Bears/NFL training camp opens

[Sammy Sofa]

I could have sworn there was one of those rumors all over the place years ago that Urlacher hated a certain alternate jersey color or uniform combo because of a particularly disastrous game or injury that occurred while wearing it/them and that's why whatever it was went away.

[David]

I could have sworn there was one of those rumors all over the place years ago that Urlacher hated a certain alternate jersey color or uniform combo because of a particularly disastrous game or injury that occurred while wearing it/them and that's why whatever it was went away.

 

Well, they literally haven't worn the white on white combo since the disastrous week 1 in 2009, where cutler threw 4 or 5 picks in his debut and urlacher was lost for the season. i actually miss that.

 

and i remember the lovie bears hating the blue/blue combo because they always seemed to get their asses kicked when they wore it.

 

i think that's their color rush combo now, which they appear to be wearing vs green bay this year.

[Sammy Sofa]

I could have sworn there was one of those rumors all over the place years ago that Urlacher hated a certain alternate jersey color or uniform combo because of a particularly disastrous game or injury that occurred while wearing it/them and that's why whatever it was went away.

 

Well, they literally haven't worn the white on white combo since the disastrous week 1 in 2009, where cutler threw 4 or 5 picks in his debut and urlacher was lost for the season. i actually miss that.

 

Ah-hah, that's the one.

[David]

question for those of you who watch a good amount of both college and NFL football...

 

how many magnitudes better would you say that talent pool of week 4 preseason NFL (so 3rd/4th stringers) is than the upper echelon of college teams?

[UMFan83]

question for those of you who watch a good amount of both college and NFL football...

 

how many magnitudes better would you say that talent pool of week 4 preseason NFL (so 3rd/4th stringers) is than the upper echelon of college teams?

 

im not qualified to answer but i will anyway. I'd guess it would be like watching the Senior Bowl or one of those college all star games. Most of the guys playing were successful college players with upside but are probably not going to make the team or will be one of the last 4-5 guys to make the cut. They were probably not good enough to come out until junior year at the very earliest but most likely seniors, and most probably havent been in the league for more then 3-4 years as most veterans have either made the roster or have been cut already.

[We Got The Whole 9]

I could have sworn there was one of those rumors all over the place years ago that Urlacher hated a certain alternate jersey color or uniform combo because of a particularly disastrous game or injury that occurred while wearing it/them and that's why whatever it was went away.

 

Well, they literally haven't worn the white on white combo since the disastrous week 1 in 2009, where cutler threw 4 or 5 picks in his debut and urlacher was lost for the season. i actually miss that.

 

and i remember the lovie bears hating the blue/blue combo because they always seemed to get their asses kicked when they wore it.

 

i think that's their color rush combo now, which they appear to be wearing vs green bay this year.

I don't pay much attention to this stuff but that is nuts. I love the white on white and the superstitious bullcrap just makes me chuckle. I'm really surprised to hear that was the last time we wore that combo.

[Guest]

I could have sworn there was one of those rumors all over the place years ago that Urlacher hated a certain alternate jersey color or uniform combo because of a particularly disastrous game or injury that occurred while wearing it/them and that's why whatever it was went away.

 

Well, they literally haven't worn the white on white combo since the disastrous week 1 in 2009, where cutler threw 4 or 5 picks in his debut and urlacher was lost for the season. i actually miss that.

 

and i remember the lovie bears hating the blue/blue combo because they always seemed to get their asses kicked when they wore it.

 

i think that's their color rush combo now, which they appear to be wearing vs green bay this year.

 

I was at that game.

[Guest]

I want the all whites and i need the all whites.

[Guest]

I could have sworn there was one of those rumors all over the place years ago that Urlacher hated a certain alternate jersey color or uniform combo because of a particularly disastrous game or injury that occurred while wearing it/them and that's why whatever it was went away.

 

Well, they literally haven't worn the white on white combo since the disastrous week 1 in 2009, where cutler threw 4 or 5 picks in his debut and urlacher was lost for the season. i actually miss that.

 

and i remember the lovie bears hating the blue/blue combo because they always seemed to get their asses kicked when they wore it.

 

i think that's their color rush combo now, which they appear to be wearing vs green bay this year.

I don't pay much attention to this stuff but that is nuts. I love the white on white and the superstitious bullcrap just makes me chuckle. I'm really surprised to hear that was the last time we wore that combo.

 

I was really excited, it was Sunday Night football on ESPN. i saw them run out in the all whites and i turned to the packer kid behind me and said, the good guys wear white. I've been waiting for the all whites ever since.

[Sammy Sofa]

http://i.imgur.com/i2yYun3.gif

[Ding Dong Johnson]

sulley got a haircut

 

[Thrilho]

Good article on the progress of the rookie QBs.

 

http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap3000000837283/article/rookie-qb-grades-mitchell-trubisky-up-deshone-kizer-uneven

 

Mitchell Trubisky: A

 

Preseason analysis: Trubisky has been outstanding in the preseason. He's thrown with timing, accuracy and touch. He's shown plenty of arm strength to drive the ball and looks comfortable working through progressions from inside the pocket. He's also shown impressive athleticism, throwing on the move or picking up free yards with his legs when the opportunities arise.

 

Areas for improvement: I don't think there's a lot to criticize, based on his play in the preseason. He did miss a couple of easy underneath throws and will occasionally lock on his first read, but the good has far outweighed the bad.

 

Patrick Mahomes: B+

 

Mahomes has been an exciting player to watch in the preseason. He flashes some incredible off-platform throws, and his ability to extend plays is impressive. However, his footwork is still very much a work in progress, and he is quick to bail from a clean pocket if his first read isn't available.

 

Mahomes is still incredibly raw as a pocket passer. He's inconstant in his drop and can be reckless with the football.

... I don't expect to see him play much in 2017, barring an injury to Smith.

 

Deshawn Watson: C

Preseason analysis: Watson has made a few nice throws and shown the ability to generate yards with his legs, but overall, he's been very inconsistent this preseason. When his first read is available, he's been able to deliver the ball accurately. However, he has struggled to quickly work through progressions, and he's forced way too many balls into high-traffic areas.

 

He also has struggled to accurately drive the ball down the seam, missing too high on several occasions...

 

DeShone Kizer: B

 

Preseason analysis: ...He has shown excellent poise and patience inside the pocket and plenty of arm strength to drive the ball down the field. He has forced some balls, but he's also displayed the ability to make big-time throws on the move.

 

Touch and decision-making remain a concern, based on my study of Kizer in the preseason. He still relies solely on the fastball, and that leads to poor placement on underneath and intermediate throws.

 

...He will flash big-play potential, but he will also take unnecessary sacks and likely produce more than his share of turnovers.

 

I think these summaries work for how I see the careers of each of these guys. It's Trubisky and a bunch of a severely flawed guys. Maybe Maholmes is able to correct his footwork and learn to work through progressions more. But even that seems like some pretty big projects. Watson is not very accurate on mid to deep balls and was a one read type guy who currently has a tendency to take off too quick. I don't think his arm talent is in the anywhere close to Trubisky or even Maholmes. Kizer is a guy with a rocket that's pretty inaccurate that he uses at all levels of the field with little touch. And he hasn't shown nearly the decision making of Trubisky at the college level.

 

Then there's Mitch. Basically has shown every athletic thing you'd want and has worked through his progressions well and had one ball with a decent chance of getting intercepted. We'll see what happens tonight, but I'd guess it's going to be pretty good.

Edited August 31, 2017 by Thrilho

[Thrilho]

posting this for umfan and other dorks who care about this stuff

 

https://www.instagram.com/p/BYcDooZhfxa/?taken-by=chicagobears

Figured I'd put this one in a different post so people can call me dumb for each one individually, but this schedule doesn't look that bad to me. I'm going to say 8-8.

 

So forgetting about the team itself, let's look at this super hard schedule everyone is talking about. There are 7 games against teams over .500, 3 against 8-8 teams, and 6 games against teams under .500. No team won 12 games and only two won 11.

 

The first 4 games are pretty hard, but you could definitely take the Tampa game without a Herculean QB effort. The rest would probably take a pretty good game, but they could beat the 11 win Steelers with a solid effort at home.

 

After that first 4 games though the next 4 leading into the bye week are against teams with a combined 29-35 record in 2016. Then in the back half you've got Browns, 9ers, Eagles, Bengals and a bunch of division. Doesn't look that scary to me.

 

Yeah, the Bears were only 3-13, but they were playing with bad QBs all last year and had tons of injuries. Lots of spots got tightened up in the offseason. Looking at safety and d-line (Howard, Bullard, healthy Goldman, 2nd year Floyd). Elite running game, good line, deep TE group, solid enough corners. I think Gentry steps up to make the receiver group good enough.

 

But also QB. Either Glennon is going to take the bull by the horns and win at least one of the first 4 and play very well in the others or Trubisky is going to be playing. And I'm not going to say Mitch is going to go all Dak on the league, but I wouldn't put it out of the range of him carrying the team into a playoff race with pretty good play.

 

So anyway, hot takes...get your hot takes here...

[Brian]

they really not going to let Mitch throw at all?

[UMFan83]

they really not going to let Mitch throw at all?

 

He's in there to practice taking snaps and handing off?

[Thrilho]

But don't blitz our guy

[Brian]

7 for 7 hand offs, booooo

 

edit: 9 for 9, I was really excited for this game which sounds stupid to say of preseason game 4

[We Got The Whole 9]

Well horsefeathers watching this game.

 

I guess I'm glad they kept Mitch healthy... but I wanted to see him destroy these guys.

[Guest]

http://i.imgur.com/i2yYun3.gif

 

I enjoy the whites?

[raw]

I want the all whites and i need the all whites.

 

#MAGA

[UMFan83]

Sounds like Houston and Cruz both left with knee injuries

[raw]

question for those of you who watch a good amount of both college and NFL football...

 

how many magnitudes better would you say that talent pool of week 4 preseason NFL (so 3rd/4th stringers) is than the upper echelon of college teams?

 

im not qualified to answer but i will anyway. I'd guess it would be like watching the Senior Bowl or one of those college all star games. Most of the guys playing were successful college players with upside but are probably not going to make the team or will be one of the last 4-5 guys to make the cut. They were probably not good enough to come out until junior year at the very earliest but most likely seniors, and most probably havent been in the league for more then 3-4 years as most veterans have either made the roster or have been cut already.

 

Yeah, seems pretty accurate. A bunch of vanilla players, running vanilla plays. A top college team would probably beat them simply because it's a bunch of guys who probably haven't had a ton of reps, whereas the opposite would be true for the top college teams.

[raw]

question for those of you who watch a good amount of both college and NFL football...

 

how many magnitudes better would you say that talent pool of week 4 preseason NFL (so 3rd/4th stringers) is than the upper echelon of college teams?

 

im not qualified to answer but i will anyway. I'd guess it would be like watching the Senior Bowl or one of those college all star games. Most of the guys playing were successful college players with upside but are probably not going to make the team or will be one of the last 4-5 guys to make the cut. They were probably not good enough to come out until junior year at the very earliest but most likely seniors, and most probably havent been in the league for more then 3-4 years as most veterans have either made the roster or have been cut already.

 

Yeah, seems pretty accurate. A bunch of vanilla players, running vanilla plays. A top college team would probably beat them simply because it's a bunch of guys who probably haven't had a ton of reps, whereas the opposite would be true for the top college teams.

[raw]

Sounds like Houston and Cruz both left with knee injuries

 

I honestly don't think either was making the team. Houston might have just based on sheer need. But Irving looks to be taking the job and Houston wouldn't have been out there in the first place had his spot been safe.

[WrigleyField 22]

Well the defense ran by the d bag Gregg Williams late hit our future at QB. Knowing he was d coordinator should have been enough to keep Trubisky out, glad he came away unscathed. Wonder what the bounty on Mitchell was?