So....how's everyone feeling?

Camp is open....the Bears play a game in a week.

New OC....new DC.....new QB....new WRs....new RB. Ejax gone. Aussie punter. New kickoff rules.

So...how you motherfuckers feeling right now?

 

Either it’s more than a feeling or
I’m feeling that way

 

Very cautiously optimistic, which is the first I can say of that in a while. I still don't think the offensive or defensive line is good enough to put them over .500 this year, but we'll see. Excited to see if the new offense can look improved in spite of that.

I will be paying for HBO and Hard Knocks. A benefit of this year not being a year where they're real contenders: doesn't really matter if the cameras are any distraction. We get the access without worrying about them falling short of expectations - because as long as they don't completely trip on their dick, they'll have met or exceeded expectations.

Looking forward to football this year.

 

Gervon Dexter apparently took his physical to start camp with the DEs.

Me too. Very much.

 

I can't wait for football!

 

Based on the defenses finish last year and the schedule this year they should be at least a .500 team. Anything over that will be if Caleb lives up to the hype, and to be honest, I know it's early but I'm not seeing it...
...yet.

 

If the defense is what it should be

And barring injuries

This is a 10 win team at least

Yes....I said it

 

Why though?

Arm talent is there. Mobility is there. Much quicker release than we are used to.

 

Feel pretty ready for football, despite how sans Caleb, I’d describe this offseason as ‘meh.’

Not a lot of faith in the OL. I think they’ve got 2/5 spots theoretically solved, except Nate Davis isn’t starting for the best 5. Could be 3/5 if they sign Connor Williams. Braxton is Poles’ pride and joy, much to my chagrin and reality of his body of work on tape.

DL feel even worse. After Tez, you have nothing. Billings is a guy. Walker is a guy. Dexter was nothing special. Now he may play with the DEs? That’s not bad, I suggested it when he was drafted. He was a 2 gap read/react 5 tech in college at Florida in a predominantly 3-4 who also played DE when the gators showed 4 man fronts. DE setting edge probably gets more out of his skillset than being a 1 gap wrecking ball which he’s never been, and theoretically, you may have found a DE2. Problem is, it’s year 3 and you still have fuck all at 3T. Is Poles gonna hand out more draft picks to fix the problem he’s ignored? He’s got a couple 2nds next April.

Back 7 on defense? Lovely. Feel great there.

My obliques are still tender from the laughing I did over taking the Aussie punter. Taking a punter in the 4th round of a draft is criminal, and the mark of a stupid team. I maintain this is the kind of shit we used to make fun of the lions for doing in the 2000s when they were a stupid team because that’s what stupid teams do.

Like the Swift/Herbert combo at halfback. Roschon Johnson appears to be going the same career trajectory as Jeremy Langford, and Poles seems determined to give him no chance. Had a semi heart attack when watching the Giants offseason Hard Knocks where the giants’ GM announced he wasn’t keeping Saquon Barkley because ‘Chicago drove up the price too much.’

Caleb? Feel incredibly optimistic and am giving him the same level of slack a rookie deserves. Keep shit simple, Waldron.

WR room I feel like I just ate an incredibly rich, decadent piece of chocolate cake. I regret nothing because it’s fucking delicious and it looked glorious on display, but my stomach has regrets and trouble breaking down how Odunze, Allen, Kmet, and DJ all share targets/opportunities/stats and now I just feel nauseous and my intestines are going to give me a rough night.

Someone’s due for a letdown or a rookie isn’t going to have the stats you’d expect out of a top 10 overall pick, Caleb probably isn’t going to throw for 4000 this year, and I don’t think meatballs are prepared for that.

New DC I’ve no confidence in to develop anybody. He got a 1st round pick in Greg Rousseau when he took over in Buffalo, but Rousseau also regressed. Thankfully Eberflus is still calling plays.

I can see a double digit win team but Caleb is going to have to be good. I can also see a painful year where teams just do the bears D what Green Bay did week 17 last year with no upgrades on guys who can get home mixed with Caleb playing like a rookie.

I look forward to Sundays and jackassery with y'all for another year.

 

No essay this time, on my phone in the car line at Cairnryan waiting to get the boat to Belfast then off up to the holiday home at Bushmills. I can hear the distillery calling my name already.

Agree with a lot of what pat said re OL, DC & back7. Also bang on target re the punter pick, that is exactly what stupid teams do. Don't care about good or even v good, u take a punter that high he needs to be a pro bowler otherwise it's a wasted pick.

Gervon Dexter looks in incredible shape! That is clearly a guy who has taken his offseason dead serious and I totally respect that. I hope it can translate into production for him. I think he did the DE physical cos he's just in such great shape. I still think he's the plan for 3 tech.

I'm optimistic about Caleb, but there's been a lot of mixed stuff written about him so far. Impossible to separate the wheat from the chaff so I'm just gonna wait and see. I don't love that there's been a ton of check downs and WRs not seeing the ball in TC so far but I guess its early.

I'm taking the kid to the Jags game in London in Oct but it might be the last one I ever go to. It's just become a total scam. Prices have gone up 55% in the last 2years, the OG 80s fans like me who basiccally got the whole thing off the ground here have been flipped a giant bird. I feel sorry for those who can't afford it. I actually toyed with dropping 1 large on some premium package/seats but thought F them. Also not a good example to set for the kids first game imo.

I think the game is week 6, that might come a bit too soon for Caleb to be any good. Then again in 2019 I paid hundreds of £ to watch Chase fucking Daniel starting so there's that.

One good thing, someone(eberflus?) Said the bears will be flying out early for that trip which is what you HAVE to do if you wanna win it. Teams that try to fly out 2days before the game almost always lose. So that's good.

 

I find it really hard to put a number on how many games they'll win this year. The last 2 years the talent level has demonstrably gone up everywhere but where it all starts, up front, on both sides. People are gonna have to show up there and I don't know if they will.

Could be 10wins, could be 6. I'll prob just wait for blang to come along and tell us the answer.

 

x.com

Okay. Now I feel a lot better. Jordan Love tied for highest paid QB in the league.

 

That's some good writing right there Pat!

 

It has been too long since football, and I am really looking forward to Hard Knocks with the Bears, hell even the HOF game which is....THIS weekend? Fuck me! I'm ready to watch Bagent and the scrubs take on the Houston scrubs for some meaningless football. Hard Knocks is one week from tomorrow? Nice.

As a fan, it's tough. There has been so much hype as always in the offseason, and the constant every year, "but THIS time it feels different". It really doesn't. It is all unknown, which is cool and everything, but until Caleb puts it together on the field, and shows continued growth, this is still the same old Bears. We still have Eberlose, our offensive line woes continue (I mean the idiots on Reddit at least have it right that IOL is a problem, but fuck me if they keep saying guard instead of the DIRE Center. Did I really hear we are having fucking SNAPPING problems again, ugh, but it's TC), the defensive line is still an unaddressed problem.

THAT said, the life of a football fan is being a goddamn idiot with a short memory, so I'm ready for this new season. This built outside-in team will still lose battles at the trenches, and thus games, but the skill positions at least will be exciting? Waldron did turn around Geno Smith? There are some ingredients here with potential in spades. And yes, like BWW says of Caleb, I hear a lot about his quick release, so I am looking forward to that. The number of times the fuckfaces in GB would quick slant us to absolute death, maybe we can deliver that back, instead of WR screen after WR screen.

So I am ready to be hurt again. I know the problems, they will probably be our downfall this year. But Caleb, Odunze, Allen, Montez, Jaylon Johnson - THESE guys give me a little hope we'll see some good games this year. I do expect to get fucking rocked by the cunts up north, but I'm hoping they live to regret handing out a franchise deal to Love after maybe half a season where he looked good. The entire league is full of flash in the pans, can it happen to those spoiled fucks, pretty please? I don't mind if the Lions get their little time in the sun, they aren't winning the big dance either way so let their pathetic fans have a little to like about the sport for a change. Fuck the entire fanbase of Wisconsin.

Also, I don't hate them picking a punter, just for that british dude to go up there and announce it. Poles is giving away draft picks like falling autumn leaves, so I got some joy out of that. Also, it reminds me of the first time I played fantasy football and took a kicker in the 4th round, endlessly mocked by my buds for years afterwards. Good times. I'll regret it when we see the 800th mishandled snap this season, which is a thing that probably happens, heh.

 

Maybe I'm reading into the reports at camp and expecting too much too soon. I guess I expected more from one the highest touted QB's the come out in some time to ball and be lights out, silly me. I just worry we're going to suffer some of the same things we did with Justin with ball security, and as we did Cutler with the gunslinger mentality but only now it will be magnified, amplified, and then vilified. It will be exciting as fuck when it works...but this is the Bears and it's hard to shake that QB stigma when it's bolded in the DNA of this fucking team since the day I was born.

 

The expectations are high as they should be. It’s a truly unique situation. Unanimous first pick QB coming into a ready made situation with all the tools any QB could want outside of a truly dominant O line. I really can’t remember a top 5 pick coming into a better situation. Ever. So how will the Bears handle it?

Going off of past experience we are fucked. The Bears have zero history when it comes to building a winning culture through offensive football. Building around defense? Sure we can do that but let’s face it the Bears never left the 80’s when it came to how to build an offense outside of a couple of miracle years they were never able to be repeat.

So it’s time to put the past in the past and blaze a brand new future. And who will lead us? Surely some offensive mastermind right. A hot young up and comer HC to pair with our generational prospect at QB. Of course not. We will pair our number 1 pick QB with a lame duck pretty good at defense HC. Because he is “Good leader of men”. So now we hope Eberflus’s defense is better than pretty good and Waldron is the offensive mastermind that doesn’t get the credit due to the highly touted number 1 pick and lots of talent around him or is a shitty interview for other HC positions and we get some continuity at least enough till Williams is so good he brings his OC along for the ride.

All that and I am still looking forward to this season. From what I am hearing the defense has had the better of the offense in camp. Which is fine for now. Rookie QB, new offense blah blah blah. What has been promising is that when the offense has fallen short, when Williams is in at QB, it has been due to pressure and tight coverage. Not accuracy or not knowing what to due with the ball. The wow plays are there but so are the live to fight another day decisions. I am not panicking yet.

The past 2 seasons were all eyes on Fields. Now it’s all eyes on Williams. We’re due are we not?

 

DJ Moore 4 year, 110 mil extension. 82.6 guaranteed. Good move by Poles.

After seeing some WR extensions, I’m not complaining about those numbers.

 

I'm especially not upset at the timing. Do it now while we have space and there isn't a frenzy of other good players out there. Lock him up while we have Rome and Caleb on cheap deals.

Feel a little bad for Allen, but he was never getting his bag after Rome was drafted anyway. Hope he balls out to get his bag, and doesn't Allen Robinson his way into my doghouse.

 

First, I miss y'all and I'm stoked to talk football with everyone again, this year. Awesome to hear everyone's thoughts.

Regarding the contract, there are two sides of this coin, to me:

Moore is not on par with a guy like Justin Jefferson, and depending on your definition, he may not be a "number 1 receiver". So you hesitate to pay a guy like that big money.

On the other hand, he's a culture guy - he works hard, and is clearly one of the most talented players on the team. You don't let that go. And while he may not be Justin Jefferson, he is CLEARLY a game breaker, and carried Justin Fields' passing stats for many a game. With Caleb Williams on a rookie deal for four years, and needing the best guys he can throw to in that time, having DJ Moore there is huge for him. Veteran player, smart / culture guy, and game breaking talent.

Yeah, you get him paid. Good job, Poles. This gives you time to see if Odunze is worth another deal after the rookie one is done, but also doesn't tether you to two giant WR contracts after that, if he is. It's a big number to pay him, but hell, that's just what WR's are getting nowadays, whether I like it or not. And Keenan Allen coming here was just icing on top - he's at an age that you don't want to extend him long term, and you've got two other guys at the position that should be able to carry the load. He's here to be the 1-2 punch with DJ until Odunze is ready to step up and take that spot.

I hate how Poles has managed the trenches. But the skill positions on offense look really, really good right now, and getting DJ extended is hopefully going to keep that true while Poles SOLVES THE OL ROSTER AS SOON AS FUCKING POSSIBLE.

Sorry, was feeling myself get too positive. Had to get real, again.

 

No doubt with even a Tyler Scott sighting in camp and him starting to build some chemistry with Caleb.
It's a shame that Poles has tried to Macgyver the trenches the way he has by engaging a Gilligan-like thought process along the way.