2025 Bears Offseason Thread

[WrigleyField 22]

24 minutes ago, raw said:

 

Wright and Jones were left to block alone quite and bit, both to pretty good effectiveness. Lions rarely left their guys on an island. Wright performed better than Penei on islands and Jones performed better than Decker. Being able to run the ball, stay out of surefire passing scenarios, and potentially 10-15% more plays with help, there's a huge opportunity to take this OL from below average to really good, with some IOL reinforcements.

I think it's really underrated how much of the Oline woes was coach and scheme related.  Yes they needed some more talent and ideally if you replace Jenkins with someone like Smith with better health reliability (knock on wood) it will help with cohesion and not dipping down as far into depth.   But even when they had their top 5 it looked a lot worse than the sum of its parts I think.  Really hope Johnson has a plan and a OL coach lined up to maximize it the scheme and talent.  And teach the concepts like how to block a stunt lol

[SpongeWorthy]

it seems like we have a front office that could actually sell guys on the blindingly obvious truth that any staff that wins a super bowl are going down as demigods 

[jumbo]

I heard clips of this podcast on the score the other day

Annoying bears twitter/podcaster (check the start of this video if you don't believe me) got an interview with Ben Johnson's agent, Rick Smith. Hopefully it starts at the beginning of the interview (38 minutes in on the Apple podcast)

 

Key Takeaways:

George McCaskey is not an impediment to winning. Rick Smith told them everything that is wrong with their team and they either already knew it or accepted the feedback. Without this he would have directed Johnson to target other openings. 

Kevin Warren was/is instrumental in helping the Board understand how to operate their franchise (he really is Ving Rhames). 

The 20 interview requests does not mean the team is incompetent. The team is mining for information on Johnson, looking up the other 31 franchises' skirt to understand how they operate/etc. Rick Smith/the agency is doing homework on Poles and the rest of the Bears to make sure that the team is good enough for their client. The interview is the last piece of the vetting puzzle. 

Poles and Johnson are ideologically aligned enough to work together.  This is the "alignment" that Smith signaled to the Bears after Flus got fired. It really was a clear communication floated from Smith to the Bears. 

 

 

[Rex Buckingham]

easy to say all that after Johnson got the job. It may be completely true, but it's just as likely that it's all spin. Though I do think Johnson wanted to be in Chicago due to Caleb and the familiarity with the division and the clear opportunity to be seen as the conquering hero if he's as good as he thinks he is (which is no slight - I think you have to have a healthy ego as a football coach)

[BigSlick]

It’s gonna be so painful waiting 8+ months to see this all together, but on the other hand, it’s great for Johnson to have so long to implement, teach and perfect his scheme with Caleb and co.

 

i am just so impatient to see an actual offense here. God willing we’ll get one 

[CubinNY]

Watching these games and it’s amazing how much time the QBs have to throw on the regular. 

[BigSlick]

Rooting very hard against the commanders because I don’t like how much attention and credit they’re getting for doing things the right way 

[Soul]

16 minutes ago, CubinNY said:

Watching these games and it’s amazing how much time the QBs have to throw on the regular. 

Yep.  And the plays where Daniels is pressured he looks more human.

[gflore34]

30 minutes ago, BigSlick said:

Rooting very hard against the commanders because I don’t like how much attention and credit they’re getting for doing things the right way 

They did what the Bears should have done, invest in the trenches and tailor the offense to the QB’s strengths.  I believe the Bears will follow this blueprint in 2025, which gives me hope Caleb’ going to blow up next season.

[Bobson Dugnutt]

47 minutes ago, BigSlick said:

Rooting very hard against the commanders because I don’t like how much attention and credit they’re getting for doing things the right way 

Meh. They’re doing a great job dispelling of the idea that a rebuild must take multiple years in the NFL.

[jersey cubs fan]

26 minutes ago, Bobson Dugnutt said:

Meh. They’re doing a great job dispelling of the idea that a rebuild must take multiple years in the NFL.

The commanders have been rebuilding for decades 

[Bobson Dugnutt]

31 minutes ago, jersey cubs fan said:

The commanders have been rebuilding for decades 

Haha fair. But this GM-coach-QB combo has been there one season and didn’t try to sell their fans on some “this is going to take multiple years” BS we’ve become accustomed to in Chicago.

[Derwood]

34 minutes ago, jersey cubs fan said:

The commanders have been rebuilding for decades 

The Dan Snyder years don't count

[BigSlick]

37 minutes ago, Bobson Dugnutt said:

Haha fair. But this GM-coach-QB combo has been there one season and didn’t try to sell their fans on some “this is going to take multiple years” BS we’ve become accustomed to in Chicago.

And to be fair, Poles *said* they’d be competing this year. They weren’t trying to sell a rebuild this year, they said they were going to compete.

 

they just sucked 

[minnesotacubsfan]

9 hours ago, Rex Buckingham said:

easy to say all that after Johnson got the job. It may be completely true, but it's just as likely that it's all spin. Though I do think Johnson wanted to be in Chicago due to Caleb and the familiarity with the division and the clear opportunity to be seen as the conquering hero if he's as good as he thinks he is (which is no slight - I think you have to have a healthy ego as a football coach)

if you dont think you're good, no one else will

 

 

[Bobson Dugnutt]

DC - Dennis Allen

OC - Declan Doyle

STC - Richard Hightower

[BigSlick]

they're keeping Hightower huh? I mean, I don't think Special teams Coordinator is a hugely important position, but he did have a couple big mistakes last year and well...I dunno. I guess its nice to have some continuity somewhere. 

[Wilson A2000]

I hope he can get the offense to cook with Heisenberg better than this Declan

[minnesotacubsfan]

 

[gflore34]

FA - instead of breaking the bank for Trey Smith, how about targeting Becton, Jr - Eagles and Dalman - Falcons?  Going this route may allow for taking Jeanty at 10 or trading down.

Edited January 27, 2025 by gflore34

[NorthsideAvenger]

56 minutes ago, gflore34 said:

FA - instead of breaking the bank for Trey Smith, how about targeting Becton, Jr - Eagles and Dalman - Falcons?  Going this route may allow for taking Jeanty at 10 or trading down.

Dalman, I would be good with but Becton gives me Nate Davis vibes. 

[gflore34]

1 hour ago, NorthsideAvenger said:

Dalman, I would be good with but Becton gives me Nate Davis vibes. 

I see there’s an injury history and he did play well for most of 2023.  You may be correct about the Nate Davis vibes maybe, Poles should stay away.

Edited January 28, 2025 by gflore34

[BigSlick]

3 hours ago, gflore34 said:

FA - instead of breaking the bank for Trey Smith, how about targeting Becton, Jr - Eagles and Dalman - Falcons?  Going this route may allow for taking Jeanty at 10 or trading down.

Why not break the bank though? They have like 70 mil in free cap space, who cares 

[BigbadB]

11 hours ago, BigSlick said:

Why not break the bank though? They have like 70 mil in free cap space, who cares 

I don't know if breaking the bank lures Smith. He can pick his team, and there will be plenty knocking on the door, including already playoff caliber teams rather than hopeful playoff caliber teams.

[BigSlick]

2 hours ago, BigbadB said:

I don't know if breaking the bank lures Smith. He can pick his team, and there will be plenty knocking on the door, including already playoff caliber teams rather than hopeful playoff caliber teams.

Sure, and I’m being a little facetious to make a broader point: there’s no reason for the Bears to not spend right up into the cap