Alaskan Grizzly

Admittedly I have been skeptical of some of the choices made. But then again, that's probably why I continue to sit and watch the Bears play each season from the comfort of my living room. However if for nothing else Poles has shown that he's frugal and so far been able to do reasonably well with regards to the draft. Last year he went in with 5-7(?) picks and ended up with 11. I'm throwing random #s but I do know he started out with less than he ended up. Anyhow, of those picks 4 ended up as starters (Brisker, Gordon, Braxton Jones and Gill) and 3 had significant playing time (V. Jones, Robinson and Ebner). Most all those guys, save Gill, were from the top end to middle of the draft. Along the way he shed some money heavy vets; Mack, Hicks, R. Smith and Quinn among them. I should add he found a diamond in the rough with Sanborn then tried to bring in a few former 1st rounders on bargain contracts (Leatherwood, Rieff and Harry). Not to mention with that trade of the overall 1st round pick not only did he snag "our #1 WR" with Moore but also kept us in the top 10 for this year's first round AND got us another 1st for next year. Now will all these players work out in the long run? Still remains to be seen. But that's true with any pick regardless of their order (Fields prime example). One other critique I've had since Poles started last year was all the players on defense they seem to be stockpiling (draft last year and so far FAs this year) but then again our HC comes to us as a former DC so that makes some sense. However he's been doing pretty well at keeping the skill players on offense intact. One thing we led last year was rushing yards and I don't see that dropping off a lot next season. Really the focus for Poles going into the draft should be along both lines and he's got plenty of draft picks to address them with either as trade bait of just by making smart draft picks.

The gang hanging out at a Bulls game.

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Reunited with DJ Moore after he made this play last season. Smart signing by the way.

PJ Walker signed as backup to Fields.

The four games a year against Miami and Buffalo should be entertaining.

Never say never. Jason’s all time favorite O-lineman J’Marcus Webb managed to string together a patchwork 8 year career after leaving the Bears in 2013. In that time he signed with seven teams (one of them twice - Indy).

It appears the deal for Rodgers to Jets is all but done. He claims it was “done” last Friday when he said to (whomever?) that he “wanted to play and wanted to play for the NY Jets”. Whatever… good riddance. Meanwhile he scorched Adam Schefter in the process ??:

I may have missed this already but with his pending charges Jalen Carter is also putting on a bad performance for the Georgia pro day. One of many Tweets about it:

Whomever this cat is he’s been putting out some comical clickbait. This one even has the garden variety jersey alteration (more garden than professional).

On the one hand, in regards to losing a piece for offense I agree with you but, comparing Herbert's production last season to Monty's (with the same oline blocking) its clear that Monty isn't the feature back anymore. Monty: 201 rushes for 801 yards (4.0 avg) 5 TDs Herbert: 129 rushes for 731 yards (5.7 avg) 4 TDs Another thing to factor in is that Monty's overall production (total yards) peaked back in 2020 with 1,070 yards and since then has gotten 849 (2021) and 801 last season. As Mike Greenberg pointed out this morning, contributing RBs have become "a dime a dozen" in today's market. Austin Ekeler (probably the lead FA RB right now) has improved over the last three years; 530 yards / 1 TD (2020), 911 yards / 12 TDS (2021) and 915 yards / 13 TDs (2022) and is still looking for a place to call his new home. Meanwhile Dallas just released Elliot with Pollard taking more of the carries and production. Chicago with Monty was in the similar position as Dallas was with Elliot. I'm never a fan of losing a player like Monty but in this case it makes sense when the bigger picture is considered.

Didn’t take long.

So that probably means Jamaal Williams isn't returning to Detroit? Before this occurred it was reported he and the Lions were 'far apart' in their talks of a new contract. https://www.si.com/nfl/lions/news/jamaal-williams-lions-far-apart-in-contract-negotiations

Bears coaching staff (and management) sighted at (and allegedly running) Northwestern Pro Day. Coach Fitz heard saying the Bears need to get Skronksi. I’m thinking this is a likelihood with the recent shuffle of the draft order.

Some good highlights of Edmunds. As others have pointed out, he plays well at the true MLB position (as Urlacher did) and has great coverage skills for the ‘over the middle’ receivers.

Or Nick Roach.

Meh, I guess we’ll see. Seems a lot like AQM. Who had a peak 6 sacks (but started a full season) the year before Chicago signed him for a very similar contract. I did read he had been working with a position coach this last year and attributes his success to that. That is encouraging.

I’m not sure what to think. He had a decent year with 7 sacks but seems to be blooming late (at 28) or maybe he peaked? Didn’t really wow anyone at the combine in 2017. https://www.mockdraftable.com/player/demarcus-walker?position=DL

One of our new MLBs.

Ouch:

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...and both went undrafted and both wear #57. Year one didn't prove much for Edwards with Eagles (4 GS with 30 combined tkls and 15 solo)...then in year 2: 2020: 12 GS/ 1 INT / 2 sacks / 70 comb tackles - 37 solo Whereas Sanborn did this his rookie year: 2022: 6 GS / 0 INT / 2 sacks / 64 combined tackles - 50 solo

And some pleasant news on Moore’s contract.

I like it. Puts the speculation of Fields to rest and gives him another weapon in Moore.

Bienemy to another OC gig? That doesn’t seem right. Why not HC somewhere?