Postgame Podcast:
Gameday Thread: Buffalo Bills @ Chicago Bears
Happy Friday everyone! As we head into the Bears’ final preseason game, I want talk about the way we talk about Gervon Dexter Sr — many fans are way, way too fixated on his get-off, and I believeit’s a molehill that’s become a mountain.
Here’s Dexter’s first 10 snaps from the Colts game where I’ve put the moment of the snap in slow-motion — Dexter is never once the last man off the ball, and he even gets off the line first on a few plays. Yet despite Dexter getting off the line well, his play-to-play impact was still too inconsistent throughout this reel — why? Put simply, there are other growth areas within Dexter’s game that are much more important for his future success than simply firing off the ball quickly.
We are way, way too fixated on Gervon Dexter's get-off — it's a molehill that's become a mountain.
Here's Dexter's first 10 snaps from the Colts game where I've slowed the moment of the snap down — he's never once last off the ball, he's even first off in a few plays. It's a… pic.twitter.com/xFsojSeRKJ
— Robert Schmitz (@robertkschmitz) August 24, 2023
Dexter’s pad level & hand usage need to improve, and I’d like to see him apply & maintain his natural power within each step he takes. Dexter has a bad habit of standing up straight after he & his OL initially make contact and currently it’s hurting his ability to remain powerful as a play progresses.
He’s also clearly raw in his hand-placement, especially as a pass-rusher, but in the reel above we see good news in regards to his improvement — He’s clearly working on new pass-rush moves, including a cross-chop that you only see explosive 3Ts attempt to pull off. Perfecting rush moves takes time, but by mid-season I would hope that he’s found a groove with a go-to rush and can contribute in his rotational reps.
As we head into the final Chicago Bears’ preseason weekend, it’s about time we start talking through which Bears will survive next Tuesday’s cut-down.
Below I attempted to predict the Bears’ 53-man roster (before any waiver claims) — I surprised myself with some of the decisions I made, but take a look at the list first before reading the justifications of my heinous decisions. My notes are at the bottom.
QB: Justin Fields, PJ Walker, Tyson Bagent
FB: Khari Blasingame
RB: Khalil Herbert, Roschon Johnson, Travis Homer
TE: Cole Kmet, Robert Tonyan, Marcedes Lewis
OL: Braxton Jones, Tevin Jenkins, Cody Whitehair, Nate Davis, Darnell Wright, Lucas Patrick, Ja’Tyre Carter, Larry Borom, Alex Leatherwood
WR: D.J. Moore, Darnell Mooney, Chase Claypool, Tyler Scott, Equanimeous St. Brown, Velus Jones Jr
EDGE: Demarcus Walker, Yannick Ngakoue, Dominique Robinson, Terrell Lewis, Trevis Gipson
DT: Justin Jones, Andrew Billings, Gervon Dexter Sr, Zacch Pickens
LB: Tremaine Edmunds, TJ Edwards, Jack Sanborn, Noah Sewell, Micah Baskerville, Dylan Cole
CB: Jaylon Johnson, Tyrique Stevenson, Terell Smith, Jaylon Jones
NCB: Kyler Gordon, Josh Blackwell
SAF: Eddie Jackson, Jaquan Brisker, Elijah Hicks, A.J. Thomas
In doing research for an upcoming project, I stumbled upon an interesting set of correlations within Fields’ rushing data — as you may know, Justin Fields led the NFL in 2022 with 7.1 Yards/Rush, the best figure of any player since 2014 (assuming a minimum of 100 carries).
That 2014 leader was Russell Wilson, who led the league with 7.2 Yards/Rush. But it’s what Wilson did in the season after 2014 that we care about — in 2015, Russ threw for his first 4,000 yard passing season and never stepped back after doing so.
Wilson’s production (specifically Touchdowns, Y/A, and Total Passing Yards) improved in 2015 because defenses couldn’t allow Russ to run freely and thus sacrificed defenders in coverage to cover him, and obviously we’d love to see the same from Justin Fields in 2023. But, interestingly enough, Wilson’s sack rate remained one of the worst in the league even as he took that 2015 step forward.
Russ was always one to take plenty of sacks, including a 2nd-year season where he recorded a 9.8% sack rate, but seeing his 2014 sack rate (8.5%) repeat in his 2015 season (8.5% sack rate) is a reminder that even if Fields takes a step forward as a passer he’ll continue to take an inordinate amount of sacks compared to his peers. That said, if Fields throws for 4,000+ yards and 34 TDs? I don’t know how much anyone will complain about 45-50 sacks.
But Russell Wilson is just one name — across the league, how successful are QBs that run well?
Surprisingly, the list of NFL QBs that have led the league in Yards/Rush is a list filled with talent:
Of this list, only Randall Cunningham (1990) and Michael Vick (2004 & 2006) topped Fields Yards/Rush figure of 7.1 Y/R.
Correlation doesn’t equal causation, but if a QB leads the NFL in this category and stays healthy long-term they historically tend to be good players. Just how good you think the list’s QBs are depends on your perspective on players like Cam Newton (lack of longevity), Lamar Jackson (passed for 3,000+ yards exactly once, though BAL hasn’t helped him), and Michael Vick (never passed for 3,000+ yards in Atlanta), but for a city like Chicago that’s been starved of serviceable QB play for years I’d take the floor that comparisons like Cam Newton impart if it gives me a chance at a ceiling like Josh Allen or Russell Wilson.
With DJ Moore, OL upgrades, a renewed Chase Claypool, boosts at TE, and a second year in the offense, who knows? Maybe Justin Fields’ “Russell Wilson 2015” season is just around the corner. We’ll have to wait and see.
Justin Fields scored THREE times from 50+ yards on the ground in 2022, which no other QB has done in their *total career*.
That doesn't count the 53-yd TD @ MIN that got called back, nor his 60-yd scramble @ DET.
I get "QB rushing is unsustainable", but Fields is different. pic.twitter.com/dmKlMyBzeU
— Robert Schmitz (@robertkschmitz) May 29, 2023
Your Turn: Do you see Justin Fields as more Russell Wilson or Michael Vick?
You know what? For an eighteen play drive, I’m proud to say I broke the whole thing down in only ~23 minutes.
Saturday’s game featured next to no Chicago starters and neither of the Bears’ second units did much to generate excitement for fans early in the game. It was as preseason a first quarter as you’ve ever seen — both offenses looked out of sync initially, but as soon as each side started rolling a penalty or sack would kill the drive and force a punt.
But then, near the end of the quarter, Gardner Minshew led the Indianapolis Colts on a 12-play, 74-yard Touchdown drive that seemed to declare the Colts’ 2nd unit the superior of the two. In doing so, Minshew must’ve angered the Football Gods, because they reached out to Tyson Bagent and offered the Bears UDFA QB a chance to make a name for himself in a town obsessed with young QB play.
He took it.
In the latest episode of Dissecting a Drive, we broke down all 18 plays of Tyson Bagent’s march into the Colts’ endzone — in the video we discuss:
Check it out and let me know what you think!
Your Turn: What did you think of Bagent’s big day?
For the first time in the Matt Eberflus era, Bears fans were forced to swallow the bitter pill of preseason defeat as Chicago fell to Indianapolis 17-24 over the weekend. The tilt saw both teams rest nearly all of their starters and many of their reserves, but a loss is a loss — with something like that hanging over fans’ heads, it’s a miracle that anyone loyal to the team made it into work today.
But setting aside the sting of defeat, what did we learn about the roster this weekend? I dove into the game’s All-22 tape and went spelunking — here’s what I found:
Ja’Tyre Carter picked a great weekend to have another great weekend — with reports that Tevin Jenkins has suffered a leg injury that may shelve him for up to 6 weeks, quality OL depth looks more valuable than ever.
Carter’s form looks great in pass protection, but he’s making his hay as a run blocker and looks forceful as he does — below is a great example of Carter’s handiwork, and as Lucas Patrick continues to miss time in Training Camp I’m curious to see which young lineman the Bears turn to as the next LG.
#Bears Ja'Tyre Carter run blocks like he's got a personal problem with the defense, I love it pic.twitter.com/Ba0khwFQtz
— Robert Schmitz (@robertkschmitz) August 21, 2023
Zacch Pickens took a healthy step forward in his second NFL exhibition, but he did so in a way I didn’t see coming — I expected to see him utilize his length & first step to pressure the passer and knife into run gaps, but instead he dropped anchor twice on the goal line and stood up Colts double-teams on both sides of the defensive line. As the primary backup for Andrew Billings, Pickens couldn’tve shown off a more encouraging skill.
Click the clip below to see his 2nd rep in the replies — it’s impressive stuff from a rookie known to struggle doing exactly this in college. I’d like to see him win a few more reps in run defense this weekend before making any sweeping declarations, but in the meantime it’s nice to see the Bears helping their rookies hone key skills.
https://twitter.com/robertkschmitz/status/1693445818810781794
Tyson Bagent will be the subject for tomorrow’s (tonight’s) Dissecting a Drive, so I won’t go into too much detail here.
That said, I put together a quick breakdown on one of my favorite of Bagent’s throws — a simple quick screen that, upon further inspection, I think Tyson audibled into. Turn your sound on for this one:
Tyson Bagent made plenty of plays on his 17-play TD drive, but this quick screen to Dante Pettis stands out — if you look closely, you'll see that Bagent audibled into this after seeing the Colts show a CB Blitz.
I LOVE that the #Bears UDFA rookie is confident enough to make… pic.twitter.com/zPUBXqS1nk
— Robert Schmitz (@robertkschmitz) August 21, 2023
Also, given that the Bears’ QB2 looked like this on Saturday Night, Tyson’s calm demeanor couldn’tve been a more welcome sight. He’s a very fun young player to watch.
Here's All-22 of every PJ Walker pass/dropback from last night's #Bears game.
Honest take: There aren't many plays to be made on his snaps. He doesn't do himself favors w/ the sacks & the early stumble, but these snaps aren't much to analyze.
Stick with your eval from CAR tape pic.twitter.com/MIiSUdHgRi
— Robert Schmitz (@robertkschmitz) August 21, 2023
I’ll update this article throughout the day, so stay tuned!
Your Turn: What stuck out to you during Saturday Night’s game?
Matt Eberflus told media that Justin Fields and the majority of of the Bears starters will not play on Saturday Night, and with that declaration the 1st team offense and defense are almost certainly done until Week 1.
This decision is completely understandable — both Bears starting units have seen 2-3 players miss time with minor camp injuries, so making an effort to preserve the team’s health in lieu of a pivotal Week 1 matchup makes sense. Eberflus will look to make a statement with the Bears’ 2023 season, and he can’t do that without a healthy roster. To me, this feels like the right decision.
The absence of the starters, though, will create plenty of opportunity for young players on the roster to shine — with that in mind, here’s the 6 players on each side of the ball that I’ll be watching as the Bears take on the Colts:
No second unit Offensive Lineman shined brighter than Carter against Tennessee, and as the second OL unit should see plenty of action throughout Saturday Night’s game he’s one of the primary players to watch tomorrow night.
Carter displayed sound footwork, clinical hands, great form as a pass protector, and a healthy dose of violence within the run game — with Lucas Patrick sidelined, Carter has an opportunity to take Patrick’s spot as the first Offensive Lineman off the bench and I’m curious to see if he’ll make the most of his chances. He likely doesn’t need to elevate his performance from his Tennessee game, simply show that he can be consistent and the job may be his. Keep an eye on #69.
Not all opportunities are created equally, but with Cody Whitehair and Lucas Patrick sitting out of tomorrow’s game Doug Kramer will have a major opportunity to prove himself after a rookie year marred by injury.
Kramer got his first action against Tennessee’s 2nd & 3rd string defensive line, but the second-year center played well all the same — if anything, I’ve done him a disservice not highlighting him sooner. He looked strong when moving in the run game & athletic as a pass-blocker, so if the 2022 6th round pick continues to show out in extended action against the Colts he may just earn a bigger role in 2023.
Happy Thursday everyone! The Bears’ defense reportedly showed out in their first joint practice with Indianapolis, giving the Colts’ offense early and finishing well in the late 2-minute drill. They’re playing with energy, finishing drills, and trash talking throughout practice — Adam Jahns writes that the unit has an ‘edge’, and that’s exactly what they’ll need throughout the 2023 season.
But which players are catalyzing the Bears’ defensive attitude shift? What worked last Saturday? What didn’t? To find out, let’s dissect the opening drive of last weekend’s preseason game and see what Alan Williams and the Bears’ defensive starters are cooking in prep for the 2023 season.
Our first two episodes of Dissecting a Drive covered the offense exclusively, so it’s about time we dive into the Bears’ defensive scheme! Lucky for us, Saturday’s Bears game provided us with a 12-play Tennessee touchdown drive that’s ripe for reviewing.
Keep in mind that because it’s the preseason, this is the most vanilla flavor of the Bears’ defensive structure you’ll see all year. That said, I can confirm that the Bears’ defensive bones are still in place throughout the drive — you’ll see a healthy dose of Cover 3, Cover 2, and Tampa 2 throughout this video and throughout the 2023 season, regardless of how the Bears tailor their calls to each opponent going forward.
In this drive, we see:
Check it out and let me know what you think!
With the Bears’ first preseason game in the books and no practice news to speak of, the only noteworthy thing that happened in Chicago football over the last few days was Nate Davis returning to practice.
From what I understand, Nate Davis has been nursing a legitimate injury (as opposed to skipping practice) so it’s great to see him back on the field. He should be a major help to Darnell Wright as a consistent pass-protector that does a great job handling his own business and helping his Tackle when needed. Davis is known for being a mauler in the run game, so get to know his pass pro abilities while you still have the chance — if he’s fully healthy by Week 1, they should show out against a tough GB front.
Nate Davis (the new #Bears Guard) does a really good job of keeping his base in pass pro — he's got very quick feet, meaning he consistently stays between his man & the QB, plus he keeps his head-up and catches stunts well.
Keep an eye on the RG here. You'll like what you see. pic.twitter.com/XpCRbzRhqe
— Robert Schmitz (@robertkschmitz) March 14, 2023
Speaking of tough fronts, is there anybody on the Bears’ DL that can back up Andrew Billings?
Billings looked like the clear largest defensive lineman on the Bears last Saturday, but we saw a few examples of the burst & power he can bring to the Bears’ interior line once the Titans fought their way to the goal line — if Billings can capably take on double-teams in the run game and emphatically win his single-block opportunities, he may change the calculus for a Bears’ run defense that sorely needs a space-eater in the middle.
It’s a big year for the former Baylor Bear — if he shows out in Chicago, he may finally get the multi-year deal I imagine he’s been chasing since 2019.
#Bears new Nose Tackle Andrew Billings brings a healthy dose of size and violence to a D-Line that sorely needs it.
He's a decent interior pocket-squeezer and eats up space in the run game well. Check out some of the battles on this reel — he's not an easy man to move! pic.twitter.com/Jd9FFh5tbg
— Robert Schmitz (@robertkschmitz) March 23, 2023
Your Turn: How are you feeling about Davis and Billings so far this offseason?
