adam

Wow, that would put him out the first 6 weeks. The media really hasn't mentioned this much. If that is the case, someone like Herbert is a lock for the roster.

I don't know how I missed this, but there have been multiple reports about Cohen not looking very good: June 16th and July 9th. Both reports say he was walking stiff, etc. He tore his ACL in late September, so we are 9 months post injury/surgery. From reading articles, that is about the time most athletes come back from the injury. With less than 2 months until the season, there is a chance he may not be ready Week 1. Something to monitor, because Cohen's entire game revolves around his ability to change direction and his lateral quickness. If he can't do that as well, his value drops to almost zero.

Check this out. From his NFL.COM draft profile page, these are his weaknesses: Weaknesses Needs to improve pocket mobility for clean launch points. (Pocket mobility is not an issue, did they watch any of his tape?) Below-average feel for edge pressure, running himself into pressure points. (I did not see this on tape) Field vision is average in face of the blitz. (So average is now a weakness, LOL!) Missed open blitz beaters in the middle of the field against Indiana. (It was 1 freaking game, are they serious?) Gradual operation time prevents expedited release. (This is just making stuff up now) Needs to release ball earlier on anticipatory throws. (How would they know which throws are anticipatory and when he was supposed to release the ball?) Needs to improve eye manipulation as a pro. (I saw him look off many safeties, so I guess moving his head is not considered moving your eyes) Stagnant eyes invite coverage to the passing party. (Same comment, anymore eye comments and we will need an optometrist) Forces receivers to slow for deep throws. (He has been lauded for his deep ball accuracy) Pet spin move as runner got him clocked against Clemson. (It was 1 freaking play, are they serious?) Yet from the analytics side of the media, he was the most accurate deep ball passer, most accurate under pressure, and scored the highest on aptitude tests. \ Pre-Draft Rankings https://thedraftnetwork.com/prospect-rankings - 5th (2nd QB) https://www.cbssports.com/nfl/draft/prospect-rankings/ - 5th (2nd QB) https://www.sportingnews.com/us/nfl/news/nfl-draft-prospects-2021-player-ranking-big-board/1k5tiozjs62rl1k1weni83rroi - 9th (4th QB) http://insider.espn.com/nfl/draft/rankings/_/year/2021 - 11th (4th QB) - ESPN nailed it, wow, and they had Mac Jones as 15th too https://www.pff.com/news/draft-2021-nfl-draft-profiles-pffs-top-300-draft-prospects - 3rd (3rd QB) https://www.nfl.com/news/daniel-jeremiah-s-top-150-prospects-in-the-2021-nfl-draft-class - 8th (4th QB) https://www.drafttek.com/2021-NFL-Draft-Big-Board/Top-NFL-Draft-Prospects-2021-Page-1.asp - 6th (3rd QB) So this is the weird part, all of these media outlets still had him ranked in the top 9, outside of ESPN at 11, and a bunch had him in the top 5, and he slid to #11? This is how the draft played out after Miami selected Jaylen Waddle at #6: Detroit, with Jared Goff at QB, at #7 took Penei Sewell, OT. OK, I get it, everything starts in the trenches, but you are saying that you believe Goff is better than Fields. Carolina, with Sam Darnold at QB took Jaycee Horn, CB? Darnold's backup is Will Grier. Darnold flopped worst than Trubisky, yet he is your starter and better than Fields? Denver, at #9, with Drew Lock at QB, took Pat Surtain, C. They just signed Kyle Fuller, so again, they are saying Drew Lock is better than Fields. Then the Eagles traded up to #10, it has to be for Fields right? Nope they took DeVonta Smith, WR with Jalen Hurts at QB? Hurts better than Fields? Then even the NY Giants, traded out of the position with the Bears, and they have Daniel freaking Jones at QB???? So Jones > Fields? Just like Watson and Mahomes, teams completely passed on them to have them fall to 10 and 12. Buffalo traded with KC before they had Allen. Cleveland had 2 chances at these QBs, picked Garrett #1, then traded #12 which ultimately was used on Watson. All the teams in the top 12 with an older QB or bad QB did not get enough flack for passing on these guys. Only the Bears because they took Trubisky.

I feel ya. We have been so close many times. The Trubisky one hurt because no one wanted him, so we have been trying to be really optimistic for the last 4 years. There is a reason he signed as a backup for that amount. At least we aren't Cleveland. In the last 40 years, before they drafted Mayfield, their top 2 QBs were Brian Sipe and Bernie Kosar. In that same timeframe, we had McMahon, Harbaugh, Kramer, and Cutler which accounted for 20 seasons of that 40.

We very much lucked into Fields. He probably should've been the #1 pick. The misinformation campaign really mislabeled Fields. There is no way you can look at tape of each of the top 5 QBs in this draft and say Fields is the 4th best. There is no way. Wilson played at BYU and was average until a great 2020 season against bad competition. He has 9x 300 yd games (Western Michigan, Toledo, SD St, Troy, LA Tech, Houston, Boise St, SD St, and Cen. FL. Boise St was the only legit opponent. Lance played 1 game in 2020 and played D2 opponents his entire career. He has only 1x 300 yd game in his career against Western Illinois. That was actually his only game over 250 yds passing in 2019. Somehow that was worthy of the #3 pick (and 3 first round picks). SF gets way too much credit for their draft picks, they passed on Mahomes and Watson, then Jackson, and now Fields. Lawrence was anointed as the #1 pick but outside of his size, he still reminds me of a more athletic Mike Glennon. He is the only one I can see being drafted ahead of Fields.

Awesome analysis of the Bears QB situation and Fields. Also shows how terrible Trubisky and Foles were last year. Worth the time.

Montgomery is a top 5 back and Gibson has huge upside. The QB situation in WAS is the only thing that is concerning and that would impact him. I added a Keeper Tracker at the end of the first post.

That's highway robbery, I wanted Gibson last year, but waited too long (obviously). I should've taken in him in the 7-8th.

No, not bad at all. Basically, 2 starters locked in without losing a top 3 pick.

Mongo, Dak was a 5th round pick and Hockenson was a 14th rounder, so that would cost a 4th for Dak (1 round) and a 12th for Hockenson (2 rounds).

The Bears would have to be hit with a ton of injuries not to hit 8 wins.

The media literally handed us Justin Fields. He should've been at worst the #2 pick. He has a bad throwing motion (Simms), he is a one-read QB, he is not accurate, he is bad under pressure, Ohio State QB, black QB, etc, etc. It goes on and on. You didn't see any of that about Wilson, Lance, or Jones. Look at Wilson's stats from 2020 and tell me how he was picked that high? Then look at Lance's competition and how many 300 yard games he had in his career. How did these guys go before Fields? Even Lawrence, I know he was the anointed one, but Jacksonville probably should've selected Fields instead. Lawrence reminds me of a more athletic Mike Glennon. I never thought Fields would be available, and we got him at #11. SF used 3x first rounders on Lance, LMAO!

I can't wait for the first pancake. He really is going to bring some much needed nasty to the O-Line. Massie and Leno were very passive players. I can see the rest of the guys following suit.

Anytime his name comes up, I think of this:

I also think we are very underrated at our skill positions, there are at least 7 legit targets on the team (ARob, Mooney, Monty, Williams, Cohen, Kmet, and Graham). That does not even account for Goodwin (who looks great), Byrd (led the Pats in receiving), Newsome, and Herbert.

Justin Herbert played in 15 games as a rookie with no training camp. He threw for 4336 yds, 31 TD, and 10 INT. In his last 2 years of college, Herbert threw for over 6600 yds (245 YPG) with 61 TD and 14 INT in 27 games. In 5 fewer games due to COVID, Fields had 63 TD and 9 INT with 268 YPG. The best comparison is they both played Wisconsin within a few weeks of each other: In the Big 10 Championship Game, Fields was 19-31, 299 yds, 3 TD, 0 INT. In the Rose Bowl, Herbert was 14-20, 138 yds, 0 TD, 1 INT against the same defense.

Until they play in the league, I don't know if there is any way to know if they can read an NFL defense or not, but Fields did score very high on his aptitude tests, which means he has the capacity to. The worst case for me is better than Kyler Murray. I think Fields is well beyond Trubisky already.

and you are already paid in full!

That's good news then.

Good news, Eddie Goldman spotted near Halas Hall, at gym. The bad news, benching 155 with weak resistance bands at 300+ lbs, hopefully that was his warm up.

Soldier Field has the lowest capacity in the NFL and 20K less than the biggest stadium. Just think how much louder our fanbase could be with 20K more fans. How about the 10-year waiting list for season tickets? You could cut that in half overnight. Parking and traffic are ridiculous, bathrooms and amenities are currently outdated and limited. Make a retractable dome that would give us a Super Bowl, which would be awesome. For travelers, it would be an easy 20-minute drive from O'Hare to Arlington Heights. For the team, going from Lake Forest to Arlington Heights is much easier than going from LF to Soldier Field. There are just too many benefits that it feels like a no-brainer.

With the unknowns of COVID at the time, I had no issues with any player opting out last year. For this year though, for him to miss part of the offseason program and get fined for it as an unexcused absence after you have already been off for over a year seems very questionable. I mean he hasn't played since December 22nd, 2019 (1 snap). It is going to be 20 months since he had a meaningful rep in the NFL. How many people get paid millions to do nothing for 20 months (besides Congress)? To me it seems like he is milking the teet at this point and I wouldn't be surprised if he retires. I could be totally off base on this but like others have said, a simple Tweet, Instagram post, a message through his agent that says he is committed to the team and will be there in shape on Day 1 of Training Camp. How hard is that?

So you guys are in agreement on 5-5 with 7 games up for grabs. A 12-win best case scenario and 5-win worst case scenario with 8.5-8.5 right in the middle. I know the AFC North is tough, but I feel like we will at least split with them. Wins against CIN and PIT, losses against BAL and CLE.