Tag: Tyler Bray

How Tyler Baron can become a factor playing LEO in Vols’ defense

2021 Tennessee Vols’ football spring practices.

Tyler Baron enters his second season at Tennessee.

The 6-foot-5, 257-pound Knoxville native played in all 10 of Tennessee’s games as a freshman in 2020. Baron totaled 21 tackles, three tackles for a loss and one sack last season.

Baron met with media after six spring practices under first-year Vols’ head coach Josh Heupel. The sophomore discussed what roles he is likely to take on under newly-hired defensive coordinator Tim Banks and line coach Rodney Garner.

“In terms of what I am going to be doing, split time playing with my hand down and playing up in a lot of different coverage situations, rushing the passer,” Baron said.

Baron’s ability of playing with his hand down and also in coverage will allow for him to be a factor in a LEO scheme.

A LEO is a tweener of a defensive end and a linebacker who can apply pressure on the quarterback as an edge rusher. The position can allow for a 3-4 scheme to have 4-3 tendencies with the same personnel. A LEO is usually on the boundary-side.

In Nickel formations, the SAM/BUCK goes to the field-side, however when a LEO is used, he goes to the weak-side and a bigger defensive end will go to the strong-side.

The JACK typically plays on the boundary-side, while the SAM is on the field-side. This is when the LEO takes place of the JACK.

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Bears QB grades: Neither Mitchell Trubisky nor Nick Foles was the answer

We’re going position by position through the 2020 Bears and grading every player, starting with quarterback.

The Chicago Bears wrapped another disappointing season that ended with an early exit from the postseason. With the offseason in full swing, it provides an opportunity for the team to look back at went right, what went wrong and how to improve in 2021.

Here at Bears Wire, we’re going position by position through the 2020 Bears and grading every player. We’re starting with the most important position on the team, quarterback.

Bears protect QB Tyler Bray, RB Spencer Ware on practice squad in Week 16

The Bears have protected two players on their practice squad this week ahead of Sunday’s game against the Jaguars.

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The practice squad has become even more important this season for NFL teams with injuries and COVID-19 designations. Teams are allowed to designate up to four practice-squad players every week that are protected from being signed away from other teams.

The Chicago Bears have protected two players on their practice squad this week ahead of Sunday’s game against the Jacksonville Jaguars in quarterback Tyler Bray in new addition running back Spencer Ware.

Chicago has protected Bray every week, as he’s someone with experience in Matt Nagy’s offense that provides emergency assistance. That came in handy several weeks ago when Mitchell Trubisky was sidelined with a shoulder injury and then-starter Nick Foles suffered a hip injury at the end of the Minnesota Vikings game in Week 10.

With running back/receiver/kick returner Cordarrelle Patterson day-to-day with a knee injury sustained in last week’s win against the Vikings, the Bears signed Ware to the practice squad as added depth. If Patterson doesn’t suit up — or if he’s limited to just kick returns — Chicago needs someone with experience to back up starter David Montgomery.

Ware, who has worked with Matt Nagy during his time in Kansas City, brings with him an understanding of Nagy’s offense. Although, to be fair, the Bears haven’t exactly been running Nagy’s offense over the last month. Still, Ware provides some veteran leadership to Chicago’s running backs room.

Depending on how Patterson progresses this week, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see Ware elevated to the active roster for game day on Sunday against the Jacksonville Jaguars.

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Every true freshman quarterback that has started for Tennessee in program history

Every true freshman quarterback that has started for the Vols.

Harrison Bailey became the 11th true freshman quarterback to start in program history for the Vols.

Bailey has started the last two contests for Tennessee during the 2020 campaign.

The 11 true freshmen quarterbacks have started 45 games in program history.

Below is every UT true freshman quarterback and how many games each started during his first season.

Bears promote QB Tyler Bray from practice squad to active roster

With Nick Foles doubtful for Sunday night, the Bears have activated QB Tyler Bray from the practice squad to the active roster.

For the first time since Week 3, Mitchell Trubisky will suit up as starting quarterback when the Chicago Bears face the Green Bay Packers on Sunday Night Football. With Nick Foles still nursing a hip injury, Trubisky gets his second chance this season — perhaps to bring a spark to this offense.

With Foles doubtful for Sunday night, the Bears have activated quarterback Tyler Bray from the practice squad to the active roster, the team announced Saturday. Bray will serve as Trubisky’s back-up against the Packers.

This will be the third straight week that Bray will serve as Chicago’s back-up quarterback. Trubisky has missed the last two games with a shoulder injury, and the Bears have activated Bray from the practice squad for both of those outings.

The Bears have protected Bray on the practice squad throughout this season for this very reason. Bray’s knowledge of Matt Nagy’s offense has made him a valuable asset to this team in an emergency role.

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The Bears are bringing in QB DeShone Kizer for a tryout

While there’s optimism that Nick Foles and Mitchell Trubisky will be ready coming out of the bye, the Bears aren’t taking any chances.

The Chicago Bears are down two quarterbacks heading into the bye week. Starter Nick Foles and backup Mitchell Trubisky are currently nursing injuries that could possibly keep them out of Week 12’s primetime game against the Green Bay Packers.

While there’s optimism that Foles and Trubisky will be ready coming out of the bye, the Bears aren’t taking any chances and are bringing in former second-round pick DeShone Kizer for a tryout, according to Field Yates.

Kizer was a member of the 2017 draft class, where the Bears ended up trading up one pick to take Trubisky with the second overall pick. In his rookie season with the Cleveland Browns, Kizer completed 53.6 percent of his passes for 2,894 yards, 11 touchdowns, and a league-most 22 interceptions. He also rushed for 419 yards and five touchdowns.

He was released after his rookie season and served as Aaron Rodgers’ back-up in Green Bay for a season. Kizer briefly replaced an injured Rodgers in the 2018 season opener, where Khalil Mack returned an interception for a touchdown in his first game with the Bears.

Foles suffered a hip injury in the final minute of Monday night’s loss to the Minnesota Vikings. The good news is that it doesn’t appear to be serious, but he still might not be ready to go for Week 12.

Meanwhile, Trubisky is still recovering from an injury to his right throwing shoulder sustained on one play against the New Orleans Saints in Week 8. Nagy said it’s possible that Trubisky would be ready for the Packers game, it’s certainly not a guarantee.

The Bears are also bringing in wide receivers Greg Dortch and J.J. Nelson for a tryout.

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Olin Kreutz would start Tyler Bray over Mitchell Trubisky vs. Packers

With Nick Foles’ status uncertain following a hip injury, it appears as if Mitchell Trubisky will get another shot for the Bears.

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Stop me if you’ve heard this before: The Chicago Bears have uncertainty at the quarterback position.

Following another unimpressive performance, starting quarterback Nick Foles was slammed to the turf and appeared to suffer a serious injury in the final minute of Monday night’s loss to the Minnesota Vikings. Foles was carted off the field, which certainly didn’t look good for the remainder of the season. But it was later revealed that Foles’ hip injury wasn’t as serious as initially believed.

But Foles’ status — as well as his performance over the last seven games — started the conversation about what Chicago should do at quarterback. Since replacing Mitchell Trubisky in Week 3, Foles hasn’t performed up to par.

Bears head coach Matt Nagy didn’t rule out making a switch at quarterback — that’s what happens when you’ve lost four straight games. But the concern remains the health of both Trubisky and Foles, who are nursing shoulder and hip injuries, respectively.

Former Bears center Olin Kreutz says, if it were him, he’d start third-string quarterback Tyler Bray over Trubisky against the Packers.

“I hate to say this, but who cares?” Kreutz said on the Football Aftershow. “Who cares if it’s Mitch or Bray? It should probably be Bray so you can see what you’ve got at your third string quarterback, since now for three years since Coach Nagy’s came here you haven’t brought another young quarterback to develop in your scheme.”

Let’s be honest, the real reason Bray has been in Chicago over the last three seasons has been because he knows Matt Nagy’s offense. He’s served as a coach of sorts. At this point, he’s nothing more than a career back-up who has spent the majority of his Bears career on the practice squad.

While Foles’ hip injury isn’t serious — he’s day-to-day and expected to miss a couple of weeks — there’s an argument to be made that the Bears should make the switch back to Trubisky. Not that Trubisky is the answer, but the offense did look slightly better than it has under Foles. Trubisky has the benefit of mobility, which helps with an offensive line that struggles in pass protection.

The Bears have a bye week to make another quarterback evaluation. Assuming both Trubisky and Foles are healthy, we’ll see if Nagy ultimately makes the decision to go back to Trubisky to try and find a spark on offense.

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5 takeaways from the Bears’ 19-13 loss against the Vikings

The Bears and their putrid offense fell to the Vikings 19-13, losing four straight and seeing their magical 5-1 start crumble to 5-5.

You can take the playcaller away from the offense, but you can’t take the offense away from the playcaller. The Chicago Bears showed that it doesn’t matter who is drawing up plays for this offense, it will still be inept against even one of the worst defenses in the NFL.

The Bears and their putrid offense fell to the Minnesota Vikings 19-13, losing four straight and seeing their magical 5-1 start crumble to 5-5 before their off week. Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins got his first win on Monday Night Football, and his first win as a Viking against the Bears. He provided the offense for Minnesota as the Bears effectively shut down running back Dalvin Cook.

On the other sideline, the Bears managed just 149 yards and quarterback Nick Foles was ineffective yet again, missing open receivers and struggling against the rush. His worst moment came, however, when he landed awkwardly on the team’s final drive was carted off the field.

The loss felt familiar for the 2020 Bears. The defense does just enough to keep the team in the game, only for the offense to turtle and lay on their back. They’re nearly out of options and with six games to go, I don’t know how this gets any better. Here are my takeaways following yet another loss.

Bears activate C Cody Whitehair from reserve/COVID-19 list, add RB Lamar Miller to active roster

Chicago announced several moves on Monday ahead of their game vs. the Vikings, including activating Cody Whitehair and adding Lamar Miller.

Reinforcements are on their way for the Chicago Bears ahead of their primetime matchup with the Minnesota Vikings.

The team announced a bevy of moves on Monday afternoon, most notably activating center Cody Whitehair from the reserve/COVID-19 list.

The Bears also added running back Lamar Miller and offensive lineman Eric Kush from the practice squad, signed defensive tackle Daniel McCullers from the practice squad, and promoted quarterback Tyler Bray from the practice squad as a COVID-19 replacement, per Larry Mayer of Chicagobears.com.

Whitehair was sidelined for the Bears game against the New Orleans Saints two weeks ago due to a calf injury suffered on Oct. 26 against the Los Angeles Rams. He then missed last Sunday’s loss against the Tennessee Titans after being placed on the reserve/COVID-19 list earlier in the week.

Miller, now in his ninth NFL season, will make his Bears debut and see his first action since tearing his ACL in a preseason game with the Houston Texans in 2019. The former Pro-Bowl back spent the first half of the season the team’s practice squad and will fill in for an injured David Montgomery, who was ruled out after suffering a concussion in last week’s game.

Kush makes his Bears season debut as well, returning to Chicago for the first time since 2018. He spent three seasons with the Bears from 2016-18, but missed 2017 due to a torn hamstring injury. He started all 16 games for the Cleveland Browns in 2019, but he was released earlier this year. He signed with the Las Vegas Raiders but did not play a snap after going on injured reserve.

McCullers saw his first action as a Bear last week, posting four total tackles. With defensive tackle John Jenkins out of the lineup for the second time this season. Bray, meanwhile, will serve as the Bears backup quarterback with Mitchell Trubisky still out with a shoulder injury.

The Bears and Vikings kickoff tonight at 7:15 pm CT.

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Bears protect QB Tyler Bray, NT Daniel McCullers on practice squad in Week 10

The Bears have protected two players on their practice squad this week ahead of Monday’s game against the Vikings.

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With the influx of injuries the Chicago Bears have suffered, the practice squad has become even more important this season. Teams are allowed to designate up to four practice-squad players every week that are protected from being signed away from other teams.

The Bears have protected two players on their practice squad this week ahead of Monday night’s game against the Minnesota Vikings in quarterback Tyler Bray and defensive tackle Daniel McCullers.

Chicago has protected Bray every week, as he’s someone with experience in Matt Nagy’s offense that provides emergency assistance. But his presence has become even more important now that Mitchell Trubisky has been nursing an injury to his right throwing shoulder. Trubisky missed last week’s game, where Bray served as back-up quarterback to Nick Foles.

With defensive end Roy Robertson-Harris done for the season with a shoulder injury and defensive tackle John Jenkins nursing an ankle injury, McCullers will serve as important depth for Chicago, as he’ll likely to be promoted to the active roster on game day.