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Thoughts on the Fourth Preseason Game:

| September 4th, 2015

On the offensive side…

• It’s gonna be a little difficult to cut David Fales now. After a slow start, Fales looked pretty good. Of course, you have to consider who he was going against, but he threw the ball well and moved well out of the pocket. He probably isn’t going to be a starting quarterback, but it’s hard to find even adequate backups and Fales has that potential. What do they have to lose by keeping him around? Is there really that big of a difference between Fales and Jimmy Clausen?

• Not playing Zac Dysert until late in the game makes sense if the Bears know what they have and he has a roster spot locked up. If not, why sign him in the first place?

• I don’t care what Ka’Deem Carey does against fourth and fifth-string defenders in the fourth quarter of the fourth preseason game. He’s not likely to see a carry during the regular season. It’s hard to make an argument that he should stay on the active roster.

• If Marc Mariani were on the Patriots, he’d catch 60 passes and six touchdowns every year.

• Jeremy Langford needs to get stronger but he’s got good vision and good speed. He can help them this year.

On the defensive side…

• A lot of praise for Mason Foster, but after watching the game for a second time, I saw a sloppy player. He missed two tackles in the first quarter, both of which he came in out of control and whiffed. He almost missed a third in the backfield, but was able to bring Terrance West down for a tackle for a loss. Does that tackle happen against legitimate NFL competition?

• I expect Foster, Willie Young and Lamarr Houston to dominate in a situation like that.

• Jon Bostic had a bad night. He didn’t play, but the other inside linebackers all made more plays than Bostic has all preseason. Bostic isn’t healthy, the Bears need to convince him to go on IR this year and try again next year. He’s better than he has shown.

• Why didn’t Terry Williams get more reps in preseason? The Bears might need him in Week 1 if Eddie Goldman is out.

• We saw more blitzes and creativity from Vic Fangio in this game than in any other.

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