2022-2023 NFL Season

[Uncle Rico]

That was a wild final minute. A tie does Seattle no good...unless Green Bay and Detroit tie.

Between the Dolphins, Steelers, Patriots & Seahawks, the teams playing for that last spot are making a great case for expanding the playoffs, lol. 

[Dish]

That was a wild final minute. A tie does Seattle no good...unless Green Bay and Detroit tie.

Man, Baker had Jefferson wide open. Crazy last 5 minutes or so.

[WhiteTrash]

As a Bears fan, I don't think I find joy in the season, but I do appreciate a plan to make the team better and they are executing the early and easiest steps well. Considering how the last management team left the franchise, this is the best plan and 3-14 is much better than 6-11 for a rebuild.

This could be fun for Bears fans; 1st pick in most rounds of the draft and $110M+ cap space.

[Uncle Rico]

Man, Baker had Jefferson wide open. Crazy last 5 minutes or so.

What the hell was Diggs doing?!?  He could have turned that up field instead of taunting.  What a bunch of dumb football

[tower912]

I think they are better than last year.   However, they have only played adequate defense for one half in two games.    They certainly have the weapons on offense.   I doubt, though, that they can win a game where they score in the low 20's.   I just don't see the run stoppers or playmakers at linebacker or safety.

So, improved, but I am not thinking playoffs

Bump

[Uncle Rico]

Bump

They had a good season, regardless.  Disappointing finish but showed a lot more than previous Lions teams.  Big off-season.  Number 6 pick helps, have to be smart in free agency

[Jockey]

Man, Baker had Jefferson wide open. Crazy last 5 minutes or so.

Baker showed why he is nothing more than a backup QB - if that.

[Dish]

What the hell was Diggs doing?!?  He could have turned that up field instead of taunting.  What a bunch of dumb football

Yeah, watching it live, it made no sense why he immediately ran out of bounds. I think he did that just simply to taunt. He had at least five-ten yards to run upfield, his momentum certainly didn't force him out. Really dumb (even with them winning).

[GB Warrior]

Spent most of the Lions game with flu like symptoms and I can't think of a more symbiotic way to end this season

[Dish]

I hate division opponents meeting in the wild card round (already seen it twice), Packers (obviously Lions) would have been far more interesting than Seattle going to Santa Clara next weekend.

[wadesworld]

I hate division opponents meeting in the wild card round (already seen it twice), Packers (obviously Lions) would have been far more interesting than Seattle going to Santa Clara next weekend.

Packers at 9ers would've been a boring blowout.

[The Sultan]

Lovie out in Houston. But somehow GM Cesario is still around. Is he hiring his third head coach in as many seasons? 

[Dish]

Lovie out in Houston. But somehow GM Cesario is still around. Is he hiring his third head coach in as many seasons?

Yeah, made no sense Cesario is sticking around.

[cheebs09]

Lovie out in Houston. But somehow GM Cesario is still around. Is he hiring his third head coach in as many seasons?

Third times a charm?

[Vander Blue Man Group]

lol your qb is a running back why are you cheering losses I'm not panicking about GB's demise

Never seen a RB complete 66% of their passes over a 12 week span. 

[Vander Blue Man Group]

Remember this GM didn't draft Fields either. And if they believe that Bryce Young, my guess is they would see what the market is like for Fields.

The Bears aren't trading Fields to start over again. 

[The Sultan]

The Bears aren't trading Fields to start over again. 

If they believe in Fields, that's fine. But if they aren't sure, not drafting some because they don't want to start over is a bad reason.

But my guess is you mean they believe in Fields. And you are probably right.

[withoutbias]

Bears 4th place schedule looks tougher than Packers 3rd place schedule to me.

[The Sultan]

Bears 4th place schedule looks tougher than Packers 3rd place schedule to me.

The only differences are Bears have Browns, Cardinals and Commanders while the Packers have Steelers, Rams and Giants.

I would take the Bears' but it's not a slam dunk.

[Vander Blue Man Group]

If they believe in Fields, that's fine. But if they aren't sure, not drafting some because they don't want to start over is a bad reason.

But my guess is you mean they believe in Fields. And you are probably right.

I do think they believe in Fields.  Obviously he has more work to do and improvements to make.  You clearly listen if someone makes you a "godfather" type of offer but I'm confident they won't be shopping him.  I also don't think the QBs at the top of this year's draft are the kind of prospects where you'd actually consider trading Fields and drafting one of them. 

At this point, I just think the "trade Fields and draft another young, unproven QB" talk is absurd. 

[JWags85]

I do think they believe in Fields.  Obviously he has more work to do and improvements to make.  You clearly listen if someone makes you a "godfather" type of offer but I'm confident they won't be shopping him.  I also don't think the QBs at the top of this year's draft are the kind of prospects where you'd actually consider trading Fields and drafting one of them. 

At this point, I just think the "trade Fields and draft another young, unproven QB" talk is absurd.

Yea i agree.  Even though I'm a big fan of Fields potential, I just don't see the top guys this year as generational.

Stroud is very good but he's played with insane receivers like Fields did at OSU, was a bit more accurate but not remarkable so, and regressed this year compared to last year with some of his decision making.  He's also decidedly less mobile both in the pocket and especially out of it.

Young is electric, but you don't jettison someone like Fields for a 5'10 super thin QB.  I worry about his durability.  Also, compared to other undersized QBs who had success, Young is pretty slow of foot.

But plenty of teams desperately need a QB, here's hoping for a haul.

[Pakuni]

Yea i agree.  Even though I'm a big fan of Fields potential, I just don't see the top guys this year as generational.

Stroud is very good but he's played with insane receivers like Fields did at OSU, was a bit more accurate but not remarkable so, and regressed this year compared to last year with some of his decision making.  He's also decidedly less mobile both in the pocket and especially out of it.

Young is electric, but you don't jettison someone like Fields for a 5'10 super thin QB.  I worry about his durability.  Also, compared to other undersized QBs who had success, Young is pretty slow of foot.

But plenty of teams desperately need a QB, here's hoping for a haul.

I love, love, love Bryce Young. He has preternatural football instincts and plenty of arm talent to take advantage of it. But you're dead on about the size/durability issues. He's mostly managed to avoid big hits in college due to his pocket presence (his injury this year came when he tried to extend a play outside the pocket rather than throw the ball away), but he doesn't have the Lamar-like athleticism to make that a sure thing in the pros. If he were a few inches taller, we'd be talking about him the way we talked about Lawrence and Luck, but he's not. He's still the top QB prospect, but one that carries some risk.

The guy I'm really interested in is Levis. He's the Honorary Josh Allen Boom or Bust of the 2023 draft. He has all the tools to be great, but often didn't perform like the sum of his parts at Kentucky. Some team in the top 10 is going to be very happy in about three years, or back to picking in the top 10.

As for the Bears, they're not really doing their job if they're not taking offers for Fields along with the #1 pick. Doesn't mean they should move Fields, but it should be on the table. Let's not forget, their GM was in KC when they traded multiple firsts to move up for a QB (Mahomes) when they already had a Pro Bowl QB  (Smith) coming off a 12-4 season.
In hindsight, that move looks obvious, but it was questioned at the time.
My point being, don't assume the Bears won't draft a QB because they already have a QB. If Poles sees Young as an elite franchise guy, he could draft him and move Fields.

[JWags85]

I love, love, love Bryce Young. He has preternatural football instincts and plenty of arm talent to take advantage of it. But you're dead on about the size/durability issues. He's mostly managed to avoid big hits in college due to his pocket presence (his injury this year came when he tried to extend a play outside the pocket rather than throw the ball away), but he doesn't have the Lamar-like athleticism to make that a sure thing in the pros. If he were a few inches taller, we'd be talking about him the way we talked about Lawrence and Luck, but he's not. He's still the top QB prospect, but one that carries some risk.

The guy I'm really interested in is Levis. He's the Honorary Josh Allen Boom or Bust of the 2023 draft. He has all the tools to be great, but often didn't perform like the sum of his parts at Kentucky. Some team in the top 10 is going to be very happy in about three years, or back to picking in the top 10.

As for the Bears, they're not really doing their job if they're not taking offers for Fields along with the #1 pick. Doesn't mean they should move Fields, but it should be on the table. Let's not forget, their GM was in KC when they traded multiple firsts to move up for a QB (Mahomes) when they already had a Pro Bowl QB  (Smith) coming off a 12-4 season.
In hindsight, that move looks obvious, but it was questioned at the time.
My point being, don't assume the Bears won't draft a QB because they already have a QB. If Poles sees Young as an elite franchise guy, he could draft him and move Fields.

Agreed, if he had Kyler or even Russell Wilson wheels, it would be a different story too.  Though I too still really like his potential.

I think the difference is Smith was literally a decade older than Fields when they traded up for Mahomes.  But agreed, Poles needs to listen to any and all offers, regardless of choice.

[Dish]

I love, love, love Bryce Young. He has preternatural football instincts and plenty of arm talent to take advantage of it. But you're dead on about the size/durability issues. He's mostly managed to avoid big hits in college due to his pocket presence (his injury this year came when he tried to extend a play outside the pocket rather than throw the ball away), but he doesn't have the Lamar-like athleticism to make that a sure thing in the pros. If he were a few inches taller, we'd be talking about him the way we talked about Lawrence and Luck, but he's not. He's still the top QB prospect, but one that carries some risk.

The guy I'm really interested in is Levis. He's the Honorary Josh Allen Boom or Bust of the 2023 draft. He has all the tools to be great, but often didn't perform like the sum of his parts at Kentucky. Some team in the top 10 is going to be very happy in about three years, or back to picking in the top 10.

As for the Bears, they're not really doing their job if they're not taking offers for Fields along with the #1 pick. Doesn't mean they should move Fields, but it should be on the table. Let's not forget, their GM was in KC when they traded multiple firsts to move up for a QB (Mahomes) when they already had a Pro Bowl QB  (Smith) coming off a 12-4 season.
In hindsight, that move looks obvious, but it was questioned at the time.
My point being, don't assume the Bears won't draft a QB because they already have a QB. If Poles sees Young as an elite franchise guy, he could draft him and move Fields.

Stop giving intelligent, well thought out, nuanced takes.

(I completely agree on your assessment of Young).

The real interesting thing, obviously hypothetical, is if Williams or Maye were in this year's draft. If I'm the Bears, any trade I make, I want someone's #1 next year as part of the trade. What would be of interest to me is if the Bears traded with the Colts at 4, would the Bears entertain trading back again, for a team looking at Stroud or Levis at 4.

I think they should and will build around Fields. Considering he progressed significantly, with a garbage offense around him, it's exciting to see what he can do in year 3 (usually the biggest year in a QB's development). That said, if he doesn't continue to progress, or suffers a catastrophic injury, if you have two or three first round picks in 2024 with Williams and Maye available, that's a good position to be in.

[Hards Alumni]

Packers at 9ers would've been a boring blowout.

Best matchup won't even be played