Immediate Thoughts - Chicago Bears

The only way for me to see this game was through the NFL Network replay, except that Charter (sucks) doesn't give me the NFL Network. Fortunately for me there's a sports bar-ish restaurant nearby that opens at 7:30 am, which allowed me to see all but the first 30 minutes of the game. And it was totally worth it. Not that the game was that good, but for preseasons standards, it was pretty entertaining.

Story number one has got to be Justin Forsett. There's no way this guy can be kept off the 53-man roster. The dude just produces. 136 yards rushing, including one touchdown, seven runs of 10 yards or more, and a long run of 40 yards... and he only played one half at running back. He had 117 total return yards, including a 40 yard punt return and kick-off returns of 33 and 37. I don't care that he wasn't going against the Bears' starters. Nine yards/carry is a ridiculous amount. Overall, Justin Forsett accounted for 40% of all team offense and special teams yards. Give this man a roster spot!!! Unless Forsett shows otherwise, he'll probably make the team as a special teams returner, which is needed with Burleson giving up duties while being the number one receiver.

Story 1a is the atrocious punt-team play (minus Forsett, of course). Two punts were blocked, one of which resulted in a safety while the other gave the Bears a chance to win with a late field goal, and a third punt was returned 75 yards for a touchdown. That's horrible. I know the Seahawks coaches use the preseason for experimentation with player pairings on special teams. Alright, so don't use the combinations from this game ever again.

Other notes:

Kyle Orton has got to be leader for the Bears QB job. The stats between him and Grossman weren't that different (except for the vicious hit-induced interception), but there was a very telling shot of the two after they were both done for the day, with Orton laughing, chatting it up with teammates, and Grossman walking along the sidelines, alone, with slightly dejected look on his face.

The first team defense appeared to redeemed itself, giving up only three points in the first half, coming during a bend-but-don't-break effort in the final two minutes. After their poor showing in Minnesota, this was a confidence-inspiring showing.

Charlie Frye has a long way to go. He had some good moments, especially in the two scoring drives following his interception and the punt return for touchdown. It looked like the game was getting away from the Seahawks after the punt return, but Frye took command and brought Seattle back. Unfortunately for him, his 209 passing yards are overshadowed by the three interceptions, including the horrible decision to chuck the ball while being pursued in the endzone, which led to the easiest pick-six a cornerback will ever have. He played better than David Greene did in preseason week two last year, but that is only good enough to not get cut. This performance means Seneca Wallace won't be getting any reps at wide receiver anytime soon.

Jordan Kent had a couple of nice catches on intermediate routes, but really blew a chance to make a statement by missing two deep balls in the endzone. One was in tight coverage, but the other went right through his arms. NFL receivers are expected to make those catches. Kent's special value will come from his ability to stretch the defense deep (plus his ability to get above defenders from his height and vertical leap), but that only works if you catch the ball. Looks like he's not quite ready, but he could be soon.

Seattle doesn't have much of a second string offensive line. Frye was under constant pressure, especially from that one Bear with crazy long hair. I'm doubling down on my concern of offensive line depth.

Darryl Tapp was Kelly Herndon-esque with his inability to bring down the quarterback after a botched snap (and poor protection) gave him a would-have-been gimmie sack. To be fair, he also dished out the brutal hit on Grossman that led to an interception, but given that he's fighting for a starting job with Lawrence Jackson he can't afford misses like that. Meanwhile Jackson has been consistently good, and I'm getting the feeling Jackson will win the starting job, if not immediately then within a few games of the start of the season.

John Carlson had some nice catches, but he also had two false starts. It's all part of the learning process.

Charlie Frye seemed to favor Jordan Kent while he was playing. Perhaps this comes from both playing with the third/scout team last year?

I missed most of Julius Jones' carries, but his stats looked nice. Mo Morris looked explosive, but his stats don't show that at all. Not sure why.

At one point near the end of the game, Seattle had converted only 3-15 third downs. That would be worrisome, except that Frye was at the helm for that. On the flip side, it was good to see the Seahawks pound the ball into the endzone with three straight runs.

Kevin Hobbs had a beautiful interception. If he wasn't already off the bubble, he should be now. Josh Wilson looked active too.

Coutu was 5/5 on field goals, including the non-chip-shot game winner from 36 yards.

Time to go read the reactions from others. Next stop: Monday night in San Diego.