13 minutes ago, Boilernation said:

Exactly. And I don't buy for a second the Bears would take Williams at 1 and give up the draft picks they could get by trading Fields. 

Might be interesting if they do that. It’s been a long time since someone in Chicago was tarred & feathered, and ridden out of town on a rail.

I 

8 minutes ago, Punttheball said:

Why a stunner?  Am I missing something?  Munster got one of the good ones.  Elkhart lost out.  Coach is a great leader of men and will do a great job leading the program.

The “stunner” label has nothing to do with the Coach. It’s just that in the 57 seasons of Munster football, they’ve only had 3 coaches … and all have had close ties to Munster. John Friend lived in Munster and kids from Munster went to Hammond High, where he was Bernie Kreuger’s assistant, before Munster opened. Leroy Marsh was Coach Friend’s assistant for many years. Jason Grunewald was a player at Munster and was Marsh’s OC for many years. To my knowledge, Coach St. Louis has no ties to the program. That Munster went outside its own little world is the stunning part of this hire.

1 hour ago, Coach Nowlin said:

interesting sure, however.....don't see that as a scenario that plays out come Training Camp 

If you’ve got 2 QBs, you don’t have a QB.

And in an absolute stunner:

Over/under on calls being overturned by replay: 2.5

12 hours ago, JQWL said:

I guess I don't know why there has to be a next step. Just seed it. Play it. Stop.

They will. …. briefly. And then on to the inevitable conclusion of the process.

4 hours ago, scarab527 said:

I’ve said this before, if you’re going to do seeding, just get rid of the all-in then as well and go to a qualifier. 

From your lips to the Commissioner’s ears.

32 minutes ago, First_Backer_Inside said:

Good luck finding something else

Yeah, there are only 49 examples to choose from. And that’s just using high schools as templates. 

In short, no rules changes this year worth talking about. There is a new Point of Emphasis on illegal formations. Depending on the guidance we get from the IHSAA on exactly what they want enforced, that could get sticky. Probably won’t know until shortly before the in-person rules meetings held with the coaches during the Summer.

https://www.nfhs.org/articles/home-team-uniform-requirements-clarified-in-high-school-football-rules/#:~:text=Language in the 2024 NFHS,that clearly contrasts with white.

42 minutes ago, Punttheball said:

What else would they use?  

They’d have to use something else or, for example, 3 of Center Grove’s regular season games in the 2024 season would not count toward seeding, since they are out of state opponents. It would hardly be consistent for the IHSAA to open up their travel policy somewhat, as they did a couple of years ago, and then adopt a seeding formula that penalizes teams for playing out of state opponents.

Really glad for Mongo, though bittersweet. Also glad for Hester, who clearly deserved it if any special teamer was ever going to get in.

My post in the Travel Rule thread:

I love it when one of our schools decides it wants to wear big boy pants all the time.

St. Frances is going to be interesting. They were “only” 5-6 last season. But their schedule included heavyweights like Buford (GA), Chaminade (FL), Mater Dei (CA), East St. Louis, (IL), St. John Bosco (CA), IMG (FL). A little road trip to Indianapolis is nothing for those guys.

1 hour ago, Bash Riprock said:

Center Grove final schedule 

I love it when one of our schools decides it wants to wear big boy pants all the time.

St. Frances is going to be interesting. They were “only” 5-6 last season. But their schedule included heavyweights like Buford (GA), Chaminade (FL), Mater Dei (CA), East St. Louis, (IL), St. John Bosco (CA), IMG (FL). A little road trip to Indianapolis is nothing for those guys.

In 40 seasons of officiating high school football in the northern part of the state, I had the pleasure of officiating Penn games many times. Coach Yeoman had many notable achievements on the field. But what stood out in my mind, what separated him from many other very successful coaches, was his class and sportsmanship. It didn’t matter what the scoreboard said, he was the same. Penn is so fortunate to have had him in a position to positively influence so many. A great coach … and a better man.

1 hour ago, Muda69 said:

If Chicago can’t exploit Washington’s obvious desire for Caleb Williams, somebody needs to be fired: https://deadspin.com/caleb-williams-josh-fields-nfl-chicago-bears-commanders-1851235854

 

If the Bears are even considering keeping Fields and trading down, keep in mind that the first 3 picks are likely to be QBs. If they’ve decided they’re sticking with Fields, they trade the #1 for Washington’s #2 plus. Then, they still don’t need a QB, so they can flip the #2 for the #3 with the Patriots, plus, and they can do the same with the #3 with anyone else. Or, they can keep the #3 and take Harrison, Jr. So, it’s not just a question of Caleb Williams vs. Fields, and the whole rookie contract thing. It’s Williams and his rookie contract, vs. Fields (who has 2 seasons left on his rookie deal) plus whatever they can get by flipping the picks, which would presumably include several projected starters who would also be on their rookie deals.
 

1 minute ago, Coach Nowlin said:

OVER and im making that ALT LINE Plus money to OVER 5.5

Bold!

My post on the Super Bowl 3 years ago today. 🤣😂

Oh God of the Gridiron, today is Your Day.

First, we give thanks for last weekend’s great victory, as your mighty right arm TB12 carried your justice into the den of iniquity that is Lame-Bow, and struck down the dog-ass Pack and their evil sorcerer, A-rog. We ask that, in your infinite mercy,  you get some tickets for A-rog... so that he can get back to the Super Bowl once more in his career.

But now, Lord, we come to you with an even greater ask. The upstart Mahomey, and his henchmen, led by the infamous Andy “Not so thin as a” Reed, invade your sacred ground in Tampa. Oh Lord, let your ambassador in this world, TB12, once again call down the lightning on the young pretender, so as to instruct him in your most important Commandment: THOU SHALT HUMBLE THYSELF BEFORE BRADY!!! You created the football world in only 7 glorious days. Now we implore you to bless your faithful champion, TB12, with his 7th ring, symbolizing the triumph of football good over football “I’m in a hurry to be the greatest of all time.”

Amen.

One of the things I like about the Super Bowl is the proliferation of creative “prop bets,” many of which are only distantly related to football. Then, I thought the people on the GID are just as creative as whoever it is that comes up with those goofy prop bets. So, let’s hear some imaginative prop bets for Sunday. I’ll start.

Over/under on the number of times Taylor Swift is shown embracing Travis’ mother: 3.5

Over/under on the number of times Mahomes is compared to Tom Brady: 2.5

Over/under on the number of times Andy Reid and hamburgers/cheeseburgers are mentioned in the same sentence: 0.5

Heard some interesting takes on the Bears-Fields situation:

1. Washington has the #2 pick, and they are definitely going to take a QB. Caleb Williams, in addition to being the consensus #1 draft choice, grew up in Washington, D.C., and was coached last season by Kliff Kingsbury at USC. He’s now the Washington OC. Would they trade up to get #1, and if so, how much would they give up?
2. Caleb Williams is in a unique position. He is the first “generational QB talent” of the NIL era. He can go back to USC for another season and still make millions in NIL. He’s doing national TV commercials. In fact, under the rookie pay scale, he would likely make more money by staying than he would make in the first year of his NFL career. He is estimated to make $3.2 million in NIL alone. So, he has more leverage than any undrafted college player has ever had. If he doesn’t want to go to the Bears, he has a legitimate alternative.
3. The Bears should be mindful of Winston Churchill’s admonition the “Those who do not learn history are doomed to repeat it.” They drafted Trubisky when the head coach, Jon Fox, was a dead man walking. Predictably, he was fired after the season and Trubisky had to push the reset button and learn a new system his second year, too. He never recovered. Then, they did the same with Fields, when Matt Nagy was “pre-fired,” and Fields had to learn a new system in his second year, with predictable results. Finally, the same scenario is rearing its ugly head now, as Eberflus is definitely gone if he doesn’t produce this season. It’s deja vu all over again.

So, what makes the most sense for the Bears?

10 minutes ago, oldtimeqb said:

We need @Bobref our resident OH expert to chime in.  

Can’t say I’ve ever heard about max size for a high school by law. There is a statute that specifies maximum staff-to-student ratios, but that is for elementary schools.

Usher is the halftime show. Whatever.

What was the best Super Bowl entertainment of all time? There’s only one right answer.

19 hours ago, Impartial_Observer said:

Pizza King is truly a Hoosier iconic brand. One must be careful which Pizza King you frequent. It will either be the best pizza you ever ate, or the worst. Depends on which commissary they use. Cagney’s in Shelbyville may be the best Pizza King in the state. 

Only one I can ever recall visiting is the one in Rensselaer. I think @Coach Nowlin will back me up when I say it’s not fine dining.

21 minutes ago, Coach Lou said:

So these write ups would be filed by the game officials and not the schools AD?

If they were reports of unsportsmanlike conduct on the part of staff members, they would come from the crew chief. The officials have no discretion here. If there’s an unsportsmanlike act that goes unreported, the officials have been told they will be disqualified from tournament participation.

50 minutes ago, Coach Lou said:

If this IHSAA write ups at Goshen really happened wouldn't you be able to look it up with the IHSAA?

Only if there is formal action taken, as reflected in the minutes of a meeting.

Anytime there is unsportsmanlike behavior on the part of a member of the coaching staff, the game officials must report it to the IHSAA. This usually leads to a conversation between the coach, his AD, and Asst. Commissioner Faulkens. My understanding is that Mr. Faulkens does almost all of the talking in that conversation.

On 1/23/2024 at 1:24 PM, Coach Nowlin said:

Very much an upgrade because of this reason here:  

 

https://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/S/SmitGe00.htm

 

Took GENO SMITH and in year 1 he was 9th in MVP voting........ GENO SMITH .........

And here’s someone who thinks the hiring of Waldron and the new QB Coach shows that the Bears are keeping Fields. https://www.chicitysports.com/chicago-bears-2-hires-franchise-altering  I hope they’re right.

Chicago Bears: Two hires affirm franchise-altering decision

The Chicago Bears have a big decision to make at quarterback. It seems that they made their decision and their hires on offense signal it.

Last week, after nine interviews the Bears hired former Seattle Seahawks offensive coordinator Shane Waldron to do the same in Chicago. Days later, they hired Kerry Joseph to be the quarterbacks coach.

While Chicago also hired a defensive coordinator over the weekend, the main concern is what happens at quarterback. Do the moves the Bears made last week signal their plans?

Well, since general manager Ryan Poles and his team aren’t saying anything (yet), we only have speculation. Many people have analyzed every move he’s made. If he sneezes a certain way they speculate it has something to do with whether he’ll keep Justin Fields or use the #1 pick on Caleb Williams.

Until he makes his final move and says something about it, we only have speculation. However, we can try to look at some of the facts already in front of us to at least make an educated guess. The moves Poles made could signal what decision the Chicago Bears made one way or another.

Let’s take a look at what Poles’ moves could signal.

Hiring Waldron

What does the Waldron hiring signal? Well, Waldron came in having worked with Jared Goff, Russell Wilson, and Geno Smith. Goff had some of his best seasons when he was with the Los Angeles Rams. Waldron was the passing game coordinator and quarterbacks coach.

In 2021, Waldron went to Seattle to become their offensive coordinator. He had Russell Wilson as his quarterback. It did not go as well as planned. A big reason for that was that Wilson dealt with injury.

The Seahawks traded Wilson to the Denver Broncos and Smith took over. Under Waldron, Smith had a career resurgence. In 2022, he led the NFL in completion percentage, fourth in passing touchdowns, and eighth in passing yards.

What Waldron does not have is experience in taking a rookie quarterback and molding him.

The Chicago Bears did interview Kliff Kingsbury, who worked with Williams in 2023. Kingsbury is fond of using the air raid offense, a wide-open high-tempo system. Instead, the Bears went with the Sean McVay coaching tree. He uses the West Coast offense using a wide zone run.

Hiring Joseph

Joseph is a more interesting hire that could signal the Chicago Bears’ plans. As much as Waldron worked with Smith, it was Joseph who had the day-to-day interaction with Smith. He took over as quarterbacks coach for the Seahawks at the same time Smith took over as starting quarterback.

Just like Waldron, Joseph does not have experience developing a rookie quarterback. He worked well with Smith, a veteran.

Joseph played in the NFL from 1998-2001. He was a quarterback at McNeese State but had to switch to defensive back. After he left the league, he went to the Canadian Football League and had some success as a quarterback.

Joseph was a running quarterback, similar to Fields. He was the third quarterback in the CFL to rush for over 1,000 yards (Fields was the third quarterback to rush for over 1,000 yards in a season). In his CFL career, he passed for 28,097 yards and rushed for 4,584 yards.

Waldron and Joseph have experience in helping veteran quarterbacks improve. Neither one has experience taking a rookie and developing him. This could be a case of the Chicago Bears holding onto Fields and building around him.