SB Nation - Brandon Rideau

Bears Updates From 'Round the Web

Dane Noble — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 18:54:23 -0000

Happy afternoon folks... there's a little bit of movement going on around the Bears camp this afternoon.

First, on Jeff Dickerson's Twitter page, he's reporting that Pisa Tinoisamoa is back on the practice field. What's interesting though is that he says Pisa had a complete tear of his PCL, or posterior cruciate ligament. Ouch.

Brad Biggs is reporting that former Bears WRs Derek Kinder and Brandon Rideau are having tryouts for NFL teams (Seattle and Cleveland respectively). Good luck to them both.

And Johnny "Roy" Knox was named special teams player of the week for his performance versus Detroit.

If any of you hear of anything going on this afternoon in Bears Land, keep us in the loop!

The Practice Squad Explained

Lester A. Wiltfong Jr. — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 16:00:16 -0000

by Nam Y Huh - AP

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There are some rules pertaining to Practice Squad eligibility that I never knew until reading some of the threads here on WCG. Even with some of these correct clarifications it seems like there are enough confused people to warrant an explanation. I just hope I don't get to long winded...

Much of my info will be pulled from the NFL Collective Bargaining Agreement, Article XXXIV. If you like these types of documents check it out. You may be able to make heads or tails of it better than I did.

I'll hit the basics first.

An NFL practice squad consists of a maximum of eight players, and those eight players are actually free to negotiate with any other team in the NFL. The only catch is if a team signs a player off your practice squad that player must be placed on their active roster, they can not be signed off 1 practice squad only to go on another. If a team wants to keep their practice squad player from signing elsewhere they must promote them to their 53 man roster. If you do lose or promote one of your eight practice squad players you may sign another, just don't over eight. (You can add a 9th if said player is from outside the United States)

The NFL is very strict with teams not going over the max of eight players. In 2004 the Redskins were caught making a change in their practice squad and for a brief moment they had 9 under contract, this led to them getting slapped with a $45,000 fine.

One important restriction on signing a player from some other teams practice squad is the following:

... a practice squad player may not sign an NFL Player Contract with his Club's next opponent later than 4:00 p.m. , New York time, on the sixth day preceding the game (except in bye weeks, when the prohibition commences on the tenth day preceding the game).

This is to prevent teams from signing a guy for the sole intent of picking their brain. If this rule weren't in place some renegade maverick owner like, let's say... Jerry Jones of the Cowboys... would keep a roster spot open for a revolving door of opposing players.

In theory a team could sign a player away from an upcoming opponent 7 days prior to extract some info, but there is a rule in place to try and prevent teams from doing this. If a team signs a practice squad player that team;

... is required to count the player on its 53-player Active/Inactive List for three games (a bye week counts as a game) even if he is terminated or assigned via waivers to another club or is signed as a free agent to another club's 53-player roster or another club's Practice Squad prior to that time.

I guess if a team were really desperate for some inside scouting they could bite the bullet and sign a guy and deal with him counting towards their 53 man roster for a few weeks, but with football being so specialized these days you'd be hard pressed to find a team that would do this.

This year practice squad players will make a minimum of $5,200 per week. Not bad, but far from what the real rostered players bring home. Add the fact that their pay isn't guaranteed, they get no benefits and no pension, and you see how their lifestyle could be ~~one bad day~~, make that one bad play, away from the unemployment line. On a positive spin, they could also be one play away from getting promoted to the active roster. Their game-days are spent sometimes at home and sometimes, if they play for a team with good ownership, in a luxury box taking in the action. While an NFL teams practice week will vary slightly from team to team, most practice squad players spend their week doing the exact same thing their active team-mates do. Monday they sit in their positional team meetings breaking down film from the previous game. Tuesdays they look at film for the upcoming weeks opponent and start getting the game-plan. Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday, they do their best to play their role on the scout team, getting their team ready to play.

What type of elegibility requirements are there for the practice squad?

Section 4. Eligibility: (a) The practice squad shall consist of the following players, provided that they have not served more than two previous seasons on a Practice Squad: (i) players who do not have an Accrued Season of NFL experience; and (ii) free agent players who were on the Active List for fewer than nine regular season games during their only Accrued Season(s). An otherwise eligible player may be a practice squad player for a third season only if the Club by which he is employed that season has at least 53 players on its Active/Inactive List during the entire period of his employment. (b) A player shall be deemed to have served on a Practice Squad in a season if he has passed the club's physical and been a member of the club's Practice Squad for at least three regular season or postseason games during his first two Practice Squad seasons, and for at least one regular season or postseason game during his third Practice Squad season. (A bye week counts as a game provided that the player is not terminated until after the regular season or postseason weekend in question.)

Got it? Simple right? I'll try and put some of "Section 4:" in English;

Two years on a practice squad means that team can't have you serve a 3rd year, unless... the team never has their active roster go below 53 players during the two years you serve on the practice squad, then you can get a 3rd year. That's why Brandon Rideau is ineligible, he's already had 2 years with the Bears practice squad.

If your player has spent an accrued year on your active roster he can't go on your practice squad. Which is why Craig Steltz is ineligible for the practice squad.

Free Agent players that play more than nine regular season games are ineligible for the practrice squad. Which is why Brett Basanez is eligible for the practice squad.

I like using examples for some of this stuff so here goes;

1) Let's say the Kansas City Chiefs really had a need for a fullback and their scouts had their eye on Chicago rookie Will Ta'ufo'ou, who is on the Bears practice squad. The Chiefs are free to negotiate with him, and the Bears would lose him unless they decide to promote him to their active roster. If the Bears wanted to promote him, they would then have to cut a player to make room for Ta'ufo'ou. The Bears then could negotiate with the Chiefs and work out a trade for his services.

2) Let's say Jay Cutler stubs his big toe (yes I'm keeping the hypothetical injury minor as not to jinx anything) and has to miss one week of action. The Bears could promote Basanez to be the back-up to Caleb Hanie for a week, then try and put him back on the practice squad. Keeping Basanez on the practice squad is really a smart move. His value to the league as a 3rd QB is limited, so the Bears should be able to keep him there all season. Of course if a team or two has some bad luck at the QB position the Bears could see Basanez signed away, but my guess is the Bears would promote him and cut someone else.

3) Say for example the Packers lost a couple DB's in a freak cheese curd avalanche, and really had their sights set on Bears rookie Woodny Tureene. Since the Bears play Green Bay this week they would have to wait until after this weeks game before offering Tureene a deal.

Last Chance: Players on the Bubble

Dane Noble — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 18:00:15 -0000

Tonight's game versus the Cleveland Browns will provide one last chance for a lot of players to make their case for a spot on the final 53 man roster. Some positions are pretty clear, while others have yet to be figured out. Here's an article from the Tribune that identifies certain players that may be on the outside looking in.

Excerpt:

Linebacker

How many: 7.

Projected odd men out: Marcus Freeman, Kevin Malast.

Prognosis: At the team's deepest position, veterans with starting experience such as Nick Roach, Jamar Williams and Hunter Hillenmeyer figure to stay. That's a good second team. Newly signed Darrell McClover is a commodity on special teams, and that gives him an edge over the rookie Freeman. Freeman could land on the practice squad despite a preseason that fell short of expectations.

Also mentioned in the article are Brandon Rideau, Trumaine McBride, Craig Steltz, and others. Make sure you check out the rest...

Preseason Game 3 Preview: Chicago @ Denver

Dane Noble — Fri, 28 Aug 2009 20:43:58 -0000

In possibly the most anticipated preseason game of 2009, Sunday's game in Denver will definitely have plenty of drama to go along with the actual football game.

We don't need to rehash everything, but it will certainly be interesting to see Kyle Orton and Jay Cutler square off against their former teams, as well as how the city of Denver will welcome Cutler back into his old stadium.

Orton will be without disgruntled WR Brandon Marshall, as Marshall was suspended through September 5th for insubordination. Coach Josh McDaniels had this to say:

"I'm not sure necessarily if I think it will or I think it won't [work out]," McDaniels said. "I'm just hopeful that it will, because obviously he's a talented football player that we'd love to have pulling in the same direction as the other 79 guys that go out there and work their tail off."

While most eyes will be on the QBs, look for the rookies of both teams to try and make a splash. For Chicago, Johnny Knox and Juaquin Iglesias are both fighting for a roster spot, and in Denver, Robert Ayers and Alphonso Smith will be looking to turn heads. Rookie RB Knowshon Mareno is out after banging up his knee last week, but veteran Brian Dawkins is expected to play despite nursing a hand injury.

As for Chicago injuries, it is unlikely that Danieal Manning, Zackary Bowman, Jamar Williams, or Nick Roach will see the field on Sunday.

I also came across this article on the Bears official page that states Devin Aromashodu and Brandon Rideau are both competing against Rashied Davis for the #3 WR spot, and that the game in Denver should answer a lot of questions.

A fierce competition to be the No. 3 receiver will continue Sunday night in Denver with Devin Aromashodu, Rashied Davis and Brandon Rideau all in contention for the job.

"It’s very competitive, which is what you want," said receivers coach Darryl Drake. "Each guy brings a little something different to the table. They know what they’re competing for, and we’re just looking forward to seeing who’s going to be the best fit for us and who’s going to be able to be a guy who can come in and do the things we need him to do."

The game will air at 8pm Eastern/ 7pm Central time on NBC Sunday night. We will have our Game Thread that day, a quick recap right after the game for all of us download our first thoughts and emotions of what we saw, and after it has all sunken in, more observations and breakdowns Monday and beyond.

Let us know what you are going to be looking for in the game Sunday... who to keep an eye on, who may be on the bubble, any other players that will be out due to injury.

Cutler vs Orton... it's gonna be a fun night!

Position Battles: Wide Receivers

Lester A. Wiltfong Jr. — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 16:00:10 -0000

Last year the Bears opened the season with six wide outs on the roster (Earl Bennett, Marty Booker, Mark Bradley, Rashied Davis, Devin Hester, and Brandon Lloyd), but many Bears fans are speculating they only open up with five this season. Why? On paper the Bears should have a much more prolific passing game, so why not carry six again? Right now the Bears have ten receivers on the team, and in my opinion only two are definite locks to make the final 53, Devin Hester and Earl Bennett. Both had a couple catches against the Giants last Saturday, but who else is looking like 2009 Chicago Bears?

In preseason game 2, Devin Aromashodu made a heck of a catch, getting full extension to snag the ball for a 38 yard gain, and Brandon Rideau had two receptions and a special teams tackle. Those special teams contributions will be huge in making a final determination. Both seem to building steam for their chances on hanging around.

If Hester and Bennett are locks to stick, then Eric Peterman, John Broussard, and Derek Kinder have to be locks to be unemployed. I could see 1 or 2 of those guys making the practice squad if they go unclaimed. KInder is a guy I'd think could develop if he finds his way back.

So... 2 locks to make the team and 3 locks to be gone, and if my math is correct we're left with 5 players for 4 open spots (if the Bears carry 6 again). Rideau and Aromashodu have been getting all the publicity through OTA's and camp, and Juaquin Iglesias and Johnny Knox have the distinction of being '09 draft picks, but we can't forget about Rashied Davis. We can try to forget him, but I think he'll be back. He's received some first half playing time in both preseason games so far, and he is a more accomplished special teams player than the other 4 looking for work.

The Bears could cook up a mystery hamstring injury so they could stash someone on injured reserve, but I think Jerry Angelo may do something out of character for the franchise and release either Iglesias or Knox. And if they do they'll surely be picked up by a team looking for receivers. Thus far, my gut is saying Knox is the odd man out.

Here is what Larry Mayer from chicagobears.com, said on a recent Chalk Talk in regards to the receiver battle;

In terms of a player on the roster bubble, Devin Aromashodu's diving 38-yard reception certainly should give him a boost. The Bears likely will only keep five or six receivers, and it appears that Devin Hester, Earl Bennett and Rashied Davis are locks. If that's the case, then Aromashodu would be battling with Brandon Rideau and rookies Juaquin Iglesias and Johnny Knox for two or three positions. You also have to keep in mind that the Bears aren't necessarily going to keep the five or six best wide receivers. They'll keep the best three receivers and then the top two or three special-teams players at the position because the fourth and fifth receivers play primarily on the coverage and return units while rarely if ever getting reps on offense.

What does everyone else think?

Poll

Will the Chicago Bears carry 6 receivers or 5 to open the 2009 season?

6

661 votes

5

165 votes

826 votes | Poll has closed

Bears Show Improvement - Beat Giants 17-3

Lester A. Wiltfong Jr. — Sun, 23 Aug 2009 03:05:23 -0000

More photos » by John Smierciak - AP

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What a difference a week makes. Or should I say; What a difference it is having Matt Forte and Greg Olsen back in the lineup? Offensively the Bears first unit was impressive. Jay Cutler still tried to make a few throws he shouldn't, but with a big gun, you have to expect big things. I'll live with the gun-slinging force it in throw on occasion, because Cutler will complete some passes that only a QB with that kind of arm strength can.

I thought Erik Kramer did an outstanding job in spotlighting the offensive line. It seemed every time I saw them do something I wanted to playback on my DVR, Kramer beat me to it. He did the same thing with a few nice plays in the secondary.

Some Game Stars

Jay Cutler - 8 of 13 for 121 yards (117.8 Rating) 1 TD

Matt Forte - 9 carries for 58 yards (6.4 Avg) 1 TD

Cutler moved the ball around for a lot of yardage.

Earl Bennett - 2-42

Devin Aromashodu - 1-38

Kellen Davis, Juaquin Iglesias, Brandon Rideau, Greg Olsen and Garrett Wolfe all caught a pass for over 15 yards.

What's your take?

Notes, Scribbles, and Things Jotted Down: Bills Edition

Dane Noble — Sun, 16 Aug 2009 12:30:48 -0000

More photos » by Dean Duprey - AP

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The Chicago Bears traded for Jay Cutler four months and two weeks ago. For the last 18 weeks, fans have held their breath in anticipation of getting to see him officially take the field, and expectations have been seemingly building and building with the passing of each day.

The game against the Bills was, if anything, a reality check for us fans. While we have allowed for ideas to grow wildly in our heads and imaginations, we got to witness things for exactly what they are- new.

Take a moment to think about the number of players on our starting (or contributing) offense that have never played before as Bears teammates. You'll come up with quite a lot of names. That means that a large majority of our offensive players have never played together, and are learning a new scheme, getting their timing down, learning what works and what doesn't work... in other words, jelling.

Regardless of what our expectations were of Jay Cutler in preseason game #1, we have to take into consideration all of the newness that he (and the rest of the offense) just experienced together. But, no worries. We've got plenty of time to knock off the rust and get everyone on the same page.

And honestly, the same can be said of our defensive secondary. We have had injuries, as well as people swapping positions, and tonight we saw what seemed like 10 different looks at those positions. Again, no worries. This game was as much about evaluating our personnel as it was anything.

Now, on to the purpose of this post. Here are some random things I saw during the Bills game:

- Kevin Jones runs hard. He keep his legs churning, and looked very aggressive when he had the ball in his hands. He will be a huge asset this season.

- Orlando Pace was only on the field for (I think) the first 2 offensive series. He had very nice footwork, but did get thrown off balance on a couple of pass plays.

- Kevin Shaffer replaced Pace on the 3rd series, and did not look very polished. He seemed to lumber around quite a bit, and seemed a bit wild. Got pushed around some, and got beat by speed rush.

- Chris Williams looked solid. He showed great technique... I was very excited to see such good production from him.

- Devin Hester ran several really good routes. Looked very crisp several times.

- Garrett Wolfe ran hard. He was definitely showing some heart out there. Ran hard between the tackles, and shook off a couple of big hits from linebackers.

- Jason Davis made some very good lead blocks from the fullback position. He exploded once the ball was snapped, quickly picking up momentum.

- Kellen Davis looked strong after the catch.

- Trumaine McBride was aggressive. Made some big hits, missed a tackle early due to not wrapping up, but seemed to bounce back from that. Played at a fast pace.

- Brian Urlacher looked fast. Had great movement.

- Our right defensive ends consistently fired off the ball with enormous speed. For most of the night, seemed to over-pursue. In the backfield a lot, but seemed to be too fast at times, taking themselves out of the play.

- Al Afalava plays hard. Missed a couple of tackles due to aggressiveness, but made several plays as well. Good special teams play.

- Johnny Knox and Juaquin Iglesias both looked unpolished.

- Cutler looked to Brandon Rideau in the endzone, but the play was called off due to a time out.

- Alex Brown showed a good bull rush.

- Woodny Turenne looked good. Fumble recovery in the first half, and was a good tackler (kept the ball carrier in front of him).

A lot of us had big expectations from our pass rush. The best way for an offense to counter a pass rushing scheme is to keep them on their toes. The Bills no-huddle offense did just that. They wore down our defensive front, nullifying any sort of schematics that we might have had. Rod Marinelli should not have that issue too much in the regular season.

For those who didn't see the Bills first preseason game, they definitely had the luxury of having a game under their belts heading into the Bears game. Their two rookie offensive linemen, Andy Levitre and Eric Wood, looked exponentially better this week. This shows the importance of getting the repetitions in the preseason.

Not to look too far into the future (as we have plenty more analysis from this week's game coming), but this first preseason game was a great opportunity to get our snaps in, learn how to apply all of the offseason schemes that we implemented, and get better. I don't think the game against the Bills should change too much of our outlooks on the 2009 season.

Davis On The Bubble

Lester A. Wiltfong Jr. — Sat, 08 Aug 2009 18:35:18 -0000

This morning on Chicago 670am WSCR, Zach Zaidman speculated that Rashied Davis may be the odd receiver out. Devin Hester and Earl Bennett are the obvious starters, they have both looked really good so far. The two new draftees, Johnny Knox and Juaquin Iglesias both have had their moments, and with Devin Hester sitting out yesterday with general soreness, Brandon Rideau had a chance to run with the number ones. He had a vey good day.

The Bears website breaks down the outstanding practice by Rideau, click here for the full article.

Later in a third-and-short drill, Rideau caught a Jay Cutler pass deep down the field despite having Vasher draped all over him. The 6-3, 198-pounder has produced big plays like that throughout training camp while lining up primarily as the No. 3 receiver.

Being in the Bears system should give Rideau an advantage, and when he's had his chances, he shown to be a playmaker. I hope he can find a home of this team.

I may be in the minority, but I see value in a guy like Davis. If the Bears are planning on any 5 wide-out packages, I could see them keeping 6 WR's. I think his special teams play could be an asset in the long run, as will his familiarity with the offense. What do you think?

Poll

Rashied Davis?

Cut Him?

790 votes

Keep Him?

575 votes

1365 votes | Poll has closed

Chicago Bears Wide Receivers: Projected Depth

Dane Noble — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 17:48:28 -0000

As we approach training camp, there are plenty of things that are apparent, and plenty of things that aren't. We know that our WR corp is probably going to be the biggest question mark going into Week 1 of the regular season, but who are the six likely players that will make the final roster?

Here's the current roster:

Eric Peterman

Out of that group, exactly two have ever caught a pass in the NFL, and four are rookies. What do opposing defenses have to fear from that group? Besides a little speed, not much. We have to count on Cutler to make these guys better than they would seem on paper.

Heading into training camp, anything can happen, but Brad Biggs gives us his ideas on the projected depth at the position.

Projected depth chart

WR: Hester, Davis, Knox
WR: Bennett, Iglesias, Rideau

Rag-tag bunch? Maybe. I am thinking that whoever starts in the slot will have some pretty good numbers this season, and right now that looks like Davis. Is it a bad thing hoping that Iglesias beats him out?

NightLink: Coach Darryl Drake On the Bears WRs

Dane Noble — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 21:40:23 -0000

Earlier, we looked at what we thought we might see from the Bears wide receiver corp in the upcoming season, and a lot of you had some good insights. Now, we get a chance to see what WR coach Darryl Drake thinks about the progress of Devin Hester and Earl Bennett, along with his evaluations of our rookie WRs.

Drake on Hester:

He performed just like I thought he would. He continues to make strides. He’s playing with so much more confidence in everything he’s doing. We’re playing him at every spot. We’re moving him around; he’s doing a lot of different things. The biggest thing you see is the plays that he makes. He and Jay [Cutler] have gotten on the same page with a lot of things. I’m really pleased with his development.

Drake on Bennett:

He performed really well (in OTAs). He was very consistent, which we knew Earl would be. He’s not thinking now. He’s playing fast. He understands what we’re trying to do in the offseason. He understands where he is in formations, and he knows what to do.

He’s heard things over and over again, and right now he’s playing with a lot of confidence. When a guy’s thinking, he’s not confident. And when he’s not confident, he can’t perform up as well as he needs to perform. But right now he understands, he’s confident, and he knows what he’s doing. Even if he does make a mistake, he knows to make a mistake full speed, and that’s the difference; it’s just another year of maturity, another year in the system, and he’s playing uninhibited.

On Rashied Davis' role in 2009:

The role that Rashied had a couple years ago; being a third-down guy, coming in and helping us in certain situations. That’s where he really performed at his best, when he was doing those things. Last year he got thrust into some situations and had to be a starter because of injuries and things like that, but those things happen in the NFL and you’ve got to be able to handle them. Things probably didn’t go as well as I would have liked them to go for him or as well as he would have liked them to go. He needs to do continue to work and be consistent.

Drake also talks about who else could challenge for a starting spot on the roster, and how the rookies are developing. He gave props to Johnny Knox and Juaquin Iglesias, but did not mention Derek Kinder, even though Mayer asked about him (albeit indirectly).

Also mentioned in a favorable light was Brandon Rideau. The guy has been around the Bears system for a while now, and is our biggest target on the roster. We need some size in our lineup, even it is just for situational downs. Training Camp (which starts on July 31st) will be one of the last chances for these guys to make impressions.