Tonight marks the Bears’ final open practice at Bourbonnais, which will take place under the lights on the campus of Olivet Nazarene University. If you’re headed out there, just know that gates open at 6:30 p.m. and you should be prepared to deal with traffic as I-57 South has some construction-related lane reductions.
Whoever thought it was a good idea to have construction season at the same time of Bears camp really didn’t think that through.
Here’s hoping we’ll see you there tonight.
Ever wonder what Mitch Trubisky sounds like when he’s on the practice field? Well, you’re in luck:
And if you were wondering what Mitch Trubisky was going to look like in a new offense led by a new set of coaches with new personnel around him, well, you’ll have to wait a little bit longer. It’s impossible to from strong conclusions from an eight-play cameo that didn’t provide much to write home about. Tack on the fact that Allen Robinson, Jordan Howard, Tarik Cohen, and Taylor Gabriel were on the sidelines for Thursday’s game, it was difficult to fairly grade with the big picture in mind. The offense received an “Incomplete” grade from yours truly, but I really hope to see something tangible when the team take the field next week against the Denver Broncos.
PFF’s Michael Renner provides a team-by-team breakdown of each NFL team’s running back position, and the Bears find themselves in good company. The tandem of Howard and Cohen have Chicago checking in as the ninth best running back group in the game. Renner favorably compares the Bears’ set-up to what the Falcons have with Devonta Freeman and Tevin Coleman. So yeah, don’t mind us if we’re not willing to go hard one way or another until we start seeing Howard and Cohen together with Trubisky and the rest of the offense.
Some interesting offensive looks from the Bears, via ESPN’s Matt Bowen:
#NFL preseason “game plans” focus on core concepts. Here’s an example with the #Bears offense. Classic west coast “stick route” in a 2×2 formation. Clear-out with the stick/flat + backside slants. @NFLMatchuppic.twitter.com/yqdGcc1AZC
#Bears: This is the same “stick route” from an empty formation. In August, coaches are grading players on their ability to execute the base schemes. Alignment, assignment & technique. @NFLMatchuppic.twitter.com/s0OuhtqFPB
Because I was curious, I wanted to see how Patrick Mahomes fared in his 2018 preseason debut with the Chiefs. Mahomes went 5-for-7 for 33 yards as Kansas City limited him to just two drives, both of which ended in punts. Both Mahomes and Trubisky are in similar shoes as second-year quarterbacks who have been given the keys to the offense, but still have much to prove. In both cases, we should remind ourselves to be patient in situations where we might otherwise want to make grand pronouncements.
If there was one player whose presence was missed more than that of the aforementioned offensive players who missed Thursday’s game, it was Roquan Smith. And not just because conversation regarding his holdout spilled into the broadcast booth and was part of the game coverage, but because you could see where he was actually missed. John Timu getting the start at middle linebacker and getting lost in coverage while A.J. Green ran past him was a less-than-ideal situation we watched unfold against the Bengals. Timu’s play improved as the night went on, but there’s a clear drop-off from the top tier of starting linebackers and the rest.
With that in mind, I found John Mullin’s perspective on Smith’s holdout interesting. Mullin digs into Bears history, which serves as a reminder that causation and correlation are two very different things. Holdouts don’t necessarily cause long-term negative impact, which is something we should keep in mind as was slog through another day without Smith being in the fold.
While the defensive side of the ball is on our mind, Adam Jahns of the Sun-Times sees the offense’s running of run-pass option plays as something that provides a good test for the Bears’ defense. The Bears running RPOs gives the other side of the ball a different look to practice against, which could help them prepare for teams who use them more often. We have remarked a time or two about how the Packers have thrashed the Bears with RPO plays dating back to the Brett Favre era. Perhaps practicing against it will help? I mean, it certainly can’t hurt.
Alright, no jinxing the kicking game moving forward. OK? Deal:
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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