BearFan PHX

I think all of this is spot on.

I totally agree that Duvernay should be better, and I'd also like to see Burden get a try. So we agree on that. But regarding the cap space, I think the league minimum is like $840,000 and only the top so many slots even count, so the least you could pay someone on the cap isnt much less than the $1.3M?

It IS amazing - and we are still so inconsistent - imagine when the discipline kicks in.

Well even the best coaches get beat on some plays! So perfection is impossible. But just this: how long has it been since a coach that didnt give up on the run game? Just that alone rocks.

I think Hightower and a LOT of the roster will get replaced this offseason. That's gonna help special teams a lot too. We are playing to win now of course, and we are playing to develop Caleb too, but we are also evaluating everyone this year, and I dont think Ben Johnson will be shy about replacing players, and fixing the special teams. Looking at you Cairo too.

Johnson gets beat sometimes in a rock paper scissors kind of way, but he doesnt make those unforced errors Flus was famous for.

Dominance! LOL

LOL I mentioned you ONCE after you said something about me, the same post Pix told you not to here. And all I said was "you guys are trying to start something, and Im not gonna take the bait." That was it. It was Ok to say, and Im still not taking the bait All's well, Bears win!

I definitely think Loveland is the better prospect, had him rated above Warren in my pre draft stuff, BUT I still think TE at pick #10 is a weird move. But weve got him, and I think he will be great.

Caleb finished 20/34 (58.8%) 280 yards, 3 TDs, 114.8 Rating He ran around a lot, mostly because he was hurried a lot by the pocket breaking down. Also the Bengals were in man to man defense almost exclusively, which you coulkd see by how easily Caleb was able to run for 10+ yards. Looked to me like Johnson has told Caleb to take the run for the first down when the middle opens up from man to man defense, as he was making the choice to tuck and run quicker in those situations. Caleb also had some accuracy issues, and WRs had drops, and were getting open as much as they should (the ll 22 will tell the story, so maybe Im wrong, Im never sure until I see what was going on downfield. But Caleb also had a game winning drive. The great ones find ways to win. I give Caleb a B overall for this game. Also Monangai was GREAT - looking forward to seeing him do it against real defenses next - no reason to think he wont.

100%

amazing

Im obviously getting a Monangai tattoo tomorrow LOL

I never think like this, but its getting hard to ignore the poor officiating at the bears' expense each week. There was a helmet to helmet hit on Monangai earlier too that went unflagged.

Caleb right now: 8/11 (72.7% comp) for 83 yards and a TD, with no INT = 124.4 rating And he had a couple drops of sharp passes early too. and 3 carries for 31 yards too. It feels like Johnson told him not to hold the ball and dance around back there, if it's man defense and everyone's covered, then you run for the first down - and he's had some nifty runs too.

yeah that was a bad read, I would grade that a minus play. But he's been getting the ball out fast, or making the decision the run in rhythm. I guess we will all agree when he is the total package, when hes' a top 5 QB, and until then, we will all see it through our own filters, expectations, narratives etc. And of course that includes me too.

not at all? He was getting the ball out fast, making fast decisions.

I like how Monangai finishes his runs, always getting a yard or two more after it seems its over - especially from a little guy

yeah, he "runs with authority" as they say.

Monangai looking good, and Caleb has been sharp - getting the ball out in rhythm. Drops havent helped him at all, but thats not on him.

GREAT news! I liked him a lot in preseason.

Amen! I hope CJ terrorizes the Bengals receivers, but not enough to get any penalties

I must be missing something - but to me Brittain Brown looked pretty good in the preseason, admittedly against second and third stringers, but I would expect them to call him up. I mean Homer is no great back. But anyway, this is Monanagai's moment to get the majority of the carries, let's hope he does well and makes the case for himself. He's been very good with limited carries int he backup role, and they say good HBs get better with more carries in a game. So, bring it Monangai!

Here's an interesting stat: The Bears offense is last in the league in average yards to go on 3rd down with 8.1 - this is a result in part of penalties. But the Bears offense is also 9th in the league at converting 3rd downs. This means our intermediate passing game is doing well, even when matched against a defense that knows the pass is coming. I think it just shows how we are our own worst enemy, and that with increased consistency will come a huge jump in offensive output for yards and points. It's not like we cant do it, we just need to do it more consistently, and that should come with Johnsons discipline.

Thank you - I will not have a short fuse. As long as it doesnt become a regular thing, I wont rekindle that war. Just sayin - last time I went a couple months saying "please stop, lets be civil" before I did finally reply in kind. I will show the same kind of patience now, because I would like very much to avoid all of that. I will still disagree with people Im sure, but thats OK.