Malik Nabers 40 clocks in at 4.35u 💨@lsufootball | @whyguard13 pic.twitter.com/ayA7uZOcYj
— NFL (@NFL) March 27, 2024
Your Turn: If Nabers falls to #9 Overall, do you want him?
Malik Nabers 40 clocks in at 4.35u 💨@lsufootball | @whyguard13 pic.twitter.com/ayA7uZOcYj
— NFL (@NFL) March 27, 2024
Your Turn: If Nabers falls to #9 Overall, do you want him?
In just a few weeks…
…You’ll find yourself wondering…
…Are the Bears good now?
(And the answer is yes)
It’s been a busy week for me in real life, so thanks for putting up with two audio posts back to back. Hoping to dig into some film by the end of the week.
Nick and I had a blast recording this last one — we talk through…
With Justin Fields officially traded, it feels like the Chicago Bears are at the dawning of a new age. That means change — some good, some bad, and a whole lot of ‘New’.
That means new additions around DBB as well — Jeff & I will be hosting a show we’re calling Saturday Spaces (creative, I know) that you can expect weekly starting the weekend after Easter. The two of us recorded similar shows throughout this last Bears season, and I think they turned out well.
I recorded this last weekend’s show for your listening pleasure — check it out at the link below and let me know what you think.
— Robert Schmitz (@robertkschmitz) March 23, 2024
Your Turn: What Bears-related topics will you focus on over the next month?
NOTE: Robert and I intended to start doing our weekly Spaces sessions on Twitter a few weeks back, but I have been battling one of the worst bronchial infections of my life. I’m finally returning to normal existence, and we’ll be live this Saturday (3/23) at 1 PM ET. A lot to talk about.
Thoughts on what has transpired in the early days of free agency, starting in Chicago.
The Bears showed out in force for Caleb Williams’ USC Pro Day. Their contingent included Ryan Poles, Matt Eberflus, Ian Cunningham, Shane Waldron, and even Chicago’s newest WR…
Keenan Allen showed up to USC’s Pro Day in some Bears gear to watch Caleb Williams pic.twitter.com/AHM5QWg44h
— Barstool Chicago (@barstoolchicago) March 20, 2024
What does it all mean? Probably what it looks like — Chicago is gearing up to select Williams #1 overall in late April.
And just in case the Bears had any concerns, Williams left the contingent without anything to be concerned about on the field. Each of Caleb’s throws looked easy and the ball leapt off his hand. It’s easy to wax poetic about a throwing motion like his, but we can save that for another day — for now, excitement seems to be building for the 22-year-old Washingtonian. If getting excited is your thing, don’t be afraid to get swept up in the fervor.
Your Turn: What’s your take on Williams these days? Did anything change after the Pro Day?
Your Turn: How impactful do you think Keenan Allen will be next year?
See you later this evening for tonight’s stream.
Dreaming: Double slant with Keenan Allen against single high coverage. LB and NCB squeeze Keenan, Caleb pushes to DJ Moore. Hits him in stride.
Suddenly one of the league’s most dangerous YAC threats is 1 on 1 with the Safety at full speed.
Inject it into my veins.
— Robert Schmitz (@robertkschmitz) March 18, 2024
Your Turn: How are you feeling today?
If you’re reading this blog, you know what happened this weekend. The 11th pick in the 2021 NFL Draft was traded from Chicago to Pittsburgh on Saturday for a 4th round conditional pick in next year’s draft.
🚨 🚨 🚨
The #Bears are trading QB Justin Fields to the #Steelers, sources say. A new QB into the competition. pic.twitter.com/hGQpbVwoRA
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) March 16, 2024
There will be a new QB in Chicago, and by all accounts that will be Caleb Williams. Williams will immediately walk into one of the best supporting casts that a #1 pick has had in recent memory. It’s an exciting time to be a Bears fan, if bittersweet.
All the best to Justin, he’s done nothing but represent Chicago well during his time as a Bear. He deserved a shot elsewhere, and I’m glad he’ll get one in Pittsburgh.
Everyone gets to turn the page. Fans, players, and front office members. Whatever happens from here, it’ll be an off-season to be remembered.
Nick and I recapped the weekend on the latest episode of Bear With Us — check it out and let me know what you think.
Your Turn: What’s your take on the Fields trade?
He doesn’t really care about you, Mr. Meatball.
He doesn’t care about your voracious desire for big-ticket free agent acquisitions.
He doesn’t care about your “we want Fields” chants on a blustery Sunday afternoon at Soldier Field.
You wouldn’t pay a running back? He will.
You wouldn’t pay an off-ball linebacker? He’ll pay two.
You’re obsessed with the nonsense that has come to be called “good process.” He’s concerned with only one process: his.
Ryan Poles has a stubborn vision for how he intends to build the Chicago Bears into a contender and that stubbornness is why it feels like the Bears are finally in the right hands. It is a stubbornness that requires an ability sorely lacking since Jerry Angelo was unfairly chased out of town: self-awareness. When Poles interviewed for this job, he spent most his time with George McCaskey and Ted Phillips explaining all the deficiencies in the roster. He was not kind about his predecessor, and he did not sugarcoat what he believed was required to clean up the mess. In year one, he tore it all down. In year two, he began to reassemble. Many would argue that a general manager’s third year is when pressure to contend surfaces, but Poles knows that is not where the Chicago Bears currently sit in the NFL landscape, especially because they are about to take a quarterback with the first pick in the draft.
Would Christian Wilkins and Danielle Hunter have made the Bears better in 2024? Sure. But neither would make the Bears title contenders, and both would eat up sizable cap space in the future. Poles values flexibility. It’s a word he must have used 300 times in his post-season presser when discussing potential offensive coordinator hires. He’ll use this off-season to improve the roster and expect that improved roster to be playing January football this season. Then he’ll put the finishing touches on his rebuild next off-season, and expectations will rise.
In the meantime, the Bears will continue filling holes with cheaper veterans (Coleman Shelton at center) and hope those cheaper veterans become indispensable, requiring extensions (Andrew Billings). And they’ll wait and see if they can finally get correct the most important position in team sports: quarterback.
UPDATE: On Thursday evening, Ryan Poles executed the trade for Keenan Allen.
Once again, prudence and patience won the day for Ryan Poles.
Having to part with only a mid-round pick, the Bears will now roster their best receiving duo since Marshall and Jeffery. DJ Moore and Keenan Allen will provide the incoming quarterback two of the most reliable outside targets in the sport, and arguably change the expectations level for the coming campaign.