jason

And EVERYONE other than the head coach knew Goff should have been starting. Keep in mind, Fisher got fired in large part for his handling of the Goff situation.

If. The problem with that line of reasoning is you're using the one guy in the last decade or so who sat ala Trubisky's plan, and turned into a superstar. Regarding Trubisky, if he tears it up and turns into a HOFer, then we should all wonder why he didn't start over Glennon when he should have. If he flops, then it's a moot point.

I'll play along... Bears 2017 Remaining Schedule Week 5- Oct. 9 Vikings (2-2) (MNF) - Rookie Starting (L) Week 6- Oct. 15 at Ravens (2-2) - BAL is an enigma (W) Week 7- Oct. 22 Panthers (3-1) - CAR wins big (L) Week 8- Oct. 29 at Saints (2-2) - NO has too much offense (L) Week 9- Nov. 5 bye Week 10- Nov. 12 Packers (3-1) - GB has owned us recently (L) Week 11- Nov. 19 Lions (3-1) Split with DET (W) Week 12- Nov. 26 at Eagles (3-1) Alshon torches us (L) Week 13- Dec. 3 49ers (0-4) 49ers are bad (W) Week 14- Dec. 10 at Bengals (1-3) CIN has a bad D, not a bad O (L) Week 15- Dec. 16 at Lions (3-1) Split with DET (L) Week 16- Dec. 24 Browns (0-4) Close game (W) Week 17- Dec. 31 at Vikings (2-2) MIN in playoff hunt (L) 5-11 overall. Once again optimistic for the following year.

Oh, I get it. I don't think you get it. It's not hard to understand what Pace was doing, but in probably every single draft in NFL history, the #2 pick should be one of the guys who is absolutely ready to go day 1. If he is not ready to go on day 1, he is not worth the #2 pick overall. The #2 pick should be someone who makes an immediate impact and drastically improves your team. Period. Granted, people can be wrong on these picks, but they should absolutely be playing. Frankly, it's ignorant to argue otherwise, and it's just not sound drafting strategy to pick a guy at #2 because you think he probably will be really good in a year, but isn't right now. The list of amazing players at #2 is staggering. It's not a sure bet, because nothing is, but the #2 pick is extremely coveted. Furthermore, if the #2 guy overall has been thoroughly scouted and determined lacking enough that he needs a season to develop, then he's not worth the #2 pick. You trade DOWN to get that guy, especially if someone is allegedly trying to trade up for him. Speaking of the alleged trade, I just don't see it. The Cleveland trading up thing is BS and always was. CHI - 1.3 = 2200 CLE - 1.12 = 1200 CLE - 2.33 = 580 CLE - 2.52 = 380 CLE - 3.65 = 265 There is no way in hell Cleveland was going to forfeit their second 1st rounder, two 2nd rounders, AND something else for the #3 overall. No way. Sashi Brown is an extremely smart man, and a relative outsider to football. He could see right away that his team needed a lot more than one player, and they started stockpiling draft picks. To give up such a bounty for one pick would have been contradictory to all their draft pick accumulation. And wouldn't have helped much because the Browns still have several deficiencies, and apparently Trubisky wasn't good enough coming out of college to start on day 1. But if Cleveland WAS trading up, the Bears should have jumped all over that deal, and not doing so was stupid. Last but not least, given the general uncertainty of first round QBs, it made even less sense to pick a guy the team had enough doubts about to think he wasn't ready to even play in the NFL.

The stop-gap QB is a hindrance because those are games the rookie should be starting. At #2 overall, that's a player that needs to be NFL-ready week 1. If you're talking about someone late in the first round, then maybe there is a point. But the #2 overall needs to be an impact guy immediately. There is no assumption. Trubisky was going to be there at #3. This has been discussed before, and none of the teams wanting to trade up for a QB could have leap-frogged the Bears to #2 without going full Ditka and trading everything. None of them. Once Cleveland didn't pick Trubisky, it was a done deal.

We disagree. It's completely realistic to start the #2 overall pick in the entire NFL draft. In fact, it happens far more often than it doesn't. Furthermore, I and others here thought he looked more composed than Glennon. Long story short, he looked like the vet and Glennon looked like a rattled newbie at times. You're only looking at the positives. Stop gap QB = potential hindrance for rookie QB development since he won't see the field Stop gap QB at high $ = potential wasted money that could have been spent elsewhere on a team with many flaws Possible good QB trade bait = "Possible" not probable The simple fact is, they signed Glennon when they shouldn't have, and were essentially pigeon-holed into starting him because of a preconceived notion of which QB would be more NFL ready, and an arbitrary belief that a rookie QB would automatically be less game-ready than a veteran with far less skill. Also, it's not 20/20 hindsight since many here thought the Glennon signing was poor, and the Trubisky trade up was poor, and the combination of the two was stupid. That was real-time feedback.

This is how I feel. http://bearswire.usatoday.com/2017/10/02/b...s-5-weeks-late/

Good summary, but the team made several miscalculations. 1. Pace wasted money on Sims. If he loved Shaheen, then that's a perfect backup for Miller. When healthy, Miller is a very good TE. 2. Pace wasted money on Glennon. This can be argued until the cows come home, but it's pretty much a fact now. The team would have been better off signing re-signing Hoyer as a seat-warmer. 3. Pace should have picked up an OT or two if the plan was to go to Mitch at any point in the season. Otherwise, they could let the season implode, and pick an OT in the first round next year to protect Mitch for years to come. 4. Fox & Low-Gains should have been implementing more heavy formations with multiple TEs, given the surplus. The fact that they didn't only got amplified when the WRs started dropping like flies.

Excellent news. This pretty much makes the Glennon signing horrible. Many of us thought it was horrible from the start. This team could have gone in a completely different direction, and Trubisky has to play pretty well in order for Pace and Fox to keep their jobs. If the plan all along was to put the rookie in after trouble, then the team should have been better suited to protect a rookie and minimize rookie mistakes. Hence, I agree with the three TE sets. Play it safe, conservative, but stretch the field every now and then to keep them honest. There needs to be a good dose of play calling that involves roll outs and boot legs. Play action is paramount. If nothing is there, Trubisky can just pick up yards before sliding. He should not take any hit whatsoever in the open field.

#4. http://operations.nfl.com/the-rules/nfl-vi...nseless-player/

Precisely.

I think the game comes down to pressure on Rodgers. If there isn't any, he torches the Bears. Someone will run wide open down the middle of the field after a 5-second pocket gives Rodgers time to look around. If there is, the Bears have a chance. Having said that, the pass rush is dependent upon whether or not the refs call the packers for holding, which they do a lot.

I'll address both with a simple concept that I use in training. Hold your hand just to the side of someone's face. Put a number up and swipe it across. They won't know the number. Do the same from 7-15 yards away, and they'll know the number. The optimum viewing distance on most officiating is anywhere from 7-15 yards away. It gives perspective and everything doesn't feel like a flash. Both are responsible for the sideline, but trust me, there is much better chance of catching it from behind when trailing at a greater distance than someone literally parallel, running full speed, and trying to judge inches between the foot of a world class athlete and a sideline. It's MUCH tougher than you'd imagine. As for positioning, the DJ (formerly Head Linesman) is positioned on the line of scrimmage, and the SJ is positioned approximately 20yds in advance. The SJ is supposed to keep that cushion from the play so he has proper perspective. Given that these players are world class, the cushion often shrinks to less than 20 yards, which fits perfectly into the optimum viewing distance on the majority of plays. This SJ just screwed up and didn't keep the distance. He probably thought Cohen would get tackled on the edge, so he relaxed. Furthermore, the whistle towards the mouth is anticipatory. He wouldn't have done it for a hold, because that would not have shut the play down. He would, however, have done it for the player about to go out of bounds. Based on what I can tell, the SJ who was close didn't blow it dead. If he did, he wouldn't have continued with the play. The DJ blew it dead. If the SJ blew the whistle, it was to echo the first one. Last but not least, the BJ in the deep middle of the field didn't signal TD because he couldn't know if Cohen stepped out. They are trained to wait on the sideline officials acknowledgement before making a call. If he looked back, he likely saw the DJ waving his arms to stop the clock, or he heard the whistle.

From an officiating perspective, the SJ was too close to the play and didn't notice it. He should have been much further in front of it. He looked pretty bad on the play. The official that called Cohen out of bounds would be the trailing official, the DJ. By the time that official made the call, the crowd was likely in such a frenzy that nobody heard it. That's my best guess. Also, as soon as Cohen crosses the GL the announcer mentions he was ruled out.

I watched the run and the replay, and I have to say I'm surprised some of you are so upset about the run. Was it out of bounds? Hard to tell for sure, and even the replay leaves a small amount of doubt (I personally thought he was in). Having said that, it should have come back anyway. Bellamy clearly held on the play. His initial block and subsequent drive were good, but his left arm definitely hooked the defender and restricted him. That should have been a foul. Furthermore, the last run by Jordan Howard definitely should have been called back for a hold. That was egregious. It's nice getting the calls, and its seems like the Bears don't get as many as others (looking at you, Green Bay), but both runs could easily have seen flags.

That would never be allowed at any level of football. And the penalty in the end zone for batting was enforced correctly. It's not a safety because the foul be "defense," since the Bears were on offense, if enforced at the end of the run (I.e. Spot of the fumble).

I saw a poll somewhere that asked what the Bears needed, and there were several choices. The choices were weird, however, in that they said "LT over WR" or "WR over LT." They gave a choice within the choice. It was amazing how many wanted WR over LT.

Preach. And there are still people who think if skill positions are added the offense will succeed behind a bad OL.

Co-signed.

BINGO! That's the entire offseason by Pace. Misdirection. He was willing to toss away money for two guys who would likely do average at best, because he had no intention of making them long term parts of the Bears' future. It's a calculated plan for sure. It's the only thing that makes sense, and why I hated how he has handled the offseason. If all of it works out, and the combo of Trubisky and Shaheen dominate for a decade, then he'll look like a genius. I mean, if you KNOW something like that, then why not hide it? The problem, of course, is that he doesn't know 100%, and it's a big risk, particularly for a team that could have used that money elsewhere to lure a better FA. Wait and see...it all hinges on Trubisky in the future.

Overwhelming? No. But that's pretty damn good accuracy and composure for a guy whose main fault was that he was considered an athlete-QB instead of a QB-athlete by some. He had several throws where the only possibly options were catch or incompletion. That's much better than the throws Cutler often threw, or the ones Glennon appears to throw, where it's a choice between the two previous options and interception.

Damn good question for this thread's title. It was a stupid signing. If they wanted insurance, they should have drafted it. Oh wait! They did.

For shits and grins, I watched this. He looks pretty damn good. 1-2: The first two throws are pin-point. Maybe inches away from catches both times. No way the defender could sniff the ball. 3: Roll out, rocket, only Hopkins had a chance. Safe, smart play from the EZ. 4: Good play action roll out, smart rocket into Miller's chest for a first down. 5: Bad throw. Didn't read the LB. 6: Great elusivenesss, smart throw with only an incompletion or tough catch by his WR possible. 7: Nice rollout and throw. Simple, easy. Would have been more but the WR fell. 8: Great pocket presence, stepped up in pressure, easy checkdown throw. Smart. Didn't try to force anything. 9: DB jumped his out, and he still had enough arm strength that it wasn't picked. Just an incompletion. 10: Near his own EZ, nobody open, doesn't force it, scrambles for a few yards. Smart. 11: Poor mechanics, almost a jump-throw, but he rockets it in to a WR where only he can catch it. First down. 12: Smart checkdown to Lamar Miller for a first down. Didn't force the first read. 13: Threads the zone to Hopkins. Great throw. 14: Feels the pressure, steps forward a hair, checks down to Miller. Easy. 15: 3/15, dances in the pocket, shows great elusiveness, runs 49 yards for a TD (holds ball kind of wildly) (NOTE: This is why he is so dangerous. He is Vick-esque, and is dangerous if the D just sits back in coverage) 16: Good pocket awareness, scrambles for a few yards 17: Quick out, fast, on the outside shoulder where only Hopkins can catch it. 18: Throws into double-coverage and gets his receiver killed 19: Good out to Hopkins, but Jones takes it away for an incompletion 20: Good rollout, smart throw 21: Play action, run to the edge. Busted play immediately. 22: Rocket to Hopkins, but the WR bobbles for less than the first down. 23: play action, rocket on the out to Hopkins. A bit high, but catchable. 24: Stands in front of pressure and throws a catchable ball. 25: Good pocket awareness, waits as long as he can and then throws it away 26: Nice throw to Hopkins on the out 27: Repeat of 26 28: Repeat of 27 but to a different WR 29: Good pocket awareness, steps forward and runs for what he can get All in all, he looked pretty damn good. I'd say he made two bad decisions (5 & 18).

What does it matter that Bellamy can work from multiple positions if he can't catch? That's like saying someone who just jumped out of a plane is really good at packing parachutes but can't skydive. It's not like Gentry is a moron, or hasn't played in an offense before in college football. Gameplans are minimized for numerous players year after year. There is no reason why they can't do the same for a rookie WR until the entire playbook is absorbed. Gentry running the wrong route here and there is acceptable as long as he catches everything thrown his way. Which, by all indications, he has. Bellamy on the other hand, has serious drop issues, and can't be trusted no matter how wide open he gets.

Don't shoot the messenger. http://bearswire.usatoday.com/2017/09/20/s...hrough-2-weeks/ Interesting that Whitehair, Sitton, and Massie are well below average. Having said all that, it is PFF, so The team needs Long on the field. And the offense desperately needs two tackles. I'd be willing to be Leno isn't much above the others.