BearFan PHX

this isnt a podcast, but its short and sweet. https://www.facebook.com/reel/711973231810707

This is great news - I was concerned that if he didn't it would put him out of alignment with the team this year and could lead to frustrations and problems. Cant wait to see all the rookies in camp and preseason!

According to my TTNL guys, Burden has signed with a fully guaranteed deal.

OK and just as I am typing this... The Bears blinked, and Burden has signed a fully guaranteed deal. Glad to have him in the fold!!

I mostly agree with all of this. You definitely were not overreacting. It was a real problem, and thanks should go to the 49ers and the DT that signed and broke the logjam below the #10 spot. There was real progress here in the players' direction. 87% guaranteed rather than the 40% that was usual before. And good for the players! This still leaves picks 3 thru 9 in limbo though, including Burden. I hope he signs quickly, but Im not sure the SF DT signing will affect the players taken above him? I do hope we get him signed quickly, but Im not sure what will happen. The video Stinger posted as a "rebuttal" to what "I said" (when I was really just repeating every journalist on earth that was talking about this story) was crazy, and as you pointed out Mongo, and I had missed this, the video was a month ago, so not even relevant. But time had already proven that video guy wrong. Im not sure Stinger even understood what that guy in the video was even saying. Anyway, we got Trapilo and Turner signed, and those were the two I was most worried about. I do think Burden has the possibility of being a head case (like so many great WRs) so i wonder 1) if he will find a middle in this, or hold out for fully guaranteed unless or until someone above him signs for less 2) if he will be able to get into the lineup if he misses more time with the time 3) if not getting enough targets will sour him and make him a malcontent Im not predicting anything, these are just my concerns with him.

That is crazy. I said that there was a logjam in the second rounders because the first two had been given fully guaranteed contracts, and now agents were holding out for the same for their clients. Thats been backed up by pretty much everyone. i didnt think it was controversial at all. Then you took my post, reposted it and responded with a video of a guy who said that was all made up and didnt exist, and was just idiots on the internet. He was wrong, you are wrong. You said you were amplifying what Mongo said, but Mongo also knew there was a logjam. I posted a tweet from Ian Rappaport about it. If that doesnt make it true, I dont know what does. The rest of this is just an attempt to cover your stupid and wrong video with some personal nonsense. I dont know why you listened to that moron that no ones ever heard of before, but he was 100% wrong. Last year 2nd round picks were getting 40% guaranteed, now when the logjam broke it was for a deal where the player got 87% guaranteed. I said the players were likely to win this, and it seems they have. 2nd round picks above the 10th taken, where SF signed the DT, are still holding out for guaranteed money, including Burden. Its a real thing - this no name you posted is the only one i ever heard say it wasnt true, well and you. I truly dont get you dude, half the time youre reasonable, and the other half its this absolute nonsense and you dig in and start defending it like a 4th grade argument. EDIT - Is it possible that you didnt understand what the guy in the video you posted said? Were you drinking maybe? Is that what this is all about?

In Ben Johnson we (currently?) trust

No it was just stupid. The 2nd rounders absolutely were waiting for the teams to offer them fully guaranteed money, or a player to sign with out it. They were all log jammed. He was just wrong. He seems like some rando who has no idea what hes talking about. I dont know why you posted it, I assume you agreed with it which is why you posted it. And if you agreed that the 2nd round logjam was made up and not real, then that's some really deep level nonsense. Picks 3 thru 9 are still unsigned, including Burton. Anyway, you can see the Ian Rappaport tweet I shared, so if you still think it was made up, I dont know what to tell you. And since you quoted my explanation of the issue above, I assume you also think this somehow rebutted what i was saying. So that's pretty dumb too. What I said was true, and again, its not because Im some amazing NFL insider - the story has pretty much been everywhere. Im kinda baffled why you even did that, but if you think it's not real, then enjoy that. I dont know what to say.

The guy in the video you just posted didnt understand the guaranteed money issue. Thankfully the 49ers DT signed, and that opened up the possibilities for everyone that signed below him. he's pretending that nothing happened, and this is all normal based on the date on the calendar, but he's wrong. There was a logjam, and as far as I know there still is for picks 3 thru 9 in the 2nd round. So it was real. He is 100% wrong, and who the hell is he anyway? Let's also see what % of these contracts are guaranteed vs last year. You watch a lot of nonsense dude.

Turner and Trapilo were both taken after the 49ers DT, so that signing broke the logjam. Burden was taken above that, so he may still be stuck in limbo. I hope Burden ends up being a stud for us, he certainly has the tools, but he also has some head stuff (like all good WRs?) so i dunno if we can count on him being signed by camp. But, he's also nursing an injury, so maybe the signing date is less impactful. It is really important to get Trapilo in there if hes going to make a case for starting. And Turner needs to be in there too. So good news today!

OK, first one to sign since the roadblock happened today. DT Alfred Collins, who was taken 43rd (2nd round pick #10) signed a four year $10.3M deal with $9M of it guaranteed. I think the players are going to mostly win this one. 9/10.3 is 87% guaranteed. And its not THAT much cap money. Bears shouldnt get cute here. let 2 or 3 more sign, get a sense of whats going on and then match it. https://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/49ers-break-the-seal-on-second-round-signees-as-alfred-collins-contract-may-pave-way-for-others-to-sign/

i with you. of the 30 unsigned 3rd rounders, 3 of them are ours, or 10%. What a massive pain in the ass.

Oh man Im sorry then! I really thought you thought that!

yes! football needs this or it's a joke. 100% I want teams to think "oh crap we have the Bears this week, that's gonna be a physical game" Accountability, aggression, desire and an expectation of greatness have been lacking for decades, and this staff looks very different.

That's because despite the PFF insane ratings, Braxton is not that good. And last year the league showed us that they know he cant stand up to a bull rush. And they picked key downs to use that move on him. And now hes been out of action, out of the weight room, and nursing an injured ankle. I dont see how anyone expects him to play, and especially be ready to be tested int he strength game, when he was lacking before the injury? We spend all this money on the interior of the line, a first round pick at RT, a 2nd round and a 3rd round pick sitting in the wings (Amagadje and Trapilo) at LT not to mention receiving weapons, and a $14M a year head coach to put Caleb Williams in position to grow, and then have Braxton Jones at LT? It just doesnt go with the rest of the aggressive team overhaul. It would be such a glaring difference in quality to the rest of the roster. I mean, not only is Braxton Jones not in the top ten LTs in the league, he's not even the 2nd best OT on his own team. Trapilo who hasnt played an NFL down yet is probably a better choice. Darnell Wright is a better LT. Maybe even Amagadje? Braxton could be 3rd or even 4th! Braxton has given more than ever could have been expected from him. On bad teams, he played LT and only cost a 5th round pick. That's great. It really is. But it's time. And Poles sees this coming too, even last year with Amagadje, and this year with Trapilo. This bruised tomato is a bargain, we can make a nice sauce with it. Cool. But if you want to get Michelin stars, and win a Superbowl, youve got to offer more than just value as a player - youve got to do your part to dominate your opponent, and i dont think anyone thinks Braxton Jones can do that. Trapilo is huge, he moves well, I need to see it under fire at NFL speed and strength, but he has potential to be a difference maker, Jones could never say that.

Poles has been very good at several things. (in no order) 1) Having the guts to do the teardown, trade Roquan etc. It's not like there was any real risk to it, but he had to know wed suck for a couple years. 2) Trading out of the #1 pick in 2023. He couldnt have been sure that we'd end up with Caleb, but there are at least four QBs from last years draft that are better than Young. Sure he could have seen the crystal ball on Stroud, but then again with all the picks he got, and to still end up with a shot at several good QBs - it was the right move. 3) Cutting Justin Fields loose. For me that was a no brainer, but there were a LOT of people saying the other way, so he had the balls to do it. 4) Hiring BEn Johnson and his staff - lots of great names in there, lots of youth, experience, players - looks really good. 5) Being cap disciplined. I know he knows what to do from his KC days, and he has stayed on with the plan. He's made some poor talent evaluations too, and keeping Eberflus was... well yeah. But in terms of knowing the plan and sticking to it he's been really good. Now comes the tough part - player evaluations. No one is perfect, but he needs to start hitting a bunch of home runs in a row. Let's see how this draft shakes out.

no doubt, adam is awesome with his contributions - love all those stats. seriously, I think this board is the best place for Bears content. it beast the hell out of ESPN and all those types. I learn more here.

I think Courtney Cronin is smart and gets it. Shes one of the best in my opinion. When she's on some of these other podcasts, like with Pat the Designer, she has to play along, but I feel like sometimes shes thinking "what the hell am I doing here?" I haven't watched much of this yet, and I get why the exercise is good - it promotes conversation - but Im not really into top 10 lists anyway. I feel like the whole team is connected, and weakest links are the problem? So maybe a top 5 positions on the Bears that we are worried about list would be my style LOL For me that'd be: 1) Pass Rush 2) LT 3) HB 4) Safeties, especially depth 5) WR3 But most important would be a mix of biggest concerns and necessary leaders So off the top of my head, and I havent seen Courtney's list at all, so maybe I am in line with it, and maybe not I dunno: Most Important Bears 1) Caleb Williams - I know you agree - we cant go any further than he can take us. And this is a critical year for him. 2) Ben Johnson - he has to set the entire culture for the team, he is also super important 3) Dennis Allen - he has to get the defense in shape 4) The OL - I mean all of them. 5) WR1 - Rome should step up and claim the title, but if not, then DJ has to be it, but we need a guy easily over 1,000 yards 6) The DL - you cant beat good teams without a pass rush 7) The secondary - they have been great, but they are obviously very important 8- RB1 9) Colston Loveland - he will be a huge part of the team, and he can make himself important by balling out, if he has a slow start the team can still survive that, so he's less important now, but if he is a stud, he becomes very important 10) LBers - Tremaine Edmunds can step up (like I said about Loveland) or he can become irrelevant, but TJ Edwards is important!

amen

I like to hope we still would have skipped QJ. That said, Im not sure Burden isnt a head case too. He gives me Claypool vibes. I hope Ben Johnson and Antwan Randle El can get him right.

hes just a pounder anyway. I think RJ can do everything QJ can.

they are fools. OR theyre smart and looking for clicks not the truth? either way it's as trashy as the national enquirer. same with PFF. but i dont care - the games are won and lost on the field, and Im so sick of winning the offseason. I used to love the hype, but it has gotten me sick so many times, I just cant anymore. I have no patience for it, whether its pro Bears or anti Bears. I want us to dominate - THAT will be fun.

Another perfect example of how the bloggers and talking heads are full of crap. ESPN is supposed to be a flagship - like a major source. It's BS season, and all the hype is crap. Even if a team turns out to have a great year, what they say about them now has nothing to do with it. The click farmers throw this gruel out there and the fan boys just lap it up. But the reality is coming, and I think the Bears stand a good chance of being great, not in articles, but on the field. But it doesn't happen because of praise, it happens because of hunger, and dedication. hours of hard work and wanting it more than the other guy. In this sense, praise works against your team.

Im actually not criticizing the number of them. Thats fine. I just think a lot of them are so dumb. Not because of you. In fact, i think it's the other way around. I think they are dumb first, then you see them, and then if you restate what they say, it sounds dumb - because theyre dumb. Guys like Swifty, Pat the Designer, Kurt Warner, etc I just dont get it. The things they say are all narrative driven - all little soundbytey things. I think maybe they arent dumb. Maybe their job is to get eyeballs, so rather than doing good analysis they do whatever fits a story best. Like the idiots who focused on Calebs fingernails instead of his mechanics. Theres a whole world of sports entertainment out there, and a lot of it is absolute trash. Same with the takes on Twitter, etc that repeat those narratives. It's like a BS echo chamber. But this thread is a fine place to post them, even if i keep disagreeing with them. I *DO* appreciate you not positing the story that PFF says we have the #4 OL in the league. That is like a perfect storm of douchiness. First off, PFF is notoriously weird with OL ratings. Secondly, how can we be #4 if we dont even know who our LT is? They have Braxton starting. And Im not even saying that we cant be the #1 OL in the league! On paper we look good. Course we looked good on paper last year too, and it was a disaster. Not saying i expect the same this year tho - this years paper is quite a bit better than last years. But Im just so sick of winning the offseason. Also, we'd better get those 2nd rounders signed. I know the problem is league wide, but we need to get that done.

We can. And I agree, we gotta see it on the field. My guess is Marshawn Lynch wasnt a model citizen, but Id sure like him at his height on our team. If Judkins was a chiorboy and didnt dominate on the field, no one would care that he was a good guy, so youre right - it's what you do on the field that matters - assuming what you do off it doesnt stop you from being on it. It's just after years of flowery media and all the suffering we've done, i want a team that can actually play and not just win the offseason. That's why I hate the youtube videos that get down to UDFA players and how they could be all pro players LOL We are strong in areas, and i still have some concerns and i think we have holes. So I want to deal with all of that honestly, in hopes of fixing it. Previous coaches and GMs have held on to players too long, and I dont want anything to screw this up. Now its not like i think what you or I say affects what the Bears do - like Kmet's future for example. You and i have no actual affect on it. But we talk about it, and so we are playing GM in a way when we do, so i dont want to coddle anyone. i dont want any rosy headlines. i wanna grind and push people around on the field. ANd if someone is soft, I want them to be replaced with someone who isnt. Like you Im sure, Im sick to death of feeling like a clown in front of Green Bay fans. I know I would push back so why wont my team? Well hopefully now they do. And I want Johnson kicking their asses until they get tough - I want teams to know when they have played a game against us.