For what it’s worth the Bears finished the preseason with a 3-1 record and shut out their opponents in the second half of all four games. By the time you read this, the process will have already begun. He was trying to learn his teammates names, much less compensate for the blocking breakdowns of Hroniss Grasu, whose feet tangled with Dysert on his first attempt, before Michael Ola and Conor Boffeli struggled to set up a screen, forcing the new quarterback to pump fake, tuck, then pitch a unsafe lob to Ka’Deem Carey that fortunately fell harmlessly to the ground. No one ever got anywhere thinking of the negatives.
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We could ask how the National Football League and its 32 member clubs dare charge regular-season prices for this fluff, but I suppose that’s another question for another day.
Just as Pettine and General Manager Ray Farmer have to consider the competition when grading West, Lenz and anyone that was successful, they have to wonder about any player who failed against backups.
Let’s take a look at the roster spots where the toughest decisions loom. More importantly, he didn’t turn the ball over and didn’t take a sack.
Beyond these players, I don’t believe that there will be any surprises in the cut down to 53. Langford had nine carries for 55 yards. Or with Zac Dysert, who signed Tuesday with Chicago and played for Fox and offensive coordinator Adam Gase in Denver.
The addition of coach John Fox has brought changes to the Bears team that ranked near the bottom of the league in total defense a year ago.
He’ll now compete for playing time with Travis Benjamin, Dwayne Bowe, Taylor Gabriel, Brian Hartline, Andrew Hawkins and Marlon Moore. “That’s to make a play on a leg and a half, I guess”. We will soon find out.
“I felt decent. I still couldn’t open up”. I can’t remember a game when a Bears RB broke that many tackles since maybe Ironhead Heyward.
Chicago was also without Eddie Royal and Marquess Wilson, who were nursing sore hamstrings. He did not catch a pass against the Bears but he did run two wildcat plays. This was not what Pryor wanted as he battles to make the 53-man roster.
The Bears also made moves by trading for Texans tight end Khari Lee for a sixth round pick.
Cornerback: CB Charles Gaines earned a roster spot last week, and if we’re getting rid of one good gunner (WR Marlon Moore), we’ve got to keep the other in CB Johnson Bademosi.
But Bowe, 30, missed most of training camp and the first two preseason games with an injured hamstring. He hasn’t played since because of an illness.
“It felt good”, said Martin, a sixth-year pro. Expect the starters to play very little in this game.
Have we seen the last of inside linebacker Jon Bostic? Look for him to get time tonight along with Matt Forte. That leaves Josh McCown as the lone healthy player under center.
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The list above contains 53 players that I kept, and 22 players that I cut.
