AZ54

I wouldn't expect much from Inman. He's a decent WR who can contribute. What will be clear quickly is that he's better than Gentry. That may force #2 CBs over to McBride which will help him. If this were basketball we'd say Gentry can't get his own shot but if you run a play for him he can hit the shot. Inman can occasionally get his own shot and, based on what I've read, he'll be where he's supposed to be when he's supposed to there. That alone with Trubisky's accuracy may improve the consistency of the offense.

Came across this via another forum. Gives some perspective on some of the issues facing Trubisky as he learns the NFL. It's also clear why Gentry has trouble getting open. Too many steps in and out of his cuts and he'll need to be more precise to survive in the NFL.

If you feel the QB is a franchise player I don't think you worry about losing out on guy like Reuben Foster, or a draft pick because it would go a division rival. Which leads back to my point that McCarron is not a franchise caliber QB and a lot, if not all, of the QB needy teams in the NFL feel that way. The fact so many shied away from Garropolo and instead traded away 1st Rd picks plus more to get rookie QBs was more surprising to me. I thought somewhere in the draft a team would give up a 1st for him. Unless as you say NE wouldn't budge off their high demands. Maybe the rumors of NE high demands inflated the Bengals ego and they thought they could out-smart their competition and get a great deal. Instead teams went hard after Watson, Mahomes, and Trubisky. Now the Bengals will get nothing in exchange except a 16 game insurance policy they refused to cash in when Dalton was playing poorly.

Watson threw 3 INTs in his last game. They weren't the hail mary types either. Fact is if he didn't throw 5 TDs (remove his pick six) in that game Houston probably wins it. I watched the replay of the game late at night but IIRC another INT gave the Seahawks a short field which they also converted to a TD. He was exciting to watch but while everyone is focused on the good he still has room for improvement. That's normal for any rookie.

True, we can't put it past the Bengals not to make a trade in their best long term interest. However, looking back at all the big deals made for QBs it's obvious none of those teams felt McCarron was worthy. That includes the Browns who preferred to use a high 2nd Rd pick on Kizer over McCarron. The 49ers again verified that with their lack of action on a QB last year and now the trade with the Patriots.

That's bad news. He's good for the NFL.

No he missed kicks more often than Barth.

Maybe, but everyone knows he's not a franchise QB. If he were he'd already be the starter in Cinn, or surely somewhere else in the NFL in 2017. Cleveland should be placing it's bets on a QB with franchise potential not average-at-best QBs. They had those guys with Hoyer and McCown. They moved on from them because they aren't franchise types (true) when they should have kept at least McCown for his leadership in the QB room while drafting a talented rookie. In exchange for giving up the 12th pick they earned Houston's 1st Rd pick in 2018. Now they try to trade a 2018 2nd Rd and 3rd Rd pick for a QB who becomes a FA in 2018, which is probably equivalent to the value of the Texans 1st Rd pick they received. If McCarron was their guy all along why not make that deal last offseason? They you get a full year with him before he hits Free Agency. If there was any future confidence in Kizer the Browns just shot it to pieces with that near deal and now every team knows they will draft a QB high in 2018. If they have the 1st overall it's not necessarily a problem unless you could trade back one or two spots like the 49ers did with Chicago. Kizer already struggles with mental toughness so none of this helps his confidence. The NFL rules may have saved Cleveland from making a bad deal but it won't stop things from falling apart in their locker room. The only hope for Brown's fans is that this death spiral of roster mismanagement will lead to a new front office, and later a new head coach. From all this they'll end up with Rosen and his prickly attitude. That should fit in well on a rebuilding franchise.

http://www.chicagobears.com/news/article-1...aa-980957efe25a Looks like Zach is doing well. Hopefully soon we'll be hearing about other planned surgeries which would indicate he's progressing well.

Seattle's oline issues are more troubling that Houston's, it's hard to see how Houston is not in a similar position in terms of the playoffs. They got back draft picks for a disgruntled player which is what they need after all the deals for Osweiller and Watson.

I'm the most surprised by the Ajayi trade. Only a 4th Rd pick for him means Gase wanted him gone for some reason. Follow that up with Kelvin Benjamin, which on a team that is fragile emotionally (need more tears Cam!) this won't help their psyche. Seattle gave up too much for Brown.

Harbaugh burned every bridge possible in SF and even the media were tired of his arrogance. I loved his football acumen at Stanford and pulled for him to become the next Bears HC back before he ended up in SF. Now it seems we already have the best part of that coaching staff (Fangio) so why go through the headaches in dealing with Harbaugh's antics?

Ha, after looking like idiots missing out on JimmyG for just a 2nd Rd pick they decided to do something to at least look like they care and they still screw it up.

WR talent is not that good this year with a few late 1st Rd prospects. I'm staying with Bradley Chubb as our pick if we don't trade back. Then again, winning a few more games will push us toward the middle of the 1st Rd. Arden Key fits better the mold of what Fangio wants but he doesn't play like he has any strength in his upper body. We always say a year or two with NFL trainers will improve things but if a player doesn't have the work ethic it won't matter. Expect the Bears to spend some time with him off the radar to get to know the player.

Sad that he can't learn a simple lesson. On the positive side cutting him next year frees up $3.5mil. I don't see a reason for Pace to wait to make this decision. Negotiate the injury settlement now and let's move forward with Kwit, Jones, and Trevathan.

I think we'd have seen a WR in Rd 3 with Kupp a likely choice. His route running skills would be welcome among this group of WRs. Last year all the chatter was that 2018 QBs were a great group. I didn't see it except perhaps for Darnold. Now even Darnold has come back down to earth plus the rumor is he's staying in college. I still don't like Rosen (as a leader or passer) and Josh Allen still looks like a project. Apparently the 49ers now agree having traded for JimmyG. That also means the 49ers will want to trade back in the draft but other teams may have the same QB assessment and won't pay the price. I don't think Cleveland's front office will survive the miss on Watson. Remember they traded back from #12 with Houston to let them draft Watson. Anyone who has watched Kizer for two quarters knows he is showing the same limitations and accuracy issues he had in college.

What I see is coaches who are not afraid to give Trubisky time to learn and instead are relying heavily on the running game. Along with that they are working with new WR from the practice squad, a rookie in Cohen, rookie Shaheen, new to the offense Sims, new to the offense Kendall Wright. The only stability in the offense's receiving weapons, Zach Miller, just went down with an injury. I see that they are also not taking the easy way out and simply relying on Trubisky's strengths (i.e. roll out right read half the field) and instead are being patient by keeping him in the pocket more often so he can improve there. This is what he must learn to be successful long term. You only need to go back to the first preseason game where Trubisky lit it up in his first game and recall what plays he was running then. They also didn't fall back heavily on simple read-option plays that he ran in college and are limiting his exposure to injury. Remember RGIII and how the Shanahan's ruined his career in just his first season. Last year Cutler ran more read-options IIRC. Nor do they rely on a heavy mix of simple WR screens. Again, he's being asked to read the defense downfield. The Bears call plays where Trubisky has to read the left side of the field (one of his weaknesses in college) so he can learn and get comfortable throwing there. Again, it's a long term view to develop skills he lacks, or more correctly is not as proficient at. Recall the missed throw for a first down late in the game. I see a QB who knows he can take negative plays (sacks) instead of throwing INTs if he's not comfortable with what he sees. For now this is the right decision. As the season moves along I expect he'll start seeing the field better and finding some of the open options he has missed in his first few games. I see a QB who has learned the protection calls, and done well enough with them despite seeing nearly every blitz possible in his first 4 games. Pretty sure someone taught him that. I see a QB who has improved with his command of the plays and in the huddle. He is getting the team to the LOS early enough to have time to read the defense. He is often given two plays and does check to the second play so he's reading the defenses pre-snap and getting us to a better play more often than not. I don't have game pass to review games in detail but my sense is that his footwork in the pocket has improve greatly since he arrived. For a guy who rarely (if ever) took snaps from under center this is all new for him. Surely you recall all the concerns in training camp when he occasionally stumbled or botched a snap under center. Back then it was going to "take a full year" for him to get this down.

My thoughts are with him and his family. The injuries he has dealt with throughout his career were all challenging yet he kept coming back in great shape and with a positive attitude. That really shows tremendous character and leadership. I thought the Bears would move on from him this year and go with a younger player in Brown but when you read the comments from his teammates it is understandable why coaches felt he needed to be on this team. Give him his TD!

http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap300000086...-secondary-down

Right now with 7 sacks through 8 games this deal is looking like a bargain.

It has literally become comical to watch. I scan other message boards for our opponents each week just to learn a bit about their strengths and weaknesses. I've come to the conclusion that nobody in the NFL likes their HC unless his name is Bill Belichick. Nobody likes the play calling on either side for their teams unless they are dominating and ranked top 5. To read all this you might think players have zero responsibility for what happens on the field. "Loggains is too conservative and too predictable". Loggains throws on 3rd and 1 and he's horrible. Loggains calls a TD play to Miller (it was a TD) and nobody mentions him. Loggains also called what should have been a TD pass to Howard but Howard dropped the ball (again). Is that Loggains fault or does he understand the Howard often drops these passes so he doesn't call that play often when he's in the game? With better execution on just three plays (add in the missed FG) Loggains called a game good enough to win on the road with a rookie QB and two practice squad WRs. Trubisky still has a way to go. He was inaccurate at times and a bit late on some throws. He is progressing though and reading the field better. It will take more time for him to read defenses quicker, and to get on the same page with all these new WRs but I think he is headed in the right direction. It is entirely possible this team wins 3 of the next 4 games and is sitting at .500 in early December with 4 games to go.

He wants out because he has never lived up to his draft status. No need for him here. We have Sims who is another underperforming TE, Shaheen developing, and Brown who can fill in the role for Miller.

What is there in the way the Bears have handled Connor Barth that makes you believe the Bears feel he is the long term solution at kicker? At the time of Gould's release he was routinely missing extra point kicks.

I agree, get the running game going early and it bodes well for staying in the game.

Considering Cohen fits in as a slot WR for a few snaps here and there I still like Wright next year for the primary slot WR role. If we get Landry we should pass on Adams. Wright will be much cheaper than Adams and better suited for that role. Someone is going to think that a WR from GB must be really good and will overpay Adams. In other words with Cohen around I'm keeping just 5 WRs: Meredith, Landry, Inman, Gentry/McBride/Bellamy (may the best man win), and a 1st-3rd Rd draftee.