What was your favorite moment of the Vernon Gholston experience? (Photo via CBS Sports)

The Bears had to cut five players to get down to the mandatory 80 player limit by Tuesday.  Headlining the first round of cuts is defensive end and Jets reclamation project Vernon Gholston.

When the Bears brought Gloston in, the belief was that a chance of scheme – Lovie Smith’s 4-3 Cover-2 defense – as well as a change of scenery might help for former Top 10 draft pick.  I guess that hope, along with Gholston, is gone.  He failed to impress in the preseason and did not generate enough pressure off the edge to merit keeping him around.

With the injury to Corey Wootton, Gholston had a great opportunity to revive his career.  Failing to capitalize on the opportunity likely means his NFL career is over.  Cutting Gholston only costs the Bears about $250k, a relatively low cost compared to a couple of high priced 2010 free agents that will be seeking employment.  The Bears informed running back Chester Taylor that he will be released.  They haven’t made it official, possibly waiting to get an injury report on Marion Barber before making the move official in getting down to the final 53-man roster by next Tuesday.

Taylor was part of the free agent spending spree before the 2010 season, when the Bears signed Julius Peppers, tight end Brandon Manumaleuna and Taylor.  With word that Taylor will be let go, 2/3 of that class – and approximately $13 million – are out the door.  That’s a big miss.  BIG.  That’s the kind of miss that people get fired over.

But it’s refreshing that rather than clinging to high draft choices and big ticket free agents, the Bears are cutting bait sooner rather than later.  It’s the kind of accountability that came to the forefront last season, when Lovie Smith wiggled out of the hot seat and saved his job while leading the Bears to the NFC Championship game.

The other four players who were cut were DT Tank Tyler, 4th QB Trevor Vittatoe, C J.C. Brignone and LB Tanner Antle.  This round of cuts to get down to 80 players was easy.  The next round to get down to 53 will be very interesting.  Thursday’s preseason finale against the Browns will play a big role in a few of those cuts.  Check back in before Thursday to see some roster projections and key battles that will play out as the Bears get set to battle the Browns.

BEAR DOWN!!!

A couple of guys you WON'T see on Saturday, holdout Chris Johnson and injured Lance Briggs.

The Bears head down to Tennessee for the “all-important” third preseason game.  This is considered the most important game because the team tries to treat this game a little more like a regular season game.  There a little bit of game planning and most starters will play into the start of the third quarter.  Many regulars won’t play or play very sparingly in the last preseason game, so this is your last chance to see many of the big name guys.

Here’s what I’ll be watching:

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Marion Barber and the Bears struggled in the red zone in their 41-13 loss to the NY Giants (Photo courtesy of Chicago Tribune)

The Bears looked like a team at the tail end of a three games in 11 days stretch rather than at the start of the busy week and a half as they dropped their second preseason game to fall to 1-1, losing to the NY Giants 41-13.  The score doesn’t matter in preseason, but some things stood out.  Most concerning on the offensive side of the ball were third down conversions and the Red Zone offense.

The Bears could only muster a 3-15 third down conversion rate, going 0-6 in the first half (when it actually kinda mattered) with most of their conversion coming in garbage time.  Roy Williams – the “No. 1 wide receiver” that the Bears brought in failed to convert on his first two attempts and is still o-fer the preseason.

The red zone offense is another big area of concern and seems like it’s a common theme carrying over from last year.  I don’t know if Mike Martz gets stage fright once he gets close or if he’s just not used to working in confined areas, but this area needs a big improvement.  The Bears had a number of chances and whether it was playcalling or execution, the Bears didn’t get the job done.

On the defensive side of the ball, third downs were a problem as well.  Eli Manning picked apart the Cover-2 a few times and it became even more vulnerable when Urlacher and Peppers left the game, in which starter Lance Briggs sat out.  I’m not as concerned about the defense, but you always wonder when the jig will be up on this aging group.

Let’s go bullet points for my rapid reaction after the jump: (more…)

Rookie Nathan Enderle took snaps with the second team, pushing Caleb Hanie down to third string. (Photo courtesy of Zimbeo)

Someone please steal Jerry Angelo and Mike Martz’s cell phones and make sure that Todd Collins’ phone number has been deleted from them.  After Saturday’s 10-3 win over the Bills, the Bears lined up for what seemed like a routine Monday-after practice.  Then Mike Martz called rookie quarterback Nathan Enderle’s name to take snaps with the second team.  Don’t look now, but it’s time for the annual Caleb Hanie demotion and we’re not even into the regular season yet.

Here’s head coach Lovie Smith (because Martz isn’t available to the media until Wednesday) on the changes to the quarterback rotation :

“After you play a game, your reps change a little bit based on what you’ve done,” Smith said. “We got Nathan Enderle a couple more reps today with the 2s. He did some good things in the game. He hadn’t really gotten a lot of reps in practice.”

During the last preseason, Hanie injured his shoulder in the first preseason game, necessitating the Bears to fulfill Mike Martz’s wish for a veteran backup.  What they got instead was Todd Collins, the most pathetic excuse for a quarterback since Jonathan Quinn, ,and that’s saying something here in Chicago.

Back in April, the Bears drafted Nathan Enderle and shortly after, Mike Martz said the Bears didn’t draft him to be the #3 quarterback.  It didn’t take him long to start pushing his agenda and start pushing Caleb Hanie out the door.   If Hanie isn’t going to be the #2 quarterback, there are 2 key things that the Bears need to do.  Check ‘em out after the jump.

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Jay Cutler lines up behind the new-look Chicago Bears offensive line. (Photo courtesy of Chicago Tribune)

The knee jerk reaction after a 9 sack performance, including 4 by the starting offensive line, would be to start making changes.  Mike Tice practically promised as much if the starters “faltered” when he set his starters early last week.   Even though it’s safe to say they faltered, don’t expect any sudden changes in advance of next preseason game against the New York Giants on Monday Night Football next week.

I think if the Bears make a change, it will smack of desperation and they could lose the confidence of their young linemen.  It would be too quick to pull the hook and could make Tice and the Bears coaching staff look like they don’t know what they’re doing.  (I know, they probably don’t know what they’re doing, but they like to give the illusion that they do!)

There are certainly plenty of question marks after the Bills game.  J’Marcus Webb struggled in pass blocking, getting bum-rushed by Shawne Merriman on consecutive plays.  Lance Louis, whom Tice called “an elite pass blocker,” was anything but that while getting beaten inside on a number of occasions.   It’s never too early to start planning for the worst.  What is the right approach for fixing the offensive line?  Let’s discuss some options after the jump.

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First and foremost, don’t put too much stock in the results.   The destination is the journey if you know what I mean.  Here are a few things that I’ll be watching for when the Bears and Bills strap on the pads for the first practice game of the 2011 campaign.

Jay Cutler’s Footwork

Mike Martz is giddy about Cutty footwork.  If he’s in for more than 8 plays, I’ll be surprised, but I’d like to see how he does with a new center (just wait for the boo birds from Kreutz-ites if he and Garza have a bad exchange), if he connects with Roy Williams and if he can evade an opposing pass rush, which will inevitably be coming his way.

Matt Forte

He threatened to hold out, but he caved and showed up on time and ready to go.  Then he said he would sit out games if a new contract wasn’t locked up before preseason games started.  Well…. I don’t think that a contract will be inked before kickoff, so the big question is – Will he play or won’t he?  If he doesn’t does Lovie cover for him?  Keep an eye on Chester Taylor – he will be playing for his Chicago Bears life.

More after the jump. (more…)

To round out the Chicago Bears depth chart, we have the third phase, special teams.  Coached by Dave Toub, the special teams unit has been the least of the Bears worries over the last half decade or so.  The only big change here is the absence of punter Brad Maynard, which, if you read my article last year, should actually be a good thing.  Let’s take a look at the specialists that the Bears are working with in 2011.

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• It looks like Henry Melton will get the first shot to replace Tommie Harris at the 3-technique with Matt Toeaina rotating in as the co-starter at both interior D-line positions.  Amobi Okoye is behind but all indications are that he could make some noise to challenge for playing time.
• Stephen Paea and Marcus Harrison will compete for time behind Anthony Adams at the nose tackle.  With Adams nursing a bum wheel for a couple of weeks and Paea coming off some knee problems, this becomes Harrison’s last stand.  He should get significant time in the first couple of preseason games and he’d best take advantage of the time or it will be back to the Old Country Buffet for Marcus.
• If the names JT Thomas, Dom DeCicco and Brian Iwuh aren’t ringing a bell, you’d better hope that the only time you hear their names called is on special teams.  Those are your backup linebackers to Nick Roach, Brian Urlacher and Lance Briggs respectively.  If any of the starters gets hurt (Papa Bear forbid!), the Bears would be in deep trouble.  Jerry Angelo had better dive back into that Free Agent Dumpster and find some more castoffs to provide some depth and experience.  Lofa Tatupu anyone?
• Another area for concern is cornerback.  You’ve got Tim Jennings starting opposite Peanut Tillman.  Tillman had a great year last year, but was lucky to play the full season without injuries.  Can we expect the same?  On the other side, Zack Bowman is behind Tim Jennings.  Neither overly excites me.  The Bears brought Kelvin Hayden in for a look-see, but some injury concerns kept them from signing him.  I suggest JA keeps his number handy.  Would it kill the Bears to make a play for Asante Samuel, you know, a defensive back known for INTERCEPTIONS?!?!?
• Safeties have shuffled around a bit this season.  Chris Harris moves over to his more natural Strong Safety position while 2nd year man Major Wright moves into the Free Safety spot.  Am I the only one who’s nervous about Wright’s lack of experience as the last line of defense?  Speaking of inexperience, I’ve heard good things about rookie Chris Conte’s instincts, but he and Steltz in the backup safety roles scare me a little bit.

What are your observations, questions and concerns about the defensive depth chart?  Did the Bears get it right?  Where do they need to bolster?  Which of the backups could move into a starting role?  Share your comments.

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BEAR DOWN!!!