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I think Kareem Hunt (the player not the person) is a good comparison to Montgomery. That's very different from Howard. I know we all loved Howard's hustle - he is a good guy, and I respect him. I truly hope he does well. But this guy is a different beast, with a different skill set. ANd once we all get over the shock of change, we are gonna love this guy. Also, good teams get rid of good players, we are very much not used to it, but many years the Patriots trade a good player in the last year of his contract. Everyone yells and screams. The player never plays as well in his new surroundings, and after a year or two, then everyone is attached to the player that was selected in part with the capital that was gained by trading the previous one, rather than keeping him another year and losing him to free agency. Montgomery has a lot of "make you miss" that Howard doesn't have, and he's got hands. I really like Montgomery.

He is a LOT livelier than Howard. He has a wicked change of direction that Howard never had.

YES

He will have 50 yard runs too tho. But the fastest defender can chase him down. That's OK for a running back, especially with Cohen available too. THis guy is not a power back. Hes got a lot of twitch. Think LeSean McCoy when he was with the eagles. He also has soft hands and played QB in high school - wildcat anyone?

Im gonna disagree. He's 5' 11" which is prototypical NFL running back size. He only looks short because he is wide. Youre right he isnt a home run hitter - hes more quick than fast, but he will take a lot of 3 yard gains and turn them into 5, 7 and 15 yard gains, and he does get rumbling for big gasins, he just usually gets caught from behind around the 10 yard line. Thats OK, in fact perfect for his role. He has great balance and vision and hes a real thumper. Plus he has hands. He has vision, but not the paitent kind Howard had. He hits the hole hard and can cut the zone plays in a single power step that took Howard a couple steps to accomplish. I think this is really going to take our running game to the next level in a way that meshes (pun intended) very well with Nagys system. By November, youre gonna love this guy.

fantastic.

OK, Drew Lock is a jerk. I totally see the Cutler comparisons. ugh. I really like Trubisky, Thank Pace we are rooting for someone likeable now. GO BEARS.

agree. A safety or a CB all things being equal, but they really do have the ability to go in an unexpected direction if a real value pick is sitting there. If a good QB falls, they could even take him. See Garoppolo, Foles and Cassel for why. You get a great B/U and double your value in trade once youve developed him. Not predicting that, just saying, we can really take any position if the value is there. All things being equal, S or CB is a good bet. TE, DE and RB are also possibles.

dont forget we got a 2nd back for a 3rd too, so it was a lot less than 2 24s!

I think there is an ideological difference here. Some people, and Jason I think has been consistent in this over the years, are position people. They identify the weakest link on the team, and want to target players to replace that position. Obviously, every team does some of this, and the worse the roster is, the more this is true. Other people prefer a best player available approach. Of course you need to have a fairly comp[lete roster to do that. The Bears havent been that team before, but i think starting this year, they are. Smart GMs like Pace fill holes with free agents before the draft so that they are flexible to take advantage of where value presents itself, regardless of position. Naturally, every real world draft is a blend of these two ideas. But I think that now more than ever, the Bears are able to take BPA, and that is very good news indeed. And BPS might BE a 3-4 DE. All I can predict is that Pace won't reach - in his own opinion anyway. I guess Im saying he doesnt HAVE to reach.

+1

I agree that DE is a place where you wouldn't have to supplant a pretty good player when you draft a stud. That said, I don't think the studs are there in the 3rd. This could be next year's first or second round pick perhaps. That said, we have some pretty good bodies there already, and we need to get ahead of the curve on Trevathan, Long and Amukamara. I think Pace is doing very well, and setting us up to be a strong team for as long as Trubisky is playing well.

I dunno. I think if you have the chance to draft the Michael Jordan of football, you do it. LOL

I agree with what youve said about round 3. I think they scout ALL the players at ALL positions every year so that they understand weird trade scenarios that may arise, and so they have a book on the player when they become free agents in a few years. This is a very interesting draft, and we might well get some surprises.

if a player falls at a position we dont necessarily need, but who is tremendously undervalued, we might just pick him and surprise everyone. we might even trade up for such a player. I think we are legitimately looking for value now.

it's both. Pace is getting the guys that fit what the coaches need. Take Jordan Howard as an example. Good player with a lot of football ahead of him, but doesnt fit the scheme. So Pace has found the right players with the traits they need.

yeah Pace is kicking butt. WITHOUT a kicker!

something Im sure, but probably not anything that makes it hard for us to cut him. I thin the three year deal was a measure of our leverage, not his.

ok, so you know you can cut anyone you want any time right? The only downside is the cap hit, the signing bonus (guaranteed money) that you paid upfront is due on that years cap. If there is no significant upfront money, then you can cut them at any time without any downside. Now on the other hand, if this guy works out and we want to keep him, we dont have to renegotiate with him for three years, his salary is set, now before he has leverage. So assuming there is no signing bonus or upfront money (at least until he makes the final team this eyar) then this is a no lose situation, where we are covered for three years if we want to keep him. But it doesnt mean we have to. That's only in proportion to the upfront money. Thats the only security any player has.

because they can probably cut him easily if they want to - the three years protects the team not the player if there isnt significant guaranteed money.

+1

Yeah it's been quiet. Probably because we dont pick until the 3rd round. Im VERY happy with our first and second this year: more than half of Khalil Mack and Anthony Miller. Great picks. Already NFL proven. Helped us learn to be a winning team last year too., and develop Trubisky, and chemistry with the team. Great value for those picks.

I assume there is an out if he doesn't make the team. It'd be really early in the process to nail someone down for three years. So it's probably a three year deal, but the guaranteed money is probably not very much. So basically, Im guessing we have him locked in for 3 years if we choose him. But if we cut him, Im guessing there won't be much of a cap hit.

If you're a talented free agent who didn't find the huge guaranteed contract you were hoping for, then you sign a one year prove it deal somewhere and hope to cash in the next year. SO it stands to reason that if you have to play a low paid prove it year, you want to go to a team that's GOOD for two reasons - one your productivity looks better playing on a good team, especially on defense, and you get a chance to win a super bowl. On offense, you want to play with a good QB. Basically, this means as long as Pace does his job right, and keeps this window open, we should be an attractive landing place for free agents every year to fill holes. They have a salary cap and parity in a draft order in inverse order of your prior year's record all in an attempt to equalize the league. But the salary cap also promotes the importance of free agency and coaches, so if you have a winning team with a good coach and a good QB, youre going to have an ongoing advantage in building your roster. Like the Patriots. Like the Bears.

Thanks Adam! I'm not sure we will get any compensatory picks tho, and I doubt very highly we get the conditional pick from Oak, Mack has played well. I think a likely reality is: 2nd (oak) 2nd 4th 5th 6th (from howard) 6th 7th And maybe some low value compensatory, but I wouldnt be counting on another 4th at all.