Chisoxfn

I should point out, I say that because I think his defensive limitations will crop up too much. Not because I think he will regularly shoot like he did last night. He's proven that he can score and can be an efficient scorer. The question to me is what sort of defense can the guy play. I think with his limitations, he probably isn't a $20M per year guy.

Odds are this will be Parker's only season with the Bulls (at least under his 1 and 1 contract). That said, maybe he'll really take his game up a level.

Why do people bag on Joe? He's won everywhere he's gone. When was the last time the White Sox won 95 games? Come on man.

They won 95 games and its baseball. Yes, they lost two must-win games at home...but shit happens in baseball. Best teams don't always win. Fans are going to want to overreact but I wish we were in the situation the Cubs were in. They need better front-end pitching and they have some bad contracts, but they also have a heck of a lot of quality players / pieces and pretty deep pockets.

I know one thing...it was preseason so I don't want to get ahead of myself (and one game) but he looked better than I saw him for any game last season in terms of his explosion (and that is counting that absurd night he had against the Twolves last season). Can't comment on his defense and any improvements he made, but hopefully he stays healthy. If he does, I think we are going to see a significant improvement in his percentages across the board. He will take bad shots though, I guarantee that much.

Remember though...new lottery format could turn that into a decent pick. On the brightside...it is preseason but Lavine was freaking explosive last night.

We noticed the same things. I think Howard was dealing with a wrist injury, but I think part of it was probably momentum / scheme / sticking with the hot hand. Howard will get his though. Nagy is creative and will find a lot of ways....plus if we can open up the intermediate and deep passing game like they did this week...there will be lots of room for Howard as the season gets going.

Rosen is so freaking smooth and talented. I stick to my guns that he will be the best QB in this past years draft class. The guy I really am not impressed with (thus far...small sample size) has been Sam Darnold. Small sample size so no conclusions, but imo, he's looked the least NFL ready (which shouldn't be a surprised as I think a lot of people thought he was less ready than Mayfield or Rosen). Still he's got good moxy and obviously good tools.

This. It was great to see the flash, but it is one game and the crazy part was, we still left plays out on the field. The big thing to me was Mitch looked significantly more comfortable in the pocket and quicker in his reads. A big thing I also noticed was a few throws where he created the window by looking off the DB's and than firing a confident pass back over. Was very pretty. Also kudos to Cohen..he was absolutely fantastic as was Gabriel. Great to see so many open guys...I'm hoping at least some of it is the quality of our weapons and system vs. just the Bucs being lousy Either way, I'll take it. By the way, Eddie Jackson is just an absolutely stellar safety. I hope he stays healthy and has a long long career in Chicago. Such a ballhawk. Dude just has a nose for the football and also has really good athleticism. Total playmaker. Also, Mack was great...but major kudos to everyone else on the D not named Mack...including Tolliver. Bucs have a ton of weapons and Bears D played really well. That said...next up...hopefully we have good practices / productive bye week heading into Miami. One week at a time but I hope the team doesn't spend too much timing listening into what I presume will be unnecessary hype (again....because this is one game). I need to see a lot more consistently good to great performances before I really start jumping to conclusions But man...such a fun game...easily one of the best games I've ever seen the Bears play in my lifetime.

Fantastic and we actually left points out there. Great to see and hopefully a sign of future to come!

On the flip side...this could be the thing that helps the bulls get one more big draft asset prior to starting to focus on free agency. Maybe this ends up being a blessing in disguise?

It’s nice to at least go into a game thinking the bears can win. Not saying they will but I can at least see scenarios we could win. Offense will have to play better and defense will need to make plays and rattle Fitz. Should be a good game but I agree, if I were a betting man my lean would be Tampa, especially with the bears secondary banged up. Bucs have some nice offensive weapons in Evans, Howard, Jackson, and Galloway.

Wtf. Man I am cursed as a sports fan. Spoiled rotten with Jordan to be toyed with for my post Jordan era life haha. Get better quick Lauri!

Rams are the funnest team in football to watch play.

Goff was absurd last night. He made the game look as easy as I've seen any QB. The accuracy on his balls was phenomenal. Was dropping dimes the whole night. Their weapons are absolutely dynamic. It is one thing that I hate to bring up, but I really think the Bears offensive weapons are still extremely subpar. Yes, they upgraded from last year, but that doesn't take much. The Bears top weapons were literally on the street from a year ago. That might change if Shaheen ever becomes good/dynamic (or at the very least hopefully a good red zone target) but Gabriel is an overpaid gadget guy who is a nice compliment but is nothing special (not knocking Gabriel...he is what he is). Robinson needs to prove he's above average again...will be interesting to see if as he gets more confidence (and just further and further into game shape) and Mitch starts throwing a better deep ball if we will start to see some big play potential. His current play has been on-par with a good possession receiver. Burton has shown nice hands but has yet to flash dynamic skills (albeit he certainly looks solid). And Miller is currently hurt and while he's flashed at times, he isn't a proven commodity (yet). We know Cohen is a weapon when he gets the ball in space, but he hasn't made a lot of plays in the slot / true receiving game thus far. Part of the above also probably is compounded by the new system and young QB having early season struggles as well. That said, when you watch the Rams, you saw a lot of guys open and flashing and a ton of routes. Hopefully in time the Bears weapons, along with the rest of the offense, prove to be more capable than they have shown thus far. A lot of money was spent...but remember, they were upgrading from a 1971 Ford Pinto. I actually look to see White get more involved this week. Doesn't help that the Bears have seen such little return the past couple years from high picks / FA signings at the skill position (White / Shaheen / Wheaton / Simms).

How are the bears saying it is day to day? Nagy said he dislocated but they have officially said he is day to day. Is there any hope that this is actually a lot more minor or is this really a season ended or at the minimum a very extended injury?

I think people are overhyping the Bears offensive weapons.

You are comparing an essentially rookie Trubisky to seasoned vets in Big Ben and Fitz. That just isn't a fair comparison....a fair comparison is going back to rookie/2nd year Big Ben or rookie 2nd year Tom Brady, etc, and asking...did they make poor decisions under pressure...struggle to quickly read defenses, etc. And I would argue that answer is unequivocally yes because the NFL game is extremely difficult and complex and it takes time, with very few exceptions. Now many will never develop and it is a fine line.

Let me ask a separate question...how much credit does Trubisky and the offense get for the team ranking #2 in TOP. Obviously a component of that goes to the Bears D for getting off the field...but the Bears offense has had its fair share of extended drives that certainly contributed to that TOP argument. Yes, ultimately an offense needs to score points, just trying to point out, it isn't like the offense has been some horrific dumpster fire.

I completely agree with this.

If the Bears didn't acquire Mack, none of us are talking / debating Trubisky at this point. Yes, people wouldn't be happy with his play, but I think more would have a wait and see approach. To me, that approach shouldn't change...when you invest in someone that high and believe in that guy, you need to back him and do what you can to believe. Don't do the Bears thing and not put everything you have, including patience, into this kids development. Bears need to be patient and give him time, coaching, etc, for him to either prove he has it / doesn't. Bottom line...if Bears want to be great, their best chance (near term) is being patient and investing in Mitch and turning that investment into a fruitful reward. They could certainly pivot, but I think a pivot may lower the "floor" and guarantee a few playoff seasons...but it prevents the upside of truly being great. Mitch might suck...but let him fully prove out that fact and let this season be partially about winning, but more about Mitch's development. Not doing that is a disservice to the QB, imo. That said, Mitch is a #2 overall pick and with that comes pressure...he needs to be big enough to handle the pressure, etc. But before everyone discounts offensive changes or so rookies/2nd year QB's that end up being good, don't play like Mitch is, think about two different things. From the system side, remember when the New York Giants / Steelers made major OC shifts and how much Eli Manning/Big Ben (both of which were veterans at the time) struggled to gel with the new systems (all while having largely consistent personnel). Now think of Mitch...without that experience in a brand new system (much different from what was ran a year ago) combined with the fact that his top 4 wide receiving targets are all brand new to the Bears (Robinson, Burton, Gabriel, and Miller). Now on the young QB front, below are some stat lines of a few other recent QB's just to put things in perspective a bit more: Wentz over 14 starts [14 Pederson] 63%, 241 yards, .9 TDs, 1.2 TO Goff over his first 14 starts [7 Fisher, 7 McVay] 58%, 201 yards, 1 TD, 1 TO Trubisky over his first 14 starts [12 Fox, 2 Nagy] 61.2%, 183 yards, .86 TDs, .9 TO

I never said the Bears were going to get him. Bears need to invest in Mitch for this year and next year, imo....unless he is so terrible this year that he is beyond redemption (thus far I haven't seen anything other than what I call typical young QB jitters). That could still mean Mitch is a giant bust...but what he is struggling with is not unique to terrible QB's...it is what pretty much every other young QB who became great also went through. It is why I am committed to patience. If he was terrible and didn't put in work and show signs off the field mentally, etc, that would be another story (and technically none of us know whether he is or isn't...only the coaches know that)...than I would come to a potentially different conclusion. That said, the risk we took with Mack was that if Mitch wasn't the guy, we would likely be giving up 2 better picks, one of which could be used to take another QB (to extent we wanted to). That said, it is unlikely Pace gets the luxury of drafting another QB early (at least not in the next year or two) so if Mitch is that bad, he's likely gone anyway (or needing to get a veteran QB route...say a Joe Flacco via FA to try and pivot).

The Oregon QB is legit.

So any more news on Miller. I've heard various things including the fact that he dislocated it twice and at some point will need surgery...if he has surgery, done for the year? None of those are from legitimate sources.

The TOP has been a huge component on the season and allows the Bears defense to play as aggressive as it is. And I have to give the Bears offense credit for that. They have chewed up the clock and while they have left points on the field and not been as efficient as I'd like, it isn't as if they haven't gotten first downs. They have...but they've left some big chunk yardage out there and not been as good as we'd all like. I think the fact that they are getting TOP despite those issues is a good sign towards the future...but we'll see.