How Bout Dem Bears?

Realt Dearg Sec

Good defensive performance, glad to see a bit of fight from the offense at the end despite the interception, at least they tried things. But I'm afraid Fields is just not it, went backwards again this week before the injury. Tough one.

Realt Dearg Sec

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121242933#Comment_121242933

The fields verdict may be a hot take, but the best you could possibly say is he's way too inconsistent to be a franchise guy. Terrible o line play today but it wasn't all on them

Realt Dearg Sec

Jaylon Johnson out the door, another young, talented, homegrown player poles is letting go even though his preference was to stay and he was not asking for crazy money. Guarantee we end up picking up somebody worse for more more than he ends up getting, it's the way things go here.

Oat23

We have the worst staff in the league

Realt Dearg Sec

Well that was cool. We're officially in the hunt. Funnily enough all our remaining games are winnable so it's not completely ridiculous as a notion. Even if we don't make playoffs (which is obviously unlikely), we may be seeing things start to click for Fields, which would make the draft a very interesting time for us. Less fun, though, is that a good room now almost definitely saves the coaching staff.

Oat23

Looking like a mugging

https://twitter.com/FieldYates/status/1741564873954205924

Realt Dearg Sec

Fields played very well yesterday, play calling was decent and the team is still working for eberflus. If they can do the same next week, keeping the Packers out of the playoffs, I think it goes a long way with the owners and gm in terms of keeping them all next year. If so, could see a similar trade back for a similar haul as last year, which would all add up to potentially the greatest trade I've ever heard of in the draft, all thanks to Lovie Smith.

Oat23

I have no idea what they are going to do with the QB situation. 99 years out of 100 it's not even a question who the starter in 2024 will be, but the Carolina pick complicates things massively. On top of that you have all the coaching decisions that need to be made. The defense has come on leaps and bounds over the past 2 months as the rookies & sophomores have matured on top of the Sweat acquisition, but is that enough to save Eberflus? He has hired 2 dud coordinators and lost multiple games in historically bad fashion this season.

If you bring back Flus he'll likely be in a "prove it" year, and if you trade Fields and draft a rookie you risk making the same mistakes made with Mitch & Fields by saddling a young QB with a coach on the hot seat needing to win now, so instead of doing that do you roll with Fields? If you roll with Fields do you bring Getsy back (despite being incredibly underwhelming at his job) just so the QB doesn't have to learn his 3rd offense in 4 seasons?

If Poles decides to trade Fields for a pick and draft Caleb or Maye then surely the best thing to do is clean house and bring in an offensive minded head coach to develop the rookie QB.

I don't envy the job Poles has trying to figure all of this out.

CMcsporty

Bears must stick with Fields because there is no standout rookies.

Waste to throw away Fields development and his obvious potential to improve in this case.

Trade the No.1

and keep their current #1!!

Realt Dearg Sec

Same ole bears. Never able to do it when it matters. A great team to push a stone down a hill.

adrian522

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121584978#Comment_121584978

I'd strongly disagree with this, Fields will have to be paid after next season, he's good enough now where you won't be in a position to draft a top QB but not good enough to win anything.

Draft Williams or Maye and you get 4/5 years of cheap QB play and can spend that money on the rest of the roster. Fields isn't good enough to take up a large % of the cap and still be competitive.

Realt Dearg Sec

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121585011#Comment_121585011

If we rob this game this post is going to look very stupid but going on the way we have allowed their offense to do what they want all day and the pressure we've allowed on Fields, I just don't see it

CMcsporty

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121585049#Comment_121585049

Fair points. From an outsider looking in it appears that striking it lucky with a No.1 QB draft pick is a lottery.

If you were given trade option below would you still strongly disagree?

Bears pick a QB get the 4/5 year of ‘cheap’ AND in all likelihood still not competitive

v

Trade No.1 pick to e.g Giants for Slayton

AND

Get their No. 5 (another first rounder in 2025), a second round pick (No. 39 in 2024), a fourth-round pick (No. 105), a 2025 third-round pick.

Oat23

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121585119#Comment_121585119

That's the trade the CBS mock had (or close to it) and it's awful.

If they are trading down they'll either go no lower than 3 and pick the best player in the draft (imo) in MHJ or Poles might be willing to go further down for a king's ransom if offered by someone, which is like 3 firsts, one or two mid round picks and a top player.

No way they are moving down to 5 for a 2025 first, some mid round picks and a mid receiver.

CMcsporty

Yes it’s the CBS example. Im not sure why it’s that bad IF Bears retain Fields.

I mean that’s the real Qs. Stick or Twist.

I like Fields and only see improvements in his game. I don’t know anything about the draft QBs other than what I read and it looks like a lottery as per usual. Therefore id take that Giants trade.

If you don’t think Fields has was it takes then fair enough.

Oat23

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121585232#Comment_121585232

This was Fields' prove it year and he hasn't done enough to prove he is the long-term answer in my opinion. There are still too many unanswered questions and sticking with him is probably as much of a gamble as drafting a rookie.

His first season was wasted by the old regime and his second season was wasted by an incompetent OC, a shocking o-line and having to throw to guys who aren't even in the league this season. This year he has had better protection and improved weapons, but his reluctance to throw the ball is a killer, as is having to work with Getsy who runs one of the most boring, predictable offenses in the league. They would have to really dislike both Caleb & Maye to trade down and roll with Fields again.

I still think he can be a starter somewhere else and in the right situation potentially be a top 15 QB in the league or better. We should be able to trade him for at least a high 3rd due to that.

The only truly "wrong" decision the Bears can make right now is deciding to draft a rookie but keeping the current coaching staff. If they are going to draft Caleb or Maye then they need to fire everyone this week.

Realt Dearg Sec

Exactly, I don't mind moving on from Fields, I dunno, but bringing in a new QB with a lame duck coach again is a recipe for further disaster, they'll fire flus the next year and hire in a new guy who doesn't trust the current QB, and the cycle continues until we're all dead. If Poles wants to make his own hire, do it now, get the lions guy or the Texans guy and have them in the building long before the draft so everyone is on the same page.

CMcsporty

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121585252#Comment_121585252

I don’t understand enough about NFL to know if Fields is good enough or not and if the coaches are good enough or not.

I do understand enough to know that the NFL is obsessed with bright shiny new things coming out of college.

That and firing coaches left, right and centre.

I’ve seen enough of Fields to understand that the lazy stereotypes of ‘can’t read through his full-field progressions’ etc are applied to him and most young QBs, and to be blunt, particularly black QBs.

Im not saying that’s your critique. It’s just a general observation in what is thrown around and it’s either you carry the team on your back in your ‘prove it year’ or you’re out!

If I was to guess a big part of the problem is that Bears and Fields himself don’t know if he’s a run first QB or a pocket QB.

I just think players usually improve with stability and time. And that’s not in the DNA of the NFL. At all, at all!

Oat23

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121585261#Comment_121585261

If Michigan win the natty tomorrow I think Harbaugh will leave and he would be my first choice. It's not a slam dunk hire, but the only thing we do worse than picking QBs is picking head coaches. I'd like to try the Harbaugh route.

Realt Dearg Sec

I would like harbaugh too but I'm discounting him because I just don't think he's likely to leave Michigan, especially given our tendency to cheap out

Realt Dearg Sec

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121585275#Comment_121585275

Fields wasn't helped by the o line tonight, and especially by the problems we've had at center for his whole career, but he is clearly slow to read the field at times, comparing to someone like Love for example. A better coordinator could get more out of him as he's a talented player with a good arm.

CMcsporty

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121585289#Comment_121585289

The bits I saw yeah the O Line didnt protect him. Pocket collapsing, LB had chasms of space to run through and the LT got bypassed a good few times.

Don't think its fair to criticise him as been slow to read the field v GB.

Madden game quote "He was standing in the hole waiting for something to develop …. and WHAP! He got developed."

Realt Dearg Sec

I was referring to the whole season. I should say I don't know if it's that he's slow to read the field or just slow to get the throw off but it has been a problem, even when his line did better (yesterday was the worst I've seen Jenkins play but he may be injured). I dunno, we'll see if Poles evaluates anyone higher than him. I would be good with trading back, keeping Fields, and drafting penix later in the first. Maybe take mhj of we can trade back just a couple of spots and then trade back into the late first for penix or another QB. Think the fans are unlikely to have patience about bringing in a new guy the way they do in Green Bay for understandable reasons but fans like fields so he might get some rope. But either way I want the coaching staff replaced.

Realt Dearg Sec

Rumour is they're sticking with Eberflus. Thought he ran a terrible defense yesterday that stood off their receivers and left them open down the middle all night to make Love look like a star, it just wasn't the defense they'd run the last couple of months (Brisker said as much I'm an interview afterwards, but you could see it anyway, I know they were missing JJ but he's just one guy).

But I get it, they want continuity. But I bet any money they do the worst, most bears thing possible, ditch Fields (not a problem in itself but it means the new guy is under pressure straight away), draft a new QB who gets thrown in early to save the ass of a lame duck coach, who then gets fired disrupting that players development, bring in another coach who doesn't really trust that QB, but is stuck with him for another two years...we are possibly entering our third straight run of that cycle, and at that stage you have to say it is the defining characteristic of the bears.

I'm wondering if they could take a different tack: keep Fields (I doubt it going on the tone of his interview after the game, and if so, I understand it to done extent but bear with me), trade back and stock the offense for a change instead of just getting defensive guys, get in a competent OC, and draft a QB late in the first or early in the second who will be allowed to sit for a year.

But I don't think any of that happens. Fields will ship the blame and be sent on. They might trade back but they'll continue to emphasize defense, no competent OC will be drawn to work here as eberflus didn't have a clue about that side of the ball, and any QB they bring in (probably using the first pick) will be on the field with the first three or four weeks if there are any signs at all of us losing games.

I hope Poles surprises me. To be fair, he's done a lot right in the draft before, so he could do it again. He is the one thing I have some, limited, faith in about the organization right now.

Oat23

They've fired Getsy and the rest of the offensive staff including Janocko.

But Eberflus is staying according to Schefter.

Eberflus will 100% hire some bum to run the offense like his mate Frank Reich and probably be fired next January.

Just don't draft a rookie into this mess. Flus wasted the past 2 years of Fields' career by hiring Getsy and shouldn't get the chance to do that again with another rookie.

Realt Dearg Sec

So how bout dem new bears?