2022-2023 NFL Season

[The Hippie Satan of Hyperbole]

Trading away building-block type players in their prime because you think it's going to be difficult to sign them rarely works out in the NFL. (see: Raiders and Khalil Mack).
And players who threaten not to hold out under the tag  -  pretty much every player who's ever been tagged and not named Kirk Cousins - rarely follow through on that threat. Good organizations use the tag as leverage for a long-term deal.
The fact the Bears felt compelled to make this trade is an organizational failure.

Eh you are being hyperbolic here. The new regime may not have been sold on Roquan as the guys who drafted him.

[Uncle Rico]

Eh you are being hyperbolic here. The new regime may not have been sold on Roquan as the guys who drafted him.

Agree with this.  I understand the urge to criticize everything the Bears do because a lot of what they have done the past 20 years has been dumb and shortsighted.  This isn’t the case.  Smith is fine as a player but he’s not a guy you build a defense around.  Let’s revisit his career in 2-3 years. 

[Pakuni]

Agree with this.  I understand the urge to criticize everything the Bears do because a lot of what they have done the past 20 years has been dumb and shortsighted.  This isn’t the case.  Smith is fine as a player but he’s not a guy you build a defense around.  Let’s revisit his career in 2-3 years.

For the record, I'm not a Bears fan and have no skin in the game whether they're great or terrible.
I'm just a firm believer that you don't win in the NFL by trading away (or letting walk) young, quality players because you don't want to pay them or are afraid of a contract dispute.
That's what Jacksonville did after a team full of young players nearly led them to the Super Bowl in the 2017 season. They're 17-56 since the 2018 AFC Championship game, despite accumulating a ton of draft capital for guys like Ramsey, Ngakoue, Fowler, Bouye, etc., and having a boatload of high picks of their own.

Just for fun, here are the teams with the most draft capital from 2017-21:
2017: Browns, 49ers, Bears
2018: Browns, Broncos, Giants
2019: Giants, Raiders, Cardinals
2020: Dolphins, Bengals, Jaguars
2021:Jaguars, Jets, Dolphins

The 49ers are legit, the Bengals had a great run last year and will be good as long as Burrow is healthy, and the Dolphins seemed to have turned a comer. But most of these franchises remain mediocre and worse, despite all the picks.

I don't really care if the Bears suck or not. I just think this is a bad move and it's egregiously dumb to think lots of picks = winning.
 

[RJax55]

Agree with this.  I understand the urge to criticize everything the Bears do because a lot of what they have done the past 20 years has been dumb and shortsighted.  This isn’t the case.  Smith is fine as a player but he’s not a guy you build a defense around.  Let’s revisit his career in 2-3 years.

He's very good against running teams or teams that mostly feature a short passing game. Roquan is a downhill player. See his play from the Patriots game. However, he's pretty meh against the league's better offenses (better QBs) because he is not a good coverage backer.

[Lennys Tap]

For the record, I'm not a Bears fan and have no skin in the game whether they're great or terrible.
I'm just a firm believer that you don't win in the NFL by trading away (or letting walk) young, quality players because you don't want to pay them or are afraid of a contract dispute.
That's what Jacksonville did after a team full of young players nearly led them to the Super Bowl in the 2017 season. They're 17-56 since the 2018 AFC Championship game, despite accumulating a ton of draft capital for guys like Ramsey, Ngakoue, Fowler, Bouye, etc., and having a boatload of high picks of their own.

I agree that teams on the verge of a Super Bowl shouldn’t be trading talent for future assets.

But I don’t think the Bears are on the verge of a Super Bowl.

[Jockey]

None of those rules apply to Detroit

It would probably take too long to respond - but Matt Millen would be prominent in my answer.

He was so bad that you have to take 20 years before and 20 years after his regime to restore Detroit-world order.

[Jockey]

Agree with this.  I understand the urge to criticize everything the Bears do because a lot of what they have done the past 20 years has been dumb and shortsighted.  This isn’t the case.  Smith is fine as a player but he’s not a guy you build a defense around.  Let’s revisit his career in 2-3 years.

I think the answer is somewhere between you and Pakuni.  Yeah, Roquan was overrated a bit and the Bears' brass may not have been enthralled with him. But on the other hand, no team is gonna win by just relying on young players (as Pakuni deftly pointed out).

With all the cap money, they can get some vets, but teams almost always overpay in the FA market.

[tower912]

It would probably take too long to respond - but Matt Millen would be prominent in my answer.

He was so bad that you have to take 20 years before and 20 years after his regime to restore Detroit-world order.

Quinn-tricia extended the stench.

[Vander Blue Man Group]

Trading away building-block type players in their prime because you think it's going to be difficult to sign them rarely works out in the NFL. (see: Raiders and Khalil Mack).
And players who threaten not to hold out under the tag  -  pretty much every player who's ever been tagged and not named Kirk Cousins - rarely follow through on that threat. Good organizations use the tag as leverage for a long-term deal.
The fact the Bears felt compelled to make this trade is an organizational failure.

In this case, it’s not an organizational failure. How closely did you follow the contract negotiations this summer?

Not wanting to pay $20 million+ per year to fill a non-premium position isn’t unreasonable. Especially after the crapshow from this summer, mostly due to Smith representing himself.

[DegenerateDish]

Trading away building-block type players in their prime because you think it's going to be difficult to sign them rarely works out in the NFL. (see: Raiders and Khalil Mack).
And players who threaten not to hold out under the tag  -  pretty much every player who's ever been tagged and not named Kirk Cousins - rarely follow through on that threat. Good organizations use the tag as leverage for a long-term deal.
The fact the Bears felt compelled to make this trade is an organizational failure.

I mean, the new regime was never ever giving him a long term deal at $20 M per year, let alone franchise him at $18 M. It’s not a position that they feel compelled to pay a premium for, right or wrong.

Their defense is clearly being built in the secondary and at the line. There was no way in hell philosophically they were committing resources at the LB spot.

The failure would have been letting him walk for nothing, knowing they wouldn’t qualify for a comp pick.

[CreightonWarrior]

What happened to the bengals this season?

[Uncle Rico]

What happened to the bengals this season?

Garbage offensive line and had a bit of luck running through the playoffs last year

[MU82]

Ex-NFL ref and NBC rules analyst Terry McAulay said there should’ve been no penalty on Panthers WR D.J. Moore for removing his helmet to celebrate his last-minute TD because Moore wasn't actually on the field when he took off his helmet.

[The Hippie Satan of Hyperbole]

Ex-NFL ref and NBC rules analyst Terry McAulay said there should’ve been no penalty on Panthers WR D.J. Moore for removing his helmet to celebrate his last-minute TD because Moore wasn't actually on the field when he took off his helmet.

Oh

[The Hippie Satan of Hyperbole]

Garbage offensive line and had a bit of luck running through the playoffs last year

Yeah they got hot last year in the playoffs, but were a 10-7 team during the season.

[Dr. Blackheart]

Ex-NFL ref and NBC rules analyst Terry McAulay said there should’ve been no penalty on Panthers WR D.J. Moore for removing his helmet to celebrate his last-minute TD because Moore wasn't actually on the field when he took off his helmet.

Stupid, over-legislated rule. A turnover is celebrated with 60 yard team sprints and posing, but players cannot get too excited on a touchdown for fear of a taunting penalty.

[MU82]

Stupid, over-legislated rule. A turnover is celebrated with 60 yard team sprints and posing, but players cannot get too excited on a touchdown for fear of a taunting penalty.

Definitely a stupid rule. And it's made all the stupider when it's not enforced properly, as apparently was the case.

That being said, there is a rule, and even if Moore was off the field of play it was just barely. It was an incredible play -- Mahomes called it the pass of the year -- and it looked like it was gonna win the game, so I can't blame Moore for celebrating. Just keep the helmet on because the rule does exist.

And, of course, it's not illegal for the PK to actually make the longer PAT -- or the 32-yarder in overtime. Pineiro actually got a vote of confidence from the coach yesterday. If the Panthers were contenders he'd have gotten the ax IMHO, but at 2-6 they don't want to spend any $$ on another kick. Maybe their thinking is if Pineiro rebounds to have a good rest of the season, fine; if he doesn't, his incompetence could help them get a top-3 draft pick.

[The Hippie Satan of Hyperbole]

Stupid, over-legislated rule. A turnover is celebrated with 60 yard team sprints and posing, but players cannot get too excited on a touchdown for fear of a taunting penalty.

I think they consider it more of a safety thing than a taunting thing.

[CreightonWarrior]

Lions trading Hockenson to the Vikings.

Inexecusable!

[DegenerateDish]

Claypool to Bears for a 2nd.

[Billy Hoyle]

Lions trading Hockenson to the Vikings.

Inexecusable!

Not a fan with it being to a division rival but A) 2022 is already another lost season, B) his rookie deal is up. He wanted to 5 TE money and he’s not top 5, C) got an extra 2nd and 3rd round pick for the 2023 draft. A better haul than the Bears got for Smith.

[Jockey]

Claypool to Bears for a 2nd.

Gutey is waiting for Amari Rodgers to break out.

[DegenerateDish]

Gotta say, I don't love the Claypool trade from a Bears perspective.

[The Hippie Satan of Hyperbole]

Gutey is waiting for Amari Rodgers to break out.

https://twitter.com/JosinaAnderson/status/1587502660172894209?s=20&t=Ivi-jdHd8LlgEq67Ipw7jQ

[MUBurrow]

Gotta say, I don't love the Claypool trade from a Bears perspective.

Yeah I don't get it.  Next year is the last year on his deal, so even if this goes fairly well, they're trading a 2nd rounder for the opportunity to pay Claypool market value in 2024.  Wouldn't you rather just take a WR you like in the 2nd round?