Early Bears Wishlist

 After the releases of longtime Bears, Eddie Jackson and Cody Whitehair it is time to look forward to what will be the primary acquisitions of the Bears offseason.  Per the smart people at Overthecap.com the Bears have around $67 million in cap space.  This means the real total is around $55 million after setting aside money for draft picks. 

Tag Jaylon Johnson (18.8 mill)
The most important thing to do is find a way to make sure Jaylon Johnson is on this roster next season.  I would love a long term deal but if all else fails then the franchise tag works.

Pro Bowl cornerbacks don't grow on trees and after reeling in a career high four interceptions in 2023, the stats are finally catching up to the strong play fans have seen from him.

Sign Lloyd Cushenberry (4yr/$55 million)
The Bears not having a second round pick makes it unlikely to find a rookie starter in the draft. Cushenberry has been effective ever since he took over the center position in DEnver as a rookie back in 2020. He has plenty of experience and is more of a pass protector than a force in the run game. But that is perfectly ok with a rookie QB likely taking over the offense.

AJ Epenesa (3years/$27million)
A guy like Danielle Hunter or Chris Jones would be ideal but once I start crunching the numbers I do not see how there is room for a $20+ million deal while also filling up other holes on this roster. Plus they both will be on the wrong side of 30 by midseason, which Poles has tended to avoid in his acquisitions. 
Espenesa will be entering his age 26 season and coming off back to back 6.5 sack seasons. 
He played for the Bears new defensive coordinator, Eric Washington, in Buffalo last season and his size at 6'6, 260 would be almost identical to what pro bowler Montez Sweat brings on the other side. 
And while Edwardsville is 4 hours away from the city, we all know Poles loves to bring local guys back home.

The remaining money could go to a number of other depth pieces.  Does Noah Fant follow Shane Waldron from Seattle?  Do the Bears decide to throw money at a veteran running back to help Williams in his rookie season? Comment below with your Bears wishlist.  

As a bonus, here is my current Bears mock for their first three picks.  I expect there to be at least a couple picks added after Fields is dealt but his value has a huge variance depending on who you read from around the league.

#1: Caleb Williams - QB - USC 

#9: Romeo Odunze - WR - Washington

#75: Jaden Hicks - S - Washington State

An ode to the Pac 12 as all three picks head east from the conference's ruins.

A new face of the franchise along with a shiny new weapon to compliment DJ Moore. And in the third round, a potential Eddie Jackson replacement 

White Sox Make Huge Splash with Lynn Trade

 

There was some big news broken by Jeff Passan right when everyone on the southside was getting ready to put their heads down on their pillows. 

Early reports have the 33 year old right hander coming to Chicago for Dane Dunning.  The White Sox are receiving a great addition to their rotation in Lynn.  He has recovered well from Tommy John surgery in 2016 and ranks 2nd in WAR among pitchers (Baseball Reference version) trailing only Jacob deGrom.

One of the best things about Lynn is the how he eats innings. In the past two seasons he leads the league with 46 starts and 45 of those he went at least 5 innings.  This will come in crucial in keeping the bullpen fresh with the bottom of the rotation featuring Dylan Cease and a returning Michael Kopech.

The big issue in the deal is the contact length for each player in the deal. Is one year of Lynn equal to six years of control of Dunning?  Dunning, the Sox's 5th ranked prospect, posted a sub 4 ERA in his first year back from Tommy John surgery for the Sox last season.

Ultimately, I think this is a deal that made sense for both teams. Texas, a franchise with  no contending hopes this season, get a cost controlled arm for the future and the Sox get one step closer to their first division title since 2008.

Would I have preferred the Sox made this deal at the deadline last season to avoid the game 3 debacle against Oakland? Absolutely, but the fact is the Sox now have one of the best playoff rotations in the American League.  Also, Lynn only costing 8 millions dollars allows the White Sox to free up money for right field and the bullpen.

** Fun fact for anyone still reading. Lance Lynn actually pitched in the last game Tony LaRussa managed. Cannot confirm if LaRussa remembers it but if Lynn ends up pitching in another World Series game 7 this season, then I think it is safe to say this trade will be remembered for a long time in Chicago **

The Unofficial Official End of the Nagy Era

 

Last week was a plea to Virginia and her bonehead kids to fire the General Manager. I swore that I would not give the current regime anymore time.  But this week I fell into the same trap once again.  A double digit halftime lead that still existed late into the fourth quarter gave me hope that maybe the season was not a complete dumpster fire.

What happened next even the most negative Bears fans could not see coming.  Stafford goes over 400 yards, Nagy refuses to run the ball, turnover, Allen Robinson forgets what a first down is and the Bears left Soldier Field with their sixth straight loss. 

A month ago, I wondered how a franchise could justify getting rid of a coach with an undefeated record against two division opponents. But the decision making today sealed his fate, Matt Nagy must go. 

This is a guy who in a press conference last years had to utter the words "I'm not an idiot." 

Well, David Montgomery had 11 carries for 62 yards & 2 touchdowns on the ground in the 1st half. He did not receive another carry until 2:27 left in the 3rd quarter. And only carried the ball six times the entire second half.

Sorry, Matt, but if one makes lineup decisions like one, calls plays like one and sounds like one, chance are you are soon to be an unemployed one.

Leave a comment below with who you'd like to see try and resurrect this franchise.

Ryan Pace Must Go

After another primetime national embarrassment it is clear changes are necessary for the Chicago Bears.  The change should start at the top with Ted Philips but since he has managed to hold a spot in the franchise for over 20 years, making a change at general manager is much more likely.

Pace has only one winning season in his six seasons with the franchise and has whiffed on the two biggest decisions a GM makes multiple times, picking a head coach and a quarterback. Pace's inaugural season was headlined by hiring John Fox and drafting Kevin White. After moving on from Fox he replaced him with Matt Nagy, an "offensive genius" who has not managed to raise the offense from the basement of the league.

The biggest problem I have with Pace is that he didn't do anything to improve this offense coming into the season. Anyone with two eyes could tell the Bears offense needed help.  

A quick look at stats in 2019 and where the Bears ranked:

17.5 points per game (29th) 296.8 yards per game (29th) 4.7 yards per play (31st) 5.3 net per attempt (32nd) 3.7 yards per rush (30th)
Pace looked at these numbers and decided to spend three of his top four draft picks on defensive players. Jaylon Johnson has been pretty solid as a rookie cornerback but the other two picks, Trevis Gipson and Kindle Vildor, have been ghosts. The two of them have combined for 14 defensive going into the Packers game tonight.

Shockingly when combined with the other offseason additions of Nick Foles, Ted Ginn Jr, Jimmy Graham and Germain Ifedi, the offense is a joke once again.

Pace is 0 for 2 on head coaches and 0 for 3 on quarterbacks. Those results do not warrant another opportunity to make either decision.  

The Texans, Jaguars and Lions have already moved from their GMs so if the Bears want the best candidate they need to move fast.  

I am open to any ideas as possible replacements, please leave a comment below with your top choices.

How Good is Conor McGregor?

My headline question, on the surface, seems ridiculous. How can one doubt the skill level of the UFC featherweight champion who is also undefeated in the organization?

I've had this discussion with many MMA fans and the issue I always have is when do people stop judging him on his performance in the Octagon and start basing their opinions on the narrative Conor and the UFC wants you to believe. The brash, blue collar, Irishman is a perfect archetype in a fight-crazed world.



This car could've bought a lot of potatoes.
Credit: blacksportsonline

However, that is a conversation for a different day. This post is all about critiquing the résumé of the champion. Everyone will point out his 13 second TKO of Jose Aldo, but those same people forget Aldo hadn't fought in over a year and was dealing with multiple injuries. The McGregor fan would then say "he finished the #3 featherweight in less than two rounds only 5 months earlier." That is true, but does anyone remember Mendes won the first round with his superior wrestling and took that fight on only two weeks notice?

The answer is of course not! But don't let these facts stop you from christening him the best pound for pound fighter on the planet. McGregor has taken advantage of favorable matchups, like being given a 36 year old with no ground game in an event built around hyping the Irishman in Boston. Or in his main event debut, when the UFC brought a card to Ireland and handed him a fighter with questionable cardio coming off a loss, just to highlight McGregor to his countrymen.

I give credit to McGregor for making the most of the opportunities given to him, especially this weekend. There is zero downside to fighting Nate Diaz at 170 pounds. If he wins, ridiculous fans and bloggers will begin talking about how he can hold titles in three weight classes but if he loses, the only thing that will be written is how much of a warrior he was for even accepting the fight. The guy is good, but an all-time great? Not even close.... yet.