2017 Chicago Bears

[Deceptive Speed]

Head Coach John Fox enters his 3rd year with the Bears. Chicago finished 2016 with a horrible record of 3-13. Their predicted to go 7-9 in 2017, finshing 3rd in the NFC North.

On Offense, gone is QB Jay Cutler, in is QB Mike Glennon. Glennon is listed as the starting QB for the bears, he signed from Tampa Bay over the summer. At Tampa, Jameez Winston was starting ahead of Glennon for some reason. As a Rookie in 2013, Glennon's only full year as a starter he posted 2,608 passing yds for 19 TD's/9 Ints. For a Rookie those numbers are very good! Rookie QB Mitch Trubisky has just been named the no. 2 QB, literally an hour before writing this. Trubisky is without a doubt the best QB of the 2017 draft class! I like Glennon, but the Bears future is with Trubisky he's just too talented. At WR, Tanner Gentry should've made the team, instead he's on the PS.

TE Zach Miller will start as the main pass catching TE! As a back-up in 2016, he posted 47 rec for 486 yds and 4 TD's with the Bears. Black TE Dion Sims is listed as a starter on some depth charts too, but he is a blocking TE strictly. Rookie TE Adam Shaheen is listed as the no. 3 TE, and I wouldn't be surprised if he makes some nice plays this year.. At FB Mike Burton will start, the Bears use their FB a good bit.. The O-Line will be 3/5 white this year, not bad. LG Kyle Long is the key piece to this O-line. Both back-up Tackles are white, LT Brad Sowell, and RT Tom Compton

On Defense, DE Mitch Unrein is listed as a starter. Unrein gets a lot of hate, DWF's want him replaced and the season hasn't even started yet. Unrein is a favorite of HC John Fox, and isn't going anywhere.
LB Danny Trevathan is listed to start over LB Nick Kwiatokoski, but Trevathan is set to miss week 1. So by default, Kwiatokoski will start the season at RILB! However, it will be interesting to see what happens in week 2. S Chris Prosinski was put on IR the other day. Starters in bold.
Offense

QB- Mitch Trubisky, Mike Glennon, Mark Sanchez ( white Hispanic )
FB- Mike Burton
WR- Tanner Gentry, Nelson Spruce
TE- Zach Miller, Adam Shaheen, Daniel Brown, Ben Braunecker
LG- Kyle Long
C- Cody Whitehair, Hroniss Grasu
RG- Josh Sitton
OT- Tom Compton, Brad Sowell
Defense

DE- Mitch Unrein
ILB- Nick Kwiatokoski
SS- Chris Prosinski
Special Teams

K- Connor Barth
P- Pat O'Donnell
LS- Andrew DePaola

Total starters- 9
Whites on 53-man roster- 22 (including Sanchez)

 

[Deceptive Speed]

OG/C- Hroniss Grasu

 

[Don Wassall]

This should be great news for Nick Kwiatkowski. Previously he had subbed for Travathan when he was injured, but now he should be one of the Bears' starting inside linebackers the rest of the season.

Bears placed ILB Jerrell Freeman on injured reserve with a pectoral injury. Freeman also has a concussion. Signed to a three-year, $12 million contract in March 2016, Freeman was an every-down player last season, though he did miss time with a PED suspension. He was slated for the same duties this year. The Chicago Tribune expects 2016 fourth-rounder Nick Kwiatkoski to see the biggest uptick in playing time. Freeman's loss thins what could be an underrated defense in 2017.

 

[Deceptive Speed]

More good news for the Bears as they placed WR Kevin White on IR, and promote Tanner Gentry to the 53-man roster!

Per Weenie world http://www.rotoworld.com/player/nfl/12470/tanner-gentry

Bears promoted WR Tanner Gentry from the practice squad.
An UDFA out of Wyoming, Gentry pushed for a 53-man roster spot all summer. He caught four passes for 77 yards and a touchdown during the preseason. Gentry was a big-play machine in the Mountain West. Considering the sorry state of the Bears' receiver corps, he could get snaps this Sunday. Sep 12 - 2:07 PM

 

[Don Wassall]

Sickening news:

Bears ILB Nick Kwiatkoski is believed to have a torn pectoral, which would end his season. It's rather unbelievable, as Sunday was Kwiatkoski's first start in place of Jerrell Freeman, who tore his pec in Week 1. A 2016 fourth-rounder, Kwiatkoski had been someone the Bears were anxious to get more playing time. His loss will be particularly troublesome against the run. 2014 UDFA Christian "Cheese" Jones is expected to slide into Freeman/Kwiatkoski's spot.

 

[Don Wassall]

Potential good news:

According to NFL Network's Ian Rapoport, Bears ILB Nick Kwiatkoski (pectoral) may miss "just a few weeks." Kwiatkoski's torn pectoral was expected to be a season-ending injury but coach John Fox said the team has yet to make a final determination. Rapsheet conceded Kwiatkoski will "definitely miss time," though there's growing optimism he'll only be sidelined for a handful of games.

 

[Don Wassall]

Nelson Spruce signed to Chicago's practice squad.

 

[Freethinker]

Nelson Spruce signed to Chicago's practice squad.

Wow, I assumed he was on the Rams practice squad. Can’t believe he was unsigned. Oh wait, of course I can.

 

[Deceptive Speed]

Tanner Gentry actually started last week against the Ravens, but only recieved 1 target. Tbf Trubisky only comp. 8 passes for 113 yards, so he remains one to monitor this week against the Panthers!

 

[Don Wassall]

After 'scary' chest injury, Bears LB Nick Kwiatkoski nearing a return

When the injury first occurred, on a routine tackle attempt in the first half of the Bears' Week 2 game against the Buccaneers, Nick Kwiatkoski feared the worst.

Just a week earlier, Kwiatkoski had seen fellow inside linebacker Jerrell Freeman suffer a season-ending torn pectoral muscle. So when Kwiatkoski felt the strain and a debilitating pain in his own pec, he couldn't help but wonder if his second NFL season would be detoured to injured reserve.

"Those first couple of days," Kwiatkoski said, "it was scary."

Five weeks later, after a series of MRIs and his own time investment in healing properly, Kwiatkoski is nearing a return. He was a full participant in practice Friday for the first time since the injury occurred and hasn't ruled out the prospect of playing Sunday against the Panthers.

"It's not really my decision," Kwiatkoski said. "I'm preparing like I am (playing). We'll see."

In all likelihood, a Week 8 return in New Orleans might be more realistic for the second-year pro. But it's a major plus for the Bears to be getting Kwiatkoski back at all this season, providing an opportunity to further develop a draft pick and potential long-term starter.

Coach John Fox remains optimistic about Kwiatkoski's future and will eagerly fold him back into the defense when ready.

"This game's fast and it takes experience and it takes time," Fox said. "He's a smart guy who has been willing to work. And I've seen that improvement from last year to this year. But anytime you get whacked or injured or taken out for some reason, you've got to regain that (rhythm) again."

dwiederer@chicagotribune.com

http://www.chicagotribune.com/sport...tkoski-return-from-injury-20171020-story.html

 

[Don Wassall]

Kwiatkowski is now healthy but looks like he's been demoted despite playing so well before his injury. Christian Jones is a mediocre talent who had several previous chances to start but wasn't good enough but somehow in recent weeks he must have finally realized his "upside":

Nick Kwiatkoski was expected to fill-in seamlessly on defense for Jerrell Freeman after the veteran linebacker was placed on injured reserve before Week 2.

Not long after taking over the starting job on the inside, Kwiatkoski went down with an injury of his own. The Bears did not place him on injured reserve and he was able to be active last Sunday against the Carolina Panthers. Despite being active for the first time since Week 2, Kwiatkoski did not play a snap.

Instead, Christian Jones continued to play well as a starter in Kwiatkoski's place alongside Danny Trevathan.

Thursday afternoon Bears defensive coordinator said he wasn't ready to anoint Kwiatkoski a starter again given the production of Jones.

https://247sports.com/nfl/chicago-b...ian-Jones-as-starter-over-Nick-Kwia-109485379

 

[Deceptive Speed]

Nick Kwiatkowski started @ Green Bay this weekend, which was his first start since week 2 after suffering that chest injury. WVU man Kwiatkowski proved why he should be the bears MLB of the future, tallying 10 tot tackles, 1 Tfl and 1 Sack in an all-around dominate game!!

 

[Deceptive Speed]

Bears SS Chris Prosinski returned from IR last week, and got the start @ the 49ers this past week! Regardless of play Prosinski will probably return to back-up SS duties after this rare start, he notched 4 comb tackles on the day.