Chisoxfn

Set up a new garbage disposal this weekend. Probably not a large feat for most - but I was pretty proud of my basic accomplishment there. I've now redone some electrical and redid my kitchen sink + fixed leaky garbage disposal.

Tigers were actually having a shockingly good season, so I dont' think that was the case - now it could have been one of those situations where he new next year he wasn't going to be back either way and thus why not start sooner vs. later. Hopefully whatever is ailing him isn't serious and is more short-term vs. long-term. He was a very good manager for a long time.

Something is up with Anthony Miller - dude has a monster game in week 1, than this week he has a couple huge drops, but he's also barely on the field. It is pretty evident to me via play calling / snaps, the Bears just don't like what they see out of him and they can't trust him or at least there is that belief. Hope I'm wrong - because he seems to have the god given talent to play wideout. Maybe this is the wakeup call he needed - you can't jus rest on 1 great week - to deliver you got to do it week in and week out (and trust that the stats will show up when you flat out execute play in and play out). Mooney (sp?) brings some much needed speed to this offense. One thing about the Bears offense - it is flat out SLOW.

A win is a win - it wasn't a pretty 2nd half but the team looks like it is finding a solid identity on offense (around a power rushing attack). They need to generate more points though and Miller had some really costly drops. Should be an interesting game against the Falcons. Defense is going to give up points and offense is going to need to be able to score quite a bit to win.

Wasn't it AJ?

Excellent post & thank you for your service!

I presume next year he'll be back in the minors working things out and thus you probably aren't messing with his clock much at all? Now if he comes up and lights thinks up like K-Rod - that is a different conversation. Risk here from a service time manipulation perspective would be if he were to get hurt (kind of like Kopech where we lost a full season of eligibility while he was on the DL).

The league shares the money from TV deals which include playoffs - so yeah, gate money is something just the teams that make the playoffs make - but the real money is the TV money and that is what we are talking about here and what is going to be shared and ultimately when negotiating the union is going to look at the aggregate revenue streams (or they should).

This - Spot on

The league makes more money in playoffs - with the league making more money - that money needs to be shared - so if you get dispropriationely more money in playoffs than regular season (as a league) - than it makes sense from a revenue share perspective, etc, that you end up in a similar spot and I would ultimately assume a better spot (because I don't think owners are doing this if it didn't generate MORE revenue - and obviously players aren't signing off if they don't get their split of the extra revenue). So while they have to negotiate - principally speaking - as long as this brings in more revenue - it is good for PLAYERS and OWNERS

You could do it where you have as many as 8 teams - but if you don't hit .500 or this or that - than only 6 teams get in and the top 2 teams get automatic byes because 7/8 seeds don't qualify.

The owners are just switching out regular season money for post-season money. Net net same money to go around to players with potentially slightly less average games. Now I'm sure there will be a massive discussion between owners & union on this exact point - but eventually that is how it should work out.

This is really a key point.

16 seems like a lot - I think an in-between approach between the old and new would make more sense, however in general expanded playoffs with shorter regular season is what I would like to see.

I guess some mixed reports - others are saying he hasn't requested a trade - I know Cohen and I think some others on the Bears are tweeting Pay Arob. Reality is this tactic is kind of necessary at times given the nature of football (so I absolutely get it from a players perspective) but it is also a very delicant balance for a front office as to how you handle these things and establish precedent. In general - I feel Bears actually have this happen a lot less than other franchises, but that might also because they just don't have as many elite playmakers either haha.

Interesting - Timing stinks cause we could have gotten some real value for him in the off-season - now a lot more pressure. Really don't like the timing of this - but that probably makes it a good play from Robinson's perspective.

I'm going to let this year play out - as this defense still has a nice window - but you are right - depending on what happens, the Bears could face some really difficult choices. We also don't know what the FA / Trade market might look like on the QB front either - at I still go back to - this team is a good QB away from still having a pretty nice window - although they could do some "Patriots" type moves where they trade some guys on the older end while still getting value (kind of extending the window a bit - which is probably what I would do regardless of how the season plays out). That said - enough about next year - we are a week in and I'm still excited about this year!!!

It is also why Mooney is really intriguing - small sample size - but he was the only Bears wideout with above league average separation last week - and it was well above league average. His explosiveness is real - whether he can learn all the intricacies that are necessary - we will see. I really think the lack of playmakers the Bears have at WR / TE has a real impact in the clubs inability to make big time plays (when you can't separate - you just aren't going to see as many pick time plays nor are you going to see as high of execution on the stretch plays). And separation has nothing to do with whether Mitch is making the right read or not - since it is agnostic of where the ball goes (at least I assume it is). Good news is - I think Mooney & Kmet will help with that and Graham (even as a shell of his former self helps over the turds the Bears had last year). Robinson is a pro - so even with mediocre separation he'll be valuable - but Miller I think might be one of the x-factors. He takes his game next level and if the ground game can consistently be solid (not great - solid) than I think we'll see things start to open up.

The hard part is - he is a professional wideout - but he also isn't as explosive as others. THe Bears wideouts in general were pretty piss poor this past week at creating seperation and that is a consistent trend from last season. Robinson is just able to do everything right fundamentally that he can get away with less seperation. Somewhere though - there is a disconnect between what the two sides see from a value perspective. I get a feeling if they can't agree soon (where Bears get to use cap space they have now) - they are going to have a harder time agreeing in the off-season (but maybe with cap going down or something due to COVID it actually doesn't bite the Bears as bad as it usually does). I'd still say there is a chance something gets done in next 2 weeks. Problem is - if the Bears don't make playoffs this year - I don't know how much Robinson helps you if the team needs to hit the reset button on QB and everything else.

Yeah - I don't disagree with what the others have said - call it what you want, but every since he got hurt late in the playoff year and than again last year (after 1st few games) - he just hasn't been an impact player and they are paying him to be one. I can't just ignore fact that he's injured - since they are paying him to make an impact. I absolutely think he could come on and beast - I just want to see it and see it consistently - afterall that is what they are paying him to do.

That is a fair point - I also think Mitch should have had 1-2 int's in that 1st half too.

Since Pagano came in - the defense has just been soft. Its one game, but if Mack continues to dissapear - Bears are really going to regret that deal and Gruden will have actually been right. If the season goes in shambles (way too early to say at this point and I expect this team to be solid at worse) - I would dangle Mack for picks (you won't get what you gave...but there is absolutely going to be a team or two who would look to acquire him and rekindle his magic - cause the raw tools are still there). But it is one game - hopefully we see everyone take a step forward against the Giants!

I think he's going to be on a short leash for a while - that said - I won't come to any conclusion from 1 game. Mitch was lousy for 3 quarters and wasn't good enough and was really really good for a quarter. If I was an optimist, I'd say 1st 3 quarters were timing and working through kinks (no preseason, etc) and maybe things started coming together in 4th quarter and we saw a preview of what to expect in the future. If I was a pessimist - I'd say he was what he has been for 3 quarters and than he beat up a banged up secondary in the 4th quarter with a team schematically shifting from zone to man (zone has always troubled Mitch) and so you pretty much have to ignore his 4th quarter. I think everything in the "optimist & pessimist" section has a lot of truth in it - I'd also say that even a pessimist would have to agree that the one thing you can't argue is that Mitch didn't wilt in the 4th quarter, despite the bad game - which I do believe to be a real positive. Good QB's find ways to help there team, even when the unit is struggling, etc. In the 4th quarter - he overcame his own noise and threw some great balls. The run game was also much improved - that said - some of the play calling still shows Nagy struggles setting his own identity. This team could run the ball well - but in a few 3rd and short situations - they went cute and didn't convert (toss sweeps to Patterson vs. pounding it with Mongtomery - who was getting 5YPG)...QB sneak by Mitch early in the game that came short, etc. I feel like this offense is best if they establish and pound the running game - use that as your bread and butter and deploy tricks and gadgets and action to just keep teams on their toes (not the other way around - I don't think your bread and butter can be the "gadgets"). Nagy also was horrific at clock management at end of 2nd quarter - literally put Detroit in position to get that TD and than Detroit goes right back with that momentum at start of 3rd quarter - total game changer. Bottom Line - I think Nagy has the persona to run the show and be a good head coach - but he does some head scratching things that might just be due to his inexperience as a playcaller, etc - which I think can diminish some of his strengths. Also - Defense needs to find a way to consistently generate pass rush; Stafford had ALL DAY...literally all day. But always better to clean stuff up following a win vs. a loss and with no preseason action at all - no matter what I think it takes a few weeks until we know who and what any team is. Plus the dynamic of no fans / quiet stadiums is going to be really interesting - mutes home field advantage but also likely in general favors offenses as I presume it is easier for offenses to communicate and probably makes it harder for dlineman to create havoc from general miscommunication of oline.

Bears d looks like more of the same. Weak pressure / no pressure. That flat out won’t work again. Pagano will be packing his bags mid season if he can’t figure a way to get that pass rush going. I do think Lions are a solid team - but Bears needed Mitchs best quarter in two years to win and it was against back up dbs and with the Lions missing their top wideout. That said - credit to Mitch for some money throws in that 4th quarter and for not giving up. How about a game like that 4th quarter. Like a 4 passing, 1 rushing td game next week - please!!!

Is there an element to what makes him so good at framing also makes him miss more baseballs (i.e., he tries to move so little so that he can be so subtle from a "framing" perspective that it actually causes a bit more passed balls because he's not able to be as agile on more wild pitches and/or when there is a cross-up between pitcher & catcher?