I would agree that it's no longer possible to "buy" your OL and I'd also agree that most deals for OL no matter what's written are essentially 2-3 year deals. For instance; the deal McGlinchey got from Denver leaves them with a $25 mil cap hit in 2025. Depending on how well he performs and how successful the Broncos are they either restructure his deal or he's history come 2025.
I've long been in favor of drafting an OL which Pace was absolutely inept at doing. Poles scored a nice hit with Braxton Jones last year and Tyre Carter was kept protected on the roster all year. Those were 5th and 7th round picks. Now imagine what Poles might accomplish this year with a #9 pick and three picks from #53 to #64 plus two 4ths and two 5ths.
He doesn't need to trade back to gain more picks and he even has the spare booty to trade up if he chooses. He has 8 picks in the top 150 players. That should be enough to fill some gaps with younger talent to compete for roster spots. He can also add street vets later on like he did with Schofield and Reiff. That OL should look much better this year.
JA bought those guys in 2004-2005, and the Bears enjoyed two solid seasons with them. Then in 2007, they all went over the hill together as a cohesive unit.
If they buy one or two players, but there needs to be youth on the line. I wonder if Poles is gonna go with Patrick as the center this year.
I saw a tweet that said most FA, no matter the position, will give you 2 good years at the maximum. So they should be used to patch holes. Rarely can you find a young player in FA who will turn into a 6-8 year starter. It happens people, don't @ me with the exceptions to the two year rule.
Find 2 starting OL in FA, add whoever you like in the draft. If you add FAs you can push drafting OL into next year. (might not be optimal but you can approach the draft with that in mind.)
You have to figure our Super Bowl ready year is 2024-25 and stop worrying about whether a guy coming via trade/FA is too “old” to be on the team in 2027. Who cares? Tampa and Rams loaded up, won SB, and are now into rebuilding.
I saw a tweet that said most FA, no matter the position, will give you 2 good years at the maximum. So they should be used to patch holes. Rarely can you find a young player in FA who will turn into a 6-8 year starter. It happens people, don't @ me with the exceptions to the two year rule.
Find 2 starting OL in FA, add whoever you like in the draft. If you add FAs you can push drafting OL into next year. (might not be optimal but you can approach the draft with that in mind.)
You have to figure our Super Bowl ready year is 2024-25 and stop worrying about whether a guy coming via trade/FA is too “old” to be on the team in 2027. Who cares? Tampa and Rams loaded up, won SB, and are now into rebuilding.
I've never been one to worry about is player x going to be too old to be on the SB team. The window is open when the window is open. Who is here is who is here. You play with who you have while always trying to upgrade across the board. The NFL is a game that takes out the player who can't contribute anymore. Its a brutal process.
If Fields is "the man" (and that is really 100% at the center of the window being open..and so many Bears fans forget this) and able to stay the man for a long time, the Bears can operate like Brady's NE teams. Adding and subtracting players yearly. Sometimes they dumped vets and sometimes they added vets. Each year was different , but built around a QB, and OL and a few key pieces on DEF that were consistant. Otherwise they added and subtracted players yearly. (Moss, the RB from Cinny forgot his name and don't want to look it up.)
What I'm saying is, add the best talent at the best price you can for the next few seasons and do that every off season.
If Fields is "the man" (and that is really 100% at the center of the window being open..and so many Bears fans forget this) and able to stay the man for a long time, the Bears can operate like Brady's NE teams. Adding and subtracting players yearly. Sometimes they dumped vets and sometimes they added vets. Each year was different , but built around a QB, and OL and a few key pieces on DEF that were consistant. Otherwise they added and subtracted players yearly. (Moss, the RB from Cinny forgot his name and don't want to look it up.)
What I'm saying is, add the best talent at the best price you can for the next few seasons and do that every off season.
I absolutely love how you put that ^^^^^
It was so amazing to watch how Bill Belichick worked the roster like that from year to year. Masterful. Often he turned value acquisitions into investments that paid off for the team - and then he reaped a good return on those players when he moved on from them (guy always seemed to have a mountain of comp draft picks). The "key" is to have that solid franchise QB in place so you can do this. That's obviously THE game changer. If Fields is the guy, then my hope is that Poles uses the Belichick model moving forward. Sustained winning is achievable with that model.
If Fields is "the man" (and that is really 100% at the center of the window being open..and so many Bears fans forget this) and able to stay the man for a long time, the Bears can operate like Brady's NE teams. Adding and subtracting players yearly. Sometimes they dumped vets and sometimes they added vets. Each year was different , but built around a QB, and OL and a few key pieces on DEF that were consistant. Otherwise they added and subtracted players yearly. (Moss, the RB from Cinny forgot his name and don't want to look it up.)
What I'm saying is, add the best talent at the best price you can for the next few seasons and do that every off season.
I absolutely love how you put that ^^^^^
It was so amazing to watch how Bill Belichick worked the roster like that from year to year. Masterful. Often he turned value acquisitions into investments that paid off for the team - and then he reaped a good return on those players when he moved on from them (guy always seemed to have a mountain of comp draft picks). The "key" is to have that solid franchise QB in place so you can do this. That's obviously THE game changer. If Fields is the guy, then my hope is that Poles uses the Belichick model moving forward. Sustained winning is achievable with that model.
Geez, do I have to remind anybody that Fields is not Brady? If you have a HOF QB, that extends your SB window (Brady, Montana). But for now, our model should be the Eagles who just extended their window another year by resigning a few of their “old” guys for another year. Fields last rookie contract year is 2024. That’s also year 3 for Poles where he says himself the team will be Super Bowl ready. Given all the holes to fill, he should be looking at every opportunity in FA, trade, and draft to be there in 2024-25. If we’re still playing around .500 when Fields rookie contract expires, there’s a problem. It means he had too many “misses” in 2022-24. Take the shot. If it fails, fire these guys and start over. That’s the NFL, if you don’t have Tom Brady.
It was so amazing to watch how Bill Belichick worked the roster like that from year to year. Masterful. Often he turned value acquisitions into investments that paid off for the team - and then he reaped a good return on those players when he moved on from them (guy always seemed to have a mountain of comp draft picks). The "key" is to have that solid franchise QB in place so you can do this. That's obviously THE game changer. If Fields is the guy, then my hope is that Poles uses the Belichick model moving forward. Sustained winning is achievable with that model.
Geez, do I have to remind anybody that Fields is not Brady? If you have a HOF QB, that extends your SB window (Brady, Montana). But for now, our model should be the Eagles who just extended their window another year by resigning a few of their “old” guys for another year. Fields last rookie contract year is 2024. That’s also year 3 for Poles where he says himself the team will be Super Bowl ready. Given all the holes to fill, he should be looking at every opportunity in FA, trade, and draft to be there in 2024-25. If we’re still playing around .500 when Fields rookie contract expires, there’s a problem. It means he had too many “misses” in 2022-24. Take the shot. If it fails, fire these guys and start over. That’s the NFL, if you don’t have Tom Brady.
In fairness, we all know Fields is not Tom Brady, but that doesn't mean he isn't capable of winning championships here. My point mentioning Belichick was that he often has had a good eye for acquiring players at a value (including Brady in the 6th round of the draft) and getting some good mileage out of them and letting them go to other teams and profiting off of them - comp picks, trading for draft picks and/or just off loading expensive vets who then seem to decline. It's like he "buys low and sells high" with these moves. He certainly uses FAs in the equation. Even reclamation projects. But you see him invest wisely. No spending $$$ like a drunken sailor. And it seems like many years he has 9 or 10 draft picks. So when the inevitable misses in the draft happen, he has enough picks that he still gets a good harvest. I think some here on our messageboard have described it as "getting more bites of the apple" in drafts. A good thing.
Anyway the only reason I mentioned the Pats is that I like how they approach the personnel side of things. No they are not perfect. No team is. And yes, having a great franchise QB helps (can make or break you) and that's why (finally) having a good QB here in Chicago is a game changer - literally. But Fields doesn't have to be Brady for the personnel model to work.