You have to excuse my optimism, I watched Fields and MJ highlights. I'm pumped. Only time of the year, I can do that.

5 hours ago, Mongo3451 said:

Adam Rank is a major homer.  They are always clowning him on NFL Network.  He also has Carolina with a winning record...? 

...and yet he doesn't care and stays the course.  Bear Down!

52 minutes ago, AZ54 said:

...and yet he doesn't care and stays the course.  Bear Down!

That I love!  But when you get paid to do it, don't dilute your credibility.  Bear down!

I was looking at the new people we added on the DL and noticed, compared to other DTs in the league, Justin Jones actually did not play that bad. 52 Ts, 3 sacks, 4 PDs, 1 FR.,12 TFL, 7 QB hits. Played 67% of snaps. With better support players on the DL, his stats may improve.

9 hours ago, Stinger226 said:

I was looking at the new people we added on the DL and noticed, compared to other DTs in the league, Justin Jones actually did not play that bad. 52 Ts, 3 sacks, 4 PDs, 1 FR.,12 TFL, 7 QB hits. Played 67% of snaps. With better support players on the DL, his stats may improve.

In the right role with less snaps he should be a little better.  Plus I think he'll be a good mentor for young DTs.      

 

3 hours ago, Stinger226 said:

 

We gotta see results but with a bit of luck Poles  has overhauled this roster in one year.  We don’t have studs everywhere but we have a legit competitive NFL roster.  Knowing the tear down that was needed I was not expecting to be in this position before his second training camp even started.  He’s done that while retaining cap space so he didn’t bet the farm on a bunch of overpriced vets.
 

In two drafts we now know he will avoid the needs and “runs” and take the value that falls to him.   Last year the late first early second run was on WRs so he took the highly rated DBs that fell to him.  This year the run was on edge rushers so he took the two DTs that fell to him.   Now doing that is easier when you have needs all over the roster so next year will be telling but I think he is fixated on value in the draft early on.  I think we can say the same for FA.  
 

Based  on the movement skills Gervon  Dexter has shown in OTAs  I’m expecting big things from him this year.  We already knew he could move through blockers.  IMO on this trait  he was just behind Jalen Carter and definitely ahead of all other DTs in this draft.  The question was if he could get into the play quicker and we’re starting to see that, albeit just in drills.   It has to start somewhere and now is better than later. 

For us to be a winning team this year there are a lot of questions that have to be answered yes. 

These statements are true:  

He improved the Oline

He improved the WR room

He improved the RB room

He improved the TE room

He improved the DB group

He improved the LB group

He improved the DT group

He improved the edge position ( maybe a small step but still improved it)

With all this improvements, still the single most important thing that will make us a winning team is for Justin Fields to take a step forward.

It remains to be seen if small steps were taken or if giant steps move us forward. I think Poles is given us a giant step in the right direction and Fields will take us there.

AM I DRINKING TO MUCH KOOLAID OR ARE THESE STATEMENTS ABOVE ARE TRUE?

Having so much cap space and the first pick netted us ten immediate starters.  All upgrades!  So, yes the team should be greatly improved.  I'm totally stoked for the upcoming season; aptly titled, "Justin's Trial".

PFF came out with their preseason positional ranking and had Cody Whitehair as the 11th  best OC. I dont put a lot of stock in all of PFF data but when it sounds good, I'll pop it.

11 hours ago, Stinger226 said:

PFF came out with their preseason positional ranking and had Cody Whitehair as the 11th  best OC. I dont put a lot of stock in all of PFF data but when it sounds good, I'll pop it.

Whitehair has played in 107 games.  60 at C, 43 at LG, and 3 RG.  He made the probowl at C in 2018.  He may be older, but he has to be wiser....let's hope. He knows the interior since he has played more snaps/games than most, 107 games is 28th most from a Bear, so I expect him to make the right reads and adjustments. 

The Bears should be able to run over teams and control the clock. If the Defense takes a few steps and create more turnovers, then the offense can take more risks and be exciting.

If you look at the best OCs in the NFL they are mostly older players 28 and up. Lindenbaum and Ragnow are the two exceptions. Cody has two yrs left with high dead cap, so if he plays well, he will be the OC for the next two years.

I have a random theory on running backs in the draft.  Most experts are saying that there's no way they'd draft a RB early.  I forget what thread it was on, but we all discussed their value.  I still believe that versatile backs, that can create explosive plays and/or extend drives are tremendously valuable.  The main thing that teams have trouble with is signing their star to the big second contract.  So, my theory is that we'll continue to see what we saw this year, with the two good running backs being taken in the first round.  Teams will take them, knowing they can control them for 7 years.(5th year option plus two franchise years)  After that, they become disposable.

 The problem for RBs is the more mileage on their body the more they are wore out in latter years. Adrian Peterson seemed to be the exception. Derrick Henry is 29 now and his mileage should start catching up to him. In the last 4 years he's had 60% of the snaps or better. 2019 he only played 8 games because of injury. Rarely do RBs at 29 and over have seasons without injuries. Foreman is 27 but last year he seen his most carries at 34% of the snaps. He still has a lot of mileage. Our RB room  has all hungry players that want to prove themselves, should be fun to watch.

I always liked Greg Gabriel, he never worried about being politically correct with his opinions, said it like it is whether you agree with him or not.

 

I just realized that this is not the Bears first DJ Moore. They had a CB named DJ Moore that was drafted in 2009 and played 4 seasons with the Bears before going to Carolina for a year before he was out of the NFL. He had 4 INTs in his 2nd and 3rd seasons with the Bears and has 10 on his career. I totally forgot about him. Now a decade later we get him back reincarnated as a WR (who happens to be 10 years younger).

2 minutes ago, adam said:

I just realized that this is not the Bears first DJ Moore. They had a CB named DJ Moore that was drafted in 2009 and played 4 seasons with the Bears before going to Carolina for a year before he was out of the NFL. He had 4 INTs in his 2nd and 3rd seasons with the Bears and has 10 on his career. I totally forgot about him. Now a decade later we get him back reincarnated as a WR (who happens to be 10 years younger).

hahaha youre right! I remember him now too! what black magic did Carolina do?!

1 hour ago, BearFan PHX said:

hahaha youre right! I remember him now too! what black magic did Carolina do?!

I don't know lol, but I haven't seen this mentioned yet. 

2 hours ago, BearFan PHX said:

hahaha youre right! I remember him now too! what black magic did Carolina do?!

I do not remember much about CB DJ Moore.  It made me dig because I remember sitting in the back room at a bar with the Bears back in Bourbonnais with Ricky Manning Jr.  He was flirting with some of my friends and I was a little skeptical because he recently knocked someone out at a Dennys restaurant.  The Bears signed him as a FA from Carolina. I have many memories from those days of sharing drinks and talks with many Bears. It was probably a good thing the smartphones were not very sophisticated back then.

1 hour ago, adam said:

I don't know lol, but I haven't seen this mentioned yet. 

it's a great connection you made

Dane Brugler looked back at his preseason football prospect ranking in 2023. We had 4 in the top 50 and Wright wasnt on it.

22 Noah Sewell

29 Gervin Dexter

41 Zach Pickens

45 Tyrique Stevenson

I find this interesting and it shows you how things change from one season to the next. 

 

Justin Jones just became one of my favorite Bears because in an interview today he said Packer Fans were Shitty, Obnoxious and half of them dont know anything about football.

 

Just watched Fields mic'ed up at OTAs. He has some serious leadership skills. You can feel just feel it - it leaps off of the screen. This bodes very well for the future of this team.

Last year he was OK, but felt a little uncomfortable in interviews, a little bit "young". He feels like he has really matured and is ready to become a fierce leader.

I wish we had a pash rush but otherwise I don't see putting any cap on what this team could do. We say 6 wins, 8 wins, 10 wins. But this is a Super Bowl contender in 2024, so it's just a matter of chemistry and when these guys gel. And if Fields has really taken that next step, and it sure looks like it in his personal energy in this video, who knows how soon that could be.

(and we need a DE)
 

 

I agree with everything you said. If we don't add anyone, I still think the defense   won't be in the bottom 10 this year. That could still put us in double digit wins.

3 minutes ago, Stinger226 said:

I agree with everything you said. If we don't add anyone, I still think the defense   won't be in the bottom 10 this year. That could still put us in double digit wins.

It's hard to say. The team really does look good at a lot of positions, excitingly so, but in the NFL, if you give even a mediocre opposing QBs 5 seconds to throw, youre gonna lose a lot of games no matter how good everything else is.

I see the momentum we are building, and i think we will be solid in a lot of areas. But we need a pass rush. One way or another, we will have one in 2024. Hopefully sooner.