It’s comforting to learn that we weren’t the only ones left scratching our heads while watching Bears rookie quarterback Mitch Trubisky throw a meaningless pass in a game that had long-been decided in favor of the Browns.
In the end, no harm no foul, right? Not quite. The Bears went against their plan with a late-game audible, which opened the team up to a fair amount of criticism. Their original plan was sound, even if the execution led to the most excruciatingly boring three-and-outs of the preseason … but it was made with the future in mind.
We’ll all soon move past it, but it might stick in the back of our minds for a while knowing how crucial every decision could be for head coach John Fox in the year before his walk year.
In case you were curious about the whereabouts of No. 2 quarterback Mark Sanchez, he was made unavailable to play by the Bears’ coaching staff. That left Sanchez with just six passes thrown in limited preseason action. How the Bears’ use of Sanchez in the preseason impacts his future remains to be seen. But over at the Chicago Tribune, Dan Wiederer writes Sanchez’s job could be in jeopardy – meaning he could be one of the 1,184 players sweating it out as Saturday’s roster cut-down deadline approaches at 3 p.m. on Saturday.
(Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images)
Quarterbacks aren’t the only players on hold waiting to see if they’ve made the cut. Players with special teams value are used to living life on the roster bubble. The Athletic’s Kevin Fishbain wonders if safety Deon Bush has done enough to make it onto the season-opening roster. The Bears’ secondary is crowded, which would ideally help the team avoid some depth issues as the season goes along. Bush, who was one of the Bears’ fourth-round picks in 2016, brings some special teams experience to the table – and that has never hurt anyone’s case when fighting for a roster spot. He also played in 11 games and even made six starts last season, but with Quintin Demps, Eddie Jackson, and Adrian Amos among those ahead of him on the depth chart, it’s fair to wonder where Bush will fit in the mix.
JJ Stankevitz of CSN Chicago breaks down the performances of the Bears’ rookie draft class, and it comes with some mixed results. We’ve spent plenty of time talking about Trubisky’s successful preseason, but running back Tarik Cohen (6.4 yards per carry) and safety Eddie Jackson (he could start Week 1 against the Falcons) turned heads for positive reasons too. On the other hand, Adam Shaheen might have been the biggest preseason disappointment. He came away with just six catches and 37 receiving yards. After catching everything in offseason workouts, Shaheen had a few miscues early in the preseason. To be fair, Shaheen is still making adjustments to the competition level and the added responsibilities. His potential progress will be worth tracking from here on out.
There wasn’t much clarity after the dust settled regarding the Bears’ wide receiver dilemma. Then again, the Bears threw the ball only 23 times in their 49 offensive plays. As far as I’m concerned, it shows the Bears just might lean on the players in camp who were given the night off on Thursday. At the top of the list is Kevin White, who Victor Cruz (who is on the receiver roster bubble) believes can be the real deal. “He’s a great player and I think in talking to him he understands how good he can be; it’s just a matter of putting that work in out here on the practice field to reap those benefits,” said Cruz of White to Larry Mayer of ChicagoBears.com. “He’s been up and down with injuries, so this is the year where he has to take over and be the guy that they drafted him to be. I think he’s ready for that and I think he’s conscious of the pressure that’s on him and he’s relishing it.”
While our mind tries to picture the Bears’ best receiving options, I’m reminded nothing ushers in the start of the college football season like crazy touchdown catches:
"I'm a shy person, but when I saw my phone I was like 'whoaaaa!'" -Jaleel Scott when asked if he knew that his catch went viral. #AggieUppic.twitter.com/ifjz60KdM6
Laken Tomlinson, who attended Lane Tech High School in Chicago, is a former first-round pick who is on the move. Tomlinson was selected by the Detroit Lions with the 28th overall pick in the 2015 NFL Draft, but is headed to the San Francisco 49ers in exchange for a fifth-round pick.
Over at Bleacher Report, Brent Sobleski unveils what he has learned about each of the NFL’s 32 teams after preseason’s conclusion. It’s a small sample, but Sobleski believes Trubisky could be the real deal after seeing how he performed in the preseason. All things considered, Trubisky made plenty of positive first impressions during training camp and preseason games. Hopefully, he’ll get a chance to do it again during the regular season.
Luis C. Medina, who you can find on Twitter at lcm1986, has been covering the Chicago Bears at Bleacher Nation since 2017. Since then, he has written about 3 head coaches, 5 play-callers, and 11 starting quarterbacks. Previously, Luis wrote about the Cubs and MLB at BN (2015-16) and worked in the Chicago Tribune sports department (2011-16). He also co-hosted a Cubs postgame show, Outside the Ivy, in 2019.
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