If you haven’t caught much of the Bulls preseason but want to know what’s going on with them, don’t worry.  I’ve got your back.  Before I do, however, I highly recommend checking out Kelly Dwyer’s Bulls Season Preview.  Anyways, here are some things of note so far in the Bulls hot 4-1 preseason start.

• Derrick Rose is hurt.  It’s unclear how hurt, but the team and Derrick assure the media that it is not a big deal.  Its something wrong with his ankle or heel that just needs rest apparently.  As a result, he hasn’t played much at all so far.
• Tyrus Thomas is also banged up.  He has yet to play any meaningful minutes.  Fortunately for some, this has given a lot of minutes to some other guys who are showing up big time.  Most people feel that this year is a put up or shut up year for Thomas and will probably dictate any kind of future contract he can get from the Bulls or elsewhere.  The Bulls say he is going to practice today and maybe be back on the court soon.
• Joakim Noah looks like a man possessed.  He is in significantly better shape than at this time last year.  His defense looks good and most importantly he is becoming the rebounding machine we had all hoped he could be.  Oh and that offense thing that we weren’t expecting much of, well he made 3 hook shots the other night.  I’m not saying he looks like an offensive beast out there, but if his offense was a 2 on a scale of 1-10 last season and he can get that up to a 3 or even a 4, that would be huge for a Bulls team desperate for easy baskets inside.
• Kirk Hinrich has looked very consistent across the board.  He will be a nice insurance policy on the Rose-Salmons starting backcourt.  Even coming off the bench he will be looking to get 20-25 minutes a game.
• Apparently the locker room chemistry is there too, as many players are saying this is the most fun they’ve had as a team in a while.
• Salmons is Salmons.  I love that guy, he is continuing to do what he did last year, hit 3s, drive the ball, and play great one-on-one defense.  His ballhandling is still somewhat suspect, but when Rose gets back that should be a non-issue since Rose will have the ball in his hands most of the time.
• Luol Deng is still extremely inconsistent.  His shooting touch clearly has not returned, plays that look like dunks end up as soft layups, and he just doesn’t look comfortable out there.  He has had a few flashes, but nothing spectacular.  Hopefully he’s not still hurt and he is just getting used to playing
• The rookies have looked spectacular.  I know it is the preseason, but Taj Gibson looks like the kind of guy that could develop into a solid role player in this league.  He has nice touch from about 12-18 feet but he never forces shots and plays smart like a veteran.  He could do to bulk up a bit, but so far I’m not complaining.  James Johnson is a little tougher to peg.  He’s clearly athletic and talented, but he is still very raw.  He seems to be a decent rebounder but as a 3-4 tweener, he will have to develop some sort of outside game to be effective.
• Others: Byars and Richard are both guys that are unlikely to make the squad, but they are making a case nonetheless.  Byars has looked great in the backcourt and Richard actually put up some nice numbers last night in the paint.  Pargo has been Pargo (just like you remember, jacking up shots and not playing defense).  Not much to say about Lindsey Hunter that you don’t already know.

Overall the Bulls have looked pretty good with the exception of Deng.  We really won’t know what we have until Rose and Thomas come back, but the rookies are showing something and Noah seems poised to take the next step.

Oh and even though Rose’s offcourt demeanor seems vanilla, apparently his on-court abilities are making him very marketable.  On that note, here’s a pair of his newest Adidas commercials.  I like the first one much better, but the second one is cool too.  Enjoy!

h/t: Docksquad

It’s only been 3 preseason games, but the last preseason game is usually garbage so I think its safe to say that we have seen about all we will see from our Bears starters this preseason.  Here is a position-by-position look at what we have seen so far.

Offensive Line: On some plays Orlando Pace looks like 100 years old, a staggering giant unable to keep up with outside pass-rushers.  On the other hand, some plays he gobbles up defensive linemen and gets a good push on run plays.  We’ll see what happens with him.  Chris Williams has looked better and better each game; changing positions may have been just what the doctor ordered for him.  Overall it looks solid and Cutler’s ability to scramble will buy him some time as well when the line leaks a bit.

Wide Receivers/Tight Ends/Running Backs: Forte, Olsen and Clark look great on the inside and on screens.  Cutler seems to love using them too, and he spreads the ball well.  Hester and Bennett are obviously not elite receivers, but so far they have been adequate and that’s all they need to be.  Some of these other young guys like Iglesias and Arimodoshysoieshu look decent too, but probably won’t be big playmakers this season.  In terms of the running game, Forte is gold.  They should consider, however, playing some more of Kevin Jones this year to keep Forte fresh.  Jones is a solid #2 option.

Quarterback: I love Jay Cutler.  That two-minute drill at the end of the first half made me smile so hard my face hurt.

Defensive Line: Whatever Rod Marinelli did, its working.  The entire defensive line ahs looked young and quick for a lot of this preseason.  Even though losing Dvoracek hurts, it wasn’t unexpected, and the whole line looks younger and has more energy than they have since 2006.

Linebackers: Nothing terrible, nothing spectacular.  Urlacher is not the top middle linebacker in the league anymore, but he is still top 5 or so and Briggs is a monster on the outside.  Pisa didn’t look too bad either.

Secondary: Kevin Payne is a great run-stopping safety but he is extremely shaky in coverage (which, if you remember, is very important in a Cover 2).  Danieal Manning is okay but the rest of the bunch is bad.  And don’t even get me started on the cornerbacks.  McBride and Vasher are just not very good.  We will see if any of the young guys they drafted have an impact this season.  I like this Afalava kid, he seems to have the tools, but he might be a year or two away from having any real impact at safety.

Special Teams: Great.  Hester looks to be rounding back into form (which means stupid fumbles and bad judgments with the occasional 80-yard return peppered in).  The kick coverage team looks really good and so does Maynard’s boot.  Dave Toub has done a spectacular job with special teams over the last 6 years and there are no signs that this year will be any different.

Overall I still believe this team can be a 10-12 win team, if the defensive line can cover up for the weaknesses in the secondary.  The schedule is nothing to laugh at either, even though we play Detroit twice we also play all 4 teams that competed in the conference championships last season.  Whatever happens it will be an exciting season with Cutler at the helm of the offense.  Go Bears!

Here are some highlights from the Bears game last night.  Jay Cutler looked pretty good.  And hell, if the Chicago sports media can turn on him so quick last week after his average preseason performance, why can’t I jump all over his balls after after this stellar one?

h/t: Jay Cutler Superstar