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[IronMike84]

Okay, I'll start this, since it looks like this forum has been on Xanax lately.

Dan Wiederer reports Jeremy Langford has had difficulty recovering from last year's high ankle sprain:

[HuskieBear]

[pigsooie5]

I wouldn't be surprised to see both Langford and Carey cut. I think Cunningham wins the #2 role and Cohen is the #3 gadget or "joker" type player. Fox always keeps a FB so Burton probably gets a spot, don't see them keeping 5 RBs.
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BEARS----BULLS----DODGERS----KINGS--

[IronMike84]

[WindyCity]

As camp approaches I thought we should re-open the discussion of the roster by position group.

To me the DL is going to be one of the strengths of the team and there are a couple of interesting things to watch in camp.

My Prediction

LE: Hicks, Robertson-Harris
NT: Goldman, Jenkins
RE: Howard, Bullard

Unrien
Wilson
Lewis-Moore
Coward [PR]

1. I think the Bears only keep 6 because they need the spots at LB and DB.

2. If Mitch Unrien somehow makes it over a guy like Robertson-Harris who has some phyiscal upside and youth I am not going to be happy. The Bears do not need a workmen like veteran, they need a young player to develop into a long term contributor.

3. Howard's health will be worth monitoring as I think the battle between he and Bullard will be a key one in camp. My guess is Howard starts because of his ability against the run.

4. Jonathan Bullard is the one player that is holding the 2016 draft from being a grand slam. The Bears need him to be a 3rd down presence.

5. The Bears can extend Hicks whenever they want and I am good with it. I offer 4 years 36 million and would be willing to go to 4-40 if pushed.
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John Fox
3-13 this season, 9-23 overall, 4-12 at home
Pathetic

[WindyCity]

This is going to be the most chalk group in my view. I do not see any major things happening other than Trevathan ending up on PUP.

I think they will keep 10 LBs

OLB: Floyd, Young, Acho
ILB: Kwiatowski, Jones, Trevathan [PUP]
ILB: Freeman, Timu
OLB: McPhee, Houston, Skuta

Anderson

1. I think with the health of everyone at OLB we are going to be a little surprised when they keep 6 guys.

2. Acho and Skuta being core special teams players will make it a little easier.

3. I think after listening to Hoge and Jahns that Christian Jones is more of a lock than we think. He plays inside, outside and is one of their better special teams players. Hard to cut a guy who plays so many roles.

4. I think that leaves 1 spot for Anderson and Timu and in the past they have inserted Timu into the line up first.

5. Anderson may have PR eligibility left under the new rule that allows you to keep a veteran on the PR.
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John Fox
3-13 this season, 9-23 overall, 4-12 at home
Pathetic

[WindyCity]

The DBs may be the most interesting group to watch in camp as they have so many question marks once you get past 3 starters.

My Prediction

CB: Amukamara, Callahan, Fuller
FS: Demps, Hall
SS: Amos, Jackson, Bush
CB: Cooper, Leblanc [NB]

McManis
Webb
Prosinski
Houston-Carson

1. I am putting Amos, Hall, Bush and Jackson in a competition for the SS spot and that will continue every week. If you suck or blow coverages there are 3 dudes waiting to play.

2. I think Hall or Jackson are the best candidates to develop into the FS of the future.

3. I will give Amos the inside track on starting because of his experience and how well he knows the defense. Maybe playing with a veteran and not having to think as much will help him.

4. The Kyle Fuller question is really going to be one of the story lines of camp. All indications are that they do not like him, but then they keep him and bring in very little competition at CB. They may keep McManis for special teams, but it is hard to cut a guy with 1st round pedigree to keep a guy who cannot play defense in any situation.

5. Cooper and Amukamara are not stars, but they are both 100% better than the guys that they are replacing. They should at least give the Bears a professional pair of CBs.

6. Can Callahan stay healthy?
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John Fox
3-13 this season, 9-23 overall, 4-12 at home
Pathetic

[IronMike84]

[G08]

Windy is back in the swing of things I see

I'm not there yet... still not close enough to camp to take that first hit off the football crack pipe
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[AZBearsFan]

[G08]

[Epyon]

For RB competition:

Howard is a lock via being a stud. Cohen is a lock via being drafted this year.... and I honestly think Cunningham is the #3 with Both Carey and Langford being shown the door.... He catches better than either of them, and posted better rushing numbers on a team that couldn't run to save it's life than Langford did behind our line.

If I had to keep a 4th of them, I'd honestly keep Carey over Langford right now, and I'm not convinced it's even close (and I'm not a particularly large fan of Carey's)

The wildcard in that mix is the RB from Northern or Northwestern (can't remember which at this moment), who would more replicate Howard's running style, but he's likely a PS candidate. Still, he reportedly looked very solid in OTAs, so he's someone to keep an eye on in TC/Preseason.

Outside of that, we almost assuredly roster a fullback, and I'm inclined to believe it's the vet FA we got, rather than the rookie from Florida (who despite being the "best" FB in the draft this year, still didn't lock in his job to the point where the team went out and got a pretty damn good NFL FB).... I mean I suppose it's theoretically possible to roster both FBs, but that seems like an extreme longshot.... as does Practice squading a RB and a FB.



As for the Safety Competition:

I don't think Amos is in all that much danger of losing his starting role.... he may lose TIME to Jackson, but I can't see Bush or Hall edging him out, when he was statistically speaking actually very underrated on our defense last year. Truth be told I think Demps/Amos/Jackson end up in some kind of weird split rotation for the 2 spots, and maybe Hall making the roster as a generic DB (since he could play corner as well). I do think Jackson gets brought along slowly, however, with his playtime very slowly ramping up over the season. As for Bush, I'm honestly not really confident he even makes the team.

[MonserinNC]

I think for RB Carey and Langford are cut....Langford did a fine job starting that one year but management seems like they really dont like him.

For safety I really do think that its a wide open competition.
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[Sugashane]

Langford had 1-2 splash plays due to speed his rookie year, but goes down with a whisper hitting him and has almost no vision. He also led the team in drops the one year he started considerable time, so there wasn't much of a silver lining. He had 4 big runs and still had a 3.2 YPC last year with limited reps. Those 4 runs accounted for 67 yards, so he averaged literally 2.3 yards over his other 58 runs. The less he is on the field, the more potent the run game.

I've been on the Langford-to-be-cut train for a long while, even mocking it since he has no real upside. I agree with pigsooie5 and Epyon that he is the 5th RB, so he is likely off the team. I do feel we will have a FB here full time. Stevenson seemed like a coveted UFA, so I think it is his chance to lose the spot. If he can't catch the ball, I don't feel that will hurt him too much. Fox traditionally uses FBs specifically as blockers IIRC, though Loggains might have a different approach.



As for Windy's post
- I like the DL set up there, though I think Bullard with be the top reserve for both 5T spots, then RRH gets a few plays. Makes me nervous with only 6, but we will be in nickel so much we really only need 2 NTs, and McPhee will likely have his hand in the dirt in some pass rush situations too (further reducing RHH's reps). Unrein and Wilson are not too likely to be picked up early either.

LB set up looks good, but I wouldn't be surprised to see Anderson, Timu, Skuta and Acho all on gameday roster for a week or two. McPhee has major issues staying healthy, Houston needs to have a pool made for when he goes on IR, and Floyd has had a few concussions so he is a bit of a wildcard. Hopefully his form has improved as that was a major reason for him being put in those situations.

I feel Demps is likely going to start across from Jackson after either Amos or Bush loses the spot, so he'd be a SS. While they are mostly interchangeable for Fangio, SS absolutely does get tasked more with coming up and FS more with covering TEs. Not to a dramatic degree, but noticeably different. He is able to flip and play either pretty well, but only Jackson seems to have any real ballskills to speak of. Cooper I feel will be benched in favor of LeBlanc or Callahan as the starting NB, as Fox and Fangio get frustrated with the big plays he gives up. Fuller will get a full chance to start IMO, I hope he does well as I am not a Cooper fan at all.
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2013 Kyle Long Rookie of the Year Award

Adopt a Bear - Kyle Long (Two Season Streak)

[AZBearsFan]