It’s no secret the Bears are hunting for Dline and CB, especially since Dayo Odeyingbo has torn his achilles [again]. For me, achilles is worse than an ACL/MCL, etc.
It can sometimes take two seasons to regain the same explosion. Dayo isn’t getting any younger, and it’s not as if he was Lawrence Taylor to start with. Hard to envision this ending any better than the Claypool fiasco.
There’s too many trade targets to name. So here’s some possible options.
No clue if J. Sweat even available, but he looked great on MNF
DTs:
[You really trust Jarrett or Billings? Dexter, like Shemar, can spell Booker/DomRob though I understand if Poles prioritizes DE]
Jeffery Simmons (Titans) Supposedly had a short list he OKed. Washington was one of those teams, but now that Jayden Daniels is out, I wonder if he’d pencil in Chicago…
Quinnen Williams (Jets)
Mazi Smith (Cowboys) Dre’Mont Jones (Seahawks)[now a Raven]
CBs:
[CJ Gardner-Johnson did ok. Gordon eventually set to return. Maybe JJ later]
Riq Woolen (Seahawks) Alontae Taylor (Saints) Cam Taylor-Britt (Bengals) Rasul Douglas (Dolphins)
Bears are 3-2, only one game behind the Puke in the NFCN.
It is entirely possible the Bears could go 4-1 in the next five games with a 7-3 record at minimum sniffing a WC.
Yes, the Bears’ Dline did perform much better vs WASH, but they still allowed 4.0 ypc, and it may have been more if it hadn’t been for playing with a lead for most of the game.
Also, Ben Johnson can’t rely on +3 TOs every game going forward. As Olin Kreutz correctly assessed, ‘You’re not forcing 11 TOs in 3 games like on this streak.’ That’s not a sustainable formula for success.
A reliable formula for success? A studly Dline, or at the very least, a mediocre one.
Since Bears played Mon, I had Sunday free to peruse. I flipped to the Raider game specifically to scout Jeffery Simmons.
Holy Moly.
I admit, I didn’t even know where he was on the field since I don’t watch much Titans’ football. But it took me about 3 seconds to spot him. He’s hard to miss. He’s the type of monster you want stepping off the bus first when visiting an opponent. He looked like JJ Watt.
More importantly, he PLAYED like JJ Watt. On the very first series vs Raiders Simmons stuffed Jeanty twice, then sacked Geno despite the double team. He’s strong, fast, mean, and YUGE. The Titans’ DC seemed to line him up at 3T when he anticipated pass, then moved him to 1T to gobble-up doubles vs run.
Honestly, it doesn’t take long to recognize greatness with the right eye. I mean, how long would you have to watch Sweetness, Butkus or Hester to determine they’re fucking awesome? It only takes one Picasso painting to gasp, “Wow.”
The highest-graded defensive tackles in the NFL, according to our DT Impact metric:
Simmons hovers close to that tier. Much closer than Billings, Dexter, Turner, et al, at least.
The Titans’ season is lost. They just fired their HC Brian Callahan and are basically tanking. They’re really about 3 yrs away [minimum] from making a serious SB push. Simmons is 28. Do they really expect he’ll fit that window?
Trading for Simmons seems realistic for both parties. I would trade a 2nd for him given that Bears still have to take on his contract. Titans could use that 2nd to bolster their oline or weapons for Cameron Ward who should be their #1 priority.
If Titans play hard-ball, demanding a 1st, MAYBE I’d throw in DJ Moore, but I’d have to get like a 4rth back in that scenario. They may want Moore. A tough savvy vet to help their fledging rookie franchise QB while the Bears need to clear cap for Simmons anyways.
This would also mean more Luther Burden.
Braxton Jones may also be in play, albeit I’d be more weary about trading away Oline given attrition. The Chiefs are paying a swing OT $15M/y. That’s how pivotal those OTs might be now; nevertheless, let’s be real. I doubt we’re paying Braxton next year.
Feels like this trade makes too much.
I also don’t trust Ryan Poles to actually DRAFT an elite linemen, so we’re back to Jerry Angelo copium.
Football is an arm’s race. USSR launched Sputnik. U.S. blasted off to the moon. The other Evil Empire snatched Micah Parsons. Time for Bears to counter with Simmons. Imagine him destroying Love, Rodgers, Monty/Gibbs…
Here’s Olin Kreutz breaking down the Bears-v-Commanders:
Cliffnotes:
1. Thinks coaches during bye simplified playbook.
2 . Blocking, specifically combo blockings, looked much crisper resulting in better running.
3. On run-stopping, maybe moving Shemar Turner to DE and Gervon Dexter to 3T helped.
4. TJ Edwards back may have bolstered entire D. He may not be the fleetest of foot, but his mind is agile, and perhaps he aligned everyone correctly, making them play faster and more aggressively, especially Tremaine Edmunds.
Olin, ‘I played against those MIKEs. They’re the worst. Sometimes they call out the play we’re running, and we know we’re going to have to move them off their spot’
Padded practices are here, but unfortunately whatever rosy reports we’re getting has been somewhat dimmed by the news that Shemar Turner, the Bears’ 62nd overall pick, severely injured his ankle and is out for a minimum of a month.
– S Jaquan Brisker excited for opportunity to fill variety of roles
– WR Luther Burden finally hits field
– Sights and sounds of full pads in a day heavy on ground game work
That’s a bummer since many like myself had high hopes for his rookie campaign. Heck, Greg Gabriel comped him to Tommie Harris!
Won’t be T-Harris on one ankle, and ankles are notoriously easy to re-injure especially if rushed back.
I had a friend who seemed to sprain his ankle every other month once he suffered his first severe sprain. I’m no Dr., but from my experience they seem to work like concussions or shoulders popping out. After that first major one, it seems much easier to reaggravate going forward.
I’m not so certain where this leaves the Bears at DT. They aren’t exactly thin, but Andrew Billings is big, 30, and coming off an injured ’24 season. If he or Grady Jarrett go down, we’ll be seeing way more of Zach Pickens or the immortal Chris Williams in the mix.
Last week I would’ve bet Pickens wouldn’t even make the cut. Now? Not so sure.
Maybe Christian Wilkins, freak or not, becomes more of an option.
I mean, Charles Haley used to jerk off in the locker room and meetings while talking about teammate wives!
What’s a little Wilkins’ forehead kissing from time to time?
[Guess we should ask WHICH head Wilkins was trying to kiss though…nttawwt]
In other news, here’s Greg Gabriel’s in-depth breakdown of padded practices.
Transcribing or even summing up would take too much writing, but Gabriel basically echoed what I wrote yesterday.
Don’t get too carried away by the micro.
For instance, we heard over the weekend that Montez Sweat came in practically untouched.
Oh oh, time to worry about Darnell Wright!
Then later it was reported that was by design.
Oh, NVM!
A lot of times the coaches are making it harder than it might otherwise be. It’s like Maverick hitting Mach-10 then pushing it. Sometimes gotta crash and burn to find out where the limits are.
That’s what summer practices are for.
Other tidbits.
1. Vets tend to pace themselves in July. Roberto Garza was an infamous ‘pacer’. He asked Lovie once, ‘You want me to last 16 games? During the season is when I’ll give it all’
2. Gabriel seems to think that Kiran Amegadjie won’t make a good OG. ‘He’s got 36+” arms. In my experience, olinemen with arms that long tend to struggle inside. It’s that much harder to get their arms up in a split second’
3. Thinks Austin Booker’s frame is a bit too slim, and deep dish ain’t going to change that.
4. Georgie ain’t bringing back the Honey Bears; however, the obscure trivia I didn’t know?
Apparently the Bills would only hire cheerleaders [the Jills] who were married!
I guess the logic was – cut down on player hanky panky.
That’s funny.
If you prefer a quick concise Bears’ update, view this one instead.
Offensive line looked good in 1 on 1s today first 5 reps were all wins for the offense.
1. Darnell win vs Sweat 2. Jackson win vs Dexter 3. Dalman win vs Big Bill 4. Thuney win vs Grady 5. Kiran win vs Dayo#DaBears#Bears#BearsCamp
