Tory Taylor, P, Iowa selected at #122

[adam]

Potentially the last pick for the Bears in this draft.

Will be an upgrade over Gill but seems like a luxury pick when you had your choice of Edge or Center.

[AZ54]

My WTF moment arrives in Poles 3rd draft.  Now I have to go figure out what this kid has to offer but NFL Network (Rich Eisen) spoke glowingly about him.  

[dawhizz]

Boo. You shouldn’t be drafting an punter in the fourth round and certainly shouldn’t be spending draft picks on punters two years apart. Considering the Texans traded up right after our pick you have to think some kind of deal with them was available for the Bears too. If this is it, it’s an underwhelming end for me.  

[Stinger226]

Finally Poles gives us a WTF moment but with only 4 picks, can't expect magic. I would think they could have traded back and still took him. He waa rated to go in the fifth round but we don't have a fifth rounder.

[AZ54]

Absolute specialist at putting punts inside the 20.   It really sucks the wind out of our sails drafting a punter right after we supposedly drafted a generational QB and WR to score points.  

 

[ASHKUM BEAR]

He is on the older side at 26 years old.

From Melborne Australia, so his interviews should be fun. 

[BearFan PHX]

No offense scores every time they have the ball, and since we have a great defense, a good punter just gives Caleb better field position when we get the ball back.

Having a great defense and a great punter is like having Dennis Rodman on the rebounds. Sure Jordan scores a lot, but when he misses, Rodman gets the board and gives him another better shot. It's a multiplier.

[Mongo3451]

When I first heard it, I hated it.  Thought about it for a few and hated it.  Then thought, who am I?  Still don't understand it, but who am I? 

I've been crying for a stud center for three years and we've yet to get one.  Maybe the backup we traded from the Bills will be the guy.  All I know, is I better not see a turnstile up the middle this year.

[BearFan PHX]

1 minute ago, Mongo3451 said:

I've been crying for a stud center for three years and we've yet to get one.  Maybe the backup we traded from the Bills will be the guy.  All I know, is I better not see a turnstile up the middle this year.

I agree, that would be incredibly frustrating and a threat to everything Poles has built so far.

[AZ54]

19 minutes ago, Mongo3451 said:

When I first heard it, I hated it.  Thought about it for a few and hated it.  Then thought, who am I?  Still don't understand it, but who am I? 

I've been crying for a stud center for three years and we've yet to get one.  Maybe the backup we traded from the Bills will be the guy.  All I know, is I better not see a turnstile up the middle this year.

Has to be the biggest disappointment of this offseason.  Odunze was just too good for them to pass up.  

[killakrzydav]

Figure I owe someone an apology after standing on it would never happen. Well, it did and here you go. My bad.

[adam]

He had more punting yards then the Iowa offense had yards last year, lol. He has some unique technique to ensure coffin corner punts pop back to the coverage team and not roll into the end zone. He is top 10 in pretty much every punting category all-time for college football. He led the nation in 2023 in punts, punt yards, and was 3rd in Average.

[ASHKUM BEAR]

2 hours ago, adam said:

He had more punting yards then the Iowa offense had yards last year, lol. He has some unique technique to ensure coffin corner punts pop back to the coverage team and not roll into the end zone. He is top 10 in pretty much every punting category all-time for college football. He led the nation in 2023 in punts, punt yards, and was 3rd in Average.

If he gives the defense an advantage and helps put them into the top 5, it's a smart move and worth considering over the dline.  Now for Flus to tighten his dbs so we get those quick 3 and outs and hand Caleb a short field.

[BearFan PHX]

One thing about field position that I rarely if ever see discussed is that when the opposing team takes the ball on their own 20 (lets say) the defensive coordinator can afford to gamble on first down. If he guesses right, it puts them into a passing situation where the defense dictates tempo. And if they guess wrong, it's just first and 10 on the 30.

By the time you get to midfield, the defense has to play more honestly, defending everything.

So if a Punter gives you the field position to gamble on one or two more first downs, it dramatically increases the likelihood that youll get the ball back with good field position.

In turn, you want to see Caleb getting the ball at the 40, and not backed up on his own 10.

And of course if we can pin other teams inside their own 10 yard line, that gives the defense a real shot at quick stops, safeties, and turnovers.

So a great punter can do more than just get you a few more yards in field position, it can allow your defense to get the ball back quickly, and give our offense good field position to start drives, where the opposing defense cant have the same advantage I just described.

[Mongo3451]

37 minutes ago, ASHKUM BEAR said:

If he gives the defense an advantage and helps put them into the top 5, it's a smart move and worth considering over the dline.  Now for Flus to tighten his dbs so we get those quick 3 and outs and hand Caleb a short field.

It can absolutely help an opportunistic defense.  What I have seen from Flus's D is bend but don't break.  So, is it really a weapon when you give up the yards until the field shrinks at the 25 yard line?  The 85 Bears would absolutely use that as a weapon, as they were always in attack mode.  I hope I'm wrong, but I just don't see the big advantage.  Did Poles finally play the smartest guy in the room role or is he simply the smartest guy in the room?  The difference makes all the difference...

[BearFan PHX]

5 minutes ago, Mongo3451 said:

It can absolutely help an opportunistic defense.  What I have seen from Flus's D is bend but don't break.  So, is it really a weapon when you give up the yards until the field shrinks at the 25 yard line?  The 85 Bears would absolutely use that as a weapon, as they were always in attack mode.  I hope I'm wrong, but I just don't see the big advantage.  Did Poles finally play the smartest guy in the room role or is he simply the smartest guy in the room?  The difference makes all the difference...

I agree we arent an attacking defense per se, although as the roster gets better, we may do that more. I dunno.

But being able to guess on first down that its a run to the right for example, rather than playing it all honestly, gives you the chance to guess right, and put the opponent into a passing situation. You cant play those first down guesses as the opponent gets near to midfield where you have to defend everything.

Basically, with 65+ yards at your back, you can afford to guess wrong on first down, and you can possibly guess right and get the ball back.

That's what a good punter can do for you, even if youre not a blitz heavy team.

[Pixote]

51 minutes ago, BearFan PHX said:

One thing about field position that I rarely if ever see discussed is that when the opposing team takes the ball on their own 20 (lets say) the defensive coordinator can afford to gamble on first down. If he guesses right, it puts them into a passing situation where the defense dictates tempo. And if they guess wrong, it's just first and 10 on the 30.

Or if the DC guesses wrong, it could be an 80-yard touchdown. LOL

Roll the dice. 😉

 

[BearFan PHX]

2 hours ago, Pixote said:

Or if the DC guesses wrong, it could be an 80-yard touchdown. LOL

Roll the dice. 😉

 

well no, you still have your safeties playing their shell, whatever it is. Im not talking about an 11 man blitz, but i am talking about flowing to one side or another, and shooting linebackers into gaps as a guess at the play.

The downside of being wrong is a 10 yard play, and then it's just 1st and 10 on the 30 or whatever.

The defensive playcalling is different when you have 65+ yards at your back to defend, just like it changes across mid field and again in the red zone when the field gets short.

We just havent seen it much because our opponents usually start with better field position than that. Not anymore though, for several reasons. One is our offense, and another is out new punter

[Stinger226]

We just have to look at Gill last year when we needed a good punt and didn't get it and a team drove for a score late in a game. This will drastically change.

I can see us in the NFC title game and we have a lead, A good punt put them at the 3 yard line and they have to drive the length of the field with 50 seconds left.  We win the game.

[Mongo3451]

9 hours ago, Stinger226 said:

I can see us in the NFC title game and we have a lead, A good punt put them at the 3 yard line and they have to drive the length of the field with 50 seconds left.  We win the game.

That would be great.

[adam]

+1 yard in Net punting = 7 pts. Gill was dead last.  Just say Taylor add 2 yds onto that number. That equates to 14 pts on the season, which would've probably added 2 wins to the team last year.

Also, some are speculating that he could also be the kickoff guy if he can kick like he punts, pinning teams deep in their own zone. 

So we will have to see how it plays out. If he is a top 5 punter for the next decade, great pick. If he is middle of the road or worse, probably a bad pick because most of the top 10 punters are UDFAs right now. 

[Stinger226]

14 minutes ago, adam said:

+1 yard in Net punting = 7 pts. Gill was dead last.  Just say Taylor add 2 yds onto that number. That equates to 14 pts on the season, which would've probably added 2 wins to the team last year.

Also, some are speculating that he could also be the kickoff guy if he can kick like he punts, pinning teams deep in their own zone. 

So we will have to see how it plays out. If he is a top 5 punter for the next decade, great pick. If he is middle of the road or worse, probably a bad pick because most of the top 10 punters are UDFAs right now. 

I heard someone talking gen stats and said he will account for 3 more first downs a game. Related to putting the other team in jeopardy and us in better field position.