BearFan PHX

for sure, and Wright is gonna be a lot higher after this year.

I cant wait to see it! Ill bet it will cause debates here on the board as we over-disect body language and stuff like that.

Yeah he really is annoying, I totally agree. It's the tape breakdowns that make it worth it, the Keepin it 100 show is more for like online fighting and stuff like that. For example, he just posted film analysis on the OT we picked up from the Canadian league - I havent seen it yet, but I love that Poles is looking everywhere for talent, and Im sure Phil did a great job breaking down the film - I think hes best on linemen (both sides) and QBs.

Well it's official! The Bears will be featured on Hard Knocks this year. I'm excited to see it - it's the perfect year for it. I hate to tell you this too, but Phil at TTNL said their internal Halas Hall source told them this and they reported it two days ago, before it was officially announced, so they do seem to have some source or sources inside Halas Hall that are privvy to inside info. But whatever the case, this is gonna be really fun to watch.

thats what i think too. Plus, if you've got three on a list like that, why pay more for the first one when you can pay less for the last one.

well, I guess, but even if he keeps getting better, unless or until he is a top 10 LOT in the league, they will always be looking for competition there until they have one. And youre right, Kiran might be the answer, or a free agent or draft pick next year. You just cant fill every position with a top 10 pick of course, so guys like Braxton are so helpful, but int he long run, we still need a true stud there sooner or later, one way or another.

Braxton is decent, and improving, and he has been an amazing value for a 5th round pick. There are never enough top picks to fill every hole on a football team with top 10 picks, but left offensive tackle remains a need. Braxton's big contribution has been to give us enough so that we could spend our first and second round picks on other positions, but every year the LOT crop gets evaluated, because we still do need a top one. Braxton is doing great, and it is still a position of need. Both are true.

I have read where people thought Booker would be a 1st or early 2nd rounder next year. If you are building a young team, and you believe in your position coaches, he is worth a mid 3rd easily even as youre maybe getting him a little early.

it is very good to see - they are definitely building a real culture there - not just lip service.

it seems like it all fell perfectly for us. Lets go!

That Dexter is lighter is a strong signal that they are committed to him as a 3T. Im looking forward to see what he becomes.

I totally agree. He is better than he was last year, and the bears are going to rejuvenate him

if it was clickbait, theyd have put it into a headline, or lead with it or made it the story. Instead, it was a minor aside in the middle of another discussion, and he was hesitant to share it, but it was just some evidence about a point he was making. I agree with adam, and I take it as a rumor. but that doesnt mean it isnt true. You guys can believe it or dismiss it, it's all good. The main point is that his film breakdowns are amazing, pre draft and during the season. And in that case you dont have to take anyones word for it, you can see with your own eyes and evaluate whether you see it that way too or not.

So a few points First off Adam, thanks for that, I will look into it. Secondly, yes he is incredibly defensive and fights with twitter people and all that a lot. It's his worst attribute. I can totally see why no one wanted to keep him at Bears barroom. But to Stingers question - he doesnt say he is an insider, he just reports stuff. And I think that other beat writers hear what he hears too, but they know when to say things and when to keep it quiet so they can maintain access. Phil isnt invited to the press conferences etc. so he has less to lose. As to this rumor (and I agree, Adam, thats how I take them too) it is interesting that he decided to say anything, and kind of did it after asking his sidekick Shayne "should I say this?" without it being a headline or clickbait or anything. He just said it in the middle of the show and quickly moved past it. If he was making it up for clicks, hed have made something more of it than an incidental comment buried in the middle of the show. And to Mongo's point - yes this is the worst time of year for them. Theyre great with tape. They shine pre draft when they break down players, and mid season when they break down game film. At this time of year, they are really boring and it's all ego and very little info. I put it on when Im falling asleep, whereas a couplke months ago, id watch it much more closely. I just thought the rumor was interesting. But yes, my recommendation to try them out would be in season for all 22 game film, or pre draft. Right now is all boring.

Looks like the defense got the better of Caleb today. This is good, because you want Caleb to have to learn the NFL speed now rather than later in games. I think we all agreed a few weeks back that having a great defense to go against in practice is going to make our offense better faster, and not have to learn on the fly during games as much. Here's hoping Caleb strikes back and wins some days soon too

adam, do you have a link to anything? This is the first I heard of it. I dont doubt you, your info is always good here, but id like to learn more? EDIT - I've searched the internet for any reference of this, but can't find anything. All I can say is for the past three years, he's been dead on about everything. The TTNL film is why I knew Leno sucked before anyone else was saying it, and why I knew Fields was holding the ball. It's also why I knew Wright was the better option than Skoronski too. And it wasnt because they said so, it was from watching the all 22. They point things out, like Skoronski catching blocks while Wright hits first. I don't take that as gospel because they said it, but I can see with my own eyes whether it's true. And they don't cherry pick plays, they usually show entire games, or halves from multiple opponents, so you see the good and the bad in context. And if he was really not credible, I doubt Adam Rank, Courtney Cronin, Olin Kreutz, Chris Zorich etc would associate themselves with them. Im not saying what Adam said didnt happen, but if it was a scheme to increase viewership, thats different than reporting false things? Its still not great of course, but not the same as lying about Bears info. Former Bear Steve Edwards even has his own "show" on their channel. Anyway, you guys can watch it or not, it's all good, but until they let me down, I think what they say is valuable. And they often disagree with the Kurt Warners etc of the world, and when they say why and show examples, i can see why they think what they do. And again, if you do watch them and find them arrogant and abrasive, I get that too, because they are. But it's the best analysis I've found anywhere if you wade through the rest.

I dont know anything about that scandal, if it happened it was before my time, but ive been following him and watching (some of) his content for a few years now, and i always find it to be excellent. Especially his breakdown of tape. You can see he really knows what he is talking about. His father was a college football head coach, and he himself played at Rutgers. He is extremely knowledgeable about football, and i admit he can be very abrasive and egotistical. But at least as far as I have known about him, he's always been spot on on his info, especially when no one else had it either for a while. Adam Rank and Courtney Cronin trust him enough to associate themselves with him too, so i think whatever it was that was going on, at least as far as his football stuff, he's solid. And also, he never cites the sources, fake or otherwise, he just says what he heard, and in my experience, it usually ends up common knowledge like a month later.

Oh, and to who "my source" is - it's called TTNL, "the tape never lies" They do amazing tape breakdowns and often have inside info before anyone else. I fully admit they are also egotistical and difficult to watch. Half the show is about themselves and who they are fighting with that week. But they are not shy about saying things, and dont play both sides of anything, and generally they are right, or are eventually proven right. The film analysis is excellent and thorough. I have learned a ton from watching them over the years, but I would not be surprised if people who have watched them dislike them. They can be very abrasive. But in the end I prefer that to tap dancing and CYA stuff. At least they have the guts to put it out there early, and again, I see and hear things from them long before it gets into mainstream media. And you don't have to take their word on anything, they show the tape, so you always know exactly why they are saying something, and you can use your own eyes to decide if you agree with what theyre saying or not. I often do agree, but sometimes I dont too. It's the best $7 I spend every month. Their pre draft player breakdowns are excellent as well.

I didnt take it as aimed at me at all - and not even much of a slam at Getsy either, just a disagreement. It's all good. In the first game i'm sure he eased him in, but you were talking about why he would keep Bagent after the 4th game. Remember Bagent put up 30 points on the Raiders. And while it's true he only threw the ball 14 times in his first game, the next four games his attempts were 29, 37, 30 and 33. Also Bagent didnt start the game in which he only threw 14 times, he only came in after fields was injured. I think a lot of us wondered if Bagent was a better choice than Fields at that point, but obviously with the money invested, and the timetable to make a decision on Fields that wasnt going to be possible. I think it's one of those things where what's best for the next game, and what's best for the franchise long term are not the same thing, and they chose the franchise long term. I like Bagent a lot, but I also know that his arm wasnt strong enough last year. I loved his quick decision making, but he did also throw some interceptions - as a lot of rookies do. Interestingly, I have heard that the Raiders tried to trade for Bagent after they hired Getsy, so that does add some weight to the idea if true.

I dont think Getsy dumbed down the offense for Bagent. All I can say is that this is what this guy was hearing in December of last year from players and others in the building. He does have current and former players on his podcast, and people like Adam Rank and Courtney Cronin regularly appear on hios podcast, and he goes on their podcasts too, so it's not like he isnt connected.

I agree it would have been incredibly disfunctional, but this guy is never wrong, and he speaks to players and insiders regularly. I dont know how that communication would have been handled, maybe by an email, maybe by Poles, or through an intermediary. Possibly, it meant that they rarely spoke, and avoided each other, rather than never spoke. I dunno. But like I said this guy is very reliable, and apparently it was very tense between the two.

Just heard two interesting rumors about Getsy from a reputable patreon Bears insider source who is usually right. In fact, I cant remember a time he's said any inside info that turned out not to be true. Anyway the rumors are: 1) Getsy wanted to stay with Tyson Bagent after Fields was healed 2) Flus and Getsy did not speak directly to each other all of last year 1 is easy to believe. 2 is incredibly disfunctional if true.

yes and yes!

so far. but of course we are both entitled to our opinions about it. the good news is that even with my negative opinion about Flus, i STILL think there is enough talent on the roster and with the other coaches to succeed!

agree. I assume that there are enough good voices around Eberflus now to moderate that stuff, and maybe Flus himself would be less conservative with an improved roster anyway. My beef with him is less the mistakes that he's already made, and hopefully won't repeat, but instead whether he gives an active edge in winning or is just a good caretaker and organizer of the team. Either way, we have a ton of great coaches and position coaches and a good roster and we should be able to win. I dont see Eberflus holding us back per se, but if the time comes that Waldron is getting HC offers because he was good here for us, Id rather promote him and lose Flus, than to keep Flus and lose Waldron, but in the real world, without a smoking gun like more close losses because of HC decisions, I dont see how you can realistically do that.