Sack Reduction

[ASHKUM BEAR]

13 hours ago, BearFan PHX said:

Right, youre not hating on Loveland, you just wish theyd spent the pick elsewhere.

And I think you think Kmet was OK (and I do too) but I also think you dont think Loveland will be worth the lost opportunity to have spent the pick elsewhere. My disagreement with that is i think hes gonna be a star. If he just ends up decent, then youre totally right.

Loveland is closer to WR Tat McMillan because he will be a slot/move TE.  Loveland and Burden will rotate while Kmet stays at TE or if they want to go better blocking put Smythe in.  You wont see Loveland inline like Kmet/Smythe. Kmet is paid decently, so the Bears could trade him before his final year.  That would be smart to get value. Since the Bears are paying all their QBs 13 mil total, they can splurge the extra money right now.  The Bears have technically 4 more years of this benefit.  That's a lot of years to draft players and balance the team for long term success.  

[Stinger226]

We cant change the draft. They took a TE and we will play the year with 2 TEs in this offense. Our cap space is fine. We have 6.7 mil to the good and will be making some cuts. Next year we have 28 mil to start the year. We still have this year to add some vets cut to help at DE. LT has 3 competing for the job, I doubt that add there. Our roster is set. They made the choices they wanted.

[BearFan PHX]

49 minutes ago, Stinger226 said:

We cant change the draft. They took a TE and we will play the year with 2 TEs in this offense. Our cap space is fine. We have 6.7 mil to the good and will be making some cuts. Next year we have 28 mil to start the year. We still have this year to add some vets cut to help at DE. LT has 3 competing for the job, I doubt that add there. Our roster is set. They made the choices they wanted.

Poles has been active at the trade deadline every year.

[BearFan PHX]

1 hour ago, ASHKUM BEAR said:

Loveland is closer to WR Tat McMillan because he will be a slot/move TE.  Loveland and Burden will rotate while Kmet stays at TE or if they want to go better blocking put Smythe in.  You wont see Loveland inline like Kmet/Smythe. Kmet is paid decently, so the Bears could trade him before his final year.  That would be smart to get value. Since the Bears are paying all their QBs 13 mil total, they can splurge the extra money right now.  The Bears have technically 4 more years of this benefit.  That's a lot of years to draft players and balance the team for long term success.  

I agree. Loveland isnt a bad blocker though. There was a narrative that he was all WR, and youre right that he can play like one, but apparently he is a better blocker than people realize too.

Im not sure when we go to one TE inline that it will be Kmet though and not Loveland?

[DABEARSDABOMB]

2 hours ago, BearFan PHX said:

I agree. Loveland isnt a bad blocker though. There was a narrative that he was all WR, and youre right that he can play like one, but apparently he is a better blocker than people realize too.

Im not sure when we go to one TE inline that it will be Kmet though and not Loveland?

Loveland is supposed to be an excellent blocker - with a high degree of athleticism. That is why he went where the Bears took him.  Or at least that is what they saw in him to take him where they did. It is the combination of high end blocking tools with high end athleticism that make him a unicorn type of prospect at TE which at least in the eyes of Poles justified him drafting him where he was.  Whether Bears scouts are right, we shall see - but this isn't a Jimmy Graham who you knew was in there to catch passes vs. block...he's supposed to kind of have the Jimmy Graham pass catching ability while also being a good run blocker, meaning play actions should work really well with him in there, including in 12 package with Kmet on the field too.  Knowing how much Ben Johnson leveraged the playaction game in Detroit - you got to think this is going to be a huge focal point of the Bears offense (also helped that Detroit had a very high octane ground game and oline).  BJ was also elite in how he mixed those things up too.  

[BearFan PHX]

2 hours ago, DABEARSDABOMB said:

Loveland is supposed to be an excellent blocker - with a high degree of athleticism. That is why he went where the Bears took him.  Or at least that is what they saw in him to take him where they did. It is the combination of high end blocking tools with high end athleticism that make him a unicorn type of prospect at TE which at least in the eyes of Poles justified him drafting him where he was.  Whether Bears scouts are right, we shall see - but this isn't a Jimmy Graham who you knew was in there to catch passes vs. block...he's supposed to kind of have the Jimmy Graham pass catching ability while also being a good run blocker, meaning play actions should work really well with him in there, including in 12 package with Kmet on the field too.  Knowing how much Ben Johnson leveraged the playaction game in Detroit - you got to think this is going to be a huge focal point of the Bears offense (also helped that Detroit had a very high octane ground game and oline).  BJ was also elite in how he mixed those things up too.  

I agree with all of this.

The best way to help Caleb is a good running game that opens up play action.

[Stinger226]

Loveland is playing the LaPorta role in the Ben Johnson offense. Last year LaPorta had 551 snaps with 452 routes. Sam was rarely asked to block. Loveland will rarely be put in as inline blocker role of the TE. He will line up out, the Y and Z positions and at the slot WR role. If you look at any of his draft reviews he has the traits to be a good blocker but was rarely asked to block in college. He was not brought here to fill the inline TE role. He is not replacing Kmet, he is pass catching TE more liken to a WR. As AZ argues , will Kmet be used enough to justify his pay. We will get to see how the O scheme developes. 

[BearFan PHX]

5 hours ago, Stinger226 said:

Loveland is playing the LaPorta role in the Ben Johnson offense. Last year LaPorta had 551 snaps with 452 routes. Sam was rarely asked to block. Loveland will rarely be put in as inline blocker role of the TE. He will line up out, the Y and Z positions and at the slot WR role. If you look at any of his draft reviews he has the traits to be a good blocker but was rarely asked to block in college. He was not brought here to fill the inline TE role. He is not replacing Kmet, he is pass catching TE more liken to a WR. As AZ argues , will Kmet be used enough to justify his pay. We will get to see how the O scheme developes. 

BJ wont necessarily run the same offense as he did in Detroit. I do agree Loveland's receiving stats could be similar, but Loveland CAN block too!

[Stinger226]

3 hours ago, BearFan PHX said:

BJ wont necessarily run the same offense as he did in Detroit. I do agree Loveland's receiving stats could be similar, but Loveland CAN block too!

He is not going to be playing the inline TE role, Smythe will get those targets. He didnt get drafted for him to  block. Johnson will adapt to the roster to design his offense but the first two picks mirror players he had in Detriot , Loveland and Burden. He has 2 TEs that can catch passes, he will use both in his offensive scheme. In Detriot the 2nd TE had 16 targets, that wont happen here.