Now that we are near to wrapping up the season, how do you feel about rookie Braxton Jones' as a starting LT?
We haven't talked about it much but he's a big part of that "putting in a foundation" thing I have been yapping about.
Durable...check Started every game...check Playing a really rough position to master...check Playing a very high impact & valuable position...check Looking decent out there and continuing to improve...check
What the hell else could you ask for from a 5th round pick?
2022 has been a miserable season (no surprise) for the Bears, as you expect for a teardown year. But I'm encouraged by Poles' first draft and UDFAs. Really really solid. Starting from ground zero of course but still encouraging for 2023 and beyond.
Poles found 4 new quality young starters this year: Brisker (2nd) Gordon (2nd) BJones (5th) Sanborn (UDFA)
In addition: Jenkins has nailed down RG and looks like a future pro-bowler in year 2 Eddie Jackson has clearly recaptured his old form at FS Herbert has become a solid #2 RB in year 2 Most importantly, Justin Fields has answered the bell under very difficult circumstances and is "the guy" going forward
There's finally reason for long-range optimism. If Poles can nail this offseason we are in business.
Now that we are near to wrapping up the season, how do you feel about rookie Braxton Jones' as a starting LT?
We haven't talked about it much but he's a big part of that "putting in a foundation" thing I have been yapping about.
Durable...check Started every game...check Playing a really rough position to master...check Playing a very high impact & valuable position...check Looking decent out there and continuing to improve...check
What the hell else could you ask for from a 5th round pick?
2022 has been a miserable season (no surprise) for the Bears, as you expect for a teardown year. But I'm encouraged by Poles' first draft and UDFAs. Really really solid. Starting from ground zero of course but still encouraging for 2023 and beyond.
Poles found 4 new quality young starters this year: Brisker (2nd) Gordon (2nd) BJones (5th) Sanborn (UDFA)
In addition: Jenkins has nailed down RG and looks like a future pro-bowler in year 2 Eddie Jackson has clearly recaptured his old form at FS Herbert has become a solid #2 RB in year 2 Most importantly, Justin Fields has answered the bell under very difficult circumstances and is "the guy" going forward
There's finally reason for long-range optimism. If Poles can nail this offseason we are in business.
It really doesn’t matter whether a guy is 5th round or 1st. As you know, I watch all Seahawks games, and all season have been comparing Braxton to Cross (rookie LT drafted #9 in first round). At this point, I believe Braxton is playing better than him.
He has not yet reached his ceiling. He still needs to do some lower body strength training to handle good bull rushers. Everything else is grade “A” .
We haven't talked about it much but he's a big part of that "putting in a foundation" thing I have been yapping about.
Durable...check Started every game...check Playing a really rough position to master...check Playing a very high impact & valuable position...check Looking decent out there and continuing to improve...check
What the hell else could you ask for from a 5th round pick?
2022 has been a miserable season (no surprise) for the Bears, as you expect for a teardown year. But I'm encouraged by Poles' first draft and UDFAs. Really really solid. Starting from ground zero of course but still encouraging for 2023 and beyond.
Poles found 4 new quality young starters this year: Brisker (2nd) Gordon (2nd) BJones (5th) Sanborn (UDFA)
In addition: Jenkins has nailed down RG and looks like a future pro-bowler in year 2 Eddie Jackson has clearly recaptured his old form at FS Herbert has become a solid #2 RB in year 2 Most importantly, Justin Fields has answered the bell under very difficult circumstances and is "the guy" going forward
There's finally reason for long-range optimism. If Poles can nail this offseason we are in business.
It really doesn’t matter whether a guy is 5th round or 1st. As you know, I watch all Seahawks games, and all season have been comparing Braxton to Cross (rookie LT drafted #9 in first round). At this point, I believe Braxton is playing better than him.
He has not yet reached his ceiling. He still needs to do some lower body strength training to handle good bull rushers. Everything else is grade “A” .
It doesn't matter except for the fact that no one expects a 5th round rookie to start at LT, much less play well. That can be a tall order even for a 1st rounder. We didn't even have a 1st round pick to make.
Just outstanding value there out of the 5th. Maybe it was just dumb luck, maybe it was excellent scouting and talent evaluation on a guy from a small school that probably got very little attention in college.
Look what it costs to trade for a good starting LT. Or to sign one in FA (in the rare times they are available). Outstanding value.
It really doesn’t matter whether a guy is 5th round or 1st. As you know, I watch all Seahawks games, and all season have been comparing Braxton to Cross (rookie LT drafted #9 in first round). At this point, I believe Braxton is playing better than him.
He has not yet reached his ceiling. He still needs to do some lower body strength training to handle good bull rushers. Everything else is grade “A” .
It doesn't matter except for the fact that no one expects a 5th round rookie to start at LT, much less play well. That can be a tall order even for a 1st rounder. We didn't even have a 1st round pick to make.
Just outstanding value there out of the 5th. Maybe it was just dumb luck, maybe it was excellent scouting and talent evaluation on a guy from a small school that probably got very little attention in college.
Look what it costs to trade for a good starting LT. Or to sign one in FA (in the rare times they are available). Outstanding value.
He was also neglected by college scouts. Coming out of high school, he was already 265 pounds but got only one scholarship offer, and that was from from a crappy little program! I was surprised to see a 5th round guy installed at LT from day-1 in training camp, but it didn’t take long for the coaches to see what they had.
I wonder how much coaching plays into this. Is it possible we finally have a true coaching staff that can get the best out of players? UDFAs playing well, EJax back to good form, JFields making huge strides? etc?
I wonder how much coaching plays into this. Is it possible we finally have a true coaching staff that can get the best out of players? UDFAs playing well, EJax back to good form, JFields making huge strides? etc?
Great post. I can’t remember the last time we had a coaching staff that actually coached up our players.
Now that we are near to wrapping up the season, how do you feel about rookie Braxton Jones' as a starting LT?
We haven't talked about it much but he's a big part of that "putting in a foundation" thing I have been yapping about.
Durable...check Started every game...check Playing a really rough position to master...check Playing a very high impact & valuable position...check Looking decent out there and continuing to improve...check
What the hell else could you ask for from a 5th round pick?
2022 has been a miserable season (no surprise) for the Bears, as you expect for a teardown year. But I'm encouraged by Poles' first draft and UDFAs. Really really solid. Starting from ground zero of course but still encouraging for 2023 and beyond.
Poles found 4 new quality young starters this year: Brisker (2nd) Gordon (2nd) BJones (5th) Sanborn (UDFA)
In addition: Jenkins has nailed down RG and looks like a future pro-bowler in year 2 Eddie Jackson has clearly recaptured his old form at FS Herbert has become a solid #2 RB in year 2 Most importantly, Justin Fields has answered the bell under very difficult circumstances and is "the guy" going forward
There's finally reason for long-range optimism. If Poles can nail this offseason we are in business.
I wonder how much coaching plays into this. Is it possible we finally have a true coaching staff that can get the best out of players? UDFAs playing well, EJax back to good form, JFields making huge strides? etc?
I liked it when Eberflus focused on hiring coaches for his staff who were great teachers. Not all coaches are.
