The Chicago Bears are on the clock! OFFSEASON OPEN THREAD!

[BearFan PHX]

23 minutes ago, adam said:

Sort of Bears related, Lawrence signs $275M 5-year extension - $55M per year with $200M guaranteed. 

He already had his 5th Year option (for next year at $25.6M) so they have to shed $30M from their cap after 2025 with Christian Kirk the only player with salary to shed.  It is going to be fun to see how these teams handle the QB bump. He is not Mahomes, so it is not like his performance along overcomes the loss of other players.

The Bears would be in the same boat with Fields, if they kept him, and maybe not this offseason, but next one for sure.

its hard to play QBs like they are in the top 3 in the league when they arent. And thats the game. Pretty soon, itll be all rookies, and the very few QBs that really are worth their $ will win all the superbowls. I think we might have one.

[Pixote]

Unrelated, but I found it interesting.

KC just released images of their SB rings from 2023. Sweet. I can't wait to see what our next SB ring looks like. I need to win the lottery so I can buy one off a player. LOL

It stated that these rings usually cost 30K to 50K each. I'm guessing this one was high-end.

Then I discovered that teams not only give their players (52 roster + PS), coaches, and front office staff but also often include support staff. Strength coaches, Equipment Staff, Cheerleaders, and even janitors are sometimes rewarded with rings. We are probably talking close to 100 rings.

You don't even need a calculator. We are talking anywhere from 3 to 5 Million for the rings.

WOW!

 

 

[ChileBear]

1 hour ago, Pixote said:

Unrelated, but I found it interesting.

KC just released images of their SB rings from 2023. Sweet. I can't wait to see what our next SB ring looks like. I need to win the lottery so I can buy one off a player. LOL

LMAO, so funny Pix. Start saving cause your opportunity is fast approaching.

[adam]

1 hour ago, Pixote said:

Unrelated, but I found it interesting.

KC just released images of their SB rings from 2023. Sweet. I can't wait to see what our next SB ring looks like. I need to win the lottery so I can buy one off a player. LOL

It stated that these rings usually cost 30K to 50K each. I'm guessing this one was high-end.

Then I discovered that teams not only give their players (52 roster + PS), coaches, and front office staff but also often include support staff. Strength coaches, Equipment Staff, Cheerleaders, and even janitors are sometimes rewarded with rings. We are probably talking close to 100 rings.

You don't even need a calculator. We are talking anywhere from 3 to 5 Million for the rings.

WOW!

 

 

and the messed up, they have Miami as the wrong playoff seed on the inside of the ring.

[BearFan PHX]

I just watched the Roku channels NFL Draft show "The Pick is in 2024" - it was a lot of what we already knew, but there were a few facts settled.

1) Poles was going to look to trade down out of pick 9 if Odunze went to Atlanta

2) Poles set his staff into groups to argue for WR, DL or OT with the #9 pick, so we now know he absolutely is interested in replacing Braxton Jones.

3) Williams excitedly says "we got our guy!" when he finds out that the pick is in and going to be Odunze. I love that he was so excited, and that he uses the term "our" just an hour or so after being drafted himself. ANd he seems to have known, or guessed, that the team wanted Odunze. Seems like he felt that was a good possibility all along.

4) Poles checked with Atlanta about a swapping pick 9 and next years 4th for pick 8. I dont know why Atlanta didnt hop all over that knowing we werent going to take Penix of course after taking Williams. i suppose we never formally made the offer, but he did check in earlier and those were the terms.

Cool stuff.

[ASHKUM BEAR]

Attached is a little write up on the Bears udfa addition DT Randolph.  Looks like he could be a hidden gem because of a scheme change for the Illini last season. 

https://www.sportsmockery.com/chicago-bears/chicago-bears-reportedly-went-to-extreme-lengths-to-nab-undrafted-rookie/

[BearFan PHX]

8 minutes ago, ASHKUM BEAR said:

Attached is a little write up on the Bears udfa addition DT Randolph.  Looks like he could be a hidden gem because of a scheme change for the Illini last season. 

https://www.sportsmockery.com/chicago-bears/chicago-bears-reportedly-went-to-extreme-lengths-to-nab-undrafted-rookie/

yeah we seem to have a few interesting UDFAs - gotta love our scouting department, and I suppose the word is on the street we are a team you want to choose to be on

EDIT - I read the article, doesnt hurt that we paid him well either LOL

[Pixote]

I am reading many articles raving about Dexter's potential in 2024. In the off-season, the man transformed his body with a new diet and training regiment. At 6'6" and 310 pounds, he is quicker, stronger, and totally focused on every snap.

Picture this: in one play, he sprinted down the field, relentlessly pursuing Rome, who had clocked a 4.4 40 pre-draft. The sheer combination of his imposing size, strength, and lightning speed hints at the potential for a formidable 3T.

When the season starts, there are so many great storylines to follow. Now, I just need to stay healthy so I can sit back and enjoy watching the Bears return to greatness.

[adam]

1 hour ago, Pixote said:

I am reading many articles raving about Dexter's potential in 2024. In the off-season, the man transformed his body with a new diet and training regiment. At 6'6" and 310 pounds, he is quicker, stronger, and totally focused on every snap.

Picture this: in one play, he sprinted down the field, relentlessly pursuing Rome, who had clocked a 4.4 40 pre-draft. The sheer combination of his imposing size, strength, and lightning speed hints at the potential for a formidable 3T.

When the season starts, there are so many great storylines to follow. Now, I just need to stay healthy so I can sit back and enjoy watching the Bears return to greatness.

If he can improve his "get off" he will be a wrecking ball. He has picked up on the personal goals as your phone's background (from Caleb maybe), and on it, he has 4 lines:

8 Sacks

15 TFL

Pro Bowl

All-Pro

 

For TFLs, Aaron Donald led all DTs with 16 last season. 

[BearFan PHX]

When we drafted Dexter, I thought he would play NT/1T at best, and had a really slow get off. Then, each game for the first half of the season, his get off got quicker until by about week 7 or 8 he was right there with the rest of the line. Now he's transformed his body, and he looks like he is poised to cause havoc from the 3T spot.

I had originally thought that was a huge reach and he would never be more than a big bodied run stuffing NT. But you gotta give it to our scouts. It's one thing to see what a player can do and draft him, but quite another to be able to project so far away from who the player currently is on to what he can become and then train him up into that.

It is perhaps the brightest sign that this front office knows what they are doing. It is certainly the most foggy read I've seen them make correctly to date. Extremely impressive.

I mean, it's not that hard to see who Caleb and Odunze are. They show it on tape, they have tons of obvious potential. But to see a quick and active 3T in Dexter who was a slow two gapper, and see it come to fruition is truly amazing.

[Stinger226]

57 minutes ago, BearFan PHX said:

When we drafted Dexter, I thought he would play NT/1T at best, and had a really slow get off. Then, each game for the first half of the season, his get off got quicker until by about week 7 or 8 he was right there with the rest of the line. Now he's transformed his body, and he looks like he is poised to cause havoc from the 3T spot.

I had originally thought that was a huge reach and he would never be more than a big bodied run stuffing NT. But you gotta give it to our scouts. It's one thing to see what a player can do and draft him, but quite another to be able to project so far away from who the player currently is on to what he can become and then train him up into that.

It is perhaps the brightest sign that this front office knows what they are doing. It is certainly the most foggy read I've seen them make correctly to date. Extremely impressive.

I mean, it's not that hard to see who Caleb and Odunze are. They show it on tape, they have tons of obvious potential. But to see a quick and active 3T in Dexter who was a slow two gapper, and see it come to fruition is truly amazing.

His slow get off in college was a design of that defense. His job was to hit and hold, not get up field. his DL coach in college was interviewed on the SCORE once and told the story.

Also I think Pickens takes a step forward this year. All the attention is on Dexter but he has traits too. 4.89 40, long arms -big hands. He had 42 Ts as a DT his last year in college. 

[BearFan PHX]

17 minutes ago, Stinger226 said:

His slow get off in college was a design of that defense. His job was to hit and hold, not get up field. his DL coach in college was interviewed on the SCORE once and told the story.

This is true, but even when he came here at first he was still very slow off the ball, due to having never trained to be a one gapper in college. Im saying, it wasnt easy for our scouts to see past that, and confidently know how far he would be able to develop, but they did, and thats really hard to do and amazing,.

[ASHKUM BEAR]

1 hour ago, BearFan PHX said:

This is true, but even when he came here at first he was still very slow off the ball, due to having never trained to be a one gapper in college. Im saying, it wasnt easy for our scouts to see past that, and confidently know how far he would be able to develop, but they did, and thats really hard to do and amazing,.

This could be the Randoloh DT we signed UDFA. He was product in a 4-3 then the Illini switched to a 3-4 and his production fell.  If he becomes a rotational player, that is a huge find for this scouting department. 

[BearFan PHX]

1 hour ago, ASHKUM BEAR said:

This could be the Randoloh DT we signed UDFA. He was product in a 4-3 then the Illini switched to a 3-4 and his production fell.  If he becomes a rotational player, that is a huge find for this scouting department. 

totally agree. Since you posted that article ive watched some film on him, and he is probably a 5th or 6th round pick we stole as an UDFA.

As I was watching film from the senior bowl, I saw more Tvondre Sweat, and damn that guy is a bowling ball.

[Stinger226]

16 hours ago, BearFan PHX said:

This is true, but even when he came here at first he was still very slow off the ball, due to having never trained to be a one gapper in college. Im saying, it wasnt easy for our scouts to see past that, and confidently know how far he would be able to develop, but they did, and thats really hard to do and amazing,.

For sure, players are creatures of habit, he needed to train differently to get different results.

[BearFan PHX]

3 hours ago, Stinger226 said:

For sure, players are creatures of habit, he needed to train differently to get different results.

of course, yes, but it is very rare that a player changes so much. Most cant. For example, you dont take a regular guy off of the streeet who runs a 5.5 second 40 yard dash and turn him into an NFL cornerback.

Im saying this transformation is really rare, and Im impressed that our scouts could see past what he was to what he could be - thats not normal.

[Mongo3451]

42 minutes ago, BearFan PHX said:

of course, yes, but it is very rare that a player changes so much. Most cant. For example, you dont take a regular guy off of the streeet who runs a 5.5 second 40 yard dash and turn him into an NFL cornerback.

Im saying this transformation is really rare, and Im impressed that our scouts could see past what he was to what he could be - thats not normal.

Agreed.  Most elite athletes are born, not made.  Dexter came in as a corn fed hoss.  That's enough to stand out in college.  A year of evaluation and off season professional training does a lot of the athlete is a worker.

[BearFan PHX]

9 minutes ago, Mongo3451 said:

Agreed.  Most elite athletes are born, not made.  Dexter came in as a corn fed hoss.  That's enough to stand out in college.  A year of evaluation and off season professional training does a lot of the athlete is a worker.

totally agree, but from who he was in college, I think most would have projected him as a NT / 1T, That they saw a 3T in him was impressive I think. And wholesale change rarely happens like that? From slow and strong to fast, agile and disruptive.

[Mongo3451]

1 hour ago, BearFan PHX said:

totally agree, but from who he was in college, I think most would have projected him as a NT / 1T, That they saw a 3T in him was impressive I think. And wholesale change rarely happens like that? From slow and strong to fast, agile and disruptive.

He was always fast and with burst.  He was just slow off the snap.  The pro strength and agility is everything for physicality.  I like that he trained his mind to react quicker during the season.

[BearFan PHX]

On 6/20/2024 at 12:46 PM, Mongo3451 said:

He was always fast and with burst.  He was just slow off the snap.  The pro strength and agility is everything for physicality.  I like that he trained his mind to react quicker during the season.

They surely saw the explosion in his lower body from his vertical, broad jump and 3 cone, and his upper body strength has been obvious to everyone the whole time.

But youll recall a lot of pundits and football people at the time saying he was a NT or 1T and not fast enough off of the ball to be a real 3T. And there are not a lot of examples of players who went from slow off the ball to having a fast trigger.

But obviously, Dexter had that in him, so of course youre right, because by about week 8 or so last year he was getting off with the rest of the line.

So Im just saying the staff did a great job of uncovering someone for a 3T who was not obviously going to be that kind of player. I dont think a lot of people ever saw him being this agile, and i think that's a big win for the scouting staff.

And in general this staff has done a great job of finding hidden value in later picks and UDFA that average teams might have missed.

For example, if other teams knew that he would look like he did in December of last year coming off the ball, back in March of last year, he would have certainly been drafted higher. So Im giving a point to the Bears staff for the win.

[Pixote]

Getting to see Auston Booker's progress in preseason is high on my list of priorities. I know it's preseason hype fest in the NFL. However, I truly believe this kid can contribute this year. Yes, it will take a while before he can be an every-down player. But, in pass-rush situations, he will contribute while playing opposite M Sweat. He could easily give us 8 sacks in his rookie season.

Nice short article with an equally short highlight video:

College Coach Says Austin Booker is a Way Bigger Steal Than You Think

 

[BearFan PHX]

6 hours ago, Pixote said:

Getting to see Auston Booker's progress in preseason is high on my list of priorities. I know it's preseason hype fest in the NFL. However, I truly believe this kid can contribute this year. Yes, it will take a while before he can be an every-down player. But, in pass-rush situations, he will contribute while playing opposite M Sweat. He could easily give us 8 sacks in his rookie season.

Nice short article with an equally short highlight video:

College Coach Says Austin Booker is a Way Bigger Steal Than You Think

 

Absolutely. He seems to have ridiculous "bend" and we seemingly got him a little "cheap" for being willing to take him on in his early stages. Then again, it also means we can be the ones to teach him those foundational habits without having to unlearn other set in patterns.

All in all, I think Booker has a real chance to be great, and to not have to spend a 1st or 2nd round pick to get him is just more winning from our scouting department.

Imagine if Williams and Booker are both peaking in December, we might be like a 2nd year team when the playoffs come around this year. THen we'd be a year ahead on the schedule, and that would be fantastic.

[adam]

It is crazy to think the Bears have a chance to have 4 of their 5 draft picks be impactful as rookies. We already know Caleb, Rome, and Taylor are going to be. If Booker becomes a solid rotational Edge rusher who is not a liability in the run game, this is easily a top 10 defense. 

[Mongo3451]

Gotta love Kool-aid season.

[Pixote]

1 hour ago, Mongo3451 said:

Gotta love Kool-aid season.

? I know. Like I said, hype season has begun. Last year I was pumped up for R Johnson and thought he would be our starter by week 9. My track record for prognostication is not good. Let's hope Booker is the real deal and can contribute to our D this year.