I’m sick of training camp updates and bold predictions that everyone will forget about a year from now. Here are a few quick thoughts before the Bears first preseason game.

Eyes In The Backfield

Forget running back by committee, Langford is the Bears starter and is going to get 70 percent of the carries as long as he’s healthy. The rest of the backfield, however, is worth watching.

Ka’Deem Carey is listed as the backup, but Jacquizz Rodgers is the only guy outside of Langford who is getting action with the starters. Carey has split second team reps with Rodgers. Jordan Howard started getting some reps there last week.

Most are assuming the Bears will keep four running backs, as they did last year, but they didn’t have a fullback last year. This year, it appears they’ll be employing and using a fullback, which could mean they keep only three running backs. The other option is keeping three tight ends, instead of four, but given the injury situation there, that might not fly. They might also keep seven wide receivers (more on that later) and will probably keep nine offensive linemen.

While keeping four running backs is still the most likely option, a lot could change between now and the final cut down day. The position is certainly worth watching throughout the rest of preseason.

Read More …

This is, by far, the hardest position group to evaluate within an organization because it is not only an evaluation of individual performance but also of the collective whole.

THE GUARANTEES

• Kyle Long is playing somewhere along the offensive line in 2016, most likely where he played the 2015 season. While the world has panicked at Long’s struggles at times this season, the organization – and more importantly the player – have not. Long will be on the Bears for the foreseeable future.
• Matt Slauson would rank just behind Jay Cutler as my Bears MVP for 2015. Slauson excelled at two positions, rescuing the Bears from multiple moments of desperation at center. His versatility is developing into his finest asset as the former Jet can now line up at three positions along the line.

COMING BACK

• Hroniss Grasu will most likely be the starting center in 2016 after the Bears put him through an extensive offseason of work. He needs to get bigger. He needs to get stronger. And it will be one of the major priorities for the offensive coaching staff this spring and summer.

Read More …

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.

Read More …

General Note

Having not watched the game live, I was following along on Twitter and with a few friends via text message. It was absolutely astounding the level of hysteria permeating the Tweets whilst my friends were all texting me things like, “they look ok” or “not much to actually learn from this crap”. When I woke up this morning and saw some of the work by the illustrious Chicago media, I expected to be viewing a train wreck. That was not the case. My thoughts on the game last night were overall positive.

Three Thoughts on the Offense…

• Jay Cutler to Eddie Royal is going to be this offense’s security blanket. Expect the Bears to start a lot of drives with quick outs to put them in second and six or less.
• Will Montgomery is a HUGE upgrade at center. He attacked Suh at the line of scrimmage on several plays and frustrated arguably one of the best defenders in the sport.

Read More …