Chicago Bears : Chalk Talk Top Stories

When will Bears make their final roster cuts?

Wondering about a player, a past game or another issue involving the Bears? Senior writer Larry Mayer answers a variety of email questions from fans every day on ChicagoBears.com.

Various media outlets are reporting different things about players the Bears have supposedly cut. When will the team announce its final 53-man roster?

Harry T.
Downers Grove, Illinois

The process will be ongoing Friday and Saturday. Nothing will be officially announced until Saturday, probably shortly before the 5 p.m. deadline for NFL teams to reach the mandatory 53-man roster limit. The situation is fluid, with the Bears looking at not only their 53-man roster, but their 61-man roster including their practice squad. Developments throughout the league could affect what moves the Bears make, so that’s when they’re not going to announce anything prematurely.

Do you think that Todd Collins did enough in Thursday night’s game against the Browns to move past Caleb Hanie as the No. 2 quarterback?

Doug R.
Scottsdale, Arizona

Yes, I do. I was impressed with the poise Todd Collins demonstrated as well as his decision-making and accuracy against the Browns. And that was all after he’s only been with the team for a week and a half. As he gains a firmer grasp of the offense, I’m sure he’ll get even more efficient as a quarterback. I’m pretty sure he’ll enter the season as Jay Cutler’s backup ahead of Caleb Hanie, who remains sidelined with a shoulder injury he sustained in the preseason opener. Let’s hope that Cutler has a productive injury-free year and the Bears don’t need Collins or Hanie to play any meaningful downs.

Everybody has been talking about the negatives. But what do you think has been the most pleasant surprise of the Bears preseason?

Ed R.
La Crosse, Wisconsin

I’d have to say Lance Louis’ emergence as the starting right guard. He entered training camp as a backup and quickly developed, earning a promotion to the No. 1 unit. After giving up a sack early in the preseason, I thought Louis played very well—and will continue to do so in the regular season.

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How much concern should there be about preseason?

Wondering about a player, a past game or another issue involving the Bears? Senior writer Larry Mayer answers a variety of email questions from fans every day on ChicagoBears.com.

The Bears certainly haven’t looked good this preseason. I keep hearing everyone say it’s just the preseason, but there has to be some level of concern, right?

Roger T.
Normal, Illinois

I agree there has to be some concern when you see things like Jay Cutler throwing interceptions or Chris Harris missing tackles. But you really can’t put a lot of stock in the preseason. The games, as Lovie Smith said, are really glorified practices. The plays I saw the Bears offense run in training camp bear little resemblance to what they’ve done in the preseason, especially when it comes to the motions and shifts before the snap. They’ve been ultra-vanilla in their preseason games to this point. I remember a few years ago when the Bears struggled in the preseason on defense and then came out in the opener and beat the Colts in Indianapolis in part because linebackers Brian Urlacher and Lance Briggs lined up on the line of scrimmage, a wrinkle they never showed in the preseason.

I think Dan LeFevour has shown a lot of potential this season. I have been impressed with his accuracy and poise, not to mention his mobility. What do you think his chances are of making the team?

Corey J.
Cameron, Illinois

I don’t see any way that Dan LeFevour will make the 53-man roster, barring an injury. The shoulder injury that Caleb Hanie sustained in the preseason opener hurt LeFevour more than Hanie because it forced the Bears to sign veteran Todd Collins. The plan initially was for Hanie to serve as Jay Cutler's backup, but they wanted to see him perform before awarding him that job. I think if Collins plays well against the Browns in the preseason finale, he’ll definitely start the season as the Bears’ No. 2 quarterback and Hanie will be No. 3. As far as LeFevour, I agree with everything you said about him. He didn’t look very sharp early in the preseason, but he played much better in last Saturday night’s loss to the Cardinals.

You introduced it a little bit in your interview with Jerry Angelo, but I was wondering how many cuts the Bears have to make and by what date.

Brock
Spanish Fork, Utah

The Bears have to cut 22 players to reach the NFL’s mandatory 53-man roster limit by 5 p.m. Saturday. They then may create an eight-man practice squad on Sunday. As always, we’ll post a story about the cuts as soon as they’re announced, so stick with ChicagoBears.com throughout the weekend.

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Will Bears starters play more in preseason finale?

Wondering about a player, a past game or another issue involving the Bears? Senior writer Larry Mayer answers a variety of email questions from fans every day on ChicagoBears.com.

With the way the Bears have performed this preseason, do you see them playing their starters more Thursday night against the Browns than they normally would in the fourth preseason game?

Jason
Weston, Wisconsin

No, I don’t see the Bears starters playing more than the one or two series they typically would play in the fourth and final preseason game. While the team has struggled at times on both sides of the ball, I don’t think an extra possession or two in the final preseason game is going to have much impact on the regular season good or bad. The most important things to me are avoiding injuries Thursday night, game-planning for the Lions and then executing that game-plan while limiting mistakes in the regular-season opener Sept. 12 at Soldier Field. Here’s what Lovie Smith said Monday when asked if the starters would play more: “Protocol as usual. We have a plan that we’re going to go with that we feel real comfortable with. The record in the preseason means a little bit, but what you want to get from the preseason is just seeing guys in situations and hoping you get better and that’s what we were able to do. We’re not going to necessarily play our [starters] three quarters. The plan was to increase their time up until the third preseason game like we’ve always done. We’ll follow that same formula for the most part.”

I’m interested in seeing how Todd Collins performs with the Bears. Do you think he’ll see any playing time against the Browns?

Jay W.
Kenosha, Wisconsin

Yes, I do expect backup quarterback Todd Collins to make his Bears debut in Thursday night’s preseason finale in Cleveland. Lovie Smith all but confirmed that this week, complimenting Collins on his performance in practice Monday and saying: “He’s been around here a few weeks. Of course it’s big for him to be able to get a few reps to see exactly what he can do.”

Everyone talks about how the third preseason game is a dress rehearsal for the regular season. How have the Bears fared in the third-preseason game under Lovie Smith and has it been an accurate indicator of how the regular season went?

Paul K.
Grayslake, Illinois

There’s really no connection between the two. The Bears have alternated wins and losses in their second-to-last preseason game under Lovie Smith, winning in 2005, 2007 and 2009 and losing in 2004, 2006, 2008 and 2010. They’ve been 1-2 in the second-to-last preseason game in their three winning seasons under Smith and 2-1 in that contest in their three losing campaigns. Incidentally, the Bears lost their third preseason game to the Cardinals before beating the Browns in the finale in 2006, the year they went to the Super Bowl.

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Are Bears thinking about benching Chris Williams?

Wondering about a player, a past game or another issue involving the Bears? Senior writer Larry Mayer answers a variety of email questions from fans every day on ChicagoBears.com.

I see that Chris Williams gave up another sack against the Cardinals, which makes two bad games in a row. Do you think the Bears are going to replace him in the starting lineup?

Evan D.
Rock Island, Illinois

I actually thought Chris Williams played much better against the Cardinals than he did versus the Raiders, so I personally wouldn’t say that he had two bad games in a row. He did get beat for a sack by Arizona defensive end Calais Campbell, who stripped the ball from Jay Cutler. Obviously that can’t happen. A turnover in the wrong spot could mean the difference between winning and losing. But Williams was on the field for 35 plays and that was the only glaring error he had in the game. It also should be noted that the Bears provided some help for him, which they didn’t do against the Raiders. On at least two occasions that I saw, Matt Forte and Desmond Clark chipped Campbell before Williams blocked him. And no, I don't see the Bears replacing Williams in the starting lineup. They need for him to play to his potential for the offense to succeed.

I’m very interested in seeing how the Bears’ receiving corps develops this season and was wondering how you felt the two starters, Devin Hester and Johnny Knox, performed against Arizona.

Nathan S.
Tempe, Arizona

I thought Johnny Knox played very well in Saturday night’s loss to the Cardinals. He came back to haul in Jay Cutler’s underthrown pass for a 41-yard reception while getting hit by cornerback Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie and also made a sliding catch of a ball that Cutler fit into a very small window near the right sideline for a 14-yard gain on third-and-nine. Devin Hester, on the other hand, struggled against the Cardinals. He had Cutler’s long pass go off his fingertips on the Bears’ first play from scrimmage and fumbled a perfect snap while lining up behind center in the Wildcat formation. Hester also caught a punt at the three-yard line, which I felt was a poor decision. But special teams coordinator Dave Toub told me this morning that he doesn't fault Hester for that because the way that rugby-style punter Ben Graham boots the ball, it always hits the ground and bounces back, so it wouldn't have gone in the end zone. Toub also said that Hester was one block from taking off down the sideline.

When was the last time the Bears went winless in the preseason and how did they do in the regular season that year?

Rob S.
Batavia, Illinois

The last time the Bears went winless in the preseason was in 1998 when they finished 0-4 before stumbling to a 4-12 record in Dave Wannstedt’s final year as coach. There have been only two other winless preseasons in team history since 1924. The Bears went 0-5 in 1962 before compiling a 9-5 regular-season mark and 0-4 in 1978 before going 7-9. Interestingly, the Bears won their first two regular-season games in 1962 and their first three contests in 1978, but lost their first four games in 1998.

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Why didn't Bears use more pass protections?

Wondering about a player, a past game or another issue involving the Bears? Senior writer Larry Mayer answers a variety of email questions from fans every day on ChicagoBears.com.

The Raiders exposed what was already assumed to be a weak offensive line. Why don’t the Bears use more max-protect packages?

BigNeilD on Twitter

The Bears haven’t done any game-planning or scheming in terms of utilizing different protections to help their offensive linemen at this point. In the preseason, offensive coordinator Mike Martz believes in leaving the linemen in one-on-one situations so they can improve their pass-blocking technique and so he can evaluate their strengths and weaknesses. Of course, that will change in the regular season when winning games is the No. 1 objective. Here’s what Martz said this week about providing help in pass protection situations: “There’s nobody in that group up there that if we needed to help on a [Julius] Peppers for instance, that we can’t go right to it and help. There’s all kinds of ways of doing it. We’re not hamstrung in any fashion. What we want to do [in the preseason] is put those guys out there on air against real good players and have them learn how to pass block and do it. In the event that we get a big dog over there that we’ve got to take care of, we know how to do that.”

How many four-sack games will Chris Williams be allowed to give up before a change is made? Jay Cutler can’t help the Bears if he’s on injured reserve.

Jasonangle on Twitter

First of all, while Raiders defensive end Kamerion Wimbley registered four sacks in the first half against the Bears last Saturday night, you can probably only pin two of them on Chris Williams. Wimbley did beat Williams cleanly with speed rushes on two occasions, but his other two sacks came on a stunt where he looped around the defensive tackle and rushed up the middle, and then when Jay Cutler was flushed from the pocket due to pressure from the other side of the field. With that being said, Williams obviously must play better than he did against the Raiders—and the Bears are confident he will. They look at his performance as an aberration, something I tend to agree with. Williams performed well late last season after being moved to left tackle and fared pretty well in training camp. Here’s hoping he proves the Bears right by bouncing back Saturday night against the Arizona Cardinals.

When was the last time Soldier Field was not sold out?

Midwaymonsters on Twitter

The last time a Bears home game did not sell out was on Sept. 9, 1984 when they blanked the Denver Broncos 27-0 at Soldier Field.

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