raw

The Howard situation is interesting. At this point, I think a trade is going to happen at some point. It's going to be hard to comeback from putting your starting RB out there on the trade block and press conferences detailing what the Bears want in a RB. But the Bears are in the position where signing a better RB than Howard increases the payroll and takes away other needs with a limited budget. And if they don't sign a RB to replace Howard, they go into the draft with the 87th pick and very little flexibility pick wise to get the guy they want. The two scenarios I feel are likely, are trading Howard in the next few days. Carlos Hyde was traded for a 5th. Ajayi was traded for a 4th. Ajayi was the same age as Howard, but had an extra 1/2 year under contract. Hyde was significantly older and had 2 more years on his deal, but 0 guaranteed. So that was essentially a 1/2 season trade. So, I think Howard's cost is closer to a 4th rounder than a 5th. Maybe 4th and 7th or 4th and 6th with the Bears throwing in a 7th. After trading Howard, the Bears could then move on to Tevin Coleman, who appears to be a pretty good fit for the Nagy offense. One cut runner that gets downhill in a hurry, but also the ability to line up as a receiver and run a legit route tree. He's terrible in short yardage though, so another guy would need to be brought in (likely in the draft) unless they think Ryan Nall can take over that role. The other is waiting until draft day to trade Howard. Something like Howard and pick 87, to move up higher in the 3rd. Then draft whoever they determine is their guy. I have a suspicion that may be David Montgomery, and am working on an article to show why.

69.6 Robbie Gould was 63.9 in college. 16-29 in his final 2 seasons Sent from my moto e5 supra using Tapatalk

Is priority FA another way of saying UDFA? I'm unfamiliar with that lingo. Yeah. Priority guys though are the ones that typically have a lot of teams vying for their services and have multiple offers. Usually guys that had draftable grades. Sent from my moto e5 supra using Tapatalk

Those are some really healthy roster needs, four relatively easy and cheap positions to fill + basic OL depth wants and needs. I'd always suggest drafting more valuable/expensive positions like more CBs, more pass rushers, more WR talent, more OL, plus an annual QB and buying in FA at 4/5 of those positions listed. Generally, I agree with this. But the Bears only have 1 top 100 pick. And they just drafted players late at WR, pass rusher and brought in the top UDFA CB. I really don't want them to draft a kicker though, and a priority FA at QB would be ideal. Sent from my moto e5 supra using Tapatalk

I think they actually lack depth on D right now. RRH will be back. He's an exclusive rights FA, means he can only negotiate with other teams if the Bears don't tender him. DL has pretty good depth with RRH, Nichols and Bullard behind Hicks and Goldman. IDK that Bullard is expendable unless you bring in a replacement for him. But other than the DL, and maybe ILB (though we don't know if Iyiegbuniwe can play) they lack depth on D. Questions behind Mack and Floyd. Questions in the secondary if Callahan and Amos walk as the depth would be starting. I'd like them to see if they can maybe pull a player-for-player deal with Kwiatkoski or Bullard, and go after depth at a bigger need position (TE, CB, OLB, OL). I like your trade idea. I think we might be just missing on semantics. Having quality depth at every position is incredibly rare. That would be like having no weaknesses. I'm not saying that. I'm saying that compared to other defenses in the league and previous Bears defensive rosters, they have a lot of quality non-starters. Their biggest weakness is secondary depth, but Robertson-Harris, Nichols, Kwiatkowski, Acho, Bush and McManis are all proven solid (some moreso than others, obviously). Add in Isaiah Irving (who has flashed), Iyiebuniwe, Fitts and Tolliver (who have untapped potential) and that's pretty darn good. Moving forward, they've already got the next waves planned out, but they need to continue to draft well in the middle rounds to fill in the back row. RRH replaced Bullard as the primary 3rd DE (after Unrein left and Bullard became the starter). Nichols is already the primary 2nd DT. (I see RRH and Nichols as starter quality.) Irving replaces Acho next year. Iyiebuniwe has a year to show if he can replace Kwiatkowski or (heaven forbid) possibly fill Trevathan's shoes. We'll see in camp whether Fitts will be a capable replacement for Lynch. McManis isn't Callahan, but he didn't get embarrassed when he filled in after Bryce's injury. Tolliver's got the upside to back-up Amukamura but isn't there yet. To me, there's good depth there. They have needs. I'd expect them to draft two DBs and a LB this summer. On the offensive side, I'd like to see a guard and a RB. What positions do you see them going after? Yeah, I think we agree. I was looking at the POV of depth in 2019 if all guys I expect to leave are gone. They need starters at SS, nickel, punter and kicker. They need rotational depth (backups that will need to see the field) at interior OL and OLB. They need to develop long-term depth pieces at WR, CB, OT, DL and TE. So, I think they will sign 1 FA DB, whether it's Callahan, Amos, or someone from outside. They'll draft whichever DB starter they don't sign early (maybe with their 3rd, definitely by the 4th). They'll probably draft a RB. After that, I think they can go anywhere. If they go with a veteran backup pass rusher, they could just stay with Fitts and Irving for another year. If they go with a veteran backup OG in free agency, they can probably skip that position in the draft for a year. If i had to go out on a limb, I'd say the Bears draft: Safety, RB, OL, kicker, OLB.

I think they actually lack depth on D right now. RRH will be back. He's an exclusive rights FA, means he can only negotiate with other teams if the Bears don't tender him. DL has pretty good depth with RRH, Nichols and Bullard behind Hicks and Goldman. IDK that Bullard is expendable unless you bring in a replacement for him. But other than the DL, and maybe ILB (though we don't know if Iyiegbuniwe can play) they lack depth on D. Questions behind Mack and Floyd. Questions in the secondary if Callahan and Amos walk as the depth would be starting. I'd like them to see if they can maybe pull a player-for-player deal with Kwiatkoski or Bullard, and go after depth at a bigger need position (TE, CB, OLB, OL).

Portis and Parker for Otto Porter? You kidding me with this? And they give a 2nd. Wtf? Sent from my moto e5 supra using Tapatalk

I've wanted them to take an early-ish CB each of the last few years. Toliver is a potential steal as a UDFA. But a top prospect would be really nice across from Fuller long-term when Amukamara is a likely cap casualty after the 2019 season. There's a couple of perfect players for this defense, but probably going to be too far out of reach for the Bears with no picks til 87. Chauncey Gardner-Johnson of Florida is a FS/nickel hybrid with really good ball skills. Darnell Savage is a guy that could be around mid 3rd, so trade up range, but I doubt he's there at 87. Kinda reminds me of Adrian Amos when he came out.

The bluest of chips. 10th overall recruit on ESPN 300. 27th on Rivals and #3 CB recruit. I LOVE taking chances late and UDFA on guys like this. Elite talent that you hope had poor coaching/motivation that you can get coming in hungry being a non-sure bet for the first time in his life.

Rumors say 8Mil+ per year. Hopefully for the sake of cap space, it's structured like 6, 6, 10, 10, with 12 guaranteed. But assuming it's not, only room for only 1 of Callahan/Amos. All 11 starters on offense are back, whether you count Miller or Shaheen as the 11th. Throw in Cohen and your top 14 are back on O. Defense has 10 of 11 starters back (9 of 11 if you call Callahan a starter and not a 3rd DL). Other than Amos, Callahan and Lynch every other contributor on D is due back in 2019. Bring one of the DBs back, and you're looking at going into the offseason needing competition for 1 starter on D (w/ Bush if Callahan back, w/ McManis if Amos back), a punter, and the rest are deep depth needs, with emphasis likely on a 3rd OLB, a backup guard, a backup DB. If choosing between Amos and Callahan what is your preference? Remembering the revolving door we’ve had at safety until recently I’m definitely leaning Amos. Also the fact that he’s on the field more and is not coming off a quasi significant injury. Honestly, it's Callahan. The Bears have 23Mil tied up in their starting CBs, 27Mil in OLBs, over 18Mil between Goldman and Hicks up front, nearly 12Mil at ILB. I'd rather not tie 6-8 Mil into Amos when Jackson has to be signed long-term after 2020 (and hopefully before then). Plus, Bush is in-house to replace Amos. Callahan would tie even more up at CB, but I think he plays a more important position, doesn't have an in-house replacement, and doesn't have anyone at his position due for a big pay day....not to mention Amukamara is likely to be cut after 2019.

Rumors say 8Mil+ per year. Hopefully for the sake of cap space, it's structured like 6, 6, 10, 10, with 12 guaranteed. But assuming it's not, only room for only 1 of Callahan/Amos. All 11 starters on offense are back, whether you count Miller or Shaheen as the 11th. Throw in Cohen and your top 14 are back on O. Defense has 10 of 11 starters back (9 of 11 if you call Callahan a starter and not a 3rd DL). Other than Amos, Callahan and Lynch every other contributor on D is due back in 2019. Bring one of the DBs back, and you're looking at going into the offseason needing competition for 1 starter on D (w/ Bush if Callahan back, w/ McManis if Amos back), a punter, and the rest are deep depth needs, with emphasis likely on a 3rd OLB, a backup guard, a backup DB.

Its been like this for a while. It's been long overdue to kill it. Have an all pro team and some type of Awards show. Yeah I'm sure for certain players its an honor but the way they replace people really hurts the value of being selected a bit. I mean I love that Mitch made it but it means that he's judged as the 5th best QB in the conference...and that's assuming there wasn't a Pro Bowl alternate ahead of him that declined to go. Edit: Maybe even 6th best QB since Dak Prescott was also added. So all 3 original NFC QBs have been replaced (Russell replaced Rodgers, Dak replaced Brees and Mitch replaced Goff) Agree with the replacements hurting the value, but fan vote and reputation plays a big part in the selection process anyway. And Mitch was probably a top 5 QB in the NFC this year. Brees, Goff, Ryan, and Wilson were clearly better. But Trubisky was better than Dak, Eli, and the Skins mess, neither Eagles QB played more than 1/2 a season. Winston, Newton, 49ers mess, Rosen, all worse. The most competition comes from the North and Mitch won the division going away and could be argued had a better season than Rodgers, Cousins, and Stafford also.

Probably wouldn't have either. Hypothetically, the WR group would have likely been Juju White (more prominent role) Gabriel Bellamy Wims (bigger role) And maybe a slot WR in free agency. But the point was they probably should have had 4 pro bowlers from the 2017 draft. Juju was at worst the 2nd best player left on my board (I know the Bears don't use or even care about my board). And WR was a bigger need than TE. Sent from my moto e5 supra using Tapatalk

Just imagine if they would have picked Juju Smith Schuster instead of Adam Shaheen with their 2nd rounder. Sent from my moto e5 supra using Tapatalk

The Bears were scheduled to play at the Raiders so there will still be 8 regular season home games at Soldier Field. that's what he said. Almost word for word Sent from my moto e5 supra using Tapatalk

Ah, I knew it was coming. Don't like it, but the Bears were due. And since they are a great attendance team, thankfully it's a road game for them so they still get 8 in Soldier Field. Also means Khalil Mack may never play a true road game against his former team, as the Bears aren't due to be the road team against the Raiders for another 8 seasons. Sent from my moto e5 supra using Tapatalk

I've been a "Parkey's probably back because they owe him too much money" guy. But today proved you can't bring Parkey back, man. Dude made a 57 yard FG (that would have been good from 70) to send his team to the Superbowl in sudden death on the road. You can't be a great team and have a questionable kicker. Robbie Gould back would be nice, but he'd have to take a significantly lower salary than he'd demand on the open market. But honestly, I'd use a draft pick on that kicker from Utah, Matt Gay. Has a fantastic leg and made something like 5 of 6 over 50 yards in 2017 and I think a 58 yarder this year.

He also never had the talent the Bears D currently has Yeah, Ryan Grigson is more to blame for the defensive results than Pagano. He was a terrible GM. The defensive players drafted under Pagano in the first 3 rounds in his first 5 years in Indianapolis. Bjorn Werner 1st round DJoun Smith 3rd round Henry Anderson 3rd round TJ Green 2nd round Then in his final year they finally draft 3 defensive players with their first 3 picks.....the year his QB missed the entire season and then they fired him. I think the only bad thing about this hire, is the Bears will either have significant drop off in 2019 or Pagano will be a HC again in 2020.

As a head coach, I don't imagine he could focus on the defense as much as he was in charge of the entire team, and it was a team that just had the #1 pick and used it on a face of the franchise QB. So, I imagine a lot of Pagano's focus went toward Luck. His DC, Greg Manusky, was an experienced coordinator with 5-6 years experience so I'm sure he trusted him to handle things on that side....though Manusky was never really anything more than mediocre before, during and after his tenure with Pagano.

It's Pagano for DC. Looked the thought of Donatell, but was afraid he'd be too much like Vic, but not as good. Pagano will likely be different but still good. HC experience is nice too with Nagy being relatively inexperienced. Sent from my moto e5 supra using Tapatalk

Horrible idea. Cut worthy. Sent from my moto e5 supra using Tapatalk

Gase gets the Jets job. Rhule back to Baylor, presumably with a stop back to his old stomping grounds. Sent from my moto e5 supra using Tapatalk

Oh God. I love Vic, but this would be an upgrade.

Nah. He would have interviewed Monday either way. Just may not have been announced if the Bears were still alive.

Donatell doesn't have a contract. I assume he'll go with Fangio to be DC but that would likely mean still not calling plays. Sent from my moto e5 supra using Tapatalk