How did general manager Ryan Pace do? Click here to find out."The first week of the 2019 NFL offseason is in the books. As we’ve been accustomed to each year
Womens Richard Dent Jersey , many names were on the move, including a bevy of moves for general manager Ryan Pace and the Chicago Bears.Normally, we see crazy money fly around. This year was no different and quite possibly even more lucrative for free agents than it has been at any point in the past. The difference this year is that the Bears weren’t involved with the big names on the market for what feels like the first time in forever. That’s not to say the team didn’t make their fair share of moves, but it wasn’t to the same caliber as we’ve come to expect from this franchise.Even so, I wouldn’t exactly call that a bad thing for Pace and the Bears. As we’ve learned many times in the past, “winning” the offseason doesn’t always translate to winning consistently on the field. Which is why fans should be A-O.K. with the Bears approach so far in March.With all of this mind, how exactly did Pace grade out in his first week of the 2019 new league year? Let’s find out.Primary Free Agent AdditionsAs I detailed at the top, this hasn’t be a very active start for the Bears. At least in terms of the top end market. But that’s completely alright, given the status of their roster heading into this acquisition period.One thing to remember as we proceed is that the Bears had 20 of their 22 starters under contract for the upcoming season. Of course this does not count specialists, but my assumption is that we’ll see that play out more over the next month and a half. S Ha Ha Clinton-Dix (One year, $3.5 million) Photo by Stacy Revere/Getty ImagesOne of the two starting spots in question heading into March 13th was the safety spot opposite of Eddie Jackson. We saw Adrian Amos head to the Packers early in the process on Tuesday morning and had two days to wonder what they would do at the position. It didn’t take long for Pace to identify his replacement, at least in the short-term. In essence, the Bears and Packers swapped 2018 week 1 starting safeties. Amos has been nothing short of durable and a steady producer, but grading his replacement requires two elements:Overall Skill set Contract ValueFrom a skill set standpoint, Clinton-Dix may be an downgrade when you’re looking at an overall skill set. Consistency lacks with the former Alabama safety at times, but the talent is there and so is his playmaking ability. His knack for interceptions is what could end up making this a wash when all is said and done.From a contract view, this is an absolute steal. Given the amount of money we saw thrown around on the safety market, $3.5 million seems like one of the better values of the first week. Especially when you compare it to Amos’ deal (Four years, $37 million with $12 million guaranteed). All in all, this move makes complete sense and give Clinton-Dix the opportunity to recoup his value and possibly chase a ring.Grade: A+WR/KR Cordarrelle Patterson (Two years, $10 million with $5 million guaranteed)Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty ImagesIn typical Patriots fashion, they turned a lost player into one with value. Whether or not Patterson plays a big role in Matt Nagy’s offense has yet to be determined, but he adds a lot of speed, versatility and most importantly in the later months of the season, return ability.Some may look at this move and wonder why they would give Patterson $5 million per year. To a certain extent it’s understandable, but yet again, this is not a long-term move and it was a bigger need than some may think. He currently ranks second in NFL history with an average of 30 yards-per-return throughout his career. For anyone who saw the Bears return game last year, you can admit that it needed a serious push in the right direction.Speed, versatility and explosive kick return ability is what makes this deal a very nice move for the Bears and one that is going to help them more than some imagine. Grade: B+CB Buster Skrine (Three years, $16.5 million with $8.5 million guaranteed)Photo by Elsa/Getty ImagesMonday was somewhat of a surprising open for the Bears. The morning opened with a flurry of activity around the league
Dan Hampton Jersey , but it wasn’t until that night when the Bears made their first two moves. This one may have been the most surprising, though. With Bryce Callahan still on the market, the Bears stuck quickly and nailed down their nickel corner for at least the next two years in Skrine. The eight-year veteran has never been an elite talent, but he’s versatile and more importantly for the Bears, durable. He’s missed just five games in eight years.From a production stand point, Callahan is the better and younger player. His market was also much more competitive, which resulted in the team making an executive decision to secure his replacement due to that market. Some may question it in hindsight, but make no mistake, Callahan had multiple teams in on him with a price tag reaching $10 million. Obviously that did not materialize, but it’s hard to blame the Bears for moving on in the manner that they did.As far Skrine, he’s a well versed defensive back that can play multiple positions and brings plenty of experience. He plays a more aggressive style, which may have been a selling point for defensive coordinator Chuck Pagano as well. He’s more of a boom or bust type of player, versus Callahan who was a steady producer when he was on the field.Grade: CRB Mike Davis (Two years, $6 million with $3 million guaranteed)Photo by Otto Greule Jr/Getty ImagesDavis may have been the biggest head scratcher for me on this list. At least until I watched some film on him and reminded myself that replacing Jordan Howard is more about scheme fit than anything else.Let’s be clear, Davis has never been a featured back or had a 1,000 yard season, but from a traits standpoint, he fits well. He doesn’t have a lot of top end speed, but his vision and feet make him a potential steal of an upside signing. He somehow managed 514 rushing yards on a team where they had three backs that touched the ball consistently. On top of that, he has the needed ability to catch the ball and get downfield. He had 34 catches and five total touchdowns for the Seahawks in 2018. This is the first of two (assumed) steps to replacing Howard. One thing I will say is that the Bears love him a lot more than most people do. That could either be a very pleasant surprise or a head scratcher, pending how it all plays out. Grade: CMinor SigningsOf the non-major signings, I’m not sure anyone really stands out as an excellent move, but here’s four other moves they made this past week:- Re-signed TE Ben Braunecker (Two years, $2.7 million)- Re-signed DL Nick Williams (One year, terms not disclosed)- Signed OL Ted Larsen (One year, $930,000)- Signed WR Marvin Hall (One year, terms not disclosed)Getting back Braunecker and Williams makes total sense from a depth perspective and more importantly, it takes tight end depth away from a big need, to a manageable one.Bringing back Larsen was a bit of a surprise
http://www.thebearslockerroom.com/authentic-brian-urlacher-jersey , but after seeing Eric Kush more than double his deal, it makes total sense. He also has the versatility to play all three interior positions.The one move that somewhat intrigues me is Hall. For the second year in a row, the Bears grab a speedy receiver from the Falcons. Hall is not nearly as accomplished as Gabriel was, but he’s a vertical threat and brings value as a returner as well. He’s someone to watch come training camp.Overall Grade: B-When looking at overall needs heading into the draft, there are still some needs for the team to address in the coming weeks. But when I look at where the Bears were before the start of free agency and where they are now, they are certainly better in some areas and slightly worse in others. All in all, I’d say they are slightly better than a wash right now, but there’s also still around $16.5 million in cap space to work with and a surprising amount of talent still left on the market.It also doesn’t hurt that the Bears are currently in line for the first compensatory pick in a long, long time. Obviously that is always subject to change pending the rest of their offseason, but it’s hard to see any move washing out the Amos’ deal, that would currently be good for a fourth rounder.When looking ahead to the next few weeks, here are a few needs to keep in mind:- Outside linebacker depth- Defensive back depth- Running Back- Specialists (Punter and long snapper)- Another offensive skill position weapon (receiver or tight end)- Offensive line depthCold Takes: A Look At Chicago’s Win Over Tampa Bay We’ve all seen the “Hot Takes” from Sunday’s Chicago-Tampa game all over the net. In this series, I’m letting some time pass, and after reviewing the game tape a couple of times, I’m going to share some “Cold Takes.” These are just a series of my thoughts and observations, presented in no particular order.My game ball goes to Vic Fangio and the entire defense. To hold the highest scoring offense in the league to a field goal and a garbage-time TD while getting 4 sacks, 3 turnovers, etc... that’s pretty good. For the second week in a row, I’m not going to talk about Mitchell Trubisky. He’s being discussed enough elsewhere. Let’s talk about his teammates instead. Kevin White didn’t have a single target out of his 28 snaps, but he still contributed big-time with several bone-crushing blocks. Being a blocking wide receiver is a long, long way from his draft position, but still, at least he’s doing something to help Chicago win. Unfortunately, that doesn’t elevate him above “bust” status, but it’s at least something. We had another Josh Bellamy sighting. This just in, he’s better at catching passes than he used to be. He’s a perfectly legit #4-5 wide receiver & special teams ace. Can we stop the ‘drops everything’ routine?Speaking of drops, the Bears have ateam-wide grand-total of two drops on the season. Two. Trey Burton and Anthony Miller, in case you were wondering, not Jordan Howard or Josh Bellamy.Before we go any further, we have to admit that the Tampa Bay defense is just really
Womens Leonard Floyd Jersey , really bad. They have some talent on their defensive line, but past that? No. They came into Chicago averaging 34 points a game allowed, and left with a worse average.I’ve watched the tape 3 times now, and frankly, I’m not really sure what they were trying to do on defense. Stop the run, perhaps. Not our problem, let the Tampa fans stew on that.Tarik Cohen & Taylor Gabriel are a killer gadget combination.Matt Nagy is really, really smart. He developed a game plan assuming that Jordan Howard would be the focus of the defense, and anticipated that the Bucs would play a “make Mitch beat us” scheme. I’m not really sure if the Bucs actually tried this, because I have no idea what they were actually doing except “fall down go boom then cry”. Expect the next Bears opponent to blitz the living daylights out of the Bears. Giving Trubisky time to set his feet and throw is a very, very bad way to defend the Bears. Aaron Lynch did a thing. Then he did another thing. I’m no longer surprised that these things he’s doing are good. Good free agent signing by Ryan Pace.We had Daniels and Daniel sightings... both James Daniels and Chase Daniel hit the field. From what I can tell, James did pretty well.As far as Chase goes, I guess anybody who was saying “Chase Daniel is going to come into the game to take over from Mitch Trubisky” were, indeed, right. Excellent taking a knee by Chase.Now, on to the fun looking two quarterback set. There’s going to be mayhem from that formation one of these games. Looking forward to seeing the options. Please stop with the “Leonard Floyd isn’t doing anything” narrative. He’s playing VERY well, thank you very much. He had a pass defended, and he and Roquan Smith were sweeping the field just past the line. Here’s the thing... with the amount of pressure that Khalil Mack and the front three can put on the QB (or Lynch and the front three when he is in), Fangio isn’t blitzing Floyd very much, rather, he’s putting him into coverage. The difference between this year and last year is Mack. Khalil Mack is a Chicago Bear. I know this isn’t news to anybody, I just like saying it.Jon Gruden is an idiot. I know this isn’t news to anybody, I just like saying that too. Jon Gruden is an idiot. Jon Gruden is an idiot. Jon Gruden is an idiot. There, that feels about right. It’s interesting reading the comments of the other fanbases in the NFC North. Lions fans think Chicago is horrible and that Mitchell Trubisky is the worst quarterback in the league. Packers fans don’t think about anything except basking in the glow of Aaron Rodgers. Vikings fans are afraid of what Chicago is becoming. Seriously. Check out the Daily Norseman comment section.The next head coach of the Minnesota Vikings will be John DeFilippo.The next head coach of the Green Bay Packers will be coming along sooner than most people think.Did you see all of those Cody Whitehair bad snaps these last two weeks? Yeah, I didn’t either.On the one hand, the Bears lost the time of possession battle to Tampa Bay. That’s what happens when you drive the ball down and score in three-minutes or less six-or-seven times. Surprisingly, I’ve STILL heard fans complaining that we were throwing the ball too much. Note to all: If you are complaining about your own team’s offense that puts up 48 points in a game, then you have issues. Serious issues. Tampa Bay has eaten two 40 burgers this season. Surprisingly, they are 1-1 in those games.The Chicago Bears are 3-1 largely because they are second in the league in turnover ratio, at a whopping 6+ through four games. The Bears have 8 interceptions in 2018. The Bears had 8 interceptions in 2017
Eric Kush Jersey , 8 interceptions in 2016 and 8 in 2015. In 2014, they had 14 for the season.If you project on out for a full season, that would be 32 interceptions for the year. That, of course, is silly. Still, the rate is WAY up this season. Chicago leads the NFL with 18 sacks. Chicago leads the NFL for yards lost on sacks at 109Chicago is second in the NFL in interceptions at 8, one behind our next opponent, Miami.Chicago leads the NFL in pick-6’s with 2.Chicago leads the NFL in forced fumbles with 8.Chicago punter Pat O’Donnell is 8th in the league in net punting at 44.4 yards.The more I see of Trey Burton, the more I get excited about the things he can do in a Matt Nagy offense. He had a sweet game against Tampa.Allen Robinson is a legit #1 WR, but he’s not at this point in time a top-5 guy.Wait. Jon Gruden is an idiot. There, I had one more in me. Now, back to the Bears.If Matt Forte had played in a competent offense like a good Andy Reid scheme, he would have been a first ballot Hall Of Fame player. Can you imagine Matt in his prime on this team, with his ball catching abilities? Taylor Gabriel is not overpaid. Trey Burton & Allen Robinson are not overpaid. Aaron Lynch is not overpaid. OK, wait... check that, they are ALL overpaid because NFL players make a STUPID amount of money... but I’m saying they are not overpaid in terms of NFL players. This 2018 draft could end up being an all-time great one for Chicago.Roquan Smith is really playing well already. Not perfect, but no glaring errorsJames Daniels looks like a 10-year starter, and that 10-years begins very, very soon.Anthony Miller looks great, I’m worried a bit about the shoulder. Joel Iyiegbuniwe - obviously we don’t know yet, but you have to wonder when Sam Acho went down for the year (damn it!) if Iggy doesn’t slot into the cover OLB role somewhere. Bilal Nichols is absolutely balling out, the way he’s been playing and picking up minutes it looks like we have another Ryan Pace 5th Round Gem. Kylie Fitts and Javon Wims both are too soon to tell anything good or bad. Best wishes and quick healing to one of my favorite Bears players, Sam Acho.Kyle Fuller was basically invisible in this game, which simply means Tampa was picking on the rookie, not Fuller. Good game by #23.Cody Parkey did 8 things. All of those things were good. I’ll take that. Parkey’s kicked the ball to score 22 times, and has made 21 of them. That’s pretty good. So what do you think, Chicago Bears fans... let’s hear it, spill the beans!
