Chicago Bears offseason

[Old Style]

At this point I’m hoping for Fields to be QB1 next season just to see the meltdown here. 

[WrigleyField 22]

1 hour ago, XZero77 said:

Most of it is, but the quick delivery bit says Caleb and screams "not Justin" to me.

What do you mean, he delivers the ball in under 4 seconds on average

[minnesotacubsfan]

4 hours ago, Old Style said:

At this point I’m hoping for Fields to be QB1 next season just to see the meltdown here. 

I want it to happen just so I can tell Kyle he doesn’t HAVE to follow the bears after his inevitable GLOOMSTORM 2024

 

[Hairyducked Idiot]

I would be extremely disappointed, I would predict bad things for the offense, and I would most likely be right.  If I turned out to be wrong, I'd change my opinion as new information came in.

[BigSlick]

If it was 2005 or 2010, the team would keep Fields to start while Caleb sits and learns. But teams are a lot more comfortable starting rookies these days (and trading in the NFL is far more common) 

I will say, if you can’t get at least a high 3rd or better for Fields, I’m not sure the return for him is large enough to justify dealing him when you’re gonna want an experienced player at QB available as a QB1 or 2 after drafting Williams. (I can’t imagine the team would be happy with Bagent as your other backup/bridge starter/whatever). So, I dunno.

[Wilson A2000]

39 minutes ago, BigSlick said:

If it was 2005 or 2010, the team would keep Fields to start while Caleb sits and learns. But teams are a lot more comfortable starting rookies these days (and trading in the NFL is far more common) 

I will say, if you can’t get at least a high 3rd or better for Fields, I’m not sure the return for him is large enough to justify dealing him when you’re gonna want an experienced player at QB available as a QB1 or 2 after drafting Williams. (I can’t imagine the team would be happy with Bagent as your other backup/bridge starter/whatever). So, I dunno.

Plus Eberflus is on the hot seat. I think.

[Sammy Sofa]

9 hours ago, minnesotacubsfan said:

so I can tell Kyle he doesn’t HAVE to follow the bears

 

[minnesotacubsfan]

8 minutes ago, Sammy Sofa said:

Trust me, I contemplate the disease quite often enough and am very aware. Thats why I bring it up SAVE YOURSELVES

 

 

[BigSlick]

1 hour ago, Wilson A2000 said:

Plus Eberflus is on the hot seat. I think.

Is he? I would think he is, but Poles and ownership may think “he’s got a rookie QB” and give him even more leeway in 2024. I almost can’t fathom giving a guy 3 seasons of grace (especially if he can’t manage a winning season in 2024) but they might.

[jersey cubs fan]

26 minutes ago, BigSlick said:

Is he? I would think he is, but Poles and ownership may think “he’s got a rookie QB” and give him even more leeway in 2024. I almost can’t fathom giving a guy 3 seasons of grace (especially if he can’t manage a winning season in 2024) but they might.

I think if he repeats 2023 with a rookie qb who shows promise, he’s fine for 2025. If they are a 4/5 win team with a stagnant offense he’ll be gone. I think that is considered to be on the hot seat. 
 

If Fields returns and they don’t take a step forward, they will all be gone. 
 

This is the biggest reason why I think taking a qb in the first is a lock. 

[Rex Buckingham]

Anyone have any particular feelings about Thomas Brown being brought in as passing game coordinator?

[jersey cubs fan]

5 minutes ago, Rex Buckingham said:

Anyone have any particular feelings about Thomas Brown being brought in as passing game coordinator?

Generally speaking, I like getting guys who previously held higher positions taking a “demotion”. Getting a DC who failed as a HC, or a celebrated LB coach who failed as a DC. 
 

In theory, a passing game coordinator who came from an OC position is nice. But this is a guy who has primarily been a RB coach and I don’t have tremendously high hopes for him having a positive impact on a rookie qb. But he’s definitely at the top of the list of guys who could get poached if 2024 goes well. He was interviewing for OC jobs all around. 

[CubinNY]

1 minute ago, jersey cubs fan said:

Generally speaking, I like getting guys who previously held higher positions taking a “demotion”. Getting a DC who failed as a HC, or a celebrated LB coach who failed as a DC. 
 

In theory, a passing game coordinator who came from an OC position is nice. But this is a guy who has primarily been a RB coach and I don’t have tremendously high hopes for him having a positive impact on a rookie qb. But he’s definitely at the top of the list of guys who could get poached if 2024 goes well. He was interviewing for OC jobs all around. 

Could be a good thing, but also too many cooks. I don't know enough about the complications of NFL offense, but the game is simple, regardless of how it is dressed up. 

[jersey cubs fan]

Just now, CubinNY said:

Could be a good thing, but also too many cooks. I don't know enough about the complications of NFL offense, but the game is simple, regardless of how it is dressed up. 

Wrong. Coaching in football matters. Offensive systems are complicated. A deep coaching bench is invaluable. 

[Brian707]

16 hours ago, Old Style said:

At this point I’m hoping for Fields to be QB1 next season just to see the meltdown here. 

 

I am hoping for Williams to see the meathead fandom have a meltdown, especially after he is dealt for a 4th round pick and a conditional 2025 pick. I was in Vegas over the weekend wearing a Bears shirt and ran into 10 different Bears fans. 9 of them wanted to roll it back with Fields including one who wanted to fight me because I said they needed to move on from Fields.

[CubinNY]

1 hour ago, Brian707 said:

 

I am hoping for Williams to see the meathead fandom have a meltdown, especially after he is dealt for a 4th round pick and a conditional 2025 pick. I was in Vegas over the weekend wearing a Bears shirt and ran into 10 different Bears fans. 9 of them wanted to roll it back with Fields including one who wanted to fight me because I said they needed to move on from Fields.

If the Bears come out of the gate and win two in a row they will forget who Fields was. 

[BigSlick]

It's truly remarkable how different the mindset of the average, casual Bears fan is from folks who are a bit nuts (like me) who pay more obsessive attention to the Bears and the NFL at large. The casual Bears fan thinks Fields is great, promising, and is a no doubter to stick with. And the average Bears fan is irrationally gun-shy about moving on from someone that can at least appear to be a competent QB. There's almost a traumatic response to it. 

But read what fans of other teams think of Fields - he's largely regarded as a mediocre QB. People are aware he can make spectacular plays, but there's....not really anyone clamoring for him. We shouldn't be satisfied with mediocrity, just because he's a nice guy who by all signs is beloved in the locker room and does everything right - outside of football. It's tragic in that regard. As a person, he's everything Jay Cutler is not. But it's also like, normal football stuff to move on from a guy when you get a chance like the Bears do. 

Edited January 31, 2024 by BigSlick

[raw]

5 hours ago, jersey cubs fan said:

Generally speaking, I like getting guys who previously held higher positions taking a “demotion”. Getting a DC who failed as a HC, or a celebrated LB coach who failed as a DC. 
 

In theory, a passing game coordinator who came from an OC position is nice. But this is a guy who has primarily been a RB coach and I don’t have tremendously high hopes for him having a positive impact on a rookie qb. But he’s definitely at the top of the list of guys who could get poached if 2024 goes well. He was interviewing for OC jobs all around. 

Agreed. The last staff had 0 experience to fall back on. The GM, HC, OC, and DC were all 1st timers. Most of their staff was in roles for the 1st time as well. At the least, this is the anti Bears of the last 2 years.

I will say, IDC about the RB coach thing. Brown was supposedly one of McVay's top guys who absorbed a lot in LA. He also isn't a QB coach, so they have that guy and the OC that can have positive impacts on the rookie. I don't exactly know what the PGC does, but even if it's developing passing concepts, creating and exploiting mismatches and things like that, that's probably going to have a positive impact. But most likely, we won't know his impact on the QB. If the QB is good, his impact will be viewed positively. 

[jersey cubs fan]

8 minutes ago, raw said:

. I don't exactly know what the PGC does, but even if it's developing passing concepts, creating and exploiting mismatches and things like that, that's probably going to have a positive impact. But most likely, we won't know his impact on the QB. If the QB is good, his impact will be viewed positively. 

I feel like QB coaches and passing game coordinators are essentially succession planning positions. With a defensive head coach, the obvious path for promotion on this team is on the offensive side. If 2024 goes well and the offense rolls, then theoretically the OC becomes a HC candidate, and then the next Bears OC would come from either the QB coach or PGC spot. 

[Soul]

7 hours ago, BigSlick said:

It's truly remarkable how different the mindset of the average, casual Bears fan is from folks who are a bit nuts (like me) who pay more obsessive attention to the Bears and the NFL at large. The casual Bears fan thinks Fields is great, promising, and is a no doubter to stick with. And the average Bears fan is irrationally gun-shy about moving on from someone that can at least appear to be a competent QB. There's almost a traumatic response to it. 

But read what fans of other teams think of Fields - he's largely regarded as a mediocre QB. People are aware he can make spectacular plays, but there's....not really anyone clamoring for him. We shouldn't be satisfied with mediocrity, just because he's a nice guy who by all signs is beloved in the locker room and does everything right - outside of football. It's tragic in that regard. As a person, he's everything Jay Cutler is not. But it's also like, normal football stuff to move on from a guy when you get a chance like the Bears do. 

Yeah most of the time the average Chicago fan is clamoring to axe the starting QB.  Kind of strange to see the opposite, especially when there’s enough reason to believe he isn’t going to blossom into a superstar QB.

[Bertz]

 

[WrigleyField 22]

Obviously they should take Caleb and not trade down.  But if they do trade down I disagree that going down to 6 isn't in range of  3 firsts.  Granted you can say they get two high seconds and that with the discount on future firsts that extra pick is like the 2026 first.

 

But Bears absolutely would be negotiating from a position of strength.  Even if it meant not getting 39, they should get a 2026 FRP from NYG in a hypothetical trade.  That's then basically the RG3 deal.  Though I think they should do a little better than RG3 so they should probably get like a 3rd or additional future 2nd thrown in too.

Edited February 1, 2024 by WrigleyField 22

[jersey cubs fan]

So now that Kingsbury is in Oakland when does Poles trade the #1 pick there? 

[Brian707]

8 hours ago, jersey cubs fan said:

So now that Kingsbury is in Oakland when does Poles trade the #1 pick there? 

[BigbadB]

17 hours ago, Bertz said:

 

Yikes. Good thing I'm retired. I'd be late for work after reading that article. A lot of really good stuff there.