Pixote

I personally do not see the "Larry O contract" to be a "public mishap." They attempted to make an excellent FA signing. IMO, Poles had no way of knowing for sure if Larry O would pass or fail his team physical. One would assume he would pass, right? Poles did exactly the right thing, voiding the contract. If Larry O rehabs and can pass the physical, it would be great to have him resign. Word is he was upset at Bears for voiding his contract. WHY? It is common practice to require the passing of a team physical before a FA signing, or a trade, is finalized. If he is truly upset because Poles voided his deal upon failing the physical (which Larry O probably knew was a possibility) then boo hoo. Sign somewhere else.

I'm not so sure Trevis Gipson can be considered a surprise to any Bear Fan. I honestly believe Gipson will break out with double digit sacks and give us better production than K Mack did during his last two years. "IF" we don't trade Quinn, they will make a very good pair of pass rushers for our D.

I was looking forward to watching Pringle this summer. I had high expectations. After reading the article you linked, I wouldn't be at all surprised if Pringle is the surprise player for the Bears' offense questioned in another thread. I hope Fields gets extra time with all his WRs before camp begins to gain chemistry with them. I know he had Mooney working with him in the off season. We need Jones and Pringle to join them for some extra workouts.

Steelers' DL Stephon Tuitt just announced his retirement at age 29. He was a top shelf player that Pitt will be looking to replace. I mention this because if Poles is looking to fill our 3T DL vacancy through FA, we now have a major competitor. If we snooze, we lose.

Hicks was top shelf when healthy. Unfortunately, he began to spend too much time as a spectator on the sidelines, or at home on IR. I know NFL salaries are crazy nowadays, but under the circumstances, 10M for a 1 yr deal seems a bit risky.

I read today that Flus is excited about Fields' ability to throw accurately deep, downfield. (Something he was known for at Ohio State). Couple that with the crazy speed Poles has brought into the WR Room and it makes me excited imagining what this offense will be like. Fields rolling out of the pocket, throwing to Jones over the middle or downfield to Mooney, OR running the ball. Our offense should cause opposing DCs to have a few sleepless nights preparing for us. Pass the Kool-Aid =

NFL.com, BearsWire, NBCSports, WindyCityGridiron, etc... I've searched everywhere I usually go for news on the Bears and no one is posting anything about this rape allegation. I would have to believe if there was an ounce of credibility it would be all over the news.

Also agree. I'm reading that some predict we would get draft picks in exchange for Quinn that would equal or possibly eclipse that which was received for Von Miller. The added bonus, if such a trade took place, is that we will have even more cap space for the next FA period.

I'm anxious to see what happens after June 1st cuts. With 15M in his bank, is Poles waiting to see all options available to him before he makes any further moves? It would make sense. There will be a few more surprise moves before the season begins.

I suspect it is time for him to retire from the NFL and move on. He had trouble recovering from previous knee injury, This may be just too much for him to overcome. I hope I'm wrong.

Sorry, I know this is not "Bears" related. Watching reruns on NFL Network today, a question came to mind that I'm sure one of you guys could answer for me. Are there any black place kickers or punters in the NFL? I cannot think of any.

The G Gabriel interview was fantastic. I really enjoyed listening to this guy. I feel a lot more confident in our WR room after listening to his take. I truly believe St Brown and Pringle are going to shut up a lot of critics. Mooney, St Brown, Pringle, & Jones are going to be a huge upgrade for Fields to target. As far as the OL, I have my fingers crossed. This should be Poles' strength because of his background. Are the pieces to the puzzle already aboard or is he biding his time to pick up a vet fa after the dust settles?

I'm also optimistic. Much easier schedule & improved coaching staff will give us a boost in the win column over last year. Add to that some solid roster moves by Poles & Flus and I see no reason why we can't be in the 9 to 10 win spot. In a 17 game run, for us to win slightly more than 50% of our games is not unreasonable.

There has been an essay by Tarik Cohen published. It had to be one of the most difficult stories I have ever read. The personal tragedies that Tarik has experienced are so extreme it's amazing he was able to survive. To resist the temptation to commit suicide. A link to the full essay is below. I know Tarik is no longer with the Bears, but I always liked the guy. Was sorry to see him released, even though I could understand why he had to be let go. I hope everyone takes a few minutes and reads his self portrait. Letter to My Younger Self - by Tarik Cohen

I'm sorry but I must ask, what in the hell would Kirkwood add to our roster? Do we really need to sign any more camp bodies? There is nothing I have read about this guy that, IMO, would justify his signing or his taking up a roster spot.

Adam, Great writeup. Loved your analysis and agree with you 100%. Thanks for taking the time to put that together for us.

I'm not much for highlight films, they can be so misleading. If you made a highlight film of my life, you would think I was an angel. Like I said they can be misleading. I did watch the one for Jack Sanborn since many of you seem high on him. He looked awesome. Did Eberflus' defense in INDY incorporate a lot of LB blitzes? If the answer is yes, Sanborn could fit right in.

It's certainly an eye opener. A very well researched article. Does anyone know why he transferred to Tennessee? I assume that the change of teams/systems may have slowed his development. He also, like many others, had a lost season because of Covid. The damn pandemic slowed the development of many players. So I wonder, if he hadn't changed systems (why did he?) and wasn't slowed by the pandemic, would he have had his breakout year a year or two sooner? Would this have changed the entire discussion (skillfully presented)? I'm hoping this proves to be the exception to the rule established by the writer's research because of the variables I mentioned.

I also read this about Brisker and Gordon. Amazing! A combined one TD allowed over the course of 2 years by the duo is awesome.; The fact that they did this while playing disciplined, penalty free football, equally amazing (especially when you see how many penalties our secondary was guilty of last year). I've read so many good things about V Jones. Why some knock him just because he is 25 yrs old baffles me. It's not like he is a washed up veteran on his last contract before forced retirement. LOL I'm anxious to see if our new OC can make use of this man's unique talent set. If he can, we may have the next Deebo.

I was thrilled to see Cliff Stein back in charge of getting our guys signed. However, FWIW, I was surprised when I read about KC today. Like Chicago, they also signed 7 of their 2022 draft picks. The difference being KC's signings included two 1st rounders and a 2nd round pick. Impressive. Stein has always signed late picks first, then moves on to early picks. Historically, this has always been a very successful strategy, usually resulting in the Bears being the first team to sign all of their picks.

I doubt Finke makes it to the first cut deadline. Camp fodder. At best, practice squad. Teams always pick up extra players for preseason, min contract, no cap implications.

When I first saw someone post that Monty was trash, I thought he was joking. Or that it was sarcasm. Or he was baiting to get us riled up. Or ?????? LOL Seriously, Montgomery is solid. I love him in a Bears' Uni. Unfortunately, teams are reluctant to award RBs with big contracts after their rookie deal expires. He will probably be allowed to walk. Trestan Ebner could be his eventual replacement ????

Not much to add. I agree. For someone referred to as a plodder, Trestan Ebner sure made a lot of defenders look very slow. He was pulling away from everyone in the highlight film. After seeing the video, I love Elijah Hicks. LOL The kid is really pumped up and excited to be a Bear. I'm excited that we addressed a very weak secondary by picking up two great prospects, a Safety and a Cornerback. I also liked the Velus Jones pick. We'll see how good our new OC is at utilizing his skills. A player who I think is a sleeper? Already signed. Pringle. I honestly think he could be an awesome chess piece for Fields. I suspect Poles thinks so also. The guy was on a team (KC) that had a ton of weapons. When called upon, he delivered. Given the opportunity, I suspect Pringle could be an 80+/1000+ receiver. Knowing Poles background, I trust he has a plan for our OL. I will be anxious to see how it develops between now and opening day.

Zachary Thomas, San Diego State - OT with or first 6th rounder

Poles swears he wants to draft players who love FB and has good character. So if Braxton fits that mold, there will be no trouble for him to get stronger with the Bears' trainers in the weight room.