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Overview:
Cards play their third game in 11 days. Perhaps
it was overpreoccupation with the shorter intervals between games or
the extended road trip to Chicago via Nashville or the (symbolic at
least) early breakdown of Camp at Flagstaff, but the entire Cardinal
squad did not play with much enthusiasm or intensity on MNF at the
Titans. Very few if any questions were successfully answered by the
Cardinals during the game with Tennessee, and the hour-glass is
beginning to run out of sand.
After losing to
the Chargers 25 to 10, the Bears lost again to Oakland last Saturday 32
to 17. Biggest off-season acquisitions were Julius Pepper (to
bolster the DL) and "mad scientist" Mike Martz (to re-invent the
Bear assing attack).
Late Breaking - Derek
Anderson, Greg Toler and Daryl Washington will start on the first
unit. Urlacher (injury) will be out.
Previous Bear Game:
They lost to Oakland 32 to 17. They played the
Raiders even through the 1H (with the Bears leading 14 - 13) but the
Raidiz then tacked on 14 unanswered points in the 3Q and hung on to
win it by a 15 point margin. Other high or low points:
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Urlacher injured his calf.
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Matt Forte scored on an 89 yard run and wound
up gaining 109 yards on 5 carries.
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Jay Cutler was sacked five times and went 7
for 15 and 99 yards.
-
He threw one 22 yard TD pass to Johnny Knox.
-
DeLefevour was 3 for 10 and 39 yards (kind of
explains why Bears signed Todd Collins early in the week).
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A TE (Greg Olsen} led the team in receptions
(3) followed by a RB (C Taylor=) with 2.
-
Bears ran 25 times and passed 26 times.
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Oakland won time of possession: 34:47 to
25:13.
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Top 5 Bear tacklers were: Hillenmeyer (7),
Peppers (5), C Harris (4), Iwuh (4) and C Tillman (4).
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Tillman had the team's only pick.
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Peppers and Anderson had the Bears' two sacks.
Meet the
Bears
They're 0 & 2. Their offense under Martz
figures to be high-powered, but there will need to be a period of
adjustment (Bear blockers have surrendered 12 sacks compared to Bear
pass rushers who have racked up only 3). This should all change on
both sides of the ball as Martz's pass-happy offense kicks in and
Peppers joins Urlacher, Harris, Briggs & Co. to provide a pretty
hellacious pass rush. It hasn't happened in the first 2 preseason
games but give it time. Quarterbacks
Cutler, Jay 6 QB 6-3 233
Vanderbilt 5 27
Collins, Todd 10 QB 6-4 223 Michigan 16
38
Hanie, Caleb 12
QB 6-2 225 Colorado St. 3 24
LeFevour, Dan * 15 QB 6-3 230 Central Michigan
R 23
Gutierrez, Matt 8 QB 6-4 230 Idaho St. 4 26
Cutler is the second QB in a row (Vince Young
was first) from Matt Leinart's draft class.
He's considered a physical leader who has won over the loyalty of
his teammates in the lockerroom and in the huddle. While he figures
to post some gaudy stats under Mike Martz, the transition has been
slow - Cutler has completed 9 of 17 passes for 146 yards in two
games thus far. He's been sacked 6 times but still has a Passer
Rating of 101.6. His backup (Lefevour) has completed 5 of 20 throws
for 60 yards and a 20.1 rating. Which is, no doubt, why the Bears
went out and acquired Todd Collins.
Running Backs
Forte, Matt 22 RB 6-2 218 Tulane 3 24
Taylor, Chester 29 RB 5-11` 213 Toledo 9 30
Bell, Kahlil
32 RB 5-11 212 UCLA 2 23
Wolfe, Garrett 25 RB 5-7 185 Northern
Illinois 4 26
Minor, Brandon * 44 RB 6-0 214 Michigan R 22
Clark, Desmond 88 H-Back 6-3 249 Wake Forest 12 33
Ta'ufo'ou, Will 45 H-Back 5-11 247 Cal 1 24
Williams, Eddie 43
H-Back 6-1 249 Idaho 2 23
They want
to pound the rock with Forte, with Taylor a valuable backup who can
also catch out of the backfield. Wolfe is an interesting scatback
type. Bears use an H-Back instead of a
lead-FB. Forte showed he had speed by running away from Raider
defenders to score on an 89-yard run last week. His preseason total
is 116 yards. Closest Bear RB to him is Kahill Bell with 22.
Wide Receivers
Knox, Johnny 13 WR 6-0 185
Abilene-Christian 2 23
Davis, Rashied 81 WR 5-9 187 San
Jose State 6 31
Bennett, Earl 80 WR 6-0 204 Vanderbilt 3 23
Mathews, Greg * 16 WR 6-3 207 Michigan R 22
Hester, Devin
23 WR 5-11 190 Miami 5 27
Aromashodu, Devin 19 WR 6-2
201 Auburn 4 26
Iglesias, Juaquin 17 WR 6-1 205 Oklahoma 2 23
Barnes, Freddie * 83 WR 6-0 215 Bowling
Green R 23
Markshausen, Zeke * 84 WR 5-11 185 Northwestern R 23
Knox and Hesters are linchpins of the Bear passing attack, but
expect Martz to uncover at least one or two more unknown budding
superstars who can excel in his wide-open system. Aromashodu
leads Bear receivers with 4 catches for 78 yards and a TD.
Next comes Knox with 3 catches for 69 yards and a TD. Next WR is
Davis with a couple of catches.
Tight Ends
Olsen, Greg 82 TE 6-5 255 Miami 4 25
Manumaleuna, Brandon 86 TE 6-2 295 Arizona 10
30
Davis, Kellen 87
TE 6-7 262 Michigan State 3 24
Angulo, Richard 89 TE 6-8 260 Western New
Mexico 5 29
Olsen is 3rd leading receiver on the team with 3 catches for 26
yards.
Offensive Line
Williams, Chris
74 LT 6-6 315 Vanderbilt 3 24
Shaffer, Kevin 78 T 6-5
318 Tulsa 9 30
Webb, J'Marcus * 73 T 6-8 335 West Texas A&M R 22
Marten, James 72 T 6-8 310 Boston College 3 26
Garza,
Roberto 63 LG/C 6-2 310 Texas A&M - Kingsville 10 31
Asiata, Johan 62 G 6-4 300 UNLV 1 24
Beekman, Josh 67 G/C 6-2 310
Boston College 4 27
Kreutz, Olin 57 C 6-2 292 Washington
13 33
Walter, Tim * 64 C 6-6 289 Colorado State R 23
Horn, Levi * 79 C/T 6-7 315 Montana R 23
Louis, Lance 60
RG 6-3 305 San Diego State 2 25
Omiyale, Frank 68 RT/G 6-4 315
Tennessee Tech xx
For "While the offensive line remains
a work in progress, the Bears aren’t panicking... The most glaring
errors against the Raiders were committed by left tackle Chris
Williams, who got beat cleanly for two sacks on speed rushes by
defensive end Kamerion Wimbley." - L. Mayer.One characteristic of a
Martz-run passing attack is the willingness to forego max protection
in favor of getting more receivers out into the action. This may
prove dangerous to Cutler's health - the 5 sacks given up a week ago
may be emblematic of pass protection issues on the part of the Bear
O-line. Like Wiz, Martz attributes this to the "learning experience"
individual linemen get going one on one (i.e. there are lots of
slide and chip schemes during the regular season that will give
linemen blocking help).
Defensive Line
Anderson, Mark 97 LDE 6-4 255
Alabama 5 27
Idonije, Israel 71 DE/DT 6-6 270 Manitoba 7
29
Wootton, Corey * 98 DE 6-6 270 Northwestern R 23
Harris, Tommie 91 DT 6-3 295 Oklahoma 7 27
Harrison,
Marcus 99 DT 6-3 312 Arkansas 3 26
Melton, Henry 69 DE 6-3 260
Texas 2 23
Adams, Anthony 95 NT 6-0 310 Penn State 8 30
Toeaina, Matt 75NT 6-2 308 Oregon 3 25
Williams, Mick * 79 NT 6-1
280 Pittsburgh R 24
Peppers, Julius 90 RDE 6-7 283 North Carolina 9 30
Gilbert, Jarron 93 DT 6-5 285 San Jose St. 2 23
Turner, Barry * 96 DE 6-3 265 Nebraska R 23
Evans, Maurice 76 DE 6-2 264 Penn State 1 22
Peppers transforms this unit into a dynamo off
the edge (In recent years, the Chicago Front Seven seemed to be
configured tough up the middle, with its main strength at both DTs
and LB). Anderson and Peppers have two of the Bears' sacks.
Linebacker
Roach, Nick 53 SLB 6-1 234
Northwestern 4 25
Tinoisamoa, Pisa 59 LB 6-1 230 Hawaii 8 29
Shaw, Tim 58 LB 6-1 236 Penn State 3 26
Smith, Kelvin 94 LB 6-2 233 Syracuse 3 26
Urlacher, Brian 54 MLB 6-4 258 New
Mexico 11 32
Hillenmeyer, Hunter 92 LB 6-4 238 Vanderbilt 8
29
Malast, Kevin 52
LB 6-1 233 Rutgers 1 24
Briggs, Lance 55 WLB 6-1 242 Arizona 8
29
Iwuh,
Brian 62 LB 6-0 239 Colorado 5 26
Late Breaking -
Urlacher (injury) won't play. Strength of the defense, with Urlacher and
Briggs perennial All Pros when healthy. Malast leads the defense
with 9 tackles. Roach has the unit's only preseason sack.
Secondary
Bowman, Zackary 35 LCB 6-1 193
Nebraska 3 25
Graham, Corey 21 CB 6-0 198 New Hampshire 4 25
Moore, Joshua * 31 CB 5-11 188 Kansas State R
22
Turenne, Woodny
47 CB 6-0 184 Louisville 1 23
Tillman, Charles 33 RCB 6-1 198
Louisiana-Lafayette 8 29
Jennings, Tim 26 CB 5-8 185 Georgia 5 26
Moore, D.J. 30 CB 5-9 183 Vanderbilt 2 23
Brown, Cornelius * 39 CB 5-11 198 UTEP R
22
Manning,
Danieal 38 SS 5-11 202 Abilene Christian 5 28
Steltz, Craig 20 S 6-1 210 LSU 3 24
Scott, Quentin * 37 S 6-5 224 Northern Iowa R
22
Webster, Aaron *
49 S 6-2 205 Cincinnati R 22
Harris, Chris 46 FS 6-0 207 Louisiana
- Monroe 6 28
Bullocks, Josh 36 S 6-0 207 Nebraska 6 27
Wright, Major * 27 S 5-11 206 Florida R 22
Afalava, Al 24 S 5-11 212 Oregon State 2 23
Tillman and Afalya are creditied with the
Bears' 2 picks. Bear secondary has surrendered 440 passing yards
(vs. 268 generated by Bear passers). No doubt they'll prove me
wrong, but this does not appear to be one of the more fear-brokering
pass defenses in the NFL, but this could all change with a stiffer
pass rush from the Chicago front seven.
Special Teams
Maynard, Brad 4 P/H 6-1 188 Ball State
14 36
Gould, Robbie 9 K 6-0 185 Penn State 6
28
Mannelly, Patrick 65 LS 6-5 265 Duke
13 35
Knox, Johnny 13 KR/WR 6-0 185
Abilene-Christian 2 23
Manning, Danieal 38 KR/SS 5-11 202 Abilene
Christian 5 28
Hester, Devin 23 PR/WR 5-11 190 Miami 5 27
Maynard and Gould are experienced. Knox runs
in the 4.3's. And we all know what havoc Hester can wreak. Bear
opponents are 6 for 7 in field goals compared with 2 for 2 (both
inside the forty) for Gould.
Cardinal Roster (Nicked players in
Olive).
QB - 07 Leinart, 03 Anderson, 19 Skelton, 06 Hall
Anderson will start instead of Leinart
(we'd describe the move as not-so-much a permanent move but more of
an opportunity for Anderson to show the coaches something). While both QB's have excellent
completion percentages, they haven't done much to move the team nor
put the ball in the end zone. Both have missed open receivers.
Leinart has seemed a bit indecisive reading the defense,
locating and hitting the open man in-stride. Skelton and Hall have
shown enough talent and promise to be kept on the roster, but are
far from being ready for prime time.
RB -
34 Hightower, 26, Wells,
31 Wright, 36 Stephens-Howling (KR/PR),
46 A. Smith
The running attack has been anemic, with the
bigger, more physical Wells better able to make lemon-ade out of
lemons between the tackles when the blocking breaks down. Wright is
an invaluable passing-down RB. The tiny Howling does a lot of things
well (including running tough inside the tackles).
FB - 32 Broughton,
45
Mauwia
Not much to say about either one. Wolfley
describes Mauwia (who caught two passes and looked good as a
lead-blocker last week) as "a dumpster with eyebrows."
WR - 15 Breaston, , 80 Doucet , 12
Roberts, Komar,
85 Mougey
WR -11 Fitzgerald,
17 O Jones, 16 Gant, 18, 14 S Williams, xx M Jones
The absence of Fitz (knee) and Doucet created
timing issues - especially for Leinart - with our QB's not totally
in synch with our backup wideouts. we expect the Cards to keep 6
receivers from this talented pool (with one or more possible
attempts to stash one or two guys on the IR if they're nicked up. It
looks like Breaston, Doucet and Fitz are locks. Williams took
over for Fitz vs. Tenn. and did nothing to hurt his chances to make
thiis team. Komar continued to impress. If the decision had to be
made right now, we'd guess that we'd keep Williams, O Jones and
Komar; with Roberts and Gant within spitting distance. (Gant faces a
4-game suspension. Roberts has a sprained shoulder).
TE -
89 Patrick,
84 Becht,
83 Spach, , 86 Byrd,
81
Dray
Nothing new was resolved
Monday night. Patrick (most
well-rounded) has been injured. Becht (primarlily a blocker) hasn't
played much. The combative Spach is mainly a blocker. Byrd may have
the best hands and might be kept in a combo (TE/H-Back) role. The
somewhat banged-up rookie Dray had a couple of nifty grabs vs.
Houston.
LT- 75 L Brown,
73
Bridges,
69
Knips
LG-
66
Faneca, 70 Hadnot, ,
68 Pestock
OC- 63Sendlein,
62 Claxton, 60
Moosman,
(70 Hadnot)
RG-74
Wells, 76
Lutui,
66 Palmer
RT
72 Keith, 67 H
Johnson,
(69
Knips)
Did not impress Monday night. As far as we're
concerned, no starting job is safe. The good news is that there is
little separation between the #1 and #2 units. The opportunity is
there for the taking.
DE - 93 Campbell, 79 Iwebema,
71 Clark
NT - 97 B Robinson, 98 Watson,
92 D Williams
DT - 90 Dockett, 78 Branch,
62
Fletcher
UThe D-line was unimpressive vs. Tenn. Two
biggest disappointments were Robinson (who flat out let ball
carriers whiz through his gaps on occasion and may be running out of
the proverbial "gas in the tank") and Branch (whom we saw a couple
of times jogging after the play hangdog style last week).
OLB1 - 55 Porter,
52 C Brown, 57
Baggs, 48Schofield,
ILB 51
Lenon,
43 C Johnson
,
,
ILB-
58 D Washington, 95 Togafau, 50 Beisel,
56 Walker, 54 Hayes
OLB2
- 53
Haggans,
59
W Davis,
96
M Washington
Washington elevated to starter. Starters didn't see much action last week and
were challenged by the task of stopping the Titan "two-headed
monster (of Young and C Johnson). We were disappointed by the lack
of intensity from this unit - especially by the backups..
RCB -
28 Toler, 37 McBride,
47 J Miller,
21 Calvin,
LCB-
29 Rodgers-Cromartie,
27 Adams,
30 M Green,
20 Jefferson,
39 Ford,
SS- 24 Wilson,
22 Ware,
41 Abdullah,
40
Tillman
FS- 25 Rhodes,
49 Rash Johnson,
35
Rouse
Toler elevated to
starter. The backups
continued to play well, but there were a couple of coverage
breakdowns by both safeties and McBride. (Toler continued to
outperform McBride, and we're waiting for him to be elevated to
starter. DRC was avoided. M Green, AJ Jefferson and Ford continued
to flash. Abdullah looked fairly solid. Biggest decision come
cutdown time will be whether to risk losing our promising youngsters
or to leapfrog them over some of the guys currently higher on the
depth chart.
K-04
Feely
P- 05 B
Graham,
H - 05 B Graham
LS-
82 Leach
KR -
15 Breaston,
37. Stephens-Howling
47 J Miller
PR -
15 Breaston
47 J Miller
Feely kicked a chippy.
Graham continued to drop punts into tight places, but did bobble a
snap (which in turn was converted into a Tenn. TD). Justion Miller
continues to impress by picking up more return yards than other
Cardinal returners and by doing so by running north-south instead of
dancing or breaking toward the sidelines.
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