Post by riczaj01 on Sept 2, 2016 4:30:34 GMT -6
www.profootballweekly.com/2016/09/02/hub-arkush-kevin-white-ends-preseason-on-a-high-note-but-questions-remain-for-chicago-bears/a910c5d/
More Bears starters could have used the extra work in the preseason finale
By HUB ARKUSH — harkush@profootballweekly.com
Published: Sept. 1, 2016 — 10:26 p.m.
I for one found it impossible to watch the Bears' final exhibition game of the preseason in Cleveland without asking myself repeatedly why the Bears bothered to show up at all?
Each club gets four exhibitions, unless they are selected to play a fifth in the Hall of Fame game, to get ready for the regular season, so why do most clubs only use three, and if teams aren’t going to use the fourth, why play it at all?
I guess we get it when teams like the Patriots, Steelers, Panthers, Packers, Seahawks, Cardinals and maybe a few others who are legitimate Super Bowl contenders and well stocked with talent choose to protect their key players from injury.
But why exactly were the Chicago Bears' starters on the sideline all night Thursday? The Browns' starters played because the Browns are a bad football team whose clear starters needed more work, and they have a number of positions where it’s not yet clear who the best players are.
Just how different are the Bears?
They are more talented than the Browns, but not by all that much and it’s not at all clear what they have at running back, tight end, on the offensive line and in the secondary.
Even more to the point, the Bears have a new offensive coordinator and the offense was awful in the first three exhibitions. The idea they didn’t need more work to get ready for Houston in 10 days quite frankly seems absurd.
I’m fine with Jay Cutler, Alshon Jeffery, Jeremy Langford, the starting front seven on defense and Tracy Porter getting the night off and obviously Kyle Long and Kyle Fuller need time to heal.
Why all of the other “starters” weren’t on the field really makes no sense. The Bears had a chance to get better versus the Browns and chose not to.
So, let’s talk about what we did see.
Kevin White finally took that first step we’ve been waiting for and while he still may not be ready to be a starter in the NFL, he’s going to be for the Bears and he showed in Cleveland that he’s learning what it takes to keep the job.
Cameron Meredith also appeared to seal a spot on the final 53 with a big first half while the Browns still had some starters on the field, and Josh Bellamy certainly seems to have done enough to stay with the club too.
With fellow receivers Deonte Thompson, Eddie Royal, Marc Mariani, Daniel Braverman and Marquess Wilson also all vying to make the club, this is the Bears' most interesting dilemma.
Ego Ferguson may have played better than any other Bear on the field, Deiondre' Hall did some nice work and DeAndre Houston-Carson showed up more than he has at any point in the preseason.
There were also some alarming performances.
The Bears' backup offensive line offered no hope of delivering anyone to pressure one of the starters in front of them and should the Bears suffer another injury on offense, the O-line depth is non-existent.
They also appear to have no one behind Zach Miller at tight end that can be a factor in the passing game, and Miller’s ability to stay on the field will continue to be a concern until he proves it isn’t any longer.
Then there was the performance of first-round draft choice Leonard Floyd. He basically made one play all night long, doing a nice job of holding the point of attack and stretching a running play wide until he could make the stop for no gain.
But Floyd appears a bit lost at times, wasn’t a factor in the pass rush, and he gets pushed around too easily when blockers get their hand on him.
It is extremely hard right now to see any justification in Floyd taking snaps from Willie Young, Lamarr Houston or for that matter even Sam Acho, and what do the Bears do when Pernell McPhee is ready?
The Bears are clearly better this year in the front seven on defense, but are they a better team right now than they were at the end of 2015?
After this preseason, it’s hard to see how.
More Bears starters could have used the extra work in the preseason finale
By HUB ARKUSH — harkush@profootballweekly.com
Published: Sept. 1, 2016 — 10:26 p.m.
I for one found it impossible to watch the Bears' final exhibition game of the preseason in Cleveland without asking myself repeatedly why the Bears bothered to show up at all?
Each club gets four exhibitions, unless they are selected to play a fifth in the Hall of Fame game, to get ready for the regular season, so why do most clubs only use three, and if teams aren’t going to use the fourth, why play it at all?
I guess we get it when teams like the Patriots, Steelers, Panthers, Packers, Seahawks, Cardinals and maybe a few others who are legitimate Super Bowl contenders and well stocked with talent choose to protect their key players from injury.
But why exactly were the Chicago Bears' starters on the sideline all night Thursday? The Browns' starters played because the Browns are a bad football team whose clear starters needed more work, and they have a number of positions where it’s not yet clear who the best players are.
Just how different are the Bears?
They are more talented than the Browns, but not by all that much and it’s not at all clear what they have at running back, tight end, on the offensive line and in the secondary.
Even more to the point, the Bears have a new offensive coordinator and the offense was awful in the first three exhibitions. The idea they didn’t need more work to get ready for Houston in 10 days quite frankly seems absurd.
I’m fine with Jay Cutler, Alshon Jeffery, Jeremy Langford, the starting front seven on defense and Tracy Porter getting the night off and obviously Kyle Long and Kyle Fuller need time to heal.
Why all of the other “starters” weren’t on the field really makes no sense. The Bears had a chance to get better versus the Browns and chose not to.
So, let’s talk about what we did see.
Kevin White finally took that first step we’ve been waiting for and while he still may not be ready to be a starter in the NFL, he’s going to be for the Bears and he showed in Cleveland that he’s learning what it takes to keep the job.
Cameron Meredith also appeared to seal a spot on the final 53 with a big first half while the Browns still had some starters on the field, and Josh Bellamy certainly seems to have done enough to stay with the club too.
With fellow receivers Deonte Thompson, Eddie Royal, Marc Mariani, Daniel Braverman and Marquess Wilson also all vying to make the club, this is the Bears' most interesting dilemma.
Ego Ferguson may have played better than any other Bear on the field, Deiondre' Hall did some nice work and DeAndre Houston-Carson showed up more than he has at any point in the preseason.
There were also some alarming performances.
The Bears' backup offensive line offered no hope of delivering anyone to pressure one of the starters in front of them and should the Bears suffer another injury on offense, the O-line depth is non-existent.
They also appear to have no one behind Zach Miller at tight end that can be a factor in the passing game, and Miller’s ability to stay on the field will continue to be a concern until he proves it isn’t any longer.
Then there was the performance of first-round draft choice Leonard Floyd. He basically made one play all night long, doing a nice job of holding the point of attack and stretching a running play wide until he could make the stop for no gain.
But Floyd appears a bit lost at times, wasn’t a factor in the pass rush, and he gets pushed around too easily when blockers get their hand on him.
It is extremely hard right now to see any justification in Floyd taking snaps from Willie Young, Lamarr Houston or for that matter even Sam Acho, and what do the Bears do when Pernell McPhee is ready?
The Bears are clearly better this year in the front seven on defense, but are they a better team right now than they were at the end of 2015?
After this preseason, it’s hard to see how.
