decent games. Both made solid tackles when needed, but the whole secondary suffered in the passing game. Steltz deserves credit for his pick, but it was a clear miscommunication between WR and QB. Steltz made some plays, but he was also getting toasted with regularity because he's just to slow. He's a heady player though, so he tries to be in the right place at the right time to negate that, but what position is he for us? Too slow for FS and we're loaded at SS.
35. Cody Balogh should be cut tomorrow. He is horrible. Not a real shocker there.
36. With Orlando Pace out of the game, Kevin Schaffer and Chris Williams had to step it up. Both were blown by when it came to matchups with quick, but below average DE's like Copeland Bryant. Very concerning here.
37. Des Clark had a nice catch.
38. Kellen Davis had a nice catch, but Michael Haines sucked.
39. Aromashodu was nowhere to be seen tonight. Neither was Brandon Rideau.
40. Rashied Davis played fairly well.
41. Juaquin Iglesias made up for a slow star with a nice catch or two and then a big TD snag. He also had a nice return. Still has a long way to go, but he could be decent.
42. Johnny Knox is electric. I really like that kid. Explosive return man and excellent with the ball in his hands. His dropped routine catch that turned into six the other way (after 3-4 plays) will go down as a learning experienc for him..
43. Devin Hester ran nice routes, showed soft hands, and got seperation occasionally. More importantly, he drew a double team every time he took off down the sideline, which should open up Olsen/Clark underneath.
The Bears need a lot of work. More questions arose than answers were given in this game. We wait until next week.
|
Login
Register
FAQ
Search
