raw

That's what scares me. Logic says, "don't want to give your defensive HC a rookie QB just to potentially have him with a new coach in Year 2 just like Fields and Trubisky". But if the Bears are keeping Flus, they probably aren't assuming he's gone after 2024 like the rest of us are

I agree with Detroit trying too hard to confuse everyone. Dallas probably isn't covering an eligible LT either way.

Worth noting, this game pretty much meant nothing for Detroit. They weren't going to get home-field. They are behind 2 teams in SF and Philly that just so happen to play the 2 teams most desperate to lose games in Arizona and Washington. There was a chance of Week 18 mess happening, but odds are Detroit wasn't passing both teams for HFA. I have 0 problem going for 2 all 3 times. And it appears they had the win stolen from them. They tried to confuse the defense by having 58, 68 and 70 all look like they were talking to the ref. According to the Lions, only 68 reported as eligible, the other 2 were decoys that didn't say anything. But the Lions wanted it to look like 70 was the eligible guy to cause confusion for the D. They also lined up with an unbalanced line with 2 OL on the left side and 3 on the right side. So, this made it look like 70 was the TE on the right side, but he was actually the "tackle over" on an unbalanced line and since 68 reported, he was actually the TE on the short side of the line. They tried to confuse the Cowboys but just confused the ref. The ref said 70 reported eligible, but he did not. The broadcast was saying the formation was illegal as well, but i don't think that was the case. 68 was the last guy on the line, which makes him eligible. St. Brown was the WR next to him and I think he was off the line. He definitely signaled that he was supposed to be, IDK if the ref would have determined him to be off if the other wasn't confused by who was eligible, but they didn't actually throw a flag for that, which would have been 2 separate penalties.

12-men on the field penalty is actually reviewable. A coach can challenge that a guy didn't get off the field on time, so it's fair game in a review for something else.

Trevor Lawrence is OUT for our Jaguars against the Panthers this Sunday. The first game he's missed in his entire life, any level of football.

FWIW, I don't think Williams is much shorter than Mahomes. Mahomes is listed as 6'2", but measured at 6'1.67". I think people assume guys are shorter than listed, but Williams appears to be a legit 6'1" based on pictures I've seen of him next to guys with verified heights. I think it'll be like a 1/2 to 3/4 inch difference in height between Williams and Mahomes when all is said and done.

That's probably a better description. I wanted something to say, "this guy is way better than your typical QB prospect who goes #1 because he plays QB (Mayfield type)" but he's not on those guys' levels. I want to put Lawrence on that level, but he probably falls just short as well.

Can you be generational and NOT can't miss? Because I think Caleb is a generational talent. I think he does everything we love Fields for except runs a mid 4.5s instead of high 4.3s. But I also think he has better pocket presence, a quicker release and better field vision. But I also acknowledge there's some hit or miss there, due to ball security and holding onto the ball (similar issues to Justin).

This is an interesting point. The more interesting point though is that both of those guys were afterthoughts. They were the result of taking a QB every year philosophy that we have wanted the Bears to take. SF had Jimmy G and a very highly drafted Trey Lance. Philly had Carson Wentz coming off a really strong and healthy season post injury after putting up MVP level numbers pre-injury. But the bottom line....these were the paths to get to Purdy and Hurts for the Niners and Eagles, respectively. 49ers- gave up a 2nd for Jimmy G, then paid him 122Mil over 5 1/2 years, then gave up 2 future 1s for Lance. Eagles- Draft Wentz- gave up a 3rd round pick (77), 4th round pick (100) a future 1st rounder, a future 2nd rounder. Then they gave Wentz 56Mil which including eating money. They did get a 3rd and a 1st (somehow) for Wentz but used a 2nd on Hurts. Obviously, if the Bears could become as good as these teams then that'd be great. But this also serves as a cautionary tale to NOT pay a QB that isn't the guy, because they've defied all logic to get to this point. They draft well, are extremely well coached teams, which the Bears have a chance to be if they get things right. But this shouldn't be the expected result of overpaying a QB in picks and cash. If anything, the Bears are close to putting Caleb Williams in a similar situation because they have build the semblance of a team and potentially have the assets to improve on that this offseason.

Didn't say anything about Getsy. You can run it back with Flus and Fields and change the OC (Fields/Getsy clearly don't work). That's not at all my desired scenario, and it limits your OC options, but there's a more than 0% chance a new OC can better hide/develop Fields' flaws.

Eh. The team is still 21st in scoring defense. They are 12th overall, but they are still 25th in passing D (to go with 1st against the run). And they've still blown leads by falling apart late, recently. Flus is a good DC. But he's not special enough to make me feel like you would be hurting by moving on from him. This is still a defense that has used 2nd round picks on Stevenson, Brisker, Gordon, Dexter, and Sweat. They have an elite (or near elite) CB in Johnson. They have 125M worth of off ball LBs. There's a decent amount of talent on this defense to sustain this uptick in performance over the last 6 weeks.

I didn't miss any scenarios. That's not 1 of the 2 scenarios I would find acceptable. Flus hasn't shown he's good enough to warrant the chance to get his future tied to another QB period, even if he's not the guy that directly coaches the QB.

There's 2 thing the Bears can absolutely NOT do. 1. Keep Justin Fields and give him a new coach/offense 2. Keep Eberflus and give him a new/rookie QB If either of these things happen, I lose all faith in Poles and Warren. That's same ol Bears type horsefeathers.

Yeah, I see a lot of the same strengths in Williams as Fields (mobility, plays out of structure, big play waiting to happen) and honestly, some of the same weaknesses (holding onto the ball too long, not knowing when a play is dead). But the difference in the release quickness, I think a touch better ball velocity, and general feel in the pocket can make for drastically different results. Like with Williams' release, that may be a TD instead of INT in the endzone yesterday. That may be a Mooney catch on the sidelines instead of a tipped ball. Hopefully those difference would be just enough to take 15-27, 170 yard, 1 TD, 1 INT passing games to 19-27 for 230 yards, and 2 TDs. As for the coaching, he basically said they need better work on the details. Yesterday, was more of the same IMO. Still some odd stuff like the wildcat on 4th and 1, Justin Jones in coverage on a TD for like the 3rd week in a row, and failure to keep their foot on the gas against a clearly inferior team.

While this is all very true, I will give him a pass on some stuff from yesterday. He lost Kmet and was playing with a 1/2 speed DJ Moore. And I think that was a big reason for the passing game falling apart.

The concern some have though is that if the rookie takes a bit to get it going, then you likely wasted 1 year in the prime of DJ, Sweat, Johnson, etc. And God forbid the rookie is not good. Obviously, if the QB pick is good in the long-run that's the goal. But there are downsides to a team ready to compete with a rookie QB, just as there are with adding a QB then building around him like they tried to do with Fields.

I mean, the Carolina trade was 23: 1 (1) For 23: 1 (9), 2 (62) 24 1 25 2 DJ Moore And when you consider a WR has MUCH more value than a FS, QB1 in this draft has more value than Bryce Young, both as prospects, then you'd probably have to start at this and just keep adding on. Atlanta's 2nd would be about 20 picks higher, that's a start. But that pick in 2026 (25 in Panthers example) would have to be a 1st as well, not a 2nd.

This isn't what I want. And honestly, I'd be a little upset about them not having the guts to rip the Fields band-aid off. But my point wasn't about the details (getting 1 more years out of Fields). My point was simply is there a price, a trade package that is so big that Ryan Poles is like, "oh this is worth passing up Caleb Williams for".

My thought is that they'd stick with Fields, and in turn, Eberflus. But only for next year. Decline the 5th year option. And you can get a QB in 2025 with all your extra picks.

So, I posed this question in a smaller setting, but is it possible there comes a point where the Bears get an offer that is of more value to them than either of the top QBs? The trade last year, for what almost every person believes were with lesser prospects available was Pick 1 for Pick 9, a 2nd, 2024 1st, 2025 2nd and DJ Moore. I think there's even more incentive to move that far down in the draft again, if their own pick remains top 5 or 6 like it's been most of this year. So, if you somehow get even more than that, can it possibly be enough to make Poles say, "oh that's too good to pass up"? I've previously looked at it as passing on QB this year means making a commitment to Fields. But maybe the commitment would be to amassing an unprecedented number of draft assets? They don't HAVE to exercise the 5th year. They don't HAVE to extend him long-term. And if they get extra picks in 2025 and 2026 at means they have the ammo to get a QB when/if they need one in any of the next 3 years. Obviously, there may be no better prospects on paper than Williams and Maye. But there certainly will be other good QBs ultimately out of each of those drafts. And the Bears have to find one of those or Williams or Maye or make Fields somehow great either way.

I don't think you need a bridge QB. I honestly think you throw the rookie out there or just play Bagent. Again, I think you guys are discounting what Bagent did this year. While he wasn't great or anything, he beat out 2 vets to be the QB2. And in this scenario, you are likely building some type of trade value for Bagent in the long-run. He was competent. NFL teams pay a lot of competence. Also, IDK what a rookie learns by watching Fields. Maybe what NOT to do? Hey don't hold onto the ball that long since you can't break a Myles Garrett sack, outrun the rest of the team to the corner and throw a dot to the back pylon for a TD.

That Carolina pick not being 1 or 2 is an interesting scenario that I do NOT want to see play out. But in theory, the decision to keep Fields or not should NOT depend on whether you have a top 2 pick. Either he's the guy or he's not. And part of the appeal of keeping Fields is the large package of picks you could get for the #1. Having Fields without the package of assets is, meh, You probably still have to take a QB and still have to trade Justin, but would have neither a top QB prospect of the last or next few years nor a huge package of draft picks.

He's an up and coming OC. Long-term, he's an excellent candidate. But honestly, I think the only real options are: Keep Flus, get a veteran OC or Get rid of Flus and hire an offensive playcaller as HC. I actually wouldn't hate a young defensive coach like Mike Macdonald the Ravens 36-year old DC if he brought in a young hot shot OC with him. Coincedentally, Jerrod Johnson was a Ravens backup a few years ago with MacDonald also with the team so there's clear ties there.

He doesn't hold out. But I think he definitely starts talking about a new deal and eventually gets it.

Mike McDaniel, their head coach and playcaller gets most of the credit for Tua. Their OC could leave for a lateral move with a chance to call plays, but there's no guarantee he knows what he's doing. Somewhat interestingly, Darrell Bevell is their QB coach. He's been around for ever but is only 53. He's famous for being Brett Favre's QB coach and OC in GB and Minnesota. He was also Russell Wilson's OC in the Seahawks Superbowl years. He also was the OC for Urban Meyer in Jacksonville and a couple years with Stafford in Detroit. I wouldn't want him as an OC with a new coaching staff, but if you're going to lame duck head coach this thing, Bevell and Bienemy are probably as good as you're going to get for OC.