Bears Preseason Week 3: Winners & Losers
Losers
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Jordan Palmer: His numbers look ok (7-10, 48 yards, 80.4 rating), but I thought he looked timid and slow again on Friday. He only missed 3 passes, but they were way off when he did. It looks to me that Palmer has an idea where he is going to throw it before the snap and isn’t going through his progressions. There was a screen pass to Carey that was completely covered and Palmer threw it anyway without looking for any other options despite not being pressured. It was just one play, but he seems to lack the confidence necessary to hang in the pocket and find the right throw.
Special Teams: I’m officially worried about the Bears special teams units. They struggled in coverage again, giving up a 59 yard punt return and a 46 yard kick return. They also failed to generate much yardage in their own return game with a paltry 21.8 average on 5 returns. Fix this!
Alshon Jeffery: It was his only drop of the night, but it was a big one. Jeffery dropped a perfect deep ball from Cutler that would have resulted in a TD and tied the score at 7-7 in the first quarter.
Dennis Wierzbicki-USA TODAY Sports
Khaseem Greene: I know he is an undersized LB, but Greene made one of the worst tackling attempts I’ve ever seen on a screen pass to Seattle’s 4th string RB, Spencer Ware. Ware ran right through Greene’s weak arm tackle attempt and got a 1st down on 3rd & long. Greene was also beat in coverage in the flat on two occasions that I saw and missed another tackle as well. After a strong start to the preseason, Greene has been awful for two games in a row and at this point I think Christian Jones might be a better option as Briggs’ back up.
Michael Ola: Got a chance to play with the starters since normal RT Jordan Mills isn’t ready to play yet. There couldn’t have been a tougher test for Ola playing against one of the best D-lines in football in the toughest road stadium in the NFL. For awhile Ola held his own and did a decent job in pass protection, but eventually he started to fall apart. He had a false start penalty and gave up a sack on Cutler when rookie Cassius Marsh blew past Ola. He’s had an up and down preseason at times looking like a starting caliber RT and at times looking like a rookie. I think his roster spot is secure but would feel better with Ola as a reserve than a starter. Get well soon Jordan!
Kelvin Hayden: Maybe it’s rust from not playing last year or maybe old age is catching up with Hayden, but either way he hasn’t played well this preseason. Hayden was beat consistently last night by multiple different Seahawk receivers. I think Hayden’s roster spot is secure, but with guys like McManis, Hurst, and Louis-Jean playing well Hayden needs to improve next week.