The Chicago Bears came up short in their first two preseason games. That hasn’t seemed to dampen their spirits at all though. Both games were close and revealed plenty of great tape to work with at improving their flawed areas. All the while plenty of young players continue to step up. Some expected and some not.
Now the team prepares to leave training camp and head west to Denver. There they will hold joint practices with the Broncos in advance of their preseason matchup on Saturday. It’s a great chance to get the teams some experience going against different schemes and players outside of the game situation.
Provided it doesn’t turn into a vicious brawl like it did the Jets and Redskins yesterday, it should be good. That’s not even the best part though. Matt Nagy and the coaching staff delivered some welcome news in anticipation of what’s to come.
Allen Robinson plans to debut
The Bears signed wide receiver Allen Robinson to a lucrative deal in free agency despite the fact he was coming off a torn ACL. They’ve brought him along slowly, making sure his rehab was going according to plan. Thus far he’s missed the first two preseason games due to this. That’s about to change.
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Great route @AllenRobinson pic.twitter.com/htmquH4zUx
— Greg Braggs Jr. (@GBraggsJr) August 5, 2018
Robinson plans to make his debut in Denver this week, stating it’s something he’s “ready for and excited for.” This will be the first chance fans get to see Mitch Trubisky working with most of his best weapons on the field.
Aaron Lynch is finally almost ready to practice
Pass rush continues to be a major concern for the Bears. Outside of Leonard Floyd they lack any proven names on the edge. Sam Acho is a longtime backup. Isaiah Irving and Kylie Fitts are inexperienced and unproven. That’s why the team signed Aaron Lynch. The former 49ers veteran had a couple good years in 2014 and 2015 with six sacks each.
It was felt a reunion with Vic Fangio might help to recapture some of that magic. That’s hard to do when the guy can’t stay on the field. Lynch missed most of training camp with a lingering hamstring problem. Not until recently did Matt Nagy indicate that the edge rusher is close to a return, being “back on track” after multiple injury setbacks.
James Daniels is ahead of the coaches’ expectations
Most experts knew the Bears got a good one when they snagged James Daniels out of Iowa in the second round of the draft. He was considered the best center in the class and one of the best interior blockers overall. The crazy part is he’s only 20-years old. This led to the Bears thinking it might be best to bring him along carefully, not throw too much at him.
James Daniels had himself a night. Watch this play. Initially gets rocked back by the interior rush, regains his anchor and then bulldozes the guy to the ground right as Mizzell goes in for the TD.#Bears pic.twitter.com/4BatlEPxOp
— Erik Lambert (@ErikLambert1) August 10, 2018
Seems they might’ve misjudged the situation. Daniels has shown remarkable progress in the offense to such a point he’s already a threat to Cody Whitehair for the starting job at center. While that’s not happening, there was an admission within the team that they’re surprised how far ahead the rookie is of their expectations.
Bonus: Kasim Edebali is taking to the Fangio scheme well
Going back to the edge rush issue, the Bears also got some encouraging signs from Kasim Edebali. The veteran free agent was signed before the start of training camp. He briefly stood out in New Orleans before moving around the league the past couple years. He’s got some skill but hasn’t been able to find the right system. That may have changed. Pro Football Focus said he was one of the best edge defenders of the opening preseason week.
“The fifth-year pro took 40 snaps in the Bears loss to the Bengals on Thursday night. He registered a hit and three hurries as well as collecting two defensive stops against Cincinnati’s backups.”
That’s a welcome sign. Whether he can build on it over the next couple weeks remains to be seen as the Bears are almost certain to be active in their search for more pass rush help.
