BearFan PHX

exactly! I dont think media WANTS to lie, they just dont know and they have to get clicks and eyeballs. And reporters are not analysts. And so they end up repeating the same one liners over and over. "arms too short" or "paints his fingernails" or whatever.

amazing - thanks for this. The media is a whore.

because he threw an interception? Last year, with no coaching or OL he only threw 6, in a season that was the 5th best for yards in Bears history. I think that to judge Caleb good or bad right now is premature?

I agree with all of this. I think Caleb will be all in. I cant predict anything, maybe Johnson will be a flop, but from right here and right now it sure looks like this is a great staff. And Caleb seems hungry and focused to me. Even before the draft, some of the things he says sound like he is really dialed in. Statistically, he was pretty good last season. His 3,500 yards was the fifth best season for a bears QB ever. 20 TDs is pretty good, and 6 INTs is stellar. And this is as a rookie with nothing around him. Now he was also sacked like hell. He needs to grow int he system and timing and rhythm. He couldnt ask for a better OL, WR group or head coach to teach him. It sure looks like the table is set. I hope it's what it looks like. Put it this way: I never believe anything until I see it, but I am not concerned about Caleb at all.

Love to hear this from Johnson. He's going to completely change the approach week to week to exploit matchups and style differences. Some years the Patriots were Randy Moss for an 80 year TD, some years they were a grind it out possession team. And week to week the Patriot defensive front could change, youd show up expecting to play a 3-4 team and they come out in a 4 man front etc. Great.

and no one held out for a better contract LOL Everything I wanted from Vrabel I'm seeing with Bj and DA. And there is a lot that Vrabel cant do that these guys can too. Cant wait to see it on grass.

So I guess today the first string offense didnt line up correctly, Johnson told them to do it again and it still wasnt right so he sent all the starters off the field. We havent had someone like this in a long time. So great to see. I was worried Johnson wouldnt be enough of a hardass back when i wanted Mike Vrabel. Now I wouldnt trade Johnson for Vrabel for ANYTHING. So glad to see accountability. Finally.

for sure. I think we still need a top notch Edge player, but no roster is ever perfect or complete. We will probably draft that guy next year.

And not helping opponents know where to hit you during the season As much as we want more info as fans, I like that the team doesn't officially give out info they don't have to. I'm wondering if we will see Dexter and/or Turner play some DE. I wonder if Amagadje will end up depth at OG, or play there in a couple years. I wonder if Burden will play some HB, and jet sweep slot guy like Coradelle Patterson I wonder if Kyler Gordon might play some safety and the Bears have kept a pretty good lid on all those speculations, each of which I've read in various articles. Not saying any or all of them are true, but the Bears sure didnt confirm or deny any of that, so I agree they are being informationally disciplined.

something to do with his leg apparently?

Thats the page I use too - set the drop down menu on the right side to "Trade Post June 1st" to really see the costs.

I dont want to get rid of DJ Moore. He's very important to us this year. Im looking down the road a bit. By next year, if Burden and Odunze are what we think they will become, then Moore's cap hit starts to look big. Also, if you know you're going to move on from him in 2028, or even 2027, then you might want to get decent trade value for him in 2026 or 2027. Its got nothing to do with how good players are, its just when they start getting near to 30, and they have trade value, and eat up a lot of cap space, and already have replacements on the roster, the question arises naturally. I think we are so used to how the Bears have done things that we are surprised when trade value becomes possible for a player who is still good. If you look at how the Patriots managed their cap under Belichick in the Brady era, you see them trade a lot of really good 28 and 29 year old players a year before their next big contract comes. That's how we got Akiem Hicks, for example. So it's not personal with DJ Moore for me. It's just an obvious question based on the numbers - and similarly for Cole Kmet. When you do it right, it's like a college basketball team. If you have any Junior or Senior players who are balling out, you know they are gone to the NBA next year, and that gawky Freshman is going to be your next star, so you have to recruit and develop players to keep that cycle going. We have a great staff now, and if we keep trading older players and/or trading down in the draft, and do well with player evaluations, then we should always have lots of new young talent in the pipeline that you can coach up and get on the field under rookie contracts. I think that's the natural rhythm of success in the NFL? And now Poles has gotten ahead of the pitch count, and is drafting replacements for players 2 years for now. That's how you do it!

This is such great news. I personally am not a Braxton believer, but i don't want to hear the narrative that he didnt get a chance, and the more competition, the better. If Trapilo and Amagadje play really well and Jones beats them out anyway, then fantastic. Let the best man win. The more competition the better. I personally think Trapilo will win the job, but I havent really seen Amagadje in any kind of fair way, so let's see who is who under live fire.

just cap-wise, we can trade Dj Moore anytime if it is a post june 1st trade, and save at least $20M on the cap, that goes up to $25M next year year. Kmet will get us $10M any time. So you dont need to wait in terms of the cap. Roster-wise is a different story.

oh he definitely has a quick release, and he reads defenses really well

I thought Chark was older. Interesting. Anyway, in a couple of years they will be over 30. If Burden develops like he is expected to, then he plays the same position and style as Moore. So when I talk about trading DJ Moore, I mean, next year or the year after, Moore will still have a lot in the tank, which is why someone would trade for him. But it doesnt make sense to leave $30M in cap space on your roster if you have a young stud who can be used the same way. This is forward thinking. Ultimately everyone on the team will be replaced, and then everyone on of those people will be replaced etc etc - its the nature of the NFL. You cant afford a team full of second and third contract guys, you always have to be replacing them with younger guys on rookie deals. Especially when your QB gets past their rookie deal. So its interesting to see Burden, Loveland and young CBs right now. Braxton Jones wont get to his second deal here for instance. None of this is happening right away, but you can see Poles settling in to a longer term plan, and making moves a year away now. Our biggest needs right now are: LT someone has to really step up and TAKE the job. Hope Trapilo is that guy, if Amagadje beats him, then so much the better. HB we still dont have a real stud, but i expect Roschon Johnson to be better this year in the Powerback role of HB2 like Montgomery was. EDGE we need more in pass rush, this may be our biggest weakness. And Poles is already fixing coming needs at WR and CB so players will be in rhythm when they step up to start. All this assuming Odunze takes a step forward this year, which I expect he will.

I feel like the most likelihood here is that when we looked at trading out of #1, JJ would have been the pick. I dont think they ever would have taken JJ over Caleb with the first pick. But its not hard to imagine that the Bears liked JJ better than Jayden Daniels or Bo Nix. I would have agreed with that, if Caleb didnt exist for example. But Caleb has a MUCH MUCH higher ceiling than JJ of course.

I think Chark would be WR5 on this team. But he knows the system, and can help tutor Burden - i think that's his main role. Burden is a lot like DJ Moore, who is getting older. From a 2 year perspective, Burden is likely Moore's replacement. If at some point a killer trade comes along that makes it hard to say no, and it involves trading Moore away, and Burden isnt quite ready, then Chark is an option for WR2. Obviously Chark wont be an option in 2 years, so his value, if we even sign him, would be to teach Burden, and to be a short term replacement if someone goes down with an injury, or if a trade comes along. I think DJ Moore will not get another contract on this team, and that means he is trade bait in the final year of his deal. In fact, his deal is structured so that we can trade him ANY year, and while it costs us $4M against the cap that year, it clears up $20M this year, or $25M next year. I think the writing is on the wall for Moore for next year. As soon as Burden is ready, Moore is trade bait. And if the right offer comes along, Chark lets you take it with less risk. One really good thing you can say about Poles is that he has us in a position now where we are mostly drafting for future need, rather than to fill immediate holes. pass rushing DE notwithstanding. That's next years #1 pick or free agent acquisition.

Yeah, I dont think its a done deal, or anything like that. but it might be creating depth and in case they run their mouths again? Like insurance? Or it might just be insurance against players who will want big contracts next year. Moore is 28, and you can see Burden taking over his role in the next year or two. Chark would help teach Burden Johnson's system. JJ is going to want big money the year after this one. It's smart.

of course, and there were no other names - it was Caleb 100% the whole time. But this isnt the first time Ive heard that JJ was #2 on our list last year. And it makes sense. He is a lot like Tyson Bagent - a REALLY good QB without the monster arm. Sort of the opposite of Justin Fields. Int he end you need all those things to succeed, but its an interesting experiment to see which incomplete skill set fits in the NFL better.

So I guess DJ Chark visited the Bears, and there is some interest in signing him. Chark is over 30, and he has had great seasons and not so great ones. One big advantage is that he has played in Ben Johnson's system before. I dont expect anything fast or soon, but it makes me wonder if DJ Moore might be in trouble int he next couple of years. It's interesting that the three players who mouthed off this year have all been addressed with depth. Cole Kmet and then Coltson Loveland DJ Moore and then Luther Burden, and possible Chark as a stop gap measure while Burden (who is a lot like Moore) comes up to speed Jaylon Johnson sitting out right now while our depth at CB gets snaps Im not saying all these guys are going to be gone in two years, but we are smart to be ready for that. At the very least we are buidling depth behind these guys in case we need to move them for contract reasons etc.

we were always taking Caleb, but I wouldnt be surprised at all if we had JJ as our #2 ranked QB. I did. Nix is really good too, but his age had him at #3 for me.

hey congrats!

I dont think he has approached the Bears asking for a new contract. I just think he's making comments, and like you said, he's not a big offseason guy, so i think the Bears don't mind sitting him for several reasons, and it's just good practice to get your other CBs reps if you think 2025 might be JJs last year for example. Or as a proactive move to give guys experience in case of injuries.

Thats good! I'm just saying there are a lot of people out there that just read the regular sportswriters and share those opinions. If they are smart enough not to be sold on Poles, so much the better. But when we swim against the current on narratives, only one person here gets upset. Most in this board (including you) I find are reasonable, hopeful, but reality based. Anyway, I was saying other people must read the same stuff Stinger reads and feel the same as him. I was trying to be generous. If Poles fans are rarer, then he is even more out on a limb - I was just trying to be hospitable?