Alaskan Grizzly

No big loss. Good luck in Houston.

Agreed. We can’t go to sleep on Minny. They drafted Kellen Mond this year who many of us liked. He could be a QB in waiting for them once they’ve had enough of Cousins. I personally see a lot of good battles between he and Fields in the years to come. Not too worried about Goff and the “knee biting” approach of the new coach in Detroit. But they might just be stubborn enough to make GB miserable for a few years too.

I saw this story some weeks ago. Makes sense now. https://www.nfl.com/news/davante-adams-derek-carr-it-would-be-a-dream-packers-raiders

Fields certainly has a way about him that makes you want to love him if for nothing else as a decent human being. I read a story a few days ago where he’s looking forward to playing in Chicago and really appreciates the fan base. In the story below, he paid a visit to a fan who was recently wounded by gunfire. https://wgntv.com/sports/bears-quarterback-justin-fields-visits-gunshot-victim-he-helped-inspire-to-stay-alive/

I did see a story about Cutler saying he’d be willing to come back to play for the Bears again. Can’t seem to be able to second source it so it’s probably not legit…but we could talk about it. ? https://www.sportsmockery.com/chicago-bears/jay-cutler-would-gladly-play-for-bears-again-if-given-2nd-chance/

Word.

Disclaimer: I wrote some of my comments while maintaining a buzz so there's that... Anyhow, the point I was attempting to make was that no matter how good a QB they are, college QBs have a larger learning curve because of all the things they have to consider. Most notably pre-snap reads of the defense. The one huge advantage Fields has is his dedication to his craft. He's someone who spends a lot of his own time continuing to learn and run plays. This article speaks on how he's known to come early and leave late when it comes to learning and practicing and that his work ethic goes back as far as his high school days. https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2021/04/29/justin-fields-nfl-draft-process/ If there has been a knock on him, it was what some took as his inability to read the field. But in this article, the author does a pretty good job in dispelling that "rumor". In it there are points made that he has some rough edges to his learning but nothing that will cause long term concerns and certainly that he can't practice to get better at. https://thedraftnetwork.com/articles/justin-fields-progressions-first-read-analysis

He’ll struggle no doubt for the first year at least. If I’m not mistaken the one thing he says is a big difference for him will be calling plays from the huddle. Don’t know that he’s had a lot of experience reading defenses because of it. Once he’s able to recognize defensive sets that may necessitate him calling an audible, we’ll know more about how he’ll succeed.

Wouldn’t disagree. But at this point what’s going on from us and the media is all speculative. As someone else pointed out, Trevathan said he talked to him and he’s committed to playing. I’ll go with that for now.

Unless he comes out and decides to retire we won't know much until training camp starts in a few weeks. This article brings up some good points and discusses the effect of COVID on everyone. I believe part of why Goldman opted out last year was due to he and his significant other having a child. A lot of things are possible to include him not having the fire to play anymore. Andrew Luck did the same thing a few years ag;, it happens from time to time. https://ontapsportsnet.com/2021/07/07/chicago-bears-eddie-goldman-threatening-retirement-or-bludding/

FWIW I understood what you were getting at and I agree that there were some eerie coincidences. The move that SF made this year for Lance seemed like Trubkisky 2.0. I'm not sure that SF was as intrigued with Trubisky as they seem to be with Lance but instead duped Pace into thinking they were. Maybe they were trying again this time and Pace got wise?

I’m not sure about Miller (WR). He still seems too liability-ish to make the team. They tried unsuccessfully to trade him so that’s somewhat telling. Newsome is going in (presumably) off an injury. Would prefer someone like Ridley on the roster. The ILB depth seems weak. Like Jones there a lot but with Danny T getting older it would be better to see another competent/proven backup than either Iggy or Woods as the options.

Maybe they plan on putting Kmet next to Jenkins as a blocking TE?

Been awhile since I’ve been in the area but isn’t Arlington Heights pretty much a suburb of Chicago? I know where my grandparents used to live, in Woodstock, used to be way outside the city limits. Not so much anymore.

And they tried out Brandon Marshall (the LB not WR) Monday. Played a few years with Danny T while in Denver then left football in 2018. Might be a good cheap depth add? https://bearswire.usatoday.com/2021/06/14/former-broncos-linebacker-brandon-marshall-workout-bears/

Funny you say that and just purely by coincidence saw an article yesterday speculating about the Bears maybe being interested in Zach Ertz. I can’t really see this happen for a lot of reasons (money, cap, need elsewhere and money) but maybe? https://247sports.com/Article/Zach-Ertz-trade-Buffalo-Bills-Chicago-Bears-teams-to-watch-Philadelphia-Eagles-166537449/

Thought he was #11(?). But... was curious to see how our last 1st round pick compared. LB Roquan Smith picked 8th overall in 2018 signed a deal very similar to what Fields’ was (~$18 million). If you consider Smith was 8th overall (to Fields’ 11th) , is an LB and Fields a QB and that Roquan held out for his deal (?) then not only was Fields’ deal a steal but also Fields himself is ready to get to work and not mess around.

Amen! and... his whole contract at just under $19 million is just about half what Trey Lance Zach Wilson will be making? Amazing... Fields is unquestionably more talented than both those guys.

Because I’m lazy and I know you know this stuff, how does this compare to other 1st round QBs? Is this pretty ‘norm’ these days? I ask as it doesn’t seem as he held out whatsoever and wondered what the going rate was. Is his deal higher, lower, about average? And I assume like any other rookie he has the fifth year option?

I get your concern. Being a disciple of Fangio you’d think he’d be a bit more coarse in his response. But if Fangio were put in the same position he might not have said anything but in his mind thought ‘you’ve got to be [friggin] kidding me’ while out loud he might’ve muttered a very sarcastic ‘right’.

How about this for Fields?

Ha! I had started looking it up and found his injury history. His was more with his legs and then he hurt his scapula (shoulder blade) later in his career. The dude was made of glass. Miller’s been injured a few times in his short career. But the team hasn’t given up on him...yet.

Is it me or is this the first time Pace has not drafted at least one player from the D2 ranks? Bottom line, he did pretty well this time and seems to actually be fulfilling the role of what a GM is supposed to do. Amazing what a hot seat and learning from past mistakes will do if given one more year to prove one's self.

Sucks to hear this about a strong prospect. Best to him on a quick road to recovery. Out of curiosity and because I recall Rodgers having had a broken collarbone I looked up his injury history. Turns out he’s broken both collarbones, once in 2013 (non throwing) and again in 2017 (throwing side). He was back to practice in six weeks and playing about 8 weeks after having aggressive “trauma” type surgery on the right side. https://www.sbnation.com/2017/12/2/16724018/aaron-rodgers-packers-practice-return-broken-collarbone

Putting this here. Former Washington Olineman Morgan Moses will be visiting the Bears tomorrow. Several outlets have this story. He’s a cap casualty after Washington signed former Bear Charles Leno. Been a solid player for the last number of years. https://bearswire.usatoday.com/lists/chicago-bears-morgan-moses-visit-fan-reaction/