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Hey, it's the 4th preseason game so take the pros/cons with a grain of salt but here's what I came away with.

Pros :

Johnny Knox : Hell to the yeah. Showed up big in the return game and had 2 catches for 62 yards. Showed he knows how to do something with the ball after the catch. The best of the rookie WRs.

Rideaux : Was glad to see him get in the end zone. I'm just afraid he's the odd man out given Rashied Davis seemed to have been given most of the night off. That tells me it's between Rideaux and Aromashodu and I have a feeling the latter had more a rapport going with Cutler in camp.

Iglesias : Better late than never - caught 5 for 72.

Basanez : I should know by now to not get excited about the 2nd half of a 4th preseason game but where the hell has this confidence and cannon arm been hiding ?? 10-13 for 144yds, 1TD. Was firing bullets out there. Surprising to say the least - I had him written off.

Gould : 4 FGs without a miss, longest from 47. Super consistent.

Clermond/Baldwin : Won't make the team but saw big minutes and applied good pressure. Both were sucking wind big time as the game wore on as Lovie rode them hard.

Gaines : Was brought in as a blocker but he has sticky hands as a receiver. Had a nice catch on the TD and has a little swerve to him for a big guy. Will the Bears keep 4 TEs, though?

Marcus Harrison : Beast. Saw more minutes than I thought he'd get as Lovie was obviously trying to shed a few more pounds off the guy.

Cons :

Rod Hood : Blah. Didn't matter if it was the 35yr old Patten or a rookie WR going against him, he got beat. Way to get your revenge on the Browns, there, Rod. You were waived for a reason, I guess.

Mark Anderson: WTF ? Didn't show up in the least against backup o-linemen.

Kevin Jones: Thanks to a bone-headed leap, he probably ended up spraining his ankle. Wolfe and Peterson aren't guys you want to see as primary backups to Forte, even for a few weeks so I'd be hitting that waiver wire if I were the Bears.

Hanie: I wasn't impressed. Threw behind a couple receivers and telegraphed his interception. He still is holding onto the ball too long. I really don't want him as my #2 QB - bring in a vet, Jerry.


Open question: Did Melton and Gilbert even play ??

Gilbert was always the third or fourth lineman to get there on one or two sacks I saw..

I think you should stick Toeania on the good column. Dude racked up couple of tackles and even got a sack. I understand if you dropped him fro doing the stanky leg though. What an idiot.

NoSkyy wrote:Gilbert was always the third or fourth lineman to get there on one or two sacks I saw..

I think you should stick Toeania on the good column. Dude racked up couple of tackles and even got a sack. I understand if you dropped him fro doing the stanky leg though. What an idiot.

My pro list was getting too long! I agree, though, and he could end up sticking.

Johnny Knox.

My new 2nd tier player man crush.

Really good pad speed, and his ability to gain YAC surprised me(Even if it was against scrubs). His ability also to not fall down easily surprised me as well. He keeps going until you chase him down

Highlights:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P6lCuSNkkx0

As I mentioned in the game thread, too many broken tackles but that's to be expected when you have you 2nd and 3rd string guys in there. Overall, good effort by the Bears to cap off a good preseason.

Thanks for the info on streaming. I was able to catch my first Bears preseason football. Unfortunately only streamed the first half - UGH!

My hope is that Johnny Knox eventually becomes a starter this year in the slot. That would be one hell of a weapon. But I read the Bears are not teaching him the slot at all this year, so maybe Bennett could move to the slot on certain downs and Knox could play outside.

I'm just not that concerned with Kevin Jones as I think we can find something as good or better off the waiver wire if it's serious. Just snag Kregg Lumpkin from the Packers once he's waived. Problem solved.

Bears aren't going to have Knox and Hester on the field at the same time. You need at least 1 guy that's kinda physical, like Bennett.
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Honestly as big a weapon as Hester is, because he makes teams respect his ability, which in turn opens up the offense. Hester is nothing more than a #3. I hate how we treat him like a #1 WR, when he is still learning the position.

Last year we had Hester and Davis on the field at the same time quiet a bit. Knox is much bigger than Davis and I don´t think Davis is that physical. That said, I agree that it would be best to have Bennett or Rideau out there too as part of a 3 receiver set.

CjayC wrote:Bears aren't going to have Knox and Hester on the field at the same time. You need at least 1 guy that's kinda physical, like Bennett.
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Honestly as big a weapon as Hester is, because he makes teams respect his ability, which in turn opens up the offense. Hester is nothing more than a #3. I hate how we treat him like a #1 WR, when he is still learning the position.

Funny thing is that Knox looked physical to me. I saw him use his hand (albeit slightly illegally) to get separation on a post pattern and he's good at using his free hand to stiff arm after the catch.

No talk so far about Wolfe. I think with the injury to KJ and a good offensive line he's gonna breakout this season.
He has such good stop and go ability with speed and can catch (I've never seen him drop a ball). He's running b/w the tackles for nice gains

Im pissed as hell that jones is out, but I have been a believer in Wolfe since we drafted him---he was a 2000 yard rusher at the NCAA level.

He reminds me of Eric Metcalf.

Rashied Davis. Congrats boy