I always knew you had a secret thing for sheep. The ridicule came from trying to deny who you are. Well done on this brave move.
Couple of yawn moves... The bears need a new tackle. Redskins sign Cornelius Lucas to 2 year deal. They're keeping longsnapper Patrick Scales though...he gets a new deal.
The good news is this league is going to shit out about 10 Cornelius Lucases after the draft. Not concerned.
Haha is off to Dallas. He signed a 1year deal for $4mil, 2.5gtd. That is tiny money for a guy who thought he deserved a big long term deal somewhere. But as I explained to rob last season when he questioned me, that deal was never gonna happen. Haha is nothing special, if you were being kind you would say his play was average last year, but when you factor in the minus effect of his presence on EJax this was a clear net negative for the team. So off he goes, very predictable. None of this reflects well on Pace tho. I slammed this move at the time because A- Dix isn't actually very good. B- It was a pointless and short sighted move showing no plan for the position. A 1year rental that put you right back were you started 12months down the line. Dix's opinion of himself was never gonna match up with the league's and translate into big $, but even in the v unlikely event he played lights out Pace was never gonna pay him top $. We know this cos he refused to pay a better SS top $ a year ago, and besides, there was never gonna be the cap space. Pace's lack of an over-arching plan is new thread worthy but for now lets just chalk this up as another fail by the boy blunder. The one big + in this is it hopefully clears the way for EJax to get back to top form. I had his drop in play last year down to 1- Dix's presence and 2- Potentially Pagano's scheme. With Dix gone we're gonna see just what the scheme means for Jackson. I don't think it was good for the entire secondary compared to Fangio's scheme tbh but hopefully things pick up. Pace has no money, so I expect this position ends up in the hands of a draft pick or Deon Bush depending how they feel about him. Either way neither is moving Jackson off being the single high next season and that's a very good thing.
Clinton Dicks is a 'center field' type free safety, what EJax is, but obviously not as good. He had an average year, made some plays and missed some too. "Nothing special" is about right. The bears needed a box safety to replace Amos. In 2018, the bears led the league in run defense with opponents getting 77 ypg on the ground. 2019? 102 ypg against on the ground and 9th in the league. Obviously Hicks going down plays a big part, but Clinton Dicks wasn't what they needed whereas Amos was one of (if not the) best box safeties in 2018. Now? Well, Cordarrelle Patterson is trying to recruit Tony Jefferson away from the Ravens. For the right price, yes please. Because Dion Bush looks like the alternative unless there's a kid getting drafted then plugged in. I think you're over-analyzing a bit. Remember, the bears couldn't get to the QB last year. You could have put Ed Reed, Rod Woodson, Champ Bailey, and Deion Sanders all in their primes in the secondary and they wouldn't have made a difference; because the fact that Leonard Floyd, Mack (who gets a pass being constantly doubled/tripled), Irving, Fitts, Lynch, RRH, Nichols, Goldman, and everybody else who played in the front 7 couldn't get to the QB after Hicks went down. I think Robert Quinn (provided he's not being used like Floyd to show his value by "setting the edge") will make a bigger difference to Ejax than not having another CF type safety playing next to him will. But I'm a believer the game's won and lost in the trenches, not the secondary. Having an all-pro/once in a generation talent helps enormously, but it doesn't matter when QBs good and bad have enough time to enjoy their morning coffee, breakfast and read the Sunday paper while in the pocket. All-pro talents cant cover WRs/TEs/RBs for 7+ seconds in the NFL.
I'd be on board with Deon Bush if he's playing in the box a majority of the time. He fails in coverage, IMO. I think you use the draft to fill this need otherwise.
Agreed. Gotta bulk up a bit. They signed him today for a mil and change so he'll be back. Makes sense. They restructured Whitehair a few days ago, cut Floyd. Apparently now with this new CBA being ratified, teams get a 2 year "grace period" where you can spread out dead-cap money instead of eating it at the time of cutting the guy. I can see Trey Burton getting cut and Pace punting his disgusting guaranteed money to next year, AM670 speculated that this week. They also speculated Charles Leno, because he has a hair above Burton's. The bears will have plenty of cap going into the offseason a year from now. The money moves aside. Allen Robinson is such an underrated receiver and deserves his payday. The dude's had a college/pro career of Blake Bortles, Mitch Trubisky, Matt McGloin, and Christian Hackenburg throwing to him. Gotta imagine he's thrilled Nick Foles is here. While I still am baffled and disgusted by his choice to pay Jimmy Graham what he just did, I'll hard pass on Ebron. Short of one solid year in 2018, the guy's a bum... I hope like hell this is another smokescreen like with Glennon and Mitch, where they draft a guy with one of the 2nds. Cole Kmet would look real good in navy and orange...
You were so passionate here I thought maybe I had been in a coma. Yeah, he came in and delivered in a big way at the best time. That's awesome, not taking anything away from him. But there's a reason this is the 6th time he's moving teams. When I say flashing, I mean in games played. 2017 3 starts, 2018 5 starts. Sure they were big time, but he wasn't around the rest of the year (I get Wentz was/is very good which is why, but still, he also had surrounding talent). Where was he in KC? St Louis? They both thought he'd be the answer, that's what I'm saying. He flashed big in big games with the Eagles. He's had other good games. But he's also failed to deliver plenty too. I'm not saying it's a bad pick up, but I am definitely not as enamored with his entire body of work as you seem to be. I'm way more upset about Graham. Foles is a real meh pick. I don't think Bridgewater was the answer and anyone was going to pay him a ton. I know, for a fact that Mitch is not the answer. As I said, if it's a real competition, I think Foles mops the floor with Mitch, and we've got a new starting QB. I've seen enough from this org that I think Mitch is already penned in as the starter. I can't see any way the mental midget Trubs (who is a nice guy and I like as a person), actually responds to a real threat of someone good. But do I think Foles is taking us to the promised land, if he has to play a full season? No. Dude's most games started in a season is 11. Before that 10, and nothing else in double digits. But we'll see. I dunno Pat, after these moves, given the losses, do you think this team is significantly better than last year, on paper? We've still got O line issues, TE issues, a Safety and CB2 to worry about at least.
And Jordan Lucas and Barkevious Mingo to the defense over the weekend. Gotta assume Aaron Lynch is gone and, well, good. He sucked. Has he bounced around? Yes. You've already answered why he left Philly in them drafting Wentz. He signed to be a back up in KC in 2016. 1 year, 1.75 mil. I will contest that's not the kind of money a guy signs to be "the answer." Why? Because 4 years, 88 mil with 50.1 mil guaranteed is that kind of contract. He wasn't a fit with Jeff Fisher with the Rams. Feel free to hold that against him but I don't, because his success--which we agree on--isn't with the old world offensive scheme. Remember, he got traded with a 2nd rounder for Sam Bradford and a 5th, he then "pondered retirement" before LA moved on and drafted Jared Goff #1 overall. Think of Graham on a 1 year deal with an out. If he sucks, they will only have him 1 year. As much as he's overpaid and grossly declined, he's still a better option than Ben Braunecker, Jasper Horsted, JP Holtz, Demetrius Harris, Adam Shaheen, and Daniel Brown. He's also been far more dependable health-wise than Trey Burton. I get that isn't saying much...but truly is the state of the TE core. Provided Pace doesn't trade up with the 2nds, one of them has to be a TE. They just signed depth at DB (Lucas and Burns) and signed an edge in Mingo to assumed-replace Aaron Lynch, which is fine by me. Lynch was invisible on the field even when they could generate a pass rush in 2018. I do think they're better. If Mitch isn't the option for excuse of talent or injury, Foles is a huge upgrade over Chase Daniel's clearly limited abilities. Every edge rusher after Mack in 2019 I could do without in 2020. Lynch and Floyd have been replaced and Isaiah Irving gets resigned. I'll live with that. I don't love the TE situation and my fingers are crossed its not solidified, but sure--I'll take Jimmy Graham over no-names being bad at everything. They are also playing a 3rd place schedule and get the AFC South. There's no reason they cant go from 8-8 back to double digit wins. Of course if shit goes wrong, they can win 4-6 and everybody gets fire.
For sure the pass rush didn't help, but that only becomes a factor after the ball is snapped. You have Jackson coming down playing in the box and you do that cos Dix gets to play single high, then before the play has even begun you're failing because you aren't maximising the talents of one of your best defensive players. We all know about putting players in a position to succeed. That wasn't it. That was more my point. I get it former 1st rounder etc, but this signing is hard to like. Seemed to me Burns became consistently worse every year in the league. The Bears may have got a little unlucky with timing on this one. I think right after they signed Burns, Pierre Desir got cut and became available. That would've been a much better choice, Desir has at least had some clear success in the league. And i think Pagano may even have been HC in Indy when they brought him in as a FA, suggesting possible scheme fit. But the timing wasn't there. Unfortunate. I believe he gets $6mil guaranteed this season. But he has $9mil guaranteed total on that deal. So yeah, they have an out next offseason after he inevitably stinks, but its an out that will come with $3mil in dead money as i understand it. Thats an out that will leave a bitter taste.
Artie Burns. You guys have a bad GM that signed this guy. You would be better off blitzing an extra pass rusher and using zero coverage than putting him out there.
Is there any worse name for a CB than Burns? But we have a knack for signing guys with names that already indicate their inevitable suckage. David Fales, QB. Chris Blewitt, kicker. Probably a bunch I'm forgetting.
Ha! Yeah there's loads. Bumson, Cuntler, J'Mukous, Smurf, Bumarr, McKnee, Shame, Cunte/Ragdoll/Crash Test Dummy, Clausality, Barf, Ted Bundy, Shampoo Eye, Giraffe, Turnstile, Snotrocket, Redneck, Pukasse, Omehmeh, Sheheen, Fatass, Noodle Arm, Dumb, O'Bummell, Stone Hands Williams, Stone Hands Bellamy. Wait we came up with all of those didn't we.
Its not Julius Peppers 18-19 million bad from a few years back, and the bears--as of now--walk into next offseason with more cap room than what they have now. 100% agreed. EJax was 10x the single high safety Clinton Dicks is/was. Pagano playing him in the box compared to where he should be was a bad idea, because that's the definition of square peg in a round hole. He really didn't trust Clinton Dicks in the box. I always crack up when I see 'Bumarr.' Cant leave out Barf's bud Barfey. Or Shitwad...
