In his first smart move of the season, Lovie Smith sat Matt Forte, Julius Peppers & Jay Cutler on a soggy night at the Park District.
I checked out of the Bears first fake game of the season early to watch another hilarious Louis C.K. episode, so I can’t confirm if J Webb Nation is still on the field trying to block someone. I didn’t take much out of the first preseason game, other than Brandon Marshall nearly busting an ankle like T.O. did in Philly in ’04, but I do have some random thoughts from the night football came back into our lives.
For whatever reason, I tuned into Fox’s local Bears pre-game show and was pleasantly surprised at new co-host Dionne Miller. She’s not only competent, she’s pretty hot and a nice distraction from Captain Obvious, Tom Waddle. Hey “T Wad,” if you’re going to say the same regurgitated garbage on the pre-game that you are on your radio show, just stay home and keep me from falling asleep before kickoff.
Speaking of Fox’s pre-game show, who does Lou Canellis think he is? Hey Lou, we don’t care about your $3,000 suit and how it’s getting wet. You have a plum job, so quit your bitching and get back to mentally blowing the players during your sideline interviews.
If it’s Bears preseason football, it must mean the Sam Rosen show is coming to town. The beauty of this team winning 10+ games this year is knowing that we won’t be subjected to Rosen being thrown at us on a weekly basis like teams used to throw constantly at Walt Harris. I nearly lost my sight when he first popped up in HD. Thanks again, Fox.
Other than Peyton Manning looking a lot like his old self, there wasn’t much to take away from the drive that resulted in a D.J. Moore tip and Major Wright interception. The pass rush wasn’t there, but that’s because Peppers was in chill mode on the sideline. Lance Briggs looks to be in great shape and broke up a pass in coverage, and Stephen Paea showed some push against the Broncos 1st team O-line. Paea should win the nose tackle job and will form a really nice tackle combo with Henry Melton (who also pushed the pocket & will take a big leap forward again this year).
The D.J. Moore tip on Manning’s interception showed this kid’s amazing knack for finding the football. Some guys just have those instincts to always make plays, and Moore continues to develop into an ideal nickel back for this defense. He’s like the guy who is always surrounded by hot girls. You can’t totally understand why, but it just happens.
And even though he’s out of his mind, you have to love Moore’s confidence in again saying he could beat Derrick Rose in a game of 1 on 1. You have no idea what I’d pay to see that happen.
Major Wright just can’t get right. He makes an acrobatic interception only to later pull a hamstring. You feel for this kid, because it’s one step forward and two steps back. He needs the work and reps to be ready for the opener, and a bum hammy is a kick to the balls for him and the team. Luckily, Brandon Hardin made a nice play in coverage coming over to break up a pass in the 2nd quarter. The rookie might see the field a lot sooner than anyone projected.
Was that Mike Bush, or Calvin Thomas? Bush (who looks out of shape) fumbled early and looked a step slow getting through the line. Hey Mike, the ball doesn’t have aids on it so you can hold onto it. On a positive note, at least he didn’t run out of bounds like Marion Barber.
I couldn’t be happier that Bears fans booed the shit out of Caleb Hanie (7 of 14 for 79 yards). And in true showman fashion, Hanie treated the faithful to two perfect overthrows on his first two attempts. Just like old times.
I liked what J.T. Thomas showed. He showed athleticism in breaking up a pass in coverage, and demonstrated good speed. In a season where Brian Urlacher could be ailing, seeing a young linebacker step up and make plays was exciting. He’s one to watch as the preseason progresses.
First round pick Shea McClellin (who was the story of the night) chased down Hanie for a sack and showed a nice spin move to provide pressure later in the game. He did get engulfed near the goal line on a Broncos TD, but he shouldn’t be put in those situations. He is a speed rusher off the edge, and will have his biggest impact getting after the quarterback. He’s a long ways away from being an every down player. Corey Wootton drew a holding call, which was also worth noting.
I didn’t want to go there, but the offensive line (Chris Spencer and J’Marcus Webb particularly) was fucking atrocious. It doesn’t matter if you are calling 3 & 5-step drops if the guys up front can’t block anyone. They kept Webb in until early the 4th (with 8:51 left) as a way to wake his ass up and show him that he’s still competing for that left tackle spot. His funny man “J Webb Nation” Twitter act is cool and all, but he needs to play better, or we’ll all hear about James Brown more than we could have ever imagined.
Even replacement scab refs couldn’t help but whistle Webb for a false start. I really need to know why Mike Tice is so enthralled with this guy? If you told me that Stan Thomas in his current state was better than Webb, I’d have a hard time arguing against your case.
Speaking of flags and scabs, I counted at least three holding penalties that weren’t called in the first half. The NFL needs to stop bullshitting around with the officials and get them back to this league. Games could be lost and players will be injured if these incompetent ass-clowns continue to officiate games. It should happen by week 1 because there’s no way Vegas will allow these fools to mess with the lines and money coming their way.
Alshon Jeffery looked good and used his body well to shield defenders to make a few plays. He drew a pass interference penalty and showed his run after the catch ability. It was an encouraging start for the 2nd round pick.
The best news of the night is that week 1 of the preseason is over. The shitty news? Trying to avoid all of the people littering Chicago sports radio today about how big of a scam it is to charge full price for games that don’t matter. All I can say is thank God for 87.7 and Sirius/XM.
@Louie_Ruffolo8
