After a 21-20 victory over the Cleveland Browns in Saturday’s preseason finale, the Chicago Bears have been again at Halas Hall for group conferences Monday. General supervisor Ryan Poles additionally started the method of trimming the roster earlier than the three p.m. Tuesday deadline to submit an preliminary 53-man roster.
Here’s what we realized Monday in Lake Forest.
1. Dante Pettis has acknowledged a case to be a part of the Bears offense.
Pettis, a fifth-year veteran, didn’t signal with the Bears till after the draft, agreeing to a one-year, $1.035 million deal that basically provided him an opportunity to compete for a job. Now, with the preseason over, he awaits phrase on whether or not he’ll have a task.
In Saturday’s win in Cleveland, Pettis recorded three catches for 37 yards, snagging a 12-yard landing move from Justin Fields within the second quarter. Two weeks earlier, his 25-yard catch from Trevor Siemian transformed a fourth-and-2.
“An opportunity was presented and he’s gone out and taken it by the horns,” offensive coordinator Luke Getsy mentioned. “He has … the flexibility to play multiple positions. He’s been presented one-on-one opportunities and he’s won them, both in practice and the preseason games. In our game, you have to have guys who are able to win those one-on-one battles. He’s done a nice job with that.”
Pettis additionally has dealt with punt-return duties through the preseason. Fields singled out Pettis on Saturday as one of many group’s greatest route runners, an endorsement Getsy agreed with.
“It’s his patience,” Getsy mentioned. “He has a extremely cool means to play on his insteps. And his endurance to be comfy being actually near a defender is one thing the good ones (have).
“There’s no panic. You’re not making a move so far away from the guy. You’re able to smell his breath and then make a move. That’s a really cool quality he has.”
2. The beginning offensive line isn’t locked in.
Braxton Jones began at left deal with within the preseason finale with Cody Whitehair at left guard, Sam Mustipher at middle, Teven Jenkins at proper guard and Larry Borom at proper deal with. Could that be the quintet the Bears take to the beginning line in Week 1?
“I don’t want to go there yet,” Getsy mentioned. “But all those guys have done a nice job of getting better each day. … There’s been growth. I love their play style. As much as anything, they’ve bought in.”
The Bears are monitoring the restoration of middle Lucas Patrick, who broke his proper thumb through the first week of coaching camp. There’s a risk he might return for the season opener, which could shift Mustipher both to proper guard rather than Jenkins or right into a backup position.
Jones, in the meantime, has had the teaching workers’s consideration because the spring, and Getsy mentioned the rookie has proven resolve by means of ups and downs.
“He came in kind of hot; we were really excited about what he was showing,” Getsy mentioned. “Then we put the pads on and I assumed it shocked him a bit of bit. … But then he actually did a terrific job of digging his toes within the floor and getting proper again at it. “
Overall, Getsy appreciated the unity and combat the road confirmed all through the preseason.
“You guys have seen, when our guys are getting tackled, they’re being picked up by those five guys,” Getsy mentioned. “Every single time. They’re working to the ball. They’re ending.
“We want to play that kind of ball. We want to play nasty. We want to be more physical than everybody else. Those guys have bought in.”
3. Cuts are ongoing because the Bears cross the bridge from the preseason to Week 1.
The group introduced it waived defensive again Jon Alexander, offensive lineman Corey Dublin and receiver Kevin Shaa, minor strikes that signified the primary roster churn in every week that will likely be full of comparable transactions.
The Bears as at the moment constructed are unlikely to make many strikes this week that seize nationwide consideration. Instead, Poles is molding issues in a approach that greatest units up the Bears for Week 1.
That will embody trying carefully on the gamers lower by the opposite 31 groups for doable waiver claims. The claiming interval expires at 11 a.m. Wednesday, at which level the Bears can start assembling a 16-player observe squad.
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Source: www.bostonherald.com