Chicago Bears Preseason Game #1: Stock Watch Defense
Dennis Wierzbicki-USA TODAY Sports
Stock Down:
S Brock Vereen – As I said when the Bears drafted Vereen, he’s going to have trouble tackling NFL running backs. Thursday night he couldn’t even bring down a WR as 5’11, 203 pound Jarvis Landry ran Vereen over in the open field. Landry barely even slowed down as he ran through Vereen. To make things worse Vereen gave up a TD to Landry on a short route that he was late recognizing. If he can’t tackle and isn’t good in coverage, then Vereen isn’t going to be on the field much this year. He has already been moved down to the 2nd team in practice and I will be surprised if he ever sees 1st team snaps again.
ILB Jon Bostic – Looked lost and a step slow out there. Like he was most of last season, Bostic was a step or two out of position on both run and pass plays. With the addition of Mason Foster and the strong play of McClellin & Jones, Bostic’s days could be numbered in Chicago.
CB Al Louis-Jean – Had a rough two play stretch where he was called for a defensive holding penalty on 3rd down and then got beat on a 34-yard pass play on the next snap. Overall ALJ played 33 snaps and only gave up one 2-yard catch from that point on, but the damage was already done. With plenty of competition for the 4th-6th CB spots, ALJ can’t afford to have any more bad stretches like that in the next few preseason games.
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OLB Pernell McPhee – Only played 17 snaps but managed to earn the 2nd lowest grade on the Bears D from PFF (-2.2). McPhee didn’t contain the edge on a Dolphins run that resulted in a 27-yard gain. He also didn’t make any impact as a pass rusher, though didn’t have many opportunities. The Bears spent big money on McPhee and are expecting him to be a playmaker.
CB Demontre Hurst – Got beat on a 14 yard reception and more importantly had a bad special teams penalty that negated a 30 yard punt return by Marc Mariani. I thought Hurst had a solid 2014 season, but with a new regime in town he has to earn his spot on the roster again. Hurst has already been bumped down the depth chart and moved to safety, so he can’t afford to have negative games like he did on Thursday. He did have a nice pass breakup on a 3rd down stop, but needs to do more to make the roster.
S Antrell Rolle – His Bears debut didn’t go very well with a -1.7 grade in just 17 snaps. Rolle was sloppy with his run defense, filling the wrong gap twice including on a 27 yard run. Rolle also had no impact in pass coverage with two late breaks on Dolphins completions. It’s just the preseason and Rolle is an experienced vet who should ramp up his play by the regular season.
OLB David Bass – Lead the Bears defense with 54 snaps, but was for the most part invisible out there. Bass had just 1 QB hurry and zero tackles despite playing most of the game. I thought Bass had one of the best skill-sets for a switch to a 3-4 but with so many options at OLB, he needs to produce to earn a roster spot.
OLB Kyle Woestmann – Played the 2nd most snaps on the Bears defense and like Bass was also a non-factor. Woestmann had only one QB hurry and looked over-matched out there at times. He’s a long shot to make the roster anyway and can’t afford to have another invisible game like Thursday’s.
CB Qumain Black – Only played 17 snaps but managed to have the 2nd worst coverage grade on the team (-1.1) from PFF. Black had a penalty on a 3rd down play and then gave up an easy catch shortly afterwards. He needs to make a bigger impact if he hopes to make the practice squad.
Next: Bears Preseason: Stock Watch Offense