jason

That's funny. That could become a meme. Something like, "Jay Cutler broadcasting predictions"

Precisely. You can't use Walterfootball to say Shaheen is the #4 TE and a stud, but then discount Walterfootball when they rip the Bears' draft as being one of the worst ever.

And if you look at that post, it was from a thread that was something like "Great 7th round guy." Not a 4th round guy. The fact is, he beat up on weaker competition in the MEAC. And the main problem is that Pace took a risk with every single pick, not just one. If he had taken a single risk, it's not as bad. But when every single pick is a risk (e.g. DII & FCS, injured, minimal experience), it's hard to say it's a good draft.

You apparently didn't bother to read what I posted. It's about the uncertainty of the picks. And there is definite uncertainty when picking a 2nd round TE from a DII school. DII is nowhere near the same as FBS talent. There is no doubting this. Simply stated, there is naturally going to be a much better hit percentage selecting from higher level FBS than there is from DII conferences. And if you look at the first link you posted, you would see I didn't think Shaheen was the right guy. I hope I'm wrong, but choosing DII guys is just not the same as choosing FBS guys. Choosing a TE is not the same as choosing "any" TE. What's so difficult to understand about that? If it was simply about picking a position, then a lot more DII guys would probably get drafted. But they don't, because DII talents is inferior on the whole.

The Bears haven't taken a lot of flack because of the uncertainty. The Bears have taken a lot of flack because they went completely against conventional wisdom and took an entire draft full of risks. (Yeah, yeah, I know all picks are risks, but these are different.) Trubisky - Only one year starting, cost the Bears extra picks they couldn't afford Shaheen - Unproven, except against DII scrubs Jackson - Broken leg, and we certainly know by now that those can linger Cohen - Unproven, except against MEAC scrubs Morgan - Unproven, except against DII scrubs They literally didn't take a single player who is healthy, and has sustained, outstanding production against high-level DI competition.

If Trubisky was his guy, and unavailable, he should be prepared for that. Glennon was already in place, so QB for 2017 was already settled. At that point he may be disappointed, but he shouldn't be so myopic as to have a single plan. Just load up on defense, and hope Glennon is awesome. If he isn't? The team should be overall better due to the picks, and QB could be priority in 2018's superior class.

It's money that could have been used to entice a top FA like Bouye, Gilmore, or Campbell. I agree with the hedged bet comment. That's the best outlook we can have on it.

Assuming the "Cleveland picks Trubisky"-scenario, you pick defense in one of the best defensive drafts in history. Seems pretty straightforward.

That's been my stance and dilemma the entire time. If Glennon blows up, the Bears: -Good: Have a starting QB who is a stud. -Bad: Have a #2 pick overall who doesn't see the field If Glennon sucks, the Bears: -Good: Have absolutely no reason not to get their #2 guy in the game -Good: Can cut Glennon and free up his money. -Bad: Wasted money on Glennon when they were going to pick a QB at #2 anyway.

Agree. I know everyone doesn't agree with this, and some say the meaningless wins have meaning. I'd rather have another bad season to get the high draft pick, or an incredible season that ends with the playoffs. I loathe the 6-10 through 9-7 seasons.

I don't trust Ron Wolf in regards to this. He may just be laughing inside and saying it's good because he's a packer guy.

Double-edged sword. If Howard is in there, the defense has to be worried about a legit, up the middle, power run that easily goes for 3-4 yards if they're not prepared to be stout against the run. That's not a real concern with Cohen. And if Cohen is in there, the defense has to be prepared to defend an exterior run as well as a quick pass to him, which isn't a huge concern with Howard.

I don't care about the signing of Jaye Howard much. If he were great, he wouldn't have been available. With any luck, however, he'll get back to pre-injury conditions and turn out as a steal. But I do care about the upgrade of 3-4DE. The biggest aspect of this signing is that Mitch Unrein is off the field. Upgrading the 3-4DE spot was essentially, and I'm still baffled the Bears didn't draft one. Unrein may have been the worst guy on defense last year. So, congrats to Jaye Howard, but any name better than Unrein would have made me happy.

You've hit on the major reasons I posted the question. I'm a huge fan of north-south guys, they don't last long, and Fox is a committee guy. Howard may not be great out of the backfield catching passes, but what's broke may not need to be fixed. What's done is done with Cohen, but I was thinking about the question this morning and believe there is merit to it.

Random thought on Tarik Cohen (like him, but I think he was a reach) and other "change of pace" backs. Are they needed? I get that each RB has their own style, flavor, and advantage. Some may be better at catching out of the backfield than others. Some are better going between the tackles. Given Howard's success last year, wouldn't it be better to just get a Howard clone and pound the opposing defense all game? Regardless of which RB is in there, the opponent really doesn't know what to do, or can't take a break. I mean, if Howard fits so well, why not a guy who runs just like him?

Very good point, and all the more reason for the team to draft heavy defense in a very deep defensive draft. Then those guys have a year under their belt when the team finds out if Glennon is good or not. If not, draft a QB high, because the record will be bad. If he's good, then the QB position is locked up and the rest of the team can be strengthened for a playoff push.

I appreciate this post, but coming from the other side of the aisle, it's difficult to swallow for a different reason. Most Bears' fans that I've met and interacted with are pessimistic about Bears' drafts, and optimistic about the seasons. Year after year we question, and year after year the Bears don't do well, so it strengthens our belief that odd decisions from the front office are poor decisions when it comes to the draft. When the front office eschews conventional wisdom and does something odd, it's baffling because year after year the Bears have avoided what most believed they should do in the draft. Pace may be an excellent talent evaluator, and he may be right about the 2017 draft, but for just a few years in a row it would be nice to see the Bears kind of do what most people (including most on this board) expect them to do.

That makes it even more baffling to me. With a job on the line, you'd think he would be more in favor of surer bets, guys with high floors. With a job on the line it's an entirely different draft. My job on the line, the draft would have been: 1-Jamal Adams 2-Zay Jones 3-Chris Wormley 4-David Sharpe 4-Julien Davenport 5-Nathan Peterman 7-Chad Kelly That way I have two sure fire players, one likely starter, a hedged bet on OT and QB in hopes at least one of each pans out.

If you say so. I think if anything you have given reason for why Whitehair should be moved back to his natural position of LT. You said it takes multiple years to get used to a new position, and he has more years familiarity at LT than C. The one year of cohesion is the only real sacrifice.

If the coaches and Pace think they are going to be good, then they're worse at talent evaluation than anyone could possible imagine. They'll be lucky to get to .500.

Normally I'd say that's not a good approach, but this was a unique year. The Bears had the #3 pick in a few defensive draft with several holes. It seemed more prudent to load up on defensive talent and ride with Glennon. It's not like the Bears could contend either way this year.

I honestly thought they were giving Glennon a year to figure it out and potentially be the franchise guy. Then they'd draft a QB mid-rounds. It made so much sense for so many reasons. If Glennon panned out, then the QB situation is resolved, the team is much better, and the picks can be spent elsewhere to make the team even better in 2018. If Glennon sucks, the mid-round rookie might get a shot to show what he's worth near the end of the season, and the Bears are likely in a position to draft a QB again, from a QB class widely considered to be much better. It's not about no competition. It's about first rounder, #2 pick overall competition. It still seems strategically flawed considering Glennon's signing, the weak QB class, the Bears' minimal picks, the Bears' massive needs, and the 2018 QB draft class.

That's the main problem many see with the draft. Trubisky might be awesome, but nobody really knows because he only played a year. Shaheen might be awesome, but nobody really knows because he trounced scrubs at the DII level. Cohen might be awesome, but nobody really knows because he was running wild through weak SWAC defenses. Morgan: see Shaheen. If Trubisky doesn't pan out as a multi-year starter and pro-bowler, it's a bad draft.

I'm really trying to understand your point. But it doesn't make sense. You say changing OL positions is incredibly hard. I'm fine with that. But if it's so hard, how did Whitehair do so well? Either he doesn't think it's very hard, or he's amazing and could turn into a multi-year, bowl center. But if he DID think it was hard, and he did that well at a position that is secondary or tertiary for him, then imagine how well he'd do at his natural position? Honestly, where is the flaw in that logic?

But if they dummied it down and Whitehair dominated at a position unfamiliar to him, why couldn't they do the same for him at OT? After all, that's he position he is much more familiar with, and where he showed enough talent to be drafted relatively highly. I get what you're saying, but given that he went from never really playing center and performing the way he did, I don't see why similar results (i.e. Stellar performance) can't be had if he moves to his original OT position. And even if there is a step down, he will still be the best OT on the team.