Bearstalk

I just read this blurb on PFW (which isn't to be confused with PFFFFFFFFT): We hear second year Bears WR Earl Bennett, a third round disappointment who admitted that he struggled last season to learn the Bears' playbook, looked a lot more sure of himself running routes at the Bears' first minicamp this offseason. Heading into the draft, Bennett appears to have a tenuous hold on the No. 2 WR spot behind Devin Hester and ahead of Rashied Davis. What do you want to bet that with the addition of Cutler, Bennett becomes not only a lock for the #2, but a breakout performer this year?

@adamjahns 2h #Bears say they're still evaluating Earl Bennett for a concussion. He wasnt at practice today. @BearReport 2h Earl Bennett is still being evaluated for a possible concussion.

Profootball focus did a study of the top rated WRs and there catch rate. He tops the list for the last 3 years with a .0315 drop rate. The worst was Roy Williams(thank god he is gone) with .1435 % drop rate. Marshall finished with (in three year span)a .1155%drop rate. He did have shitty QBs in Miami,so I guess we can look for improvement.

http://www.statesman.com/sports/content/sp...5/0515earl.html Earl to Cedric: "Take responsibility" Campbell says Benson needs to be careful of the situations in which he puts himself By Randy Riggs AMERICAN STATESMAN STAFF Thursday, May 15, 2008 Former Longhorns running back Cedric Benson says he's innocent. But University of Texas legend Earl Campbell says Benson shouldn't put himself in a situation that might require him to claim his innocence. Benson was arrested May 3 on Lake Travis and charged with boating while intoxicated and resisting arrest. He and others have disputed the police version of the incident, but Campbell said Wednesd…

Given our situation where we really need help and leadership in the defensive backfield I'm all in on Poles kicking the tires here. As long as he is healthy and in shape I'm in...sign him. Considering the style of defense we're moving toward which is much more see-it-and-react is what Thomas excelled at we should be ok with him on the field. I'm not expecting him to be great but unless we draft a S in Rd 2, which is unlikely, his leadership and experience is going to be a plus over any other option we have. Earl was the heart beat of the Seahawks great defense. A 1yr rental to help us right the ship will help us if for no other reason than teaching the young p…

With the loss of Melton, DT just became a little higher priority for adding talent. I scoped out a couple mock sites and put a wish list together. This coming offseason will be a handful for Emery and Meltons injury just added to that pressure. Rd 1 Timmy Jennigan DT FSU 6-2 298 Fits the mold of a 3T tackle the Bears look for, quick burst, disruptive. Rd 2 Justin Gilbert CB Ok SU 6-0 194 CB with size and experience. Rd 3 Hroniss Grasu C Oregon 6-3 294 Quick/athletic, also a great run blocker for Oregon's fast paced attack. Chip Kelly will also be looking for his anchor to make the line calls. Rd 4 Barrett Jackso…

In my mind I see Bears doing following: Free Agent Starters: FA center (Falcons or Colts centers) FA guard (Chiefs guard is the big swing) DE (Chase Young is my big) FA guard (Zeitler) Depth moves: Depth DT (lower cost - but run stuffer type for depth behind Billings / ensure flexibility in draft) Depth WR (Tim Patrick) Depth Oline (swing tackle and guard - my guess is Pryor is back) This gives Bears a TON of flexibility when they get into draft as interior oline would be significantly revamped with pass rush also upgraded. Allows Bears to swing a few shots but be in a position where they could develop as we…

We needed MIN, CAR, and DAL to lose. Well DEN is up 3 against MIN, CAR is being shutout by ATL, and DAL is up by 10+ against DET. So CAR is definitely a loss, MIN can still lose, and it looks like DAL will win easily. Let's go Broncos! How about the epic QB matchup with Jackson and Watson? Jackson has 4 TDs and is borderline unstoppable. Watson? Not so much. Thru the mid-4th, he is 18-29 (62%), 169 yds, 1 INT, 6 sacks, 1 FL. Watch the media on Watson, they will point to a bad O-Line, etc, etc. Nothing like Trubisky gets when he has a game like this. The funny thing is, Watson has had several games with less than 200 yards passing and several multi-turnover…

Spent the evening and I layed out the Bears current roster with their contracts expiration dates to get a look at needs. As I see it now, if no major injury takes place, the Bears may sit on the remaining cap to lock up Alshon Jeffery. Depending how the season plays out, the Bears will have major needs in the following: Defense 3-4 DE - McDonald, Jenkins, and Ratliff contract expires. That will leave Furguson, Sutton, Washington, and Dunn NT- Depth will be needed behind Goldman CB-Fuller on one end, Jennings I see as a nickel leaves finding a long term man cover CB a big need S-Mundys contract expires, depth behind Vereen and Amos will be a need OLB is locked …

It's early, but with the recent additions, I wanted to get opinions on where you think our roster shakes out. Some positions seem pretty clear, others not so much. I have to say in looking at the initial 53-man roster last year, I couldn't believe some of the names. Greg Scruggs? Amini Silotolu? Were they really on the team? QB: Glennon, Sanchez, Trubisky Trubisky probably doesn't dress for the first few games at least. Bears will probably try to keep Shaw on the practice squad. RB: Howard, Langford, Cohen I like Cunningham, but he and Cohen are pretty duplicative, especially if Cohen can return kicks. I do think there's an outside chance the Bears keep…

What are your thoughts on the biggest disappoint this year. Mine is the offense and especially the offensive line. I understand the Cutler concerns and it depends on everyone's position i.e. Are you a Culter or a hater. My position is that I felt he has the physical tools and hoped he would gain the mental apptitude to play the position however his salary this year is guaranteed so if you can't trade him do you cut him and take the $16 million + cap hit. I wouldn't. Should we have drafted a QB in hindsight yes but the ones drafted this year could regress. In relation to the oline I feel this is the most important piece and could still change our season. We hav…

Just looking at a few photos and some of the early parts of camp a few players standout. First is a leaner but hopefully stronger Adam Shaheen. Leonard Floyd looks like he's finally added enough bulk to be a more consistent threat as a pass rusher but he's still lean and should still have his quickness. Tarik Cohen is definitely stronger this season too. We'll see how this translates to their play on the field. Today is the first open day of practice so we'll get plenty of reports. https://www.chicagobears.com/photos/practice-snaps-training-camp-day-1#ec7f2489-aacd-44df-b1dd-1c73e5a99151

It is great that the Bears will have both Hightower and Borgonzi coaching there. They will get some great in depth looks at players that other teams won't. Hopefully they helps the draft values. With Hightower as the HC and Borgonzi as the D coordinator, I bet the Bears draft at least one defensive player from the East squad. Here are the rosters: https://shrinebowl.com/rosters/ There seems to be a week of activities: https://shrinebowl.com/news/2024-game-week-schedule/ before the game, so we should get some intel as early as this Thursday/Friday.

I will admit i was very unhappy about the pick on draft day and voiced my opinion. After reading and seeing the clips on youtube, i was wrong. Looks like the front office does know more than I do. He is the exact opposite of Seabass, who i despised with a passion.

According to the Chicago Tribune, Eben Britton was cut. Surprising that they would considering he played well last year.

He had a pretty significant role last year as a 3rd tackle. Chicago Bears ‏@ChicagoBears ·4m LM: #Bears have retained veteran OL Eben Britton, who has agreed to a 1-year contract.

Chicago Bears ‏@ChicagoBears 4m LM: #Bears have retained veteran OL Eben Britton, who has agreed to a 1-year contract. Saw this one coming, surprised it took so long.

I thought this probably deserved it's own thread. I just wanted to note how much talk there is about replacing him from all the sportswriters and radio people. No one is holding back at all. We really crossed a threshold fast this past week. I guess people are remembering the three games he blew at the end last year too. I posted over the offseason that if the pattern repeated this year it would gain momentum fast. And conversely if we were winning, last year would be forgotten. Sure seems like that's how its working out. THe past two years forgiven until the pattern reestablishes and then there would be VERY little patience at that point.

I think I have been the most vocal critic of Matt Eberflus on this board? Probably so. And I have some observations to make about the last month or two. My two main criticisms of him have been that he has made stupid strategic game decisions, and that he seemed to lack an alpha leadership quality, at least where I was able to see him on TV, in interviews etc. I can't say much about the first one, since we aren't playing games, but I'm hopeful that any of that gets put in check by more assertive coordinators keeping him from going too safe. A better roster should also make him more comfortable to take risks. And perhaps coordinators will dial him back from g…

"What's nice about this draft is that it's deep," Eberflus said. "It's deep just because of the whole COVID thing; guys stayed in [college] another year. We feel that it's a good draft to have where we are: 39, 48, 71. We feel pretty good we're going to pick up three starters there or have potentially three starters based on the development of those players. So, we feel real good about it." https://thedraftnetwork.com/articles/chicago-bears-matt-eberflus-ryan-poles-2022-nfl-draft-starters That's exactly where I'm at and any trade back must be met with the same expectation on the end result.