Unbelievable!!!!!!

Davis Mills on a 4th Down Hail Mary TD, then a 2 point conversion FOR THE WIN!

Absolutely insane!

BEAR DOWN!  

Poles now controls free agency and the draft!

You are fast but this is awesome news.  The entire offseason runs through Chicago.  

2 Christmas’ this year. I’m shocked we have the no. 1 pick. Must be a reward for a tough, tough season.

Shame we gave up our no. 2 pick. Would have preferred giving up the other no. 2. 

Woke up to Houston, 4th and 20, was about to be bummed out. Not now. Not sure I can go back to sleep. 13 hours difference in Thailand. I hate when we lose, it normally bums me out for the day but this year is different. We won the lottery. Can't be upset about that. 

18 minutes ago, 50england50 said:

Shame we gave up our no. 2 pick. Would have preferred giving up the other no. 2. 

Yeah, that is probably the only negative right now. Claypool for #32 is a terrible trade.

17 minutes ago, adam said:

Poles now controls free agency and the draft!

yeah! both! that's crazy isn't it?

We are literally an expansion team right now, except we also have Fields (or three more firsts). Only an expansion team has the freedom of movement we have right now.

This is a generational moment for a GM that Poles has inherited / created. Most GMs never get anything remotely like this. The stage is set for an epic story and outcome. Now he and our scouts just have to hit it out of the park.

This is gonna be the the most interesting off-season ever.

2 minutes ago, adam said:

Yeah, that is probably the only negative right now. Claypool for #32 is a terrible trade.

so far it looks that way, but for the exercise of it, is there a WR expected to go at the top of the 2nd round that youd trade straight up for Claypool?

Of course you could use that pick on any position, so it's not really the full question, but I wonder if Poles didnt overpay just because of the lack of options at WR this offseason?

That was the best thing Lovie Smith has ever done for the Chicago Bears! ????????

Indy is the perfect trade partner right now, #5 as they can pass HOU for the QB they want. 

If 2 QBs go in top 5, you can still get Carter, Anderson, or Skoronski at #5. The assumption is HOU is taking one of them. So it is a trade up with the Bears, Seattle, Arizona, or Indy for the other potential QB landing spots.

I could even see HOU trading up to #1 to ensure they get their guy. The Bears could get HOU's 2nd rounder (#33) and probably another later pick (like a 2024 4th). So 1 for 1, 33, and a 4th. 

The Bears traded 2x 3rds (67 and 70) and a 4th (#111) to move up from 3 to 2. However, 2 to 1 is a bigger move. So a 2nd and a future 4th would seem comparable.

If I am the Bears, unless there is a haul, this would not be a bad move since you literally are getting a couple of free picks (and the Claypool back) for nothing as HOU should be picking first anyway.

The move from 2 to 1 basically gave the Bears an extra 2nd round pick in any trade scenario. 

Poles is in complete control of free agency and the draft now!  This is how heroes and villains are made...

2 hours ago, jason said:

That was the best thing Lovie Smith has ever done for the Chicago Bears! ????????

Jason I'm glad to have known you long enough to see your dream of a tanking team come true.  Now let's hope we have the right GM to exploit the situation.  

Since the world knows we are not taking a QB then the QB slots drop to the 2nd and 3rd picks.  That helps Seattle trade down if they are content with Geno but that can only happen if one of the top 2 QBs is still on the board.  Seattle viewing Geno as the future QB is a little difficult for me to believe so I'm going to say they will be doing a lot of work on the draft QBs. 

Then you drop to AZ who has Kyler Murray but there are a lot of question marks surrounding his work ethic and future in the organization.  The Cards with new GM/HC could easily draft a QB and then trade Murray either this year or next. 

Indy is an automatic for QB.  

Detroit no

Las Vegas automatic for QB

Overall by draft slot teams that need a QB:  2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 9, and maybe Tenn at 11, Hou again at 12, (Jets at 13 maybe), and perhaps Wash @ 14.   That is 7 teams in the top 10 with definite QB need, potentially 10 in the top 15, looking at 2 franchise caliber players.   Odds are somebody will back up their Brinks truck at Halas Hall.       

1 hour ago, AZ54 said:

Jason I'm glad to have known you long enough to see your dream of a tanking team come true.  Now let's hope we have the right GM to exploit the situation.  

?????????

3 hours ago, adam said:

Indy is the perfect trade partner right now, #5 as they can pass HOU for the QB they want. 

If 2 QBs go in top 5, you can still get Carter, Anderson, or Skoronski at #5. The assumption is HOU is taking one of them. So it is a trade up with the Bears, Seattle, Arizona, or Indy for the other potential QB landing spots.

I could even see HOU trading up to #1 to ensure they get their guy. The Bears could get HOU's 2nd rounder (#33) and probably another later pick (like a 2024 4th). So 1 for 1, 33, and a 4th. 

The Bears traded 2x 3rds (67 and 70) and a 4th (#111) to move up from 3 to 2. However, 2 to 1 is a bigger move. So a 2nd and a future 4th would seem comparable.

If I am the Bears, unless there is a haul, this would not be a bad move since you literally are getting a couple of free picks (and the Claypool back) for nothing as HOU should be picking first anyway.

The move from 2 to 1 basically gave the Bears an extra 2nd round pick in any trade scenario. 

The Bears only beat Hou with a last second FG. 

1 hour ago, AZ54 said:

 Odds are somebody will back up their Brinks truck at Halas Hall.

Ryan Poles is currently instructing all perspective buyers to install glory holes in the trucks before docking.

Let's review the offseason:

- Franchise QB secured

- $115 million in salary cap available

- #1 pick 

- New President being hired (Sweaty Teddy is gone)

- Finalizing purchase of land for a new stadium

It's a great time to be a Bears fan!!!!

Peace

 

 

It would be absolutely incredible if Poles can trade down one to HOU, then trade from 2 to 4 with Indy. Both who take QBs.

So the Bears could pick 4th and take one of Anderson, Carter or Skoronski, add #33, #35 (they could trade down from either) in this draft and an extra 2024 2nd and 4th just to move down 3 spots.

That would give the Bears #4, #33, #35, Claypool, #54 (BAL), and #64. 5 picks and Claypool in the first 65 picks. 

1 minute ago, Connorbear said:

Let's review the offseason:

- Franchise QB secured

- $115 million in salary cap available

- #1 pick 

- New President being hired (Sweaty Teddy is gone)

- Finalizing purchase of land for a new stadium

It's a great time to be a Bears fan!!!!

Peace

 

Yeah, I don't know when is the last time a team had the highest cap space, the #1 pick, a franchise QB on their rookie deal (for 3 more years), and the same coaching staff all in the same offseason. Rarely, if ever, does a team have all of those. 

5 hours ago, adam said:

Yeah, that is probably the only negative right now. Claypool for #32 is a terrible trade.

When you assess Poles job, you have to look at it overall and he  put us at this spot where we have money and the first pick. We haven't won since he traded Roquan. If Claypool has a good year in 2023, the trade will be lauded not criticized.

5 hours ago, BearFan PHX said:

so far it looks that way, but for the exercise of it, is there a WR expected to go at the top of the 2nd round that youd trade straight up for Claypool?

Of course you could use that pick on any position, so it's not really the full question, but I wonder if Poles didnt overpay just because of the lack of options at WR this offseason?

I think he made the decision for two reasons. He wanted to bring in a WR  to bond with Fields and help his development, plus free agency didn't have a great group of WRs. I don't think he thought we would be 4-13 that would be more of around pick 10-15.it would have made the trade less significant.

4 minutes ago, Stinger226 said:

I think he made the decision for two reasons. He wanted to bring in a WR  to bond with Fields and help his development, plus free agency didn't have a great group of WRs. I don't think he thought we would be 4-13 that would be more of around pick 10-15.it would have made the trade less significant.

I agree with all the reasons you say, but i do think Poles expected to be picking in the top 5 of the draft, and did things to help insure that, like trading away players on defense - it was the smart thing to do, and here we are.

Doesn't this mean our coaching staff goes to the East West Shrine bowl?  That used to be Senior Bowl but for some reason the NFL moved the affiliation over.  Regardless this is a plus for day 2 and especially day 3 picks and maybe some UDFAs.  

https://shrinebowl.com/coach-selection/

9 minutes ago, BearFan PHX said:

I agree with all the reasons you say, but i do think Poles expected to be picking in the top 5 of the draft, and did things to help insure that, like trading away players on defense - it was the smart thing to do, and here we are.

Yes.  It was all part of the reset.  Most fans understand the talent portion of a reset, when combining that with financial strength it becomes muddled.  This is the perfect storm for a GM if he feels he has a franchise QB in the midst of a rookie deal. 

Of Justin's class, the only rival is Trevor Lawrence.  He is proving to be the real deal.  As of now, I place him ahead of Justin, strictly due to passing.

We'lll surprise people next year, but 2024 it's going to be on!