OT Bears 2019/20 season

[otwok]

This has been clear since last year - Nagy is a good culture guy. Give him a locker room and he'll run it. But what he needs is someone to run the defense and an offense. There is nothing wrong with that. Nagy needs to understand where his strengths are, and right now it's keeping the locker room together, game planning and handing the offense off to the OC. Week in and week out we have a bad first half and Nagy says "we just couldn't find our rhythm in that half" or something like that. I don't mind keeping Nagy, but only if we get a tradtional OC that calls the plays and game plans.

[chicagoballer]

This has been clear since last year - Nagy is a good culture guy. Give him a locker room and he'll run it. But what he needs is someone to run the defense and an offense. There is nothing wrong with that. Nagy needs to understand where his strengths are, and right now it's keeping the locker room together, game planning and handing the offense off to the OC. Week in and week out we have a bad first half and Nagy says "we just couldn't find our rhythm in that half" or something like that. I don't mind keeping Nagy, but only if we get a tradtional OC that calls the plays and game plans.

I agree with this but isnt that bill lazor?

The head coach will always have the ability to trump either the DC or the OC

[otwok]

This has been clear since last year - Nagy is a good culture guy. Give him a locker room and he'll run it. But what he needs is someone to run the defense and an offense. There is nothing wrong with that. Nagy needs to understand where his strengths are, and right now it's keeping the locker room together, game planning and handing the offense off to the OC. Week in and week out we have a bad first half and Nagy says "we just couldn't find our rhythm in that half" or something like that. I don't mind keeping Nagy, but only if we get a tradtional OC that calls the plays and game plans.

I agree with this but isnt that bill lazor?

The head coach will always have the ability to trump either the DC or the OC

Yea but lazor doesn't call the plays. That's the problem. He's only responsible for design.

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[ATRAIN53]

football outsiders unsurprisingly have bears now as underdogs to make playoffs:

sorry, could not resist....

so maybe tomorrow nights game has playoff implications?

[patryk7754]

so in case everyone gets fired this season here's some moves I'd like to happen.

First, most people probably think there's little to no chance he'll do it but I think Peyton Manning would make a great GM and he'd be my first interview for the position.

Reasons why I would want him.
-He basically acted as a scout with his famous film study. From the outside looking in, it seems like there are few (if any) that can find strength and weaknesses in players/teams.
-I believe he'll have a unique ability to recruit players for two reasons; he has possibly the most respect out of any name in football right now and second the players coming into the NFL grew up idolizing him.
-Short term, the defense is set so Manning wouldn't worry too much about that and he could focus on his strength which is obiviously the offensive side.

Reasons why I think he might want to be a GM
-There's probably some sort of influence or inspiration from John Elway
-IIRC, around the time ESPN was trying to hire Manning for MNF, there was a rumor going around that one of the reasons he turned down the job is because he's interested in a GM job

now on to the more realistic stuff

GM Candidates
1. Daniel Jeremiah: I think he's the best scout out there. He's been a scout for teams before becoming a tv personality. I feel real confident in his ability to translate to a GM position because before Jeremiah, I felt the same way about Mayock and that's working out pretty well so far.

2. John Dorsey: He had a lot of success with the chiefs and he built the majority of this browns team. His downfall came from coaching hires but I think he got the short end of the stick. Willing to make big moves without selling the farm.

3. Dennis Abraham: He's the Charger's Director of Pro Scouting and the Chargers are pretty good at that. He comes from a Tom Telesco front office with comes for Bill Polian and that's always good.

HC Candidates
1. Jim Caldwell: He's probably the most underrated coach in the past 30 years. He has had nothing but success. Took the Colts to the Superbowl, took the Lions the playoffs and has a winning record with them having 3 out of 4 winning seasons (which might be more impressive than winning the superbowl). He has a proven track record and his players will respect him. And he'll bring a strong coaching staff. Another bonus is that he already knows the division.

2. Joe Brady: I think he's the next McVay/Shannahan. There have been plenty of those guys but Brady is the only one with a proven track record of success. Top assistant with the Saints. Transformed LSU's offense to become the greatest in college football history and now he's going a really good job with that Panthers offense. The only reason he's not number one is because of his age and Caldwell has so much success but an interview might easily make him the clear number one option. I think he's the Bengals next HC.

3. Eric Bieniemy: It might look funny to hire a Chiefs OC after firing one but its clear his play calling is better and he seems to garner a lot of respect from the players (which is something I think a lot of offensive coaches struggle with and why they fail as HC)

4. Rex Ryan: He could easily make this defense the best defense in the NFL. He's shown he can take elite defenses and subpar offenses to the playoffs as a HC and his command of the team is great. His biggest weakness is game management so his OC would have to take over those responsibilities in my opinion.

5. Brian Schottenheimer: I brought him up as a replacement for Nagy last season because I liked the way he ran the offense since he took over and this season only makes me like him even more. Pete Carrol gave him the OK to open up the pass game and they might have the best one in the NFL (excluding the Chiefs). He also comes from a great coaching family which usually translates to success.

DC Candidates
Assuming Rex Ryan is not the HC

1. Vic Fangio: Obviously he'd have to be fired first which apparently could be a possibility. It's a no-brainer for the Bears. I think the "difficult" part would be convincing him to come back which I think won't be too tough a task. It's basically the same defense when he left and the defense clearly still wants him here.

2. Teryl Austin: He's the Senior Defense Assistant/Secondary coach with steelers. Don't know much about his responsibility but I assume he'd come with a lot of defensive knowledge from one of the consistently great defenses in the NFL.

3. Retain Pagano: Although he's no Fangio he still coaches a great defense. Obviously, he allows a lot of big plays but two things in his defense on that; the big plays come mostly in the run and last year we didn't have Hicks for most of the season, and this season we don't have Goldman and I think you can blame the big plays on the defense being tired/deflated from the lackluster offense. You can only bring it 100% for so long when your offense has 3 3 and outs in a row per quarter.

OC Candidates
Assuming Rex Ryan is the HC.

1. Mike LaFleur: He's the 49ers Passing Game Coordinator. He comes from the Shannahan coaching tree which included his brother Matt. I think getting someone from the 49ers offense is a can't miss.

2. Mike McDaniel: He also comes from the 49ers and the Run game coordinator. He's in charge of probably the most successful and complicated run game in the league and like I said about LaFleur, you can't miss with the 49ers offensive staff. The only reason he's not number one is because passing is more important and Matt would be able to bring the run game system with his pass game knowledge.


QB Candidates

1. Foles: I have him number one because he's probably the most likely option because the Bears are somewhat cash strapped and there would have to be a lot of moving pieces for a QB worth making a move for becoming available.

2. Derek Carr: He's always been somewhat overrated but this season he's playing pretty well. Gruden has basically said F this guy since he got there so I imagine Carr has no future the Raiders. At worst, I think he can be an above-average QB for us until we draft a new QB or sign ARod. Also, Mack and Carr seemed to have a really good relationship so Mack might encourage the signing.

3. Matt Ryan: I think he's gone for one reason or another. I think they'll draft Fields out of Ohio St. He'll either be cut or traded. The most I'd be willing to give up for him is a 4th rounder.

4. Cam Newton. I don't think I need to explain this. The only reason I don't have him number one is because I don't see NE not resigning him.

5. Jacoby Brissett: He's clearly not a long term solution but he's an upgrade to what we have and he can be a QB of a playoff team assuming the team around him is good. And that might be an undersell, he was playing pretty well before he got hurt last season.

6. Dak Prescott: Clearly he's the best QB on the market but there are two things that would keep us from signing him. The Cowboys sign him or he just wants too much money. He'll get Watson money but I don't think he's worth and we wouldn't be able to give it to him anyway. If he gets great for him, I just hope its somewhere else.

7. Jimmy Garropallo/C.J. Beathard: Jimmy G hasn't been bad but he also hasn't been the Star QB that everyone thought he was going to be. Beathard has gotten praise in the past and now has a chance to show if he can start for the 49ers in the future. Beathard would be more of an unknown than Jimmy but I think for the right price I think he could worth the risk especially as Foles as our current future. Jimmy G is clearly an upgrade and he won't be expensive and mechanically he has the right stuff so he still has the chance to evolve into a probowl QB and you can't argue with his record.

8. These are guys that I think will be available either because the team blows it up of they get the number one pick (to draft Trevor Lawrence).

-Tua/1st pick: The Dolphins have the Texans 1st rounder and they are currently 0-4. Chances are near 0 they get the pick but either Tua or the pick would become available. I think most likely it'll be Tua and I wouldn't be willing to give up what they'd most likely ask for him but I would trade a lot for Lawrence.

-Matt Stafford: The Lions could mercy kill him and let him into the wild. If he becomes a FA he'd be my number one target. The Lions are unlikely to trade him to us and he'd probably be worth a 1st rounder to the right team. (side note; I think the Cowboys and Lions should do a QB swap)

-Sam Darnold: Jets most likely get the number one pick and it would be stupid not to draft Lawrence but hey stupid is what they do best. I wouldn't give up a lot for Darnold because I wasn't really that high on him in the first place and the Jets may have completely ruined him. But for forth or maybe even a third I might trade for him.

-Garner Minshew: He's nothing special and above average and has a winning soul. I think the Jags will draft his replacement so he'll be on the block.


Draft QB candidates:
I think there are two game changing QBs in this draft in Lawrence and Fields and I don't think we'll be drafting that high. Florida's QB seems to be pretty good but I'd like to see a full season out of him first. Right now I'd consider a 2nd rounder on him.


Other Player moves:

Keanu Neal/Malik Hooker: Gibson will be a FA so we'll need to find a replacement and I think with these two being FAs I think we have a unique opportunity to get the best safety combo in the NFL. They both have elite talent but both have pretty bad injury issues. My number one option would be Neal because he's better and his injuries aren't as bad. Hooker might not be an option at all because I think he tore his Achilles. With little money to spend Neal could be the signing of the year. We'd have to sign a reliable backup though since he does have the injury issues.

Oline: Our oline is pretty inconsistent and we NEED to find cornerstone linemen. . I will always say the most important thing to a team is to have a dominant o-line. One thing I never understood about Front offices is that they don't make huge moves for offensive linemen like other positions. It seems like Oline is the least likely position to have a successful transition from college to the NFL, that's why I think it's important to go and get them when they become available. If another O-lineman becomes available like Trent Williams, I'd be willing to give up some serious capital for him. The thing about that is that it's rare for All-Pro olinemen )especially tackles to be on the block or a FA. If I had to guess, I think one of The Ravens Tackles become available because both will get record-setting deals and you can justify letting one of them go since Jackson is so athletic and the Ravens draft oline better than anyone else.

WR/TE: I think we need another WR. Anthony Miller doesn't seem to be a number two. Mooney seems to be really good but having three good receivers is a huge advantage and I don't think there are huge needs (other than QB) on the roster so It can be justified to draft another WR and/or TE assuming the right guys are there. I'm hoping Jamare Chase drops since he opted out. I think he's the next great WR like Julio and Calvin Johnson. Also, I think Florida's TE will be getting huge deals as well. He's most likely to be a 1st rounder but I can see him dropping to the early 2nd. I wouldn't sign a TE because the idea behind drafting Florida's TE is to have a dominant TE combo Like NE did and for years to come and you can't really do that with any FAs and we already have Graham. The same goes for WR but mostly because I don't think we can afford anyone worth bringing in.

RB: I don't think we have a starting RB and need to make an upgrade. I like Clemson' and Alabama's RBs don't know too much about other college RBs yet. I think there are going to be some good RBs available via trade. Kareem Hunt or Nick Chubb will be traded I think so I would definitely inquire about them. Levon Bell is definitely gone. I think if we can get the cap hit right via trade terms we could probably trade a 6th or 7th rounder for him. Then there's some decent RBs in FA.

I think outside of safety the rest of our defense is set. Maybe we move on from Travathan if there's a good option out there. Micah Parsons might be the second pick in the draft but if he falls to the Bears I draft him with no hesitation. Alabama and LSU both have first-round ILBs. Jarrod Davis is the Lions ILB and he's a FA. He's really good but no one talks about him so I'm not sure what his value will be but since none of this is real anyway I assume we'd be able to afford him.


Offical Moves

Hire Daniel Jeremiah as GM
Hire Jim Caldwell as HC
Hire Fangio as DC

Keep Foles as starting QB
Sign Tyrod Taylor, QB
Sign Keanu Neal, S
Sign Anthony Levine, S (as insurance for Neal)
Cut Travathan
Sign Jarrod Davis
Draft Jamare Chase, WR
Draft Kyle Pitts, TE
Cut Jimmy Graham
No Changes to Oline (at least in FA and the first two rounds of the draft)
No Changes to RB (at least in FA and the first two rounds of the draft)

[molepharmer]

Supposedly the Bears did some self scouting in the off season. I say 'supposedly' because I haven't see any difference in the results of the offense or defense. Maybe they made some subtle change that in their mind was dramatic, but whatever it might have been, it's not showing up on the field.

[Jcool0]

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[dougthonus]

Supposedly the Bears did some self scouting in the off season. I say 'supposedly' because I haven't see any difference in the results of the offense or defense. Maybe they made some subtle change that in their mind was dramatic, but whatever it might have been, it's not showing up on the field.

Given the lack of preseason, shortened camps, and rush to get this season underway, I doubt much of anything they wanted to try to do had a lot of time to burn in or be implemented anyway. That's true for every team in the league obviously and not just the Bears.

I think in a season like this you are benefited by:
Continuity - fewer changes in players/scheme mean less time is required to implement
Total talent - having more talent means you are less reliant on scheme/chemistry to beat your opponent

Either way, the Bears don't have exceptional talent compared to other teams, their expectations were not real high going into the season, and so far, they're probably above those expectations. They won their first three games against bad teams (before the season I would have guessed 2-1 or 1-2 in those games), and they lost to a good colts team by 1 score. All four of their games were within 1 score, and they've had some breaks go critically for them and against them.

I'm not thrilled by where the Bears are as a team in the grand scheme of things, but I don't think they're underachieving by any stretch and aren't playing worse than I anticipated for the season. I expect them to lose tonight, but if they come out and win (which, hell has to be at least a 33% chance it could happen) then you'd have to be thrilled with where they are right now. If they lose, even 3-2 at this point in the season is probably what you expected or maybe even one game above what you expected.

They will need to play much better to not fall off the map as the season goes on and the level of competition ramps up, but it's easy to see how that can happen with Foles just getting a bit more time to get comfortable in the offense and the defense definitely still has upside to it. I thought the Bears were a team that would not make the playoffs when the season started, and I think that's probably still true, but their odds are better now than I thought they were before playing a game.

[Susan]

Big stop having TB settle for a FG.

[dougthonus]

Nick Foles doing his best Mitch Trubisky impersonation.

[IliketheBullsNBearstoo]

Nagy makes it easy for the opposing defense. They know when we are going to run, 2 TE set, and they know when we are going to pass, empty backfield.

[dougthonus]

Nagy makes it easy for the opposing defense. They know when we are going to run, 2 TE set, and they know when we are going to pass, empty backfield.

We going to blame Nagy for Foles overthrowing an absolutely wide open receiver on a non pressured 3 yard pass that would have led to a 1st down? Kinda seems like that isn't a Nagy problem.

[dougthonus]

How was that not offensive pass interference? The receiver literally tackled the Bears defender while he was trying to make a play on the ball. At least it still forced a punt, but that looked like an obvious call the Bears should have gotten.

[IliketheBullsNBearstoo]

Nagy makes it easy for the opposing defense. They know when we are going to run, 2 TE set, and they know when we are going to pass, empty backfield.

We going to blame Nagy for Foles overthrowing an absolutely wide open receiver on a non pressured 3 yard pass that would have led to a 1st down? Kinda seems like that isn't a Nagy problem.

I am not blaming him for Foles throw there. But he doesn't make it easy on these guys. Nagy definitely is part of the problem. He needs to be smarter with his play calls. Its pretty piss poor week in and week out. Can't make things easy for the defenses against us.

[Chicago-Bull-E]

Nagy makes it easy for the opposing defense. They know when we are going to run, 2 TE set, and they know when we are going to pass, empty backfield.

Bizarre take on that play. I could have completed that pass.

[IliketheBullsNBearstoo]

Nagy makes it easy for the opposing defense. They know when we are going to run, 2 TE set, and they know when we are going to pass, empty backfield.

Bizarre take on that play. I could have completed that pass.

That wasn't in regards to the overthrow.

[dougthonus]

I am not blaming him for Foles throw there. But he doesn't make it easy on these guys. Nagy definitely is part of the problem. He needs to be smarter with his play calls. Its pretty piss poor week in and week out. Can't make things easy for the defenses against us.

Maybe, but an odd comment to make after our QB misses a 3 yard throw to a wide open receiver that if he had not missed would have kept the drive going. If our QB made a really simple, easy play, the Bears would have still been driving, and I don't know why you'd complain about play calling in that circumstance.

[dougthonus]

Nice catch by Robinson, not the best throw, but not bad given the pressure.

Followed up by a nice play to Graham off a nice scramble to avoid the sack.

[IliketheBullsNBearstoo]

I am not blaming him for Foles throw there. But he doesn't make it easy on these guys. Nagy definitely is part of the problem. He needs to be smarter with his play calls. Its pretty piss poor week in and week out. Can't make things easy for the defenses against us.

Maybe, but an odd comment to make after our QB misses a 3 yard throw to a wide open receiver that if he had not missed would have kept the drive going. If our QB made a really simple, easy play, the Bears would have still been driving, and I don't know why you'd complain about play calling in that circumstance.

No its not an odd comment. You are just taking it as I was blaming that drive dying on Nagy, I dont know maybe it was the timing of the post. But no, I was just pointing out that the defense knows what we are going to do, Nagy needs to make it easier on our offense and not give away our plays. Its easy to guess what we are going to do by those formations.

[dougthonus]

Oof, Robinson has good hands most of the time, but man, that has to be the 3rd int this year where he tipped up a catchable ball and the defense ended up tipping.