Other NFC North News

[Fritz]

I thought it might be kinda fun to post what we're reading about the division rivals in training camp here.

I'll start with a bit I saw about Jameson Williams of the Lions. As you might recall, the Loins traded up to take this guy, who needed a redshirt half-season because he was hurt, which dropped his stock a bit. So, Loins traded up, got him, were ecstatic. A steal, all of that.

Well, then, as we know, he's been suspended for some minor gambling violation. Okay.

Then he tweaked a calf or a hammy prior to training camp, and missed some time there.

Now he's back, and I saw an interesting tidbit in which the big takeaway for the writer of the article was that Dan Campbell admitted yesterday that Williams may never have "elite hands," though he can be good enough to be very dangerous.

Here's a link: https://www.freep.com/story/sports/nfl/lions/2023/08/02/dan-campbell-detroit-lions-wide-receiver-jameson-williams-never-have-elite-hands/70513638007/

What caught my attention, though, is that Campbell said this: "I think, man, working his hand mechanics. He’s got to work those pre-practice, he’s got to work them post-practice. And I mean, really, he’s just got to grind on it, and even then it’s not — it’ll never be probably be like one of these elite pass-catchers that you’ve seen, but it’ll be just fine with his speed and what he’s able to do."

Then Campbell said this:

"There’s a number of things he can clean up with it and I think it’s just, man, time on task, work through it, because honestly there are some things that — just the simple change of the way your hands are by ball location, pinkie to pinkie, thumb to thumb, that’ll go a long way for him," Campbell said. "And so, we just got to keep working through it. We just got to keep working through it.”

The bolded bits caught my attention, because it suggests - to me, at least - that Williams is not really putting in the extra time to be great. If your coach says you've just "got to work those pre-practice, he's got to work them post-practice" and then says it's "time on task" and "he's just got to grind on it," that tells me that Williams is currently NOT doing those things.

Hmmm.

[King Friday]

He left Ohio State because he knew he would have to work his ass off to get ahead in their WR room, and wanted none of it. That seems to be translating to the next level as well. He could be one of those guys with lots of talent, but never realizes even half of it.

[Fritz]

He left Ohio State because he knew he would have to work his ass off to get ahead in their WR room, and wanted none of it. That seems to be translating to the next level as well. He could be one of those guys with lots of talent, but never realizes even half of it.

I would love that. The Lions' GM and the fans were all crowing about what "value" they got with Williams because he was hurt and so would have been a top-five pick if he hadn't been. I think Holmes has a little of that "smartest guy in the room" syndrome. We'll see if he is.

I see in other news that the Bears signed Mercedes Lewis. So they've got Tonyan and Lewis in their TE room, and Equanimity St. Elsewhere in their WR room.

[run pMc]

Williams played for Alabama. Devonte Smith and Jaylan Waddle had left already, it was him and Metchie. He left Bama because he was going to be ready to play mid-season and probably didn't want to rehab on college level, come back, and potentially hurt his draft stock further. If he hadn't torn his ACL he would have been a top 10 pick.

IIRC his family has a few high-level sprinters so he's got speed. Being a good athlete is different from being a good football player.

R1 WRs have a high bust rate. Will he bust? I have no idea. He showed some flashes last year, but if he isn't "working on his craft" he'll plateau as a speedy WR2/3. As it is, I believe he's suspended for 6 games? That probably won't help his development.

[Fritz]

The Bears still apparently have deficiencies on the offensive line. Going to be tough to evaluate Fields is he doesn't have time to throw.

[sharpe1027]

The Bears still apparently have deficiencies on the offensive line. Going to be tough to evaluate Fields is he doesn't have time to throw.

They're only in year 11 of the rebuild effort. Need another decade to really expect much from them .

[bobblehead]

I think by past standards they need at least one more top 10 WR bust before landing a HoF WR that gets wasted in that organization.

[run pMc]

The Bears still apparently have deficiencies on the offensive line. Going to be tough to evaluate Fields is he doesn't have time to throw.

Haven't been following their camp. A little surprising to hear that, since they have made some additions and improvements from how it was in Fields first year. Braxton Jones had a good rookie year, Teven Jenkins if healthy has started to play well at G, and they brought in Nate Davis and drafted Darnell Wright. Not a murderer's row, but not a 5-man turnstile either. It's also worth noting the Justin Fields has a tendency to hold onto the ball a long time, which doesn't help his sack numbers.

Regardless, they were the worst team in football last year, and I would hate to see them catapult to a NFCN crown.

[JABF]

The Bears still apparently have deficiencies on the offensive line. Going to be tough to evaluate Fields is he doesn't have time to throw.

Injuries are hurting the Bears early. Both starting guards went down last week to injury and the starting center left one practice with injury. The RT is a rookie who has struggled in camp. Offensive linemen seem to get injured a lot... that's why depth is so key on the OL. Gotta have it. We may not have it :-(

[Fritz]

Lions are getting some injuries, too, though they are minor, so far. Guys sitting out for a few days here and there - except for Williams, who's missing more time.

[Fritz]

I think by past standards they need at least one more top 10 WR bust before landing a HoF WR that gets wasted in that organization.

So he's suspended for six or seven games, and the plan was to work Williams heavily in the preseason - but doh! Not gonna happen:

https://www.detroitnews.com/story/sports/nfl/lions/2023/08/17/lions-wr-jameson-williams-preseason-likely-over-due-to-recent-hamstring-injury/70609423007/

[smuggler]

The only thing I see the Bears topping this season is the draft order.

I don't wish injury on him, but with the wringing that Fields took last year, it just seems clear as day he's going to get hurt this year trying to win games with his legs. If he goes out, they're potentially a winless team. As it stands, they had the worst record in the league and were bad last year, even if they improved by season's end.

If their O-line doesn't gel, they're royally screwed.

[Fritz]

They don't seem to have much going for them. Is this year two of the most recent rebuild? I guess you gotta give the new GM another year or two to see if he's making headway, but right now, it don't look good for da Bears.

I have no idea what to expect from the Vikes. And of course the Loins are the sexy pick this year. We'll see. They do have a helluva offensive line, though.

[Joemailman]

NFL free agent Robert Quinn was arrested Friday on hit-and-run and assault charges after police say he rammed a pickup truck into four vehicles and smacked a woman across the face before fleeing a residential neighborhood.

Summerville, South Carolina, police took Quinn, 33, into custody and booked him into the Dorchester County jail.

Bears legend.

[Fritz]

Wish Ras would fill us in on his perceptions of the Vikes’ camp.

I think here in Detroit the fans are confident this is their year, but the team does not have a lot of depth.

[Joemailman]

Brad Biggs
@BradBiggs
The #Bears have avoided serious injuries through training camp but now the team is bracing to be without LG Teven Jenkins when the regular season, sources say. He has a leg injury.

[run pMc]

Justin Fields didn't play vs. the Colts. Bears don't have the depth to sustain a lot of injuries at any position. Teven Jenkins had a rocky start to his career but he's become an above average G. Losing him hurts their OL.

[Fritz]

Justin Fields didn't play vs. the Colts. Bears don't have the depth to sustain a lot of injuries at any position. Teven Jenkins had a rocky start to his career but he's become an above average G. Losing him hurts their OL.

Didn’t they draft high really high as a tackle?

Like Tony Mandarich. Sort of.

[run pMc]

Darnell Wright. I liked his college film. Probably a very good RT. Bears are slowly getting some players on the OL and talent on offense, but their defense is still likely to be bad and their depth is still lacking.

Fans and pundits thinking they are playoff contenders are far more optimistic about them than I am. Matt Eberflus isn't a bad coach but that was the worst team in football last year. Overlooking that last part because JUSTIN FIELDS + DJ MOORE is a little dubious.

[jklowan]

Darnell Wright. I liked his college film. Probably a very good RT. Bears are slowly getting some players on the OL and talent on offense, but their defense is still likely to be bad and their depth is still lacking.

Fans and pundits thinking they are playoff contenders are far more optimistic about them than I am. Matt Eberflus isn't a bad coach but that was the worst team in football last year. Overlooking that last part because JUSTIN FIELDS + DJ MOORE is a little dubious.



I was really hoping the Packers grabbed Wright, he played with an attitude in college seems like the type of player we need more of

[JABF]

They don't seem to have much going for them. Is this year two of the most recent rebuild? I guess you gotta give the new GM another year or two to see if he's making headway, but right now, it don't look good for da Bears.

I have no idea what to expect from the Vikes. And of course the Loins are the sexy pick this year. We'll see. They do have a helluva offensive line, though.

Last season was the tank year. The Bears were in cap hell from the previous GM's poor management of the money. They got rid of a number of players. They just nuked the roster and suffered the dead cap hits. But they did 3 things there. They quickly healed their cap - they had a very healthy cap this year... they got healthy, fast. They off loaded a lot of old/underperforming players and ended up with the 1st pick (the soft-tank was executed well... LOL, and Lovie Smith sure helped too by winning that last game in Houston). This is year-1 of the rebuild. They got D.J. Moore and a solid OL with that 1st round pick they ended up with this year. But it is a VERY young team with like 40 new players (the nuke of the roster was scorched earth stuff.... I've never seen a team torn down that far before). So don't expect much from the Bears this year. But next year they have a boatload of draft picks and two 1st round picks too. 2024 should be a decent team. This year? Maybe .500 ball with improvement, but only 8 or 9 wins.

[smuggler]

The offense will probably be better, but the defense will be worse. Fields will probably be worse from the perspective that he'll be required to throw more with other teams scoring more points. The rushing numbers will still be there, assuming he doesn't get hurt. Hard to guess on record, because small changes make drastic differences there sometimes.

I would think floor is probably four wins and the ceiling is nine. Over/under 6.5... if my life depended on it, I'd pick under.

Vegas looks to have it at 7.5, which I would guess is from the Justin Fields as Cam Newton 2.0 hype.

Bet the under. :-D

[Fritz]

Supposedly the Vikes considering trading for Josh Jacobs.

[QBME]

Last season was the tank year. The Bears were in cap hell from the previous GM's poor management of the money. They got rid of a number of players. They just nuked the roster and suffered the dead cap hits. But they did 3 things there. They quickly healed their cap - they had a very healthy cap this year... they got healthy, fast. They off loaded a lot of old/underperforming players and ended up with the 1st pick (the soft-tank was executed well... LOL, and Lovie Smith sure helped too by winning that last game in Houston). This is year-1 of the rebuild. They got D.J. Moore and a solid OL with that 1st round pick they ended up with this year. But it is a VERY young team with like 40 new players (the nuke of the roster was scorched earth stuff.... I've never seen a team torn down that far before). So don't expect much from the Bears this year. But next year they have a boatload of draft picks and two 1st round picks too. 2024 should be a decent team. This year? Maybe .500 ball with improvement, but only 8 or 9 wins.

Nice take.
I'm also in semi rural Illinois so I have a steady stream of Bears analysis.
The new Ryan seems to really have his shit together, which is bad news for us
Looking forward to the season opener

Hope the recent new stadium issue is a real distraction.

:razz: