The Bears don’t pick until the third round. So spending time on the top prospects in next year’s NFL draft is a useless endeavor. Instead, over the next three months of Saturdays, this space will focus on prospects further down the line.

Kendall Sheffield, CB, Ohio State

at (15) TCU

8:00 PM ET, ABC

Video

Scout’s Take

From Kyle Crabbs at The Draft Network:

PROS: Kendall Sheffield’s short area quickness yields a lot of reps showing a sudden close and the ability to play tight on the body of the receiver at the catch point.  Has the mobility to be a high-end corner in over top zone coverage or mirroring route stems in the secondary. Has good habits as a head up tackler in space, will effectively use wingspan to wrap and roll and bring down bigger opponents. Has made several heady plays in coverage and does well to find the football late and contest. Active free hand to play through the hands of receivers at the catch point and produced a ton of ball production in book-end games of season (2 PBU vs. Indiana and 4 PBU vs. Southern Cal).

CONS: Needs to build up functional strength in a big way, gets beat up when trying to land blows and redirect receivers at the line. Can also struggle to pull off a blocker in the open field, preventing consistency stepping up into the edge to help seal the corner against the run. Was listed last season at 185 lbs but looks very lean framed. Footwork when shaded over top of route releases too often offers a misstep, needs to stay parallel to the line of scrimmage and avoid hinging too early, which opens gate for receivers to get a clean break. Despite good stickiness at the catch point has gotten out-muscled for the football by receivers on numerous occasions.

Note

After watching Bears v. Packers Sunday night, my concentration has switched to corner. Many project Sheffield to fall into the second/third round. The Bears would need him to be there late Friday night to have any hope of bringing his speed and ball skills to town.

On this week’s season premiere:

• Jeff discusses the reaction to Sunday night’s loss in Green Bay and puts the pressure on Bears FANS to deliver at home Monday night.
• Reverend Dave is not who he thought he was.
• Frank Sinatra! New themes! New season!

The Bears are not in a must-win situation Monday night. But the entire locker room needs to approach the game like they are. They’ve said all the right things since Sunday’s debacle. Will they show up and play with urgency? We shall see.

Why Do I Like the Chicago Bears this Week?

I always like the Chicago Bears.

Yes, the Green Bay result was dreadful. But one has to remember it was merely Week One. The arrow is pointed decidedly up for this group and things are going to start moving in that direction quickly.

Why the Bears Will Win?

• Pass rush. Khalil Mack was with the Bears one week before delivering one of the best halves of football the organization has ever seen.  Roquan Smith won’t be spending much time on the bench any longer. Akiem Hicks and Roy Robertson-Harris both looked like massive disrupters against a good Packers front. Seattle’s front is not very good. Russell Wilson was sacked six times by Denver and it could have been ten if he weren’t so damn elusive. The Bears will get to him early and often.
• Jordan Howard. The Broncos averaged 4.7 yards per carry against Seattle with two backs not in Howard’s league. Couple that with Nagy taking heat for abandoning his best offensive player at pivotal junctures against Green Bay and the stage is set for Howard to have a big, 25+ carry night.
• The Crowd. Outside of a few outspoken Twitter folks there is genuine enthusiasm surrounding this team right now and the crowd should reflect that Monday night. Primetime. Lubed up. Good weather. Soldier Field should be an exceedingly difficult place for the visitors this week.

Why They Won’t

• Offense in Neutral. Progress should be expected from Week One to Week Two but it’s nowhere near guaranteed. If the Bears struggle on offense like they did in the second half at Lambeau Field, will the defense be able to get them over the finish line?
• Elusive Russell Wilson. He keeps more plays alive than any other quarterback in the league and he’ll be expecting to see Mack, Leonard Floyd and company in his backfield all evening long. This is not a receiving corps, especially without Doug Baldwin, that is going to get a ton of separation off the line of scrimmage. But if Wilson can keep plays alive 3-4 seconds longer, players like Tyler Lockett, Brandon Marshall and Will Dissly will find space in the secondary.
• I Heart Michael Dickson. Have you seen this guy punt yet? He’s the most incredible young punting talent to enter the league in generations. As a punting enthusiast I debated flying to Chicago Monday morning to see him in person. (But alas, I have jury duty here in Queens.)

Tweet(storm) of the Week

Lol everything look open on a screenshot, @haha_cd6 woulda been Lambeau leapin if he woulda threw this, facts 🤷🏽‍♂️ https://t.co/x1iwUQNHjm

— Kevin King (@King_kevvoo) September 11, 2018

A few thoughts on this:

• Dan Durkin thinks he’s a professional NFL scout. He’s not. And yesterday he faced an onslaught of criticism (King, Gil Brandt, Dan Orlovsky, all of ESPN) for this Tweet because it reflected the amateurish and incompetent manner in which he approaches film study. Durkin would benefit from spending time in tape study with actual professionals. As someone who HAS DONE THAT I can assure you he’d stop this screenshot bullshit pretty damn quickly.

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The Bears had no business losing to the Packers Sunday night. The team knows it. Their fans know it. Hell, even the folks in Green Bay would admit it if you asked them. It required a perfect storm of fine play (Rodgers) and horrible mistakes (Bears). That storm came. And it bloweth the club from Chicago to an 0-1 record to start their 2018 campaign.

Now they must rebound. Mitch Trubisky must rebound from the shaky mess that was his late-game performance. Kyle Fuller must rebound from dropping an interception that would have (a) been the easiest of his career and (b) won the football game. Matt Nagy must rebound from some head-scratching decisions on the sideline. (Those decisions have led to the coach receiving his first dose of criticism in Chicago.)

Next up is a “rebuilding” Seattle at Soldier Field. Followed by a road trip to a bad Arizona team – where half the building will be Chicago transplants – and a home affair with Ryan Fitzmagic. If the Bears finish the first quarter of their season at 2-2 there will be little conversation about the opening night collapse at Lambeau. If they finish the first quarter 3-1, the opener will be little more than an aberration, an isolated storm cloud in an otherwise clear blue sky. For those of you thinking this is a “pie in the sky” approach, you should take note the Bears will likely be favored in all three of these games.

Adversity defines character. And while a team would prefer not facing much of it over the course of their season, it is inevitable. Injuries. Bad penalties. Missed chip shots. Blown leads. These things happen. The Bears blew a game against their oldest rival on the national stage of Sunday Night Football. It sucked. But it’s also presented them with an opportunity to prove their mettle. To show one of the most loyal fan bases in all of sports this is not “the same old Bears”.

That starts Monday night. Against Russell Wilson and the Seahawks. The Nagy Bears have an opportunity to change the conversation. But only one thing achieves that goal: winning.

This was a devastating loss. Devastating. The Bears did what they always do. They lost to the Packers. And their defense let it happen. Since I’m traveling, there won’t be a full rapid fire today. Just sadness.

The Bears don’t pick until the third round. So spending time on the top prospects in next year’s NFL draft is a useless endeavor. Instead, over the next three months of Saturdays, this space will focus on prospects further down the line.

Jonathan Ledbetter, DE

Georgia

The Match-Up

at (24) South Carolina, 3:30 pm ET

CBS

Scout’s Take

From Jon Ledyard at the Draft Network:

PROS: Unbelievable frame with ideal, height, weight, length and muscle distribution. Powerful, heavy-handed defender in the trenches. Overwhelmed tight ends and fullbacks at the point of attack. Low pad level allows him to drop anchor and stack and shed blockers in a phone booth.

Nasty swim move to work over top of blockers as a pass rusher. Has powerful hands and has flashed the ability to create movement as a bull rusher. Varies his pace and can lull blockers to sleep before snapping into a plan of attack. Tough, physical football player billed as one of the defensive leaders going into 2018. Projects to inside pass rush work in the NFL, a growing role.

CONS: Overall athleticism and explosiveness is average. Not a true edge-bender, at his best working a linear rush path to the quarterback. Misses too many stops in space due to hip tightness and struggles to change direction. Range of impact on the edge, in terms of perimeter and behind the line of scrimmage stops, will likely be limited.

Stance is square most of the time at Georgia, so there could be some upside to his first step with different coaching. For now, won’t threaten tackles off the snap and does not have great pace up the arc. Pass rush wins are usually slow burn. Loses control of his frame at times and can get over-extended. Likely limited to a rotational role in the NFL, probably on the interior.

News & Notes

• Ledbetter has battled nagging injuries over the last two seasons and was arrested as a sophomore. So he’s not exactly going to enter the draft process next spring with a clean record.
• The Bears were going to head into next off-season with their most glaring need being an edge rusher. Well, that’s over. So a few places to keep the eyes focused are DE, OT, WR and across the secondary. Ledbetter is the kind of hole-filler the Bears might be able to find in the fourth or fifth round.
• The Bears put a lot of weight into what area scout Sam Summerville tells them about the southeast and the club clearly loves players from Georgia. Wouldn’t be surprised if the Bears have a few scouts at Williams-Brice Stadium.

The podcast is not going to be a weekly occurrence this season. There will be around 8-10 episodes during the regular season, beginning next week with The Return of Adam Jahns. (I think Jahnsy and Ryan Pace are giggling on a seesaw in Niles right now.) In the meantime, some thoughts…

Thought #1

When Mike Pettine was working with Rex Ryan in New Jersey the team had a hellish time dealing with tight ends. (A lot of this was the result of over-blitzing to pressure the quarterback.) And while Allen Robinson and Taylor Gabriel have been recovering from/dealing with injuries this summer, Trey Burton and Mitch Trubisky have developed a rapport that’s going to drive defenses crazy. Pettine will empty the kitchen cabinets Sunday night and Trubisky will use his security blanket to move the chains. Big opener for Burton.

Thought #2

Brian Urlacher told Dan Patrick on Wednesday that under Lovie Smith the Bears once ran cover-2 against Aaron Rodgers on 46 of 47 plays in the second half. And won the game. (Sounds like a bit of a stretch but I’m not about to do the research.) Vic Fangio should be able to generate more than enough pass rush with his front. Why not go to some Cover-2 looks Sunday night and try to limit Rodgers’ ability to beat the defense over the top? These aren’t great pass catchers in Green Bay. If they have to make 10-12 plays to get into the end zone, against this Bears defense, they’ll make a mistake (or be forced into one) before they put seven on the board.

Thought #3

Cody Parkey had a so-so summer. While I’m told he’s been lights out in non-public practices, the team has some concern as to whether the Jupiter, Florida native (and I assume golfer because that’s what you do down there) is ready for the bright lights of Bears football. You can miss kicks in Miami. Nobody goes to those games. You miss kicks in Bears v. Packers, it gets noticed. Everyone in the organization will breathe a massive sigh of relief if Parkey posts a clean sheet Sunday night.

Why Do I Like the Chicago Bears This Week?

I always like the Chicago Bears.

And, I mean, how can any Bears fan not like the Chicago Bears heading into this 2018 season? The organization has done every single thing they could to build a winning roster. Now they take that roster to the field.

Why the Bears Will Win

• Khalil Mack. It simply can’t be overstated. Mack makes every single player on an already-good defense better. The Bears should be able to mount their most ferocious, consistent pass rush in the Aaron Rodgers era.
• Mystery. What the hell are the Bears going to be on offense? Most people have pointed to the Andy Reid units in Kansas City (and kind of Philadelphia) but the talent pool in Chicago right now bears little resemblance to what the Chiefs have utilized the last several seasons. Robinson and Cohen barely showcased at all during public practices and preseason games. Add in offensive coordinator Mark Helfrich’s unique perspective and one has to wonder what Packers DC Mike Pettine is expecting to see Sunday night.
• Better Run Game Than 2017. In Jordan Howard’s two games against the Packers last season he failed to rush for more than 54 yards. Why? Because Dom Capers wisely understood that stopping the Bears run game meant stopping the Bears offense. (Hell, they ran the ball on every first and second down.) But now there are simply too many weapons in the passing game for Pettine to take a similar approach and that should free up a multitude of running lanes for Howard – the best pure runner in the game.

Why They Won’t

• Aaron Rodgers. Do you really require a paragraph explaining that Rodgers beats the Bears just about every time he plays them? He’s 15-4 against ’em. So odds are he’ll be 16-4 against ’em by the time the clock strikes Monday.
• Mitch Trubisky’s Big Night. Anyone who has spent nine seconds on this site knows I’m a big fan of the young signal caller. But this is his first game running a new, complicated offense and it’s on one of the biggest, brightest stages he’ll see the entire regular season. It’s a tough spot. The offense should not be expected to hit it’s stride until 3-4 weeks into the season but can Tru avoid the big mistake early in the season?

Neil Simon’s Best Line

Neil Simon is a criminally-underrated playwright. He never reached the artistic accolades of an August Wilson or Eugene O’Neill or Tennessee Williams or Arthur Miller but his body of work is unparalleled in the history of American dramatic literature. The man had four hit plays running on Broadway…at one time. RIP Neil.

He also wrote one line I’ve never forgotten and I believe truly changed me as a writer. It’s from Biloxi Blues.

“You’re a witness. You’re always standing around watching what’s happening, scribbling in your book what other people do. You have to get in the middle of it. You have to take sides. Make a contribution to the fight. Any fight. The one you believe in.”

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It’s going to be a wild political season and the 2018 Chicago Bears have a chance to be the most exciting vintage in years. So DBB created a shirt combining both concepts. The shirt is being made by 26 Shirts Chicago and is selling for $24.95.

But $8 of every sale is going to benefit Windy Kitty Cafe, a cat shelter and nursery in Chicago. I’ve been very proud of the charitable work this site has done over the years and I’ve wanted to find something in the animal world that needed support.

The shirt is below. And it’s amazing. To purchase it, CLICK HERE.

To read more about the work of Windy Kitty Cafe and their new Kitten Korner, CLICK HERE.