jumbo

Eagles are good but not great. But it's difficult to know for sure because they aren't tested that often due to the weak NFC. If I was laying money I'd put it on them to come out of the NFC but not because I think they're awesome. Agreed they can be had in the playoffs. I saw the list of QBs they played once and I think they missed a few starters or something else that gave them a much easier schedule. I could be remembering another team.

I don’t know who runs things there but Kingsbury in year 5 with up and down success so far doesn’t seem like a good tank option. They may just lose anyway. They're also in a tough spot having just extended both Kingsbury and Kiem, so I'm not banking on it. But it's slightly more likely now than it was 24 hours ago. Those extenstions feel like when Emery extended Cutler, kind of forced. Sort of like extending Murray at that top shelf money, too. I don't know that the Owner/GM/Head Coach had a better option at the time, but that seemed like a lot at the time for a guy who hasn't accomplished all that much while having some good players around him.

Green Bay is still bad against the run and particularly against the QB run. Honestly, the Bears should have the similar approach that they did last game (GB should as well, TBF). I'm actually mostly fine with Fields running, as long as he doesn't get hit. Most of the scrambles, he doesn't take hits. It's the designed off tackle QB runs that are the most dangerous. I'd love to see them drop back as well, but that also scares me. Go to Claypool deep early and often. I want to see them drop the zone read. Atlanta just went for Fields every time, which is kind of the book on that play. Hit the QB every time even if they hand off and deal with the RB getting what they get.

I saw this the other day and it's like a pre-moneyball type scenario. Trading three firsts for a guy you haven't scouted, then actual draft day trades are nuts. I realize it's not supposed to be realistic (or made for NFL Draftniks) but it was like watching another sport. The actual draft resembles that movie about as much as baseball resembles cricket. I still watched it cuz its a "fun" sports movie. And I think about the next draft pretty early, so its good subject matter.

Should it be Pete Carroll that gets the ring? I thought he came in and killed the trade. That would have been the ultimate pace parting gift: three firsts traded for a dead russ on a trash team with no picks

Next town over, but yes Where at? I'm from South Bend. Mom still lives there. Mishawaka We've lived here since 2005. Love the smaller town vibe, no traffic, both our parents are close. Two hours to Chicago/Indy/Grand Rapids

Yeah, I don't really tweet or know people on Twitter. There is one real person following me, so I've got that going Followed. Are you actually in South Bend? My sister and Bro in law moved there about 3 years ago (both work at ND). Next town over, but yes

I didn't realize this was your twitter handle, always thought it was an Eagles fan. But I get why you have Howie pictured. Good thread, I'm following now (along with raw) Are you the 5 follower dude? I was gonna ignore based on a presumed suspicion of 5 follower accounts :lol: Yeah, I don't really tweet or know people on Twitter. There is one real person following me, so I've got that going

I didn't realize this was your twitter handle, always thought it was an Eagles fan. But I get why you have Howie pictured. Good thread, I'm following now (along with raw)

The Super Bowl last year nearly swung on what could either have been a face mask or an offensive PI on the Higgins TD to start the second half. It would be tricky but I wouldn’t be opposed to the officials reviewing all scoring plays and turnovers to make sure no obvious penalties directly led to the score/TD, like the two examples above. So I’m not talking about a hold by the OL. It would be tough to implement but I think they could look into it. TD are more common than goals in soccer but not by much. This isn’t basketball. Makes me wonder what a game would look like with no penalties in the rulebook. All running game, no ability to pass? Teams full of 260# linebackers beating the hell out of each other. How would the offensive and defensive strategies game out?

Ha Touche, to both of you

screen shot of their last 11 1st rd picks It's amazing to have Rodgers as a Qb and be that concerned with the defense on draft day Watching the Packers trade up to draft Jordan Love after all the complaining from Rodgers about getting him help at WR was one of the funniest things ever. Does this mean that Braxton blocked for J-Love?

I was amazed at how people reacted around ND when Kelly left, so I'm routing for him to win in LSU. He's a red-ass kind of guy, but he fixed ND to probably the greatest extent possible following their comedy of errors in hiring coaches since Lou Holtz. It's kind of an experiment to see if Kelly is a good enough coach to win in a rich recruiting environment instead of ND.

I follow PFF Brad on Twitter. He has pretty unbiased analysis even though he is somewhat of a Bears fan. He said giving the Ravens' second would be an overpay. I think he said Khan "fleeced" Poles by getting the Bears' second instead. I think everyone feels like it's an overpay, but so is free agency. Why, because you have to have the best offer to get what you want. I'm overall encouraged that more resources are going to the offense instead of defense to right what has been a franchise-long wrong to some extent. Oh, also, I listen to no one from ESPN. It is the network of who can scream the loudest. Not interested in that. Brad is one of my favorite follows. But I immediately noticed that the trade chart he developed basically calls the 2nd round difference the value of a 7th. I didn't directly @ him about it, but someone eventually did. Kind of funny. Ha - you have to appreciate the fact that he is intellectually honest about being wrong. Few are these days, so kudos to him and McCarron who asked the question. This also makes me feel better about the trade and the value. One trade back or manuever could offer a chance to recoup that value easily.

I follow PFF Brad on Twitter. He has pretty unbiased analysis even though he is somewhat of a Bears fan. He said giving the Ravens' second would be an overpay. I think he said Khan "fleeced" Poles by getting the Bears' second instead. I think everyone feels like it's an overpay, but so is free agency. Why, because you have to have the best offer to get what you want. I'm overall encouraged that more resources are going to the offense instead of defense to right what has been a franchise-long wrong to some extent. Oh, also, I listen to no one from ESPN. It is the network of who can scream the loudest. Not interested in that.

His interception was a really good play too. Yes, Zappe held it way too long before making the throw, but he was in pretty good coverage and made a good play on the ball. Gordon basically refused to score a TD on that one. He certainly could have outrun everyone down the sidelines if he wanted to. I thought that was odd, but he was tired and the game was over at that point. Didn't Tywuan Thornton run him down? He was the fastest receiver at the combine with a 4.28 or something crazy

Trade Quinn, Montgomery (if not re-signing him), Smith (if not re-signing him), Reiff, whoever. Even 1 of those trades gets you to the top right quadrant. Trade them all and get in the top right corner by yourself. #PolesLeague He didn't say one way or the other either, but I believe the draft numbers are based on current record. So given that the Bears project to end up with a top 5 pick but right this second would be in the 5-10 range, they'll naturally drift upwards (potentially significantly) as the season progresses. How are the Eagles not closer to the top in draft capital?

And last I looked sending the #4 overall pick to the Eagles....

Trading down could really put the Bears in a great position. Houston, Seattle and Detroit all have 2 firsts and could want a QB. Washington should actually draft one and will likely pick behind the Bears due to Thursdays win. NYG certainly could make a big move up, Jones is a FA and they look ready to compete everywhere else but WR (mainly because of the multiple 1sts they've had recently). If Stroud or Young are on the board (probably have to pick top 3), then I think you'd see a package similar to the 49ers. They are elite prospects. If talking about QB3, then closer to the Eagles package (maybe minus that 2nd). Either way allows the Bears to get multiple high end talents over the next 1-2 drafts. I've never been more pro trading down than I am potentially in this draft. If the Bears could pull the 49ers (3) firsts to trade down they would be insane not to do it. Even just an additional '24 first plus other pick would afford incredibe flexibility. Look at how the Eagles kept trading for an additional first "next year" with Hurts under evaluation. It makes tons of sense.

Does NFL Plus do anything? Saw people complaining about it - I can't tell what games you can watch on it and what you can't..... It says live gameplay on mobile devices including prime time games

Not sure why the Rock or Ozzy had to be involved in last night's game, either

Smith messed up by saying maybe the McCaskeys can salvage this, weakening his hand. But this is what it comes down to. Poles wants to take advantage of an unrepresented player, and if he can’t he’ll move on from another Pace guy in the name of getting guys who buy in to another rah rah BS system. When I heard Roquan didn't have an agent my concern would be that he wouldn't have a counterweight to his own thinking. Maybe Roquan wanted to be the highest paid MLB in the league, and Poles didn't want to go that far. Without an agent to advise him on what he should be targeting there is no one to bring things back. I get Roquan wants to cash in, all players do and he deserves a payday, but I see how him representing himself would be problematic. We'll see once details come out what the offers were...

At the risk of asking a dumb question: Is there any football benefit to this? Or is it just gobbling up teams for media rights?

Maybe I'm naive, but my assumption is most any NFLer could get an adult woman to horsefeathers them without resorting to extreme measures. Why someone like Roquan would risk $100 million or so is crazy Hopefully Roquan is innocent for his and the Bears' sakes

yea, I dont know how anyone can look at what Poles has done (or more importantly not done) and think anything other than he doesn't believe in Fields I see it as one of 2 things: 1) They don't believe in Fields and/or putting him in a position where if he's elite he'll show enough despite being hamstrung by resources or he'll prove to be a bust in which case they can justify dumping him and picking their own QB 2) They do believe in Fields and/or are natural on him and think that having a superior coaching staff/offensive gameplan and their handpicked scrap heap guys they added will make a giant difference. If its the second one, then either they are really smart and have proven they have a strong ability to identify coaching and player talent, or they suffer from the same 'smartest guy in the room' syndrome that has been the downfall of so many other executives and coaches throughout the NFL. I don't believe they are outright sabotaging him though necessarily. If Fields sucks so they trade him off and he becomes a star elsewhere, all the sudden Poles looks like a moron and his seat starts getting warm. You can count on one hand the number of 1st round QBs that fail on their original team and then become a star elsewhere. Brees...Favre...probably 1 or 2 I'm missing. Technically Favre was in the 2nd round but he was one of the first few picks of that round. Responding to Jersey's original comment here - I just don't think Poles and Eberflus agreed to tank this season. I think it's more that Poles knows it's a two year/multiyear rebuild and he (and Eberflus) believe that they can coach the team and Fields into better performance than last year. I think both realize they are not a playoff team this year and are building up what they can in year one, but I don't call that punting the season or tanking or giving up, whichever term you want to use. Could have and should have found a way to do more in FA, I agree. I also think UM put it well that it's not sabotage, or not believing in Fields, which is how a lot of the media narrative reads. If Fields is the guy, with the "it" factor he will make those around him better, be a multiplier, will the team to victory. A lot of these buzzwords have been used in this agrument. He has to have a minimum threshold of talent around him for that to happen, and I understand the concern that he does not have that right now. Main intent on my comment was I think that article was terribly written.