adam

Nowadays it is so hard to determine if "coaching matters". These guys are professionals, can the Head Coach, who is just overseeing the entire operation, actually making a huge impact? I don't think so. 20 years ago, for sure. Now, not so much. Hard Knocks is going to be really telling. If he is boring as hell and his speeches sound dumb, then you will have your answer.

Thanks, Email sent.

What's funny is I keep thinking that Caleb may have a different problem, too many guys are open, lol.

The Bears play a football game in two weeks. Obviously this game is going to be 90% backups and bottom of the roster guys, but we might see some rookies for a couple of plays. I can't believe we are only two weeks away. We made it!

Stinger, awesome, DM me his email address he would use for the league and I will send an invite directly from Yahoo and LeagueSafe. For the draft date and time, we can work around everyone's schedule, and basically have an entire week before the kickoff game to conduct the draft.

What I don't understand is, I thought a certified agent or the player were the only people a team can negotiate with? Like Poles can't call up Carl Williams and discuss contract terminology. Even if Williams' camp has lawyers, they aren't allowed to negotiate anything with the team. So how would that work? Did the team send an email to Caleb, who then forwards it to his team and then they send back a response that he forwards back to Poles?

Yeah, the mouths to feed is a great reason for him not to hit 1K. The Seattle trio had over 2,600 yards last year with Geno Smith throwing to them. So I would say there is an outside chance as Williams is a much better passer. Geno had 4282 in 2022, so it is definitely feasible in the Waldron offense. Also, with the extra game, it feels like a lot of people are stuck on the old milestones. 1K in 17 games is the same as 941 in 16 games. Just like with Williams passing numbers. 4200 passing yards is only 247 per game or the equivalent to 3,950 in 16 games. There were 10 4K passers in 2023, basically a 1/3 of the league hit that number, and 14 QBs beat Kramer's 3,838 Bears record. I would like to think Williams is near the bottom of that top 1/3. That should be over 4K. If Lawrence and Mayfield can throw for 4K, Williams can.

Done deal:

Yeah, I guess he technically can ask for one, but seems like that would be like Poles conceding all of his leverage to a rookie who has yet to take one official snap for the team. Also, it seems like a waste of time for Williams because if he is as good as advertised the Bears would be crazy to tag him instead of extending him to a 10-year deal.

Now Florio is saying that Williams didn't sign as they are haggling over the franchise tag after his 5th year. I don't know how that is possible if he practiced yesterday?

I guarantee Poles will be active at the trading deadline dangling the Bears 2nd round pick as the Panthers pick is going to be between 32-37. If the Bears can get a Montez Sweat level player for the Bears late 2nd rounder, that is a great deal for the Bears.

Dalton and Green are the only QB+WR duo to connect for 1K yards passing/receiving as rookies. I think Williams and Odunze have a great shot at that, especially with 17 games. Odunze would need to catch 4.33 balls a game with 13.5 yards per reception. Even with all the other options, it seems like that is very realistic, even for a rookie. Odunze will more than likely get CB2 or 3 on every play, which should be a mismatch in almost every game.

Skill x effort is a thing. That is why if you can find guys like that, you will be in good shape because at worst, they will play to the average of their projections. However, there is a good chance because of their character, that they will exceed their projections. I have a feeling this entire draft is going to hit, and they will hit sooner than later. Even a guy like Booker. I could see him as a starter in Year 2, same with Amegadjie.

Pretty funny to think the Bears had Vildor starting a few years ago, what a train wreck that was. Now we are discussing CB4/5 and S3. Good times.

Bears going 17-0, Super Bowl victory over Houston 34-17. No other team was able to sign two top 10 picks before the start of OTAs, amazing work by Poles and Co!

lol, I doubt he would trade within the conference. I heard Denver as a possible landing spot.

If Aiyuk is out in SF, that really hurts their WR Corps as Deebo would be their WR1 with 892 receiving yards last year. The next best was Jennings with 265 yards and rookie Pearsall. I know they have Kittle and McCaffrey for receptions, but as a WR Corps, no Aiyuk really knocks their roster down.

Yeah, I think they are going to see how Bates/Shelton look, but they will have space to add someone, but I doubt they can afford 2x additions. So I assume it would be C or Edge, not both.

Yeah at the end of the day, that made a ton of sense considering Hard Knocks.

Yeah, I am reading that a lot now. People close to the facility said Hard Knocks crews were there, so this makes a lot of sense to get this on tape.

I did not consider the Hard Knocks effect, that makes sense. I am just saying from the competitor side, if these guys are true ballers, they are not going to let something contractual get in the way of their performance, especially with a rookie deal that is largely locked in based on draft position.

Right now, as far as I can remember, Rome and Caleb are the only two rookies left to sign their deals. I would be more concerned if it was just Caleb left, but if Rome is still unsigned, then this might just be a formality thing where they show up on Monday, the 15th and sign their deals to start work the next day. I believe it is tied to restrictions that are set in the contracts. There are certain things they can't do once they sign their deals, so I am sure they are just trying to maximize the amount of freedom they have before they are locked down in the contract. Most of the stuff is safety related, but I am sure there are more things in there that they are required to do once they sign it. So signing on Monday makes the most sense. If by Monday night, they haven't signed, I will have concerns.

Thanks Stinger. It looks like we still need 2 more GMs if anyone is interested. If you know anyone interested in a paid-pool Keeper league, please let me know. I will try to fill at least one of the spots.

Taylor is 6'4" 225 lbs, the same weight as Roschon Johnson, lol. Obviously thinner due to the height, but it does make sense to have the best tackler that can kick do the kicking.

Ouch, sad to see you go Mongo. That leaves two spots available for the 2024 season.