WrigleyField 22

I agree that Pitts is a beast. Najee Harris runs much more violently, ala Derrick Henry, than Forte ever did. You didn't mention him, but I do not get the love for Trey Lance. He just seems like a guy. Najee definitely more physical than Forte. I think the comp is more of a size/speed thing and the fact that Najee is a good receiver out of the backfield for that size. But he's NOT Forte as a receiver. As for Trey Lance, I love him and completely disagree with you, LOL. I do think Fields over him is a no-brainer, but Lance has all the tools. Elite runner right now, not Lamar style, but pre-injury Cam Newton level. Big arm. I love his footwork most of the time, has inconsistencies like any other college QB. He has plays where he throws with tight window accuracy, anticipation, goes thru progressions.....admittedly few and far between, but they are there. He also seems to have the intangibles and small nuances. Great at carrying out playaction fakes and zone reads/RPOs. NDSU is basically the BAMA of FCS football, but it says a lot to me that he was trusted with that job as a 19-year old RS freshman last year. He went undefeated, with like 28 TDs and 0 INTs, and another 12 TDs rushing to go with 1000 yards. And if guys like Josh Allen, Patrick Mahomes, and Justin Herbert have taught us anything, it's to trust the tools and get a guy that can develop them. Yea I'm warming up to Lance. Bears should consider being aggressive in moving up.

Its looking like a good year for it, luckily.

I want a kick that hits the upright to be worth 4 points or something Another 2 points for the crossbar. Aka the Parkey touchdown.

I'm cool with going deep. My biggest worry is that Ryan Pace is going to pay going deep prices for someone who is decidedly not deep, like Matt Stafford. totally possible on the other hand, maybe he's learned his lesson If we're being as objective as possible about Pace, while he is agressive, it's not like he gives up high level assets for super dumb things. Like sure he gave up a lot for Mack, but that was a really big, cool, piece. And he's given up smaller pieces to move up for guys like Trubisky, Floyd, Jackson, and Montgomery, which has arguably added up over time, but it's not like classic late 90s Bears giving up a first for Mirer. If he goes and trades like 2 first rounders for Carson Wentz, I guess we'll say the other moves were warning signs, but I actually don't read him as a guy just wildly misreading the market.

The "set the franchise back" thing is overrated anyways. It's usually said by people who either don't understand the cap or don't understand what a sunk cost is.

LOLWUT? Let's take a simpler example to illustrate. Let's say your team is down 15 and scores a TD with 5 minutes to go on the clock. Should they go for 1 or 2? Most people would say 1 and make it a 1 score game. But the problem is if you plan to score one more time, you get your TD with less than a minute left and miss the two, you just lose by two. There's no time left to make up for that missed 2 point conversion. However, if you go for two now and miss, you have options. You can onside kick with 5 minutes left, you can take more risks with your offense the next time you get the ball, you can do the get the quick field goal trick and then onside kick. Your best chance of winning by far is to just make the two point conversion. But if you're going to miss, you would rather do it now than later. If you do it now, you can occasionally win the game even missing the two. If you wait until the very end, you just lose. This supports my, "try more 2 point conversions" theory of offense, so I support it. Always go for the extra points earlier than later! Is the NFL going to have to push the PAT backs another 5-10 yards to force the issue?

I was trying to figure out what is the most Bears outcome to this situation and figured it was either giving up too much for Darnold or acquiring Wentz without any relief for his salary factored in. But I don't think Wentz is going anywhere now so the second most likely may be Pace bidding against himself and somehow giving Mitch 3 years with no cap relief in years 2 and 3. Give up 3 1sts for Rodgers and then he retires next year after an 8-8 finish. Packers select HOF QB Mac Jones with one of those picks. That is the most Bear outcome.

Romo was 100% right on that. You kick the PAT there to get you to a 2 score game. The odds are still miniscule at that point but by failing on the 2 point conversion there you kept it at a 3 score game which ended their chances completely. Eh. Incidentally I think teams should go for 2 more often like when you capitalize on a big TO and pound one in. Go for two, it's like house money, and you might miss a PAT anyways.

Draft Day 2 : The Re-Draft, coming to theaters this Spring.

Interesting thread on Xs and Os thread re Fangio/Staley (probably Desai) D

He'd probably.immediately become the most talented passer in Bears history, but I think he's had too many injuries and is too immobile to last behind the Bears line as currently constructed. As long as the Bears line doesn't feature Coward ever it will be okay. Yea they need to add a new young high potential guy, and this draft looks like a good opportunity to do so, but it's not too far from competency.

Cool, I hope Desai is awesome and then gets hired away as head coach in a couple years and the Bears get 2 3rd round picks.

But it’s not penalizing the team. They signed him to a contract. They structured it the way they did for a reason. They knew the risks. I guess the only real argument is that they can ask for pro-rated signing bonuses back when a player retires. So if they can get the cash back, why wouldnt they also get the cap back. Anyways, yea Loomis has been a cap wizard of sorts, but it was always designed around rising cap and very significant most years. Things are much more limiting now. They'll get out of it somehow, but the bill comes someday. One thing they'll have to do is put a bunch of dummy years on contracts too. Can extend out guarantees up to 5 years for cap purposes even if the player is only signed for 2 or 3 more, then you get that big dead hit after their final year or extend again and recapitalize it again.

You can take that loop back another level since Pederson was Reid's OC who they fired (granted with Kelly in between). They love them some Andy Reid coaching tree.

For London, QB coach is a legit promotion given history as that spot as a stepping stone to an OC role. I feel like there was some talk with the new minority comp rules that QB coach and coordinators could be included in some form. Did that happen, or is it just HC/GMs?

They're not so cash strapped they couldn't make Stafford or really any 1 FA/trade work. I tend to agree about giving up assets for a Lock/Darnold type though. Assets for a known quantity, sure let's talk. For potential, I'll just spin the draft/FA wheel and hope to get lightning in a bottle that way.

Sounds like a slippery slope to another Bounty Gate to me!

I just want to see a QB somewhere this draft. Obviously 20 doesnt look like a strong spot to pick high at this point, but guys like Mond or Newman are compelling enough as day 3 picks. Even if they're only ever backups that's 4 cheap years of backup QB play. Grab a practice squad flyer who isn't Tyler Bray also. yea, a rd 2-4 QB should always be a priority if you dont have a Rodgers starting even then Yea I mean didn't the Packers fart out like 3 or 4 guys into trade capital that they developed behind Favre in the 90s?

You have to try lots of options. Put a guy in a new system and who knows, he might improve. But if the worst case is you actually get worse QB play, then you'll also get a much better draft pick in 2022 and an entirely new regime to make that selection. Without getting Fields, Wilson, Lance or Watson, I'm thinking loading up on the offensive line while waiting for the next QB opportunity is way to go. So go with that bridge or patch work QB, having that OL in place will certainly help to hasten the development of your franchise QB. I just want to see a QB somewhere this draft. Obviously 20 doesnt look like a strong spot to pick high at this point, but guys like Mond or Newman are compelling enough as day 3 picks. Even if they're only ever backups that's 4 cheap years of backup QB play. Grab a practice squad flyer who isn't Tyler Bray also.

I believe they interviewed him for the HC job a few years ago.

Until we get to see Brady with a truly awful coach like Matt Nagy though, we'll never get the full sample we need.

There was a sentiment that you could surround Brady with anyone and win championships. The team regularly took cast-offs from other teams and day 2/3 draft picks and sustained success. I don't know if anyone argued that Brady was unimportant, but I haven't delved back into the hot take archives So... that doesn't really disprove any Belicheck myth than? As long as it admits Belicheck's system was reliant on a HOF QB. It was still an incredibly successful system that other franchises with a HOF QB didn't get near matching.

Wait are there people who were arguing that a HOF QB (underpaid for most of his time) wasn't critical to the Patriots nearly 2 decade dynasty?

Supposedly Phillys owner doesn't want to eat Wentzs contract and wants to salvage him, which is why Pederson was fired, as he wanted to move on. So I don't think it will be Wentz. Ryan will be interesting to watch. His cap number still is pretty tough to swallow in 2021. In 2022 it becomes much easier to cut or trade him. So even if they might draft a successor he'd be a good, albeit expensive, one year bridge. Stafford seems more realistic than either of those. God I have seen this movie so many times. To be clear, we are probably at Lloyd Christmas "so you're telling me there's a chance" levels of acquiring a veteran top half of the league type starter. But 1 in a hundred is more likely than 1 in a million. Particularly with Stafford, there's some rumors Denver could be interested. And unless the Bears blow Detroit away with an offer, they'd probably move him to Denver all being the same. The good thing with Stafford is Detroit has motivation t move him before March 17 because of a roster bonus. So we won't spend all offseason speculating about the possibility.

Supposedly Phillys owner doesn't want to eat Wentzs contract and wants to salvage him, which is why Pederson was fired, as he wanted to move on. So I don't think it will be Wentz. Ryan will be interesting to watch. His cap number still is pretty tough to swallow in 2021. In 2022 it becomes much easier to cut or trade him. So even if they might draft a successor he'd be a good, albeit expensive, one year bridge. Stafford seems more realistic than either of those.