Alaskan Grizzly

Count me as one of those skeptics. Right now, to me, this is Trubisky 2018 (2.0). Even if they don't make the playoffs. For me to totally buy in I'll need to see a sustained and upward trending progress next year...and beyond.

Word. I've honestly been impressed with how well the 'old men' of the group, he and Edmunds, have been playing this year. I think what sets Byard apart is because of his tenure in the league he's had time to learn the flow of the game and play smart. I don't see him trying to lay out people when he goes to tackle them. That's Brisker's downfall (see Mike Brown and Chris Conte). He's pretty aggressive and sometimes pays the price for it. Agreed, because of his age not many teams will come calling...unless maybe he makes another Pro Bowl.

Winning a national championship, having a 27-1 record as a starter and setting records while in Michigan (same school Brady and Harbaugh went to) doesn't get your name at least mentioned? Harbaugh (although biased) seemed to think he was.

The "offensive downfall" was figured to be more cataclysmic with Johnson gone and Center Frank Ragnow retiring. Yet Goff's stats appear to still be on par (or close) to last year. What I saw late in last nights' game was (as you mentioned) the oline's inability to block and Goff's statue-esque non-movement in the pocket which will kill them every time.

Probably because they met up with a Vic Fangio led defense. Not sure how it shook out after yesterday, but they were in the top 5 in almost all offensive categories until then.

He was nailing his passes as opposed to earlier in the game. A lot of airball deliveries. Minnesota is probably wishing they kept Darnold around for at least one more year.

Wow bizzaro 4th quarter. Bears with a special teams redemption for the win after McCarthy came alive in the last two of their drives.

Yep. Underutilized but clutch when needed. Friend of mine from Michigan insists he’s a beast player. Can’t stop raving about him.

I hope you’re right. Something tells me he’ll be called upon later in the season. He was let go from SF because of his inconsistencies.

Ironically we’d be losing today without him.

Meanwhile 1st round pick Loveland has one reception?

Swift is your outside zone runner…Monangai - inside.

Wasn’t the oline ranked top 5-10 recently?

Maybe says more about the NFL overall this year? No one really seems to be lighting it up this year…save Detroit. Which wasn’t supposed to be the case with Johnson leaving.

Red Zone offense stalls out…again. Cairo is getting a good workout in.🦶🏈

Might help if there were more quick dumps underneath. A fair number of the pass attempts appear to be of the long range variety. Is he missing the reads? If all it takes to rattle him is a rush then don’t think the remaining defenses on the schedule won’t be deploying it.

Battle of 1st round picks.

Al Harris should be the DC.

So far…. A snooze fest. 😴

At the risk of being ‘nit picky’, holding the ball and running around aren’t necessarily symptoms of bad pass pro. Not being able to process progressions timely could also contribute, especially with the ‘holding the ball’ part .

Saw another report that confirms most of this and speculated that “IF Chicago were in the mix” his earliest return might be Cleveland. Which I believe was because the Browns aren’t as good a team and it would be a good chance for JJ to start testing things out before playing against tougher competition and theoretically deep into the playoffs. However if the team wasn’t making the playoffs, then they thought he’d more than likely sit the rest of the season out. That tells me he’s right on the edge.

That was one of the most polite and complimentary 'opp-ed' pieces I've seen in a long time.

Curious, and want to ask this before we head into the tougher part of this year’s schedule. Whats the consensus on how Poles is doing right now? The team is tied for the lead in the NFC north for the first time since 2022. Poles more or less built the team we see before us. They signed CJ who has contributed significantly while the defense as a whole has struggled. And many claim Williams is coming into his own as was predicted would happen when he was drafted. Before you say ‘but this all Johnson’, remember Poles was the one that hired him.

I suppose I'd need you to define what you mean when you say "anticipation"? How is that measured? When I say he reminded me of Cam it was more about their similar charisma, ability to extend plays with their legs and the team around them during their earlier years. Carolina was never a year in year out playoff contender before Cam got there. It took him 5 seasons to finally make the super bowl. Could Caleb be on the same timeline? All the stats in the world can only get you so far.

They saw enough of him to put him ahead of a guy who’s been out starting LT now for 3(?) years. And with regards to untapped potential still on the team, there’s Trapilo waiting in the wings.