AZ54

Mitch had some good games last year and still fans ragged on him for missing a pass here or there. I don't really have time to go back and dig up quotes. Mitch does not play as well as Mahomes that's a fact. But in that last game when under pressure Mahomes looked an awful lot like Mitch has.

You can really protect your WR if you throw the ball to the LB in front of him.

Thanks for the schedule. Now I just need to put together my shopping list.

If Trubisky played exactly like Mahomes did in that game Bears fans would still want to cut him. That's the Mahomes I saw in college when he was under pressure and I was surprised to see him that rattled by the SF pass rush. Imagine him behind the Bears Oline. Many of his passes were off target (deep passes as you mentioned) imagine our fan base who complained about Trubisky pass that was 6" too short of being in stride. JimmyG was even worse under pressure constantly throwing off his back foot. With a clean pocket he looks good, even on those little screen passes they threw a lot of. He was inaccurate often when he had a clean pocket or his team would have won the game. He had several opportunities for big plays if he led his receiver correctly. We need to fix Trubisky and get his head on straight and get a running game. I like what Nagy did bringing in Flip and Lazor to help here and moving Rags behind the scenes as passing game coordinator. He could have cut Rags for all I cared but it has been clear Rags is not getting through to Trubisky. Gotta throw a different pitch and see if it works. After posting a possible off-season earlier where I cut Floyd I'm really starting to think signing a big FA pass rusher and cutting Floyd (if he won't sign a very reasonable extension) is definitely the way to go here. You just have to have pass rushers at all times and that was clear by the way SF rattled Mahomes. We're not going to win because of Mitch but we can win with him if we have the right defense (which is very close to elite) and a running game. I'm going to start building my offseason wish list. Last...I'm really glad Andy Reid finally has his Superbowl win. Loved watching his emotions as he closed out a career long goal.

Not even close to that...and that's a good thing. While there were a rumored 10 teams interested in this guy the market just simply wasn't that high for a CFL CB who is going to be 28. For this pocket change I'm ok with the deal. https://twitter.com/FieldYates/status/1223229520666398720 Follow-up details on Tre Roberson’s two-year deal with the Bears: $75K signing bonus, $50K Week 1 roster bonus in 2020, $25K workout bonus each year. Base salaries of $550K, $610K. Good developmental prospect for Chicago to work with.

Can't....stop.....laughing.

Of course he has a chance but he's also going to be 28 and he's still learning a new position, now at the NFL level. There's not a lot of runway left in his career. If he were 24 then a year or two as a backup/special teams player might get him where he needs to be.

I'd be ok with both of those picks except I really prefer we grab an OT in Rd 2. IMO TE is a position we can fix via FA and one of the top 3 FAs will be here. We could possibly add depth along the interior; depending on how people feel about Bars and if he can be RG or RT. OLB with Lewis there represents good value depending on his injury prognosis but without the injury he's clearly a top 20 or top 15 talent. Pass rusher is a premium position so we absolutely take Lewis there. Then with the next pick we draft an OT because you don't find many drafts where this much OT talent goes this deep into Rd 2. In the 4th Rd go get Joe Reed WR out of Virginia.

I'll predict right now David Montgomery is going to pancake him the first time he tries to tackle him in camp. I have low expectations for anyone coming from the CFL because the athleticism alone is such a big jump. However, Tre appears to have the athletic talent to play in the NFL as he reportedly ran a 4.52 forty and some of his highlights show some good quickness. Maybe he can win a roster spot as the last CB but I don't expect much more from him.

This site gives you an A+ for drafting a 3rd Rd talent in the 3rd round?

I feel better about the potential of the practice squad players we already have: Horsted, Holtz, Dax Raymond, , and even Darion Clark. Clark was a basketball player the Bears are trying to convert. For those who played basketball he has more natural strength and balance, and quicker feet than Shaheen. He can't jump very well but his spin move at the 2:50 mark would put Shaheen on the floor if he tried it. He's also a more natural runner than Shaheen which you can see when he gets out on the fast break. In the highlights he has natural hands for catching the ball in traffic as seen on several quick inside passes. Of course it's not always easy to translate that to a football. You never know how a transition to a new sport goes but all I'm saying is from an athletic standpoint Clark is the better inline TE prospect over Trautman. I will keep telling myself that Trautman is nothing more than a smoke screen and hope that's true on draft day. https://thespringleague.com/?p=3873 On TE Darion Clark (6’6″, 240 lbs, USC): “Clark was one of the more interesting prospects we had in this years camp. A former basketball player at USC who has decided to make the transition to football, Darion showed great deal of potential. He possesses elite size, speed and athletic ability needed to become a force at the next level. Most impressive, Clark showed that he is a fast learner who under the right coaching can be a great asset to any squad that’ll take the time to work with him. Reliable hands, strong base, good hip flexibility and good acceleration. Clark is someone to keep an eye on as he develops. We’re excited to see what the future holds for this talented TE prospect.”

Yes, hopefully Cohen returns to his performance his first two years but there's also the question of his next contract. I'm not sure what value he'll put on himself but I suspect it's a lot more than the value I put on him.

I agree the trade down is very likely.

KPL surprised me and did ok as an occasional pass rusher. He is not an OLB in 3-4 front but he can provide versatility in rush packages when we are in a 4-3 front, or even from the 3-man front if he's paired with Smith. It's hard to say we'd miss Trevathan if we just spent similar money on Kwit/KPL. Woods also looked more comfortable in coverage last year and hopefully his development takes another step forward in run support this year.

Trading what in exchange?

Fix the pass rush and everything will be better. Without Hicks' inside pressure Mack was easily contained and Floyd never showed up at the QB. Blitzes worked quite often but we were also missing both starting ILB toward the end of the season. For that very brief time when Hicks returned it was surprising how much better the D looked. I didn't like seeing Fuller stay so far off the LOS last year. I know he likes to play off the LOS but too often he just gave up easy first downs. I felt Pagano would correct that stuff. Eddie Jackson didn't play as well last year as the year before either. Secondary play was really my biggest disappointment from Pagano given the hype about his secondary coaching experience.

I want a fast RB to compliment Montgomery, and hopefully someone who is better than Cohen at the combination role. Enter from Memphis Antonio Gibson..

This Trautman guy is not a good prospect. Watch one minute of him in this game. He needs a lot of work in the weight room and his agility to avoid a tackle at the 50s mark is very Shaheenesque.

What's the norm for teams? 25%? Also for consideration we've traded away quite a few picks in the last few years so that tendency to go after more known commodities should be expected. When you have numerous Day 3 picks you take fliers on athletes like Stephen Denmark. I wish that guy could play Safety.

I haven't gotten that far yet in my draft analysis but just my initial take on some of this is that we have far better options than most thought we would this offseason. Can we do everything we want? That's not likely nor is it ever a reality for any team. Can we make this roster much better? Absolutely.

I'm still trying to figure out the best way to slice up this offseason and fill our needs. From a value proposition a couple items stand out IMO. 1) OT has unusually good depth into the 2nd Rd this year. Seems almost a certainty we can get one with our first pick in Rd 2. This is an expensive position to fill in FA and we've already got a lot committed to it. Seems like a rookie backup/future starter is a must. DRAFT 2) WR FA is not loaded with good 2nd tier options for a speed WR unless there are some relative unknowns who are ready to step up and shine with more snaps. Conversely the draft has some very good options in Rd 2. DRAFT 3) TE is a critical need and one not likely to be filled proficiently by a rookie in a complex offense. Three good options are available in FA. That seems like a must have but if there is some confidence in Burton returning to form and the young players taking another step forward then there will be good options in Rd 2. Plus if the above happens we're looking for an inline TE which can be found later in the draft. There will be some decent options to add depth in Rd4/5 in the draft. If we sign one of the top FA TEs I don't think we draft one and we watch the young guys to see how they develop. FREE AGENCY 4) SS ...tough spot to fill. HHCD is not an ideal fit but he's not horrible either but at what price? If not him who? Bush or a rookie but it might be a late Rd pick given other more important needs and the new contract for EJack. Maybe we split the difference and grab a good 2nd tier FA like Karl Joseph or Vonn Bell while we add a rookie on day three. FREE AGENCY https://lastwordonprofootball.com/2020/01/21/oakland-raiders-karl-joseph-free-agency/ 5) RB ... It's not a popular choice but I still feel like we need a good 2nd option at RB and Cohen is not that. I'll take Kenyan Drake in FA with his estimated $5.5mil/yr contract. https://www.spotrac.com/nfl/arizona-cardinals/kenyan-drake-19023/market-value/ FREE AGENCY 6) IOL ... I'm expecting we stay in house for this one and Alex Bars starts at RG, and Whitehair/Daniels on his left in some order. Backups will be Coward/Lucas/rookie OT. IN HOUSE 7) Edge ... expensive spot to fill in FA, tough spot to fill via the draft. What we do with Floyd's contract definitely plays a part here. If he doesn't restructure Pace could simply walk away from him and go sign someone like Bud Dupree, Matt Judon, Markus Golden, Dante Fowler Jr. I don't think it's likely but there is the alternative possibility where Pace goes after an inside pass rusher like Chris Jones (dreaming of course with expected market value of $20mil), but players like JPP, Shaq Lawson, or maybe even Arik Armstead could be possible. Spotrac has us with $15mil cap space Cuts: Amukamara $9mil, Floyd $13mil, Gabriel $4.5mil, Shaheen $1.3mil, Braunecker $1.4mil (yes), New Cap Space = $44mil FA spending: TE Hooper $10mil, RB Drake $5.5mil, Safety Joseph $5mil, Edge (minus Floyd's 13) +4mil Dupree = $24.5mil Sign our FA: Kwit (guessing $4mil), KPL, RRH (guessing $3mil), Nick Williams, Lucas, Bush, Scales, Coward (guessing $3mil), Holtz, and Irving I'm over the cap by $8mil but normal creative structuring of contracts easily overcomes that. If I give Robinson a contract extension I can cut his cap hit in half too. Draft picks: 2nd Rd OT, 2nd Rd WR, CB: Tolliver takes over for Prince, Shelley is depth We'll need to do something at backup QB. I'd be ok with Chase again but not at $5mil.

The only way we have a shot is if his medicals leave some questions for teams using first round picks.

He'll be about $2-3mil cheaper than Hooper. He has his occasional drops but he'd still be the best TE by far on the roster. The bigger concern is his mental state surrounding these drops: https://www.indystar.com/story/sports/nfl/colts/2019/10/01/colts-tight-end-eric-ebron-aims-stop-thinking-too-much/3834371002/ In Chicago he'll be dealing with fans who are already short tempered when it comes to offense. He won't get much leeway before the boos start. Plus is he the confidence builder we need for Trubisky?

Finally found one I like but his injury history is a problem. Of course that is likely the only reason he'll be available in the 2nd Rd. Even in this game you can tell his right leg is still not 100%.