Fields obviously did not play much. But he had a passer rating of 158 in the game. D.J. Moore looked so smooth, quick and so special. I know some did not want the Bears to tank the season last year. But it was worth it. The trade down of that #1 draft pick got us two 1st round talents... the best OL in the draft, LT Wright - and even better was a veteran 1st round pick, D.J. Moore who is just entering his prime years.
"Bears quarterback Justin Fields opened the preseason on a high note against the Titans, where he led his team on two scoring drives. Fields played seven snaps between two offensive series, where he completed 3-of-3 passes for 129 yards and two touchdowns for a 158.3 passer rating."
LINK Fields throws TD passes to Moore and Herbert as the Bears beat the Titans 23-17
Taking into account 1 PS game and what's been reported from TC
Negatives:
Tyler Scott had a disappointing game. He's had drop issues in camp and a fumble today. Excited for his future but he's gotta get his butterfingers problems resolved.
Sorry but PJ Walker sucks and he's sucked consistently in TC too so it's not just today. This is one of Poles' offseason moves I wasn't a big fan of. With Fields' style of play, you can bet the QB2 is gonna play snaps in the RS and maybe even start a couple games. Having a solid #2 may be a luxury right now, but it won't be in a year or two when you're hoping to be a real contender. Poles needs to upgrade this spot next offseason cuz PJW blows.
Most obvious was Velus Jones. Yeash, he probably just played himself off the roster today. The guy simply can't track punts in flight very well which leads to lots of screwups. He was very awkward on his first return and fumbled his 2nd. He may not get another chance next weekend as the coaching staff may be done with him. He's hanging on to a roster spot right now by one fingernail.
Positives:
After a rough start I thought the DL played really well. Gipson clearly was sent a message and responded just the way you'd want him to. He just secured his roster spot with todays performance. Didn't notice too much from the DTs but the pass rush at least looks competent so far and that was very much in doubt.
Our secondary is young and rising. Stevenson will probably get picked on a lot early on but I think this unit will be seriously good by late in the season and especially going into next year. Bears have 5 good starters and some depth.
The OL looked pretty good. I want to see them set a good pocket in the traditional passing game more but I'm confident this unit can be excellent in run and screen blocking. Just need to get to "competent" in pass pro.
Jaylon Jones has made these team as a backup CP who's also a good core STer.
RB room is excellent and has good depth
DJ Moore is a legit stud, no doubt about it.
Santos was money. He went 5/5 with a money 49yd FG in there.
All in all, more positive than negative and the team clearly has was more top-end talent and way better depth than it did a year ago.
I'd still like to see the first team D not get trucked like it did that first drive.
I'd like to see Fields put those short throws in better catching position (this has been a long-term problem for him and the TD to Moore was a poor throw). Just one pass no doubt but yeah that's a throw that should be right on the money 95%+ of the time. Hoge pointed that out a few days ago in practice when Fields missed a key 3rd down short slant. That stuff can't be happening, no excuses for JF1 this year. His "short game" needs to get better.
And I'd also like to see the OL hold up more consistently in traditional pocket passing. They were terrible at it last year and supposedly "improved 3 positions" this offseason. Let's see it next weekend when hopefully Fields gets more than 3 short pass attempts.
All in all though, a nice start. Other than Velus, there's no obvious dumpster fires on this team. Last year it was mostly dumpster fires.
Taking into account 1 PS game and what's been reported from TC
Negatives:
Tyler Scott had a disappointing game. He's had drop issues in camp and a fumble today. Excited for his future but he's gotta get his butterfingers problems resolved.
Sorry but PJ Walker sucks and he's sucked consistently in TC too so it's not just today. This is one of Poles' offseason moves I wasn't a big fan of. With Fields' style of play, you can bet the QB2 is gonna play snaps in the RS and maybe even start a couple games. Having a solid #2 may be a luxury right now, but it won't be in a year or two when you're hoping to be a real contender. Poles needs to upgrade this spot next offseason cuz PJW blows.
Most obvious was Velus Jones. Yeash, he probably just played himself off the roster today. The guy simply can't track punts in flight very well which leads to lots of screwups. He was very awkward on his first return and fumbled his 2nd. He may not get another chance next weekend as the coaching staff may be done with him. He's hanging on to a roster spot right now by one fingernail.
Positives:
After a rough start I thought the DL played really well. Gipson clearly was sent a message and responded just the way you'd want him to. He just secured his roster spot with todays performance. Didn't notice too much from the DTs but the pass rush at least looks competent so far and that was very much in doubt.
Our secondary is young and rising. Stevenson will probably get picked on a lot early on but I think this unit will be seriously good by late in the season and especially going into next year. Bears have 5 good starters and some depth.
The OL looked pretty good. I want to see them set a good pocket in the traditional passing game more but I'm confident this unit can be excellent in run and screen blocking. Just need to get to "competent" in pass pro.
Jaylon Jones has made these team as a backup CP who's also a good core STer.
RB room is excellent and has good depth
DJ Moore is a legit stud, no doubt about it.
Santos was money. He went 5/5 with a money 49yd FG in there.
All in all, more positive than negative and the team clearly has was more top-end talent and way better depth than it did a year ago. I'd still like to see Fields put those short throws in better position (this has been a problem for him and the TD to Moore was a poor throw). And I want to see the OL hold up more consistently in traditional pocket passing.
Other than Velus, there's no obvious dumpster fires on this team. Last year it was mostly dumpster fires.
That is what I saw today too. It's crazy early so I keep reminding myself it's just a tiny sample size for trying to predict what the team will look like in the regular season. But, like you MP, it looked like more positive than negative. There's a lot to work on this week and they will get better. Yeah, Velus is a disappointment. I don't think he can fix what needs fixing there.
I did like the hitting on D. There was some good/hard hitting. But there were some breakdowns on D too. I'll bet that gets cleaned up in PS.
I'm rewatching the game now and that D.J. Moore TD had some incredible blocking that made that possible. This OL is athletic... they can really move - and get out there and do the outside zone blocking well. If they can stay healthy they'll get it done this year - pass pro and run blocking. Whitehair helped Herbert on that TD play... I think Whitehair will be surprisingly good at C... great upgrade over Mustipher for sure. There was some good play from some of the OL backups too. But again, it's too early to tell a whole lot from one PS game.
Taking into account 1 PS game and what's been reported from TC
Negatives:
Tyler Scott had a disappointing game. He's had drop issues in camp and a fumble today. Excited for his future but he's gotta get his butterfingers problems resolved.
Sorry but PJ Walker sucks and he's sucked consistently in TC too so it's not just today. This is one of Poles' offseason moves I wasn't a big fan of. With Fields' style of play, you can bet the QB2 is gonna play snaps in the RS and maybe even start a couple games. Having a solid #2 may be a luxury right now, but it won't be in a year or two when you're hoping to be a real contender. Poles needs to upgrade this spot next offseason cuz PJW blows.
Most obvious was Velus Jones. Yeash, he probably just played himself off the roster today. The guy simply can't track punts in flight very well which leads to lots of screwups. He was very awkward on his first return and fumbled his 2nd. He may not get another chance next weekend as the coaching staff may be done with him. He's hanging on to a roster spot right now by one fingernail.
Positives:
After a rough start I thought the DL played really well. Gipson clearly was sent a message and responded just the way you'd want him to. He just secured his roster spot with todays performance. Didn't notice too much from the DTs but the pass rush at least looks competent so far and that was very much in doubt.
Our secondary is young and rising. Stevenson will probably get picked on a lot early on but I think this unit will be seriously good by late in the season and especially going into next year. Bears have 5 good starters and some depth.
The OL looked pretty good. I want to see them set a good pocket in the traditional passing game more but I'm confident this unit can be excellent in run and screen blocking. Just need to get to "competent" in pass pro.
Jaylon Jones has made these team as a backup CP who's also a good core STer.
RB room is excellent and has good depth
DJ Moore is a legit stud, no doubt about it.
Santos was money. He went 5/5 with a money 49yd FG in there.
All in all, more positive than negative and the team clearly has was more top-end talent and way better depth than it did a year ago. I'd still like to see Fields put those short throws in better position (this has been a problem for him and the TD to Moore was a poor throw). And I want to see the OL hold up more consistently in traditional pocket passing.
Other than Velus, there's no obvious dumpster fires on this team. Last year it was mostly dumpster fires.
That is what I saw today too. It's crazy early so I keep reminding myself it's just a tiny sample size for trying to predict what the team will look like in the regular season. But, like you MP, it looked like more positive than negative. There's a lot to work on this week and they will get better. Yeah, Velus is a disappointment. I don't think he can fix what needs fixing there.
I did like the hitting on D. There was some good/hard hitting. But there were some breakdowns on D too. I'll bet that gets cleaned up in PS.
I'm rewatching the game now and that D.J. Moore TD had some incredible blocking that made that possible. This OL is athletic... they can really move - and get out there and do the outside zone blocking well. If they can stay healthy they'll get it done this year - pass pro and run blocking. Whitehair helped Herbert on that TD play... I think Whitehair will be surprisingly good at C... great upgrade over Mustipher for sure. There was some good play from some of the OL backups too. But again, it's too early to tell a whole lot from one PS game.
Excellent summary. Looks like someone lit a fire under Gipson. He is saving his job if he keeps playing like today. Cut V. Jones already.
Excellent summary. Looks like someone lit a fire under Gipson. He is saving his job if he keeps playing like today. Cut V. Jones already.
Yeah, I don't see any way Gipson doesn't make the roster after today. He came in to play with the 2s but was listed as 4th on the depth chart so that tells you a message was being sent -- we need to see more from you and and your roster spot isn't safe.
As for Velus, I've been all for giving him a 2nd year and hoping he'd become something. But, think I made a mistake there. The guy is simply not good at football. He struggles tracking punts in flight so he looks uncomfortable and awkward back there and is late to the ball which causes frequent screwups like we saw again today. Since he adds very little on offense and has firmly become a liability on STs, I think the last WR spot is now going to Dante Pettis.
He definitely is Poles' worst draft choice so far. Should have been a 6th rounder instead of a 3rd. Time to move on here in a few weeks.
Excellent summary. Looks like someone lit a fire under Gipson. He is saving his job if he keeps playing like today. Cut V. Jones already.
Yeah, I don't see any way Gipson doesn't make the roster after today. He came in to play with the 2s but was listed as 4th on the depth chart so that tells you a message was being sent -- we need to see more from you and and your roster spot isn't safe.
As for Velus, I've been all for giving him a 2nd year and hoping he'd become something. But, think I made a mistake there. The guy is simply not good at football. He struggles tracking punts in flight so he looks uncomfortable and awkward back there and is late to the ball which causes frequent screwups like we saw again today. Since he adds very little on offense and has firmly become a liability on STs, I think the last WR spot is now going to Dante Pettis.
He definitely is Poles' worst draft choice so far. Should have been a 6th rounder instead of a 3rd. Time to move on here in a few weeks.
If Gipson continues to outplay the rest of this DL in preseason, he might get the starter job.
There was one short-yardage run where Billings got blown out to open a hole. I know it’s only one play, but still a bit worrisome. That shouldn’t happen.
Yeah, I don't see any way Gipson doesn't make the roster after today. He came in to play with the 2s but was listed as 4th on the depth chart so that tells you a message was being sent -- we need to see more from you and and your roster spot isn't safe.
As for Velus, I've been all for giving him a 2nd year and hoping he'd become something. But, think I made a mistake there. The guy is simply not good at football. He struggles tracking punts in flight so he looks uncomfortable and awkward back there and is late to the ball which causes frequent screwups like we saw again today. Since he adds very little on offense and has firmly become a liability on STs, I think the last WR spot is now going to Dante Pettis.
He definitely is Poles' worst draft choice so far. Should have been a 6th rounder instead of a 3rd. Time to move on here in a few weeks.
If Gipson continues to outplay the rest of this DL in preseason, he might get the starter job.
There was one short-yardage run where Billings got blown out to open a hole. I know it’s only one play, but still a bit worrisome. That shouldn’t happen.
Yeah other than Pickens sack, the DTs didn't look all that great IMO. There's still legit concerns about Dex's "get off speed".
Did anyone note how Leatherwood and Carter looked? Since Patrick gets hurt every time he ties his shoes, need someone who can back up at G.
