I just checked “Sacks Allowed” by team. Bears rank #30 which is pretty damn “ass.” 3.3 per game. But Brax contributed only 1 of those sacks, so it’s hard to argue he’s the worst problem on this line, which raises the question of what to DO about it in draft. I discussed that in my last post, which you seem to have neglected.
The real problem with Jones, is that he gets bull rushed straight back into the pocket a lot. It doesn't directly cause a sack, but it collapses the pocket and makes chaos. That doesn't show up on the stat line though.
It's one reason why Jones is not a second contract player. I do not see the justification in giving him $20M when at a minimum we can draft a replacement level player or maybe even upgrade.
I see the same thing with Brax. He has a lot of qualities you like to see in a LT but the bull rush thing is a problem. You'd think that was something that could be fixed. He is in his 3rd season. He's under contract through the end of 2025, a cheap rookie contract too. At the end of the season the Bears will have to assess where he's at and go from there. There's still 11 games left to play so maybe the guy can prove to be better. Or not.
Don't re-up average LTs. IMO you keep drafting until you find one. I'd like to see the rookie get some run before the season ends but if they are fighting for a wild card (as I hope they will be) Jones gets the nod. This is the dilemma of trying to develop OL during the season.
I'm assuming the boat has sailed on Wright at LT? Was that ever even an option? I'm too old to remember the discussion at the time. Not that I'm urging a move to LT.
Don't re-up average LTs. IMO you keep drafting until you find one. I'd like to see the rookie get some run before the season ends but if they are fighting for a wild card (as I hope they will be) Jones gets the nod. This is the dilemma of trying to develop OL during the season.
I'm assuming the boat has sailed on Wright at LT? Was that ever even an option? I'm too old to remember the discussion at the time. Not that I'm urging a move to LT.
My preference is to keep Wright at RT. I do not know if he can play LT. I’ll defer to Ric on that one.
Reason why on keeping him put is because it minimizes the moving parts on the OL for 2025.
I just checked “Sacks Allowed” by team. Bears rank #30 which is pretty damn “ass.” 3.3 per game. But Brax contributed only 1 of those sacks, so it’s hard to argue he’s the worst problem on this line, which raises the question of what to DO about it in draft. I discussed that in my last post, which you seem to have neglected.
The real problem with Jones, is that he gets bull rushed straight back into the pocket a lot. It doesn't directly cause a sack, but it collapses the pocket and makes chaos. That doesn't show up on the stat line though.
It's one reason why Jones is not a second contract player. I do not see the justification in giving him $20M when at a minimum we can draft a replacement level player or maybe even upgrade.
It is center and guards who are supposed to provide clean pocket for QB to step up into. If he drops back and Brax as, as he is supposed to, push the rusher out the back door, that’s the more common problem.
Poles will figure out his $$ number and stick to it. That’s 100% predictable.
I just checked “Sacks Allowed” by team. Bears rank #30 which is pretty damn “ass.” 3.3 per game. But Brax contributed only 1 of those sacks, so it’s hard to argue he’s the worst problem on this line, which raises the question of what to DO about it in draft. I discussed that in my last post, which you seem to have neglected.
The real problem with Jones, is that he gets bull rushed straight back into the pocket a lot. It doesn't directly cause a sack, but it collapses the pocket and makes chaos. That doesn't show up on the stat line though.
It's one reason why Jones is not a second contract player. I do not see the justification in giving him $20M when at a minimum we can draft a replacement level player or maybe even upgrade.
It also could lead to another lineman giving up a sack cause the QB is forced from the pocket to the right side and/or up. That changes how the other lineman have to block and they can't necessarily see that.
If you look at pressures, Brax has given up the most on the line. Having said that, I wouldn't pay him $20 mill a year either...but I don't understand why we'd have to? He's not a free agent until 2026...so we don't have to sign him to a new deal this off season. Even if he were, does anyone think he's getting more than $12 to $15 mill a year max given what we know right now?
Don't re-up average LTs. IMO you keep drafting until you find one. I'd like to see the rookie get some run before the season ends but if they are fighting for a wild card (as I hope they will be) Jones gets the nod. This is the dilemma of trying to develop OL during the season.
I'm assuming the boat has sailed on Wright at LT? Was that ever even an option? I'm too old to remember the discussion at the time. Not that I'm urging a move to LT.
My preference is to keep Wright at RT. I do not know if he can play LT. I’ll defer to Ric on that one.
Reason why on keeping him put is because it minimizes the moving parts on the OL for 2025.
Both Jones and Wright should be fighting for the RT position, both are better at run blocking then pass protection; that's the definition of a RT.
The real problem with Jones, is that he gets bull rushed straight back into the pocket a lot. It doesn't directly cause a sack, but it collapses the pocket and makes chaos. That doesn't show up on the stat line though.
It's one reason why Jones is not a second contract player. I do not see the justification in giving him $20M when at a minimum we can draft a replacement level player or maybe even upgrade.
It also could lead to another lineman giving up a sack cause the QB is forced from the pocket to the right side and/or up. That changes how the other lineman have to block and they can't necessarily see that.
If you look at pressures, Brax has given up the most on the line. Having said that, I wouldn't pay him $20 mill a year either...but I don't understand why we'd have to? He's not a free agent until 2026...so we don't have to sign him to a new deal this off season. Even if he were, does anyone think he's getting more than $12 to $15 mill a year max given what we know right now?
I don’t know where they get this idea that the choice is between drafting a LT with first pick in the 2025 draft or else paying Brax $20M. The guys at his current level are getting about $15-17M. If Poles lets him go FA in 2026, he will go somewhere for about that number. But Poles won’t have to deal with that until 2026.
The “pressure” stat is subjective. If the rusher does not prevent Williams from seeing his target and completing his pass without a bunch of scrambling around, who cares? Most of his pass completions are while under “pressure”. To some extent, that is the QB job. The pressure is a problem only if it is disruptive of the play. Having said that, I would like to see Brax set his anchor a little farther away from Williams to give him a little more space to move around.
Do players lift weights during the season, or is all the heavy lifting only in the offseason? I wonder whether Brax did any lifting during the bye week, and would it do any good?
It also could lead to another lineman giving up a sack cause the QB is forced from the pocket to the right side and/or up. That changes how the other lineman have to block and they can't necessarily see that.
If you look at pressures, Brax has given up the most on the line. Having said that, I wouldn't pay him $20 mill a year either...but I don't understand why we'd have to? He's not a free agent until 2026...so we don't have to sign him to a new deal this off season. Even if he were, does anyone think he's getting more than $12 to $15 mill a year max given what we know right now?
I don’t know where they get this idea that the choice is between drafting a LT with first pick in the 2025 draft or else paying Brax $20M. The guys at his current level are getting about $15-17M. If Poles lets him go FA in 2026, he will go somewhere for about that number. But Poles won’t have to deal with that until 2026.
The “pressure” stat is subjective. If the rusher does not prevent Williams from seeing his target and completing his pass without a bunch of scrambling around, who cares? Most of his pass completions are while under “pressure”. To some extent, that is the QB job. The pressure is a problem only if it is disruptive of the play. Having said that, I would like to see Brax set his anchor a little farther away from Williams to give him a little more space to move around.
Do players lift weights during the season, or is all the heavy lifting only in the offseason? I wonder whether Brax did any lifting during the bye week, and would it do any good?
If it makes you feel better I can change my arbitrary $20M to $17M?
Either way I wouldn't give him a second contract.
Why do you discount the significance of giving up pressures? Pressures break up plays, cause stupid decisions to happen and even turnovers. In some cases they're just as bad and sometimes worse than giving up a sack.
The idea is to give Caleb a clean pocket to work with and protect his blindside at LT.
I don’t know where they get this idea that the choice is between drafting a LT with first pick in the 2025 draft or else paying Brax $20M. The guys at his current level are getting about $15-17M. If Poles lets him go FA in 2026, he will go somewhere for about that number. But Poles won’t have to deal with that until 2026.
The “pressure” stat is subjective. If the rusher does not prevent Williams from seeing his target and completing his pass without a bunch of scrambling around, who cares? Most of his pass completions are while under “pressure”. To some extent, that is the QB job. The pressure is a problem only if it is disruptive of the play. Having said that, I would like to see Brax set his anchor a little farther away from Williams to give him a little more space to move around.
Do players lift weights during the season, or is all the heavy lifting only in the offseason? I wonder whether Brax did any lifting during the bye week, and would it do any good?
If it makes you feel better I can change my arbitrary $20M to $17M?
Either way I wouldn't give him a second contract.
Why do you discount the significance of giving up pressures? Pressures break up plays, cause stupid decisions to happen and even turnovers. In some cases they're just as bad and sometimes worse than giving up a sack.
The idea is to give Caleb a clean pocket to work with and protect his blindside at LT.
Did you read what I said about “pressure”? A rusher can get close to a QB without disrupting his ability to complete the pass without a lot of scrambling around. That will go down statistically as a “pressure’. It is not a completely bullshit statistic, but should be taken with a grain of salt. On most plays, it is not nearly as consequential as penalties for holding or sacks.
If Brax continues to play at or better than his current level, he will get paid. Poles let Monty and Smith go, so it wouldn’t surprise me. Contrary to Ric, he is well above “average” by any reasonable standard.
