Lucky Luciano

does anyone here really believe we were ONE player away from being a dynasty?? some have asked if we win a superbowl whether that trade was good and we break our arms patting poles on the back. i am not one of them. i want to win multiple superbowls. that is the goal this franchise should always take. poles is in desperate mode right now. most of his draft picks are failures. his free agents have on the most part been failures. his job is on the line as he sees it. he is GOING FOR BROKE and taking us with him. this was not the time for a rebuilt team on the rise to do this. getting on with it, this was a very stupid move by a 2nd rate GM. why you ask.... immediate future: it's not even a given that we can even win our OWN division this year. so much for penciling in a SB win this year and amazingly next year also? a hundred different scenario's could occur that we don't even MAKE it to the NFC championship game let alone the freaking superbowl. everyone is assuming that we are picking at 31 or 32 for our 2027-2028 first round picks and that justifies it. what happens if an injury happens? didn't we learn anything when caleb went down? does anyone possibly believe if he would have been out for the season even with an all pro DT that we would have won a superbowl? we literally could have drafted in the top 10-15. we are HOPING for a perfect scenario where all of our players stay healthy and improve from what they are but you do NOT gamble your franchises future on this. what this means is that we have NO top pick for THREE YEARS. lets look at our defensive side of the ball first. we need not one, but two CB's. what we have is not even close to being average. i don't care how good your defensive line is if not one of your corners can cover it's a disaster in the making. we virtually have 2 DE's that are average on their best day. they not only can't get to the QB but they can't contain the ends on running plays or pressure the QB on scrambles. that's a top tier position that no way in hell we can trade for now or reasonably draft without first round picks. LB's... does anyone believe as a group they are even average? the best average one we have is constantly injured? so where does that leave us? that is three open positions (two at the least) that needs to be filled. DT's... other than this new pickup our DT's are basically pie in the sky. if our new acquisition gets injured do we even have an average DT on this team? S.. again, we have a great 'prospect' in the thin man. our other safety is coming off a serious injury. does he lose speed or end up like JJ? probably not but there is that possibility. i will concede that this position is solid with reservations. so at best, our defense is lacking at least 6-7 players that you will not get a chance to draft highly over the next 2 years. that means we are solid at 1-2 positions on our entire defense. that is not a superbowl winning combo in my book. offense... looks solid? it is at this point in time. but in our future we are going to need a LG and possibly a LT. ozzie has great potential but nothing involving him is set in stone. if we need a LT that is highly unlikely to happen without a first round pick. so that would negate/limit our QB advantage, our running game and possibly get our QB injured. so yea, i am not raking this player over the coals. i think he is a very good player and will help this franchise. but to what extent? we just gambled the next 5-10 years on this move. so yea, poles needs to be fired for even putting us into the position to have to give up this much for a single player at this point in time.

INCREDIBLY STUPID. there is no possible way any 29 year old DT is worth anywhere close to what we paid. 2 firsts relates to a good/great starting QB in his prime or a DE future hall of fame player in his prime. this screws us in so many ways in our future it's mindboggling. ryan poles has done NOTHING but hurt this franchise. he can't draft. look at the busts or average players we have picked in the 1st-3rd round. his free agent acquisitions on defense are dismal at the VERY best. we are paying for injured average players. on offense he has brought in three good offensive linemen and one that wanted to retire and did after one season. one is at or past retirement age also in thuney. and now this... ryan poles needs to be FIRED. this is no knee jerk statement, this guy is killing this franchise.

we are missing a lot of plays by not utilizing the plays across the middle especially in slowing down blitz's. tipped balls? then they need to seriously fix that problem if it exists. it works like a charm against us yet we never use it in our arsenal. we need to seriously work on who is picking up blitz's and also caleb needs to sit down with keenum to figure out HOW to get quick releases out from these blitz's to make them pay and stop taking the sacks or throwing it away. blitzing is killing us. and on the subject of ryan poles... this guy is terrible. the ONLY defensive free agent player i can think of that was a good pickup was byard and of course he is gone. on offense the two guards and possibly swift for players still on the roster. that is it. the decent ones he dumps and keeps the mediocre players forever. add to this that BJ is probably the key in picking up these players. also we have wasted a multitude of 1st-3rd round picks with few exceptions like burden and possibly thieneman.

if this were preseason and jj was a walkon he wouldn't even make the practice squad. he is total toast. no desire and PUP possibly but that doesn't excuse the unwillingness to tackle. anyone right now is a better choice at CB than him. trade value? if we could get a practice squad TE that would be a windfall. after first quarter, defense reverted to same ole, same ole. also you can't keep blitzing gordon over and over to no gain. that has been figured out. mixing it up with thieneman was ok. for whatever reason our defense CAN'T stop the quick over the middle throws for 8-12 yards. no defender within 5 full yards for an easy catch just like packers have done to us for decades. speaking of defense? any bears coach that puts his defense into prevent mode deserves to be slapped. the only thing a prevent defense prevents is a win. also, how can our DL stop the run in the first quarter and look so bad in the rest of the game? personnel or game plan? still some crap calls in the red zone by our coach. he needs to get his head our of his arse although I have to admit i didn't see any 3rd or 4th and short runs out of the shotgun or going for it on 4th down in our side of the field. so maybe he has learned something. santo's? he is hot and cold and that doesn't bode well for us. he has been that way since we acquired him. we need to look for someone who can consistently hit from 50+ in this day and age of the NFL's 60+ yd field goals. anyone see how ozzie looked tonight? didn't concentrate on him. i know he was rotated in and out. seemed like RG jackson is still recovering from his injury. the time off should help a lot. not sure who was supposed to pick up all the blitzer's but not a great job at that or scheming for the quick outs. caleb was holding the ball too long for the amount of blitz's thrown at us. that sack at the end while we were in field goal range almost cost us the game. that was totally on caleb not getting rid of the ball. again i want to ask, why are we not seeing slants over the middle for a quick release to our big body TE's or big receivers especially when they are blitzing our arse off? i'll take the win but god, what an ugly game. should have beat them by 20+ yet almost blew it to lose. EDIT: what kind of play was that goal line handoff to our LG? i have never seen somthing like that in my life. what was the flag about? didn't get any of that.

sweat (suspended) and odeyingbo (IR) both out. doesn't seem ode can ever stay healthy. going to be short of DE's tonight.

there is a big difference on this week and last also. i 'believe' we shit canned the SP long snapper who was terrible, and brought back the older vet. PLUS we were smart enough not to have ROUCHE in blocking. you are a stat guy. compare successful 4th down plays against unsuccessful field goals. i would love to see those odds in vegas. so yea, field goals are not a given but i stand by what i said. you take the points.

there is a big difference between aggressive play calling and STUPID, stupid play calling last week cost us the game. that is not some minor deal especially if it's the difference in making the playoffs or not. you ALWAYS take the points unless it's late in the game and you are down more than 10 points. then it is a reasonable risk to do so. but to do so at random in a game and CERTAINLY not in your own territory is pee wee play calling. this is especially true if your defense is not even mediocre. i don't care what other coaches in the league do it's bad, bad, bad professional football. there is a reason this was rarely ever done for nearly a hundred years. or at least in the modern age of field goal kicking. all that said, explain to me why in the holy hell you would go into a SHOTGUN formation and actually run the ball 6 inches from the goal line. that's not stupid, that is criminally stupid.

a few comments the good: keenum looked good. poised in the pocket, very quick release which made all the difference in the world. caleb NEEDS to see how this works. i have a feeling if caleb is in there he hangs onto the ball longer on probably one third of the plays and not for the better. the DE's look non existent for most of the game. seems like the d-line had an improvement in pushing the pocket back from the LOS. that helped a lot but far from perfect. some decent playcalling to match the type of QB by johnson for 'most' of the game. the BAD: ben johnson better get his head out of his ass and stop trying to be the smartest guy in the room. his bad playcalling decisions could have cost us the freaking game. you ALWAYS take the points when you get the opportunity early in the game ESPECIALLY when your defense is less than mediocre! it's stupid going for it on 4th down. add to this.... what in god's name is he thinking when it was 1st? and goal and the one inch line??? even a pee wee coach knows you do NOT line up in the shotgun in that situation for a running play. that call was criminally stupid every and any way you look at it. mindboggling. i do not EVER recall seeing a play set up like that ever. this type of stupidity costs games (it did last week). jj johnson is not a #1 CB. at best he is a good #2. his coverage is near pathetic and has been since he was injured. ROUSCH??? this guy that we HAD to have as yet another TE has been atrocious with multiple mistakes. this guy does not look like he should even be on the roster or PS at best.

poles said, and i quote the article.... "may not even be ready to contribute on offense in Year 1". nobody is talking about starting over dunze or burden, although that SHOULD be in the equation for a THIRD ROUND pick, but not ready to contribute in year one? that is the mindset of the GM who drafted this player in this round? unless your roster is absolutely set with starters, any GM who drafts a player on day 2 should EXPECT this player to be ready to start games by mid season or used in a rotation, not "contribute" two or three years down the line. not "ready to contribute on offense" is where 4th round and lower players are picked and especially if that player is predicated for special teams. by any standard that is an abysmal pick.

another log on the fire for our glorious GM. here is what he also had to say about our 3rd round draft pick: Courtesy of Sports Illustrated: Chicago Bears On SIBears' Ben Johnson and Antwaan Randle El Get Their Wish W...The Chicago Bears are signing wide receiver Scotty Miller. Here's how the veteran fits on Chicago's wide receiver depth chart.Thomas in particular may not even be ready to contribute on offense in Year 1, something general manager Ryan Poles has previously said is possible. "So this is a tough system. It’s going to be a challenge for him to break through quickly (on offense). But we’re going to open that competition up for all of these guys coming in," Poles said of Thomas. "So, maybe that role starts small and grows over time. But I don’t want to put a cap on that. If he comes in and downloads fast and he’s up and running, we’ll see what happens," Poles added. seriously? a third round pick and it's possible he won't be ready to start?? the freaking role starts small and grows over time? this guy is laughable. we drafted the same positions last year and this years 3rd round guy has the starting prospects of a 7th round pick?

there is a difference between perfect and a one sided roster either on offense or on defense. good + offenses get you to a superbowl. good + offenses plus good to good + defenses, (or visa versa) to go along with it WIN superbowls. if you can't stop the run or rush the passer (and we can't/couldn't do either) i will come right out and say you will lose 99.9% of superbowls even if you luck out to get there. sure there are dark horse teams who will win one but if you want to build a dynasty you can't believe that you draft for the future cap hit. this is the first time hearing this in my life of watching the nfl. it makes absolutely no sense.

there is no possible way a superbowl contending team can build their roster like this by ignoring key positions on your team for cap reasons in the future. not unless you just want to be under the cap continuously and screw winning like we have done for 40 years. it's a great way for owners to milk a team for money and worry about winning as a distant second. if you have a contender you can pick up free agents or even sign your own who want the rings at a discount price. plus the cap rises every year to blunt the higher salaries.

if that WERE the case then what you do is bundle picks to move UP in the draft for a quality player at another position.

SOLD!! my problem is this: a first/second day pick, as in this case a third rounder, has to project as a starter or rotational front line player within a year or two. the first three rounds you should be getting premium players that will individually make your team better. these are NOT the rounds you want to draft long shots (as we have done since finks left) or positional players like kickers, punters, special team aces or third string players of ANY kind. fourth round and below is where you draft for those needs. remember trace armstrong? we traded a 10 sack DE for a 2nd round pick and proceeded to draft a F'ng punter in todd saurkraut. this is similar to what we did this off season with DJ Moore. all that said.... third string tight ends are not at a premium now or at any time in my memory of the NFL. to say this guy is going to be worth that pick is ridiculous. there are probably 10 TE's that could fill that role after june 1st. all this especially when we have a need for other position starters or at the very LEAST a 2nd string quality player. instead of moving down we should have been moving up. if there was no DT or DE there then we should have targeted a LB. if we had stayed where we were slotted, a quality RB would have been a better pick to fill out our number two spot and strive for our #1 starting position. if this is all on poles listening to our HC then someone needs to put a leash on johnson.

we traded moore, if not a #1 receiver then certainly a #2, who can not only make spectacular catches but is tough as nails for a third string tight end. if anyone believes that is a good trade i have a swamp i would like to sell.