W4&5vsCOLTS&BUCS: O-line woes

    I read on twitter the other day that the league was planning to call personal fouls on games due to personnel on the sidelines not wearing masks properly, I immediately thought that it was stupid, not because it's not necessary to do something about it but the way they what to attack the issue before any other option possible is irrational to me. Don't taint the game because of life issues, if someone is breaking protocol off the field of play by all means get him out of the stadium, suspend the person and don't fine him, fine the team he represents so they can take necessary actions and if they don't then take it on the team. And don't make the referees do this, they already have too much on their hands by trying to do their present job right to now place their attention elsewhere besides the game they have trouble calling correctly. I understand the importance of the topic they want to address but the game cannot be played with propositions like this and if the people involved can't get it together then don't play it at all.

   The Bears got beat by a Colts team that I underestimated, especially their defense which dominated most of the game, still they did get help from the Bears Oline especially from Charles Leno Jr. who is playing worse every game and could get Nick Foles injured, Bobby Massie is trying to play worse than Leno but sometimes gets lucky or its just that not every team has two good edge rushers, not elite just good. If it wasn't for the interior three I don't believe the Bears could win a game and it showed in some snaps where Cody Whitehair got blasted off the line, this will be a game he will not want to remember. David Montgomery couldn't get started, getting stuffed on almost every play, Matt Nagy for some reason believes that Cordarrelle Patterson can run inside, he cant, he doesn't show the vision necessary to find the creases made by his Oline, he is better off going outside or on screens where he can use his big frame to push back DBs. Anthony Miller had some drops and couldn't make the big catch in the 4th quarter to give his team a chance, giving way to Darnell Mooney to have more snaps which he deserves. Mooney gives the Bears a better chance to stretch the field while Miller should be brought in for three wideout sets.

   The defense had its share of problems especially with the continuous struggles of Danny Trevathan but now he got help from Tashaun Gipson, both of them were guilty of not filling their assigned gaps and let Jonathan Taylor run all over them. Still the defense gave their offense a shot all day to even the score and almost did it by themselves, if not for a dropped interception by Khalil Mack in Colts red zone territory, that would have made a huge difference, but the offense cannot be waiting for this to happen all the time, they need to pull themselves out the hole they are in and get the ball moving.

   Against Tampa Bay they somewhat did but not because the Oline played better, they almost looked worse than before but it may be because the Bucs front four is nastier with Vita Vae and Ndamukong Suh in the middle and Shaq Barrett at one edge. The run was none existent again and fell in the hands of Nick Foles and the receivers to get it done, everyone contributed in some way but Jimmy Graham is paying dividends with his red zone play.

   The defense does what is expected, they come and play every game with the same intensity and unfortunately with the same issues, Trevathan played better this game, better is not good, he managed to fill his gaps in time against the run and stayed close to Rob Gronkowski on every play, Gronk isn't the monster he once was, Trevathan can't keep up with speed anymore. The Bucs run game was present but this time it was because Roquan Smith missed key tackles and Eddie Jackson missed on one play in which he was late to come down to the line and got juked by the runner. Luckly these mistakes were not enough to lose control of the game. A massive hit by Kyle Fuller resulted in a recovered fumble by the Bears which gave Chicago life and the lead with an ensuing TD drive. After that it was a field goal battle and the Bears had the last kick, defense made Tom Brady look old and stopped him in his tracks with a 4th down incompletion. The Bears had luck in their side on this game and needed every bit of it to pull the win. The bad news is that James Daniels was lost for the season with a pec injury, now there is no turning back and finally Alex Bars will show what he is made of, he struggled allowing a sack on his first snap but got better as the game went on, I'm excited to see how he performs now as the starter.

   The first quarter of the season was a good one for a really struggling Bears team, trailing by one behind the Packers gives them a chance to get better as a team. With a shaky Oline it would be better now more than ever to use more two and three TE sets, Cole Kmet is doing his part as a blocker and should get more shots as a receiver in time, getting him more on the field by giving him J.P. Holtz snaps should be a must. They need to somehow get Montgomery going or the long ball will not be an option, Foles is not getting enough time to throw and hasnt showed good accuracy, he needs more chances to throw deep without someone hanging in his face. Next against the Panthers will be a though one, Carolina has a good all around team and will not be easy to beat, they can exploit Fuller and Jaylon Johnson with their speedy receiving group, Teddy Bridgewater dismantled the Bears last time when he was in New Orleans with tempo and accurate passes, the Bears can learn more about themselves against this team.

W3@ATL: Bittersweet

   Things aren't looking promising any more with two postponed games due to COVID issues, the scenario in Tennessee is not good and if it's not under control fast, then its as I feared and the season should be ended and done this year, is it possible? I have no idea but it's just not worth the risk for all the people on the field and in the stadium.

   The Bears won another miraculous come from behind win but also lost in the form of Matt Nagys patience with Mitchell Trubisky as the Bears QB, pulling him out of the game on the second drive of the 3rd quarter, the defense did not permit another score and Nick Foles helped the offense score TDs in three consecutive drives in the 4th quarter sealing the victory and very possibly Trubisky´s chances to relinquish his starting gig as the Bears QB as well.

   The offense started their first drive strong until they reached the red zone and stalled for a Cairo Santos missed FG, in Nagys eyes this was strike one against Trubisky, the inability to punch the ball in the endzone for TDs. The offense struggled from there going in to the half with 10 points scored against a very depleted Falcons secondary, Trubisky struggled with the long ball, wasn't fast enough with his reads and didn't get the ball out in time to avoid sacks, overall Trubisky making the same mistakes was strike two against him. First drive of the 3rd quarter, Trubisky makes another bad decision and gets picked, turnover on a bad read was strike three and got out. I get why the decision was made and it killed me when Nagy pulled him out of the game, I was rooting for the guy to be the QB for this team, Nagy tried to coach him to be a pocket QB and just couldn't get him to be that consistently, I wish he would just let him bootleg the life out of him, even his inefficiency to play the read option consistently hurted him, Nagy failed and pulled the trigger not caring that he just made his boss Ryan Pace look bad, ending with another 1st round bust bring it to 3 out of 4 tries. Trubisky´s only chance is one I don't believe he is waiting to happen and that is for Foles to go down with an injury, although the move to bring Tyler Bray to the roster is an interesting one, is Nagy so done with Trubisky that he is willing to put Bray in the field before Trubisky? Charles Leno Jr. is not helping, he is getting beat by edge rushers to often and his run blocking is average at best, he needs to get better or we will be needing two tackles next year. Losing Cohen for the year hurts in explosiveness and moral, there is no other back like Cohen that can do what he is capable of doing, the running game will shift a bit in style with him not there but fortunately there is still good talent in the RB department, Montgomery is a monster and Patterson can be counted to make some noise in trick plays and screens. The WR group is getting more dangerous with Darnell Mooney in it and Jimmy Graham is giving the Bears what they expected of him as a red zone threat.

   The defense continues to struggle stopping the run, Danny Trevathan is to blame for both TD runs by Atlanta by missing  his gap assignment  and as good as Roquan Smith is to cover side to side, he can't shed a blocker for his life, safeties are being counted for to fill these holes, Tashaun Gipson has to be more aggressive and decisive to attack the lane and Eddie Jackson can't live near the line when he is a menase roaming the back field. Akiem Hicks is to much to handle and the duo of Khalil Mack and Robert Quinn is showing some improvement, QB pressure is showing more often and sacks are being made, there is still room for improvement but another DLineman is needed to step up his game. Kyle Fuller and Jaylon Johnson were in trouble in this one, if Matt Ryan had more time or looked more for Calvin Ridley he would have done more damage, he was burning the Bears DBs often.

   So Foles will start against the Colts this week and now some people are watching the Bears a bit differently, like if now they are contenders and even if I wished this was true I can't, not yet, because I've already witness something similar the last 2 years when Chase Daniels was the backup QB, he would come in for an injured Trubisky early in the game and dissect the defenses, then he would come and start the next game and play like trash. I'm hoping this will not be the case, that I will get Super Bowl MVP Nick Foles and give the Bears some wins, this next game is a good chance for him to show he is the real deal and not just another journey man.

W2vsGIANTS: Climbing the ladder

   Another close win against a not so good team, it does not change the matter that there was stability in some areas and improvement in others, there were mistakes that can be corrected while getting one more in the win column to keep themselves on the right track. In a week plagued by injuries, it's also good to see that the Bears got of this game almost intact if not for the loss of John Jenkins that was placed on IR, it wouldn't be a big issue if it wasn't the position that is missing Eddie Goldman already.

   Mitch Trubisky started strong and had a good game overall, his 2 picks where good defensive plays, a little bit of sluggishness by Allen Robinson and bad luck, still Trubiskys bigger problems were the same ones he had the previous game at Detroit, needs to get rid of the ball to the safety valve when pocket collapses and read the field better. He trust his legs to get him out of trouble and sometimes it's not necessary because he often has a receiver near the line to bail him out, can't blame him much being that he is very dangerous on the run. He still treads the needle on throws, which is not bad because he is showing good accuracy but it's not always necessary when its on early downs. The two picks stalled the Bears offensive momentum adding both drops by Anthony Miller that would have counted for a TD and a first down on enemy territory, the score would have been much different. David Montgomery can run the ball, the Oline gave him just enough gaps for him to be able to pound on the Giants defense always fighting for extra yards, even when he seemed to get injured his neck when he went down on his head on a dive he still returned and played strong, the guy is tough as nails.Tarik Cohen and Cordarrelle Patterson were lost somewhat in this game and while Robinson did his part, he didn't seem to be 100% on every play. Darnell Mooney on the other hand showed grit as a receiver and blocker. Players who need to get their head back in the game are Charles Leno Jr. on run plays, he needs to stop with the dives/chop blocking costing Montgomery some bigger chunks, and JP Holtz looked horrible at his FB position, he need to keep running and maul someone, anyone.

   The defense in their bend but don't brake mentality finished the job and limited the Giants offense to 13 points. I had heard for some time now the cries of fans to give more holding penalties against Khalil Mack, now that I can watch the all 22 I could see why all the fuss, it's ridiculous the way he is grabed and no flags come on the field, the guy just disrupts the offensive game flow in spite of this, if only he had another guy who could get to the QB on the other side. I'm a bit concerned of the number of snaps Robert Quinn is getting which are not enough but this week he is off the injury list completely so I can't way to see him more on the field. Danny Trevathan getting subbed out for Deon Bush is interesting, it seems to work but not long ago Trevathan was known for being a great cover LB, its would be surprising if he lost a step this suddenly. Jaylon Johnson keeps making plays, him and Mooney have flashed these past two games and are slowly making themselves known in the league, Cole Kmet has been silent but is slowly getting his identity starting as a blocker which is helping the run game so he is coming in slow.

   I read a tweet where a fellow user commented that this next game against the Falcons is a lose -lose for the Bears. I get it, winning against a 0-2 team doesn't mean anything, its just another bad team the Bears are facing and if they lose to this bad team it means that they are who most analysts think they are and that is a bottom tier team. The question for the Bears is can their defense stop Matt Ryan without Julio Jones and can Trubisky and his offense score more than 3 TDs, in stats this is all that would matter, in reality is how much can this team polish their game and end the game with another win. 

W1@Detroit: EDDIE COME BACK!

    What a life draining game, holy crap! Even when the game was sloppy, at the end the thing that matters is the win,. If the Bears want more of them they have to polish up almost in every area which can be fair to say that every team is coming in to this season rusty by not getting real action this preseason, so again even if it was a bad win it's still a win and a step on the right direction.

  The Bears Oline overall played a good game especially helping push the pile and giving the runners some holes to attack, Germain Ifedi helped a lot on this area who aside of Cody Whitehair were the better looking maulers, James Daniels and Charles Leno Jr. did their jobs nicely but it would help if they didn't fall down and keep blocking, it would have given the runners bigger chunks or even a break out run. Bobby Massie stood his ground but was the least impressive. It was a good idea by coaches to use a TE to help block the edges on play action, Detroit had a spy or a defender at the edge ready to cut the escape lane if Mitch Trubisky decided to run or to reduce his time to find receivers on bootlegs, the TE helped to protect the QB on these situation and Jimmy Graham executed better this task than J.P. Holtz, even if Holtz is more physical and maintains blocks better, he sometimes doesn't get the best angle or isn't on time to make the block. Graham blocked good enough but gives the defender a chance to recuperate, good thing Trubisky got rid of the ball fast most of the time.

   The trio of David Montgomery, Tarik Cohen and Cordarrelle Patterson showed what they can do and they can be better, every one of them can contribute in short pases but Montgomery is the mauler while Cohen and Patterson will make you pay with open field in front of them. The Oline improving is important to the development of this offense based on what everybody showed and it's that this team has various weapons that can attack the defense in different ways.

   Mitchell Trubisky showed he is still not there, but he isn't the same player from last year, he showed improvement. From all his throws he had 2 bad throws while trying to thread the needle on tight coverages and got lucky not getting picked both times but kept trying to do so the rest of the game not shying away. Throws that hurt the head of his coaches las year were like the one he threw to Demetrius Harris at the end zone while moving to his right, placed it at the far corner of the endzone too far from the reach of Harris displaying bad accuracy, but before that he had already thrown a great pass to Allen Robinson in the endzone while again moving to his right but Robinson was held and couldn't make the catch, a clear pass interference not called that should have been a TD. Then he has another similar one moving to his right and hit Graham on the move right in the chest, next drive again at the 2 yard line moving to his left hit Javon Wims in the numbers. He missed an open Graham twice on the move and Cole Kmet once probably by not being in the same page, the misses to Graham and two long balls, one to Robinson and one to Anthony Miller, where off by inches. But the throws like the one to Robinson that was to short where the ones that we got used to see last year, the others where a tad to long but not out of reach, Trubisky in my eyes is improving his accuracy, it's still early to say but I didn't hate everything Trubisky did the whole game and absolutely loved his 4th quarter heroics, a thing I need to see more that he can do if needed. The fact that the Lions where without their starting CBs and that is why he could hit his receivers is debatable, the throws I mention were on the money and I believe that the CB couldn't have been a factor just by where he placed the ball. Where Trubisky still needs to get better is in blitz recognition to get the ball out to his safety valve and his accuracy in slant route while in the pocket, he is placing the ball behind the receivers not giving them the chance to gain momentum.

   The defense was scary and frustrating to see, I really didn't expect for Adrian Peterson to slice and dice the Dline for that much yardage. How much Eddie Goldman is going to be missed is still early to tell, Akiem Hicks was doubled teamed the whole game and Khalil Mack did what he could but just couldn't get to the QB in time, would have helped if some holdings were called, still there was little to no help on the other edge to get pressure on the QB, whether is was Barkevious Mingo or James Vaughters it didn't matter. Danny Trevathan looked old, he got crossed by receivers the whole game and looked slow, wasn't consistent against the run not really helping Roquan Smith, this will be interesting to follow, there isn't much security at the MLB depth chart. The secondary was very reliable even with rookie Jaylon Johnson's debut he did his part and Tashaun Gipson look good at the SS spot, at the end they were the ones giving the offense the chance they were waiting for to get the win.

   Cairo Santos didn't miss, big check mark, more of this please.

   Matt Nagy simplifying Trubisky´s work is essential, Trubisky did his best to go through his progressions and the Oline did their best to give him time most of the game, still it's a work in progress and play action and bootlegs are still Trubisky´s strengths. Giving Detroit enough time at the end of both the 2nd and 4th quarters where a concerne and better play calling is needed, better play by the defense will help as well. Using two set TEs seems to work Graham, Kmet and Harris seem to fit in Nagy´s plans but we will see.

   Next is the first home game against the Giants, this seems like a similar game against the Lions, a team with a running game, a big armed QB and an OK defense. Still it's a winnable game the Bears can improve upon. The drama with Robinson isn't what it's needed right now and hopefully it can get resolved soon preferably with Robinson still on the team, he is a great WR and has done everything right but Trubisky needs to rely on the whole receiving corps when Robinson is getting double coverage. Step by step, let's see where this goes.

2020 Chicago Bears Roster

    Hours from Sundays kickoff, the Bears have decided what their team will be for the start of this season. Cuts done to trim it to 53 players were not surprising, the roster looks solid on defense and promising on offense but everything as it always does comes down on how the QB performs.

   With the new rules for the practice to add more spots for veteran players the guys I thought were getting roster spots got signed to the PS, only unexpected move that happened was letting Isaiah Irving go and giving the backup spot to James Vaughters.

Mitchell Trubisky gets the opportunity to show how much he can turn his career around in his posible last year as a Bear and he gets the chance to start with the right foot against Detroit where he has performed very well.

   Germain Ifedi plugs the RG spot in hopes to better the performances of last year declining Oline.

   It's good news to hear David Montgomery is ready to go week 1, still his injury is dicey and could be limited to fewer snaps than expected to monitor his health.

   So they did go with 5 TEs, so that will be interesting in how many times they will be going 2 TE sets. I believe Cole Kmet will come in as the blocker while Jimmy Graham will be off line as a receiver primarily followed by Demetrius Harris. JP Holtz gets in as a FB and at ST with Eric Saubert.

   Allen Robinson and the WR corps will be as good as Trubisky lets them be.

   

   The defense is still the strength of this team. One could argue that theres is some meat missing at the Dline without Eddie Goldman even when adding Mario Edwards Jr. from FA. Akiem Hicks will be even more pivotal to this Dline.

   Robert Quinn is likely to miss the opener so its wait and see how good the pass rush can be once he comes back, on the bright side we get to see what Trevis Gipson looks like as a pro.

   The backfield has the biggest question mark with Jaylon Johnson getting the spot across Kyle Fuller, this is where my attention will be most part of the game.

   Eddy Piñeiro to IR was somewhat expected, in comes Cairo Santos who really gives me as much relief at he position as Piñeiro does, which is questionable at best.

   I do believe Trubisky will be on a short leach and performing poorly in his first game could get him benched, the schedule doesn't get any easier after this game so he doesn't get much time to get it right. Getting to the playoffs this year will be though, the schedule isn't pretty with games against the NFC South and AFC East teams, they need to get as much wins against their division rivals as posible but a 8-8 record right now seems to be a best case scenario. Every season shows us different team performances, but the only one that matters is how improved this Bears team got.

2020 53 Man roster prediction

   Coronavirus is a pain in the ass to say the least but having to live with it and thousands of idiots ignoring it is more painful to the body, mind and soul. 

   I still cant believe there is going to be a 2020 NFL season, or at least that it's going to start. In a way, for me,  it really doesn't feel right that this is happening, because it's not like its really necessary to have a season played and have people risk their lives and/or others for the sake of entertainment. For the viewer it may help as a distraction from the world, for some working on this industry means to keep their jobs a float, so there is positives to this but I just hope the cost isn't steep. I still have a job and Im thankful for it,  have to leave the safety of my house to do it and for me it's hard to leave and come back to possibly become a threat to others or myself. Sometimes I question myself if it's worth it, at the end its necessity that ends the question.

   Anyway back to business, with no preseason to watch the new faces its a bit harder to know what these guys bring to the table so it shouldn't be weird for coaches to go with the guys they already know. This is what I think will be this years Chicago Bears 53 man roster.

QB - Mitchell Trubisky, Nick Foles.

I believe Trubisky will be the starter and will have to get on the winning column early and often if he wants to keep it. Foles can get to know more his teammates on the bench until he is needed if ever.

RB - David Montgomery, Ryan Nall, Artavis Pierce

Montgomery will be the lead back once he recovers, although Nall is the more experience complete back, I believe that there will be more gadget plays with Patterson and Cohen.

FLEX - Cordarrelle Patterson, Tarik Cohen

Fantasy mode on. Patterson seems to be a jack of all trades in training camp this year so I gave him a special spot with Cohen as his backup who is nothing like him but brings the same terror to the backfield if you mismatch him.

WR - Allen Robinson, Anthony Miller, Ted Ginn Jr., Riley Ridley, Darnell Mooney, Javon Wims

Who is going to step up and be Robinsons Robin? Much is expected of Miller this year and has shown he has talent to get open, I expect Ridley to push for the job as well. There is talk that Mooney is impressing coaches which would be fantastic if he can bring his speed as soon as posible to this offense that has plenty of height but lacks burners.

TE - Jimmy Graham, Cole Kmet, Demetrious Harris, J.P. Holtz

At the beginning there were ten. It comes down to four... I think, could be five if they really want five and give Jasper Horsted a spot. Lets see how much veterans Graham and Harris can hold on and help get Kmet up to speed. 

OL - Charles Leno Jr, James Daniels, Cody Whitehair, Germain Ifedi, Bobby Massie, Jason Spriggs, Alex Bars, Sam Mustipher.

I really don't want to put Coward here as much as I would like to see someone else at RT that is not Massie, I still believe that Bars can snag the spot.

DL - Akiem Hicks, Bilail Nichols, Roy Robertson-Harris, Abdullah Anderson, John Jenkins, Brent Urban

Goldman will be missed, like, a lot. I fear for the run defense. Offenses might get 3 yards a carry now.

ILB - Danny Trevathan, Roquan Smith, Joel Iyiegbuniwe, Josh Woods

This group stays the same, good but still not great, it depends on how much Smith has progressed.

OLB - Khalil Mack, Robert Quinn, Barkevious Mingo, Isaiah Irving, Trevis Gipson

If Quinn is a s advertised, this defense is going to be fun to watch. 

CB - Kyle Fuller, Jaylon Johnson, Buster Skrine, Kevin Toliver, Sherrick McManis, Kindle Vildor

This group is shaky and full of doubts. I expect much growth from Johnson and Vildor at the end of this season, it's all I can ask from them.

S - Eddie Jackson, Deon Bush, Tashaun Gipson, DeAndre Houston-Carson

Im giving Bush the SS spot, he know the defense and I believe the line will need an enforcer to help them with the run. Then again, I can be way off and Gipson gets the starting spot because he seems better in coverage and with a shaky situation on one side of the field oposite of Fuller maybe this would be better.

SP - Cairo Santos, Pat O´Donnell, Patrick Scales

Eddy Pineiro getting injured got Santos singed, I have seen what happens to kickers when they get injured and usually their performance goes down that year or don't play at all.

McManis, Bush and Mingo should bring some good experience to SP.

Ok, so now its wait and see what happens. Maybe five TEs.

2020 Offseason post draft

  

   Things are moving slow with this pandemic situation, Ryan Pace is still trying to fill the gaps on the team with FA players while Matt Nagy is already starting his virtual camp sessions, this season is going to be a mess if there is even a season to consider this year, with stupid people not helping the cause and idiotic government personnel in charge in many places of the world doing even worst damage, there is no way to know when this is going to get stabilized. But I will keep going with my life thinking there is a shot of a 2020 NFL season just for kicks and some sanity.

  The biggest move Pace made this offseason was trading the 2020 4th round compensatory pick for Nick Foles, I wouldn't had a problem with this move if it wasn't for the massive contract attached. This deal to me means that Foles is the starter or should be, you don't pay a QB 15 million a year just to sit on the bench even when the team says it will be a competition, Mitch Trubisky is almost certain to be on a spot to fail, he would become Foles backup to then be let go on 2021 when his contract is done and will be labeled as a bust 1st round pick making him Pace's third 1st round bust he has drafted with the Bears, even with the mid round gems he has found thru his 4 years as a GM, this will badly taint his reputation as a good personnel evaluator. Trubisky should get his last shot as the starter but it's really hard to envision this scenario with how much money they are investing in Foles and how little they would lose by letting go of Trubisky if Foles works out, Pace and Matt Nagy would get another year to find the Bears future franchise QB. Getting really ahead of myself, what if Foles struggles early? When do you decide to take him out for Trubisky? in the case Foles starts and he is taken out because of production for Trubisky, Pace will place his job on Nagy's hands to save both his asses while trying to make Trubisky play his heart out. Fun right? Well with how this draft ended up being, specially the first two picks, this Foles/Trubisky thing can be viewed maybe in the same way. Pace drafted TE Kole Kmet with his first 2nd round pick while the board was falling with other better prospects on other positions available that Pace could have picked due to value, instead he drafted his 10th TE on the roster, then with his next 2nd rounder 10 picks after Kmet he drafted a stud DB in Jaylon Johnson. So, does it matter if he chose a better pick after a not so good one in regards of value as a prospect? Other things come into consideration but the main thing is that if Trubisky starts and Foles sits at the beginning of the year, I could view it as just salary total for the QB position not regarding who is owner of which contract, problem is if Trubisky thrives in 2020 then how do you keep the guy? do you go all out with Trubisky and franchise tag him while showing Foles the door? do you retain both for insurance while paying them top dollar? or do you let Trubisky go and try to get a good compensatory pick in return, draft a top QB in 2021 while retaining Foles? Does Pace sleep at all?

   In other lesser stressful news, Pace went on a mission to get speed for the offense by drafting 5th rounder Darnell Mooney and by signing FAs Ted Ginn Jr. and Trevor Davis. Mooney seems to play hard even with a really slim frame, he will need to keep that flame alive to get a shot against the veterans, right now I believe it's Ginn's spot to lose while Davis can contribute more on ST's. Ginn doesn't make the slot position solid, he’s a former speedster that relies on his knowledge of route running more than his physique, Davis and Mooney are question marks for now so even if Pace found some talent, it's still a wait and see scenario.

   The EDGE position got some help in the 5th round as well, going up for Trevis Gipson who shows good shedding and burst to get to the QB, can bend somewhat but helps that he shows a good motor to finish the play. Can be a good rotational guy behind veterans Khalil Mack and Robert Quinn.

   The other 5th rounder that Pace went up to get was DB Kindle Vildor, a hard nose corner who doesn't shy away from contact with really good agility, his size doesn't help him against big receivers, but he will go all out no matter what. He is bound to play on the inside of the secondary be it at nickel or safety, but he will be a good addition to special teams. The addition of Tashaun Gipson clearly will make him the starting choice at SS, others that can compete for this spot other than Deon Bush and Vildor could be Stephen Denmark and newcomer Jordan Lucas.

    Seventh rounders T Arlington Hambright and G Lachavious Simmons will fight to climb the depth chart to get a chance to play or probably more likely to make the PS. This is a statement from Nagy, not drafting top talented prospects Olinemen to plug Kyle Long's spot and get real competition for at least Bobby Massie says to me that he is convinced that what happened last year was a fluke, that the 2018 OL is the reality of this unit and can get back to being as they were. I don't buy it, at least at the RT position, Massie is getting old and was never a dominant player, he won't get better and can easily regress, to not have talent behind him is a dangerous game, I just hope Alex Bars is a diamond in the rough and can be that guy, there's still the signing of Jason Spriggs to look at and see if he can get coached to be the player the Packers thought they were getting. Germain Ifedi is still believable to hold the RG spot but again who is behind him pushing him to be better? Pace could have gone OL at the draft and gotten Matt Peart or Netane Mutti who where my favorite late picks for this draft that could have pushed the competition.

   Getting back to the two top picks of the Bears draft in Kmet and Johnson. Johnson looks to be a player that is very similar to how Kyle Fuller plays corner, he is tough with good size and plays with instincts to know when to attack the ball, he doesn't show recovery speed so if his instincts fail him he is going to get in trouble. Saying that we would have two Fullers on the field doesn't sound bad, but who would cover the speedster? every team is searching for their Tyreek Hill in regards of deep threat receivers, I'm not all that sure that they can cover speed that well without help from the safety. Now Kmet is another statement form Nagy, one that makes me believe that he is not a good coach, by drafting Kmet as a priority with their first available pick this says to me that Nagy is unable to coach if he does not have the "right" TE corps, he is unable to mold his offense depending on what he has on his roster and I find that limiting his ability to coach a team and that is what would bother me on the Kmet pick, I understand that there is scheme involved but how much talent do you need to have on one position to make it work? do you really need a carbon copy of a player for Nagy’s offense to function properly? No pick is a sure thing but going blindly for one guy not even considering the other options available is shortsighted for the future.

   There’s still some depth missing at RB and ILB that Pace can try and fill at FA but if nothing else changes from here to the start of the season, the roster is solid at defense and questionable at best at offense of course, OL and QB will tell the tale of the 2020 Chicago Bears season, if there is one.