scarey

This is exactly why I wasn't that upset about losing Monty. I liked him, but there are players like Foreman out there. I'm surprised he didn't garner more attention in free agency, he was a big time comeback story last year. That being said... he doesn't really do much differently as a RB compared to Herbert. That is likely the point though. I was really wanting an excellent pass catcher as an option out of the backfield. I don't know that the Bears bring one in now with Herbert, Foreman, Homer, and Ebner all on the roster at this point.

It seems Poles will want to draft a RB. Definitely makes trade down and a Bijan pick a possibility. Bijan is intriguing for sure, but I really don't like the idea of putting a 1st round pick into a RB in today's NFL. I think I'd prefer the Bears grab a mid-round pick that compliments Herbert. I really like Tyjae Spears or Kenny McIntosh to fill that role.

Why are we wanting to trade Claypool? Keep him and have a 800 yd receiver as a third option.

How’s the guard play for Illinois? Arkansas’ guards are really long and can defend and are the strength of the team. If they get neutralized, the Hogs do not score. Assuming both Epps and Shannon are healthy (Epps was in concussion protocol for the last week, Shannon had an ankle injury during the BTT game) they have a lot of length and interchangeable parts, as everyone not named Dain Dainja can play and guard anywhere. They did a lot more switching early on in the season and pressured defenses. Now they play mostly straight up, but they'll tinker with lineups during the game until they find something that works both offensively and defensively. If Illinois is engaged from the start, they are a super dangerous team, as they beat UCLA and Texas on the road, took Virginia, Purdue, Indiana, Maryland and Iowa to the brink on the road, and will occasionally look like world beaters, particularly in the second half of games. However, if they are not engaged from the start, they tend to really go through stretches of terrible play, long offensive droughts, and really slow starts (see, every game against Penn State, game vs Missouri, game at Northwestern). Offensively, Illinois is a poor 3 point shooting team that takes a lot of bad 3's (heat checks from the logo, turnaround fadeaway 3's, 3's with a defender in their face), and they don't really have a go-to scorer most of the time (Shannon destroyed UCLA but has been mostly quiet the last month. Meyer is occasionally amazing and occasionally just disappears on both ends of the floor, Hawkins is 100% energy but can take bad shots, Dainja can't make anything more than 5 feet from the rim, and everyone else has been some version of injured/ineffective during the season). They've had injury issues all season between concussion protocols for Shannon, then Harris, then Epps, and a broken foot for Goode, but it looks like everyone might be healthy for one of the few times all season. Defensively, Illinois is one of the best shot blocking teams in the country, and defends well against 2 point baskets, forcing a lot of long jumpshots. They tend to struggle against good 3 point shooting teams that can pass their way through the defensive pressure. When engaged they're a fantastic rebounding team (and when they aren't they can't get a rebound to save their life). I can only assume they'll be ready to go from the jump Thursday, because if not then, then when? WTF? Why all the concussions?

Maybe I'm biased here because of how well they've played against Purdue, but Rutgers got robbed by being left out. I'm blown away they were left out. I have to imagine they only wanted so many Big Ten teams in and Penn State effectively pushed them out with the BTT run. That being said, I'm glad to not have to take the chance to face them again. They were a matchup nightmare. I am not thrilled with the second round draw likely to be Memphis...

Freshman guards man. Same problem Illinois is having. Tired legs, bad decisions, amped up pressure are all having a huge effect on those guys. The biggest thing I've notice in particular is Epps from Illinois can't get a 3 to drop to save his life at this point and he shot very well early in the season. Loyer falls in the same category. He was deadly from behind the line through the fist two weeks of January. I don't think yesterday had a lot to do with the Freshmen guards (Furst, Morton, Jenkins, and Gillis were a combined 1-10 from 3, the team missed 11 of 33 FTs), but you're not wrong with regard to this 6 game stretch. Loyer actually had some good shot selection in the lane yesterday. He had at least 4 shots that went inside the cylinder and came back out. He seems really reluctant to shoot from 3. Smith is still doing some very good things, but he had unbelievable poise for the first 24 games. He falls apart 2 or 3 times a game now. The biggest problem that I'm seeing is teams are constantly fouling Purdue. It has obviously become the playbook against Purdue. Most get called, some don't. The team is losing it's composure as this happens. They need to take on the attitude that they are NOT going to get the calls and just accept it.

I give up. Everybody was right about Purdue. They're pretenders. They can't get it done when the pressure's on. They got lucky early season. I horsefeathering hate rooting for Purdue.

Maybe I'm behind the times in NFL free agent signings, but are there a lot of two years deals being signed?

I was pretty worried leading up to this game because of what NW has been able to do. I think Purdue is going to get a lot of horsefeathers for this loss for the next week, but this loss is not going to look quite so bad going into the tournament. The IU game next week might vault them into the top 25. After being able to actually watch the game (I was listening on the radio live) I feel a lot worse about this loss. Northwestern didn't play all that great either. The second half was dog horsefeathers all around. Purdue, Northwestern, and the refs. Northwestern had the better defensive composure and were doing very well swinging the double team on and off of Edey. Purdue looked like they had never played together before. I hope these guys feel embarrassed while watching tape. That was a bad loss. It seemed to me that the Boilermakers were getting dejected by not getting calls and just let the game get away from them. I really hope they take this as a learning experience that there are going to be games where refs swallow their whistles.

I think that's a fair assessment. I'm hoping it's the kind of scare that can re-focus them for the tourney run.

Jesus. Where exactly did the Purdue Pete touch you? I really just don’t think they’re good. No bias. Just don’t think they’re prohibitively good or a definitive 1. I like a lot more teams than them. Aware I’m maybe very wrong, but prefer a lot of other teams I’ve seen vs them and think they’re just in the cluster of like the 12-20 teams who can win it. There's some very strong language being used. Hard to not take it as a bias.

I was pretty worried leading up to this game because of what NW has been able to do. I think Purdue is going to get a lot of horsefeathers for this loss for the next week, but this loss is not going to look quite so bad going into the tournament. The IU game next week might vault them into the top 25.

Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, California, Texas... Outside of about five teams, it's hard to argue that a team is as good as Purdue. There’s 7-10 teams I like a lot more than them in the tournament. Think they’re frauds. Also Painter is a gutless choking dog. Jesus. Where exactly did the Purdue Pete touch you?

Meh, if you had one, I had a pretty good chance of being right. Wisconsin? Yeah they suck too and I have always hated them. Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, California, Texas... Outside of about five teams, it's hard to argue that a team is as good as Purdue.

Better than your team. I don’t have one, I just am an observer and follower of CBB. Meh, if you had one, I had a pretty good chance of being right.

Better than your team.

That's how we do.

Wow... what a complete garbage take. They literally have the 21st most difficult schedule. They are the KenPom #1 rated offense in the country and the #20 rated defense. They have wins against #12 Gonzaga and #14 Marquette. Edey is consistent with his low post game. He is almost automatic if he's not double teamed. I wouldn't dare say he's an NBA talent, but he's a dominant NCAA baller. He's a matchup nightmare for 95% of college teams. The other 5% are only able to limit the damage. If you're judging Smith off of just the IU game, your lazy. If you're judging him on his full resume, you're just flat out wrong. He's been great all year long and had a poor game. No need to blow things out of proportion here. Give IU and Woodson a lot of credit. They had a great game plan and executed it well. That in no way discredits Purdue and their accomplishments. They did not play their best game in a hostile Assembly Hall. These things happen in college basketball.

I don’t think FPI takes into account things like “losing allows us to draft Bryce Young” Colts don’t want to win either but they only risk going from 5 to 6. If they get #5, they likely have no shot at the QB of their choice. #6 gives them a chance at trading up.

What are the chances the Colts move up to the Bears spot in the draft for a QB and use Michael Pittman as part of the compensation? They only have one more year of control on him and desperately need a young QB to build around. Plus, the Bears' connections with the Colts makes that discussion easier to start. I would still have a really hard time passing on Anderson and Carter, but a WR corp of Pittman, Claypool, and Mooney makes that a little easier to swallow.

BTW... I would be thrilled to see them draft Jalen Carter too. It just reinforced my thought that the Bears should not be trading down.

I've been looking at pass rushers at the top of the draft wondering how much the Bears would be missing out on by trading down... and I really don't want to trade down after watching Will Anderson's highlight reel. I know he's been drawing a lot of Von Miller comparisons. His ridiculous ability to turn the corner does remind me of Miller, but his surprising strength (given his lower weight) and quick play recognition really remind me of Khalil Mack. If he were to turn out like either of these guys, it would be great. He really impresses me. That being said, I was looking through the top 5 DL picks over the last few years... and there's enough bad in there to scare me. It definitely gives me pause, but I think everybody would agree that pass rusher is the top need for this team. TLDR: Anderson looks so freaking good... but busts happen. Somebody convince me we'd be better off trading down for multiple picks than grabbing Will Anderson.

In past World Cup performances, it always felt like a missed opportunity to do more when the US was eliminated. I definitely have a much more positive outlook after this loss. In a way, it's almost the opposite for me. In the past, I felt like the US needed a huge amount of luck to win any game - now I feel like they should have won except for a couple flaws that can be fixed. I don't think I conveyed my sentiment correctly. What I meant was the players they had in the past were going to either be retired from international play, or past their prime. I especially remember this being the case in 2014. The best players on this team are going to be in their prime for 2026. We're not missing out on an opportunity with this group. 2026 is an even better opportunity in my eyes.

I tend to agree on most of this. We are being pretty hard on the forwards, but I think that's only because of how fantastic the midfield play is. I think Weah is going to have a lot of international goals to his name.

In past World Cup performances, it always felt like a missed opportunity to do more when the US was eliminated. I definitely have a much more positive outlook after this loss.