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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

Thanks. I was wondering who Marshall was. Didn't bother looking up who went shortly after Hester in that draft.

I wasn't talking about trading for a lot. But may be able to get a 5th or 6th in a draft where the talent drops off after the 4th. He's basically D'Onta Foreman to this year's team. Swift obviously is the #1. He's a better receiver. Johnson's the change of pace as the slower, bigger back. Herbert isn't really a change of pace as he's similar speed to Swift, but slower. He doesn't add anything as a pass blocker. He doesn't play special teams. He's going to end up as a guy that's a gameday inactive or get 3 or fewer touches per game if all the RBs are healthy. He's cheap enough to have some value to teams like Vegas (Getsy), Dallas, or any team that doesn't have a really strong RB2. The Bears have Homer who can play RB3, who IS a pass blocker, plays special teams, and knows the Waldron offense already. They can also start the late RB cycle again a year early if they get one from a Herbert trade.

Yeah, and it's not like they didn't know how many picks they had when they traded for Bates and Allen. And the reason stated for trading those late picks is because this isn't a super deep draft. So, even a trade of 75 may not be in the cards, because there's not much of a point of getting more Day 3 picks in a draft you deem not to be deep. I do think they end up with a 5th pick somehow though. Either they take a LT at 9 and trade Braxton and/or they trade Herbert.

Poles and Flus have been interviewed recently and it really sounds like they are prepared to take a player at 9. Poles mentioned deciding between WR, OL and DE specifically. Also said something about 25 picks over a 3-year span which they have goal of 8 picks per year, and that's right on target for his average over his tenure so far. I'd absolutely prefer to take the pick at 9. I do think 1 of the WRs will be there. At least 2 of the top 3 DEs will be there. And there's about 5 OL that could conceivably go top 15, and at worst, 2 will be gone by 9. Really interested to see what happens with Braxton Jones if they take OT (no interior guys worth a top 10, per usual).

I think McCarthy is kinda getting underrated due to people thinking the same as you. But he has 28 collegiate starts and won a national championship, which is more games than Drake Maye has started. The biggest issue is that he had is his coach only let throw over 20 times in 60% of those games (for example, Maye has a season's worth of attempts, 300+, more than McCarthy). But when he does throw, he's as efficient as they come. I believe he had a 73% conversion rate on 3rd and 7+ this year (1st down or touchdown). This isn't to say he's a stud. Because obviously teams want to see if he can carry a team, which he hasn't really shown. He's the youngest QB in a class with 3 guys that have started for 5 years. Penix needs to run around like crazy at his pro day. Like make 0 throws from the pocket. He was one of the most mobile QBs in college before the ACL tears in both knees. That athleticism is still there somewhere to some extent. Teams just don't want QBs who don't move anymore. But I do think you can get him on a vet laden team and he can be a solid player.

I'd prefer the Bears stick at 9 if the draft board looks like I think it will. 1. Caleb Williams 2. QB- either Washington stays or Minnesota gives them an offer they can't refuse 3. QB/Harrison Jr- Either NE stays and takes a QB or MHJ, or Minnesota gives them an offer they can't refuse 4. QB/Harrison Jr- Either Arizona stays and takes MHJ or Minnesota........ Three QBs and Harrison or 4 QBs are gone top 4. 5. Key Spot- either LAC stays and takes WR2 or OT1 (Joe Alt) off the board, or Minnesota, you get the point. 6. NYG- the Giants could take a QB, but they did sign Drew Lock to go with Danny Dimes. They for sure won't take QB5. This could be a WR. Their WR corps is pretty terrible. 7. TEN takes OL. They have Ridley, Hopkins and former 1st rounder, Treylon Burks. They have the worst OTs in the league. If Alt is here, they run to the podium. If Alt is gone, they take an OL with the last name starting with "F": Fuaga, Fautanu, or Fashanu 8. ATL has London, Mooney and Rondale Moore. They have no Edge talent. They get top edge on the board. Seems to be pretty good intelligence out there that 4 QBs are going to go top 8. Vikings clearly gearing up for a trade up. Denver, Vegas, and the Giants could also move up too. Marvin Harrison and Joe Alt are certainly going top 8 as well. That leaves 1 of Odunze, Nabers or DE1 (Verse, Latu, Turner) on the board at 9. Depending where QB4 and WR2 go, I think WR3 is in play at 9. Whether Poles takes WR3 or not, remains to be seen.

You didn't say that in the post I quoted

You listed 0 red flags

I think those issues are overblown. Fields held onto the ball too much because he wasn't comfortable with or fast enough with what he was seeing. I feel like Williams held onto the ball because he knew if he didn't score 45, his team would lose the game with a horrid defense. Maybe that was an issue Fields developed in 2022 (it wasn't) due to the bad surrounding cast, but it's also one he couldn't overcome. Williams has shown enough throwing in rhythm to make me believe it won't be as bad with him. He also has a MUCH quicker release, so even if he's never any better than Justin at reading/seeing the field, he has the quickness to get that ball where it needs to be than Fields did with his big windup.

Or this. My answer was the long-winded version of this.

Yeah, I think Adam Hoge had a video about that. If Washington or New England had #1, it would have been a pure celebration since the season ended (kinda like Bears fans last year). We knew they were trading for an absolute haul. But this should be even better. An elite QB prospect is on the board and the Bears have never had a prospect this universally revered. Part of it is that most Bears fans do actually really like Fields. The flashes of talent are things almost nobody else has the ability to do. He's handled everything professionally, and was handed a raw deal (changed coaches, tank year). But the other part is that most fans were united on the Fields love as a prospect. He was pretty widely thought of as the 2 or 1B to Trevor Lawrence, so to get him at 11, most Bears fans thought he was a complete steal. There was even the sentiment that "if this one fails, we're truly cursed" with Fields, right or wrongly. So if Fields was highly regarded and he failed, what's going to be different with another highly regarded QB? We hear and say things like, "most talented QB in Bears history", but that's exactly what Fields was. Trubisky was previously the highest pick the modern Bears have used on a QB. And Jay Cutler came to the team already with a 4000 yard season under his belt, pre-prime years. So, the skepticism is probably well deserved from this fan base.

I don't think the trade package says anything about anything. Teams know the Jets were trading Darnold and he got more than this Fields trade. Players don't get traded for their value or based on what the league thinks about them. There are several factors including contract status (either too much money owed or too few years left). Plus, there's doing right by the player, which Poles said he would do, and I think did. Word is the Eagles offered, but Fields wanted Pittsburgh. Better chance to start games over Russell Wilson instead of Jalen Hurts.

I watched a podcast on YouTube and there's someone in the comment saying the trade is fake and another smokescreen. LOL. I also read on Facebook that people are still expecting a trade to Washington or to 5-6 to take another QB. Which, stupid people are on Facebook. But this is the Trump era, where you can just say a proven fact is "fake news" and go on with your life believing a conspiracy theory.

I mean, yeah Keenan Allen is great. He had one of the best seasons of his career last year. 6th in catches despite missing like 4-5 games. But how long can he be that great? The league isn't hurting for great WR talent. The Bears are fine, money wise, but it's still not going to be good to have a 33-34 year old WR taking 20-25Mil of the cap space if he's not on the field or has clearly lost a step, which are clearly possible outcomes in the near future for Allen.