Hey all! Sorry it's been a little while but life and work have a tendency to get in the way (stupid life and work). I will highlight the battle to be Jay Cutler's backup in a moment but first, I'd like to share my take on the Martellus Bennett situation.
Unless you've been paying ZERO attention to the goings-on in BEARbonnais, you know that our starting tight end has been fined and suspended indefinitely for body-slamming rookie CB Kyle Fuller to the turf after a play in training camp. A surprising amount of people believe that the fine and suspension happened solely because of that play and that HC Marc Trestman and GM Phil Emery were unnecessarily heavy-handed in their punishment. This is not true.The fine and suspension were the culmination of a pattern of undesirable behavior on Bennett's part, stemming back to his first practices with the Bears last year. According to sources such as Brad Biggs and David Haugh of the Chicago Tribune, Bennett has been guilty of a lackadaisical attitude on the practice field, interspersed with meltdowns that have resulted in physical altercations with several different teammates over the course of last season and this spring/summer. Marc Trestman stresses that anything - ANYTHING - which detracts from the football team's constant improvement is unacceptable. To paraphrase Brad Biggs, no one on the team has done more jogging when the rest of the team runs and has walked when the rest of the team jogs than Bennett. Don't think that has gone unnoticed by the Bears' brass. The altercation with Fuller was the final straw. MY TAKE: the Bears were 100% correct in suspending and fining Bennett; the team is too close to serious Super Bowl contention to have distractions of this nature erupt. Marc Trestman has a plan and any deviation from that plan will not be tolerated. Now, don't get me wrong - Marty B is an extremely likeable guy and a supremely talented football player. The Bears are certainly better with him than without him. However, I believe this is his one big chance to 'get with the program' and buy in fully to Trestman's vision. The ball is in his court now and I can only hope that sees the light soon. The tight end position needs to get back to the business of creating matchup nightmares for NFL defenses - and quickly.
NOW... the battle for backup quarterback. This season, it comes down to two candidates (barring a late preseason acquisition): Jordan Palmer and Jimmy Clausen. Jordan Palmer entered training camp as the presumptive backup, having spent 2013 under Trestman's system. With the departure of Josh McCown to - where else? - Tampa, Palmer finally had his chance, or so it seemed. Enter one James Richard Clausen - signed off the NFL scrap heap. Not having taken an NFL regular season snap since 2010, Clausen has provided an interesting alternative to Palmer. Signed in June, Clausen has taken a crash course in Trestman's offense and has done well enough in the OTAs and early in camp to make it a neck-and-neck race to hold the clipboard for #6. Recently, there had been talk of Bears/Broncos/Chiefs/Cowboys retread Kyle Orton possibly being signed as an option but that appears highly doubtful to me. Orton does not appear to want to play anymore, as he walked away from over 3 million dollars to be the backup to a (now) very suspect Tony Romo (offseason back surgery; cannot throw a deep ball). MY TAKE: I think Clausen will emerge as the #2 guy only because I think Trestman believes Clausen has a higher ceiling than Palmer and can make the throws necessary to successfully run the offense. As I mentioned, a late preseason free agent signing is not out of the question but it seems as of now the Bears are content with the battle they have on their hands. NEXT POSITION BATTLE: Backup running back.
The preseason starts tonight at Soldier Field - the Bears host the Eagles. IT BEGINS. BEAR DOWN!!!
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