Alaskan Grizzly

Saw that Miller returned to practice after being out with an injury since 11 August. I honestly didn’t know he was injured and not only that but that it was an ankle injury. Knowing he’s had some issues with his shoulder I was curious about his overall injury history. Am I wrong in feeling like I’m seeing the ghost of Kevin White still lurking Bears field? I don’t get the ‘warm and fuzzies’ most of you do about Miller when I see players like Wims and Ridley on the roster.

I see there’s a fair share of speculation about trying to sign Jadeveon Clowney (within the Tweet you linked and other sources). As much as that would seem awesome, it doesn’t seem realistic with all that money involved...right? I even saw one place it was suggested the Bears could give up Long, Floyd and a draft pick for Clowney. (The Texans are rumored to be hurting for OLmen). I’m not sure I like it or the Bears need that. Not with the current kicker situation as it is.

How about US Soccer star Carli Lloyd? Here she kicks a 55 yarder through a narrow goal post (almost looks like CFL). I understand that she comes to Eagles’ practices once in awhile and knocks a few through the uprights. Unfortunately she’s an Eagles fan...

Gotta think this is more about the contract they signed Pineiro to than anything right? Neither Pineiro or Fry outperformed the other. I agree that the team is still looking for someone to fill the role and this isn’t over yet. In other news; did you see the link about Cedric Benson dying in a motorcycle crash last night? Sad for sure. https://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/bears/ct-bears-cedric-benson-killed-20190818-ve4gwhffyrbsjcif5at2rsbyla-story.html

Somewhere in this sh*t show resides some of our ‘depth’ players. I know the roster is still at 90 so I’m hoping ... man am I ... that the performance we saw tonight was the bottom half of that 90. Edit: I think Mizzell is done especially as a RB for Chicago.

If you like hype videos ....

What’s the backstory? Or is it just Kyle being Kyle; a veteran leader looking out for a young player and teaching him the new ‘Bears Way’?

Perhaps I’m in the dark on this but just read the below article this morning. Former Bear Trace Armstrong is Matt Nagy’s agent. How cool is that? https://www.chicagobears.com/news/armstrong-proud-of-nagy-former-team

Speaking of lazy, was he the one that came off some off season surgery or was that the other Hall? No matter; he was an UDFA and (as Nagy says) there are plenty of good WRs on the team. Notably Ridley and Wims who both seem to be holding their own. I saw that Pinero and Fry continue to trade ‘tit-for-tat’. My money’s on Fry winning the battle between the two. The question I have is; will there be another kicker brought in later in the preseason not currently on the roster?

Prince vs. Wims: Apparently Amukamura and Wims had a dust up recently in camp. Link of first hand account below (no video of fight). But first some takeaways: - agree with DWC that Wims is dumb for hitting Prince on the helmet as a WR and vying for a starting spot. But it is evidence that Wims is taking this seriously. - this is ‘normal’ behavior at camp so no real need for alarm - sounds like Nagy nipped in the bud rather quickly and effectively (very much unlike Trestman a few years back).

Yeah thats it; not sure where I got Grudens Grinders from. Think that was a shtick of his on when he was broadcasting. Anyhow... Seems pretty vanilla in his praise, except for the interesting comment he made: “I got kicked out of the league because I had a hard time sustaining at the quarterback position”. Otherwise he was pretty optimistic about Mitch’s learning ability. Which I don’t doubt. I’m hoping for good things and maybe we’ll see a little bit of it tomorrow, if only for a play or two.

Exactly. If Trubisky were to throw 50 TDs and over 5,000 yards in one season (and keep his INTs where they are) he might get less flak.

(EDITED FOR CONTENT) The video, as simplistic as it is, illustrates to the viewer one of the many challenges a QB has to process. This just illustrates the 'pre-read' and not what the QB does after the hike of the ball and all the craziness that goes on there. I think it fair to assume that with the limited starter time at the college level and last year's preseason (almost none), Trubkisky simply lacks experience. What I would be interested in seeing is how he would have handled one of those Gruden Grinder segments (or whatever he called it where he sat with college QB's pre-draft and broke down plays to get their understanding of NFL level systems). The level that Trubisky is at now is no where near where someone like Romo is; I mean listen to the guy on any broadcast and you can hear he knows what he's talking about. But that's expected after all the years of experience he's had. We don't know what is going on behind closed doors. When you mention that you think Nagy "shifted away from single reads" tells me that Trubisky wasn't expected to process a lot early on because he "(couldn't) read defenses" and had difficulty with the "play calls themselves". The one play at the beginning of the video showed an improvisation on Trubsky's part. And although it was a successful play, it was improvised due to Trubisky's inability to properly decipher what the defense was showing. When I see Trubisky start to scramble, I don't always get the feeling he knew where the defense was going to line up beforehand. Those plays should also count towards the number of plays where he may not have been able to properly read the defense, not just the INTs.

It looks like an LB covering him so unless it’s Urlacher chances are he ain’t gonna react too quickly. And if you can draw him in and you’re able to move out faster than he... badda boom.

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.