AZ54

Seeing Theo get Bull rushed badly a couple times in the last game doesn’t give me confidence. I don’t really know what happened to him because last year it took him a bit but he eventually found his anchor. Skip to 8:40 I’ll admit the QB did him no favors by badly drifting out of the pocket but on this play everyone else has their block except him.

Help can come from 11 or 12 or even no TEs if you make that the RB priority. Braxton it’s better this year than last so I don’t see us as being in a worse position. Theo also has a lot more experience at LT. Ben has at his command one of the best TE groups , one of the best WR groups ( my opinion), a good duo at RB , and a strong Oline from LG to RT. One of the best mobile QBs is running the show. There’s one weakness and if he can’t figure out how to work around that then we hired the wrong coach. Every team has at least one weakness on their offensive roster.

I’d like to see that too.

Roush highlights but I’m watching 71 at RT, and a couple snaps with 79. Wills looks ok to me but I’ll let others evaluate.

Also I’d take Wills over Benedet for the swing tackle. I have no doubt Theo has him beat on the run blocking but last year that took the entire Oline 6 weeks into the season to get down. No reason to think Wills won’t benefit in the same way from more time. A couple folks are commenting that Wills looked good at RT. I think that gets decided in the next game. I can see a world where they keep Wills as primary backup out of the gate with Ozzy also on the 53 and focused on reps at LT. If nobody takes him Theo goes to practice squad.

I think I’m choosing Ahmed as RB3 over Roschon. He seemed to play with more quickness and burst this week. I don't know if he’s still getting into shape from his injury or if it was just my perception. Regardless he gets 3 to 5 yards more than Roschon on any given play. I’m sure Roschon will win in pass pro but if you want a back for 3rd and long it’s Ahmed.

Still watching with the clicker. Kiran is just always playing at 3/4 speed. I don’t see how that would ever survive inside where things happen quicker. Number 38 on defense is cut worthy as soon as he gets off the plane.

On further review. Jordan VFB looks like he’ll be the real deal. Lynch and Kromah returned to baseline anonymous status. I still like Loving. He’s quick and strong. at DE I agree that Dayo looked better but not special. Given the recovery from injury he might turn into a better player than the one we saw last year. Dexter definitely is if the line quicker. I like our new center Jones. I think he’s going to be very good for us. He’s very good on convo blocks peeling off quickly to his second target. Theo was just bad at LT. Braxton is just Braxton but that’s an upgrade over Theo.

Training camp. Long days with little rest in between. Team on the road. Now they get to do it again this week.

NFL Network won't broadcast the game until the replay at 6am AZ time. I'll get it recorded and watch tomorrow. Some tidbits I can glean from what appears to be an overall bad game. Kaden Davis was returning the first two kick offs from the Bengals. Combine that with the few first team snaps in practice in Cincy and it's clear the coaches are giving him a good look toward staying on the 53. Caleb looked good before the penalty then off afterward. He became Caleb of old with the big game hunting mentality trying to get it all back quickly. Don't like the fact he and Rome were off on the route read for the 3rd and 20 play. That's why they practice. Bears Wire called Jordan van den Berg one of the studs of the game and said he looked good garnering 3 tackles. I'll focus on him tomorrow. We need a good surprise on the Dline, or two.

My focus: First has anyone seen anything regarding starters playing? All of my usual sources have nothing on it. LT - I listened to Tom Thayer yesterday and he said he hasn't seen anyone really take hold of the starting job at LT. I'm guessing this story continues even into the season as Ozzy works his way back. The only thing I can glean from various comments from practice observers is that Kiran is likely done. Wills might work his way back into the competition but that likely depends on his play today. Other than that maybe they just stick with Braxton for the near term to start getting continuity on the line. If Theo is the floor for all this well then we'll get to see that today as well. DTs: Can the young guys in Loving and VDBerg continue to make progress? Those are the main storylines for me. Others: DEs: Can Marcus Davenport avoid injury? Adam Mason had a graphic with his injury history and it looks like an aspirational goal for Kyler Gordon. I don't think he's ever played a full season. DBs: Malik Muhammed appears to be in the catbird seat for playing the slot. Looking for steady improvement here and I think the Bears give him plenty of reps to help him settle in before week 1. WRs: Kaden Davis are you for real? Will we even know going against backups with backup QBs? RBs: Coleman Bennett scored a TD and then got cut. Are any of these backups really deserving of the RB3 rolel?

I don't really need to give the NFL $80 more than I already do. Although to be fair I'm pretty cheap anyway. There are already so many breakdowns on Youtube such that you can watch, for example, the breakdown of Logan Jones, but move your eyes to RT to see how Benedet performed on the same play. All-22 is often shown on QB breakdowns but not always shown for DBs. That's the one place where I think it would be helpful. Interior line play I can usually find enough snaps from some other breakdown, and that includes watching film of our opponents QB to see our coverage, if you can find it. Dudes like Brissett and Geno Smith aren't always worthy of someone's time to put together a video. On Benedet you and PFF agreed based on the Brown's game. However, after what I saw last year I don't think he has enough length to survive long term at OT. Hopefully this offseason he got rid of the hops he displayed last year where he often had both feet airborne at the same time. If he does that he'll be better against power. DEs with length and speed will likely still give him problems IMO. We get to find out tomorrow if the rushes he gave up in practice yesterday were aberrations or cause for concern.

In two weeks Kaden Davis has gone from someone I never heard of to catching passes from Caleb Williams against the Bengals starting defense.

Lots of back and forth in the Cincy practice today. About what you’d expect from two good teams. Benedet got owned on back to back plays for a sack. Braxton was also back with the ones and I didn’t see a single comment about him. The most interesting tidbit was the fact they took Kyler Gordon there. Usually players just doing rehab are left behind to rehab at the facility. Makes sense and they left Bagent and Monangai at Halas Hall. The coaches are clearly giving Gordon the cold shoulder tough love approach but taking him on this trip makes me think he’s getting close to returning.

We are not alone with the concern at LT. You can bet their coaches will be watching our LT. Trades have happened coming out of joint practice https://www.nfl.com/news/bengals-lt-orlando-brown-jr-feels-really-confident-despite-blown-block-vs-lions

Theo moved to LT today with the first string. Wills and Amegadjie started taking reps at RT. IMO that confirms who our swing tackle will be. It also tells me the coaches are feeling good about Ozzy. That’s not to say Ozzy will be ready to start week one. I think it indicates they will need or want him to have a roster spot on the 53. IIRC he can’t go back on the PUP so that would mean IR designated to return. Which is out at least 6weeks? If they feel he’ll be ready to play sooner than that I think he stays a game day inactive for a few weeks. All of that to say they don’t have a lot of confidence in Braxton, nor the other options, and want their best backup options available sooner than later. I wouldn’t even rule out trading Braxton soon.

I’m with you on the RBs.

I’m not sure if it’s worth linking these films but just in case some didn’t find them:

He blew out his knee last year and is still in rehab. I wouldn’t put him in the Same bucket as Gordon.

This is pretty underwhelming news I guess it fills a spot for the preseason and maybe longer while Turner gets up to speed Have to see the contract but hopefully it’s something we can easily walk away from https://bearswire.usatoday.com/story/sports/nfl/bears/2026/08/17/bears-sign-marcus-davenport/91340280007/

Moving very smoothly. I’m not seeing any signs of a limp. x-safari-https://redirect.x.com/BradBiggs/status/2089100270462439524?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E2089100270462439524%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fbearswire.usatoday.com%2Fstory%2Fsports%2Fnfl%2Fbears%2F2026%2F08%2F16%2Fbears-news-ozzy-trapilo-returns-practice-video%2F91331496007%2F&ct=rw-null