AZ54

The run was impressive but I was even more impressed by his back shoulder catch where he adjusted to the ball very well. Not that it was anything special by NFL standards I just didn't think he had that ability. When you have a WR with his deep speed and DBs wanting to stay over the top that opens the door for more short receptions. Again he just has to be a viable receiving threat, which Cordarrelle Patterson never was, and he becomes a headache for defenses.

I don't think bringing back someone you fired is ever a good idea.

We can definitely splurge somewhere if we want. As far as a U TE I wonder if Claypool can fill that role. Engram 6'3". 240lbs, Claypool 6'4" 240lbs. We get caught sticking positions on players but in the end what do you need him to do that gives us the advantage against a defense? With a full offseason Claypool will be much better integrated into the entire offensive scheme. He'll never be an inline blocker handling a DE in pass protection but neither is Engram. Can Claypool crack down on the DE for an outside run? Plus he won't cost us $10mil.

Do you know where he ranks in blocking among TEs? I think that was his biggest improvement on the field this year and bodes well for his future as a TE who can be effective in all aspects of the offense.

Somewhat interested depending on the player but I really don't want aging players with high cap hit and their performance is already trending down. Or in Pittman's case an average good player who will need a new contract soon. Though they have different styles or strengths it's hard to see where Pittman adds much more than what we already have in Claypool and further he'd be on the same contract timeline which I don't like at all. I might take Alec Pierce as compensation instead of a late round pick. (This "negative" made me laugh from PIttman's draft profile: Wasn't guarded by Paulson Adebo (Stanford) or Jaylon Johnson (Utah)) DeForest Buckner is a good player but he's not worth the $20mil/yr we'd have to pay him. He could end up being a cap casualty (frees up all of his salary) as Indy overhauls the front office. If Eberflus and Poles like him it's better to just wait and see if he gets cut.

Doesn't this mean our coaching staff goes to the East West Shrine bowl? That used to be Senior Bowl but for some reason the NFL moved the affiliation over. Regardless this is a plus for day 2 and especially day 3 picks and maybe some UDFAs. https://shrinebowl.com/coach-selection/

Since the world knows we are not taking a QB then the QB slots drop to the 2nd and 3rd picks. That helps Seattle trade down if they are content with Geno but that can only happen if one of the top 2 QBs is still on the board. Seattle viewing Geno as the future QB is a little difficult for me to believe so I'm going to say they will be doing a lot of work on the draft QBs. Then you drop to AZ who has Kyler Murray but there are a lot of question marks surrounding his work ethic and future in the organization. The Cards with new GM/HC could easily draft a QB and then trade Murray either this year or next. Indy is an automatic for QB. Detroit no Las Vegas automatic for QB Overall by draft slot teams that need a QB: 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 9, and maybe Tenn at 11, Hou again at 12, (Jets at 13 maybe), and perhaps Wash @ 14. That is 7 teams in the top 10 with definite QB need, potentially 10 in the top 15, looking at 2 franchise caliber players. Odds are somebody will back up their Brinks truck at Halas Hall.

Jason I'm glad to have known you long enough to see your dream of a tanking team come true. Now let's hope we have the right GM to exploit the situation.

You are fast but this is awesome news. The entire offseason runs through Chicago.

Putting a dome over the existing structure doesn't fix some of the serious issues with the stadium. At the very top of the list is that there aren't enough seats to host a Superbowl. And the Texans just scored so I'm outta this thread...

Good breakdown of Will Anderson and the Tenn RT.

Detroit is on the way up even if they are out of the playoffs you can expect them to play to win. They are trying to set the tone for 2023 against a division rival.

Jacobs may be 25 but that'd be like buying a used car with lots of miles on it. She might still look pretty but the maintenance costs are going to catch up to you.

Wow, happy Bday. That's a true football life.

I think Swift is over doing it a bit here. These attributes are all largely common in scouting. He also makes a bad assumption that because one item is first on the list it is the most important. These lists could be put together simply from the NFL scouting combine drills. What we don't know is how he grades those skills.

I'm guessing this should be Dontayvion Wicks and Keion White. Both of them should be on our radar. Just a WAG here but in this highlight Wicks compares favorably to Romeo Doubs who I liked as a Day 3 pick last year. Of course GB liked him there too. Wicks is much bigger and stronger and has some long stride speed. He doesn't seem to separate well though. Keion White I'm higher on. Big strong DE who appears to have the hustle we want but can also bend well around the edge. His highlights are almost all against high level teams which bodes well. On one play he's downfield in tight coverage on the RB.

I suspect this is more StBrown wanting to be here than Poles wanting to make sure he's here. Regardless, it's likely low risk on the Bears part, maybe a small guarantee. Having him at least in camp with his experience in the system is a big help and if we toss in some rookies or other FAs having someone experienced around to help is a good thing. With Poles and Eberflus we know if he wasn't a team player he wouldn't be getting this offer.

It's the right thing to do. https://www.si.com/nfl/bears/news/hip-injury-cited-as-reason-justin-fields-will-miss-final-game

Looks like they did one on Nick Saban.

Yep, he's not the first young millionaire to struggle with these issues. Hopefully he grows out of it as most do. On the injury front I find it hard to criticize a guy who almost broke his neck a week earlier and spent a day in a hospital. I get the concerns but I simply don't know and we can't know what he felt once he got into real physical contact. We do know he had the courage to get back out there.

At the moment at #2 it's Anderson or trade back. Carter has fallen off my elite list and Anderson might yet follow him. A trade back could offer too much value even if we really like Anderson. If we are #3 we'll take Anderson or, if a QB is still on the board, we'll trade back. If it's #4 I have no clue.

For me that's an odd way of looking at his grades with just player focus, especially given the tight constraints he had. For me it goes this way... Job 1: Find the right HC and coaching staff that can build a playoff contender. I like Eberflus and the staff he's put together. We've been far more competitive in games where we should have been blown out early. I think now the players are just mentally fatigued after we saw them put it all on the line against the Bills and Eagles, plus the injuries are just overwhelming the depth on this roster. Not that we had any depth to begin with. DONE Job 2: Shed overpaid aging talent and finding as many draft picks as possible in exchange, targeting the rebuild to start in 2023. In other words tear it down in 2022 where it needed to be torn down. Generate as much future cap space as possible in 2023 to flip this team around. DONE Job 3: Draft 2-3 starting caliber players. DONE: Braxton Jones, Brisker, Gordon, and technically 4 if you want to count the punter Gill who has done surprisingly well as a rookie. Job 3a: Add 2-3 players that can be future roster depth for us. DONE. Ja'Tyre Carter, Dom Robinson, and Velus(?). Toss in finding Sanborn who appears to be future MLB starter for us. I preferred there be more Oline or better WR among starters he drafted but the value didn't fall that way. Poles stayed with his board in Rd 2 and got 2 defensive starters at positions we really needed. Job 4: Put that coaching staff to work fixing Fields mechanics, his ability to read defenses, and his ability to work the pocket. We must know if he's the QB of the future by the end of this season. DONE. Everyone knows Fields is our QB going forward. However, it's also still a work in progress with the offense. I'll call it Successful but Incomplete. Job 6: Find a way with limited budget and draft picks to put a 53 man roster together. Ideally one that helps Fields so we can evaluate him and then we'll fix the D in 2023. With the limited resources he had Poles tried to get some FA Olineman and lost, not on money but to the better roster. FAIL However Fields often rose above the dysfunction and showed he can be the rising tide that lifts all boats. Now we get to the end of the season and we're focused on the rental players (Pringle, Justin Jones, Reiff). Grading any rental car is always going to be meh and those players are not really Poles' "roster". I hoped we'd find a diamond in the rough somewhere among them but alas it was not meant to be. He took some chances on some former high draft picks in Harry and Leatherwood. Low risk high reward... that's ok. Claypool is his for sure but the mid-season trade leaves that as an incomplete grade because it was actually part of the 2023 roster decision. We have to see who he extends this year (i.e. Mooney) to really know who his guys are. Roquan was his guy then just as quickly he wasn't. Like the Ogunjobi decision, Poles has his plan and if you don't fit into that he'll move on. Both times it took some courage to go back on his word but he stuck to his plan for the future. Down the road we could be in shock to see a good player cut or traded a year earlier than we expect. Draft picks are still developing so between that and the Rental FAs roster make up is graded as Incomplete for me. If we have to put a grade on the 3-win 2022 roster that's easy... it's a big fat F.

Sometimes we don't always know what is right and what is wrong. If you're telling me something important that I must memorize I will not look at you. I tend to look down and focus on memorizing the message and I'll tune out all the other noise. Granted I'm an oddball but I just don't have the same level of concentration when looking up and around because there too many squirrels running around.

Hester needs to be in the Hall of Fame before they roll out his Football Life Documentary. There will be footage from the announcement and then induction weekend and speech that need to be in it. With regards to Edelman there isn't even a hint of him getting into the Hall of Fame so they can safely create his documentary. Everyone knows Hester is going to be enshrined it's just a question of when, not if. https://www.si.com/nfl/talkoffame/nfl/julian-edelman-hall-of-fame

Gordon is the better athlete playing a more difficult position. Gordon leads with 3 INTs, Brisker 1. Brisker leads in solo tackles 68 to 55 over Gordon. Brisker leads 4 sacks, Gordon 0. ( I couldn't guess say who is used more to blitz) Forced fumbles and fumble recoveries are tied at 1, fumble recoveries tied at 1. Both miss tackles too often. Brisker just completely whiffed on a TD run in Detroit, didn't even get a hand on the RB and he ran right past him.