Alaskan Grizzly

To be fair, there are some really good female football analysts out there. Mina Kimes comes to mind and I’d agree the aforementioned Courtney Cronin is another.

Well that’s interesting indeed. It sure has been a “silly season” this year. Belichick outside looking in, highly regarded OC coordinators (plural) choosing to stay put and this (below) … (Bienemy it appears will always be the bridesmaid). Chip Kelly? Really?

You used that analogy once for Bagent, and it made sense. I actually like that measurement. But then why did he end up as an UDFA? ??‍♂️ I know part of the answer has to do with D2 competition and now I’m wondering how he compared to Wentz or Lance. Curious what Purdy’s volume was? I’ll have to take a look. Good sound content as always Adam . Thanks for the replies. And keep slinging those numbers. ?

And remember when there was all that buzz over Chicago flying to the West Coast a few weeks back? There was talk they were going to come back with Kingsbury as the new OC because of his connection to Williams. Kingsbury is now in Vegas.

Some time ago I asked you the question if you thought he could do better elsewhere (you indicated he might) why couldn't he do better if he had a new system to work with in Chicago? Like with the arrival of Waldron? You never answered that. Did you really type this with a straight face? Understanding your premise that Williams had a better (overall) passing game I'll ask again, who was he playing against? Michigan? Clemson? How many FCS playoff games did he appear in? What was his overall record against top-25 teams? While at Ohio State, Fields was 20-2. The two losses being in the playoffs. And while with USC, Williams was 18-8. And since we're talking regression, besides his overall win/loss record getting worse he threw for over 4,500 yards the year he won the Heisman and dipped to just over 3,600 last season. How does that translate to the NFL? What formula are you using to come up with the "247-361 per game"? Did you take into the account of the ~20% drop in passing yards from the two seasons above? First point..."weaker competition"? Seriously Adam? And yes, your point about him having less than stellar receivers to work with is a valid point that I could agree with. If you don't have a passing game threat (which involves good receivers) then the focus goes against the skill players that can produce. This post brought to you courtesy of Maker's Mark ?‍♂️

He is?

To the first point, it really comes down to collegiate performance and experience before being drafted. I know that doesn’t always equal out to success in the NFL (aka Mahomes) but it does help you formulate a rough idea of how that guy is gonna do when given the chance on the big stage. For Trubisky I didn’t see a history in college that convinced me he was “the guy”. What did he have, one year of starter experience before coming into the league? And if you add he had to wait for Marquise Williams to leave before he started, then I had less faith in him being able to sustain success. With Justin, I see him having more success not just as a player (appearing in two consecutive playoff series while in college and a ‘winning’ record against SEC teams) but also as a stand up guy in a lot of regards. He appealed to Warren directly to ask that the Big 10 play during COVID and when he left Georgia for Ohio State, he had a season he could have taken off but instead appealed to start playing immediately. He’s a true competitor…IMHO… and has a drive to succeed. (and by the way, to those supporters/believers in Stroud. Remember both Justin and he came from the same system. And generally speaking Ohio State QBs get banged on for not being able to do well in the NFL. Let’s see how Strouds doing in two years before we “crown” him). The second part of Justin I would totally agree with. The team “blew up” before his very eyes. His first year was when the pieces started to fall off the airplane and his second year was when it nosedived. His third year was when they started to try and rebuild and whether he’s the pilot in this analogy or not, he came out of it battered. The question for me is, how does he carry himself going forward? History shows as a person he’ll rise above it . But will his QB play improve too?

You know how we get focused on the “what ifs” of this conversation? What if we miss on a generational talent? What if Justin gets exponentially better if given the right opportunity? Each of those scenarios can be explained away by stats and in some cases, logic. My fear is that “#1 overall talent” doesn’t always equal success. Just like your explanation of how three years of tape on Justin shows he can’t/won’t get any better. We could go down any number of rabbit holes to prove or disprove each other’s point. We’ll of course drive ourselves crazy until the 25th of April trying to figure out exactly what it is that Poles and the team plan on doing. Oh yes, if only we could be a fly on that wall.

Closest thing I could compare it to was when Eli insisted on not playing for San Diego and was traded to the Giants immediately after being drafted by the Chargers. I don’t remember all the details but I bet someone like Adam would. I know part of it involved SD getting Philip Rivers.

Not for nothing but Carmen (who I read is a Vikings fan) was still talking high praise about Joshua Dobbs right before he played against the Bears…and threw 4 INTs. ?? https://amp.foxsports.com/stories/nfl/josh-dobbs-comes-back-down-to-earth-vikings-playoff-hopes-still-alive

Think this has been discussed already....BUT....if the team is doing so good that Waldron is being looked at for HC jobs elsewhere then it would be pretty darn difficult to boot the current HC (again in theory the team is doing so well it would seem silly to do so). I don't know that there would be anymore cohesion on the defensive side with Eberflus mostly due to the fact that he and Washington don't appear to have worked together elsewhere. Flus' previous DC Williams was hand-picked (if I remember correctly) because they worked together in Indy.

Dude this type of 'talk' is way out of line for those of us on the BearsTalk line. ? (And no I haven't been drinking...yet)

To be clear, I'm not blindly supporting Fields and saying there is no other option for QB other than Bagent as his backup. Of that graphic I shared, I would consider myself in the '31% group'. I support the idea of drafting a QB just not as the 1st overall pick. 1) I think there's more value to trading the pick and fortifying the team with those picks. 2) according to the "experts" this draft has got a lot of decent QB's (maybe not all "generational"). But in the end, drafting another QB AND keeping Justin makes for a potential of competition and a lot of times competition brings out the best in people. Waldron theoretically was able to revive the career of Geno Smith, so what's to say he couldn't again with Justin? ?‍♂️ My concerns of drafting a QB at #1 are at about the same level as yours are with Justin staying for another year. As far as the Waldron replacing Flus scenario? I don't think it would matter either way. On paper Waldron seems to check the boxes (but then so did Trestman - remember how excited everyone was when he was hired?) But I digress... I'm not tied to Flus really. My theory why he stuck around was because Poles and/or Warren saw the progress he made with the defense after having to navigate some rough seas at the beginning of the season. And while doing so probably/maybe kept the respect of the locker room while doing so. We know Warren is on record with seeing coaches succeed in short order (and we saw it again with Campbell) and maybe....HYPOTHETICALLY speaking, he thought this is the course HE wanted to take with Flus? Anyhow, that discussion has been had. Going back to your question again, I don't think any combination of Flus staying or going would necessarily change my thoughts on Justin's return for 2024.

What your're saying cuts both ways. Those of us on the Fields train get it that others don't want him...just like those you seeking satisfaction elsewhere want to focus on who will be the next "great thing?" It feeds into the narrative of "BearsTalk" and what we're all here for. Personal feelings are better served elsewhere. I think it better we keep the conversation to the Bears, football, Chicago (in general) and/or types of whiskey. I find messaging people directly can sort out the other stuff. This coming from an 'instigator' of course. ?

WWSD? (What would Skip do)?

There have been pro/con discussions about players' (teammates and past QBs) views of Fields. The question comes up how often do other players say something negative about another player and use their actual name? Most times they say nothing at all or are considered an "anonymous source". I think here was a comparison of that type of discussion. Almost tongue in cheek(?) Fair question in my mind.

Since we're dealing in hypotheticals, Waldron installed a few of his 'own guys' by bringing over Chad Morton (RB coach) and Kerry Joseph (QB coach). I would think that of the two, Joseph might be in line more for the OC position if either of what you suggest were to occur (Waldron becomes Bears HC or goes somewhere else). ?‍♂️

Probably a combination of both. As you said before the version of the Hackett/Getsy offense is more complicated for the rookie (younger QBs) aka Fields who was in year one of learning it last year. Love has not only had the benefit of watching Aaron Rodgers play but he also had three years to do it. Now the question will be, similar to how CJ Stroud came out of the gate hot, will Love also be able to maintain it? This I think is the key. For Love in GB and with Waldron for 'whomever' it ends up being in Chicago. Waldron, like LaFleur comes from a more reputable 'coaching tree' with the commonality being Kyle Shannahan - Sean McVay. Evidently from an article I read (link below) Waldron not only worked with McVay but when he started out he was in the NE system (up to TE coach) while Belichick was still there before moving to Washington where he joined McVay. When McVay left Waldron followed him to LA. From there we know about his moving to Seattle to work with Pete Carroll. Waldron seems to have more bonafides (at least on paper) and in some product with the rebirth of Geno Smith. https://beargoggleson.com/posts/shane-waldron-checks-all-the-important-boxes-for-chicago-bears/3

And if Poles decides, after assessing the draft talent, to stick with Justin for at least one more year? ?

And maybe the fans too. ?‍♂️(Source CorStrategies Jan 17, 2024): Roughly tracks what I've been seeing on social media.

The new asst oline coach who came by way of the Titans may help too.

Nathanial Hackett was another indicator of that. Failed in Denver after one year and is struggling in NJ without Rodgers playing.

Was thinking the oddity of these highly touted OCs not taking HC gigs elsewhere and how Bill Belichick is still sitting out there unemployed. Meanwhile, as Stinger reported earlier, it appears we’ll get at least one more year with Ian Cunningham. Which to me is a good thing. He and Poles have been spotted heavily scouting the Senior Bowl together.

Null

That answers that.... I never looked good in a cardigan anyhow.