Greg Gabriel on the Bears DL in 2023

dachuckster
Administrator

Posts: 3,595

Likes: 5,073

Greg Gabriel on the Bears DL in 2023 Jul 6, 2023 10:34:09 GMT -6

Post by dachuckster on Jul 6, 2023 10:34:09 GMT -6

This is a really good and in-depth podcast involving our current personnel, and future moves that Poles may make prior to TC. Gabriel has great respect for Poles has has been saying for at least the last 2 months that Poles will be signing a FA edge rusher. He likes both Ngakoue and Houston.

In his discussion on why he has not signed one yet, he keeps coming back to cap management and that he feels there are some outstanding edge rushers coming in the 2024 draft. He speculated that Poles could even use both 1st round picks in 2024 on the DL (meaning 2 edge guys).

So he could be deferring signing one to keep the finances in order.

Quote

JABF
Administrator

Posts: 19,931
Member is Online
Likes: 20,556

Greg Gabriel on the Bears DL in 2023 Jul 9, 2023 6:48:18 GMT -6 dachuckster likes this

Post by JABF on Jul 9, 2023 6:48:18 GMT -6

It sounds like the 2024 draft will have some GREAT edge rushers available to us... especially with 2 first round draft picks. In light of that, Poles is not throwing money at a lessor player this year. I do think he may still sign a guy this year, but won't bust the cap over it. Just get a temp-worker for 2023. I'm good with that. This season was never about a 1-year rebuild plan. We need 2024 to complete most of the rebuild... at least the core of the roster rebuild. This 2023 season is just one step of two. JMO.

Quote

"Do anything that might make the world a better place for someone"
-Walter Payton

dachuckster
Administrator

Posts: 3,595

Likes: 5,073

Greg Gabriel on the Bears DL in 2023 Jul 9, 2023 10:06:32 GMT -6 matsellah likes this

Post by dachuckster on Jul 9, 2023 10:06:32 GMT -6

Jul 9, 2023 6:48:18 GMT -6 JABF said:

It sounds like the 2024 draft will have some GREAT edge rushers available to us... especially with 2 first round draft picks. In light of that, Poles is not throwing money at a lessor player this year. I do think he may still sign a guy this year, but won't bust the cap over it. Just get a temp-worker for 2023. I'm good with that. This season was never about a 1-year rebuild plan. We need 2024 to complete most of the rebuild... at least the core of the roster rebuild. This 2023 season is just one step of two. JMO.

As I said the OP, I seriously expect him to sign someone like Ngakoue or Houston. But that really depends on what he is seeing so far in the off-season program and what he his hearing form Eberflus and his staff. They could be of the opinion that they can get by with what they have. And it also depends on what the UFAs are looking for in terms of contract length. He (Poles) may have to push this to the beginning of TC to get only a 1 or 2 year contract.

One of things that Poles seems to be doing well is cap management. We have 32 UFAs at the end of this season (link). Poles will need some flexibility with the cap in order to take care of the one he wants to keep. Some of the names in that list are:

Cole Kmet
Darnell Mooney
Chase Claypool
D'Onta Foreman
Andres Billings
Jaylon Johnson

There are a lot of other people on the list as well. What happens if Trevis Gipson has a huge (7 - 10 sack) year? He is a UFA at the end of the season. Or if Chase Claypool and/or Darnell Mooney starts ripping through opposing secondaries like they aren't even there? None of those guys will be cheap to re-sign if they have an outstanding year.

Quote

Last Edit: Jul 9, 2023 10:13:10 GMT -6 by dachuckster

JABF
Administrator

Posts: 19,931
Member is Online
Likes: 20,556

Greg Gabriel on the Bears DL in 2023 Jul 9, 2023 11:00:44 GMT -6 matsellah likes this

Post by JABF on Jul 9, 2023 11:00:44 GMT -6

Jul 9, 2023 10:06:32 GMT -6 dachuckster said:

One of things that Poles seems to be doing well is cap management. We have 32 UFAs at the end of this season (link). Poles will need some flexibility with the cap in order to take care of the one he wants to keep. Some of the names in that list are:

Cole Kmet
Darnell Mooney
Chase Claypool
D'Onta Foreman
Andres Billings
Jaylon Johnson

There are a lot of other people on the list as well. What happens if Trevis Gipson has a huge (7 - 10 sack) year? He is a UFA at the end of the season. Or if Chase Claypool and/or Darnell Mooney starts ripping through opposing secondaries like they aren't even there? None of those guys will be cheap to re-sign if they have an outstanding year.

+1
Exactly. My hope is that Poles invests money in keeping the "very best of the best" players that the Bears already have. Sure, you can't keep them all. But have the financial model in place to keep the ones that help max out your overall roster talent level. Then make certain to always have a constant inflow of solid young draft talent coming in (don't piss away your draft picks like Pace did and have years of only 5 draft picks in the entire draft).

Poles says he is prioritizing the draft. Right now, Poles has set the team up to have drafted 31 players in his first 3 seasons here as GM - including two first round picks for next year. I love that. You get young ascending players on rookie contracts... and you have the cap money saved to give 2nd contracts to your very best guys. Of course the meatballs want Poles to spend money on veteran FA's (just fill in the flashy name guy who the pod casters are gushing about), no matter what it costs in cap $$$. Poles is more disciplined than that. I hope he spends every single draft pick and cap dollar as if they are precious - because they should be viewed that way. Get max ROI. Max value.

Then if you can add some helpful FA's then great. Obviously you need those guys too. But I'm really hoping the Bears build the heart of their roster with their own draft - and re-signed draft talent. I've never liked the model of buying old veteran talent at full-retail prices... players that their own teams didn't feel worth the money to keep themselves on their own teams.

Quote

Last Edit: Jul 9, 2023 11:05:48 GMT -6 by JABF

"Do anything that might make the world a better place for someone"
-Walter Payton

davidl
Hall of Famer

Posts: 5,696

Likes: 2,698

Greg Gabriel on the Bears DL in 2023 Jul 9, 2023 13:21:55 GMT -6

Post by davidl on Jul 9, 2023 13:21:55 GMT -6

Jul 9, 2023 11:00:44 GMT -6 JABF said:

Jul 9, 2023 10:06:32 GMT -6 dachuckster said:

One of things that Poles seems to be doing well is cap management. We have 32 UFAs at the end of this season (link). Poles will need some flexibility with the cap in order to take care of the one he wants to keep. Some of the names in that list are:

Cole Kmet
Darnell Mooney
Chase Claypool
D'Onta Foreman
Andres Billings
Jaylon Johnson

There are a lot of other people on the list as well. What happens if Trevis Gipson has a huge (7 - 10 sack) year? He is a UFA at the end of the season. Or if Chase Claypool and/or Darnell Mooney starts ripping through opposing secondaries like they aren't even there? None of those guys will be cheap to re-sign if they have an outstanding year.

+1
Exactly. My hope is that Poles invests money in keeping the "very best of the best" players that the Bears already have. Sure, you can't keep them all. But have the financial model in place to keep the ones that help max out your overall roster talent level. Then make certain to always have a constant inflow of solid young draft talent coming in (don't piss away your draft picks like Pace did and have years of only 5 draft picks in the entire draft).

Poles says he is prioritizing the draft. Right now, Poles has set the team up to have drafted 31 players in his first 3 seasons here as GM - including two first round picks for next year. I love that. You get young ascending players on rookie contracts... and you have the cap money saved to give 2nd contracts to your very best guys. Of course the meatballs want Poles to spend money on veteran FA's (just fill in the flashy name guy who the pod casters are gushing about), no matter what it costs in cap $$$. Poles is more disciplined than that. I hope he spends every single draft pick and cap dollar as if they are precious - because they should be viewed that way. Get max ROI. Max value.

Then if you can add some helpful FA's then great. Obviously you need those guys too. But I'm really hoping the Bears build the heart of their roster with their own draft - and re-signed draft talent. I've never liked the model of buying old veteran talent at full-retail prices... players that their own teams didn't feel worth the money to keep themselves on their own teams.

I am not going to repost it again, but I did some research on the Eagles roster awhile back. A number of their best players came via FA or trade. Nothing wrong with that.

Quote

JABF
Administrator

Posts: 19,931
Member is Online
Likes: 20,556

Greg Gabriel on the Bears DL in 2023 Jul 9, 2023 15:45:13 GMT -6

Post by JABF on Jul 9, 2023 15:45:13 GMT -6

Jul 9, 2023 13:21:55 GMT -6 davidl said:

Jul 9, 2023 11:00:44 GMT -6 JABF said:

+1
Exactly. My hope is that Poles invests money in keeping the "very best of the best" players that the Bears already have. Sure, you can't keep them all. But have the financial model in place to keep the ones that help max out your overall roster talent level. Then make certain to always have a constant inflow of solid young draft talent coming in (don't piss away your draft picks like Pace did and have years of only 5 draft picks in the entire draft).

Poles says he is prioritizing the draft. Right now, Poles has set the team up to have drafted 31 players in his first 3 seasons here as GM - including two first round picks for next year. I love that. You get young ascending players on rookie contracts... and you have the cap money saved to give 2nd contracts to your very best guys. Of course the meatballs want Poles to spend money on veteran FA's (just fill in the flashy name guy who the pod casters are gushing about), no matter what it costs in cap $$$. Poles is more disciplined than that. I hope he spends every single draft pick and cap dollar as if they are precious - because they should be viewed that way. Get max ROI. Max value.

Then if you can add some helpful FA's then great. Obviously you need those guys too. But I'm really hoping the Bears build the heart of their roster with their own draft - and re-signed draft talent. I've never liked the model of buying old veteran talent at full-retail prices... players that their own teams didn't feel worth the money to keep themselves on their own teams.

I am not going to repost it again, but I did some research on the Eagles roster awhile back. A number of their best players came via FA or trade. Nothing wrong with that.

Whatever works for a team is fine for that team. And certainly there is a place for buying expensive players at full retail prices - when it does make sense within the framework of a good overall team roster plan. But the ideal is to have that steady, strong inflow of great draft talent. Young players, low mileage bodies & rookie contracts - as much as reasonably possible. Then re-sign your own great talent when you can. One example would be if Justin Fields proves to be a keeper this year, then keep him. Have a healthy cap that allows you to do those signings of your own talent.

Then, as needed, buy some players at full-retail prices... players that other teams didn't want to keep - or who had to off load due to poor financial health on their team (overspending on players). Budget mismanagement is bad in sports just as it is in our own budgets in our own life. If you overspend there can be consequences to that.

Quote

Last Edit: Jul 9, 2023 15:48:55 GMT -6 by JABF

"Do anything that might make the world a better place for someone"
-Walter Payton

davidl
Hall of Famer

Posts: 5,696

Likes: 2,698

Greg Gabriel on the Bears DL in 2023 Jul 9, 2023 19:10:16 GMT -6

Post by davidl on Jul 9, 2023 19:10:16 GMT -6

Jul 9, 2023 15:45:13 GMT -6 JABF said:

Jul 9, 2023 13:21:55 GMT -6 davidl said:

I am not going to repost it again, but I did some research on the Eagles roster awhile back. A number of their best players came via FA or trade. Nothing wrong with that.

Whatever works for a team is fine for that team. And certainly there is a place for buying expensive players at full retail prices - when it does make sense within the framework of a good overall team roster plan. But the ideal is to have that steady, strong inflow of great draft talent. Young players, low mileage bodies & rookie contracts - as much as reasonably possible. Then re-sign your own great talent when you can. One example would be if Justin Fields proves to be a keeper this year, then keep him. Have a healthy cap that allows you to do those signings of your own talent.

Then, as needed, buy some players at full-retail prices... players that other teams didn't want to keep - or who had to off load due to poor financial health on their team (overspending on players). Budget mismanagement is bad in sports just as it is in our own budgets in our own life. If you overspend there can be consequences to that.

Those are all truisms. There are 3 ways to acquire players, but what you do in one of these areas affects what you can/can’t do in the others. The Bears draft would have set up very differently, if Poles used the $100 million differently. Take the Jags as another example. They went heavy into FA and might be ahead of the Bears. Over the next couple years, compare the Poles formula to the Jags, Seahawks, Lions. That is the test.

Quote

matsellah
Starter

Posts: 708

Likes: 787

Greg Gabriel on the Bears DL in 2023 Jul 9, 2023 20:16:01 GMT -6

Post by matsellah on Jul 9, 2023 20:16:01 GMT -6

Jul 9, 2023 13:21:55 GMT -6 davidl said:

Jul 9, 2023 11:00:44 GMT -6 JABF said:

+1
Exactly. My hope is that Poles invests money in keeping the "very best of the best" players that the Bears already have. Sure, you can't keep them all. But have the financial model in place to keep the ones that help max out your overall roster talent level. Then make certain to always have a constant inflow of solid young draft talent coming in (don't piss away your draft picks like Pace did and have years of only 5 draft picks in the entire draft).

Poles says he is prioritizing the draft. Right now, Poles has set the team up to have drafted 31 players in his first 3 seasons here as GM - including two first round picks for next year. I love that. You get young ascending players on rookie contracts... and you have the cap money saved to give 2nd contracts to your very best guys. Of course the meatballs want Poles to spend money on veteran FA's (just fill in the flashy name guy who the pod casters are gushing about), no matter what it costs in cap $$$. Poles is more disciplined than that. I hope he spends every single draft pick and cap dollar as if they are precious - because they should be viewed that way. Get max ROI. Max value.

Then if you can add some helpful FA's then great. Obviously you need those guys too. But I'm really hoping the Bears build the heart of their roster with their own draft - and re-signed draft talent. I've never liked the model of buying old veteran talent at full-retail prices... players that their own teams didn't feel worth the money to keep themselves on their own teams.

I am not going to repost it again, but I did some research on the Eagles roster awhile back. A number of their best players came via FA or trade. Nothing wrong with that.

And the Eagles were in the Super Bowl just 5 years ago. So tired of this.

Quote

Bagent of Fortune

davidl
Hall of Famer

Posts: 5,696

Likes: 2,698

Greg Gabriel on the Bears DL in 2023 Jul 9, 2023 20:30:47 GMT -6

Post by davidl on Jul 9, 2023 20:30:47 GMT -6

Jul 9, 2023 20:16:01 GMT -6 matsellah said:

Jul 9, 2023 13:21:55 GMT -6 davidl said:

I am not going to repost it again, but I did some research on the Eagles roster awhile back. A number of their best players came via FA or trade. Nothing wrong with that.

And the Eagles were in the Super Bowl just 5 years ago. So tired of this.

And they were 4-11-1 in 2020. Five years is an eternity in the NFL. They show how fast it is possible to rebound, making smart moves not ONLY in the draft but ALSO through free agency and trades.

Quote

JABF
Administrator

Posts: 19,931
Member is Online
Likes: 20,556

Greg Gabriel on the Bears DL in 2023 Jul 9, 2023 20:33:59 GMT -6

Post by JABF on Jul 9, 2023 20:33:59 GMT -6

Jul 9, 2023 19:10:16 GMT -6 davidl said:

Jul 9, 2023 15:45:13 GMT -6 JABF said:

Whatever works for a team is fine for that team. And certainly there is a place for buying expensive players at full retail prices - when it does make sense within the framework of a good overall team roster plan. But the ideal is to have that steady, strong inflow of great draft talent. Young players, low mileage bodies & rookie contracts - as much as reasonably possible. Then re-sign your own great talent when you can. One example would be if Justin Fields proves to be a keeper this year, then keep him. Have a healthy cap that allows you to do those signings of your own talent.

Then, as needed, buy some players at full-retail prices... players that other teams didn't want to keep - or who had to off load due to poor financial health on their team (overspending on players). Budget mismanagement is bad in sports just as it is in our own budgets in our own life. If you overspend there can be consequences to that.

Those are all truisms. There are 3 ways to acquire players, but what you do in one of these areas affects what you can/can’t do in the others. The Bears draft would have set up very differently, if Poles used the $100 million differently. Take the Jags as another example. They went heavy into FA and might be ahead of the Bears. Over the next couple years, compare the Poles formula to the Jags, Seahawks, Lions. That is the test.

Yeah, I do believe the Bears are a year or more behind teams like you mention. And obviously if a team fails at the draft it is game-over. But, if the Bears do have a great talent evaluating apparatus in place (I think they probably do. Time will tell on that though) then they can leverage that into sustained winning. Buying players at full-retail prices is great if it is used to enhance a roster that already has a constant inflow of solid young draft talent - rather than a desperate attempt to fix a team that can't draft well. I do believe that we'll know a lot more about the Bears and the draft after the upcoming '24 draft. At that point Poles will have ~31 of his own draft picks on the team - and we can see who he signs from the Bears roster for a 2nd contract (like Fields if he proves to be worth that, this season). Then the FA guys are fitted around that as needed.

You know what always get me ticked? I watch (every single year) how mid-round or later draft picks are getting bigtime FA contracts. Why does it get to me? Because I want to see Poles draft those guys himself - every single year. Then you have that talent that is young, cheap and ascending - rather than older, expensive and about to decline. Sure, add some of those full-retail guys. Even the best teams need a percentage of them. It will be interesting to see what this roster looks like after next year's draft and FA. We should have a thread that focuses on those 31 players drafted at that point, along with the players Poles hands out 2nd contracts too from our own team. We will have a lot of players going out of contract by then...

Quote

"Do anything that might make the world a better place for someone"
-Walter Payton

Remembering Dick Butkus

Countdown Clock

Bears 2024 Schedule

Chitown Bears Affiliates

Announcements

Recent Threads

Post by dachuckster on Jul 6, 2023 10:34:09 GMT -6

Post by JABF on Jul 9, 2023 6:48:18 GMT -6

Post by dachuckster on Jul 9, 2023 10:06:32 GMT -6

Post by JABF on Jul 9, 2023 11:00:44 GMT -6

Post by davidl on Jul 9, 2023 13:21:55 GMT -6

Post by JABF on Jul 9, 2023 15:45:13 GMT -6

Post by davidl on Jul 9, 2023 19:10:16 GMT -6

Post by matsellah on Jul 9, 2023 20:16:01 GMT -6

Post by davidl on Jul 9, 2023 20:30:47 GMT -6

Post by JABF on Jul 9, 2023 20:33:59 GMT -6