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2024 NFC North = War Zone?


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1 hour ago, Danger said:

Swift > Jones

Keenan Allen > Addison

Kmet > Musgrave

 

All pretty comfortably at this point in their careers IMO

Musgrave is on the Packers. Hockenson is coming back from an ACL injury but he was certainly better than Kmet before it and perhaps will be afterwards. 

I wouldn't be surprised if Addison outperforms Allen this year, depending on the Vikes QB situation.

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6 hours ago, notthatbluestuff said:

Moore, Allen, Swift, Kmet, and a better defense?

And also Waldron > Getsy

Whitehair and Patrick were abortions at C, if Bates is just average then that is a significant improvement to the weak link of the OL.

 

6 hours ago, CasperX22 said:

The defense isnt really any better than the one Fields walked into.  Swift isnt really any better than Montgomery.  Fields still stunk with Moore and Kmet.  So he's got Allen? I'll give you that.  I just don't see Williams succeeding with the Bears.  I also don't think Williams will be the best QB from this draft class so there is that.

Fields wasn't even suppose to play his rookie year, but Pace forced him on the field when he realized he was on the hot seat too. Nagy didn't even give Fields any reps with the starters during TC or the offseason. Then you look at his first year as the unquestioned starter and Poles started a full blown tank, getting rid of Mack, Quinn, Smith etc over 2 years. In 2022 they literally had the worst defense in the league. Last year they added talent but the DC Williams was horrific, then Eberflus took over playcalling and they played respectable at least. Then they added Sweat and the defense finished really strong over the last half of the season or so.

So in 2024 the defensive playcaller is better, the starters overall are better, but yet the defense isn't better then what Fields walked into? Math isn't mathing.

 

3 hours ago, Mox said:

Swift is absolutely not better than Jones. It's not a stretch to think that Addison closes the gap on a 32 year old Allen either.

Addison is a guy I'm a fan of, but remember a lot will have to do with who is throwing him the ball. Williams isn't going to be Herbert so he will likely see a pretty decent drop in production, but what will the drop off be from Cousins to ________?

 

 

 

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For the record I think it is DET up front then GB and CHI fighting for 2nd. Bears crashed in 3 games and had an 88% chance of winning them all, so they were damn close to being a 10 win team even with a sporadic QB and an incompetent OC who seemed hellbent on getting Fields to stay in the pocket.

The bulk of this will be on how well they protect Williams for CHI. OL looks better than Fields ever got but Bates could suck out there. Bears defense will be damn good vs the run but need someone opposite of Sweat to help him out. I expect them to be somewhere in the 12-18 range for PPG so that takes a LOT of pressure of Fields.

But for as erratic as Fields was look at what he had to do to get a win for just the 2022 season. When the Bears put up 24 points they were still 1-4 and when they scored 28 they were 0-3. In 2023 when they scored 24 points they were 5-2 (3-1 post Sweat trade). Fields got screwed unlike what Williams/Maye is being set up for, and it isn't even remotely close.

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7 hours ago, CasperX22 said:

What makes you think Williams is walking into a better situation than Fields? Also, what makes you think he fares any better than Fields?  Chicago is still in the basement of the North.

I don't disagree that the Bears are probably still in the basement, but... Fields throwing to Darnell Moody and Marquis Goodwin is different that Caleb Williams throwing to Keenan Allen and DJ Moore (by a LOT, too).

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I think the Bears on paper are going to be very different than the Bears on the field. That's all conjecture and a gut feeling, no basis, so take it as you will. I think the Lions and Packers will be competing for the title and it will be close. The Vikings should be good as well, assuming they get one of these upper tier rookie QBs, but I think they'll be a year away from being legitimate contenders. 

On paper, it definitely looks like it could be a dogfight. I think it ends up ultimately being more of a two horse race. 

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4 hours ago, nagahide13 said:

Pretty rare for a rookie starting QB to just step in and dominate. Stroud was an outlier. The Bears are building well so far but they don't exactly have the best history of developing promising young QBs.

'Dominating' isn't what anyone should expect, and the Stroud rookie season was incredible.

But I would want to look at how well Williams/Maye could use the weapons. Fields missed an open Mooney - a lot. Does the QB raise the bar from Fields? Especially while looking at his poor performances? That will be the biggest factor IMO. Playing better than Fields and dominating has a hell of a lot of ground in between. Hopefully the rookie at least plays fairly consistently and understands he doesn't have to play hero-ball.

 

5 hours ago, sparky151 said:

Are the Bears expecting Bates to start at center? Why trade for the Bills backup C when they could have had the starter and kept their pick?

They made the trade a few days before Morse was released. The release seemed like a pretty big surprise IIRC, and Poles tried to get Bates on a RFA signing but BUF matched. I haven't really watched Bates but I would much rather make a big move either at Connor Williams or drafting one high.

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If by "War Zone" you mean the equivalent of say Grenada,  then yes. 🍺

It's still a 2 team race, just the Packers have flip flopped with the Vikings. 

 

Edited by Nabbs4u
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11 hours ago, Sugashane said:

They made the trade a few days before Morse was released. The release seemed like a pretty big surprise IIRC, and Poles tried to get Bates on a RFA signing but BUF matched. I haven't really watched Bates but I would much rather make a big move either at Connor Williams or drafting one high.

IMO the Bears should have paid up for Cushenberry. Going from one of the worst centers in Patrick to a top 10 center in Cushenberry would upgrade the offense more than adding Swift plus Bates. You would think that if Buffalo was releasing Morse shortly after trading Bates, they would have offered them both and that Poles preferred Bates to Morse. But that preference is a bit odd. The Bills coaches who knew them both thought Morse was better, at least for their scheme. I'd be surprised if Chicago trades down from 9 and takes JPJ in the teens. They probably need to take a pass rusher there. 

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