10 ideas after the Chicago Bears rallied within the second half to open the season with a 19-10 victory over the San Francisco 49ers in sloppy circumstances at Soldier Field.
1. The new males accountable for the soccer aspect for the Bears earned recreation balls.
That’s becoming after the Bears grinded out a victory in less-than-ideal circumstances and on better-than-usual turf. Can you think about what a earlier floor would have seemed like after a recreation with that a lot rain?
It wasn’t fairly, and the primary half, no less than offensively, was downright ugly. Everyone has seen greater than their share of 30-minute begins wherein the Bears offense was unable to succeed in the top zone.
The 49ers did an excellent job of profitable the field-position battle by two quarters, however regardless of controlling the motion, they couldn’t get a giant cushion on the scoreboard. The Bears performed with an unusual degree of poise for such a younger roster. They had 11 rookies on the energetic game-day roster, one first-year participant (reserve middle Dieter Eiselen, who was flexed up from the observe squad) and 6 second-year gamers. That’s 18 of the 47 gamers in uniform, an enormous variety of younger gamers.
But it was the 49ers who made the form of errors you see younger groups make. They dedicated 12 penalties for 99 yards — lots of them pricey errors in an in depth recreation — and the Bears completed plus-1 in turnover margin with free security Eddie Jackson making his first interception since 2019 and cornerback Jaylon Johnson punching the ball out of Deebo Samuel’s clutch on the Bears 12-yard line earlier than rookie robust security Jaquan Brisker fell on it.
The factors coach Matt Eberflus has been driving house from day one in his feedback to the media and to his gamers had been measures that his workforce performed with.
“We always tell the guys, ‘Hey, we have mental and physical stamina for what reason?’” Eberflus stated. “And it’s because of the way we practice and the way we play, and we’re able to stay focused when it is the second half, in those critical moments, and they can play and be focused in those moments. So that was really good.”
Chairman George McCaskey entered the locker room shortly after the sport, which I can’t recall seeing him do prior to now. Maybe it was to congratulate the overall supervisor, Ryan Poles, and coach he employed in January. Maybe it was to soak up the scene of a jubilant locker room. Maybe it was for some unrelated cause. Whatever the case, it was fascinating.
So, too, had been McCaskey’s feedback Friday in a wide-ranging interview that included workforce President Ted Phillips that Tribune beat author Colleen Kane was a part of. McCaskey was requested how he’ll measure success for the workforce this season with the Bears starting a rebuilding course of.
“Wins are always a gauge of success and progress,” McCaskey stated. “Beyond that, I’d like to see some of the themes that Matt has been emphasizing — discipline, smart play, hustle, swarming defense, takeaways, going for the ball. Three-and-outs. Getting the run game going. Minimizing mistakes. And learning from mistakes. He talks about getting better each week. That’s a good gauge.”
Run by that guidelines — an inventory that is sensible — and the Bears had been the higher workforce in each part Sunday towards a high quality opponent that performed within the NFC championship recreation not lengthy after the Bears finalized the hirings of Poles and Eberflus.
The floor recreation wasn’t nice and the 49ers did an excellent job of corraling David Montgomery (17 rushes for 26 yards), however offensive coordinator Luke Getsy remained dedicated to it and the offensive line supplied some cracks within the second half that Khalil Herbert took benefit of.
Mix in some good runs by Justin Fields on scrambles, the busted 51-yard landing move to Dante Pettis and a pleasant resolution and throw for a landing on third-and-2 from the 49ers 19-yard line, and the Bears got here up with a components for victory. Niners quarterback Trey Lance was battered and seemed skittish method too usually, dropping his eyes within the pocket.
Eberflus talked a couple of 24-hour rule — and that’s in each coach’s playbook. Enjoy the victory after which be ready to report back to work Monday and switch the web page to the subsequent opponent. One factor is for positive, it’s lots simpler to educate corrections coming off a victory than it’s a loss.
“We’ve got a lot of young players on our squad (and) they need to take what they have learned from this game and get better,” Eberflus stated. “Good, bad or indifferent, they have to get better. And our individual (practice period) on Wednesday will reflect that. Whatever they’re working on, we’re going to have a good 15, 20 minutes of individual (time) to work on the fundamentals because that’s what wins football games. That’s going to be a big part of what we do here as coaches as we make these corrections from this game.”
This may sound like straight coachspeak and are available throughout as just a little monotonous, but it surely’s one thing Eberflus has referenced earlier than and it’s price explaining right here. He is keen to sacrifice snaps in workforce durations — 11-on-11 soccer — to ensure his gamers are dialed in on approach. It’s one thing that Eberflus believes in and that the Bears will persist with weekly.
2. It took the form of particular, off-script play Justin Fields could make together with his uncommon athletic capability for the Bears to get rolling.
Before we get into the 51-yard landing move to Dante Pettis, it’s essential to notice the protection did its half. The 49ers led 7-0 after they received the ball to start out the third quarter. Jauan Jennings received free behind rookie cornerback Kyler Gordon for a 44-yard achieve on third-and-6, and fairly quickly they’d first-and-goal on the 5-yard line.
A landing there would have created what seemed like an insurmountable lead given the way in which the primary half went on offense. Roquan Smith stopped Jeff Wilson for a 3-yard achieve on first down. Jaquan Brisker dropped Wilson for a 2-yard loss on the subsequent play, and Smith and rookie defensive finish Dominique Robinson — extra on him in a bit — mixed to sack Trey Lance on third down, forcing a 25-yard Robbie Gould discipline purpose.
The Bears received some good breaks on the following possession that led to the Pettis rating. First, 49ers linebacker Dre Greenlaw was penalized 15 yards for a facemask infraction after a run for no achieve by David Montgomery on third-and-4. That’s a punt there with out the penalty.
On the subsequent snap, former Bears security Tashaun Gipson dropped a possible interception on a move to the boundary to Equanimeous St. Brown. Montgomery ran for no achieve, and it was third-and-10 from the Bears 49-yard line with the Niners in Cover-3.
Pettis was operating an in-breaking route on the again aspect and Darnell Mooney was trying to clear the center of the sphere by operating a seam route. Fields had a check-down to tight finish Cole Kmet early within the play. It’s a call Fields may have made — get Kmet the ball and see if he can break a deal with to maneuver the chains.
Fields’ eyes had been downfield when he felt strain. Nick Bosa and Arik Armstead ran a twist/stunt from a tilted entrance designed to create one-on-ones. Bosa slanted inside and Armstead went upfield. Left deal with Braxton Jones ultimately dropped his head, and Bosa did a fast arm-over to use strain. That’s when Fields spun out.
“I honestly didn’t see where (Fields) was when I turned around,” Pettis stated. “I saw everybody flowing that way so I figured he was over there, but I couldn’t see what was going on. All of a sudden it kind of opened up a little bit and I saw him stand up to throw.”
By then, the beneath curl defender, Greenlaw, had vacated the house. He had no concept Pettis was behind him and when he noticed Montgomery transfer to the center of the sphere, he pursued Montgomery. There was nobody left for the 49ers as cornerback Charvarius Ward left to take Mooney on the seam route. Safety Talanoa Hufanga got here down as a hook defender and was simply operating round.
There was nobody inside 30 yards of Pettis, and if the Niners are going guilty anybody, it’s in all probability Greenlaw. He has to search out somebody to plaster and understand there may very well be a participant behind him.
“Normally, no one throws it back across the field like that,” Pettis stated. “I think everyone just flowed with Justin when he rolled out, completely just forgot about me and left me alone, disregarded (me). Whatever it was.”
Pettis waved his arms as if he had been stranded on a seaside and needed to get the eye of a aircraft flying overhead.
“I couldn’t believe (how open I was),” he stated. “I literally looked around for a second and I was like, ‘I really am this open.’ Normally there is someone behind you.”
Pettis stated there are primary guidelines to observe on damaged performs when it turns into yard soccer. Nothing refined. See if you’ll find an open house the place the quarterback can get you the ball.
“It’s more like guidelines,” Pettis stated. “Every workforce has them. They’re like common scramble guidelines. If you’re the low receiver, you go excessive. If you’re the excessive receiver, you go low. Or in case you are low, you push up a pair yards and break again down. You usually don’t attempt to work again throughout the sphere to the quarterback.
“Those are just generic rules that everybody basically goes by. I don’t know if it was from playing basketball or something, (but) being able to find spaces is relatively easy for me. Being able to feel that space.”
St. Brown was capable of make a key block as Pettis neared the top zone, and it was an enormous play for an offense that had mustered solely 74 yards on its first 33 snaps.
“Even after that play we’re still up and we’ve got full control,” 49ers linebacker Fred Warner stated. “We just kept shooting ourselves in the foot with bad penalties. What was it — 100 yards (actually 99) in penalties? That’s not winning football. We were minus-1 in turnovers. Those things will always hold up forever in ball.”
The 49ers may need felt like they remained in whole management with a 10-7 lead, however that slipped shortly. At the top of the third quarter, the Bears began a possession on their 16 and Fields instantly connected with Byron Pringle for a 22-yard move alongside the sideline. The 49ers would have gotten off the sphere after stopping Fields on a third-and-9 run that gained 5 yards, however Ward was referred to as for holding, one other pricey penalty.
A second roughing name towards Fields, this one on linebacker Azeez Al-Shaair, gave the Bears one other 15 yards, and fairly quickly Fields hit St. Brown for an 18-yard landing when the Niners blew protection on St. Brown and Pringle, leaving each large open. With 12:45 to play, the Bears led 14-10 and the momentum the Niners had for almost all of the sport was gone.
“We always talk about doing right longer,” 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan stated. “Today was the exact opposite. Looking at the amount of penalties we had compared to them, the turnovers compared to them and then the timing of those penalties were crucial. We’re real disappointed.”
3. The largest storyline for the Bears this season would be the growth of Justin Fields.
But there’s a roster filled with younger gamers and their enchancment is crucial for the group to take the subsequent step. General supervisor Ryan Poles and his employees have a number of questions at a whole lot of positions, and the extra that may be answered this season, the higher positioned the roster will probably be.
Credit rookie left deal with Braxton Jones with a strong first outing. Yes, he surrendered a sack to Nick Bosa — who spent extra time lining up over the suitable aspect than he did over Jones — however Bosa is the form of expertise who will get his wins towards the most effective linemen.
“It didn’t feel incredibly different,” Jones stated of his regular-season debut. “Obviously lots higher gamers while you’re taking part in the starters. It may need felt sooner, however on the finish of the day it felt regular for me.
“I’ve got to clean up some stuff. We came out with a win. Fought through some adversity. A tough first half obviously. I am just glad we came out with the win and got a team victory.”
Bosa received into Jones fairly shortly on the sack after which transformed velocity to energy, and the play was over quickly as Fields went down.
“It was a very normal rush for Nick Bosa, I would say,” Jones stated. “It was a very bad rep on my part. I felt like I was a little bit late, whereas he was right on time. It was a bad set. I let him get in my chest and it was kind of over from there. The biggest thing on that, the thing I took to heart, was don’t let one turn into two or three. Just come back and keep on grinding.”
Jones glanced up on the video board after Fields received off the bottom to substantiate what went unsuitable.
“It was just bad technique,” he stated. “That’s not me. Coach told me to just go out there and trust your training. That’s what I started to do. Still a lot to clean up, but I was getting a good feel for it.”
As the second half unfolded and the Bears had been capable of finding modest success operating the ball with Khalil Herbert, Jones gained just a little little bit of confidence, too, in mushy circumstances that in all probability negated among the move rush.
“That’s what we want to do,” Jones stated. “That’s our identity. We want to ground and pound. What I said to myself was it wasn’t going to be won in the first, second, third quarters. It’s going to be won in all four, so just keep grinding them and I knew they were going to whimper down before they would come out on top. We just kept grinding on them, and as you could see toward the end, they couldn’t take much more.”
4. How about fellow rookie Dominique Robinson?
He was off form after the preseason finale in Cleveland with a minor proper knee damage however returned final week. He performed 29 snaps by my unofficial rely and made probably the most of them with 1½ sacks.
Excluding the strike portion of the 1987 season — the Bears had an 11-sack recreation in a 35-3 victory over Buddy Ryan and the Philadelphia Eagles on Oct. 4 of that yr — it’s probably the most sacks in a season opener for a Bears rookie. Six different rookies had one sack of their debut, most lately Roquan Smith in 2018 in Green Bay.
Robinson picked up his first sack within the first quarter when the Niners had third-and-7 on the Bears 29-yard line, that means they had been in vary for a Robbie Gould discipline purpose. Right deal with Mike McGlinchey overset barely, opening an inside path to the backfield.
Robinson used a violent swipe together with his arms to defeat McGlinchey after which a fast inside transfer. McGlinchey held him, too, although officers didn’t make the decision. Then Robinson took down the 6-foot-4, 224-pound Trey Lance with one arm.
“I took my two steps up the field and he was past my eyes,” Robinson stated. “I went inside and made a play. I knew at some point something was going to open up, whether it would be on the outside or inside.”
On the combo sack of Lance, which Robinson shared with Smith, he didn’t even know he received partial credit score.
It must be good for the Bears to see the traits that attracted them to Robinson — a uncooked move rusher whom Miami (Ohio) actually used solely in sub packages final season — exhibiting up on the outset of the season. He’s a transformed faculty large receiver and initially arrived at school as a quarterback, the place he performed in highschool.
Before that?
“I’ve been bouncing around my whole life,” Robinson stated. “I started as a running back. I played running back and safety.”
Robinson has a whole lot of enhancing to do to change into a well-rounded defensive finish. The Bears will play to his strengths for now and see the place it takes him.
“He’s a talented player and you see the shiftiness and quickness to him,” defensive finish Robert Quinn stated. “When he’s out there, he’s making plays. As he grows and understands the game more and becomes more confident — and I don’t want to speak for him — he is going to set his own ceiling. As everyone saw today, he’s got some playmaking ability.”
5. The Bears can get a giant enhance on protection if probably the most skilled member of their secondary, free security Eddie Jackson, returns to type.
He would admit he hasn’t been at his greatest the final two seasons. But the teaching employees has supplied him a clear slate with no preconceived notions.
Jackson appears to have adopted a contemporary angle too — not simply one thing that reveals up in a information convention however a real realization that this can be a massive alternative for him. He has a profitable contract and must carry out to take care of it.
His interception of Trey Lance within the fourth quarter just about put the sport away. The 49ers had been nearing midfield on third-and-5 from their 41-yard line, and the Bears had been in Cover-1 robber. They added a low gap dropper, having a defensive deal with drop out with solely a three-man rush. They had two inside defenders to remove in-breaking routes — what you need to do in that state of affairs towards the 49ers, who usually search for tight finish George Kittle (who missed the sport with a groin damage).
Jackson rotated down as a robber and put his eyes on Lance. That took him proper to the play, which was meant for large receiver Jauan Jennings. Credit to Jackson for seeing it, recognizing the play and getting a bounce on the move, however an inexperienced quarterback took him there as nicely.
“Just trying to give him different looks,” Jackson stated. “That’s actually only a younger quarterback. Year 2, didn’t play lots final yr, so simply attempting to get him to do one thing completely different that he’s not snug with, attempting to get him to drop again and throw the ball and undergo his reads.
“We knew that when they get in those stacks, they like to (run) a two-option play. So we saw tight end and just played (Lance’s) eyes.”
Just like that, Jackson had his first interception because the season finale of 2019. Think about that. Rather a lot occurred on the earth between these interceptions. Jackson returned the decide 26 yards to the San Francisco 21-yard line to arrange the ultimate landing.
6. The Bears created just a little momentum within the operating recreation within the second half, and the most effective run got here on the play after Eddie Jackson’s interception.
Khalil Herbert went for 10 yards on first down on a easy inside zone play. Tight finish Cole Kmet blocked down on defensive finish Nick Bosa. He missed Bosa together with his lower block however slowed him just a little, and a very nice mixture block by proper deal with Larry Borom and proper guard Teven Jenkins made the play occur.
Left guard Cody Whitehair took care of a defensive deal with, permitting middle Sam Mustipher to climb to the second degree, but it surely was the preliminary combo by Borom and Jenkins on the level of assault that made the play occur.
Herbert is an effective match for what the Bears need to do offensively. He’s decisive, he will get north and south instantly and he’s a bodily runner. Right now, he’s just a little extra pressing than David Montgomery by way of getting his pads downhill and going. Will this have an effect on taking part in time transferring ahead? We’re speaking a couple of very small pattern measurement, but it surely’s one thing to consider within the weeks forward.
Even modest success for the offensive line must be a pleasant enhance for a gaggle that has confronted a whole lot of questions.
“They stuck with it,” Mustipher stated. “They saved trusting us. We didn’t get right into a drop-back fest. That final takeaway the protection received for us put us in good place, and it was like, ‘We’re going to run it.’ Here’s our alternative to make one thing occur, which is superior. There are some performs we would like again, some ones that received stuffed. They trusted us, which is admittedly cool.
“San Francisco’s front seven is arguably one of the best in the league. That was a good deal.”
7. Lesson realized for rookie punter Trenton Gill.
He introduced a big towel from the sideline to mop up the massive puddle the place he deliberate to place the ball down for a 47-yard field-goal try by Cairo Santos on the finish of the second quarter.
The Bears drew an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty as guidelines prohibit the usage of a international object — principally something that isn’t a part of the uniform — to perform a little groundskeeping within the driving rain.
“You cannot bring what we consider a foreign object — this was not a towel that would go on a uniform — out to alter the playing surface,” referee Clay Martin stated in a press launch. “We felt that supplied an unfair benefit, utilizing the towel to wipe down the world the place the ball was going to be positioned.
“If he used it to wipe his hands and had thrown it away, we would have been OK with it. To put it on the ground and alter the playing surface where we were going to spot the ball, that’s why we called a penalty.”
Gill stated he wasn’t conscious of the rule.
“I know never to do it again,” he stated. “I had never done it before. But I’ve never played in a game before when it’s been rain the whole time, a couple inches on the field. There was about 2 inches of water on the field, so it was definitely a hard thing to do.”
The standing water gave issues to Santos as nicely. He missed two further factors.
“Every time I planted, my foot was sinking in standing water,” Santos stated. “So it was difficult. It’s my job to execute and I didn’t try this. I’m disillusioned in how my kicks went. It’s not how I envisioned it based mostly on how the warm-ups went. I assumed I dealt with that good. Sometimes it’s like that and I’ve received to bounce again.
“The quality of the grass is great. I was really happy to see that. Getting a lot of rain just made it hard. Kicking on standing water. I didn’t handle that like I thought I would based on the pregame warm-ups. I’ve just got to bounce back.”
8. The Bears’ resolution to put a waiver declare on Alex Leatherwood after the Las Vegas Raiders made him a part of their ultimate cuts was fascinating.
If you’re on the lookout for a cause to imagine the Bears may have a younger participant who may flip into one thing, you need to transcend the actual fact Leatherwood was extremely drafted. The Raiders reached by deciding on him with the seventeenth decide in 2021.
The Bears really feel like they’ve high quality scouting experiences on Leatherwood. Assistant offensive line coach Austin King was the Raiders tight ends coach final season. Defensive line coach Travis Smith was the Raiders assistant defensive position coach. So the Bears had two assistants to show to for an analysis of what Leatherwood was like on the observe discipline and inside the ability.
The tape? It wasn’t good. In truth, it was dangerous. Leatherwood began all 17 regular-season video games final season. He struggled mightily at proper deal with within the first 4 video games and was moved inside to protect with the hope he wouldn’t be as uncovered there. Guards Richie Incognito and Denzelle Good suffered accidents, in order a lot because the Raiders needed to, they couldn’t take away Leatherwood from the lineup.
“The thing that was hard to explain is how a player that is such a good athlete could wind up in such a bad position so regularly,” stated one supply with data of Leatherwood’s rookie season. “It’s like he struggled instinctively. I don’t know how else to explain it, but this kid went through 17 games and didn’t get any better.”
The different issue to think about right here is offensive line coach Chris Morgan considers Tom Cable, the Raiders offensive line coach final season, considered one of his two largest mentors within the NFL. So it’s honest to imagine Morgan did due diligence with Cable when the Bears mentioned the potential for claiming Leatherwood and inheriting a rookie contract that carries by the 2024 season and contains $5.9 million in ensures.
If Leatherwood turns right into a participant — even a rank-and-file starter — for the Bears sooner or later, it is going to be a modest funding. And with the Bears having a ton of salary-cap room waiting for 2023, it’s not like the danger of taking up the contract of a participant who actually struggled as a rookie would set the workforce again. Sure, the Bears may have determined to not declare Leatherwood after which tried to signal him as a free agent, however there may need been competitors for him at that time.
The Bears have been working Leatherwood at proper deal with with the reserves, however I wouldn’t learn an excessive amount of into that. They’re getting him up to the mark with the playbook. Maybe they are going to critically take a look at him with no consideration deal with sooner or later. Perhaps they’ll resolve he can be higher inside at guard, or it’s potential elements with current linemen dictate the place he goes. For the time being, they’re getting him adjusted to the playbook and the way they need to observe, and that may be a problem as groups are allowed to observe with full pads solely as soon as per week in the course of the common season.
Leatherwood has spoken to reporters as soon as since he arrived and stated he’s not likely involved about what went unsuitable in Las Vegas.
“I’m more concerned with the future and the things that I’ve got going on here now,” he stated.
Leatherwood and the Bears must be involved about what didn’t go proper a yr in the past so each events can keep away from these pitfalls. If he had proven enchancment within the spring and summer time, I don’t assume a brand new regime for the Raiders would have seemed to commerce him so shortly after which lower him. Learning from previous errors is one of the simplest ways to keep away from repeating them.
There’s no timeline to get him on the sphere. This is an extended play with him being underneath contract for 2 extra years after this season. Maybe he’ll get to the purpose this season the place he’s prepared for motion, and maybe that may coincide with a necessity on the road. There’s no method of telling.
“Alex has done a great job so far with us,” Morgan stated. “He’s working really hard. He’s done a heck of a job connecting with the guys. We’re glad to have him. ‘Embrace everything and let’s roll.’ It’s really an easy message (for him).”
It will probably be fascinating to see how issues unfold on the road over the course of the season. Teven Jenkins and Lucas Patrick rotated at proper guard all through Sunday’s recreation. How that place will probably be dealt with subsequent week stays to be seen. At some level do the Bears need to consider Leatherwood?
The Bears drafted 4 offensive linemen in April. Doug Kramer was positioned on season-ending injured reserve. There are three second-year gamers in Jenkins, Larry Borom and Leatherwood. How many of those younger guys will the teaching employees really feel it has an excellent deal with on by the top of the yr?
9. Watch an unpleasant recreation like that and also you instantly surprise how lengthy it is going to be earlier than 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan turns to Jimmy Garoppolo.
Trey Lance’s efficiency was fairly brutal as he accomplished 13 of 28 passes for 164 yards with the Eddie Jackson interception. He’s athletic however he didn’t harm the Bears pulling the ball down and operating like Justin Fields did to the 49ers.
Lance has a really dangerous behavior of dropping his eye degree when he feels strain or believes he feels strain. It’s a younger quarterback’s response to defenses. As his eyes drop, he’s not studying down the sphere and the intuition is to show into an athlete and a runner when performs are there to be made downfield when you maintain your eyes up, transfer and reset your throwing window contained in the pocket. It was solely Lance’s third profession begin, however he seemed an terrible lot like Mitch Trubisky did early in his profession when he would drop his eyes within the face of strain.
I gained’t fake to know the dynamics in play for the 49ers, however this was a workforce that was arguably a dropped interception from reaching the Super Bowl final yr. No one says Garoppolo is the long-term reply for the franchise, however he must be higher than Lance proper now and if Lance continues to battle, I’ve to assume it could be a fast hook for the quarterback the Niners mortgaged an excessive amount of for to maneuver up and draft in 2021.
10. The Indianapolis Colts struck a take care of All-Pro guard Quenton Nelson on Saturday evening.
The sides agreed to a four-year, $80 million extension that reportedly contains $60 million assured and resets the marketplace for inside offensive linemen. This is price mentioning as a result of Nelson was a member of the 2018 draft class that produced linebacker Roquan Smith. The Bears would have cherished an opportunity to draft Nelson, the Notre Dame product who was chosen at No. 6, two spots earlier than Smith. Remember, Nelson’s faculty place coach, Harry Hiestand, was on the Bears employees on the time.
Nelson is the tenth participant chosen within the prime 24 picks in 2018 to signal a contract extension, following Cleveland Browns cornerback Denzel Ward (No. 4 decide), Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen (No. 7), Pittsburgh Steelers security Minkah Fitzpatrick (No. 11, acquired from the Miami Dolphins by way of commerce), Tampa Bay Buccaneers defensive deal with Vita Vea (No. 12), Raiders left deal with Kolton Miller (No. 15), Los Angeles Chargers security Derwin James (No. 17), Green Bay Packers cornerback Jaire Alexander (No. 18), Detroit Lions middle Frank Ragnow (No. 20) and Carolina Panthers large receiver D.J. Moore (No. 24).
10b. Four state faculties have gamers on the Senior Bowl watch checklist, a preliminary group being evaluated for invites to the all-star recreation. There are a whopping 484 names on the checklist, and that doesn’t embrace specialists. Here are the gamers from Illinois faculties plus Notre Dame:
- Illinois (4): RB Chase Brown, S Sydney Brown, TE Luke Ford, CB Devon Witherspoon
- Northern Illinois (2): QB Rocky Lombardi, OL Nolan Potter
- Northwestern (1): DL Adetomiwa Adebawore
- Notre Dame (3): WR Braden Lenzy, OL Josh Lugg, OL Jarrett Patterson
- Southern Illinois (1): FB Javon Williams Jr.
10c. You in all probability didn’t hear it, however Matt Eberflus thanked head groundskeeper Ken Mrock final week for his work and Mrock in all probability must be recommended for the way the floor at Soldier Field held up throughout Sunday’s recreation. Maybe the brand new Bermuda grass floor didn’t drain in addition to anybody would have appreciated, however there weren’t divots and chunks of turf flying up.
Everyone who was bent out of practice with the situation of the sphere in the course of the preseason can relaxation just a little simpler if this new floor holds up. So kudos to Mrock and the park district employees.
10d. The Packers opened as nine-point favorites over the Bears for Sunday evening’s recreation at Lambeau Field (7:20 p.m., NBC-5).
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Source: www.bostonherald.com