adam

I heard he was connected to Philly a year or two ago and it didn't line up. Now with them needing a DC, it looks like he may go there.

This is hard for me to believe, but on a Podcast, I heard that Williams has never taken a snap under center. Is that correct? So he never even did a QB sneak from that formation? Seem almost impossible. I can understand him being in shotgun a lot, but NEVER under center seems crazy to me.

He is the top Center, and if he performs well at the combine, he is probably going to be a 2nd round pick, which the Bears do not have.

Interesting that Flus had to "defend" Fields. That implies something negative was stated about Fields. Why else would you have to "defend" a player in an interview? To me that sounds like pure narrative building on the Bears side. In a way, that also sounds like finger pointing towards Getsy, which would be an odd thing to do when you are hiring the new guy for the same position. If they want Waldron, they are going to basically say whatever he wants to hear. Remember they drafted Wright over Carter, and at the time, that was strictly culture. At the same time, can the Bears keep losing when they don't have a QB that steps up in the 4th quarter? I have no clue what they are going to do. My gut says they draft a QB because Poles has yet to pick his guy. If he doesn't go QB, and this whole plan flops in 2024, he might be the first GM that stayed with a franchise for 3+ years that got fired before ever drafting his own QB.

Dallas has #24, #56, and #88, and no 4th rounder this year. To move from #24 to #1 is massive. Even if you consider Dak as a first round pick equivalent, it would take #24, #56, Dak, a 2025 1st, and a 2026 1st at a minimum. Probably another mid round pick in a future year too. That might be too rich for a team that is already close.

Officially official:

That trade is equivalent to a mid-first round pick (going from 9 to 3). It actually makes sense for NE. They get a QB and the #9 pick instead of just a QB at 3.

Ok, so before the draft, the Bears are going to have to do some work. There are some blue chippers that will be available this year. Here are a few at key positions for the Bears to consider: DT - Chris Jones, Justin Madubuike, Christian Wilkins, Leonard Williams, DJ Reader Edge - Josh Allen, Brian Burns, Danielle Hunter, Bryce Huff, Josh Uche C - Connor Williams, Andre James, Lloyd Cushenberry S - Antoine Winfield Jr., Kyle Dugger, Kamren Curl, Xavier McKinney WR2 - Tee Higgins, Michael Pittman, Mike Evans, Marquise Brown, Calvin Ridley, Gabe Davis, Tyler Boyd, Curtis Samuel TE2 - Dalton Schultz, Noah Fant, Gerald Everett RG - Kevin Dotson, Robert Hunt, Kevin Zeitler LT - Tyron Smith, Trent Brown, Mike Onwenu RB - Josh Jacobs, Tony Pollard, Austin Ekeler If you could get 2-3 of these guys, who would you prioritize as your #1, #2, and #3 signings? I would probably go DT with Jones/Madubuike/Wilkins as my #1, Connor Williams as my #2, and Higgins as my #3. Here is PFF rankings for reference: https://www.pff.com/news/nfl-2024-free-agent-rankings-free-agency

Make it 2 position coaches per prospect game, Justin Hinds will coach the DL for the American squad. So we have trench position coaches on both teams, gotta love it!

Jim Dray will be at the Senior Bowl as an OL Coach, so even if the Bears don't bring on Terrell Williams as DC, they will still have a coach at the Senior Bowl. Very nice to have coaches in both games to get first hand experience with prospects. I now expect them to sign 1-2 from each game's roster in the draft, or pick some up as UDFAs.

Yeah, and it was even mentioned by Brisker in the post game of the GB game. I honestly believe some of the soft zone stuff has to do with personnel. Brisker is not really a coverage guy, and Jackson is shell of his former self. So if those are your Safeties, you almost have to play a little farther off because you aren't going to get much help over the top. I would just like to see more timed pressure that matches the coverage. Why blitz or bring extra guys knowing they are throwing the ball within 10 yards to have your DBs play 12 yards off and allow an 8 yard completion on 3rd and 5?

My nightmare right now is the Bears picking someone other than Caleb Williams and he turns out to be Mahomes 2.0 for WAS.

I am sure there are ways around it but from the LAC perspective, it would be tough to do unless they were purposely tanking in 2024.

I was honestly thinking about that for the Jets. For the Bears? RW will be 36 this year, so if you figure a real SB run won't be for another year or two, you are looking at a 37 or 38 yr old QB, who is 5'11", would be on his 3rd team in 4 years, and who's escapability was one of his best traits is probably gone. I guess it could make sense for the Bears as Waldron has experience with RW though. ?

Also, when is the last time an OC became available from a winning team because the HC retired and all the other coaches were given permission to look for other jobs?

We have another Williams.... If the Bears could pull this off, they would have 2x coaches at the East/West Shrine Game AND their new DC at the Senior Bowl. If Poles pulls that off and has all that access to all those players, it would be a brilliant move.

I thought it was Parkins? Yes, I follow Greg. I actually got into a little kerfuffle with him a few weeks ago. I simply said what he said was also a narrative, which is true. He did not like it and said it was one of the stupidest statements that he has ever read, which is hilarious to me. What do you think: I think it is naive to think that Poles doesn't have scenarios or courses of actions already developed for every possible scenario. Basically what trade would he accept from every team in the league he would trade with. What that trade would look like for #1, #9, for every pick, and for some players, to include Fields. He can't wait until someone calls asking. He has an asking price. On the flip side, he has to have a general idea on which players he would be interesting in trading for and what he is willing to give up in a trade for that player (like Sweat, and Claypool). He is not going to call them up blindly, then figure out if their offer works or not out of the blue. That is ridiculous. So Poles has a Plan A, let's say it is draft Williams, and take no less than a 3rd for Fields. Ask for a 1st, but if there is only one offer, take no less than a 3rd. However, at the same time, he has a value for #1. If someone comes to him with a trade proposal that blows his valuation out the window, then he moves to Plan B. It could be the other way around. If someone comes to him with a 1st rounder for Fields, can he pass that up? I just think Poles already has these things mapped out, and is working with other teams, agents, etc to figure out what the best option is for the next few months. Greg makes it seem like Poles doesn't know what he is going to do. I call BS on that. If someone comes to him with a crazy offer today, he has to be able to respond and react to it. They may say here is the offer, take it or leave it, we need to know by the end of the day or the offer is gone, we want max predictability. Poles isn't going to magically start figuring things out, he is already going to have the parameters in place.

I agree, it should include a 2026 2nd, but there is not a selection for two years in the future for the trade options.

Hey, no copying! ?

It seems like the Bears can address 5-6 needs with with top 100 talent no matter what direction they go in.

I tried to go BPA. I think of it as a hole or an upgrade. The Bears have holes at C, Edge, WR2, TE2, and FS. They need upgrades at LT, RG, HB, and TE3 on offense, and upgrades at DT and Edge on defense. So if a hole can't be filled based on slot value, you go with an upgrade. The top 3 WRs were gone, it felt too high for Edges, so I went with LT and TE2 there.

It is hard for me to believe that any of those will happen, but man if those are the worst the Bears can do, they are going to be stacked in 2024. This does not count picking up 2-3 more blue chip FAs.

Last one is trade within the top 3, get MHJ, Bowers, Fautanu, Bullard, Van Pran, and Wright. Then get rotational pieces with Jefferson and Rogers on the DL, LB Barrett for depth and ST, and Wiley as TE3.

Keep Fields trade beyond #3 with ATL, get future 1st and 2nd, #8, #43, and #109, get Alt for LT, Bowers, Leggette, Bullard, Van Pran, Irving for RB, Barner for TE3, DT Jefferson, and still get Washington for WR3/4 and Proctor for S3/4.

My latest one trading Fields to LVR for #44, #112, and a 2025 4th. This one gets the Bears Williams, Odunze, Chop, Bullard, Van Pran, and Stover. I would be shocked if they could pull that off. Then get a T that can slide into G if needed, a HB with upside, a LB for depth and ST, and another S for better depth.