AZ54

That's a very low bar but I have to agree. Aside from the PI miscues there were a few obvious holding calls against our pass rush that weren't flagged. I'm just going to look at the silver lining here and take that as the NFL helping us with a better draft pick. Going in I was hoping for another 30pt game from the offense and would be ok with the L. So I'm stuck owning the L. We can point to a lot of plays as always but giving up 7 on a routine blocked punt is completely unacceptable. Herbert can't completely miss on a simple block like that. Oline was just ok today for most part but run blocking wasn't the best we've seen. Braxton Jones gave up some pressures late as usual being bull rushed but it's hard to say they got their $110mil worth from Chubb when a 5th Rd rookie LT contained him for most of the game. Claypool will improve this offense quite a bit. Hopefully Pringle gets back soon because he's a more dynamic route runner than either ESB or Pettis. There is no chance I'd take Tua and all those underthrown passes over Fields in any draft. In fact the few times we did get pressure on Tua he melted down. I was impressed by their WRs but not the QB. Time will tell but they've gone all-in on Tua for the near future. Now it's time for me to get back to scouting Dline for the draft. Get an interior pass rusher or two and this game would have been a win.

Me too but his name didn't come up at all when the coaches were talking about the options. It appears he'll first have to pay his dues by earning time on special teams.

With all the trade talk taking over the week we are at Fri with no game thread for this Sun against Miami as of yet. Health-wise we are getting better. Whitehair is not only returning to the 53 but is on track to start. Jenkins struggled with some back issues earlier in the week but has had 2 full practices and is off the injury report. Borom is off concussion protocol but might not start. My guess is Reiff played well enough to keep Borom as backup since he's had just one practice. https://www.si.com/nfl/bears/news/bears-cody-whitehair-larry-borom-good-to-go Stopping the Fins WRs is going to be a problem and with us relying more on backups at LB and DE. Their running game has not been good so that at least plays into our strength in pass coverage somewhat if we can generate a pass rush. Their run defense has been good but they are bottom 5 giving up a lot of yards in pass defense.

I listened to Williams and I they were stretching his words a bit. He did confirm Sanborn will get increased reps on defense but which position isn't known. Others are getting a look there including Morrow who played that role in Oakland, and Joe Thomas. One thing that is interesting was Wiliams saying he expects we'll be playing a lot of base D (i.e. 3 LBs) in this game because Miami stays in their base offense a lot. If that holds regardless of position we'll see a lot of Sanborn who is now listed as a starter on our depth chart. Williams also said that stopping the run is job 1 for the D. Does that also mean less Vildor and more Gordon on the outside?

Smart guy, he's taking what he's got in terms of talent and running with it, literally.

I think one of the reasons our running game works so well is that our Oline are mobile blockers and we work in a fair amount of misdirection, including Fields' rollouts, jet sweeps to the backside, etc. Now they've added in Fields' runs to the strong side or the direction of the play. All that makes it harder to key off the OG initial movements as was traditionally true. I'm 100% on board with building a great running game and working the passing game off that. I just don't think what we're seeing is the traditional mauler type of run game.

I hadn't picked up on this but Eberflus intentionally called a timeout late in the Cowboys game to get Eiselen on the field.

I think we should add that he was also under-utilized when they put him in the slot. I don't know how ESPN calculates this stat but using it to criticize a guy who is just doing what he's told to do seems odd: https://bearswire.usatoday.com/lists/bears-trade-for-chase-claypool-expert-grades/. From ESPN grade: "Claypool is an OK receiver. He ranks 76th out of 102 wide receivers with at least 100 routes in yards per route run this season" It appears he was just being asked to be a big body possession WR this year which doesn't necessarily fit his physical traits in the best way imaginable. At 6'4" with legit 4.4 speed and a 40" vertical leap you want to use him to challenge teams deep, at least I do. With their QB situation did Pitt just try to give both QBs a consistent easy short read? Unlike the Steelers, I believe he is here to take full advantage of Fields ability to accurately throw the ball deep, which marries up well with Fields' ability to extend plays. I can't wait to see it play out.

This is old... https://steelersdepot.com/2020/06/chase-claypool-loves-blocking-because-its-almost-a-chance-to-play-defense/

Just listened to Poles' press conference and he was pretty clear the $17mil (or whatever our final offer was) is where he was going to stay. It was obvious he hadn't seen enough on the field to make him think differently. Therefore it wasn't likely a middle ground would ever be found so in that sense you are correct.... get value now for Roquan in 2023 or risk getting nothing or best case something even further down the road in 2024.

It's not just that his traits compliment Fields he compliments the rest of the WR group who are more intermediate route runners, or in Velus' case short routes. I get that Claypool's route tree might not be complete, or elite, but as long as Getsy doesn't try to fit a square peg into a round hole he can do enough that it doesn't matter. We have others like Mooney who can do a little of everything, which is part of what makes him tough to cover. There's often a discussion about Mooney being a WR1 or not. He's not elite in that sense and neither is Claypool but having two 1B WRs is a very good thing to have. Add in that our top WRs are all outstanding run blockers and defending against Fields on designed runs gets a lot more difficult. Same for jet sweeps with Velus. Defenders now have some big challenges figuring out what to key on with our plays and after watching the Dallas game film reviews it's obvious that led to many big plays against Dallas. Claypool only makes that better. We've had some discussion on the WR draft talent this year, as well as FA. Poles made it clear the lack of available talent played a factor in making this deal. That doesn't mean there aren't good players but when the pool is small the odds of landing what you need goes down. He decided it was worth paying now for the known commodity.

I like this move. Was hoping it was for Balt 2nd Rd pick but given the Pack was involved I'm good with using our 2nd Rd'er. I scanned that breakdown video of his game and it really doesn't matter to me what we call him (WR/TE) because he's a weapon that has to be accounted for. Of course TE probably saves us some money on his next contract and I think Getsy will use him in the same mold as Griffin is on some plays. In his draft profile he was listed as a "Pancake maker with nasty demeanor as run blocker". He adds something we simply don't have in the redzone and no doubt we'd have been searching for that in the draft next year. We have to see how things shake out with this combination but we might not even need to focus on WR in the draft. That doesn't mean we don't add one but immediate need could drop off the priority list. If Pringle can return to form this mix of players offers Fields and Getsy a lot of options and all support the run game well: Claypool, Mooney, Harry, Pringle, followed by ESB, Pettis, Velus. Velus just stays where he is as occasional gadget player/special teamer. Not ideal as a 3rd Rd pick but he can still add value especially when you have Claypool able to take the top off the D which should make Velus' underneath routes more open. Can't wait for Sunday.

AJ Kline is probably good enough to let Adams move back over to Roquan's spot. The other option is to let Morrow slide over to WLB, a role that might fit him better than MLB and see what he does. We have other options including Kline at MLB. Weatherford is an intriguing prospect but a position change from DB to LB I don't think Eddie Jackson is going anywhere. He was just named a new team captain I'd hope that was done with some input from the GM.

Good fit for him and good draft picks in exchange. Reportedly a 2nd and 5th. Good move by our GM. I

From elite players, who demand the highest of contracts at their position, I actually do expect consistent high level performance week to week. I understand some games are better than others but those "other" games shouldn't have stats the same as an average run of the mill LB in Morrow with 5 tackles.

There was nothing in this game that showed Roquan was worth $20mil/yr.

That was my take on the game in a season where Fields' development is job 1. This was by far our best offensive performance and it came against one of the top defenses in the NFL. The defense stayed on the plane.

I don't think so, I believe all of his salary costs should have accelerated into this season. Eagles are paying Quinn $700k for the rest of the season we pay the rest of it. Quinn will probably still be worth a $5-10mil/yr deal, maybe 1yr deal in the offseason depending how he does in the 2nd half of the season but for him he'll get to choose his destination.

For some reason I remember liking this guy as either a potential late rd draft pick or UDFA. That said he's done nothing in his career. I can't imagine any football universe where a bottom-of-the-roster WR doesn't want to stay where he has a chance to get on the field with Mahomes throwing the ball. It's hard to see how that can't help you get a nice deal with another team down the road. (see Pringle). This guy was competing with such stellar WRs as Marquez Valdez Scantling, Mecole Hardman, and Justin Watson yet still can't get on the field. Even when he has been promoted to the game day roster in his career he's had 2 receptions. Last, what a coach says and doesn't say carry just as much weight and Eberflus said absolutely nothing about his ability as a WR. I have no clue why he's here but it's not for his upside.

Deal looks a lot better now! We can do an extension on someone if they choose and pull some of that into this year's cap hit. I don't know all the rules on that. https://bearswire.usatoday.com/2022/10/26/bears-trade-robert-quinn-to-eagles-2023-salary-cap-impact/ While the Bears will take on most of Quinn’s remaining salary, which is around $7.9 million, the trade frees up $18.2 million in additional cap space in 2023, per OverTheCap. For those keeping track at home, the Bears will have $134 million in salary cap space heading into the 2023 offseason, which gives Poles plenty to work with as he looks to address areas of need. Chicago could’ve opted to cut Quinn after this season, which would’ve freed up $10 million in cap space. Instead, the Bears free up an additional $8 million while also acquiring a fourth-round pick in the trade with the Eagles. As for the impact on the salary cap for the remainder of the 2022 season, Chicago cleared up $12.9 million in cap space with a $4.2 million dead cap hit.

https://www.chicagobears.com/news/wr-byron-pringle-returns-to-practice-quick-hits Injury update: The Bears conducted a walkthrough on Wednesday but placed two players on the estimated injury report. Offensive linemen Larry Borom (concussion) and Lucas Patrick (toe) were both designated as non-participants. Patrick, who started at center against the Patriots, left the game on the team's second possession with a toe injury. During Tuesday's press conference, Eberflus told reporters Patrick will likely be placed on injured reserve.

I was definitely hoping for a 3rd but for a guy with just one sack in 7 games this is about as good as it gets.

This guy is super fast with his edits. I was trying to find out if this was the Eagles own pick or one they had acquired from another team. Based on his comment I think it was their own. OUTGOING The Eagles sent their 2023 fourth-round pick to the Chicago Bears in exchange for Robert Quinn. https://www.bleedinggreennation.com/2022/4/4/23010691/eagles-draft-picks-nfl-draft-year-future-philadelphia-saints-trade-2023-2024-2025-tracker-titans-bgn

https://www.bearstalk.com/peyton-and-eli-manning-break-down-justin-fields-td-pass-vs-patriots/