AZ54

I wonder if Herbert is still feeling good about returning?

What has Braxton Jones done lately to deserve being replaced? https://bearswire.usatoday.com/lists/bears-pff-grades-best-and-worst-performers-in-week-15-loss-eagles/ He keeps grading out as our 2nd best Oline, just behind Jenkins, and he's just a rookie. I watch Charles Cross, 9th overall, get beat like a drum on several plays every time I see Seattle play. "Braxton Jones earned the highest grade for Chicago’s struggling offensive line. According to PFF, Jones didn’t allow a sack and earned high marks in pass protection (73.9) and run blocking (70.1)." I understand that's PFF smoke and mirrors grading but in the game I saw Brisker made more mistakes, and costly ones at that, and nobody is talking about replacing him. LTs can't make the spectacular play for a loss or turnover. They just sort of are "there" but they can give up negative plays. Jones didn't do that against the best defensive front in the NFL yet we need to spend $15-20mil next year to fix.. what? Go fix C, RT and then LG. Then, even if Braxton Jones is exactly the same player as he was in the Eagles game, Justin will be happy in the pocket. Except there is a high likelihood Jones will improve next season. I have at least 10 other starting positions to address long before I get to LT as the reason we can't win games.

It is going to get interesting this weekend on the interior OL. https://www.windycitygridiron.com/2022/12/19/23518043/chicago-bears-cody-whitehair-significant-knee-injury-teven-jenkins-dieter-eiselen-jatyre-carter

Watching Pittman drop easy passes this past weekend didn't impress me. Nor did he show anything special with his hands on ball. Admittedly a small sample but he didn't seem to be a player who would add anything we don't already have on the roster.

I'm not a fan of drafting a RB but the way Achane runs with patience and vision, even on inside runs, plus that insane burst is pretty tantalizing. I like Tuli. You can literally line him up anywhere on the front but to see a man his size get around the edge like he does is rare. He also shifty enough to slip inside blockers. Anudike is listed at 6-3 but he plays bigger than that. Curious to see how he does at the combine. It'd be nice if Hyatt's highlight film had more than just wide open go routes but unlike Velus he has easy soft hands. I didn't see much route running or contested catches and for a 5th yr Sr you have to wonder how much he has to learn as a WR. He is the epitome of.. If he's even he's leavin'. The tools are there if he has the work ethic.

https://www.windycitygridiron.com/2022/12/19/23515646/10-chicago-bears-takes-justin-fields-teven-jenkins-velus-jones-matt-eberflus-top-5-pick-eberflus It was a good week for the Bears in regard to draft positioning, and that alone is worth celebrating. They came into Week 15 with the No. 3 overall pick and one of only three teams with less than four wins. They'll leave this weekend with the No. 2 overall pick and the lone three-win team in the league. Even better? There are only three traditional four-win teams and two of those teams will play each other (The Los Angeles Rams and Denver Broncos) in Week 16. That means that the worst the Bears can do with a (1-2) finish would be the fourth overall pick. Here's a look at the current Top 5 according to Tankathon.com.

That's interesting because when I saw the first stunt go past Whitehair I saw Mustipher in the middle with no one to block. He looked left and saw nobody coming (before the stunt) and then turned to his right to help out Jenkins or maybe Schofield who didn't need any help. If he had just stepped back and stayed in the middle he would have been in position to help on the DE stunt inside. Instead he had his back to the DE as he came through.

I still think the breakdown by quarter of the season is a better way to show progress. The comp% of his last 4 games combined is 68% and TD:INT 5:4 The 2 INTs against GB are questionable against him especially the last one where you have to try something. Fields QB Rating: 2021-73. 2022- 88 and trending upward. His last 9 games he's averaging 97.8. I don't put a lot of stock into these ratings because the team surrounding the player has a significant impact on it but the team surrounding Fields is not helping him a whole lot. For reference and perspective in 2022 Burrow's rating is 102.5. Herbert = 91.5, career avg of 95.9. Mahomes in 2021 had a season rating of 98.5, this year 105. Lamar Jackson 2022 is 91.1

FWIW in the press conference that is linked below Eberflus was clear in calling Fields the Franchise QB. For those who have watched him and Poles in their press conferences since they were hired they were always cautious about avoiding that statement. https://www.chicagobears.com/video/matt-eberflus-provides-injury-updates-for-week-16-press-conference

Hurts threw some dimes but also had quite a few passes that were off the mark a bit. If you swapped one of these two position groups: Oline or WR corps I think we win that game and it might not even be close.

Whitehair is in his 7th season and is the 6th highest paid LG in the NFL. If he needs coaching to figure that out we have the wrong man for the job. I only got to see replays during the game but it appeared even Braxton Jones figured out they had to switch off their blocks. Whitehair just continued following the DT until he (Whitehair) ran into Jones and lost his balance. There is a lot of cold/flu stuff going around and we had some players miss time for illness leading into the game so perhaps he was having an off day but I agree with others who have pointed out that he hasn't been the same player since he returned from his injury.

I again am very impressed by the effort put forth by this team. We were simply out-manned at nearly every spot on the field and kept it close with effort despite losing several key players throughout the game. More than anything young players keep improving and I think that bodes very well for the future as we add better talent. Find a post in this thread that mentions Braxton Jones? Fields each game takes a step forward, small but you can see it in a few plays each game. The backup DBs again didn't look overwhelmed and played physically at the point of attack. As much as we blitzed and as many as we blitzed I expected to see WRs wide open all over. Given where we are at this point (draft focused) I don't even get upset at all the heavy blitzes we're doing. I don't believe that is characteristic of what this teams wants to do long term. Who was wrong on the safety blitz that gave up the easy TD by Hurts we won't know but had they gone into different gaps that play is dead at the LOS. This is the time to experiment and see what happens and who can handle things. Thoughts on players: Whitehair - if he wants $14mil next season this was the game to earn it. He failed, repeatedly. Leatherwood - needs one more quick kick step in that drop to handle what Reddick was showing him. It appeared he did that better in his first game. I'm not giving up on him though because when he's right he's very right and he's still working on very few snaps. Will he show enough for Poles to commit to him as our future RT? That doesn't seem likely but I can see him in the competition for the job in camp. That could be against a rookie or vet but the decision has been made that it won't be Borom. Fields - watching the NFL Network pregame show with Kurt Warner comparing Fields now versus early in the season the progress in the pocket is obvious. On his quick throws to the WR screen he has to get his feet right. That's something he needs to work on this offseason. Ebner - he is still not comfortable in the backfield. I don't know the future for our WRs corps but if these injuries linger we should see him run some routes out of the slot. Velus isn't showing much so mix it up a bit and give Ebner some of his routes. Being sick all weekend I watched a lot of football. I don't see us as far off from a playoff contender as our record states. This game just reinforced that belief and makes me even more enthusiastic for what we can become when we add talent this offseason.

Detroit being Detroit I have a feeling they'll just stick with Goff. I've already seen media folks discussing it and how he's their QB of the future. I'd be glad if they did because Goff is a Decepticon and sooner or later he'll revert to himself.

I like Foskey because he's quick, good speed, and he hustles to the ball. From what I've seen in his highlights he's just not very bendy when it comes to getting around the outside shoulder of an OT. Bigger players like Murphy can use their length to offset that. Here against Ohio St Foskey just gets into a lot of hand fighting with OTs, a battle he almost always loses. It may end up that he's a better fit in a 3-4 scheme where he splits time dropping into coverage and rushing.

I did notice Blackwell, even how well he handled the typical rub routes. I'd love to see him paired up with our starters, even if it's another rotational role.

I too like having the higher draft pick but with this team playing with high effort I can see the need for the players to get a win just to feel better about the hard work they've put in. You need look no further than what happened in Detroit once they got a 2nd win and went on a winning streak to see what that means to players.

This dude...

That's fair. There are question on both players. At the moment those are the only two I've seen with the elite athletic talent to hit that superstar level. I haven't looked at everyone in the top 10 but my sense is that if those 2 are off the board when we pick then a trade back makes a ton of sense. However, if Poles stayed put and chose either Anderson or Carter I wouldn't blame him. It is likely there will be others with elite athletic talent but with lesser skill sets (raw, younger draft entrants). Evaluating the work ethic and football smarts is the real behind the scenes work. Despite falling to the 3rd pick the teams in the top 5 don't need QBs except for Houston. Indy, Carolina, and Atlanta will be vying for a QB. If Pace has any say in it Atlanta will be all-in to move up.

Brisker and Gordon cleared to play. With both getting 3 weeks off their bodies should be free of the nagging injuries that everyone plays through late in the season. Now we get to see who takes over for Vildor on the outside. Jaylon Jones has some competition for that from Blackwell.

It could be but a bigger sample size would be helpful for evaluating Sanborn's weaknesses. With more film on him will teams attack him differently? How will he respond?

I have to disagree. Braxton Jones is by far his best find of the year. He's playing one of the premium positions in the NFL and it's far more challenging to do that as a rookie than it is to play MLB. Jones struggled early on with some things but he's never completely fallen off in any game and he's played every snap on offense. He's been one of our most consistent run blockers and per PFF has graded out as our 2nd best Olineman thus far in the season. He's had 3 holding and 2 false start penalties. Quietly in the last month he's become very consistent in his pass protection. Go look at the complaint section on this board (just kidding) and you won't see his name but you get the point that nobody is really talking about him failing. Compare that to what you hear about Mustipher or Borom. Here's a better take: https://www.sportsmockery.com/chicago-bears/braxton-jones-continues-what-has-been-a-dominant-stretch/

Sorry but I have no interest in becoming a team where you can have a winning record one or several years in a row but can't win it all. We need some star players to mix in with that 2nd Rd depth. The odds of finding a Pro Bowl player go down the further you get in the draft. The corollary to your 2nd Rd re-sign rate of just 30% is that 70% of those players are available for anyone to sign. There are injury issues to consider so that's not entirely correct but in most offseason it's usually true you can add depth at most positions.

In theory yes, but I can't remember the last time supply was greater than demand.

Another QB enters the fray. I have no idea if he's a top 10 talent. If the physical talent is there I'd expect him to be more of a late 1st Rd option for teams considering the lengthy development work he'll need. However, if the debate becomes Richardson or Will Levis for 3rd QB that could drive up his value. The more QBs who can go in the top 10 the better for us if we trade down in the 1st. https://www.profootballrumors.com/2022/12/florida-qb-anthony-richardson-declares-for-draft "On the other hand, three NFL scouts reportedly said this week that “they expect (Richardson) to be a top-10 draft pick come April,” according to Jason Cole of OutKick.com.

I saw someone (somewhere) mention we should sign Nelson Agholor in FA because he's the legit deep threat we're missing. I've never been a big fan of Agholor but the concept I found appealing. In a sense we'd all like Velus Jones to be that deep threat, and on occasion he will, but I think he'll always be mostly limited to plays closer to the LOS and then add via YAC. So adding a starter who is someone the safeties have to worry about deep on every play creates more space for everyone else to work in. Claypool has the speed and size to get deep and so does Mooney so that versatility forces a D to play balanced in coverage. I figure ESB is gone but Harry should stick around at least into camp along with Pringle who I doubt gets much interest in FA. Then you add in the run game because with Fields running they will want to bring a safety closer to the LOS. That means more single high safety which gives opens up the sidelines deep. We could easily swap in Agholor and we'd be better off on deep routes than we are with Pettis. The problem is special teams and here is where Velus and his poor PR ability causes a problem. I'm certain he'll work on that in the offseason but assuming Pettis is gone we'll need another option. That could come from a DB pickup. Maybe we step back a bit from all the usual route tree questions since we can cover that with existing talent and simply ask who are the best outside deep threats in this draft?