The preseason is a time of the season where fans and the media often look way too far into everything. However, if it was completely meaningless then there really wouldn't be any reason to play it. Game 3 in itself is the most important game of the preseason. It has the starters out on the field for at least a half (outside of individual cases, like Julius Peppers who was coming off of an injury). This gives the starters on both teams, on both sides of the ball, a chance to get into a groove and gives the players, fans, and other teams a chance of what things will look like once the regular season gets underway.
Therefore, a good first half in the third preseason game is really a great indicator of what can be expected out of a team. Of course, no team plays exactly the same from one game to another, some players will be on their game and others may be cold. Still, the fact that the Bears outscored the Raiders 27-3 in the first half on Friday is a very good indicator.
First I will say that it's only the Raiders. I doubt too many people have the Raiders winning more than 5 or 6 games this season, and even that may be a bit generous. Still, the Bears aren't supposed to just start playing poorly because it's the Raiders. At the same time, the Bears did exactly what you want to see them do, beat up on a bad team. There was a lot more to it than just the score though.
One of the most encouraging things I noticed during the game was that Marshall was having a bad game (not the encouraging part, but we all know what to expect out of him once the regular season is underway), Cutler still was able to play very well. His completion percentage still seemed a bit low at 12/21, but when you consider that there were at least 5 dropped passes during the game, 3 of them by Marshall, and Cutler still wound up putting up strong numbers, you understand that he was able to show that he was able to be effective going to receivers not named Brandon Marshall.
The Bears are going to have a tough time doing anything if other teams know the ball is either being run by Forte or thrown to Marshall. While it may be a good idea to establish the run and establish Marshall as the main guy every game to open things up for other players, Cutler showing that he could get Jeffrey and other players involved was a big statement for the Bears offense to make.
The defense was just as oppressive as always throughout the game with several interceptions and sacks as well as a few close calls on both interceptions and sacks as well. The second and third stringers did start to give up some points in the second half, but as far as the guys who will be on the field during the regular season went, you could not have asked for much more.
Now, the other part of the game, the second half that I made mention of in the last paragraph. It wasn't nearly as good for the Bears as far as the team goes. However, when a team is looking at the second and third string guys, they know that most of those guys out there will not make the final roster, so it's the individual performances that matter the most.
This is very important after week 3's games since on Tuesday the roster has to be cut down to 75 players. The Bears have already made 14 cuts (just today actually), according to chicagobears.com those players are Devin Aromashodu, Tom Zbikowski, Patrick Trahan, Leonard Pope, Curtis Brinkley, Eric Foster, A.J. Lindeman, P.J. Lonergan, Derrick Martin, Kyle Moore, Gabe Miller, Brent Russell, Tress Way, and Lawrence Wilson. This leaves the Bears with one more player to cut by Tuesday, then 4 days later they have to cut yet another 22 players off of the roster. Luckily the finally game is almost entirely played with the reserves in there, and without the extra players in there it will give the Bears a great chance to see who those final 22 cuts should be.
Just about anyone who isn't a starter will have their jobs on the line. Sure, there is a select group of reserves who are all but assured roster spots, but at the same time there are not many, and one player having a huge game can really make a difference. However, the majority of decisions that are made will be based on the entire training camp as well as all of the preseason games, so putting in a good individual performance is important every game. The player that stood out the most to me against the Raiders was Cornelius Washington. He had a sack, a pass deflection, and another QB hit. He was all over the place on the field, and really just looked great. However, if he pulls out a bad game in week 4, then he could possibly be off the team or headed to the practice squad (assuming nobody else picks him up). Still, after what he did against the Raiders, it's going to take a pretty bad game for him to get cut.
The first team looked great on Friday. If this was any indication as to what to expect once the regular season starts, the Bears should be able to compete with anyone in the league. Sure, it was just the Raiders, but if it was a full game it was an absolute blowout. The indication from this game was that the Bears will be in good shape to start the regular season.
No comments:
Post a Comment