BearFan PHX

It's amazing to see someone who is looking toward a sustainable future and not just hoping to sneak in a short window to a playoff game. We will finally be a real team. Contending some years, building up others, but we will be pretty good even in the building years. This awful boom / bust cycle weve been in for decades is finally over.

We are not disagreeing. Im saying Leatherwood is a placeholder to be replaced by a draft pick. In other words that we dont have to sign another $3M one year contract with someone who is also terrible just so we dont have a hole at RT going into the draft.

This is a classic space filler move. Like Reiff, Schofield etc - no GM wants to go into the draft with any glaring holes. You take a rookie, and they develop until they can replace the placeholder - could be in camp, could be in November. I suspect we have Leatherwood as a placeholder at RT right now, which allowed to avoid desperation early in Free Agency. We will draft D Linemen, and we will draft a 3T, maybe not with 9 but in the first four picks. We will draft a RT too, again somewhere in the first 4 picks. But you can take it to the bank that the 9 pick will go to 3T, DE or OT and that player will be an excellent starter for us. We will sign more lower paid free agents on the DL and perhaps on the OL before the draft too. But if you're looking for that big name stud on the DL or OL for our future, that players is coming in the draft.

I think at this point, they are proving to themselves that they are right to pass on him even at 9 - like giving him a last chance to break that belief. I dont see him on the Bears. He's a Raider lol

Plus, Moore will teach Claypool route running.

its still way early. if the OL (or DL!) looks like this opening day, then youll have a point, but it wont.

interesting. he didnt break the bank and we still didnt want him, and neither did the Chiefs, they gave Jawaan Taylor $20M a year to replace him.

There will be multiple tiers to Free Agency. Poles didnt want to overpay. Hes being disciplined. Give it time, I am SURE they want to put an OL around Fields so he can take the next step. Hell, Poles is a former OL. Come August, we will have players at every position, and start to gel as a team. And yes, we will be missing a couple pieces that we will pick up in 2024. But we're gonna be a winning team this year. And 2024 a true SB contender.

Its gonna be fun to watch him suck on the team that is the best at sucking.

Thats how I read it too - we are gonna use those picks for OL and DL, whether drafting or trading.

I hadnt heard that re: scouts, if thats true (and I totally believe you) then that's a hard pass.

I'm starting to get an Eddie Goldman vibe from Carter. I don't care that he was racing - the best DTs are always trouble. Donald, Suh, Haynesworth, Sapp etc - what bothers me is that he didnt show up in top shape to kick ass in front of everyone and say "oh yeah? you wanna question me? look what i can do" but he didn't. next, maybe in the second round.

me too. I guess players that look like good players for the right salary get resigned by their teams, and others get overpaid in bidding wars. I cant say Im surprised by this, but i was right there with you expecting Daron Payne etc. i blame the sportswriters. lol

that's an excellent point. we could trade a second rounder for a player at any time too.

Yeah, he is another Urlacher. It's gonna be amazing! Now we need a pash rush. This is gonna be a good team!

or 1 year $18 M, and that would give Fields a year to show his stuff, and a year more to develop young players like Leatherwood and whoever we draft lower.

Thats too bad, I always liked Monty's tough running style. But I had to admit over time Herbert was getting more yards against the same defenses.

ah that's too bad. We need about 4 more 1st or 2nd round picks LOL

For sure, when you have two great athletes next to each other you can always play games, and add that level of complexity to stress the opponent. Our coverage team looks amazing now. Now we need pressure from the front 4. I am trying to be patient. It's coming.

He doesnt show up in stats as much as youd like because he has no hands. He never catches the ball, but he is always in position, and knocks them away instead. Also, with that speed, he can spy enemy QBs when he needs to. A big fast coverage and tackling machine. Very little "ball production" a true defender, and I LOVE him for us.

yeah but thats as a pass rusher on 3rd downs and passing situations. he in not a 3 down 3T, hes not a run stuffer, he doesnt demand double teams etc. I dont think he is a proper DT at all, just a DE that moves inside on passing downs.

They keep Whitehair as a swing player until they replace him with a Free Agent or Draft Pick. I think it is extremely unlikely that Whitehair is on the team in September. hes just too expensive and there is significant cap savings to be had by cutting him. One player im still wondering about is Leatherwood. You cant count on him at this point, but he has got to be in the mix in terms of development. If the light comes on for him, he could be very good indeed.

yes, but in a zone scheme. try to get that TE deep and Edmunds will be all over him. I know a lot of people are assuming Edmunds will be our WLB, but I think his speed, size and wingspan means he will be the urlacher deep MLB in our scheme. That's what he did in Buffalo too. Its just they didnt play as much Cover 2 as we do, so his stats will be even better. Also, Edmunds' stats are misleading. he has HORRIBLE hands, so his INT numbers are low, but he is an amazing cover LB, and often his tips that he cant manage to catch end up being caught by another zone player nearby.

These are the two I had flagged (in addition to Deron Payne and Nate Davis) in my spreadsheet when I first started looking at our offseason a few months ago. Let the price fall, and then grab em.

thats what I think too