Bears 2023 Preseason Thread

[BearsWillWin]

Poles addressed the Mooney rumors today and confirmed they are bullshit

 

[Lake Shore Drive]

Poles addressed the Mooney rumors today and confirmed they are bullshit

Yep, this article confirms it:

Ryan Poles quickly shuts down trade rumors that swirled around Bears late in training camp

Ryan Poles will look under every rock to improve the Bears’ roster, but just because he takes a peak doesn’t mean he’ll take what he finds.

www.nbcsportschicago.com

There was also some odd chatter Monday about the Bears potentially looking to trade wide receiver Darnell Mooney at some point during the season. That talk stems from a ProFootballFocus article that listed players who could be "surprise trade candidates" this season. It did not state the Bears were actively shopping Mooney.

Never amounted to anything more than a writer's imagination.

 

[Lake Shore Drive]

Apparently this is the final (?) roster and subsequent grades by unit:

Bears' roster analysis: Position-by-position grades for 53-man unit after waiver claims

After a three moves Wednesday, the Bears’ 53-man roster is set. The secondary and backfield is a strength, but many question marks still remain.

www.nbcsportschicago.com

Is this really the final, final roster? Somehow I think Poles will continue to tweak it before the start of the season. And it looks like the WR group was the beneficiary of the Bears going with just 2 QBs on the roster. We're going with 7 wideouts, at least to start the season.

Best grade? The RBs & CBs, each with an A-....Might be a bit of an overreach with the CB grade.
Worst grade? The offensive and defensive lines, each with a C-....Ugh!!! Next to the QB, the two most important units on the team
Most surprising grade? WR group receiving a C+....I thought just having DJ Moore alone elevated this group B or B- at the least

 

[Tainthappening]

Did not want to start a new thread in Bears forum as Packers fan... but giving you my thoughts on Packers for week 1 matchup.

Offense:
- New era begins with Jordan Love taking the snaps.
- Love played in all 3 preseason games
- Love started slow in 2nd and 3rd games passing the ball... was not until last series got in the end zone and was typically playing vs 2nd stringers
- Would expect passing game not to be as efficient
- OL should be very good... even if Bakhtiari is not playing... have good depth and think will see more running this year
- Aaron Jones played a few series.. still looks good. Dillon is still a monster... but IMO still a disappointment for 2nd round pick he was.. not a lot of big play ability and disappointing at times on 3rd or 4th and short opportunities
- WRs very young... Watson could be great playmaker as has all the tools.. but dropped easy long ball (again) in preseason... he could be hit or miss again at times. Really like Doubs in his 2nd year... he looks like the guy that may be able to move the chains as he continues to grow

Defense:
- 2 important players nursing injuries... unsure of status for week 1... Gary most likely limited if plays, Campbell sounds like he will be back
- DL could actually be stout vs run this year. Slaton (3rd year) has really impressed and Wyatt coming into 2nd year looks better so Clark may finally have some help. May have hit on 2 rookies in draft as well to provide a few reps.
- Fields and his ability to scramble and run with ball will be big test for Packers defense
- Pass rush could be big issue early in season with Gary injury... P. Smith only proven rusher.. Enagbare is looking better in 2nd year... but he is no Gary and was also against 2nd stringers in preseason. Van Ness was #1 pick... but he is still very raw and will be situational player for now that is a project like Gary was in his first year.
- CBs - Alexander elite... and Douglas is good. After that not much... Stokes was disappointment last year after solid rookie season., but he is on the PUP list now.
- Safties - this is big question mark and I assume will be drop off from prior years when still had Amos

Special teams:
- Rookie kicker and punters and did not carry a long snapper with initial 53... things could be interesting
- Kicker Carlson has big leg, but was a bit inconsistent in training camp and preseason.. for now I would consider a drop off from Crosby
- Punter Whelan has big leg as well... but have not seen enough to say much more

Other comments:
- Packers a very young team... only 2 players over 30 and oldest is 31
- I assume youth and new QB that Packers at least early in season will look rusty on offense and may have trouble sustaining drives
- Think this is 500 team at best this year... could be better if defense actually lives up to hype and running game improves over last year. Team could also really struggle to win games due to inexperience and not knowing how to win and drop a lot of games.

Good luck to Bears in 2023, much respect for Bears fans and Bears history... no NFL without the Bears.

 

[NCChiFan]

I don't know what to expect out of the Division, and neither do the "professional experts". I've read every NFCN team at #1 and both the Bears and Packers also at #4. Not seen Minny at 4 except 1 time (worried about their D and loosing alot of their high quality defenders + cook). I wonder how the division will play out.