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statman: what is the average increase in salary cap per year and the average high end salary for core players by position? every year we see cap strapped teams resigning their key players when we think there is no way possible for them to get under the cap. if they can, why can't we? screw the salary cap. that said... look at mahomes when the quality of his WR's declined to a great degree because they dumped his go to players. the chiefs WR's dropped more balls than anyone i can think of during these seasons. he relied mostly on kelse his TE. if we can't slot two or three key defensive players into our current cap for the future while caleb is in his rookie contract keeping our receiving core we are not trying hard enough. i say we keep our core of receivers and tight ends and think of how our offense would operate if we didn't and a key WR/TE is injured or has a career ending injury. we won't have the higher draft picks to replace them. also, we are not paying a RB top dollar compared to the best in the league. that has to count for something.

Who caught the Minnesota Miracle?

I think he is a consistent playmaker that they value in this offense. They will restructure DJ and Kmet plus a couple OL to get money to help the defense.

After DJ’s total commitment to “F the packers,” and TWO different game winning catches against the packers, I can’t see how they let him go. Those catches are historical. We will be talking about the wildcard game and catch for 20 years.

I’ve wanted the Bears to do a toss sweep all year with Swift. Let him go wide with some pulling blockers, then stick his foot in the ground and cut back at the best moment. Feels like a guaranteed 5-6 yds, and potentially a huge play.

Opening kickoff vs the packers was a hint at that trick play. They faked the reverse on the kickoff and now teams are thinking about that. Maybe this time we hand it off? Maybe not?

Agree with all of that

That's all on the table and we honestly don't know who they value the most. ( I ) don't think the bears are going to mess with the offense. I could be wrong, it's not that I don't understand what you're saying, I just think they will address the problem in a different way. The offense has put us into the position to go to the SB with a bad defense. Reality is Parsons didn't get GB in this game ( if we traded and put our assets into one player, he could be hurt too) . Crosby and Garrett are not in the playoffs. Some fans think one player will put over the top. I don't think the bears think that. We are all just projecting here, I'm a fan whether they do or don't. It's just a guess.

The Bears will eventually fade like KC once Caleb gets paid. Unless they can hit on draft picks every time at the right rythem. When I suggest trading a beloved Bear star, it is because there are rising younger players at their position and while their value is still modestly good for our beloved, we could get more in return now. The Bears need 2 starting caliber DTs, one DE, one or two S, one or two LBs, and a CB. They have extra WRs and maybe a TE that can replaced with younger/cheaper. 3 or 4 defensive starters might be draft picks, but they will also need some veterans that fit. Not much in the bank unless they can find some teams to trade with. Its just my thought on how to logically do this. Kmet is one of my favorites, so I would love him to retire a Bear. But sometimes tough decisions need to be made.

For sure, any defensive scheme requires a pass rush, and any defense is made better when you have one. Of course that's edge rushers and pocket collapsing DTs as well. We can look at our LBs and DBs too. No one is really a core player that youll still have in 4 years (including re-signing), except maybe Booker. Even Byard has an expiration date due to age. Of course we wont be able to replace everyone, but anyone except Booker is a potential casualty or trade bait i think. And I dont think you can count on Booker to be your primary edge either. Hes probably DE3 fighting to become DE2. As to how to acquire these players, we have no cap space right now. We can draft some players, but they wont be ready to dominate out of the box, especially picking 32nd No better than 25th I think? Were gonna need to get some players off of the books to afford Free Agents, so they might as well be trades so you get something else in return too?

It’s no secret that a lot of this can be solved with some edge rushers who can actually do more than smell the QB once in a while. Free agency and draft that’s my focus.

I think we need to move Caleb out of the pocket for longer developing plays and otherwise it’s quick slants to TE’s and screens. I’m reading that LA’s secondary is dogshit but the D line masks that deficiency. ST and the running game in this weather should balance the attack and provide good field position. This game is on the offense because our D isn’t going to hold LA down. I’m hoping the weather does a little of that for us. But both teams are playing in the weather so it’s all about who handles it better.

I know people are fans, and love our players, but at some point the rah rah stuff has to give way to reality. We are not going anywhere, and we will waste Caleb Williams if the plan is to come back with the same defense again next year and just try harder. Thats not a plan for winning, it's just being in love with the players without considering that other more talented players could be on our roster. And then we could love THOSE guys and win games. This defense is slow and was built as a cover 2 zone team. We need to clean house on the defensive side this offseason, and that is going to require some money.

We also wanted Grady for his leadership. While I’m not familiar with Puna I can say that Grady career history of hustling on all plays and leading in the locker room is a part of why this team doesn’t quit.

We need to get back to the run this week. Move the chains, eat clock, leave the Rams offense cold on the bench for 20 minutes at a time, and tire that D line out

Anything that reminds them of their playoff failure is ok by me.

True but their Dline is tough against both. No reason to run through a brick wall. I think we see more outside runs as well as some quick WR screens. Both of our TEs are good enough to block DEs and seal the edge for off tackle runs. Then pull one of the big boys around to pave the way.

Special teams might win the Bears the game. The Rams are legit awful, and the Bears have gotten much better ever since the disaster in Cincinnati. They were low-key heroes of last week's game, too, with several big returns. Would be a great time to pull out a trick play against them in a pivotal moment, IMO.

I listened to Ross Tucker on the Score and he brought up a lot of points about us possibly winning the game. A home game, bad weather that will make the Rams uncomfortable, they have bad STs. They have played bad the last part of the season. Just pulled out the playoff game in Carolina with a great coach and great QB. Also said belief is a strong tonic to win in games of which BJ has given us. The emotional high we were on last week could continue to this game giving us a quick start. He also said sometime with that energy, it could have us come out flat to start. As soon as I see it pop up on YouTube, I'll share it.

A strong running game and quick passes will slow down any pass rush.

Just my opinion but I think they keep most of the assets on the offensive side of the. Like you said a key injury to a couple weapons and we're pulling people off the street which won't be good for continuity for a leading offense in the league next year. Look at the mess in KC, they still have a great QB and great coach but their WRs OL was missing people. Didn't finish well. Depth is important. The defense is a big mess but with injured players coming back and people like Booker getting better, they may not see that a big deal may have to high of a price and add 3 or 4 pieces in the draft. I think they figure it out without Garrett or Crosby. It won't be the first time I'm been wrong on my guesses before. It will be an interesting off-season especially if we get farther in the playoffs.

I think the cheesheads are ridiculous looking. Not sure but I think the cheese graters lowers us to their level. Now the players wearing them is just a slap in the face to their players but if it's a popular fans thing, it's going to put us in the same corny Packers fans category. Just my opinion.

The good thing is, this is still the low end of this. The roster can still improve and players will become more familiar with the system. So if they need to move on from a key contributor to make the overall team better, I totally understand it. If you are weighing contract value to team value, you can't have too many losing propositions, otherwise the team can fall apart with 1 or 2 key injuries. That does make several of the higher paid guys expendable unless they are willing to rework their contracts get more guaranteed money with less AAV.

One frustrating thing on this, Poona Ford was a free agent DT this offseason, the Bears signed Jarrett for 3/42 and the Rams signed Ford for 3/29. Ford is the Rams top rated defensive player. Their D-Line is legit across the board, Byron Young and Kobie Turner are both really good as well. The Bears will have to utilize the quick game more and not leave Caleb back there too long, he won't have time.

It will be interesting to see what the bears choose to do.