Thread: Observations From Preseason Game #1.......................

Originally Posted by short faced bear

Does Addison and Reed warrant as much merit as Gholston at this point?

Gholston played quite a few snaps and brought some consistent pressure but no sacks. He subbed for Peppers for most of the game all the way into and through the 3rd quarter. Reed was just flying off th edge on the left side and Addison lined up there as well for a few series. Addison got his sack from the right side but it mainly because he got a clear shot at the QB when the RB blew his assignment and didn't pick him up.

From what I saw last night those three are the ones in competition for the #4 DE spot. Gholston probably has the edge because Marinelli wants him to succeed but he's gonna get pushed by the others especially if they can play ST and he can't. Nick Reed is probably the most intriguing of the group. He's small, only listed at 6'1" 248lbs, more LB size than DE but he's very quick off the edge as is one of those Elvis Dumervil hybid types. I'd say that if he can keep it up and play ST he's got a chance.

One other note. Corey Wootton injured a knee on the opening kick off. Why was he covering kicks??????????????????

Originally Posted by Henry Burris

I'm honestly getting the feeling that Bell is our offensive equivalent of Toenia (showed really good play in limited time, but forced to sit for a long time because the guy ahead of him was getting paid more)

Exactly and I was saying that all this offseason. I still think Taylor was another Mike Martz idea for a guy who resembled Marshall Faulk in size and the style of his game but once Taylor got that big contract he disappeared. Some thought that was because of the poor blocking but I kept saying that Forte ran just fine behind them.

Look at how poor the blocking was last night too and yet Bell and Barber combined for almost 120 yards on the ground. They should let Taylor go now so that he has a chance to pick up with another team if anyone even wants him. There's no question in my mind that Barber and Unga need to be our power backs and if they leave Bell unprotected somebody else will grab him. I'm hoping they won't be that stupid. All three of these guys along with Forte should make the 53-man roster.

Originally Posted by little bear

Gosh, what an Oline! Can't believe Webb is our LT! Put him back to RT where he belongs and let Carimi play LT for Christ's Sake! And please let Spencer be our center. Garza was terrible!

Looks to me like it's less that they lack talent as it is that they look like they don't know WTF they're doing and who they're supposed to be blocking. This is where not having Kruetz making the line calls is showing up big time. Garza isn't getting that done and his focus on it looks to me like it's affecting his his concentration on his blocking well. Merriman chewed him alive on that one sack.

I'd go one more game this way and if it doesn't improve then I'd put Spencer at OC, at least he has an idea of how to QB the line, and move Garza back to back to his usual spot. I'd leave Webb alone for another game too but if he doesn't pick up his assigments by then I'd consider flipping he and Carimi for a game to see how it works. Of the group I thought the most consistent blocker was CWill believe it or not.

No photos of the field, LOL. If anyone took the time to notice there were clumps of sod being torn loose all game long and the footing was slippery at best. If that's the best they can make it and it can't even stay intact for an entire half let alone a whole game it needs to be changed pure and simple.

August 13, 2011
Run game, defense fuel Bears to win


By: Larry Mayer | Last Updated: 8/13/2011 12:18 AM



CHICAGO – Fueled by a strong running game and a stingy defense, the Bears defeated the Buffalo Bills 10-3 in Saturday night’s preseason opener at Soldier Field.
Marian Barber and the Bears rushing attack powered the victory. The rushing attack produced 164 yards as Marion Barber compiled 45 yards on seven carries in the second quarter and Kahlil Bell gained a game-high 73 yards on 13 attempts in the second half.

On the game’s lone touchdown drive in the second quarter, Barber rushed for 37 yards on six carries to set up backup quarterback Caleb Hanie’s four-yard scoring run up the middle on third-and-goal.

“Marion Barber, we know he’s a good football player, but we wanted him to get comfortable here at his new home turf, home field,” said coach Lovie Smith. “I thought he did some good things running the ball, as did Kahlil Bell. Caleb Hanie I thought did a great job on that touchdown drive.”

Hanie’s TD gave the Bears a 7-3 lead with 8:07 left in the first half. The score remained unchanged until Robbie Gould’s 45-yard field goal widened the margin to 10-3 with 5:52 to play in the game.
The Bears defense held the Bills to 190 yards and no touchdowns. Buffalo crossed the 50-yard line on only two of 10 possessions in the game. The Bills’ deepest penetration was to the Chicago 26 on a first-quarter drive that resulted in their only score, Rian Lindell’s 44-yard field goal.

The biggest negative for the Bears in Saturday night’s win was their shaky pass protection. While starting quarterback Jay Cutler exited after only one possession, the No. 1 offensive line yielded four sacks while playing the entire first half. The reserves then allowed five more sacks in the second half.

“Too much pressure on the quarterback,” Smith said. “We have to tighten that up a little bit. But besides that, offensively I think we accomplished about what we wanted to do the first game. We have so far to go, but at least we can start teaching from this point with great video to work from.”

After the Bills took a 3-0 lead with 2:00 left in the first quarter, Johnny Knox returned the ensuing kickoff 70 yards to the Buffalo 29. But Bills linebacker Shawne Merriman sacked Hanie on back-to-back plays, pushing the Bears out of field goal range.

On the Bears’ next possession, Barber had runs of 11, 12 and 11 yards to set up Hanie’s TD. On one of the plays, Barber steamrolled Bills cornerback Drayton Florence. “He’s a tough runner,” Cutler said. “I think we brought him in just for that reason. He adds a different dimension to that backfield, so it’s going to be nice for us.”

Bell set up Gould’s fourth-quarter field goal by gaining 27 yards on a run and 19 yards on a screen pass on back-to-back snaps, picking up nice blocks from tight end Kyle Adams on the first play and guard Levi Horn on the second.

“That has been how he’s played when he’s gotten an opportunity,” Smith said of Bell. “He is a bruising-type runner. He’s got good hands, good moves in the open field. He’s been a good football player for us. There was a reason why he was on our team, our 53-man roster last year. He can do some things and he took advantage of an opportunity tonight.”

Defensively, tackle Amobi Okoye recorded the Bears’ only two sacks and cornerback Mike Holmes produced Chicago’s lone takeaway with an interception.

After a day off Sunday, the Bears will return to the practice field in Bourbonnais Monday afternoon to begin preparing for next Monday night’s road game against the New York Giants.

“It’s no more than a starting spot for us,” Smith said after Saturday night’s win. “Thank God we don’t play Atlanta [in the regular-season opener] right away. But we’ll get better. We’re anxious to get back to the practice field next week and pick up right where we left off tonight.”

I like Lovie's comment about accomplishing what the wanted to offensively. Besides finding out that Chester Taylor still sucks at RB their biggest revelation should have been that moving Garza to OC is a bad idea and that the Oline still can't pass proctect worth shit. Mike Martz needs to install a lot more play action and roll outs in the game plan if he expects his passing game to work until these schmoes get their collective shit together on pass protection. Looks to me like Garza's ability to make the line calls rates just a bit south of total suckitude.

Game balls to Marion Barber and Kahlil Bell for finding a way to gain yardage behind that line and to the UDFA rookie Andre Smith for his blocking. No game balls but rather a dozen pokes with a cattle prod to Hanie and Enderle who must think the ball is made of solid gold since they refuse to let go of it before they get put on their asses.

Loved that pass rush from Okoye. Obviously Paea is coming along slowly and nursing a bum knee so having Okoye and Melton playing UT looks real good to me. Melton shot the gap several times early in the game and Okoye was very steady in his extended play. Kudos to "Toe" as well for filling in for AA nicely since Harrison appeared to get inured while looking down for the donut he dropped instead of filling his gap. No great loss there. They showed a shot of him on the sidelines after he came out and he looks like a nice fat kid to me.

He'd be better off playing "Fat Albert" in a Cosby episode than playing DT in the NFL though.

There's an absolute ton of work to do on that Oline over the next three weeks and maybe it should start with moving Garza back to his natural position at RG and playing Spencer at OC. It's hard to believe that he could do any worse than Garza no matter how little he's digested off the offense so far. Item number two is to give Webb one more week at LT before swapping him with Carimi to see if Gabe can handle rushers like Merriman better than Webb can. That line still has a long way to go.