raw

3rd and anything more than 4 was ugly. When everyone knew they were passing, they couldn't protect it.

Is this before or after they are prepared to be eaten?

Definitely. If we take him at his word that he doesn't get nervous, then he was at least amped. I don't believe it will continue either, but the first primetime game of your career with the world watching, against last year's standard for rookie QB play, probably isn't exactly the calm surroundings he needs to settle himself. And I absolutely take big Caleb game and a loss than another stinker and a win. This is an expected loss. Winning would be nice, but they literally face 1 other non-division team that is this good or better (Detroit is better, but didn't include them because the Bears should have swept them last year), a good showing would bode larger than another bad offensive showing,.

I think this game helps the offense improve a bit. The Bears match up well against the Texans D. The Texans gave up 27 points and were middle of the pack in yards allowed. They don't have the DTs to test the interior OL (they are starting Bears legend, Mario Edwards at one spot). They have very good edge guys, but the Bears tackles are pretty good. But DeMeco Ryans is also very good, so he could do some things to confuse Caleb. And if the Bears are missing Rome and have a less than 100% Allen, he has the ability to scheme to limit DJ and force Caleb to spread the ball to other people. They are also pretty good against the run. Allowed 3.5 per carry last year, which was 2nd best in the league. Held Jonathan Taylor under that in Week 1. But the Bears kind of match up poorly against their offense. They are similar to the Titans in that they have 3 pretty good WRs. The difference is the Texans guys are younger and much better. And of course, they have a real QB. Stroud is one of those elite pocket passers that people have been wondering if the Bears could beat. Unlike a guy like Goff, Stroud can move just enough to give them trouble getting home. Stroud doesn't take a ton of sacks. And most importantly, he doesn't turn the ball over. 5 INTs in 18 career games (including playoffs). 3 of those INTs came in 1 game. Also, only 4 fumbles lost, 2 in the same game, the other 2, one each in his first 2 games. So you can't count on the defense scoring to save your ass this week. Probably can't even count on a short field unless the non-Velus special teams are great again. I said last week that I would be surprised if the Bears didn't cover the spread and stunned if they outright lost, and that game clearly went exactly as I expected it. But this week, they are going to 100% HAVE to score multiple TDs on offense to not get blown out of the water. I do think they get it going a bit. Hopefully, they can keep Stroud off the field by taking time off the clock. Caleb Williams has still not thrown an NFL TD pass, including preseason. I'll be surprised if the Texans don't cover the 6.5-7 point spread, depending on where you look. I'll be stunned if the Bears outright win this game. Bears are 0-9 in their last SNF road games. They have lost 7 straight on SNF overall. This game isn't unwinnable, per se. But it's probably unwinnable for the Week 2 Bears, coming off of the Week 1 performance. If they do anything on offense, and control the clock, maybe they hang in there and lose 27-20.

Shelton does have some blame on the sack. The guy started in the gap to his left and went all the way across his face to the gap on the right. He didn't even hit him until the DT was past him. That being said, RG has to at least acknowledge the guy running past him and put a hand on him, then Shelton recovers and makes the block. I do think the DE read the screen and then went after Caleb when he saw him being chased.

I will say, while I wouldn't take a RB in the 1st round, especially one similar to Swift, Judkins is the kind of back that is all the rage in the league right now and probably worth a 1st round pick, especially when you get down the 18. But yeah, I don't even know if the Bears can sign enough, or good enough free agents to pass up the trenches in Round 1 based on how things stand right now.

Watching the QB breakdowns by Jenkins and JT make me feel a bit better about Caleb's game. But it makes me feel MUCH worse about Waldron's. Not that it was necessarily Waldron's fault, but the execution was just terrible. The interior OL obviously was bad which hurt some plays. There were plenty of tipped passes, due to pressure, which hurt other plays. And then there were a lot of plays where the QB and receiver weren't on the same page. It mostly comes down to execution, but as Bears fans for the last several years, we know this is the same thing that plagued other Bears offenses. Rome tripped Braxton on a screen, Jenkins tripped Shelton, DJ/Keenan in the same place on a slant/stop, Keenan/Rome went to the same place on the dropped snap by Caleb. Shelton passed the NT onto Davis on the 19 yard sack and Davis just let him go. Just a mess of an offense, which we have seen too much before. I put that on Waldron. And I can't even begin to explain why we've continued to have these same stupid issues with Flus/Nagy, multiple OCs, multiple QBs, different sets of WRs. It makes no sense, but needs to be corrected ASAP. I know it's 1 game and all, but this is professional football, my son's HS team doesn't have this many issues. Failure to catch the ball, block your assignment, and throw accurately will happen. But you can't combine that with multiple instances of the receivers not being in the right place, guys tripping over each other, and straight up not knowing what you are supposed to do on any given play.

The Jenkins breakdown is pretty good. He mentions there are plays that would change how we view Caleb's game. Hit one of the deep passes- 1st one to Keenan, he stepped up in the pocket which made it so he wasn't able to step into the throw. 2nd one, I didn't like that it was to Carter, who Caleb probably hasn't thrown to that much as he was mostly working with the 2nd and 3rd teams in camp. Carter also isn't a real WR, he's a return man that can run routes. He's smaller, better at everything, Velus. Tipped passes.- There was one where Keenan was wide open on a corner route, Caleb saw it, threw it with enough anticipation, but Blasingame blew the block. There was the one where the LB runs over Shelton (and Jenkins trips him), Keenan was wide open for a TD. Keenan drop. If this TD had happened, saves Caleb from that 1 incompletion and then the 2nd and 3rd down completions (including the tipped one to Keenan) don't happen either. 15-27, 99 yards, 1 TD, takes his passer rating up 25-30 points. I'm going to fully blame Caleb for being off, but it also looked like a QB with not enough practice with his weapons. Non-deep overthrows were just slightly over. A couple behind receivers. Some catches that guys didn't make. It also felt like he was throwing the ball too hard at times. Just overly amped up, since he doesn't get "nervous", so he says.

Teven Jenkins trips Shelton on this play, right as the LB pops him backwards

I don't know

I feel like Allen was beating his guy pretty consistently. Team high 11 targets out of the 29 passes, and that included designed targets to Velus, like 3 to DJ, and a couple others. He beat his man pretty good on the first deep throw that Caleb was nowhere close on. He beat his guy in short area for the would be TD. I do feel like Rome was kinda being misused in the slot a lot. And definitely seemed lost.

Fields played the same, but more efficient game, that Caleb did today. Neither team scored an offensive TD. Caleb did it in Start 1. Fields did it in Start 1......of year 4.

Caleb is on pace to break 0 of these records.

Possible Levis is competent, but not likely yet. He was the 31st worst QB in the league last year. He's learning a new offense and is learning new weapons across the board other than a 32-year old WR who just came back to practice this week for the first time since July. New teams typically have trouble coming together early in the season. Titans have 5 or 6 new starters on offense, EIGHT (8) new guys on D, including a LB they got last week. I'll be disappointed if the Bears don't cover. I'll be floored if they outright lose. Then again, Eberflus won his debut against the juggernaut Niners.

Why not us? Chicago Bears Season Preview This season will no doubt be one of the most interesting in a long time. For the first time in recent memory, the Bears are going through what looks like the big 3rd step of a franchise makeover. The Bears have gone thru makeovers and rebuilds before, but it always has been deterred by Year 3 by failure at the QB position. And never has it been a true tear down where the team got rid of aging vets, instead of trying to get a last run out of them. This makeover was completely bottomed out, to the tune of #1 overall pick bad in 2022, a modern day franchise first. On one hand, you have a team that progressed from 3 wins, to 7 wins, to adding a pair of top 10 picks to a team already with a decent amount of young talent. But on the other hand, this talented young team is led by a rookie QB. Then on the 3rd hand (it’s the Bears of course there’s a deformity), the rookie QB is likely an upgrade in many ways and potentially one of the most talented rookie QBs of all time. So, many predictions of the Bears’ potential this season comes with the caveat of “Yeah, but it’s a rookie QB”. Granted, the Bears are sort of the “IT” team at this time with the #1 pick, Hard Knocks, and flashy amounts of talent outside of the trenches. But I still feel like Bears fans and non-hot take media alike are all like, “yeah, but it’s the Bears”-ing this team. One of the things I look at on a schedule are QB matchups and defensive matchups. As bad as Fields/Bagent was at QB, they were better than 6 of the 7 QBs the Bears beat (Howell, Hoyer, Dobbs, Young, Ridder, Murray fresh off ACL tear). And the Bears had the lesser QB in nearly all of their losses vs. Love x2, Mayfield, Mahomes, Herbert, Goff, Flacco, and Cousins, with Russ and Carr as toss ups at worst, with beating Goff as the only exception. This year, the Bears face 8 QBs who I think are inferior to what I modestly expect out of rookie Caleb Williams (Levis, Richardson, Young, Daniels, Darnold x 2, Brissett/Maye, Geno in a new offense). The Bears had a good showing against Goff and Kyler last year. The clearly better QBs, I’d say, are Stafford, Love x 2, Stroud, and Purdy. One of those guys is on his last legs and 3 of those 4 guys haven’t put together THAT big of a body of work…..which leads me to my next point. The rookie QB thing is a bit overblown, IMO. I think it’s been pretty consistent that we get a QB or 2 every year who plays well as a rookie or simply wins games because he has a pretty good team around him. Obviously, Stroud was great last year. Even in 2022’s terrible class, Kenny Pickett went 7-5 for the Steelers. In 2021, Mac Jones went to the playoffs with a strong team. 2020 had Herbert and one of the top rookie QB seasons in the last 20 years. Lamar only started 1/3 of the season, but he went 6-1 down the stretch for a loaded Ravens squad. And I think it’s fair to include 1st year starters like Purdy, Love, and of course Mahomes as guys who hit the ground running as the only change to a really good team. It’s also fair to conclude that if there’s ever a rookie that could be expected to hit the ground running, one of the top prospects of the last 10 years, who joins a team that was 90%+ win probabilities from 10 wins last year, and had access to the Bears’ playbook since mid March…might be the guy. The Bears also are bringing back 9 of the 11 guys who started most games on D. While bringing back 4 of 5 OL starters, starting TE, their top WR, and the starting RB is now RB2, while also adding a HOFer and a top 10 pick at WR. That being said, this team is still very flawed in some very important places. I’m not saying they will be a Superbowl contender in any way. There are probably 2 more complete teams in this division alone, and another 2, maybe 3, teams in the conference that are better teams on paper. But this year should be a fun one for our Bears. This is new territory for most of us. The Bears actually are building something, instead of piecing together teams and praying for kick returns and defensive scores to win games. The build up did NOT start with Caleb. It started in 2022, it just so happened in this build, the Bears were also able to upgrade the most important position in the game with arguably, a generation talent. So basically my point is, don’t feed into the old adages that rookie QBs can’t do this/that. Don’t lose sight of the fact that this is a VERY talented team and that it’s NOT too good to be true. Everything has gone mostly to plan under Poles so far. He tore down the team. Fields showed enough in 2022 that the Bears weren’t forced to take a 5’8 QB at the top of that draft. But not enough to the point where they were forced to commit to him long term. A lot of fortune has been involved in this process and I feel like most of us are waiting for the other shoe to drop. But this absolutely is what it looks like when a team builds in the correct way. There are misses. There are frustrations. And there aren’t necessarily linear projections. But there’s no reason why this team with this QB can’t be really good, really soon. ****Sorry for the long post......it's been a while

Dude I haven't moderated horsefeathers in years. LOL. I haven't been outside the Other Sports forum in just as long. And yes, I'm perfectly fine with a teacher responding that way. If my kid calls a teacher a jerk. I hope to God she gives it back to him. And again, I said, "this is really going to hurt OJs 2024 draft chances". How is that responding like a dick? It wasn't until he flipped out and told me to "get over myself" for a very clear joke that I responded like a dick. So, not to pull out a grade school retort, but he clearly started it. And what do you call your interjection? Why did you feel it was necessary to come to Old Style's defense and jump in a situation and escalate it more? I'm already going down to 33% of the blame. And yes, I realize I'm continuing to escalate the situation, but I'm a grown ass man who isn't going to let someone tell me how to respond to a response that was way over the top. WTF do I have to lose? The other sports forum?

I don't think you can put up the numbers Daniels did based on being bailed out by WRs. He was really good this season and also led the team in rushing. Brian Thomas, in particular, was mostly a non-factor before this season. Nabers was already pretty good, but his numbers took a leap as well. That being said, I give him props for figuring things out Year 5 in college. But people are really overthinking this. Maye is clearly a better prospect, IMO. And I'd feel more comfortable with taking JJ McCarthy than I do Daniels.

What are you interpreting as me acting like my responses were completely cordial? I escalated when clearly escalated upon. Not denying

Dave Chappelle has a joke on his "Killing Me Softly" special where he talks about a woman who doesn't want to be treated like a whore just because of the way she's dressed. And he compares it to dressing in a cop's uniform and not being a cop when someone comes to you with a problem. Ultimately saying, it's confusing and a natural mistake to judge a book by it's cover. Basically, it certainly seems like you are saying one thing and then claiming opposite while wearing a "take things seriously" costume.

Sounds like NE is very interested in Maye at 3. And Arizona wants a ton to move from 4. But those 2 firsts the Vikings have will be really tempting for one of those early teams. And the Vikings will be very motivated to move and not be forced into a Sam Darnold/Michael Penix training camp competition.

Dude what the everloving horsefeathers is your problem? Talking about OJ ruining his draft chances is a CLEAR joke. Saying "eh, deal with it" is not a normal joke that people tell. Saying I could delete your post and ban you over posting in the wrong thread is not as clear of a joke, but obviously, I'm not going to do that. You're the only one that has been serious in this exchange and clearly can't read the room

Well yeah, you don't trade back up if your guy isn't there. And the reason I pointed out SF and their love for future picks is because they are THE prime target because KC could very well just stay there and take a WR. The Niners likely aren't taking WR unless they trade Aiyuk. It's a deep WR class. And I honestly, I don't really care if they have to pay a premium. Historically, it doesn't take a future 1 to trade to the end of the 1st. The Bears have 2 2nds including, Carolina's likely very high 2nd. They also potentially could get a 3 if Ian Cunningham gets a GM job (and he will if the Bears are decent). They could get a potential 4th if Fields starts more than Russ.

Trading back is such a balancing act. I've been wondering if the best "bang for your buck" move would be to trade back, far enough to get a 2nd. Then package that 2nd and one of the 2025 2nds + more if needed, to get back to the end of the 1st. I really like the thought of pairing a WR with Caleb on his rookie deal. And with any of the top WRs at 9, you potentially run into a "not enough footballs to go around" scenario with DJ, Allen, the rookie, Kmet, and a pass catching RB. A later WR would allow you to bring a lesser (but still very) talented player along slowly or in a specialized role, if needed. And I also hate the thought of the DL if you draft a WR at 9 and have no picks until 75 where you aren't getting a starting caliber player. So, the balance if you trade back is how far can you go to still get one of the top DL players (Verse, Latu, Newton, Murphy, Chop). Trading back up, especially with KC and SF at the end of Round 1 also probably works because they don't have a ton of needs being the best 2 teams, and SF in particular really loves future draft capital. But it also gets you ahead of Carolina at 33, who is almost certainly going WR. Caleb, Verse, and Worthy would be quite the haul early and then they can go after OL and DL depth with any later picks they have.

I mean, I am dealing with it. I could just delete it and block you from the board. Or you could just roll with the joke like a normal person.

Going to definitely hurt his chances of getting drafted in the 2024 NFL Draft