DBB Administrative Announcement

I am heading to Ireland for the next two weeks. But through the magic of the internet I will be posting right up until Saturday. Andrew Dannehy will be writing previews for each of the other teams in the NFC North next week and Reverend Dave may even be weighing in from time to time.

I will return on Monday September 7th with my annual Fifty Prognostications, Pontifications & Ponderings on the 2015 NFL Season and then we’ll dive into the 2015 season.

Aaron Rodgers & I Share Common Ground

Presented without comment, from PFT:

“It’s difficult to lose a guy like that in a meaningless game,” Rodgers said, via ESPN.com. “I think a lot of players around the league probably do [dislike preseason games]. At least cut it down, maybe, to a couple.”

Okay, one comment. He’s right. Players don’t want these games. Fans don’t want to pay for these games. But none of this will change until the players go into a labor negotiation with ownership and actually negotiate. You know, ask for stuff and then fight for that stuff.

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On this episode of the nation’s most popular podcast between a Bears blogger and a Bears beat, Adam Jahns tell us:

• Why he believes Eddie Goldman starting now in the middle of the defense is better for the Bears long-term.
• Why he’s best impressed by not only Goldman but also Ego Ferguson and Will Sutton.
• Why he’s far more concerned about the recent play (including practice sessions) of Kyle Fuller.
• Why the Bears don’t have an answer at right tackle but he believes Charles Leno Jr. is going to continue seeing first-team action.
• Why Ryan Mundy’s injuries have paved the starting road for Adrian Amos.
• Why he’s not buying in entirely to Marquess Wilson yet but is slowly coming around.
• Why “Bad Jay” will surely make an appearance but he believes the system will showcase his abilities better than any previous one.
• Much, much more!

On the offensive side…

• If I were going to write a book entitled Stupidest Plays in NFL History, sure, Leon Lett is going to be on the cover. But in the chapter dedicated to the preseason, Jay Cutler deciding to neck joust Greg Toler in practice game – video above – is going to receive ample attention. Cutler may not be the most well-liked player around Chicagoland but  without him the Bears will resemble the unwatchable teams from the first half of the previous decade. Taking a physical risk like that is borderline insane. You know how I know I’m right? David Haugh called the play “smart”.
• Sure seems like Adam Gase is wisely using Cutler’s athleticism in a way previous offensive play callers ignored. They’ve shown a few read option looks through two preseason games and Cutler is being allowed to roam outside the pocket, where historically he’s been most efficient. If injuries are going to keep mounting at the receiver spot, Cutler is going to need all the time possible to allow them to get open.

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Today we will  ask five questions for this evening as the Bears and Colts embark upon a useless (couldn’t help myself) exercise wherein each team tries not to get injured.

#5 How will the depth chart shake up behind Matt Forte at running back, and does Senorise Perry have a real chance to be productive on offense for the Bears?

#4 Is Sherrick McManis going to find his way into the starting lineup by Labor Day?

#3 Am I still dreaming or is this Shea McClellin stuff still happening?

#2 Do the Bears have a capable second safety on the roster?

#1 Are the days of Jordan Mills at right tackle severely numbered?

Pete Prisco is not for everybody’s taste but he is for mine. He, unlike many other national football writers, does the work. He studies every game. He evaluates players based upon his eyes not the consensus belief.

I strongly encourage Bears fans to take a few moments and read his entire column on Jay Cutler by CLICKING HERE. Here are some excerpts.

On his status with media & fans…

“I don’t think the people who see him on the sidelines see the real Jay,” said Bob Clayton, his high school coach. “They see the guy who they think doesn’t like playing, a guy who gets mad on the field. It’s just that he’s such a competitor.”

When I asked Cutler about all the negative talk, and his status as the most-persecuted quarterback in the league, he laughed loudly.

“I think I used to (let it bother me),” he said. “Now I am at a point where I really like the coaches I am with. I like the players in the locker room. That’s where my concentration is each and every day, just trying to get better with those guys. That’s all I can worry about.”

On the potential of his being traded…

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You read the headline. You don’t need a lede.

#1 Shea McClellin in Coverage

Andrew Luck loves the tight end position and has two pretty good ones in Coby Fleener and Dwayne Allen. Luck attacks the middle of the field with both players and McClellin’s physical purview is now that very same region.

Here is a situation where NFL coaches should truly embrace the practice nature of these games. Why doesn’t John Fox call over to Chuck Pagano and say, “Hey Chuck, do me a favor. Once or twice over the first few drives, attack my middle linebacker in the passing game. We’re trying to see what he has in coverage.” Then Chuck could turn around and do the same. This would actually serve to make both teams better.

Instead they’ll all call a bunch of random plays and hope the players they need to evaluate get involved. Someone will get hurt for the year and fans will still argue with me about the importance of summertime reps.

Side note: Rookie Adrian Amos starting is also of interest but what he does Saturday night means very little. The Bears aren’t playing Amos because they want to. They’re playing Amos because, well, what’s the difference?

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Losing a top-10 pick to a likely season-ending surgery sucks for any team. But Kevin White’s injury alone won’t change what the Bears 2015 season will be.

White wasn’t going to start. At least not right away after missing so much time in camp and with the way Marquess Wilson was playing. As physically talented as he may be, White enters the NFL raw and was drafted to a team full of polished receivers. The Bears were going to have packages for White, similar to how the Vikings used Cordarrelle Patterson as a rookie.

The Bears didn’t draft White for 2015. They drafted him for 2016-2026.

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John Fox has assumed command of the 2015 Chicago Bears without running away from the defensive disasters of the previous two campaigns. He is not taking a “those weren’t my teams, I don’t worry about them” approach. He is now the head coach of this proud franchise and seems to have accepted with that role all of the organization’s history as his own. From Adam Jahns’ piece in the Sun-Times:

The strongest message is on the binders of the defensive players: ‘‘Things must change. Be part of the solution, not the problem.’’

What must change is the passivity that has defined Bears defense for longer than a decade. Lovie Smith, while certainly an able-minded defensive coach, frustrated fans with his soft, Tampa-2 approach. During his tenure the Bears defense always seemed willing to allow the opposing offense to dictate the terms of play, waiting for mistakes instead of creating mayhem. Mel Tucker attempted to execute the same concepts, only with older and oft-injured versions of once great players.

51-23.

55-14.

On two nights in front of the nation, this decade of passivity reached its version of rock bottom. It is from those depths from which Fox must operate. And his acknowledging the existence of those depths is the first step in what will surely be a lengthy recovery.

A rather mundane and boring training camp gave way to drama over the last half week. Let’s dive in.

Media Betrayed By Secret Regime!

From a Tweet by Tribune beat Dan Wiederer:

The Bears bungled how they framed this Kevin White injury to the public from the start. Still not sure what they hoped to gain w secrecy.

Wiederer was not alone over the last few days. Many of the Chicago sports media were bitching and moaning about the secrecy surrounding the Kevin White injury. But here’s the truth:

1. Fans don’t give a shit. Sports media is an information delivery apparatus for fans; getting them the news and notes access affords. I have not spoken to, Tweeted or emailed with A SINGLE fan who cares how much detail a team reveals about a player’s injury.  Is he playing or not – that’s all they care about. The whining from Potash and Haugh over the last few days is press room only type stuff. It’s shop talk. And it could not land with more a thump when it comes to the public.
2. This is sports. Can the sports media stop acting like they are covering a presidential election or an escalating conflict in the Middle East? Ryan Pace did not choose to be coy with Kevin White’s status out of “secrecy”. He chose to be coy with White’s status out of gamesmanship. The same gamesmanship employed routinely by the best coaches and organizations in the sport. This is a game. It’s not a disease epidemic ravaging a third world nation. Maybe everybody needs to take a step back and remember this is all about moving a ball up and down a field.
3. It’s a false narrative. White, as of last week, was making significant progress. The organization did not believe this was coming. Then it came. So what’s the big deal here?

Camp Fights!

I love em.

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There are only three relevant pieces of information.

1. He’s a speed receiver.
2. He’s having surgery on his leg.
3. Adam Jahns Tweeted: “GM Ryan Pace said there is a chance that Kevin White will miss the regular season.”