10 thoughts on the Bears' 20-17 loss to the Lions
Dec 12, 2016 10:45:15 GMT -6
AlexM and butkus3595 like this
Post by JABF on Dec 12, 2016 10:45:15 GMT -6
As always with Brad Biggs, there's a lot of info here to digest.
LINK
10 thoughts on the Bears' 20-17 loss to the Lions
10 thoughts after the Chicago Bears fell victim to their own penalties and more fourth quarter magic by Matthew Stafford in a 20-17 loss to the Detroit Lions on Sunday at Ford Field.
1. Coming out of the game, I wrote that cornerback is need 1A for general manager Ryan Pace after the quarterback position when you look ahead to this offseason. I believe that and while I am always of the mind-set that everything starts in the trenches as you look at the various methods of player acquisition, the Bears really need an infusion of talent at cornerback. They need a legitimate No. 1 guy at that position and maybe two. But if they add at least one then they can work with what they already have on the roster and determine a second starter and a nickel cornerback.
They’re going to have to take a real close look at safety as well. The secondary is in need of a real overhaul. No matter how they piece it together, their safety combination right now is not good. On Sunday, that meant Harold Jones-Quartey, an undrafted rookie free agent a year ago, starting alongside rookie fourth-round draft pick Deon Bush. Then, Quartey-Jones was benched at halftime, replaced by Adrian Amos, the fifth-round draft pick last year that missed practice time this past week with a foot issue. Add Chris Prosinski to the mix and it’s a collection of four box safeties, none that particularly stand out and none that can cover effectively.
Jones-Quartey had two rough plays in the second quarter. He allowed Marvin Jones to get behind him on a busted play when Matthew Stafford did a 360-degree spin in the pocket to avoid pressure. The pass went for 48 yards and set up the Lions’ first score, a 29-yard Matt Prater field goal. Later, Jones-Quartey fell down trying to cover Anquan Boldin on a 16-yard touchdown. Boldin won the route at the line of scrimmage and Jones-Quartey lost his footing when he went in pursuit.
“I’ve just got to stay deep,” Jones-Quartey said of the first miscue. “I was in my (back) pedal and thought he was sacked. I’ve just got to stay deep, settle my feet and find the receiver. If I was deeper, I wouldn’t have to chase him.”
Jones-Quartey said he wasn’t told anything specific when the coaches informed him Amos would be replacing him.
“I just have to perform when I get my opportunity,” he said. “I thought I played well last week. It’s a week to week business and you have to perform to your best and I didn’t perform to my best today.”
Bush had replaced Jones-Quartey in the lineup but the rookie hasn’t stood out and he had his own miscue in the fourth quarter. Stafford threw a quick pass to Boldin that should have gone for a 3-yard play but Bush missed the tackle in the open field and it turned into a 23-yard on the Lions’ game-winning drive.
At least Amos didn’t have a bust.
“Just a coaches’ decision,” he said of not starting. “We’ve been losing. You know what I am saying? So, when you’re losing, I just look at me and what I can do better. I can play better. In certain situation when you’re this close, a play here or there can change the game. I don’t worry about the grand scheme of things. I am just focusing in on how I can get better to help the team win.”
All the coaches did was let Amos know at halftime he was going in.
“I don’t get into all that,” he said. “All I can control is what I put on tape.”
The Bears have repeatedly tried to fill the safety position with mid- to late-round draft picks and that goes back to pretty much every player that’s come along since Mike Brown and Tony Parrish (with the exception of 2006 second-round pick Danieal Manning). The club tried signing decorated veteran Antrel Rolle a year ago and that proved to be money not well spent. They can make it work with one of these three young guys – Amos, Jones-Quartey or Bush – next season but they really have to pair one of them with a playmaker. Consider that entering this game, Amos had four passes defended in 716 defensive snaps. Jones-Quartey had three in 579 snaps. Bush had none. They’ve got physical players who can get downhill vs. the run and help on special teams. They don’t have an impact player. It’s not a greater need than a top-flight cornerback, but it’s a need.
2. If you’re looking ahead to the 2017 draft – and who isn’t at this point – the Bears got good news from the Bay Area as the Jets rallied from 11 down in the fourth quarter to force overtime and defeat the San Francisco 49ers 23-17. The Bears aren’t going to be in the mix for the No. 2 overall pick, but they want to avoid a tie with the Jets because that is one they could potentially lose based on reverse strength of schedule. The victory improved the struggling Jets to 4-9, one game ahead of the Bears.
Here is how it looks right now with remaining opponents:
Browns 0-13 (at Bills, Chargers, at Steelers)
49ers 1-12 (at Falcons, at Rams, Seahawks)
Jaguars 2-11 (at Texans, Titans, at Colts)
Bears 3-10 (Packers, Redskins, at Vikings)
Jets 4-9 (Dolphins, at Patriots, Bills)
Rams 4-9 (at Seahawks, 49ers, Cardinals)
The Bears also look like they could potentially lose a tiebreaker with the Rams if they were to become deadlocked. So, if you’re scoreboard watching, you definitely want to be rooting for the Jets and Rams to win a game or two. Of course, it wouldn’t hurt if the Jaguars got on a roll as well.
3. The Bears racked up 11 penalties for 139 yards. They set a franchise record with 170 yards in a loss to the Cardinals last season and since 1978 there has been only one other occasion with more than 139 yards. That was when they had 163 in the 55-14 loss at Green Bay in 2014. So this was the most undisciplined they have been in a while and three pass interference calls accounted for more than half of the yardage. There were also the back-to-back holding penalties on left tackle Charles Leno and right guard Ted Larsen with the offense driving for a potential game-tying field goal.
“I was pretty surprised,” Larsen said. “Usually you know if you held. That was very surprising, especially coming off they had just called a hold on Leno. If it was a legit hold, I would agree with it. I haven’t seen the film but it didn’t feel like a hold.”
The Lions had 25 first downs and five were created by penalties. That’s going to happen at times when you’re playing a lot of inexperienced and young players. Hopefully they can learn from it.
“That’s all part of what we do,” coach John Fox said. “The events and the response and typically they know the outcome. So you try to train guys to have the response to get the right outcome. We’re learning.”
4. Wide receiver Josh Bellamy has developed a knack for getting open for a guy who doesn’t have a ton of playing experience. He did that two weeks ago against the Titans and then made some big plays last week against the 49ers. He was open enough Matt Barkley threw to him over the middle on fourth-and-11 from the Lions’ 44-yard line with 19 seconds remaining. Darius Slay had coverage but the ball got to Bellamy and went off him as he jumped. An easy catch? No. A catch he’s got to make? No question.
“We gave ourselves a chance on fourth down,” Barkley said. “We’ve just got to make a play. That kind of defines the whole game though. Some of those drives were stunted by not making plays.”
Everyone knows Bellamy had the terrible drop in the end zone that would have meant a comeback victory over Tennessee.
“I really only got one hand on it,” Bellamy said. “I couldn’t get two hands on it. They were really handsy DBs. It happens. It’s football. There was a lot of pushing and shoving in the middle of plays. Some of it we just have to overcome.”
Bellamy has been playing much more than he would have. Alshon Jeffery was suspended for the fourth and final game (more on him a little later on), Eddie Royal is still battling a painful turf toe injury and Marquess Wilson is injured again. Of course, Kevin White is on injured reserve. The drops cannot be forgotten but Bellamy has proven that he’s got more value than simply as a gunner if he can, yeah, catch the ball with a lot more consistency.
“It’s just about opportunity,” Bellamy said. “That’s just how it is in the league. Sometimes you have to start from the bottom and work your way up. All my career I have been at the bottom and I have just been working my way up. I’m grateful for the time I get on the field and the opportunities and now it’s just keep taking steps forward.”
5. Fourth-round draft pick Deiondre’ Hall played in a game for the first time since the initial meeting with the Lions in Week 4. He got seven snaps in my unofficial tally I kept on defensive backs in a dime package. It was good for him to knock the rust off after missing practice for seven weeks because of a relatively serious ankle injury.
When I was checking passes broken up for all of the defenders, Hall jumped out because he had three in only 52 snaps earlier in the season. That’s a mighty small sample size but is evidence of his ability to get his hands on the ball. The issue is the coaches need to feel more comfortable with him where they’re not concerned he’s going to surrender the big play over the top.
“If the opportunity is there, yeah, I feel I can make more plays,” Hall said. “I’ve just got to get that chance.”
We’ll have to see if Hall’s role could potentially expand in the next three weeks. I think Cre’Von LeBlanc and Bryce Callahan will get the bulk of the work and if veteran Tracy Porter is healthy, he’s going to play too. Hall is young and with a quality offseason he could be in better position next summer. He will be in the mix but he’s got to improve.
6. In my totally unofficial tally, I had fullback Paul Lasike for 12 snaps. I think he’s made some improvements this season learning a new position. He was a running back at BYU and of course has a rugby background so learning the fullback position has been an adjustment. It’s more difficult when you consider there’s not a lot of contact in practice and the number of practices in full pads is so limited.
“When it comes down to it, it’s really just want to,” Lasike said. “It’s a physical game. It really just comes down to who wants it more.”
But when you can’t practice it, that makes the want-to a little more challenging against a linebacker that’s his size and coming downhill.
“It’s the right angle, it’s fits,” Lasike said. “That is the hard thing about not practicing in pads. It’s hard to kind of get a good look on scout team when you’re just running up and stopping. So it does make it hard.”
Lasike suffered a left wrist injury in the final preseason game against the Browns and that held him back. The Bears bounced him back and forth from the 53-man roster to the practice squad. Like Hall, he’s a player that needs to get better with an eye toward 2017 but against the Titans and Giants, I thought he was doing well as a lead blocker and giving Jordan Howard alleys. He was definitely improved from the very beginning of the season.
7. New cornerback Johnthan Banks was inactive for the game and the Bears will have three more weeks to evaluate his game. It was somewhat interesting that they claimed him off waivers from the Lions last Monday considering his contractual situation – he’s in the final year of his rookie contract. The Lions had picked up Banks from the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Nov. 1 for a conditional draft pick. The Bucs had informed teams they were planning to waive him and that spurred action from the Lions. My guess is the Bears were probably interested in claiming Banks at that time and decided to take a look at him now even though there isn’t a lot of time remaining in the season.
He had seven interceptions for the Buccaneers in his first two seasons as a former second-round pick from Mississippi State but fell out of favor quickly at the beginning of this season.
“It just didn’t work out, you know,” he said. “I just wasn’t one of their guys. To be honest, man, I’m trying to move on from Tampa. I hate talking about it.”
Banks is 6-foot-2 and has long arms, nearly 34 inches, but scouts feel he doesn’t run very well. Considering the Bears’ depth chart at the position, they’re kicking the tires to see if Banks could interest them in 2017.
“I don’t really know what is going on,” Banks said. “They called me so I came. That’s about it.”
Banks played with outside linebacker Pernell McPhee for two seasons in college but doesn’t know anyone else with the Bears.
8. Swing offensive tackle Mike Adams was ruled out of the game with a back injury and did not make the trip to Detroit. That’s concerning when considering he underwent back surgery in 2015 and suffered a setback in his bid to return that summer. He was feeling good this season before getting a start Nov. 20 at the Giants in place of Bobby Massie. With Adams out, I believe the Bears’ contingency plan was to slide left guard Josh Sitton out to tackle and plug Eric Kush in at guard. Fortunately, they didn’t have to go that route. Sitton started the regular-season finale at left tackle for the Packers last season but is a natural guard.
Adams is an interesting guy. He’s an avid outdoorsman and is involved in a webisode “Tuned-In Archery.” His group is led by Dan Bayus and they’ve been together for a few years in the Youngstown, Ohio, area where Adams is from. It’s a deer hunting show focused on Ohio and western Pennsylvania and Adams expects the webisode with him to be out some time after February. They only hunt with bows.
“It’s just showcasing our passion and love for the outdoors and we kind look to connect the whole thing with Christ and teaching people to be thankful for the harvest and their kills and we’re a group that likes to be as primal as possible,” Adams said. “We don’t use guns. We only bow hunt. We do everything in our group from killing to process and mounting. We have an on-crew taxidermist so we literally do everything. I spent a lot of last season learning a lot about taxidermy, skinning deer, stuff like that.”
Adams went hunting during the bye in the first week of November but didn’t get one. The temperature was still a little too warm. But archery season runs through the first week of February in Ohio and provided his back is better, he shouldn’t have time getting his kill for the year.
“I’m big into it,” Adams said. “We were actually thinking about opening a hunting range last year, someone beat us to the idea, right around the area we’re in. It’s a nice switch up from, you know, from being surrounded by people and things all day to having peace and being outdoors.”
9. With the CFL season complete, it’s the time of year when players from that league that are contractually able to exit will hit the tryout circuit in the NFL with an eye toward getting a future/reserve contract or in some cases more. A personnel man in the CFL told me the two players that might get the most attention are British Columbia Lions defensive end/outside linebacker Alex Bazzie and Edmonton Eskimos wide receiver Derel Walker.
“Pretty slim crop in my opinion this year,” the source said.
Bazzie had a tryout for the Vikings this past week. A former Marshall product, he was an all-star this season but he’s listed at only 6-foot-1, 228 pounds, so I don’t envision him playing on the line in the NFL and he’s probably best as a 3-4 outside linebacker. He was fourth in the league with 11 sacks. He’s only 26 so that is a plus.
The 25-year-old Walker, who played at Texas A&M, has also worked out for the Vikings. He was the CFL’s most outstanding rookie in 2015 and an all-star the past two seasons. He was second in the league with 1,589 yards and is listed at 6-2, 185 pounds. BC Lions wide receiver Bryan Burnham will also generate some attention from NFL teams. He’s 6-2, 205, and is coming off a 1,392-yard season. There are questions about how well he runs.
We’ve seen plenty of receivers come from CFL and give it a go in the States and there just aren’t many of them that pan out. Stay tuned when it comes to these guys.
10. What kind of shape will Alshon Jeffery be in when he walks through the doors of Halas Hall on Monday? No one with the team knows right now. Jeffery is set to return from his four-game suspension for violating the NFL’s policy on performance-enhancing drugs. The Bears could potentially receive a roster exemption for Jeffery which would prevent them from having to clear a spot for him on the 53-man roster until later in the week. But I suspect the team will either waive a player with practice-squad eligibility or place someone on injured reserve to make room for Jeffery.
During the suspension, Jeffery was prohibited from being at the team’s facility and the club was also prevented from having contact with him. The only exception in that case is if the player is injured and needs to communicate with an athletic trainer. Jeffery wasn’t injured when he was sent to time out.
Jeffery isn’t going to save the season or put the memory of his embarrassing failure behind him right away. But he can show that he was a professional while he was away if he’s in top shape when he’s back and ready to play in the final three games. The Bears are not the only team that will be watching. He’s coming out of contract and the rest of the league will be taking a close look at Jeffery as well.
10a. With three games to go, it remains to be seen how the top of the draft order is going to stack up. Secondary to draft order is a question of what coaching staffs will lead the teams at the Senior Bowl. As a general rule, an invitation is extended to the two teams with the highest draft picks that have their coaching staffs returning. Not every team accepts the invitation. Who knows if the Bears get an invite. I don’t know how coach John Fox would react to the possibility, if offered. The idea is the coaching staff and personnel staff can get an up-close look at how their players react and learn in a teaching environment for the week. I think front offices view it as a greater benefit than coaches. I’d bet general manager Ryan Pace would want to jump at the opportunity if the Bears get it.
10b. Nose tackle Eddie Goldman left the game with an ankle injury and did not return. No word if it’s the same ankle that has thrown a big wrench in his season. Running back Ka’Deem Carey (right shoulder) and tight end Ben Braunecker (left hand) visited the X-ray room at Ford Field following the game. Wide receiver Eddie Royal, who was inactive for the game, had a walking boot on his left ankle.
10c. Rookie running back Jordan Howard gained 86 yards on 13 carries and that pushed his average per carry to 4.9948 – or 5.0. It’s going to be interesting to see if he can wind up the season at 5.0.
10d. The Packers opened as a four-point favorite over the Bears for Sunday’s game at Soldier Field.
10e. The Fox crew of Kevin Burkhardt, John Lynch and Pam Oliver has been assigned to call Sunday’s Packers-Bears game at Soldier Field.
bmbiggs@chicagotribune.com
Twitter @bradbiggs
10 thoughts on the Bears' 20-17 loss to the Lions
10 thoughts after the Chicago Bears fell victim to their own penalties and more fourth quarter magic by Matthew Stafford in a 20-17 loss to the Detroit Lions on Sunday at Ford Field.
1. Coming out of the game, I wrote that cornerback is need 1A for general manager Ryan Pace after the quarterback position when you look ahead to this offseason. I believe that and while I am always of the mind-set that everything starts in the trenches as you look at the various methods of player acquisition, the Bears really need an infusion of talent at cornerback. They need a legitimate No. 1 guy at that position and maybe two. But if they add at least one then they can work with what they already have on the roster and determine a second starter and a nickel cornerback.
They’re going to have to take a real close look at safety as well. The secondary is in need of a real overhaul. No matter how they piece it together, their safety combination right now is not good. On Sunday, that meant Harold Jones-Quartey, an undrafted rookie free agent a year ago, starting alongside rookie fourth-round draft pick Deon Bush. Then, Quartey-Jones was benched at halftime, replaced by Adrian Amos, the fifth-round draft pick last year that missed practice time this past week with a foot issue. Add Chris Prosinski to the mix and it’s a collection of four box safeties, none that particularly stand out and none that can cover effectively.
Jones-Quartey had two rough plays in the second quarter. He allowed Marvin Jones to get behind him on a busted play when Matthew Stafford did a 360-degree spin in the pocket to avoid pressure. The pass went for 48 yards and set up the Lions’ first score, a 29-yard Matt Prater field goal. Later, Jones-Quartey fell down trying to cover Anquan Boldin on a 16-yard touchdown. Boldin won the route at the line of scrimmage and Jones-Quartey lost his footing when he went in pursuit.
“I’ve just got to stay deep,” Jones-Quartey said of the first miscue. “I was in my (back) pedal and thought he was sacked. I’ve just got to stay deep, settle my feet and find the receiver. If I was deeper, I wouldn’t have to chase him.”
Jones-Quartey said he wasn’t told anything specific when the coaches informed him Amos would be replacing him.
“I just have to perform when I get my opportunity,” he said. “I thought I played well last week. It’s a week to week business and you have to perform to your best and I didn’t perform to my best today.”
Bush had replaced Jones-Quartey in the lineup but the rookie hasn’t stood out and he had his own miscue in the fourth quarter. Stafford threw a quick pass to Boldin that should have gone for a 3-yard play but Bush missed the tackle in the open field and it turned into a 23-yard on the Lions’ game-winning drive.
At least Amos didn’t have a bust.
“Just a coaches’ decision,” he said of not starting. “We’ve been losing. You know what I am saying? So, when you’re losing, I just look at me and what I can do better. I can play better. In certain situation when you’re this close, a play here or there can change the game. I don’t worry about the grand scheme of things. I am just focusing in on how I can get better to help the team win.”
All the coaches did was let Amos know at halftime he was going in.
“I don’t get into all that,” he said. “All I can control is what I put on tape.”
The Bears have repeatedly tried to fill the safety position with mid- to late-round draft picks and that goes back to pretty much every player that’s come along since Mike Brown and Tony Parrish (with the exception of 2006 second-round pick Danieal Manning). The club tried signing decorated veteran Antrel Rolle a year ago and that proved to be money not well spent. They can make it work with one of these three young guys – Amos, Jones-Quartey or Bush – next season but they really have to pair one of them with a playmaker. Consider that entering this game, Amos had four passes defended in 716 defensive snaps. Jones-Quartey had three in 579 snaps. Bush had none. They’ve got physical players who can get downhill vs. the run and help on special teams. They don’t have an impact player. It’s not a greater need than a top-flight cornerback, but it’s a need.
2. If you’re looking ahead to the 2017 draft – and who isn’t at this point – the Bears got good news from the Bay Area as the Jets rallied from 11 down in the fourth quarter to force overtime and defeat the San Francisco 49ers 23-17. The Bears aren’t going to be in the mix for the No. 2 overall pick, but they want to avoid a tie with the Jets because that is one they could potentially lose based on reverse strength of schedule. The victory improved the struggling Jets to 4-9, one game ahead of the Bears.
Here is how it looks right now with remaining opponents:
Browns 0-13 (at Bills, Chargers, at Steelers)
49ers 1-12 (at Falcons, at Rams, Seahawks)
Jaguars 2-11 (at Texans, Titans, at Colts)
Bears 3-10 (Packers, Redskins, at Vikings)
Jets 4-9 (Dolphins, at Patriots, Bills)
Rams 4-9 (at Seahawks, 49ers, Cardinals)
The Bears also look like they could potentially lose a tiebreaker with the Rams if they were to become deadlocked. So, if you’re scoreboard watching, you definitely want to be rooting for the Jets and Rams to win a game or two. Of course, it wouldn’t hurt if the Jaguars got on a roll as well.
3. The Bears racked up 11 penalties for 139 yards. They set a franchise record with 170 yards in a loss to the Cardinals last season and since 1978 there has been only one other occasion with more than 139 yards. That was when they had 163 in the 55-14 loss at Green Bay in 2014. So this was the most undisciplined they have been in a while and three pass interference calls accounted for more than half of the yardage. There were also the back-to-back holding penalties on left tackle Charles Leno and right guard Ted Larsen with the offense driving for a potential game-tying field goal.
“I was pretty surprised,” Larsen said. “Usually you know if you held. That was very surprising, especially coming off they had just called a hold on Leno. If it was a legit hold, I would agree with it. I haven’t seen the film but it didn’t feel like a hold.”
The Lions had 25 first downs and five were created by penalties. That’s going to happen at times when you’re playing a lot of inexperienced and young players. Hopefully they can learn from it.
“That’s all part of what we do,” coach John Fox said. “The events and the response and typically they know the outcome. So you try to train guys to have the response to get the right outcome. We’re learning.”
4. Wide receiver Josh Bellamy has developed a knack for getting open for a guy who doesn’t have a ton of playing experience. He did that two weeks ago against the Titans and then made some big plays last week against the 49ers. He was open enough Matt Barkley threw to him over the middle on fourth-and-11 from the Lions’ 44-yard line with 19 seconds remaining. Darius Slay had coverage but the ball got to Bellamy and went off him as he jumped. An easy catch? No. A catch he’s got to make? No question.
“We gave ourselves a chance on fourth down,” Barkley said. “We’ve just got to make a play. That kind of defines the whole game though. Some of those drives were stunted by not making plays.”
Everyone knows Bellamy had the terrible drop in the end zone that would have meant a comeback victory over Tennessee.
“I really only got one hand on it,” Bellamy said. “I couldn’t get two hands on it. They were really handsy DBs. It happens. It’s football. There was a lot of pushing and shoving in the middle of plays. Some of it we just have to overcome.”
Bellamy has been playing much more than he would have. Alshon Jeffery was suspended for the fourth and final game (more on him a little later on), Eddie Royal is still battling a painful turf toe injury and Marquess Wilson is injured again. Of course, Kevin White is on injured reserve. The drops cannot be forgotten but Bellamy has proven that he’s got more value than simply as a gunner if he can, yeah, catch the ball with a lot more consistency.
“It’s just about opportunity,” Bellamy said. “That’s just how it is in the league. Sometimes you have to start from the bottom and work your way up. All my career I have been at the bottom and I have just been working my way up. I’m grateful for the time I get on the field and the opportunities and now it’s just keep taking steps forward.”
5. Fourth-round draft pick Deiondre’ Hall played in a game for the first time since the initial meeting with the Lions in Week 4. He got seven snaps in my unofficial tally I kept on defensive backs in a dime package. It was good for him to knock the rust off after missing practice for seven weeks because of a relatively serious ankle injury.
When I was checking passes broken up for all of the defenders, Hall jumped out because he had three in only 52 snaps earlier in the season. That’s a mighty small sample size but is evidence of his ability to get his hands on the ball. The issue is the coaches need to feel more comfortable with him where they’re not concerned he’s going to surrender the big play over the top.
“If the opportunity is there, yeah, I feel I can make more plays,” Hall said. “I’ve just got to get that chance.”
We’ll have to see if Hall’s role could potentially expand in the next three weeks. I think Cre’Von LeBlanc and Bryce Callahan will get the bulk of the work and if veteran Tracy Porter is healthy, he’s going to play too. Hall is young and with a quality offseason he could be in better position next summer. He will be in the mix but he’s got to improve.
6. In my totally unofficial tally, I had fullback Paul Lasike for 12 snaps. I think he’s made some improvements this season learning a new position. He was a running back at BYU and of course has a rugby background so learning the fullback position has been an adjustment. It’s more difficult when you consider there’s not a lot of contact in practice and the number of practices in full pads is so limited.
“When it comes down to it, it’s really just want to,” Lasike said. “It’s a physical game. It really just comes down to who wants it more.”
But when you can’t practice it, that makes the want-to a little more challenging against a linebacker that’s his size and coming downhill.
“It’s the right angle, it’s fits,” Lasike said. “That is the hard thing about not practicing in pads. It’s hard to kind of get a good look on scout team when you’re just running up and stopping. So it does make it hard.”
Lasike suffered a left wrist injury in the final preseason game against the Browns and that held him back. The Bears bounced him back and forth from the 53-man roster to the practice squad. Like Hall, he’s a player that needs to get better with an eye toward 2017 but against the Titans and Giants, I thought he was doing well as a lead blocker and giving Jordan Howard alleys. He was definitely improved from the very beginning of the season.
7. New cornerback Johnthan Banks was inactive for the game and the Bears will have three more weeks to evaluate his game. It was somewhat interesting that they claimed him off waivers from the Lions last Monday considering his contractual situation – he’s in the final year of his rookie contract. The Lions had picked up Banks from the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Nov. 1 for a conditional draft pick. The Bucs had informed teams they were planning to waive him and that spurred action from the Lions. My guess is the Bears were probably interested in claiming Banks at that time and decided to take a look at him now even though there isn’t a lot of time remaining in the season.
He had seven interceptions for the Buccaneers in his first two seasons as a former second-round pick from Mississippi State but fell out of favor quickly at the beginning of this season.
“It just didn’t work out, you know,” he said. “I just wasn’t one of their guys. To be honest, man, I’m trying to move on from Tampa. I hate talking about it.”
Banks is 6-foot-2 and has long arms, nearly 34 inches, but scouts feel he doesn’t run very well. Considering the Bears’ depth chart at the position, they’re kicking the tires to see if Banks could interest them in 2017.
“I don’t really know what is going on,” Banks said. “They called me so I came. That’s about it.”
Banks played with outside linebacker Pernell McPhee for two seasons in college but doesn’t know anyone else with the Bears.
8. Swing offensive tackle Mike Adams was ruled out of the game with a back injury and did not make the trip to Detroit. That’s concerning when considering he underwent back surgery in 2015 and suffered a setback in his bid to return that summer. He was feeling good this season before getting a start Nov. 20 at the Giants in place of Bobby Massie. With Adams out, I believe the Bears’ contingency plan was to slide left guard Josh Sitton out to tackle and plug Eric Kush in at guard. Fortunately, they didn’t have to go that route. Sitton started the regular-season finale at left tackle for the Packers last season but is a natural guard.
Adams is an interesting guy. He’s an avid outdoorsman and is involved in a webisode “Tuned-In Archery.” His group is led by Dan Bayus and they’ve been together for a few years in the Youngstown, Ohio, area where Adams is from. It’s a deer hunting show focused on Ohio and western Pennsylvania and Adams expects the webisode with him to be out some time after February. They only hunt with bows.
“It’s just showcasing our passion and love for the outdoors and we kind look to connect the whole thing with Christ and teaching people to be thankful for the harvest and their kills and we’re a group that likes to be as primal as possible,” Adams said. “We don’t use guns. We only bow hunt. We do everything in our group from killing to process and mounting. We have an on-crew taxidermist so we literally do everything. I spent a lot of last season learning a lot about taxidermy, skinning deer, stuff like that.”
Adams went hunting during the bye in the first week of November but didn’t get one. The temperature was still a little too warm. But archery season runs through the first week of February in Ohio and provided his back is better, he shouldn’t have time getting his kill for the year.
“I’m big into it,” Adams said. “We were actually thinking about opening a hunting range last year, someone beat us to the idea, right around the area we’re in. It’s a nice switch up from, you know, from being surrounded by people and things all day to having peace and being outdoors.”
9. With the CFL season complete, it’s the time of year when players from that league that are contractually able to exit will hit the tryout circuit in the NFL with an eye toward getting a future/reserve contract or in some cases more. A personnel man in the CFL told me the two players that might get the most attention are British Columbia Lions defensive end/outside linebacker Alex Bazzie and Edmonton Eskimos wide receiver Derel Walker.
“Pretty slim crop in my opinion this year,” the source said.
Bazzie had a tryout for the Vikings this past week. A former Marshall product, he was an all-star this season but he’s listed at only 6-foot-1, 228 pounds, so I don’t envision him playing on the line in the NFL and he’s probably best as a 3-4 outside linebacker. He was fourth in the league with 11 sacks. He’s only 26 so that is a plus.
The 25-year-old Walker, who played at Texas A&M, has also worked out for the Vikings. He was the CFL’s most outstanding rookie in 2015 and an all-star the past two seasons. He was second in the league with 1,589 yards and is listed at 6-2, 185 pounds. BC Lions wide receiver Bryan Burnham will also generate some attention from NFL teams. He’s 6-2, 205, and is coming off a 1,392-yard season. There are questions about how well he runs.
We’ve seen plenty of receivers come from CFL and give it a go in the States and there just aren’t many of them that pan out. Stay tuned when it comes to these guys.
10. What kind of shape will Alshon Jeffery be in when he walks through the doors of Halas Hall on Monday? No one with the team knows right now. Jeffery is set to return from his four-game suspension for violating the NFL’s policy on performance-enhancing drugs. The Bears could potentially receive a roster exemption for Jeffery which would prevent them from having to clear a spot for him on the 53-man roster until later in the week. But I suspect the team will either waive a player with practice-squad eligibility or place someone on injured reserve to make room for Jeffery.
During the suspension, Jeffery was prohibited from being at the team’s facility and the club was also prevented from having contact with him. The only exception in that case is if the player is injured and needs to communicate with an athletic trainer. Jeffery wasn’t injured when he was sent to time out.
Jeffery isn’t going to save the season or put the memory of his embarrassing failure behind him right away. But he can show that he was a professional while he was away if he’s in top shape when he’s back and ready to play in the final three games. The Bears are not the only team that will be watching. He’s coming out of contract and the rest of the league will be taking a close look at Jeffery as well.
10a. With three games to go, it remains to be seen how the top of the draft order is going to stack up. Secondary to draft order is a question of what coaching staffs will lead the teams at the Senior Bowl. As a general rule, an invitation is extended to the two teams with the highest draft picks that have their coaching staffs returning. Not every team accepts the invitation. Who knows if the Bears get an invite. I don’t know how coach John Fox would react to the possibility, if offered. The idea is the coaching staff and personnel staff can get an up-close look at how their players react and learn in a teaching environment for the week. I think front offices view it as a greater benefit than coaches. I’d bet general manager Ryan Pace would want to jump at the opportunity if the Bears get it.
10b. Nose tackle Eddie Goldman left the game with an ankle injury and did not return. No word if it’s the same ankle that has thrown a big wrench in his season. Running back Ka’Deem Carey (right shoulder) and tight end Ben Braunecker (left hand) visited the X-ray room at Ford Field following the game. Wide receiver Eddie Royal, who was inactive for the game, had a walking boot on his left ankle.
10c. Rookie running back Jordan Howard gained 86 yards on 13 carries and that pushed his average per carry to 4.9948 – or 5.0. It’s going to be interesting to see if he can wind up the season at 5.0.
10d. The Packers opened as a four-point favorite over the Bears for Sunday’s game at Soldier Field.
10e. The Fox crew of Kevin Burkhardt, John Lynch and Pam Oliver has been assigned to call Sunday’s Packers-Bears game at Soldier Field.
bmbiggs@chicagotribune.com
Twitter @bradbiggs
