Competition for wide receiver, running back tightens

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08-11-2012, 12:31 PM
Riczaj01

Competition for wide receiver, running back tightens

http://www.dailyherald.com/article/2...rts/708109929/

Competition for wide receiver, running back tightens

By Bob LeGereArticle updated: 8/10/2012 8:36 AM

Fourth-year running back Kahlil Bell is fighting for what limited playing time will be available behind Matt Forte and Michael Bush, and he’s got competition from Lorenzo Booker and Armando Allen.

“Kahlil is having a great camp,” running backs coach Tim Spencer said. “Every year that I’ve been here he’s always had a great camp. He only had one situation where he (fumbled).
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“I’m staying on him because I’m being real conscious of the way he carries the ball because to me that’s the issue. But he gives great effort, and so I have only good things to say about him.”
But Bell found little running room in the first half Thursday night, picking up just 4 yards on 4 carries, and he caught 1 pass for 1 yard. He finished with 11 rushing yards on 6 carries.

Pedal to the metal: Dane Sanzenbacher and Eric Weems face stiff competition at the wide receiver position, and their special teams contributions could be the deciding factor when it comes to final decisions on the 53-man roster.
“A lot of guys contribute on special teams, but Dane and Eric Weems are right there with those guys,” quarterback Jay Cutler said.
“They make a hard case to cut either one of those guys because they’d definitely get picked up somewhere else, and they’re definitely going to contribute somewhere else if we do let them go.”
Sanzenbacher, the star of last year’s camp as an undrafted rookie, believes he needs to be even better this year, and he had 2 catches for 15 yards.
“He does have to be better and he has been better,” wide receivers coach Darryl Drake said. “I’ve been very pleased with what I have seen from him.”

Slow start: Running back Michael Bush, another veteran unrestricted free agent brought in to provide more firepower for the offense, was ineffective with 3 carries for 2 yards.
He also mishandled a perfect pitch from Campbell that was recovered by the Broncos’ Von Miller and returned 16 yards to the Bears’ 6-yard line, setting up Matt Prater’s 28-yard field goal that opened the scoring.
The offense ran just eight plays in the first quarter, which netted 6 yards and went to halftime with 41yards on 20 plays.

Leaving a Bear: After signing a one-day contract Wednesday, so he could retire as a Bear, nine-year NFL veteran defensive end Alex Brown was recognized on the field prior to the preseason opener.
Brown spent eight seasons with the Bears, who drafted him in the fourth round out of Florida in 2002. He started 16 games for the Saints in 2010, his last season.
“This is the team that gave me my opportunity to fulfill the dream that I had ever since I was a small child,” Brown said. “They gave me an opportunity, and I came out and played as hard as I could for them each and every weekend. I gave it everything I had. I have no regrets when it comes to football.
“I thank the McCaskey family, coach (Lovie) Smith and everybody that had anything to do with making this possible. I’m indebted to them forever.”
For his career, Brown played in 143 games and started 123. He had 522 tackles, 59 tackles for losses, 45½ sacks, 5 interceptions, 16 forced fumbles and 12 fumble recoveries. His 43½ sacks as a member of the Bears are fourth most in franchise history.
Starting with the second game of his rookie season, Brown never missed a game, and he started all 16 games in seven of his nine seasons.

Nicked up again: Starting strong safety Major Wright, whose first two NFL seasons were hindered by minor injuries, suffered a hamstring injury midway through the first quarter that isn’t believed to be serious.
08-11-2012, 03:14 PM
JustAnotherBearsFan99

Bush was unimpressive Thursday. The blocking stunk, but those are situations where Forte routinely makes "something out of nothing". It makes you appreciate Forte these past few seasons, where he made great yardage where there often wasn't a hole to hit. It was 100% Matt.

The blocking (and Bush) will get better.

I loved this part about Brown:

Quote:

Starting with the second game of his rookie season, Brown never missed a game, and he started all 16 games in seven of his nine seasons.
08-11-2012, 05:19 PM
Riczaj01

Just be glad Forte's deal got done, b/c if he was still holding out the Bears would have just lost a ton of leverage; it's that type of backup performance that gives MJD hope.

btw mjd is not a 1st round and probably late 2nd round Fantasy pickup.
08-11-2012, 06:03 PM
Dagan81

This is a make or break year for Lovie and Tice. If they cannot deliver on their promises to coach up the line so that we can run with authority when we've had ample opportunities to get better players to build it up to be a powerful force, they both deserve to be fired. This team is getting old fast, and while we have had a solid draft in each of the past two seasons, I just don't know how long it's going to be before the Bears wind up having to scrap everything and start from scratch. I shudder to think that sometime soon, we'll be finishing 1-15, 2-14, or 3-13, but it will happen if we don't start addressing needs on the offensive line. With the wave of high-flying offenses taking precedence over defenses nowadays, I think we can go it a little longer without a truly dominant defense for a little longer so long as we have a great offense - we can still make the playoffs in other words.
08-11-2012, 06:05 PM
soulman

Here's my take on it so far.

RB: I think Bell definitely has the inside track and that 3rd spot is his to lose. I'm not really and fan of Booker and if Allen shows enough to be kept around I sure wouldn't do it at the expense of keeping a guy who I think may be just what the doctor ordered and that's a John Kuhn type RB/FB.

I think Harvey Unga is the "wild card" pick for a 4th RB spot. He's similar in size to the Packers Kuhn and unlike Clutts, who he's in competition with, he's also proven that he can run with power and catch the ball out of the backfield. I do like Clutts as a lead blocking FB but that's about the limits of his abilities. That and STeams. If Unga can produce there as well as Clutts than you have to keep the guy based on his other skills.

If we were to lose Bush to injury there goes our "power back" right down the tubes. I don't like a backfield trio of Forte, Bell and Allen or Booker. We're right back to that same old problem of lacking a "big back" who can get the tough yardage on the goal line or third and two. Harvey Unga is the guy I'm gonna be pulling for during the rest of preseason.

WR: We keep hearing about what a great camp Brittan Golden has had but I didn't see anything special in him the other night. His "hands of glue" had a drop on an easy pass too. Sanz is worth keeping even if he isn't a STeams super star. That's what we signed Weems for and if he can add anything as a WR then it's a bonus.

Sanz is a tough gritty little guy who knows how to work the field to get open and despite his case of the "dropsies" last year has great hands and is fearless over the middle and working under zone coverage. We need to keep him around to back Bennett as a slot and 3rd down guy end of story. If we cut him watch NE scoop him up before the ink on the fax to the NFL offices is dry.

Guys like Golden and Chris Summers should get waived and put on the PS if they clear waivers. They're prospects worth keeping around but they don't deserve a roster spot right now. And if Rashied Davis bumps Sanz off the roster I'm gonna be really pissed. STeam monster or not he's not more valuable overall than Sanz or Weems. In fact he is exactly like Weems so where is the need?
08-11-2012, 06:09 PM
soulman

Glad to hear about Alex too. What a class act. It was sad to see him go but he does deserve to retire as a Chicago Bear. He may not go down with the greats as far as a pass rushers but he should has an overall player, teammate and human being. Congrats to you Alex.
08-11-2012, 06:52 PM
Dagan81

I was really shocked last year when Sanzenbacher struggled to hold onto the football when he made catches. He was always so reliable at Ohio State, and I watched him a lot when he played for the Buckeyes. I was shocked when he went undrafted, and so was my best friend, who was happy when the Bears signed him (he's a Cleveland Browns fan, a long suffering one, but he will watch the Bears with me when we both have time).

To cut Sanz would be a huge mistake. I think he was probably experiencing a case of the jitters last year since it was his first year in the league. I really think he can become another Wes Welker-type. Think about it: Welker was an UDFA rookie and has now gone on to be the most prolific receiver in the NFL today. He and Sanz are about the same size. If Sanz stops dropping the damn ball so much, he could give Hester a run for his money in the slot.
08-11-2012, 07:06 PM
soulman

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dagan81

I was really shocked last year when Sanzenbacher struggled to hold onto the football when he made catches. He was always so reliable at Ohio State, and I watched him a lot when he played for the Buckeyes. I was shocked when he went undrafted, and so was my best friend, who was happy when the Bears signed him (he's a Cleveland Browns fan, a long suffering one, but he will watch the Bears with me when we both have time).

To cut Sanz would be a huge mistake. I think he was probably experiencing a case of the jitters last year since it was his first year in the league. I really think he can become another Wes Welker-type. Think about it: Welker was an UDFA rookie and has now gone on to be the most prolific receiver in the NFL today. He and Sanz are about the same size. If Sanz stops dropping the damn ball so much, he could give Hester a run for his money in the slot.

I think we're gonna see Hester starting at Flanker and sharing time there with Jeffery. From what Drake is saying Jeffery is showing better stuff than they expected of him as a rookie and since his game is exactly 180 degrees opposite Hester's they make a nice complimentary pair outside.

Even though we don't hear much about Bennett he has that slot locked up and that's why we don't hear much about him. Hester will take some snaps in the slot in his "package" just to get some mismatches but he's not the guy we want in there as a crucial 3rd down guy. To me that where Sanz is ideal as a #2 to Bennett just because of Bennett's injury history. Both guys will take some hard shots playing slot and we'll need that depth before the year is through.

I'm gonna chalk those "dropises" up to rookie nerves last year. When the kid has his head in the game and his confidence up he's almost infallible and he's proven that despite his small stature he can score. Catches are nice but six pointers are gold. Cutler wants him around and they need to listen to what he has to say. If we're gonna give him weapons then let's give him all of them that he asks for.
08-12-2012, 10:40 AM
Dagan81

Quote:

Originally Posted by soulman

I think we're gonna see Hester starting at Flanker and sharing time there with Jeffery. From what Drake is saying Jeffery is showing better stuff than they expected of him as a rookie and since his game is exactly 180 degrees opposite Hester's they make a nice complimentary pair outside.

Even though we don't hear much about Bennett he has that slot locked up and that's why we don't hear much about him. Hester will take some snaps in the slot in his "package" just to get some mismatches but he's not the guy we want in there as a crucial 3rd down guy. To me that where Sanz is ideal as a #2 to Bennett just because of Bennett's injury history. Both guys will take some hard shots playing slot and we'll need that depth before the year is through.

I'm gonna chalk those "dropises" up to rookie nerves last year. When the kid has his head in the game and his confidence up he's almost infallible and he's proven that despite his small stature he can score. Catches are nice but six pointers are gold. Cutler wants him around and they need to listen to what he has to say. If we're gonna give him weapons then let's give him all of them that he asks for.

Roger that, soul. You and I agree 100% on the rookie jitters bit. I think that's all that was with Sanzenbacher, but he has to prove in camp that he's not going to drop the football on routine out patterns or slants over the middle.

I definitely want Lovie to give Sanz another chance. As I said before, he has the potential to be another Wes Welker if used properly. Everyone could use someone like that, right?