I’m aware what Poles looks for. Taking Paris Campbell would give me an aneurysm. Paris Johnson Jr. NFL Draft Scouting Report A run mauler who struggles in pass protection, particularly with bull rush. Remind us of a certain left tackle? True as it could be, Ryan Poles went in person to multiple Northwestern games this year, Including against Ohio State, Illinois, and I forget the third, think Purdue. The only other draft-able prospects from them are a mid-late round CB Cam Mitchell, DE Adetomiwa Adebawore who’s also projected mid rounds, and RB Evan Hull, who will be an undrafted FA. I’m not trying to minimize Purdue or Illinois nor any potential prospects in the draft from those schools—Ohio State in person I understand, but him—in person—at 3 games? Not his area scouts? Poles may value length and athleticism, but he’s sure as hell giving another impression, dare I suggest one of ‘due diligence?’ Of course, I could be wrong and it can be purely coincidental the gm of the bears went to 3 games for a 1 win college team.
Check the link for the spreadsheet in that Reddit post. Instead of it being website version, it’s google docs where you can find the same game tapes of prospects. Navigation is wonky and it’s alphabetized based on school, but it’s still game tape.
Not sure if anyone caught the Poles presser. Apparently he said he'd have to be "blown away" to take a QB at 1. That may be true, but I was hoping he'd be a little more coy and create uncertainty with his answer. Also apparently he wants to bring Monty back.
Just watched it. First let me say it was nice watching a GM who conducted himself with an air of confidence, who was able to speak clearly and articulate himself. Unlike the last clown who had to read straight off notes, appeared awkward, uncertain and got showed up by the HC every time. Also wasnt a lot of word salad,. Some, but less. There were def some answers i didn't think much of at all, the ones about the OL/pass blocking in particular, but overall, if nothing else it did feel like there were two fully formed adults up there instead of a salad mouth BS merchant shoe salesman and a straight up Jimmy who you suspected had some major tard in the recent gene pool. To your point about the QB/Fields, i thought Poles handled it pretty well. There could've been more ambiguity there i agree, but he did state clearly that they were evaluating the entire draft class and every position group. He also pulled no punches about Fields needing to get better as a passer. Its a fine balance that Poles has to strike with this stuff. He doesnt want to tip his hand, but he also doesnt want a media storm distraction of a QB controversy at this stage. Its gonna be a long 100+ days, its a marathon not a sprint. I hope in more controlled, shorter and less over-arching interviews he'll have good soundbites he can drop in re this stuff. Couple other things: - He did speak glowingly of Monty while acknowledging the difficulties of the business side. That told me he's gonna try to resign him which is right, but also there's no blank cheque. There's not a £10mil a year one either. All good. - He praised Kmet on 2 separate occasions. I think the 2nd time it was in response to a question asking to single out someone who'd excelled and he was struggling to think of someone ha. But i think Poles likes Kmet, an extension in some form this offseason would be no surprise. - Poles was careful to say they were just gonna go crazy in FA now they had all this money to spend. He preached responsibility. Made me wonder how much Poles will really spend. I don't know what the minimum carry is into the new league re cap use, but whatever it is maybe Poles will try and get close to it in order to keep at least some of his powder dry for 2024 FA.
Wow. The ravens really gave Noquan more money than Shaq Leonard and Fred Warner… As for what Poles said about Fields/being blown away at QB to take one, he still has to do his due diligence. No need to overcomplicate, but you need the standard meetings/workouts. Like the response. Build up the bidders in case he tips his hand one way. Edit***Speaking of bidders…
And that is why the Texans are so very much in play. Only way they're not in play is if they decide they have so many holes they focus on the overall roster and try to land a QB next year. But they don't know they'll be within 1 pick of the top QB in the draft next year, so if they decide they should draft a QB while they're this high then they have to respect the fact the Colts are right there too and can jump them. The fact that these are two division rivals we're talking about only plays into the Bears' hands further.
Good for him i guess, no way is he better than Fred Warner but hey ho, he got his bag. $100mil for an off ball LB named Roquan Smith, not what i'd be doing.
The Bears don't need to indicate at all that they're taking a quarterback - rather they need to be very explicit that they will trade to a team that is going to take a quarterback. Let everyone know that, if they want their guy, they need to trade up to number one to get him. Because the Bears will happily trade that pick, and therefore that player, to someone else. So the ideal answer, if that's what you're looking for, would have been something along the lines of "We know lots of people are looking for a quarterback, and we'll be happy to let one of them have their choice for the right price".
I do wonder if they factor in "injury prone" type of metrics as well. Nothing worse than picking someone good only to see them sit. Based on this though I agree with Ev, Skoronoski isn't going to be the Bears pick. That's a choice, I guess. And the Ravens are going to have to pay Lamar at some point too, though he may have injured himself out of the big contract he was headed towards unfortunately, I'd imagine it's tag time. To be honest, I'm glad we didn't over pay for him. To the draft though, I looked at the CBS mock again, and I get it, they figure no one jumps up to the Bears, and the Cardinals also don't need a QB, so the Texans get the 1st one at #2 overall, and the Colts get the 2nd one at #4 overall. That's why as the time comes it will be critical for someone else to attempt to jump forward to jump in front of them. Say the Panthers were to jump, now the Colts are probably going to want to jump the line? 2023 NFL Mock Draft: Bears somehow get No. 1 overall selection, but Texans still land their QB at No. 2 I've got this feeling though that we will end up picking Carter and staying put, which honestly would almost piss me off. You get the golden goose and you can't even make a deal happen?
Yeah it's a fine line for sure. I didn't watch it, I was going off of quotes I saw on twitter so didn't hear his tone of voice. Part of me thinks that if Poles is sold on Fields, he should tell Fields this privately (maybe he has already) but also tell him that he's going to express uncertainty about Fields status publicly. Fields in turn could really go all the way with it and publicly get pissed that the Bears don't believe in him. Haha. I know this is not in Fields character to do but it would certainly help in pulling off the ruse that a QB could be taken by us at #1. Since I'm guessing he's moving forward with Fields, if Poles doesn't trade down it would be a massive failure. No other way to slice it.
It will be like going to a restaurant and ordering surf and turf and telling the server to hold the surf, the salad, the soup, the baked potato the veggies, and no I won't have room for the fucking dessert. I agree he doesn't check Poles "fast and athletic" check box.
I would just say prepare to find a hobby till the draft. There’s going to be a shitload of bad, stupid takes regarding what the bears should do #1 overall—we already see it now with some pundits saying ‘ditch Fields and draft young/Stroud.’ It’ll change week by week and that will only kick into hyperdrive when the Super Bowl ends. We may get a break for a couple of days around March 7th (when FA negotiation window opens) but then right after for the next month and change it’ll go right back to tomfoolery. It’s only going to get worse until Draft day. Mock drafts are only going to get worse. Pundits without a clue are only going to get worse. Skoronski isn’t hyper-athletic the way some other guys are, but let’s not pretend he’s unathletic/the complete opposite of hyper-athletic. 3 sport HS player, including track/basketball, and ‘knocks’ on him are measurements/preference related (not prototypically long arms or ‘killer instinct’ to violently finish blocks/whatever the fuck that means)—not athleticism. Draft buzz says he’s ‘stiff’ when out in space as a run blocker but still gives him a 92/100 run block grade, (and a 100/100 pass block grade). I get I’m probably firing on a hill that’s counter-intuitive to the exact DNA of what the Chicago Bears are, and I’m probably not getting what I want. But in 2022, QB, LT, and WR matter if you want to be a perennial contender. 10 out of the top 11 offenses in the NFL this year are in the playoffs. Chris Collinsworth said the quiet part out loud on SNF vs the packers about the league and refs favoring offenses. Colin Cowherd says it every other day—too bad enough people think he’s an idiot and doesn’t take him seriously. I guess I’m letting my inner meatball have hope Poles isn’t going to be like the rest of his disappointing predecessors these next few months before he inevitably lets me down and we see defense with all the assets.
Years ago I was against this, and thought the McCaskeys were too, but now do their own version of bears hard knocks in training camp on bears tv or whatever mini channel you find on their website. Gotta think it’s the bears or Jets from an entertainment standpoint. For Fields or for the Jets Wilson drama/post trade new qb.
I thought exactly the same thing. I'd like to think he wouldn't tell him the whole plan cos that creates a needless risk of things getting out. But id hope if nothing else he's had a quiet word and said listen, whatever you hear over the next 3months, just pay no attention. Im doing my job and you'll be glad of it later. If it came to the crunch and for whatever reason you simply havent been able to generate the bidding war, i would even accept sub-optimal(no extra 1st rounder) draft capitol to drop to 2 or 4. Have to get extra picks. The more i think about it the more i feel the worst move would be picking at #1. Which is why im already 50% sure we'll see the bears call the first name heh.
This morning i watched a vid of his show saying the Bears should move off Fields and draft Bryce Young. Don't watch his show normally but he does indeed seem like an idiot.
This right here. They could drop a couple and still likely pick up the guy I like Carter. You can have your cake and eat it too.
Same. If there's a good team culture in place, there's no net negative to doing Hard Knocks. Plus, as I learned very recently, apparently Fields himself is a veteran of reality TV shows. A friend of mine who doesn't even watch football pointed this out to me when he knew all about Justin Field's backstory from a Netflix show that he watched a couple years ago.
So, I didn't get to watch any college football this year, but I do sit up for 20-30 minutes every night feeding / burping the baby - figured I'd use that time each night to look at players for the upcoming draft. I watched the tape from the Texas and Tennessee games from Will Anderson Jr, and... I'm not sure I buy the "generational" hype. I've read that he'll be the next Khalil Mack, and that's just flat out wrong - he doesn't have the same skill set. Not to say that he can't be an elite rusher in the mold of a Von Miller or someone else, but Mack isn't the comp. He's explosive as hell, and he can bend / lean like a mofo. He plays both standing up and with his hand in the dirt, but I haven't watched enough to say whether or not he's precluded from success in one system or another - seems like he's been equally successful regardless of where he's lined up. He does a great job of using his speed to get tackles overextending, and then turning back inside for a quick pressure. That said, he's listed at 6'4" 240 lb, and I think that height might be a little generous. He doesn't seem like the biggest guy. He plays stronger against the run than that size would indicate, but he's still not going to be a Mack-like run destroyer on the outside. I watched him get blocked out by a TE more than once on runs to his side. On the pass rush, he doesn't convert speed to power at all, from the tape I've watched. I need to see more pass rush moves out of him, if he's going to be just a speed rusher. It was hard to tell what quality of hand tech he had, watching on a phone at 4:30 AM, so I'll look more closely at that in future watches. All in all, definitely has the explosiveness to be an outrageous speed rusher if he can continue to improve, but just from the game tape that I watched, I'm not convinced that he's a "generational" guy the way some have hyped him to be. Maybe I just watched two of his worse tapes, I don't know. That's always what people seem to tell me, when I critique a guy. Looking forward to more.
If there's going to be a season where the Bears are on Hard Knocks, make it this one. No hopes of being a legit contender next year, so no worry about distraction derailing wins.
