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yes, increasingly the NFL is a "right now" league. players get injured, fall off, poached in free agency etc. No player is fully ready when they are called on at first. You have to let your players grow. And we see this every year even with the Bears, even under bad coaches. And especially in the secondary. Rookies play. I think when people try to look at attributes and stats, "rookie" "bad in the pocket" "runs a 4.3 forty" etc, it brings them to make the wrong decisions on whats going to happen. Johnson wont have that problem of course, so it's just noise. All this to say, I fully agree with you, the best player will play regardless of any other facts about them.

If the rookies are better players put then on the field. Stevenson did nothing last year to earn anyone’s trust just because he’s a vet. If we make it to the playoffs again those rookies will then have a full season of experience.

The Bears are trying to maximize this team. Stevenson in a contract year is a good scenario. It would be great if the rookie excels but he is still a rookie, and Dillion will be starting so is having two rookies starting in the back of the defense a good idea? If Terrell Smith can stay healthy, he could be in the mix. I think having the competition will be a great motivation . In trying to be on a SB run, I think they keep depth than choose to trade players. Injuries happens every year, so what's wrong with having quality depth. We are a week away from real football, I cant wait.

Completely agree, you are always the voice of reason. You dont want the hero ball to ever go away but being more disciplined in the offense what create more success. I think, not just improvement but a great year is going to show up for Caleb, the offense and this team. I think the 12 and 13 groups will be the mainstay of the offense. Once a team cant stop the run and the underneath passing zone , the deep ball will be consistently open. Injuries can change it, but our only weakness at this point is depth at DE. They will figure it out.

Yup!

I fully agree. I think he is a future Hall of Famer. Of course there are many challenges between here and there, but he looks like a real superstar to me. Also, I'm not predicting this year by last years stats, I agree that growth is coming. I'm just saying that chart shows that the general understanding of why Calebs completion percentage was lacking may not have been correct. It may have had to do with WRs not working back to him when he was flushed from the pocket, and Caleb throwing the ball away in those circumstances too. But like you said, the truth is in the middle - there is no one answer that explains everything. Every play is different. But his EPA from the pocket was 7th best int he league, which is at odds with the general narrative from last year. And GOOD. :)

The truth is somewhere in the middle. Which is exactly why we have so much hope he is the one. We’ve seen good stuff from the pocket reading defenses well, looking off safeties. Likewise we’ve seen the outstanding stuff outside the pocket. Second year in the same system for most everyone on offense should help a lot. I can’t wait.

Well that actual chart and stats say the opposite - I know thats the media narrative, but that chart disputes that to some degree. It says his EPA was much better in the pocket - 7th in the league, and that his EPA dropped significantly outside the pocket to 23rd. Sometimes the "common sense" way of looking at a stat doesnt really tell the story.

Caleb's pocket stats are tremendously flawed. Many times he left the pocket after turning down the obvious completion. Had he focused more on the pocket passes, his stats would have been better. The out of pocket passes were an overabundance of hero ball. I expect more discipline and less hero this season, resulting in more yards, TOP, completion % and stability.

Interesting stat here. Despite the obvious interpretation of his completion percentage to mean that he isnt so good in the pocket, it turns out hes actually fine int he pocket, and the incompletions came more often when he was out of the pocket. Throwing the ball away usually. And that comes down to a complaint from last year that when Caleb moves, his WRs werent coming back to him. Its not like a stat that completely erases the criticism, but it's interesting context. Inside the pocket, hes the 7th best QB in the league for EPA. Outside, he's like 23rd or so. https://www.reddit.com/r/CHIBears/comments/1uxsue6/imagine_how_good_caleb_will_be_once_he_learns_how/

Toss in a defense that hopefully gives him one or two more series to work with. I know there was talk about leading the league in turnovers but it seems to me that a defense that forces more 3 and outs also has less opportunities to get turnovers. Weren’t we also the worst D in the league on 3rd and long last year?

If they trade him, it would have to be in-season. If they don't extend him, which is unlikely, then I assume he becomes a free agent and hopefully a comp pick for the Bears in the future.

With no other change than Comp%, if Caleb gets back to his rookie Comp%, +4.4% from last year, with all else equal, he would throw for 298 more yards (25 more completions), which would put him at 4,239 yards and 29 TDs and basically MVP#s (Maye put up 4,394 and 31). That is with no other change. So with any actual improvement, fewer drops, fewer throwaways, that is probably closer to his floor than his ceiling.

I'm happy we are in a position to move on from his "potential" with players who are more reliable. I hope he has a killer year, and the Bears use his "contract year" success to get a better return when we trade him. Saying that he will probably have another year of mixed-bag production and be cut without getting any return on investment.

Stevenson is going into Year 4, I don't know how much more he can improve from here on out. Typically, a player is who he is at this point. Only 1 INT last year, when the Bears led the league in takeaways, is not a good look. Outside of the forced fumble, which was a big play, there was very little from him last year. The only thing that may make him improve is that he is in a contract year.

Good, lights a fire under Stephenson's butt, and motivates Muhammad that he can go as far as his performance takes him. This is great coaching all the way around.

Someone in the Bears org made sure this got out before camp starts Pro Football RumorsBears CBs Tyrique Stevenson, Malik Muhammad Competing For...Tyrique Stevenson is set to compete for a starting cornerback spot with Malik Muhammad during the Bears' training camp.

Yep, great guess. Love is an EPA machine, but folds like a wet paper bag under 4 mins, on MNF, and in the playoffs.

All DTs are FAs after this season except Jarrett and Gallimore...and the draft pick. The d-line will getting more attention next season and I hope it gets done right as Poles has seemed to do when he is in that position (oline, dbs..)

Based on Bears Packers games I’d say that A is Jordan Love

We have several new DTs on the roster, they didnt come with a big fanfare but I think they upgraded the position to fit DAs defense. I think the Bears see what we see in the depth at DE but they addressed it last year that injuries took away. They will add someone, Poles has done a good job at adding in all areas its just not the big name that most people want. With more speed at DT and LB the DE room with have better results. I think the only team that has a full roster is the Rams , everyone else has at least one flaw. The last two SBs winners had a very good pass rush but it wasnt with one great pass rusher on the team.

Caleb has shown a lot of growth from yr one to yr two. I expect this yr to be the same. He does the hard stuff great, as it slows down for him, the throwing % will increase. I expect him to be top and to easily to be over 4500 yds passing. Pundits get clicks if they talk about the Bears and probably more if they downplay Caleb. We get to sit back and enjoy the ride, who cares what they say.

< 4 min (all situations): QB A: 14-31, 45.2%, 225 yds, 7.3 Y/A, 1 TD, 1 INT, 5 Sacks QB B: 29-57, 50.9%, 426 yds, 7.5 Y/A, 4 TD, 1 INT, 1 Sack, 1 Rush TD (Led NFL QBs in under 4 min for Total TDs: 5) You know who QB B is, who is QB A?

I'm not close to area, but I've been there a lot. Anywhere the Bears go, the development will follow. The main thing I believe is that Indiana will be much more profitable and proactive than Illinois. I honestly believe Illinois is gonna do a hail Mary and keep the Bears. If they were going to Indiana, the announcement would have already been made.

I'd love to see us find a FA as good as one of my favorite FA signings, Akiem Hicks. If we had Hicks in his prime, he would elevate our defense big time. Hey Akiem, have you been working out? Want to come out of retirement? LOL Hell, at 36? He'd probably outperform our current DTs.