Bears 10.0: GM and coach watch before the draft

[Dresden]

Hard to believe Ben Johnson would want a different/better QB than Caleb. I know he didn't have a great rookie year, but still...

[Dresden]

With 5 min to go in the half, Phi has 39 passing yards, GB has 26. You have to be able to run the ball in the post-season. Being able to control the lOS is key, and something Poles needs to commit the next few offseasons on. Just keep building and building and building both those lines.

[Dresden]

GB's shot themselves in the foot too- missed an easy FG and fumbled the opening kickoff. You can't make those kinds of mistakes in the post season either.

[fleet]

The Packers will have the same number of division wins, and post season wins as the Bears do.

[dice]

No. Hell no. No more defensive minded HCs. As a DC maybe. But I want an offensive mind as a HC. The offense has been crap for far too long. A better offense would make the defense that much better by keeping them off the field longer. Time of Possession kills our defense, they get worn down by the 3 and outs.

bears ran more plays than opponents

While the "time of possession" thing killing the defense was probably just a couple games where you have moments the offense 3 and outs a few times in a row and the defense gets worn down, the overall theme of we need to focus on the offense should be pretty obvious.

The Bears had an above average to very good defense and one of the worst offenses in the league. Whether that focus on offense comes with the head coach vs personnel may explicitly have to be one way or the other, but the Bears are only going to be successful if Caleb Williams is star, and so whatever best helps that outcome is their best move. Maybe that outcome is doomed because Caleb Williams is just a bust, but if so, it almost doesn't matter what else they do.

if the offense needs to be upgraded for caleb to look like a franchise QB, he's not a franchise QB

and the defense was average at best over the course of the entire season. terrible when the schedule got tough

[dice]

The Packers will have the same number of division wins, and post season wins as the Bears do.

well yeah, but only cuz of a fluke blocked FG. pssh

hope we didn't jinx the eagles

[Charlesareed]

This packers eagles game is boring both qbs struggling Philly offense has been nonexistent which is awful because they had a week off good grief packers need to put points on the board if they want to win cause it’s open for the taken if they can do anything offensively

[dougthonus]

if the offense needs to be upgraded for caleb to look like a franchise QB, he's not a franchise QB

I think he needs a reasonable offensive line. It maybe started out reasonable, but felt pretty awful by the end of the year. That said, I agree, Caleb didn't flash franchise QB stuff in his rookie year.

and the defense was average at best over the course of the entire season. terrible when the schedule got tough

I mean we were in the toughest division in football and we were 12th best in points allowed. I'm not sure if there are some specific advanced stats that say otherwise, but off the cuff that feels like above average to very good.

[Hold That]

I hate Jeff for trying to keep hope alive.

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(Note: Connor is talking about Vrabel on “touch base” part)

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Bears are Bjs top choice for sure

From the MSN article that says they have inside information that the bears aren’t #1 on BJ list.

General manager Ryan Poles reportedly wants Johnson. But the Bears aren’t the only front office in the league that wants to take a chance on the 38-year-old offensive mastermind.

Johnson having options doesn’t hurt his leverage in contract negotiations. The more he appears to be interested in the Raiders job, the more his agent can ask for better terms from the Bears.

Why would you be worried about asking for better terms from a team that’s allegedly not #1 on your list? Especially when you’re #1 on everyone else’s list. Clearly he wants the bears and wants a better offer and using other teams as leverage.

Will ownership play ball is the question.

Theres no way in hell he looks at the Raiders roster construction compared to the Bears and wants the Raiders. But Tom Brady is believable “leverage” and he’s playing that card. But the Bears are obviously his #1 choice.

Well it’s not just the roster, the GM/personnel position is basically being offered for Ben to fill. It’s a little more than a roster comparison deal. The Raiders need a quarterback plan, and Ben will be the one designing that play. What if Ben loves Jaxson Dart, this year’s Jayden Daniels?

To add: This is an aspect I have not seen mentioned elsewhere….While people have mentioned the Raiders have a new stadium as a possible lure (unlikely), that stadium happens to be a dome. Which could plausibly add a certain level of practical interest to an offensive coordinator used to playing in a dome.

That’s a lot to be responsible for. Especially for a guy who has no head coaching experience let alone roster construction experience.

Yes more power sounds good, but he could be taking on too much to soon and that’s ALOT OF RESPONSIBILITY for a roster that only has a TE that you could say will be on that roster 3 seasons from now..


My question is how long will Johnson get to turn the roster around? 3-4 seasons? Certainly won’t happen in two seasons with where they are now and the present roster.

Like I said the power sounds appealing but it can also detour him as well. Gruden failed miserably when given similar power.

[dice]

top 5 most valuable rookie receivers using yards from scrimmage, TDs, PFF grade:

36873 nabers (#6 overall pick)
34760 thomas (23)
33433 bowers (13)
27142 mcconkey* (34)
19205 harrison (4)

next 5 (net positive contributors w/ bust potential):

6765 vele* (7th rounder)
6758 coker (undrafted)
5852 coleman* (33)
5028 worthy* (28)
3131 odunze (9)

*reg. season only

odunze would almost certainly be the 6th receiver taken in a re-draft. probably a 2nd rounder

That's nonsense. Let's see how it looks two years from now.

Not a huge shock. Odunze wasn't good this year in a year where many things weren't. He often did a bad job blocking and ran a lot of bad routes. The All22 on him showed a ton of mistakes. Had this team been closer to expectations, many folks would be asking whether they should keep Keenan and if Odunze was a whiff.

Instead, we focus on Caleb (with good reason) and the lack of OL as well as the lack of leadership in the locker room.

Hope he can be closer to where he was drafted, but the reality is not all highly routed receivers make it. See Charles Rogers, Mike Williams, etc.

yep. this is just the latest example of WR being a tough translation college to pro performance. did anyone see harrison being the FIFTH best rookie receiver?

i hadn't looked at re-drafts online, but here's the first one that pops up:

https://www.fantasypoints.com/nfl/articles/2024/redrafting-the-nfl-draft#/

it's obviously flawed, starting w/ mccarthy going #2, which is nonsensical, but here are the receivers he has going in 1st round:

4 thomas
5 bowers
9 nabers (to bears) - can't see him not still being the first receiver taken
11 harrison
13 mcconkey
15 odunze ("i still love his potential")
28 mitchell
32 coleman

and next up:

https://sportsnaut.com/nfl/nfl-analysis/lists/2024-nfl-draft-redraft-first-round/

4 nabers
10 bowers
13 thomas
23 mcconkey
24 harrison
28 coleman - while probably better than rome in year 1, i can't see that overcoming the wide differential in original draft position
32 odunze

one more:

https://www.rotoballer.com/re-drafting-the-2024-nfl-draft-entire-first-round-do-over/1533596

4 nabers
6 thomas
11 bowers
13 mcconkey
20 harrison
23 odunze
27 worthy

i guess i would have to amend my original suggestion of likely 2nd round for odunze to likely late 1st round! and obviously there is still star potential to go w/ the bust potential. goes w/o saying, but some people need it to be said to feel better about their bears i guess

[dice]

if the offense needs to be upgraded for caleb to look like a franchise QB, he's not a franchise QB

I think he needs a reasonable offensive line. It maybe started out reasonable, but felt pretty awful by the end of the year.

by the end of the year only wright remained in the lineup. when the line WAS reasonable, he still wasn't good

and the defense was average at best over the course of the entire season. terrible when the schedule got tough

I mean we were in the toughest division in football and we were 12th best in points allowed. I'm not sure if there are some specific advanced stats that say otherwise, but off the cuff that feels like above average to very good.

they were good in the red zone but bad until then

14th in points per drive
23rd in yards per drive

i would imagine that those rankings would dovetail over a greater sample size. last year:

17th points per drive
15th yards per drive

why would the red zone defense be significantly better this year? no idea. especially w/ the run defense falling apart

[TheEndIsNigh]

if the offense needs to be upgraded for caleb to look like a franchise QB, he's not a franchise QB

I think he needs a reasonable offensive line. It maybe started out reasonable, but felt pretty awful by the end of the year. That said, I agree, Caleb didn't flash franchise QB stuff in his rookie year.

and the defense was average at best over the course of the entire season. terrible when the schedule got tough

I mean we were in the toughest division in football and we were 12th best in points allowed. I'm not sure if there are some specific advanced stats that say otherwise, but off the cuff that feels like above average to very good.

Caleb had a good year, and that's with problematic line and terrible coaching. He avoided 50 sacks. Lamar was next with 28. That is remarkable. That line was hot garbage. I don't know how Bears fans could be anything less than optimistic about our QB position after last season. Caleb flashed rare skills, he just needs to improve in the basics, and deep ball accuracy. He's absolutely a gamer though, and that's not a teachable skill.

The defense was quite good until we lost Billing and Brisker. Dexter was injured as well, along with some other injuries. That's an indictment of our depth, but before that they were strong.

Unfortunately Brisker might be done, and we might need to be looking for safety help in the draft. That's tough, considering he looked like he was going to be a cornerstone piece of our secondary for years, but football is violent, and unfortunately these things happen.

[navdeep_singh]

in the end, many highly touted QBs and some with HUGE contracts (that may become albatrosses) wound up playing one more game than Williams, at most, with the same playoff wins.

We forget that in this league, a team can go from SB appearance to last place, from 12-5- to 5-12.

In most re-drafts, Williams still goes #1. He showed a killer instinct at many times. His numbers, all things considered, were very good. Didn’t Peyton Manning go 1-15, first year? and the new GOAT in KC carried a clipboard his first year.

Williams has shown an exceptional work ethic, he will improve in the areas he needs to improve. He’s willing to be coached, in fact, I’m sure he really wants tough love.

With the right moves, we could flip our record. We should have won way more games this year. This is, after all, a one drive league.
Love and Nix and Hebert were mediocre. Even the OSU guy in Houston had a worse year, statistically than Williams.

We will improve the line. Next year is gonna be a good year.

[dice]

if the offense needs to be upgraded for caleb to look like a franchise QB, he's not a franchise QB

I think he needs a reasonable offensive line. It maybe started out reasonable, but felt pretty awful by the end of the year. That said, I agree, Caleb didn't flash franchise QB stuff in his rookie year.

and the defense was average at best over the course of the entire season. terrible when the schedule got tough

I mean we were in the toughest division in football and we were 12th best in points allowed. I'm not sure if there are some specific advanced stats that say otherwise, but off the cuff that feels like above average to very good.

Caleb had a good year, and that's with problematic line and terrible coaching. He avoided 50 sacks. Lamar was next with 28. That is remarkable. That line was hot garbage.

it wasn't. objectively. it's not a feeling thing. and sacks are a mostly QB stat (almost entirely if you ask troy aikman). caleb was 2nd worst at avoiding sacks (only levis was worse)



"No quarterback has needed time to operate more than Williams has, which is why I included time to pressure in the splits up above. Williams is tied for the longest time to pressure in the league by our charting, which matches up well with other advanced metrics. ESPN’s pass block win rate, for instance, have the Bears ranked 14th in pass block win rate, so it’s not like the offensive line is a sieve in front of him. But because Williams holds on to the ball for so long, pressure eventually gets through – and that leads to Williams being on the ground, with the fourth-highest sack rate in the league."

https://ftnfantasy.com/nfl/throw-the-damn-ball-caleb-williams

I don't know how Bears fans could be anything less than optimistic about our QB position after last season. Caleb flashed rare skills, he just needs to improve in the basics, and deep ball accuracy. He's absolutely a gamer though, and that's not a teachable skill.

he could reach his potential, but those are some serious rose-colored glasses. even if you think a perfect O-line would solve things:



even WITHOUT pressure he was bad this season

The defense was quite good until we lost Billing and Brisker. Dexter was injured as well, along with some other injuries. That's an indictment of our depth, but before that they were strong.

brisker only played 5 games and the defense was still strong through 10 games. billings loss was an obvious blow to the run defense, but the primary issue was the schedule getting tougher. gave up 26 points per game in last 7 weeks. 19 prior

[dice]

In most re-drafts, Williams still goes #1.

good luck finding a re-draft where JD isn't #1. and you'll find many w/ OTHER rookie QBs going ahead of caleb (though i wouldn't myself subscribe to that just yet)

the new GOAT in KC carried a clipboard his first year.

and why is that?

Williams has shown an exceptional work ethic

he has himself said that he will need to work harder

[Bulls69]

Is it just me but I’m not impressed with Love and never have been especially the money he’s making.


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[fleet]

The Packers will have the same number of division wins, and post season wins as the Bears do.

well yeah, but only cuz of a fluke blocked FG. pssh

hope we didn't jinx the eagles

We put them in that game. We own.

[navdeep_singh]

Is it just me but I’m not impressed with Love and never have been especially the money he’s making.


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Caleb Williams: Undefeated in 2025
Jordan Love: Winless in 2025

[fleet]

Is it just me but I’m not impressed with Love and never have been especially the money he’s making.

The decision time to spend the money came at a tough time for the Packer. Everyone made the same mistake as perhaps with Stroud. That the development trend lines would continue unabated. But DCs learn. Although Stroud may demonstrate some bigger stage capabilities. TBD. Anyway, the truly top 10 guys have the tools to adjust to the adjustments. And we will see if young Caleb can adjust as well. He may not if the Bears don’t get some seriously capable people on board to help him. Not to mention people on the field. Caleb is not able to raise the level of everyone else, and that’s a little disappointing. Even as a rookie you wanted to see more. The Bears have to lift him instead.

[fleet]

in the end, many highly touted QBs and some with HUGE contracts (that may become albatrosses) wound up playing one more game than Williams, at most, with the same playoff wins.

We forget that in this league, a team can go from SB appearance to last place, from 12-5- to 5-12.

In most re-drafts, Williams still goes #1. He showed a killer instinct at many times. His numbers, all things considered, were very good. Didn’t Peyton Manning go 1-15, first year? and the new GOAT in KC carried a clipboard his first year.

Williams has shown an exceptional work ethic, he will improve in the areas he needs to improve. He’s willing to be coached, in fact, I’m sure he really wants tough love.

With the right moves, we could flip our record. We should have won way more games this year. This is, after all, a one drive league.
Love and Nix and Hebert were mediocre. Even the OSU guy in Houston had a worse year, statistically than Williams.

We will improve the line. Next year is gonna be a good year.

The redrafts I have seen say different. Whether or not Caleb failed because of how the Bears tried to develop him. Which was different than the other QBs. The Bears may have failed the kid. And on top we are in the midst of a negative work ethic report on Caleb. Don’t believe things will get better without fundamental changes

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