Chicago Bears vs Houston Texans Game Thread

Oh man that wasn't the one that got me, it was later in the game when Flus used the last timeout (2nd to last?) on 3rd and long and the Texans immediately converted. Eberflus is who he is, meatballs on reddit be damned.

That also reminds me, I have second hand embarrassment from the hand flappy thing Brisker does. For the love of god stop, I was just enjoying a great defensive play and he does that.

 

Just as a point of order re Odunze snap count. He apparently ran more routes in that game than any other player so pretty sure he wasn't really limited in any way. So he gets an A for effort and a - for pretty much everything else.

Taking WR3 at 9 overall continues to look stupid, and the GM should be on the hotseat. FA and other teams' PS should be scoured this week, because the 5 clowns rolling as starters need new jobs.

And just re this. I don't want this to seem like we're disagreeing, cos i was right there with you re the need for O-Line, i think maybe i just accepted more that it was never going to happen so on that basis support at WR became an acceptable pick. But going back to picking at that spot, what exactly is it you would've done? On the basis that you can't go tackle, cos a T was never happening. Would you have just taken a G at #9?

We've spoken about trade downs plenty in the past, im the trade down guy not you. I loved the Bucs Barton pick. Maybe it would've been called a reach but a trade down and pick of him would've prob been my ideal outcome. Not that i've given up on Odunze, i continue to believe he has real potential. Im just saying.

 

What I fucking hate is when a post from April is still true in September, despite the GM having had a full offseason to do something about it. Pay me the fucking millions, you asshat dickhole motherfuckers. So tired of this shit.

"
I know that the media has fallen in love with the idea of pairing Williams with a top receiver at the #9 spot. Now, put aside how I feel about the macro level - that you build teams through the trenches first, and it's easier to find a WR in the draft than it is a difference-maker up front on either side of the ball - let's look at it on the practical level.
Caleb Williams' biggest hurdle is going to be his adjustment to the NFL - everything from the responsibilities of the QB room, to implementing a new offensive system both in verbiage and in action, learning how NFL defenses operate versus that of the PAC 12, etc. It's the biggest transition in the game, and the thing that separates the worthy QB's from the unworthy ones. Without a doubt, this is the transition that will determine whether he's "the guy", and it's one that this franchise has consistently failed to support their QB's through.

So, how does pairing Caleb Williams with a rookie WR help? Sure, that WR might be immensely talented, but he's also going to be learning all these things at the same time as Caleb is. DJ Moore and Keenan Allen are veteran, talented receivers. Kmet is a veteran TE that, while not explosive, is reliable between the hashes and as a blocker. That's what he needs. He also needs an offensive line to block for him, and a defense that can keep him from having to score 50 points a game.

Everyone talks about how his "hero ball" play last year was largely due to needing to score every drive. Welp, don't fucking make him do that here! Help him succeed at the thing that Justin never did, which is knowing how to take what the defense gives you, move the chains, and punt the ball instead of taking a huge sack or turnover. Whether you draft someone on the OL or DL, both players will be helping keep the pressure off of him. A rookie WR just means that he needs to distribute the ball to that guy, as well.

Draft a WR later, if you must. Draft one in the first round next year, if that's really what the team needs. But for fuck's sake, don't do it this year. Please. I get it - the top 3 guys are talented, and it seems like Chicago is going to be in position to grab one without giving up capital. Cool! But that's not what this team actually needs most right now, as far as I can tell. It may not end up being the *wrong* pick, but I highly doubt that it's going to be the *best* one.

That's where I'm at, this week. We'll see how it goes.
"

 

Also, it sucks because I really have grown to like what I've seen out of Rome Odunze as a person, not just as a player (from the limited stuff that we see). But from a roster building standpoint, it has never made any fucking sense that that's the pick. And Poles has been glued to that pick the whole time.

 

I believed deep down, regardless of my vocality of not liking Braxton, that they weren’t going OT, specifically LT in the draft. I honestly thought it would be Jared Verse if Poles stayed at 9 the whole time, with a small chance of an OT in college being kicked inside to OG like Fatanu or Fauga because arm size queens would clutch their pearls over drafting a tackle with 33 inch arms, even though a 1st ballot HOF just made it there with 33 inch arms, I have to think if a guy like Joe Thomas was on Poles’ lap in the draft—he’d pass on him.

To the crux of your question, Teams were reported interested in it, and Poles wanted to move up before Cunningham talked him out of calling Atlanta because he wanted Odunze that badly.

I would have listened to who came calling. I have to believe Vegas tried to move up to get in on QBs, but I would have traded down to the late teens or 20s for a slew of picks and taken an OL or a DL, depending on who was available. I liked Laitu Latu from UCLA and Graham Barton, the C/LT/OG from Duke.

I would have made a deal, but staying at 9 if there were no hypothetical deal? Latu. Edit*** but after taking Latu I would have made damn sure to get a C/IOL, probably take the UConn OG Haynes over preinjured ivy leaguer

 

Thats the scariest part of that whole thing, Poles would've totally traded up for that kid if he hadn't been talked down. He fell in love during the combine and stayed completely infatuated throughout the whole process, to the point he was clearly utterly zeroed in and looking to make a terrible trade. Its so bad. Well, there's a good chance Cunningham isn't around next draft to make sure Poles does his job right, especially if this team makes the playoffs imo.

See, in isolation I am totally on board with trying to draft a guy in the 3rd to one day take Bumston's job off him. The problem is, cos of his totally failed moves previously, Poles should've been prioritising someone he could plug in for the interior. I believe i said this at the time, and you know im not a trade up guy normally, but i would've been blowing up the phones to move for Cooper Beebe pretty much from when he fell to the 3rd round. Arizona had 2 picks in that 3rd round that were ahead of the Bears, prime candidate.

It is not the case that Poles didnt have the money to attack these problems in FA and its not the case that he didn't have options in the draft, this year or last. These are choices that he made and it has been a spectacular fail.

 

Bears get a BIG break for this sundays game. Deforest Buckner goes to IR.

That is huge. Buckner could, and probably would, have wrecked the Bears game plan singlehandedly. They had better pound that rock in this game. Don't worry about Caleb, you get the running game properly established and that'll take care of itself.

 

I listened to the latest Hoge and Jahns podcast and they did a thing where they rated their concern level on a scale of 1 to 10 for parts of the offense, but man, if you were to ask me for Poles I am a good 8 or so. Stuff like this makes it seem like Cunningham is the one keeping this shit from flying off the deep end.

 

This past spring was inexcusable. Multiple effective centers on the right side of 28 were available and he never even called or he couldn’t afford 5-10 mil AAV. Cushenberry, Biadasz, Brewer, Connor Williams, Nick Harris, and that’s not including guys older than 28.

When they traded for Allen, I had to think one of the lines would benefit, but I’m clearly the idiot for giving Poles that kind of credit.

It’s fucking sad that Cody Whitehair and Lucas Patrick got downgraded. The bar was set so fucking low and Poles just missed.

When Cunningham was talking about it on Hard Knocks, that’s when the whole ‘man it would really be nice to get two 3rds if someone hired him as a GM’ thought stopped for me.

 

What was revealing for me from Hard Knocks is when Poles refused to trade Velus, and I think he said if it was anything less than a 3rd he wouldn't even consider it (something like that). You trade Velus for a fucking bag of potatoes, you dumb fuck. You have a high school JV offensive line, need multiple effective bodies on the defensive line, and you have a running back you just paid big money in addition to two other guys who were picked with decently high draft capital. YOU DON'T NEED VELUS, YOU DUMB FUCK. The roster construction from this dude is terrifyingly bad.

 

He won't trade Velus but will gladly give up a 4th for a backup lineman.

 

Yep, and you've listed guys with experience. C is one of the harder positions to come straight in and start as a rookie.

By next off season when Poles is again looking for a C, which he will, he's gonna have a real hard time drafting one unless its someone with real pedigree high up the board. Otherwise its gonna have to be a high priced FA(no idea about names). Cos by the end of this season Poles' ass will be thoroughly flamed by all the bad press of his management of the C position and the rookie season from hell Caleb has just endured. He's gonna have to hit on the next one. It'll need to be a big fix and also a quick fix. If he David Carr's Caleb's ass he will be done.

 

You know was isn't? Running back, yet he found it necessary to secure Swift at 8 million a year at a position that wasn't a glaring need. Apparently, he wanted to make a splash with a relatively sexy signing to bolster his image rather than his team, and instead signed Coleman (Tour Guide) Shelton at 3 million a year to escort opposing defenders with a path directly to the QB.

 

BTDubs, when you watch the game film on the Texans offense and you see the protection that Stroud has vs what Caleb is playing with, it's like night and day. Comparing the two, it's genuinely like you're watching two different sports. Just really makes clear how big a gap there is between the Bears' offense and general competence.

 

As for the draft, it’s looking light at the top. Subject to change.

The top 2 and likely late 1st rounders/early 2nds are Bama C Parker Brailsford who's the elite run mauler and the USC C Jonah Monheim (Caleb’s LT last 2 years and moved inside to C this year) is the elite pass protector and line caller captain.

Then there’s Gus Hartwig from Purdue. A year and a half ago he’d be the top pick/top 15, but now he’s preinjured and comes with a couple concussions and is coming off a major knee injury last year. He’s missed a good amount of games. Then there’s the rest.

Still a long way to go in college so maybe a couple more pop up, but right now looking scarce.