AZ54

Based on SNF commentators Herbert at 6'6" tall is a leader in passes knocked down. These young QBs still don't have fast eyes and so it's easier for DTs to follow where they are looking and time jumps on their passes. I think it's natural for a guy who has just finished one full season of games as a starter to still be finding his way and have things to improve upon. If he focuses too much on that it'll take his eyes off the DBs and WRs. That would lead to worse problems. For now I prefer he focus more on reading the coverage. His pocket presence has improved dramatically from earlier in the season and he's starting to slide around more. I don't know when it's going to be but there is a big passing game lurking in the shadows. We adjusted with Fields running and now defenses are adjusting back. It's our turn to make the next move and I think Getsy and Eberflus will do that.

Poles has taken a lot of pain this year to put himself in the driver's seat. Unlike teams in cap space purgatory Poles can build and make decisions when the time is right. There is no reason to move on from Whitehair early, he should wait until the timing is right and he has confidence we have signed someone equally as good or better. If that takes until 2024 so be it. That may also mean a decision after training camp.

Bresee is still a very good fit as a 3-tech whereas Tyree Wilson is a bit of a tweener (DE or DT). A trade back like that to 6 should net Bresee. All I see are power style rushes like Mack. vs. Von Miller speed/bend around the edge. NFL OTs will match his length and present a much bigger challenge. He might even end up a 5-tech DE for a 3-4 defense. Good player who would definitely shore up some run defense on the edges not sure this is top 10 ability.

Thanks for reminding me how old I am and how many challenging (trying to avoid using depresssing) years we've been through. I do like this coaching staff so far. They've had missteps but they've also coached numerous rookies to being competitive on the field. We're starting 3 rookies on D (Sanborn, Gordon, Brisker) and relying on a 5th Rd rookie at DE for a significant chunk of snaps. Combined with losing Khalil Mack (who didn't do much on Sun night football 0 tackles, 1 assist, 0 sacks and is making Poles' decision looks like a complete steal), Roquan, Quinn, and even Hicks in FA and you've taken out the heart of the defense. I agree with all those decisions but we can't underestimate what it means on the field. Today's post-game press conference is the first time I've seen Eberflus frustrated and really at a loss for words. I really think he felt we should win this game (so did I). He needs some time to review the film and I'm confident some corrections will be made. We need some players like Jenkins back on the field but beyond that I think we're about to head into a turning point where we go into full evaluation mode and see a few more rookies getting snaps. In a way they experimented a bit this week and gave Velus another shot, making Harry inactive in the process. I think Eiselen is on the short list to get some snaps but if that happens it will depend on Fields health. That might sound odd given Mustipher's struggles but going from a known to an unknown regardless of how bad the known is, is still a risk. I'd guess right after the bye is the ideal time. Weatherford is another guy I think they'll try to get some defensive snaps with before the season ends. On the Oline it's hard to say what we do with Leatherwood and Carter. Ideally I'd like to see both get some snaps but when? Protecting Fields has to be job 1. If Fields sits "injured" in the Week 17 I'd experiment. Sadly we literally have nobody with "youthful potential" among the DTs. Other than the Mel Tucker years I can't recall another season with so few plays by DTs. That's being anecdotal of course because I don't have data to back it up, but they sure are quiet during games. That has led us to blitz more and but that's not who we are in this D, especially with the rookies out there, and it opens up the backend for some big plays. I'd rather make a team like Atlanta walk all the way down the field like they had to on the first drive than give them chunk plays because of a blitz.

We have over $100 million to upgrade two or three starting spots. Starters are usually available every offseason. Moreover we should be able to draft a couple starters. Elite talent almost always has to be drafted.

This game was a homecoming for Fields, playing in front of family and friends. I don't like the play calling but I also wonder if Justin reverted back to focusing on the big plays as he did earlier in the season, in this case hoping to impress people.

Yeah I was disappointed in Schofield and run blocking was very hit or miss. Ebner is lost in the tight spaces of the NFL. 18 carries for Fields is a huge no no. Calling QB runs when he is obviously injured is flat out stupid.

https://bearswire.usatoday.com/2022/11/20/bears-falcons-inactives-week-11-teven-jenkins-velus-jones/ Alright we have quite a bit to see today. WR: Velus is back on the active roster and Harry is inactive. Pringle gets two games in a row at WR and seeing how he and a more comfortable-with-the-playbook Claypool change things (or not) is a big focus. RB: Darrynton Evans is active, will he get some snaps at RB or do they stick with Ebner and Monty? If he's getting snaps it's a glimpse into a possible future without Montgomery. LB: Adams is back this week, how will they line up this week? Weatherford is active as well (maybe he was last week) but we can watch him on special teams. Oline: Jenkins is active so I look forward to see improved running lanes. Will Reiff continue to start at RT? Based on Eberflus' comments it seems that's how we'll end the season. DBs: We have a healthier Jaylon Johnson and Vildor is back. Many don't like Vildor but I think he's pretty good 10-15yds from the LOS and in run support. That matters this week because Atlanta isn't a team that will threaten us downfield much and will instead prefer to run to the edges. DE: AQM is back and we'll get to see Taco.

I thought he might turn into at least a good backup for us but at this point he's off to LA because they are desperate for help. Carter was the more talented prospect and this will likely make certain that he doesn't get cut in an attempt to be placed on the practice squad. https://www.windycitygridiron.com/2022/11/18/23467083/los-angeles-rams-sign-zachary-thomas-off-chicago-bears-practice-squad

He stays through the offseason until we know what we have. I can see him easily being a post training camp cut or trade if one of the young OGs steps up.

I think this discussion on Sanborn merits a new thread as we observe him over the next few games. His stats were rather eye opening against Detroit. 12 tackles, 9 solo. 2 sacks, and we all know he had a legit INT the NFL called back. When we signed him as a UDFA I was certainly happy to have him on board. Anyone here would have been very happy to see that stat line from Roquan. We did see that against Houston and NE but there were some bad games in between. To be fair for Sanborn this is also just one game but it did get me thinking if I had missed something about him. Swift put up a video about Sanborn and showed his RAS. Nobody gets too excited about a 4.73 forty time and it's no doubt part of what led him to go undrafted. Look at his 10yd split of 1.65s. That's not bad, it's not elite either but there's some quickness there. (Roquan 1.58s, Briggs 1.66s) Then you look at the bottom right corner with the shuttle and 3-cone are both listed as elite. Roquan never ran those tests nor did Briggs. I'll have to trust the RAS data set for LBs. We know WRs with 3-cone times under 7s are typically better at getting separation. Short area quickness is what makes Sanborn flash on the field. He didn't get those times from the combine so I'll assume it's a pro day result which can sometimes be generous. Even backed off a tenth those are good agility times. I originally pegged Sanborn as a SLB in this scheme, at least in the old Hillenmeyer role. That was mostly just get into this gap on run downs and this area in zone coverage. He appears to be more athletic than that and can handle a bigger role. In fact his game speed appears faster than his timed speed. A couple other comparisons: Kwiatkoski who had almost identical forty times and splits (4.73s, 1.62s) but ran a 7.16s 3-cone Darius Leonard: 4.7 forty, 1.69s 10yd split. 3-cone 7.37s at pro day his broad jump were both elite indicating better explosion than the times. Is it possible we have our starting WLB of the future in Sanborn?

Chase Allen is ok, Wesco is a pure inline blocking TE. By next year I hope we can abandon some of these run heavy game plans and move more toward a passing game. With Kmet as a standout inline TE who is effective in both blocking and receiving that will require a bit more of a receiving threat at TE, something we don't have on the roster today when we put 2 TEs on the field. I think we'll be drafting a TE on day 3.

Loved his quote on Okuda: https://www.chicagobears.com/news/5-things-we-learned-from-bears-qb-justin-fields "It was cool playing against him," Fields said. "During the game, I think we both like to stay locked in, so we didn't have much conversation. We talked to each other before the game and of course after the game. He's a great player, great athlete and a great person." Yeah, but he ain't catching me.

Agreed and really that's the GM and talent evaluators job. If draft grades are relatively flat then trade back. I just ran a 2 round sim at https://www.profootballnetwork.com/mockdraft/. Carter was off the board and I traded back with the Chargers to (6 for 17, 49, 80, and 2024 1st) and then selected 17 Bresee DT, 49 Van Pran OC, 58 Gervon Dexter DT. Chargers drafted Jaxon Smith-Njigba so that's a trade that would never happen in real life.

I can definitely see that as a possibility but there are rare elite blue chip players that I think every team needs to have to win a Superbowl. The Aaron Donald types. We'll see how draft grades and early entrants line up but he'd be hard to pass up even in a 2 for 1 deal. I'd literally bend Detroit over backwards and make them pay the Trubisky price and then still get Carter and a lot more. Levis is a good prospect but he's not Justin Fields.

I'd be happy if the draft fell this way up to our pick at 6 overall, but there is zero chance I leave Jalen Carter on the board and take an OT. https://thedraftnetwork.com/2023-nfl-mock-draft-addison-johnston-hyatt/

Inconsistent player who should fit right in with our defense. All things considered he's got more experience than Kingsley Jonathan and should provide a higher floor for the DE rotation. https://www.nfl.com/prospects/taco-charlton/32004348-4164-6504-2f6f-045a92e67e87

https://bearswire.usatoday.com/2022/11/16/bears-roster-moves-taco-charlton-signed-matt-adams-off-ir/

I watched the Falcons/Panthers game. CPat is not nearly as agile as he used to be, he's mostly a linear athlete at this point or at least at this point in a season where he's primarily been used as a RB. Mariota, if he plays this week, was horrible in his reads, late on throws and forced some deep passes into coverage. He is under a lot of pressure which usually doesn't improve his performance. On the flip side he's still a mobile QB and can give a pass rush fits when he escapes the pocket. My other main takeaway from that game was that I like what our coaches are doing with our roster talent far more than what Atlanta is doing. It's a road game we need to get a good start and hopefully get their fans booing.

In that video the screenshot of the RAS score shows his 10yd split of 1.62 which is outstanding. For perspective that matches Von Miller although Von ran a 4.53 forty. The broad jump and vertical jump match the explosiveness. Can he bend and run around the corner? There was no 3-cone time in the RAS table so we'll just have to wait and see when he gets on the field.

As I said in the other thread on Montgomery we need this evaluation period to determine what we want to do with Montgomery. Wasn't hoping it would happen by injury to Herbert but this keeps Montgomery who is the better blocker on the field for Justin and given how many hits he's taking that important.

Not quite everyone.

I don't see anyone hiring Getsy. He hasn't done anything of note. I'm still being patient on the passing game in part because it's been such a mish mash of WRs on/off the field. Plus everyone learning a new scheme, young QB etc. I was glad to see Pringle get on the field today but we have to be realistic in that Fields has not played nor practiced with him much at all. Toss in Claypool, Harry when he's been out there, and you have 3 new guys with limited routes/timing/etc. We even had ISM out there for a few games before we cut him. I'm willing to give them some time to grow and expand their route trees. I'd be curious just what % of plays (vs. total in playbook) Getsy can call with them on the field. We don't see our RBs on routes very often either usually just screens. I believe there has to be much more in the scheme than what we've seen.

He had a good game but still missed on some plays. Once he literally cut off Gordon from his coverage by running between him and the WR. No need for the delayed blitz at that moment just step back and let the traffic clear. QB threw to Gordon's man and had a big gain. I think the defensive coaching was poor in this game. I know Eberflus said we needed to generate more pressure but knowing we have LBs in new positions (or rookie LB starting 2nd game) and Vildor out I don't think we should have blitzed 6 players as often as we did nor should we have blitzed that often overall. Early on we were just giving them easy first down pickups because there were no defenders to make a tackle. I don't mind some blitzes but IMO they should have been mixed in less often.

I still lean towards keeping him and that would be around the $6-7mil/yr rate simply because I think these two RBs compliment each other well. Monty is our best blocking RB and at times Herbert is still pretty bad blocking. Herbert is better in wide zone but Montgomery is the better inside zone runner and is better on short yardage situations. It's hard to say which is the better receiver since we don't get to use them in that aspect very often. Fix the Oline. This also depends on if we can structure the contract in a way that we can get out of it in 2 yrs because I'd like to think Ebner is the home run threat we are missing. Ebner just hasn't shown the vision yet in this scheme to be effective and there is also that blocking issue. I get that they are RBs, but protecting Fields is still job 1 for me. And my last reason is that keeping Montgomery now while we have plenty of cap space allows us to focus on fixing other needs on Oline, WR, DE, DT, LB. With so many FA RBs my guess is the team extends him an offer then lets him test the market and we see if we want to match.