raw

Daboll wanted to be in NY. The GM NY hired was from Buffalo. They were a package deal. He wasn't coming to Chicago.

Linebacking corps is going to be legit!

I watched a TON of college football last weekend. And man is this QB class potentially one of the best ever. Caleb Williams- not much needs to be said here, clearly the top QB prospect since Lawrence, IMO. Drake Maye- I'm actually not as high on him as everyone else, don't think he should be a top 5 lock, but clear QB2 After that, I could see as many as 10 other guys between day 1 and day 2. Granted, some of them may stay in school and some may fall off after many had amazing Week 1s, but: Shedeur Sanders, Colorado- I've always liked his talent. Not the big arm, but he learned a new offense with new players that mostly came in like 6 weeks ago. Very intelligent QB. My QB3 JJ McCarthy, Michigan- big time talent, has always had the tools but looked to finally put together some NFL type throws last week. Could sneak into Round 1, if Michigan runs the table to the playoff like I expect them to Michael Penix, Washington- as an IU alum, I saw all his games in Bloomington. I'm not as high on him. Went from mobile to pure pocket passer due to injuries. I do worry about when he gets moved off his spot in the NFL. But scouts LOVE him Quinn Ewers, Texas- another big time recruit, 5-star, very high highs, still too many lows, but a big shot vs Bama this week to shoot up boards Bo Nix, Oregon- was bad at Auburn, but then great since transfer. NFL teams will like a 5-year starter. Big, mobile. Riley Leonard, Duke- big win vs Clemson Week 1, extremely mobile, good arm. Toolsy, but raw. NFL teams will love Jordan Travis, FSU- big game vs LSU. Similar to McCarthy to me, but not as highly recruited. If he can show more NFL level throws, he will get 1st round consideration Michael Pratt, Tulane- quietly had an awesome debut last week, 1 incompletion, which was called a draft. 100% effective completion percentage. Hearing 2nd round grades on him. Then you have guys like KJ Jefferson and Joe Milton who are Cam Newton/Anthony Richardson size, and as we know NFL teams love huge mobile freaks. Milton has one of the best arms I've ever seen. Neither is super accurate, but guys this big and athletic don't fall too far on draft day.

Same-ish. First year I've had it, but I shared it with a buddy of mine. On YouTube TV, you can watch up to 2 TVs at the same time, so hopefully there's no issues

Correct. But he got hurt like 2nd quarter of the 1st game. And they had to replace NFL players at WR, RB, and on the OL.

I knew Colorado was going to win. The QB position is extremely important (news flash) even in college. And even with those 86 new players, Deion carried his QB/son with him. TCU was breaking in a new QB, and I think I heard 8 new starters on offense. So Colorado had continuity at the most important position. Also, I think people dismissed Shedeur and maybe even Travis because they were playing weak competition at Jackson St. But you're still talking about a 4-star QB and the top recruit in the nation. These dudes could have gone anywhere they wanted. And Deion didn't bring scrubs with him in the portal or his recruiting class. They are a very talented team. They will likely lose 3-4 games this year, but it won't be from lack of talent. ***Side Note- I think the QB thing will make a big difference at the top of the rankings. Michigan is the only team that isn't breaking in a new QB in the top 4. And a couple of the top teams are starting off playing 2 QBs.

Travis Hunter played 129 snaps today.

I think lowkey, the OL looked pretty good pass blocking in preseason, with Davis getting 0 snaps and Wright/Jenkins missing last week. Guys like Borom, Kramer and Carter looked really good, IMO. (Braxton was solid too). From the sound of things in camp, it seems like Fields and DJ are further along than the rest of the offense. Flus seemed to blame a lot of protection and receivers in practice. And by all accounts, Fields looks much more comfortable in most areas. I would imagine still, the offense will likely get off to a slow start. Getting guys together on the OL for the 1st time, getting Claypool back up to speed may take a bit. I'm hoping, like last year, we really see the offense take a big step after the early TNF mini-bye week.

Worth noting, the Bears' Week 5 game is on TNF. It's probably unlikely the Bears bring back Teven Jenkins in a short week. So we may not see him until mid October.

He was a draft pick by this regime. And it seems they gave preference to the guys they drafted and/or paid more highly this offseason. Robinson & Green over Lewis & Gipson Dylan Cole (who barely practiced/played) over Micah Baskerville EQ & Velus over Daurice Fountain I mean most of these are depth positions, so it's not a big deal. but it does seem like they may have kept lesser players (in my eyes) for "fit" reasons.

yes

He'll struggle. He's a rookie. But he's also one of the elite prospects of the last several years, so it's likely he won't be a disaster. I think the biggest route to a top 3 pick is if that very below average OL gets him hurt early and often/long-term. Even then, Dalton can probably win 5-6 to keep them out of the top 3.

I don't think Carolina is top 3 bad on paper. Arizona and Tampa seem to be legit tanking. The Rams don't look like they are actively trying to win. Then you have the Texans, Titans, Patriots and Raiders that seem to be clearly inferior on paper to other teams in a loaded divisions and conference. Carolina has solid talent on D. Young isn't going to be horrible. Only question I have is, does he make it through the season healthy. I'm thinking about top 6 for Carolina if the OL looks as bad as it has in preseason. But I'm expecting Bears and Carolina to be in the 10-16 range, with the Bears at the higher end of that range.

Bears lose and it's bad either way. LOL. Either Fields plays well and Love plays similar or better and the Bears have a breakdown somewhere else (non Fields turnovers, special teams) or Fields plays not as well. Not too many scenarios where Fields plays well, Love plays as bad as my sanity needs him to play, and the Bears actually lose the game.

I think the biggest roster decisions are basically, if the Bears are fine with their guys or if they see better guys on waivers. #1 waiver priority and last year they claimed 6. I wouldn't be surprised to see them go after a S, CB, and OL. With Leatherwood gone, do they keep Patrick and Kramer, basically giving them 3 Cs? I wouldn't be surprised if Patrick is cut. They penciled him in to start at C, with Jenkins out, but he has practiced like 20 times in the 2 years on the roster, and has only played 10 snaps at C. Pass rusher seems pretty done with Gipson asking for a trade. RB is if they take 3 or 4.

Absolute dime down the seam. One of the TEs that's going to be cut dove for it for some reason and dropped it when he hit the ground.

So, I know a trade and subsequent long-term deal for a RB doesn't seem like a Poles thing. But Poles wouldn't give Roquan the deal he wanted, and Eberflus even stated that off ball LB isn't a premium position....just to have Poles go out in the offseason and add the top off-ball LB on the market, pay another top LB, draft a LB, and bring in now 3 FA LBs in camp to try to find a guy for the bottom of the roster. He also traded a knowingly high 2nd for a WR in the middle of what he knew would be a lost season. I honestly don't know if we know what kind of GM Poles is at this point. Jonathan Taylor may not be a premium position, but he is a premium player. This isn't Dalvin Cook or Austin Ekeler, pushing or at 30. JT is only 24 and getting a premier player at any position may be worth the risk to Poles as far as we know. I think that's the logic that went into signing Edmunds.

I've read it a couple other places as well, but IDK if it's people running with his tweet. But I've read some "I was told Bears made an inquiry as well" type stuff. That being said, this is the same dude that has been floating the Bears around in a JT trade for a week because the Bears have a ton of money and unlike the Browns (who also have money) don't have Nick Chubb.

Getting an MRI tomorrow. Those always go well.

Updated projection after Preseason 2 QB (3)- Fields, Walker, Bagent RB (3)- Herbert, Foreman, Johnson FB (1)- Blasingame WR (7)- Moore, Mooney, Claypool, St. Brown, Scott, V Jones, Pettis TE (3)- Kmet, Tonyan, M Lewis OL (9)- Jones, Jenkins, Whitehair, Davis, Wright, Borom, Carter, Leatherwood, Patrick DE(5)- Walker, Ngakoue, Gipson, Robinson, T Lewis DT(4)- Billings, Ju Jones, Dexter, Pickens LB (6)- Edwards, Edmunds, Sanborn, Sewell, D Cole, Walker CB (5)- J Johnson, Gordon, Stevenson, T Smith, Blackwell S (4)- Jackson, Brisker, E Hicks, AJ Thomas Specialists (3)- Santos (K), Gill (P), Scales (LS) Decisions between if they keep a 6th DE (Green), 6th LB (Walker/Baskerville), 6th CB (Jaylon Jones), 7th WR (Pettis) or 4th RB (Homer/Ebner). 6th DE doesn't have special teams value, so I didn't keep Green again, but they could keep him if they value his versatility on D more than special teams coverage. Pettis being able to return punts (albeit not well) is going to be an interesting decision. I'd love it if they got bold and kept guys like Kramer over Leatherwood, Fountain over ESB, and found a way to keep Kellen Diesch, who's PFFs 5th highest graded OT this preseason (Borom is 1).

Ok, so the Tyson Bagent stuff is a little bit out of control. I understand if Fields missing time, the Bears are screwed either way. And getting a young guy reps could be beneficial for long-term reasons for him and the team's potential to get something from Bagent. But I don't necessarily believe he should be the #2 QB. Preseason games are just a small portion of the evaluation. Of course, he's done well enough to at least get a look before Peterman this past weekend, but I still cringe at the thought of throwing him in a game early in the season as a D2 UDFA. I also don't think there's a huge risk of someone poaching him if you try to sneak him thru waivers. They probably aren't going to, because they can afford to keep 3 QBs this year, but not many claims are made for camp cuts. Over 1100 players are cut when 32 teams go from 90 players down to 53. Only 33 got signed last year, and 6 of those were from a wretched Bears team last year. Only 2 of the 33 were QBs and both were relatively high draft picks with Kellen Mond (a former 3rd rounder) and Ian Book (a 4th rounder) being the only guys picked up.

Sounds like 4-6 weeks. Which could put him back Week 3 or middle of October. Week 4 is Oct 1, and just under 6 weeks, but also have a game Oct 5, which they won't bring him back for if can't go Oct 1. So, looking at Oct 15, Week 6. Agree with Goony. Only thing this changes is you don't talk about Jenkins in your long-term plans. Anything short of missing the minimum time and absolutely dominating the rest of the season with no missed snaps when he comes back and you probably have to draft a guard really high next year. Maybe not with one of the 1sts, but for sure on Day 2.

The only teams that I would consider as tanking, don't have a long-term (healthy) answer at QB, are Arizona and Tampa. Probably can include the Rams, though IDK what they're actually doing. I thought the Titans were tanking, but they signed Hopkins and just drafted QBs in consecutive years. Raiders, Vikings and Washington seem to be legitimately trying, though they may not have their long-term answer at QB.

Well yeah, I've said that for years. But my point is you can stash him as QB3. If a team claims a player on waivers, they have to put them on the 53. No team is putting a guy on their roster as QB2 or 3, based on 2 preseason quarters since DII. And even if they are going to lose anyway, I'd rather not throw Bagent in there as a starter with that same lack of experience and potentially ruin what you could have in him, considering the QB2 for the Bears is very likely going to start at least 1 game this year.

Easy on the Bagent love. He looks pretty solid, which is really all I hoped at this point. Dude was at a DII school this time last year. I don't think he's quite ready to start an NFL game as the primary backup for a QB who has been injured in his only 2 years in the league. I was hoping he'd show enough to be kept on as QB3 on the practice squad. And despite his play, I don't think he's at risk of being poached from the Bears PS to another team's 53 man roster, especially now that you don't have to have 3 QBs on the roster in order for them to be able to play in a pinch. That being said, the Bears probably still need a QB2. There's a couple teams out there with a couple solid 3rd QBs that I wouldn't mind grabbing if they make it to waivers. I'd cut PJ Walker in a heartbeat if SF cuts either Darnold or Brandon Allen, TB cuts John Woolford (he got hurt yesterday, not sure how severe).