BearFan PHX

You can see the brotherhood emerging.

totally agree!

I'm not! I haven't put any ceiling on Williams. I'm just saying you like to see at least two years of consistent play before you want to pay such big money, The Packers had to do it based on a single inconsistent season, and we have more time to evaluate Williams before we have to pay him. My point was more about timing, and how the Packers put themselves in a bind, not about Williams really at all.

I totally get it. But it's kind of like saying Justin Fields is gonna be a great QB because he didnt have WRs or good protection. You can understand why Dexter didnt look like an active 3T, and you could look at his RAS scores and understand there was an athlete there, but without seeing it on film, you have to take a leap of faith that he will become an active 3T and that his personality will fit that quicker role too. I guess Im just saying that if any scouting department could look at his RAS, and understand his 2 gap assignments in Florida that they could reasonably predict the player he has become, then he wouldnt have lasted until the 2nd round? So yeah I agree, it wasnt out of the blue, there were reasons to believe, mitigating factors to understand, but it's also is a win for our scouting department and position coaches who identified him and brought him through this incredible transformation to where he is now. Even the first half of last year it took time and training to speed up his reaction off the ball. And he did. Win for the Bears!

yeah he always had a high RAS, but he was so slow off the snap - we know the reasons, 2 gap, playing weight etc, but still I give the staff credit for seeing what he could become thru what he was on film.

exactly my point Im just saying to be fair, Love finished strong, and might well be good this coming year, his slow start just being growing pains. Whereas we have a few years for Caleb to show who he is before wed have to break out the wallet.

To be fair, I dont know how consistent Caleb will be in the first half of this season either. He might have a similar trajectory, and finish the year strong with the lightbulb having fully turned on. But I am glad we dont need to negotiate a $200M+ deal with Caleb for next year too. Thank god for rookie contracts. Also, I have a prediction - I predict that in the next CBA teams will be able to declare only 60% (or a number close to that) of their single highest paid player's cap number against their cap so teams can compete in QB contracts without gutting the rest of the roster. Or maybe you can just choose whichever single player's contract you want to get your 40% cap reduction on, but they have to be players you drafted yourself, having never been free agents. That would be pretty cool.

amazing. it's one thing to see Dexter come up to speed with the rest, but to see him fastest off the ball after where he came from is truly remarkable. You gotta give Poles and the scouts props for seeing what he could become. Wow.

ah! I thought maybe he had been injured and missed some games. Thank you! Nothing like spending $220 Million on a guy that's inconsistent...

Why do you say that? He started the whole year? I heard this on a podcast too - I think Im missing something?

truth! and honestly Love really only had half a year! Maybe theyll hit gold, or maybe theyll be saddled to a mediocre QB for a while. Its their turn to find out what that feels like!

oh yeah, I wasnt saying you were fighting at all, I was saying Im trying not to be fighty myself about that previously touchy subject - youre fine! Also, I think there might have been locker room issues if you keep beloved Fields around and try to give the rookie the reigns at some point, so you might wanna move him - but there are arguments on both sides that make some sense I agree. I just think JF will never be a great QB. And since hes no longer here, it doesnt really matter LOL

I cant really argue with that. We will all see how Justin develops in Pittsburgh, but whatever the case, Caleb should make us forget all about it

interesting point. I guess I meant that I dont see Poles exercising the 5th year option, so we'd need to draft a QB, and youre right if the rookie needed to sit, maybe wed have kept JF - I guess i really specifically mean he wasnt the QB of our future, but youre right he might have still been on the roster. But then again, teams start rookie QBs all the time these days, so maybe not too. But youre right I couldnt be sure, just that I dont think he was in our future plans.

well no reason to fight this all through again, but i dont believe he would still be here if we didnt have the Panthers pick. I think we would still have taken a QB and traded up if necessary, but we probably wouldnt have Caleb, and that would be awful. We can agree to disagree on this, since the Justin Fields civil war is over LOL And in a couple years we will have more data on this too of course.

before its over theres gonna be a Poles statue in front of Soldier Field. And a Kevin Warren statue in front of the stadium in Arlington heights where we play LOL

for sure, and DJ, Allen and Odunze too - its a lot easier to catch a long go route TD when the defense has to cover those other guys, than when their #1 or #2 CB is on you.

for sure. i will never denegrate Justins physical abilities. He throws a great deep ball, and hes one of the best open field runners in the league regardless of position. I have often compared him to Devin Hester in that regard. I just dont think he is a QB.

agree 100% I was watching the Green Bay game from last year yesterday and it was so maddening to see him hang on to the ball (again). Justin is a hell of an athlete, but I just don't think he has what it takes to be a successful QB in the NFL.

for sure, and if some defense manages by some miracle to be able to cover DJ, Keenan and Rome, then god knows what trash theyll have covering Scott LOL I know its antiquated, but we could employ a run n shoot 4 wide single back offense and be pretty dangerous lol

and with this roster, Scott could be really good and still be #4 - a 2 on another team even.

yeah it's all very impressive, and not at all the norm for the Bears. This is a new era - the Poles era.

Thanks for that. Im not surprised, because this is how he comes off in interviews and such, but it's great to have it confirmed firsthand away from cameras. Also it's just plain awesome that your son hung out with him. Thanks.

yeah thats awesome! Did he tell you anything about DJs attitude, was he nice (I assume so!) did DJ say anything interesting about Caleb or anyone?

absolutely. Eberflus has his entire narrative in his own hands this season. If they do well, he could be looking at coach of the year. and if they falter, he could lose his job. Its SO unfair, because it really hinges on the players, but I expect Eberflus will come out of all of this looking very good. I'm just saying if he does poorly this year (which i dont expect) then suddenly the past two years will look like a pattern, but if the team does well (which I DO expect) or VERY well (which would be awesome) then the past two years will be forgotten immediately, and he will be heralded as a league leading success. But as to what I think is most likely, it's all positive. I guess another way to say what Im saying is that if they do well, the past two years will evaporate from our collective memory.