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This is very well said. Loveland and Burden will be good for us for a long time, but they were the wrong picks. Maybe Burden made sense, but a 5 win team picking a TE at #10? In a draft that had multiple good ones to boot. Trading down for Trapilo, if it was a reach to supplant Braxton Jones was a mistake. And we skipped Areonte Ersery there to also acquire Shemar Turner. I mean, we are super lucky that Benedet has come out of the woodwork, but effectively trading Ersery (at 41) for Trapilo and Turner was a huge mistake. And you STILL could have had Burden anyway at 39!

I havent heard him do any of that CYA stuff yet, so I read it differently. I think he means it. We dont have to agree of course.

Forget which website this is from, the article, or even the author of the article - just watch the 1 min clip where Johnson breaks down Caleb's performance with Jeff Joniak. I still havent seen the all 22, so I dont have a good opinion yet, but BJ has never been one to give false praise. https://www.sportsmockery.com/chicago-bears/ben-johnson-fiercely-defends-caleb-williams-after-ravens-loss/

yes its sloppy and undisciplined. Its not fun to see. Johnson needs to keep kicking asses. And its possible that some players need to be replaced next year too. Not saying who, just they will do whatever it takes until this team is good. On the same thread, I was surprised to see Henry score near the end, when he should have gone down just shy of the goal line to eat more clock.

yes, and you can bet BJ is well aware of it too! I think we will be fine, in time, but after the experience weve all had for the last 30 years, I get why people think "Oh no not again!" but I do see significant differences with Caleb and of course with Johnson.

Caleb has a lot to grow yet, no doubt. But we also see flashes that prove he CAN do it. The first couple drives this week stalled out in the red zone, but we all saw the offense working in rhythm, and weve seen it throughout the year. The problem is consistency. And that includes all the things Mongo detailed at the start of this thread. They all need work. But it's not like he cant do it - he just inst doing it consistently. Some of it is on penalties, some is on the other players, and some is on Caleb. But if you just look for flashes, every sign points that Caleb CAN do this. And I believe Ben Johnson is his best shot to get to where he is going. If you look at Goff's first 8 games with BJ (after he had already been a good NFL QB for several years) the numbers are strikingly similar to Caleb's. If people want to say that Caleb right now is not good enough I completely agree. But I think his future is very different than other QBs weve had here. Caleb shows flashes every week. Thats what this season is for - to develop consistency, and to face issues and then work on them until he cant be beaten that way anymore. I would still take Caleb over any other QB from his years draft. Not for where he is right now, but for where he is going. It is going to take some patience.

I definitely see promise of a top QB in Caleb. He isnt just talented - he has shown many throws in rhythm - he just needs to be more consistent. i think he will get there, and a lot of us will be very happy when he does.

Yes, lots, play to play, but not with enough consistency. He is showing flashes all over the place, but we need to keep the chains moving. Hes not inept, hes just not consistent enough yet.

I think that while this team is frustrating right now, they are very different from the other inept teams weve had here over the last 30 years. We show flashes of dominance. And we show that we change week to week. The running game was broken, then we fixed it. The defense was bad against the run, then got better. We see examples of Caleb getting the ball out in rhythm, and led the league in big plays. What I see is a frustrating lack of consistency, not a lack of talent or ability. And I think that's what this season is for. We are not a bad team, we are an immature team. I expect growth over each 4 game spread. And next year, our window truly opens. That's how I see it anyway. Ive been called a pessimist, and probably now, a fan boy lol but what I see tells me this team is further along than most weve had over the last 30 years. I cant disagree with what Lucky said above - its fair. But I love the coaching staff now, and i think they will keep Poles in line. Its too bad that we dont have a GM that would lead and contribute, but Poles wont be allowed to screw it all up anymore - Johnson has too much juice now in the building. Bears need more discipline, and Johnson knows exactly what to do with about it. We are 4-3 and growing. Today was really hard to watch, but its not the came kind of hole we've been in. We will be OK I think in time. We just need to become a lot more consistent. But the talent is there on offense.

Ah ok - well I think Fields is a good guy and a good athlete. I thought you were directing the comment to me based on the longstanding discussion of JF. If youre just rooting for the underdog - thats downright kind!

This was a bad game for Caleb, Johnson and the whole team. No doubt about it. Terrible.

Right, in week 8. People who are waiting to prove that JF is actually a good NFL QB are going to be disappointed. He just isnt. And not because of me. I have nothing to do with it. If youre hoping to prove me wrong, it's certainly possible! But not with this particular subject. The only reason JF even started today was because the backup got hurt. There is some weird cult of personality around Fields - probably because he is such a great runner. But hes not an NFL QB. It's not hard to make this claim at this point. It's not really an opinion?

absolutely

yes yes!

Yeah, Im not down on him - hes young and just learning. if he makes mistakes, its not the same as if its a vet who has been making the same mistakes for years. But, Benedet had a couple penalties and gave up pressures that were part of the reason Caleb was holding the ball and running around last week. So Im just calling balls and strikes - but Im impressed with him, and expect him to continue to grow, so not calling for him to be benched or anything like that at all.

watching the film, Caleb wasnt as bad as I thought after watching the game. The Saints called zone blitzes a few times and Caleb didnt throw the manufactured pick, but he ran around after that, and people were covered. Also, Benedet got blown up on several pass protections and that accounted for the other plays where Caleb was running. In terms of the zone blitzes, thats on Caleb AND Johnson, because they got beat "rock paper scissors" style, because the hot read was taken by the dropping linemen. They all need to learn and adjust to these tactics and situations. This wasnt as easy as "Caleb had trouble with the 27th ranked defense" it was more a matter of how the play calls lined up, and what to do when its a zone blitz and your hot read is taken. They will adjust Im sure.

Wow, with Tyrique Stevenson and Kyler Gordon out, this is gonna be a tough game for the defense. I can see us winning this game, but I can also see us losing it too. But even if we lose, these losses on defense shouldn't be an excuse for Caleb's performance. He needs to take another step this week. I expect we will be running the ball a a lot too - eating clock limits opportunities for the Ravens to expose our CBs. Hopefully, that should take pressure off of Caleb too. Coming back from multiple touchdown deficits will put him in a bad spot. We need to limit the penalties on offense, stay of our 3rd and long situations, and play crisp ball. If I see that, and the Ravens run up 35 points and beat us, I'll accept it. But there is nothing saying we can win this one either. Lets Go Bears! Take another step!

There is no comparison between Caleb and Justin. Even last year with no coaching, no plan, Calebs numbers destroy anything Fields has ever done in a season by a lot. It's just true.

Fields is a tremendous athlete. When he ran int he open field (before we told him to slide) he was a threat to score on any play from anywhere on the field. He reminded me of Hester that way. But Fields has never shown an ability to process and get the ball out on time. I dont believe he is a QB. Caleb is still growing, so those who say he hasnt arrived yet are correct. He needs to be a top 5 QB before anyone can say he is provably worth that overall #1 pick. To those who say "show me" I say that is completely reasonable. But Caleb has already shown a lot more than Fields ever did. Even Calebs horrible season last year was the 5th best season for a Bears QB of all time. And yes, it wasnt good enough. This year we keep seeing evidence that Caleb is getting the ball out in rhythm, and growing. I fully expect him to be a major stud. He definitely has the right teacher. But I think Fields would never be a great QB no matter who handled him, or what he was given. He just doesnt process. Caleb is on his way to greatness. Not there yet? Totally fair to say. But there is no evidence that he isnt on schedule either. I love what Im seeing from Caleb, and he will learn as defenses throw things at him, like the Saints zone blitzes this week - at least Caleb didnt bite and throw the picks. And when protection breaks down, every QB holds the ball and runs. Caleb often makes something out of that too, in Mahomes-like fashion. I wouldnt trade Caleb for any other QB from his draft right now.

So true re: Swift. I thought he was gone for sure, now that he's playing so differently than he ever did, he can play himself into being kept. And youre right that Poles and Johnson will wait for the end of the year to do formal analysis. Thats right too. But anyone casually looking at our cap can see that Moore, Kmet and Edmunds are likely to be gone. Kmet can still possibly play his way back, but hes a little too expensive.

Agree with all of this - the writing has been on the wall since the draft. And your rationale is the reason - it's not that Moore isnt a good WR he IS, but is he the best expenditure of $20M on this roster with Burden coming up? Probably not. But Moore is a good player, we will trade him, and not just cut him of course. Not saying you said we would cut him! Just he is probably worth something decent in trade.

I think there were a few times the Saints zone blitzed, and the lineman dropped right into the throwing lane of our hot read. Caleb, to his credit, didnt throw the pick, and ran around instead, usually not to great effect. Williams and Johnson will have to work to build a better answer to that - and thats exactly what this season is for. Benedet also had a terrible game, two killer penalties and got beat a bunch by Chase Young. Not saying Jones or Trapilo are a better choice, but if theres a good LT in the draft next year that falls to the right place, we shouldnt hesitate to pick him just because Benedet and Trapilo are on the roster. Ditto possible trades or free agents.

Hes nothing if not intense. I love it. Everything I wanted from Vrabel is here in abundance with Johnson. Our future is bright.

We werent Fields haters - we just watched the games, and despite hoping he'd be great (I was excited when we drafted him) he turned out to be a turd. That was obvious already 3 years ago. But to say Caleb hasn't grown this year is a huge mistake. Time is gonna show that opinion is trash too. Caleb's gonna be FINE. In fact, he's gonna be a top 5 QB within the next year or so.

yes, anyone with eyes can see - JF sucks