Bear Digest

Bears Shouldn't Go Overboard About 3-0

Analysis: There are plenty of problems and uncertain situations yet to challenge the Bears before they face San Francisco and Justin Fields' effort or a perfect preseason mean nothing now.

Gene Chamberlain

In this story:

Not to throw a shadow over the most brilliance anyone has seen at quarterback for the Bears since Mitchell Trubisky's six-touchdown effort against Tampa Bay in 2018, but everything isn't ideal for a 3-0 Bears team heading into the regular season.

Actually, it's pretty unsettled and start this list with Justin Fields.

1. Browns JV

Yes, three TD passes but as Fields quickly point out afterward: "Glad 95 wasn't playing today."

That was Myles Garrett and the Browns actually didn't have four other starters and another quasi-starter on the field for defense.

It really is different facing the JV team. 

However, it's also wrong to deny the importance of this performance because the only time Fields has shown this type of consistency and ability combined was the Steelers game, just before he got hurt last year. And even in that one he wasn't consistent, just produced at the end of the game. Then he spent the rest of the season sporadically getting onto the field and playing decent but not often enough. 

It's his team now and as long as he's healthy they can expect progress going forward and maybe some consistency.

On the other side, no one can point out they only faced Jacoby Brissett because that's Cleveland's decision to bring in a QB who is missing the first 11 games. So Brissett is their starter, just like the starter for the Seahawks last week was underwhelming.

In fact, the Bears are going to face a much easier lineup of quarterbacks this year than last year when they went through a gauntlet of All-Pro types.

2. Offensive Line Performance

The starters blocked on passes sufficiently, though not perfectly. Run blocking continued to be spotty even with David Montgomery back in the lineup.

Left tackle Braxton Jones has moments but as a pass blocker also gets put in position too often when he isn't protecting Fields properly. Would they go back to veteran Riley Reiff for the opener?

Now the line will take a different appearance as they bring back Lucas Patrick from his broken thumb. At least everyone thinks the return will be for the opener.

There's almost no reason to think the Bears will put a well-oiled and polished offensive line on the field and that's trouble for Fields and the running backs.

3. Teven Jenkins Rumors

All of these rumors about the Bears showcasing Teven Jenkins make little sense.

He obviously lacks guard experience and the offensive line has had trouble keeping Fields free of pass rushers. So they are going to risk Fields by putting a complete neophyte at starting guard just to "showcase" him? He could have been showcased with backups and not been risking Fields' health.

Showcasing is a term baseball uses when a losing team puts a batter in the starting lineup before the trade deadline to show other teams he has a pulse. In football you showcase a lineman who is available with your second team during preseason, especially if you're own starting offensive line is unsettled and needs precious reps together to create a cohesive front for the opener. They'd be risking far too much to put Jenkins in with starters if they didn't really intend to keep him and let him play there.

Besides, they don't have a guard better than Jenkins unless they plan to put Lucas Patrick at the position and start Sam Mustipher at center. Michael Schofield didn't stand out when he was in there and finished preseason playing with backups.

If they were planning to trade Jenkins for another player who is a guard and would start, then it wouldn't make sense for them to put Schofield with backups. He should have been starting in Jenkins' case to get as much time in just in case they have to call on him and especially because he'd be forced to play the opener while the new player digests the new offense.

So none of that Jenkins showcasing makes even an ounce of sense.

This doesn't mean he wouldn't be traded. They would do that if they felt with conviction they had a replacement and wanted a draft pick in exchange, but he definitely wasn't being showcased for two games with starters.

4. Eddie Jackson

The other absences reported by Bears coach Matt Eberflus after the game seem nothing to be concerned about.

It was more of a surprise when Eberflus had said during the week he was playing Roquan Smith in the preseason finale than it was expected. Smith had been on the field with the first team and actually doing team practices only for three days prior to the game. GM Ryan Poles on Fox and Eberflus after the game said "tightness" was the concern. The only tightness had to be the Bears being uptight about playing him on such short practice time.

Besides, keeping him out maintains an element of surprise for the 49ers about how the Bears might exactly use Smith in a new role as weakside linebacker.

Jaylon Johnson tightness was said to have been something from last week. But he practiced throughout the week and seemed fine. They needed to look at the other cornerbacks close anyway and Greg Stroman Jr. especially was beneficiary from all of that playing time.

Robert Quinn's absence was just the usual protecting a veteran.

But Jackson's situation is entirely new and they easily could have swept it under the rug with one of these "tightness" things or said he's a veteran and rested him.

Instead, they pointed to him as day-to-day. A day-to-day with 14 days left until games that count is a concern, especially at starting free safety. Wide receiver Tajae Sharpe has been day-to-day for weeks now.

5. Trestan Ebner

This is an injury of real concern, but not because of severity. He's unlikely to be out for long. But a little certainty would help because keeping him off IR or putting him on it is going to affect who they cut and how many players they keep at several positions.

If he can't play and they decide they must keep Darrynton Evans on the roster as a fourth running back, then might be able to keep only three tight ends or only nine offensive linemen.

It's all intertwined. They wouldn't put him on IR unless they were sure he was going to be out three weeks.

Twitter: BearDigest@BearsOnMaven

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Gene Chamberlain
GENE CHAMBERLAIN

BearDigest.com publisher Gene Chamberlain has covered the Chicago Bears full time as a beat writer since 1994 and prior to this on a part-time basis for 10 years. He covered the Bears as a beat writer for Suburban Chicago Newspapers, the Daily Southtown, Copley News Service and has been a contributor for the Daily Herald, the Associated Press, Bear Report, CBS Sports.com and The Sporting News. He also has worked a prep sports writer for Tribune Newspapers and Sun-Times newspapers.

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