AZ54

Wit the scheme change I can see them going in any number of directions in the first 3 picks. 3-tech DT if the talent falls them in Rd 2 why not? Especially on a team with DB issues. Oline any of OC/OT/OG all depending on where they think the existing players fit best and it will all be a mystery to us until after the draft. WR I could see in Rd 2 but I also feel like there is depth available later in the draft. Safety: Our starters were so bad they made their backups look good when they were on the field. Would I take Lewis Cine in 2nd/3rd? Absolutely CB: With this roster overhaul imminent for me it's easier to state what we don't need early: RB, QB, and DE with Oline needing something we just don't know where. We have 2 chances to get starter level players on day 2 and need to make those choices count.

Nice argument except it excludes the fact those offense had: QBs: Stafford, Brady, Mahomes, Brady, Foles (meh), Brady, Peyton Manning, Brady, Wilson, Flacco (meh), Eli Manning, Rodgers, Brees. So yeah, go get us one of the top 5 QBs in the NFL and we won't need but an average RB. I won't dig into the full rosters but I'd hazard a guess that most of them had some pretty good WRs/TEs during. their Superbowl runs. Who do we have? As noted there is zero doubt Wilson benefitted from having Lynch carrying the load. It's still a team sport so the meh QBs, and even Stafford all had strong defenses, strong WR corps, or a strong running game. IIRC Foles benefitted from what was likely the best Oline in the NFL. Go get a top 5 Oline and we won't need a really good RB as well. Who do we have? Maybe Fields turns into one of the top 10 QBs in the next 12months. Maybe our WR corps or Oline turn into top 10 units in the next 12mo. From my point of view those things will take 2-3 years. In the meantime, I think our best chance of success is having a strong running game.

Glad to see this. I think he did a great job last year considering what he had to work with and his experience. Hicks out, Mack out, only Johnson effective at DB. Yet he kept them productive. One of the traits I'm always looking for in coaches is can they make the sum of the talent better than the parts. He had some mistakes along the way but overall I think he learned from them and late in the season they looked better than the talent level predicted. I was hoping he'd stick around but his background doesn't fit what Eberflus runs on D so not surprised he's moved on and landed in a good spot.

These are great questions. We have so little invested in any of them that we should just take a wait and see approach. Move them to where ever they fit best and if it doesn't work send them on their way. There will be plenty of low level competition brought in that fits what we need. Among that list Snowden likely has the most potential. If he can gain 15-20 lbs and the strength to anchor against the run game he can easily play DE as a backup for us. He has the frame for it and it's the position he played in college. I doubt his ceiling is higher than backup but he is a pretty good athlete. Despite that, at 6'7" I can't see him having enough lateral quickness to play at the 2nd level. Let him use those 35" arms to attack the OTs.

Being a former Cyclone I might be Montgomery's biggest fan here. I'm not sure he's worth $12mil/yr but I also think Bears fans underrate him. It's interesting on Spotrac to see his comparisons (Kamara, Dalvin Cook, Joe Mixon, and Aaron Jones) and statistically he's in that mix. He's done that despite Nagy's offensive limitations. At Overthecap.com they have his market value listed as around $7mil. Since I've been watching him run for 5 or 6 seasons I can say he's never run behind a good Oline. He had a very good coach in Matt Campbell at Iowa State and the offense there was more effective than Nagy's. He actually followed Campbell to ISU after committing to play for him at Toledo. Then he got Nagy'd. In Chicago more often than not he's dealing with defenders at the 1st/2nd level. In college he got more 2nd/3rd level but not always. You could see the DBs wanted nothing to do with tackling him in the 2nd half, even LBs were frustrated. I'm very curious to see where we go with the Oline this year and what this, and Montgomery, looks like in the 2nd half of the season. I know if he's getting contact at 2nd/3rd level more often he's going to easily have a top 5 RB season. That's not even a stretch because he's 16th in total yds last year and missed 3 games. Other RBs on the list also missed games so I get that and I don't really see him as a top 5 RB but he's right there among the top 10. As far as a trade for a 3rd/4th Rd pick the idea here is that we feel he could be replaced by a rookie and get similar production. If we feel that way, and that's his value, then it's likely the team with 3rd Rd pick thinks the same way. Why would they make the trade? I see the theory that Herbert can fill his shoes but a short stint of 3 games with good running followed by much less production doesn't make me think Herbert is ready to carry the load. He might show more this year but I'd like to see it first before relying on him. With Fields being so young and learning, along with the rest of the offense I see no reason to take a risk and remove a good consistent RB. Let this play out in 2022 and the right decision will be known. Right now I think top 10 money is likely on the table for Montgomery and the NFL values RBs more now than 10 years ago. That shows up in the draft too. If Herbert shows he's ready this year, then let Montgomery go in FA next year and get the comp pick. If not, I prefer the bird in the hand and I'd pay him. Cap space is not an issue in 2023 so mostly we're talking philosophy on cap allocation. As I see it we'll still be working to fix the WR position that year so we should not have a $20mil WR on the roster. If Jenkins and Borom pan out then it's likely our Oline expense is going to be below Poles' targeted budget in 2023/24. If Poles is what we think he is, we'll likely see young OG and OC starters out of the next 2 drafts. If that goes as planned then in 2024/25 the Oline is established with 2nd contracts on Jenkins/Borom consuming more budget but we will be able to survive with younger less experienced RBs. Poles would need to structure Montgomery's 2nd contract such that we could get out of it if desired after 3 yrs. Getting that leverage usually requires a bit more per year, plus the usual contract inflation, so the $12mil/yr seems likely.

Au contraire... Helfrich has been enjoying his time as a broadcaster for Pac12 games but I get your point he isn't coaching. The funny thing is I had watched several ASU games and kept feeling like the announcer's voice was familiar but I couldn't figure out why. I didn't actually see his name on the screen until near the end of the season. I figure he's just doing the same thing he did in Chicago....talking about offense and not actually doing anything about making it better, albeit for much less money.

Feels like he's getting the band back together again.

Maybe, but what if he likes them all as Interior Oline? Then we're back looking for 2 OTs and assuming he'd move Whitehair to OC, there's no need to re-sign Daniels.

That's very surprising.

I don't think he heard. This is 3rd hand info where someone from the interviews was talking about how Poles wasn't kind to our current roster including the Oline. That's probably all we got for details and the rest, as Stinger said, is likely pure speculation. Nonetheless, we also have Poles' statement during the press conference that explosive plays start with the Oline.

I'm not very good evaluating Oline, perhaps Borom would fit better at one of LG/RG positions. He has good feet but does struggle a bit with speed off the edge. Or maybe it's the noted lack of arm length where he can't quite push DEs far enough off-balance to get them behind the QB. Overall for a 5th Rd pick who was shuffled around the Oline quite a bit he played well enough IMO to know he's a keeper. The question is where.

This is going to cause me to re-think the entire offseason. We aren't going to hear anything publicly about Poles evaluations of our Oline but it sounds like some significant changes are headed our way. Given the fact Fields' success is key to Poles' success this is likely job 1 this offseason. https://www.sportsmockery.com/chicago-bears/ryan-poles-won-over-bears-with-brutal-honesty-on-current-roster/

Slowly Eberflus is filling out the coaching staff. He just brought over James Rowe as DBs coach. This is our most glaring need on defense and after reading this article I think we got the right coach for the job. Everywhere he's gone the DBs have been very successful which means it's not about the athletic ability or talent, it's the preparation. It would be interesting to see what he could do with Eddie Jackson but time is money (wins) and I don't think we can afford to watch that experiment. https://www.stampedeblue.com/2021/2/19/22286191/colts-cb-coach-james-rowe-the-smartest-coach-i-have-ever-been-around

That should have been our sign of things to come.

They have a $45mil QB who can solve all their problems. Cut him? Dead money $45mil. Cap savings 0

or...nobody else wants to be the OC there?

I like the draft but I still can't see how Olave makes it out of the first round much less to the middle of Rd 2. That might have been possible before injuries to Metchie and Williams. Teams in the back half of Rd 1 that are intent on getting a productive WR who can likely start in Week 1 aren't going to be able to wait until the back half of Rd 2. At that point we'd be getting into the window where Metchie and Williams could be taken if their injuries look like a full recovery, but they won't be playing much early in the season if at all. I can see someone like Drake London being there for us. He's basically a replacement for ARob who can win the jump ball, back shoulder catches, great redzone target at 6'5" but can't run away from anyone. Other WRs have been listed as Rd 1 WRs but they don't impress me much: Bell, Burks, Wilson and I feel like you can find similar value maybe with a higher ceiling later in the draft in guys like Doubs, who needs development but has good athleticism, or Pierce (who you have in the 4th). Jahan Dotson will likely go late 1st too just because he's electric. Devonte Wyatt is an Eberflus type player. Really good quickness, he has good strength and can anchor but he's more of a 1-gap DT and he hustles all over the field. I could see him being our 2nd Rd pick. If not us, I expect another team to take him in Rd 2. If you can get him in Rd 3 that's a steal IMO.

I think they are still confused because his offense made their defense look good. https://www.sportsmockery.com/chicago-bears/lions-fans-are-now-talking-themselves-into-hiring-matt-nagy/

I don’t think they will take a chance on him turning it around.

It's nice to be on the other side for once: https://walterfootball.com/nflhotpress/article/Senior-Bowl-2022-Rumors-Wednesday "There is a lot of praise around the league for the new hires by different teams. Scouts have spoken well of the new Bears general manager Ryan Poles and feel the Giants made good moves with their new general manager and head coach. The Raiders, on the other hand, have received a lot of criticism from scouts with other teams. "

Interestingly we hired the anti-Harbaugh in our new GM. Poles wants people to challenge him and robust discussion before making decisions.

That's a very interesting read.

I'm sure he still wants too much control and I prefer the new organization we have.

I just watched the entire press conference and figure it's worth a new thread. Poles: For such a young man he carries himself well but he's definitely aware of how big this moment is. Whereas Eberflus is more like ... yep I've been working on this for a long time. I was surprised Poles called Matt Nagy and asked him his thoughts on the Bears and also what Nagy would have done differently. Not sure what to make of that but at a minimum it takes class and some earned respect from Nagy, to do that. I had to take a moment to collect my thoughts after he said he likes his football players fast and violent can't wait to see how that translates into our new safeties. While athleticism was emphasized I get the feeling being a football player first and foremost is the foundation for his scouting philosophy. He is much more build through the draft vs. FA. He'll use FA of course but didn't even hint at being a balance of the two, and when he does the evaluation has to match valuation. He doesn't sound like the type of GM to go all-in on a Superbowl season like the Rams preferring instead to build a roster capable of long term success. In other words, he'd rather throw more darts at winning it all. I believe he was looking directly at Jason when he said this (paraphrasing but not much): Getting explosive plays on offense starts with having a strong effective Oline. Eberflus: Impressed by how he is more focused on the process of finding the right staff versus just getting things moving forward. In short, even if it takes a bit longer as long as he hires the right people he'll get the right results. There is always pressure to get everyone on board right away and as they said get after the Senior Bowl and other scouting. He's staying with the process. He will not be acting DC and said being HC is too important for him to worry about calling plays. That was refreshing to hear. He too wants speed and hustle to the ball on the defense, so, as expected, we're heading back to the Lovie 2/Marinelli philosophy of hustle to the ball at all times. I'm good with that. Practices focus on techniques to get turnovers. He too wants violent players but he's extremely focused on having no penalties. What I get from him and Poles is they want players who like to be physical and aren't afraid of contact. He's got to love Roquan Smith and David Montgomery....these are his type of players and I'm good with that. I doubt he'll get past 30s of film on Eddie Jackson. We're definitely transitioning to 4-3 base and it starts now...no hesitation. Really like the fact he'll be actively involved in designing the offensive scheme and game planning. He'll be bringing his perspective on the other team's defense, what they want to do, how they hide it, what their tells are, and how we can best attack it. I think this perspective is going to help Justin Fields tremendously. It should also help Getsy on game day as he sees how things evolve on the field but since he is new to play calling I expect it will take him some time to build base knowledge. For the first time in years I think we'll have a coaching staff that can and will make adjustments at half time.

I could be wrong but I don't think we see this too often where an entire defensive (or offensive) coaching staff follows their former coordinator to a new team unless they all got fired. https://www.windycitygridiron.com/2022/1/28/22907415/report-chicago-bears-matt-eberflus-3-indianapolis-colts-assistant-coaches-williams-rowe-borgonzi