Chicago Bears Offseason Thread (the tank must payoff)

[bjam12]

Seems obvious at this point Poles wants to build his OL and DL through the draft. Needs to hit on those picks now. Also seems likely with that draft strategy he trades back from #9 to acquire more picks.

 

We said this last offseason at the same point, then be went DB-DB-KR early in the draft.

 

The way he has absolutely torched the lines on both sides of the ball is concerning

 

This is true. You would think being a former OL, Poles would put a high emphasis on that position.

[minnesotacubsfan]

With lack of movement by Poles on OL free agents, I have to think, assuming both are available, we're looking at Paris Johnson or Peter Skoronski at #9. Given what I've read, its 80% Johnson, 20% Skoronski maybe, someone here who knows OL play can suggest who'd be a better fit. I was really hoping for JSN at #9, load up on the offensive weapons, but it appears the Bears are pretty much pigeon-holed into OL at #9. Of course, being constrained to the OL means the Bears will be unable to address the DL on day 1, DL/Edge was thought to be the strength of this draft and here we have Poles unable to tap into this resource.

 

I don't see Skoronski as a fit. Short arms, and I think he's a guard, which seemingly is covered by Davis, Jenkins, Whitehair, and Carter all being on the roster still. Jenkins could move back to OT, but he doesn't have ideal length either.

 

I hope they add someone. Even if it's just a placeholder on a 1-year deal. Cam Fleming seems like the safest bet out there. But Taylor Lewan and Donovan Smith are interesting options in that they were once really good LTs until injuries and age set in (Smith isn't quite 30 yet but has a lot a mileage). Maybe you can get a Jason Peters season out of 1 of them, which is possible since they are 10 years younger. LOL.

 

But those type of moves wouldn't force you into OT at 9. And I personally, think I'd rather have one of the 2nd round guys (Jaelyn Duncan, Matthew Bergeron, Wanya Morris-3rd/4th) than Johnson at 9. Trade back, and I feel more comfortable with one of the 1st tier guys. Anton Harrison is my guy, OT2 for me with Paris only ahead because of star upside and Darnell Wright is my OT3, who showed at the combine he's athletic enough for this scheme and college showed an amazing anchor against top tier talent.

 

idk about Paris Johnson, he grades higher in run blocking than pass blocking. I wouldnt draft him above Skoronski. Broderick Jones and Anton Harrison (btw, Anton is one of my all-time fav underutilized names - it was my great great grandfather's name, and if we had a boy I would have named my son that name) both ran sub 5 sec 40's. If you want arm length, pass grades, and speed, those are the two to focus on

[gflore34]

Seems obvious at this point Poles wants to build his OL and DL through the draft. Needs to hit on those picks now. Also seems likely with that draft strategy he trades back from #9 to acquire more picks.

 

We said this last offseason at the same point, then be went DB-DB-KR early in the draft.

 

The way he has absolutely torched the lines on both sides of the ball is concerning

 

He kind of did the same horsefeathers in FA, has a horsefeathers-ton of money to spend, there's fairly good OL and DL options available and what does he do? LB-LB right out of the gate, where are the linemen going to come from, out of thin air, Amazon Prime?

[minnesotacubsfan]

Seems obvious at this point Poles wants to build his OL and DL through the draft. Needs to hit on those picks now. Also seems likely with that draft strategy he trades back from #9 to acquire more picks.

 

We said this last offseason at the same point, then be went DB-DB-KR early in the draft.

 

The way he has absolutely torched the lines on both sides of the ball is concerning

 

He kind of did the same horsefeathers in FA, has a horsefeathers of money to spend, there's fairly good OL and DL options available and what does he do? LB-LB right out of the gate, where are the linemen going to come from, out of thin air, Amazon Prime?

 

Alibaba

[David]

So, Carter never left the scene of the accident

 

[minnesotacubsfan]

So, Carter never left the scene of the accident

 

 

yea, it was an incredibly tragic event but also I'm not convinced in any way Carter's fault. They were kids out being dumb kids

 

his pro-day was concerning however

[We Got The Whole 9]

I'm not saying it's much ado about nothing but I think the OL concerns are a little overblown. Definitely don't feel like we are in a box where we have to take an OT with 9, even though I would not mind a couple different players at that spot. Was Braxton Jones on anyone here's radar last year? Not gonna sweat it. Poles just talked about having Cody at C (where he was at his best) so our interior is drastically improved. Shouldn't we expect some development from Borom? He had a really good record in college at protecting the QB. Not the most athletically gifted player but technically sound, he could be a solid RT with time/reps.

 

I hope Poles trades back. But if he doesn't he could go any number of directions. Hell I saw someone mention making Claypool a move TE and drafting JSN. Crazy thought but intriguing. That would be quite a set of weapons for JF1 to utilize. I mean get him a beast in the slot and a RB to bail him out (provided he utilizes him) and he will take a lot less punishment even behind an average line.

 

Jones-Davis-Whitehair-Jenkins-Borom or rookie is a line of at least average quality, right?

 

Sent from my motorola one 5G UW using Tapatalk

[We Got The Whole 9]

So, Carter never left the scene of the accident

 

 

yea, it was an incredibly tragic event but also I'm not convinced in any way Carter's fault. They were kids out being dumb kids

 

his pro-day was concerning however

Also have to grant him some leeway for being out of shape considering the circumstances surrounding him though, IMO.

 

I saw it mentioned elsewhere and I think it bears consideration that he doesn't seem like a guy Eberflus would be enamored with because of the question of motor and motivation.

 

My dad is driving me nuts with all the Carter love TBH. I'm hoping he's there at 9 and we trade out, just to see his reaction.

 

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[David]

I'm not saying it's much ado about nothing but I think the OL concerns are a little overblown. Definitely don't feel like we are in a box where we have to take an OT with 9, even though I would not mind a couple different players at that spot. Was Braxton Jones on anyone here's radar last year? Not gonna sweat it. Poles just talked about having Cody at C (where he was at his best) so our interior is drastically improved. Shouldn't we expect some development from Borom? He had a really good record in college at protecting the QB. Not the most athletically gifted player but technically sound, he could be a solid RT with time/reps.

 

I hope Poles trades back. But if he doesn't he could go any number of directions. Hell I saw someone mention making Claypool a move TE and drafting JSN. Crazy thought but intriguing. That would be quite a set of weapons for JF1 to utilize. I mean get him a beast in the slot and a RB to bail him out (provided he utilizes him) and he will take a lot less punishment even behind an average line.

 

Jones-Davis-Whitehair-Jenkins-Borom or rookie is a line of at least average quality, right?

 

Sent from my motorola one 5G UW using Tapatalk

 

I generally agree. Hoping Borom isn't a starter and would really like to pick up Seumalo and give Jenkins a crack at RT.

 

Whitehair at C is fine for now, but wouldn't mind an add there.

[jersey cubs fan]

Jones-Davis-Whitehair-Jenkins-Borom or rookie is a line of at least average quality, right?

 

No. But “or rookie” is doing a lot of work there. You either upgrade the line or you stay below average.

 

End of story.

[Hairyducked Idiot]

That line looks awful to me, but I'm a notorious braxton Jones hater and I think there's a reason we keep not using whitehair at center

[minnesotacubsfan]

Also have to grant him some leeway for being out of shape considering the circumstances surrounding him though, IMO.

 

I get that

[WrigleyField 22]

Greg Gabriel tweeted teams will prob schedule workouts again before draft. So he may get chance to redeem self.

[minnesotacubsfan]

That line looks awful to me, but I'm a notorious braxton Jones hater and I think there's a reason we keep not using whitehair at center

 

 

whitehair isn't our center because we had no other adequate option for LG, that's the reason. I think they drafted mustipher hoping to develop him and two staffs gave SM extended time to prove them wrong, and low and behold, he did prove them wrong. he sucks

[Bertz]

Didn't catch all of Poles press conference, but a few things that stuck out from what I did:

 

- They're probably done on the interior of the O-line. Gonna be a competition in camp to determine the depth chart. Specifically called out Whitehair's experience playing center FWIW

- Sorta answered a question about Orlando Brown saying scheme fit was really important at RT

- Called out age as a big factor in FA evals, as well as explosive athleticism

- Specifically called out that while he's to this point moved down in the draft, but they might consider moving up from that block of picks in the late 2nd/early 3rd

- He and the team think about players in tiers instead of rounds

- Talked about value, and not feeling pressure to fill every single hole right this second. I believe this came in response to a question about how horsefeathers the D-line is currently

- His line about 6-7 blue chippers in this draft apparently included the QBs, so that's why he insisted on something as big as Moore to drop all the way to 9

 

Overall my takeaway is that Poles' read on what does/does not work on the roster currently is the same as ours, but unlike us he's comfortable to do some heavy lifting via the draft and then patch up the rest after.

[Hairyducked Idiot]

That line looks awful to me, but I'm a notorious braxton Jones hater and I think there's a reason we keep not using whitehair at center

 

 

whitehair isn't our center because we had no other adequate option for LG, that's the reason. I think they drafted mustipher hoping to develop him and two staffs gave SM extended time to prove them wrong, and low and behold, he did prove them wrong. he sucks

 

Funny, I thought the reason was he can't snap and block at the same time

[minnesotacubsfan]

That line looks awful to me, but I'm a notorious braxton Jones hater and I think there's a reason we keep not using whitehair at center

 

 

whitehair isn't our center because we had no other adequate option for LG, that's the reason. I think they drafted mustipher hoping to develop him and two staffs gave SM extended time to prove them wrong, and low and behold, he did prove them wrong. he sucks

 

Funny, I thought the reason was he can't snap and block at the same time

whitehair wasn't a bad center when he played there, but its harder to find a decent LG than it is center.

[We Got The Whole 9]

That line looks awful to me, but I'm a notorious braxton Jones hater and I think there's a reason we keep not using whitehair at center

Have you ever considered that you don't actually know how to judge what you are seeing?

 

Sent from my motorola one 5G UW using Tapatalk

[David]

Greg Gabriel tweeted teams will prob schedule workouts again before draft. So he may get chance to redeem self.

 

poles said this today

 

[David]

That line looks awful to me, but I'm a notorious braxton Jones hater and I think there's a reason we keep not using whitehair at center

 

 

whitehair isn't our center because we had no other adequate option for LG, that's the reason. I think they drafted mustipher hoping to develop him and two staffs gave SM extended time to prove them wrong, and low and behold, he did prove them wrong. he sucks

 

mustipher was undrafted, but yeah

 

iirc whitehair was generally good at C but i think nagy swapped him and daniels following 2018 because of the shotgun snap issues

[minnesotacubsfan]

That line looks awful to me, but I'm a notorious braxton Jones hater and I think there's a reason we keep not using whitehair at center

 

 

whitehair isn't our center because we had no other adequate option for LG, that's the reason. I think they drafted mustipher hoping to develop him and two staffs gave SM extended time to prove them wrong, and low and behold, he did prove them wrong. he sucks

 

mustipher was undrafted, but yeah

 

iirc whitehair was generally good at C but i think nagy swapped him and daniels following 2018 because of the shotgun snap issues

I forgot about those

[WrigleyField 22]

Yea my recollection is Whitehair blocked well as a C and stuff, but just was a junky snapper often.

 

I don't know what a normal baseline is. Mustipher had plenty of junky snaps too.

[raw]

Whitehair was a borderline disaster snapping. Not a ton of bad snaps per se, but there would be plenty bad ones. But there were also complaints about the way he snaps as well. Can't remember what it quite was, but I know they tried to coach it out of him.

[Hairyducked Idiot]

That line looks awful to me, but I'm a notorious braxton Jones hater and I think there's a reason we keep not using whitehair at center

Have you ever considered that you don't actually know how to judge what you are seeing?

 

Sent from my motorola one 5G UW using Tapatalk

 

Sure. But that's true of all of us. Except maybe raw

[David]

 

 

Stumbled onto this while looking up his info (obvious usual PFF caveats apply)

 

https://justblogbaby.com/2022/12/03/raiders-special-defensive-tackle-andrew-billings/2/

 

 

It’s no exaggeration to say Andrew Billings is playing the best football of his career. Not only is his 76.1 overall grade this season from Pro Football Focus a career-high, but both his 70.7 run defense grade and 68.1 pass rushing grade are career-highs individually.

 

Billings started the season off streaky, but since Week 5, he’s been a consistent force on the D-line.

 

From Week 5 onward, Billings is the 12th-highest graded DT in the NFL at 80.8. His run defense grade sits at 10th-highest among defensive tackles who have logged at least 100 snaps in this timeframe, while his pass rushing mark ranks 18th-highest under the same stipulation.

 

Via PFF’s “true” pass rushing, a formula used to more accurately judge consistencies in pass rushing by tossing out plays such as screens and three-man rushes, Billings’ 90.4 grade ranks fourth among defensive tackles between Weeks 5-12.

 

The 311lb defender also has the second-highest win rate vs. blockers at his position during this time frame (min. 10 pass-rushing snaps), beating his opposition 31.0% of the time.

 

To put Billings’ excellence into perspective, the highest “true” pass rushing grade by a Raiders’ interior D-lineman from Week 5 to the end of the season (min. 100 pass rushing snaps) since the formula was created was Maurice Hurst’s 79.9 grade in 2019.