Alaskan Grizzly

Or trying to keep other teams (and “experts” like Shefter) guessing. Who knows, maybe Fields is aware with all that is going on behind the scenes (I like a good conspiracy). Committing themselves one way or the other helps other teams with appropriate leverage to negotiate to their favor. On the surface Poles appears to be playing Kasparov level chess. And from my military days what is known as Psy-ops.

The facts also tell me that both Getsy and Nagy were fired from Chicago. So far Fields has not.

Nagy went back under the umbrella of Andy Reid and the talent of Mahomes as his cover. Look no further than Bienemy purposefully trying to get from under that same cover and finding himself out of a job in Washington and now back in the college ranks with UCLA. As far as Getsy goes, the best I can hypothesize is he’s the same animal as Nathaniel Hackett. The guy who lost his HC gig after one year and floundered as an OC with the Jets once Rodgers was unavailable. Getsy IMHO has a lot more to prove than does Justin.

Word. Absolutely.

Where have you read someone, Poles or Warren or even Flus who has said they “don’t believe in Justin”? Weren’t there reports not all that long ago that said Flus was “defending Justin” during OC interviews? Didn’t Warren state not only that he believed Justin was a great athlete he also believes in a ‘three-four year process’? Didn’t Poles just recently state he didn’t like to “leave people in the gray” when it came to what would happen next? That definitely doesn't indicate to me a decision was or had been made. Shefter himself had to retract (for all intents and purposes) what he thought the Bears would be doing with regards to Fields. Never mind the number of players currently in the locker room who have come forward to support Justin. And “polling” among fans still shows a distinct 50/50 divide. The only ones who have said Justin is done in Chicago are a handful of “experts” who think they know the answer. The lying season is most certainly alive.

He cemented the idea that Shefter hasn’t been able to predict what Poles would do (or has done) with the team. And that Poles does a great job playing NFL poker. He also reminded me how enviable a position the Bears are in because of the options they have ahead of them. This really enforces, for me, how well a job Poles is doing.

Sure I get what you’re saying. But to suggest that because Williams is the ‘sure thing’ at #1 overall and is the second coming to his legions, does not “correlate” to him winning “multiple super bowls”. The past history and record doesn’t support it outright.

Your opinion of others being wrong where you are not is what I take issue with. Your opinion of football is entirely seperate. Assholes and opinions we all got. As far as saying “Fields has never been a winner…” - seriously? His collegiate record as a starter at OSU is 20-2. Those two losses being in the playoffs. How well did your man Caleb do in the playoffs? Actually I’ll tell ya. The year he won the Heisman (2022) he went into the PAC12 championship with USC ranked 4th and lost to 12th ranked Utah 47-24. Then during the Cotton Bowl lost to the formidable Green Wave from Tulane 46-45. The second season, where he regressed from his Heisman campaign, he closed the season out with three straight losses and chose to opt out of the Holiday Bowl where his team managed to win 42-28. You remember that one where his backup threw 6 TDs? But I digress. What’s this? “Excuses”? Who were these teams he scored 30+ against? Rice, Stanford, Oregon State? For the sake of argument I’ll do what I can to watch some “All-22” and get back with you. Something tells me my ‘opinion’ won’t be a lot different but I’ll give it due diligence. I’d hate for you to have to resort to petty name calling and refer to me as a blind ‘cultist’.

In the current “Super Bowl era” 24 QBs have been selected #1 overall. Of those 7 have played in and won a Super Bowl. Of the 58 Super Bowls played so far those 7 (~12%) have contributed to 15 Super Bowl wins (~26%). Do you really think Williams is good enough to be in that top 25% of all QBs ever picked? If so, how? Where does he rate against those other 7 that makes you so convinced he’s that “elite”? Others have recently commented on your dismissal of those of us who are still in the Fields camp. And frankly I’m growing tired of it. You continuously volley covert commentary like calling out Fields’ supporters as “crazy” (above) or “delusional” and it’s gotten old. If you want to stick to pure facts and compare I’m good with it. Save the pettiness for somewhere else. So far I’ve seen nothing (on paper) that convinces me that Williams is the next best thing. For me the stats that Fields left collegiately were better than Williams. His overall record far outpaced Williams against much better competition to include the college playoffs . When he faced adversity, both physically (vs clemson 2021) and otherwise (COVID Big 10) he didn’t wither on the vine. Save the “he’s a great guy and terrific athlete” BS because that’s lazy. Williams’ highlight films and NFL prospectus (“takes too many sacks” and is ‘fantastic at improvisation’) point to a younger Justin. Yet when Justin does it, he’s a failure. To tell me Williams is better, collegiately, is just simply not true. And to compare him to how well he’ll measure up to Fields professionally is skeptical at best.

I’ve always been skeptical of Jaylon until this last season. Over his career I think he benefited more from not so good opposite corner play than his own actual performance. This year he came alive. Question I have is he more like Fuller (where he seemed to do better when he was due money) or will he play more like he did last season with regularity? If they think he’s a one hit wonder, need to trade him now. ‘Strike while the iron is hot.’

Well at least I’m a “trusted source”. 😂

Well known and highly regarded ESPN contributor Chris Mortensen passes at 72. As I travel with my 87 year old dad I’m reminded how important family and close friends are and how quick life changes. Take care of yourselves and cherish your loved ones. https://www.nbcsports.com/nfl/profootballtalk/rumor-mill/news/chris-mortensen-dies-at-72

This and other less than mainline beat writers are putting this content out. https://www.sportingnews.com/us/nfl/news/caleb-williams-draft-rumors-visit-bears-justin-fields-trade/8503a257ef3d4b57e8ca0d3d A bit more reputable, NBC Sports says the same thing (waiting until 20 March USC Pro Day). https://www.nbcsports.com/nfl/profootballtalk/rumor-mill/news/report-caleb-williams-to-visit-bears-after-uscs-march-20-pro-day

So was the story of Warren firing Cliff Stein for ‘alleged leaks’ back in January all a smokescreen? Why didn’t the Bears hire Kingsbury as OC even after (allegedly) going all the way to the West Coast to talk to him about Caleb?

THANK YOU Jim Miller.

This time they appear to do.

Word. I’ll co-sign on this. Apples to apples comparison collegiality, Justin and Williams measure out similarly. Records-wise and competition-wise (IMHO) Justin has the edge. He also has a leadership edge (collegiately) based on things like advocating with the Big 10 commissioner to play during COVID. That being said, if the coaches think Justin is damaged goods (because of the first three years of abuse/neglect in the NFL), then I’m good with moving on. Whether it be Maye, McCarthy, Daniels or Nix I’ll learn to cope. Just can’t bring myself to get excited about Williams.

Probably because he’s not a QB prospect. A lot more investment (not just money ) involved . Mostly like ‘face of the franchise’ stuff to consider .

Mine was going to High School and skiing with Tommy Moe. He went on to win gold in the Olympics, I did not…not even close.

He’s been pretty constant about his opinion of McCarthy. He called him “generational” at one point.

Speaking of Drew Brees and his ‘height challenge’, this puts Williams a whole 1 and 1/8” taller than Brees who was measured as 6’0”.

A bit heavier (sturdier) at 227 and clocked a 4.45 40 time in the combine where Williams is thought to be between 4.57-4.60

Neither do I. Don’t really see them set at Bagent being their primary backup either. Perhaps a veteran QB would be a good backup but Waldron already made it clear his offense would work for either rookie or veteran. I’d be curious to see what the Redskins’ strategy was behind drafting RG3 with the first pick then Cousins in the 4th round of the same year. Obviously now we know of the two, Cousins’ career has been more than just as a career backup. What's to say the Bears don’t look for a decent backup in this years’ crop of QBs and eventually, if the need arises, trade either that player, if Fields works out or vice versa? And before I’m convinced no one will trade for Justin why then are there ‘so many teams’ lining up to trade for him now and why are we hoping to get at the very least a high 2nd round pick for him?

The not throwing in the combine and having his dad represent him versus having an agent are not “old” developments. Or at least old revelations.

IE: Jalen Carter last year. I don’t have any issue with Poles making the right choice, I trust him. I may not agree with him in the end but I like the product he’s brought us so far. FWIW I was glad he opted for Wright instead of Carter. That was a smart move.