February Mailbag, Part I: Fear the... Chicago Bears?
Also inside: Why 2024 Davante Adams could be 2014 Julius Peppers, NFC North draft needs, the Cincinnati Bengals' Plan and why complaining about the refs at One Bills Drive does no good.
Greetings! Hey, it’s NFL Combine Week in Indianapolis. General managers and head coaches alike have taken turns at the podium. Not much of substance is being shared of course. On the cusp of free agency, teams quadruple-padlock their secrets.
Be it at Prime 47 or High Velocity, however, this 2025 NFL Season starts to take shape over pints of beer this week.
All 32 teams get a sense for how much Player X will cost them on the open market.
Trades are explored, too.
Here at Go Long, we decided to put your investment to use in a few different ways this season. We’ll actually head to the owners meetings next month, in addition to a few other reporting trips across the country. These last two weeks have been full of fascinating conversations with people ‘round the NFL. You’ll see those stories roll out soon.
First, let’s open it up to your questions in a February Mailbag.
Excellent submissions by all. We’ll divvy it up into two parts.
In Part I…
Why the Chicago Bears can realistically make their move in 2025.
The Green Bay Packers need a veteran wide receiver. Davante Adams makes too much sense.
Cincinnati’s offseason plan of attack: Get Joe Burrow a defense. This team can recalibrate into contention quickly.
NFC North needs. EDGE will be in high demand.
Colorless Color Commentators.
Telling your players they won’t get the calls is a loser’s mentality.
Thank you for making Go Long your destination for unvarnished pro football coverage.
Who is your darkhorse to turn it around next season in a similar way the Commanders did this past season?
Dougie
Let’s start here with Dougie’s strong, straight-to-the-bucket question. The modern NFL is constructed for a last-place team in the cellar to become a contender in one offseason, and the same cannot be said in any other sports league. As much as I love ripping the suits on Park Avenue running this league, that’s quite an accomplishment. The last four years alone saw teams make this leap. The Bengals (2021), Jaguars (2022), Texans (2023) and Commanders (2024) all did a 180 with the combination of a young quarterback and an aggressive push in free agency.
Teams with money to spend should spend.
Teams toiling in obscurity should overpay if they’re interested in winning… especially if they’re feeling good about their quarterback.
Which brings us to the Chicago Bears.
This 5-12 team is best positioned to launch itself into the playoffs.