2025 Bears Offseason Thread

[UMFan83]

Press conferences are informative but ultimately meaningless, but this was a good one.  I know every coach demands accountability, but I believe it when he says it.  He mentioned how appealing Caleb was to him right in front of Caleb but also didn't fawn him with praise and discussed how much effort and work will be needed to get Caleb to where he should be.   If Kap's reporting on Caleb's work ethic is true (meh) or even if its not, I am convinced that Ben Johnson will be someone who is not afraid to push him as hard as its needed to get him where he needs to be.

[bukie]

An analytics shoutout, two digs on the Packers and a Cubs fan?

This man earned at least 3 years leeway in about 15 minutes.

[raw]

So uh.....hurry up and get this stupid Superbowl crap over with so we can get on to 2025

[bukie]

Next step is assembling the right coaching staff, which was another thing Eberflus failed about as spectacularly as possible.

So far so good on the rumors on that front, though.

[UMFan83]

8 minutes ago, raw said:

So uh.....hurry up and get this stupid Superbowl crap over with so we can get on to 2025

The one thing I hate about the NFL is the offseason is soooooooooooooooooooo long compared to other sports.  If you miss the playoffs its basically 8 months of waiting.  Obviously the NFL has done a great job of keeping themselves relevant during that time, but dammit I want to see Caleb running a Ben Johnson crafted offense like tomorrow, not in freaking September.

[bddavidson]

3 minutes ago, UMFan83 said:

The one thing I hate about the NFL is the offseason is soooooooooooooooooooo long compared to other sports.  If you miss the playoffs its basically 8 months of waiting.  Obviously the NFL has done a great job of keeping themselves relevant during that time, but dammit I want to see Caleb running a Ben Johnson crafted offense like tomorrow, not in freaking September.

The absolute worst is the draft lead up.  I know some are super into it and that's cool if it's your thing, but the three month lead up is just an absolute slog.

[gflore34]

Liked what I heard, most especially, not in these specific words, still, the intent was - putting your players in a position to succeed.  That's all you can ask of a coach, it's what's failed to happen with the Bears time and again.  I've no doubts Caleb' going to explode in 2025, it's going to be great.

Edited January 22, 2025 by gflore34

[UK]

2 hours ago, raw said:

Interesting to see what type of RB they go with. This is a very fun RB draft. Lions ran a lot of inside zone and duo, not a lot of outside zone, even though Gibbs did a ton of damage on the outside, it was mostly power runs. There's not really a Gibbs in this draft.

Henderson from Ohio St is a fun weapon. Can get the edge, great in the pass game as a receiver and the best pass blocker in the draft. But him in a backfield with Swift is kind of a weird combo. Would have to really like Roschon a lot for short yardage.
 

Omarion Hampton from UNC is interesting. Ben Johnson's alma mater for one. Secondly, he is kinda similar to David Montgomery in his ability to just abuse defenders and bounce off of them for tough yards. But probably more limited laterally than Monty, with more long speed.

Jeanty is probably the best combo of Montgomery's contact balance and Gibbs' speed, but requires using the 10th pick on. Not the best blocker or an accomplished receiver, but potential bellcow. 

Kaleb Johnson is fun, but more of a glider and outside zone fit, IMO. 
Judkins from Ohio St has the contact balance and better lateral movement than Hampton/Monty, but not a lot of long speed.

The other RBs in this class are probably more RB2s, IMO. Have a few big speed guys, a couple guys with size, but not speed, and then Skattebo, who's an amazing receiver with great vision, but kinda slow. 

What's your take on B. Tuten of VT? To me, he's my sleeper of the running backs.

[Rcal10]

2 hours ago, raw said:

Possible. But Dallas is lurking at 12 as a RB needy team who loves big named prospects.

Yep, if he is there I see Dallas taking him. Wonder if the Bears can leverage that belief into getting maybe an extra 3rd round pick from Dallas. Didn’t they get a 4th for dropping one spot, from the Eagles. Of course if Dallas believes the Bears will take the RB at 10 they might want to move ahead of them. Which wouldn’t suck either. Gives the Bears a better chance at the top OL prospect or top DL prospect. One less team picking one of them. I think, whether the Bears want the RB or not they should make It appear they do. 

Edited January 22, 2025 by Rcal10

[Wilson A2000]

 

[gflore34]

2 hours ago, raw said:

Interesting to see what type of RB they go with. This is a very fun RB draft. Lions ran a lot of inside zone and duo, not a lot of outside zone, even though Gibbs did a ton of damage on the outside, it was mostly power runs. There's not really a Gibbs in this draft.

Henderson from Ohio St is a fun weapon. Can get the edge, great in the pass game as a receiver and the best pass blocker in the draft. But him in a backfield with Swift is kind of a weird combo. Would have to really like Roschon a lot for short yardage.
 

Omarion Hampton from UNC is interesting. Ben Johnson's alma mater for one. Secondly, he is kinda similar to David Montgomery in his ability to just abuse defenders and bounce off of them for tough yards. But probably more limited laterally than Monty, with more long speed.

Jeanty is probably the best combo of Montgomery's contact balance and Gibbs' speed, but requires using the 10th pick on. Not the best blocker or an accomplished receiver, but potential bellcow. 

Kaleb Johnson is fun, but more of a glider and outside zone fit, IMO. 
Judkins from Ohio St has the contact balance and better lateral movement than Hampton/Monty, but not a lot of long speed.

The other RBs in this class are probably more RB2s, IMO. Have a few big speed guys, a couple guys with size, but not speed, and then Skattebo, who's an amazing receiver with great vision, but kinda slow. 

Say the Bears go OL with the 10th pick, think there a scenario were they draft Henderson on day 2/3 and go predominately with a Henderson/Roschon tandem at RB?

[gflore34]

2 minutes ago, Wilson A2000 said:

 

Don't have a problem with this at all, nothing wrong with making Poles earn an extension.

[WrigleyField 22]

15 minutes ago, Wilson A2000 said:

 

Hope that means no.

[Brian707]

Yeah keep Poles seat as hot as possible

 

 

 

[Soul]

5 minutes ago, Brian707 said:

Yeah keep Poles seat as hot as possible

 

 

 

They've removed any possible excuses.  He's all out of rope, time to deliver.

[BigSlick]

2 hours ago, UMFan83 said:

The one thing I hate about the NFL is the offseason is soooooooooooooooooooo long compared to other sports.  If you miss the playoffs its basically 8 months of waiting.  Obviously the NFL has done a great job of keeping themselves relevant during that time, but dammit I want to see Caleb running a Ben Johnson crafted offense like tomorrow, not in freaking September.

February-March is so hard if you aren't a basketball fan (and I barely am, if the Bulls aren't any good). No baseball, post-Superbowl there's like....nothing going on, unless you're a nerd and get into Spring Training. 

RE: Running backs and the draft, the first draft I really ever paid attention to was 2005 - and what a difference 20 years makes: there were 3 RBs drafted in the first 5 picks (including Chicago Bears bust Cedric Benson). That's unthinkable in this day and age. But we are seeing a resurgence and acknowledgment that top line RB talent is a difference maker. I don't think we'll ever see 3 RBs in the top 5 ever again, but we will see running back reprioritized in a new way. 

[NorthsideAvenger]

Sounds like Fraley won't be joining Johnson in Chicago. 

[WrigleyField 22]

9 minutes ago, NorthsideAvenger said:

Sounds like Fraley won't be joining Johnson in Chicago. 

Nor likely anyone else from the offensive staff sounds like.  

Even though Johnson is pretty young, he's been exposed to at least 4 pro staffs  each from non related "trees". Hopefully that rolodex goes deep.

[Hairyducked Idiot]

Playoffs thorugh draft isn't bad.  It's post-draft to week 1 that's miserable.

[Irrelevant Dude]

Let's run it back for Hard Knocks next year.  Two years in a row with the same team, let's see how much different things can be with a real coach!

[raw]

7 hours ago, UK said:

What's your take on B. Tuten of VT? To me, he's my sleeper of the running backs.

He's kind of fun. Can really scoot and good enough contact balance for his size. My issue with him is his ball security. If he can shore that up, he definitely is a sleeper. Outside zone scheme specific probably. Guy you want to find the crease and GO. I think he has a lot of potential as a receiver too.

7 hours ago, gflore34 said:

Say the Bears go OL with the 10th pick, think there a scenario were they draft Henderson on day 2/3 and go predominately with a Henderson/Roschon tandem at RB?

I think Swift is going to be around. His contract is basically all guaranteed and Johnson can co-exist with him. I just don't think he wants him getting anything close to the 300 touches he had this year. If the Bears do go after a guy like Henderson, I think it's more of a long-term move for the post Swift days (2026 and beyond). If he truly feels Henderson can thrive between the tackles though, it's possible they can co-exist. I don't think Roschon has much of a role and feel he will be a clear RB3 and RB3 for the Lions got 34 touches this year, despite Montgomery missing the last 3 weeks. Granted, they have 2 really good guys so that limits the 3rd guy a bunch too.

[jumbo]

14 hours ago, Wilson A2000 said:

Warren always seems kinda dopey to me.  I think he has delivered on increasing the need for professionalism to the owners, according to some reporting. Private jets, first class organization kind of stuff. 

Whenever I think about him seeming incompetent I imagine his actual face. 

Whenever I think he is a diabolical genius I can't help but picture Ving Rhames in Pulp Fiction. 

Can't get it out of my head, ha
 

 

[Brian707]

 

 

 

[NorthsideAvenger]

The following are gone from the Bears:

• Thomas Brown, interim head coach
• Chris Beatty, interim offensive coordinator, wide receivers coach
• Eric Washington, defensive coordinator
• Kerry Joseph, quarterbacks coach
• Chris Morgan, offensive line coach

[cwood218]

3 hours ago, NorthsideAvenger said:

The following are gone from the Bears:

• Thomas Brown, interim head coach
• Chris Beatty, interim offensive coordinator, wide receivers coach
• Eric Washington, defensive coordinator
• Kerry Joseph, quarterbacks coach
• Chris Morgan, offensive line coach

Interesting that they gave up on Chris Morgan's approach to fixing Braxton's anchor. Fourth year being a charm and all.