adam

So traditionally our defense has played against a bad offense in practice. Now they are going to get some real competition, which should make them even better. Another added benefit of this offseason's acquisitions.

Looking at DVOA from last year, the Bears had the 22nd offense and 17th defense for the season. Here is how the rest of the North looked: DET 5th/13th GB 6th/27th MIN 23rd/11th So just say the offense gets to 15th (right at league average), and the defense improves to a top 10 defense (they were top 5 the last 7 weeks of last year). That would put them at 15th/10th. There were 3 teams to finish in the teens in both offense and defense last year, HOU, NO, and JAX. That should be a 10-7 record. Now looking at the other teams, DET's offense looks to be exactly the same, and based on previous seasons, most teams have a dip, so I expect DET to be top 10, but not top 5, say 8th. On defense, they should be slightly better, say 12th. That would put them at 8th/12th, and probably atop the division again. This is 11-12 wins. For GB, this will be interesting. They finished with the 6th offense and 27th defense. I feel like their offense is going to come down to earth, say 10th, and their defense will be better, say 22nd. That would put them at 10th/22nd. This is 8-9 wins. Lastly we have MIN, their offense was terrible last year and now has a rookie QB. I think they will be worse on offense, say 25th, and their defense is going to stay exactly the same at 11th. So 25th/11th. This is 6-7 wins. So with the factual scientific data output, we get: Lions 11-6 #2 Seed Bears 10-7 WC1 Packers 8-9 Vikings 6-11

AZ, I am sorry for your loss. Getting old sucks. I lost my dad 10 years ago and my mom is hanging in there but getting close.

I would have liked a better option at Center, that is my only gripe right now. I am assuming they will bring in a vet Edge and DT to fill out the rotation on defense. The only position I don't like is Center with Bates/Shelton. The only saving grace is Shelton started the entire year for the Rams, so at least we know the floor.

It feels like Williams is wired differently. He doesn't give a crap about the Bears passing records, he is going for league passing records while carrying his team to the playoffs and winning often. I will say this, if the Bears make it to the playoffs, they are going to be a hard out.

How did I not know this. Rome Odunze led the entire nation in receiving yards in 2023 with 1,640 yards, paired with 92 receptions and 13 TDs. He also had a rushing TD. Compare that to Harrison Jr who had 67-1,211-14

This is going to be the first official field event for Williams, Odunze, the other rookies, UDFAs and some camp invites.

Yeah, it seemed like a player bonding experience, and from the looks of it, they are bonding really well. I liked that there were WRs, RBs, TEs, and OL there with Williams. Not just starters too, guys like Roschon and Carter, which is cool to see.

I am so sorry for your losses. Losing family members, especially children, is such terrible experience. I lost my dad and my older brother, and both of those were tough. I can't imagine losing one of my kids. So my thoughts and prayers go out to all those that lost family members. If there is anything I can ever do, please don't hesitate to ask.

I did not see Flus or Poles, but they may have been there.

Every season is like a new hand of poker. GB has had a good run but that is ending this year. Also, the hand 5 years ago has nothing to do with this hand, it just makes for good conversation.

Caleb with Keenan, DJ, Cole, Braxton, Roschon, and Ja'Tyre at the Cubs game.

Those both popped up around the same time too. I would be down with it as they are more than likely not extending Herbert with Roschon having 3 more years left and Swift just signing a multi-year deal. Since Hendrickson is way more valuable, who will also be 30 this year, I would say a pick swap like Herbert+4th for Hendricks+6th would be fair. If they did that, I would go grab someone like Josh Kelley or Marlon Mack as RB3.

It will be an away home game for the Bears.

LMAO

Acho loves hot takes. I would not go that far because there is only 1 Mahomes, he is not any type. Is Williams the best college QB ever? I don't think so. Burrow's last season at LSU was crazy. There have been a few others like that. To me, Williams is one of the most well-rounded QBs coming out ever, where he really doesn't have a weakness that defenses can attack. Make him a pocket passer, and he shreds you. Force him to rollout and he eats you up on the move. Blitz him and he looks like a matador as the blitzer loses an ankle. Right now, the QB style is honestly based on the individual. Look at how different these guys are: Purdy, Prescott, Allen, Jackson, Stafford, Mahomes, Bagent, Tua, Hurts, Stroud.

DeMarcus Walker is pretty cool, I like players that are hyped about their team. He reacted like we did with the Odunze pick:

I try my best to separate everything. No player is perfect, and they each have their own strengths and weaknesses. Caleb does hold onto the ball longer than other QBs, Caleb does try to play hero ball more than others, and he doesn't take the checkdown sometimes and tries to make a higher danger throw. The good thing is, those are correctable and we are not in Year 4 with the same issues. The thing about this year is, compared to Fields rookie year when there were zero expectations, Williams better put up some numbers because he is in one of the best situations a QB has ever been in. This also may be the best situation he is ever in because if they lose Allen after this season, they may not replace him with someone as good as him. If they let Jenkins go, a rookie or replacement may not be as good as him. So as much as we can give Williams a pass on some things because he is a rookie, he is not going to get a lot of forgiveness given the situation he is currently in. We also should expect Williams to get better, which is the exciting part for me. If he is good as a rookie but improves, we really do have our franchise QB and all long-time Bears fans can finally sit back and enjoy the ride. I will do my best to not even mention Fields anymore because it does matter what he did or does, same as Trubisky.

Yeah, this is going to be a fun offseason of OTAs and minicamps. I am sure they will be at max capacity every day it is open to the public just to see Tory Taylor live.

Also, the character and personality part is hard to determine just by watching tape. So the "personal" scouting piece seems to be equally important. Looking at all the draft picks, all of them love football, are great teammates, and work hard at their craft. Williams is always doing something. You see Odunze doing the 3-cone drill over and over long after everyone left. Booker is at the Senior Bowl working on stuff on the sidelines long after others have left. That dedication is infectious. Kiran is on another level growing up and still being a Bears fan. His tweets are hilarious. He seems like a guy that will do whatever he can to help this franchise win.

Sometimes it's the no-brainers that are the best moves too. Don't overthink it. Don't try to be the smartest guy in the room (Trubisky over Watson), Shaheen in the 2nd. The UDFAs are a huge part of the scouting process too like you said, and I have liked what they have tried to do there as well.

It is night and day. Williams is a natural thrower. Fields always felt like a super athlete trying to play QB. It is not natural for him. Now entering his 4th season in the NFL, he still is somewhat robotic. That doesn't even account for the actual delayed release which gets worse with the hitch. Watching a lot of Williams tape, when he makes the decision to throw the ball, it is on the target almost immediately, regardless of his body position/angle, etc. It is pretty impressive to watch. However, most of the time, he is just dropping back and throwing the ball in rhythm. For a baseball analogy, Williams is a guy that is a technician, 5-6 different pitches, with all kinds of variations and arm angles. Fields is the flamethrower that has two pitches a fastball and curve. It is either feast or famine with him.

The whole narrative about a decline in Williams' performance in 2023 is way overblown. He only threw 5 INTs all season and 3 came in one game (against ND). So outside of that game his INT% was 0.57% which is actually insanely low. He had a 1.0% INT in 2022. For the season in 2023, his INT% was 1.3%, which is still elite. So did he force 5 balls trying to make a play, yes he did, but if that is the worst, I will take it every day and twice on Sunday. Also, his raw numbers were slightly down from his Heisman season, but there were two factors, one he played in two fewer games, and two, the team around him was far inferior to the team in 2022. The crazy thing is, even though he had less opportunities, he made the most of them with a better Comp% 68.6% and Y/A at 9.4, both career highs. He also rushed for 11 TDs in 2023 which gets overlooked because he wasn't a running QB like Daniels.

The title is funny "Scouting Staff praise their own decisions" I would hope the scouts are happy with the picks that they recommended to the leadership. Also, with Williams and Odunze no brainers, there were really only 3 picks that took any type of "scouting" and technically Taylor being the best punter in the nation didn't take a lot of effort to figure out. So it really came down to Kiran and Booker.

Ogbah would be a nice vet addition.