raw

Mayfield has 1st round talent all around him, as does Hill. Smith was a #1 pick Yeah, I get that. But there's also Garoppolo, Daniel Jones, Lamar Jackson and Kyler Murray run good offenses without great throwing ability, Jared Goff (another #1 pick that hasn't lived up to billing), Bridgewater, Tannehill, etc. Even guys like Brees, Brady and Rivers aren't great anymore. Like 3 of these teams have more talent around them, but most of these guys are borderline average QBs who are leading offenses that run circles around the Bears.

To add on to the HC/QB making a difference point.....man, the bar for competent QB play is so low. It's really ridiculous the Bears perpetually fail to get there. Sure it would have been ideal to just pick Watson or Mahomes, but having a QB that great isn't even necessary to have a decent offense. Half the league has mediocrity at QB and are doing just fine. You can't convince me the Bears can't figure out a way to get QB play like Baker Mayfield, prime Alex Smith, or hell, even Taysom Hill is running a respectable offense right now. This horsefeathers shouldn't be so hard.

I think the cap is going to be relatively flat for 2021. The 175M number that's being thrown around is a worst case scenario number. I think the NFL will look at the possibility of a vaccine, ability to fill stadiums at least close to capacity, and the pending TV deal as reasons to not go worst case scenario with the cap. Also, there are a few teams that may literally not be able to get down to that number (Saints, Eagles, I believe are the main two), and that means a TON of veterans will either be out of the league or take massive pay cuts, which will lessen the competitiveness of the league. So, I think you're looking at 190-195M cap. I probably wouldn't blow anything up. I don't like the thought of moving more Mack money into the future. I probably keep Hicks (and his 12M cap hit). I'm not trading him for a 5th (maybe a mid-to-high 4th), but I'm also not big on extending him just to lower his cap hit for 2021. I probably franchise Robinson, without even looking to sign him long-term until I know how everything else will shake out. If he makes a big stink, then you trade him close to the season. Fuller has a 20M cap hit, with 11M dead. He's an easy restructure candidate. I'd probably sign him to the same deal as Darius Slay (same age, similar level player). Slay got a 3/50.5 extension. His cap number was lowered to 4.3 for this year (15.75, 19.75, 20.75 the next 3). You don't have to lower Fuller that much, but 3/50.5 extension would make his deal 4/59.5 (Slay 4/60.5). Could structure his cap hits 8M, 15M, 17M, 19M and the last year would be not be fully guaranteed. Would save you 12M in 2021 space. Fuller restructure, 6-8M carryover, Skrine, Graham and Massie cuts give you about 35M in space. Robinson franchise tag leaves you 19M or so. I'd also do the Leno paycut thing that they did to Kyle Long (and Minnesota did to Riley Reiff). Obviously, he's not willing....you cut him June 1 and save another 6Mil. Use the remaining FA money on veteran players on the OL and DL, and bringing back cheap depth guys like Bush, DHC, Urban, etc. Draft a QB with the first pick (I'd trade up if I had to, but not trading a future 1). Draft OT (deep draft) in the 2nd. More OL or WR in the 3rd if you don't have to use this pick to trade up.

Don't underestimate the difference a new coach (scheme) and QB can make. The Cards went from last to 16th in offense by adding just Kingsbury/Murray before the 2019 season. That was pretty much all they did offensively other than lateral moves with scrap heap guys at TE, RG, and RT. They added Hopkins this year and went to top 10. The Niners went from 30th in offense to 20th just by hiring Shanahan, and their QB went from Kaepernick/Gabbert to Hoyer/Beathard and 5 games of Jimmy G to end the year. When Shanahan had a healthy QB of his choosing, his offense was #2 last year and obviously went to the SB. Now granted, the Bears aren't going to hire an elite college play designer or the top NFL offensive mind on the market this offseason and won't have the #1 pick. But don't underestimate how far competence can go. Jimmy G is clearly just competent at best. Murray is a dynamic talent, but his numbers as a rookie were not world beating. And non-spectacular candidates like Brian Daboll (Buf) and Arthur Smith (Ten) are putting together strong offenses while developing/fixing QBs. One of those types + Wilson/Lance in this draft could put this offense near the middle of the pack. If the defense decides actually doesn't quit next year, they'll be in position to win a decent amount of games even with guys a year older.

At least you have IU football... (that sounds really strange to say) Yeah, and they should be good for at least the next couple years so bad news for the Bears if this trend continues

Because I can never have nice things......IU football is 6-1 and a top 10 team this year, but them and the Bears have not won on the same weekend this year.

Yeah, Pace was exactly the type of hire you want. Young, from a winning organization, former scout, worked his way up. His draft record is above average. His FA signings have mostly been above average. He was able to get comp picks for the first time in 10 years. Ultimately, he got 1 (maybe 2) decisions wrong. He got the QB wrong, which is the death knell for any GM. And depending on who you fault for this whole thing, he got the coach wrong.....though it's arguable if he got the QB right, the coach would be fine. I guess if the coach hire was right, maybe they develop Trubisky.

Up with mega threads. This is mostly born from the fact that I’m pretty sure this is week 12 but the Beats thread says week 13. Plus, the weekly NFL thread has maybe 9 posts. Nope. I'm right. You're wrong. Week 13. Every team is playing their 12th game this week + 1 bye week.

Pat Fitzgerald will fix this all.

Terrible coaching. Lol. How do you call a run with 11 seconds left? Sent from my SM-A115AZ using Tapatalk

This is for the best. Sent from my SM-A115AZ using Tapatalk

Thats what you get for calling 2 passes in that situation. Sent from my SM-A115AZ using Tapatalk

There's a lot of overlap with Coward in and out of the lineup with this too right? Little of column A. Little of column B. Yeah, I don't think he has played a snap in any of the Mitch games.

Over 100 yards rushing in each of Trubisky's starts. 0 100 yard games in Foles' starts.

So, does this show the Bears should have started Trubisky all season or that the Bears should have played the Lions every game this season?

Sorry, another post. But the worst part about the Fitzgerald rumors is that the ownership likes him. While it's fine for the ownership to like people, if they hire or try to push Fitzgerald on a new GM (and hopefully president of football operations) it's likely to end horribly. Like everything else does for this organization.

Nick Foles is active today and the backup QB. Robinson, Mooney, Hicks and Mack were all questionable and all are playing. Wims is active again, with Ridley watching again. And will finally get to see Trevis Gipson for the first time since Week 1, with James Vaughters hurt. Vaughters is the only injured scratch. Inactives: Vaughters, McCullers, Simmons, Pierce, and Ridley.

I think the Bears need a good coach. I don't care what his specialty is. While I think Fitzgerald is a good coach, I don't know if he's a good NFL coach, and he doesn't do anything scheme wise that is innovative or groundbreaking nor comes from that type of coaching tree. If he could pull in a good coordinators, I'd feel alot better about hiring him. But he's pretty meh on the surface.

We finally beat Bucky! Last 3 times IU and Wisconsin have played it has been 45-17, 51-3 and 62-14. I read Wisconsin was a 13.5 point favorite, but I didn't have much doubt of a Hoosier win, even when it got close late. Michigan is going to get us in the Big Ten championship game! Sent from my SM-A115AZ using Tapatalk

Only makes sense if Harden is going and either Beal or Westbrook are going from Washington.

Can both teams lose a trade?

I think it's a bit misleading to refer to Foles as a handpicked QB. The guy was on the verge of retirement before coming through as a backup and getting overpaid, then quickly dumped. Foles was a quintessential hold the fort QB. The Bears were never going to win a bunch of games with Nick Foles as the QB. He was Mitch's babysitter. Nagy has never had a handpicked QB. That would come with his next draft pick, if he gets one. I mean, Foles wasn't the pick of the litter choice, but he was definitely picked because he "knew the offense". And the fact that the leash was so quick with Mitch and Nagy went from calling a bunch of stuff under center, playaction, and half field reads to calling the stuff he wanted to run that he felt Trubisky couldn't execute supports this theory.

Yeah, I kinda feel that way too. I do buy that the McKaskey's love Pace, and the whole revamping of Halas Hall shows that they were in on Pace for the long haul. My first hangup is the lame duck contract situation. I do kinda feel like the decision is either fire or extend this offseason. Can't have a lame duck situation. That benefits nobody. The other is that GMs don't typically get to hire 3 coaches. Maybe there is some legitimacy to Fox being pushed on him and not counting against Pace, but I feel you have to get rid of Nagy if not Pace. Nagy's record is fine, but clearly not sustainable without an offense, and he was brought here to fix the offense. He was brought in to groom Trubisky, then got a handpicked QB that knew his system to show it wasn't him but the QB, and both have failed. I don't think you can bring in a new QB and assume he can put him in the best position at this point. While it may be unfair to Nagy that he was strapped to Mitch (especially if Pace is not), it kinda is what it has to be at this point. how do you feel about Lazor's play calling? Granted, it could be hard to judge based on the junk time he had on Sunday night, but could the combo of Nagy HC and Lazor play caller work going forward? I thought Lazor dialed up some good plays, some Mitch hit on, others he completely missed. Which begs the question, can Mitch grow with Lazor or is he just flat out too stupid? I never thought playcalling was the problem really with Nagy. It's just a general offensive philosophy that doesn't really have a go-to, bread-and-butter type play or concept. And I judge that based on the fact that Bears can't even script points. They don't score consistently in the first half of games, even this week got their TD with seconds left in the half. They don't score at all in the 3rd quarter. First and third quarters are supposed to be when you script the first 10-15 plays designed to score points. In the last 1 2/3 seasons they've been abysmal in those scripted plays. And I guess I'm not really concerned about the Mitch/Lazor combination. Best case scenario is Mitch is here 6 more games (5 regular season and if they win enough of them a 1-and-done playoff game). I don't think the Nagy/Lazor can work out. Still the same issue the last 2 games of no early points, nothing out of halftime.

Eh. I know everyone hates trades up, but the Trubisky trade up wasn't the issue. It was Trubisky the player. The Chiefs and Texans traded MUCH more for Mahomes and Watson and nobody cares because they are top 3 QBs. I wouldn't mind if Pace traded up again in this draft. My issue would be with the fact that the man who picked Trubisky, Foles, and Glennon would be picking the QB. I maintain that a combo of Pace and Nagy making that pick together has a legit chance to select the right guy. This staff has had its doubts about Mitch from day one. They brought in veteran babysitters for their knowledge, and sure, Pace grossly overpaid them but that's a different issue. Pace has a valuation problem which showed in his trade ups and several, but not all, signings. There's reason to move on from Pace and Nagy this year, but I doubt they'll hire a better duo. Last time they moved on from mediocrity because they couldn't figure out the QB position they had a disaster hire. I think they are at least as likely to have Pace and Nagy collectively figure out a QB than they are to find a new GM/coach/QB. There can be value in stability, especially when you're coming out of a decade of turnover and turmoil. Just going back to the Ditka decade, that was followed by Wanny getting 6 years, Jauron getting 5, Lovie getting 9 and then Trestman with 2 and Fox with 3. They have to be thinking about turnover every 2-3 years not looking good. I think ownership wants to make it work with these two guys. They aren't incompetent. They put together the first 12 win team in over a decade. They've fielded competitive teams. Barring a meltdown to end the season, they can see justification for keeping the band together. Might as well extend the guys through 2023 at what would have to be a discount coming off down years. Do away with the lame duck concerns for the next two years while having them live through their own 2020 signing decisions. Yeah, I kinda feel that way too. I do buy that the McKaskey's love Pace, and the whole revamping of Halas Hall shows that they were in on Pace for the long haul. My first hangup is the lame duck contract situation. I do kinda feel like the decision is either fire or extend this offseason. Can't have a lame duck situation. That benefits nobody. The other is that GMs don't typically get to hire 3 coaches. Maybe there is some legitimacy to Fox being pushed on him and not counting against Pace, but I feel you have to get rid of Nagy if not Pace. Nagy's record is fine, but clearly not sustainable without an offense, and he was brought here to fix the offense. He was brought in to groom Trubisky, then got a handpicked QB that knew his system to show it wasn't him but the QB, and both have failed. I don't think you can bring in a new QB and assume he can put him in the best position at this point. While it may be unfair to Nagy that he was strapped to Mitch (especially if Pace is not), it kinda is what it has to be at this point.

Since the week 1 matchup, both teams are 4-6. Both teams lost in Week 12 on national TV by a score of 41-25.