The Swamp

Sabo wrote: ↑Wed Sep 09, 2020 1:08 pm That's a great mustache.

tennbengal wrote: ↑Wed Sep 09, 2020 12:26 pmAwesome, thanks to Gio:

DSafetyGuy wrote: ↑Wed Sep 09, 2020 2:42 pm

tennbengal wrote: ↑Wed Sep 09, 2020 12:26 pmAwesome, thanks to Gio:

He should have been permitted, nay, REQUIRED, to give the "Isaac from The Love Boat" finger guns in that photo.

DSafetyGuy wrote: ↑Wed Sep 09, 2020 3:18 pm Previously, I wondered the best kind of thread to start for this post (wasn't sure if we would rely on the usual weekly threads or not), but, I'll just put it here.


Despite trimming down their number of tight ends from ten to five, the Bears are stupid. All this optimism coming into the season, but here's what I see/other have pointed out:

Mike Clay of ESPN ranks their offensive position groups thusly: QB - 32nd, RB - 31st, WR - 25th, TE - 16th, OL - 23rd. This all seems right to me. Trubisky/Foles - yep. The injured David Montgomery, the misused Tarik Cohen, and the positionally-adjusted Cordarrelle Patterson at running back. Sure. The offensive line has two good players. Unfortunately, I think they're still going to use five of them at a time.

And the tight ends...

The team and media keep acting like tight ends make the Andy Reid/Doug Pederson offense go and Matt Nagy's scheme is a knock-off of it. If you look at the recent history of those two coaches, though, it’s actually one top-end tight end. Travis Kelce's five seasons as a full-time starter/Pro Bowler (KC has been 10-6 or better in each) have him averaging 88 receptions (on 126 targets) for 1,121 yards and seven TDs. In his four years as a starter under Doug Pederson (just three Pro Bowl appearances), Zach Ertz has led the team in receptions, yards and TDs, save for 2017, when his 8 TDs tied Nelson Agholor and finished one behind Alshon Jeffery. In those four seasons, Ertz missed five games, but averaged 89 receptions (on 127 targets) for 930 yards and seven TDs.

Meanwhile, all the hopes are pinned on a nearly-34-year-old Jimmy Graham and rookie Cole Kmet. If Graham came to the team from 2014, it would make sense. In the four years in New Orleans where Graham was All-World, he averaged 89 receptions (on 138 targets) for 1,099 yards and 12 TDs. Of course, there have been five seasons since then and Graham averaged 53 receptions (on 82 targets) for 626 yards and 5 TDs. His receptions have dropped each of the last four seasons and he has topped out at 636 yards in his last three campaigns. And now, two years for $16 million, although to be fair, only one year and $9 million is guaranteed. Kmet also played baseball in college, so he's focusing on football alone for the first time in his athletic career.

And on defense, Robert Quinn got $70 million over five years (two for $30, in reality) after his first double-digit sack season in five years. He's 30 years old. Eddie Goldman, their starting nose tackle, opted out. Rookie starting cornerback. More kicker stupidity this offseason.

I'm sure I've left out stuff, but...

Really hard to see Matt Nagy landing as an offensive coordinator after he gets fired. He'll have to be a QB coach first, then move up. And the defense was worse last year under Chuck Pagano than under Vic Fangio. Ryan Pace, the GM, said his plan was to draft a quarterback every year. Pace has run six drafts since being hired in Chicago and drafted one quarterback, trading up for Mitchell Trubisky.

The housecleaning can't come soon enough.

Gunpowder wrote: ↑Wed Sep 09, 2020 6:07 pmBy my calculations, the Bears face the worst defenses this year (by a wide margin). It's gonna get an extension for Trubisky.

How Pace still has a job baffles me.

brian wrote: ↑Thu Sep 10, 2020 4:08 pm This is fascinating to me. Maybe people are taking the pandemic more seriously than I thought?

sancarlos wrote: ↑Thu Sep 10, 2020 7:47 pm I kind of hoped we wouldn’t have another Baker Mayfield advertising campaign on the NFL games this season.

mister d wrote: ↑Thu Sep 10, 2020 11:32 pm If ESPN is acknowledging fans booing ... player unity? ... that seems like a bit of a statement, no?

degenerasian wrote: ↑Thu Sep 10, 2020 9:11 pm Is there anyone good in the AFC besides KC? Who's 2nd? Buffalo?

NFC seems stacked with the rest of the contenders.

Pruitt wrote: ↑Fri Sep 11, 2020 6:44 am

degenerasian wrote: ↑Thu Sep 10, 2020 9:11 pm Is there anyone good in the AFC besides KC? Who's 2nd? Buffalo?

NFC seems stacked with the rest of the contenders.

Bills fans get very uncomfortable reading things like that...

The Ravens at the top, Steelers, Bills, Titans and maybe the Colts?

mister d wrote: ↑Thu Sep 10, 2020 11:32 pm If ESPN is acknowledging fans booing ... player unity? ... that seems like a bit of a statement, no?

The Sybian wrote: ↑Fri Sep 11, 2020 7:36 am

mister d wrote: ↑Thu Sep 10, 2020 11:32 pm If ESPN is acknowledging fans booing ... player unity? ... that seems like a bit of a statement, no?

That was something... My wife was watching, and she was shocked. She was asking how anyone could boo unity. I told her it's because Trump tells them too. She was all, "but they are football fans, and they are booing the players' calling for unity among races." Yup. I started to explain the backlash against the NBA players, but she was glazing over. Yes, we are that fucking divided that the few die hard fans who will go to a stadium during a pandemic will boo the players symbolically calling for racial unity.