blondu
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- Jun 3, 2016
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OT: Bears & NFL Talk 94
- Thread starter No Fun Shogun
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Scottkmlps
Registered User
He basically runs just like Montgomery with a little more speed, from watching highlights.
blondu
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- Jun 3, 2016
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The money. I feel like adding more money like 2,3 mils could've lured a more established rb
ChiHawks10
Registered User
More established doesn’t always mean better. Especially at RB where some guys seem to last forever but the shelf life is often short.
Also it’s not likely you get a one year deal.
clydesdale line
Connor BeJesus
- Jan 10, 2012
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If nothing else, Foreman can be your short yardage back with the way he runs hard; he's 6'1" 236. Herbert (5' 9'' 212) isn't really built for that area. I watched him a lot when he was with Tenn the year King Henry was injured and Foreman was very productive. He was every bit as good as Chubb last year from games 7-18. This is a great signing.
I have no complaints about what Poles is doing this off-season.
My thoughts thus far:
QB: PJ Tucker is a good backup for Fields. I think it's important to have a mobile QB backup (ala Tyler Huntley in BAL), so even if there are better pure passers out there, I think it's the right move. I think we should draft a mobile QB in the 6-7th round still, because why not.
RB: Chiefs have done a RB-by-committee for years and are very successful with it, so I like not paying Monty/another RB anything more than a slight amount of money. I think we still have a need for a pass-catching back, but that can be found in the later rounds of the draft fairly easily I think.
WR: With Moore, it's a good room. Moore as a #1, Mooney as a #2 out of the slot, Claypool as a #3 and ESB as a depth/run-blocking guy and Velus as a gadget guy is a legit NFL receiver core.
TE: I like Tonyan, should be a good red zone target. The TE draft group is elite so maybe we add a third guy in the later rounds.
OL: Jones-Jenkins-Whitehair-Davis-X. At this point, X probably has to be filled in the draft. I think we either go and try and get a franchise left tackle at #9 (not Skoronski, I really doubt that this FO and coaching staff, which places a premium on length, view him as a tackle) and move Jones to RT, or draft a RT in the 2nd/3rd. I'm not super worried because, in theory, our FOs biggest strength is their OL evaluation, so until otherwise proven I'll give them the benefit of the doubt. I do like that they didn't overpay for a mid right tackle in FA, makes me trust that they know what they're doing/feel confident in their plan.
DL: Easily the worst position group so far. Justin Jones as a 3-tech, Andrew Billings as a nose, and DeMarcus Walker as a pass rusher are the definition of okay. I think they probably add one more mediocre pass rusher in FA and then draft some pass rushers early (either at #9 or in the 2nd/3rd). Eberflus's D in Indy never had an elite pass rush, so I don't think it's the end of the world if more draft capital goes towards OL than DL this year.
LB: Edmunds and Edwards are a great pairing. I do still have some misgivings about the Edmunds contract, but he's young, we have a ton of cap space, and it's really just a two year deal, so even if it's a bust of a signing I don't think it'll be a big deal. Medium risk/high reward IMO.
CB: Weak group still. I really think they need another outside CB opposite of Johnson. If we get a serviceable starter, a starting lineup of Johnson-X-Gordon isn't terrible. Probably could use a #1 CB at some point (Johnsons ball production is too low to be a #1), but I think OL and DL are bigger needs. It's a strong CB group at the top of the draft, so I wouldn't be absolutely shocked if we draft a CB at #9, although I wouldn't really like the move.
S: Eddie and Brisker are a good group. Solid, not spectacular. Not a need.
Overall, I like how Poles has attacked this FA cycle. In my opinion, free agency is all about floor-raising (acquiring good depth and serviceable players that won't win or lose you games), and you get into trouble when you overpay to try to ceiling-raise (going after "stars," guys who you will rely heavily on). So far, Edmunds is really the only player who is in that ceiling-raise category, but given his age, freakish physical makeup, and the fact that it's a 2 year contract (ending before Fields's theoretical massive extension deal) it's not a horrible risk, but a risk nonetheless. You might say that Davis is another ceiling-raiser, but he's a reliable guard, which is a position that's usually pretty high-floor, low-ceiling in general (as opposed to something like a tackle), so I'm not too worried.
I do think you could say that the main goal of this FA cycle was shoring up our run defense, which was horrific last year. As opposed to pass rushing or pass blocking, you can buy a good run defense in FA at a cheap(ish) price, while pass block and pass rush probably need to be built through the draft. Through that lens, Poles has bought serviceable starters/depth and a good run defense without overextending money-wise, while setting himself up to address not be totally deficient elsewhere if that draft goes poorly. I think as long as we sign a serviceable (ie low-end starters, high-end backup) CB, EDGE, and RT, we should be set heading into a draft that's main strength is in the trenches.
QB: PJ Tucker is a good backup for Fields. I think it's important to have a mobile QB backup (ala Tyler Huntley in BAL), so even if there are better pure passers out there, I think it's the right move. I think we should draft a mobile QB in the 6-7th round still, because why not.
RB: Chiefs have done a RB-by-committee for years and are very successful with it, so I like not paying Monty/another RB anything more than a slight amount of money. I think we still have a need for a pass-catching back, but that can be found in the later rounds of the draft fairly easily I think.
WR: With Moore, it's a good room. Moore as a #1, Mooney as a #2 out of the slot, Claypool as a #3 and ESB as a depth/run-blocking guy and Velus as a gadget guy is a legit NFL receiver core.
TE: I like Tonyan, should be a good red zone target. The TE draft group is elite so maybe we add a third guy in the later rounds.
OL: Jones-Jenkins-Whitehair-Davis-X. At this point, X probably has to be filled in the draft. I think we either go and try and get a franchise left tackle at #9 (not Skoronski, I really doubt that this FO and coaching staff, which places a premium on length, view him as a tackle) and move Jones to RT, or draft a RT in the 2nd/3rd. I'm not super worried because, in theory, our FOs biggest strength is their OL evaluation, so until otherwise proven I'll give them the benefit of the doubt. I do like that they didn't overpay for a mid right tackle in FA, makes me trust that they know what they're doing/feel confident in their plan.
DL: Easily the worst position group so far. Justin Jones as a 3-tech, Andrew Billings as a nose, and DeMarcus Walker as a pass rusher are the definition of okay. I think they probably add one more mediocre pass rusher in FA and then draft some pass rushers early (either at #9 or in the 2nd/3rd). Eberflus's D in Indy never had an elite pass rush, so I don't think it's the end of the world if more draft capital goes towards OL than DL this year.
LB: Edmunds and Edwards are a great pairing. I do still have some misgivings about the Edmunds contract, but he's young, we have a ton of cap space, and it's really just a two year deal, so even if it's a bust of a signing I don't think it'll be a big deal. Medium risk/high reward IMO.
CB: Weak group still. I really think they need another outside CB opposite of Johnson. If we get a serviceable starter, a starting lineup of Johnson-X-Gordon isn't terrible. Probably could use a #1 CB at some point (Johnsons ball production is too low to be a #1), but I think OL and DL are bigger needs. It's a strong CB group at the top of the draft, so I wouldn't be absolutely shocked if we draft a CB at #9, although I wouldn't really like the move.
S: Eddie and Brisker are a good group. Solid, not spectacular. Not a need.
Overall, I like how Poles has attacked this FA cycle. In my opinion, free agency is all about floor-raising (acquiring good depth and serviceable players that won't win or lose you games), and you get into trouble when you overpay to try to ceiling-raise (going after "stars," guys who you will rely heavily on). So far, Edmunds is really the only player who is in that ceiling-raise category, but given his age, freakish physical makeup, and the fact that it's a 2 year contract (ending before Fields's theoretical massive extension deal) it's not a horrible risk, but a risk nonetheless. You might say that Davis is another ceiling-raiser, but he's a reliable guard, which is a position that's usually pretty high-floor, low-ceiling in general (as opposed to something like a tackle), so I'm not too worried.
I do think you could say that the main goal of this FA cycle was shoring up our run defense, which was horrific last year. As opposed to pass rushing or pass blocking, you can buy a good run defense in FA at a cheap(ish) price, while pass block and pass rush probably need to be built through the draft. Through that lens, Poles has bought serviceable starters/depth and a good run defense without overextending money-wise, while setting himself up to address not be totally deficient elsewhere if that draft goes poorly. I think as long as we sign a serviceable (ie low-end starters, high-end backup) CB, EDGE, and RT, we should be set heading into a draft that's main strength is in the trenches.
clydesdale line
Connor BeJesus
- Jan 10, 2012
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EbonyRaptor
Registered User
My overall grade for what Poles has done this offseason (so far) is very good. However, my concern is that he has to hit on 3 or 4 draft selections to fill the RT and 2 or 3 d-lineman and he only has 1 pick in the top-50. Hopefully he can do some maneuvering to get 1 or 2 more top-50 picks. Either trade out of 9 or use some picks to trade up.
I would love to see him get Paris Johnson Jr and AA from Northwestern but both of them will be gone by pick #53.
I would love to see him get Paris Johnson Jr and AA from Northwestern but both of them will be gone by pick #53.
Saying top 50 seems arbitrary. Is there a precipitous drop off between pick 50 and 64?
ChiHawks10
Registered User
I have no clue what they do at #9. Stay there or move something like #9 + #103 (or #133) upto #5/6/7 and get Wilson or trade back #9 + #53 to #18-ish and #40-ish. Hard to guess where the Bears value charts for the specific players fall.
EbonyRaptor
Registered User
I wouldn't say between 50 and 64 - I would say between the 20's/30's/40's and 54. There will still be good players to select at 54/61/64 but not as good as 20 or 30 picks earlier.
The point I was making is that I think they need 2 top-tier players (right tackle and d-line) and they will only be able to get one of them with the #9 pick - the other top-tier players at those positions will be gone by the time pick #54 rolls around.
Maybe, maybe not. All pros come out of the second and third rounds all the time. Just in this last free agent class, the guys everyone wanted (Hargraved and Brown) were picked in the 80s.
Sarava
Registered User
Yeah there's been articles about 20-40 or 20-50 being the sweet spot for talent in this draft. Who knows. I do think there's a very real chance Poles trades down again from #9.
I could see him going down to 16 or so, and then maybe drafting Lukas Van Ness or Paris Johnson if he's still there.
I could see him going down to 16 or so, and then maybe drafting Lukas Van Ness or Paris Johnson if he's still there.
I don’t study sports but my August to mid February involved recovery from open heart surgery (8/4) then hip replacement (12/19) I watched more college football than ever before. … whoever gets Van Ness is getting a star. Watched him play twice and he was spot lighted often. He moves between edge and DT. One color guy commented pointing out that while he wasn’t overly impactful “on the sheet” he said audibles were called on running plays to run away from him.
I agree about the trade down. Would love to pick up another second or a first next year if they moved down far enough
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