Chisoxfn

When do we find out if the Bears are on bar knocks? I am guessing it will be them or the Jets (or Raiders?).

In general the Sox have made some good hires. I don’t love the whole offseason but from a hiring perspective I like it. Player acquisition - they are relying too much on reversion from the mean and need to deploy more resources on the club.

I agree - I don’t think that is enough value and bears will get more. With that said - if they couldn’t get more than that I would still make that trade.

Dug my 3 row SUV from being completely burried (so basically under 8 foot of snow) and than made the long drive back from vacation and put in the server request last night to get the site fixed But did get some greatskiing / snowboarding in with the family

Apologies - this was an issue with our server (not the server company) but a capacity issue. It hit and basically ran out of space so just started shutting down. It started happening last week intermitently but wasn't aware of the broader issue. Unfortunately - I was traveling in remote parts starting Friday so was NOT aware and when I became aware, well, I wasn't about to cut a rural vacation short for Soxtalk (sorry guys). But yesterday I dug my car out and first thing I did when I get home was chat through and identify the issue, so everything should be back and working well and I don't expect the issue that persisted the past week to pop back up. So we should be back for good.

Did the chargers even run the ball in second half?

Yes - its absolutely possible. They need stars to play like stars (and be healthy), have positive health, and have some young players / other positive surprises. It is certainly possible. For example: Moncada, Anderson, Robert, Eloy, Vaughn play to their hype and are healthy. That alone has a MASSIVE impact on production. I will say loss of Liam is real tough and while I half expect White Sox to do nothing - it really will be pathetic if they don't look at things and decide they have to dig deeper and spend more (even if it is for '23) only before we get into spring training to upgrade this club.

If Fields can't become a good passer (which given his legs means just okay as a pure passer) - than I think they are fine. If the Bears don't think he can do that or have extreme reservations around that front - than they really do need to due all the diligence on the QB's (the reality is they need to anyway - if for nothing else to ensure they maximize all the leverage they can). I know 3 absolute positives: 1. Fields is an amazing athlete (like one of the most special ever at the position), 2. He has arm talent to make all the throws, and 3. He has the "it" factor in terms of being a natural born leader + right work ethic. I also see 2 material negatives: 1. His ability to process the field quickly - I see him go through progressions - but his ability to get rid of the football quickly and take the play in front of him, is absolutely horrific (I don't have a metric behind it - but I think its one of the worse I've ever seen - maybe because I think of all his other attributes). Does he need to be elite with this to be good, no, but he needs to be serviceable here. Having poor wideouts and poor protection DID not help him here and only the Bears knows how much growth he made (or didn't make this year). If in film review they know he made material progress - than you have real momentum that helps build on a belief that he can make major growth here. The inverse is - if through film review the team DID NOT see that progression or minimal progression - that is a real issue because you can't just blame it all on talent, etc. That might just tell you what you have. 2. Need to continue to clean-up his footwork and mechanics - he has all the arm talent (as I mentioned in the strengths) - but his ability to be more consistency on check downs and short / intermediate throws - will require continued improvements in this camp. Given the material progress he showed (this year vs. last year) on this front - I see zero reason to not project this out. Bottom line: This means if I am the Bears - my assessment in Fields upside really all comes down to there views around his ability to process the field quickly. If you saw real progress this year - than I think you should feel real comfort with another year in the league, one year in the system, and improved blocking and weapons around him - that you could see a major step forward in '24. If you saw minimal progress - than you have to be looking at QB. And as a fan - we really can't assess the above - because we don't know the expectations of the plays, the calls at the line, etc. Only the coaching staff and player know that. What I can say is - Getsy's body language most of the year seemed to insinuate very strong growth in the above and positive momentum there (with the exception of the Lions game - where he was pretty clear in how poor that performance was).

I am good with a view of getting a tackle and a high end wideout and than assume you can fille some of the dline talent via free agency and next year.

They could also use a 2nd rounder on Bijon instead but they had top rushing attack in the league - imagine how that would look if you put a legit above average back who can catch the ball next to Fields. I like Montgomery - durable, hard working, but he is 100 percent just a guy.

So I will expand on this using my wildest but somewhat crazy realism dream offseason. Free agency: Big Money Guys: OT (Brown) - Poles connection; he is overrated but still very good and clear upgrade who can play on both sides DT (Payne) - Young and explosive and clear upgrade. Yes overpay - but hope he isn’t franchised and just do it. Remember my scenario above also has Buckner and Anderson coming via draft (or draft day trade). So massively upgraded line. Medium Size deals TE - Engram - Just pay the guy. FA wideout class is week, got a lot of cap Space. Front load so you can walk away in 2-3 years when you need to pay Fields. He is former first round pick and has been solid with Giants and even better with Jays. Gives fields another safety valve. Rb - Sign Saquon (save your draft picks on dline, lb, oline, maybe another db, and one more wideout). Make sure cap Friendly cut in a few heads cause you will draft a new one in 2-3 years. Needs to be pass catcher. Bears are in cap situation where they can make this work. Other moves: Short term reasonable Linebacker / oline / Secondary depth moves. Offense gets a few major upgrades (3 free agent additions - 1 OT, 1 TE, 1 Rb and 1 day 1 or day 2 wideout (dream scenario is JSN because you have 2 1st rounders) and olinemem (center). Defensive line is transformed with 3 high end players - 2 young Anderson and Payne), one a bit older (Buckner). Other day 2/day 3 picks at lb / db. Internal moves: Extend JJ, Mooney and Kmet. I don’t extend Claypool - keep him hungry. Note: No earthly idea what the cap impacts of all of this is but in my head it seems plausible (other than I might be a bit aggressive on the Texans trade down).

My son had a meltdown tonight - why did I waste my tv time watching that game. Lol - I was like - the whole country outside of Georgia feels the same way.

Okay - so this is my absolute semi plausible dream scenario from a trade perspective: Bears trade 1 to Texans for #2 and their 2nd rounder this year and next year. Bears than trade with Colts - moving from 2 to 4 and get Colts 1st round pick, 2nd, and 4th this year plus a 1st and 3rd next year and Buckner. Cardinals trade down at 3 to somebody looking to get last QB. Bears draft Anderson at 4. Note: Total wet dream scenario is the original Texans trade is 1 for 2 and 12. Colts trade still happens as is. Bears get Anderson and JSN at 4 and 12.

I'm guessing Raiders go veteran; Seahawks I could see going young (and keeping Smith - so call it a bridge option). Not sure which other team up top goes veteran move (maybe Arizona goes vet - but also deals Murray if they really wanted to blow it up - although my guess is a new GM would kick the tires on Murray first). Teams that I think go rookie for sure (if they go QB) are Panthers, Texans and Colts. I don't see any of them going the veteran QB route as they all have kind of tried that approach (or if you are the Texans you haven't played in the QB draft in a while since Deshaun and technically have the capital to do so so why not). Atlanta - who knows. Lions, if they did, I imagine it would be rookie route (why trade Goff for Carr and Brady isn't going to Detroit (nor is he an upgrade over Goff at this point). One wildcard is the Saints. Are they really going to go with Winston one more year or will they start there blow up now (and who knows what capital they get for Payton). But they are a team that theoritically could go crazy and trade an absurd # of future FRP.

IT also comes down to - if the Bears get enough of an offer from someone, if the Texans want a guy - than it might just take that price to move up. It would be such an amazing move because Bears would still be in the driver seat if it ended up as a 1A/1B draft at QB with #3 being a bit behind. If that is the case, than the #2 pick is the next spot to be at to ensure you can get the 1B QB. Again - all hypotheticals at this point and if there is one thing I've learned, you can never guess what and how people will end up valuing the QB's in the draft. We'll get disinformation to the downward, momentum to the upward, but ultimately who knows how it will play out.

Your last scenario is ideal. If somehow Texans gave up that much to move up 1 slot (2 and 12)...than you move from 2 to Atlanta or Carolina and ideally get a FRP, 2nd rounder (this year), plus get a FRP in each of the next 2 years and you are now in business. You don't just control this draft - but you have guaranteed yourself flexibility into the future and if you do it right, you can really maintain that flexibility a long time down the road.

Well - if Houston gives up that - I have no issue. That seems like a steep price for Houston to pay to go from 1-2, but boy woul that be amazing. Than just make sure when you go from 2 down (if that is what you do) you get a future first rounder (whether from Colts or whomever). My issue is most teams can't offer you 2 FRP this year that are worth enough to make it worthwhile.

My #1 non-negotiable is - the Bears should absolutely make sure they get a future 1st RP in next years draft. They should enter next year with 2 picks - if for nothing else in a trade down scenario, knowing whomever gets the #1 pick is going to take a QB, you are almost guaranteed that next year's pick will be Top 10 (and just as likely top 5). So you got to get that - cause that is hugely valuable. Beyond that - if you are hedging your bets, having that pick is huge, because if Fields is good - you have multiple assets to continue to build the team in the right area via the draft (and you can always use the asset to trade back and continue to add talent). But you also now have the option if Fields is bad, to have 2 high picks, which means if you don't think you have the QB - you have the ability take another swing at the QB (leveraging those 2 picks to move up in the draft if you ultimately need to) or to trade for a veteran option that is on the market. If I am Poles - I have to do that - because it means I'm sitting in the catbird seat and basically getting 2 shots at the QB (1 is Fields, the other is next year if Fields stinks) and you can do it without gutting your team in any scenario (if nothing else - next year's QB will be in an even better position).

There is zero chance the org knew about this months ago and thought hmmm…maybe we can trade him before this goes public. This is life or death - he probably just found out in past week or two (give or take) and has to immediately begin treatment because you know this is serious s%*#. And this probably had no impact on his tendon / flexor strain that sidelined him. And just to say this a 2nd time because any speculation around this is just a bad look. Come on you really think Sox would have told him last year - hey delay treatment for a few months to finish the season so we can make a final push to maybe back in the playoff and than buy us some time so we can trade you….this isn’t delaying an ankle injury…this is delaying treatment on a life or death condition you are talking about. Zero and I mean zero chance Sox or Liam did that or even thought about it for even a nanosecond.

I am hoping somehow they now realize they got to go deeper into their wallets for this season.

Thank you lovie - always a bear and quite honestly - I’d take you back on the Bears staff with Flus.

They than follow it up but finding other relievers or making other moves. They need to be aggressive now and make some more moves.

Yeah - 2M I think difference which is pretty small given his lifetime income and the ability to basically choose his destination. Not sure where he is from but Seattle is west coast and obviously a solid club.

Yeah - I don’t know if it was all the injuries or what but he went from elite defense to below average really fast. The only odd thing is he wasn’t the only player on Sox who had that happen (and in the outfield to boot). Things that make you go hmmmm?

Would be a great pick up. Sox need to be aggressive given the Hendricks news.