DABEARSDABOMB

So I tend to think scenario 1 and 2 are what Bears should do regardless. I’d than draft some onlineman, take a shot at a young QB (knowing I might also do the same next year depending on how this swing goes), and than I’d get a wideout or two given the depth of the draft and try and find another db. Call it a mini refresh - and if Pace and Nagy had real swag - they could save their job too - cause of that qb looks decent - I’m not calling for their heads - I’m saying let’s see if we can do this. I also should note I am totally open to trading for Tua as part of the Watson trade. I saw nothing I liked from Tua - but not denying the raw talent he had coming out of college and if there was ever a year to excuse his performance I would say a year with a COVID offseason where you are coming off a major injury would be a valid excuse. Unless they get Watson, Wentz or Stafford - I’m drafting a qb early or I’m trading for Tua/D’Arnold and seeing if Bears can buy low and find gold. In the scenario it is a young QB - No matter what I do I do it knowing if it doesn’t work - I’m going right back to the well the next year. I will point out - in bears case - if that happened - clearly a new GM/Head Coach would be making that decision.

Personally - I trade him and live with the cap hit knowing I accumulated assets and next year have a ton of cap flexibility.

Watkins is a no - Golliday is good and if the Bears made a run at Stafford I wouldn't mind that move. But you are right in sense Golliday has gotten hurt. Maybe getting with Bears training staff would help. Feels like Lions have seen there fair share of injuries and I wonder if they aren't using as modern medical science, etc. Not saying the Bears are a best in class organization at all levels - but part of what Pace has done well is really made significant investments in the analytics and sports science departments and obviously helped drive a massive effort to give the Bears a world class training facility. But Watkins - even when he hasn't been hurt - he has never been the player everyone expected him to be coming out of college. He's always been paid on that hype and potential and at this point in your career - when you don't have the production, no thanks. Golliday is still pretty young too - and has Chicago roots - so could be a nice play. Not sure how different $ will be between him and Robinson - but either way - if Robinson doesn't want to be here, you transition tag or franchise Robinson to move him and make your play at Golliday (problem is Golliday probably doesn't stay on the market fast enough to let you make a move on Robinson). And if you look at Golliday - last year he was hurt - the 2 years prior he played and started 31 out of 32 games. I also think Golliday is a way better fit for the offense Nagy wants to run - in the sense that he has always appeared to be far more explosive of a wideout than Robinson (who is skill wise - is fantastic - but fear factor - he isn't going to take it over the top and isn't as much of a homerun threat). His rookie season he played 11 and started 5 - maybe some of that was due to injury? But I presume more was due to being a 3rd round rookie who slowly got playing time.

So I'll throw out my acquire Watson scenario - with the caveat that - my trading only works if the Bears can accumulate some extra assets this year so that really you are making a huge investment in Watson today - recognizing the step to greatness isn't going to happen overnight (because from a cap/asset perspective - they will have issues) - but having that true franchise QB is where you have to start. If Bears unequivocally believe Watson is that guy - than I think almost any price is worth it - because it isn't just about the next 1-2 years - it is about the 5-8 year window you have with an elite QB. I will also note - I don't see the Bears getting Watson by having the absolute strongest package - so at some point - Watson is going to have to tip the scales a bit in the Bears favor for this to work. The Bears will clearly not be the best team looking to acquire Watson - so for this to work - Bears are going to have to convince Watson (from ownership to GM to coach) that he is their guy and that they are going to build this entire franchise around him and make him a legend in Chicago and around the NFL. Endorsement deals - Love of the City - etc. But realistically - they are going to have to sell them on their commitment to do that over time - cause there is almost no scenario where I see Watson arriving and the Bears just being immediate superbowl contenders - unless instead of what I do below - the Bears sell like the next 4 years worth of draft picks - which I do not condone. Step 1: Move Mack - Get maximum value and my hope is you are talking at least 2 2nd round picks (ideally you get a 1st and a 2nd - even if one of those is a future pick - I don't care). And for those that say you can't get that - I don't believe it. All advance metrics still say Mack is a well above average pass-rusher and while his production dipped with the Bears - he's still widely viewed as an elite player and pass rushers (next to QB's) still have high value. This is a move that is necessary - as Bears need to find other assets - plus I think they need to move Mack for increased flexibility in terms of future cap usage (think 2022 & beyond). Note: I do this in almost any scenario if I were the Bears front office - because I think they need to find a way to develop their offense and I think Mack gets in the way. Although I would caveat this is something they could always do in another year (presuming Mack doesn't suffer a serious injury) and potentially under a new front office (depending on how 2021 goes). Step 2: Franchise and trade Allen Robinson - Get whatever you can for him - maybe it is a 2nd round pick - maybe it is a future 2nd round pick or 3rd round pick - but you can not fit Robinson's contract on the Bears. As much as I like Robinson - with the holes this club has - you can't afford paying Allen Robinson $20M per year; Note: I do not know whether the Bears can do what I outline above and still be in a cap position to fit Watson's contract under the books - but I'll leave that to another post who can verify or not. Step 3: Trade your 1st round pick, your 2nd round pick, the picks you acquired for Mack (1st round & future 2nd round) and next years 1st round and 2nd round pick - for Deshaun Watson. That would be 3 1st round picks (2 in this years draft; 1 next year) & 3 2nd round picks (1 this year & 2 next year (1 being the Bears & 1 being a pick you got from Robinson or the other Mack pick). I personally don't think that deal alone is going to be as good as what a team like Miami could offer - and maybe it isn't enough or I'm unrealistic in what I can get for Mack/Robinson (its possible). If that is the case - an alternative would be packaging Roquan Smith in the deal - although my preference would be to keep him as a young defender. In this scenario - Bears still potentially have a 2nd round pick and than the rest of their draft after 1st round and only essentially mortgaged next years 1st / 2nd rounders as well. None of the above is probably realistic - but hey - its a starting point. The thing I don't know is how much cap space / would they have cap space to do this?

So the worst part was - all the slime graphics were for Saints TD's and not Bears. I actually watched most of the game on Nick - figured my 5 & 7 year old would enjoy it and to be honest - most of the time I don't care about the commentary anyway and I enjoyed it. They watch games with me anyway - but I think they enjoyed it a bit more watching it on Nick and some of the penalty explanations and stuff like that - which were more simple - were perfect. Not sure I'd want to watch every game on Nick - but I'm in for a few games a year.

If anything the Licht thing tells you maybe you should be patient with your GM - or it downplays the importance of a GM and more the element of luck or whatever you want to call it tied to finding a QB. But IIRC - Licht was on the hot seat at least a few times during his tenure - which by and large would be considered a complete miss (if you look purely at W/L record). And it included taking a kicker who literally sucked in like the 2nd round.

The real miss was when the Bears hired Marc Trestman over Andy Reid. That was when it all went wrong.

Franchise Arob - trade him for a 2nd rounder (I don't know if that is doable). Trade Mack for a 1st or 2 2nd rounders. At that point - I think you might have enough capital to make some moves - but only way I can see Bears pulling off is if Watson has a really short list of teams and is pretty much demanding a trade to the Bears. I don't really know why he would do that - knowing you might have another new coaching staff in a year. If Nagy and Watson went back and had worked well together at some point - I could see it happen. I just don't see Watson to Chicago - although I do see Nagy wanting him and I see Pace and his aggressive ways also being enamored with this chance.

Absolutely not. Singeltary was a lousy coach and a lousy DC. I don't mind him as someone on the staff but no no no no no. Didn't he most recently go like 1-27 as a high school football head coach.

Mac looks really good...but it is hard to evaluate with the generational offensive talent he has as well as the absurd oline. I can't think of any Alabama QB who has been good and the little I saw of TUA this year was startling. I may be wrong - but he looks like a huge bust (in the sense that Mitch would run circles around Tua).

I like this - I would go as far as stating that just because you use one of those 3 picks on a QB, there is no obligation the front office has to use said QB as a franchise guy. This is more a first shot at rolling the dice, knowing that in a year if you like a different QB better and have a higher pick, than go ahead and go down that path. I would 100% be on-board with the 1st 3 picks as you outline Jason. In fact - I would be downright ecstatic with that outcome.

I give Nagy credit - he had the team ready to bounce back after last weeks late choke to Lions. It is the one thing I like about Nagy - he always seems to keep the team moving forward. It hasn’t always worked and I put a lot of heat on him for the offense, but I like the new play calling and tweaks being made by Lazor. Nagy might actually be a good head coach if he eased off the reigns a bit on the offense. Probably too little too late but I wouldn’t be shocked if a GM gave him a year. Although right now I just want to see them win out!!!

And you didn't even list out Rick Smith, who built the Texans up and than had to step down due to some family health matters. He was an excellent GM and did a really nice job building up the Texans during his time there. I'd probably say Smith is more of a president type who you would hire and he would than figure out his GM.

Me too. It really looks like despite some physical limitations, he knows how to read defenses and spread the ball all over the field. I feel like now more than ever that is the big differentiating skill set. What do I know though - cause he's like the 4th/5th rated QB by most experts (with most having Lawrence, Fields, Wilson, and Lance all ahead of Trask).

Kaplan had indicated some rumblings inside Halas Hall that Phillips is going to retire. This adds fuel to the speculation that Bears are going to have a total revamp - new head of football operations + GM + Head Coach. I suppose the new head of football operations & GM could ultimately determine Nagy is an okay head coach and that the bigger issue was a talent gap and give Nagy another year (I doubt it - at this point seems like a full restart).

It is pretty evident at this point that change is coming, they are just going to wait for the season to end to make that change.

If it is the same clip I saw elsewhere - bad mechanics or not, he threw a TD pass. Kmet just dropped the ball. Period. It was one of two drops on nicely thrown balls on that first series - that should have been TD's. Do they change the game...probably not, but it might have been a 4TD / 2 INT type of performance. I'd of course say he could have just as easily had a 3 TD / 3 INT day.

This - I think the team Pace built was the team Fox would have taken to the next level and it would have been a sustained next level.

The one constant is Diva Wideouts rarely drive success. It is why I have kind of said overpaying for Robinson, as solid and quality as he is, just isn't worth it. Teams just don't seem to win at high clips having a ton of salary cap space tied to the wideout spot. Tie it to the pass rushers, db's, line and QB.

I'm in your camp. If they lose to Detroit - I'll shift my hat to kind of not caring. Right now - I'm hoping we see an aggressive no regret Mitch back out on the field and see if he can continue to make progress. I still think he's looked better all year than he had at any point in his career. That is not to say he has looked great, but I see a QB who is looking downfield more, willing to take shots and a guy who has made a lot more plays. He'd be on pace for 30+ TD's at his current rate (over a full season)...although I should point out, he'd also have a lot more picks). Part of me says there is a 5% shot we see Mitch finish the year strong and actually shift the narrative big time. Nothing would make me happier - highly highly unlikely, but I am rooting like hell for it to happen.

Kind of what you would expect from a team with an above average offense and below average defense. Until they have a QB - hard to put up back to back winning seasons because you aren't going to go and just win the games, you are going to have to grind the games. This team could have been a lot better if everything was designed around its strengths. Those that say this is a terrible team are wrong - that said, I don't know a way to turn it into a great team quickly, unless the franchise is going to luck into a franchise QB.

Yeah; I felt so bad for Mitch. He lost and could have done more...but he is clearly better than Foles and showed it tonight. First drive...great drive, he throws 2 TD passes...both get dropped. On the next or following drive...moves the chains on 3rd down...but holding penalty takes it back and follows that up with a turnover. Next drive....you have the missed face mask and fumble. He took some shots and made some mistakes...but as a whole he kept his eyes down field and made plays and wasn't just throwing the ball 5 yards. Despite the score and all the late points by the Bears - I actually thought Mitch played better than most of the games score would dictate. Robinson has to be so happy to have Mitch back. But what a shitty spot for Mitch to be in - back to the wall with a defense that did NOTHING...and I MEAN ABSOLUTELY NOTHING TONIGHT. I hope Bears stick with Mitch and lets see what they do. I won't be shocked if Bears surprise us and win a ton to finish this out. Call it a hunch. I also wouldn't be shocked if Detroit beat them and this ends really badly. We will see.

You were so spot on re: Defense. They got torched in both of those cases.

By the way - I can't believe Bears guaranteed 24M to Foles. That alone should be a fireable offense. Just absurd that this team can't move on from Foles at this point and basically has a bunch of dead cap tied to him. Just a brutal use of the cap. If FOles was good - he opts out - so it isn't like there was any world where you were getting Foles for 3 years at a decent rate. Basically the only way you were paying Foles what was outlined here was if he was mediocre or not good....which to no surprise is exactly what he is.

I do agree with you on the pieces you mention - I think it is definitely time to move on from Mack (if you can salvage it). I really like Kyle Fuller so hate dealing him as CB's like him are tough to find and I feel the same way about Hicks. That said - age isn't on any of those guys sides. I just don't know what the Bears will be able to get from those guys, but if you can get anything close to some 1st and 2nd round picks, you absolutely do it. At a minimum - I'm trading Mack and using the picks I get draft olinemen and a QB. Or I'm just drafting olinemen and waiting another year for a QB (maybe you don't like one in this draft or you take a shot on Winston and see if a year with Payton helps - guy has always had talent and despite being a turnover machine at least knows how to put up points). And you are right - this offense is horrific. I think about how everyone made fun of Jon Gruden when he entered the league, but I actually really enjoy watching his offense play. It is tough, physical and pretty solid. Turns out the game of football didn't pass him up and if anything he has actually proven no matter how modern the league is, the old school concepts still hold true. With this defense - the Bears could have used an offense just like what Gruden runs - complimentary football and playing to your strengths would have been perfect. This offense is quite frankly the worst offense I've ever seen for the Bears. Under Trubisky they were actually okay the 1st 3 weeks of the season. They were moving the chains, had some solid quarters and even a good half. Wasn't great by any stretch but since Foles got here, outside of his first quarter, we have seen pure trash...period.