Is there anyway we can upgrade Leno?

mattb78

My threads are FTO !
Joined:
Sep 18, 2012
Posts:
3,882
Liked Posts:
4,299
Location:
Orlando
7 million dead cap no way we cut him. Is it possible to make him a 10/million a year swing tackle? I know that sounds completely ridiculous but I would really like to see this offense next season with semi-capable play at LT and RG. I think it would make a world of difference for this offense.

Stats have him with 7 sacks given up and 12 penalties last season, and that sack total may be very generous. That is at probably at least 12 drives completely stalled by him alone. Considering the average NFL game has 12 offensive possessions per side, that is just a tremendously negative impact by one player. As much as people talked about Mitch, the worst performance this season in my opinion was Leno.

Just couldn't stand watching any tape on him. Absolutely low effort combined with lack on focus and concentration. Nobody cares much about pff but he graded at 58.6 on the season.

I am honestly fine with keeping Floyd and allowing us to use our first pick to upgrade Tackle. There is a possibility with a new coaching staff that Leno starts playing better, but thats a risk I don't feel comfortable taking. I see Tackle as our #1 draft priority, followed by CB and then OLB.
 

modo

Based
Donator
Joined:
Aug 21, 2012
Posts:
29,162
Liked Posts:
25,104
Location:
USA
I think you are stuck with him another year.
 

BaBaBlacksheep

Half Mod.
Staff member
CCS Hall of Fame '21
Joined:
Aug 20, 2012
Posts:
38,682
Liked Posts:
51,585
I mean sure, if they like a guy in round 2 and he beats out Leno then it could happen. Doubt a player that good get's to us in the second round. I'm 99% certain we're stuck with Leno for another year.
 

ZOMBIE@CTESPN

Well-known member
Joined:
Dec 19, 2012
Posts:
17,907
Liked Posts:
19,548
Location:
MICHIGAN
I think we need to either upgrade g or c. Does it solve all problems? Nope not all but we need to buy a year or two so we can move on from players like Leno and massie
 

WindyCity

CCS Hall of Fame
Donator
CCS Hall of Fame '19
Joined:
Dec 12, 2011
Posts:
30,816
Liked Posts:
35,721
Leno starts 2020.

If you have a good free agency you could draft someone in the 2nd to take his job at some point.

My guess is they will need the 2nd round picks for more pressing needs and will draft an OT in round 4-5 to develop for 2021.
 

gallagher

Nothing left to do but smile, smile, smile
Donator
Joined:
Sep 27, 2010
Posts:
6,242
Liked Posts:
5,496
Location:
Semi-Nomadic
My favorite teams
  1. Chicago Cubs
  1. Chicago Bulls
  1. Chicago Bears
  1. Chicago Blackhawks
  1. Michigan Wolverines
  2. Ohio Bobcats
I think if a good tackle is there in the second round that is an upgrade over Leno, then he would also be an upgrade over Massie. Therefore, I think it more likely that such a talent would go to RT to begin his career than LT.

Mind you, I have a bias against Massie, and remain hopeful that Leno turns it around this year. But I do think that our right side of our line needs more help than the left side, and so an upgrade on the right side will have a bigger impact on our success than the left.
 

benplace

CCS Donator
Donator
Joined:
Aug 20, 2012
Posts:
623
Liked Posts:
526
and Massie, both are huge problems and Pace should have his head on a stake for paying them...
 

Diehardfan

Well-known member
Joined:
Jun 10, 2010
Posts:
9,234
Liked Posts:
6,641
Location:
Western Burbs
My favorite teams
  1. Chicago Cubs
  1. Chicago Bulls
  1. Chicago Bears
  1. Chicago Blackhawks
7 million dead cap no way we cut him. Is it possible to make him a 10/million a year swing tackle? I know that sounds completely ridiculous but I would really like to see this offense next season with semi-capable play at LT and RG. I think it would make a world of difference for this offense.

Stats have him with 7 sacks given up and 12 penalties last season, and that sack total may be very generous. That is at probably at least 12 drives completely stalled by him alone. Considering the average NFL game has 12 offensive possessions per side, that is just a tremendously negative impact by one player. As much as people talked about Mitch, the worst performance this season in my opinion was Leno.

Just couldn't stand watching any tape on him. Absolutely low effort combined with lack on focus and concentration. Nobody cares much about pff but he graded at 58.6 on the season.

I am honestly fine with keeping Floyd and allowing us to use our first pick to upgrade Tackle. There is a possibility with a new coaching staff that Leno starts playing better, but thats a risk I don't feel comfortable taking. I see Tackle as our #1 draft priority, followed by CB and then OLB.


Needs for sure but you have to get a TE in there as well, especially in this offense. Look at what Kelce does for KC. Right now, all the Bears have at TE are practice squad refugees.
 

roadwarrior_joe

Well-known member
Joined:
Sep 13, 2012
Posts:
2,389
Liked Posts:
1,325
Leno starts 2020.

If you have a good free agency you could draft someone in the 2nd to take his job at some point.

My guess is they will need the 2nd round picks for more pressing needs and will draft an OT in round 4-5 to develop for 2021.

Look at both of the teams lines that just played in the SB, and where the players where drafted. If the Bears draft a guy in rounds 4-5 to develop then they have learned nothing.
 

Pegger

President Stoopid
Joined:
Sep 18, 2012
Posts:
7,621
Liked Posts:
5,873
Location:
Communist Canada
Boys, like always, I have the answers to your hard questions.

Secretly give him a whole bunch of steroids at medically monitored intervals. It would be comparable to doping racing horses. The horses have no idea why the are freakishly better than the other horses, but then again they aren't asking any questions!

As his confidence grows behinds his chemically powered body he transforms into a monster. Anyway he'd become an upgrade and be a decent protector. Sure he might get popped for drugs, but then you play dumb and let the player publicly try to defend himself. If he somehow doesn't get popped you look to trade him the next offseason to a team that has a need at tackle along with a fairly short memory.

Sure some of you are disgusted at my idea of essentially poisoning another human for short term gain, but there's a good group that are like:

giphy.gif
 

TheWinman

2020 CCS Survivor Fantasy Football Champion
Joined:
Aug 21, 2012
Posts:
7,040
Liked Posts:
2,687
Location:
Ann Arbor, MI
My favorite teams
  1. Chicago White Sox
  1. Chicago Bulls
  1. Chicago Bears
  1. Chicago Blackhawks
  1. Notre Dame Fighting Irish
I'm not going to repeat the other responses but I think everyone on the line improves some next year just because we will have better blocking schemes. Watching the all 22 video, some of the schemes made no sense at all.
 

Bearly

Dissed membered
Donator
Joined:
Aug 17, 2011
Posts:
41,086
Liked Posts:
23,414
Location:
Palatine, IL
My favorite teams
  1. Chicago Cubs
  1. Chicago Bulls
  1. Chicago Bears
  1. Chicago Blackhawks
Draft is the only real option. They just don't become available in FA unless old or not wanted. Good ones are retained and payed.
 

vabearsfan15

Well-known member
Joined:
Mar 12, 2013
Posts:
7,395
Liked Posts:
5,210
You be very open and upfront with his performance. Tell him that there are huge expectations for major off-season improvement. He needs to hit the weight room, go to bootcamp, and get tougher.

You also let him know that you're in the market for other OL, and hen draft one in the 2nd. Be very clear that if he doesn't meet expectations than he will be benched. But in the end, he is the week one starter
 

msadows

Well-known member
Joined:
Aug 23, 2012
Posts:
22,106
Liked Posts:
16,809
and Massie, both are huge problems and Pace should have his head on a stake for paying them...

C'mon bro. Plenty of people in this thread said the leno/massie deals were good/fair deals just this past offseason.

Recency bias is a bitch. They both got paid for past performance, they both had the worst years of their careers.

Newsflash, so did pretty much everyone on the team.
 

Starion

CCS Donator
Donator
Joined:
Aug 29, 2012
Posts:
4,220
Liked Posts:
2,669
Location:
Fort Myers, FL
1) There's minimal savings by dumping Leno. He will be on the roster in camp. I really don't understand so many people just handing him the START however. He was absolute total hot stinky garbage. The money is already spent regardless, so consider him dead on arrival & ANY contribution as a bonus. This offense CAN NOT play another negative yard, drive-killing snap with Leno fucking things up.

2) A backup player would be miles better than him. FA, drafted rookie, coaches nephew; shit a stack of chairs won't get penalized and takes longer to go around or through. WATCH THE TAPE NEVER LIES. Pick ANY WEEK and he was total garbage overall.


3) Given the money and new coaches, there's no reason to not give him a chance to return to form or at least ride the pine as a backup. He did earn his contract and WAS servicable before last season. How Pace, you, me, Nagy, or anybody could/should've seen his complete 180 nosedive decline coming is beyond me! It's like he was coached to not give a shit, nor concentrate, and begin using terrible technique in every way.

100% agree with OP on Leno. DD Phil does too, and is a major reason I see it this way. Man I hate piling on the guy, but his tape was atrocious on every level at & he's not startable whatsoever.
 

mattb78

My threads are FTO !
Joined:
Sep 18, 2012
Posts:
3,882
Liked Posts:
4,299
Location:
Orlando
The TE fascination has to stop. KC lite isn't working here in Chicago under Nagy. Yes we need to upgrade that position, but you can grab and average TE in free agency. A TE will not magically make this offense good although some are thinking it will.

If the Bears don't take a T, CB or pass rusher with their 1st pick I will be floored.

Bears need to run the ball better. This is the first step to crawling out of the cellar. A G in free agency and T early in the draft is a good start
 

PrimeTime

Knowledge Donator
Donator
Joined:
Aug 20, 2012
Posts:
1,689
Liked Posts:
1,218
LT - 36 year old - former 3 time all pro
LG - Former 1st rd - 28th pic in 2015. Traded after 3 years for a 5th rd pic - current 3 yr - 18 mil contract
C - 2nd rd pic in 2014, free agent in 2018, signed 5 yr 45 mil contract in 2018, good player, not elite, never all pro
RG - 2011 - 7th rd pic - has played on 8 different teams - current contract 3 yr - 9 mil
RT - 2018 - 1st rd - 9th pic. The prize jewel of this offensive line, very good player, no pro bowls or all pro honors yet.

On paper, would you have traded the Bears offensive line before the 2019 season for this one?

Yet, the 49ers offensive line help lead the league in team rushing yards at the running back position. Baltimore lead the league in total rushing yards but much of that was due to Jackson.

Bill Parcells once said (don't quote my exact words, this was many years ago) 5 to 10% of the players in the NFL are elite, they transcend their position and make players around them better. The next 80% are basically interchangeable, coaching and putting them in the best position to succeed is what differentiates them from one another.

Shanahan took a group of offensive linemen no better than what the Bears have and turned them into the best running offensive line in football. I'm sure Kyle learned a lot from his dad but when watching the 49ers play this year it's easy to see Kyle has a very good understanding of how to use duel threat TE's and his offensive line to keep the defense off balance.

Before the Bears spend resources on finding alternate O-linemen, maybe go out and get some real TE's and see what the new coaches on offense can do.
 

bearsfan1977

Well-known member
Joined:
Mar 23, 2016
Posts:
2,912
Liked Posts:
2,989
LoL

I'll just leave this here:


I watched this breakdown last night. It’s actually a very good breakdown and enjoyed watching it.

Bottom line-the Bears are paying below-average rate for an OT who is pretty solid but inconsistent with elite pass rushers.

It was interesting to see a lot of his penalties came in the first 5 games and he somewhat settled down as the season went on.
 

sevvy

Get rich, or try dying
Donator
Joined:
Aug 21, 2012
Posts:
13,098
Liked Posts:
21,704
Location:
Charlotte, NC
My favorite teams
  1. Chicago Bears
Has anyone checked to see if Leno's low effort was caused by Diabetes? We need Cutler as a consultant. I think this entire offense has Diabetes. And Nagy might have some in his brane.
 

Top