BearFan PHX

and he can run go routes from the RB position - I pity the LBers or safeties that have to cover that. Hope he catches it when it comes though.

agree with all of this. Ive been a constant Velus hater, but I gotta admit he looked like he has some value at RB tonight. I know it was against the 3s and 4s, but hes competing to be a 4 anyway.

I can totally see that. WFL

excellent, and thank you

hahaha I cant say youre wrong!

Billings as a 3T? He IS extremely strong...

You may well be right about that, but Goodell has been there a while, and he has made friends and enemies. I also think the league might like the optics of having Warren do it. Also, every election year there are more candidates trying to get airtime and traction than there will be spots for nominations, so attention seeking by people who will not succeed isn't so outlandish. So, I'm not predicting he WILL be Commissioner, but I think Warren isnt acting like someone who already has the job they always wanted - hes acting like he wants to move up. But that doesnt mean its gonna happen of course. Either that or it's pure ego on his part, but I get the sense that he's always a guy with a plan. Maybe he wants to go into politics or something? Or open a business advising sports teams how to acquire large properties and build out attractions? or something! Cuz he's acting like he's working on getting somewhere.

He really does seem to have that special quality. I've told this story here before, but I'll tell it again. I met Joe Montana once (years ago), spent about 5 minutes talking to him. He was the single most boring person I've ever met. Like aggressively vanilla. And I wondered if this was just a total calm that let him keep the ship moving forward no matter how big the moment. You mention the word sociopathic, and I totally get it - not in an evil way - but in a detached way. Like nothing is going to get in the way of this movie. As if no obstacle could ever even get his attention enough to manifest itself as an actual problem in his world. "The Super Bowl is on the line? No biggie. Oh look, there's John Candy. LOL OK look I'll just throw you the ball and you catch it OK? Like ever other time we ever did that simple thing." Now Caleb does have outward emotions, yelling when he's happy or frustrated. ANd that's all very good, and very competitive. But you're right, he feels mentally like nothing is going to stop this train. Not nervous. Destiny awaits! I cant wait to see this team in real game action and start to really see where the problems are, and how we fix them. This is feeling very good.

this is how it feels to me too. I also think he is making himself seen so he can make a play to be NFL commissioner.

I couldnt agree more.

it's a great idea, but capwise I think you have to put all the possible bonuses as likely to be earned, and they count against the cap for this year. If they arent earned, then I think the dollars roll over to next year. So an open ended bonus per sac, would take up an infinite amount of cap space. In reality, you could have tiers, or a ceiling, but if the idea is that if he has 20 sacks, hed be paid like a top DE, then wed have to carry that top DE cap number for this year, so there is a limit to how rich it could get. But we could certainly pay him $4M or $5M with another 3 or 4 in incentive like Stinger says. Barring a trade for a top talent like a Trey Hendrickson or something, I think this is the most likely path.

agree 100% - wonder if he can help himself.

If he can deliver a stadium deal, then he will bring in more $ for the Bears than anyone else in the organization. I respect him and his role as a negotiator and demi-politician. I just think that expertise doesnt extend to interior design, and that shows his ego. Based on what ive seen so far, Im not a fan of the man, but if he does a good job in his lane and doesnt screw other things up, then ok

Loved watching Caleb and Flus on Hard Knocks at the beginning of the episode this week - breaking down the play that started off looking like 1 high, and ended up being 2 deep man under - the one where Caleb scrambled up the middle, as a QB should against that defense. It was great to see the competence. I shouldnt say I'm surprised by it from professionals, but many years we didnt really see it, so it was great to see. Also great to hear Caleb say the game was easier than practice. The bit about Poles being disciplined about not overpaying Judon, and that they paid a 4th rounder for Booker was good to hear. They seem to be ready to give the young guys some snaps to grow. Might be a little bumpy early, but pays dividends in the long run. ANd lastly, hearing Kevin Warren decide what he personally thought was classier for box seating, rather than a survey or some kind of market driven answer makes it seem like hes a bit of an ego case. I used to see it in advertising a lot when a 50 year old male client was working on a product for 13 year girls, and they wanted classic rock "boomer" music. Dude, thats what YOU want, not necessarily what the market wants. These arent objective good and bad decisions here, thy are subjective and should be made from the point of view of the consumers! I think he wants to be league commissioner one day.

most Bears starters, including Caleb Williams, will sit out Thursday night according to a Bears announcement.

I could be wrong, but if i had to guess, id say no. He got his 44 snaps.

Halftime should be a no holds barred cage match between Poles and Nagy

yeah the new site is great. When you first did the migration, I had a small glitch. For the first 12 hours, i wanted to trade Caleb for Mitch Trubisky, but then I rebooted, and everything's ok now.

Hes not a top starter thats for sure. I think when we look at the bottom, say 6 starting QBs int he league, Bagent might be better. He doesnt have the flash, but he would probably win some games. In other words, I agree with you that hes a really good QB2, and not really a long term starter. That said, in a league where teams are starving for QBs, maybe someone would trade for him? Some teams like the Giants, are just not that smart in their front offices.

I think when you have young or underdeveloped players, you need to see them flashing against the 2nd string as their first test. If they arent gobbling up their inferiors, then you know they arent ready. So on one hand, yes you cant draw a straight line from production against the 2s to assuming similar production against the 1s, but you can see dominance against the 2s as a sign they are ready to play against the big boys. Will they dominate similarly? Thats what we cant know until we see it.

Ive been wondering if thats not why we are being so proactive about competition for QB3

oh yes, Bagent is one of the best backups in the league already. He can actually win games.

yeah i really think thats all it is - trying to do too much. He is a competitor, and that spirit is going to serve him well.

totally. he is already moving defenders with his eyes. He is "pro ready" I think it will be a comfort thing with him. I felt like he was pressing at the beginning of the Bengals game. Playing ahead of rhythm (new to see in Chicago) and that as he settles in hes going to be even more dangerous. Bagent doesnt have the arm strength, off platform ability, improvisational stuff, but he sure does play in rhythm. He looked so relaxed out there, like the game was slow for him. If Caleb is here now, imagine when he has 5 games under his belt. Also, he's going to have bad days. So Im looking forward to being here for Chapter 1 of the Caleb Williams saga, and watching him develop.

totally agree. I think Caleb is "on schedule" for greatness. Im just saying, there are areas he will grow in. Im not part of the narrative that says he cant do that, I just think, like any rookie, there is room for improvement in his in-structure QBing. I guess, Im also saying his off schedule is already as good as anyone's, so it's the in-pocket stuff to expect growth. I think he is going to be a major hero for us and the entire league.