adam

Ok, we are about to start the real offseason and based on the latest moves, here are my updated game predictions: 1: vs 49ers (WIN, the Bears almost beat them with Nagy's offense, Fields will beat Lance) 2: at GB SNF (LOSS, this will be a close game but GB is still better) 3: Texans (WIN, a terrible roster, this will be an easy win) 4: at NYG (WIN, Daniel Jones is still the QB, a 3-1 start is possible) 5: at Vikings (LOSS, I have Bears splitting, could be a win here and loss later) 6: Commanders TNF (WIN, Chase Young tore his ACL and was their best player, I doubt he plays or if he does, won't be his old self) 7: at Patriots MNF (LOSS, this one could go either way, but I give the edge to the home team) 8: at Cowboys (LOSS, Prescott is a great regular season QB, 4-4 after Week 8) 9: Dolphins (LOSS, the new Dolphins are much better this year) 10: Lions (WIN, they are getting better, but they still have Goff at QB) 11: at Falcons (WIN, this team is in full rebuild mode) 12: at Jets (WIN, getting better, but still not very good, 7-5 at Week 12, still in the Wild Card picture) 13: Packers (LOSS, this one could be a win, I think the Bears play everyone close) 14: Bye week (7-6 at the bye, still have playoffs in reach) 15: Eagles (LOSS, another one that could go either way, Eagles seem to be better, but not by much) 16: Bills (Xmas Eve) (LOSS, probably the best team on the schedule, I can't see the Bears beating them, this 3 game losing streak probably knocks team out of playoffs) 17: at Lions (New Years Day) (WIN, same Lions with Goff, already eliminated, so it won't matter either way) 18: Vikings (WIN, eliminated a few weeks earlier, this game won't matter, will probably see a lot of subs starting) I am counting 9 wins, so 9-8 or 8-9 with loss to SF? It feels like that is so doable based on the schedule. Lose to GB twice, beat DET twice, split with MIN in the division. Thoughts?

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Oh yeah, thats the thing. We now have Mustipher as a backup, which is perfect for him. Same goes for one of Borom/Jenkins/Jones. Two of those guys are now backups. So our 2nd string includes Mustipher, and let's say Borom and Jones. That is actually a decent set of rotational guys on the line. Other teams don't have that type of depth.

He is not a full route tree guy, but I think we can get some decent production out of him as a WR3.

Reiff would've been higher but he got hurt. I would say they are both B level players. It also depends on the guys around you. Reiff was probably the best player on a bad O-Line. Schofield started off with a bad game, but then improved over time. However, his grade was for the entire season, not how he ended up.

It is a system thing too. Like you said, Hicks didn't work out for NE but was a beast with us. I am sure Harry is better than he has shown in NE, but once in that doghouse, it is almost impossible to get out.

$2M is tied to making the playoffs and $2.5M tied to playing time. So we know he is not making the $2M and may not make all of the $2.5M, so the range is more like $8-10.5M. Peters was cheap last year, should have made $5-6M. Reiff was better, he only had 1 penalty and allowed 4 sacks in 711 snaps. Peters had 3 penalties and 6 sacks in 853 snaps.

The offense was 26th and defense 13th last year. On offense, QB should be better, RB at least a push, TE a push, WR a push, and OL actually improved. So I am thinking offense around 20th, all units between 10th (RB) to 28th (WR). OL probably around 25. QB and TE 15th? On defense, the DL 20th (Edge 10th/Interior 30th), LBs 15th, DBs 10th, overall 15th. 7 to 8 wins

Both Borom and Jenkins are not Poles "guys" so he is not tied to them in any way. The new regime doesn't have to feel pressured to start either of them just because. Pace was notorious for hanging onto guys just because of their draft status.

Peters was 39 and was literally retired on a boat when they made the call. No one was calling him. Reiff was still one of the top OTs left on the market. 24 OTs make 12M or more per year. He would have to hit all his incentives to hit that mark as well. The 10M-12M range is the gap between the top 25 and next 25 OTs. So he comes in on the low end for a starting OT. Armstead, 31, signed for $15M a year, Noteboom (who only played 16% of the snaps) signed for $13.3M, and the next guy, Okorafor (PIT) signed for $9.75M. So Reiff comes in lower than Armstead and Noteboom, but higher than Okorafor. That is about where he should be.

I was really worried about the O-Line. These two were in the target group I wanted at the start of free agency. Maybe not the top guys, but both on one-year deals which allows the younger guys to develop under them. Reiff is only 33, so he has a few good years left in him. Schofield is 31 and is married to Kendall Coyne who works for the Blackhawks, so I could see him signing an extension or resigning after this year to stay in the area for a few more years. Now I want one more guy on the D-Line and I will be happy. We will have a very solid 53. We didn't increase the ceiling, but we increased the floor.

The Bears had $20M in cap space before the Reiff and Schofield signings. Will have to see what is left, but I figure they can still add maybe a DL to the roster which would be the last "hole" to fill in my opinion.

Patrick, Whitehair, Reiff, Schofield + Borom/Jenkins/Jones with Mustipher as a backup C/G is a very solid line. Now let the best young player win the other OT spot and you have a very solid line and an upgrade at basically 3 spots from last year, with upgraded 2nd string depth.

Had to wait for post-June 1st cuts for the cap space, then at that point, there is no point rushing into signing anyone. The vets don't need anything up until reporting this week. So the guys they just signed have lost out on basically nothing. Quinn hasn't been to Halas Hall until today as well. So to me, it is a normal vet thing. I am sure those guys also didn't want to sign until they had the best offer that also got them into camp on time. Win win all around.

Prophetic lemonej.

Patience paid off.

March 14th!

From March

Yeah I started another thread for the Reiff signing. That is huge. So Patrick, Schofield, and Reiff? That is a very solid haul and upgrade at every spot.

There we go! Schofield and Rieff were both on the offseason radar.

The Brisker thing was more because some other player around him got a lot more than his slot, which causes a ripple effect. This was more on his agent than Brisker himself. I was not too worried about it. Now all eyes turn towards Smith. Leonard and Warner both signed 5-year deals that averaged $19.7M and $19.0M per year. What scares me is these are teams with LBs making over $13M per year annually: Colts, 49ers, Jets, Jaguars, Falcons, Panthers.

They whiffed on this. They should've had it be: Alignment, Technique, Assignment, Key ATAK!!!!!

Here we go. I really hope Poles gets this done ASAP.

He is an upgrade over anyone we have on the roster for RG. Local guy, maybe a little more motivated playing at home.