Chisoxfn

This - I am not normally a proponent for loading the bases but in that situation it was a no brainer.

Really - guy is on fire and you pitch to him. He gave two straight cookie cutters to him and that is the ball game.

Let’s will them to victory. Hope Lopez is okay.

Yeah - his opp avg is under .200 for a reason. That stuff is sick. Now let’s shut ‘‘em out in the top half and win it in the bottom half!

Both pitches he swing at were close. Like I said - in long run - that aggression will serve Yoan well this year. Alright Pito!!!

I like his aggression - even if it doesn’t work now - it is most aggressive I have seen him at all late in years.

No - walk it off now….let’s do it!!!

Ok - let’s walk this off.

I thought Tim was about to make a fifth error for the squad on that throw to Yoan.

Wait - they are really batting 0 on 3-0 counts?

Yes seven - I can’t count.

That was not a bad pitch but a great hit. Happens when you let a team off the hook like this.

I don’t love the odds right now - surprise me ReyLo and surprise me in a good way Sox (to counter the horrific way you just blew this game!!!).

Four errors is just pathetic - but win this one and send the streak to six!

I am getting really excited about what Poles actually did. The secondary is going to be better, I think one of those lineman ends up panning out as a starter in the long-run and who knows about Velus but in some ways making Fields have to go through reads early in his career (vs. just throwing it to a guy) may actually help him to some extent and just having speed around him, while using Montomery, Kmet, Mooney and a better defense to put him in better spots may be huge for year 2. I don't expect to win a ton - but if the players they drafted show promise (get 3 good starters out of this draft) and Fields can progress and show something - end up with still a top 10 pick and hope in a QB draft you have your QB already and might get some serious value for another QB needy team looking to move up. Get to a spot with multiple picks next year (maybe some future picks for the following year) and a ton of cap space and this could actually be a pretty fast turn around. Obviously - Fields development is key to that - but I think having quality defenders around him and not giving him a ton of elite weapons in some ways might actually help in sense that it tempers everyone's expectations so he can continue to focus on growth and development.

4 innings and he just struck someone out at 98. He has given up two runs but just one hit. Damn his stuff is so filthy.

This - It could go lower still and may - but you are still getting 10 or 15% off in the long-run (as long as you have a long view and can tolerate losses in the short).

This + if he is a hit - you probably don't want him by the time he gets to the 3rd deal anyway and you still get great football for his rookie deal and his 2nd deal. I could care less about his age. If he was a major league draft candidate, sure, and to your point, a 1st round pick, again sure, but as a 3rd rounder - if he really shined during the senior bowl and if his athleticism really pushes him up a notch, than lets see what he can do. They could never rebuild this team in one off-season, so we know at the very least it is a 2 off-season process. One thing that did stand out though - Poles likes athletes. It seems like that was a trend out of almost every player drafted. In particular - the late round guys - he swung on people with athleticism and is looking at his coaching staff to develop them up. I really liked how despite a lack of picks, he stacked up more picks and just took some swings at a clear position of need (and if he somehow hits on one of those lineman - that is a huge win)

That one Falcons game was fun….

Starting Monday bears can sign free agents with no impact on potential comp picks.

Boom.

This pick and the end they got were both encouraging picks.

Evidently POles and Fields actually watched tape together of the potential wideouts and it sounds like Getsy is extremely high on the wideout they got. Fact Fields was watching film with Poles is actually a pretty good sign as I don't think that is super typical of a front office guy. I like Nagy a lot on Twitter (Jim not Matt) and some of the short clips he showed at the Senior Bowl showed me a guy who looked like he was actually playing at his speed (he also took a big step forward this year).

I will point out - with the theme of speed - I like Austin of Memphis (and Shakir from Boise). He is small - but damn is he fast. Why not just throw a bunch of speed everywhere - spread things out, use Kmet in the middle - and than force defenses to try and match speed with speed (but smaller guys), thus opening up a ton of room for Fields in run-option and Montgomery to do work. Would be perfectly fine with Poles giving up some capital to get a 4th rounder. Shakir I really like a lot.

I will say this - the defense got a hell of a lot better today. Eddie Jackson finally has a partner who has real upside next to him for the first time in years (since what's his face went to the Packers as a free agent) and Johnson should have a good, young partner in crime at DB. This also means Graham (who showed some potential) can slide into the slot. I expect we see more turnovers and a better Ejax as a result of this, so that part has me kind of excited. I go back to - if only they traded a 6th rounder for Cooper....oh well, lets hope this new wideout is good (I will say - he is supposedly fast but I didn't see it on tape (although I guess outrunning people in the SEC is pretty good tape in an of itself) - like he didn't play as fast as the tape). That said - it wasn't like he had some stud QB at Tennessee so this could be a guy who ends up being a dude. At very least - Fields is a guy who likes wideouts who can run and get in space; He isn't (at least yet) one of those throw the guy open / tight window QB's - so I do agree with there prioritization of speed.