NFL - Random Opinions

Has he been that bad?
I mean I definitely noticed your kicker wasn’t in the top five in Fantasy. But I guess I managed not to notice why.

 

@EvertonBears and @dlinebass5

If you give me one name at head coach for the Bears, then I will believe in the potential for an immediate turnaround. That would justify giving contracts to Roquan and Montgomery that would be front end loaded with cap relief on the backend for when it's time to give Justin Fields the mountain of cash.

That name - Harbaugh, and if the Bears can give him the money to make it happen, then they should.

What he was able to do with Kaepernick should pad his resume enough to seal the deal.

Now, if it's not Harbaugh, then I'm more hesitant to pay either player. I can draft another running back to fill the void, and I can work a free agent for less money while dealing Roquan for some much needed draft capital to bolster the offensive line.

Every decision the Bears make from this point on needs to be all about protecting Justin. If they could somehow get a deal for David that doesn't blow up into a lengthy, overpriced contract, then that would be a help. But, I'd rather let him walk if it means that it's going to be the kind of contract that Jonathan Taylor is going to angle for in Indy.

For the Bears, it should be offensive line at the very forefront of decision making, followed by some playmakers at wideout. Change the philosophy at tight end and go after someone that can stretch the seam. Put pressure on opposing defenses to cover instead of attacking downhill and let Justin wheel and deal from a safe pocket.

 

He's the ead

He's the frontrunner in this ridiculousness...

 

So, I need some help here - this all occurred during a time when my head wasn't really in NFL news - didn't Harbaugh leave San Fran with some explosions behind him? Players leaving / retiring because of him, that kind of thing? Maybe I'm misremembering, and I know he and the GM didn't get along, but I could've sworn there was something about him not getting along with the players.

To the roster, I'm not sure even Harbaugh is going to turn things around that quickly. And while I hate to lose talent like Monty and Roquan, I take your point. What do you think is better for Fields - having a guaranteed threat like Monty back there, or spending already limited draft capital on a back that might not work out to try and replace him? I am trying not to presume that Cohen, who they've already paid, is going to come back healthy and 100%, though he's a different type of player than Monty.

 

He's a high energy personality that doesn't hold back his opinion, so some players receive it well and other don't.

I'd probably take Frank Gore's opinion of him over Brandon Jabobs, and likely take Anquan Boldin's opinion of him over Randy Moss. But that's really what those kind of things boil down to.

Ultimately, having David is a pure positive for Fields and the entire offense. However, it's tough to dump a load of cash into that position.

If the Bears could get the contract wrote up so that Montgomery gets the cap hit out in front of the signing of Fields then it's not as big of an issue.

 

I appreciate the feedback on Harbaugh. That's my only reservation with him, but it's largely because I don't know much about it, from the time.

And yes, that's my feelings on Monty as well. I would unload Mack and Quinn among others, to try and free up space to do things like that. Would rather that money go to players here for the long haul than here for a year or two.

I also know that dumping money into the RB position is generally a bad idea, so I'm preparing myself for him being somewhere else.

 

How you fire Flores after the turn around Miami had is beyond me. Yes you missed the playoffs but most teams would have packed it in at 1-7. He got them to dial in and buy what he was selling. I thought that was enough to earn 1 more year.

 

Tim let me start by saying i completely agree ALL decision going forward needs to be made with Justin Fields as the first priority. And that starts with the O-Line yes and follows on with WR. Couldn't agree with you more. A transition to an offense based team needs to happen. That may make it necessary to move on from Roquan cos he's too expensive. Not an easy thing to do cos Roquan has been playing at a high level for 2years now and you should always try to keep your best players. But i would be open to moving on from him in the right circumstance.


Fascinating to hear that you're so high on Harbaugh. On our board i believe bww is also and maybe others too. I haven't really planted my flag re him. There are a lot of pluses to hiring him, but while he could be a fit with a lot of NFL franchises im not sure he would be a fit for the Bears. Thats more a knock on the Bears than it is Harbaugh, but he really doesnt strike me as the character type they want in the building. I find it very hard to believe he will be the hire personally.

 

It's not that I'm extremely high on Harbaugh, as he does come with some potential downside, but more the idea that he is the only coach that I can get on board with a quick turnaround with. With Jim, you may get a comet ride where the Bears explode into relevancy for 4 years before his pressure cooker starts burning up people in the building. Although, that doesn't seem to have happened at Michigan, so it's possible that he learned from his experience in San Francisco and is now a different kind of in-house manager. I think it may be worth the gamble to see if he has.

The rest of the names that I would like to see as Bears' candidates would all need a certain amount of learning curve that would render any kind of commitment to Quan and Monty null.

One of the things that no one really talks about when it comes to how few coaches the Steelers have had over the course of so many decades is that they have a system in place that makes it so that the new head coach can be successful quickly while learning on the job. That same kind of foundation will likely happen in New England after Bill retires and I think it will exist in Baltimore after Harbaugh calls it quits. That environment doesn't exist in Chicago, so any new coach that will need acclimation time changes the thought process for contracts.

 

I'm not seeing the logic in separating Flores and Grier at all.

Ownership in Miami is the biggest problem for that franchise, without question.

 

Rumor has it a lot of those issues in San Fran stem from him and Baalke not wanting to work together. I'd love for Harbuagh to take over the Giants, make them relevant, and explode in 4 - 5 years... He is the kind of transformational coach franchises like the Giants or Bears really need right now.

 

Or you can look at it as converting that play is only relevant to 10% of the outcome of the remainder of the game. Due to the time it was made, it was probably more weighted. If the same decision was being made on the opening drive, then it might have only made a 1-3% difference. But at the time 90% of the outcome depends on other factors than the play call and subsequent making it, so looking at the bigger picture it isn't that far fetched.

 

I don't see the logic in keeping Grier either. Stephen Ross is one of the biggest Michigan backers. Maybe he thought he could get Harbaugh. I don't think Harbaugh leaves Michigan, but if Harbaugh is intent on returning to the NFL I could see Ross trying his damnest to get him. I mean its better than the Raiders/Bears, right?

 

Generally speaking i get you and its a good point. But we're not talking about well into the 4th Q here, when that play happened there was nearly 25mins left in the game. I get what you're saying about there being a 1-3% swing on something like that early in a game, but 10% there? And as i said previously, they still had 80yards to go for a TD & basically 40-45yards just for a long attempt to tie the game, at which point the Raiders would obvs get the ball again. It just seems too extreme. Gaining 1yard shouldn't equate to a 10% swing in win probability at that point in the game, in that area of the field.

But TBHWY im well aware that in this there's me in one corner and the system that NFL teams use in the other heh.

I don't even know what precisely "the analytics" means frankly. Obviously its an algorithm. I take it there is only one version of this algorithm that all teams use? Or are there different algorithms? Does the NFL supply this or is it a private company that has developed this and licenses it out to all teams? I mean we here them talk about "the algorithm" nearly every game now, but i doubt there are many fans who could tell you the details of what it is/how it works/is distributed etc. I can't.

 

Even more reason why I want him. I want a coach that completely changes the character of the franchise like Mike Ditka did for the Bears in the 80s.

I want someone that doesn't care what ownership or anyone else thinks and coaches the team his way. Someone that completely leaves his mark on the locker room and on the field with the way the team plays.

Harbaugh is that type of guy.

 

Would be eager to see the interactions between Harbaugh and Eddie Jackson... No way Jackson makes it out of training camp as a Bear.

 

That sounds legit great. But he has to get in the door first and therein lies the problem.

 

well yeah….we are gonna hire the wrong guy. I’m sure of it.

 

Not that we’ve never heard an owner lie before. But Ross straight up said he will not pursue Harbaugh. So at face value he will not try his damndest. And that for the record was after the Flores canning.

Did strike me as odd that he knew that so assuredly though mere hours after the Flores ousting.

 

The optimism in the Bears room is inspiring...but I kind of understand.

I mean you probably can’t find a post of mine on either the Rivers or Wentz bandwagon.