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To be fair, KC is just 5-3 (after winning last night) and many conspiracists feel they are the most coddled when it comes to officiating. 🤷🏻‍♂️

For me Burden made/makes sense. From what I read on him he was a first round talent and really he looks to be the replacement for Moore . We all know he costs a lot and at some point will need to move on. Loveland made little sense. I get why they did it and have to believe Johnson had some say on what he wanted but as you and others have said, if all your gonna do is use him as blocking TE, there are much better options out there later in the draft. And if the theory is to have two stud TEs (with Kmet being the other) then use them accordingly.

if you can't draft well and rely on FA's you end up like george allen and the red skins and that was before the salary cap. drafting well in the top ten is ESSENTIAL. if you can't find players of NEED this high in the draft for 2-3 years straight it kills the roster and kills the future cap by having to bring in overpriced FA's on their last leg to fill the 'need'. the receivers we drafted in this draft was ludicrous. how many are going to be on the field for each play to even make a difference? yet we draft nothing at the 2nd most critical position on offense - OLT. we have nothing at the most critical position on defense - pass rushing DE. both of these positions are game changers as to whether you win or lose. it would be similar if we drafted running backs in the first two rounds with walter payton in his prime. no freaking need and nowhere to put them. to let these guys sit that means we also have to cut our practice squad of players to make room for these guys on our regular roster. add to this, again we draft injured players HIGH. a DT with a broken foot, a top 10 TE who is also injured. our GM's have done this numerous times with the same results. these are picks you might use if you already have a SB contender with a full roster of good + starters and can cover them on the roster for a year or two. NOT when there are this many holes at critical positions. example: we bring in cutler and give away the moon. yet we have the worst OL in football and never improve. this 2 first round trade was a complete waste of good talent in cutler, a good qb, who just basically snapped the ball and ran for his life and a waste of the players we could have drafted. we have made this mistake for decades. we bring in FA qb's or DE's that eat up our cap space and surround them with NOTHING to succeed here.

I appreciate that you own it, but a 5-win team shouldn’t be spending a first round pick on a TE, much less a blocking TE. Blocking TEs go on day 3.

yeah, its uneven, but we should see great games too. The first two drives this week were amazing, until the red zone. But the penalties are a killer, and good coaches work them out until they arent a problem anymore. It needs to get better, and I believe it will.

This is very well said. Loveland and Burden will be good for us for a long time, but they were the wrong picks. Maybe Burden made sense, but a 5 win team picking a TE at #10? In a draft that had multiple good ones to boot. Trading down for Trapilo, if it was a reach to supplant Braxton Jones was a mistake. And we skipped Areonte Ersery there to also acquire Shemar Turner. I mean, we are super lucky that Benedet has come out of the woodwork, but effectively trading Ersery (at 41) for Trapilo and Turner was a huge mistake. And you STILL could have had Burden anyway at 39!

Yeah - bummer. Hope he recovers quickly and ends up becoming a dude for the bears. I saw where BJ talked about how he played a big part in the run d improving.

Speaking of Turner…

I think Ben is putting some emphasis on players this week - in particular with the penalties. It’s a long season, I hope we see a 4-5 TD outburst and a Bears win on Sunday!!!

It’s interesting - Rome looks open from there.

I think I with this past draft it comes down to best use of draft capital and the Bears just didn’t do it - period. With that said - I expect Loveland and Luther are both going to be good football players - they just weren’t the right picks or right positional value with the Bears. I do think both are very good prospects though at their position. Trapillo was solid value and I haven’t seen any reason to think he couldn’t become a good RT, but like the guys above, not right use of draft capital relative to roster. Bears literally took a guy top 10 at position 2 years earlier. So unless they plan on flipping Wright, it’s bad roster construction. Shemar looks like the worse pick in terms of production - but in fairness injuries - but at least he was a pick on the dline, which was an area of need. Poles did do a good job on both oline trades and Dalman is fine, but good god did he piss down his leg on his defensive free agents, yet again. But it’s his sheer waste of relevant draft capital and inability to hit big in draft with roster construction that leads me to believe he is bad. I hope I’m proven wrong though.

I havent heard him do any of that CYA stuff yet, so I read it differently. I think he means it. We dont have to agree of course.

I don't buy Ben Johnson today. It's nothing but damage control to keep the wolves at bay. I like that he knows that keeping things in a positive light is best for all concerned. I'm on board...

I'm right here. I wouldn't say I loved the Loveland pick but I did like it and I still do. We used a lot of 12 personnel in the Ravens game, but I don't know snap counts. I remember missing one TD early because the 3rd TE whiffed on a block at the goal line. When it is being run it is successful. I can't answer % blocking but I don't care because I like having a TE who can excel in run blocking, route running, and pass catching. I like having a coach who knows how to use that too.

Forget which website this is from, the article, or even the author of the article - just watch the 1 min clip where Johnson breaks down Caleb's performance with Jeff Joniak. I still havent seen the all 22, so I dont have a good opinion yet, but BJ has never been one to give false praise. https://www.sportsmockery.com/chicago-bears/ben-johnson-fiercely-defends-caleb-williams-after-ravens-loss/

Alas, spoken like a true Bear fan. We all feel the pain of past f**kups. Can Ben flip the switch? I will forever be hopeful.

He should and probably will, but I won't hold my breath on continued success for him unless he humbles himself to embrace the position on a professional level.

I thought Rome was a wasted pick last year, so not going to judge the pick. Especially since Loveland missed so much time at the beginning. One thought, I wonder how much Caleb used TEs in college, because he hasn't thrown to them much since he's been a Bear. I am frustrated with this offense, but lets give them time to put it together. Penalties, bad calls from refs, and poor special teams play has put the Bears in tough situations. Eventually it should come together...we hope

One of the worst parts of it was Loveland was injured and missed a good chunk of the offseason. So the Bears knowingly drafted him with the knowledge that they may not get full production out of him until mid season? This goes back to Poles thinking he is the smartest guy in the room, similar to Pace. Then once he makes a bad out of position pick, it has a ripple effect for multiple years. Like Bowers + Egbuka instead of Odunze + Loveland is an example just using two position groups in back to back years. You can do it for more picks from the first year he drafted. So every year, the Bears fall further and further back against the top 12-15 teams in the league who at least draft average every year. The Bears are always in the bottom 3rd.

On INT, Loveland 6 yards downfield being held by Roquan, literally on his back, prevented him from moving. Another missed call.

No real pass rush and 3rd string DBs is likely to make Flacco look like Brady. We’ve seen this movie many times over, where a journeyman is initially doubted, then torches the Bears for one of his best games of the year, and the people say, “Wow! Look at Player X! What a great day he had!” Whenever I expect good things from the Bears my heart is broken. So, I expect Flacco goes for 300+, puts up better numbers than Williams, and the Bears likely lose in excruciating fashion. In reality, Williams should have a breakout day, with 3+TDs - or passes that set up a few short running TDs - and make us all think he is still the man on which this franchise should rest its shoulders.

Where is Everyone who loved the Loveland pick? Where is the 12 personnel? Is it even being run? When it IS being run, is it even successful? When it IS being run, what’s the percentage of time the first round TE is blocking? Horrible pick at an unnecessary position. I know it’s early, but what a waste. He is underutilized, and so is the other good TE on the team.

Yes. No. No. Dude can make all the throws that mere mortals can’t, but can’t make the throws a garden variety NFL starter can. The things that’s crazy is, I’m still seeing guys WIDE OPEN. And many of them are wide open because of the scheme. For years I’d ask myself, “How the hell did GB receiver (insert name) get so wide open against our D?” Now I see it happening and the #1 overall QB reads defenses like someone who just started playing Madden.

yes its sloppy and undisciplined. Its not fun to see. Johnson needs to keep kicking asses. And its possible that some players need to be replaced next year too. Not saying who, just they will do whatever it takes until this team is good. On the same thread, I was surprised to see Henry score near the end, when he should have gone down just shy of the goal line to eat more clock.

BINGO! Every damn person with the Bears thinks they’re the smartest guy in the room. They reach. They trade. They go with “their” BPA 🙄 And the whole time everyone else is screaming otherwise. 90% of the fans say something different. Like this year with OT, DE, and RB. So what do the Bears do? TE and WR. 🤦🏻‍♂️ This has happened for literal decades now. I have said this for many years in a row: True BPA is stupid. You don’t draft Marino if you have Montana. At a certain point you must draft for need. It’s 100% necessary because a team is only as strong as its weakest link. The Bears should focus on huge names for football powerhouse programs, especially with a history of pumping out studs at a specific position. Want a WR? Start with Bama or LSU players. Want OL? Maybe focus on a kid from Iowa who throws hay bails for fun. It’s really not that difficult. That strategy may not find the hidden gems, but it’s got a lot better chance of avoiding catastrophe. But you do you, Poles. Cut Kmet at the end of the year and find another Shaheen.🙄