2012 Chicago Bears General Discussion
 

Probably should get this thing started up again, eh?

I'll start this off with the month-old news that the Bears cut Nathan Enderle so that they could take Wisconsin-Whitewater's Matt Blanchard to camp as their 4th QB.

Shocking stuff.

A little bit more interesting, Michael Lombardi is saying the Bears are extremely close to a deal with Forte.

The deal for Forte was 4 year/ $32 million.
The contract was very back-loaded, but he did get a healthy signing bonus and $4 million worth of incentives.
So now there's not a whole lot to worry about before training camp.

The Bears traded a 7th rounder to the Bucs for Brian Price. I guess they're not too fond of Paea.

It's hard to read anything into a 7th round pick. It could just be the Bucs didn't think Price fit into their plans anymore due to some of his emotional issues, and the Bears wanted to add depth. I don't think this says much of anything about Paea.

That said, I liked Price a lot coming out of UCLA, so I like the low-risk move.

Good luck with Price. Dude just can't stay on the field. Then again, two surgically re-attached hamstrings will do that to you.

So apparently we tried to trade for Jeff Otah.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports...,5878482.story

Thought that was interesting.

First Preseason game tonight?

What is everyone looking out for?

I want to see how the rookies play, namely Jeffrey and McClellin, as well as way too excited for Brittan Golden.

I know the skill players will only play a series maybe two, but I wonder how long the line will play.

I can't bring myself to watch a preseason game. I just hope nobody gets hurt.

Ugh the O-line looked terrible. I think they lost 85% of the plays out there....

The Bears didn't convert one 3rd down. The Broncos went 8/16.

McClellin has looked ridiculous through three quarters. Props to you guys for getting what appears to be a future stud. Lets give him more than a pre-season game.. still... great start.

Also, Matt Blanchard looked GREAT tonight. Kid is fearless. If I had to bet on an NFC North QB buried on the depth chart becoming a decent starter, it would be him.

I'd be fine with us cutting McCown and letting him be the 3rd. Guys like McCown are just dead weight anyway. If we get to the point where he needs to play we're already done.

I didn't think the offensive line was too terrible in pass protection. A few of the sacks were the cause of the QB holding the ball too long or receivers not getting open.

I hated the McClellin pick on draft night but he looked great last night. So quick and he has a great motor. I still worry about his size causing him to get swallowed up on some plays. But I hate the pick a little less than I did four months ago.

He can have a Mark Anderson-lite rookie impact. I think the worry is if he will acquire a counter move to his speed rush. I could see a lot of sacks resulting from Peppers flushing the QB out.

As long as Shea can pick up those hustle tackles and make those kind of pursuit plays, he will have an impact on this team. Holding up at the point of attack is still an issue with him, but the good news is that he has adapted well to playing all over the field.

So, until we draft a guy next year, I'm going to go ahead and guess that Chris Williams will be the left tackle this year.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports...,3494879.story

Redskins game: Wow, what a difference from the week before. Still I'll make no judgments until next week is over. Positives abound in this game for the Bears though. Jay made crisp passes behind a much better performance from the O-line. Him and Marshall still have a good connection. The pass blocking and run blocking were amazingly improved from the week prior. The Receivers did good jobs running routes and getting open. Defensively we got after RG3 and besides a couple of running plays at the start, we held up well there too. Negatively: Jay did make two bad decisions. He threw into double coverage at Bennett and nearly was picked off when pressure got into his face. I didn't like what I saw out of the corners, especially Wilhite. They seemed to get beat a lot. Our ST coverage units need to improve, but I'll give Toub the benefit of the doubt. Overall tho, a very good game for the Bears.

How has Kellen Davis done so far? I've been more focused on the o-line and other receivers. Don't even think I've seen him catch a pass in any of the 3 games.

I think they were working on getting things going with the receivers a lot more, so I don't think Davis has done much receiving. I think they are keeping that under wraps, since he will make a great change-up.

So who in the upcoming draft do you guys think could replace Urlacher? I'd love Te'o, but he's not too good in coverage. Skov or Ogletree are interesting though.

First round has to be Left tackle. I think James Brown might be able to develop into a starter, but the tackle crop is supposed to be stronger next year.
The revolving door safety might also be an issue. We really need Conte, Wright and Walters to step up this year.
As for linebacker, I can go with Ogletree. Skov might be best as a TED linebacker.

Don't think they're going to waste an early pick on a safety. We'd be fine if it wasn't for Major Wright sucking, or all of them getting injured.

The MLB is what makes our D work, and I don't see them switching out of the Cover 2 anytime soon. I wouldn't be surprised if they'll be looking to convert another safety to LB.

No it's not. Most Cover 2 defenses generally have totally unremarkable MLBs. It just happens that Urlacher was on the team when Lovie took over. The Tampa 2 is all about the defensive line; everything else is secondary.

Creating Pressure