Alaskan Grizzly

Found this gem (IMHO) of a video explaining how pre-snap reads are supposed to work. And how Trubisky struggled early on last season with them then over time (and right about week 15) looked as though he started to ‘get it’ a little better. To me, this is basic QB skill that once it’s fully grasped will especially help NFL QBs have successful careers. Cutler was especially bad at it; why I think he wasn’t allowed to do a lot of audibles. With Trubisky for us ‘armchair QBs’ it’ll become more apparent if you see him successfully change a play at the line of scrimmage... and other things indicated in the video. Now if we can just get him to stop the long range overthrows.

There’s a Cat out of the Chicago area that does video reviews and such on the You Tube. Goes by the handle of Da Windy City (or DWC) productions. Unfortunately I don’t know his name. But he was at training camp yesterday (?) or Thursday and said Trubisky was mediocre at best. Threw a pick to HHCD and several over and under throws. Kept using the word ‘inconsistent’ to describe Mitch. But did point out that Trubisky is practicing against one of the best defenses in the league. He said not even Brady or Brees or Rodgers have to do that so...maybe that’s something to consider (?) ...we hope.

I’d ask my daughter but she’s in the Sacramento area. I think where you’re at is near Mad’s stomping grounds of LA.

Saw a post-training camp video from today (below). Some notable items: Trubiksy threw an INT to Mack. That could be a good and bad thing. Bad that Mitch is throwing INTs but good because he did it against one of the top rated defenses last year and against one of the all time greats. Marvin Hall (13) was highlighted a fair amount. And it looks like Javon Wims (83) is getting some time with the 1s. And Nall (35) is catching out of the backfield.

‘Shaheen misses second day of practice with a back injury.’ Gonna go out on a limb and say Adam ‘Balsa Wood’ Shaheen’s days as an illustrious Bears TE are numbered. At this point it may not be a bad idea to see how Zach Miller is doing with his rehab and call him back from retirement. At least the guy had heart. https://www.profootballweekly.com/2019/07/29/chicago-bears-notes-te-adam-shaheen-misses-second-consecutive-day-with-sore-back/almpec2/

Yeah Trevathan was in for day 2 and 3 of practice. Saw him interview and doing autographs in some vids (by the by, he seems to have a good vibe with the fans; likes to do what he can to acknowledge them). Maybe he was just a day one absentee? FWIW I’m still hoping Wims is the breakout player this year . Along with Ridley and Nall. Almost forgot about Nall but saw that he was making some people notice him out there. And how bout them kickers? Both seem to be holding their own and from the looks of it, we should be alright with whomever wins the battle.

Out of curiosity, was looking at some pics of training camp and couldn’t help notice Trevathan missing. Any insider word? Maybe just a day absence? What made it even more obvious was Smith was wearing the ‘green dot’ on his helmet indicating at he very least he may be taking on more responsibilities this year.

Clinton-Dix was officially put onto the PUP list just prior to the full start of camp. Could it be a problem going forward? Word is “minor knee strain”. I couldn’t really find anything on his injury history but gotta think this could be a lingering issue. Would this maybe be why they are looking at McManis at Safety? There are DHC, Bush and the recently drafted Denmark on the list as potential fill-ins but the author to this article makes an interesting case for looking at current FA Safety Eric Berry. Can’t say I’d be on board with that but maybe he’s got enough left to fill in for a bit? https://dawindycity.com/2019/07/22/chicago-bears-implications-clinton-dix-injury/

Me too! Was just thinking about how close we are getting to the start of the season and how exciting this year will be. I agree the defense won't fall back too much but as some analysts have noticed, if the defense doesn't at least match or surpass last year's results some will question Pagano. I think it'll be tough to do worse because of all the returning players (especially Mack) and their having a whole offseason to gel. The one weakness I see in the D going into this year as of right now is the NB position with Skrine and maybe CB Amukamura - due to his age. Otherwise, everything else looks good.

As they should be. That is a result of one of his two years of play not his career average. But I see this continuously being brought up and wonder if that is the measure; 66% completion rate? (Speaking of Cam, his completion rate for last year was almost 68% at 67.9). Are you as willing to defend DeShaun Watson's CAREER completion rate of 66.4% or Dak Prescott's at 66.1% I sorta know your stance on Watson in that your belief for his success relies mostly on Hopkins and that 'he can make any QB look good'. But what about Prescott? I've been a marginal fan of his since he came to the NFL but I can't tell you any specific time he 'wowed' me with his performance. Still, he has one more year on Trubisky and even with his completion rate at the 66% bar, Dallas isn't sure they are going to extend / renew his contract.

Personally I don’t think as much emphasis should be put on Trubiskys running ability. Sure it has helped some QBs like Cam and Russel Wilson but it has also hampered some QBs like RGIII or Kordell Stewart who either through injury or just being contained by the opposing defense were outed as one dimensional. The scrambling QB has a short shelf life, especially those that can’t throw with equal or more skill. Tom Brady certainly isn’t know for his scrambling ability and that doesn’t figure into oppositions game planning. So again, not sure we can (or should) rely on that as a factor for Mitch. Just look at last year when Trubiksy was injured and how much it affected his playability (missing two games and playing rough while he recovered). It’s safe to assume that he can’t continue to rely on that as his primary skill set. He needs to improve upon his throwing ability and ability to read defenses. The points made in this analysis were more about the inconstancy across the season, not so much whether Mitch improved or even declined in his ability during the season. Kollmans point about the ‘2nd quarter Mitch not as good as the 4th quarter Mitch’ is a point observed throughout the whole season, not just early on. This was seen both during games in the first few weeks of the season as it was during the playoff game against Philly. Again, this is a consistency (or lack thereof) issue. I’ll agree that with more playing time this could be something that Mitch is able to overcome but it’s possible he may not (again see Cutler). That is more what Kollman is speaking to, at least that was my understanding.

In case you were wondering ... 4 years $19 million. http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap3000001035810/article/niners-sign-robbie-gould-to-4year-19m-contract

I saw this video pop up the other day and recall it being the same guy that did an analysis of Howard that you (AZ) brought to our attention? It's interesting that his analysis of Howard and his not meshing with Nagy's offense was 'spot on' but this analysis is under more scrutiny. Nevertheless... I agree that Trubisky's mechanics are flawed. Especially with how Kollman illustrates it. His hips not squaring up to throw is a QB 101 type problem that may/may not get fixed with more practice. Sort of like how Cutler was notorious for throwing off his back foot. The problem with Trubisky is he doesn't have a lot of 'tape' to look at. Again his starting record reflected his one season as a starter at only 13 games. And when he did have the chance to get live reps in last year's preseason. Nagy chose to sit him. This doesn't help for a guy who might be struggling to learn a complex offense. With regards to the reads; Kollman pointed out the same play was called in two separate games (sometimes in the same game) and in one instance Trubiisky made a brilliant read where in the second instance he did not. Remember last year Nagy limited the offense to what Trubisky could handle, at the time, so having a myriad of reads wasn't really a priority. Having a 'look' is different than having a 'read'. The one difference being that with this QB, last years singular read will expand to multiple reads whereas the look will fundamentally remain the same. I think what happened with one play looking better than the other was Trubisky trying to freelance too much and his mechanics getting sloppy...or as Kollman points out; 'Trubisky overthought it'. We all agree that Mitch has great potential. For what its worth, I would even say as long as Mitch is able to play similarly to Alex Smith the defense will pick up the slack. So no he doesn't really need to play up to his 2nd pick overall expectation, just as long as the wins happen. Worked for Grossman...should work for Trubisky too.

Happy #60 Lemon! August is a good bday month. My oldest daughter turns 21 and a good friend turns 50 on the 9th and 10th. We’re heading to Vegas for all that!!!

In a quick snoop of Paganos Wikipedia page it looks as though his specialty is with pass defense. Some may have remembered the success of Butch Davis while HC at Univ. of Miami. Pagano was his DC. They ranked near the top in most defensive categories. The trend continued when he moved to the NFL and assisted or DCed for Cleveland, the Raiders and eventually Baltimore. It’s noted while with the Ravens, Pagano dramatically improved the pass defense after years of the team dominating the run defense. The way I see it, Fangio was not as well known for his blitz packages and generally likes his corners to be aggressive and big. It didn’t seem his forte was as much with the defensive backfield; he’s more a ‘front seven’ guy . I think with the returning 10 of 11 defensive players paired with essentially the similar scheme, and Pagano’s tendency to blitz more, we’re in for some fun times. Being a defense fan-guy myself, I’m pretty geeked about it.

I think if you combine the ‘circus’ perspective from other than Bears fans on how the kicking battle is going, his recent departure from the Bears and his overall being bummed he couldn’t get the Bears where he wanted to; it was easy pickins’ for him. I do think losing Fangio could prove hard to get over but the players remain and really Pagano is no slouch.

Yes things are slow and John appears to be a bit bummed...

I don’t get how Hall will figure into the rotation. Isn’t he coming off some sort of season ending injury from last year(?). And Burton will probably show some regression this year for the same reason. I suspect this year Wims will be trying to out-duel either Robinson or Gabriel and will supplant one or both if not this year, next year.

Agree with everything you said. To include that Smith will make the Pro Bowl. You can already see in the way he played last year how effective he is and just plain defensive smart. Not to make comparisons to a former LB (recent HOF inductee) but Smith scored about 10-15 less solo tackles (almost the same combined tackles), 3 less sacks and 1 less interception than did Urlacher when he was a rookie. Smith is no doubt something special. For what it’s worth I agree that Wims will be a huge upgrade to the offense this year and have a funny feeling we’ll hear a lot about both he and Ridley going forward.

Pure garbage analysis. They offer no stats just plain observation and a lot of college level drivel. Who are these guys? The one interesting thing they bring up was the below average Wonderlic scores. The one other thing similar to them was they both threw/have thrown to Allen Robinson. For me, Trubiskys more like Mariota than anyone. I still think it’s too early to say Trubisky is like a flameout that is Bortles. Although wouldn't it be interesting to see Bortles with that LA offense?

That will only get him so far and the media knows that. Just like Adam touched on, Trubisky didn’t really seem healed until the playoffs. He got injured because of his running. His passing is more ‘inconsistent’ and that is where he gets the critique he deserves. Its also fair to say he has yet show he can read defenses. The offensive scheme he played in last year allowed him limited reads. This year will be different. Is he along the same lines of other QBs of his peer group? Probably. But that doesn’t earn him a top 10 ranking, not yet anyhow.

Exactly. And with the five sources I cited, they were pretty consistent. Granted USA Today was a bit tilted to the negative but still... I think it safe to say that those that wrote the respective articles; understanding subjective views as they are, are based on observations they made separate from one another. And believe me when I say Chris Simms is probably not a great authority on grading great QBs; his dad maybe ... but not Chris. They probably all looked at how all 32 starting QB's have done and/or will do on their respective teams. We look at Trubisky and agree he's better (or potentially could be) than a loonnnnnnnggggg list of not so good QBs in Chicago. So yes, I get the perception of a "consensus hate". Perhaps a better question to ask is how would the QB's listed ahead of Trubisky perform in the offense he's currently in? I think it safe to say that Foles would probably do pretty well, given Philly's offense is almost identical to it. On that level, I would think Trubisky might still weigh out to where he is currently. NYC said Trubisky was "inconsistent" and I think that hurts him a lot. Is it fair? Maybe not. We have yet to see how he performs in year 2 of this offense.

Right about MT. Despite all the knocks (Colin Cowherd being one of them), Mitch just keeps doing his thing. And part of that appears to be a good “teammate”. I’d take that over raw talent any day. I’ll reiterate my point that if he plays within the offense that Nagy deploys for him; I feel he’ll do all right. Not sure it’ll be HOF worthy but it really doesn’t have to be. As far as Mayfield; he’s a toolbag. I find it ironic if not hypocritical of him to do as you outline above but didn’t call out Odell for missing early season practices (yes voluntary - but still). And when Colin Cowherd does what Colin does; Mayfield replies with “he (Cowherd) needs to be put in his place” and he “throws names of other people under the bus” (when asked about Cowherds knock on Beckham). Oh really? https://www.complex.com/sports/2019/05/baker-mayfield-says-colin-cowherd-needs-to-be-put-in-his-place-defends-odell-beckham-jr

I think your earlier assessment of him being around 20th overall is pretty accurate. I'd say even somewhere in between 15-20. You're right in that the defense did a lot to make him look better, but he did a few things on his own that I think make others hesitate in grading him really high. In just a quick snapshot of other sources and where they ranked him last year going into 2019 (I literally entered 'nfl Qb rankings' and went down the line): 15th - Sporting News 19th - Athlon Sports 19th - Pro Football Weekly (based on passing stats) 19th - NFL.com (Greg Rosenthal) 24th - USA Today (For the Win) I saw Adam's comment about his QBR rating being at #3 but have we really ever figured out what that actually means?

Nah, I’m sure it’s more butt-hurt GB fans than anything. I was (am) a fan of Amos’ but I don’t know that he’s better than Dix. I think Dix is a more rangy player where I think Amos has more talent ‘in the box’. If we had to lose a player like Amos, the sting was quickly healed by getting someone like Dix. I especially like the special combo with he and Jackson back there.