Bearstalk

The Bears play a football game in two weeks. Obviously this game is going to be 90% backups and bottom of the roster guys, but we might see some rookies for a couple of plays. I can't believe we are only two weeks away. We made it!

From Warren Sharp. He just posted his secondary rankings and the Bears come in at #4. He had the Bears WR Corps at #3, the O-Line at #12 and the Front Seven at #21. So the average of those 4 units is #10. So I don't know what you think of Caleb Williams, the Bears RBs, Santos and Taylor, but they are all at least top half of the league. So saying the Bears have a top 10 roster is not a stretch at all. The Bears also have the 3rd easiest schedule. So if you have the #10 roster and are playing the 3rd easiest schedule, that has to make you a top 8 team right? It is just simple math. That is a 10-11 win team. So projections having the Bears with double digit …

I guess they were waiting for the cameras, probably asked to by the league. Both are signed. And Caleb didnt try to change the league after all. That was just narrative from before the draft because he didnt have a PR person countering anything so the stories went wild - probably from teams in the top 5 hoping to shake him loose. Anyway the nonsense is over. We have successfully navigated cutting Fields and drafting and signing Caleb. Hopefully now the business of winning comes front and center. And speaking of centers and fronts, I wouldnt be shocked to see us sign Connor WIlliams, another DE or both.

Dalton and Green are the only QB+WR duo to connect for 1K yards passing/receiving as rookies. I think Williams and Odunze have a great shot at that, especially with 17 games. Odunze would need to catch 4.33 balls a game with 13.5 yards per reception. Even with all the other options, it seems like that is very realistic, even for a rookie. Odunze will more than likely get CB2 or 3 on every play, which should be a mismatch in almost every game.

I don't know if the Bears have ever had 3 top 30 WRs on the same roster. I think Allen is probably a little low and Odunze a little high (for a rookie) but regardless, this is impressive nonetheless. #12 - Moore #22 - Allen #29 - Odunze https://www.pff.com/news/nfl-pff-wide-receiver-rankings-top-32-ahead-of-the-2024-nfl-season

Good article with some interesting background on how NB are used. Also the '22 draft was insane for DB talent. https://www.matchquarters.com/p/golden-age-of-the-nickel-defense-titans-mccreary

Right now, as far as I can remember, Rome and Caleb are the only two rookies left to sign their deals. I would be more concerned if it was just Caleb left, but if Rome is still unsigned, then this might just be a formality thing where they show up on Monday, the 15th and sign their deals to start work the next day. I believe it is tied to restrictions that are set in the contracts. There are certain things they can't do once they sign their deals, so I am sure they are just trying to maximize the amount of freedom they have before they are locked down in the contract. Most of the stuff is safety related, but I am sure there are more things in there that they are…

Well earned! If the standard is that you changed the way the game had to be played when you were on the field then nobody is more deserving. Can't wait for the ceremony. https://x.com/ProFootballHOF/status/1812905556815798409

The Chicago Bears rookies, report to training camp next week, July 16. Veterans follow on July 19. This is were the pen and paper dreams unfold into reality and the real excitement begins. There is still some offseason business that needs to be finished by next week, like signing Caleb and Rome, so expect that to be the buzzer to welcome the fans of the start. There will be battles for positions won and lost. A player or two will emerge unexpectedly and some new names mixed in as they get looks at the roster. What will you be watching for as this new era begins?

Taylor is going to be a top 10 Punter, and huge upgrade over limped legged Gill. There has only been 1 rookie punter ever to break 50 yards per punt. I think Taylor joins Stonehouse with his average per punt. Due to a better offense, I don't know how often he will be punting, but I don't think averaging over 50 yards per punt is out of reach for him. The other thing he excels at is pinning team inside their 20. Last season Stonehouse (again), averaged 52.8% of his punts inside the 20. Wishnowsky was the only other punter over 50%. I think Taylor can go 50/50% this year, which would be a top 5 punter in the NFL.

Odunze looks even better than advertised. If not for Caleb, Rome would be the talk of the town. Recently, he talked about breaking Puca's rookie receiving records and talked about how they played together at Washington. That is a great personal goal, but with Moore, Allen, Kmet, Everett, and Swift also looking to eat, I don't think Odunze will break the records, but I still think he will have a better season than most are projecting. There are 28 rookies who broke 1K yards, I think Odunze will do that. There are only 3 players to break 100 catches, Nacua, Waddle, and Boldin. What is interesting to me is there are no other players over 92 receptions, as Michael …

I'm sure most if not all of you have seen this. Still there is a lot of good and sometimes subtle info here to my eyes. The good news is you get to see it yourself, and don't have to rely on anyone's opinion or second hand telling. The first thing I'd note is that Williams looked nervous in his combine interview. He kept his hands in a praying position, which usually means someone really wants something, and he was comforting himself with his thumb and actually kissed his own hand too. All of this is body language evidence that he really wanted to be here. His draft day exuberance also told that story. You can hear our scouts way back before the combin…

There have only been 5 rookie QBs to throw for more than 4K yards, 3 are active, 2 starters. For TDs, surprisingly, only Herbert has thrown for more than 28. For QB Rating, there have only been 4 QBs to end the season over 100. So to have a top 5 rookie season ever, Williams would have to throw for 4,043 yards, 25 TDs, with a QB Rating of 98.4 and a Comp% of 66.5%, for each category. I feel like he has the potential to achieve all of those, especially with 17 games. I was surprised to see Mac Jones on there for yards and Comp%. Top Passing Yards (over 3800) 1. Luck - 4374 2. Herbert - 4336 3. Stroud - 4108 4. Newton - 4051 5. Winston - 4042 6. M. Jo…

Bears are re-signing Mecedes Lewis This is a really good move. He is still an excellent run blocker. One step closer to a completed roster...

PFF has published most of their position group rankings, and I keep seeing multiple Bears on the lists, but in terms of team rankings the Bears are not as high. So right now they have published 11 position groups, and you would hope the Bears would have at least one player per group in the top 32, which would just make them an average team, especially if all the rankings were in the 20s and 30s. For the Bears, they have 16 players listed out of the 11 position groups. Since they didn't have any players listed for DL, that means they had 6 players that are ranked higher than any starter on another team w/o any players listed. They also had 5 position groups with …

There is an article I highly recommend on NFL.com Bent but not Broken: The History of the Rules It is a fascinating article that explains the game's evolution. The article begins with this paragraph:

I'm doing this for WR, please feel free to add other positions. Since the Jefferson deal, I'm questioning what we do with WR in the future. We are currently on a great position with having three 1's in the room. For future purposes, do we draft a WR annually to ensure the pipeline is full or do we pay 35+ million to re-sign our own? Looking at Dallas, they are going to have to pay CD the same as JJ to keep him. Add 60 mil to Dak and it seems untenable. Especially with their EDGE rusher wanting a record contract as well.

NFL is investigating the FA signings of Saquon and Cousins per shefty. Expecting loss of draft picks - potentially more severe for Falcons vs. Eagles. Some swirling reports that maybe the Giants/Vikings actually pick up the lost picks. Would Falcons lose their 1st rounder (or will it be a lesser pick or a future pick) and beyond that - will Vikings potentially get that pick. Could have major implications on Bears positioning - especially if NFL set a tone and took away #8 pick (I would be shocked - I'm expecting something like a 2nd or 3rd rounder if they wanted to come down hard).

https://youtu.be/t4bvypCdLFo?si=lYlE29fKmNvhePsk