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DaBearsPod: Post-Draft 2018 with Scott Wright of NFL Draft Countdown & More!

| May 3rd, 2018

On this episode:

  • (0:17) Introductory remarks from Jeff
  • (2:27) Jeff joins Trent & Ken on 1700 Des Moines to discuss the highlights of the Bears draft and expectations for the 2018 campaign.
  • (11:21) Scott Wright of DraftCountdown.com breaks down the haul, with a focus on UDFAs from Dubuque, Notre Dame and LSU.
  • (27:42) A classic sermon from Reverend Dave on…who the hell knows?
  • Music from Chicago’s own Alan Gresik and modern jazz genius Cyrille Aimee.

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Thoughts on the Roquan Smith Selection From Around the League

| April 27th, 2018

Selecting Roquan Smith with the eighth pick of the first round was an absolute no-brainer for Ryan Pace. Taking my favorite player in the draft? Icing on the cake.

What did others have to say about the pick? It’s being universally praised. Two things I have heard from a source inside the Bears.

(1) The team was genuinely surprised Roquan became available. There was an assumption by Pace & Co. that Smith wasn’t going to make it by Indianapolis and the team had begun zeroing in on playmaking DB Minkah Fitzpatrick.

(2) Last three first round picks? Georgia. North Carolina. Georgia. The Bears lean heavily on their southeastern scouts and we should all take note.


From the illustrious Adam Jahns:

“I know Vic and his staff will maximize this player, and that’s what’s exciting about it,” Pace said after the first round concluded. “Vic’s been around a lot of good linebacker play, and this just adds to the great linebacker play the Bears have had as well.”

Pace called Fangio’s input “very important” on Smith.

“This is obviously one of Vic’s top players, [and] one of Matt’s top players, my top player,” Pace said. “We might have 10, 12, 15 grades on a guy, and it’s so comforting for me when I can look at that bandwidth of grades and they’re all right next to each other.

“That’s definitely how Roquan was, so it makes the pick really easy when we’re all unified like that.”

Smith fits Fangio’s mold for inside linebackers. At 6-1, 236 pounds, he’s built similarly to former 49ers star Patrick Willis (6-1, 240). And that’s just the start.

Smith’s instincts, range, speed and tenacity, and his take-charge demeanor off the field, also fuel comparisons to Willis, who was a tone-setting, five-time All-Pro in the middle of Fangio’s elite 49ers defenses. Pace said the Smith has “outstanding intangibles.”


From my two high-profile league sources:

  • A current league GM: “The perfect Bear middle linebacker.”
  • Former NFC personnel man, freelancing for an AFC team this off-season: “Told you several times over the last few weeks. This is my favorite defensive player in the draft. He’s a sure thing.” (He’s not lying. This individual’s praise is the primary reason Roquan became my favorite player in this draft.)

Read More …

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DaBearsPod: Scott Wright of NFLDraftCountdown.com for Combine Week! [AUDIO]

| March 2nd, 2018

On this week’s episode of DaBearsPod:

• Scott Wright of NFLDraftCountdown.com on (a) why this is not the ideal draft class for the Bears to rebuild at the receiver and edge rusher positions. (b) why he thinks the league may be sleeping on LSU wideout DJ Chark, who he compares (hesitantly) to Michael Thomas. (c) Texas OT Connor Williams possibly falling this week. (d) Quenton Nelson and what will be a hotly-debated QB class. (e) Much, much more…

•Reverend Dave wakes up in the middle of the night and mumbles his sermon into a microphone like Bukowski. It has to be heard to be believed. It’s his masterpiece.

•Prokofiev! Music!

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211 Comments

Final Notes on the Bears Coaching Staff

| January 22nd, 2018

Administrative Note: I’m doing one of those AMAs over at Reddit tonight at 6 pm CT. I don’t quite know how it all works so please stay tuned to DBB’s Twitter handle (on the right rail here at all times) for updated information. I have never been on Reddit or looked at one of these AMAs so I have no idea what to expect. But they asked so why the hell not?


We’ll be moving on to roster stuff and free agency soon enough but I wanted to put a punctuation mark on the coaching staff sentence after making a few phone calls and piecing things together.

  • Dave Ragone being kept on as QB coach was a difficult decision for Nagy but ultimately conversations with the Bears 2017 quarterbacks swayed him. I’m told the Bears had serious talks with former Raiders offensive coordinator Todd Downing about the position but determined this relationship – quarterback and quarterbacks coach – would benefit from continuity. Downing, they believed, was itching to get back into the coordinator’s chair as quickly as possible.
  • The Bears want Mark Sanchez back. Mark Sanchez wants to come back. But Sanchez has not given up on being a substantial NFL contributor and there is a belief that he simply does not fit the offense the Bears are going to be running under Nagy/Helfrich. The Bears would be open to bringing Sanchez back as third quarterback should they move on a Chase Daniel-type as backup. It’s a waiting game on one of Mitch Trubisky’s most trusted sounding boards.
  • Many criticized Ted Phillips’ involvement in the coaching search. Early in the process he was the primary information gatherer on potential coaching candidates. Per a source, one of Phillips’ first calls was to Dave Toub on Matt Nagy and Toub gave a substantial, effusive endorsement of the Chiefs offensive coordinator. That endorsement went a long way with ownership and is a major reason the Bears landed their first-choice coach quickly.
  • Per source, money was never an issue for Vic Fangio. Coaching staff was never an issues for Vic Fangio. Relationship with the new coach was not all that high a priority for Fangio, either. I’m told concretely that Fangio just wanted to be closer to California, closer to his lady and friends. And once he realized that wasn’t going to happen, he never really considered coaching anywhere other than Chicago.
  • From the Twitter of me:

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430 Comments

Weekend Show: Scott Wright of NFL Draft Countdown [AUDIO]

| January 26th, 2017

On this Senior Bowl Week edition of the Weekend Show:

  • Scott Wright sets the table for the upcoming draft, with emphasis on the quarterback position. Spoiler: He has Kizer as his top ranked QB. He also discusses Hooker v Adams, Solomon Thomas, a deep tight end class and how he’d proceed if he were running the Bears organization.
  • Reverend Dave on Mormons in Chicago.
  • Jeff warns there may not be a young, franchise QB available this off-season.

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Podcast: Scott Wright of NFLDraftCountdown.com [AUDIO]

| April 16th, 2015

Scott Wright spends every day of his year on the NFL Draft do I turn to him for the information I lack time and interest to gather on my own. On the pod we discuss:

  • Scott’s decision to give the Bears Amari Cooper over Vic Beasley in his latest mock draft.
  • Some of my favorite players in this draft, including Nick O’Leary, Shaq Thompson, Shane Ray, BJ Finney (who I think I call Kinney) & Phillip Dorsett.
  • The Marcus Mariota Thing.
  • Mid-round safety prospects.
  • Scott’s undervalued prospects.

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117 Comments

Scott Wright of NFL Draft Countdown Profiles Possible Bears Fits in Draft [AUDIO]

| November 1st, 2014

Normally we don’t talk draft around here until the month before the event itself but I’m growing weary of debating players with fans who don’t watch any of the actual football games played by the prospects. On the call, our pal Scott Wright breaks down possibilities for the Bears at safety, corner, edge rusher, linebacker, right tackle and kick return/scat back. He absolutely adores Landon Collins of Alabama (and he should). Other than Collins, a few names I think make sense at various points in the draft:

  • Duke Johnson, Miami as a dynamic playmaker
  • Derron Smith, Fresno State as the second safety on the board
  • T.J. Clemmings, Pittsburgh at offensive tackle

Hopefully you can use this podcast with Scott as something of a guide for watching the college games over the rest of this season.

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103 Comments

Potential Chicago Bears Draft Target: Safety Deone Buccanon [VIDEO]

| April 30th, 2014

Why I love starting my draft focus with the Scott Wright conversation (to hear the entire conversation, scroll down or CLICK HERE) is he tends to send me down some paths I otherwise would have ignored.

About midway through our chat I asked Scott a question he hadn’t been asked in his rounds of interviews. I wanted him to give me “an Emery reach” – a player with remarkable physical tools, at a Bears need position, who’d be considered a value 10-15 picks later. He paused, thought a bit and gave me Washington State safety Deone Buccanon.

Here is a well-written scouting report Ricky Henne at Chargers.com:

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Scott Wright of NFL Draft Countdown on the 2014 NFL Draft [AUDIO]

| April 29th, 2014

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Another fantastic conversation with Scott Wright, who did a fine job getting me excited for next week. Topics discussed:

    • Justin Gilbert’s dynamic return skills ALONE might have made him a top 100 player.
    • Our love affair with Aaron Donald’s tape.
    • The drop-off at tight end after after Eric Ebron.
    • Who the “reach” might be for Phil Emery in the first round. (Answer: safety Deone Bucannon)
    • What non-QB might find himself falling down the board on draft night. (Answer: CJ Mosley)
    • Scott’s Plan A, Plan B and Plan C for the first round selection of Phil Emery.

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266 Comments

DaBearsBlog Will Speak with NFL Draft Countdown’s Scott Wright on Tuesday…

| April 28th, 2014

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…and I need your questions. Scott is my favorite “draft guru” out there and he’s been gracious enough, for the second straight year, to grant me a half hour of his time during the busiest two-week period of his calendar. So submit questions you’d like me to ask him in the comments section below. I’ll take a half dozen of the best ones and ask them directly to Scott.

One note. To separate your questions from the general conversation below, type the word QUESTION (in the caps) at the start of the question. This way I can get through the comments quickly.

Thanks in advance.

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