Next year and moving forward

[Larsonite]

I guess my follow up question would be,

Have they played well, or have they played better than expected or last season?


Has McClellin be good, or has he been better than expected?
Has Christian Jones been good, or better than last years gong show?

This are just a couple of examples.

They are playing better and will be looked at as replaceable. But, if we added a better pass rush and secondary coverage, i think we could win despite them. This is a good example of improving the overall team without fixing every aspect.

Sent from a spaghetti monster circling the earth

 

[baselman1974]

Hopefully signing one of the St. Louis stud CBs would be almost can't miss, especially Johnson. ILB Smith from ND is close to can't miss as Prospect as one can get, like Amari Cooper. Yes injuries can happen but that is part of the game.

 

[WindyCity]

The way I look at it the Bears need

Starter

OLB
ILB
CB
NB
S
DE
RG

Competition/Backup

LT
OLB
CB
NT
TE

That is a lot.

I think the performances we are getting from Jay and Pernell are covering up bigger issues.

 

[AussieBear]

I guess my follow up question would be,

Have they played well, or have they played better than expected or last season?


Has McClellin be good, or has he been better than expected?
Has Christian Jones been good, or better than last years gong show?

This are just a couple of examples.

at least we know this Staff/FO isnt scared to cut ties with players, willing to turn over a roster and shuffle different ppl into the starting lineup quickly (not just due to injury)

I wonder if pace will keep this approach with his own guys in the future.

 

[AussieBear]

I think we should sign a stud FA corner and Left Tackle. Draft a LB/DE round 1 and pray Cook or Hack fall to our second. And also prey if we take one of them they become a great qb.

idk about studs.. but the two below may hit the market.. they will not be cheap either.

LT Okung
CB Jenkins

 

[Larsonite]

The way I look at it the Bears need

Starter

OLB
ILB
CB
NB
S
DE
RG

Competition/Backup

LT
OLB
CB
NT
TE

That is a lot.

I think the performances we are getting from Jay and Pernell are covering up bigger issues.

I think you're right on with the team needs but no team goes into a season with all their needs met. And, as you pointed out, a few really good players can mask other weaknesses.

I'm sure pass rush and CB will be the main targets. After that i think it's who's avaliable via free agency and the draft at ILB, oline, dline and secondary.

I think adding 4 quality starters isn't too much to expect from free agency and the draft. We've got the money and picks to add a lot of competition at those other needs.

Also, we can find decent starters at RG and KR with some mid round draft picks that could really help.

If we can add some more pass rush and another CB who is good, other defensive players will look better because of those additions. We might be one key addition to OT and a minor addition to RG away from having a good oline. ILB, SS, DE and NT could be fixed with minor additions given a better pass rush and CB. sutton and ego could look better if teams have to worry about someone other than just McPhee. Rolle and some of the current CBs might look better if there was actually a pass rush.

Lastly, we've got a lot of young players that should look better next year, i mean they can't look worse. Leno, Grasu, Fabuluje, Goldman, Ego, Sutton, Fuller, Amos and Langford could take a big step forward. Some larger than others but i really doubt none of them get worse than they are atm. Even Kevin White should help to some degree. Age is on their side unlike guys who are sure to be cut like Bushrod and Houston. We've already cut/traded Ratliff and Allen. I think we've got a lot of young guys who could ascend and we will and have moved on from older guys who won't.

Sent from a spaghetti monster circling the earth

 

[DC]

Focus should be on the lines.

.

Agreed 100%. I would like to see us draft offensive line early and often.

 

[mecha]

I think you're right on with the team needs but no team goes into a season with all their needs met. And, as you pointed out, a few really good players can mask other weaknesses.

I'm sure pass rush and CB will be the main targets. After that i think it's who's avaliable via free agency and the draft at ILB, oline, dline and secondary.

I think adding 4 quality starters isn't too much to expect from free agency and the draft. We've got the money and picks to add a lot of competition at those other needs.

Also, we can find decent starters at RG and KR with some mid round draft picks that could really help.

If we can add some more pass rush and another CB who is good, other defensive players will look better because of those additions. We might be one key addition to OT and a minor addition to RG away from having a good oline. ILB, SS, DE and NT could be fixed with minor additions given a better pass rush and CB. sutton and ego could look better if teams have to worry about someone other than just McPhee. Rolle and some of the current CBs might look better if there was actually a pass rush.

Lastly, we've got a lot of young players that should look better next year, i mean they can't look worse. Leno, Grasu, Fabuluje, Goldman, Ego, Sutton, Fuller, Amos and Langford could take a big step forward. Some larger than others but i really doubt none of them get worse than they are atm. Even Kevin White should help to some degree. Age is on their side unlike guys who are sure to be cut like Bushrod and Houston. We've already cut/traded Ratliff and Allen. I think we've got a lot of young guys who could ascend and we will and have moved on from older guys who won't.

Sent from a spaghetti monster circling the earth

with a salary cap, absolutely, they're not going to have the best of the best at every position. I think you nailed it with the defense though, bolster the line to generate more pressure and the secondary won't look as bad. of course we've been echoing that since Conte was with the team.

your next point, which is also important, is all the young guys will have logged a(nother) year in the system, they'll be better players next year. I don't know how many of Emery's picks haven't been axed already, but you consider that he may have drafted some decent players that were just coaching casualties from the last bogus regime. Pace has already gotten a leg up on cutting some dead weight. I don't know, I don't buy into all the doom and gloom rhetoric, I feel optimistic about what can happen. I'll say again they're only losing by like a score a game, that's better than getting viciously manhandled like they did on defense before.

 

[Runruffshod75]

We need defense and more OL. Kyle long is the only guy who will stick long term

I don't know. I believe Grasu will be a fine player in time once he adds a few pounds & power. I would imagine that's a year or two away though. He has struggled, especially at first, but he was improving before his neck injury. Usually a rookie third round center is going to need a couple of years to develop, plain & simple.

I'd love to see Grasu play after implement a workout regime based on tons of squats, dead lifts, & bent over rows, which work wonders for linemen. While implementing a lot of sprints into the workout to keep the mass that he adds lean & at a high muscle content/low fat content. Grasu doesn't have the biggest frame for a lineman so if he can only add 5-10 pounds he needs to make every pound he adds count.

 

[Larsonite]

with a salary cap, absolutely, they're not going to have the best of the best at every position. I think you nailed it with the defense though, bolster the line to generate more pressure and the secondary won't look as bad. of course we've been echoing that since Conte was with the team.

your next point, which is also important, is all the young guys will have logged a(nother) year in the system, they'll be better players next year. I don't know how many of Emery's picks haven't been axed already, but you consider that he may have drafted some decent players that were just coaching casualties from the last bogus regime. Pace has already gotten a leg up on cutting some dead weight. I don't know, I don't buy into all the doom and gloom rhetoric, I feel optimistic about what can happen. I'll say again they're only losing by like a score a game, that's better than getting viciously manhandled like they did on defense before.

When you think about how bad our defense was the last two seasons, worst run defense in history and then worst pass defense in history, and consider it's a new scheme, Fangio has done more with less and even these chumps will get better with another year in his system.

Gase has gotten the most out of Cutler we've ever seen. Granted he was playing well with Martz for a moment before his injury but Gase is the first guy to really get that Cutler should be simi limited in being asked to win early in the game. And holy shit he is playing much better when asked to win late in the game. All that running early has worn down the defense and kept them honest, which also helps the oline block.

I think we've got the right OC & DC and given Pace's success in free agency and the draft, leads to some warranted optimism. Even if we just get a better pass rush and better blocking in the offseason, it will help sooooooo many other aspects of the team. Toss in a KR and better depth on special teams and i see no reason we won't be competitive every game.

Sent from a spaghetti monster circling the earth

 

[Runruffshod75]

The way I look at it the Bears need

Starter

OLB
ILB
CB
NB
S
DE
RG

Competition/Backup

LT
OLB
CB
NT
TE

That is a lot.

I think the performances we are getting from Jay and Pernell are covering up bigger issues.

I've always believed OLB & CB are equals in the 3-4. You must have both, absolutly must. However one can be met in FA. I would rather sign a FA CB than LB because the CB position tends to come with a lengthier learning curve than pass rushing OLB, & the availability of pass rushing OLB's in FA is not usually very good. The Bears need a true vet press man cover CB who knows what he's doing & can hold his own on his own against the Calvin Johnsons & AJ Greens of the league.

The Bears are going to have a ton of cap space this offseason, & I do believe throwing the bank at Revis would be a very wise move for them. Revis would be a perfect fit for the Bears from every angle.

 

[Bearly]

We need defense and more OL. Kyle long is the only guy who will stick long term

What? Slauson can play another 6 years and Grasu was drafted for a reason. The late round choices of the last 2 years both have a lot of potential.

 

[r1terrell23]

Next year we should be competing for the playoffs. No excuses. Our schedule will be mediocre at best.



Giants, Cowboys, Eagles, Redskins, Colts, Texans, Titans, Jaguars. Detx2, Minnyx2. GBx2, and more bottom feeding teams to match our bottom feeding record.

 

[WindyCity]

I

Next year we should be competing for the playoffs. No excuses. Our schedule will be mediocre at best.



Giants, Cowboys, Eagles, Redskins, Colts, Texans, Titans
, Jaguars. Detx2, Minnyx2. GBx2, and more bottom feeding teams to match our bottom feeding record.

But the Bears are mediocre at best.

 

[BearFanJohn]

He's pretty hamstrung with this oline and he's got Cutler playing his best ball since Martz. And he's not getting completely killed.

This is true. But you have to understand the game to understand why the play calling is what it is and so many don't...... They even mentioned it during the game yesterday.

 

[Space Invader]

I

But the Bears are mediocre at best.

The definition of insanity and all. I swear I see the same shit posted by people every year this time of year. "Well, next year there's no excuses". Blah, blah, blah. Just like people on here having delusions of grandeur about this season.

Personally, IDC if the the Bears are in rebuild for the next 2 years. So long as what is on the other side of this rebuild wields success. In the meantime, Bears are going to lose games where you look at it on paper and say, "That's a win, right?"
*not you, Windy; the quote in your post.

 

[dabears70]

Is it at all common to see coordinators of teams with a shitty record to be hired as head coaches? I doubt anyone's going to give our guys more than a passing glance, regardless of their history.

Both Gase and Fangio have made good names for themselves and both will at least be interviewed by more than one team for their head coaching job. Hopefully those teams will go with someone other than our guys. I would love to have Fox/Gase/Fangio together for the next 2/3 years. I'm sick of Cutler having a new OC every damn year and i'm sure he is to and the idiots that don't think that that's been a big reason for his bad play the last few years are truly idiots.

 

[dabears70]

Sign a stud this
Sigh a stud that
Draft a good this
Draft a strong that

Easier said than done. Pace had a good offseason this year, but there is no guarantee that next year is even close to what he did this year.

Actually it might be unrealistic to expect it.

Getting the newly drafted and free agents to come in and be what we want them to be has a lot to do with the coaches we have. I think a argument could be made that if we had this coaching staff last year the players we drafted and brought in free agency would of made a much bigger impact then they did with Trestman/Kromer and Tucker.

 

[Probie2429]

My guess is that this team will be even worse next season. Those expecting the Bears to go into FA to sign impact players are going to be disappointed because that's not the plan Pace is going with. Yes, he signed McPhee but the fact he was even a FA and was available was rare. Pace wants to build this team from the ground up and avoid the FA trap that has plagued the Bears in the past two regimes. Expect the roster to be half turned over yet again, as the Emery stank is finally removed. The team will likely be younger and even less experienced than they are now.