BearFan2000

Glad the site is back up, I felt lost without this forum to get my daily Bears fix. At first I thought it was my computer with the time zone error thinking maybe I need to update something. While this site was down I looked at other forums but non felt like this one both in quality and content. Some were hard to even follow as threads often devolved into flame wars of personal attacks. Its hard to find a forum that isn't overrun with snark. There are disagreements here but rarely reaches a level that goes too far. We're all passionate Bears fans, that's what makes this place great. It was one of those things that you take for granted till it's not there. Thank you all for the hard work in making this forum what it is. I too would be willing to kick in some money if needed.

He will always be a Bear in my mind. It was a privilege to watch him play for the Bears one of my favorite Bears of the last decade. Great player and a great person as well, a pro's pro.

This has definitely been an exciting offseason. From the hiring of Naggy, to the building of the staff including keeping Vic. Then Pace got to work adding weapons for Trubisky. Watching video of Robinson and Gabriel I absolutely love how both of them are excellent route runners and run their routes to create separation. They both seem to be students of the game. Gabriel is crazy fast but he isn't just a burner he knows how to set defenders up to get open. Burton is a such a versatile TE that he can line up almost anywhere. I feel like all three guys share versatility. Pace put us in a good position in the draft where we don't have to reach for players in areas of need we can take BPA at 8. I really feel like Pace is coming into his own this offseason and even last offseason with the gutsy call to move up one spot and ensure he got his guy. Pace has shown to stick to his gut when he has firm conviction on a decision. I like that he's not indecisive. He knows what he wants and will do what's needed to make it happen. He knew after his interview with Nagy that that was his guy, and he decided he wasn't going to leave KC without a deal done. Looking back it's pretty clear to me that The fox hire wasn't completely his call, and that his hands were slightly tied in the beginning but it really seems that now he's running things his way. I like the aggressive go get em attitude. He's not going to make all the right choices every time but there really is a sense that the tide is finally turning and this once proud franchise may be on the way back to relevancy. And not just a 1 or 2 season blip where we make a playoff push only to disappear again. We're building the team around a younger core that hopefully will create sustained success.

Good read, and there is much to like about Trubisky. I feel like he has a lot of the intangibles that are either hard to teach or can't be taught. He's shown great enthusiasm to learn and improve his craft and has the work ethic needed to develop into a franchise QB that has been sorely missing from the Bears. I'm excited to see what this coming season and beyond has in store for him. Getting an offensive minded coach while keeping Fangio on D was a great outcome. We're also surrounding him with weapons, and coaches from various different offensive backgrounds that should create a versatile offense that can be fit to his skills/abilities while minimizing his weaknesses. If this turns out the way we and Pace hope it will last years draft will be looked back on as a turning point.

Landry Tagged That pretty much takes him off the table, not that he couldn't wind up somewhere besides Miami it's more complicated. Perhaps they tagged him to buy time to work out a long term deal, and if someone wants to pony up they get compensated. With him and Robinson likely getting tagged the list of FA targets (no pun intended) is starting to shrink.

And Nagy and his staff will no doubt have their own plan for how they want to handle Trubisky's preseason reps. I'm sure there will be some caution as he is the starter.

Perfect example of why I DID NOT WANT him here with the Bears. He's now effectively screwed two different franchises Denver and Indy. Who's to say he didn't use Indy as leverage for a better deal in NE. Perhaps he knew all along he might end up staying there. If I were the Colts or their fan base I'd be livid. The Patriots organization from top to bottom is full of slimy, cheating, win at all costs people. Pats and their fans wonder why people hate the Patriots so much it's because of crap like this. They literally have no conscience or concern about anyone else. McDaniels fits that mold to a T. I hope he does get the HC Gig in NE and once Brady retires (probably simultaneous to Bilicheat retiring), and when he's the head man I hope they go 0-16 every year he's in charge. I feel awful for the Colts, yeah it's risky to go ahead and hire assistants before your coach is "officially" installed. But they had an agreement to where they felt confident in hiring guys for his staff even without McDaniels having a contract in hand. I believe he lead them on, even chose who he'd want as his assistants, and made them believe he would sign a contract at the end of his season with NE. Because of this the Colts are up you know what creek without a paddle. It sucks that there's no rules in place to protect teams from a-holes like McDaniels doing what he did. Now they are completely behind the 8-ball and both HC and assistants pool is pretty shallow now. One caveat, too bad it didn't happen to the Packers, that I could live with.

looking forward to seeing how the offense develops next year and beyond. There is much to like in the diversity of offensive influences. Would be great to have an offense that is versatile in design and can beat teams in different ways. The more flexible you can be on offense to match the current game situation the better. Perhaps some of our issues about in game adjustments/halftime adjustments came down to lack of creativity, and versatility in both scheme, and personal. Perhaps it has been more of a lack of ability to think outside the box or do anything different. The offenses that can adapt on the fly to what's needed as needed are the ones who are more often successful. With the coaches we've brought in starting with Nagy to revamp our offense we may finally have the creativity built into the offense, we could become one of those versatile offenses. Can't wait for the draft, FA, and next season to start.

I agree with many here I just don't see any WR worthy of #8. There will be players worthy of that pick at other positions of need. If we trade back into the middle or early second half of the 1st round then I could see it. As always it depends on who's there when our pick comes up and what the offers will be for a trade down.

I like how he useless good leverage and plays under control. He uses good tackling technique in wrapping up rather than just trying to hit the ball carrier to the ground. He does remind me of Urlacher in how he plays the position, his range and speed would fit well in Fangio's D.

Propper conditioning has a lot to do with finding the proper balance between strength and flexibility. They work hand in hand. You need flexibility and good range of motion to help your body give and not be as prone to soft tissue injury, but you need the strength to not only take the hits/punishment but to counter the force put on your body. Seems like a lot of our injuries in recent years have been of the soft tissue variety where if the focus is mainly on strength but lack of focus on flexibility means our players joints aren't as forgiving when put under stress. Hopefully we can get someone in who will improve the overall durability of our players we can't continue to lose key players at the rate we've seen.

Memory lane! That team was a thing of beauty. I can't wait till we no longer have to look backward to see our Bears glory days. Our Bears and us fans are starved for a champion. The Cubbies finally got that monkey off their back hopefully the Bears get that chance soon. One thing our Bears have in common with the 85 team is in both cases the winning drought had been long. The 85 team talked about growing tired of hearing about the '63 team being the last Bears Championship team. After the '63 championship Chicago had to wait 22 years for their next title. It's been 33 years since '85 Bears. Hopefully next time we win it won't be a one year thing followed by a long drought.

The thing is that would be a luxury pick and we're not in a position roster wise to make luxury picks. When Green Bay took Rodgers The Packers were a perennial playoff team. With Favre at the top of his game. Many questioned the pick it worked out for them, they could afford to let Rodgers sit behind Favre and develop. Not saying we can't reach that point with Trubisky. If we get to the point where we're a regular playoff team and Trubisky is playing well we might then have the luxury of drafting a QB high to develop. Rodgers wasn't the first QB GB drafted while Favre was going strong. Same thing with NE and Brady.

White for sure will at least be in camp but this is a prove it season/last shot. I see Meredith, Inman, and Write coming back. Meredith should be fairly cheep to retain and he was very productive in 2016, if healthy he should be back Inman may not have had as much time here but he produced when he got here I think he's earned a shot to stay Wright seems to have been the most consistent throughout the season so I think he's earned a shot to stay as well I'd like us to go after Landry and possibly someone else. I suspect we will as Pace likes to take multiple swings at filling holes. I'd like to see us draft 1-2 WR's this year with one being a fairly high pick (rounds 1-3) What I think we enter camp with is White, Wright, Inman, Meredith, FA, FA, Rookie, Rookie. That'd be 8 WR's in camp and say we keep the best 5-6 for the 53 man.

Would love to have Landry he'd be a good slot/possession receiver and a good Red Zone target. I doubt we'd add both Landry and Robinson that'd be a big money on two players but at the same time it would be very beneficial to Trubisky. If I had to chose between Landry and Robinson I'd go with Landry. Crabtree would be a great add too, and between him and Cooper, Crabtree's been the more consistent/reliable WR. I don't see the Raiders letting Crabtree go though. Don't really want Martavis Bryant, or John Brown. Bryant is a head case, and Brown can't stay healthy and we already have enough of that on the roster. Some other WR names that could be interesting. Donte Moncrief - Colts (feel he's a little underrated) DeAndre Hopkins - Texans (if they don't resign him) Taylor Gabriel - Falcons (a bit underrated like Moncreif) I have a feeling we will be active in FA particularly on the offensive side. Especially now that we have an offensive minded head coach who will be looking to improve that side of the ball. The good thing about Vic being back is he knows our defensive roster better than a new DC coming in so he may be able to pair down what he needs to augment our roster to continue to improve our D. A new DC who hasn't worked with our roster only has tape and limited interaction to evaluate need on that side of the ball. Fortunately we are in great shape cap wise that we can make some splashes for players we think can take us to the next level. I can't wait for FA and the Draft it will be interesting to say the least.

This process has been refreshingly different. For those of us long time Bears fans you hit the nail on the head. I like how aggressive Pace was here. This and last years draft move to trade up to get his guy. I think we're starting to see Pace's style developing these past years into what kind of GM he is and will be. Contrast this to 3 years ago when Fox is brought in. That search involved a drawn out process including bringing in a consultant to help hire a head coach. It feels more like us getting Fox here was a situational coincidence that Fox became available as we were looking to fill a HC vacancy. It was the "safe" hire to pair a vet coach with a first time GM. Pace's style is starting to become clearer, he is a guy who sees what he wants and goes after it. He had conviction about Trubisky and he did what he felt he needed to do to to ensure he got his guy. After a trimmed down targeted list of guys to interview Pace needed just one round of interviews to have conviction about Nagy, and he didn't waste Nagy's time or anyone else's and made the move to get him. The more I read and hear about Nagy, the more I'm on board with this hire. Nagy comes across as a well spoken, humble, enthusiastic up and coming coach. He and Pace seem to be cut out of the same cloth. Could be the start of long term stability that has been such a foreign concept to us Bears fans. Add Trubisky into that situation and if he reaches his potential we could be looking at the start of the future of the Bears. We've waited a long time to see this franchise returned to it's rightful place among the best in the NFL. Time will tell but I'm certainly optimistic.

Exactly and this process has only increased my respect for Reid. He goes out of his way to help his guys move up and succeed. That in itself makes coaches want to work for and with him. I'm glad Nagy has had that as his example early in his career. These things mean a lot to coaches especially new ones learning the ropes to know that your boss is for you and wants you to excel even if that means the fruit of that labor is harvested elsewhere. Seems that that is part of how Reid measures personal success passing on what he's learned.

That does speak volumes that he in all the turmoil that is the Browns he was the one constant that just kept doing his job and doing it well. I would bet too that Nagy reached out to Toub possibly in part to gauge interest in Toub coming back here and to get his input, he's worked with Dave so I'm sure was glad to make some recommendations.

That makes sense one thing to keep in mind Nagy is planning on calling the plays on offense at least to start with, so getting an OC who may need to adapt to the NFL game some can do that here. Nagy brings with him his own version of the WCO with understanding of Reid's WCO, and with Helfrich can add some of the spread offense concepts to form a unique hybrid WCO that takes can utilize the best of the three styles that is versatile that gives us flexibility to adapt our game plan more to our opponent's defense. At any rate our offense should be less bland/predictable than it was with Low Gains at the helm. Depending on how we address the WR group this offseason and what that looks like heading into next year will be a big factor in just how versatile this offense could be with Nagy and Helfrich running it.

Agree and It's wise to keep our options open should Vic not stay. I think he'd be a good hire in that scenario. I too don't want us to switch back to a 4-3. Not because I'm that big of a fan of the 3-4 but for the reason you mentioned, the D is currently built for a 3-4, switching back will set the D back. Ideally getting Vic back would be my first choice because he knows our guys, they know him, and they know his system it would provide continuity and stability. That said Bettcher would be a good hire. He's done a good job with the Cardinals D and being a 3-4 guy he can build on the foundation Fangio has built. I'm sure there will be other names to come up. The delay may be partly due to Vic waiting to see if he gets any more HC interview opportunities before agreeing to stay. From his perspective he would have more opportunities if his returning as DC here were reportedly a done deal. I could partly explain the ambiguity on whether he'll stay or go. If he truly wants a HC gig he's going to want to be "available" till that window closes. The Bears may not want to wait that out though.

It sure would be awesome if we not only retained Fangio but also managed to bring back Toub. It would require Reid being ok with Toub leaving which wouldn't be impossible but highly unlikely. I don't see Reid letting go his OC and ST coaches and having to restock. Reid can call plays on offense so finding an OC for him won't be as hard. But Toub is special the guy brings special teams magic wherever he goes. That's a rare thing and I'm sure Reid is aware of how valuable great special teams are. That said if Pace were to pull this off that would be a tremendous start to the offseason. Edit: should have read the Coaching staff thread first lol Tabor it is.

I remember hearing as well that Fangio would like to stay and continue to develop the defense here. Vic takes a lot pride and ownership in his defense and he's invested 3 years in working with this Bears defense. Not that any of this or any other rumors mean he'll be back next year. But I do think the Bears would like to have him stay, and I think given the right circumstances he'd stay. I personally hope we can keep him, and if not bring in someone who can build on what he's done here.

Like others here the move to extend was most importantly to give any would be candidates the sense of stability knowing if they sign a three year deal with the Bears they will have the same GM in place during that time, and the added stability that should they be successful here and it comes to extensions that the Bears could extend both for the same number of years to continue that stability. When Fox and Pace were brought in their contracts both ran out after 2018. What this move indicates is that the Bears believe in Pace's vision and want to give him more time, but they don't feel Fox is the right coach to realize that vision. We can debate whether the Bears are right in thinking this and more blame goes to Fox than Pace, or the other way around, or both equally culpable for the lack of success on the field. Personally I think Fox is a decent coach but not the kind of coach that will a team to the next level. While it doesn't show in wins/losses I feel like the team is in a better position become the winning team we want than it was the day Tresman and Emery were fired. I feel there is plenty of blame to go around. Fox's in game coaching and loyalty to a bad OC, coupled with the teams apparent lack of preparedness on game day, reflects on his staff's ability to prepare and coach this team. Pace I feel has shown the ability to generally draft well (something that has plagued this team prior to his arival), no GM will get every pick right but we are getting production from his picks. His FA additions have been very hit or miss, with seemingly more miss than hit. He's preferred however to sign players to deals that are relatively low risk to the team. The down side of that is more impactful FA could be brought if they got more long term security. The other factor is the injuries and the last three years especially have been plagued with injuries at an alarming rate. That could partly be on Fox who's staff includes the strength and conditioning coaches. Something is not right with our ability to keep players healthy and till we fix that it will be a major hinderance to who ever our coach/GM is. On the injury topic, something I think also plays a factor is how the CBA works concerning how teams can practice, number of padded practices, what they can and can't do. Football is a violent game, and if your body isn't conditioned to take the hits I have to think that effects the body's reaction to those hits on game day. Limiting the physicality of practices in order to preserve players for game day, may be counter productive. What I feel is the bottom line in all this or at least a major part of this revolves around Trubisky. We have failed for decades to find that franchise QB who can lead the team rather than just plod along and manage it. I think the Bears believe in Trubiskey to the point where they want to give Pace a chance to build a team around him, and bring in the coach that he feels will maximize his potential to be that long awaited franchise QB to take this team to the promised land. Right or wrong Pace's job, the next head coaches job, and Trubisky's job hinges on getting this ship righted. It's a lot of pressure to put on a young QB and time will tell if it was warranted.

Which is not really anything new here. The Bears have for a long time now had some of the weirdest and most awkward press conferences, it leaves the power structure ambiguous. None of us want or care to see Ted up there ever, but when the team makes any major move or announcement it usually starts with Ted giving his usual BS, George usually has a bit to say, and the GM and coach (when we have one) are often pushed to the back more than they should. Even if Pace is running the show from a personal and staff standpoint it gives the feeling he's handcuffed or has limited control despite the lip service that it's his call on the coaching search. Every time we change coaches or coach/GM, we have this PR mess. The Bears just don't do this part of the process well. We as fans can just hope that Pace is unhindered in the search, and that he can bring in the right coach to take this team to back to winning football. If he does that all will be forgotten. But for the time being we have cautious optimism, hoping this time we get it right, but aware of how the Bears have failed to get this right in the past.

Starting with the question, I say no to Fisher. Trading one mediocre retread coach for another doesn't stand to help our team grow. Fisher is very similar to Fox in many ways. I'm personally not in favor of hiring another retread. I would rather look for an up and coming coach, either a guy who's ready to take that HC step or one who's early in his HC career who'd be a good fit here. I know the fear is getting someone who'd be in over his head. Like Trestman, Jauron, etc. Something that I've been thinking about and it may not be realistic but what if we were to bring in an up and coming OC who'd like a shot at HC. Part of the deal for him would be that at years end Fox will be let go and he will have had a year to audition in the sense of how he fits with the team, players, management etc. He would potentially have the inside track to replacing Fox. With the out that if he wouldn't be a fit it becomes a 1 year deal. Another plus could be that he'd have a year working alongside Fangio and some of the other coaches and would have an idea of who he'd want to keep from this staff to the next.