Boilernation

You've been bullish on Fields all year. Are you not concerend about him consistently not finding the open WR's when he does have time to throw? Or do you think the combo of Getsy and Nagy ruined him? I honestly can't remember if he was throwing WR's open at Ohio State are just alway benefited from having great pass protection and WR's who were always open. I love his arm and running ability. But, the Bears are giving up good trade value now if the new OC/QB coach are telling Poles after next season that he just can't read a defense and the Bears let him walk as a FA.

No. Alt is going higher than 9. The presumption if they keep Fields is that they would go with Harrison Jr at the 2 or 3 depending on who they trade the #1. A LOT of very good WR's are in the league that didn't go in the 1st Round. Is it silly to take Harrison Jr over OL help? Or silly to take an OL at #3 when Harrison Jr is on the board? I agree with Bob on Williams. He scares me from the mental aspect of the game. I would personally prefer Drake Maye in this years class if they move on from Fields. I don't think Fields can get a 1st Round return. They would probably get a 2nd Round pick for Fields at the high end. I have reaad that insiders believe the Bears could land even more than they did from Carolina last year if they traded the #1 pick this year. A few teams are going to desperately want Williams or even Maye. As long as Getsy is gone I would be OK with keeping Fields and stockpiling more Draft capital just by moving down a few spots.

And is it possibly that JJ is underratred as a draft prospect? The guy seems like a high IQ winner and leader. He can also make the big throws when needed. IDK, maybe I'm wrong, but I feel like he's being undervalued because Michigan's Offense wasn't geared around the QB throwing the ball all over the field all game.

I like Poles. And I really like the way that Flus lead the team this year. Poles has recently spoken very highly of him and the way he handled pressure and lead through adversity. That's either polite "GM speak" or Poles is set on bringing Flus back. Getsy has to go though. Seems like it's a square peg/round hole situation where he wants to run the Shanahan style of offense and doesn't have the OL or QB to do it.

That defense was nasty too. And the tackling by their DB's in open space if phenomenal.

FWIW, Green Bay's LB (Walker) said after the game that they thought they had a good chance to win if they could force Fields to stay in the pocket and play QB.

Packers fans were chanting "Keep Justin Fields" as they left Lambeau last night so he's gotta go. In all seriousness, I prefer they move on. The All 22's consistently show that he can't find open WR's when he does have time to throw the ball. He still has 1 year left on his deal and by trading him the Bears could get the 2nd Rounder back they used to get Sweat. Draft a QB and reset the clock with a Rookie contract.

I'll read the Indy Star for the nostalgia of holding the paper, but for free when I'm visiting the local library

LOL...I forgot about that gem.

He's gone. What else is there to prove at Michigan? He goes out currently owning Ohio State, Big Ten, and possibly College Football. He's not going to go through a reset at Michigan when he wants that Super Bowl trophy.

His tenure at Michigan State ended like 23 years ago and it started with him inheriting a complete mess of a program that had sanctions put on them. Who would you put in your personal Top 3 list and did they have any lean years at any point in their career?

6-10 is is reality for a lot of NFL coaches who go into the season with no real talent at QB1. Not really sure it's that big of a blemish on the guy. Besides, the NFL has no bearing on being the GOAT in College. Resources? A lot of the Blue Bloods he's beaen over the years also have resources. Especially in the SEC. Feels like you're really reaching. The guy first won with with the strength of his defenses at LSU/Bama and then adjusted with the evolution of the game to build championship caliber offenses. He's the epitome of being a CEO as HC.

He was in on some big plays tonight including the final play. I took a screenshot of this pic after the play ended from the CBS Sports website.

Man, I was worried Michigan was going to choke that one away. They looked like the better team all game to me and just couldn't take control due to stupid mistakes. Bama is Bama and will be in it to the end if you don't close the door. Nothing flashy at all out of that offense. I wouldn't be surpriesed if Tommy Rees loses his job in the offseason and Bama tries finding a QB who is more of a threat throwing the ball. The game tying drive and the 2 play drive in OT were special. Great leadership and players who weren't afraid of the moment.

Lofty expectations? Are you familiar with why that season was awful? Saban wanted the Dolphins to trade for Drew Brees when it was clear the Chargers didn't want him. The Dolphins execs didn't want Brees and instead gave Saban an injured Daune Culpepper who never recovered and went on the IR a few weeks into the season. Saban is on record as saying he knew once the decision was made to take Culpepper over Brees (despite his wishes) he was going back to college.

Can you unpack the comment regarding Michigan's NIL structure? I'm not aware of it and pay little attention NIL deals. Curious to see how Michigan handles the NIL. Is it public how much Smith is getting in his NIL?

Braden Fiske was at Western Michigan for 4 years prior to transferring to Florida State. Not sure who even offered him a scholarship coming out of Michigan City. And did Braden tell you he would have turned down Tallahassee for a chance to play 1 season at Purdue? Purdue may have reached out to him. I'm guessing IU did since they signed his WMU teammate a few days after Braden signed with Florida State. You act as if anyone from Indiana that Purdue or IU recruits will pack their bags and sign on the spot. It takes 2 to tango. Winning helps change that, but it's not the only factor. Wait, did he enter the portal in 2021 and return to WMU?

C'mon. You have no idea why Hart choose Syracuse over Purdue unless he actually told you. Have you reached out to Purdue or IU's coaching staffs and submitted your resume to be a recruiting analyst for them? You seem to have it all solved. One thing to consider is It might be easier to get a kid from the South to come up for a free Big Ten education as opposed to convincing a kid from the Midwest to choose you over several other Big Ten schools that have been more successful lately. Obviously, winning changes that. Nonetheless, looking at Walters' 2024 Class by State out of HS: Ohio = 5 Indiana = 4 Illinois = 3 Tennessee = 3 Texas = 2 Florida = 2 Alabama = 1 Kentucky = 1 Michigan = 1 Colorado = 1 Mississippi = 1 Nearly 60% of the HS recruits are from Indiana or a state that borders Indiana. That percentage would have been much higher had the in-state kids Purdue offered actually signed with Purdue. The 8 confirmed portal transfers has a kid from indiana and Ohio. As the use of the portal grows it's likely going to skew the roster numbers in regards to Midwest or National, which is expected. You can't expect a coach to work the Porta or JUCO ranks for only guys with Indiana, Ohio, Michigan or Illinois HS backgrounds.

Carson Steele is a very poor analogy for a variety of reasons. Per 247, Ringer and Wiliams combined for 1 Power 5 offer and that was Williams going to Iowa. Jaden Hart was offered by Purdue in 2021. They did what you asked. Did you ask him why he turned down Purdue for Syracuse? I could see Ringer being a miss, but that would mean every Big Ten school missed on him. Willimas barely even played for Lake Central this year due to an injury. Perhaps Purdue and IU weren't sold on him as a Junior and were waiting to see how he looked as a Senior. It seemed to work for Donovan Hamilton who is an in-state kid that signed with Purdue. And for every Josh Ringer is a plethora of kids whose names you'll never hear again. Purdue and IU are doing what the other middle of the pack to bottom Big Ten programs are doing. Feasting on scraps in football hotbeds and hitting homeruns with Midwest kids that either passed on Ohio State/Michigan/Notre Dame or weren't good enough to get offers from Ohio State/Michigan/ Notre Dame. Just because it hasn't elevated them to the level of Ohio State, Michigan, Penn State, etc. doesn't equate to them having more success with a roster centered around Indiana kids.

Peronally, I rather hit the portal than take a borderline Power 5 conference recruit. At least you have actual college film on the guy in the portal. Agreed. nothing wrong with the MAC. Free education. NFL scouts the MAC. And early playing time can lead to better opportunities in the portal. Purdue is getting a kid from Ball State. But, if a player only has MAC offers and not a single Power 5 Conference offer there's probably a reason and it's not a good idea for Purdue or IU to feast on those recruits. And only a very small percentage of them are like Carson Steele who clearly should have been highly recruited.

We're not talking about recent struggles here. We're talking about a well documented history of the state's top recruits opting for Michigan, Ohio State, ND or others not named Purdue or IU. It is what it is. Building connections early on isn't going to stop those kids from knowing the 3 schools above have a higher profile and offer a higher percentage to win. For example, look at Caden Curry and how many of his Center Grove teammates are at IU. What would you honestly do if you were given the option of playing with teammates at a historical Big Ten cellar dwellar or play on the vaunted Ohio State DL? Same for Mylan Graham this year. Go play WR at a school tha's turned into a factory for 1st round draft picks at WR or go play with Purdue or IU. It's a no brainer. And how do you know Purdue or IU's coaches didn't at least take a shot at the state's Top 5 players? One of them was committed to Purdue and bolted when Michigan offered. And I disagree regarding the "scraps" strategy. The scraps in certain states that Purdue and IU recruit will have numerious Power 5 Offers. Are you saying Purdue and IU should focus on flipping kids in Indiana who only have MAC offers? That gets a coach fired. And as someone mentioned, any kid from Indiana who should received better than MAC offers can just get picked up in the Portal anyways. But those will be few and far between.

Man, no fact checking by The Star or On3.com? Patrick Clacks didn't play for Andrean this year. The IHSAA blocked his transfer to Crown Point and he played in Chicago. Glenn Patterson didn't play for Lafayette Jeff as well. And I doubt Northern Illiinois is still going to take him.

Not really sure what you expect Purdue and IU to do. They're not going to outrecruit Ohio State, ND, Michigan and any SEC blue blood 99% of the time for an Indiana kid those schools want. If they then relied on flipping the MAC recruits they would really be in trouble. And some kids who IU or Purdue could get will choose to go play out of state for personal reasons like connection to certain coaches, academics, or a desire to leave Indiana. Looking at the where the Top 15 recruits in Indiana are going per 247 aligns with my thoughts from above: Ohio State Georgia Michigan Notre Dame Ohio State Indiana San Diego State (Connection to coach from Colorado) Notre Dame Indiana Purdue Louisville Indiana Iowa Indiana Purdue

Haha. I haven't seen Draft Day so I had to google who the heck "Bo Callahan" is. UYou're analogy is over my head. I'm fully convinced at this point Fields is gone. Poles already passed on Stroud last year. He can't keep his job if Fields never works out (even if it's the OL and/or OC issues holding Fields back) and he passed on a franchise QB 2 years in a row. He can get the 2nd round pick back that he used on Sweat if he trades Fields. Someone, possibly Atlanta, will give a 2nd rounder for Fields. The question then is do they end up with Williams, Maye, or Nix. Nix was someone that I assumed was a system QB in Oregon until I actually watched them play this year. He was throwing his WR's open with a lot of nice passes in every game I watched. Arizon and New England are now giving Carolina a run for that #1 pick. It's possible the Bears may not even have pick #1 if they end up parting ways with Fields. On a side note, how much does it suck being a Bears fan? It's Week 16 and all we've had to talk about hte past few weeks is whether nor not Flus and Fields stay.

Yeah. Not taking anytheing way from Tibbs as I think he has a bright future with Purdue, but a majority of the guys on Big Ten rosters were men amongst boys in HS football.