AZ54

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/

I've been scanning some draft boards and there are no obvious FA or draft options at Center. Unless there is a surprise cut of a vet, Poles is going to have to dig deep to find somebody. Eiselen looked ok in the preseason but still got walked around a bit (poor leverage) at times. I wonder if he'll get more comfortable with more practice but most likely that's an option next year. Physically blocking I don't think he's worse than Mustipher but the mental side with calls and assignments is a different story.

I hope they make a trade. Anything to reduce future value of the drafts and also tie up more cap space. https://www.profootballrumors.com/2022/10/chiefs-packers-rams-looking-into-texans-brandin-cooks

There was never a moment I preferred Jones over Fields. At QB I always prefer the upside and Fields' is as high as you can get. I'm not even sure Zappe is better than Jones. He had two big plays on blown coverages and then a great pass over the finger tips of Jaylon Johnson. After that? The Patriots now have to spend the rest of this season sorting it out and if they are more or less the same performance wise they will likely trade Mac Jones in the offseason to get whatever they can. Just remember, once NFL defenses get 4 games of film on you they know your strengths and weaknesses. You already saw that within our game where our dline switched from trying to get pressure around the QB, which was affecting Jones, to focusing more on a mush rush to the side of the field he was reading and getting their hands up. Low release point = tipped passes.

That's ok but I don't want him taking hits. Take what you can get and get down. Tonight he was one step ahead of Belichick and I can't say I ever expected to say that about any Bears coach.

I'm celebrating this Zappe hour like none before it. That stadium was so quiet in the 4th quarter you could hear a pin drop. Eberflus made the great one take a knee to end the game on his own goal line. What a statement. Fields was hit and a little miss, but mostly hit and I absolutely love his determination to come back after a mistake and keep moving forward. He led the team. This is likely the most complicated defense he'll face all season. Maybe not the most talented but scheme wise Belichick is always throwing stuff at you mixing players/coverages/fronts throughout a game so it's hard to get a read on tendencies. Great game overall and plenty of positives to build on. No more monkeying around saying we caught 'em by surprise: We can run the ball. I'm not sure if ESPN is updated after this game but as of now we are 2nd in yds/gm. We must run against Dallas because their pass rush is too good. I feel bad for Patrick and Fields since Mustipher was back on the field by the 2nd quarter. Regardless we still wore down the Patriot front. Gotta give credit where it's due. Schofield too wasn't even noticeable...which is a good sign. These young rookies on defense just keep getting better. I'm glad for Gordon because he's taken a lot of heat this year. I think Gordon was little gassed after his INT but Tyquan Thornton ran a 4.28 forty so he's the one guy who can always run you down from behind. Maybe Velus too. After Zappe came in there were some blown assignments in coverage. I'll see what gets said about that in the press conferences today or this week. I can't take away the great catch Parker had just over Jaylon Johnson's finger tips. That's an NFL caliber play by all parties. After that nada! The front 7 did a very good job against the run, and that was pleasant surprise. Pass rush is still lacking but we knew this coming into the season. Overall a great win on the road in the bright lights of national TV. That was done despite a lot of adversity in the 2nd quarter. I'd have to go back to maybe the Bears/Cards game on MNF where we shocked the nation. Yet that team came into the game with some elite talent on D/Hester and a winning record. The football character of this team is pretty strong especially considering the young players who are starting at key positions.

We just ignore the fact we're top 5 in rushing? Sure Justin (5.0ypc) is a part of that but nobody is taking Lamar Jackson's rushing yards away from Baltimore. Plus in reality we've had a good rushing game with our RBs (Herbert 6.3ypc, Monty 4.0ypc). That's despite having no passing attack to make DBs worry.

You don't always know where rising stars are to be found because their mentors can either drive their success or stifle their success by forcing them to do things they'd rather not do (i.e. play this guy, call this play, etc.). Good people learn from both the good and bad scenarios and build it into their own work methods. Others try to apply what they've learned and simply can't at the next level. Would you rather Belichick/Josh McDaniels and his 2-4 Raiders with the top WR and 3x Pro Bowl QB, or Getsy and 2-4 Bears? What was Mike Tomlin's resume before he became a HC?