Chicago Bears offseason

[minnesotacubsfan]

Not sure how I feel about this offseason so far. I LOVE the Patterson signing. I dislike the Skrine signing, though I've seen people talking him up and Pagano is to DBs what Fangio is to LBs. So, i'm cautiously optimistic here. Then again, he's the most penalized DB in the league since he started. 7 flags last year. Amukamara had 8, but he's simply a better player. OF course, I wasn't a big fan of his signing either time either.

 

I do think the Bears need to make a splash. The Bears are in a similar spot as the Rams this time a year ago. They went out and got Suh, Peters, Talib, Cooks, and others. Granted, the Bears already made their big splashes last offseason. But I feel like they could have made themselves dominant on paper. Clinton-Dix helps, as would going out and getting someone like Justin Houston. But the splash options are getting fewer and further between.

 

That being said, the defense shouldn't take that much of a step back. And that step back will be covered by the step forward in the 2nd year of the offense if Trubisky continues to develop. Not to mention the special teams should be better at least in the return game.

 

But there were a couple ways to approach this offseason. Big splash to make a run in the next 2 years. Or take the comp picks and try to stay competitive for the long haul. The big splash could have included keeping Amos and/or Callahan. After all, they did clear 11 million from Mack's contract. They had plenty of space after cuts and restructures. There were plenty of big names. And if you were going to lose Amos and Callahan, and don't value the comp picks, then go big. There's no reason to both downgrade a position and lose a potential comp pick. Part of my issue with the Skrine signing is he costs the Bears the chance at a comp pick, and Brian Poole was cut by Atlanta, meaning he was available to sign without losing a comp pick. Skrine's probably better in coverage, but Poole is better than Skrine everywhere else across the board. I know they tried for Weddle, but he and Gipson were a couple guys that could have been had without factoring into the comp pick formula. But I feel like either may be a better fit than Clinton-Dix, who seems like best case scenario at this point.

 

 

getting Patterson was very smart imo

[jersey cubs fan]

$3.5m for Dix seems like a good alternative to what Amos is getting.

[Chocolate Milk]

$3.5m for Dix seems like a good alternative to what Amos is getting.

I agree. This is a great deal considering the Bears cap situation.

[minnesotacubsfan]

$3.5m for Dix seems like a good alternative to what Amos is getting.

 

 

hopefully it's not "you get what you pay for"

[David]

Yeah, that's a steal.

 

Guys are now taking less to go to the Bears. Pretty cool.

[BigbadB]

$3.5m for Dix seems like a good alternative to what Amos is getting.

 

 

hopefully it's not "you get what you pay for"

 

This is probably going to work out wonderfully for the Bears. This is a chance for Clinton-Dix to impress this season to be in a position to get a more player friendly contract next year. Clinton-Dix likely won't stop the Bears from drafting a safety in the draft, and with Clinton-Dix, they won't have to plug and play with the rookie.

[BigbadB]

Well that's not bad. Buys em' time to find another safety (could still be Bush) in the draft to do the job for cheap.

 

Bush is going into his 4th year, so he'll likely be a free agent next year.

[David]

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[Brian]

In honor of his signing with the Bears I decided to finally find out what his real name is.

[BigbadB]

I found that between GB and Washington last year, he was ranked as the 14th of all qualifying safeties by PFF.

[Brian]

Kevin White era officially over, he's signing with the Cardinals.

 

The most memorable moment being a hail mary that only got to the 1 yard line is very fitting.

[Cubswin11]

Hot take: Clinton-Dix is a high quality DB whose reputation took a hit thanks to the inflated passing numbers of the day.

I think he’s better than the numbers. The Packers lack of a pass rush lately I think makes the secondary guys grade out and look worse. They’ve had multiple guys leave from the secondary in the last 2-4 years that seemed average to bad and turn in to good players once they got on good defenses.

[Old Style]

$3.5m for Dix seems like a good alternative to what Amos is getting.

I agree. This is a great deal considering the Bears cap situation.

Plus Ha Ha & Jackson played together at Alabama so that can only be a positive. I like this signing.

[David]

[tfarks]

I'm happy with what Pace has done in FA again. But I like Skrine better than most and foresee a lot of big plays from him in the nickel spot especially with the blitz. Davis and Patterson are good fits and did not expect that type of deal for Dix. Who knew Callahan's medicals were this scary to teams. Haven't seen a single team named in connection to him.

 

Plenty of edge guys sitting out there. Inking Houston to a 1 year deal would be pretty sweet.

[David]

I'm happy with what Pace has done in FA again. But I like Skrine better than most and foresee a lot of big plays from him in the nickel spot especially with the blitz. Davis and Patterson are good fits and did not expect that type of deal for Dix. Who knew Callahan's medicals were this scary to teams. Haven't seen a single team named in connection to him.

 

Plenty of edge guys sitting out there. Inking Houston to a 1 year deal would be pretty sweet.

 

I've seen in a couple of places (Twitter and another board) some rumblings that they may still bring Callahan back and use Skrine in some sort of supersub role.

[tfarks]

I'm happy with what Pace has done in FA again. But I like Skrine better than most and foresee a lot of big plays from him in the nickel spot especially with the blitz. Davis and Patterson are good fits and did not expect that type of deal for Dix. Who knew Callahan's medicals were this scary to teams. Haven't seen a single team named in connection to him.

 

Plenty of edge guys sitting out there. Inking Houston to a 1 year deal would be pretty sweet.

 

I've seen in a couple of places (Twitter and another board) some rumblings that they may still bring Callahan back and use Skrine in some sort of supersub role.

 

Would be interesting to say the least. Skrine outside of the slot isn't ideal but Pagano is the DB whisperer. I think its safe to assume Callahan's best bet at this point is a 1 year prove it deal to show he can stay healthy for a full season. With McManis still around as well, would make for some impressive depth. They can save 9 mil if they move on from Prince next year as well so having someone they know that can take some snaps out there would be comforting in that decision making process I'm sure. All in all though, not expecting that to happen.

 

Also I came across this breakdown of Dix thought it was pretty good:

 

[Flames24Rulz]

Hot take: Clinton-Dix is a high quality DB whose reputation took a hit thanks to the inflated passing numbers of the day.

I think he’s better than the numbers. The Packers lack of a pass rush lately I think makes the secondary guys grade out and look worse. They’ve had multiple guys leave from the secondary in the last 2-4 years that seemed average to bad and turn in to good players once they got on good defenses.

 

I'm curious as to who you're referring to. the major ones that left (Heyward and Hyde) were considered pretty good when they were with the Packers, and it was a pretty bad mistake to let them walk.

 

like i said, HHCD will make the occasional nice play, but i'm legit curious to see how the Bears are going to use him since his area of strength is similar to Jackson's. if he's going to fill the Amos role...that's going to be interesting, considering he's a rather poor tackler and run stopper. but yeah, you can do worse for the contract he signed.

[minnesotacubsfan]

Hot take: Clinton-Dix is a high quality DB whose reputation took a hit thanks to the inflated passing numbers of the day.

I think he’s better than the numbers. The Packers lack of a pass rush lately I think makes the secondary guys grade out and look worse. They’ve had multiple guys leave from the secondary in the last 2-4 years that seemed average to bad and turn in to good players once they got on good defenses.

 

I'm curious as to who you're referring to. the major ones that left (Heyward and Hyde) were considered pretty good when they were with the Packers, and it was a pretty bad mistake to let them walk.

 

like i said, HHCD will make the occasional nice play, but i'm legit curious to see how the Bears are going to use him since his area of strength is similar to Jackson's. if he's going to fill the Amos role...that's going to be interesting, considering he's a rather poor tackler and run stopper. but yeah, you can do worse for the contract he signed.

 

yea. This is my concern and what I think about HHCD as well. granted, run stopping isn't as much as an issue with Smith, Travathian, Hicks and Goldman, I still worry about that last level.

[tfarks]

No idea how adept his run stopping ability is. But the guy had 3 missed tackles last year and Amos had 9. Let the front 7 take care of the run I don’t think he’ll be an issue as the last level. There does seem to be a consensus on inconsistent play/effort.

[David]

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[Brian]

do you have to say source said when the team twitter account has it a half hour before you?

 

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[minnesotacubsfan]

I cant wait until HHCD has 10 ints and Im completely wrong about my apprehensions.

[Brian]

So MIT Sloan Sports Analytics Conference in Boston has an award for best transaction of the year. It went to the Khalil Mack trade... for the Raiders.

 

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[UMFan83]

So MIT Sloan Sports Analytics Conference in Boston has an award for best transaction of the year. It went to the Khalil Mack trade... for the Raiders.

 

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For those that dont subscribe can you describe why?

 

Guessing maybe they undervalue the impact of defensive lineman and maybe peg a certain amount of production to the draft picks the Raiders will use and that will be more value than Mack?

 

Even if thats true

 

1) You still have to make the picks

2) The Bears 1st round pick the next 2 years wouldnt have helped them win the division for the Bears.

 

So even if you believe the Raiders "won" the trade, at the very least the Bears did too.