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Ozzy is already better than Theo and peak Braxton. He’s not perfect but there won’t be any looking back now because any team can win with how well he is playing right now. It only gets better from here. I’m watching this film a second time because it is fun watching Darnell against Jalen Carter. It’s fun watching Dalman against Jordan Davis so might need to have a 3rd view. This Dline is very talented so our guys did not win on every snap but they won the vast majority of them.

If he continues to progress of course you're right but I though even as a rookie, he would start at LT after the Jones injury but Theo forced his way in there. I am not going to count him out although I just looked and he isnt signed for next year. There may be a few teams to give him a few bucks considering how tough the LT spot is hard to fill. I think with our success a lot of players will want to come back here even on a minimum deal.

And they are all signed beyond this year

The national press is starting to get it.

The LT competition is over.

Olin called it the best OL in the league, Im running with that evaluation. After some failed seasons, Poles (in his 4th year of his 5 yr plan ) has this roster cooking. We still have a few weaknesses but overall has us a playoff team. Hiring Johnson and drafting Caleb will be his legacy. Sure Caleb has a ways to go but he makes big plays at the end of the game that keeps us winning. That throw to Kmet was his best throw this year .(IMO) Running to the left throwing against your body and floated it to Cole when the original play was a Swift pass for a first down was huge for the win. His ability to escape, runs well, manages the game late in the 4th are huge traits. His down side of poor efficiency and bad decisions some times are fixable traits. To be at this point in time with our QB only playing mediocre is huge. Once he gets his act together this offense will be averaging in the mid thirties in points.

As we look at roster construction Poles finds bargains along the way Gardener- Johnson, NaShoun Wright-DeMarco Jackson. I think this is a spot he excels at . Plenty to criticize him for but the overall picture has us 9-3 and more victories to come this year. I had him graded a C- going into the year but his draft is turning out to be great and some of the cheap FA additions have added a lot. Jarrett hasnt play well because of injuries but I have notice him the last few games as he has gotten healthier. Dayo appears a bust type but not playing now leaves that in limbo. The OL additions was a home run. Dead money for next year is only 542 thousand which is playing the game well.

This is our OL for the next two years and we have the backups on the team already. Kiran, Theo, Newman . I think they bring McFadden and Stromberg back for the other OL backup spots. I didnt see the investment of Johan Jackson as a good idea at the start of the season but he is cooking now. LT was the weak spot and Ozzy and Theo will compete there next yr. Kiran may be back in the race , injuries has slowed his progress. I dont expect a high pick for the OL in the next draft.

Good catch on Dexter. They might as well let him play out his rookie deal.

As much as I would love to say we run over GB, playing there its going to come down to late game heroics is more likely. We could lose this game and two weeks later beat them here and put us back in the division lead. Blowing teams out will come when Caleb comes more consistent in his play. Running the ball and TOs will give us a chance to win the rest of the games on the schedule and would love if we run the table, just not likely quite yet.

I agree with your comments but Dexter is under contract for next year according to OTC and will be cheap so I dont see him leaving.

I think Wright could come back on a back loaded deal because we are better for cap space in 2027. Someone has to go and money will come into play. I suspect they play with the Cap to work contracts in for 2026 with resigning the most impactful players. I suspect Brisker, and Edmunds may be gone. We have gotten by with cheaper options. Certain contracts just cant be touched until 2027 and it was designed that way for better or for worse. The OL contracts, Jarrett and Dayo . I think as well as Gardner-Johnson has played unless he comes back probably playing SS as a team friendly deal, he wont be back. Byard is a leader and may be a priority so a short team friendly deal may get him to come back. If we have the success it looks like we will have finishing the season, I expect a bunch of complicated contracts will get redone to fit some of the players back in. Edmunds is valuable but we have backups that we can fit in cap space better. I dont pity the work Poles has to do for next year. Swift is another option to get us more cap space and Kmet. I think they redo those contracts to keep them and pay less for 2026. I dont see any big trades or high price FAs coming in because we are up against the Cap. Lots of positions we need to improve but we will draft and count on players getting better. Booker and Turner will be expected to step up next year. I think Dayo plays more inside than outside next year where he has more impact.

Below is a list of upcoming free agents. There's a lot of work to be done. Too bad we don't have some big money guys falling off the books like: Jarrett, Dayo, Montez, DJ and Edmunds. With Newman and Benedet emerging, I could see us trading Jackson or Thuney to gain some picks. Not sure anyone would trade for any of the four defenders. I'm sure we could move DJ in a trade for picks. Who do you think stays and goes out of the free agents? Jonathan Ford DT 630000 CG Johnson CB 650000 Joe Shoyinka DE 729000 Theo Benedet OG 840000 Daniel Hardy DE 1030000 Devin Duvernay ST 1030000 Scott Daly LS 1030000 Jaylon Jones CB 1100000 Nahshon Wright CB 1100000 Demarko Jackson LB 1100000 Elijah Hicks S 1100000 Dom Rob DE 1100000 Nick McCloud CB 1180000 O. Zacheous WR 1500000 Travis Homer RB 1645000 Jonathan Owens S 1925000 Case Keenum QB 2250000 Durham Smythe TE 2500000 Chris Williams DT 3263000 Andrew Billings DT 3320000 Ryan Bates OG 4000000 Jaquan Brisker S 4038000 Kevin Byard S 8500000

Agreed. I forgot him.

Newman too has looked good in limited action.

Was scrolling and found the below. I don't think we'll be heavily investing in OL next year. Trapillo looks like he's ready to be the guy. Benedet can be the next man up at all five positions. If Kiran gets his act together, we're deep for the next two years...

I would be happy to put our first three draft picks on defense. DE, DT and LB

If Brisker leaves via FA, he could get us a comp pick. Dexter needs a contract and personally think he sucks. If keep every other DB except Owens and McCloud. Some players will stay here more cheaply, like Billings and Byard. Need a youth movement at LB. And pass rush is paramount.

unless i am not seeing it, billings has mailed it in this season and last. if they resign him next year for more than league minimum they are crazy. he had a decent game yesterday. before that he just stands around watching the plays go past him. seems lazy and uninterested. his tackle count looks dismal (11 solo and 8 assists in 12 games? yikes) when you consider the amount of opponents running plays up the middle for big yards every week. barely gets any penetration on passing plays. ford doesn't look much better if any. i want to comment also on a topic i posted before.... gambling or at least the fix from refs. the refs, the league and the talking heads are pushing certain teams into the playoffs with piss poor calls on the field and nonsense hype. they want the cowboys in the playoffs and are determined to get them there. if anyone watched the cowboys chiefs game there can be no doubt that the refs are in someones pocket. it was so FREAKIN obvious i can't believe it's not headline news. 3-4 mins left to play and the boys are trying to move downfield and eat the clock. chiefs down by 3. not one, but TWO bogus pass interference calls on the defense giving the boys first downs instead of punting and moving them into chiefs territory. if you watch these two plays it is pass interference, but on the offense. this was so obvious that i can't even believe the booth didn't jump in. another bogus offensive holding call on the chiefs earlier in the game killed a drive. that was a call so minor as to be nonexistant it was mind boggling. the league and fans are sick of the chiefs in it so this is how they are killing them from the playoffs. mcholmes is taking a non call beating and tit for tat penalty calls that used to go in their favor are boomeranged. I dislike the chief organization and truly despise jerry jones and the cowboys but man, if this is what we can expect in the future, welcome to an EVENT and not a sport.

First and foremost is figuring out what we do at safety. Both Brisker and Byard are UFAs this offseason. Byard is getting old but I feel good about getting one more year out of him, potentially two. Brisker is having a good but not great season. His health concerns are a problematic long term risk. I think we sign Byard, let Brisker walk, then draft a safety high for Byard to help come up to speed. Stevenson and Smith are both under contract until 2027 so they stay since they are cheap. Wright would be a good signing but he might cost far more than we can afford especially since I still think he's only backup material.

Right, and we arent going to keep both Gordon and CJGJ as nickel corners. I think CJGJ moves to safety and that solves two problems with one gesture, and keeps all that talent on the field.

I felt the same way when I saw the replay. Izzy has to engage earlier on the play instead of waiting but it’s also a case where you need the DE to get upfield a bit to create the space.

I agree, I think Brisker is gone, and CJGJ takes his place at safety. We can add a 3rd round (or later) pick at safety to develop and for depth too.

Im right with you. I dunno, in some ways Caleb is the best player on the team. That's not to say that I dont see the accuracy issues too. I do. But I think most of it stems from footwork, and i think he is still working on that. I do see improvement every week. Caleb is not a finished product by any means, and thats been true of most of the great NFL QBs in their 2nd year too. Statistically, he is going to post the best season by a Bears QB ever. But by the eye test, we can all agree there is a lot more work to do. For me, that just points at the ceiling of where we can get to with Caleb being extremely high, if he is playing as poorly as you say, and still putting up these numbers? I dont know if Im ready to get on the Super Bowl bandwagon just yet, but I cant disagree that it's possible. This team continues to grow and play together. As for the switch, I think that's just time with BJ, working on footwork etc. I see a bright future ahead for Caleb and our team.

I think the first quarter is scripted stuff, and we do pretty well with that. Then, the opposing defense adjusts, and we have a harder time. I also think during this middle part that Ben keeps his best stuff unused for later. Some plays in the middle are used to set up alternate options later in the game and some are used to scout how the opponent will react to certain things. Then int he 4th quarter, the good stuff comes out, stuff weve been saving, stuff weve been conditioning the defense to expect other things from, and stuff we've scouted during the game. Also, any NFL team with their back against the wall, will have a push in the 3rd quarter. You have to absorb that energy, and then get back on top. I've heard NFL coaches say that thef irst three quarters are really to feel your opponent out, and hopefully stay close, and the real game is the 4th quarter. Johnson is certainly a master strategist, and no one is better at endgame tactics.