Bertz

I'm torn. On the one hand he's a phenomenal fit in the immediate term, and this team is not in a place to be turning down talent. On the other hand he's not proven talent, and a lot of the team is already built on guys who should probably provide some solid productiin but the error bars are super wide. Also beyond the immediate term "RHH outfielder who's maybe kind of a tweener defensively" is something that we have in spades down on the farm. It's also been a bit of a rough go on NPB and KBO hitters the last five years. Ohtani is a I think the only good player in a while, and he's obviously a unicorn (and came over way younger which may have helped). I kind of wonder if the velocity spike in MLB has significantly lowered the odds of guys successfully transitioning compared to 10-15 years ago? So like, spend money, but ideally somewhere else?

Pretty minor movement, but sounds like neither side stormed off in a huff so that's another small win

It's not really about qualifications with the guy, he's been out of the league for years. That's the issue. Away from the game, health issues and age. It seems predestined to be a 3 year gig and move on, one way or another. I think that works just fine as an OC installing his offensive infrastructure and setting up his assistants to battle for the OC gig in 2025, but I don't think that is a good way to treat the HC position. Totally agreed, not my first choice mainly because of age. But I think a lot of people are instead jumping more towards "lol not even good enough for the Lions" which is a VERY different (and much less valid) convo.

I wanted someone more analytics-y since we (presumably) still have Kelly in the fold. That said Poles seemed like one of the best scout-y GM options so I'm still happy.

Of the Players' asks, this is the one I'm glad they're ditching. That said, it was the biggest ask so if the MLBPA is going this route they need to end up with most of the rest of their asks for the deal to be a win. The biggest issues on the player side are young players and low end FA vets. If you funnel more money to younger players, that solves #1 directly and helps #2 indirectly. Raise the luxury tax levels, and that money's mostly going to funnel into FA anyway. So focusing on the LT and young player pay would have a real "rising tide lifts all boats" sort of effect, while IMO focusing onearlier FA would mostly exacerbate the difference between your stars and your scrubs (though may result in more dollars). Ideally you'd get all three! But if you have to drop one, drop FA. Now I look forward to the owners making some actual concessions

Meeting for two hours I'm hopeful things actually moved a bit (though best case scenario is still another ~2 weeks of this horsefeathers)

Give him the Gruden deal, 10/$100 I don't care

Of the ones deeper in the thread Vinny Testapositive and Marjorie Taylor Green Bay stand out IMO

Rush Lambeau BreitBart Starr Brett FAvRe Right

https://twitter.com/BobbyBigWheel/status/1485060559632482305?t=yre1_MNOnb5rivIovqE5tw&s=19

I don't know that I'd have strong negative reaction to any of the HC options, but I think Daboll is the only one I've heard I'd be legitimately excited by. Similar on the GM front, I don't know that I hate many of the names we've heard, but I think the Cleveland guys + JoJo Wooden are the most exciting for me. I think Kwesi Adolfo Mensah from Cleveland is my number 1. Assuming we end up retaining Champ Kelly I feel like that's a really strong complimentary pair at the top of the Org.

Yeah I think he's a solid enough candidate who's just a weird fit for the Bears right now. Being older isn't by itself bad. Having been meh his last go around isn't by itself bad. Ditto being a defense first guy. But all three together makes him not really fit into where the Bears are in their cycle. Ironically he'd probably be a very good fit for a team like the Vikings.

It can be hard to finish, both because of the sheer richness and also because your straw starts clogging once the cake:shake ratio gets too high, but it's incredibly delicious. I think the obvious argument is to just get a slice* of cake with a side of shake. Bite then sip. Repeat. Can even mix it up with vanilla shake then. *or the whole cake. Get the whole cake. My bro-in-law will go get the full cake through the drive through for his son's bday cakes and they apparently frequently act amused and I'm thinking he can't be the only person rolling up to the drive through getting a whole cake. Maybe it depends on how much other stuff you order? Like they obviously expect it with catering. But I've definitely had it at family or friend functions where the rest of the food was not Portillos, so is it really that rare for people to get like just a cake or dinner for one plus a cake?

It can be hard to finish, both because of the sheer richness and also because your straw starts clogging once the cake:shake ratio gets too high, but it's incredibly delicious.

I sort of agree with the premise but suggesting he has to be an all pro I think is a bit of an exaggeration. He needs to show legitimate improvement with continued flashes of stardom but if he has a perfectly average passing season with additional production with his legs that’s more than enough to keep him through his rookie contract with his 5th year option picked up IMO. The Bears have many holes to fill so having an average QB with upside on a rookie deal makes improving other areas easier. Yeah I think it really depends on exactly what we mean when we say things like "struggles" or "quality starter." Are we talking Trubisky in year 2 (or Tua this year)? A roughly average QB on the whole with some high highs and some low lows? I don't think the seat gets particularly hot under Fields. Maybe he gets some backhanded compliments from the coaching staff or whatever, but nothing serious, unless there's some big opportunity for bringing in a vet (e.g. Russell Wilson). If he's more like Sam Darnold or Dwayne Haskins in year 2? Yeah, I think we see this scenario play out. That said, I don't necessarily think it's wrong to happen. Josh Allen was terrible in year 2 and turned into a star, but who was the last guy to do it? Kirk Cousins maybe? (And he didn't get full playing time until the latter part of year 3 so it's not a great comp). Most QBs who outright suck in year two never don't suck. The exceptions are like once or twice a decade.

If he's asking for 350 in (presumably) a fairly straight up deal I'd think something in the high 2's with a great AAV and a player-friendly structure should get the job done. Unless he's dead set on getting more raw dollars than Lindor/Seager as a matter of pride (not unreasonable).