AZ54

Someone has to explain to me how Mooney wasn't THE guy last year. Was there someone else who put up 1000 yds in Nagy's craptastic offense? If defenses weren't focused on Mooney then who were they focused on? Am I supposed to believe they went all in to shutdown a disgruntled ARob and his 34yd/gm?

PFF can only tell you the story after it's been written. Even then they don't always get the details right. I guess I could put it another way.... PFF would never let a rookie get off the bench because their stats would never be better than the starter. This is why you hire talent evaluators and good coaches.

Another person indicating Jenkins could be headed inside although this is mostly about Jones ability at LT.

I'm not sure about the medical red flags being an issue since as far as I know that was all about his back and not for knee, ankle or other issues that would impact his mobility. I think being outside at RT where there is a greater gap before contact is better and also the edge defenders are not as big and strong. The athleticism part could be valid. If going with Jones, Borom, and Jenkins at RG gets the best 5 on the field I'm good with it. IMO that's far better than any combo that has Mustipher or Dozier at RG.

That's what I was alluding to with the whole best 5. IMO there is no scenario where Jenkins is not among the top 5 Oline on this roster. I can't speak to if he could fit in at RG but I'd think if that's what they were really after they would have made that move at the same time. They chose not to. Now we could speculate that they didn't want 3 position switches at once but OTOH if this is just about seeing if Jones can start they could have also just made 1 move and put Borom to 2nd string LT and Braxton Jones with 1st team. They chose not to do that either. My conclusion is that Jenkins isn't moving away from RT regardless of whether he could, this is where they want him. If my premise that Jenkins is among the top 5 is completely wrong, then this all falls apart.

They keep saying they want the top 5 to start but you need your best 5 combo to start. This feels like they are looking at Borom as swing T. So it’s competition between Jones and Borom. Notice they did not move Jenkins from his spot. To me that indicates he’s our RT. It’s still RG that has me the most concerned.

It'll be interesting to see if this scheme and position fit his skillset better. He seems to be looking forward to the opportunity. https://www.si.com/nfl/bears/news/simple-assignment-pleases-bears-pass-rusher-jeremiah-attaochu

I understand the SLB position gets few snaps and at a minimum IMO Sanborn could play well enough but who steps in if Roquan or Morrow are injured? Like any roster rebuild there are depth questions all over the place but this might the biggest question. Even on the Oline we can sort of figure out top depth players even if they might be rookies. Caleb Johnson is very athletic and could be a backup ILB but we'll see if he's ready to play. He was lost on the field last year.

It seems there was a little bit of bodies banging around in a couple of the first practices but it appears it was nothing too serious. They've adjusted. I don't want players injured especially in practices where it is more about learning the schemes. Other teams have had much bigger fines than this in recent years and I think if we had crossed that line we'd have already received a similar penalty. These new coaches definitely have these guys hustling and that's a good sign.

He should be ok, very similar to Roquan in coverage which is not a bad thing but I think Roquan is more physical around the LOS. It is the 3rd LB and NB where the questions start. And we really know nothing about our depth at LB.

Maybe my biggest surprise is how skinny Kyris Tonga looks to be. https://www.chicagobears.com/photos/otas-week-2-practice-snaps-x9794

Not all 4-3 are created equal. We've had 4-3 schemes in the past that were purely 2-gap schemes on the Dline. I don't know what version of 4-3 Quinn played in but yes he's always been focused on finding the QB.

What you list is why I feel like the floor or the WR group is higher than what we ran with last year. We have similar athleticism but with bigger bodies and just a touch more consistency in production in Moore, Pringle, and then Jones is a much better prospect than Dazz. To match ARob, all St Brown has to do is give us 400yds and 1 TD and I think we already know he's a better blocker than ARob. Is it a big step up overall, no, but I feel confident the WR corps is better than last year. They just need someone who can distribute the ball well.

It's hard to say how much impact this could have on our offense but the supporting data in this article gives several reasons for hope. We hear a lot of noise about our WR corps but looking at this year's version it's not really much different from last year at worst, and there's good reason to think the floor is higher. https://www.si.com/nfl/bears/news/how-bears-have-made-it-easier-for-justin-fields

This scheme, if similar DE assignment to what Lovie ran, should fit Quinn's desire to hit the outside rush lane and pick up the runner along the way. He'll just have to reserve his occasional inside moves for passing downs.

Biggest surprise on defense will be Eddie Jackson making an open field tackle. Naturally that's some of my typical sarcasm but for me I do think that the surrounding cast of DBs (Johnson, Brisker, Gordon, and then players fighting for starting roles in Cruikshank and Graham) help Jackson return to form. Add in the coaches who are much better enforcing on-field discipline (know-your-job do-your-job stuff) and the simplified scheme. Along with that is the fact Brisker is much more likely to provide the leadership Jackson needs to have supporting him on the field. As in "you go do this...I got your back".

That's fine but it doesn't address the fact he's been a FA since the beginning of it. Nobody has signed this guy, and so while he's been on the market we went about signing Pringle, St. Brown, Pettis, and Sharpe and drafting Velus Jones. Fuller had a 1yr deal in 2021 for $10mil and caught a total of 4 passes, so he's likely to just get another 1yr deal. His contract demands might be the reason we've stayed away but if it's past production you value, no GM goes and signs Pettis over Fuller. That includes both having injury histories. As it's getting late in the offseason for Fuller, I'll throw this out and it's pure speculation. He's already had 1 PED suspension. In the past we've seen other big name players sitting around in FA only to find out later teams knew of a pending suspension for something but that doesn't get announced until that player signs. If not that, his injury history and contract demands are not aligned with how team's value him. Teams have evaluated the rosters a bit in OTAs and are moving to fill needs so he should be signed soon. FWIW Fuller was drafted 26th overall mostly because of his 4.32 forty time. He had, and still has, poor hands and can create just as much heartache as celebrations. https://sportsnaut.com/watch-texans-will-fuller-drops-three-would-be-touchdowns/

If we were considering Fuller why wouldn't they have done that before signing Pettis? Seems to me they are similar receivers although Fuller's resume is clearly better.

He's definitely bulked up from last year. It's say at least 10 to 15lbs. Well have to wait for reports out of camp to see if he still moves well.

When looking at WRs it feels like run blocking is a big deal for Getsy. Mooney gives effort but given his size he's not much of a blocker. Velus and Pringle are both good blockers and reportedly so is St Brown and maybe Sharpe. I'm not sure about David Moore, Dazz, or Pettis. When looking at someone like TY Hilton Eberflus knows what he's bringing to the table and we chose to skip it so far. Where would Beasley fit in? https://kckingdom.com/2020/10/21/kc-chiefs-byron-pringle-needs-more-snaps-in-the-offense/ "Pringle may not be as athletically gifted as say Demarcus Robinson, but he is a very hard worker who is looking to prove he is an NFL caliber receiver. He has good hands, is a good blocker, is decent in route running, and is pretty good after the catch. The only thing he has over Robinson is the hands and blocking."

Wow. Good for him and he has a shot at getting a ring. Teams that are close are looking for the missing piece. Missed games aside he does affect the ones he plays in and that can get you home field advantage in the playoffs. Looks like they had $12mil in cap space.

I'm not sold that going big on a FA or two is the only path forward. If Poles chooses he can do several extensions for our own players and front load their deals. This could all be done in a creative way so that if you think Fields will be ready to take us deep into the playoffs in years 4 and 5 then we'd have more room to make that big splash signing or two to put us on top. Near term there are only 4 players deserving of big contracts in the next 2 years: Roquan and Montgomery after 2022 season. Jaylon Johnson, Mooney after 2023 season, and possibly Kmet could join them. You would think Roquan and Johnson are keepers and Montgomery's story plays out over the year. Behind them are a host of short term or expiring in 2023 deals they could choose to extend early: Morrow, Pringle, Angelo Blackson, AQ Muhammed, Cruikshank, Trevis Gipson, and Kmet (signed thru 2023). If they see enough good from a few here they could choose to do early extensions and save cap space for 2025 when Fields might get his new deal. Poles and Eberflus have done enough to raise the talent floor to where they can evaluate the roster, including Fields, this year. Bright stars among this cast (ala Mooney last year) will stand out. They will also know who is bought into their program and is a leader they want to keep.

You sure that wasn't a whole season off?

That also assumes he's capable of building through the draft. Early returns are good but we'll see what we get from the Day 3 picks.

It is interesting that Montgomery was averaging 4.2ypc until the last 4 games, and that includes his return after the knee injury. The last 4 games were MIN, SEA, NYG, and MIN where he averaged just 3.0ypc. He had bad games in other 4 game stretches but this is only time frame where he had no games over 4ypc. I don't recall what was going on during the last 4 games of the season but something changed other than everyone knowing the coach was getting fired. During those games Herbert ran 8 times for 41 yds, or 2.13 ypc. 8 carries is not necessarily statistically significant but it is interesting that both had a significant drop off in the last 4 games. FWIW in 15 games Aaron Jones rushed for just 800yds, just 391yds receiving behind the MVP QB and he's making $12mil/yr. Monty: 12 games rushed for 849yds, 301yds receiving While he might not be the ideal lead RB he's a guy you want in your team's rotation and he'll find work easily if he's a FA. At what price it's hard to say. James Conner had a similar year as did Austin Ekeler and although each have different styles I put Montgomery in that group. They make ~$7mil/yr. If he repeat's with a similar year Montgomery will easily get that and likely at least $8mil/yr. If he does better in the new offense his value goes up (call it the Nagy bounce) but I can't see him worth $12mil/yr like Jones is getting.