adam

I watched all the games, and Trubisky at his normal play level would've been better than half those QB's easily. Brees looked like crap. Hill looked better than him. Josh Allen was a hot mess and Watson did nothing for most of the game until the 4th quarter and was aided by the refs. He was more lucky than good. In NE, Tannehill had 8 completions an 72 passing yards and Brady ended with a 59.4 QB Rating. Both worse than Trubisky. Wilson was the best QB followed by Cousins, those are really the only 2 out of the 8 QB's that played better than an average Trubisky game. Wentz got hurt after going 1 for 4 for 3 yards and a sack. McCown did nothing in his place. I doubt Wentz does much better as he started out bad anyway. Next week's games are great, HOU and KC, SEA at GB, MIN at SF, and TEN at BAL. I think KC, SEA, MIN and BAL will advance making it a MIN at SEA and KC at BAL Conference Championships. I am thinking MIN vs BAL Super Bowl. With the way Cook is running and that defense is playing, MIN will be hard to beat.

Long would've had a cap hit of $9.6M in 2020 and Dead Money of $1.5M. So initially there is a $8.1M cap savings for 2020 with this move. This is what the rule is for a player retiring under contract: "In business terms, it is essentially a "sunk cost." Any money a team pays a player must be accounted for against the salary cap. If there is dead money in a player's contract and he is released or retires, that charge will accelerate onto the team's salary cap for the current year." So my assumption is the team asked Long to retire now so the dead money gets applied to the 2019 cap and not the 2020 cap, which would be great if that is what happens as it would save the team an additional $1.5M. Fuller's move saved $6M and this might save $9.6M, that's $15.6M - Eddie Jackson's annual average is $14.6M. So it seems these two moves covered the EJack contract for 2020 and beyond. Some decent moves and cap maneuvering by the team. Next up should be Prince and Gabriel which would save $13.5M. I would extend ARob now with one year left on contract for 4 more years (he is only 26). He is already making $15M which is the 8th highest, top 5 would be $17M. I figure he will get something between those two, maybe $16M a year. It's crazy that Alshon makes more than ARob.

Great player, but his body was not complying with the grind. I would love to see him stay with the organization as a Quality Control guy who works with the O-Line.

Yeah, the writing was on the wall after I saw this:

So we get to see Watson vs Mahomes in the playoffs. I am sure Pace will be watching. Watson had something like 72 yards with a minute left in the 3rd quarter in a 16-0 shutout. He single-handedly wins the game scoring 19 unanswered pts and then gets the team in range for an easy chip shot in OT to win it. It was sort of ironic that the guy most like Trubisky, Josh Allen, is finally starting to get some of the same flak that Trubisky has received. After watching that game, Trubisky is literally 2-3 throws away from being better than both of them (Allen and Watson). If Trubisky can make 1-2 deep throws a game to stretch the defense, the underneath stuff won't be so contested. Then if he can make a proper read every now and then, magically the offense scores 7-10 pts more a game and the 3rd Down Percentage goes up a few pts.

I am good with TE/Edge/OL/SS in the 2nd. If we can address two of those holes in the 2nd, that would be great.

Some nice grades but I would not like to see CB and WR as the top two picks. We have a logjam with Arob, Miller, Wims, and Ridley now, not even counting Gabriel. For CB, it's down the list for me with Tolliver's potential. We really need a SS so EJack can roam, and with the other 2nd rounder, I would go with OL help or TE. If those are not BPA, then Edge would be ok there.

Yeah, if we can get someone like this in the 5th or later, that seems to be some good value.

If we are going to spend cap space (FA vs draft) on TE, I would give the money to Hooper over Ebron. Ebron is too much of a head case and in all of the interviews, the team continues to look for high character guys. Ebron doesn't fit that mold. I would be open to it if he was asking for less money than Hooper and taking a discount to play for the Monsters.

We really need a true SS. We had 2x FS's this year and it didn't work out as expected. We need a true in the box safety so EJack can roam and make plays in single high. I am starting to think that this needs to move up in priority, maybe after OL and TE.

This guy is projected anywhere from the 3rd to the 7th Round, Josiah Deguara from Cincinnati. He just broke the record for most catches in a career at CIN. Kelce and Celek are both from the Cincinnati program. If we could get him say in the 5th, it would be a steal.

This is awesome and a great move to sign him this early. Now he sets the market and new free agents will start signing around him. What they need to do is find a real SS and let EJack hunt in centerfield.

Yeah, $6M is a good chunk of change. I believe since they did it before the end of the season that some of it can be applied to this year's cap, which is really smart.

One name to watch is Mike Kafka, KC QB Coach. He played HS ball at St. Rita and college ball at Northwestern, and obviously has ties to Nagy in KC.

I would be all in on cutting Leno. If you can bring in a league average guy, we magically improve.

Pace is not going to show his hand. The minute he shows doubts in Trubisky, every free agent QB will have the leverage. If you watched the press conference, Nagy is much worse at dead panning than Pace. Nagy was curling his lips, biting his lips and was visibly uncomfortable when Trubisky questions were being asked or when Pace was answering them. All the offensive staff firings were pretty clear the direction the team is going in. I am good with bringing in someone to compete with Trubisky. Let the best QB win.

The only thing I can think of is they are running where they are told to run regardless of what the blocker is doing. I know that is crazy, but they have done it so many times, it has to be coaching.

The league season is not over, so they are still OAK to me. I am sure there is a possibility of Carr leaving OAK, but it would only be via trade. He has a $21.5M cap hit next year, so that would be tough for us to take on such a large contract. If we could, the dead money in 2021 is only $2.5M, so we could cut sling after one year if it didn't work out. I have no idea the trade value, but since we worked with OAK in the past, maybe we could work something out. I don't think it would be for Mack though, more than likely a draft pick.

Connor, It is a huge black hole. If you look at all the really elite teams, they all have stud TEs (Kelce, Andrews, Kittle, etc). For defenses, it allows the coverage to shift to other areas, essentially taking away what the Bears were doing. We need to either sign one via FA (Hooper or Ebron), or draft one within the first 4 rounds.

Burrow is already a Bengal. He grew up in SE Ohio with the closest state team being the Bengals and he also played at Ohio State before LSU. Burrow and Young are locked in at 1/2. That is a given. Cincinnati gets the next Andrew Luck and the Redskins get the next Lawrence Taylor. Just looking at the draft, the Bears are going to be competing with CIN, MIA, LAC, CAR, DEN, and maybe TB and IND for a QB. That's 8 teams with most have two picks before the Bears have one. The only QBs that might be available for the Bears in the 2nd are Eason and Montez. 1. CIN - Yes (draft Burrow) 2. WAS - No 3. DET - No 4. NYG - No 5. MIA - Yes (draft someone here) 6. LAC - Yes (draft someone here) 7. CAR - Maybe (is Cam back or do they draft someone here?) - I doubt the 3rd QB gets past this pick. 8. ARZ - No 9. JAX - No 10. CLE - No 11. NYJ - No 12. OAK - No 13. IND - Maybe 14. TB - Maybe 15. DEN - Yes (Do they go with Lcck, hopefully they do) 16. ATL - No 17. DAL - No (assuming Prescott) 18. MIA - Yes (via PIT) 19. OAK - No (via CHI) 20. JAX - No (via LAR) 21. PHI - No 22. TEN - Maybe (do they re-sign Tannehill) 23. BUF - No 24. MIN - No 25. HOU - No 26. SEA - No 27. NE - Maybe (Brady's replacement?) 28. GB - No 29. NO - Maybe (do they draft Brees' replacement?) 30. KC - No 31. SF - No 32. BAL - No

Based on the cap space, pending free agents and projected draft picks, this is what the team has to do in the offseason (based on starters only): These are the 6 positions based on free agents or health that absolutely need a new starter in 2020: RG, TE, Edge, ILB, CB, S, if you add performance, you would have to add LT, RT, LG, and DE in there. 1. O-Line, RG is a hole and LT needs to be addressed in some way. Due to contracts we are stuck with Leno, Daniel, and Massie to go with Whitehair. The Coward project didn't work, and Lucas looked horrible. You take a look at Bars, draft someone early to start Day 1, and bring in a vet to compete somewhere in the starting 5. If that means Leno or Massie move to rotational OT, so be it. Need 2. This one will be tough, because any above average OLineman normally signs for an inflated price because they are so hard to find. I think we draft a tackle and bring in a veteran FA at RG. 2. TE, even with Burton under contract, you cannot count on him due to soft tissue (between the legs) injuries. Shaheen is easily cut as he never evolved into anything more than an unathletic Lurch. Horsted and Holtz are good for depth, but not starting caliber TEs. This has to be addressed in FA or in the draft. Need 1. The good news is there are a lot of productive FA options this year, which should make for a decent market. Hooper, Henry, Eifert, and Ebron will all be UFAs. I think we go after one of the free agents as TE is such a huge part of Nagy's offense. 3. ILB, Trevathan is a UFA. The team needs to decide which of the 3 (Trevathan, Kwit, or KPL) are kept. Based on age and health, I would lean towards Kwit or KPL or both. Either way, we need 1. If we look outside of the organization in FA, these are some of the names under 30: Martinez, Littleton, Schobert, Bostic (haha), Hewitt, and Mayo. I think we sign both Kwit and KPL. 4. Edge. Floyd cannot be back in a Bears uniform. If he is, I will be pissed. He has been the least productive defender on the field for most of his time with the Bears. We need a compliment to Mack. KPL is definitely under consideration here due to his speed. I would at least consider it, but we would still need depth here. So I would still say this needs to be addressed. Need 1. The market has a ton of guys available, which should make it easier to part ways with Floyd. They will definitely bring someone in here as I can imagine Lynch is also gone. 5. CB. The Bears CBs were bad this year. Ironically corresponding with the lack of a pass rush. However, playing off 10-15 yards on a 3rd and 7 seems like an easy play for any NFL team. So I don't know why Fuller and Co. played like that most of the year. I believe I saw a stat where Fuller led the league in receiving yards against. That is crazy for a top 10 paid CB. Amukamara is clearly done and an easy cap cut. With Skrine locked into a bad contract, we will only have one hole to fill in 2020. If the team believes in Tolliver, they may go that route, but I still think they either draft or bring one in via FA. Need 1. There are a ton of names available in free agency, so we should be able to bring in at least a mid-level guy to compete with Tolliver. The Bears will bring in a FA and draft one early. 6. Safety. HHCD is a free agent, and the more he played with Jackson, the more you saw they were not complementary players. They are too similar which basically negated both of their strengths, or so it seemed. Too many missed tackles for me. We need a new SS. Need 1. Minnesota seems to have a stockpile of good safeties and they can re-sign them all. Depending on what they do at CB might determine what they do here. I am thinking they need to bring in a veteran here. 7. QB - I am putting this on here as another need, but not knowing which direction the team is going to go. QB Options: 1. Younger Change of Scenery option: Mariota - similar style, coaches familiar with him, would be an interesting QB competition. Knowing this option, they would both be bad. 2. Consistent Vet option: Keenum - has played decent wherever he has went, never sticks for some reason though, which would be the concern 3. Vet with no experience option: McCarron - played in some big games in college, limited physically, more of a game manager, would be cheaper option with little risk 4. Older Vet option: Matt Moore, comes from same system, had success recently, not much tread left on the tires. 5. Break the bank Vet: Bridgewater or Tannehill. These guys will command some big contracts and may be out of the Bears price range. I think they go with someone like Keenum who can compete for the starting job but won't break the bank if he is the backup.

Connor, Good point, if you look at it that way, out 13 starters and 9 backups should've beat their 22 backups. I assume most of our vets were just trying to not get injured.

I assume the team addresses O-Line, TE, or Edge in their first two picks.

Most have Tua still going in the top half of the 1st. So I doubt he is there in the late part of the round, but if he is, there is a chance the team could move up using the Raiders pick and a future 2nd or 3rd Rounder. So they would essentially be giving up 2x 2nd rounders for a late first rounder, which seems fair.

It's brutal, even ARob, who most believed was a Pro Bowler was not even a top 32 WR. Burton's was laughable, dead last. It's funny because Trubisky was the lone bright spot in the DVOA rankings and he was 28th.