Bears 2024

[Muda69]

Chargers trade WR Keenan Allen to Bears for 4th-round pick: https://sports.yahoo.com/bears-trade-for-pro-bowl-wr-keenan-allen-from-chargers-022102113.html

Quote

The Los Angeles Chargers traded star wide receiver Keenan Allen to the Chicago Bears in exchange for a fourth-round draft pick, the team announced Thursday.

The deal ends an era for the Chargers. Allen's tenure with the team predated its move to Los Angeles, as he was originally drafted by the San Diego Chargers in the third round of the 2013 NFL Draft.

Allen went on to become the Chargers' all-time leader in receiving yards among wide receivers (Antonio Gates remains ahead of him on the overall list), starring for the team as it transitioned from Philip Rivers to Justin Herbert at quarterback and from Mike McCoy to Anthony Lynn to Brandon Staley at head coach.

...

Bears add a big WR for ... whichever QB they'll have in 2024

It remains unclear who will be starting under center for the Bears next season, but whomever it is, he'll have a respectable arsenal around him.

The Bears had already landed a new starting running back with former Philadelphia Eagles starter D'Andre Swift and will be returning Pro Bowl wide receiver DJ Moore, who had a career-high 1,364 receiving yards last year.

Moore and Allen would form a pairing of perennial 1,000-yard receivers, which the former seems to have thoughts on:

As for who is throwing the passes, Justin Fields remains on the roster. The trade market appears to not be materializing, but that isn't exactly a good argument for keeping him as starter next season.

The Bears have the No. 1 pick in the draft this season and could very well use it on a quarterback, the most notable option being USC's Caleb Williams. Chicago could very well be building a friendly offense for an incoming rookie quarterback, or it could be trying to give Fields all the support he can get in a make-or-break season.

A 4th round pick for a rapidly aging WR?  

[Boilernation]

[Bobref]

1 hour ago, Boilernation said:

Did someone forget about the offensive line? The first thing a rookie QB needs is a little extra time to process all the information.  I know they have recently signed several guys to 1 yr. deals. I never heard of any of them. Looks like they’re just shuffling the deck. I’m sure they’ll make up for it in the draft. Otherwise, these highly-touted receivers will be useless. And I like the Swift signing, but again, who is going to block for him?

[Irishman]

Someone in Chicago is sold on Caleb Williams

 

 

[Bobref]

3 hours ago, Irishman said:

Someone in Chicago is sold on Caleb Williams

 

 

This is just interesting as heck … from the Steelers’ side. How does anyone think Russel Wilson is going to feel about this? I foresee a world class pout from diva Russ. I also predict Fields will be the starter by Week 6, if not before.

Ryan Poles has now officially pushed all his chips to the center of the table.

[Boilernation]

On 3/15/2024 at 2:10 PM, Bobref said:

Did someone forget about the offensive line? The first thing a rookie QB needs is a little extra time to process all the information.  I know they have recently signed several guys to 1 yr. deals. I never heard of any of them. Looks like they’re just shuffling the deck. I’m sure they’ll make up for it in the draft. Otherwise, these highly-touted receivers will be useless. And I like the Swift signing, but again, who is going to block for him?

I think Coleman Shelton is a pretty solid pickup. He'll fill the biggest weakness from last year (Center) and he played in Shane Waldron's system in LA. That should take some pressure off of Caleb to have a Center in there who completely understands the system from the minute he walks into Halas Hall. Pryor will just be a backup. Bates likely a backup at Center.

Currently, we're looking looking at: 

LT: Braxton Jones

LG: Tevin Jenkins

C : Coleman Shelton 

RG: Nate Davis

RT: Darnell Wriight

Davis actually had a decent year after he got through some emotional distractions. Jenkins has LG locked up. Wright is a future Pro Bowler. My guess is Jones will get replaced via the draft and they might look to replace Davis as well.

 

 

 

 

[Boilernation]

1 hour ago, Bobref said:

This is just interesting as heck … from the Steelers’ side. How does anyone think Russel Wilson is going to feel about this? I foresee a world class pout from diva Russ. I also predict Fields will be the starter by Week 6, if not before.

Ryan Poles has now officially pushed all his chips to the center of the table.

The Steelers have made it clear that Wilson is the starter and there will not be a QB competition. I have to wonder if that was done to soothe Wilson's ego. I believe the compensation turns into a 4th Round pick if Fields plays 51% of the snaps next year.

 

Edited March 17 by Boilernation

[Bobref]

7 hours ago, Boilernation said:

The Steelers have made it clear that Wilson is the starter and there will not be a QB competition.

Until Russ sucks. That’s why I said Week 6.

[Coach Nowlin]

Saw reports there was 4 or 5 suitors asking for JF, but JF's Agent requested that those teams not be the final destination and led them to Pittsburgh.  I believed Poles then and I do now, when he said he was going to "do right' for JF when he makes his decision.  

Rooting for the kid.  

[Bobref]

10 hours ago, Coach Nowlin said:

Rooting for the kid.  

I really believe that JF will be a top 10 QB in the NFL someday. I wouldn’t have said that even 2 years ago that a QB with that skill set could be a winner in the League. But Lamar Jackson has made a believer out of me. Fields can be a bigger, faster version of Lamar if he gets some coaching.

[temptation]

Getting rid of Fields to draft Caleb Williams would be the most Chicago Bears thing ever.

[scarab527]

1 hour ago, Bobref said:

I really believe that JF will be a top 10 QB in the NFL someday. I wouldn’t have said that even 2 years ago that a QB with that skill set could be a winner in the League. But Lamar Jackson has made a believer out of me. Fields can be a bigger, faster version of Lamar if he gets some coaching.

I wish the kid the best, but don’t hold your breath on this…

[Boilernation]

I don't understand how Fields has turned into a martyr. 3 years of film exists. And for 3 years experts who view the all 22 will tell you he can't see open WR's, holds the ball too long and is incapable of throwing WR's open. Seems like all of this is swept under the rug because it's the Bears and they're an easy punching bag. Yes, he dealt with injuries in the OL that created inconsistency and he dealt with rotating coaches. You can't give him a free pass on skills you need from your QB just because the infrastructure surrounding the QB is going to get better. Especially when you have a solid QB class in front of you and a chance to restart the clock on the QB payscale.

Edited March 18 by Boilernation

[temptation]

38 minutes ago, Boilernation said:

I don't understand how Fields has turned into a martyr. 3 years of film exists. And for 3 years experts who view the all 22 will tell you he can't see open WR's, holds the ball too long and is incapable of throwing WR's open. Seems like all of this is swept under the rug because it's the Bears and they're an easy punching bag. Yes, he dealt with injuries in the OL that created inconsistency and he dealt with rotating coaches. You can't give him a free pass on skills you need from your QB just because the infrastructure surrounding the QB is going to get better. Especially when you have a solid QB class in front of you and a chance to restart the clock on the QB payscale.

Also a valid point.

[scarab527]

1 hour ago, Boilernation said:

I don't understand how Fields has turned into a martyr. 3 years of film exists. And for 3 years experts who view the all 22 will tell you he can't see open WR's, holds the ball too long and is incapable of throwing WR's open. Seems like all of this is swept under the rug because it's the Bears and they're an easy punching bag. Yes, he dealt with injuries in the OL that created inconsistency and he dealt with rotating coaches. You can't give him a free pass on skills you need from your QB just because the infrastructure surrounding the QB is going to get better. Especially when you have a solid QB class in front of you and a chance to restart the clock on the QB payscale.

The whole Fields discourse has really brought out the fact that most people watching do not actually know anything about football. 
 

He ran the same offense for two years in a row and did not improve even slightly (in the QB-friendly Shanahan system, I might add). The OL discourse is mute because sacks are mostly a QB stat (something most people just can’t seem to wrap their head around), driven home even more so by the fact that Bagent had about half the sack rate in 5 games playing behind the exact same OL. Pretty telling that Nagy and Getsy also both got jobs immediately after they left. All advanced passing stats say that he was a bottom 5 QB in the NFL this year. 

[Boilernation]

7 hours ago, scarab527 said:

The whole Fields discourse has really brought out the fact that most people watching do not actually know anything about football. 
 

He ran the same offense for two years in a row and did not improve even slightly (in the QB-friendly Shanahan system, I might add). The OL discourse is mute because sacks are mostly a QB stat (something most people just can’t seem to wrap their head around), driven home even more so by the fact that Bagent had about half the sack rate in 5 games playing behind the exact same OL. Pretty telling that Nagy and Getsy also both got jobs immediately after they left. All advanced passing stats say that he was a bottom 5 QB in the NFL this year. 

A lot of solid points in there. Getsy really caught my eye. We're not talkign about a demotion to QB Coach or down to College. He immediately landed an NFL OC position. 

 

[Bobref]

9 hours ago, Boilernation said:

A lot of solid points in there. Getsy really caught my eye. We're not talkign about a demotion to QB Coach or down to College. He immediately landed an NFL OC position. 

 

Don’t tell that to @Coach Nowlin. He was the President of the “We Can’t Get Luke Getsy Out Of Town Fast Enough Club.”

[Boilernation]

56 minutes ago, Bobref said:

Don’t tell that to @Coach Nowlin. He was the President of the “We Can’t Get Luke Getsy Out Of Town Fast Enough Club.”

And the Radiers seem to have a legit HC now in Pierce. I too was pleased to see Getsy go. Though the turnaround in which he landed another NFL OC position has me doubting what I thought of him.

[scarab527]

3 hours ago, Boilernation said:

And the Radiers seem to have a legit HC now in Pierce. I too was pleased to see Getsy go. Though the turnaround in which he landed another NFL OC position has me doubting what I thought of him.

I wasn’t impressed with Getsy myself, but the question that needs to be raised is how much he was handicapped in his play calling by Fields’ shortcomings as a passer. 

[Boilernation]

4 hours ago, scarab527 said:

I wasn’t impressed with Getsy myself, but the question that needs to be raised is how much he was handicapped in his play calling by Fields’ shortcomings as a passer. 

Great point. I'll be interested in seeing if the Oakland offense puts up better numbers next year than the Bears did in games Fields started. Getsy isn't exactly walking into a great QB situation. He has the miracle story walk on turned starter at Purdue or Gardner Minshew. Regardless of who wins that job, bot have proven they can sling the ball around the field. We'll see how they do with Getsy.

[Coach Nowlin]

My issues was with Getsy was he was way to inconsistent and and WAY Too late to the party to get concepts / schemes that maximized what JF did well, instead he wanted him to be a multi level multi read QB and seemed to lead to a lot of missteps by JF.   His adaptability was troublesome from my naked eye.   

Hard to fully understand when not sitting in room listening to coache sand watching the tape but that was my takeaways from him.  He probably is a real good coach for his system with certain pieces needed to run said system.  Maybe I am a bit of skeptic of OC who have HOF QB at their disposal, I am sure there were bad calls made into great calls by Rodgers when he was with Getsy. 

[Muda69]

https://www.windycitygridiron.com/2024/3/21/24107873/chicago-bears-selecting-caleb-williams-1st-overall-pick-in-2024-nfl-draft-99-likely-usc-ryan-poles

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Insert the Steve Carrell GIF from The Office; “Okay, It’s happening!”

The Chicago Bears almost certainly have their man, and that man is USC Quarterback Caleb Williams.

After an extensive visit with Caleb Williams in Los Angeles that included dinner, some whiteboard work and football conversation, as well as some time with Caleb Williams and his teammates, the Chicago Bears topped off their visit with a trip to USC’s Pro Day to watch Caleb Williams perform.

A source told WCG that the evaluation of Williams is now “90% to the finish line” and that with the first overall pick, Caleb Williams is “99% likely he will be the selection.”

This should come as no surprise to any Chicago Bears fan. They have done extensive background work on Williams since the regular season concluded and before the NFL Combine. The Bears brass (George McCaskey, Kevin Warren, Ryan Poles, Matt Eberflus, Shane Waldron, and Kerry Joseph) met with Williams at The Combine in Indianapolis, and with the trade of Justin Fields almost a week ago, it all seemed to be pointing in that direction.

After spending time with him in L.A., it appears the Chicago Bears have zero doubt he will be the first name called after Roger Goodell kicks off the draft.

Why only 99%, then? There would have to be a massive red flag that arises before the NFL Draft for the Bears to pivot, but the source also said that there are zero expectations for that to happen.

So did the Bears perform a detailed evaluation of any other college QB in the draft? What about Mr. Maye, Mr. Penix, Mr. Mccarthy, etc.?

Also I have heard reports that Mr. Williams is really barely 6 feet tall.  

[Boilernation]

50 minutes ago, Muda69 said:

https://www.windycitygridiron.com/2024/3/21/24107873/chicago-bears-selecting-caleb-williams-1st-overall-pick-in-2024-nfl-draft-99-likely-usc-ryan-poles

So did the Bears perform a detailed evaluation of any other college QB in the draft? What about Mr. Maye, Mr. Penix, Mr. Mccarthy, etc.?

Also I have heard reports that Mr. Williams is really barely 6 feet tall.  

The Chicago radio station I listed to while working was joking yesterday about the amount of rumors surrounding him that continue to be untrue. Bad teammate, terrible attitute, helicopter dad that's too involved, etc. Here's a new one. He measured at barely under 6'1 at his Pro Day.

The Bears started vetting Williams as far back as when they were interviewing for the OC position. My guess is they know who they want and won't be wasting the time of guys they won't be drafting,

[Bash Riprock]

1 hour ago, Boilernation said:

The Chicago radio station I listed to while working was joking yesterday about the amount of rumors surrounding him that continue to be untrue. Bad teammate, terrible attitute, helicopter dad that's too involved, etc. Here's a new one. He measured at barely under 6'1 at his Pro Day.

The Bears started vetting Williams as far back as when they were interviewing for the OC position. My guess is they know who they want and won't be wasting the time of guys they won't be drafting,

....and the Bears have such a strong record of vetting and drafting QB's?

[Boilernation]

The combo of Ryan Poles as GM and Kevin Warren as President of the Bears have drafted the same amount of QB's for the Bears as you and I have: ZERO. 

Poles was promoted within the Kansas City Chief's organization everytime a new GM was brought in. Warren built the Vikings new stadium before running the Big Ten. I have faith in both of them that they are nothing like the old regime (aka. CPA Ted Phillips and whichever McCaskey son you want to name)