Blogging The Boys
Dallas’ rookie class took the Soldier Field pop quiz and got a little of everything that include some humbling circled notes. Here’s what popped, what sputtered, and how the rookies grade out after Bears week.
(Game stats- Snaps: 74, Pressures Allowed: 2, Sacks Allowed: 0, Penalties: 1)
Note: Tyler Booker is going to miss some time with injury, so we’ll evaluate this game, then we’ll be without him on the rookie report for a while.
It wasn’t flawless from Booker as he did pick up a single flag, but he mostly colored inside the lines and played with grown-man composure. When Dallas pointed the run right behind him, the offense got to the gain line and “right-guard” calls looked like a moving walkway. We saw Booker play with low pads, snug double-teams, and had just enough oomph to keep the offense on schedule.
Chicago finished the game with two sacks and seven QB hits, but Booker’s assignment stayed largely intact across a 40-attempt day for Prescott, and that’s a huge plus from the rookie guard. What went wrong with the offensive line came in the form of Dallas’ offense hitting every pothole on pressure downs. The offense went 3-of-11 on third down and was only 1-of-4 in the red zone.
Overall, for a first-year guard on foreign turf in Soldier Field, Booker kept the sheet clean and the run game purring, part of a two-sack day that didn’t trace back to right guard. The loss was about situational stumbles, not his gap. We look forward to seeing him back after a month or so.
(Game stats- Snaps: 27, Total Tackles: 2, Pressures: 1, Sacks: 0)
Ezeiruaku wasn’t just an extra this week, he took real shifts in a four-man edge rotation with Fowler, Williams, and Kneeland. He helped nudge Chicago into hurried tosses and a few checkdowns. The snap ledger says it plainly, he was trusted for full series, not just cameos.
Chicago’s tackles kept Caleb Williams on schedule and Dallas finished with zero sacks and a lone quarterback graze. For Ezeiruaku, that meant plenty of plays without a credit and not getting on the stat line with any sacks.
The whole defensive line struggled against the Bears offensive line, but it was steady work from Ezeiruaku, but no fireworks from him on a day Dallas barely smudged the quarterback. If he can keep the pads low, the patience high, and bolt on a late-finishing counter, Ezeiruaku can turn those ‘almosts’ into decisive pressures on the passer.
(Game stats- Snaps: 5, Total Tackles: 0)
Called up with question marks before the game on Trevon Diggs, Childress got the call to suit up for the clash at Soldier Field. He didn’t play any snaps on defense despite Diggs leaving the game late in the game, but he did get on the field for special teams duty. They were all on field goal attempts but at least he got...
