Bears Preseason Week 2: Position Battles (Offense)
Dennis Wierzbicki-USA TODAY Sports
Position – #3 WR
After the Bears signed WR Santonio Holmes today, this will probably be a battle for the #4 WR position next week. Holmes is a talented player who I covered a few weeks ago, but he has had plenty of injury problems (lisfranc, ankle) over the last few years so the 4th WR could still have quite the impact this season.
Up: Josh Morgan – I’m a bit surprised that the Bears signed Holmes because I thought Josh Morgan was playing pretty darn well the first two games of the preseason. Morgan led the Bears Thursday night with 41 receiving yards on 3 catches, including a very tough catch on 3rd & 1. He has made a couple athletic plays in both games and at 6’1, 220 is a load to bring down after the catch. Even if new addition Holmes beats him out for the 3rd WR job, I think Morgan is going to make some plays for the Bears this season.
Down: Micheal Spurlock – Despite ESPN’s commentators singling out Spurlock for his strong play in camp, he only had 1 catch, muffed a punt, and struggled to get open against the Jags backup DBs. Spurlock is 31 and has never had any success as a receiver. His best bet to make the team is as a return specialist, but he hasn’t done much there in either preseason game.
Down: Eric Weems – I had a few negative things to say about Weems, but he has already been released. No reason to kick him while he’s down.
Down: Josh Bellamy – The 2nd year player is an intriguing prospect with good size, speed and occasionally hands, but a few things bothered me about Bellamy Thursday. He had 2 catches for 21 yards, but had 5 targets and should have caught at least 1 of them; On 3rd & 11 Clausen threw a perfect back shoulder fade which hit him right in the numbers and would have been a 1st down if Bellamy caught it. After one of his catches, Bellamy continued to jaw at the DB despite the official watching and throwing a flag. Bellamy also lost a fumble after a 10 yard catch over the middle. The ball was given back to the Bears due to his knee being down, but it was really close and his ball security looks suspect. Lastly, on Clausen’s interception the ball was tipped and Bellamy just waited for the ball to get to him instead of being aggressive and making a play for the ball. I am nit-picking a little, but the Bears 3rd WR is going to be on the field quite a bit and little fundamental plays like not breaking up an INT make a huge difference.
No Change: Dale Moss – Like last week, Moss only had one catch but it was a clutch one. One 3rd & 7 on the last drive of the game, Moss made a tough, contested grab. It was late and I may have been drunk, but it was one of the better catches I saw all night. This is only Moss’s 4th year playing organized football and he is an intriguing prospect who I hope sticks around for a while.
Dropped off: Greg Herd, Armanti Edwards – After two games neither guy has done anything on the field to prove that they belong in the hunt for the #3/4 WR job. Herd was a non-factor and Edwards dropped a tough, but catchable 2-point conversion that would have given the Bears a 3 point lead on their final TD.