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#Post#: 29530--------------------------------------------------
Re: Today's Game
DIR By: dallasbear
Date: August 23, 2011, 1:46 pm
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--- Quote from: yapper link ---
>
> Here are my grades for last night.
>
> STARTING OFFENSE - D
> Cutler looks much better and the OL is rounding into form.
That's about it for the positives. The air game was brutal...
Roy Williams and Hester failed multiple times each on clutch
plays, and Knox and Kellen Davis were invisible. The much
ballyhooed improved ground game was nowhere in evidence. Red
zone playcalling and execution were both dreadful.
>
> SCRUB OFFENSE - C-minus
> They scored a TD, which is more than the starters could do.
But our 2nd-team O-Linemen wouldn't even be on a good team's
roster.
>
> STARTING DEFENSE - C-minus
> Marginally improved pass rush offset by terrible coverage and
bad tackling. It doesn't appear we have anyone in the
D-Backfield except Tillman who can cover and nobody but Tim
Jennings that can tackle. Major Wright did not look like
starting material and as much as I never thought I'd say it, I
think we'll be missing Danieal Manning sooner than later.
>
> SCRUB DEFENSE - F
> We are really screwed if any of our D starters go down cause
these guys are awful. Can't think of a single guy on this unit
who really looked like he belonged on an NFL field. Okoye,
maybe. Paea and Gholston were non-factors and Conte may have
athleticism but he looks totally lost out there.
>
> SPECIAL TEAMS - D
> The only thing that keeps this from being lower is the 6
points from our FG unit. Punting.... yikes. Neither of our P's
have any leg, coverage was bad and the blocked punt was
inexcusable. Kickoff returns were a non-factor but I lay that
on the NFL rule change more than our team.
>
> BOTTOM LINE
> Lazy, sloppy and embarrassing showing by a team that appears
to have lost more good players than they've gained.
>
--- End Quote ---
Comments on:
STARTING OFFENSE: Knox was invisible in the 1st half cuz he
was on the bench. As for Davis being invisible - get used to
it. He won't be split out as frequently as Olsen was and I'd
bet he's not targeted as frequently. Not saying he can't have a
decent year but I think Martz had to draw up special plays to
get Olsen into the game plan. I don't think he will be that
accomodating with Davis and Spaeth.
SCRUB OFFENSE - I liked the young RT..is that Levi Horn...#79?
STARTING DEFENSE - I thought the DBs played the pass OK. Didn't
see Manningham or Nicks or their starting TEs do much of
anything. Wright took a bad angle - it happens. Chris Harris
did the same thing last PS too...several times. I thought Roach
and Iwuh looked good. DTs were invisible. Peppers was a beast.
SCRUB DEFENSE - Not much there last night.
SPECIAL TEAMS - Abysmal...like last PS. Toub will fix what can
be fixed. Not sure about the KO returns...remains to be seen if
every KO will be returned.
BOTTOM LINE
O-line looked decent, Cutler was sharp, no injuries...biggest
concern is getting Roy Williams going.
#Post#: 29531--------------------------------------------------
Re: Today's Game
DIR By: vj
Date: August 23, 2011, 1:48 pm
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Spencer <i>may</i> be an upgrade over Kreutz...if he was lined
up next to Garza.
If he stays healthy, Wright has the talent and instincts to be
an upgrade over Manning.
Olsen? Wait till the next draft? He wasn't perfect. He wasn't
the prototypical blocking TE that Martz wanted, but he made
plays.
Roy hasn't proven he can be as dependable a pass catcher as
Aroma during the little time he was on the field.
It won't take much for Okoye or Melton or Paea to have a bigger
impact than Tommie.
Carimi is well on his way to being a fixture at RT and haven't
heard much about Chris Williams at LG...which is a good thing.
Yapper would be a upgrade over Manu.
#Post#: 29535--------------------------------------------------
Re: Today's Game
DIR By: yapper
Date: August 23, 2011, 2:03 pm
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--- Quote from: dallasbear link ---
>
> As for Davis being invisible - get used to it. He won't be
split out as frequently as Olsen was and I'd bet he's not
targeted as frequently. Not saying he can't have a decent year
but I think Martz had to draw up special plays to get Olsen into
the game plan.
>
--- End Quote ---
It really *****d me off when Martz called those two worthless
plays to Hester down on the goal line. The first one he fell
down and the second one he dropped even though the ball was
perfectly placed. At least one of those plays should have been
a pass to Kellen Davis and I can only hope that's one of those
plays they're keeping hidden for the regular season.
--- Quote from: dallasbear link ---
>
> STARTING DEFENSE - I thought the DBs played the pass OK.
Didn't see Manningham or Nicks or their starting TEs do much of
anything.
--- End Quote ---
That Cruz kid ate us up. D.J. Moore just looked stupid on that
one play where Cruz went up and got it and Moore didn't even
turn around. He's been in the league long enough he should know
how to defend that play but then our DB coach isn't very good so
that's not a real surprise I guess. Tillman and Jennings played
pretty well and Corey Graham showed some good stuff with the 2s
but the rest of our DBs did not impress, either in pass coverage
or run support.
As for Spencer, it looked like he did OK but by the time he was
at C the Giants were playing their scrubs so it's kind of hard
to grade him out. I do know that the interior of our starting OL
is much stouter with Garza at C and it was nice to see Cutler
actually able to step up into the pocket a couple of times. I
found our run blocking to still be a bit lacking though. In any
event the Giants have a Top 5 DL so it's good our OL got that
test early on.
#Post#: 29538--------------------------------------------------
Re: Today's Game
DIR By: dallasbear
Date: August 23, 2011, 2:14 pm
---------------------------------------------------------
--- Quote from: yapper link ---
>
> Dallas, do you think we have a better team player-for-player
this year than we did last year? In other words, after adding
Roy Williams, Barber, Okoye, Gholston, Spencer, Spaeth and this
year's rookies... and subtracting Manu, Tommie Harris, Danieal
Manning, Greg Olsen, Kreutz, Aromashadu, etc... are we net
positive for talent, or negative?
>
> On paper it would appear we've improved significantly but on
the field it's been a different story. Carimi is definitely an
upgrade at RT... Spaeth is a better blocking TE than Manu...
Barber is better than Taylor (who I assume he will displace).
Other than that...
>
--- End Quote ---
At this point in the season compared to last year we are a bit
better. Chris Willaims was our LT and Omiyale was RT. We are
much better there. Barber is an upgrade to Taylor...so far it
seems. Bears will miss Kreutz but he might have been the reason
we were 31st in the league on 3rd and 4th and 1 conversions.
I will need proof that Roy Williams/Davis/Spaeth is an upgrade
to Knox/Olsen/Manu. Not looking good right now.
Defensively, we need a healthy Wooten, but Okoye is an upgrade
to Tommie Harris. Major Wright just needs some reps. I'd like
to see Bowman back in the mix against Jennings, but I see why
he's starting.
Bottom line, I think we're somewhat ahead of where we were last
year at this time. But not close to where we were at the end of
the season. But that's expected.
#Post#: 29539--------------------------------------------------
Re: Today's Game
DIR By: yapper
Date: August 23, 2011, 2:16 pm
---------------------------------------------------------
--- Quote from: dallasbear link ---
>
> SPECIAL TEAMS - Abysmal...like last PS. Toub will fix what
can be fixed. Not sure about the KO returns...remains to be
seen if every KO will be returned.
>
--- End Quote ---
The one thing I have to keep reminding myself of there is that
Toub is down two guys (Rasheed Davis and Garrett Wolfe) who for
all their positional shortcomings were aces on STs. Plus the
loss of a stud returner (Danieal Manning), and a long time
punter (Maynard). So it's probably not too much of a stretch to
say that this is a rebuilding year for STs.
Still... STs looked really bad last night. Especially the punt
team.
#Post#: 29541--------------------------------------------------
Re: Today's Game
DIR By: yapper
Date: August 23, 2011, 2:19 pm
---------------------------------------------------------
--- Quote from: dallasbear link ---
>
> Bottom line, I think we're somewhat ahead of where we were
last year at this time. But not close to where we were at the
end of the season.
>
--- End Quote ---
That's a fair assessment, and I concur. I think it's unrealistic
to assume that the Bears team that faces the Falcons on Sept. 11
will be as good as the team that beat up the Seahawks in the
playoffs -- in fact the Falcons may very well clean our clocks
in the opener -- but hopefully it won't take us more than a
couple games to get back to that level and then we hopefully
improve from there.
#Post#: 29543--------------------------------------------------
Re: Today's Game
DIR By: boogie
Date: August 23, 2011, 2:42 pm
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And lets not forget the contribution Briggs makes on D. He is
not the superstar, but he does make a difference.
#Post#: 29550--------------------------------------------------
Re: Today's Game
DIR By: yapper
Date: August 23, 2011, 3:00 pm
---------------------------------------------------------
--- Quote from: boogie link ---
>
> And lets not forget the contribution Briggs makes on D. He is
not the superstar, but he does make a difference.
>
--- End Quote ---
He makes a huge difference. I have maintained that for the last
couple of years he (not Urlacher) is the most valuable LB we
have and that he is second only to Peppers in his importance to
our D.
With him, Urlacher and Peppers all out of the lineup of course a
defensive letdown was to be expected... but I really expected
our backup defenders to show more than they did. There were
some guys out there last night who really didn't look like they
belonged in an NFL uni.
#Post#: 29551--------------------------------------------------
Re: Today's Game
DIR By: Sportster
Date: August 23, 2011, 3:06 pm
---------------------------------------------------------
My opinion on the whole matter is without a doubt, Angelo has to
go. He cannot be near this team next season if they expect to
show marked improvement on talent on this team. His drafts are
just horrendous and he's dragging this team downward talentwise.
We're right now relying on either FA acquisitions or old talent
(Url, Briggs, Tillman, Cutler, Peppers, Barber). Last time I
checked, you don't build a champion from FA acquisitions! His
drafts have been so horrendous it's hard to remember if there
are any impact players ON the team from recent drafts!
In BOLD-Players having made a impact
Players no longer with team
2005 Bears Draft 2006
Draft 2007 Draft
1 Daniel Mannin 1 Greg Olsen
1 Cedric Benson 2
Devin Hester 2 Dan Bezuin
2 Mark Bradley 3
Dusty Dvoracek 3 Garrett Wolfe
3 Trade
4 Jamar Williams 4 Michael Okwo
4 Kyle Orton 5
Mark Anderson 5 Josh Beekman
5 Airese Currie Clemson 6 JD
runnels 6 Kevin Payne
6 S Chris Harris 7
Tyler Reed 7 Corey Graham
7 Rod Wilson S.
8 Trumain McBride
9 Aaron Brant
2008 Draft 2009 Draft
2010 Draft
1 Chris Williams 3 Jarron Gilbert
1 Major Wright
2 Matt Forte 4 Juaquin Iglesias
2 Corey Wooten
3 Earl Bennett 5 Henry Melton
3 Josh Moore
4 Marcus Harrison 6 DJ Moore
4 Dan LeFevour
5 Craig Steltz 7 Johnny Knox
5 J' Marcus Webb
6 Zach Bowman 8 Marcus Freeman
7 Kellen Davis 9 Al Afalava
8 Earwin Baldwin 10 Lance Louis
11 Doug
Kinder
9 Chester Adams
10 Joey LaRocque
11 Kirk Barton
12 Marcus Monk
#Post#: 29565--------------------------------------------------
Re: Today's Game
DIR By: yapper
Date: August 23, 2011, 3:53 pm
---------------------------------------------------------
Thanks for the research Sportster. That's really enlightening
and a pretty big indictment of Angelo.
Those 2006 and 2007 draft classes in particular are almost total
washouts at this point. Those are the (now) 4- and 5-year pro's
that in a well-run organization comprise the core of the team
and are in their prime, contributing at a high level. Instead,
our sum total return on those two drafts is a PR/gimmick WR
(Hester) and a backup CB (Graham).
Which goes a long way to explaining why Angelo has had to open
the checkbook for high-priced FAs and take flyers on other
team's high-priced busts.
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