Post by riczaj01 on Aug 28, 2016 9:13:23 GMT -6
www.chicagotribune.com/sports/football/bears/ct-bears
1. You're looking for positives that came out of what was an ugly preseason loss to the Chiefs, the second dud the Bears have offered up in preseason at Soldier Field. I'm here to tell you it's going to be interesting to see what unfolds for rookie fourth-round pick Deiondre' Hall in the next two weeks. Hall had some ups-and-downs and he didn't start, an assignment that instead went to Jacoby Glenn, an undrafted rookie from last year. But Hall has much more upside, and yes, the Bears could be in need of a fill-in come Sept. 11 when they open the season at Houston.
Tracy Porter was evaluated for a concussion and didn't return to the game, leaving us waiting until Monday to get more of an update on his status from coach John Fox. Kyle Fuller didn't play, still on the mend from arthropscopic knee surgery a little more than a week ago. The good news with Fuller is he's doing pretty well and could return to the practice field soon. Bryce Callahan, the nickel cornerback that the Bears like a good deal, remains sidelined with a hamstring injury.
Hall had two pass breakups in the preseason opener against the Broncos and his tremendous length -- he's 6-foot-2 with 34 3/8-inch arms -- was on display. You can't miss it. In casual chats with a couple scouts that were at the game, they both singled out Hall and left guard Cody Whitehair, the second-round pick from Kansas State, as players they liked.
"I think he has a shot as a press corner," one scout said. "He competes. He is not fast but his length makes up for it."
At the end of the third quarter, Hall showed good awareness too. Chiefs quarterback Aaron Murray fired high for wide receiver Demarcus Robinson, the nephew of former Bears deep ball great Marcus Robinson, and the ball went off his hands. Hall picked off the deflection, creating a turnover in the red zone.
Hall didn't look as good earlier as Chiefs rookie speedster Tyreek Hill motored past him. Nick Foles launched a bomb that turned out to be underthrown. Hill was able to adjust to the ball and Hall was not as fortunate as he was trailing. Hall got there and tipped the pass but Hill corralled it for a 58-yard gain, leading to a Chiefs touchdown.
Hall admitted it was a good reminder to make sure he maintains proper depth, especially against wide receivers that have a real advantage in speed. He's talked consistently about needing to play with more patience, and that's what he needs when he's playing off-man coverage. His strength right now, of course, is press where his frame gives him an advantage.
Eventually, Hall is going to discover his length is a real advantage when it comes to off-man. That is what assistant secondary coach Sam Garnes, a defensive back with great length during his playing days, said during training camp.
"I tell him sometimes, and it sounds funny, but sometimes you don't need to cover these guys," Garnes said. "Leave them at the line. His length should be such a strength of his that he should not be working so hard at the line. He can back up. They have to get vertical. Their goal is to get vertical. So if he just backs up sometimes and uses his arms to keep (the receiver) back, the quarterback is going to come off of him and you just have a down off. His arms are so long.
"I used that to my advantage. They said I was a 4.7 (40-yard dash). I knew I was a 4.4. I used to go against guys like Tiki Barber in practice and Warrick Dunn. I used to play them at the line because if you gave them too much space they’d make you look bad. But I could use my length."
Hall needs to cover wide receivers, and improving at off-man is probably the fastest way for him to get on the field in real games.
"I told him one time, 'When we bring you in here, we didn't bring you in here because we want to teach you how to play like a short-armed player,'" Garnes said. "'We bring you here because we like the way you use your arms. Now we've got to teach you how to use it at this level.' And then we mix it up and do other things just to throw them off … I told him, 'I don't want this guy sleeping at night that's going to play one-on-one against you and know what he's going to do when he gets to the line.' You’ve got to mix it up."
It would not be surprising at this point if the Bears look at adding a veteran. They will certainly be closely monitoring cuts that are due by 3 p.m. Tuesday as teams must reduce their rosters to 75. We'll have to wait and see on the availability of Porter, Fuller and Callahan for the opener.
The only way for young players like Hall to get better is to play more. He should get a lot of action against the Browns on Thursday.
3. If there is an unheralded player who has really improved his stock since the spring, it has to be defensive end Cornelius Washington. After sitting out last week with an ankle injury suffered in what was a strong showing against the Broncos, Washington returned for limited action against the Chiefs and again looked good.
He could be right there with rookie third-round pick Jonathan Bullard as backups to starters Akiem Hicks and Mitch Unrein. He's certainly got to be ahead of Will Sutton and the quickly fading Ego Ferguson.
"Kind of up and down for me today," Washington said. "I didn't take too many reps so I wasn't too pleased about it, but it's good to be out there and just see where I'm at and I know where I am. I just know what I am doing."
The Bears moved Washington from outside linebacker to defensive end after the offseason program ended last summer. The move was fallout from the loss of Ray McDonald and it could be the best thing that has happened to Washington's career. A sixth-round pick in 2013, Washington was an athletic freak that had trouble finding a position beyond special teams.
So, he took his first reps at defensive end on the first day of training camp in 2015 and things were progressing nicely before he suffered a quad injury in the season opener. Washington completely tore the quad, sending him to injured reserve after one game.
When he went down against the Broncos and was carted off the field, his reaction was natural.
"I wasn’t necessarily, 'Oh fudge!'" he said. "But it was a little discouraging and I kind of felt like I was having déjà vu. It’s not as bad as we thought it was."
Now, he's working to get back in the rotation and prove he deserves playing time. He played defensive end in a 3-4 scheme as a senior at Georgia, but that was in 2012 and the scheme was very basic.
"I've just learned what I am doing," he said. "I had OTAs and a whole offseason to go through it and figure out the subtle little nuances of playing defensive end. Shoot, after that the light clicked on for me. It's very important. This is a contract year. They want me to have a nice year and they are expecting that from me. I owe it to them. They've given me my chances and despite little things here and there, I have to come out and prove it."
6. Good showing for Illinois State's Cameron Meredith against the Chiefs. He had four catches for 64 yards, including the 16-yard touchdown on Connor Shaw's pass. They were the first catches of preseason for Meredith, who had a four-catch game at Kansas City last Oct. 11 as a rookie.
Meredith might be a better option for the final roster right now than seventh-round pick Daniel Braverman. He's got the size at 6-foot-3, 207 pounds to be a backup on the outside for Alshon Jeffery and Kevin White, especially with Marquess Wilson likely to begin the season on the physically unable to perform list.
"I was trying to stay mentally prepared, mentally focused the whole game so when I did go out there I was ready," Meredith said.
The roster battle for Meredith isn't just with wide receivers. When you're at the bottom of the depth chart, the battle for a spot on the 53 is with players at other positions too. Injuries can dictate how many players the team needs to keep at each position.
"There is definitely a battle all the time," Meredith said. "Everyone is vying for a job and there are a lot of good receivers in the room. Every play counts."
1. You're looking for positives that came out of what was an ugly preseason loss to the Chiefs, the second dud the Bears have offered up in preseason at Soldier Field. I'm here to tell you it's going to be interesting to see what unfolds for rookie fourth-round pick Deiondre' Hall in the next two weeks. Hall had some ups-and-downs and he didn't start, an assignment that instead went to Jacoby Glenn, an undrafted rookie from last year. But Hall has much more upside, and yes, the Bears could be in need of a fill-in come Sept. 11 when they open the season at Houston.
Tracy Porter was evaluated for a concussion and didn't return to the game, leaving us waiting until Monday to get more of an update on his status from coach John Fox. Kyle Fuller didn't play, still on the mend from arthropscopic knee surgery a little more than a week ago. The good news with Fuller is he's doing pretty well and could return to the practice field soon. Bryce Callahan, the nickel cornerback that the Bears like a good deal, remains sidelined with a hamstring injury.
Hall had two pass breakups in the preseason opener against the Broncos and his tremendous length -- he's 6-foot-2 with 34 3/8-inch arms -- was on display. You can't miss it. In casual chats with a couple scouts that were at the game, they both singled out Hall and left guard Cody Whitehair, the second-round pick from Kansas State, as players they liked.
"I think he has a shot as a press corner," one scout said. "He competes. He is not fast but his length makes up for it."
At the end of the third quarter, Hall showed good awareness too. Chiefs quarterback Aaron Murray fired high for wide receiver Demarcus Robinson, the nephew of former Bears deep ball great Marcus Robinson, and the ball went off his hands. Hall picked off the deflection, creating a turnover in the red zone.
Hall didn't look as good earlier as Chiefs rookie speedster Tyreek Hill motored past him. Nick Foles launched a bomb that turned out to be underthrown. Hill was able to adjust to the ball and Hall was not as fortunate as he was trailing. Hall got there and tipped the pass but Hill corralled it for a 58-yard gain, leading to a Chiefs touchdown.
Hall admitted it was a good reminder to make sure he maintains proper depth, especially against wide receivers that have a real advantage in speed. He's talked consistently about needing to play with more patience, and that's what he needs when he's playing off-man coverage. His strength right now, of course, is press where his frame gives him an advantage.
Eventually, Hall is going to discover his length is a real advantage when it comes to off-man. That is what assistant secondary coach Sam Garnes, a defensive back with great length during his playing days, said during training camp.
"I tell him sometimes, and it sounds funny, but sometimes you don't need to cover these guys," Garnes said. "Leave them at the line. His length should be such a strength of his that he should not be working so hard at the line. He can back up. They have to get vertical. Their goal is to get vertical. So if he just backs up sometimes and uses his arms to keep (the receiver) back, the quarterback is going to come off of him and you just have a down off. His arms are so long.
"I used that to my advantage. They said I was a 4.7 (40-yard dash). I knew I was a 4.4. I used to go against guys like Tiki Barber in practice and Warrick Dunn. I used to play them at the line because if you gave them too much space they’d make you look bad. But I could use my length."
Hall needs to cover wide receivers, and improving at off-man is probably the fastest way for him to get on the field in real games.
"I told him one time, 'When we bring you in here, we didn't bring you in here because we want to teach you how to play like a short-armed player,'" Garnes said. "'We bring you here because we like the way you use your arms. Now we've got to teach you how to use it at this level.' And then we mix it up and do other things just to throw them off … I told him, 'I don't want this guy sleeping at night that's going to play one-on-one against you and know what he's going to do when he gets to the line.' You’ve got to mix it up."
It would not be surprising at this point if the Bears look at adding a veteran. They will certainly be closely monitoring cuts that are due by 3 p.m. Tuesday as teams must reduce their rosters to 75. We'll have to wait and see on the availability of Porter, Fuller and Callahan for the opener.
The only way for young players like Hall to get better is to play more. He should get a lot of action against the Browns on Thursday.
3. If there is an unheralded player who has really improved his stock since the spring, it has to be defensive end Cornelius Washington. After sitting out last week with an ankle injury suffered in what was a strong showing against the Broncos, Washington returned for limited action against the Chiefs and again looked good.
He could be right there with rookie third-round pick Jonathan Bullard as backups to starters Akiem Hicks and Mitch Unrein. He's certainly got to be ahead of Will Sutton and the quickly fading Ego Ferguson.
"Kind of up and down for me today," Washington said. "I didn't take too many reps so I wasn't too pleased about it, but it's good to be out there and just see where I'm at and I know where I am. I just know what I am doing."
The Bears moved Washington from outside linebacker to defensive end after the offseason program ended last summer. The move was fallout from the loss of Ray McDonald and it could be the best thing that has happened to Washington's career. A sixth-round pick in 2013, Washington was an athletic freak that had trouble finding a position beyond special teams.
So, he took his first reps at defensive end on the first day of training camp in 2015 and things were progressing nicely before he suffered a quad injury in the season opener. Washington completely tore the quad, sending him to injured reserve after one game.
When he went down against the Broncos and was carted off the field, his reaction was natural.
"I wasn’t necessarily, 'Oh fudge!'" he said. "But it was a little discouraging and I kind of felt like I was having déjà vu. It’s not as bad as we thought it was."
Now, he's working to get back in the rotation and prove he deserves playing time. He played defensive end in a 3-4 scheme as a senior at Georgia, but that was in 2012 and the scheme was very basic.
"I've just learned what I am doing," he said. "I had OTAs and a whole offseason to go through it and figure out the subtle little nuances of playing defensive end. Shoot, after that the light clicked on for me. It's very important. This is a contract year. They want me to have a nice year and they are expecting that from me. I owe it to them. They've given me my chances and despite little things here and there, I have to come out and prove it."
6. Good showing for Illinois State's Cameron Meredith against the Chiefs. He had four catches for 64 yards, including the 16-yard touchdown on Connor Shaw's pass. They were the first catches of preseason for Meredith, who had a four-catch game at Kansas City last Oct. 11 as a rookie.
Meredith might be a better option for the final roster right now than seventh-round pick Daniel Braverman. He's got the size at 6-foot-3, 207 pounds to be a backup on the outside for Alshon Jeffery and Kevin White, especially with Marquess Wilson likely to begin the season on the physically unable to perform list.
"I was trying to stay mentally prepared, mentally focused the whole game so when I did go out there I was ready," Meredith said.
The roster battle for Meredith isn't just with wide receivers. When you're at the bottom of the depth chart, the battle for a spot on the 53 is with players at other positions too. Injuries can dictate how many players the team needs to keep at each position.
"There is definitely a battle all the time," Meredith said. "Everyone is vying for a job and there are a lot of good receivers in the room. Every play counts."
