NFL 2021 offseason thread

[NWINFan]

The brutal truth is the Bears have not been much of a franchise since the mid-80s. They have an exceptional year here and there, and that is about it. It is getting harder and harder to have a real interest in this team. All you can say is they're better than the Lions. 

[CentralChamps21]

17 hours ago, Chisoxfn said:

I don't have ESPN+ either - but I will gladly buy it during the NFL season if that is what it takes

ESPN+ is getting exclusive rights to one London game per year, plus they will be the distributor of NFL Sunday ticket, so unless you are a Sunday ticket subscriber or really, really care a lot about watching that one London game, you don't need ESPN+. Of course if you are a Sunday ticket subscriber and that was the only thing keeping you with DirecTV you can now go out and dump them.

Any game where ESPN, ESPN+, NFL Network, or Amazon Prime is the exclusive rights holder will continue be shown on a broadcast network in the home markets of the participating teams.

Also, ABC is joining NBC, CBS and FOX in the Super Bowl rotation.

[thxfrthmmrs]

12 hours ago, Chisoxfn said:

So - I 110% agree with everything you said.  That said - I don't know that the part where you say - draft a young QB and than start trading away defenders really lines up to where Pace has been positioned where he needs to win now.  

The saving grace to me (as a Bear fan) is signing Andy Dalton doesn't dramatically impact your #2 scenario - other than I might win 1-2 more games. And scenario #2 is still pretty dependent on giving up draft capital - cause another alternative would be basically having Dalton as a guy who at least is good enough to enable solid talent evaluation of your skill position players while focus on turning things in the draft and accumulating capital to make a QB move a year from now (when maybe you are in a better overall position).  

At this point - I almost feel the organization's best path is the minor reset - pass on QB (unless one falls to you) - figure you'll end up closer to a 5 win team - but you have a QB who is good enough to allow you to keep evaluating Kmet, Mooney, Montgomery (mabye even develop a new wideout you draft) + you will end up with a good draft pick in a year - and through some trades likely will have more draft capital in the future while potentially having a better younger core/oline around that can grow into a new QB (whether via draft or something else). And cap wise - you also should be in a good spot where you went from having a collar around your neck to a nice hawaain shirt that gives you room to breathe and maneuver.  

Sorry, you say you are not defending Pace, yet your second paragraph says otherwise. It's pretty clear what Tony has laid out, you either go all in and trade for a franchise QB, or you draft a QB in the first round, take the cap hits now and start rebuilding. Signing Dalton, trying to go 7-9 and position yourself to be "competitive" is the worst strategy for this team right now. And no, no way in hell I would pay $10M (at the expense of losing Fuller) to have Dalton "enable solid talent evaluation" of my offense instead of sticking to Foles. This is a very Pace apologist take.

Truth to be told, back to your original post, if I were Pace, I would have tried landing Russ or Watson (which he did) and when that fails, I wouldn't have jumped the gun to settle for a marginal upgrade. Let the market play itself out. I wouldn't have bid against myself. There is literally one other team in the market for Dalton. The 49ers were not going to him $10M for his service. Pats paid Cam $5M in 2020. Pace should have learned his fucking lessons in 2020 with the Foles trade, this is committing the same mistake twice.

Also, how is it fucking possible that they failed to get anything in return for Fuller and outright releasing him? Bears basically traded their CB1 to marginally upgrade their QB, which someone who is better suited as a backup. This is just awful execution.

[Kyyle23]

[bmags]

Going into the offseason I thought Fuller certainly had a target on his back though I thought they'd be able to trade him to a team with cap space since they'd only take on 13 (11?) million.

But making those cuts I thought bears would get a true upgrade out of a position,a nd it's just been turtles all the way down.

[Chicago White Sox]

Ryan Pace won’t need a resume to get his next job, just flash this bad boy and teams will come scrambling:

 

[bigruss]

15 minutes ago, Chicago White Sox said:

Ryan Pace won’t need a resume to get his next job, just flash this bad boy and teams will come scrambling:

 

Ironic as none are scramblers!

[Chicago White Sox]

Sounds like Pace is trying to convince Golladay to a take 1/$12M deal and pair him with A-Rob for the upcoming season.  While in isolation that would be awesome, I’m still not sure why Pace thinks improving the offense while decimating the defense is going materially change our outlook next year.

[dasox24]

Haven't had a chance to post since the Dalton news became official.  I saw someone pages ago say that all the Pace haters are getting their wish and will be happy with what's happening because the Bears won't be good next year.  At least for me, that's totally wrong.  I'm not happy because we just wasted another year.  We should have blown it all up instead of whatever it is they're doing.

1) There is no guarantee that Pace gets fired after this year.  I don't trust George at all.  This is feeling like a Cal McNair-Jack Easterby situation without the media fanfare.  I don't know what Pace (and Phillips too) has done to pull the wool over George's eyes, but we're getting screwed because of it.  The fact that they would not address Pace's contract in the presser scares me into thinking he has much more time than we think.  I really hope I'm wrong.

2) I was adamant about wanting to start the rebuild THIS offseason and that's why I hated the decision to bring back Pace.  So no, even if it things blow up and everyone is fired and we start a rebuild next year, we just wasted a year.  Some people will try to be optimistic and point towards development of young players as reason to watch the games.  I agree with it to an extent and by the time the season rolls around, my dumb brain will start to get excited about football and will still watch their games.  But really, there's only a few young players we can actually be excited to watch develop:. Roquan is already legit, so I don't include him in this, though of course he could continue to get better.  We know he's Pro Bowl caliber.  Kmet, Mooney, Mustipher, Daniels, Johnson, Nichols, whoever we draft this year (assuming Pace doesn't trade away every pick to move up 1 spot and take some player who would have fallen to 20 anyway)... who else?  I guess Vildor and Shelley could fall into that category now that Fuller and Skrine are gone.   It's not like we're loaded with young (age 25 and under) talent.

On a related note, I love Jaylon Johnson the player.  My problem with him is that he can't stay healthy, and I fear that he never will.  He had multiple shoulder surgeries in college and had another shoulder injury last year - he wasn't on the field when we needed him most.  Do we expect him to all of a sudden stay healthier against much bigger and stronger competition?  I hate to say it, but I don't even count on him.  He'll be a Jason Verrett-type.  Super talented but never finishes the season healthy.

Worst of all, even if we hire a new GM, I fear nothing will change because of it.  The ultimate problem is George McCaskey.  He just doesn't get it.  When Chris Ballard interviewed with the Bears, he supposedly knocked it out of the park, but proposed a lot of organizational changes that he felt the Bears needed to make.  And that's ultimately why he didn't get the job - George didn't feel like anything needed to change.  And now look at the job he's done with the Colts.  He's made a few mistakes (as does every new GM), but he's learning from them.  Pace has been on the job for almost a decade and still can't figure it out.

Also,  I'm tired of hearing (usually in the media) about Joey Laine being a cap expert/guru.  No.  Do you want to know what's easy?  Restructuring deals and kicking the can down the road to create cap space until you eventually have to pay the piper and end up in cap hell.  You know what's difficult and actually deserving of being known as a cap guru?  Structuring deals so that you don't end up in that position.

Edited March 19, 2021 by dasox24

[thxfrthmmrs]

7 minutes ago, Chicago White Sox said:

Sounds like Pace is trying to convince Golladay to a take 1/$12M deal and pair him with A-Rob for the upcoming season.  While in isolation that would be awesome, I’m still not sure why Pace thinks improving the offense while decimating the defense is going materially change our outlook next year.

Never mind that this draft is loaded with WR. Why cut your top corner and use that money to for a WR when you could get a productive WR 3rd round or later in the draft?

[Dick Allen]

1 hour ago, bigruss said:

Ironic as none are scramblers!

Kaplan had a tweet that between these clowns and Cutler, since 2009, the Bears have spent $195 million on the QB and won 1 playoff game.

[Dick Allen]

3 hours ago, NWINFan said:

The brutal truth is the Bears have not been much of a franchise since the mid-80s. They have an exceptional year here and there, and that is about it. It is getting harder and harder to have a real interest in this team. All you can say is they're better than the Lions. 

I think that is the fate of any team without a franchise QB in the NFL. You might have a season here, a season there, where it all works out, but most of the time, you are mediocre at best.

[Two-Gun Pete]

On 3/16/2021 at 5:09 PM, Tony said:

Show me one place that said “all but certain” 

This is equivalent to saying “The left cancelled Dr. Seuss! Classic cancel culture!” When in fact that’s not even remotely close to what happened. 

Relax, that was a bit of gallows humor. And yes, I was being hyperbolic for effect.

 

In any case, the failure to acquire a QB that could choose his destination was eminently predictable. And anyone who wasted a billisecond actually believing that there was a snowball's chance in hell of occurring is either young and inexperienced, or gullible, or was simply led around by the balls by a sensationalistic media that fed into a fandom's false hopes.

Wentz wasn't coming here, because the offense has all of 1 starter-caliber skill position player [Who may not want to re-sign/report here], a sub-standard O-line, a coaching staff & GM on the firing line, and no resources to fix it. [IOW, good professional players don't want to go to shitty teams.]

Watson wants out of Houston, but all of the above that applies to Wentz also applies to Watson, PLUS Watson still holds a grudge against this stupid GM who didn't even talk to him during the draft process.

For Wilson, this organization never had the ammo to make a trade happen, PLUS any sort of internal issues with Seattle were entirely overblown, and based on moronic media speculation that was designed to get clicks/likes/views/ratings.

 

Again, this was so fucking predictable that no one older than 5 should have spent a second thought believing this bullshit. Not with THIS roster, THAT coach, THAT GM, and THAT utter lack of resources [picks/cap space, etc...] to make it happen. Whoever said that the BEARS = 2016 SOX right now are correct. This organization IS mired in mediocrity. And those of us who wanted a mass firing of everyone and everything in the Org, followed by a firesale are vindicated, IMO.

 

[Tony]

29 minutes ago, Two-Gun Pete said:

Relax, that was a bit of gallows humor. And yes, I was being hyperbolic for effect.

 

In any case, the failure to acquire a QB that could choose his destination was eminently predictable. And anyone who wasted a billisecond actually believing that there was a snowball's chance in hell of occurring is either young and inexperienced, or gullible, or was simply led around by the balls by a sensationalistic media that fed into a fandom's false hopes.

Wentz wasn't coming here, because the offense has all of 1 starter-caliber skill position player [Who may not want to re-sign/report here], a sub-standard O-line, a coaching staff & GM on the firing line, and no resources to fix it. [IOW, good professional players don't want to go to shitty teams.]

Watson wants out of Houston, but all of the above that applies to Wentz also applies to Watson, PLUS Watson still holds a grudge against this stupid GM who didn't even talk to him during the draft process.

For Wilson, this organization never had the ammo to make a trade happen, PLUS any sort of internal issues with Seattle were entirely overblown, and based on moronic media speculation that was designed to get clicks/likes/views/ratings.

 

Again, this was so fucking predictable that no one older than 5 should have spent a second thought believing this bullshit. Not with THIS roster, THAT coach, THAT GM, and THAT utter lack of resources [picks/cap space, etc...] to make it happen. Whoever said that the BEARS = 2016 SOX right now are correct. This organization IS mired in mediocrity. And those of us who wanted a mass firing of everyone and everything in the Org, followed by a firesale are vindicated, IMO.

 

You.....telling someone else to relax? 

[Two-Gun Pete]

20 minutes ago, Tony said:

You.....telling someone else to relax? 

Sure.

If you're a BEARS fan, think about all the time you'll save this fall, not having to tune into BEARS games this season. OR, if you're a glutton for punishment, you can DVR the games, and drink in the glory of a team without Fuller, Hicks, and [probably] Robinson in a matter of a half-hour instead of 3 hours. Think about all the money you'll save off your cable bill by not having to get any of the additional packages. You can maybe parlay that additional cash and time into something that will improve your life, instead. 

 

If you're NOT a BEARS fan, think about all the money you can win by betting against gullible BEARS fans all year long. If a fandom can be led around by the balls all offseason, think about how [collectively] irrationally exuberant they must be. After all, half of all BEARS fans are also probably stoopid scrubs fans.

Edited March 19, 2021 by Two-Gun Pete

[Chicago White Sox]

1 hour ago, thxfrthmmrs said:

Never mind that this draft is loaded with WR. Why cut your top corner and use that money to for a WR when you could get a productive WR 3rd round or later in the draft?

Oh I fully agree...doesn’t make any sense in the context of a broader offseason plan.

[Chisoxfn]

Schuster @ 8 is a great deal for the Steelers. Makes the Golladay offer look pretty fair.  And Robinson has to thanking his lucky stars for that franchise tag.  

[scs787]

The Fuller move is frustrating, but I'd be fine with moving on from Hicks if it meant they signed Galladay. I really like a Mario Edwards, Goldman, Nichols front. Goldman is reallllly underrated IMO. 

 

[Kyyle23]

10 minutes ago, scs787 said:

The Fuller move is frustrating, but I'd be fine with moving on from Hicks if it meant they signed Galladay. I really like a Mario Edwards, Goldman, Nichols front. Goldman is reallllly underrated IMO. 

 

You think Goldman is underrated?  I thought it was pretty well known that he is one of the best at his position

[scs787]

Just now, Kyyle23 said:

You think Goldman is underrated?  I thought it was pretty well known that he is one of the best at his position

Maybe it's just the fact that the position is underrated. Nose Tackles don't get enough love. A lot of what they missed when Hicks was out is what Goldman brings you as well. Really hope he stayed in shape.  

[Chisoxfn]

Dude - I keep trying to find a silver lining - but it really keeps getting worse. Apparently they kicked half of Dalton's money into future years.  Just crazy.  

[Balta1701]

2 minutes ago, Chisoxfn said:

Dude - I keep trying to find a silver lining - but it really keeps getting worse. Apparently they kicked half of Dalton's money into future years.  Just crazy.  

[Jack Parkman]

 

[Chisoxfn]

42 minutes ago, Jack Parkman said:

 

This might not be true - I saw somewhere $7M - I'll just continue to shake my head. So we cut Kyle Fuller to save $10M - only to pay Trufant $7M.  Yeah - Kyle Fuller worth the extra $3M if that is true.  

Trufant had an opposition QB Rating > 100 each of the past 2 years too.  Didn't Trubisky pick him apart?  

[Jack Parkman]

3 minutes ago, Chisoxfn said:

This might not be true - I saw somewhere $7M - I'll just continue to shake my head. So we cut Kyle Fuller to save $10M - only to pay Trufant $7M.  Yeah - Kyle Fuller worth the extra $3M if that is true.  

Probably has some void years. They know Hicks is cut as well.