Three OTA Suprises.......

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Bearfacts
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A team as young and stocked with new talent is bound to show some surprises. Some things we've already read about like the improvements in Fields mechanics and timing, Brisker and Gordon tearing it up on OTA, and even the more recent rise of Braxton Jones to playing LT with the 1st string OL unit. Here's three more that may have slipped by under the radar.

https://www.sportsmockery.com/chicago-b ... -workouts/



Velus Jones’ route-running


The one thing people knew about Jones as a 3rd round pick was he’s fast. Really fast. Whenever Tennessee got the ball in his hands, good things happened. He looked like a genuine playmaker. The Chicago Bears need more of those. Still, experts were skeptical due to his somewhat pedestrian route-running. That is why he only had one year of productivity in college. Two months into practices, the Bears secondary has a hard time keeping him covered. It isn’t just because of the speed, either. His routes are getting sharper by the day. This is thanks to tweaks to his technique that allow him to make sharper cuts. Jones is excited about how much more dangerous this makes him.


Dominique Robinson’s power

Look at the 5th round pick in a photograph. He is 6’5 and 250 lbs. The rookie looks like a classic speed rusher. His calling card is quickness and burst. The guy resembles an oversized wide receiver. This is technically true, but it hides a deeper secret. Robinson is much stronger than people realize. His 25 reps in the bench press at the scouting combine was the first sign of this. Then Trevis Gipson referenced it at his latest presser. Bears offensive linemen are finding out the rookie is athletic and swift but also capable of converting that speed to power. Anybody knows this is what makes up the most dangerous pass rushers. Once he masters the technique of his position, this kid could become scary.


Thomas Graham at nickel corner

Everybody expected Tavon Young would be the Chicago Bears’ starting nickel cornerback when the 2022 season kicked off. It made sense. He had success doing so in Baltimore and brings the most experience. Yet by the end of veteran minicamps, Young was working almost exclusively with the second-team defense. That is because Thomas Graham was making things happen in practice, looking so much better and well-prepared than last season. His coverage has looked solid. He’s playing with the kind of intensity and intelligence the coaches want. If this keeps up, he may become one of the biggest surprise starters of the year.
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Good stuff, pleasing to read :clap:
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Ditka’s dictaphone wrote: Mon Jun 20, 2022 6:36 am Good stuff, pleasing to read :clap:

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Thanks for that Bearfacts. I was wondering about Graham in particular. All the talk has been about Johnson being a building block, although he's been more of a solid player in a very weak secondary rather than one who has shown signs of becoming a star, and how impressive Gordon has been in OTAs. Graham seemed to be something of a forgotten man despite impressing in his limited opportunities towards the tail end of last season. It's good to know that he's been quietly going about business and making an impression.

How fantastic would it be to have Johnson, Graham, Gordon and Brisker all pan out?
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Thank you for the post
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HisRoyalSweetness wrote: Mon Jun 20, 2022 7:53 am Thanks for that Bearfacts. I was wondering about Graham in particular. All the talk has been about Johnson being a building block, although he's been more of a solid player in a very weak secondary rather than one who has shown signs of becoming a star, and how impressive Gordon has been in OTAs. Graham seemed to be something of a forgotten man despite impressing in his limited opportunities towards the tail end of last season. It's good to know that he's been quietly going about business and making an impression.

How fantastic would it be to have Johnson, Graham, Gordon and Brisker all pan out?
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A couple of things.

First, we now know that the Bears were definitely having contact at the OTAs. How else could you determine how powerful Robinson was if you didn't?

Second, who was Robinson showing this power against? Was it our rookie LT? Our second year vet? Jenkins? Maybe that explains his demotion to second team? Whomever it was, it doesn't look good for them. Same thing goes for Jones and our secondary. Jones torching our secondary sort of tempers our evaluation of Brisker and Gordon. Double edge sword on a lot of this I guess.

BUT I've been saying for a while that Jones can run patterns. He showed that at the Senior Bowl.
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Good that Jones is rapidly improving his route running. Obviously not something they worked on at Tennessee. Flus is making good on his words, he’ll play rookies or anyone who brings what he’s looking for. The day of the sacred cow may be over for the Bears.
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It is possible that Jones was just pigeonholed as a KR at USC and never really given the coaching attention he needed, as they focused on other guys. He might have been really raw his first year at Tenn while they worked on coaching him up. But they didn't seem to require much of him other than to use his athleticism.

He's mentioned that Tyke is working on some of the basics with him, like dropping his hips on a break - and he's saying he's feeling and seeing some real improvement in himself. Which is terrific he's got a lot of maturity in him.

It is not trivial that the Bears hired one of the best WR coaches in the business.
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Can't win much without a great coaching staff. Both of our SB teams were very well coached by some of the best around.
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Fantastic post OP, really appreciate it. I am eager to see how Jones progresses, really think he could be one of the steals of the draft.
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IE wrote: Mon Jun 20, 2022 11:26 am It is possible that Jones was just pigeonholed as a KR at USC and never really given the coaching attention he needed, as they focused on other guys. He might have been really raw his first year at Tenn while they worked on coaching him up. But they didn't seem to require much of him other than to use his athleticism.

He's mentioned that Tyke is working on some of the basics with him, like dropping his hips on a break - and he's saying he's feeling and seeing some real improvement in himself. Which is terrific he's got a lot of maturity in him.

It is not trivial that the Bears hired one of the best WR coaches in the business.
Good point about time at USC. I wondered about that too. His last year there they had Pittman, Amon-Ra, and London among others in the WR room.
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Stormtrooper wrote: Mon Jun 20, 2022 3:46 pm Fantastic post OP, really appreciate it. I am eager to see how Jones progresses, really think he could be one of the steals of the draft.
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It's good news about all three especially Graham who somehow seemed to be in the 2021 dog house much of the year. IIRC it was said previously that he slid to the 6th round of the draft due to missing his senior year in college. But when I watched his game tapes from college he showed the kind of coverage and ball skills that should help him thrive in this defensive scheme.

With the addition of Gordon and Brisker as well as a hopefully rejuvenated EJax in one year Poles may have turned one of our lowest graded units into our highest graded unit especially when we also consider the coverage skills of Morrow and Smith. All of this may help to offset an underwhelming pass rush if it comes to that.
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Great post! If these players do end up becoming starters for us it will be a mighty draft class when we were in a weak position.
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