What are the weaknesses that still exist?

[Scoot26]

Weakness: QB, OL, LB, DBs and possibly a punter.

 

[dabears253313]

I hope Christian Jones competes for an ILB spot and David Bass competes for an OLB spot. Hopefully that at least make the final roster. I read a stat somewhere that it took David Bass less snaps to get a QB pressure than Willie Young last season, so he makes the most of his opportunities. Something crazy like Young was 1 out of 20 and Bass was 1 out of 10. Those are just random numbers but I think Bass cut his in half.

 

[ZenBear34]

the bears o-line was not bad last year. middle of the road i would say even with injuries/shuffling. biggest issue there was the penalties which speaks to a larger discipline issue the plagued the entire roster. everyone's down on mills, but he's entering his 3rd year. he was better last year then his rookie year, and actually was pretty solid after he came back from injury last year. if he can improve this year as much as he did between his 1st and 2nd years, he will be solid. think they've upgraded at center with either montgomery or grasu. long should continue to improve(and should be considered an option at tackle).

defensively, it's really hard to sit here and say what are weaknesses and what aren't because we haven't seen the vast majority of these players play in a scheme anything like fangio's scheme. i can't say with any certainty that one player is a strength and another is a weakness and neither can anyone else. players being in the right scheme accounts for a majority of the "successful" NFL players. there are the elite guys who transcend scheme. as it stands, the bears don't have any of those on defense.

what i do know is that mel tucker was a barely NFL caliber defensive coordinator and fangio is top 3. i know players nobody is talking about will be household names by the end of the season. a guy like(just totally throwing names out) dede lattimore could be a star ILB in fangio's scheme for all anybody knows. and that includes the bears coaching staff. what i do know is that this is easily the best coaching staff the bears have put together since the super bowl team. for the first time-maybe ever-the bears are heading into a season with a coaching staff that you can't ask "can blank be an NFL head coach/o.c/d.c.?" because they've all done their jobs before at a high level very recently.

those listing 11 positions as weaknesses will be surprised to see the effect an actual NFL coaching staff can have on a roster. judging the talent on this team based on literally the worst coaching staff i've seen in my 40 years as a bears fan is fruitless.

 

[WindyCity]

with qb being the biggest need in 2016, shouldnt the next worry be the oline specifically LT and RT? Bushrod is average at best and will be on the decline this year or next, there is noone on the roster that can be at least an average LT and when your trying to groom a young rookie qb, blind side protection is paramount.

As of now the lines are what are important and so the Oline and Dline need to be built strongly. On the oline, Bushrod and the RT spot are concerns...Dline -still a toss up on who will emerge and who will be a dud in fangio's scheme. Mcdonald should be a steady contributer but for how long...if guys like jenkins, ego, sutton and ratliff do not pan out that leaves mcdonald and goldman as the only two capable of playing at a high level in that defense leaving DE a huge need in the 2016 draft.

LT will be a priority.

If the Bears don't go QB in 2016 they could use that draft to really set the table for the next QB.

 

[PeterMbangala]

It's almost easier at this point to ask the inverse question: where are we legitimately strong, now and in the future?

1. WR
Assuming we manage to resign Alshon, we have two young potential stud receivers that have their entire careers ahead of them. Royal in the slot is a solid option short-term and we can look at other options there in the later rounds of the draft according to BPA.

That's the end of the list! There are some positions that we might have sorted but will have to wait and see, like Center and NT, with Grasu and Goldman. These are no longer priorities. But WR is the only position where I think we can be close to 100% sure we have the guys that are long-term legitimate options. Hopefully by the end of this season, we'll be closer to nailing down a few positions.

In terms of trying to prioritise the holes, it's might come down to (apologies in advance!) what happens at QB. If we're in a position to take a potential franchise QB in 2016, then suddenly solidifying the O-Line, particularly LT and RT, becomes the big priority for me. Depending on what happens with Forte's contract and whether Carey and Langford show any promise, we might even need some help there to take the pressure off a new QB. If we don't like any of the options at QB next year, then we might look to strengthen elsewhere.

Edit: just seen Windy's post and that is another way to go, strengthening the O-Lime in preparation for a QB the following year. What this tells me is we still have so many holes that apart from receiver, we can still go BPA in the 2016 draft!

Im not sure exactly how much cap space we have left this year but I'm not up for spending it on ageing marginal talent in an attempt to plug a gap. I'd rather we spent it on extending Alshon, maybe waiting a bit until the middle of the season to see how it develops. If there was one position I could immediately upgrade now, then Id love to get a corner to play alongside Fuller. In this division, Jennings and the lack of depth at corner flat out terrifies me!

 

[WindyCity]

The Bears have about 7-8 million in cap space.

I agree some of it should be used on Long of Jeffery, or rolled into next season.

The Bears could have upwards of 60 million to spend next season.

WR and RB are the positions I feel good about, interior OL is also as good as you are going to realistically get.

 

[WindyCity]

I would actually argue the Bears are deep at CB, maybe not set moving into the future but in 2015 I think CB is one of the deeper positions.

Fuller

Ball, has started a ton of games.

Jennings, tons of starts and has been good except for last season.

McManis, under rated and should get a shot on defense.

Hurst and Louis- Jean both played last season and didn't look horrendous.

 

[FireFox]

Weakness: QB, OL, LB, DBs and possibly a punter.

Wrong forum.

 

[ImLittleJon]

1. S

Roster Option: Even if Amos steps up, and he is probably the best chance of a roster option, the Bears still need someone down the line.

I hope I'm wrong, but I don't really expect Rolle to play well at all. We know what Mundy is at this point. Vereen might improve, or Amos might surprise, but I definitely think you've got it right that safety is the biggest weakness still.

2. MLB

Roster Option: Bostic and Jones need to step up beside Foster, but even Foster is not an elite player. This could be a huge need moving forward if Bostic cannot get healthy and improve.

This might turn out to be a weakness, but at this point I'd call it more of an unknown. There are a lot of guys in the mix - McClellin and Greene in addition to the 3 you mention - and we just haven't seen them in the role of a 3-4 ILB. They might all fall flat on their faces, but we could also end up with a couple of guys who flourish.

3. OT

Roster Option: Fingers crossed on Fabujule or Cornick either taking the job from Mills or getting him to play better. But the Bears are going to need to address OT as Bushrod declines as well.

I'd rank this as the second biggest weakness. We know what we're getting from Mills and Bushrod, and I don't really see anyone else beating them out.

4. OLB

Roster Option: The Bears do not have a true pass rusher on the roster and I think the only 2 guys that have a chance of developing into that are a healthy Willie Young or perhaps David Bass.

Like ILB, this is just too unknown at this point. McPhee, Houston, Allen, Young, Acho, Bass, even McClellin again. There's definitely enough there to hope that a couple of guys grab hold of the opportunity.

5. CB

Roster Option: Ball and Jennings could be gone in 2016 and there is not much in terms of a potential starter beside Fuller. This could be a need that moves way up the list in 2016.

2016 needs, sure, but aren't we talking 2015 here?

I'll add one other possibility: TE, if Bennett holds out. Also, we still need a reliable KR/PR.

 

[RiDLer80]

This thread has made me realize we're worse off than I thought. I thought two good off seasons and drafts would get us back in good shape, but it looks like we'll need at least three.

 

[dabears70]

We knew that this team was not going to be fixed with 1 draft or 1 free agency period. What are the major weaknesses that still exist on the Bears and is there a roster option that could fill it?

1. S

Roster Option: Even if Amos steps up, and he is probably the best chance of a roster option, the Bears still need someone down the line.

2. MLB

Roster Option: Bostic and Jones need to step up beside Foster, but even Foster is not an elite player. This could be a huge need moving forward if Bostic cannot get healthy and improve.

3. OT

Roster Option: Fingers crossed on Fabujule or Cornick either taking the job from Mills or getting him to play better. But the Bears are going to need to address OT as Bushrod declines as well.

4. OLB

Roster Option: The Bears do not have a true pass rusher on the roster and I think the only 2 guys that have a chance of developing into that are a healthy Willie Young or perhaps David Bass.

5. CB

Roster Option: Ball and Jennings could be gone in 2016 and there is not much in terms of a potential starter beside Fuller. This could be a need that moves way up the list in 2016.

NON-QB Needs, we all know QB is on the list.

I'm worried about MLB and ILB and think if we signed B.Spikes he would probably be our best LBer. I say this cause the jury is still out on J.Bostic and C.Jones and i hope we get the M.Foster from 2013 and not the one from 2014. If we get the M.Foster that we're hoping for then that will be a huge help but Bostic and Jones are still huge question marks.

 

[dabears70]

OLB is wait and see for sure. McPhee is a pass rusher and with starter duties, we have to see if his production level is the same. If it is, he is going to be a probowl level OLB.

Strong Safety is a big need. We have no one other than Mundy.

We have A.Rolle who's best position is SS, so if anything happened to Mundy then Rolle would play SS and either Vereen or Amos would play FS.

 

[Pegger]

I hope Christian Jones competes for an ILB spot and David Bass competes for an OLB spot. Hopefully that at least make the final roster. I read a stat somewhere that it took David Bass less snaps to get a QB pressure than Willie Young last season, so he makes the most of his opportunities. Something crazy like Young was 1 out of 20 and Bass was 1 out of 10. Those are just random numbers but I think Bass cut his in half.

Seriously? Jones at ILB? Last I heard that guy quit football to pursue a career in professional pool jump.

 

[PickSix]

Seriously? Jones at ILB? Last I heard that guy quit football to pursue a career in professional pool jump.

WTF you talkin about Willis?

 

[rawdawg]

This thread has made me realize we're worse off than I thought. I thought two good off seasons and drafts would get us back in good shape, but it looks like we'll need at least three.

Yeah free agency didn't really bring in a lot of future pieces. The only players the Bears added who will likely be a big part of a playoff team are the first 3 draft picks and maybe McPhee.

But 2/5 of the OL and the WRs look to be set for the next several years. And you might have a guy on every level of the defense with Goldman, McPhee and Fuller. If Bostic, Ferguson, and one of Vereen or Amos steps up you could have over 1/2 a defense set up.

Next year QB and LT are going to have to be high on the draft board.

 

[dabears70]

Seriously? Jones at ILB? Last I heard that guy quit football to pursue a career in professional pool jump.

Ummmmmmmm what????

 

[Pegger]

Ummmmmmmm what????

More of an athlete than a football player...

Remind anyone of a certain Bears draft pick that got people excited about being able to jump out of a pool???

 

[DaaBears]

No replacement for Cornick

 

[PickSix]

More of an athlete than a football player...

Remind anyone of a certain Bears draft pick that got people excited about being able to jump out of a pool???

You are comparing an UFA who racked up 68 tackles as a rookie playing part time to a 3rd rd bust (Gilbert) who had two career tackles?
Please walk away from the keyboard.

 

[CRM 114]

Quarterback!