I was in Australia during Week 1 of the preseason and missed the woeful Chicago Bears preseason debut of Mike Glennon and grand entrance of Mitchell Trubisky. From the highlights I watched, it was clear that Glennon looked completely lost against a Denver Broncos defense that was without Von Miller. Meanwhile, Trubisky displayed great command of the offense and even better arm strength and accuracy, even if it was against Broncos backups.
But I thought that I’d wait to reserve true judgment until I saw some game action live for myself. It was a hell of an opponent too: Against the Arizona Cardinals and their filthy secondary, on the road, against a vengeful Bruce Arians. Yes, it’s only preseason, but if any team was going to test what the Bears were made of, it was the Cardinals.
In the end, the Bears eked out a 24-23 victory. But that means nothing. What matters is the progress (or, in some cases, the lack thereof) that different players and units showed during the game. After taking the night to sleep on it and re-watching some highlights of the game this morning, here’s what I learned:
Offense
Glennon continues to be awful. His stat line was mediocre thanks to a late touchdown drive at the end of the first half, but he looked terrible all night. He looked slow and confused on the field, his accuracy was off, and his decision making was terrible. He was picked off on a telegraphed out-route in the red zone, but that wasn’t even his worst decision of the night. He followed that up later on with a bootleg to his left and pass that fluttered to a Cardinals defender, which was dropped. Turned out, he should have been intercepted a total of three times by the time his 11th pass attempt came around. That’s garbage. I don’t usually tweet during games, but I had to last night:
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Before preseason, I thought Glennon winning the job was best for Trubisky and the #Bears future. Glennon is basically telling me to STFU.
— Dhruv Koul (@DhruvKoul) August 20, 2017
Trubisky, for some reason, wasn’t allowed in the game until a couple minutes left in the third quarter. After his tremendous Week 1 showing, why did he get LESS playing time? Anyway, when he was in the game, he did the best he could with what he was given. Playing behind a swiss-cheese offensive line and receivers that won’t be starting any games during the regular season if the Bears can help it, Trubisky was put in a terrible spot. The play-calling asked for Josh Rounds to run twice for negative yardage almost every series early on, putting Trubisky in 3rd-and-long situations frequently. He made one poor decision where he threw a pass late to Titus Davis that should have been intercepted, but overall he overcame the situation pretty damn well. And his touchdown pass to Benny Cunningham turned out to be the game winner. Plus points for that!
Tarik Cohen continued to show he belongs in the NFL. He gained 72 yards in the first half, and showed he can run past anybody. It’s interesting that the Bears continue to run him inside the tackles a good amount so far this preseason. I can’t imagine that being the bulk of his workload in the regular season, but he’s doing a pretty damn good job of it anyway. I’d love to see two-back sets with Jordan Howard on a regular basis. All in all, the Bears have great depth at running back.
The Bears’ receivers seem to have trouble gaining separation from defenders. I saw a lot of tight throwing windows, especially with some of the bubble guys running their routes. With a quarterback like Glennon whose accuracy has sucked, that could be a big issue going forward.
Defense
The defense played a hell of a game and continues to look like a potential Top 10 unit in the NFL this season, pending good health. They surrendered only one touchdown, and that too on a 4th-and-Goal midway through the second quarter. They made the Cardinals earn that touchdown, along with any rushing yards. Keeping David Johnson in check is no joking matter.
Eddie Goldman was a handful for the Cardinals’ interior offensive line. If he can stay healthy, the Bears run defense will be a force.
Same with Jonathan Bullard. He showed great quickness off the line to ruin multiple plays. My colleague, Erik Lambert, wrote about the incredible display he and Roy Robertson-Harris put on throughout the game. If either, or both, of these guys take steps forward in Year 2, the defense will be that much better.
Leonard Floyd continued to dominate. He drew a holding penalty and should have had another one that was missed earlier in the game. He is so fun to watch. I’ve seen some estimates that say he’s in line for 12 sacks this season. If he stays healthy, that number might be low.
Another linebacker that deserves props? Jerrell Freeman. That dude still flies around like he’s in his mid-20s. I expect him to be the leader of this defense once again, assuming he doesn’t test for any performance-enhancing drugs again.
Kyle Fuller played a solid game as well. He made a great open field tackle on a screen play, and overall looked comfortable. I’m hoping the Bears can find a way to use him on the field and not as trade bait. The secondary still needs to prove itself and Fuller looks like he’s coming around.
Speaking of secondary, Eddie Jackson looks like the real deal. I think he’s crushing Adrian Amos in their competition. Jackson almost made a sick one-handed interception, and broke up a destined touchdown pass in the red zone. I’m not sure if he’ll start in Week 1 yet, but I think he should. I haven’t been this hopeful for a safety in a long time.
Special Teams
The special teams unit looks much improved this year. Part of it is they have much better depth on their team, meaning the bottom of the roster that generally makes up the special teams unit overall has better talent. And it’s showing. In fact …
#BearsSpecialTeams has evolved into… Bears Special Teams.
— Bennett Karoll (@TheBennettK) August 20, 2017
Deonte Thompson conjured images of Devin Hester with his missed field-goal return for a touchdown that was a record return of 109 yards. That play probably sealed him a spot on the roster, if he hadn’t done so already.
Connor Barth might have won the kicking competition last night. He continues to be perfect on the preseason. Meanwhile, Roberto Aguayo missed a 49-yarder, and the kick looked awful. I don’t think the snap and hold were great on that play, but a miss is a miss. The kid already doesn’t have a lot of positive film. That miss might have sealed his fate.
Eddie Jackson muffed a punt that should have been called a fair catch, but he was bailed out by an interference called. Still, he has to learn from it. Meanwhile, the muffed pooch-kickoff by Daniel Braverman in the closing minutes of the game was inexcusable. For a bubble player, that is sure to get him cut.
Final Thoughts
The Bears looked like they belonged yesterday. Forget the fact that they won. Again, that means nothing. When it was starters vs. starters, the defense made life miserable for Carson Palmer and Cardinals offense. The offense left a lot to be desired, thanks mainly to another poor display from Glennon. But the team overall has to be encouraged after a showing like that.
I just hope that John Fox realizes he can’t be winning points with his team, let alone the fans, for the way he’s handling Trubisky. I’d like to see that change before the ever-important third preseason game against the Tennessee Titans in Nashville.
