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Agree with you. He's a baffling player. Who is better under pressure than they are with a clean pocket? I wonder how much of this is all the newness around him (receivers, scheme, etc). Kollman basically said he's best when he just lets it rip with confidence. My hope is that given this guy is by all accounts a very hard worker - as he gains confidence/comfort with his receivers and the system he'll do less thinking and more just playing. He couldn't do anything in that playoff game but when all the pressure was on him and he needed to put a perfect ball on Robinson to put them in position to win, he makes the throw of his life. Yet he's standing in a completely clean pocket in Miami and airmails a wide open Miller by 10 yards. Later that game he hits him in stride to put them ahead by a score with 3 minutes left. Just a baffling player, as I said. I'm really hoping that early in the season we'll see that he made a clear next step, otherwise, it's going to be a stressful season. This is pretty logical to me and I think it's exactly what it is. Clean pocket situations - he's in a brand new offense with brand new players and he's still learning. He should be much more sure of what's going on now, after a full season and a real full off-season with the offense. On the other hand, when horsefeathers breaks down and he's under pressure he is forced to freelance, he just lets his talent take over and lets it rip. Seems to be a classic case of a guy overthinking things, and the less he has to think about, the better he does. One thing I thought showed in the video is that he didn't make a ton of bad reads (though looks like some of them were simplified for him, with a clear 1st or 2nd read schemed open). As stated, his mistakes come when he has a clean pocket and for whatever reason simply doesn't trust his primary read. Also, seemed like Nagy really didn't open up the playbook at all, as a lot of those plays highlighted were the same play/concept over and over. That makes me skeptical on Mitch's intelligence (combined w/ not being able to execute the same exact play consistently vs. the same coverage). But I have hope that as he learns the offense more, he'll become more confident and just do his job, while not losing the ability to improvise when things break down. This will be the first year he'll have the same offense since college. We should see improvement, or at the least better consistency.

What would it take to trade up for Nassir Little at this point? Sent from my moto e5 supra using Tapatalk

I actually like the way this draft is setting up for the Bulls. After 2, all these picks are about hunches and fit anyway. At 7, I think the Bulls will end up with their choice of the 2 remaining from Garland, Hunter, Culver, Reddish or White. I'm fine with any of those 5. So, I don't think a trade up would be necessary though I understand if the team really likes Garland or Culver more than the others, which would likely require a move up to 4-5.

Maybe once Gary Harris gets into coaching. Lol. Too soon Sent from my moto e5 supra using Tapatalk

I like the Juwan Howard hire. Hopefully for them it has similar results to how the Penny Hardaway hire is looking for Memphis early on. I like the idea of a famous alumnus HC at his Alma mater. But then get sad when I think about that at IU. Our options are Steve Alford, Keith Smart, effing Dan Dakich (again), and Isaiah Thomas. Maybe the 4 worst coaches in basketball history. Sent from my moto e5 supra using Tapatalk

Unlikely that they carry eight wide receivers. They could. The Bears carried a lot of dead weight on the roster last year. Guys like Nick Williams, Rashaad Coward, and Marcus Williams never played last year and were wasted spots. They also carried guys like Mike Burton, Kush, and Kevin White, who didn't even factor on special teams for most of the season. Marvin Hall and Patterson have a lot of value on special teams. Hall has been a gunner before. Patterson obviously a returner. If not WRs, those spots will likely got to an extra DB, LB, DL or OL that won't likely see the field outside of special teams. Patterson and Hall provide ST value, plus guys that can get a handful of reps offensively each week.

Yeah, this is exactly what I told a friend of mine last night. If anything, Zion makes Davis want out more. He'll be 2nd fiddle to a rookie (not on the court necessarily, but popularity wise for sure). And their styles of play don't really mesh well together. I'm not sure how the hell the NBA works with trades and salaries needing to match sometimes or whatever. So, I don't know if some kind of sign and trade type thing can be done with Deandre Jordan (only salary that matches up w/ AD) who is a FA. But yeah, AD to the Knicks who then lure Kyrie, and NOLA starts over with Zion, Barrett, Knox, Jordan, Jrue (if they can't trade him). Makings of a fun young team. Won't do much in the West, but a very watchable squad that will still likely have other multiple 1sts to add to them in the near future. Lakers still make sense too. Still have that same package to offer as last year, but now with the 4th pick to add to it. NOLA doesn't need a star player in return anymore, because they will have their building block. Probably can't get Barrett at 4, but have their pick of Culver/Garland/White who would all be great fits there. Still could trade Jrue too. All of this is plausible. I still think the Lakers are the least desiable trade partner, even with the 4th pick. Let's say that AD to the Knicks happens. The rumor pre-lottery was AD for the #1 pick that didn't materialize, Knox and Robinson. If the return was still those players, the #3 pick plus a future pick, the roster next season could look like this: Zion Knox Barrett Robinson Jahlil Okafor Jru Holiday (or trade him to Lakers for rights to Garland) Elfrid Payton ...etc That's an exciting young team. Yeah, Knicks are a lot more desirable if I'm the Pelicans. Get more upside, salary relief, and get much younger than the package from LA. Lakers only have a shot if Davis refuses to play for anyone else.

Oh and the Bulls are 100% taking Hachimura.

This is the perfect scenario. Yeah, this is exactly what I told a friend of mine last night. If anything, Zion makes Davis want out more. He'll be 2nd fiddle to a rookie (not on the court necessarily, but popularity wise for sure). And their styles of play don't really mesh well together. I'm not sure how the hell the NBA works with trades and salaries needing to match sometimes or whatever. So, I don't know if some kind of sign and trade type thing can be done with Deandre Jordan (only salary that matches up w/ AD) who is a FA. But yeah, AD to the Knicks who then lure Kyrie, and NOLA starts over with Zion, Barrett, Knox, Jordan, Jrue (if they can't trade him). Makings of a fun young team. Won't do much in the West, but a very watchable squad that will still likely have other multiple 1sts to add to them in the near future. Lakers still make sense too. Still have that same package to offer as last year, but now with the 4th pick to add to it. NOLA doesn't need a star player in return anymore, because they will have their building block. Probably can't get Barrett at 4, but have their pick of Culver/Garland/White who would all be great fits there. Still could trade Jrue too.

My guess at the 53: QB- Trubisky, Daniel (2) RB- Cohen, Davis, Montgomery*, Whyte* (4) TE- Burton, Shaheen, Braunecker, Raymond# (4) WRx- Robinson, Wims (2) WRz Gabriel, Ridley*, E. Hall# (3) Slot- Miller, Patterson, M. Hall (3) LT- Leno, Sowell (2) LG- Daniels, Bars# (2) C- Whitehair (1) RG- Long, Larsen (2) RT- Massie (1) DE- Hicks, Bullard (2) NT- Goldman (1) DE- Nichols, RRH (2) OLB- Mack, Irving (2) ILB- Smith, Iyiegbuniwe (2) ILB- Trevathan, Pierre-Louis (2) OLB- Floyd, Lynch, Harris# (3) CB- Fuller, Denmark* (3) CB- Amukimara, Tolliver (2) NB- Skrine, Shelley* (2) SS- Clinton-Dix, Bush (2) FS- Jackson, Houston-Carson (2) P- O'Donnell (1) LS- Scales (1) K- Pineiro (1) I cut Kwiatkoski, Coward, McManis, and Fitts as the "big" names. I think Kwit (along with Bullard) could be guys that get traded toward the end of camp. Probably need a DL to step up. But Bullard is expendable either way with 4 strong players ahead of him on the DL, he's also a FA after the year. Getting that conditional 7th back would be nice. Kwiatkoski is a 2 million dollar backup, who's also a FA after the year. The bears signed Kevin Pierre-Louis this week, who is a decent, possibly better special teams player who can backup ILB (though not as well). Maybe Kwit can be traded for someone at another more useful position.

I had Hall as the 4th best WR in this draft, mid 2nd round grade (oddly enough, 1 spot ahead of Bears 4th round pick Riley Ridley). Bears also added Dax Raymond, a 5th round graded TE by most Also, Guard Alex Bars from Notre Dame, who has injury questions, but was probably a mid-round talent, and gets back with Heistand. These are the most significant of their signings, and among the best in the league.

Heard of Kerrith Whyte, college backup RB. Extremely fast. Maybe some long term potential to replace Patterson as the kick returner. He's basically fighting with Mizzell for the 4th RB spot. Again an end of the roster guy. Never be more than a 3rd RB on this team. Strange pick, but I knew the Bears liked him (1/30 visit) and I knew there was a strong chance they'd double up at RB in this draft.

Never heard of Shelley. Doesn't have a grade on NFL.com. His highlights are nice (as they should be since they are highlights). Seems to be a click-and-close type of CB. Not a man coverage guy, but an off-man or zone guy who attacks downhill when he sees the QBs eyes. Has shown some ball skills as well. 8 career INTs, and the 4-5 I saw on highlights were all pretty spectacular. If you squint, you can see a player similar to what Bryce Callahan was as a UDFA 4 years ago. Going to be quite the project though. Probably going to be a last man on the roster type of guy, or a practice squad candidate while he learns the nickel role and puts on weight on his 173 lb frame. Seems like a player they didn't really have to draft, but this late, they didn't want to have competition for him. It's whatever

Top options on the board for the Bears (no order): OLB De'Andre Walker, Georgia (because Chicago is apparently UGA north) OT Oli Udoh, Elon OLB Joe Jackson, Miami CB Jimmy Moreland, James Madison OG Beau Benzschwagel TE Alize Mack, Notre Dame CB Xavier Crawford, Western Michigan CB Saivion Smith, Alabama CB Mark Fields, Clemson

Riley Ridley. He's an interesting choice. May have been a BPA type of pick. I know the Bears tried to trade up late 1 last year for Calvin Ridley, so makes sens that they like his brother. I didn't think he'd be an option, since he's very similar as a WR to Anthony Miller. Good route runner, with good-to-great hands, not game breaking speed. With Robinson, Miller and Gabriel, I thought they'd go for more of a deep threat. WR room is now loaded. Robinson, Miller, Gabriel, Ridley, Wims, Patterson (may be more of a RB), and Marvin Hall (who is a deep threat).

Guess is jimmy moreland, CB, james madison

Third round was always gonna be a RB. If you look at the 2 deep depth chart, it was the position that had the biggest "need". All 11 starters were back on O, except Howard. Davis was an insurance plan. Only lost players on D were replaced by Clinton Dix and Skrine, their 2 biggest money FAs. So now today the Bears have the luxury of truly taking the best player available. With the 4th being the only pick they have right now of a guy who will for sure make the roster, the Bears will try to get a steal. They probably aren't picking a WR, unless it's a deep threat. But in general, I see this pick focusing on the best athlete they can find. Pass rusher and defensive back, being the most likely. Of the guys they worked out or hosted, watch for Maxx Crosby, Christian Miller, Jimmy Moreland or Amani Hooker. Sent from my moto e5 supra using Tapatalk

Add Christian Miller, Edge Alabama Kahale Warring, TE San Diego State Amani Hooker, S Iowa Dawson Knox, TE Mississippi Jamel Dean, CB Auburn Yodny Cajuste, OT West Virginia (torn ACL) Sheldrick Redwine, S Miami

Bears got a 6th back from NE. That's probably going to be a kicker.

Not just saying this because he's a Bear but he was my favorite RB in this draft. Jacobs was the best, but I had Montgomery as the 39th best player and Jacobs at 36, so it was close IMO. But Montgomery is a Kareem Hunt clone, but with flawless character. Toughest runner in the draft, PFF record 99 broken tackles in 2017 (I believe). Averaged like 3.5 after contact this year. Really good hands. Best pass blocking RB in the draft. He's not a great route runner, but a guy that can create space at the catch point and will break tackles once he's in the secondary.

FWIW, I posted this on another message board right before the 3rd round started Bears trade the 87th overall pick, and a 2019 5th round pick to the Buffalo Bills for pick 74. 3rd (74)- David Montgomery, RB, Iowa State 4th (126)- Josh Oliver, TE, San Jose State Bears trade a 2020 4th round pick, and a 2020 5th round pick to the New England Patriots for pick 134 4th (134)- Jimmy Moreland, CB, James Madison 7th (222)- Matt Gay, K, Utah 7th (238)- Ronheen Bingham, Arkansas State Obviously, the 4th pick just recently went. But damn, missed the trade up by 1 pick

Alright, 3rd round about to start. Big board for the Bears: 1. Chauncey Gardner-Johnson, S Florida 2 Darrell Henderson, RB Memphis 3. David Montgomery, RB Iowa St 4. Jace Sternberger, TE Texas A&M 5. Justin Layne, CB Michigan St 6. Juan Thornhill, S Virginia 7. Emanuel Hall, WR Missouri 8. Maxx Crosby, Edge, Eastern Michigan 9. Nate Davis, G/OT Charlotte 10. Amani Oruwariye, CB Penn State 11. Terry McLaurin, WR Ohio State 12. Oshane Ximines, Edge Old Dominion 13. Julian Love, CB Notre Dame

Not sure how I feel about this offseason so far. I LOVE the Patterson signing. I dislike the Skrine signing, though I've seen people talking him up and Pagano is to DBs what Fangio is to LBs. So, i'm cautiously optimistic here. Then again, he's the most penalized DB in the league since he started. 7 flags last year. Amukamara had 8, but he's simply a better player. OF course, I wasn't a big fan of his signing either time either. I do think the Bears need to make a splash. The Bears are in a similar spot as the Rams this time a year ago. They went out and got Suh, Peters, Talib, Cooks, and others. Granted, the Bears already made their big splashes last offseason. But I feel like they could have made themselves dominant on paper. Clinton-Dix helps, as would going out and getting someone like Justin Houston. But the splash options are getting fewer and further between. That being said, the defense shouldn't take that much of a step back. And that step back will be covered by the step forward in the 2nd year of the offense if Trubisky continues to develop. Not to mention the special teams should be better at least in the return game. But there were a couple ways to approach this offseason. Big splash to make a run in the next 2 years. Or take the comp picks and try to stay competitive for the long haul. The big splash could have included keeping Amos and/or Callahan. After all, they did clear 11 million from Mack's contract. They had plenty of space after cuts and restructures. There were plenty of big names. And if you were going to lose Amos and Callahan, and don't value the comp picks, then go big. There's no reason to both downgrade a position and lose a potential comp pick. Part of my issue with the Skrine signing is he costs the Bears the chance at a comp pick, and Brian Poole was cut by Atlanta, meaning he was available to sign without losing a comp pick. Skrine's probably better in coverage, but Poole is better than Skrine everywhere else across the board. I know they tried for Weddle, but he and Gipson were a couple guys that could have been had without factoring into the comp pick formula. But I feel like either may be a better fit than Clinton-Dix, who seems like best case scenario at this point.

Not only is he not God awful, he has the 2nd best kickoff return average in the history of the NFL. 30.0, second to only Gale Sayers. He had 70 offensive touches/targets last year. The combination of Kevin White, Bellamy, Mizzell, Cunningham, Hicks, Michael Burton and Bradley Sowell combined for 70. My friend who is a Pats fan said we way overpaid but f that I’m down with the move Nah. It's the going rate. Every FA gets overpaid. But this isn't bad. Breshad Perriman was out of the league part of last year, only caught 16 balls (less than Patterson) and got 4 million. Patterson adds the best KR ability in the league. Sent from my moto e5 supra using Tapatalk

Not only is he not God awful, he has the 2nd best kickoff return average in the history of the NFL. 30.0, second to only Gale Sayers. He had 70 offensive touches/targets last year. The combination of Kevin White, Bellamy, Mizzell, Cunningham, Hicks, Michael Burton and Bradley Sowell combined for 70.