Bye week recap

   Recapping last three weeks, what mattered to me was once Mitchell Trubisky got hurt, got pulled out of the game and watching the replay I thought he was done with a clavicle brake and then thought if the season was even worth it anymore while loosing the most important guy that needs to be evaluated this year to see where should Ryan Pace goes once the season is over, I really didn't think for a second that Chase Daniel could take us to the playoffs so it was somewhat a depressing moment. Luckily Trubisky dislocated his non throwing arm an is playing today which is good for the team and himself to prove what he can do in this difficult position where he will have his injury to worry about on every snap and at the same time show if his mentally though to play good enough to win games despite of it.

   The game against the Raiders in London was a real headscratcher, Daniel played like you would expect from a backup QB but what was surprising is how poorly the run defense played, even without Akiem Hicks the Bears defense showed they were good enough to stop the Vikings run game with Dalvin Cook running through every defense they played against this season, but couldn't handle the conservative offensive game plan the Raiders were running with short passes to negate the pass rush and running the ball and then some. Even if the Bears have an offense that still has to make the run game work, the defense cant perform like that again with the talent they have in the trenches.

   Today's game against the Saints is a winnable game with Alvin Kamara and Drew Brees, its still a Saints team that haven't lost with Teddy Bridgewater at QB so its not a sure thing but the chance to get the W is there. The Bears losing their two monster players in Hicks and recently with Kyle Long should not slow down this team, Pace has gotten good talent for this coaching staff to work with and they need to get it done, getting them in the best situations to succeed. The defense has to get fix whatever went wrong at London, the run game has to wake up and open gaps for David Montgomery to exploit and give him a chance to show what he can do with more daylight. Trubisky will have to depend more on his intelligence and learn timing to get rid of the ball like Daniel showed the last two games, he has a dependable WR1 in Allen Robinson and two game changing payers in Tarik Cohen and Anthony Miller he needs to find, Adam Shaheen has showed he can fight for yardage and Montgomery has good hands and wiggle to get extra yardage through the air, Trubisky just need to get rid of it.

   I am of the people that think that this is the end for Long at least n Chicago and its a big bummer, he showed he cared and he showed he is passionate for the game and could be of the best linemen when healthy but he is just to banged up and there is some interesting depth behind him now that can fill for him in the future, he was worth the pick but sadly his body could take the though regime and punishment received in his position, he will be missed and hopefully can hang around the team at the bench as long as possible. As for Hicks, I do believe he will come back for December, so its up the his teammates to keep the season alive to get him back for January.

W3@WSH: Getting the job done

   The Bears won a game they had to win, they were obviously the better team and showed they can still be a stingy defense getting the ball away form the offense four times. The offense responded getting points with every turnover created, Mitchell Trubisky did a good job and Matt Nagy did a better one with his play calling, the run game is still stuck on first gear and needs to get better, if Trubisky can keep it up and get defenses to pay more attention to him he can help the O-line who as a unit needs to play nastier and give David Montgomery more holes where he can pound positive yards at first contact.
   Next they host the Vikings, a tough game against a solid defense and a dangerous Dalvin Cook. The Bears are banged up on both sides of the ball but right now with the news that Roquan Smith might not play is bigger news to me than Akiem Hicks not playing, Cooks gets it done running to the outside and that is Smith's territory, without him this will be an extra hard game and the offense will have to place more than 20 points to get it done, right now is when they need to get the run game going and then some.

W2vsDEN: Two wrongs make a right?

   What a weird and stressful game, at the end it took the refs help and Mitchell Trubiskys only pass for more than 10 yards I believe to give Eddie Pineiro his moment of glory and the Bears first win, a really though win in mile high. I hate to see them win with a bad call by the refs but it was past due with the awful calls they gave to Leonard Floyd and Eddie Goldman earlier in the game, Goldman's penalty gave Denver 3 points instead of a punt.

   The defense used all they had and then some to slow down Denver's offense which consisted almost on short quick passes and pounding runs, it seems it was going to be enough to break them but didn't and just bended getting their first turnover that almost sealed the game, but the offense struggled once again in this game. 

   Trubisky played average football just enough to help move the ball and get some points but looked conservative, going for the sure passes when there where throws down field that where harder to make no doubt but where options. It wasn't the worst of options because moving the ball and giving the defense a breather was very important in this game. David Montgomery got more opportunities and should get even more on every game he can play on, Tarik Cohen needs to concentrate more and not drop easy passes and Mike Davis is looking to fade away little by little if he keeps playing like he did.

   

   Another prime time game for the Bears this Monday night against a low tier opponent in the Washington Redskins who has a really scary front four Dline that will give the Bears Oline a handfull to try and give Trubisky time to throw, most writers expect Trubisky to show a big improvement in this game, I expect more quick passes and a better running game and of course the win. It would hurt to see if Anthony Miller is open on a few occasions tho. 

W1vsGB: Consistency

   The Bears opening game was disappointing, I would never had imagined that it would turn out the way it did. It was demoralizing to know that the defense showed such a great performance just to be blurred out by the incompetence that it was the Bears offense. The mistakes made by the Oline, Trubisky and Nagy have circled around the Internet by many sports writers and broadcasters giving their meticulous analysis and opinions on what went wrong, it wasn't that hard to see on live TV that they didn't look ready, they looked rusty and struggled to get in rhythm and get out of the hole they dug themselves in.
   Keeping it simple, Trubisky is not ready to take the team on his shoulders and lead them to victory with his talent, he showed inexperience que help his receivers get open and show panic in some plays, this could have been by the inconsistency and lack of discipline of his Online who need to communicate better. Nagy needs to help Trybisky out with the playcalling and not forget about his RBs by keep running it or get them on the field for short passes, get Trubisky in rythm. Nagy can not do everything tho, Trubisky needs to get better and build consistency, the season has only started and need to show he can help get this talented team to the postseason again, this team is to loaded for anything less especially on defense.
   Next they go to Denver who didn't look well on offense but has the talent on defense to put pressure on Trubisky like the Packers did. Denver is supposed to be a very hard place to win, but it looks to be a match were Chicago should be the favorite to win and should before they get to play against playoff teams from last season and won't be optimal to get there with a 0-2 record.

2019 Chicago Bears roster

   The team is set for the season opening game this Thursday night with no major changes to the starters from last year for the exception of Bilal Nichols winning the RDE position. 

   As for the rest of the depth chart, there were some curious decisions but just one that really surprised me and that was not getting Alex Bars on the 53 man roster, instead going with Cornelious Locas III for some reason I cant comprehend other that hes played more at the professional level than Bars even when he showed versatility and upside, doesn't mater that it was against second team players, Lucas played beside Bars on games and looked very inconsistent. Luckily Bars made it to the PS along some other good players that showed promise like Jesper Horsted, Thomas Ives and Jonathan Harris. Ryan Nall was sent to the PS once again, I get that his play style is somewhat similar to Jordan Howard's and Matt Nagy seems to values Kerrith Whyte's speed and agility more than Nall's hard nose running, its a shame but it is what it is. Strange that Clifton Duck or Ian Bunting weren't considered for the PS. Dax Raymond made the team in a way by getting himself placed at IR. At the end Bradley Sowell's hard work payed of, he wont be fooling any defense when on the field as he will be treated like a sixth O-lineman, it will just be a matter of time I guess until Nagy reaches to his bag of tricks and uses Sowell as a receiver, but I really don't see Sowell take the field that much this season.

   On the defensive side of the ball, biggest news was Johnathan Bullard getting cut and Abdullah Anderson getting the nod in his place which I believe is well deserved. The team starts the season with 6 ILBs and only 4 OLBs. Isaiah Irving and Joel Iyiegbuniwe survive the preseason, Kylie Fitts doesn't, the team decides to go with Josh Woods and Kevin Pierre-Louis, it would seem like its because they can contribute more on ST.

   DL, WR, RB, S positions are stacked. LB and OL positions are solid but the depth is average. TE position is shaky with health issues by Trey Burton and Adam Shaheen and average depth at best with Ben Brauneker and Sowell. At the end, with a very solid team, the Bears season rides on Mitch Trubisky's arm and decision making, I can see this team finishing the season 10-6 and getting into the playoffs in back to back seasons. It would be huge for the Bears to get another run at the Super Bowl this year with all the attention they are getting because of their centennial anniversary with five confirmed prime time games, not counting the one in England and the one on thanksgiving. The attention and pressure is on this year, if they handle it correctly to make a run for it and reach January, the hype will be immense and I could see the run continue all the way to February and maybe this time they can get that win in Miami.

Predicting the 53 man roster for 2019

   Last year Matt Nagy strongly limited his starters snap counts on preseason, this time he almost didn't even let them touch the field. Even without saying anything, everyone knew David Montgomery got the job once he didn't take the field after the opening game against the Panthers. Nagy isn't joking around, he wants to get to the start of the season at full health with a team itching for some contact against real opponents, what better to go all out against the Packers in Soldier Field at a prime time hour.

   Because of this, the 53 man roster for this yeas is fairly easy to predict when talking about the starters, but once you get to the backups, it isn't that easy and in some cases it doesn't feel right or its just that this team has the chance to be very versatile.  

QB - M. Trubisky, C. Daniel

   Finally its the moment of truth, this year Mitchell Trubisky has to take a big step forward and I don't mean in numbers, he is a veteran now and a leader of this team with one full year to digest Nagys playbook. He has to show what he is made of and get things done when needed and has already shown his is capable, its time to show more consistency. Even if he doesn't put the big numbers, winning is what matters and if he can minimize the mistakes, he should be just fine. What is not fine is what Chase Daniel has shown on this preseason, some of the shaky play can be put on the inconsistency of backup players and rookies, but just part of it. Its best if he is just there to help Trubisky with the game plan and giving the high fives, but its getting to the point where Ryan Pace should start searching for a better prospect.

RB - D. Montgomery, T. Cohen, M. Davis, R. Nall

   I'm giving the last spot to Ryan Nall instead of Kerrith Whyte although I had both of them at one point. I like Whyte speed at the RB position and as a KR but I don't see him getting snaps unless someone gets injured, Nall I can see him on the field to deceive the defense as a FB because he is a more all around player than Whyte who I believe isn't ready yet to make a difference but should be a priority to get him signed on the practice squad.

WR - A. Robinson II, T. Gabriel, A. Miller, J. Wims, C. Patterson, R. Ridley

   Javon Wims deserves a spot here with a superb camp and showed good play with the snaps he got this preseason. Cordarell Patterson will be an offensive and special teams weapon. Last spot goes to Riley Ridley who displayed enough talent to surpass the other WRs on the team with good size, hands and rout running.

TE - T. Burton, A. Shaheen, B. Braunecker, I. Bunting, D. Raymond

   This is were it gets tricky, the Bradley Sowell experiment didn't convince me and its not easy to not pick him with the hard work he put on for the transition he made from OT to TE, but I just didn't see enough of him as a consistent blocker and didn't display any pass catching or rout running skills to really consider him viable. Ian Bunting showed ups and downs but showed something and mostly was that he can be a passing threat up the middle who can shed tackles. Dax Raymond showed good blocking and right now I believe he is a better TE than Sowell. Ben Braunecker isn't that special but does everything OK and it helps that he should be more familiar with the system.

OL - C. Leno Jr., C. Whitehair, J. Daniels, K. Long, B. Massie, A. Bars, T. Larsen, R. Coward

   I'm a bit disappointed that Ted Larsen deserves a spot because nobody else really showed better skills than him but Alex Bars really is a good surprise, he really showed dominance at the guard position and didn't look bad at the OT position and even looked better that the other guys playing for a OT spot. Rashaad Coward is here just because I felt obligated to put one OT of the group as a backup but Bars looked way better and it wouldn't shock me if the team decided to not go with Coward and instead make room for someone else, in my case it could be Sowell or Whyte. a free agent pickup wouldn't be surprising.

DL - A. Hicks, E. Goldman, B. Nichols, R. Robertson-Harris, A. Anderson, N. Williams

   Jonathan Bullard's time with the team has been on a string for a while now at I believe his time is up, I liked what I saw from Abdullah Anderson this preseason and I still haven't seen any dominance from Bullard so I give his spot to Anderon. Nicholas Williams played well and could be a good backup if the team wants to go with six D-linemen or maybe they will use it on another LB.

ILB - D. Trevathan, R. Smith, N. Kwiatkoski, J. Iyiegbuniwe

   Nick Kwiatkoski lives another day... or season, he shows that even if he isn't good at covering, he has good value near the line of scrimmage against the run and even can show some pass rushing moves. Joel Iyiegbuniwe is here because I couldn't decide who played well enough to get this spot, it could easily go to anyone else from the ILBs or no one at all. A free agent could be a posibility.

OLB - K. Mack, L. Floyd, A. Lynch, I. Irving

   Isaiah Irving get the nod but not by much, Kylie Fitts showed near even trait than Irving but I saw more hustle by Irving so I chose him, Fitts could still make the team if Williams or Iyiegbuniwe don't get picked.

CB - K. Fuller, P. Amukamara, B. Skrine, K. Toliver, D. Shelley. M. Joseph

   Duke Shelley is pure hustle and I love it, I expect big things from him and would be very disappointed if he doesn't make the team. Cant say the same about Michael Joseph, again I just chose him because I didn't like how John Franklin III got burned badly by second and third squad WRs and Clifton Duck although he showed good things I don't believe he is ready for the league but should be considered for the practice squad.

S - E. Jackson, H. Clinton-Dix, D. Bush, S. McManis, D. Houston-Carson

   Deon Bush showed the team that he should be considered to start at SS, time will tell. Sherick McManis is an average back that can do decent wherever he is placed but his value is at STs as is DeAndre Houston-Carson.

K - E. Piniero
   I had my money on Elliott Fry but his miss against the Giants gave way to Eddie Piniero getting picked because of his stronger leg. Rumors say that there is a chance Pace could go for a free agent leg, so solidifying this position could be far from over. Damn you John Fox...

P - P. O'Donnell
   Hey Pat's back.

LS - P. Scales
   Hey so is the other one. 

   Many if not every battle for the last sport on their respective group should be determined with their contribution at STs because that area needs to get better, its going to be tough even for this defense to stop offenses from getting points if they are getting great field position on KOs and punts regularly as its happening lately.

2019 Offseason

   Its August, football is back... sort of. Its still a ways to go for meaningful football but something is better than nothing I guess, this period is mostly for the rookies to show their guts so they can be considered to be part of the final 53 man roster or the practice squad. Football news is blowing up and the only thing I'm interested in is to not hear that someone in the team got hurt.

The draft is a thing of the past, free agency and trade options are mostly over for the Bears who are very limited in cap space, it would be really surprising if they did something significant at this stage of the season. So, now a recap of the additions to the team from this offseason.

   With limited picks in this years draft Ryan Pace did what he has been doing since being GM for the Bears and that is getting his guys no matter what and no matter where they competed.

   David Montgomery - Ryan Pace made yet another move, went up the board and drafted someone I didn't imagine would be available in the third round, Montgomery was my favorite RB to get drafted by the Bears, so yeah I loved this pick. I believe Montgomery will do well in Matt Nagy's system, it will all depend on how fast he can digest the playbook and how healthy he can stay. He wont have to do it all on his own the first time around with good depth at the RB position. Running the ball is extremely important but it helps that every RB in the roster right now is descent at catching the ball.

   Riley Ridley - A good route runner with size and good hands, comes in to make the depth at WR even deeper, I don't know if there was another time the WR position was this talented and versatile. 

   Duke Shelley - I didn't see any gameplay of Shelley until he got drafted and I was surprised that he wasn't really considered on draft boards or talked about more by analysts, he looks to be a very fierce nickel corner with quickness, tenacity and ball skills.

   Kerrith Whyte - A speedy running back who can punish defenses if they don't pay attention. Speed is something that the Bears have lacked for some time, its good to have it at hand.

   Stephen Denmark - A very raw CB with size and a nasty tackler, can go up and get it as he has WR experience but has no feet technique and is not fluid enough to be called a corner yet, still relies to much on his physique and speed.

Free agent rookie signings that caught my eye,

   Alex Bars & Sam Mustipher get to reunite with their Oline coach ones more, familiarity can only help them get to speed much quicker.

   Emanuel Hall was considered by some analysts to have slipped at the draft, an all around WR that will help to generate competition in an already crowded and talented WR core.

   Chuck Harris the successor of Khalil Mack at Buffalo will be following the footsteps of his former teammate and hopefully learn as much as possible from him. 

   Dax Raymond was one of my favorite TEs in the draft who is still raw but has good potential to be a big red zone threat once he gets the hang of things. He will be pushing for Ben Braunekers spot in the depth chart.

   Mathieu Betts gets to show why he was drafted 3nd overall in the CFL. In games he has shown good strength and a big motor as a pass rusher from the edge, him and Harris will have to show big potential to catch up to RRH and Aron Lynch.

Even with good money spent on big talent already on the team, Pace got some needed help via free agency to fill some holes on the depth chart and strengthen other areas.

   Mike Davis mixes well with what the Bears already have at the RB position, brings experience, shows good speed and agility, not afraid to lower the shoulder and can catch out of the backfield.

   Buster Skrine was brought in to replace Bryce Callahan, is similar in size but with a better health record although he hasn't put the numbers Callahan has, still with the drafting of Shelley I don't believe the nickel position will be given to Skrine and will have to compete for it, which is how it should be.

   Cordarelle Patterson is one of the best pickups at free agency for the Bears, hopefully he can get the offense in much better position with some good returns on kickoffs. He has shown to be a dangerous returner and can be a gadget player in Nagys offense to confuse the defense even more than last season lining him up at WR or RB.

   HaHa Clinton-Dix could be considered the best pick up in terms of value, talent and need. Still, it will be interesting to see two deep safety's on the field at the same time but it could end up being fun watching opposing QBs think twice when wanting to go deep.

   Marvin Hall another speedy receiver to the mix who I see as backup to Taylor Gabriel and at the return game.

   Ted Larsen returns as an experience interior lineman who, if he gets to be on the team, I hope doesn't get to play one down.

   Time to see some rookies develop and may the football gods have mercy on our starters.