Bears Stuff...

boozeman

28 Years And Counting...
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Bears are in sore shape.


 

Joe Fan

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Bears are in sore shape.


This has trap game written all over it.. Especially since we're playing at home.
 

dallen

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The Bears suck, are missing their QB, and on the road. There is almost no chance we win this game
 

Cotton

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Cotton

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Scout's Eye: Big Challenge For Dez; McClain Matches Up With Rookie Center
Thursday, September 22, 2016 9:38 AM CDT

By Bryan Broaddus
Football Analyst/Scout
@BryanBroaddus

FRISCO, Texas -- Here are my two marquee matchups for the Week 3 primetime matchup against Chicago.

Dallas Cowboys WR Dez Bryant vs. Chicago Bears CB Jacoby Glenn

Jacoby Glenn might not be a household name for most fans that follow the NFL, but when you study the Bears defensively on film – you notice him.

He has been the Bears' starter at left cornerback for the first two weeks of the season. He played as a field corner while at Central Florida and would go all over the place to cover his man. You see some of that with the Bears. He is not afraid to stick his nose in on the tackle, and he is aggressive despite his lack of bulk.

He puts himself in position to makes plays. Played a ton of zone coverage in college but is adapting well to life in the NFL when he has to carry a man in route. Glenn plays with awareness. He makes nice reads to come off his man and carry receivers up the slot. He has also shown quickness for the Bears. Poor timed speed (4.65), he but plays much faster than that on tape.

Glenn can knock the ball away when he gets in position. Can play the ball in the air -- not afraid to battle. Reads quickly. Had a knack for getting turnovers while in college. Has the ability to get his hand in there to knock ball away. This is one of those players that has some “Right Place, Right Time” to him.

All of that said, he will have to be ready for Bryant and his ability to run those inside routes. I can see him being far more aggressive dealing with Bryant than what we saw from Bashaud Breeland in the Washington game. This is a hard guy to run away from. There are going to be some tight window throws if they go to Bryant in this game with him in coverage.

Dallas Cowboys DT Terrell McClain vs. Chicago Bears C Cody Whitehair

This is a really nice matchup between two up-and-coming players for their respective squads.

McClain, through two games, has been outstanding in the way he has played to this point. He has been the most consistent player along the defensive line -- against both the run and the pass. He’s been active and difficult for opponents to block. McClain has won more than his share of battles one-on-one.

This week he will face a blocker in Cody Whitehair that has shown the ability to handle his style of play. Whitehair played tackle at Kansas State and during the draft process was projected to play inside at guard. Personally, I did not project him to play center, but that’s where the Bears have him. When you study his game you see a player that moves easily. There are times where he tends to get a little straight-legged, but it doesn’t affect his ability to adjust in space. He has movement skills and is light on his feet. It’s rare to see him on the ground.

He has improved on his ability to punch sooner and has done a better job of slowing his man down. He can hold his man in position along the line. Doesn’t get knocked back. Takes defenders where they want to go in the running game. Stays in position on block. Has done a nice job of handling the middle for the Bears. He has also worked well with veteran guards Josh Sitton and Kyle Long.

I will be interested to see how he handles the quickness of Terrell McClain off the snap.
 

Cotton

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Writer's Blocks: The Absurdity Of The "Trap Game"
Thursday, September 22, 2016 10:04 AM CDT

By David Helman
DallasCowboys.com Staff Writer
@HelmanDC

FRISCO, Texas – I keep a printout of the Cowboys’ schedule hanging right above my laptop at work, and every day I do something that’d undoubtedly make Jason Garrett pull his hair out.

I try to predict the future. How well are the Cowboys’ opponents playing? How long until their next road trip? Will the San Francisco team they face Oct. 2 look like the one that shut out L.A., or the one that got handled by Carolina? Will the Packers’ offense still look disjointed by Week 6, or will Aaron Rodgers have gotten it together?

Will Tony Romo be the starting quarterback Week 8 against Philadelphia? What will the record be when that game rolls around?

It’s all speculation, and it all goes against the fiber of Garrett’s being. At his first press conference of Week 3, Garrett refused to even speculate about Sunday night’s game against the Bears – preferring to focus on having a great Wednesday.

It’s frustrating to hear as a member of the media, but I understand why the Cowboys’ head coach prefers to keep his team focused on the moment.

Fortunately, I’m not bound by that limitation, so I’ve got some thoughts on this week and how it pertains to the future.

So, here we go:

1. I don’t know if you watched the Bears play Philadelphia on Monday night, but this doesn’t appear to be a good football team. Of course they have some good players – Alshon Jeffery, Kevin White and Kyle Long all come to mind – but that doesn’t come together to form too formidable of an opponent.

Chicago ranks 31st in the league in total offense. They rank 30th in scoring offense. They haven’t looked particularly good at running or throwing the ball, and seven of their 28 total points this year came off a special teams touchdown.

Now, it’s fair to say that the Bears were so putrid against two of the best defenses in the NFL – Houston, at No. 3, and Philadelphia at No. 4 in the league. But they also lost Jay Cutler for what looks like at least a few weeks, so it’ll be Brian Hoyer trying to improve their fortunes at AT&T Stadium.

Point being: this looks like about as manageable a game as the Cowboys will play in the next six weeks. San Francisco is a West Coast road trip, while Cincinnati and Green Bay are playoff contenders with seasoned quarterbacks. Philadelphia, as I just mentioned, fields a nasty defense – and Carson Wentz has looked impressive so far.

Take all of that into consideration, and this is matchup with an injury-depleted Bears team is one the Cowboys can ill-afford to lose.

2. Despite everything I just said, I roll my eyes at people who call this a “trap game” for the Cowboys.

Trap games are for juggernauts – the select few teams who are head and shoulders above the rest. However good he might look so far, Dak Prescott is still a rookie starting just his third NFL game. On top of that, the Dallas defense certainly looks susceptible – even against a struggling opponent like the Bears. The Cowboys are not a juggernaut.

It’s possible the Cowboys will dispatch the Bears with ease, but you’d have to be an idiot to bet on it – and I did some math to back up my point.

Since Jason Garrett took over as the Cowboys’ head coach midway through 2010, he’s coached 92 games. The Cowboys have won 13 of those 92 games by two touchdowns or more – which is what qualifies as a blowout in the NFL, in my opinion. They’ve lost 10 of 92 games by two touchdowns or more.

This isn’t rocket science, given Garrett’s 47-45 career record as head coach. But 75 percent of the games he has coached have either come down to the wire or been close in the fourth quarter. Regardless of what the Bears look like heading into this game, it’d be silly to think Sunday will be any different.

3. I’ve got my eye on the Cowboys’ rush defense entering this game, though. A good running game is a backup quarterback’s best friend, and the Cowboys have surrendered 4.8 yards per carry through two games.
The Bears have struggled to an average of just 68 yards per game so far, but second-year running back Jeremy Langford has shown flashes. As many chunk plays as the Dallas secondary surrendered last week, I thought the Redskins likely could’ve pulled out a win if they had focused more on the run – particularly in the red zone.

Faced with the prospect of starting Brian Hoyer, I wonder if the Bears try to get their ground game going – which could prove successful against this front seven.

4. Hey, people. Make up your minds. One week you were mad at Terrance Williams for not going out of bounds on the game’s final play. The next week, you were mad at Terrance Williams because he didn’t make any plays.

Look, I get it. Williams is a four-year starter and the team’s No. 2 receiver. You want to see him do stuff. But I’d ask you to keep in mind that you’re watching a rookie quarterback who is clearly trying to minimize his mistakes.

Williams was on the field for 42 plays on Sunday. Of those 42 plays, he was covered by Josh Norman on 20 – so roughly half of them. If I’m Dak Prescott, I’m doing my best to not even look Norman’s way, which appears to have been exactly what he did.

I’m not trying to say it’s great that Williams didn’t have a target. But I would point out that it didn’t affect the offense’s productivity, so I don’t really care.
 

Cotton

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Cotton

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Cowboysrock55

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I'd let Brown man the slot against the Bears. Let Scandrick get back to 100%.
 

Cotton

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Yeah, we don't have a chance.
 

1bigfan13

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Yeah, we don't have a chance.
If Garrett finds a way to lose this game he should be fired the next day. No excuse.
 

Simpleton

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I'd say Goldman is their best overall defensive player, not just best DL or interior DL.

And Jeffery isn't confirmed out I don't think.
 

Cotton

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I'd say Goldman is their best overall defensive player, not just best DL or interior DL.

And Jeffery isn't confirmed out I don't think.
He didn't practice today, so it's not likely he plays.
 

Cotton

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Look for Cowboys to shake up DL and make change at LB

By David Moore , Staff Writer

Indications are the Cowboys will shake up their defensive line and make a change at middle linebacker for Sunday's game against Chicago.

Defensive coordinator Rod Marinelli said veteran Justin Durant has "got a good chance'' to move past starter Anthony Hitchens at linebacker. He said he likes the combination he had in the front four to finish the team's win over Washington _ Tyrone Crawford and Jack Crawford at the two end spots with Terrell McClain and rookie Maliek Collins at the tackles _ and believes they deserve another look.

"I think yeah, we're going to keep looking at them,'' Marinelli said. "I'm just looking to keep mixing and matching until I find the right combo.''

Durant came up with two big plays in the final 2:38 against Washington to secure the team's first victory, combining with Sean Lee to stop running back Chris Thompson for no gain on third-and-one then coming back on fourth down to knock down a pass intended for receiver Pierre Garcon.

Tyrone Crawford, who has struggled at tackle early in the season, was moved to left defensive end in the second half and came up with a key sack with 1:25 left. Marinelli conceded Crawford has gotten most of his practice time at end this week.

It sounds like Jack Crawford, who had been starting at left end, will move ahead of Benson Mayowa at right defensive end.

"He is solid and Benson can come in and give us some juice where we take him out of some of the heavy pounding,'' Marinelli said. "You get Jack over there and it's another big man on base. Then we just roll them after that.''

McClain, who is off to a strong start, remains the starter at one defensive tackle spot. Collins, who is tied for the team lead in quarterback pressures with three, is poised to take over the other tackle position.

"Explosive pad level,'' Marinelli said of Collins. "He's got quickness, suddenness, tough.''

Marinelli did say he'll "keep looking around as the week goes on.'' But expect some changes in the starting lineup against the Bears.

"You're on an interview every week,'' Marinelli said. "Unpack everything except your toothbrush.

"I like these guys. I've said that from the beginning. They really work at it.''
 

townsend

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I'm guessing we go into a shell and make an easy win look hard. I'll say 20-16,
 

1bigfan13

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I'm guessing we go into a shell and make an easy win look hard. I'll say 20-16,
Pretty much how I expect it to play out as well. I think Dallas wins but the Cowboys rarely cruise to comfortable victories during the Garrett era.
 
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