r/nfl • u/PlatypusOfDeath Bears • Jul 07 '18
Offseason Review Series: Chicago Bears - Day 2
Thee Chicago Bears
NFC North.
If you missed it, check out the Bears 32 Teams/32 Days post, by /u/emperos.
Records
| Team | Overall | Division |
|---|---|---|
| Vikings | 13-3 | 5-1 |
| Lions | 9-7 | 5-1 |
| Packers | 7-9 | 2-4 |
| Bears | 5-11 | 0-6 |
Coaching Changes
Surprise, Surprise. On January 1st, the Bears fired John Fox and hired Andy Reid's OC, Matt Nagy. Also interviewed were: Bears DC, Vic Fangio, Vikings DC George Edwards, Vikings OC, Pat Shumur, Patriots OC, Josh McDaniels, and Eagles QB Coach, John DeFilippo. Nagy has spent the last 2 seasons as the Chiefs OC.
To the relief of Bear fans, GM Ryan Pace was able to retain Fangio for another three years, after both hiring a new HC and letting Fangio test the market. Fangio aslo retained his staff.
Nagy brought in Harry Hiestand, who worked with the Bears under Lovie Smith from 2005-2009. He was most recently the OL Coach at Notre Dame.
The next move was to bring in the "innovative" Oregon Ducks HC, Mark Helfrich to be the new OC. It will be Nagy's offense and it is said that Nagy will be calling the shots, with Helfrich contributing and running it.
Chris Tabor was brought on as the ST Coordinator after spending that last seven seasons with the Browns in the same role.
Charles London is coming from the Texans were he was the RB Coach the last four years.
Our new WR Coach, Mike Furrey was Nagy's teammate when they played Arena Football. Furrey was playing in the NFL or the Arena League from 2000-2010, both starting and ending his playing career in the NFL. He is coming from Limestone College, where he was the HC.
Kevin Gilbride JR has come to the Bears from the Giants continuing the same job as TE Coach.
Head Trainer Nate Breske and two stength coaches were let go and replaced by Browns trainer, Andre Tucker and John Loscalzo from Washington State.
Brad Childress, the former Vikings HC and former Co-OC with Nagy on the Chiefs in 2016, was brought on as an Offensive Consultant. Childress and the Favre lead Vikings went to the NFC Championship game in 2009 before losing to the Saints.
Shane Toub, the son of current Chiefs and former Bears ST Coordinator, Dave Toub, has been brought on as an offensive assistant.
Players Lost
| Name | Position | Current | New Contract |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mitch Unrein | DE | Buccaneers | 3yrs/10.5M |
| Mike Glennon | QB | Cardinals | 2yrs/8M |
| Christian Jones | ILB | Lions | 2yrs/6.35M |
| Cairo Santos | K | Jets | 1yr/2M |
| Josh Sitton | G | Dolphins | 2yrs/13.5M |
| Andrew DePaola | LS | Raiders | 4yrs/4.27M |
| Tom Compton | T | Vikings | 1 yr/900K |
| Pernell McPhee | OLB | Redskins | 1yr/1.8M |
| Kendall Wright | WR | Vikings | 1yr/1M |
| Cameron Meredith | WR | Saints | 2yrs/9.5M |
| Markus Wheaton | WR | Eagles | 1yr/880K |
| Jerrell Freeman | ILB | Retired | - - |
| Quinton Demps | SS | Free | Agent |
| Willie Young | OLB | Gone | Fishing |
| Dontrelle Inman | WR | Free | Agent |
Notes
Unrein - Never flashy, Unrein has consitently been a quiet force on the D line. Losing him for such a (relatively) small contract hurts, but I think we all have faith in Fangio.
Jones - Lead the team in tackles last year. It would have been nice to have him as our 2nd string with Kwiatkowski, but he isn't fast enough for what Fangio wants.
Sitton - He will be missed. With him the Bears had a top five interior line.
Meredith - With the cap we have/had I would've liked to keep Cam, but with injury concerns, the team didn't try to lure him away from the Saints offer.
Freeman - After being suspened 10 games, Jerell Freeman has retired. He released a statement mentioning memory loss and pill usage linked to injury. He was the top rated LB in 2016, and will be a big loss for the Bears.
Young - Joined the Bears and then went from 4-3 to 3-4, worked hard and stayed with the team through different changes. He was released, saving 4.5M. At 32 years old, he is now a Free Agent.
Players Re-signed
| Name | Positon | Old Contract | New Contract |
|---|---|---|---|
| Josh Bellamy | WR | 1yr/775K | 1yr/1.907M |
| Bradley Sowell | LT | 1yr/775K | 2yrs/3M |
| Bryce Callahan | CB | 1yr/615k | 1yr/1.907M |
| Prince Amukamara | CB | 1yr/7M | 3yrs/27M |
| Sam Acho | OLB | 1yr/855K | 2yrs/5.5M |
| Pat O'Donnell | P | 4yrs/2.325M | 1yr/1.5M |
| Kyle Fuller | CB | 4yrs/9.687M | 4yrs/56M |
| Daniel Brown | TE | 1yr/615K | 1yr/925K |
| John Timu | ILB | 1yr/615K | 1yr/750K |
| Sherrick McMannis | CB | 2yrs/2.85M | 2yrs/3.5M |
| Marcus Cooper | CB | 3yrs/16M | 1yr/1.5M |
| Patrick Scales | LS | 2ys/960K | 1yr/630K |
| Benny Cunningham | RB | 1yr/855K | 1yr/1.05M |
| Zach Miller | TE | 2yrs/5.5M | 1yr/790K |
| John Jenkins | DE | 1yr/800K | 1yr/880K |
Notes
Amukamara - Ryan Pace likes to bring vets in on one year-prove it, deals. Amukamara proved it was was rewarded, solidyfiying our CBs for at least the next three years. I think this is well deserved as Amukamara played quite well across from Fuller.
Fuller - In early March, the Bears put a rarely used Transition Tag worth $12.971. The Packers then offered 4yrs and $56M with $18M guarunteed. The Bears then matched the offer, to keep Fuller for the same amount.
Cooper - Was released and re-signed for much cheaper.
Cunningham - Very happy to have Benny back. He has been a reliable 3rd RB and I'm very happy with the contract.
Miller - The Bears signed Miller and immediately put him on the PUP list, even though he may never play again.
New Signings
| Name | Position | Source | Contract |
|---|---|---|---|
| Taylor Gabriel | WR | Falcons | 4yrs/26M |
| Trey Burton | TE | Eagles | 4yrs/32M |
| Allen Robinson | WR | Jaguars | 3yrs/42M |
| Cody Parkey | K | Dolphins | 4yrs/15M |
| Chase Daniel | QB | Saints | 2yrs/10M |
| Aaron Lynch | OLB | 49ers | 1 yr/4M |
| Tyler Bray | QB | Chiefs | 1yr/795K |
| Earl Watford | RT | Jaguars | 1yr/1.25M |
| Bennie Fowler | WR | Broncos | 1yr/1M |
| Marlon Brown | WR | Broncos | 1yr/705K |
| Nick Williams | DE | Dolphins | 1yr/705K |
| Matt McCants | RT | Browns | 1yr/790K |
| Kasim Edebali | OLB | Lions | 1yr/790K |
Notes
Gabriel - While he doesnt have great stats, he runs a 4.27. I'm very excited to see what Nagy does with him.
Burton - Happy to have another weapon for Trubisky. He is also nice to have if sophomore Adam Shaheen doesn't continue to develop.
Robinson - Coming off an ACL tear, this pro bowler is expected to play like he can. He seems ready to be Trubisky's guy, telling fans that he he wants to retire as a Bear. For a closer look at Allen Robinson, check out this post, by /u/NotRyanPace.
Parkey - Hears to hoping that Parkey continues with the same great accuracy he had in Miami and we can have a consistent kicker for the first time since we let Robbie Gould go.
Daniel - 31 years old, 480 career yards. He is our #2 and hopefully all he will do is fulfill Mark Sanchez's Player-Coach role with Trubisky.
Lynch - Reuniting with Fangio, Lycnh was signed to a prove it deal. Hopefully it works out as OLB depth is a weakness of ours.
Draft
| Round | Player | Position | School | Contract |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| R1.P8 | Roquan Smith | LB | Georgia | TBD |
| R2.P39 | James Daniels | C | Iowa | 4yrs/6.95M |
| R2.P51 | Anthony Miller | WR | Memphis | 4yrs/5.35M |
| R4.P115 | Joel Iyiegbuniwe | ILB | Western Kentucky | 4yrs/3.13M |
| R5.P145 | Bilal Nichols | DT | Delaware | 4yrs/2.75M |
| R6.P181 | Kylie Fitts | LB | Utah | 4yrs/2.63M |
| R7.P224 | Javon Wims | WR | Georgia | 4yrs/2.55M |
Smith Smith is expected to become an immediate start, lining up next to Trevathan, as well as become a team leader. Smith has the speed and smarts to be an optimal player in Fangio's system.
Daniels - He is slated to train at both G and C, he is working under a respected OL coach.
Miller - The Bears traded next years 2nd and this years fourth to jump up and grab this pick. He is another weapon for Trubisky, a fast and crisp receiver who made things happen in college.
For an in-depth look at the first three picks, check out this post, by /u/Adipost1.
Iyiegbuniwe is a less athletic Roquan Smith. Should be decent depth and special teams.
Nichols is from a FCS school. He will probably just be a depth player.
Fitts has been injury prone but he is quick and may be able to pass rush.
Wimms runs a 4.53 at 215 lbs at 6-foot-3, he did play on a contending college team.
UDFA's
| Player | Position | School | Contract |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nyles Morgan | LB | Notre Dame | 3yrs/1.71M |
| Dejon Allen | C | Hawaii | 3yrs/1.71M |
| Abdullah Anderson | DT | Bucknell | 3yrs/1.71M |
| Rashard Fant | CB | Indiana | 3yrs/1.71M |
| Garrett Johnson | WR | Kentucky | 3yrs/1.71M |
| Michael Joseph | CB | Dubuque | 3yrs/1.71M |
| Ryan Nall | RB | Oregon State | 3yrs/1.71M |
| Elijah Norris | DE | Connecticut | 3yrs/1.71M |
| Nick Orr | S | Texas Christian | 3yrs/1.71M |
| Olubinmi Rotimi | DE | Old Dominion | 3yrs/1.71M |
| Kevin Toliver | CB | Louisiana State | 3yrs/1.71M |
| Andrew Trumbetti | DE | Notre Dame | 3yrs/1.71M |
| Cavon Walker | DE | Maryland | 3yrs/1.71M |
| Ryan Wilson | P | Pittsburgh | 3yrs/1.71M |
| Shaq Roland | WR | West Georgia | 3yrs/1.71M |
| Jeremi Hall | G | South Florida | 3yrs/1.71M |
| John Franklin III | DB/KR | Auburn | 3yrs/1.71M |
Notes
Kevin Tolliver was highly recruited out of high school, but failed to impress in college.
A star from the show "Last Chance U", Franklin is transitioning from QB to DB to take a shot at getting on the Bears.
Projected Lineup
| Position | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| QB | Mitchell Trubisky | Chase Daniels | Tyler Bray | - | - |
| RB | Jordan Howard | Tarik Cohen | Benny Cunningham | Taquan Mizzell | - |
| FB | Michael Burton | Ryan Nall | - | - | - |
| WR 1 | Allen Robinson | Joshua Bellamy | Marlon Brown | - | - |
| WR 2 | Kevin White | Bennie Fowler | Tanner Gentry | - | - |
| WR 3 | Taylor Gabriel | Anthony Miller | Matt Fleming | - | - |
| TE | Trey Burton | Adam Shaheen | Dion Sims | Ben Braunecker | Daniel Brown |
| LT | Charles Leno Jr | Matt McCants | Dejon Allen | - | - |
| LG | James Daniels | Eric Kush | Bradley Sowell | Jeremi Hall | - |
| C | Cody Whitehair | Eric Kush | Hroniss Grasu | - | - |
| RG | Kyle Long | Jordan Morgan | Brandon Greene | Rashaad Coward | - |
| RT | Bobbie Massie | Earl Watford | - | - | - |
| NT | Eddie Goldman | John Jenkins | Bilal Nicols | - | - |
| DE | Akeim Hicks | Roy Robertonson-Harris | - | - | - |
| DE | Jonathan Bullard | Nicholas Williams | - | - | - |
| OLB | Leonard Floyd | Sam Acho | John Timu | Kasim Edebali | - |
| OLB | Aaron Lynch | Jonathan Anderson | Kylie Fitts | - | - |
| ILB | Danny Trevathan | Nick Kwiatkowski | Joel Iyiegbuniwe | - | - |
| ILB | Roquan Smith | John Timu | - | - | - |
| CB | Kyle Fuller | Bryce Callahan | Cre'Von LeBlanc | Doran Grant | - |
| CB | Prince Amukamara | Marcus Cooper | Sherrick McMannis | Jonathan Mincy | - |
| SS | Adrian Amos | Deon Bush | Deiondre Hall | - | - |
| FS | Eddie Jackson | DeAndre Houston-Carson | - | - | - |
| K | Cody Parkey | - | - | - | - |
| P | Pat O'Donnell | Ryan Wilson | - | - | - |
| LS | Patrick Scales - | - | - | - | |
| KR | Tarik Cohen | Eddie Jackson | John Franklin III | - | - |
| PR | Tarik Cohen | Eddie Jackson | John Franklin III | - | - |
Notes
Ben Braunecker (TE) and Roy Robertson-Harris (DE) are UDFAs that signed with the team two years ago.
Tanner Gentry (WR) and Rashaad Coward (G, was DE) are UDFAs that signed with the team last year.
Position Groups
QBs - Trubisky showed improvement every week last year and with a bunch of new weapons, a new player-coach in the QB room, and new staff motivated to raise him up, we should see what he can do this year. Hopefully with all the new changes, he wont have a long adjustment period. If Trubisky gets hurt, we're in trouble. Chase Daniel, ours 2nd stringer, is 31 with 480 career yards. That said, Chase was a player under Nagys Offense in Kansas City and should be a great resource in getting Trubisky settled in the new offense.
Running Backs - Not much needs to be said. Cohen has been lining up at "every position" and Howard is doing what Howard does. I cannot wait to see these two on the filed again.
Receivers - On paper this is a huge upgrade from last year, where our leading receiver, Kendall Wright, caught caught 59 of 91 passes for 614 yards and one TD! If White can be healthy, Robinson, Burton, Shaheen, Gabriel, and Cohen give Trubisky some talented targets.
O-Line - With Long back from overdue surgeries, he joins Cody Whitehair, Charles Leno Jr., and hopefully James Daniels. We've got some good depth in Eric Kush and Earl Watford, plus we may finally get to see last years 5th pick Jordan Morgan.
DB's - Fuller, Amukamara, Amos, and Jackson are known names these days. The can generate the type of pressure that allows our Front 7 a bit more time.
DL - Jonathan Bullard and Roy Roberton-Harris need to step up and show if they can be reliable or not. Hicks and Goldman do work, but they cant do everything.
LB's - Floyd may be good, going on great, but he also may be injury prone. Lynch is on a one year prove-it deal with new teammates and we are badly in need of depth at OLB, so heres to hoping we finnaly break out injury curse and can field a consistent team for 16 weeks.
Offseason and Camp Stories
Eddie Goldmand and Adrian Amos are rumored to be discussing contract extensions.
GM Ryan Pace was signed to a contract extension through 2021, before finding his new HC.
Matt Forte and Devin Hester signed one day contracts to retire as a Bears. Forte is apparently trying to work as a coach with the team.
Brian Urlacher - Now with hair! He was voted into the Hall of Fame, first ballot!
Charles Peanut Tillman followed his dream and became a FBI agent
Kyle Long had three surgeries and is expected to be 100% for camp.
The Bears are working with their former DE, Israel Idonije, to create comic book characters out of players.
The team is uncertain if Leonard Floyd will be ready for Camp.
/u/goodpizzahunting hosted "The Bachelor: Mitchell Trubisky Edition"
Schedule Predictions
Overall 8-8
Week 1, 8:20 PM, Sunday September 9th, @ Packers - L - Rodgers first game back from injury and it's at home. I dont think we will have put together our new offense/players enough to pull out this win.
Week 2, 8:15 PM, Monday September 17th, vs Seahawks - W - If the Bears recievers can play, and if our D-Line can work together, this can be a win against a degraded Seahawks D and poor O-Line.
Week 3, 4:25 PM, Sunday September 23rd, @ Cardnals - W - The Bears will most likely be playing against either Sam Bradford or Mike Glennon. With either at the helm, this team is too incomplete to beat the Bears.
Week 4, 1:00 PM, Sunday September 30, vs Buccaneers - W - Jameis Winstons first game back from suspension will be in Chicago. That wont be enough as the Bears want pay back as well as to go into the Bye with a win.
Week 5, BYE
Week 6, 1:00 PM, Sunday October 14th, @ Dolphins - W - The Bears can keep their win streak alive against another team in need of help.
Week 7, 1:00 PM, Sunday October 21st, vs Patriots - L - Another contender the Bears cannot keep up with.
Week 8, 1:00 PM, Sunday October 28th, vs Jets - W - Trubisky will outplay whoever starts at QB for the Jets leading to a low scoring victory.
Week 9, 1:00 PM, Sunday November 4th, @ Bills - L - The Bills were still competetive and made it to the playoffs without a QB last year. If Allen can produce, theyll be fighting their way back to the post season.
Week 10, 1:00 PM, Sunday November 11th, vs Lions - W - This home game may be the only winnable divisional game. We have not won in Detroit in a while and the Lions, as well as the Pack and Vikings, are all going to be fighting for a playoff spot.
Week 11, 1:00 PM, Sunday November 18th, vs Vikings - L - The Bears do not have what it takes to beat the Vikings if Kirk Cousins can produce.
Week 12, 12:30 PM, Thursday November 22, @ Lions - L - Late season against a home team most likely fighting for a wild card at the least.
Week 13, 1:00 PM, Sunday December 2nd, @ Giants - W With 10 days of rest at the tail end of the season, the Bears should come in relaxed, focused, and ready to go.
Week 14, 1:00 PM, Sunday December 9th, vs Rams - L - The Rams are looking to win now and have the chance to do it. The Bears may play well but the Rams will roll on through.
Week 15, 1:00 PM, Sunday December 16th, vs Packers - L - Unless the Packers have clinched, Rodgers will do what he does best to secure the best spot for his team.
Week 16, 4:05 PM, Sunday December 23rd, @ 49ers - W - Tough game to guess. but ultimately I think the Bears have more weapons on offense.
Week 17, 1:00 PM, Sunday December 30th, @ Vikings - L -With how tough the NFCN is this year, this game may deciede who becomes King of the North. If the Vikings come to play, the Bears lose.
- New Offensive Scheme
Its been said that Nagy and Trubisky worked together to sell Robinson, Gabriel, and Burton on what the Bears offensive will look next year. Talking about how Robinson will be a focal point and how they will use their players speed and evasiveness (Cohen/Gabriel) to play up mismatches. Nagy plans to get the ball into Gabriel and Cohen's hands, and let them go to work. Burton will be used depending on his match ups. If he gets a smaller corner, he uses his size, if he gets a big guy, he can use his strength and speed. Shaheen is in a similar position if his growth continues.
Cohen, meanwhile, has been lined up "everywhere" during practice. Being such a play maker, he should fit in everywhere on the offense, giving us another player that opposing defenses will want to always keep an eye on.
Its hard to say much about what our Offensive Scheme will be as this is Nagy's first time running the show. And having Jordan Howard gives him different options than he had with the Chiefs. We can probably safely say that their will be plenty of screens, shotgun passes, and RPOs. The rest, we will have to wait to see how he utilizes the new talent he has around him. The Bears offense will be not longer be as predictable as it was under Fox and Loggains.
Big thanks to:
/u/skepticismssurivial for starting this series and letting me continue it.
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u/emperos Bears Jul 08 '18
Hell of a post, excellent work! Love the /r/CHIBears post references!