BearFan PHX

I totally agree with you. I think Montgomery is a really good back with vision and a desire to finish his runs. he reminds me of Raymont Harris in that way. THe run blocking was atrocious for him, and frankly the rhythm of the running playcalling was awful too. With decent blocking, Montgomery is a Pro Bowl player. William IS a solid #2. Probably the best in the league. He is starter quality. Cohen and Herbert provide speed matchup problems too. There is every reason to think that we have the pieces to have a really scary offense. We will know after this year with complete certainty whether Nagy is the guy or not. Most coaches dont get this extra year and such a stocked roster to do that either. We are either going to be really good, or very angry. I am going to predict we will be very good.

It's only confusing if you think that Leno is near the level of Moses. If you think Leno was garbage, then there is no confusion with cutting him and then looking for depth at LT. Also they saved a bunch of salary cap room cutting Leno, and I bet Moses was cheaper than what they would have had to pay Leno as just some insurance. Also, adam may be right, he probably didnt want to sign somewhere where he would either be a backup, or thew writing was on the wall that he would be demoted during the season.

you're right - there are a lot of pieces and a lot of reason for hope. I think it all depends on how they gel, and what kind of identity they establish. I think it's really hard to predict an outcome, since they could fail to gel like some Yankees teams have, perhaps missing a pass rush, and with bad playcalling from Nagy, or they could find themselves and dominate and make a Super Bowl run. Of course, you're probably right to be between those extremes, but there is more chaos in the predicted outcome this year due to potential, but also newness and past examples of coaching mistakes. I'd fell better about the defense if I wasn't worried about Quinn and Mack. I could be more confident of what's going on in the secondary if I knew we had a dominant pass rush. And we might. When he's good Mack is one of the best in the league, let's hope that happens again this year. So from 6-11 to a Super bowl run, are all possible outcomes for this team. It means there is a lot of hope for the future, and a lot to root for. This will be a fun season for sure. Justin Fields makes all the difference.

I totally agree. The reason I've been suspicious about the defense is only because the offense looks stocked. Not proven (yet) but stocked.

no Im sure its awful, and the team that digs down deeper gets an advantage. Sort of like why the navy seals attack at night.

I agree that a retractable roof will make a better fan experience in December, but it hurts my heart to think of it. I want the bears to always have that winter advantage. I think tradition sort of demands that it be an open air stadium. Or if they want to use it for more than football, fine a retractable roof, but they should leave it open for football. That's Bear football.

no doubt, we have some team speed on offense for sure. We also have a pretty good double TE set, and a punishing back in Montgomery, and with any luck, some new road graders on the OL. Someone ought to be able to call plays to make this offense work. This is Nagy's best opportunity to show what he's got. If he can only produce mediocrity with them, then he should be gone. Maybe Pace would stay. If on the other hand, Nagy can turn this into a really potent modern offense that gets a lot of production and praise, then maybe we will all be saying that it was Mitch's fault alone. And then that looks good for Nagy and less good for Pace. Of course all of this is oversimplified, but it's how fans and writers tend to see things, so it will become real messaging, even if levels of nuance are lost. This is a big season for us. I really want to see Fields lighting it up to all these different weapons. Lets go!

hahahaha

I totally agree. The only thing that i would be against is a closed stadium. To me the Bears need to play in the elements. Other than that, as long as they are somewhere near Chicago, Im good.

agree. they will be the chicago bears just as the jets are the new york jets, they even play in a different state, and so do the giants.

Adam, thank you for that. that makes his absence even more perplexing then. I assumed he was out of shape because it was the most benign explanation and fit a former pattern. If that wasnt it, I wonder what the heck it was. And then they signed Mike Pennell today, so they must have wanted insurance too after knowing what's up. Hmmmm.

Seems like NT Mike Pennel has signed a one year deal. Given that Goldman was a no show, this is probably insurance and depth. But it definitely says that the Bears weren't thrilled with Goldman's absence, and need options. https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2021/06/17/bears-agree-to-terms-with-mike-pennel-on-a-one-year-deal/

I agree with that mewntality from Khyris' point of view for sure. And I hope that Goldman comes back with a fire in his belly. But I think this isnt a good sign overall, and puts replacing him on to Pace's radar for next year. Not that GOldman cant play himself out of that position, he can, and i hope he does. But this is not a good look for a guy who held out for COVID last year.

I totally agree. We havent had the chance to be dominant in a long time.

Hearing more good stuff about Desai. Let's hope he brings back the Fangio type aggressiveness.

I agree, but he had problems with his offseason weight and conditioning before, that was said to be a drawback about him as a rookie, and I hope he is taking it seriously.

Ok, so as long as I'm overblowing little things and reading too much into them, here's a good one about Desai. Jackson compared his style more to "Vic" Fangio than "Chuck" Pagano - seems to indicate that his responsibilities would be more similar to Fangio's defense than last year's. GOOD. If we field and explosive offense, then a gambling defense is a good pairing with that. No need to play it so safe. Maybe that's why the pass rush was kind of sleepy too. And he also said that Desai was being tough with the players. Also great to see. I like to hear this, getting Jackson back to prime form would be huge for this defense.

Sounds like Goldman might be out of shape or retiring or something, he didnt show for mandatory minicamp after sitting out the year last year. It doesnt sound like a contract dispute the way Nagy talked about it. People were very forgiving that he chose to sit out the season last year - I always thought it showed a lack of heart for the game and the team. Also, if he's pulling this crap, it would have been decent of him to give us a heads up before the draft. He is currently on my crap list.

ARob has been great for us. I think we will sign him soon. Especially now that we know we have a rookie QB deal for the next 4 years on our cap and not something like Russell Wilson etc. The only way we don't sign ARob is if we know there is going to be a glut of top tier WR Free Agents next year. A first round stud wont do it because it takes time for a #1 WR to develop. I say it's at least 2 to 1 that we will sign Robinson to a long term deal before the season starts.

Sure, but both is best. A great QB and a great WR is the stuff Super Bowl dreams are made of. I think it is very likely Robinson will get a long term deal before the season starts.

hahahaha well said!

yeah, I mean just to reiterate, it couldnt be a smaller thing. but we have almost nothing on which to judge this guy, so I noticed it. I dont extrapolate much from it. But if I see more, then maybe it becomes a pattern. Right now, its nothing. But then again it's mid June so we have nothing else

yes of course youre right, and Im not predicting anything. I just didnt love that moment on the tape, and I wonder if he is up to the job, not as a result of the tape, just becasue he is inexperienced so far. But he has every opportunity to make me love him. and I would love to see a ferocious defense. we do look like we could be pretty solid on paper. I worry a bit about where Mack really is and the other side pass rush too, but I woudlnt be surprised if Mack returns to form either. I mean, with a real offense they have something to give that last bit of heroic effort for. Its probably hard to find that down 24 points knowing your offense cant come back.

yeah its a small thing, Im not assuming it means too much, but I am just keeping my eye on how Desai does, whether he has control, and whether he has the know how. THere is no question that if we already had Fields, and everyone knew Nagy and Pace werent on such a hot seat at the time that defensive coordinators were taking jobs we probably would have had more interest and ended up with a different name. BUT, Desai is welcome to prove my concenrs wrong and turn me into a huge fan of his. It's very early getting to know him, I just didn't love that one moment on the zoom call, and the defensive players sitting out the OTA made we wonder a bit. none of it means anything real yet tho for sure.

OK so this is a little thing. But ugh. So Nagy is on a zoom meeting explaining that he will not be on the field during the first practice because of a COVID rule, and that he will be watching on a remote video screen. And he makes a joke, saying he will be watching the offense score all over the defense. I think he was hoping some defensive coaches would rib him back. And he prompts Desai, saying "right?" and Desai agrees with him. Grrr. Now maybe he wasnt really paying attention. Or maybe he is afraid to speak up to the head coach. But this guy just recently had his squad skip OTAs while most of the offense showed up. We are all so thrilled at the changes on offense. Rightly so. But I think we need to keep an eye on the defense. Im wondering if Desai has what it takes, and if not having Justin Fields and having Nagy and Pace on the hot seat when it was time to find a new DC didnt really hurt us. And this video is pretty interesting all the through, including ACTUAL footage of the pre draft interviews. I've never seen anything like that before.