For the first time in the Matt Eberflus era, Bears fans were forced to swallow the bitter pill of preseason defeat as Chicago fell to Indianapolis 17-24 over the weekend. The tilt saw both teams rest nearly all of their starters and many of their reserves, but a loss is a loss — with something like that hanging over fans’ heads, it’s a miracle that anyone loyal to the team made it into work today.
But setting aside the sting of defeat, what did we learn about the roster this weekend? I dove into the game’s All-22 tape and went spelunking — here’s what I found:
Guarding our Hearts:
Ja’Tyre Carter picked a great weekend to have another great weekend — with reports that Tevin Jenkins has suffered a leg injury that may shelve him for up to 6 weeks, quality OL depth looks more valuable than ever.
Carter’s form looks great in pass protection, but he’s making his hay as a run blocker and looks forceful as he does — below is a great example of Carter’s handiwork, and as Lucas Patrick continues to miss time in Training Camp I’m curious to see which young lineman the Bears turn to as the next LG.
#Bears Ja’Tyre Carter run blocks like he’s got a personal problem with the defense, I love it pic.twitter.com/Ba0khwFQtz
— Robert Schmitz (@robertkschmitz) August 21, 2023
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Dropping Anchor:
Zacch Pickens took a healthy step forward in his second NFL exhibition, but he did so in a way I didn’t see coming — I expected to see him utilize his length & first step to pressure the passer and knife into run gaps, but instead he dropped anchor twice on the goal line and stood up Colts double-teams on both sides of the defensive line. As the primary backup for Andrew Billings, Pickens couldn’tve shown off a more encouraging skill.
Click the clip below to see his 2nd rep in the replies — it’s impressive stuff from a rookie known to struggle doing exactly this in college. I’d like to see him win a few more reps in run defense this weekend before making any sweeping declarations, but in the meantime it’s nice to see the Bears helping their rookies hone key skills.
Zacch Pickens dropping the goal line anchor??
Where was THAT in his college tape? Great space-eating rep from the rookie
pic.twitter.com/43dsUX5Vwj
— Robert Schmitz (@robertkschmitz) August 21, 2023
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Breaking Down Bagent:
Tyson Bagent will be the subject for tomorrow’s (tonight’s) Dissecting a Drive, so I won’t go into too much detail here.
That said, I put together a quick breakdown on one of my favorite of Bagent’s throws — a simple quick screen that, upon further inspection, I think Tyson audibled into. Turn your sound on for this one:
Tyson Bagent made plenty of plays on his 17-play TD drive, but this quick screen to Dante Pettis stands out — if you look closely, you’ll see that Bagent audibled into this after seeing the Colts show a CB Blitz.
I LOVE that the #Bears UDFA rookie is confident enough to make… pic.twitter.com/zPUBXqS1nk
— Robert Schmitz (@robertkschmitz) August 21, 2023
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Also, given that the Bears’ QB2 looked like this on Saturday Night, Tyson’s calm demeanor couldn’tve been a more welcome sight. He’s a very fun young player to watch.
Here’s All-22 of every PJ Walker pass/dropback from last night’s #Bears game.
Honest take: There aren’t many plays to be made on his snaps. He doesn’t do himself favors w/ the sacks & the early stumble, but these snaps aren’t much to analyze.
Stick with your eval from CAR tape pic.twitter.com/MIiSUdHgRi
— Robert Schmitz (@robertkschmitz) August 21, 2023
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I’ll update this article throughout the day, so stay tuned!
Your Turn: What stuck out to you during Saturday Night’s game?