AZ54

How about "judicious" with his spending?

They'd have to come out of the gate playing well. I'd be surprised if that happens with the new scheme and 2 rookies starting in the secondary, plus I have concerns about DTs. The same things go for the new offense with a 2nd yr QB having to learn all that with a nearly new WR corps, 2 new TEs, and some new Oline pieces. Fields getting used to how all these guys run the new routes is going to take longer than just training camp.

Let's just say no to Deebo and let SF (or someone else) make that crazy investment. He's a good football player but he's not a generational talent. We have Cliff Stein back on contracts so I'm expecting Roquan's deal to be front-loaded and maybe have a crazy cap hit of $30-40mil next year and then let it drift back down in the time frame when Fields next deal comes due. We need two legit Dline starters not these rotational players we have now, and we might need to replace Quinn. I like the DE backups but they are just that until proven otherwise. I also like AQ at DE he's really a stop-gap hustle player who fits into the rotation. Oline seems a likely choice for at least one 2nd tier FA addition (LT/LG/C/RG) but we'll see how the young guys play.

I have no idea how fast Montgomery is now but whatever he is doing in the offseason on his speed he's definitely faster than he was in college. He's not a burner by any means but he's likely closer to 4.5 now. In wide zone he's got be decisive because too often he will bounce twice before pushing forward. The defense will reading and flowing right along with the Oline. If there's a crease with this new Oline it probably won't last long.

I like Herbert but was less enamored with his performance than others. IMO he has room to grow but he does seem like a better outside zone fit than Montgomery. OTOH inside zone, which it appears we'll run ~30-40% of plays, is a better fit for Montgomery. The surprise I want to see is that everyone knows where to go and what to do on each play. Then we can better evaluate how well players perform.

The rookie Dom is quietly getting some first team reps and his athleticism had stood out. But there’s nobody blocking him and I really doubt he has the strength to bend around the edge. On the positive side coaches are saying he’s picking up the defense and is working hard on his new craft. At this point it seems he’s not going to the practice squad without a fight.

It's hard to say a practice squad player is being overlooked but I do think he has a great opportunity to find a role as a backup. If you've seen his photos from OTAs he's bulked up quite a bit and looks more prepared to contribute at DE this year. If he can earn the backup role behind Quinn I like our rotation at DE.

David Montgomery makes the value list. https://www.nfl.com/news/nfl-s-most-underappreciated-players-dk-metcalf-david-montgomery-among-nfc-picks

Watching this it's clear that the way the draft fell selecting Kyler Gordon was never in doubt. First off,, the card seemingly was turned in very quickly and Gordon was the first choice and Brisker was backup option. They'd have taken Brisker at 39 and been happy but they got him at 48. After getting Gordon, Ian Cunningham turns to Poles and says "are you shi**in' me? We did this mock this whole time and we were like, this dude is not going to be there". That is around the 20min mark.

https://www.si.com/nfl/bears/news/the-positive-signs-bears-coaches-see-in-justin-fields

and reading defenses which are better disciplined and more complex/multiple in their schemes within a game.

I never understood Nagy's affection for Graham. It always felt like they were drinking buddies. Amazingly throughout all of the mess that was Nagy's offense Mooney managed to shine. That's a young man building his own path to success.

Interesting names for how they chose to have the world view them. I'll wait.

I think we're ok at WR and TE. I think we're good at RB. All this depends on the Oline coming together, including the WR performance. After the chaos of the Nagy years where players often didn't know who to block I can't imagine it being worse. To be honest while I like the Oline draft picks and our new C is a good pickup to help the transition, this wait and see approach is an uncomfortable feeling. As always I'm optimistic but part of that optimism is simply based on Poles' background at KC, along with Cunningham plus the new Oline coach's proven history of success. We still might add to the LT position but at this point they are their 3rd week of OTAs and they are not panicking. We still have $15mil in cap space per Overthecap.com. They could (and IMO would) do something if they felt they had to but so far the players are doing enough learning the new scheme for them to hold off and see what happens. Getting in the right position for a zone block is one thing, holding that block is another. All eyes will be on the Oline the first day the pads come on.

Add this to the Nagy pile of #$&^$... https://www.dabearsblog.com/ A Tweet from Nate Tice seemed to capture the imagine of the internet this week: “the 2021 Bears drew up isolation plays in the redzone for 34-year-old Jimmy Graham with a straight face.” Aside from the insanity of the actual concept, this is also a reason I don’t take Cole Kmet touchdown production criticisms very seriously. Kmet didn’t score in 2021 because the Bears didn’t really give him many opportunities to score. Because, you know, they had Jimmy Graham! ...and on the silence of the LT FA experience we may just have to wait and see... As for the offensive line, there is still nothing to evaluate until we know how the players shake out. The Bears still don’t know where Teven Jenkins is going to line up. They don’t know if Larry Borom if going to be in their starting five. Similar to the QB, these guys are still learning how to play within a new scheme/structure. One thing I have heard from inside the building is Morgan likes Borom more than Poles and company did when they were first hired. Poles didn’t initially envision Borom as a starter. That may be changing.

...and in OTAs he's still maintaining the shorter throwing motion. Changes like this are difficult to maintain in live action due to muscle memory so we'll see how he does once the season starts but I'd say he's on the right path and over the next couple seasons this should become consistent as long as he puts the work in.

https://mobile.twitter.com/Veluzz_/status/1505022219843420160

This news isn't surprising... https://www.si.com/nfl/bears/news/bears-coaching-staff-makes-one-key-change-in-approach "It was here where Tolbert described the change in approach by this regime." "It was to my understanding that they didn't come up to coaches' offices a lot of times in the previous regime and we told them it was an open-door policy for us," Tolbert said. "So he's always up in my office asking questions about different things."

Again half the good stuff he talks about with Pettis is what he did in college 5 years ago. That's not something I want to see on any job applicants resume regardless of career. He's good competition for the bottom end of the roster and that's it. Tajae Sharp OTOH is solid competition with ESB and should push him to earn his roster spot or playing time. As far as early in the season ... remember the 49ers shutdown the Packers in the playoff game. I'm not optimistic we'll do much better than Rodgers/Adams could muster up in our first game in this offense. It is possible the defense shines against Lance in their passing game and turnovers could be the story of the game. I'm more confident in the back 7 of the D, I'm doubtful we'll stop their run game. Last night I watched Lance's first start, it was not very good. Shanahan did the same crap he did with RGIII on the designed QB runs. I hope Getsy stays away from that. A couple mixed in on some designed rollouts is ok but running the QB up the middle we don't need. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Aujxc3AJFk

That's what I"m thinking we're headed for. Getsy did say he listened to his staff and added some twists to what he originally wanted to do, so perhaps the expanded FB role is one of them. Now if you enjoy the strategic aspect of player personnel ... who did Kyle Shanahan draft last year? A mobile QB so this little experiment with both teams running the same style offense is going to be fun to watch. The 49ers and Trey Lance have a big head start since they've been using this system for years. I would have liked to have seen this matchup a few weeks into the season so our Oline and Fields could be more comfortable but regardless it's going to be entertaining. That also means they won't have much film on guys like Velus, and maybe Ebner, and how we plan to use them. Everyone else should fit into the typical role in this scheme. On the plus side our defense will have seen this scheme for weeks in training camp so they should be ready. I'm not expecting a win just going to watch the game within the game among the QBs. https://dknation.draftkings.com/2021/4/5/22350956/49ers-2021-nfl-draft-picks-team-needs-mock-draft-justin-fields-trey-lance-jimmy-garoppolo-trade "49ers beat writer Matt Barrows made the point that the Shanahan archetype at quarterback is not Kirk Cousins, but rather John Elway. Shanahan is looking for a “strong, savvy, mobile quarterback with a powerful arm.” Trey Lance fits that mold as well, so it comes down to whether you like Fields or Lance more. I lean toward Fields given his more extensive experience at a higher level of competition, but I can see why someone might be enamored by Lance’s tools."

This will fit in somewhere.... https://www.si.com/nfl/bears/news/the-role-bears-have-in-mind-for-their-new-fullback It seems the Bears are actually planning for Khari Blasingame to have a real modern fullback role. Will he be a Chicago version of Kyle Juszczyk, blocking or even carrying the ball in an offense using the wide zone scheme like San Francisco? The Bears won't reveal this until the start the season but are hinting at something more involved than playing special teams and blocking in an occasional short-yardage play. "The fullback position, he's not going to just line up in the backfield," Bears running backs coach David Walker said. "He's going to do some stuff out on the perimeter, as well, and has to understand route concepts when he's out of the backfield and then be able to execute when he's out of the backfield. And so far so good from that standpoint."

After watching both videos the decision to draft Velus seems like a perfect complimentary fit for this offense. I was focused on finding an X WR but it appears Jones is the chess piece that makes the play fakes (or not) something the defense has to react to. There are some very simple route concepts where Fields can get him the ball in space and let him do his YAC thing. Jones working out of the slot on those deep sideline routes makes a lot of sense too. It's a simple rub concept where his speed really challenges a DB to keep up with him through. the traffic. With this offense we simply don't need Velus to execute what might be a more traditional X WR route tree. On the flip side we have Mooney doing those things, filling the role Adams did for GB. He's not as good but maybe they view him as good enough. Looking back at the draft, we weren't going to get as much production or attention on jet sweep plays/fakes from Skyy Moore or Alec Pierce, but might have been good with Tyquan Thornton in the same role. Maybe Poles figured Velus or Thornton would be there in the 3rd? Afterall, what role are the Patriots going to use Thornton (50th pick) for because Mac Jones is not consistently hitting him 50 yards downfield? Pickens was still on the board too when we chose Brisker and I'd have been happy with him there. IMO Pickens skillset would be a better fit in the role Adams had but again, it appears they are content with Mooney. Would Pickens be happy when he is primarily a blocker or decoy? Adams was never the WR who routinely won contested catches. He used quickness to get open and if that failed, as we saw last year after Jaylon Johnson shut him down in the 1st half, the scheme could get him open. There's no reason to think Mooney won't benefit in the same way. As others have shown RBs get a significant chunk of targets and based on what was shown here the rest (Pringle, ESB, Kmet, etc) just as coverage dictates or when plays break down. I can definitely see Fields ability to run really stressing defenses on some of these play-action plays. All of this has to start with an effective running game or there is little reason for LBs or anyone to respect the play fakes. The teamwork on the zone blocking requires practice especially on spots where they have to help chip and then get to the 2nd level. That is job 1.

I have always like when the organization keeps former players engaged.

Passing game breakdown

This is long but he goes over the various type of running plays the Packers ran and Getsy is almost certainly going to follow. It seems clear St Brown was brought here moreso as a run blocker than pass receiver. That's not necessarily bad as long as he can contribute some as a WR. You'll also get to see some of the limitations Lucas Patrick has but those should be less impactful at C. There is a similar video breakdown for the passing game I have yet to watch but will post here in this thread.