2022-23 NFL Season thread

[bmags]

Would much rather have done the Ridley deal.

[Jack Parkman]

23 minutes ago, Chi Town Sox said:

It seems like dozens of times already that Fields has put the ball in a place for the receiver to make a huge play.  His numbers could be so much better, You'd have to think Claypool can bring many of those down especially with his size.  

If that's what you're expecting from Claypool you're going to be disappointed. He has butterfingers.

 

Idk if anyone else follows Urinating Tree, but he's a Steelers fan and this is what he had to say: 

 

Edited November 1, 2022 by Jack Parkman

[chw42]

Just now, Jack Parkman said:

If that's what you're expecting from Claypool you're going to be disappointed. He has butterfingers.

All I remember about Claypool was him celebrating a first down while the clock was ticking during the last 45 seconds of a close game last year. They ended up losing 15 seconds on the clock because of it and ran out of time. 

[Jack Parkman]

6 hours ago, chw42 said:

All I remember about Claypool was him celebrating a first down while the clock was ticking during the last 45 seconds of a close game last year. They ended up losing 15 seconds on the clock because of it and ran out of time. 

Remember all of the stupid s%*# that Anthony Miller did? Get ready for that again. 

 

Don't get me wrong, Claypool is a good player if he gets his s%*# together. Like the move. He just has a screw loose. 

Edited November 2, 2022 by Jack Parkman

[scs787]

3 hours ago, bmags said:

I get it but Diontae/Pickens have found production.

I am good with it, he's 24. His 2020 was really good, he's big and got typical speed but super athletic. Exactly what they've outlined.

I just thought he was a bit overrated when fans were saying "roquan for claypool who says no?". Apparently it was closer than I realized, with just a 4th separating them.

Fwiw Claypool and Pickens have pretty much the exact same numbers. 

One more positive I saw is Claypool is the "Most efficient go route runner" and that's an area where Fields excels as well. 

[HOFHurt35]

2 hours ago, scs787 said:

Ehhhhh, I'd rather they do something now and see what they have in him for 9 days. Dude has flashed clear #1 potential, if he proves to be that and Mooney shows to be a #2 then you may not even have to invest super early on a WR. 

 

Both he and Mooney are signed for about 1.5 seasons, it's becomes very expensive thereafter.   I would have rather rolled dice with a high WR draft pick to extend that Free Agency window at that position. 

 

[Soxfest]

More underachieving Tarnished Domers

[scs787]

27 minutes ago, HOFHurt35 said:

Both he and Mooney are signed for about 1.5 seasons, it's becomes very expensive thereafter.   I would have rather rolled dice with a high WR draft pick to extend that Free Agency window at that position. 

 

I get it. But like someone else suggested this could be about Fields as well. Everyone wants to believe that he will be good once he has the talent around him. Well, here's more talent, let's see you take a step. 

 

 

[bmags]

Sign saquon in the offseason and be legends

[bmags]

1 hour ago, scs787 said:

Fwiw Claypool and Pickens have pretty much the exact same numbers. 

One more positive I saw is Claypool is the "Most efficient go route runner" and that's an area where Fields excels as well. 

Good stuff.

The NFL is hard to figure out so it’s hard to be too confident.

I knew they wanted a big receiver. They get a no doubt one that’s maybe one of the best athletes in the position.

I complain they don’t get a smaller guy suspended for the season.

Just desperately need this to work. Can’t handle another decade of same ole bears.

[scs787]

57 minutes ago, bmags said:

Sign saquon in the offseason and be legends

And Juju. 

 

That might not be sarcasm.  Some quick research on Juju and Chases relationship shows me that Chase thinks Juju is the best leader he's been around....which was not what I was expecting.  Lol.

 

That said someone is gonna pay Juju ridiculous money and I don't want that to be the Bears.  

[Chisoxfn]

Ok - I was a little surprised at the cost but as I have had more time to think about this I love it. Not cheap - but he is young, you have cap space, and he is a perfect compliment to Mooney. The main risk seems to be some issues with attitude but I don’t know what to think of Steelers, who under Tomlin always have drama. Juju seemed to like him a lot. 
 

But when I think about the Bears - they needed to find a wideout and he has been pretty good early in his career despite shoddy QB play. Tools are very strong so real upside. Beyond that everyone shifts down - so Pringle and Velus and Kmet all benefit a ton as does Fields. 
 

And they still have flexibility. Now it will take time for him to get acclimated but Bears offense got a heck of a lot better.

[SoxAce]

Upcoming FA the WR group is extremely weak. The upcoming draft the WR group isn't as deep as last years (and I doubt many if any teams picking in the 2nd round will find a WR as good as Claypool). I like the risk. His physical attributes are insane. If he stays focused, he's going to be a monster. Hopefully his ex Notre Dame teammates (Kmet, St. Brown, Mustipher) can help reel him in.

Now gotta root like hell the Ravens (or Patriots) really suck down the stretch to give the Bears a high enough 2nd rounder.

[bmags]

Surprise but after sleeping on it, am starting to get excited.

There are elements here where you just have to hope the f.o./coaching staff are right. Their 'type' for a receiver has been described as bigger, athletic profiles. That is where the attraction to Harry, St. Brown come from. Harry looked good last week but Claypool has certainly been better as a pro. They've wanted a fly route guy for a while, and mooney is a bit too small for the press on it.

But the other element is the bears F.O. finally reorienting focus to the offense. I don't know if Claypool works out, but I know many of us were looking in horror at this FA class where there was maybe only one guy you could squint and say is a #2 (smith-schuster). The draft really had only one guy you could say is a Poles/Flus type (Quentin Johnston, TCU). 

Smith-Njigba was a big name, but really doesn't sound like a fit for what they say they like (he may run extremely slow for a wR in combine, is only 6'0). Jordan Addison is a smaller guy, and same with Boutte (but may be extremely athletic, so we'll see).

So add both those together, it made sense. I pouted about Calvin Riddle, but he really is a risky play. No guarantee he's re-instated by 2023, hasn't played in 2 years. Is already relatively older. The jags put together a very interesting deal to account for that, but Claypool plays right away.

Anyway with Claypool, they have a guy who has big run game moments, and they will give him every opportunity to go deep isntead of his slot role this year. With him and Harry, there is some size now in red zone. Let's hope they play with it.

[Kyyle23]

I haven’t cross referenced this with urinating tree yet, so TIFWIW

 

 

[bmags]

4 minutes ago, Kyyle23 said:

I haven’t cross referenced this with urinating tree yet, so TIFWIW

 

 

Thank goodness. Happy for DC fans.

[scs787]

Gonna be interesting to see how the snaps play out at WR going forward especially with Pringle coming back. 

[scs787]

Also pretty interested in seeing Sanborn and/or Weatherford out there at LB. Klien should be nothing more than depth while they see what they have in these guys. 

[Chicago White Sox]

On 11/1/2022 at 1:23 PM, bmags said:

This is ridiculous. To the extent people lose their minds about Velus, it's because the bears had to go into another draft with no first round or fourth round pick. They had the fewest players on contract at the end of the season in the league.

He's a third round pick, it is true, they do not work out sometimes. 

How is Jalen Tolbert doing? Is that a more acceptable failure to everyone? David Bell leads 3rd round receivers with 9. Tolbert has 3.

People called out the Velus Jones pick as being terrible the second it was made and that was almost immediately confirmed since playing.  I’m a big Claypool guy despite the lesser results as of late, but Poles should have drafted Pickens in the 2nd instead of reaching of Velus and now having burn a second on a guy who will quickly get expensive.  That being said, I’m glad Poles made up for his mistake and got Fields a legit weapon.

[bmags]

1 hour ago, Chicago White Sox said:

People called out the Velus Jones pick as being terrible the second it was made and that was almost immediately confirmed since playing.  I’m a big Claypool guy despite the lesser results as of late, but Poles should have drafted Pickens in the 2nd instead of reaching of Velus and now having burn a second on a guy who will quickly get expensive.  That being said, I’m glad Poles made up for his mistake and got Fields a legit weapon.

I'm sorry you didn't like the pick, but the point remains that its ridiculous to imply any GM is thinking they need to "make up" for a third round pick. They went after traits, didn't work. It hasn't worked for any of the third round receivers yet. 

I wanted bernhard raimann in the third because he was mocked as a early second round pick. He's awful while Braxton Jones is good. Welcome to the draft.

The bears walked into the offseason with few picks and few players where too much of the cap had to go to aging performers. To the extent the offense could be fixed by nailing a third round pick shows how difficult the path was. The 2017 saints and 2018 colts are one of the few drafts that completely remade a team in one swoop, and they both had top 15 picks (one a top 5 pick). 

[Chicago White Sox]

2 minutes ago, bmags said:

I'm sorry you didn't like the pick, but the point remains that its ridiculous to imply any GM is thinking they need to "make up" for a third round pick. They went after traits, didn't work. It hasn't worked for any of the third round receivers yet. 

I wanted bernhard raimann in the third because he was mocked as a early second round pick. He's awful while Braxton Jones is good. Welcome to the draft.

The bears walked into the offseason with few picks and few players where too much of the cap had to go to aging performers. To the extent the offense could be fixed by nailing a third round pick shows how difficult the path was. The 2017 saints and 2018 colts are one of the few drafts that completely remade a team in one swoop, and they both had top 15 picks (one a top 5 pick). 

Selecting Velus Jones in the 3rd was a mistake and there isn’t really much of an argument there.  Him developing into a quality NFL WR based on his age and production profile would have almost been unprecedented.  Other 3rd round WRs pick not immediately providing production doesn’t change any of that.

But the mistake I’m referring to when I say “glad Poles made up for it” is not providing Fields with enough weapons.  I said this before the draft many times, but I wanted the Bears to take Pickens in the 2nd.  He was a 1st round talent who was going to fall to the 2nd for reasons unrelated to ability and was the only guy we had a shot in the draft who could provide immediate production.  Whether you like Jones or not, he was never going to be that guy this year and it’s really hard to get a fair read on Fields when he has the worst WR room in the NFL.  Adding Claypool greatly helps in that regard even if he’s not a true WR1.

[scs787]

Idk if it's 100% true, nor do I know how bad this makes Poles look, but I remember it being reported that Poles and Fields sat down and looked at the reciever class together and Fields was the guy who wanted Velus. 

 

With that in mind Fields and Pickens also had a prior relationship and this was still the direction they went. 

 

Not 100% on this, but if true, Poles should probably not be asking Fields again in the future. Lbs. 

Edited November 3, 2022 by scs787

[Chisoxfn]

7 minutes ago, scs787 said:

AlIdk if it's 100% true, nor do I know how bad this makes Poles look, but I remember it being reported that Poles and Fields sat down and looked at the reciever class together and Fields was the guy who wanted Velus. 

 

With that in mind Fields and Pickens also had a prior relationship and this was still the direction they went. 

 

Not 100% on this, but if true, Poles should probably not be asking Fields again in the future. Lbs. 

I also am not yet ready to write off Jones Jr.  He missed a lot of training camp and yes he had his fumble issues, but he has also shown elite speed in a limited sample size. Lets see how he can grow and what strides he can make in 2nd half of the year.  

[CentralChamps21]

I don't know who the best free agent offensive lineman is, but there's no excuse for the Bears not being the highest bidder for him.

[scs787]

1 hour ago, CentralChamps21 said:

I don't know who the best free agent offensive lineman is, but there's no excuse for the Bears not being the highest bidder for him.

I'm hoping for a perfect storm these last 9 weeks. Leatherwood taps into his potential and is a dominant RT, Braxton Jones improves and he's viewed as a legit LT, Jenkins stays healthy and locks down RG, Cody comes back and plays at a pro bowl level, and then they're just looking into adding the best OC in free agency and the draft.