BearFan PHX

I may be reading the stat wrong, but I think its over ANY consecutive 1,000 passes. For Caleb, it's his first. But if im reading it right, it's even more impressive. And last year you had people saying Caleb should trhow more interceptions - probably the same ones who thought he never should have thrown the TD to Moore this week.

yes, and they only scored 3 points.

I think it's important for the Bears to get off to a good start, because in weather like this, if a team goes down 14 points, its human nature for them to think more about staying warm than winning the game when it seems out of reach. I'd love to put the Browns down 14 early, and let them quit.

yeah now that ive seen some coaches angle, Trapilo really grew - and he is doing an excellent job in reading the defense and making switches and double when he should.

No one is saying these stats are good enough, including Caleb and BJ. The question is, is he learning and growing, is he making reads and getting the ball out in rhythm. And i think more and more he is. That's why if I KNEW Caleb would get no better than this, Id be unhappy with it, but given where i think he is headed, I still wouldn't take any other QB over him from the last 4 years of drafting. Maybe more than 4 years. Caleb's trajectory is headed to elite territory, and I am here for it.

I believe Caleb will be great for us. Not perfect, since no one ever is, but great, top 3 in the league. I think that's where this trajectory is headed. People can disagree, but then when it happens, remember who wanted to keep him and who was thinking of dumping him. The rest is up to time to tell. I could argue why I think this is true, what my evidence is, but it's a waste of time. We will see.

I think Caleb didnt see the defender who picked it off because he wasnt on Kmet, he peeled off of another player, so he wasnt in Calebs vision when he tossed it so softly to Kmet. Is that on Caleb? Sure, fine. But it's understandable, and Im not hating on him for it at all. I also think Kmet, who COULD see the defender peeling off in front of him should have run a more lateral route to mirror Caleb's rollout. For me, if you want to criticize Caleb, the first half had more opportunities.

I think our strength and conditioning coaches will be replaced this year, along with Hightower. All are holdovers from the Eberflus era.

This is what I think happened too. I dont think the defender that intercepted the ball was assigned to Kmet, but he read the broken coverage and made a play. The league is full of great players who make plays, so to expect Caleb to always be better isnt realistic. I think instead, it's fair to say Caleb wasnt good enough in the first half and that contributed to the loss. That's a fairer criticism than the final pass.

another difference is who was on the OL for those seasons. The Eagles made that pretty clear in the Superbowl this past year.

Kmet should have run laterally, instead of getting more depth. Its a fine point, and it was the difference in this game. If thats how close we played the Packers in their house, that isnt anything to be ashamed of. Add a pass rush to this team, and we are contenders. Jordan Love isnt as good as he looked, he was just safe in a clean pocket all day.

exactly. We were within one play of tying and possibly winning this game. We lost, and that's OK, but we took a step this week, and Im glad to see it. Next year, the defensive line should get a lot more attention. If we had a pass rush, we would have won yesterday. What we are doing without one is incredible, but we need one. And to be fair, we knew all of this before the season started. We said: Johnson needs to change the culture Caleb needs to grow 10 wins would be a great goal, possibly sniff the playoffs We dont have a pass rush, so that is going to be a problem

and i am guessing this is why Trapilo didnt start at LT out of the gate. He wasn't findng the right guy to block enough. Now, with half a season of coaching under his belt, hopefully he has enough to win the job and keep it, and keep growing too. Benedet is a really good swing tackle - he is borderline starter material himself.

Yeah, it's the middle of his growing season, so it's all good that people see him different ways. You can look at stats, and for some of them he seems great, and others he seems terrible. Or you can watch the film and try to see what he does. For example, if Caleb throws an incomplete pass in week 2 he might have made three mistakes on the play, and now he might throw an incomplete pass and only make 1 mistake. I think that's what Johnson is saying when he says Caleb is improving, even as his completion percentage or other stats might decrease. But, no matter how we read his progress right now, he is either going to get to the next level, in which case everything will all add up to us agreeing he is doing well, or he will fall short and we will all see that too. Personally, I see the continued growth and I predict he's going to be great. But of course until it happens, it's just a guess that he will continue to grow. But there is certainly no evidence right now that he wont. For me, I'd still take Caleb over any of the other QBs he got drafted with straight up even now.

A couple points: Caleb, by the eye test, is not performing that well, or at least that consistently, and yet his numbers are right there with Nix etc. Imagine how his numbers will look when he's more polished. Also, Johnson doesnt have a lot of outlet routes. Caleb isnt asked to dink and dunk - this is an aggressive offense that Caleb is learning. We see a lot more 15 and 20 yard routes across the middle, than swing passes to an outlet RB for example. I think this is why Caleb's numbers are already so good (other than completion percentage) even as he is still learning and growing. I can see where we are going, and it's gonna be like the Lions were last year. Add a pass rush to this, and we are going to be tough next year! And you know what? We're tough right now too!

you can feel it coming. i couldnt be happier!

totally agree. Also, you can see Caleb getting better each week! Where he used to make 3 errors on an incomplete pass, now he might only make 1. Unlike other young QBs who have simplified systems to learn, Caleb is getting the whole thing all at once. It means it takes him a while to choke it all down, but it also means when he masters it, he won't need to go to the 2nd level course, he will have the whole thing. And all this while showing what a winner he is in close endgames. Also, the team has progressed from balancing ont he edge of winning or losing, to balancing on the edge of being up one score or two. Thats a huge improvement. This game against Green Bay will be very telling. If we can stand tow to two with them Ill be a believer, regardless of whether we win or not. But if we can beat them in Lambeau, then it will be real. We know the roster is incomplete - the lack of a pass rush is obvious, and yet this team finds ways to win too. All I can think is how good we will be next year with added talent on the D line. I wouldnt be upset at all to see the first 2 or even 3 draft picks go to the DL. Let's Go!

I think first we should take the North, and then after that, never give it back.

Lets go! Yes this team can beat anyone. It's all a matter of coaching and execution - it's in our hands now. We still need a pass rush, but this team finds ways to win, and it's a matter of not beating ourselves now.

I would be happy to put our first three draft picks on defense. DE, DT and LB

Right, and we arent going to keep both Gordon and CJGJ as nickel corners. I think CJGJ moves to safety and that solves two problems with one gesture, and keeps all that talent on the field.

I agree, I think Brisker is gone, and CJGJ takes his place at safety. We can add a 3rd round (or later) pick at safety to develop and for depth too.

Im right with you. I dunno, in some ways Caleb is the best player on the team. That's not to say that I dont see the accuracy issues too. I do. But I think most of it stems from footwork, and i think he is still working on that. I do see improvement every week. Caleb is not a finished product by any means, and thats been true of most of the great NFL QBs in their 2nd year too. Statistically, he is going to post the best season by a Bears QB ever. But by the eye test, we can all agree there is a lot more work to do. For me, that just points at the ceiling of where we can get to with Caleb being extremely high, if he is playing as poorly as you say, and still putting up these numbers? I dont know if Im ready to get on the Super Bowl bandwagon just yet, but I cant disagree that it's possible. This team continues to grow and play together. As for the switch, I think that's just time with BJ, working on footwork etc. I see a bright future ahead for Caleb and our team.

I think the first quarter is scripted stuff, and we do pretty well with that. Then, the opposing defense adjusts, and we have a harder time. I also think during this middle part that Ben keeps his best stuff unused for later. Some plays in the middle are used to set up alternate options later in the game and some are used to scout how the opponent will react to certain things. Then int he 4th quarter, the good stuff comes out, stuff weve been saving, stuff weve been conditioning the defense to expect other things from, and stuff we've scouted during the game. Also, any NFL team with their back against the wall, will have a push in the 3rd quarter. You have to absorb that energy, and then get back on top. I've heard NFL coaches say that thef irst three quarters are really to feel your opponent out, and hopefully stay close, and the real game is the 4th quarter. Johnson is certainly a master strategist, and no one is better at endgame tactics.

hey Adam, I sent you a PM, when you get a chance, please take a look at it. Thank you