DABEARSDABOMB

Mac looks really good...but it is hard to evaluate with the generational offensive talent he has as well as the absurd oline. I can't think of any Alabama QB who has been good and the little I saw of TUA this year was startling. I may be wrong - but he looks like a huge bust (in the sense that Mitch would run circles around Tua).

I like this - I would go as far as stating that just because you use one of those 3 picks on a QB, there is no obligation the front office has to use said QB as a franchise guy. This is more a first shot at rolling the dice, knowing that in a year if you like a different QB better and have a higher pick, than go ahead and go down that path. I would 100% be on-board with the 1st 3 picks as you outline Jason. In fact - I would be downright ecstatic with that outcome.

I give Nagy credit - he had the team ready to bounce back after last weeks late choke to Lions. It is the one thing I like about Nagy - he always seems to keep the team moving forward. It hasn’t always worked and I put a lot of heat on him for the offense, but I like the new play calling and tweaks being made by Lazor. Nagy might actually be a good head coach if he eased off the reigns a bit on the offense. Probably too little too late but I wouldn’t be shocked if a GM gave him a year. Although right now I just want to see them win out!!!

And you didn't even list out Rick Smith, who built the Texans up and than had to step down due to some family health matters. He was an excellent GM and did a really nice job building up the Texans during his time there. I'd probably say Smith is more of a president type who you would hire and he would than figure out his GM.

Me too. It really looks like despite some physical limitations, he knows how to read defenses and spread the ball all over the field. I feel like now more than ever that is the big differentiating skill set. What do I know though - cause he's like the 4th/5th rated QB by most experts (with most having Lawrence, Fields, Wilson, and Lance all ahead of Trask).

Kaplan had indicated some rumblings inside Halas Hall that Phillips is going to retire. This adds fuel to the speculation that Bears are going to have a total revamp - new head of football operations + GM + Head Coach. I suppose the new head of football operations & GM could ultimately determine Nagy is an okay head coach and that the bigger issue was a talent gap and give Nagy another year (I doubt it - at this point seems like a full restart).

It is pretty evident at this point that change is coming, they are just going to wait for the season to end to make that change.

If it is the same clip I saw elsewhere - bad mechanics or not, he threw a TD pass. Kmet just dropped the ball. Period. It was one of two drops on nicely thrown balls on that first series - that should have been TD's. Do they change the game...probably not, but it might have been a 4TD / 2 INT type of performance. I'd of course say he could have just as easily had a 3 TD / 3 INT day.

This - I think the team Pace built was the team Fox would have taken to the next level and it would have been a sustained next level.

The one constant is Diva Wideouts rarely drive success. It is why I have kind of said overpaying for Robinson, as solid and quality as he is, just isn't worth it. Teams just don't seem to win at high clips having a ton of salary cap space tied to the wideout spot. Tie it to the pass rushers, db's, line and QB.

I'm in your camp. If they lose to Detroit - I'll shift my hat to kind of not caring. Right now - I'm hoping we see an aggressive no regret Mitch back out on the field and see if he can continue to make progress. I still think he's looked better all year than he had at any point in his career. That is not to say he has looked great, but I see a QB who is looking downfield more, willing to take shots and a guy who has made a lot more plays. He'd be on pace for 30+ TD's at his current rate (over a full season)...although I should point out, he'd also have a lot more picks). Part of me says there is a 5% shot we see Mitch finish the year strong and actually shift the narrative big time. Nothing would make me happier - highly highly unlikely, but I am rooting like hell for it to happen.

Kind of what you would expect from a team with an above average offense and below average defense. Until they have a QB - hard to put up back to back winning seasons because you aren't going to go and just win the games, you are going to have to grind the games. This team could have been a lot better if everything was designed around its strengths. Those that say this is a terrible team are wrong - that said, I don't know a way to turn it into a great team quickly, unless the franchise is going to luck into a franchise QB.

Yeah; I felt so bad for Mitch. He lost and could have done more...but he is clearly better than Foles and showed it tonight. First drive...great drive, he throws 2 TD passes...both get dropped. On the next or following drive...moves the chains on 3rd down...but holding penalty takes it back and follows that up with a turnover. Next drive....you have the missed face mask and fumble. He took some shots and made some mistakes...but as a whole he kept his eyes down field and made plays and wasn't just throwing the ball 5 yards. Despite the score and all the late points by the Bears - I actually thought Mitch played better than most of the games score would dictate. Robinson has to be so happy to have Mitch back. But what a shitty spot for Mitch to be in - back to the wall with a defense that did NOTHING...and I MEAN ABSOLUTELY NOTHING TONIGHT. I hope Bears stick with Mitch and lets see what they do. I won't be shocked if Bears surprise us and win a ton to finish this out. Call it a hunch. I also wouldn't be shocked if Detroit beat them and this ends really badly. We will see.

You were so spot on re: Defense. They got torched in both of those cases.

By the way - I can't believe Bears guaranteed 24M to Foles. That alone should be a fireable offense. Just absurd that this team can't move on from Foles at this point and basically has a bunch of dead cap tied to him. Just a brutal use of the cap. If FOles was good - he opts out - so it isn't like there was any world where you were getting Foles for 3 years at a decent rate. Basically the only way you were paying Foles what was outlined here was if he was mediocre or not good....which to no surprise is exactly what he is.

I do agree with you on the pieces you mention - I think it is definitely time to move on from Mack (if you can salvage it). I really like Kyle Fuller so hate dealing him as CB's like him are tough to find and I feel the same way about Hicks. That said - age isn't on any of those guys sides. I just don't know what the Bears will be able to get from those guys, but if you can get anything close to some 1st and 2nd round picks, you absolutely do it. At a minimum - I'm trading Mack and using the picks I get draft olinemen and a QB. Or I'm just drafting olinemen and waiting another year for a QB (maybe you don't like one in this draft or you take a shot on Winston and see if a year with Payton helps - guy has always had talent and despite being a turnover machine at least knows how to put up points). And you are right - this offense is horrific. I think about how everyone made fun of Jon Gruden when he entered the league, but I actually really enjoy watching his offense play. It is tough, physical and pretty solid. Turns out the game of football didn't pass him up and if anything he has actually proven no matter how modern the league is, the old school concepts still hold true. With this defense - the Bears could have used an offense just like what Gruden runs - complimentary football and playing to your strengths would have been perfect. This offense is quite frankly the worst offense I've ever seen for the Bears. Under Trubisky they were actually okay the 1st 3 weeks of the season. They were moving the chains, had some solid quarters and even a good half. Wasn't great by any stretch but since Foles got here, outside of his first quarter, we have seen pure trash...period.

I think you brought up some interesting thoughts Re: Pace and how much of his offensive failures are on Nagy, etc. The hard part I have with Pace is, yeah, he missed on Trubisky - we all know it and there are some other misses (including spending the money on Quinn vs. focusing on the oline). But he has drafted Whitehair and Daniels (Both higher end investments) + signed Massie via free agency and given extensions to guys like Long. So he has invested in the position but offensively he has definitely had a number of misses and you can't ignore this oline hasn't been good - but how much is just a bad scheme fit where Nagy doesn't even know what to do. . But on the defensive side of the ball - he has had some massive hits (don't get me wrong - he's had his misses; Floyd never ended up becoming the edge rusher we had hoped, but he was always an underrated linebacker and is having a great season in LA this year) and ultimately has built a pretty darn good defense. And despite Kmet not emerging (at least not yet - also no TE has really done anything this year), this years draft still looks pretty good. He also invested much needed money into facilities and had clout and vision to do that and in my opinion has been pretty honest when it came to admitting his mistakes (was not shy to cut his guys). His record - obviously poor - but he inherited about as crappy of a set-up as possible and instilled Fox, whos shifted the culture and Nagy, who as a HC has done a decent job with culture, etc. He just is a complete turd offensively (I'm sure he has things he's good at - just not owning the whole thing when it comes to offense design). I actually seriously wonder - how much of the offensive failure is on Pace (including some of his higher profile misses like Dion Simms, or Jimmy Graham (too much money - clearly was a need) or even on the oline (never quite figuring it out - they've used finesse guys after Fox had built a power running scheme - but the finesse scheme/oline thing was very much a Nagy concept...probably too focused on getting cute vs. reality). I really wonder - how much did Pace fail because Nagy really didn't know what he want / wasn't able to really provide effective clarity around what he needed. GM's job is to trust coach to some extent and work with them on desired scheme, etc. I think Monty was a guy Nagy wanted and Nagy has always raved about him. I am probably grasping at straws - I just really hate having to completely start over again because I think Pace has some good qualities. To be frank - Nagy does too - but running an offense isn't one of them and well that is a damning failure. Will be really interesting to see what this team does after the bye week. I legit think they need a spark and maybe Mitch can do that. I do think the offense has always liked him and you've seen guys like Cohen almost hint that they need Mitch back (and we know Zach Miller has been saying for weeks more Mitch). Reality is nothing is saving this offense - it just sucks. I legit don't understand why as a Bears fan I've literally never been able to see any offense. I literally can think of one years a kid with Curtis Conway and Jeff Graham, who put it all together for 1 season and than there was a year with Cutler and Martz where the offense was clicking right before Jay hurt himself tackling someone in a blowout win against the Chargers (huge win - followed up by the Caleb Hanie experience). You had the Trestman era where the offensive talent was legit (Marty B, Alshon, BMarshall) but personalities were insane and Trestman couldn't handle it...but that is basically it. Outside of that - pure & utter crap.

You can see it in the wideouts. They have quit; Robinson especially. To be honest, Robinson mailed it in 2 months ago; He's showed up from time to time but you can see him consistently sulking (not that I blame him). The scheme is not working, the play calling is not working, and Nick Foles is bad. I hope his injury isn't serious (because he seems like a nice enough guy) but I was saying before he even went down, if Mitch is at all healthy, this is the last game Foles has played. He can't do anything off script and outside of that makes the same mistakes Mitch did and than some. Mitch needs to be the QB and they need to make that switch immediately (unless he's unable due to the shoulder injury). Nick Foles had 1 quarter against the Falcons but outside of that quarter this offense has been absolutely putrid. Like most inept offense in the 35 years of me being a Bears fan.

We need the blocking to hold up and Bears need to win the turnover battle. Probably need to actually create a few on defense. IF htey do that - I think we win this football game.

100% agree with your assessment. I was hemming and hawing in action at both of those situations.

My asks are simple after this game. Oline needs to be evaluated more...I thought it was actually better than I expected against Saints. Outside of that - I'm tired of how cute Nagy is with his personnel usage. Patterson - Minimize use of entirely Anthony Miller - This is opposite of what I said - but get him on the field more; he is one of your playmakers and can get open, so use him and use him more. He was regularly open yesterday (including a number of times Foles didn't go to him) Graham - If you aren't in the red zone, don't use him; Kmet - Get him on the field a lot more and in lieu of Graham (with only possible exception being red zone area) Remove all gadget plays from Nagy's playbook - I'm tired of all the failed gadget plays out of Nagy. Too many 2nd and 14's or 19's because of some stupid gadget play that worked terribly.

I am also hoping we see Lamar Miller in the backfield in liu of Patterson and also possibly even have him take some of Montgomery's reps too.

I'm kind of curious to see how the team responds. Has Nagy simplified things, what can they do. I expect a pretty tight ball game. Lets bounce back boys!

I'd trade the whole defense and just flat out build to where we can have a stacked run at things. I'd also stop trading future draft capital and instead building reserves, ala the Patriots, which you can use to be creative.

Mahomes is spectacular. I don't know if he would be with Bears or not - but he has generational talent. Watson has flaws but probably just a better will to win than Mitchell. I always though Watson was over-rated and I'd probably put him more as a top 10 QB than a top 5 QB. He is still better than Mitch. Mitch has talent - but lacks quick decision making, that said, right system and better line, I think he could be a borderline top 10 player (like in that 8-12 range). This actually is one of those situations where if you went off raw tools - you probably would have made the right decision. Mahomes > Watson > Trubisky (with Watson/Tru being close - pedigree a lean towards Watson). Hard part is - people knocked Watsons for his decision making/ability to read defenses, but all that experience just made him much better than Mitchell. I do think Mitchell's agent is probably going to play the card, look, Foles came in and didn't do squat either. That offense had zero talent, zero line and a system that wasn't catered to the QB's strengths. Look at Tannehill and what happened between Miami & Tenn and they'll play that card with Mitch.