BearFan PHX

good catch. Im not one for conspiracy theories, but the refs were brutal on us last night.

It really starts to put into perspective what an amazing job Caleb did last year in all that chaos. Of course he got sacked way too much, and the team overall was a mess, but to put up the stats he did last year in all of that is incredible, and speaks to his innate talent alone, because the scheme and OL sure didnt help any. But what's even better news is how much Caleb is growing each week as a pocket passer under Johnson. Last night, even with the drops and missed balls, you could SEE where this is going. You could see what we are trying to do, and even as we fell short a bunch of times, it was right there - we are close to becoming something special. We just need to be more consistent. And that's the whole thing for this year - becoming consistent, moving the chains, learning to eliminate penalties, finding out what our identity is, especially in the running game. And all those things are getting better each week. It should also be said that the defnese was flying around yesterday, playing with a lot of heart. These are all good signs that we have the right coaches and QB.

I hope Moore is OK too. He is a baller, and perhaps still the best WR on our team. But that doesnt mean at $20M a year that he isnt trade bait with Burden on the roster ready to take his place. Good teams trade good players when the cheaper and younger replacement is on the roster.

right Caleb played a good game, but rushing touchdowns dont go into the QBR stat. Maybe they should!

i agree. Braxton was bad at pass pro, but he was worse int he run game. But also, Johnson changed the blocking scheme during the bye week. The first 4 games, we were a power gap team mostly. Now we had big bodies on the edge, and as you say, both Benedet and Wright are made for that. And since Johnson already knew Swift before, I wonder if the change wasnt based more ont he OL skill set than Swifts. That said, Ive never felt this good about Swift before.

I think because Daniels threw for 3 TDs and Caleb only threw for one. Thats why the discrepancy. Otherwise I think Caleb had the better game.

ha! yes

Great game by Swift, and mostly on outside zone plays. If he keeps playing like that, Im gonna ease up on him a lot. Great bye week adjustments by BJ and the staff!

OK, weve got an 8 minute game, any score puts us ahead. We should be able to do something with this position. Whatever Johnson's been keeping and setting up, time to see it, and plenty of time to not have to give up on the run.

no I knew you meant Nashon, and you were right too!

I think the change in scheme is really helping Swift - probably his best game as a Bear.

It looks like we shifted from a power scheme to more of an outside gap scheme, which lets Benedet and Wright get out on the edge, and Swift has been much more successful doing that. Cool.

So true. I dunno how realistic it is with our defensive line this year, but yes this is one of the next important goals. First comes flashes - we've seen that. The rest of this year is to gain consistency - make first downs, win time of possession. Then, if we can get a proper pass rush and can stop the run up front, our window to compete opens. Soon we should be able to beat the bottom 20 teams consistently - then we have to learn what it takes to beat those really good teams. So yeah, I totally agree with you. That's whats in front of us.

This coming offseason we need Pass Rusher LT Run Stopper? Safeties Running Back And we also will probably look at also drafting TE CB LB I wont make a guess on the first list as to who is drafted and who is free agent or trade.

No doubt you can put any player in a bad situation and they will underperform, so it is hard to try to scientifically compare players, I agree. And you're also right that winning is the best deodorant! lol I just don't like a lot of the decisions Poles has made. At the same time I completely trust Ben Johnson 100%. I think that he will eventually build a winner here, no matter who he has to get rid of to do it. I also believe in Caleb Williams' future too. I think he's gonna be a top QB. But he is obviously still a work in progress, so we have to see him take that journey for it to be real, and nothing is guaranteed,b ut Ive seen enough that I believe in him. And I believe Ben Johnson has to have all the juice in the building at this point - over Poles and Warren for sure. If he makes Poles take the guys he wants, then I think Poles is gonna be fine, and eventually we will be a winner. I think this season is about installing the offense, and turning the flashes of greatness we've already seen into consistency. Then next year, with upgrades on defense, I think the window to contend will open.

Poles is not good at his job, but now that he seems to have become a yes man for Johnson, it doesnt really bother me anymore. Johnson knows where the holes are, and he will get it done. This first year, Johnson needed weapons for Caleb, so i get it, even though id have drafted differently. But now that Johnson has coached the team for a while, Im guessing he sees the same needs we all do.

Music has splintered into so many sub genres, since the internet and streaming changed the nature of what a hit song is and who hears it. It's really difficult to find a performer who is young and relevant, and known by everyone in the family. Some few do break out, but to find someone that for example the players would think was cool, and mom and dad at home with the kids all can sing along with is kinda impossible now. And that's gonna be an ongoing problem even after Bad Bunny does his thing.

If the Bears traded Moore, they could fit Crosby or Simmons under the cap pretty easily.

Booker is a good rotational piece and still has lots of room to grow, but I dont think he is an immediate impact, or will fix our pass rush this year? I hope he reaches his potential and becomes and awesome stud, but I think he is a #3 right now, and we will still look for impact pass rushers in trade, free agency or the draft coming up.

If we could find a way to get Maxx Crosby, that'd be amazing. He is a one man wrecking crew. And we know he likes Caleb. His contract is set up so that the Raiders can trade him without too much cap destruction, and his contract has a cap cost of between $27M and $30M the next few years. Not bad at all! Plus he's only 28.

yeah and Im npot even saying that we cant beat a top 5 team, but it would require some luck or for them to have a bad game. But we have enough talent now to beat most teams IF we play our best ball. I think this is what this season is for - learning to be consistent. And next year hopefully we will have a pass rush!

I feel like with all but the top 5 teams in the league, the Bears could beat or lose to anyone. This is a matter of learning consistency - adam you're 100% right, it's drops, metal errors etc. This team is already showing flashes of what it CAN do, now we have to get to where we are doing it consistently. We win or lose on our own at this point, no matter who the opponent is (with the exception of the top 5 teams, who are beatable, but better than us. Next year, with some pass pressure, we should be pretty good.

It's definitely time for Monangai to get more touches, and I personally would like to see them bring Brittain Brown up from the practice Squad too - I thought he looked really good in preseason action. There's a lot of buzz around a trade, but I dunno what will happen with that, whether it's really real inside Halas Hall, what theyre thinking. I dont think Swift is very good. I mean hes better than a lot of backs in terms of having a wider skills set, but he doesnt have great vision when he's got the ball, and he doesnt get north/south fast enough to blast through. I saw some stat that we were #1 in the league in yards before the HB is first touched - which says decent things about our line - but we've all also seen the line fail work together to make it happen especially on the left side before Benedet got in there. But Swift has a 3.3 yards per carry, so that somewhat points the finger at him. Also reading that Johnson may tinker with the scheme during the bye, some guess to move to more outside zone blocking scheme and fewer power run schemed plays. All this to say there are a lot of tweaks in terms of players and scheme that could be tried, and using Monanagai more is probably strongly on that menu. And like I said, I'd love to see Brittain Brown get some carries and see how he is in there, and I wouldnt turn my nose up at a guy like Breece Hall from the Jets (assuming his injury this week isnt bad).

It does look like we are gonna be one of those teams that can win or lose any game on our own for the next stretch. We have it in us to win or lose to each of these teams depending entirely on ourselves, and more and more this team is starting to believe.

Thats true, we dont have enough horses yet for that, especially at DL and HB, which were the same weaknesses most of us saw going into the draft too. But ultimately, I want the other team's best, and to beat em anyway. Soundly and reliably. We got a taste in 1985 of that kind of dominance, and I want it again. I think Ben Johnson might be enough of a maniac to get us there. BJ is absolutely the right kind of coach. Im so glad we got him. I knew Vrabel was a hardass, but I never knew BJ was like this. BJ obviously has the Xs and Os advantage too, but he is a madman about winning, and that's fantastic for our team. I think he out Vrabel's Vrabel honestly, knowing what I know now.