We started something last week but for new readers, after every Bears game I’m serving One Bearbon for the best thing I saw during the week, preferably smooth with a nice finish. One Scotch that burns the back of the throat but doesn’t stop you from loving it. We’ll then raise a beer to a player, play, incident or whatever else I feel deserved it. Lastly, I’ll leave you with a song from the Jukebox.
This week’s Bearbon is obvious but let me give you some other contenders. Go back and watch every time Rodgers up in GB or Brady stepped on the field. The first thing they did was start a chat with the zebras. What do you know there was Fields doing the exact same thing to start the first Bears drive. It’s not a big thing but it’s something he wasn’t doing before. Herbert’s housecall on a simple screen was definitely in the running. In the end, the Fields to Moore TD for hopefully the first of many takes the week. You’ll hear how Justin had nothing to do with it and how that’s a bad thing. Fields had no run attempts at all but used his elusiveness to make plays that, unlike last year, were rewarded by his teammates making major plays. That’s the biggest lesson of the week.
Th first drive from the Titans brought back some bad memories from last season. A 32 yard completion and several backfield and QB runs exposed an inability to stop the run and a propensity to give up big plays. Down near the goal line, there was the hint of a backbone but not enough to stop the score. I always hear about preseason having no schemes and defenses being exposed but the upgrade on talent should have been enough to at least look better. I know it’s a pessimistic view but it’s only the first game and hopefully just some growing pains. We’ll see over the next month but for now this is the scotch burning my throat.
As we get to know some of the new faces for the Bears, let’s raise a beer for two rookies. None of them had a breakout or anything but Stevenson did not look out of place in coverage and made 7 tackles. Roschon Johnson ended the day with 44 yards on 12 carries along with 3 catches. Johnson double clutched a catch but he also turned a potential loss into a small gain. All in all the rooks showed they’re working towards being contributors.
Roschon Johnson goes beast mode on way to 24-yard run (chicagobears.com)
Coming into this season, fans and the front office were looking to find a reason to believe in Velus Jones. Out comes Jones in the 1st to let a punt bounce in front of him only to muff it and give the ball away much too cheaply. Contrast this to other guys on the bubble, Vildor was making tackles and defending in the 4th while 5th string Trevis Gipson had a sack several QB hurries and hits in winning player of the game on the broadcast. Camp and preseason for these players is about winning your spot and making the team. So hit G99 on the jukebox to play some Eminem that cued correctly would have sounded great during the 2 TD’s as well.