Noah K. Murray-USA TODAY Sports
Bears lose 32 to 13 in mediocre New Jersey romp in preseason week 2.
25 Bears sat out this game. For those counting, that’s every defensive starter (nickel or base) and every offensive starter including 2 RBs, 4 WRs, and 2 TEs. Perhaps surprisingly, this proved to be a disadvantage for the Bears when it came to scoring points, preventing points, or other win-loss related activities.
Full delicious preseason box score here.
Javon Wims: a Bear amongst boys
The Bears offense didn’t have much to show for itself in the first half. Except curl routes to Javon Wims. I only counted four of these targets, but Wims consistent seperation, leverage, and sure paws were so reliable that after the second, I had the luxury of looking away to pet my cat as soon as the ball was thrown, knowing with certainty it would be pulled down. Wims topped off the half with a deep reception on a fancified post route that gave the Bears the opportunity to practice spiking the ball with 1 second and gave Piniero an opportunity to barely make a 27 yard chip shot field goal.
Kylie and Isiah Vaughtta watch their backs
James Vaughters showed up with the first pressure, which he made the most of by forcing a fumble and scooping it up. Has somebody been paying attention to alpha Bear Khalil Mack in practice? For those keeping count, Vaughters was also the bear who scooped up Josh Woods’ forced fumble last week. Considering how little Kylie Fitts and Isiah Irving have done to make a case for themselves, this Vaughters fellow is catching my interest. In their defense, both Fitts and Irving got into the backfield as soon as the Giants third string tackles came out, Irving getting the credit for the sack.
Did Bradley Sowell lose too much weight?
Maybe there’s just not enough Bear on his bones. Tackle-turned-tight-end Bradley soul has struggled in pass protection for two weeks now, today giving up a sack from Marcus Golden.
Backup Tackles continue to struggle in pass protection
Rashaad Coward didn’t give up any big plays, but he was overeager to back up on passing downs and generally looked over his head. Cornelius Lucas was called for two holding penalties and gave up a sack. It’s possible the Bears eventual swing tackle isn’t on the roster. Are there enough bear claws in Chicago for Bradley Sowell to put that weight back on?
Marvin Hall seems to inspire bad throws
For two weeks now, he’s gotten open deep only to tempt a Bears quarterback (or two) to throw over or underthrow him for incompletion. It’s happened multiple times with both Bray and Daniel so I can only assume it’s Marvin’s fault. He needs to stop getting open so the Bears don’t waste their downs.
Kerrith Whyte is still fast
He returned a kickoff for an easy breezy touchdown before it was called back for a holding penalty. They can call back the ball, but good luck calling back the blazing burst of beautiful Bear that blew past them.
Outside cornerback depth still looking unsettled
Kevin Toliver slipped on the first play trying to follow Cody Latimer on a basic dig route. He didn’t do anything to make up for that. John Franklin III - Started out looking good in coverage. tackled on the catch when he did give up receptions. Then he gave up a touchdown catch to TJ Jones. It was a well-placed ball from Daniel, but JF3 was not it good position even if it hadn’t been. Clifton Duck had the best standout play with a goal-line interception that he ran back half the field. Nevermind that he was caught by a bottom-of-the-roster Giants receiver.
My Elliott Fry neck tattoo is not aging well
In my defense, there’s no way I could have known he would eventually miss a field goal.
Bearly notable
Chase Daniel’s play of the night may have been inspiring Lorenzo Carter to slap him on the helmet and earn a 15 yard penalty in the Bears favor. Ryan Nall started out strong with a 9 yard screen and a 12 yard run then got swallowed for the remainder of the game. Riley Ridley was unable to capitalize on multiple poorly-placed CD4 targets—his best play was a 6 yard screen pass. Jonathan Bullard struggled to shed blocks in the run game. His only play was falling on a fumble that flopped in front of him. Tanner Gentry caught some balls—his believers should be satisfied. Taquon Mizzell secured his spot off the final roster with two fumbles tonight.
Preseason scores don’t matter. But the Bears depth didn’t do much to impress either. September can’t come soon enough.
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