What it means for the Bears

[Stinger226]

This is a slow time where, I sometimes feel dead and bloated, so might as well throw some comments out there to stir the pot.

 

We all have our opinions about all that has been done by the Bears this offseason.

 

New coaches and GM--most people are in agreement that we have upgraded the decision makers to run our team. Pace is suppose to be an young and ascending personal manager of which I like what he has done so far, but truth be told, we will know more of his talents 3 years from now.

 

Fox, Fangio, Gase, ect. --the coaches we can see past history of being successful at their jobs and I think Fangio in the #1 defensive coordinator in the league . It will show up on the field and in player development. great hire

 

Free agency-- we look at all available and the first few moves show what is important to them. They rated McPhee as a breakout player on the rise and paid for him.

The antics of Marshall got him his 4th team in his career, so they went out and paid an average player(Eddie Royal) but what he brings is some needed speed and a true slot WR which makes us less predicable than we were last year.

Rolle was brought in for his leadership and consistent play. He is long in the tooth but has rarely been injured so they took the risk and it will pay huge rewards.

Ray McDonald is a successful player in Fangio's defense to add some substance to a lot of question marks.

Most of the other FA signings were upgrades to our roster at cheap prices. Foster, Ball and Rodgers will find roles to make us a better team in the coming year.

 

Draft--- I think we got 3 starters at some point in this year in White-Goldman-Grassi. I also think we got two future starters in Amos and Langford.

UDFA will give us two plums no one expected in in Jacoby Glenn/CB and Williams/NT.

We added a lot of prospects of valve that we now can develop with people that know what there doing

 

 

We have a lot of question marks but think we have answered many with our offseason acquisitions. I think the one unknown factor in our future success is how the new leaders view our roster from last year.

 

We viewed RT as a position of need but because we didnt add depth there, I think they have the answer on the roster. It could be Long moving outside or (I think) Ola taking over that position. The Oline was part of our demise last year with all the injuries. We added depth in Ducasse who could be the answer right now if we move Long to OT. Ideally what I would like done is Long move to LT, Bushrod to RT and fill the RG position with Ola. It will remain to be seen what happens but the arrow is pointing up.

 

It is always about Cutler, he is a an average NFL starter,15-20 rankings. Has been prone to TOs. His big money has alot of people complaining but the facts are he is our best option this year and maybe next. There just wasnt any FAs available to turn over the job to, and I think we would have taken Mariota, but just wasnt available to us.(heard Pace really liked him) Im down on Cutler over all, but would hate to think what our future would look like with a nobody at the QB position. We have no choose than to put him with good coaches and see what transpires.

 

Bennett is a stud, but nobody behind him, alas the reason we have 8 TEs on the roster right now. I think Miller stays healthy and plays the receiver role, with Pascoe as the blocking TE.

 

With White(a potential stud) and Royal we now have a diverse unpredictable set of WRs . The key is we added speed. Wilson could develop into a prime player but for what its worth, screw Marshall( we just didnt need the chaos)

 

Forte will be the #1 back but we will see alot of Langford and Rodgers to keep the chains moving.

 

I think our NTs will be Goldman and Williams, two new players. Ratliff can play there but will be a rotational player at the LDT and RDT positions on the outside. I always thought Ferguson was the NT of the future but with him getting down to 295 is primed to be the eventual starter on the outside with McDonald. Jenkins was just a depth move. Ratliff, Ferguson, McDonald will all end up being in a rotational situation to keep the older guys fresh.

 

We didnt draft any LBers in the draft for one reason, we have the players on the roster to fill those spots successfully. McPhee will shine with Houston holding his own on the other side. Fangio will be in the 2-4-5 65% (came out of his mouth) so players like Allen, Young, Bass, Acho will see plenty of snaps. I think Jones could be groomed for the OLB role also.

 

Inside we have Foster(great pickup) and I think Bostic gets the other nod, with Jones carrying snaps inside also. I really hope McCLellin gets his shit together but have my doubts.

 

Unfortunately I think Sutton and Washington dont make it.

 

We will be ok at CB with Fuller taking a step forward. I think Ball ends up playing the other spot with Jennings as the NCB. I also see Amos playing some at that spot. Glenn,McManis and Hurst will be our backups.

 

The wonderful spot of safety, Mundy and Rolle with start with Vereen and Amos seeing snaps along the way. Not what I envision going into 2015 but think it will be drastically better.

 

I think we will be suprised at what we get out of the Bears this year, at the worst 8-8 and the best 10-6 with a possible WC.

 

GO BEARS

 

[adam]

From an expectation management perspective, I really don't know how much more one organization can do in an offseason. Pace is already better than Emery (I know that is not saying much), and most of the front office moves could be seen as upgrades. The entire coaching staff is a massive upgrade (Trestman

 

In terms of the players, I actually see Ola winning the RT job and Grasu winning the job over Montgomery at some point in the season. We then have Ducasse, Fabuluje, Groy, and Mills for depth. With Mills not in the starting 5, we got better.

 

Like it or not, Cutler is at least the starting QB for this year and probably next year. To me, regardless of the QB, it is hard to win when your team is allowing 30+ pts a game (7 times). Trestman was fool's gold and I think the team got a raw deal with him at HC vs OC. Cutler now has more diverse weapons (Jeffery, White, Royal, Bennett, Forte, Langford) than he ever has. The line is decent and will be better than last year, so if he doesn't improve and play like a top 12 QB, then we really need to move on. The skill positions on offense are probably better than last year even with the loss of Marshall. We gained Royal, White, and Langford to compensate for the loss of Marshall.

 

On defense, the D-Line looks to be a strength with decent rotational depth. I have no complaints there with Goldman, Ratliff, McDonald, Ferguson, Jenkins, and Sutton. The Secondary is in transition and I feel like we have a good mix of youth (Amos, Fuller, Vereen) to go with some veterans (Rolle, Mundy, Jennings). The LB Corps is my biggest question mark because it seems like we have 20 LB's and only 4 positions and possibly 9 making the roster. If you don't start, you need to play special teams. So McPhee, Young, Allen, Houston, Foster, Bostic, Jones, and Acho make 8, that means 1-2 roster spots for: SMC, Bass, Washington, Dunn, Lattimore. If guys like Bostic or Jones are now subs, that means we upgraded enough to push them down the depth chart, which is a good thing. Either way, that is a pretty deep group of 8, with no really bad players in the bunch.

 

I am thinking 7-9 is our low (2 game improvement with some other close games) and 11-5 is our high (we surprise teams and take advantage of a Suh/Fairley-less Lions).

[AZ54]

I think Acho is over-rated here by Bears fans. Can't find a single Cardinal fan here in AZ who misses him. He might make the roster but he's far from a lock to make it.

 

Do not overlook Fabuluje at RT. The guy is a beast and he now has his weight down so his mobility should be improved. If he takes to the coaching we might have ourselves a nice player for many years to come.

[adam]

I think Acho is over-rated here by Bears fans. Can't find a single Cardinal fan here in AZ who misses him. He might make the roster but he's far from a lock to make it.

 

Do not overlook Fabuluje at RT. The guy is a beast and he now has his weight down so his mobility should be improved. If he takes to the coaching we might have ourselves a nice player for many years to come.

Acho was actually really good 2011-2012 where he started 26 games, had 70 tackles, 11 sacks, 2 INT, 5 PD, and 6 FFB. He broke his leg in 2013 and spent most of the season on IR. He just lost the starting job due to injury and couldn't crack the starting lineup in a really good Cardinals defense. If you are talking to a Cards fan about Acho over the last two years, that would make sense, but he was one of their better player in 2011 and 2012.

[CrackerDog]

I agree with the OP almost entirely. I may be the only optimist here about Cutler being able to step up and be a top 10 or even better QB this year but that's OK. If he doesn't, with this OC, the improvement of the OL and this set of receivers, I'll want him GONE.

 

I think despite our difficult schedule I now expect this team to be respectable.

[Stinger226]

From an expectation management perspective, I really don't know how much more one organization can do in an offseason. Pace is already better than Emery (I know that is not saying much), and most of the front office moves could be seen as upgrades. The entire coaching staff is a massive upgrade (Trestman

 

In terms of the players, I actually see Ola winning the RT job and Grasu winning the job over Montgomery at some point in the season. We then have Ducasse, Fabuluje, Groy, and Mills for depth. With Mills not in the starting 5, we got better.

 

Like it or not, Cutler is at least the starting QB for this year and probably next year. To me, regardless of the QB, it is hard to win when your team is allowing 30+ pts a game (7 times). Trestman was fool's gold and I think the team got a raw deal with him at HC vs OC. Cutler now has more diverse weapons (Jeffery, White, Royal, Bennett, Forte, Langford) than he ever has. The line is decent and will be better than last year, so if he doesn't improve and play like a top 12 QB, then we really need to move on. The skill positions on offense are probably better than last year even with the loss of Marshall. We gained Royal, White, and Langford to compensate for the loss of Marshall.

 

On defense, the D-Line looks to be a strength with decent rotational depth. I have no complaints there with Goldman, Ratliff, McDonald, Ferguson, Jenkins, and Sutton. The Secondary is in transition and I feel like we have a good mix of youth (Amos, Fuller, Vereen) to go with some veterans (Rolle, Mundy, Jennings). The LB Corps is my biggest question mark because it seems like we have 20 LB's and only 4 positions and possibly 9 making the roster. If you don't start, you need to play special teams. So McPhee, Young, Allen, Houston, Foster, Bostic, Jones, and Acho make 8, that means 1-2 roster spots for: SMC, Bass, Washington, Dunn, Lattimore. If guys like Bostic or Jones are now subs, that means we upgraded enough to push them down the depth chart, which is a good thing. Either way, that is a pretty deep group of 8, with no really bad players in the bunch.

 

I am thinking 7-9 is our low (2 game improvement with some other close games) and 11-5 is our high (we surprise teams and take advantage of a Suh/Fairley-less Lions).

Defensively its all about Fangio,offensively we are no longer predictable something I think part of last years woes were attributed to. We now have speed to add to the equation.

[Wesson44]

Defensively its all about Fangio,offensively we are no longer predictable something I think part of last years woes were attributed to. We now have speed to add to the equation.

For me its all about the defense. If your offense can get 21.2 points per game and you defense gives up 31.3....there is your problem. If we fix the D the Offense doesn't have to be the greatest show in town.

[AZ54]

Acho was actually really good 2011-2012 where he started 26 games, had 70 tackles, 11 sacks, 2 INT, 5 PD, and 6 FFB. He broke his leg in 2013 and spent most of the season on IR. He just lost the starting job due to injury and couldn't crack the starting lineup in a really good Cardinals defense. If you are talking to a Cards fan about Acho over the last two years, that would make sense, but he was one of their better player in 2011 and 2012.

 

I agree he started out decently but he never made that improvement you expect to see after the first year. I still think we need to temper expectations. He's a good depth signing but he'll have competition to make the final roster.

[Stinger226]

I agree he started out decently but he never made that improvement you expect to see after the first year. I still think we need to temper expectations. He's a good depth signing but he'll have competition to make the final roster.

I think we are throwing darts at the board and hope some stick. Acho had some success so it is a low cost risk. I hope all transactions we made turn out well, but we know they wont.

 

I think Foster will be a good player, McPhee is ascending, otherwise our LBers are a lot of question marks. I think some will succeed. I think with our new coaches we have the ability to develop some players the previous crew couldn't do.

 

 

[adam]

I agree he started out decently but he never made that improvement you expect to see after the first year. I still think we need to temper expectations. He's a good depth signing but he'll have competition to make the final roster.

I just like the competiton at all levels of the roster. If he doesnt make the roster, then our backend of the 53 man is pretty solid.

[Stinger226]

I just like the competiton at all levels of the roster. If he doesnt make the roster, then our backend of the 53 man is pretty solid.

My defensive line comments just took a hit today. McDonald was the foundation of potentially decent line. Now we have a hole, one less rotational player. We need to add one, someone with the L and R DT positional characteristics. I recommend going out and grabbing Fili Moala/DE last with the Colts, one year ago he tore his ACL, should be able to practice by training camp. Another would be Red Bryant. He is not the pass rusher we would have gotten out of McDonald but can provide the run defense. Not much options here but as SCS suggested moving Houston to DE.

[ASHKUM BEAR]

My defensive line comments just took a hit today. McDonald was the foundation of potentially decent line. Now we have a hole, one less rotational player. We need to add one, someone with the L and R DT positional characteristics. I recommend going out and grabbing Fili Moala/DE last with the Colts, one year ago he tore his ACL, should be able to practice by training camp. Another would be Red Bryant. He is not the pass rusher we would have gotten out of McDonald but can provide the run defense. Not much options here but as SCS suggested moving Houston to DE.

If Trey Williams works out well, Goldman might be able to play some end as well.

[Stinger226]

If Trey Williams works out well, Goldman might be able to play some end as well.

Ya, didnt think of that. With them going to be in the 2-4-5 65% of the time, I would suspect, Ferguson and Ratcliff will be the two left on the field during that scheme. With Goldman and Jenkins being behind them.

[lemonej]

Parts of the playbook may have been sent to the players with the thought that McDonald would be in the mix and now that has to be tweaked. A lot of what is being posted is fantasy or more accurately projections( same thing IMO). We are guessing what will happen. I for one have continued to say I have no idea how the defense will play since in all my 49 years of watching this team they never played this scheme so now everyone here is an expert on how the Bears will play their 3/4 when you never seen this team play it before and players from another scheme are being asked to fit in a scheme they were not brought here for. I am not optimistic about the defense what so ever and with Cutler at QB there are critical turnovers at the wrong time waiting to happen. This is the 4th staff that has hitched their wagon to Cutler and that includes Shannahan in Denver. While the other 3 endorsed his existence, this one had no choice but to stick with him. This is not a rant or bashing post, this is just a reality thought that we may be in for a rough ride while we transition to this new regime.