jason

Honestly, the more and more I think about it, the more I think the entire staff should come back. The injuries this year have been ridiculous.

McShay & Kiper float the idea in this column: http://www.espn.com/nfl/draft2017/story/_/...ings-mock-draft

I have always been in favor of adding talented players to the roster, even those with personality and off the field issues. Only one question is necessary for me: Can he play? If the answer is yes, then I'm in favor. It's up to the coaches and fellow players to control the other stuff. If all you pick are Boy Scouts, you never end up with the 85 Bears.

Hit the nail on the head. The level of QB play in the league is not so great that a guy like Cutler isn't recognized as still being among the most physically gifted in the league, and still right in the mix as an average starter. Add in the allure of an OC who thinks he could be the guy to fix the Cutlerisms, and that's definitely a player enticing enough to garner 3rd day trade consideration, if not late 2nd day.

HAHAHAHA! Excellent!! That is funny. If I could photoshop I would do all sorts of movie covers with him and Lea Thompson.

@ Detroit - The Bears beat the Lions earlier, but these teams are different since them. I'd say this is a sure loss. vs. GB - I'd love for this to have been the win, and SF the loss, but the Bears already won. Also, GB has had the Bears' number for quite some time. Another loss. vs. Wash - This is the most winnable game out of all of them. I have a feeling that Cousins will go off, but the Bears D will do just enough to make it competitive. @ Minny - This game could be very significant for the Queens. It could mean the division title. Also, games in Minny are tough. I think the Bears end 4-12. What is your take?

QB - Yeah, I meant pass in the 1st round. Misleading wording to be sure. The Bears can't entirely pass on QB next year.

With the loss to the Niners, this draft just got worse. 1. CLE 2. SF 3. JAX 4. CHI And Chicago may be close to dropping to 5 since they're tied with the Jets for wins. The only positive is, in two weeks the Jets play the Niners, and one of those teams will get a win. I'm not sure mathematically which team winning would help the Bears. What I do know, however, is the top two defensive talents are likely gone before the Bears pick. I don't see the Browns and the Niners both going QB. Which means Myles Garrett is gone. And Jacksonville has Bortles, so they're not going to pick a QB. Which means Jonathan Allen is likely gone. What does that leave the Bears? The Bears get the 2nd QB on the board (could be their 1st). So, suppose you're first rated QB is gone. Would you be happy with the Bears picking who you deem to be the second rated QB in this weak QB draft at #4? For me that pick would be Trubisky or Kizer, and I wouldn't like it. Problem is, I don't like the other options that much.

Caveat - This is the Niners. They're probably the second worst team in the NFL. 1) Howard - Proves yet again the Bears don't need to spend time in the offseason looking for a RB. They just need a guy who can give him a breather. 2) Barkley - Impressed enough to be kept around, and give the Bears a reason to pass on QB if the player fit is right. 3) Floyd - I don't see him for several plays and I think he plays light, but then he explodes. As long as he has one or two explosions a game, I'm fine with that. If multiple other players have explosive plays in the game, and those plays are relatively spread out, that's a dominant defense. It's how the NY Giants have operated with their multiple rushers for quite some time. 4) Kwiatkoski - I called him early on, way before the Bears drafted him. He was, is, and will continue to be a tackling machine. The Bears should continue to draft players like him, guys who always produce, regardless of the measurables. 5) WRs - The Bears need WRs. Did Braverman even get in the game? None of the others impressed a lot. 6) Hicks - He's very good, and is one of those players who only needs a few explosive plays a game to make me happy. He has the consistency at other times. 7) OL - Average to good. The tackles are still fairly ugly. 8) Loggains - I did not like the fact that he completely ignored the pass in the first half until it was late. That was just stupid, in any weather.

Honestly though, the snow makes me feel like the Bears should win on principle alone.

Meh. Let's hope the Bears have a great defensive showing (so far so good), and barely lose.

For the most part, your post is the thought that makes me feel promise about this season. Tons of injuries, a team in transition, and relatively competitive. The added bonus is, of course, a bunch of losses that puts the team in great draft position. It's an almost perfect for a perpetually stagnant franchise.

BOOYAH! Called it!

Wow. This is incredible. I've never seen anything like this. BTW - If the Bears are putting in scrubs, they need to put Braverman in over one of the guys who can't seem to catch a ball.

No, read the article again. He's listing a percentage based SOS next to each team, based on current standings. He has the Bears at .514 and the Niners at .517. I don't know how he's getting those numbers. I get the wins. That obvious. If the Niners beat the Bears, however, he insinuates the Bears could slip ahead of the Niners. I'd like to look at the formula to predict if it would hold true, and if it would continue with the rest of the schedule.

Does anyone know how he's getting the SOS in his article? The Bears opponents are 65-55 for a 54.2% win percentage. The Niners opponents are 66-52 for a 55.9% win percentage. I would have figured the Bears would already be drafting ahead of the Niners with that in mind.

Damn! I didn't know that. That screws up everything. No way Myles Garrett drops past #2.

Two assumptions: 1) If the Bears lose to SF (I expect they will), they will have lost H2H vs Jacksonville and SF. That puts the Bears squarely in the #2 spot if I'm not mistaken. 2) The Browns have to take a QB. They've started 5 guys there, and even their version of Slash (Pryor) has a handful of passes. It's a mess and they need a QB. RD 1 - Myles Garrett, DE, TXA&M - Solidifies the only weak spot in the front 7. Elevates this D one more huge notch. With no injuries, that's a top 5 D in 2017. RD 2 - Deshaun Watson, QB, Clemson - By all accounts he has slipped out of the first round. I'm sure it's a mixed bag here. I think he'd be a great catch in the 2nd. RD 3 - Julie'n Davenport, OT, Bucknell - This may be a reach, but dude is a monster. I'd like to add him as a LT, and RT as a fall-back plan. RD 4 - Budda Baker, FS, Washington - Elite speed, range, athleticism. He will likely drop because his height (5'10"). RD 4 - Ryan Switzer, WR, UNC - He's almost the exact same size as Eddie Royal, and he's Royal's replacement. I love Switzer. RD 5 - Kevin King, CB, Washington - Everyone loves the harmonious approach on the OL, I say it applies in the secondary. RD 7 - Jake Elliot, K, Memphis - Wasted pick? Maybe. I don't care. Grab him before he decides he'd rather go to another team and doesn't accept the UDFA call. Give Barth cab fare home.

No matter what, this worked out perfectly for the Bears. Barkley proved to be a guy who has some talent. At least enough talent to take a flyer on. And the Bears lost, thus preserving the high draft pick.

I'm fine with the idea, but let's be real here. You'd be butchering Cutler for the exact same performance. If not for the stupid, desperation interceptions, the Bears win this game.

I'd rather not, but if they do, I'd love it if they also got Switzer to give him a favorite target/excellent return guy.

I can understand anyone's order for the QBs, but none of them are so talented that they distance themselves from the others. And that scares me. Trubisky scares me because I think he's overrated and a trendy pick. His one year of NCAA starts also scares me. As does his weak competition. Watson has the highest ceiling and the lowest floor, so that's terrifying for a top 5 pick. Kaaya has no business in the first round. And that leaves Kizer, who is inconsistent despite having all the measurables. I actually like Chad Kelly the best. I hope the Bears load up on D, and grab Kelly late.

Thought you guys would find this interesting considering we've been calling for more of it over the years... According to some stats in ESPN magazine, teams have great successes when using play action, and should use it more. When using play action, teams threw for 9.23ypa, compared to only 6.9 for all other passes. Further, they result in more first downs by percentage (44.3%) than other passes (33.3%). There is also a slight advantage in terms of sacks given up, despite holding the ball longer on play action (5.6% vs 5%). They even went on to display how much better some teams and QBs are when using play action. Phillip Rivers, Tyrod Taylor, and Russell Wilson are all better when using play action. This appears to be yet another instance where the team seems to do something none of us agree with (i.e. not using play action more with Cutler, along with rolling him out), and there may actually be stats to prove our point this time. I'm not all that shocked. This team has had trouble seeing the obvious on far too many instances in the recent past for any die-hard fan's liking.

You know me well, but the top two guys this year are not top 5 talent IMO. McGlinchey has potential, but needs polish. And Robinson may actually be better suited as a Guard.

You're right. Hate it. Dude has thrown 5 TDs in his career. You're essentially trading an unknown (our pick) for an older unknown who comes from a team that has a history of making bad players look good.