BearFan PHX

we either got really lucky with the schedule, or the league wanted to give us time to build. I suppose another explanation would be to delay divisional games so more teams stay mathematically alive longer to prolong interest.

you can only play who they put in front of you - but Caleb has been under pressure, and he's beaten the blitz enough to make teams play him honestly, and things like looking off of safeties and getting through your progressions are big time no matter who you're playing. But yeah, I am very much looking forward to seeing him against better teams, both to see where hes at and to continue growing.

its amazing to see him growing. He's already a pretty good QB, in the last 3 weeks hes in the top 5, but you can see that he has a long way to go before he reaches a ceiling. how good can he get? This is gonna be fun to watch!

I think the thinking is that Swift is better than Herbert at everything Herbert does well, and Roschon is a power runner who doesnt have the homerun capability of Swift (and maybe Herbert?) but can grind out tough yards where Herbert is usually stopped by first contact? So the role Herbert would fill, and can fill, which is why he has trade value, is filled better by Swift, while Roschomn offers a totally different set of complementary skills?

Dude, I love the constant stats - this board is my favorite newspaper for following the Bears! Your stats are timely, interesting, and often not the usual completion percentage kind of stuff. Love it.

So Im starting to look into Cam Robinson, and I was thinking "where can I find a rating that I respect more than the PFF rating" and as I googled his Madden ratings came up. Now I know that Madden is a video game, and that people are often offended at the ratings they give players as too high or too low, but I chuckled and thought "I wonder if Madden ratings are more reliable than PFF" LOL

this is exactly how I feel too. there's no point in making a trade deadline trade just to do it - you have to believe at this point in our evolution that the player youre getting is not just better than what you have, but will be a plus starter for several years. Im not sure anyone is offering a plus starter at LT, but if they do, we should jump on it at almost any price shy of our first round pick or cap hell. I just doubt they will be available. My main point in this thread though, was how all the pundits are touting various trades for OG, and I feel like center and LT are more pressing needs on the OL right now. Maybe Bates will come back and take center off the list. I sure hope so.

I dont disagree with any of this. I think to trade for an OL you gotta love him long term, and hes got to be young enough. So I dont really see it happening. It could, but i dont predict it - it'd have to be a good player. But the question Im asking, since im seeing all this OG trade talk, is if Poles did something at all on the OL, would it even be at OG?

I've been seeing a bunch of online rumor-mongering around the idea of a trade deadline deal for an Offensive Lineman. All of it seems to be around the Guard position. There are at least three different names I've read. I'm not saying this is going to happen at all. Just that people farming for clicks have been saying it. But my question to you guys is, if you were going to trade for an OL at the deadline, and assume the player would be pretty good, but not necessarily blue chip, like a top 10 guy, but not a top 5 guy - which position would you trade for? Which current OL would you replace? For me the OG question has been a little better with Pryor and Jenkins/Murray, and I'm hoping Bates comes back at center and does well, so I'm saying Id take a decent player to replace Braxton Jones at LT. if I could only upgrade one this year. That's why I'm thinking these rumors are extra silly. What do you guys think?

amen

fair enough. I remember him as emotionally distant and checked out, but I agree that his numbers were better than anyone else we had after Kramer.

yup, Im not surprised that Velus didnt work out, but where is Scott?

so true, and not just JF, but Trubisky too. Cutler had some good stats but he wasnt a winner his heart wasnt in it. The last good QB the Bears had was Erik Kramer, and Caleb is looking like his future is much brighter, frankly, than any Bears QB ever.

unless Wilson gets injured or falters! So we want Justin to keep winning, so he seems like a good option for them.

LOL JF has always been a great athlete and a terrible QB. You know I was leading the charge early to get rid of him, and like you said there was a lot of pushback on that to say the least. But the good news is that everyone on this board is now completely on the Caleb train, and why wouldnt they be? The guy is awesome! Let's go Bears!

probably three? four would pretty much guarantee it.

Heal fast and with as little pain as possible!

its amazing to see! Go Bears!

I think this is a fair measured position. I've staked out my place as saying that Daniels will never be great. That isnt to say that he doesnt do things that look impressive, because he obviously does. He has an amazing arm, and is more accurate on the deep ball than Williams is, or will probably ever be. Daniels is faster too. To my eye Daniels has a similar skill set to Justin Fields, and I predict mediocrity for him for the same reasons. But you're right, Daniels isn't really the question at all. The question is who Caleb Williams is becoming. And here we are in total agreement. Williams does pocket QB things we haven't seen in many years in Chicago. Some might say the last to consistently process the field like this was Cutler, but if not, then Kramer. Williams has a lot of wow factors, but his simply staying int he pocket and making reads has me increasingly excited. He knows football, and he is a QB first and an athlete second. As he learns, and if we can give him another second of pass protection, the ceiling is very very high. I think we will also get a check on where we are and arent, including the defense, when we start playing better teams. At some point the roster will be good enough, and the level of intensity and desire comes into play. I think we are decently intense now, but i think to get to that top 5 tier, we will have to dial that up even more. Right now we are learning to be a good football team. Soon we will have to learn to be great. And just to have the opportunity to do that has been quite a while. Cant wait to see it.

well thats what makes horse races. I know his stats have been good, but he is still a one read QB that mostly passes to the right. I dont see him looking off safeties, or going through progressions. To me, he looks like a lighter Justin Fields.

I mean that he wont win a superbowl, and that he wont be a top ten QB after defenses adjust to him. I call that a bust for a 2nd overall pick? But youre right, he will be in the league, but he wont have a top 5 contract ever.

I think Daniels is smoke and mirrors. His successes definitely say something good about the coaching in Washington, but i think that Daniels will be a bust in the NFL. Ive been saying that since i watched his pre-draft film, and what i saw continues to be the knock on him today - one read guy, doesnt really play the QB position.

agree, and coaching.

It's a secret formula known only to ESPN. Of course the regular stats go into it, but the secret sauce is not public.

I agree with all of that - they are one of the worst teams we will play, and yet, the way it matches up, it could be a close game. It comes down to not making mistakes, limiting big plays on defense, and being efficient and scoring points on offense. Not turning over the ball, making first downs, keeping time of possession will all be key, but thats just football anyway.