raw

They can't get the ball down the field. They have Bears level OL talent and their QBs have noodle arms. They were doing that out of necessity to get him the ball. From a 14.5 ypc career guy to about 9 this year. I don't see any reason he can't be that 14ypc guy again right away. There's no way Trubisky and Pickett are more noodle armed then end of career Ben right? No, probably not. But Ben had a better OL too. I think it's the combination of the two that's the issue now.

Who are you considering the 3rd? Harry. I'm on the bandwagon already, yes. Don't even hate St. Brown as the 4th even. Can Velus earn the 5th WR gadget role over Pettis? Would help if he could be trusted to field punts. Does Pringle have a role when he gets healthy? Lot of bodies. Mooney is gonna play. Claypool is gonna play. They kind of need to see what they have in Velus and Harry. But St. Brown has kind of earned a right to play. Pettis has the highest YPC on the team and lead in TD receptions. Pringle was productive last year for KC and they had hopes for him, but probably no reason to give him a ton of reps at this point, he has 0 chance of being back in 2023.

They can't get the ball down the field. They have Bears level OL talent and their QBs have noodle arms. They were doing that out of necessity to get him the ball. From a 14.5 ypc career guy to about 9 this year. I don't see any reason he can't be that 14ypc guy again right away.

I now wish the Smith/Claypool trades happened a week ago so Chase could be up to speed for this one. The Dolphins pass D is atrocious. 275 yards per game with a 100 QB rating against. Just allowed 300 yards to Goff. Allowed 300 to Lamar running the same offense Fields has in the last 2. The Dolphins haven't rushed the passer very well either. Chubb will help with that, but not sure how much this week. Assuming he doesn't get 50-60 reps, the Bears may be able to protect Fields much better than they have the last few weeks. They've faced some of the best pass rushes in the last 3-4 games. If ever there was a game where Justin throws 35 times.....

Anyone have the broadcast maps for this one?

I posted my thoughts on the Claypool trade in the Week 8 gamethread. But it's also pretty telling that they didn't trade Montgomery. Doesn't necessarily mean they are going to try to keep him into next year, but they clearly didn't want to give up any asset on Justin Fields' side of the field. The optics side of these deals is beautiful.

They overpaid by giving up THEIR 2nd instead of the Ravens' 2nd. I probably wouldn't have given up more than the early 3rd, but I guess Green Bay thought they had him this morning and the Bears had to up which 2nd they offered to get the deal done and keep him from Green Bay. Don't love the trade or the player. But the player is decent and I LOVE the insinuation that this regime is 100% behind Fields and are making a move to get him some professional WR help. There simply isn't a better guy available in free agency this offseason. And this gets Fields some help RIGHT NOW. They were going to have to trade for a WR at some point between now and next August, better that they got this done now. Let's go out and lose some more 40-30 games!

Id take Jerry Jeudy as well.

He actually used more of them last year. So, I wouldn't necessarily say they won't use them all.

Where'd you see that?

Ironically, just "started" on Thursday for the first time all year (5th start since 2020). But he only played 15 snaps (4 tackles, 1 TFL is a good ratio)

Yeah, the guys who would be available would be WRs who are due for new contracts either due to end of rookie deals or because they signed a few years ago and the market has reset itself. And the rookie deal guys would have to be on teams that either have other expensive WRs or a really big QB contract on the books. Guys that are nearing the end of their rookie deals: Tee Higgins (Burrow and Jamar going to get real expensive soon), Jerry Jeudy (Wilson, Sutton, Patrick), Brandon Aiyuk (Deebo, but Jimmy G will be gone), Calvin Ridley (cap is a mess from Ryan), Michael Pittman (would probably have to be a tear down), Chase Claypool (Johnson), Gabriel Davis (Allen, Diggs), and Donovan People-Jones (Cooper, Watson). There's not really any guys in the latter category. All the big WR deals were recently signed or the players who signed a couple years ago, aren't deserving of top money anymore (Golladay, Michael Thomas, Mike Evans-age). I've heard whispers that Keenan Allen could be made available this offseason, but yuck, I'll pass on that. He's not great and 30. None of those guys are at Hill, Brown, Diggs levels, but that's probably a good thing as they'd cost less to trade for. Oh the other guy is DJ Moore. But not certain they want to part that early on. Would probably be steep. 2023 and 2024 second? Ah yeah, forgot about him.

Jackson? I wonder what kind of value they can get for him while he's hot. That would be a bigger shock than Roquan. I do think it would involve eating some money and the other team likely voiding his deal as well. But it's certainly a possible move. BTW, I don't know if anyone noticed but after Quinn was traded they said they would name another permanent captain to take his place. Jackson had the [C] on his chest yesterday (noticed on the INT). This would make 3 defensive captains traded in a week. LOL. One thing that would do I guess is let me know they are all about building around Fields by gutting the money on D.

Yeah, the guys who would be available would be WRs who are due for new contracts either due to end of rookie deals or because they signed a few years ago and the market has reset itself. And the rookie deal guys would have to be on teams that either have other expensive WRs or a really big QB contract on the books. Guys that are nearing the end of their rookie deals: Tee Higgins (Burrow and Jamar going to get real expensive soon), Jerry Jeudy (Wilson, Sutton, Patrick), Brandon Aiyuk (Deebo, but Jimmy G will be gone), Calvin Ridley (cap is a mess from Ryan), Michael Pittman (would probably have to be a tear down), Chase Claypool (Johnson), Gabriel Davis (Allen, Diggs), and Donovan People-Jones (Cooper, Watson). There's not really any guys in the latter category. All the big WR deals were recently signed or the players who signed a couple years ago, aren't deserving of top money anymore (Golladay, Michael Thomas, Mike Evans-age). I've heard whispers that Keenan Allen could be made available this offseason, but yuck, I'll pass on that. He's not great and 30. None of those guys are at Hill, Brown, Diggs levels, but that's probably a good thing as they'd cost less to trade for.

Nah, if anything that had 0 effect on anything. I think this was the plan the whole time. Get rid of guys not in the long-term plans. I just figured Roquan was in their plans.

Id' say Deron Payne >>> Roquan Smith perhaps, that'll be one place the money will be spent. Yeah, but what happens if Payne is tagged? Not to mention, he'll have the ability to sign anywhere else as well. Obviously, the Bears have the most money to offer, but far from a given they can even get him.

Love getting another top 60 pick. The elephant in the room here is Josh Allen, Tua, and Hurts all started to show they were turning the corners at this point in Year 2 and all were able to add an elite WR before Year 3. Have to wonder if Poles is setting up a similar situation. I just have no idea who that WR would be or if Poles even would be willing to make such a move that isn't building thru the draft.

Wow. I didn't expect that at all. Nobody is safe. 100% trade Montgomery now. I'm guessing a lot of the defensive issues yesterday was short week, combined with travel, combined with deflation from Quinn being traded. Can't imagine the defense is any better against Miami of all teams.

I don't think he's proven that he's not a dependable receiver. He's had 20 targets this year in 8 games. Also, this is a Shanahan offensive scheme. This isn't a very TE friendly scheme, unless you have an elite talent at the position like Kittle. The Niners, Rams, Packers, Jets, post Gonzalez Falcons, old school Broncos, all run/ran the scheme and only one with big TE years are the Niners who happen to have a top 2 TE in the league. If you are spending any real money on a TE, you are playing that TE. Not OVER Kmet, but WITH Kmet. This isn't a 2 TE friendly scheme at all. Hell, the Bears have 5 TEs on the roster, the worst WR talent in the league, and STILL aren't throwing to the TEs very much. Get receivers. The player Fields is, is the kind that wants to throw the ball down the field and make big plays. TEs don't make big plays unless they are named Kittle or Kelce. Even the one in question (Gesicki) is only averaging 11.2 per catch, which is great for a TE. But pales in comparison to a non-possession WR.

I've laid out my ideas a little bit in this or past threads. I don't think Braxton Jones or Lucas Patrick are going anywhere. Jones was handpicked by this regime of former OL players. He's played OK, potential to get better. Patrick was also signed by this regime. He's been really bad, but I can definitely see them writing off this season as being moot since he lost camp with the broken hand, then played part time, then played LG, then only got 10 snaps at his intended position until he got injured again. Maybe he comes back this year and is terrible at C and they move on, but you're likely talking about only 4-5 games at most when he's eligible to come back. So, I do think they'll bring him back with a chance to start fresh at C.....like it or not. But I'd go hard after Elgton Jenkins. I know, injury issues, but this regime prioritized familiarity with the system last offseason. Might as well, get someone familiar who is actually really good. Plus he gives the versatility to play several positions on the OL. At this point, I'm thinking RT for Jenkins. Borom is OK, maybe better than Jones, but he wasn't picked by this regime. If Borom wins RT, then Jenkins can start at LG. But I'd also draft the best OL I could find in the top 3 rounds. My offseason: Cut Whitehair Tag Roquan, extend Mooney, Jaylon, maybe Gipson (for cash spending purposes) Give Daron Payne whatever he wants Sign Elgton Jenkins + a veteran depth piece in case draft doesn't work out Trade/Sign a WR- If it's trade, I'm thinking more Brandin Cooks or Calvin Ridley, who won't require a 1st or 2nd round pick in return. Maybe Jeudy if his price tag isn't too bad. None of these guys would require an immediate contract extension (Cooks has 2 years left, Jeudy has 2 w/ 5th year option, Ridley a UFA after 2023, but would be taking less than market value after almost 2 years out). If going FA, I'd probably lean Hardman from KC just to run out a track team w/ him, Mooney and Velus (have to go WR 1st then) Draft WR, OL, DE early. LB, CB, RB, maybe TE on Day 3.

Nope. True Sophomore

Agreed, Kmet is a bust given his draft position but he's average among NFL TEs. My goal would be draft a WR in the 1st, Interior OL in the 2nd, HB in the 3rd. Sign Orlando Brown and Deron Payne as FAs. That would be my primary moves of the offseason. I don't think Brown is a fit. Mentioned wanting smaller, quick linemen. Plus he wants top of the league LT money when hr should be at RT and isn't even the best there. Payne would be a dream. Makes the whole DL much better and thus makes LBs better.

I don't think they are going to trade Montgomery, but yeah, he isn't coming back.

I wouldn't spend resources on a TE. Kmet is fine. He's been asked to pass protect a ton because of the OL issues and the need to move the pocket for Fields (which is because of OL issues and Fields' strengths). Kmet has been up and down as a blocker, but it would be nice to be able to use him as an actual receiving option instead of a 6th lineman/checkdown option.

Neither are under contract for next year though. So, you'd have to give either new money. And ideally, you'd only bring 1 of them back. You basically have to decide between Harry's upside and St. Brown's run blocking. St. Brown kinda is what he is at this point, but Harry is easily the more talented WR. Ideally, whichever one you bring back is battling Velus for the 4th WR. The Bears need a real X (doesn't have to be big) and a slot.