Random Thoughts

[dll2000]

Okay maybe we should give Pace a little credit for remaking the roster:

 

[dll2000]

Sitting on the crapper and had this thought:

A major need not being talking about for Bears is another huge body DL.

We have Hicks, Nichols and Goldman.  Really good DL if healthy.  If healthy is the key.   They need a rotation to stay healthy.

But Dan we have Roy Robertson.  Roy is a good athlete but he doesn’t take up space or eat blocks.  He is nice to have, but relatively slim and eating blocks is not his game. 

Our ILBs are small (Smith) and small and injury prone (Trevathan).  They need to be protected to make plays and stay healthy.  

Basically if you don’t get another mammoth block eater you could fall into an injury spiral across front line.

One idea is Snacks is out there with no one interested probably because of price and fact that he stunk last year.  If you can ascertain if he is motivated and get him for cheap that could potentially keep a lot of guys healthy including Snacks.   One reason why Snacks may have stunk last year is over use.  Big guys wear out fast and can be injury prove if fatigued.  

But it doesn’t have to be Snacks.  We just need a mammoth DL who can’t be moved off his spot and who is really hard to get off to next level of defense.   

PFF says you don’t want run stuffing DL because passing game is what matters.  Theoretically that is true, but they aren’t factoring in injury spirals discussed above and how a plethora of big men help prevent that and can also help speedy ILBs make plays in passing game and run game.

You drafted Roquan Smith in top 10.  He can’t be who he is unless he is properly protected up front from big bodies.  

 

 

[beardown3231]

13 minutes ago, dll2000 said:

Sitting on the crapper and had this thought:

A major need not being talking about for Bears is another huge body DL.

We have Hicks, Nichols and Goldman.  Really good DL if healthy.  If healthy is the key.   They need a rotation to stay healthy.

But Dan we have Roy Robertson.  Roy is a good athlete but he doesn’t take up space or eat blocks.  He is nice to have, but relatively slim and eating blocks is not his game. 

Our ILBs are small (Smith) and small and injury prone (Trevathan).  They need to be protected to make plays and stay healthy.  

Basically if you don’t get another mammoth block eater you could fall into an injury spiral across front line.

One idea is Snacks is out there with no one interested probably because of price and fact that he stunk last year.  If you can ascertain if he is motivated and get him for cheap that could potentially keep a lot of guys healthy including Snacks.   One reason why Snacks may have stunk last year is over use.  Big guys wear out fast and can be injury prove if fatigued.  

But it doesn’t have to be Snacks.  We just need a mammoth DL who can’t be moved off his spot and who is really hard to get off to next level of defense.   

PFF says you don’t want run stuffing DL because passing game is what matters.  Theoretically that is true, but they aren’t factoring in injury spirals discussed above and how a plethora of big men help prevent that and can also help speedy ILBs make plays in passing game and run game.

You drafted Roquan Smith in top 10.  He can’t be who he is unless he is properly protected up front from big bodies.  

 

 

I said this earlier in the offseason and posters here got on me. When Hicks went down, that's when things clearly tailed off defensively. If they're that reliant on a good DE, that should be a bigger need than we make it out to be. I think everyone's assuming Nichols progresses, but he didn't last year (yeah I know, he hurt his hand, and then the hand was fine by week 8 and he still did nothing). 

[soulman]

So go looking for a big body DL in the draft or an UDFA or sign a street FA like we did with Williams.  I don't deny the importance but one trick pony run stuffing "block eaters" aren't that tough to find.  Don't spend money on a used up vet whose in his decline phase.

[dll2000]

1 hour ago, soulman said:

So go looking for a big body DL in the draft or an UDFA or sign a street FA like we did with Williams.  I don't deny the importance but one trick pony run stuffing "block eaters" aren't that tough to find.  Don't spend money on a used up vet whose in his decline phase.

Point is they need at least one to be successful.   You are right they are relatively easy to find as opposed to say an OT or a corner or pass rusher.  

  Pace has to figure out how he is going to get one and get one.  I think Abdullah Anderson is an okay player, but not what I am looking for to protect our playmakers.

I think odds Goldman and Hicks make it through season unhurt are pretty low.  And like @beardown3231 pointed out defense looks really different without just Hicks.   

 

 

Edited April 3, 2020 by dll2000

[soulman]

1 hour ago, dll2000 said:

Point is they need at least one to be successful.   You are right they are relatively easy to find as opposed to say an OT or a corner or pass rusher.  

  Pace has to figure out how he is going to get one and get one.  I think Abdullah Anderson is an okay player, but not what I am looking for to protect our playmakers.

I think odds Goldman and Hicks make it through season unhurt are pretty low.  And like @beardown3231 pointed out defense looks really different without just Hicks.   

 

 

No matter who we find he won't be able to replace Hicks.  He's very unique talent. As good of a season as Nick Williams had even he couldn't come close to what Hicks offers.  Akeim is a monster inside guy.  Our best bet is to hope he can stay healthy throughout.

Ideally I think you'd like to see another DT/NT whose a little bigger than Abdullah Anderson but from what I've seen he's quick and he's strong albeit maybe a bit more of a 3 tech type DT than a pure 1 Tech NT and he came in as an UDFA so there's a good chance we can find others out there to compete with him for his spot and to replace Williams.  It's not our biggest concern.

[beardown3231]

1 hour ago, soulman said:

No matter who we find he won't be able to replace Hicks.  He's very unique talent. As good of a season as Nick Williams had even he couldn't come close to what Hicks offers.  Akeim is a monster inside guy.  Our best bet is to hope he can stay healthy throughout.

Ideally I think you'd like to see another DT/NT whose a little bigger than Abdullah Anderson but from what I've seen he's quick and he's strong albeit maybe a bit more of a 3 tech type DT than a pure 1 Tech NT and he came in as an UDFA so there's a good chance we can find others out there to compete with him for his spot and to replace Williams.  It's not our biggest concern.

I don't think anyone's arguing that "it's the biggest concern" but I certainly think it is a concern and frankly there is almost no one thinking it is a concern *at all* because, I guess, Bilal Nichols had a decent rookie year for a 5th rounder and now all of a sudden he's going to be the missing piece 2 years later.

[soulman]

1 hour ago, beardown3231 said:

I don't think anyone's arguing that "it's the biggest concern" but I certainly think it is a concern and frankly there is almost no one thinking it is a concern *at all* because, I guess, Bilal Nichols had a decent rookie year for a 5th rounder and now all of a sudden he's going to be the missing piece 2 years later.

I pretty much covered my thinking in that first sentence.  No one I can think of can replace a 100% healthy Akiem Hicks in this defense.

You posted that when Hick went out things tailed off defensively and my only point is that will happen again if Hicks is hurt no matter who we have backing him up.  We really couldn't have asked for more from Nick Wiliams last year but he couldn't do what Hicks can.

I'm not implying we shouldn't look for DL help only that it's not a priority and that Pace would probably address something like that later on in the draft or bring in some UDFAs.  Nichols will probably bounce back from his injury but he can't dominate like Hicks can either.

[AZBearsFan]

The Athletic’s article by Dan Pompei documenting all of what Kyle Long went through to get on the field was pretty damn revealing. Jesus Christ, man. Respect. 

[JAF-N72EX]

12 minutes ago, AZBearsFan said:

The Athletic’s article by Dan Pompei documenting all of what Kyle Long went through to get on the field was pretty damn revealing. Jesus Christ, man. Respect. 

A quick excerpt for those that don't have a sub. But the last quote here is eerie considering how his career went.

Quote

 

The night before his second preseason game, he begins to doze. Then he springs up in bed, awakened by a bad dream. He is in his stance, frozen in his stance, and a defensive lineman just shoots past him.

He will have night terrors for most of his career.

He is late for a game and locked out of the stadium.

He is about to take the field but has no cleats.

Jay Cutler gets flattened, and it is Long’s fault.

He plays all 16 games in 2013. He is raw, and his bear hug technique makes coaches cringe, but he keeps making defenders look soft, slow and spineless.

In November, he comes down with the flu. Chills, sweats, fever, stomach issues. On the team bus to Green Bay, he vomits for nearly three hours. But the next day, he walks out for warmups playing a new song by Sia over and over in his headphones.

I’m gonna swing from the chandelier, from the chandelier

I’m gonna live like tomorrow doesn’t exist

Like it doesn’t exist

He plays like he is swinging from the chandelier, flu and all. There is no stopping him, and he has the complete respect of every man who lines up with him and against him.

He is indestructible. Or so he feels.

Jason Hatcher of the Cowboys is one of the best defensive tackles in the league. Long has watched him on tape, manhandling guards and taking away their courage. But Hatcher injured his neck. When Long faces him in a Monday night game later that season and sees him wearing a neck roll, lining up about four yards deeper than usual, with a look on his face that says he wants to be somewhere else, Long has an epiphany.

“That’s when I realized health is wealth in this game,” he says.

 

 

Edited May 22, 2020 by JustAnotherFan

[Sugashane]

On 4/3/2020 at 10:58 AM, beardown3231 said:

I said this earlier in the offseason and posters here got on me. When Hicks went down, that's when things clearly tailed off defensively. If they're that reliant on a good DE, that should be a bigger need than we make it out to be. I think everyone's assuming Nichols progresses, but he didn't last year (yeah I know, he hurt his hand, and then the hand was fine by week 8 and he still did nothing). 

I was right there with you since the OAK game, I've wanted one more mammoth to share the load with Hicks and Goldman. Our ILBs need that bulk in front to keep them clean. Kwit was physical enough to do without but DT and Smith are high end athletes who need to have space to be at their best. 

[dll2000]

Down in Alabama. Been here for a bit. Quarantine is lifted no masks. Everyone is cool.  No one is worried. 

It’s like a different planet from Illinois. 
 

 

[Heinz D.]

11 hours ago, dll2000 said:

Down in Alabama. Been here for a bit. Quarantine is lifted no masks. Everyone is cool.  No one is worried. 

It’s like a different planet from Illinois. 
 

 

https://apnews.com/563855c7441faa9b9a62dc85fbeb232f

[WindyCity]

20 hours ago, dll2000 said:

Down in Alabama. Been here for a bit. Quarantine is lifted no masks. Everyone is cool.  No one is worried. 

It’s like a different planet from Illinois. 
 

 

In Canada we are are pretty conservative about coming out of this lock down. Things have been eased, but most people I know are still being pretty strict.

We look at that Lake of the Ozarks party or the boardwalks in Maryland and just shake our heads.

The “not wearing a mask because it violates my rights” crew are the most confounding to us. I am not sure why putting a mask on to go into a store for 45 minutes to protect the minimum wage workers is that big of a deal. I don’t find it comfortable, but I also think the 19 year old ringing through my groceries deserves to be healthy.

Edited May 25, 2020 by WindyCity

[Heinz D.]

21 hours ago, dll2000 said:

No one is worried. 

Just make sure you are, dude. Not everybody that catches the virus gets out of it as easily as I did. It kills people of all ages, too. Stay healthy, okay? We like having you around here. Well, maybe not that avatar, but that's another topic altogether...