JUSTgottaBELIEVE

When I look at this Lions team, I see a team going into the 2023 season that’s comparable to the 2017 LA Rams. On the verge of really breaking out. I always hear people say Campbell is a bad coach too. I just watched a head coach call one of the best and gutsiest games ever. That was something to watch.

Lions are a big problem for the NFCN moving forward. You guys can hate on Goff all you want but that team is about to get scary. 8-2 to finish the season, super young, and a ton of draft picks next draft. They’re a problem.

He’s 28 and a top 12 QB in the league. They should be talking about extending him, not picking his successor.

Goff isn’t old. He’s 28 and in the prime of his career. Don’t see why they’d draft a QB high in the first round in 2023.

Lions have Goff under contract thru 2024. Don’t see why they’d be in play for a QB this draft.

I think Roquan will get paid more (is he better? That’s debatable I guess). I also think Washington will resign Payne.

And they’ve gone away from this of late. I guess they can sign the top defensive free agent this offseason - Roquan Smith. It’ll cost ~$20M per but they have the cap space. However, they need a lot more than that as we saw earlier this season before Roquan was traded.

You just said that drafting a QB in 2024 means the Bears aren’t competing for a playoff spot until at least 2025. I gave you two recent examples of situations in which second year QBs did a hell of a lot more than just competed for the playoffs in their second year in the league (Hurts, Lawrence, Lamar are other examples, it’s not unusual at all if done right). Then you say “things can turn around quickly in the NFL.” The Bears aren’t making the playoffs until at least 2024 with Fields. So you’re so impatient and shortsighted that you’re unwilling to wait one more year to build an even better team in a scenario where the Bears trade Fields for a couple high draft picks? You just mentioned in the post above they need volume, this we agree on.

Joe Burrow went to the Super Bowl in his second season. Patrick Mahomes went to the AFC title game in his second season and won the Super Bowl the season after. If you actually build a strong roster before drafting the QB, there’s no reason why the QB can’t succeed and Bears can’t contend for a title by 2025. They aren’t going anywhere in 2023, “maybe” they’re competitive in 2024 so they’re effectively punting to 2025 already.

And here’s the thing. Even if the Bears traded fields and tanked in 2023 and yet somehow don’t get the top pick, Drake Maye is one hell of a consolation prize after Williams if they want to go QB in 2024. I’d take him over any of the QBs in the 2023 draft. Then of course there’s Brock Bowers and Marvin Harrison Jr. Yea, there’s no question you want a top 2 or 3 pick in the 2024 draft if you’re the Bears.

The Packers? Don’t see it. The Broncos? Perhaps but they’re committed to Wilson. The Raiders? Maybe but they’re still a 6 win team this season with poor QB play and will be in play for a veteran QB this offseason. The odds of Williams suffering a major injury are less than Fields btw. Of course anything can happen but odds favor Williams staying healthy in 2023 over Fields.

Start Nathan Peterman or similar anll season and you’re a lock for the top pick in 2024. What team would be worse?

Only winning a couple games is a recipe for the first overall pick.

You don’t think starting Nathan Peterman at QB for a full season makes the Bears a lock for the top pick?

If you can get the Jets’ first two picks in the 2023 draft for Fields, you absolutely have to make that trade. Spend the newfound capital on building up the line and then draft Caleb Williams in 2024 after another tank year in 2023. This is the way. Doubt Poles has the guts or foresight to do it though.

So, I’ll take that as you’re backtracking on your expectation that the Bears will be division favorites in 2024? Got it. Because if you actually believed the garbage you’re spewing you’d take the bet. Talk about moving the goalposts!

Suddenly @Tonygot real quiet. Don’t want to take the bet eh? Bad showing by you…just bad.

Here’s the bet… @Tonysays he expects the Bears will be division favorites going into the 2024 season. We can use draftkings for odds. On September 1, 2024, I say the Bears will NOT be favored to win the NFC North. Loser of the bet admits the other was right and is banned from the site for 6 months (duration of 2024 NFL season). We have a deal @Tony?

Current Bengals starters that have been with the team since Burrow was drafted: Jonah Williams, Joe Mixon, Tyler Boyd, Hakeem Adeniji, Sam Hubbard, DJ Reader, Logan Wilson, Germaine Pratt, Akeem Davis-Gaither, Vonn Bell, Jessie Bates you still haven’t answered my question. Not surprising. You only like to nitpick others but not allow others to nitpick you. You said you expect the bears to be division favorites in 2024. Your words. I’ll bet you they won’t be. Whoever loses, admits the other was right and stays off soxtalk for 6 months. Deal? Or do you just talk a big game and have nothing to back it up?

The Bengals drafted Burrow in 2020. Looking at their current offensive and defensive depth chart as shown on ESPN, 10 of the 21 starting positions are players that have been with the Bengals since at least 2020. How many starters in 2024 (the year you say the Bears will be division favorites) will have been with the Bears since at least 2021 (the year Fields was drafted)? You don’t think the foundation for that next competitive Bengals team was much further along than what the Bears built when drafting Fields? LOL. Which players that have been with the Bears since 2021 do you see as starters in 2024? Now you answer my question too sir.

What question are you talking about?

All that cap space is nice but unfortunately in the NFL star players rarely hit free agency these days. And when they do, you have to massively overpay to sign them. The only way to sustain a winning franchise in the NFL is to build through the draft. Supplementing with free agents is fine but it should not be relied on as the primary option for filling roster holes.

This entire discussion is based on my belief that this rebuild that the bears are attempting will fall flat on its face because they’re going about it all wrong. You disagree, clearly, based on your statement that you expect the bears to be division favorites in 2024. Wanna bet on that???

LOL. Well, you’re certainly setting yourself up for disappointment then.

No, the entire rebuild approach that the Bears have taken is completely flawed. You don’t trade a bunch of draft capital to draft a QB, insert him as the starter his rookie season, and then tear down the roster. It’s such a terrible process. Answer this…when do you expect the Bears to be contenders again?