n thoughts after the
Bears were defeated 23-7 by the
Kansas City Chiefs on Saturday at Soldier Field, dropping them to 0-3 in the preseason.
1. You're looking for positives that came out of what was an ugly preseason loss to the Chiefs, the second dud the Bears have offered up in preseason at Soldier Field. I'm here to tell you it's going to be interesting to see what unfolds for rookie fourth-round pick
Deiondre' Hall in the next two weeks. Hall had some ups-and-downs and he didn't start, an assignment that instead went to Jacoby Glenn, an undrafted rookie from last year. But Hall has much more upside, and yes, the Bears could be in need of a fill-in come Sept. 11 when they open the season at Houston.
Tracy Porter was evaluated for a concussion and didn't return to the game, leaving us waiting until Monday to get more of an update on his status from coach John Fox. Kyle Fuller didn't play, still on the mend from arthropscopic knee surgery a little more than a week ago. The good news with Fuller is he's doing pretty well and could return to the practice field soon. Bryce Callahan, the nickel cornerback that the Bears like a good deal, remains sidelined with a hamstring injury.
Hall had two pass breakups in the preseason opener against the
Broncos and his tremendous length -- he's 6-foot-2 with 34 3/8-inch arms -- was on display. You can't miss it. In casual chats with a couple scouts that were at the game, they both singled out Hall and left guard Cody Whitehair, the second-round pick from
Kansas State, as players they liked.
"I think he has a shot as a press corner," one scout said. "He competes. He is not fast but his length makes up for it."
At the end of the third quarter, Hall showed good awareness too. Chiefs quarterback
Aaron Murray fired high for wide receiver Demarcus Robinson, the nephew of former Bears deep ball great Marcus Robinson, and the ball went off his hands. Hall picked off the deflection, creating a turnover in the red zone.
Hall didn't look as good earlier as Chiefs rookie speedster Tyreek Hill motored past him. Nick Foles launched a bomb that turned out to be underthrown. Hill was able to adjust to the ball and Hall was not as fortunate as he was trailing. Hall got there and tipped the pass but Hill corralled it for a 58-yard gain, leading to a Chiefs touchdown.
Hall admitted it was a good reminder to make sure he maintains proper depth, especially against wide receivers that have a real advantage in speed. He's talked consistently about needing to play with more patience, and that's what he needs when he's playing off-man coverage. His strength right now, of course, is press where his frame gives him an advantage.
Eventually, Hall is going to discover his length is a real advantage when it comes to off-man. That is what assistant secondary coach Sam Garnes, a defensive back with great length during his playing days, said during training camp.
"I tell him sometimes, and it sounds funny, but sometimes you don't need to cover these guys," Garnes said. "Leave them at the line. His length should be such a strength of his that he should not be working so hard at the line. He can back up. They have to get vertical. Their goal is to get vertical. So if he just backs up sometimes and uses his arms to keep (the receiver) back, the quarterback is going to come off of him and you just have a down off. His arms are so long.
"I used that to my advantage. They said I was a 4.7 (40-yard dash). I knew I was a 4.4. I used to go against guys like Tiki Barber in practice and Warrick Dunn. I used to play them at the line because if you gave them too much space they’d make you look bad. But I could use my length."
Hall needs to cover wide receivers, and improving at off-man is probably the fastest way for him to get on the field in real games.
"I told him one time, 'When we bring you in here, we didn't bring you in here because we want to teach you how to play like a short-armed player,'" Garnes said. "'We bring you here because we like the way you use your arms. Now we've got to teach you how to use it at this level.' And then we mix it up and do other things just to throw them off … I told him, 'I don't want this guy sleeping at night that's going to play one-on-one against you and know what he's going to do when he gets to the line.' You’ve got to mix it up."
It would not be surprising at this point if the Bears look at adding a veteran. They will certainly be closely monitoring cuts that are due by 3 p.m. Tuesday as teams must reduce their rosters to 75. We'll have to wait and see on the availability of Porter, Fuller and Callahan for the opener.
The only way for young players like Hall to get better is to play more. He should get a lot of action against the
Browns on Thursday.
2. The offensive line didn't play great by any stretch of the imagination, but center Cornelius Edison, entering the lineup as
Ted Larsen slid over to right guard to replace
Kyle Long, certainly didn't look overmatched with his opportunity. The Bears worked hard in the past week to get Edison up to speed and for quarterback Jay Cutler to become comfortable with him.
No one is saying when Long will return from a labrum injury in one of his shoulders. Is he back for the season opener? Who knows. If he isn't, it sure looks like Edison is a Week 1 starter. If Long is back, it looks like the Bears have a young player to develop and bring along.
"It went good," Edison said. "It was good to get out there and see what we have to improve on for the regular season."
Edison said he was nervous before the game -- the first he has played in since his senior year at Portland State in 2014 -- but he's nervous before every game. Now, he's looking forward to getting into the film room and seeing what needs correcting first.
The Bears liked Edison before the draft last year and brought him to Halas Hall for a pre-draft visit. He didn't have any workouts but did get invited to a local prospects day for the
Seahawks. He attended Curtis High School in University Place, Wash. It was in that workout that he tore the ACL in his left knee.
"We were doing a cone drill, I was transitioning from a shuffle to backpedal," he said. "On my second or third step, I must have planted wrong."
Pop.
There went Edison's chances of being a mid-round draft pick after he was named the top FCS center in the nation. The Seahawks could not even pick up the tab for Edison's rehab, which he did while living with his parents.
"It was definitely eye-opening," he said. "Thinking I am going to be joining an
NFL team the next week and I end up at my parents' house rehabbing the whole summer. It was tough seeing training camps on NFL Network and everything. I envisioned myself always being there after college and things didn’t happen that way."
The Bears stayed in semi-regular contact with Edison and their message was simple: Let us know when you are healthy. When he could pass a physical, he was signed to the practice squad on Nov. 30 and finished the season with the team.
"I am grateful for the opportunity," he said.
Now, we'll see how large that opportunity is when the season begins. If the Bears hold Edison out of Thursday's game at Cleveland, it could be a small sign they think he will be needed to start against the
Texans.
3. If there is an unheralded player who has really improved his stock since the spring, it has to be defensive end
Cornelius Washington. After sitting out last week with an ankle injury suffered in what was a strong showing against the Broncos, Washington returned for limited action against the Chiefs and again looked good.
He could be right there with rookie third-round pick Jonathan Bullard as backups to starters
Akiem Hicks and
Mitch Unrein. He's certainly got to be ahead of Will Sutton and the quickly fading Ego Ferguson.
"Kind of up and down for me today," Washington said. "I didn't take too many reps so I wasn't too pleased about it, but it's good to be out there and just see where I'm at and I know where I am. I just know what I am doing."
The Bears moved Washington from outside linebacker to defensive end after the offseason program ended last summer. The move was fallout from the loss of Ray McDonald and it could be the best thing that has happened to Washington's career. A sixth-round pick in 2013, Washington was an athletic freak that had trouble finding a position beyond special teams.
So, he took his first reps at defensive end on the first day of training camp in 2015 and things were progressing nicely before he suffered a quad injury in the season opener. Washington completely tore the quad, sending him to injured reserve after one game.
When he went down against the Broncos and was carted off the field, his reaction was natural.
"I wasn’t necessarily, 'Oh fudge!'" he said. "But it was a little discouraging and I kind of felt like I was having déjà vu. It’s not as bad as we thought it was."
Now, he's working to get back in the rotation and prove he deserves playing time. He played defensive end in a 3-4 scheme as a senior at Georgia, but that was in 2012 and the scheme was very basic.
"I've just learned what I am doing," he said. "I had OTAs and a whole offseason to go through it and figure out the subtle little nuances of playing defensive end. Shoot, after that the light clicked on for me. It's very important. This is a contract year. They want me to have a nice year and they are expecting that from me. I owe it to them. They've given me my chances and despite little things here and there, I have to come out and prove it."
4. One lesson learned in preseason is the Bears need to be prepared to play without tight end
Zach Miller, who will wind up not playing in a single exhibition. He came out of a training camp practice on Aug. 1 with a concussion and has not been fully cleared yet. He's been practicing for a while now with a red jersey signaling he's off limits for contact. Even if Miller was cleared, it's probably not a bad idea to keep him on the shelf in preseason considering his injury history. He can be a difficult player for defenses to account for because of his speed, size and length. He'll be a big boost when he returns.
Rob Housler looks like he's maximized his opportunities and probably figures to make the team. Housler was wide open and motored for a 52-yard gain against the
Patriotsand had another catch for 17 yards against the Chiefs. He's got good experience and had 84 catches in 2012 and 2013 for the
Cardinals but he's not ready to pronounce camp and the preseason as smash success.
"You know, I kind of save that for the end of preseason and kind of just look back on everything," Housler said. "I think right now, I still have my head down. Still just chugging along. I've been doing my job. Just trying to do it the best I can and it's been our mantra as tight ends, Zach and Tony (Moeaki), 'everyday just do your job.' As far as looking back, haven't done it yet."
The Bears signed Housler late last season, and he appeared in four games after starting the season with the Browns. That brief experience proved to be a nice springboard to this year.
"It wasn't like I was coming in in April and so it was familiar faces and a great group of human beings here from upstairs to the locker room and everyone in between, been real friendly," he said. "So that definitely helps the learning process when you're not bogged down with trying to get to know everyone, trying to just fit in, it helps alleviate some of the pressures other than learning."
Housler is probably a better receiver than he is a blocker but he’s not deficient in run blocking and looks like he's carved out a spot for himself.
5. The return game remains a major question for the Bears.
Deonte Thompsonhas a left ankle injury and it's probably not as bad as it looked when he was carted off the field last week at New England. He was a good kickoff returner last season.
Marc Mariani is steady catching punts and will make good decisions but he's not the
Pro Bowlthreat he once was in Tennessee. I think the Bears should be on the lookout for help. The Chiefs could wind up cutting a good returner. They drafted Tyreek Hill and he will likely be their kickoff returner. Wide receiver D'Anthony Thomas could be on the roster bubble in Kansas City. He had a 31-yard punt return in the game. Thomas has averaged 28.3 yards on kickoff returns and 10 yards on punt returns in his two-year career. At the minimum, the Bears need to be aware of what players come available. No reason to think they can't use a significant upgrade in the return game.
6. Good showing for Illinois State's Cameron Meredith against the Chiefs. He had four catches for 64 yards, including the 16-yard touchdown on Connor Shaw's pass. They were the first catches of preseason for Meredith, who had a four-catch game at Kansas City last Oct. 11 as a rookie.
Meredith might be a better option for the final roster right now than seventh-round pick Daniel Braverman. He's got the size at 6-foot-3, 207 pounds to be a backup on the outside for Alshon Jeffery and
Kevin White, especially with Marquess Wilson likely to begin the season on the physically unable to perform list.
"I was trying to stay mentally prepared, mentally focused the whole game so when I did go out there I was ready," Meredith said.
The roster battle for Meredith isn't just with wide receivers. When you're at the bottom of the depth chart, the battle for a spot on the 53 is with players at other positions too. Injuries can dictate how many players the team needs to keep at each position.
"There is definitely a battle all the time," Meredith said. "Everyone is vying for a job and there are a lot of good receivers in the room. Every play counts."
7. Bad news for quarterback David Fales that he did not get into the game. The Bears reinserted
Brian Hoyer after the gruesome and likely season-ending left leg injury for Connor Shaw. Fales should get plenty of time to play on Thursday at Cleveland. The immediate question is whether or not the Bears need to sign another quarterback for this week to face the Browns. Maybe they play Hoyer and Fales. Or perhaps Fales gets the start and they sign a quarterback and give him a crash course on the offense. Dalyn Williams, an undrafted rookie from Dartmouth, has had two brief stints with the team. Fales, of course, could still stick on the practice squad. Matt Blanchard remains on the street, as well, but he is not practice squad-eligible.
8. NFL teams must reduce their rosters to 75 by 3 p.m. Tuesday. Would not be a surprise if the Bears have the bulk of their cuts (if not all of them) done before practice on Monday. The players launched in the first wave of cuts are not always ones the teams are done with. On occasion, teams will cut players in the first wave with the hope of bringing them back to the practice squad. Why cut them early? The thinking is if they cut them early, maybe they will fly under the radar with other teams. No kidding. Cuts will be tricky for the Bears because they have to play the Browns, they have a slew of injuries and they will want to rest their starters. The math will get complicated.
9. The game was the first time the Bears have hosted a noon kickoff in preseason since an exhibition against the Dolphins in 1996. In an utterly unscientific Twitter poll, I asked if fans preferred noon starts or the traditional 7 p.m. kickoff. The NFL Network requested the game be played at noon for national broadcasting purposes. The Bears also looked at it as an opportunity to create a family atmosphere for a game that sometimes fans aren't as inclined to attend.
The results? There were 1,764 votes cast and it was a 50/50 split. How about that?
10. Scouts from seven clubs were represented at the game. Buffalo, Green Bay, Houston (two), Jacksonville, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh and San Diego were in attendance. The
Eagles,
Steelers and Texans have been at all three Bears preseason games. The Bears open at Houston and host the Eagles on Monday night in Week 2. The Montreal Alouettes of the CFL were also in attendance.
10a. The Bears close out preseason on Thursday at Cleveland. It will mark the 13th consecutive year they have faced each other in the fourth and final exhibition.
10b. Given the number of injuries, it will be interesting to see how many players get into the action at Cleveland. Last year, the Bears used 45 of the 75 players on the roster. The year before, they played an entire preseason game with only 35 players.
10c. Good observation by colleague Dan Wiederer via the Twitter Machine. Bears wide receiver Kevin White was targeted eight times in the first three preseason games. He has three catches for 12 yards. Growing pains, indeed, for a player that missed his rookie season.
10d. For those who believe preseason records don't matter, they didn't in 2010. Not for the Bears, anyway. They went 0-4 in preseason and wound up reaching the
NFC Championship Game.
