Post by bearsinhouston on Sept 10, 2024 14:32:00 GMT -6
YIKES!!!!!
Here is the article that all of us had in the back of our minds but no one wanted to actually type out so early. So this guy did it for us. I still really didn't want to read it though, lol
Post by bearsinhouston on Sept 10, 2024 14:54:10 GMT -6
I am REALLY excited to see how Waldron reacts this next game. He only has one data point, I know, but he has had a chance to see Williams and what he does well and what he does not. How he reacts to pressure, etc. Let's see what he calls up to try and settle him some. If he does nothing I am going to start to sour on him. I mean, if he tries something and it doesn't work, I can understand that, but he needs to acknowledge that the last plan didn't work and realize he needs to try something different. Of course Houston has different strengths and weaknesses than TN did, so you have to take that into account, but I guess I am looking for him to really try to get Caleb comfortable this game.
The criteria can't be that CW needs to be surrounded by high level talent at all positions. That just isn't realistic.
The choice was made to give CW high performing weapons to surround him at the expense of building the line.
That's how it works in a league with a salary cap.
So whether it's the OL, WRs or somebody else there's going to be a weak line on the offense.
Now we can discuss the better way to build an offense, but reality is that Poles focused on skill players and not the line.
I think the Bears felt the OL was good enough (near league average) so they could ride with this group of players until next draft/FA. I'd be happy if the OL can get to a league average unit this season. It is reasonable to believe we will see some level of improvement over what we saw in the 1st game. I'm not expecting a great OL but it should get better to some extent.
The criteria can't be that CW needs to be surrounded by high level talent at all positions. That just isn't realistic.
The choice was made to give CW high performing weapons to surround him at the expense of building the line.
That's how it works in a league with a salary cap.
So whether it's the OL, WRs or somebody else there's going to be a weak line on the offense.
Now we can discuss the better way to build an offense, but reality is that Poles focused on skill players and not the line.
I agree. With a cap, you are going to have some positions that are not that strong. Of course the GM and coaches are supposed to find inexpensive guys that are under the radar and are not so weak or can be coached up to be strong, but not easy to do.
I am REALLY excited to see how Waldron reacts this next game. He only has one data point, I know, but he has had a chance to see Williams and what he does well and what he does not. How he reacts to pressure, etc. Let's see what he calls up to try and settle him some. If he does nothing I am going to start to sour on him. I mean, if he tries something and it doesn't work, I can understand that, but he needs to acknowledge that the last plan didn't work and realize he needs to try something different. Of course Houston has different strengths and weaknesses than TN did, so you have to take that into account, but I guess I am looking for him to really try to get Caleb comfortable this game.
+1 We are going to learn a LOT about this coaching staff in general, and Matt Eberflus in particular. This is a pretty decent roster of talent (overall). We all knew we'd need 2025 to complete the rebuild. But for this year there is some decent player talent to work with. Even the OL isn't as bad as I rant and whine about. I keep thinking that this is our team. The airplane is in the air and they can't swap out engines mid-flight. Let's see if these coaches can fly the plane. Good coaches make adjustments and I think we will see that happen in particular on offense now. But that being said, I do expect these first few games to be tough. There will be some rough going and losses. And as far as the "experts" and pod cast people go, they're just stirring the pot to some extent, because if they didn't expect this season to be rough at times (especially these first 4 or so games), then they are not very bright people.
EDIT: One additional thought. Every year I hear people talk about how some opponents will be "easy" wins. There are no easy wins in football. The parity in the league has seen to that. Sure, some teams are on a tier by themselves. But no teams are gonna roll over for the Bears to get an easy win. This first half of the schedule is not a cakewalk no matter what the "experts" and pod cast people spout.
The criteria can't be that CW needs to be surrounded by high level talent at all positions. That just isn't realistic.
The choice was made to give CW high performing weapons to surround him at the expense of building the line.
That's how it works in a league with a salary cap.
So whether it's the OL, WRs or somebody else there's going to be a weak line on the offense.
Now we can discuss the better way to build an offense, but reality is that Poles focused on skill players and not the line.
who's talking high level? There is a wide swath of talent between high level OL and the absolute trash that was the IOL on Sunday.
but this is also why i wasn't okay w/Allen + Rome at the expense of the IOL, which was a problem, an obvious problem and a far bigger need then more weapons when you had DJ + Kmet to begin with
The criteria can't be that CW needs to be surrounded by high level talent at all positions. That just isn't realistic.
The choice was made to give CW high performing weapons to surround him at the expense of building the line.
That's how it works in a league with a salary cap.
So whether it's the OL, WRs or somebody else there's going to be a weak line on the offense.
Now we can discuss the better way to build an offense, but reality is that Poles focused on skill players and not the line.
I wanted to post something like this earlier so thank you.
Every single team has to make business decisions on where they need to spend extra money and where they can cut back. KC let go of Tyreek freakin Hill for crying out loud. There is no team in the NFL that can "invest heavily" everywhere.
Yet, despite understanding that, it is a little frustrating that we have had this problem (iOL) for years now. Remember that SB where Mahomes lost to Brady? That loss was mostly on Tampa's excellent DL putting big pressure on Mahomes up the middle all game long. Reid immediately drafted Creed Humphrey and signed two new tackles a few months later and they have been almost unbeatable since.
We seem to have had holes or at least question marks at 2 of the 3 iOL positions for quite a while now and the "solutions" haven't panned out. We still don't seem to have a league-average, competent center and Nate Davis apparently quit caring as soon as he got paid. I hope Flus and the OL coach make it very clear to Shelton and Davis this week that they get one more start this Sunday and, if there isn't substantial improvement (and effort from ND), they are both going to the bench.