BearFan PHX

Lynch would make sense, filling the need at the same position. Amos is another possibility? White is on the list too. What if it was only one first rounder and Floyd? I'm not predicting that, but how would people feel about that?

The Cubs built a winner by pushing several years' value back into one very rich year. We seem to be doing that in reverse. We've added next year's draft to this year. Our draft next year: 1) Khalil Mack (and he's not a rookie! he's a known quantity, and he's ready to play) 2) Anthony Miller we get them for an extra year (now) and we get them with a year's chemistry under their belt next year. The real price to be paid will be 5 years from now, when all these deals are ending or have ended, and we dont have those 2019 rookies in the pipeline waiting to step up. But is that really a risk? Miller will be there, a year early is no big deal. So you gotta make up some depth value either in good drafts of lower picks, or picking up free agents, some time in the next 4 or 5 years. Seem pretty good to me. In the NFL, everyone's got the same cap. In fact, if you had an expansion franchise with NO players on the roster, and simply let them start with a completely empty cap, they'd have a shot at ending up with a pretty decent roster. The teams that are in trouble arent those with bad players, theyre those with bad players who are under long terms deals. Like the team Pace inherited with Cutler. So we've been pretty facile over the past few years, keeping cap room, building, not being too attached. That ended when we signed Trubisky. Pace is choosing players and locking them in. If these are good players, if this is a good roster, then we are in great shape. If not, then we are stuck again. So the real question here is simply: is Khalil Mack a good player? Is Trubisky? Is Roquan Smith? Anthony Miller? Robinson and Gabriel? Hicks? Goldman? What about Fuller and Amukamurah? Ladies and Gents, this is our team now. Go ahead and buy your jerseys because the names aren't going to be changing for a few years. If you like most of those names, then we are in great shape.

+1

I think Pace is doing an excellent job.

yup, he had a good game, and Fitts is looking pretty good too. Plus we haven't even seen Lynch yet. Wims made a case for himself today too. It's good for the team to get a good look at depth against starters before the cuts.

I can see arguments for either decision. I think it's hard to judge from the cheap seats here, we havent seen practice, and dont know the motivations. It is a pretty rare move, but Im sure they have a reason, and in the scheme of things, it probably doesnt matter much either way., I can understand why we are disappointed tho.

i wanna like this too!

on paper, our roster is more complete than it has been in a long time. it may also have more holes than we realize, especially at OL, WR, and every level of the defense. but this is still a new team with a new QB and a new coach, and they looked terrible on all sides of the ball and in all phases of the game. It's early, and there is no need to panic, but this is ground zero of something new, and it sure looked like it.

We need a pass rushing 3-4 DE more than an OLB. WE keep thinking both OLB will be pass rushers, but then you're talking about blitzing every play, rushing 5?

Im as angry at Roquan and his agent as anyone, but no G.M. worth anything would give up on a high first round draft pick before the first preseason game (HOF game doesnt count) just because they are at a contract impasse. Let's have a little longer view!

true. mostly this is an advertisement for CAA to show they fight for players even when contracts are slotted.

doubtful dont get me wrong, Im pissed Smith isnt in camp too, but when he shows up, he'll be the starter pretty quickly.

yup. no team is without holes, and our defensive roster is looking better than it has in a long time. We could still use a good DE, and of course an all pro at almost any position, including OLB. I think next year we will have a complete defensive roster, but Fangio has enough to work with now too.

I just want to remind everyone that all base defenses, 3-4 or 4-3 rush 4 on a base defense. SO if Floyd is usually going to be that 4th guy, the pass rushing of the other outside linebacker is less important. If you're going to blitz, or bring someone unexpected, it could just as easily come from the middle. Im not saying that the other OLB wont rush the passer, he will, but the two OLB positions are not interchangeable, and the one opposite Floyd will do a lot more coverage and run support than pass rushing. And they'll be off the field in Nickle, Dime and 3rd down anyway. The guy opposite Lawrence Taylor was not another Lawrence Taylor.

Youre right but it's even worse. The offset language doesn't affect the guaranteed money they're due to receive under the deal, it affects whether they can double dip if they perform so poorly that they get cut and then sign somewhere else. It's nonsense. It's unlikely, and not necessary. Boo on the agents for inventing something to justify their existence now that the rookie contracts are slotted.

exactly

I hope it isnt too big of a stumbling block, I mean if Roquon Smith is SO bad that we cut him in his rookie deal, and he signs somewhere else, I doubt theyll be paying him much. its a subtle point, and I see both sides but it doesnt seem like a big issue to me.

That seems right, after theyve gotten a good look. You gotta figure we arent the Patriots looking to squeeze one or two more out in a closing window, we are a building team looking for young players who wont be the studs they are going to be for a couple more years. We have time to let players develop if we think they are ascending.

for sure

I think you're right. I really like hm as a player. Always did.

I think Trubisky is headed for a breakout year too, but you cant say his first year numbers are better than Goffs when Goff played almost half as many games. They might be better called comparable.

Goff played 7 games to Trubisky's 12 tho

yup yup. Go Bears!

I'm very excited to see what this team can become.

I think the thing no one is saying is that we were very lucky to have Fox as our coach. When he came in, we were obviously beginning an epic rebuild. No real coach with a winning attitude and his eyes on a future career would have taken the job. And you will see, this was Fox's last gig too. Fox may not be the most modern guy, but he has presided over some good teams. Moreover, he knows how to build a locker room. He instilled some semblance of a culture into our team, which was about all he could have done, and to be frank, all he was qualified to do too. When we had Ernie Accorsi as out interim GM/DIrector of Football Operations for a month, he installed a Parcells tree SYSTEM. Pace fits that mold and so does everyone else who has followed, including Fox. They switched to the 3-4 and now we will be one of the teams in the NFL that runs similar schemes year in and year out. This means we will draft the same kind of players to play the same roles for many years to come. Scouts and coaches will know which attributes to emphasize for each position, and rookies will play under vets that have similar strengths and weaknesses and can show them how to leverage their talent. It also opens up a whole world of film study going back decades, where you can see a player with similar physical traits executing the same plays and techniques. Gone are the days of picking the athlete that fell and looks like the best overall value. We suffered 20 years of that crap picking one David Terrell over another. So we needed someone to bring us through the first few years, someone who had had success and could install the culture, from the way meetings are handled, to the terminology and to the general air of discipline and accountability. Fox truly was a TEAM coach, and his successes were not necessarily on the field. We were lucky to have him, and once he succeeded at his mission, it was time to let him go, and bring in a real coach, one who frankly never would have been interested had Pace and Fox not laid the groundwork. And boy were were lucky to get Fangio.