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top ten O and D

he's a boowling ball of wrecking force.

The Bears went from Fields, Foreman, Mooney, St. Brown, Tonyan, Whitehair, and Patrick to Williams, Swift, Allen, Odunze, Everett, Bates, and Shelton in one offseason. It is hard to see this not being a top 12 offense. According to DVOA, the Bears had the 22nd best offense last year. 10 spots seems like a huge leap, but when you improve in every position group, 10 spots seems possible. If the team went 7-11 with 3 terrible losses, 10 wins seems like the floor as they should've had 10 last season. Playing the last place schedule, there are not many dominant teams on their schedule.

I heard someone talking gen stats and said he will account for 3 more first downs a game. Related to putting the other team in jeopardy and us in better field position.

+1 yard in Net punting = 7 pts. Gill was dead last. Just say Taylor add 2 yds onto that number. That equates to 14 pts on the season, which would've probably added 2 wins to the team last year. Also, some are speculating that he could also be the kickoff guy if he can kick like he punts, pinning teams deep in their own zone. So we will have to see how it plays out. If he is a top 5 punter for the next decade, great pick. If he is middle of the road or worse, probably a bad pick because most of the top 10 punters are UDFAs right now.

That would be great.

We just have to look at Gill last year when we needed a good punt and didn't get it and a team drove for a score late in a game. This will drastically change. I can see us in the NFC title game and we have a lead, A good punt put them at the 3 yard line and they have to drive the length of the field with 50 seconds left. We win the game.

Hmm... what do we have here? You've got the arm length and strength needed to set the edge. With a 1.6 10yd split on his forty he has a very quick first step which can be seen when he lines up at 3-tech. Watching these highlights he's got a little bend to him. Competition level is an obvious concern but there are highlights here where he is shedding a double team to make a tackle. 600lbs of whatever is still 600lbs. They used him across the front too which won't help his development at DE but does showcase his versatility. Very similar to DeMarcus Walker but quicker.

Of course it's an unknown but Poles has been making some good moves lately, I trust him to know what he's doing. He has two potential answers to the problem plus backup if injured. Its not a Connor Williams ( who is still available) but definitely an upgrade.

The anchoring part is somewhat of a comfort, because Patrick was a Matador. I guess I need to hit the film instead of bitching about what I want.

Bates is a lot stronger anchoring than Patrick. He just doesn’t always have the best footwork. As long as he gets it right early in the block he’s good. Can the coaches get him to avoid the missteps? Caleb and I both hope so.

for sure they do, yes, but that's not a high bar LOL

well no, you still have your safeties playing their shell, whatever it is. Im not talking about an 11 man blitz, but i am talking about flowing to one side or another, and shooting linebackers into gaps as a guess at the play. The downside of being wrong is a 10 yard play, and then it's just 1st and 10 on the 30 or whatever. The defensive playcalling is different when you have 65+ yards at your back to defend, just like it changes across mid field and again in the red zone when the field gets short. We just havent seen it much because our opponents usually start with better field position than that. Not anymore though, for several reasons. One is our offense, and another is out new punter

Or if the DC guesses wrong, it could be an 80-yard touchdown. LOL Roll the dice. 😉

We had Whitehair, Patrick, Kramer and Feeney last year. Do Bates and Shelton have any better pedigree?

I think we have two options at center now in Bates and Shelton. The loser of that competition can compete at guard as well.

I agree we arent an attacking defense per se, although as the roster gets better, we may do that more. I dunno. But being able to guess on first down that its a run to the right for example, rather than playing it all honestly, gives you the chance to guess right, and put the opponent into a passing situation. You cant play those first down guesses as the opponent gets near to midfield where you have to defend everything. Basically, with 65+ yards at your back, you can afford to guess wrong on first down, and you can possibly guess right and get the ball back. That's what a good punter can do for you, even if youre not a blitz heavy team.

I hope you are right. You are taking about a guy that couldn't start for his team and an inexperienced Ivy League tackle. Sounds like regurgitated Patrick BS to me...

It can absolutely help an opportunistic defense. What I have seen from Flus's D is bend but don't break. So, is it really a weapon when you give up the yards until the field shrinks at the 25 yard line? The 85 Bears would absolutely use that as a weapon, as they were always in attack mode. I hope I'm wrong, but I just don't see the big advantage. Did Poles finally play the smartest guy in the room role or is he simply the smartest guy in the room? The difference makes all the difference...

One thing about field position that I rarely if ever see discussed is that when the opposing team takes the ball on their own 20 (lets say) the defensive coordinator can afford to gamble on first down. If he guesses right, it puts them into a passing situation where the defense dictates tempo. And if they guess wrong, it's just first and 10 on the 30. By the time you get to midfield, the defense has to play more honestly, defending everything. So if a Punter gives you the field position to gamble on one or two more first downs, it dramatically increases the likelihood that youll get the ball back with good field position. In turn, you want to see Caleb getting the ball at the 40, and not backed up on his own 10. And of course if we can pin other teams inside their own 10 yard line, that gives the defense a real shot at quick stops, safeties, and turnovers. So a great punter can do more than just get you a few more yards in field position, it can allow your defense to get the ball back quickly, and give our offense good field position to start drives, where the opposing defense cant have the same advantage I just described.

If he gives the defense an advantage and helps put them into the top 5, it's a smart move and worth considering over the dline. Now for Flus to tighten his dbs so we get those quick 3 and outs and hand Caleb a short field.

and if Fields is not your starter, you can actually let him run with less fear of injury, and as an open field runner, Fields is GREAT, he just cant be allowed to do that AND be the starting QB. I might even experiment with Fields as a kick returner if Im Pittsburgh.

Yeah, it is wishful thinking. He will probably see maybe 30% of the snaps. I am sure they will get him in the line up to keep the defenses on their toes.

he has off the chart leadership qualities for sure. I think he will bring the leadership fire I wanted from Harbaugh to offset Eberflus' steadier demeanor. And that works well too. On some teams the QB is the "bad cop" leader with the insatiable desire to win. Surely Brady yelled at players and coaches in his single minded efforts to win at all costs.