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. Yes I liked that idea but in the pre draft process, as the Bears got sold on Caleb, I started to see his potential and when the bears traded Justin, I was all in to the new best QB to get and sometimes we change our opinions. I'm sure I seen you hesitant on Caleb in the beginning, you were always consistent on hate Fields though.

Training camp reports and or preseason scare me. I have to see it when it counts.

Yes we should see a difference immediately, in spurts and flashes, but it may take 4 or 6 weeks until the consistency is reliable?

I think we will know this year is different with the offense early in training camp. Reporters have seen enough wishful thinking and bad performance with our offense over the years so they know what “normal” is. If it’s going to be different in the regular season it will start being different in training camp.

Every teams fortunes depend on the QB. This is why your "trade the #1 pick away, lose Caleb and get the haul of picks" made no sense. Ditto "keep Justin Fields"

Having a GM and Coach on the same time frame is the only logical choice. They obviously believe this is the coming out year for success and Poles gets to prove his worth. He built the roster and hired a high end coach. As much as that is important, our future is based on Caleb being a star or bust.

apparently he had 2 years left on his deal, so the extended him 3 more years. That puts him on the same timeline as Ben Johnson. I'm not sure why they did this now, as opposed to after this year so we could see how they work together, but at least this is slightly more sane than having them not in alignment. I'm still not sure Poles is the right guy, but with this staff to help him, Im not sure his drawbacks really matter that much.

5 years

I get out tomorrow, the surgery went well, but because it was because of an infection, it takes 6 weeks to retest for infection,so I could possibly have to get it redone it two months. I'm optimistic it works. I'll check with my two friends to see if they are still in play.

I do remember from watching film in context that I was hoping for more from him. If he can do what he did in college Id be happy, and theres no reason he cant.

Nope and I thought about that. Ultimately the best stat is the % inside the 20 from all punts capable of landing there.

does that take into account having to punt from inside our own 30 so much?

His raw inside the 20 was 4th but on 82 punts. His average inside the 20 was actually below league average.

I guess that never crossed my mind. Taylor had the 2nd most punts. Im okay not having a high average as long as he is pinning them at the 20 or less. He was tied for 4th best with 34 punts behind the 20.

I think he gets better because his leg won't be so tired in the 2nd half.

I believe he will improve solely on experience as most rookies do. The ST coordinator was the only retained coach, so it's hard to imagine he will gain much from him. The teams performance and swagger will fuel him helping him the most. He's almost a forgotten weapon.

I remember some pundits saying that if we didnt trade the #1 pick for the haul, that Caleb had to be generational immediately. It's a kind of tough guy argument, but it's unrealistic. It's like kidnapping a stock broker and putting a gun to his head to ask him the price of oil a month from now. He cant tell you, you can push and threaten, but its just impossible. Some things take time. In his first three years, Peyton Manning threw for 3.739 yards, 26 TDs and 28 INTs and a completion percentage of 56.7% 4,135 yards, 26 TDs and 15 INTs and a completion percentage of 62.1% 4,413 yards, 33 TDs and 15 INTs and a completion percentage of 62.5% As a rookie, Williams threw for 3,541 yards, 20 TDs and 6 INTs and a completion percentage of 62.5% And Justin Fields each season numbers for fun 1879 yards, 7 TDs and 10 INTs and a completion percentage of 58.9% 2,242 yards, 17 TDs and 11 INTs and a completion percentage of 60.4% 2,562 yards, 16 TDs and 9 INTs and a completion percentage of 61.4% 1,106 yards, 5 TDs and 1 INT and a completion percentage of 65.8% Fields played 10 of 17 games last year, so here are his 2024 numbers pro rated out to 17 games 1,880 yards, 9 TDs and 2 INTs and a completion percentage of 65.8% It's pretty clear that expecting immediate results, from QBs or teams, isn't realistic. But you also need to see that progress. I have Williams breaking 4,000 yards this year. If he does, it puts him pretty clearly on a similar trajectory to Peyton Manning. Despite some weird criticism from the press, you gotta LOVE that 6 INT number from last year with all that chaos going on, and all the pressure to be a hero, he was still careful with the ball. Caleb's completion percentage is better than Manning's two first years already. And Fields is left far behind in the dust across the board. Ben Johnson is the perfect mentor for him to learn to play in rhythm - we already know what he can do when things break down. Let's see him get the ball out a little faster. He has certainly shown on some plays that he can do that. if he does it more, and more guys are open which is a big part of it too, I think he will be a top 5 QB in the league. It all comes down to the whole team now. From OL to CB2. Thank god PFF says we have the 4th best OL in the league right now! lol - and all without knowing who will win the LT job LOL. So yeah, game 4, game 8, game 12 we will need to see improvement, and if/when we do, we will know the trajectory of this team for the next few years.

That seems very wise and reasonable. it's not impossible that we gel quickly, but if it doesn't happen that fast that doesnt mean it wont be great by week 8 or 10 etc. Its all good on paper, but it might take a minute to gel, and some pieces may not be what we hope they are. We will see. But good reasons for excitement for sure!

Jurko was asked about his thoughts for when to expect to see if things are working. He mentioned Johnson's first year with Detroit, they went 0-6 to start the season, then went on a heater. He thinks week 9 or 10 for knowing you have something. Previously, he mentioned week 4 for seeing growth with Caleb. I've thought about it myself and think the game 4 analogy is valid, but the game 10 is a little off. I'm thinking 8.

YES. Its been decades since we were here, and I dont want to blow it over some loyalty to a HB or TE2 or something stupid like that. I am confident that Ben Johnson isnt loyal to anyone on the team right now - and thats a good thing. No matter whether you were great last year or terrible, you have this chance to prove it on the grass and be part of this. But I have no patience for the BS - we have a chance to be great, let's not trade that for coddling players who "just need more time come on guys lets give them another chance" etc yuck

This is my current fandom. As a lifelong fan, you understand the ebbs and flows. In the downtime, you want to know specifically why and that it's building to the flow. Get your life jacket if you don't wanna be in the boat. We ain't docking!

yes, excellent stuff. the Ditka Bears werent really built to win shootouts. Its also why you can get to a point as a team where you can reliably beat the bottom 25 teams, but then youre in the elite level along with other teams that are good too - and sometimes one of those teams is just better than you. That's when you leanr you have to dig down and find something more you didnt think you had to give. ANd thats the point where Champions are made. I think about the Bulls having to get past the Pistons. They just couldnt - until they finally became killers. I feel like it's likely this is the year we get good, but we will learn we need to become killers. And this is why so many of us are not impressed by incremental improvement. I dont want to be excited that we become pretty good with a roster thats giving everything. I dont rejoice at 5th round picks that play like 3rd round picks. Im not looking to go 10-7 every year. I want to be f*cking killers. I want to be dominant - so my bar is higher. But i promise you Ben Johnson feels the same way. So some may root for the mediocre players to stick around and try harder, but i want killiers. Either become one, or get out of the way for someone who can. Feel good home town rah rah stuff is for losing teams and super fans. Lets GO.

Hopefully Stinger's surgery went well and he is recovering today. Ice up son, we got some Fantasy Football coming up.

I will add one extra player, but from Special Teams. I think we are going to see an elite Tory Taylor with fewer total punts, but his yards per punt and % inside the 20 will go up.