BearFan PHX

I hope we get some competent leadership and they in turn bring in competent position coaches. I do think our DBs coach, whoever he is, is doing a pretty good job, but with most of these guys, we can just start over, especially on offense. Id also like to say that if we get more production out of our DL, like fixing the DT situation and maybe signing a guy like Chase Young, our LBs might start to look a lot better. Theyve been asked to clean up run game problems that really start on the DL, and that makes the late in coverage, and makes the opposing QB comfortable in the pocket, which makes everyone look bad in coverage.

without Favre and Rodgers, the Packers are just another football team. with Caleb Williams and the proper coaching, the Bears are an up and coming threat to be a long term contender. I'll believe it when I see it on the field, but on paper, that's what it is.

I'd trade Chris Morgan for a 2035 6th rounder LOL seriously though, sooner or later we are going to get that 3rd round comp for Cunningham, and it isn't far fetched to think it will be this year.

and I know Harbaugh is polarizing, so i get it - but for me, if it came down to who can help this franchise more, Harbaugh or Warren, it's an easy call to dump Warren LOL

well said. thats really where we are and what that was.

A freakin Men

yes, it's just smart to do your due diligence even if you know that's not gonna be your guy. thats why we should at least have TALKED to Harbaugh. Wouldnt we have wanted to know what his plan would have been? i mean hes only the 5th highest winning percentage of all time or something like that.

This is a good point - you get your OC interviews done at the same time, and get some free consulting in the process.

This all day. A head coach is a lot more than a coordinator or a scheme. We need a head coach desperately. I cant say that Ben Johnson doesnt have those skills, but I just dont know. I know Vrabel does, but then you have to find the right coordinator to develop Caleb and hope he sticks around. So either way there are unknowns. This is not an easy decision in my eyes.

I understand that logic, but there are some scenarios, like what if they really want a coach like Johnson, and he says he will only take the job if you bring in his guy? Then i think Poles could be let go. ANd since you dont know which coach you want yet, and which Gm they might want, they could be keeping Poles around until they know those things, and cut him loose after that. So while I agree if they were going to fire him for his performance in and of itself, they might have done it already, or in the next week, if they fire him to make room for a new guy, they might still hold on to him until the new guy is chosen and we hear who he wants?

Here's an interesting article that recounts some quotes from Kevin Byard's interview with Dan Weiderer about head coaches. Byard played for Vrabel in Tenessee, and Eberflus in Chicago. https://www.sportsmockery.com/chicago-bears/kevin-byard-went-all-in-on-why-matt-eberflus-was-a-terrible-head-coach/

it's because i worry that it will be more than a few games, and whoever we have to fill in, being not starter caliber, will get Caleb killed. We totally agree that Jenkins is a good player when he's healthy. The question is what do you really have when he isn't playing, and what future cohesion can you really create? And what players do you pass over because you have Jenkins penciled in there? It's not a big disagreement, more one of strategy than analysis of how he is as a player. I think we agree on that. I just think we are better off getting a replacement for him that we can count on, and moving forward. Like I said, if you can get a rookie behind him that's an eventual starter level talent, then I am a lot less nervous about it. But I would be OK playing rookies if they are good enough too. They'll make mistakes, but they'll learn too. Like Wright his first year. Also, if we get a better OL coach, that will hopefully make all of this look better no matter who is in there (within reason of course!)

Ok, so a reporter asked our OC about that play, and he confirmed that Odunze should not have throttled down, and it wasn't Caleb's fault. Also on the all 22, you can see Odunze stop running at the exact moment Caleb releases the ball, so no way Caleb could have seen he was going to do that ahead of time. Our OC confirms that Odunze should have worked up to the second window, and Caleb read it the way he was supposed to. And you can see that had Odunze kept running full speed, he would have been deeper and the ball would have been lower (since it has a ballistic path) and not as far out in front of Odunze - it would have been a dime. Now Im not mad at Odunze either - this is advanced stuff, and he and Caleb need to build rhythm together, but the fault was on Odunze, not Caleb as per our OC himself. But the way I saw it at the time is confirmed here.

we have so many holes that salary cap space is gonna get eaten up pretty fast - I see some thoughts we might sign Chase Young for example. And we need 4 players on the OL (in my opinion) or at least 3?

yes to both.

well if we have a high draft pick at LG, and the idea is for him to push Jenkins and take his job, that's totally cool. The only problem is then you have to pay Jenkins, because Im pretty sure someone will. And I dont want to pay Jenkins if Im hoping he will be depth by week 5? I dont question Jenkins ability when hes on the field. It's his availability that I worry about of course.

for sure, and if you have a LG that is starter quality, then you dont pay Jenkins except as depth. Thats why I say Jenkins should be a backup. Someone else will pay him start money though, and it shouldnt be us. So I agree that a half price Jenkins is a bargain in the abstract, in practice I think you either think of him as a starter, which is a mistake, or you pay him like a backup, which Im fine with, as long as you have a different starter at LG? If the bargain Jenkins seduces us into not having a pedigreed starter at LG, or at least a high pick rookie, then I think its a mistake and you end up with a hole at LG for half the season.

I cant disagree more. In a couple years no one will be saying that Caleb wasnt the best QB in this draft.

that makes money sense, but it also gives some false sense of security that weve filled a hole? If you want him as a backup, thats cool, but if youre kind of penciling him in as a half starter, witht he idea that it wont cost us if hes injured again, then i wonder if you havent failed to bring someone in as a starter in his place?

on paper I agree. I hope it is so in reality.

we agree on this, and this is why i think Xs and Os are only a part of it, and why I like Vrabel. IF we get Johnson, I sure hope he is up to this part of it. Maybe he is. I cant say he isnt, but its a gamble, just as Vrabel finding an OC who can develop Caleb is a gamble too. Either way we gotta cross our fingers a bit.

I totally see it the same way, Grizz. I worry Poles isnt the brains, but Cunningham is? But when adam said he gets "smartest guy int he room" vibes he didnt mean that Poles IS the smartest guy, but that he acts like he is, so that he doesnt have to follow the conventional wisdom that Jason so aptly just described, and thinks he can out-think everyone with moves that are too cute. I think we are all agreeing

of course I hope youre right

Happy New Year to all I hope 2025 is great for all of us. My daughter is getting married on the 4th, so 2025 will start out great for me! Hope you and your families have a great year too. And the Bears too!

and he definitely understands how important a good OL is. His whole offense is based off their running game. They do amazing things in the passing game, but it's because the defense has to respect the run, and that is because their OL is dominant.