Tag: 2020 Training Camp

On verge of QB immortality, Mahomes considers Prescott among inspirations

Super Bowl LIV’s MVP has said he studies several legendary quarterbacks to work on off-kilter throws. One of them is the Cowboys starter.

The no-look pass. The effortless flips and off-angle darts. That video where he launched one completely out of Arrowhead Stadium. Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes has turned the science of throwing a football into rather abstract art over the course his meteoric rise to the top of the league.

But while Mahomes’s improvisational skills make for must-see video clips and jaw-dropping highlight reels, the MVP of Super Bowl LIV does a fair bit of practicing to hone those insane mechanics. And while he steeps himself in studying several true masters of off-kilter quarterbacking, he also regards Cowboys signal-caller Dak Prescott as one of his modern-day inspirations.

At a Chiefs practice before the regular season began, Mahomes was seen working on “throws in a kind of a forward pitch style motion,” according to NFL Network’s James Palmer back in August. The Texas Tech product was asked about it.

That’s a noteworthy roll call of quarterbacks cited. With all the talented passers throughout over a century of NFL history to pick from, Mahomes- when asked to list off true quarterbacks’ quarterbacks- singled out just six by name.

Marino had thrown for over 45,000 yards before Mahomes was even born. Young Patrick didn’t even have a driver’s license when Favre retired. A Rodgers-Mahomes showdown for the Lombardi Trophy nearly happened this year. Lamar Jackson was drafted a year after Mahomes came into the league; the careers of the two will always be intertwined. And then come Watson and Prescott, two supremely talented passers currently stuck on underachieving rosters, with question marks surrounding their status with their respective clubs.

Those are the elite quarterbacks Mahomes is channeling every time he ad libs another are-you-kidding-me throw.

The 24-year-old did it again on Sunday, granny-shotting an underhand touchdown toss to tight end Travis Kelce to extend the Chiefs’ lead in the AFC Championship game. Get ready to be bombarded by replays of that and all of Mahomes’s passing pyrotechnics in the two weeks leading up to Kansas City’s Super Bowl LV date with Tampa Bay.

During the same stretch, though, as Mahomes is held up- rightfully so- as the current gold standard for quarterback play in the NFL, Prescott will once again be mired in discussions about whether he’s really the long-term answer in Dallas. One has been in three consecutive conference title games and has led his team to back-to-back Super Bowl appearances; the other is staring down the barrel of a second franchise tag. One broke the bank with a record contract extension before the season; the other could conceivably end up hitting the open market after next season because his employer keeps trying to save a few bucks.

It’s perhaps worth bearing in mind, then, during all the chatter to come, that the former consciously views the latter as someone whose game is worth emulating.

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WATCH: The final episode of ‘1920 Football Drive’ wraps Bears camp

The Bears protested the Jacob Blake shooting, named Mitchell Trubisky starting QB and TE Cole Kmet was mic’d up in ‘1920 Football Drive.’

For years, Chicago Bears fans have had to deal with limitations when it comes to media access at training camp. But in a year where we’re craving football more than ever, the Bears have brought training camp to the fans.

The series, 1920 Football Drive, has brought fans behind-the-scenes of  Bears training camp, which has included an inside look at team meetings and exclusive access from the practice field.

In the third and final episode, the Bears canceled practice to protest the Jacob Blake shooting, the Bears came to a decision at starting quarterback and rookie tight end Cole Kmet was mic’d up during the team’s final scrimmage.

You can catch past episodes of 1920 Football Drive on the Bears’ YouTube channel.

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Does Clinton-Dix cut put Earl Thomas in play? Stephen Jones ‘wouldn’t rule anything out’

The release of a veteran safety leaves Dallas thin at the position while a 7-time Pro Bowler who wants to be a Cowboy sits unemployed.

The news came as a surprise to many in Cowboys Nation. HaHa Clinton-Dix, the former Packers/McCarthy-era safety who was expected to bring veteran leadership to the back end of the Dallas defense, was unceremoniously cut just ten days before the season opener.

But arguably, the bigger surprise for some came when that roster move wasn’t immediately followed up by an announcement that the club was in talks with Earl Thomas to take over that newly-vacated locker. While Cowboys ownership says they will “look at all avenues” at the safety position, the release of Clinton-Dix does create a sense that the team may be woefully thin in the secondary.

Speaking on Dallas radio with 105.3 The Fan, Cowboys chief operating officer Stephen Jones gave no indication that signing Thomas is on the front office’s weekend to-do list. But he didn’t slam the door on the idea, either.

“We’re certainly going to look at all avenues as we move forward here and I wouldn’t rule anything out,” Jones said, according to the team website. “We’re just down there working with [vice president of player personnel] Will [McClay] and our pro scouting department as well as our coaches in trying to figure out what our next steps might be here.”

The most logical next step has seemed to be Thomas, the seven-time Pro Bowl safety who has been widely linked to his hometown Cowboys for close to two years. The longtime Seahawk was released by the Baltimore Ravens after just one season and has been unemployed for nearly two weeks.

Now with the sudden thinning of the herd at safety in Dallas just as a promising season is about to begin, the calls to slap a star on Thomas’s helmet have never been louder.

Other league insiders, though, started downplaying any potential move to sign Thomas within minutes of the news that Clinton-Dix had been dismissed.

The Cowboys profess to be pleased with their defensive backs under new coordinator Mike Nolan and position coaches Al Harris and Maurice Linguist. Darian Thompson reportedly had an exceptional training camp and looks to have earned the starting nod opposite Xavier Woods in the wake of Clinton-Dix’s release.

But Woods has been dinged up, causing even more uncertainty barely a week before the team’s opener against the Rams. The coaching staff has been preaching positional flexibility to its players; that model may be tested early as cornerbacks Chidobe Awuzie and newcomer Reggie Robinson may find themselves fulfilling safety duties out of necessity and leaving the corner slots to Anthony Brown, Jourdan Lewis, and highly-touted rookie Trevon Diggs.

“CeeDee Lamb might be Randy Moss, and Zeke might run for 2,000 yards, but they’re going to give up 50 points [a game] unless these guys can play,” said Good Morning Football host Kyle Brandt on Friday while looking at a listing of the current Cowboys secondary.

The team lists just three true safeties with the Clinton-Dix release. The oldest of them is 26. Of the ten listed cornerbacks, the average age is 24.7. The DB group as a whole is young and green.

“I would just call this out now,” Brandt continued. “On Monday, most of the country is not going to work. Good for them. Today and tomorrow, you know who’s not working? Earl Thomas. This is a different conversation now. If you didn’t want to get in the Jamal Adams business, that’s fine. It would have been very expensive and a whole different deal. Earl Thomas can maybe help you immediately. It goes from being a luxury of a good player to a necessity that, ‘I don’t know if we have enough talent on our back end to go toe-for-toe with some of these teams, starting with the Rams.’ If you know Earl is super-super-thirsty to play in Dallas, make him an offer. Low-ball him. See how much he wants to play in Dallas. I was okay on the thing before; now they need it. That is a striking fullscreen about America’s Team. ‘That’s the best we got?’ That makes me really worried.”

Despite whatever personality issues sent Thomas packing from both Seattle and Baltimore within the last 17 months, he’s a veteran player who could conceivably provide leadership on the field, and certainly still has the physical tools to contribute.

But Jones played it close to the vest when specifically asked about the former Legion of Boom star.

“As I always say, we’re always in the market 365 days a year to improve this football team, and that’s what we’ll we’ll continue to do,” Jones said.

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Matt Nagy having difficult time choosing Bears starting QB

Bears coach Matt Nagy knows he’s running out of time to choose a starting quarterback ahead of the season opener in just over a week.

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Bears head coach Matt Nagy knows he’s running out of time to choose a starting quarterback ahead of the season opener in just over a week.

The hope was that Mitchell Trubisky or Nick Foles would make it easy on the Bears in choosing a starter. That obviously hasn’t happened as neither Trubisky or Foles have been impressive or managed to separate themselves in this competition. Which leaves Nagy and his coaching staff in a difficult spot.

“The longer that things string out, the harder it is for these quarterbacks, the harder it is for our team, and I think that has to carry some heavy weight as well,” Nagy told reporters Thursday.

“It’s hurting yourself if you do that, and you need to be able to make a decision to help both of these quarterbacks. And not to mention help our staff, as well. So we are taking all of that into consideration. We want to do it the right way.”

Given the circumstances of this COVID-19 offseason, this competition hasn’t exactly been ideal. Trubisky and Foles missed out on valuable reps in organized team activities and preseason, which would’ve given Nagy and his staff live-game reps to make the most important decision of this preseason.

But after three padded practices where Trubisky and Foles have essentially remained neck and neck, Nagy remains torn on who will ultimately win the job.

“Both of these quarterbacks have done a good job at making it difficult,” he said.

The evaluation will be an in-depth one, as Nagy and his coaching staff will look at every rep — everything from decision-making to accuracy to “situational football.” Nagy also said that each quarterback’s playing history will factor into the decision.

“Both of them, we thought did well,” Nagy said of Trubisky and Foles over the last three weeks of practice. “I know it probably is frustrating in hearing things sound somewhat grey. I completely understand that. But for us, it’s not easy.”

Time is almost up for Nagy, who is expected to announce the starter Monday or Wednesday as the Bears officially begin preparation for their Week 1 contest against the Detroit Lions.

Check out the new Bears Wire Podcast!

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Bears DT Akiem Hicks returned to practice Thursday

The Bears received some good news as DT Akiem Hicks returned to the practice field on Thursday two weeks after suffering a quad injury.

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The Chicago Bears received some good news as defensive tackle Akiem Hicks returned to the practice field on Thursday. Hicks had missed the last two weeks after injuring his quadriceps.

While the practice was short and light, it was encouraging to hear that Hicks made his return just over a week out from the season opener against the Detroit Lions. It was a good sign that Hicks should be ready to go for Week 1.

‘‘Just preparing for football, man,’’ Hicks said, via the Sun-Times. ‘‘You know, this time of year and this situation that we’ve been in have been taxing on everyone.

‘‘The biggest battle is making sure that you remember what you’re focused on or what you’re pushing toward, and that’s coming out Week 1 and playing good football.’’

The Bears defense, while not unimpressive, struggled without Hicks last season after he went down with an elbow injury in Week 5. Hicks’ return this season is more important than ever, especially as the Bears will be without nose tackle Eddie Goldman, who opted out of the season due to COVID-19 concerns.

‘‘Anytime you see [No.] 96 out there, that’s a good thing,’’ coach Matt Nagy said of Hicks’ return to practice. ‘‘We like that; we know opposing offenses don’t. We want to make sure we have him out there, so it was good.’’

Despite the challenges that have come with this shortened offseason, Hicks feels comfortable as the defense is entering its second season under defensive coordinator Chuck Pagano.

‘I would say this: Everybody’s a little bit more comfortable,’’ Hicks said. ‘‘We have some things that we’ve been familiar with over the past year, so anytime that you get that continuity from your [coordinator], guys just feel more comfortable.

‘‘So I think that going into this season, we’re going to be just a little bit more sharp on some of the things that we’ve tried to install and do over here for the past couple of years.’’

Check out the new Bears Wire Podcast!

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Check out the new Bears Wire Podcast!

In the debut of the new Bears Wire Podcast, we addressed the QB battle with Mitchell Trubisky and Nick Foles and more.

The NFL Wire Network is rolling out new podcast series this week, including the brand new Bears Wire podcast.

The podcast will be hosted by Ryan O’Leary (@RyanOLearySMG) and I’ll join him each week to break down the latest Bears news.

The show will be Bears-focused but will also feature tips on NFL picks and fantasy football news.

With the 2020 season just around the corner, we addressed the quarterback battle with Mitchell Trubisky and Nick Foles, the cornerback situation opposite Kyle Fuller, tight ends Jimmy Graham and Cole Kmet and more.

You can listen to the first episode below:

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Starting next week, you can catch a new episode every Thursday on Apple Podcasts or your podcast service of choice (including right here at the top of the page.)

Next week’s episode will delve into the Bears’ season opener against the Lions.

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ESPN’s Dan Orlovsky believes Mitchell Trubisky will start Week 1, hints at fundamentals

Former Lions QB and ESPN analyst Dan Orlovsky believes Mitchell Trubisky will be the Bears starting quarterback when the season starts.

The Chicago Bears and head coach Matt Nagy still haven’t announced who will be their starting quarterback between Nick Foles and Mitchell Trubisky as the team gets ready to face the Detroit Lions a week from Sunday.

Former Lions quarterback and current ESPN analyst Dan Orlovsky believes Trubisky will be the Bears starting quarterback when the season starts. On NFL Live, Orlovsky hinted that the 26-year old needs to be consistent with his fundamentals.

Matt Nagy wants to hold off from making a decision as long as he can possibly can, but the Week 1 matchup against the Lions is getting closer.

Trubisky is a perfect 3-0 against the Lions with a 132.4 passer rating. But if he is able to win the job over Foles, this could be his last shot in Chicago.

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Rookie OLB Ledarius Mack eager to prove himself with Bears

Bears UDFA Ledarius Mack understands that he’s under the watchful eyes of not just coaches but his older brother Khalil.

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The Chicago Bears have one of the most feared defensive players in the NFL in three-time All-Pro Khalil Mack. One who requires special attention and game planning. Sometimes, it can feel like there are two of him on the field. Now, there are actually two Macks on Chicago’s roster.

But Ledarius Mack isn’t at his big brother Khalil’s level yet. For now, he faces the battle of winning a roster spot as an undrafted rookie out of the University of Buffalo.

Ledarius understands that he’s under the watchful eyes of not just coaches but his older brother Khalil, as well. Especially with the two brothers playing the same position.

“He’s gonna be extra hard on me,” Ledarius said. “So I feel like, with practice, I’ve got to be intentional, especially with my technique and fundamentals, very big on that. … He wants to see me practice with good intentions, good habits and that’s pretty much it from that standpoint.

“And practicing with him and seeing him do some things is like, dang, like wow, you see it up close and it’s always fun to see it up close, how he does things, and how he moves and can get around guys. So it’s definitely eye-opening a little bit.”

Ledarius has followed in his older brother’s footsteps. He didn’t play much football in high school before playing pass rusher at Buffalo. They even wore the same number: 52. Also like his big bro, Ledarius is led by a winning mindset.

“All I see in his eyes is he wants to win,” he said. “That’s my mindset as well. Every day I come out here, and my mindset is to win my individual battles. He just wants to win, and so does everybody here. That’s just the mindset, and that’s how we take every day: approach every day with a winning mindset.”

Big brother Khalil has liked what he’s seen so far in training camp. But whether that’s enough to garner a roster spot on a loaded defense, it doesn’t seem likely. Although Ledarius stands a good chance to earn a spot on Chicago’s practice squad so he can keep developing.

“He’s jumping out on film,” Khalil said. “Very explosive. Very explosive. You could tell that he’s talented.

“The thing that’s gonna affect that decision, it’s gonna come down to special teams, how he’ll be used out there or whatever that may be. But all in all, from what I’ve seen, I’m proud of him.

“He likes to make plays and I can only think it’s got something to do with bloodline. I’m not gonna take any credit.”

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WR Anthony Miller has had one of the best training camps with Bears

After a slow start to camp, Bears WR Anthony Miller has put together one of the best training camp performances on the entire team.

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The Chicago Bears are expecting big things from third-year receiver Anthony Miller in 2020. So it’s certainly encouraging that, after a slow start to camp, that Miller has put together one of the best training camp performances on the entire team.

“He started out a little bit slow the beginning of training camp,” coach Matt Nagy said Wednesday. “He might have had the best training camp of a lot of players on this team. He had an amazing training camp.”

With Miller, it’s not a question of whether he can put together some impressive performances. It’s whether he can get off to a fast start at the beginning of the season, which is something that took some time for the second-round pick last season.

Last year, Miller was coming off shoulder surgery and an impressive rookie campaign. But he struggled throughout training camp, and he didn’t earn a role in this offense until the middle of the season.

But when he did get going, he appeared unstoppable. Miller had a five-game stretch from Weeks 11-15, where he totaled 33 receptions for 431 yards and two touchdowns. He finished the year with 52 receptions for 656 yards and two scores.

While this year he had some struggles at the start of camp, it wasn’t the same story.

“He was making some mental errors early on [in camp],” Nagy said. “But the best part about Anthony is that when you correct him, he doesn’t make that same mistake twice. And that kid is playing at 110 percent on every single play. For us, just to have that, that’s a credit to him. He took the challenge and he really had an awesome camp.”

With the departure of Taylor Gabriel, Miller is taking the lead as the Bears’ No. 2 receiver behind Allen Robinson. Miller has all of the tools he needs to succeed in this league, and he’s proven he have some big games and make some big-time catches.

Miller believes that he’s poised for a breakout season in Chicago, and the Bears are counting on that.

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Bears waive six players ahead of Saturday’s roster deadline

Chicago released six players on Thursday morning to trim the roster to 74 ahead of the Sept. 5 53-man roster deadline.

With less than two weeks until the Chicago Bears open the regular season against the Detroit Lions, there are some roster cuts that need to be made. The Bears need to trim the roster from 80 to 53 players by Sept. 5, and they’ve already started making roster moves.

Chicago released six players on Thursday morning to trim the roster to 74. They waived running back Napoleon Maxwell, receivers Alex Wesley and Ahmad Wagner, offensive lineman Corey Levin, defensive lineman Lee Autry and linebacker Keandre Jones.

There’s a good chance some of these players could wind up on Chicago’s practice squad, which will have 16 available spots should they clear waivers. The Bears still need to cut 21 players by Saturday’s deadline.

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