Tag: javon wims

9 Bears players who need a great training camp

With starting jobs and roster spots up for grabs, there are a handful of Bears players who need to impress at training camp.

As the Chicago Bears head into training camp later this month, there’s going to be a ton of competition for both roster spots and starting jobs, which should bring out the best in these players.

With that said, there are some players who find themselves on the roster bubble ahead of camp, which means they’re going to need to make an impression during training camp. With several starting jobs and roster spots up for grabs, that leaves just training camp for players to prove their worth to general manager Ryan Pace and head coach Matt Nagy.

Let’s take a look at nine Bears players who need a great training camp.

7 Bears players on the roster bubble heading into training camp

Here’s a look at seven notable Bears who are on the roster bubble ahead of training camp.

When the Chicago Bears kickoff training camp later this month, they’ll bring a roster of 90 players with them. By the end of camp and preseason, that roster will be trimmed to just 53 players and a group of practice squad players.

There are several veterans who could find themselves out of a job before the start of the regular season given some new additions on the roster and some competitive position battles at wide receiver, cornerback and inside linebacker.

Here’s a look at seven notable Bears who are on the roster bubble ahead of training camp.

Twitter reacts to the Saints borrowing trick play from the Bears

If there was something familiar about the Saints’ trick play, it’s because the Bears ran the exact same play against them last week.

With the New Orleans Saints and Tampa Bay Buccaneers deadlocked in a close divisional battle, Saints head coach Sean Payton pulled out a trick play to give his team the lead in the second quarter.

Running back Alvin Kamara took a direct snap and handed it off to receiver Emmanuel Sanders, who pitched it to quarterback Jameis Winston, who connected with Tre’Quan Smith for a 56-yard touchdown.

If there was something familiar about the play, it’s because the Chicago Bears ran the exact same play against New Orleans last week in the wild-card round. The only difference is, the Saints actually executed it while Javon Wims dropped the ball in the end zone.

They say that the NFL is a copycat league, and it certainly appears so with this play. Take a look at them side-by-side.

Naturally, Twitter had plenty to say about the Saints borrowing from the Bears — and they actually acknowledged that the play came from Chicago, unlike the announcers on FOX.

WATCH: Saints borrowed trick play from Bears, but they actually pulled it off

They say imitation is the sincerest form of flattery as the Saints borrowed a trick play from the Bears, which failed last week.

The Chicago Bears were dealt an early playoff exit by the New Orleans Saints in the wild-card round of the NFC playoffs with a 21-9 loss. It was a game that the Bears should’ve won, given New Orleans’ struggles opened the door. But Chicago couldn’t help but get in their own way.

The Saints certainly learned from that wild-card victory — and Sean Payton even took a page out of Matt Nagy’s book. In the second quarter of Sunday’s divisional game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the Saints ran the exact same play that the Bears nearly executed to perfection last Sunday against them.

The only difference was that the Saints receiver didn’t drop the ball. Literally and figuratively.

When Chicago ran the play, running back David Montgomery took the direct snap and handed it off to running back Cordarrelle Patterson, who then pitched it to quarterback Mitchell Trubisky, who launched it nearly 50 yards to receiver Javon Wims for what should’ve been the game-tying touchdown in the first quarter.

Only, as Bears fans know too well, Wims dropped it. It went right through his hands, much like any sort of momentum Chicago might’ve had in that game.

When New Orleans ran the exact same play against Tampa Bay, running back Alvin Kamara took the direct snap and handed it off to receiver Emmanuel Sanders, who pitched it to quarterback Jameis Winston, who connected with Tre’Quan Smith for the 56-yard touchdown.

They say imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. But the Saints actually pulled the trick play off — which is why they’re still in the playoffs while the Bears aren’t.

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Anthony Miller fined for throwing punch at CJ Gardner-Johnson in wild-card game

Anthony Miller and CJ Gardner-Johnson have been fined for their scuffle in last week’s Bears-Saints wild-card game.

There was plenty of ugly in the Chicago Bears’ wild-card loss to the New Orleans Saints. But perhaps the ugliest was an inexcusable unsportsmanlike penalty on Bears receiver Anthony Miller, who threw a punch at Saints safety CJ Gardner-Johnson.

Both Miller and Gardner-Johnson have been fined for their role in the scuffle — Miller was fined $8,589 for unnecessary roughness and Gardner-Johnson fined $15,000 for unnecessary roughness.

What made it even more inexcusable was the fact that Miller — and the entire team — were warned about Gardner-Johnson’s antics. Matt Nagy took 10-15 minutes to show highlights of Gardner-Johnson instigating things with different players. Bears players were warned, and Miller still reacted.

Miller was ejected from the game, which hurt due to Darnell Mooney’s absence with an ankle injury. It was the second time Gardner-Johnson has gotten a Bears receiver ejected from a game this season. He did the same with Javon Wims, who was suspended for two games.

Not that it’ll come as any surprise, Bears tight end Cole Kmet was not fined for flipping the ball at an official, something he was flagged for as the refs believed he was tossing it at an opposing player.

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5 takeaways from Bears’ wild-card playoff loss to the Saints

Before we dive into the Bears’ offseason questions, here are our takeaways from Sunday’s postseason loss vs. Saints.

“I expect nothing, and I’m still let down.”

If there was ever a quote to sum up my feelings regarding the Chicago Bears losing to the New Orleans Saints 21-9 in the playoffs, it would be this gem said by Dewey from the sitcom Malcolm in the Middle.

The Bears came into their wildcard matchup with the Saints as double-digit underdogs and were clearly hobbled as many key players, such as linebacker Roquan Smith, cornerback Jaylon Johnson and wide receiver Darnell Mooney, were out due to injuries. But instead of rolling over immediately, they actually made a game of it and kept the score close for the entire first half.

Thanks to their solid defense, fans began to believe the Bears had a chance to pull off one of the biggest playoff upsets in recent memory. All of that vanished in the third quarter, however, as they unraveled thanks to untimely penalties, undisciplined players, poor tackling and questionable coaching.

The loss, while expected, still hurt because of how a few missed opportunities might have changed a game that was close for much of the afternoon. Now, the offseason officially begins with the Bears seemingly finding themselves at a fork in the road. But before we dive into those questions, here are my takeaways from Sunday’s postseason loss.

Anthony Miller was warned about C.J. Gardner-Johnson

The Bears took the time to reinforce the importance of not responding to CJ Gardner-Johnson’s tactics – and Anthony Miller did it anyway.

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The Chicago Bears’ wild-card game against the New Orleans Saints had shades of the teams’ meeting in Week 8. And it wasn’t just Chicago’s offensive struggles — they mustered just three points for the first 59:59 on Sunday.

For the second time this year, a Bears wide receiver took the bait from Saints safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson and was ejected as a result.

In the first meeting, it was Javon Wims. Gardner-Johnson swiped his mouthpiece, and Wims threw a couple of punches on the next series. He was ejected and suspended for two games.

History repeated itself on Sunday when Anthony Miller was ejected from the game after throwing a punch at Gardner-Johnson in the third quarter after the Saints safety was mouthing off.

You’d think that Miller would’ve learned from what happened with Wims. Miller even addressed the incident last week leading up to the game.

“Guys like that do what they do,” he said.

Gardner-Johnson’s reputation certainly precedes him, and he’s known for taunting receivers on an almost weekly basis — even his teammate Michael Thomas, who threw a punch at him in an October practice.

Matt Nagy said the Bears took the time to reinforce the importance of not responding to Gardner-Johnson’s tactics. On Wednesday, he showed his team clips of Gardner-Johnson taunting other players.

The message was clear: Don’t engage. Miller did anyway.

After Wims was ejected and suspended for throwing punches, he was lucky to keep his job. Now, Miller has done the same — during a playoff game — and it’s not hard to believe that with his behavior, and his performance this season, that we have seen the last of Miller in a Bears uniform.

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Matt Nagy: Bears tried, failed to prepare for C.J. Gardner-Johnson’s trash talk

Matt Nagy was angry that his Chicago Bears tried and failed to prepare for trash talk from New Orleans Saints safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson.

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Chicago Bears coach Matt Nagy was, well, frustrated that another one of his wide receivers got themselves thrown out of a game with the New Orleans Saints after losing their cool. This time it was Anthony Miller, who watched Saints safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson irritate his teammate Javon Wims just a few months ago into tossing a punch at the defensive back, hurting his team by both getting ejected and yielding previous penalty yards.

Nagy told ESPN’s Jeff Dickerson after the game that the Bears offense devoted time this week specifically studying Gardner-Johnson’s on-field disruptions to prepare the receiving corps for what they were up against. He didn’t want to see his players create a mistake in a big playoff game, and it happened anyway. So it’s understandable that he’d be heated about it following the 21-9 loss.

It’s also kind of hilarious that the Bears put so much energy into keeping Gardner-Johnson from goading them (which didn’t work, which makes it more entertaining). Gardner-Johnson is a legendary trash talker just two years into his NFL career, joining the ranks of other NFC South icons like Steve Smith and Roddy White. It’s great to have one of those elite chirpers in black and gold for once. Here’s hoping he avoids hurting his own team by taking it too far occasionally, though.

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Bears vs. Saints game recap: Everything we know

The Bears exited the playoffs the same way they entered it, with a whimper. Chicago fell 21-9 to New Orleans in the wild-card round.

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The Chicago Bears exited the playoffs the same way they entered it, with a whimper. After stumbling into the seventh seed in the NFC — thanks to a pair of Arizona Cardinals losses — the Bears did what they’ve done all season long — they beat themselves in a 21-9 loss to the Saints.

Perhaps the most frustrating thing about this game was that it was winnable. If the Bears were any other team, they would’ve beaten the Saints. This game was right there for the taking, and Chicago reverted to the kind of play that will likely cost people jobs this offseason.

While the Bears’ defense rose to the challenge of containing the Saints’ offense, they eventually tired out as Chicago’s offense failed to mount anything more than a field goal in four quarters of play.

Matt Nagy led a team that was completely undisciplined and not prepared for this game, and it showed. Now, he — and general manager Ryan Pace — will await their fate as another Bears season ends in disappointing fashion.

Saints S CJ Gardner-Johnson gets another Bears receiver ejected

Bears WR Anthony Miller was ejected for throwing a punch at Saints S CJ Gardner-Johnson following a play in the third quarter.

Believe it or not, the Chicago Bears had a chance to beat the New Orleans Saints in Sunday’s wild-card game. Only they’ve failed to capitalize on countless opportunities, have been completely undisciplined and have beat themselves on countless occasions.

One of those came in the third quarter when Bears receiver Anthony Miller was ejected for throwing a punch at Saints safety CJ Gardner-Johnson following a play in the third quarter.

Does that name sound familiar? It should. Gardner-Johnson was the one that instigated things with receiver Javon Wims back in Week 8, where Wims retaliated by throwing a couple of punches his way.

Gardner-Johnson has been an instigator, that much is obvious. But the Bears have been warned about him, especially considering what happened with Wims earlier this season.

Miller has been a disappointment in his third season. While he has all the potential in the world, the Bears can’t continue to hope for him to take the next step.

The Bears trail the Saints 14-3 in the third quarter.