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It was one example of DJ Moore giving a half effort among many. It's not that former NFL QB JT OSullivan (QB School on youtube) is the ultimate authority, its just that he rightly showed DJ phoning it in. There are many examples of it. I dont understand why people get so stuck on players and dont want to improve the roster with better players.

Its time to rebuild the defense. Last year the plan was clearly to stock the offense and get it going. Dont be shocked if there are wholesale changes to this defense. We are slow and built for Cover 2, and we have no pass rush. We will look a lot different next year. Last year at this time you said two new starters on the OL (I said four). You were saying how Tevin Jenkins and Braxton Jones would play better. By now, everyone knows your loyalty to players on the roster. But the guys who arent Ben Johnson guys, not Dennis Allens guys, the ones that got drafted under Eberflus are all under the microscope. And i think there is gonna be a lot more roster turnover than people expect.

Its not a bad idea for a thread. I see how the dots line up, why it is an idea. But I think if we are considering letting DJ go because of his attitude and commitment, then we shouldnt take on another one with issues. One of the benefits of moving on from DJ would be a strong message to every player that they are replaceable if they dont keep a high standard of play. I wouldnt lose that for a WR3 at best? Also, to be fair, I've been one to argue that we need to trade Moore, and for me I saw it as keep him as he is, or trade him decision. The TTNL guys last night were talking about restructuring options that I thought made a lot of sense and might be a third way if we choose to keep him. I still think we're better off with a 3rd round pick than to restructure and keep him, but I wanted to say that the all or nothing way I was looking at his contract isn't the entire picture. I didnt think there were realistic options that gave so much cap relief. Anyway, here's the TTNL link If you dont want to watch the whole thing, fast forward to 36:25 for the cap section. Watch for at least 7 minutes to get to $64M in cap space. It's the kind of analysis you really dont get anywhere else, and its really smart and informed. It's never narrative driven, and these guys really know what theyre talking about.

someone please explain to him, that i didnt say anything fighty at all. Please. This is exactly how it all happened last time. You all saw my reaction, but you never noticed the months building up to it. Hes also fighting with other members right now too. All this to say, please dont blame me, Im avoiding all of that as much as possible.

Just trading DJ and Edmunds alone would increase our cap by $31M If you trade sweat, thats another $17M of cap space and another 3rd round pick. If you trade Jaylon Johnson, thats another $6.5M and probably at least a 2nd round pick. We'd get another $10M each if we could trade Dayo and/or Garrett, but i dont imagine we would have any takers, and the benefit of cutting them is much smaller. Kmet would get us another $8M, but i feel like he might just be a little overpriced. If they want to keep him, that works too. I think hes a little expensive, hes been a decent TE2, and usually those dont get paid $11.6M. It could go either way. If you could get a 2nd rounder for him, i think you do it. So you can trade DJ, Edmunds, Sweat and JJ for $54.5M in cap space and a 2nd, two 3rds and a 4th. I would do all of that, pick up a big name edge rusher like Crosby or Garrett, and draft DL. Add in Booker, Shemar Turner and Dexter at nose, and you might have the makings of a plan. We would need help at 3T, LB, CB and S but we'd have room and picks for that. It's a bold move, cleaning house like that, but I think thats exactly the kind of thing Johnson will want to do.

This past week, when Mike Tomlin resigned from being head coach of the Steelers, some professional race hustler and national commentator accused the Steelers of being a racist organization. So, um, the owners are the Rooneys, famous for creating the Rooney rule? So definitely not racist. In fact all these teams want to win and make money more than they care about ANYTHING else, especially race. I think the some people in this national discussion have good motives, and some have bad ones. But all in all the idea that the NFL is racist is laughable. Certainly there are racist people in this world, but I wonder if creating special categories for people based on race doesnt do more to feed the race baiters such as the commentator I mentioned than it does to solve anything with good people of all races. I feel the same about DEI. Racism sucks. Race baiters suck. I dont think the NFL is racist, but I think because of their willingness to bow to some of these demands, it just invites more accusations of racism by those who arent concerned with fairness, but just want to make political points. And then there is the question of how Black is someone? If they have one Black parent is that enough? What about a single Black grandparent? People like Hitler and the KKK were asking those same questions. This is a farce. But all that said, if some stupidity gets us two 3rd round picks, then Ill take them.

probably a third rounder and to get him off of our books so we have $16M more in cap room to spend on the defense.

First off, no one is using anyone as a whipping boy - thats when you unfairly blame someone. This correct analysis of DJ Moore is fair and deserved. Did you see what JT OSullivan called that play? "F--- You effort" was what he called DJ's lack of caring. When you use someone as a whipping boy that means you have some psychological issue: that youre a bully. So again, noticing DJs faults is not a matter of the person noticing them being mean, or unfair or psychologically deficient. It's because DJ has taken a lot of plays off. Hes been lazy and not reliable. Secondly, GMs around the league see the tape. They dont need posters on this site to tell them what is true about DJ, so the idea that we all need to pretend hes not flawed so its easier to trade him is nuts. its just another way to try to stop people saying anything negative. This is feeling very Justin Fields all over again. Here on a Bears discussion board it really is OK to say one of the players isnt giving a consistent effort. It's not traitorous. Its not a sign of a psychological deficiency. It's just an opinion, widely held by many so called experts too. But most of all, it's on the film. And as for his cap number - this trade scenario was easy to see the moment we drafted Luther Burden. We were talking about this in July - remember? I remember saying that DJ, Kmet and Swift were on the bubble. And so they are. It wasnt dark magic, or a crystal ball. It wasnt someone saying they are smarter than everyone or being mean. It's just there in the contracts and salary cap numbers. Now I gotta admit, Swift has played well. Im not saying that because suddenly Im a psychological lover. Its just because his performance on tape is what it is. Some day he will be replaced, but i think he played himself back on the roster - doing things id really not seen from him before. But Kmet? He didnt play up to his cap number, and Dj surely hasnt either. This isnt about being nice or mean. We have to get past these simplistic and childish ways of looking at player evaluations. The tape and the contracts can and will decide the plan going forward. And if you wanted a culture and accountability - then here's our chance to stand by those words. And anyway, even if we dont, Ben Johnson isnt gonna play games. He knows what time it is.

We spent top draft picks on Williams, Odunze, Loveland, Burden and Wright. No one is dismantling the offense. Those are our core players. Moore, Swift and Kmet were/are all place holders until someone better comes along. None iof them s the kind of stud that those players I listed above can grow to be. If Swift were to suddenly just disappear, replacing him would not be an impossible task. It mostly relies on the run blocking from the OL anyway. But you could find someone to pair with Monangai and be fine. He will probably stick around, he's not getting paid THAT much, but he's not a top 5 back. He's a decent vet. Meanwhile this team is going NOWHERE without a pass rush, and we arent finding a player with the 25th pick that ready to be a league wrecker on day 1. We may well draft DL with our first round pick. I wouldnt be shocked if our first three picks go to defense. But we need a veteran who can reliably pressure the QB from day one if we are going to take Caleb seriously. Every starter on the 1985 team replaced someone who came before them. I'm sure someone was crying about their predecessors, but no one really ever talks about any of them anymore. But they do remember that 85 team. So lets build a winner and stop hanging on to every mid level vet thats ont he roster like theyre gold, and trust Johnson to tell Poles who to get to replace them.

The team that trades for DJ will only have to pay him $16M because we will pay the rest of it, and because they pay that $16M, it will open up $16M on our cap.

This feels a lot like the Justin Fields debate. We are at the point where the offseason is next, and we start discussing the good and bad of the players, and for some people, that's difficult, because they are loyal fans, and so they defend the players as if people were insulting their younger sister or something. And I do get where it comes from - a love of the Bears, on all sides. But in reality, if we want to be winners, we have to make tough choices. When the Patriots made the decision not to re-sign Akeim Hicks, was it because Bill Belichick failed to see the kind of player that was? of course not. Everyone in the league knew that Hicks was a good player. It was a business decision - how to allocate your cap to give your TEAM the best chance. I dont hear anyone saying DJ sucks. I'll bet most of us would be for keeping him if his cap number was $12M. But it isnt, and we need resources elsewhere. Also, no player is perfect. I love Caleb Williams, I can say with confidence that he is the best player on the team. He is easily the bears MVP. I can also say that he will be better 3 years from now than he is right now. So that means he has room to grow, and so does that mean Im slamming Caleb? If I see the good and bad parts of him? I love DJ Moore after the catch. He's like a little running back out there with the ball. But he is often not ont he same page with Williams, and his body language is "goofy" at best and possibly "entitled and over it" like a Jay Cutler at worst. There are times he does great things, but there are many times where he jogs his routes, and gives less than a full effort. It might even be possible to move on from DJ for that reason alone. Ben Johnson doesnt want guys that tell the others it's OK to give less than the maximum effort! Remember when we wanted BJ to change the culture? Well that means accountability. And his heir apparent (who will hopefully exceed anything Dj ever did) is ALREADY on the team in Luther Burden III. He is a DJ Moore clone - he has the same skill set, body type and abilities. Sure he's rougher, but you gotta respect that the coaches will coach him up, and he will ascend. And then there are the salary cap ramifications. That makes it pretty clear that DJ Moore is on the trading block. The team that trades for him will pay him $16M, so he's a good value for them at that number. And you know what? I dunno if he would fetch a 2nd rounder. I would imagine a 3rd or 4th rounder might be more likely. If DJ was part of a trade to the Raiders for Max Crosby for example, I'd expect to give DJ, our 2026 1st rounder, a 2027 second rounder and even that might not be enough in the real world. So it is more than fair to speculate about a trade involving DJ that opens up $16M of cap space for us, and fetches a 3rd rounder in the process. But it is also fair to notice the MANY times DJ has quit on his routes. I'll bet behind the scenes, in private conversations with Poles and Johnson, Caleb is lobbying to move on from Moore. I get the fan love, but if you love the player more than the team, then I think that's not how you win Super Bowls.

Swift is a decent RB, but with no blocking he doesnt do much, and with good blocking he looks great. Most RBs are like that.

Noticing that DJ quits a lot isnt because people have a psychological issue about being too critical. It's because he quits a lot. I remember when I was a hater, but then it turned out that it wasnt a psychological flaw, it was just that Eberflus and Fields suck. And now Im a homer FOR Caleb LOL I must be schizo lol

I gotta agree. It's kind of football 101, maybe 201 , but the main idea is you run away fromt he defender, not on a path that will make you covered. Caleb also had been telling his WRs this same coaching point last week during the packers game. it got caught on camera and audio, and he was saying, if the safety is above you, you gotta flatten out. I think most of these plays have adjustments that payers are coached to make. QBs and WRs have to be on the same page. So is it easy? of course not! But it's what you expect from a guy youre paying that much? If DJ cost $15M, hed be easy to keep, but at $25M its too much in my opinion.

well done, again!

maybe. i remember Bienemy left because he wasnt getting head coach offers because everyone knew Reid was calling the plays. If Bienemy goes to KC, he probably will need a promise that he can call the plays, or that he will get the HC job if/when Reid retires?

So he only threw it out in front of him, if you assume that where the ball landed was the targeted area. it was hands high five yards close to the line of scrimmage, and not as far out in front of him if you can visualize that triangle. DJ ran the wrong route, and should have flattened his route - Caleb said as much in the press conference. Also some pretty damning tweets from Terrell Owens and Kurt Warner say the same. DJ jogged his route when he saw the ball was out of reach, but he ran his route too deep before that, and the ball would have been caught further inside if DJ had run it correctly. DJs a very talented player, but hes been taking plays off all season. I would keep him at $16M a year, but not at $24.5 - hes trade bait for sure.

every year before the draft, teams sign free agents to fill holes so they can go best player available. Some of the Free Agents are big splash signings, some are "vet stop gap" players like you say. But either way, we will sign free agents all across the DL before the draft. You can bet on that, because every team does it every year.

possibly until Trapilo is ready anyway?

Apparently the Bears have been practicing with Thuney at LT and McFadden at LG. Is this how were gonna go? Or maybe this is in case Benedet gets injured?

At this point, with all my goals reached for the season, entering into a playoff game in which we are strongly underdogs, I am putting the analytical part of my brain to the side in regards to these games now. We are underdogs and we are scrappers, and there only 3 games to win. Why not us? Right now, I'm just rooting as a fan. I dont care about the odds. I want to see Sweat and Booker come alive. I dont care about what anyone has done previously in the season - it's time to show up. BEAR freakin DOWN Lets go.

wow, that guy is great. and he doesnt treat us like we dont know what quarters is, he doesnt draw it out, he quickly just makes the point - so quickly that you can remember it and comapre it to other similar situations. Thats a really cool way to look at all of this.

For sure, any defensive scheme requires a pass rush, and any defense is made better when you have one. Of course that's edge rushers and pocket collapsing DTs as well. We can look at our LBs and DBs too. No one is really a core player that youll still have in 4 years (including re-signing), except maybe Booker. Even Byard has an expiration date due to age. Of course we wont be able to replace everyone, but anyone except Booker is a potential casualty or trade bait i think. And I dont think you can count on Booker to be your primary edge either. Hes probably DE3 fighting to become DE2. As to how to acquire these players, we have no cap space right now. We can draft some players, but they wont be ready to dominate out of the box, especially picking 32nd No better than 25th I think? Were gonna need to get some players off of the books to afford Free Agents, so they might as well be trades so you get something else in return too?