Normally, I would be too. But, Sitton got released and while Kyle Long is good when he's on the field, until he can play 16 games, sadly Pace has created a hole at guard. However, he's being considered a top 5 picks and draws comparisons to Larry Allen and Marshall Yanda. Very little flaws, and the big one is fixable; he's known to drop head; but if Harry Heistand is one of the best in the business and everything else is there--I'm confident he's a perennial All-Pro. He's built to be an OLinemen, and if Saquon Barkley didn't steal the show at the underwear olympics (heard something stupid that he pressed 225 more than Joe Thomas did, ran a faster 40 than DeSean Jackson, and a better vertical (41 inch) to Julio Jones (38 inch); Nelson would be the guy being gushed about. Now as it sits, my guess/speculation is that Pace will trade down from 8. He's in a good, not favorable position and the SOS kind of fucked the bears, because they could have/should have had the #5 pick. I again speculate a couple Qbs, Chubb, Fitzpatrick, all go ahead, leaving Nelson, Roquan Smith, Edmunds (whom I don't love but will put him up here), Davenport, Landry, Hernandez, McGlinchy, and WRs like Ridley/Sutton to choose from later in the 1st with the impact players being off board. Right now, if Nelson is there, its a no-brainer to me. Guard or not, if this guy says "All Pro" to the bears, take him. He has played OT for Notre Dame when he was an underclassmen, but may/may not make the transition to OT at the NFL level. In a perfect world, if he does, that's a bookend. Myself and a ton of pundits didn't think Cordy Glenn from Georgia could do it a few years back when the Bills took him. I trust Heistand/Nagy if Nelson is the guy to put him in the best spot he can play in. * * * An update otherwise, bears have been busy at the combine with individual/private meetings. They've met over the last couple of days with WRs Courtland Sutton, Deion Cain (Clemson), Calvin Ridley, and then Quarterback Lamar Jackson and South Carolina TE Hayden Hurst per Walterfootball. I suppose take ^ list with a grain of salt. Last year, Pace never brought in Trubisky for a private meeting, they just went to his pro-day. Its "smoke and mirrors" season.
I didn't watch the big 3, just saw tidbits and saw some numbers. Brown looked slow/statuesque, which isn't good at LT. His lateral quickness.......well to put it nicely, it needs work. The other qualities I referenced are there in power and hands. Connor Williams I see a lot of what you did, and as I wrote up before, his knock is his lack of strength and it still looks like he hasn't figured that out yet. A lot of other traits in an OT are there. Lateral quickness, bend, positioning, and hands were all positives and pundits now a couple of days removed like him for that. Some "knee jerk" reactions of said pundits have him as a "winner" of the combine as an OT. If he fixes his strength, he's top 1/2 of the 1st round. If not, he's bottom half, probably early second. But since from November when I wrote about him until now, early March that the strength isn't there......doesn't bode well. McGlinchy I agree with. While he's above average at everything, he's not elite with any OT-specific characteristic. He looks above average/serviceable, using proper fundamentals albeit not having elite hands/bend/power/lateral movement. I think he is an immediate upgrade over Massie at RT, even with what I just said. But the #8 pick? I'm with DLine, probably not. Trade down in 1st candidate. UCLA's OT Kolton Miller probably put himself in the first round discussion, he had a good showing at the underwear olympics. Looks like a more polished Nate Soldier. For a 6'9 behemoth, he can move a lot faster than some people thought.
The bears hosted defensive back Minkah Fitzpatrick recently at Halas Hall for a private workout and meetings. Fitzpatrick did just well enough at the combine, but scouts were able to look at/be alarmed with his speed and short arm length. Some pessimistic scouts like Matt Miller think he's more Micah Hyde than Jalen Ramsey. He didn't demonstrate the ability to be the speed you ideally want your CBs to be. They've spent much time on receiver Calvin Ridley so far at the combine and Bama's pro day this past Thursday. He's also expected to have a private Halas Hall visit.
No updates for a while. Pat, you heard any interesting news about the Bears for the upcoming draft. I just found out they signed Benny Fowler, WR formally of the Broncos. Not exciting in any way but having done that it does make me think its now a lot less likely that they double dip at WR in the upcoming draft.......errr...... which is exactly what i just did in the live mock currently going on in the draft forum....
To be frank, I've laxed this year on college prospects; so I'm definitely not as connected as normal. Tons of reasons why, some personal, some just.....fatigued with this time of year, some being this year not being anywhere near exciting as last. It's this now-fetish-ized time of year, "mock draft season." I hate these things. Pundits and experts who aren't tapped into a real front office decide draft guesses for teams based on however they're feeling. And its just getting more and more in your face. A couple of years ago, Mel Kiper would do one, maybe 2. Now? He's at 3.0, 4.0, and more and more. Other people do it weekly like WFB, and if you're chicitysports, you have a retard named dez just pumping one out daily. Just because. Its tiring, it takes so much away from what you want to know, and it just adds to the smoke and mirrors because its rumors and conjecture at this point. We have no idea what Pace was going to do. If you gave me 100 guesses and a do-over of last year, I never would have guessed Pace would trade up to #2 to take Trubisky. This damn thing just.....isn't predictable. And its been over-exposed, and over-hyped, and over-analyzed, and most of the people doing this are going to be wrong. But the ones who guess right? God help us. They'll be patting themselves on the back like their best guess in one of the 20-something mock drafts hit. It enables and validates, even though they're wrong pretty much the rest of the way. Some people love it, some too much, it just has waned for me. Now that I've got my bitching and moaning out of the way, this next week and change I'll do my best for updates because fuck--the draft is here next week. I don't know what Ryan Pace is going to do, but I know he's met with a lot of prospects. A couple hundred. Walterfootball has a list of "meetings by team," and that barely scratches the surface, because on the bears website, twitter feed, even typing 'chicago bears' into google will link you to articles of kids they've met with. And all the big names in the 1st they have met with, except QBs, which I'm relatively confident they wont be taking. Chubb, Roquan Smith, Edmunds, Vita Vea, Arden Key, Minkah Fitzpatrick, Denzel Ward, Josh Jackson, and Quentin Nelson are all the guys that are viable options at #8. One thing I have been watching more for/trying to get more information on, because Ryan Pace has seemingly utilized this more than Emery or Angelo--is regional visits or a "local pro day." Prospects that come to Halas Hall as kind of a weekend event workout. Its how he found Cam Meredith (Illinois State) and one of the two times he met with Jordan Howard (Indiana), other visit with Howard at the combine. Now by "local pro day" i'm confused, because on the bears website it defined it as local schools (U of I, Northwestern, Iowa, Nebraska, Indiana, Northern Illinois, Notre Dame etc. have all sent prospects) but this year they're bringing in west coast school kids that are from the area. I don't know when these things started. I always was under the impression that the combine, pro days, and private meetings at teams request were the traditional ways to meet prospects. And a lot of guys aren't top of the line picks sans Deshone Kizer who attended the local pro day last year. It seems to be opening up the door to smaller colleges, because I've never heard of Azuza Pacifica University, but the bears sought fit to meet with a left tackle from there during.
I agree with Pat about the draft prediction - I stick solely to trying to feel put what players can do what, rather than predicting what team will pick what player. Admittedly, I haven't done any more scouting than OT this year. I kept thinking, "I've got plenty of time", but just like that, it's here. I'll do some more stuff this weekend, get a feel for the options. It does bring up an important question that's been on my mind, though... What are the "make or break"'s for you with this draft? For example, what position would you lose your mind over if they drafted it at #8? What prospect is your "have to have", and what prospects wouldn't you touch with a ten foot pole? What's your ideal contributions to this roster from this draft? Really interested to hear everyone's answers. I think we could get some really divided but equally valid answers. Personally, if they draft a WR in the first two rounds, I'll lose my mind. Beyond that, I'm not sure of my boundaries for this draft, yet.
A few thoughts on this. I'd lose my mind if they draft a receiver at 8. I'd probably also lose my mind if Bradley Chubb and/or Quentin Nelson were on the board and Pace passed or traded down and didn't get one or the other. Now the caveat to that is obviously if someone gets caught doing something stupid, like beating their wife/girlfriend. My prospect I wouldn't touch with a 10 foot pole is Tremaine Edmunds, I've ranted before, and I've yet to hear any scout or anybody say "some people think him being shit for brains is fixable." I'm also just....iffy on Denzel Ward. I've had to change my afternoon commute home's sports radio station back to Espen, because 670 the score got rid of Bernstein and Goff in the afternoon and for some retarded reason thought Dan McNeil was worth prime time on the airwaves, which disgusts me because he's king of the meatballs. Waddle and Silvy I hate. They're smart and well-versed, but they pander to idiots and meatballs, and they cant interview worth a shit. They had Chris Mortenson on, and I always though him as one of the intelligent ones Espn didn't fire during their purge of real journalists last year. He disappointed. His take on Ward's scouting report said "compared to prior Urban Meyer Ohio State DBs, he's somewhere in-between Eli Apple and Marshawn Lattimore." What? Where?! That's a huge gap. And of course the meatballs didn't get him to elaborate......that's like saying "on a scale of 1-100, he's somewhere in between! Tremendous sports take, guys. Put Dan Bernstein back on the afternoons, goddammit. My have to have guy that isn't obvious (my top 3 are Chubb, Nelson, and Roquan Smith in that order)? Vita Vea, NT/DLineman from Washington. Yes, I know the bears have Eddie Goldman, and no, I don't think Pace is going to let him walk, I think an extension is coming soon for him. I think Vea is legit, and if we are talking BPA and the other 3 are gone, its him at 8. Comparisons to Haloti Ngata. That's a start. I've never seen/heard about a 350 lb man running a 5.1 40 yard dash. I know, the 40 yard dash is overrated, but that size that moves? Danny Shelton, former Husky NT who went 1st round a couple years ago didn't move that fast, Goldman doesn't move that fast. Ngata in his prime did. I clamored for Bennie Logan this offseason (and had an aneurysm when he took 4 mil per year to go to the fucking titans), and believe a Vea-Goldman-Hicks 3 front is just......something impossible to run on. I also think the disruption level in pass rush, amid all that weight (1000 lbs between 3 men) but not sacrifice speed. Vea was a former HS running back. Now with Goldman and the flexibility of Hicks, Vea seems like a luxury. He's a flexible option. Nagy said in his initial presser he doesn't want to be chained to a 3-4 front, he wants to use multi-fronts. Vea can play middle, many scouts believe he can be a 5-tech, and for the bears, he's depth because Goldman--not to diminish his talent or what he's been able to do--but he can't stay on the field. And Hicks has played a lot of snaps. They wore down the stretch under Fox last year. They were worn down later in games when Floyd went down. His knock? He has some Julius Peppers-type lethargy to his game. One series he's unblockable. The next he's taking a play or two off. ^I salivated watching this. He's just flexible on your defensive line. He chases RBs downfield, he demands doubles and allows the other 2 down linemen to get one on ones, which they win. Luke Falk gets harassed this game. Similar tape when you click on the USC, UCLA, Stanford games too. I think 5-tech is arguably a top need. I don't trust Jon Bullard, or RRH. Both aren't bums, but they're depth. In terms of a true 5-tech, there's Maurice Hurst, who may fall way out of the 1st round after having heart issues. Gaines Adams rang in my mind after reading he had issues and had to be referred to a cardiologist for murmur issues. Edge......I haven't forgotten about, but I think with Lynch, Floyd and Acho, Pace takes just one, and it probably doesn't have to be the top 2 rounds unless Chubb falls to 8 or Landry, Davenport, or Lorenzo Carter fall to the 2nd. ILB is a need, and its considered stacked too. Losing out on Smith or Edmunds doesn't mean the talent pool ends. CB is a position that's more luxury if you're taking one early, IMO. Mid rounds for depth to run with LeBlanc, Cooper, Hall, and whomever else for depth chart behind Prince and Fuller works for me. Contributions to the roster? I think you can get 2 immediate starters and 2 rotation guys with the first 4 picks. I think edge can wait to the 4th round, or a trade back in the 3rd or later into the 1st or 2nd. A WR should be taken, mid to late. OT depth is a need, and while we all seem to agree Massie is a liability, he's still on the roster. Interior OL concerns me. It'd be nice if Pace said where Whitehair will play. Cutting Sitton gives reason to think that he will move to LG, where he looked solid as a rookie. So a C because Grasu is bad changes things. Or Nelson negates this conversation. Will Hernandez and Austin Corbett are both prime looking Guards that will fall into the 2nd, possibly later.
Love all of that, Pat. Interesting thoughts. Typing real quickly at work, so briefly: I was surprised you didn't count OLB a bigger need. Admittedly, this draft looks like it's definitely lacking in talent at the position. With the resigning of both Amukamara and Fuller, I agree that CB isn't as big a need as it once was. I would still like to see an upgrade there, but as desperately as this team needs help elsewhere, I think there are other priorities. Vea does look great, but I agree that it's neither priority, nor is he potentially the best on the board come the #8 pick. That would be a hell of a way to invest in your DL, though. Cutting Sitton has made for a huge hole on the OL. No doubt the OT's need to be upgraded, but that position is also sorely lacking in the draft. I won't hide my love for Whitehair's game, and I think he can continue to be successful at either LG (where most projected him coming into the league) or C. But Grasu has sucked, and drafting a rookie who can make an immediate impact won't be easy. They got spectacularly lucky that Whitehair was still there for them (best interior OL in the draft). I think Chicago is primed for another year where, as usual, they're just one pick away from the ideal fit player. Just about every year we're one pick away from THE guy, and someone else snatches him up. This year, I think Quenton Nelson is that guy. He fills the gaping hole on the OL, and is by all accounts potentially the best player in the draft. I don't usually like the idea of a G with a top 10 pick, but... his tape speaks for itself. 4 QB's go before Chicago. Saquon Barkley and Bradley Chubb are the two other likely candidates. It's hard not to argue that Nelson is next on the list of players to be picked in that top 7. We'd need a team to fall in love with Roquan Smith, Fitzgerald, the Denzel Ward, or potentially Derwin James. Those are the guys who might sneak up before us, if a team isn't in love with a G in the top 7, either. I do think there are some quality players to be had in the top half of the first round. I'm hoping Pace continues to improve his ways. It'll be interesting to see how much of an impact Nagy has on evaluations. They've been really close during the process, from what we can tell. Fuck. That wasn't quick at all, and my boss is just walking up. I've gotten nothing done. Well, damn. Seeya.
OLB is a big need still, because if Lynch I assumed Pace signed to start across from Leonard Floyd continues his decline after a solid first 2 years, you need somebody. And Sam Acho is a back up. That being said, its lining up terribly for edge right now. I like Harold Landry, but he's a reach at 8. Davenport too. But other teams need edges. Ideally there's a trade down when Pace can get one that favors, but I don't see it likely. Of the rumored teams willing to trade up, the Bills, Pats, and any team really willing to pay enough can get higher than 8. You need a QB like Josh Allen or Baker Mayfield. You'd have to hope Mayfield. Yesterday or today the Arizona Cardinals spent all day with him, their final day to bring in prospects. That's the best objective guess I can give. Arizona thinks 8 is just right for their guy, if they're okay with not Rosen or Darnold. The 2nd round is interesting, I think Carter, Sam Hubbard, Key, and Vander Esche. And Leighton Vander Esche is a guy I haven't looked at all. Is he trying to be an edge or a really hyper-athletic white guy at ILB? I've heard meatball fans want this guy to be the next white hype. Its unfair to lump him with Shame, but his critics think he's Shame 2.0 with a 1 inch height difference between the two. NFL.com compares to Karlos Dansby. Landry I think goes in the 10-20 range. I'll guess he's the guy you'd take at 16, provided he's still there. But if its Nelson at 8, well--edge isn't being taken in the 1st round. So what's second round? For some reason Davenport's being hit because in some interviews he's too "soft" for some coaches because he told them he likes poetry in his spare time. Still is a top 25 pick to me. Point is, is there a guy in the 2nd worth taking without question at edge if Nelson is your first rounder, the way a lot of people think/hope it may go? I think some juicier should-be 1st rounders will be around there. Maybe that's when Pace is captivated by a guy like Sutton or Ridley sitting there at 39, we just wont know until then. I'm not sure how I'd feel but I can understand picking a WR round 2.
I know things are looking up and usually this thread is a diversion from a crappy Bears season. That and we don't have a first round pick. But I guess I feel entitled and bored. OT and CB should probably be the main priorities in the draft, plus another pass rusher might be good since Floyd is not as impactful as we were hoping. Any thoughts Patg?
I have some..... I posted on the "bye week thoughts" thread that its still too early to be looking at guys right now. Week 6 in CFB just passed, and there's still 8 more glorious weeks left before conference championships. I think safety has bigger potential than CB for need. I think the bears especially like Toliver, and Amos hasn't been extended. Pace has moved to extend pieces like Hicks and Goldman, yet Amos remains his present trajectory--which is unrestricted FA after this year unless franchise tag is involved. CB talent certainly needs work, but again--Tolliver involved--Prince and Fuller are under contract for one more year. If Amos does go, Washington's Taylor Rapp is an underrated box safety that can replace him. I was high on Buddha Baker from Washington in 2017 (and he was one of the bright spots for the cards against the bears a couple of weeks ago), and Rapp is a 6'1 version of Baker. Aggressive, physical, and highly alert/aware. His partner, FS Jojo McIntosh is probably a 1st round talent this upcoming spring. Few holes in his game. Jalen Thompson from Washington State is solid too, and looks like a mid round spec, though he's more FS. He lacks the physicality of a box safety/SS. Obvious guys like Hudson from Michigan, and Simmons from Clemson I won't bother with. They're long gone before the bears (hopefully) late 3rd round pick. OT is a need. Leno I'm fine with. Massie I'm tired of. The kid from Alabama, Jonah Williams is looking like the top pick OT of next spring. That guy manhandles every rusher that lines up across from him and is just dominating them. Bull rushers, speed, finesse, diverse guys. They don't get past him. He's probably a top 3 pick if he stays healthy. Trey Adams from Washington is probably a 1st round spec too. He's a solid 2-way OT, and was a 1st round pick last year then tore his ACL in October/November. He's picked up where he left off, but isn't producing like Bama's Williams. His counterpart at RT, Kaleb McGarry is the prototype RT and a run mauler that is proficient as a pass blocker--has bad measurements. Short arms for a 6'6, 325 athlete, but some scouts like him 1st round as a guard. Many believe he's an effective RT/ Some have a 4th round grade. Afterwards? Field is still cloudy from how early in the year it is. Tons of guys with a couple of really good games, but 6 weeks isn't enough to grade/determine a guy. University of Wisconsin has a few Oline prospects. Michael Dieter will probably be a 1st round OG. He played tackle for the badgers. David Hall is a RT prospect, but reports are in now that he has problems with speed rushers; but in typical Wisconsin stereotype, probably the best run blocking OT coming out. A guy I like is Chris Lindstrom from Boston College. A highly underrated 2-way right guard that also plays tackle and scouts so far project him to be a tackle at the NFL level. Some think he's also a 1st round guard, some think he's a top 3-4 round OT.
I should probably dust off this old clunker of a thread, no? Scouting season has begun, with the East-West Shrine Game, Senior Bowl, and NFLPA Collegiate All Star game all played over the past 2 weekends. The EW Shrine Games and NFLPA game the two with players more likely for the bears to target, not picking until the end of the 3rd round. Now to preface, these three are glorified exhibition games. Teams practiced for 1-2 weeks, not entire offseasons, spring/summer camps, or through a progressed season. So rapport between QBs and OLinemen and playmakers who have never played together playing for coaches they don't know should be taken with a grain of salt. Fundamentals is what I care about most here. I'm going to start with the NFLPA bowl, one game the bears have an "in" on. I mean our new DC, Chuck Pagano coached the 'American' Roster while Mike Tice coached the 'National' team. Pagano beat Tice 10-7. The story was running backs. The quarterbacks weren't anything to write home about, albeit with Jake Browning (University of Washington QB who should have come out for 2018 draft), and Kyle Shurmur from Vanderbildt both getting hit and putting up pedestrian numbers. Wes Hills, the RB from Slippery Rock University (D2 school) stole the show. He carved up the American's defensive fron on 10 carries, averaging 7.8 ypc and busting 4 10+ yard rushes. Cannot find clips from the NFLPA bowl individually, so I did some digging..... So this young man reminds me a lot of David Johnson, who came out of Northern Iowa some years back whom I wanted the bears to take, but they ended up going Hroniss Grasu in the 3rd and Jeremy Langford in the 4th in 2015. Hills runs like a wild man, not going down until he is wrapped up and keeps his powerful legs chugging after contact. I admire that, but also fear it, as CTE is almost certainly in this kid's future. For his big 6/2, 220 lb frame he also can sneak out of the backfield, catching 28 passes for just under 200 yards for Slippery Rock in 2018. Considering what Nagy/Andy Reid run, that doesn't appear to be much, but slippery rock from video loves their exotic backfield option offense. He went from a later round pick increasing his stock with this performance. He initially was forgotten when he transferred from Delaware, a D1AA school to Division 2. He's resurrected his stock. If this kid, Cohen, and Hunt/Jordan Howard are a backfield next year, this is something to get excited about. As I discussed with QB, Shurmur and Browning were the QBs of note, and Browning didn't look sharp at all, chucking 2 INTs, and going 9-17 on the day. That's a Tyler Bray replacement. He fits Nagy's offense, he just stuck around a year too long. The National team had 7 running backs with at least 1 carry for 10+ yards. Marche Dennard stole the show after Hills from Colorado State - Pueblo. Also hard to find tape one so another clip of highlights. Plays hard and to the whistle, does not go down simply. Speedy and shifty, but no breakaway speed you want a premier back to have. He carved up D2, and I do not know if that transfers to NFL. He's also 5'10, and had 180 rushes for 946 yards, (8 ypc) to pair with only 5 receptions for 21 yards in 11 games as a senior in 2018. The American OLine didn't have a good day, surrendering 4 sacks and 8 TFL on the day. Their lone good DLinemen, Anree St. Amour, edge out of Georgia Tech had himself a great day with sacks and TFL. National Oline had fits with him all day. Now I cannot find any game tape, just highlight reels of the kid, I'll attach one--but I take these with grains of salt. They don't show the downside, only the upside. And this kid is projected 3rd round and beyond not because he has an all-around game. If he did, he'd be talked about going top 10. You see a hyper athletic kid on tape. (He's #94 for GT, who wears white, gold, and black); who can dip into zone and be effective, who can rush between the guards, and from the edge, and has some smarts. There's a play where he, like Khalil Mack against the packers snuffs out a screen instead of biting at the QB chases the RB and ends up with an INT. He rushes the edge, using his speed and quickness, akin to Leonard Floyd. Unlike Floyd, we see some sneaky power. A few plays he manhandles Virgina Tech's left tackle, pushing at point of attack and into VT's own QB. He's commended as a gym rat, boasting nice bench/squat amounts. Now watching clips like this, cherry picked and nice as they are, don't tell the whole story. So what are the knocks? Size some argue, for an edge, he's 6'2, 245. I imagine some bulk has to come on. This year is stacked at edge. Little Bosa, Jaylon Ferguson, Montez Sweat, Chase Winovich, Josh Allen, Clellin Ferrell, Brian Burns, and a couple other underclassmen who could declare like the kids from Florida and Georgia are were ahead of him. What else? Still little information now, but 2018 was his first (he's a 4 year senior) full year, playing 13 games. He had 10 as a sophmore, was injured as a junior. Sack numbers aren't all there, even though highlights tell a different story. He had 5 in 2018. As it stands January 30th, he's a undrafted FA. That could change after the meat market--errrr--combine/underwear olympics and individual meetings. I'd chance it on this kid late. Lastly, Isaiah Mack, the 5 tech from Chattanooga also stood out. A D1AA all American, he finished 2018 strong, with 7.5 of his 8.5 sacks in the last 5 games of the season. I cannot find any game tape of him, all I can find are highlights from 2018 games that are a minute long and maybe show him for maybe 1 play. https://gomocs.com/roster.aspx?rp_id=6311
What do you have for the primary needs this off-season and do you see any of those being addressed in free agency?
FA is gonna be as quiet as the draft this year if not more. They may be able to add a body to the urinal puck dispenser team at Soldier providing they backload the contract, but thats about it. The Bears didn't have much CAP room anyway and that was before signing Massie. Details of his contract still haven't come out yet which is weird, but it reportedly averages $8mil a year. No way he gets a lowball amount year 1. $6mil absolute min but prob more. Signing draft picks(although no 1st & 2nd rounder helps here), singing a punter, some emergency money for in-season. The Bears, by my reckoning, are pretty much in a position where they couldn't resign both Amos & Callahan even if they wanted to. Aaron Lynch worked on a 1 year $4mil deal last season, he's a FA too. They def need some depth there imo. So there's really not much room to maneuver. I certainly don't see the Bears running for a big name FA this year nor do i see much unexpected stuff. The one bright spot is the Bears are so up against the CAP that Pace virtually has no choice but to cut the useless bum Dion Sims to free up $6mil, so there's that...
Hey Pat...I was just flipping through this thread and my apologies if I missed it but I didn't see anything about this guy and wanted to get your take... Tony Pollard from Memphis...what are your thoughts on this guy?
I agree with Ev. Bears start the offseason with 19.6 mil in salary cap, with a chunk of that being given to Bobby Massie. Right now bears should be in the 9-12 range remaining (I don't know what Massie's cap hit will be). Cuts still need to happen too, including ones that can happen tomorrow like Dion Simms or ones that happen after June 1st, looking at you, Barfey. I'm old school, so to me, the game is won and lost in the trenches. My primary needs are edge depth, OT depth, running back, defensive back (Amos and Callahan are both free agents), receiver, tight end. What gets addressed via FA? My hunch is running back. I think the bears will get Kareem Hunt on the very cheap. Nagy and Pace tested waters when asked about him in the post-divisional round loss/season dissection presser. Matt said he talked to him a week ago (which was right before the Philly game, kind of an odd time to call a guy out of the blue who's not on your team), and Pace just said "Matt knows him better than I do, and he's got some things to work out first." Then, Ryan Pace being Ryan Pace said "we'll evaluate everything." The talking heads, sports casters, message board idiots alike all had a day with it, and most fans seem fine with it. Signing Kareem Hunt wont hurt this team financially. People wont stop going to Soldier FIeld or cancel their season tix just for this. They've signed worse, and again, 32 teams with 53 men on the active rosters (not counting PS), you really think you're going to have 1696 perfect little angels playing a very violent game? Antonio Brown of the Steelers just got into hot water with alleged domestic violence over the weekend in South Florida, where he allegedly threw things at his baby's mother and baby. He'll still get traded to someone who will give up a haul for him. That's just our society being okay with it. Vic Fangio truly got something out of this guy. He was a bum in San Fran after Fangio left, and he was adequate stepping in to spell Floyd/Mack when necessary. He was a bargain too. Since Blang asked a question in September, I haven't touched this thread either. I'm still kind of mystified it's still pinned. Also thankful. Never heard of this guy. Looking into him, a 6'0 RB/scat back who played with Anthony Miller at Memphis. In 2017-18 college football season, Memphis was the #6 offense out of 130 teams. They were a high flying passing offense with a competent running back to gash defenses. In 2018? Memphis was the #5 offense by gaining 400+ more yards of total offense. So off the bat, I'm interested/believe he's a fit for Nagy's offense because he had 38 catches for 450 yards. Then again, we have to accept that Bears aren't getting any blue chippers unless they fall to the end of the 3rd round. And right now? That may only be one guy, Bryce Love out of Stanford. The RB (who should have won the heisman in 2017 and been a 1st rounder but stayed at Stanford) tore his ACL in November, and said he'd try to work out at the fast-upcoming combine. Back to Pollard. Solid KR/PR, with just some fluid/beautiful awareness/field vision. A few youtube clips (no game tape, yet) show he looks like he gets crunched and pushed out of bounds, but he stays in doing a crazy balancing act and turns on the jets. He's the ideal Nagy gadget player. I won't complain if he's a bear. However.....he impressed many at the Senior Bowl in meetings with teams. A strong meat market showing and he'll probably go ahead of when the bears pick first.
Yeah I guess the kids stock is rising. I've seen most mocks have him as a 3rd round and later pick but that could change quickly. He just looks exactly like someone this offense could really utilize.
Aha! Found some game tape. Finally. 2018 game tape Memphis v Houston This matchup interests me. Houston has a top 10 pick, a defensive lineman named Ed Oliver. Oliver is #10 in white, Pollard is #1 in Black. RPO and open space screens right away. Versatile use, out of the backfield, as a flanker WR, slot WR, used for screens and actual routes. I counted a few routes he ran, like the deep crossing route, skinny posts, 5-and-out toward sideline--the kind of plays new age Nagy/McVay/Reid/Pederson use. And he's a decoy, you can see in motion, Houston scrambles after him. He's got some afterburners and his open field awareness/open space ability is just jaw dropping. Not Tyreek Hill fast, but when he gets any kind of open space--he's Devin Hester returning kicks level of fun to watch. I'm 2 minutes into 6 minute clip here, but I see how he fits Nagy's system beautifully. Memphis' quarterback is god awful. Can tell you who I don't want. Not overly impressed by Pollard's blocking. Out of backfield or a blocker on a bubble screen. Needs some work. The DE/DT Oliver is the top 10 pick, not the nickel back. He has a few clunker efforts. You see a lot of the same against UCF too..... Provided he's not an idiot, I will not complain if he's in Navy and Orange.
