Preseason Game 2 officially, HOF Game doesn't count. My thoughts: 1. Obviously Caleb was rushing things early on, he had an excited/nervous energy to me, which was weird, maybe because it was the home crowd first game? 2. I liked that they kept them out there until they got things together. Earn your way to the bench. 3. I don't like the "improvisation" that Miller was creaming his pants on. Yes, that worked in college, yes, it worked here against the 2nd/3rd stringers, I'm going to be a lot more worried it Caleb is tossing an off-platform throw on the run with starting DBs in there. Overall, it was actually nice to see some struggles from the offense and then bouncing back. Rome catching that TD out of bounds is something he will for sure learn from, much better it was in preseason. Defense, eh. I mean, yeah, they were lock down, but Cinci played all scrubs. Not really much else to take away from this game. It is not possible for the score to matter less in a game, heh.
JT reviewed this game already: - I think he hits on what bugs me on the improv stuff, he's bailing early, his clock is too fast. Don't get me wrong, they are fun to watch, but it's the kind of thing that I don't think is sustainable. But we shall see when it matters, heh.
Good thoughts varder. Everybody was off early. I didn't think Caleb started well. 2nd play felt he rushed things, 1st play wasn't a great pass but gotta say i hated that playcall. 1st play of the game and you give him a wrong side dash pass?? Thats the settler is it?! Terrible, Waldron. First series was bad, second was no better. Co-incidence that Keenan Allen was attempted to be involved plenty in both? Im scratching my head a bit re Allen. There was clearly an attempt to get him the ball and get him involved, particularly early. Same as last week the guy's just getting no separation. Allen has spent his whole career getting open in a store cupboard, i don't recognise this guy, its weird. Not Republican weird, but surprising to see weird. A new contract looks very far off. Like varder i loved that they kept them out there. Good coaching decision. I realise that comment comes off the back of no one getting injured thankfully. But the unit and particularly Caleb, have got to play. You can't be done at like 9snaps and zero FDs. First sack came via Nate Davis, who over-committed and got punked on a simple spin move. In midseason form already then Nate. To varder's point about improv, i totally agree. If you play football like that you're gonna be in for some hard lessons cos some of it wont fly in the pros. Im not saying Williams has to stop, its a part of his game and i don't advise trying to take that away. Just saying we should prepare ourselves that there will prob be some bad INTs along the way this rookie season as he learns what its like to play at this level and what he can/can't get away with. Personally im totally invested in it cos this kids talent level is clearly off the charts. The Mahomes thing is bandied about more than you'd like but this is why. When he finds the right balance Williams will have the potential to do huge damage from broken play. The pocket presence and feel for pressure is also unbelievable at times, just light years ahead of Trubisky. Better than Fields as well because mentally Williams is superior. The non TD to Rome was a freakin lazer my god. That should've been an incredible TD, it was so slack to not be in bounds there, Rome should've dropped and given 20 on the spot. Kyler Gordon was outstanding! Dude was all over the field. Please bring that to the regular season cos i was being reminded of an in his prime Jamal Adams at times. Khalil Herbert looks good, still have no idea why Poles has tried so hard to replace him. I have a feeling he might have me wondering a lot why they needed to spent all that money on Swift. Has Cole Kmet shed a smidge of weight? He looks a little leaner, looks to be moving a little better for it. He's not gonna set the world on fire in the passing game but i like it. Have to admit, im not focusing as much as i prob should on the D. The potential of the Offense is distracting.
Everyone here nails it. His clock was way too fast to start the game. Keenan's play doesn't concern me. He's a vet and one of the best route runners, if not the best, in the game. Yes it shouldn't matter that it's preseason. But he's also a guy with some injuries in his history so maybe he plays 80% in preseason and if that's the case then so be it. If he's still looking slow come regular season then we have a discussion. Nate Davis needs to be cut. If Waldron calls plays like that to start the season I'm gonna be seriously pissed. The open field tackling by the entire defense has been top notch. Don't care if it's against starters or backups. They've been laying lumber and wrapping up. The improv stuff is cute and it shows you his potential. But I agree with you guys that it's not totally sustainable, nor should anyone want it to be. Prime Russell Wilson did it and it was great but he could also throw from the pocket on time. Mahomes has some eye popping plays but he makes his money in the pocket. Same for Rodgers. Same for everyone that's ever done it at a high level and won a trophy. But can we just talk about what Ev mentions above....pocket presense. That trait the last two QBs were missing. This kid fucking has it. There's no panic. It's all poise. I love watching him look behind his back without taking focus off the receivers. He doesn't have Fields top line speed but his quickness in moving while behind the LOS is absurd. So calm and cool with defenders coming at him. Have not seen that from a Bears QB pretty much ever. Love it. And the arm talent is fucking off the charts.
It's like the old adage when playing with a pointed stick, it's all fun and games until you lose an eye or in this case throw an interception. Kyler Gordon's first game back and he was everywhere. It was nice to see them get aggressive in the preseason, but let's carry that formula into the season, especially against the younger QBs. I tell you it was glorious when Gordon had the QB lined up with a straight shot unopposed, the Jaws soundtrack was playing in my head. If the Woodside can't hear Jaws playing in his head Capt Oblivious should be making Filet-O-Fish sammiches. Did Daniel Hardy earn himself a roster spot? 3.5 sacks in 2 games 7 tackles 3 assists. If they keep 5 how can they not keep him?
Heh, my son was a sub for another hockey team for a tourney earlier this year and he had a rule that during practices/drills if they didn't put the shot on the net, then it was pushups and a hard lap. Not that they had to MAKE the shot, just put it on net, no sailing it high or wide where it wouldn't score if the goalie was not in the net. I was talking to his normal coach last weekend and he is on board to institute that rule during their practices now too. I love stuff like that. Tangible repercussions for fuckups. I read Allen hasn't played in preseason in years. He's likely just phoning it in for preseason so he doesn't get hurt. I am not concerned at all either. Agreed 100%. What I have loved about Caleb is from the pocket and his diagnosing of plays (and man, the footwork for the most part is just on point, Bears QBs don't launch from a platform like that). I want to be clear, I'm not shitting on him, or even all that nervous really, because he just looks the part. What I don't love our swiss cheese line potentially kicking his clock down a few seconds and he scrambles early, or rushes throws, etc. A LOT of mistakes are going to happen, but that's where the growth has to come in. Where it doesn't, where he already looks good, are intangible qualities, which is what has me optimistic. He's a rookie, and there's going to be struggles. But I'm onboard. Like Ev I'm over here admiring the offense for the most part, but yes, in particular Gordon's sack was amazing. Dude never even LOOKED his way, LMAO, and not even on the blind side! Thursday we probably won't see starters, and then the season doesn't begin until Sep. 8th! Fuck off man, what a tease of football.
Oh, and I was thinking, I get that getting the #1 pick last year gives you leverage, but in hindsight, that trade is crazy for the Bears. I read Prisco's "3 years later" draft grades and that's when we drafted Fields. Who we gave up picks to the Giants for, #20 & #164 in 2021, and then next year #7 and #112. So we got: - A QB for 3 years who we traded to Pitt for a 6th (maybe 4th) We gave up: - A 1st, a 5th, then a 1st (fucking #7!) and a 4th. Contrast that with the Bears trade out last year. We get: - DJ Moore - Caleb Williams - Darnell Wright - Next years Panthers 2nd rounder and gave up: - Bryce Young Fuck me. And we still drafted Rome with the #9, because we still had our own pick. I'm still very much on the fence with Poles, but this one is not bad at all, lol. Compared to Pace's "save my ass" trades.
Ummmm, watched it--but I'm finding myself trying not to fall into the same traps I fell into with Mitch and Justin, where positive preseason play is over-analyzed, and we see *a* throw and we believe the QB has reached another level we've seldom seen as bears fans. Caleb had a lot of beautiful plays, but my biggest takeaways--Bengals have one of the better defenses in the league, and Caleb/the 1s were moving the ball against some starters and a lot of depth guys who see the field a lot in Cinci. And 'bumpy rides' are part of the development of a rookie, which is why I actually have to *begrudgingly* give Flus credit. Caleb struggled on the first couple drives then put the last one together incredibly and Flus let him take the lumps. For preseason, I'm satisfied--but it means fuck all until week 1. BWW summarized it, VV suggested it, but I figured I'd add the context some people/pundits naturally will try to make a mountain out of a molehill with. Before this year, Keenan Allen hasn't played a snap in preseason since 2018. Anybody suggesting something of "off" with Keenan is smoking a crack pipe, and I'd recommend you not engage said idiot if you value your brain cells. Just let idiot fans be idiots. Keenan Allen has never been an 'afterburners/speed' guy. He has a lightning fast plant step and has been around long enough to know he doesn't need breakneck speed to create 2-3 steps of separation. Bagent is QB2. I'm not wild about it, but even I can't say he didn't earn it. The OL is still a concern, but...I'm running out of patience for Teven Jenkins. Found myself just unimpressed so far with him so far. Figured he'd be pissed off in a contract year after getting completely pantsed by Green Bay the last week of 2023, (Atlanta week 17 too he was bad), and would try to show he's giving Poles no choice but to pay him. He just looks like a guy and he wasn't the weakest guy on the unit all night, and added in with Nate Davis being a complete and utter fucking bum--OG is just a large need. C is still a ? until at least halfway through the season, so my hopes of Braxton being replaced get bleaker and bleaker. This is also the part I'm annoyed because I get WR3 instead of a guy like Graham Barton, who has been masterful all preseason and won the starting C job in Tampa after the 1st PS game. IOL prospects in college (for now) are looking like next year will be slim pickings at the top, unless a couple of gems shine through, otherwise its the C from Bama and a OG/OT from Ohio State. I saw the same thing with Herbert and just figured Poles is going to run him into the ground before he says 'bon voyage' when the season ends, and watch him go somewhere like Dallas or DC.
Williams is done until live bullets are flying. My biggest takeaway from his entire preseason action is his accuracy. Whether on the move or from the pocket, his passes don’t miss. I think the worst thing we can say about any of his passes is that one or two were a little behind. Watching Fields miss a wide open TD throw for the Steelers made me appreciate this.
Speaking of the Bears QB Bust Bowl, How did you feel about Field's two fumbles? Apparently, they have a center problem as well or maybe it's more on Fields.
Man, while I loved this kid for his time here, Fields just doesn't have it. The Fields stans defending that throw saying the WR should have kept running THROUGH the ball (maybe not the play you are talking about, the one where dude jumps from a trampoline to try and get the ball sailing over his head) -- it's like they don't even understand the game of football.
Hearing that you guys know there's nothing to worry about re Keenan makes me feel better. Im sure he'll turn it on in week 1. Hearing Sullivan talk about a lack of twitch in Allen's routes and just not looking/playing fast echoed some of what i was a little concerned about, but its fine, he's just not trying hard yet. As one of those "other team's players" that i always liked and kinda wished he could be on our team, and he now is, i would really like to see Allen have a good season. Allen plays the position in a way i've always admired, much like a Reggie Wayne. He won't physically overwhelm someone, he won't simply blaze by you and he's not a juke-machine. He's a technician. He's isn't just an excellent route runner, he knows how to set routes, and defenders, up. He's mastered the art of playing his position in a way you don't see in Bears WRs historically. In fact its hard to name any. Booker maybe had some of that about him? Maybe Allen Robinson is a good example too, at least before his last season when he became a c_nt. Varder you've come flying out the gate with the posts this season haven't you! Great work. Pace got utterly fleeced in that Fields trade. It was a desperate move and we knew it at the time. Now it has the final, official stamp. Poles had multiple trades so bad it just blows your mind. He actually got a contract extension from this stupid ass org once.... We've all had our criticisms of Poles. I still dont think he knows shit about OL. But if Williams turns out anything like what he's showing the potential to right now, this is probably gonna go down as one of, if not the, greatest trades in NFL history. If Williams were to just have a good/above good career that included a couple of pro bowls and these other guys have good Bears careers it will still be the best trade in team history imo. Its incredible how this one move is seemingly panning out, inc Bryce Young. What makes it all so unbelievable is just how un-Bears it is. This stuff doesnt happen to us. Bagent has looked really sharp. He's pretty close to a perfect backup imo, similar to how he looked last season. Having him under contract for multiple years at the price of buttons is outstanding(not that i ever want him to see the field heh). What's left you so hard to convince about him in this role im sure i dont know. But pat your glacial speed opinion changes are an institution on our board. It gives me a little chuckle too so don't change pls. I think we were all unanimous on moving off Fields and drafting Williams and its taken 2 PS games to show why. Caleb has multiple special traits that Fields will never have. That said, im still gonna pull for Fields whenever he's not in our way. I hope he can have a successful career. Watching Fields in PS i've got to feel a little sorry for him. He's gone from a dogshit blocking situation where he has no time to throw and is constantly running for his life....to a dogshit blocking situation where he's constantly running for his life. And he's trying his ass off out there just like he always did in Chicago. No one can ever say he doesn't at least do that. I hope he can make it but to me it feels like 50/50, at best.
I have to say watching him out there this week as a Steeler was a struggle for me, same position, different team, same result. The kid just can't process the game at NFL speed, and when he fails again it won't be because of lack of effort. Fields is a guy who came into the league with a high ceiling on his resume and continues to try to find a ladder in the big and tall men's store to reach it. In contrast, the play I enjoyed the most from watching Caleb this week was his 7-yard TD run. Caleb is looking for throwing lanes up until the point where he crosses the LOS, and Justin seems to make that decision while he's still in the huddle only he's looking for running lanes. Needless to say, I expect to see some illegal men downfield with this offensive line because of it. I know Caleb will make plenty of the same mistakes Fields made except I'm fairly confident he will learn from them. His poise in the pocket is refreshing, and while his ceiling is higher than Fields his floor seems to be already higher, but nothing is really known until they go live.
