Jim Dabrowski

First of the starboard ratlines done.

First of the starboard ratlines done.

Main mast port ratlines are done!

Main mast port ratlines are done!

Another section of ratlines done.

Another section of ratlines done.

Starting ratlines on main mast.

Starting ratlines on main mast.

Today, being what Christians call "Good Friday" I had off work and decided to go for a hike. I started from the East Lost Goldmine Trail and then picked up the Wave Cave trail. A simple 4+ mile out and back.

I love living in the desert, it's so lush and green.

Lots of flowers are in bloom right now. We have yellow.

And orange.

And purple.

And white.

Usually all mixed together.

Even some of the cacti are getting into the act.

Looks like soon the prickly pear will be blooming as well.

Eventually, I made it to the cave. It was kinda crowded today. I guess a lot of people had off as well.

I guess it does look like a wave, doesn't it?

I like being able to hike around the desert.

Jim

My dream scenario: Bears trade with Texans to go to #2, then on draft day trade down again. End up with multiple first round picks this year and next plus lots of other picks. And I don’t think this is unlikely either. Poles wants draft picks, not just the top one.

My dream scenario: Bears trade with Texans to go to #2, then on draft day trade down again. End up with multiple first round picks this year and next plus lots of other picks. And I don’t think this is unlikely either. Poles wants draft picks, not just the top one.

The more I listen and read the more I think the Bears will not only trade the first pick but will trade down multiple times in round 1. Look for Poles to stockpile picks in this draft and acquire multiple first round picks in 2024.

The more I listen and read the more I think the Bears will not only trade the first pick but will trade down multiple times in round 1. Look for Poles to stockpile picks in this draft and acquire multiple first round picks in 2024.

Been wanting to write this post for a while, finally getting around to it. Let's review what I thought would happen with the Bears in 2022 and how I think 2023 will play out.

Past Season Predictions

I predicted the Bears would go 8-9 or 9-8 and that 2-3 of their wins would be due to Justin Fields putting the team on his back and willing them to a win. Boy was I wrong on that. They started the season 3-4 and I thought there was no way they weren't going to win at least a few more. And while Fields didn't quite single-handedly win games for them, it sure looked like it was trending in the right direction there for a bit.

Enough of the past, on to the future.

Free Agency

Everyone I hear talks about just how much money the Bears have to spend this off season and they're predicting some sort of wild spending spree. It's not gonna happen. Poles even said he is going to continue to be judicious and build a team meant for sustained success. Therefore, much to the dismay of many fans, I think we'll see the Bears sign a couple of bigger name free agents, but not do anything wild. I think the Bears are going to re-sign more of their own players than people expect, again much to the dismay of the fan base. I think Poles is going to spend much more closer to what he needs to get him below the cap minimum and will save much of that money for 2024 and beyond. If Fields is who we all seem to think he is, a lot of that will be spent on him in the not too distant future and Poles has to plan for that.

Draft Day

Like pretty much every other Bears fan, I don't see them trading Fields and I do see them trading down at least once (sell that #1 pick to the highest bidder) and likely multiple times. I think Poles is a draft-and-develop sort of GM—fits with his plans to build for continued success—and values having more draft picks over higher ones. This should make a lot of Bears fans happy - until he doesn't draft either Andersen or Carter at which time they'll go bat-shit crazy.

2023 Season

And now time for my way-too-early 2023 season prediction. I expect the Bears to be improved, but anyone thinking they're a playoff team or super bowl contender is fooling themselves. If they make the playoffs it will be one of those back-door entries where some fluke thing happens and they end up the last playoff team but are completely over-matched in their first game. The same sort of thing that happened in 2020 where they finished 8-8 and got in only because the NFL added an extra playoff team that year. I think we'll see an improved team. We'll be excited by what Justin Fields brings to the field and we'll see that if they continue to add more talent on both sides of the ball, the team is on an upward trajectory and that good things are ahead for them.

I think the future is bright for the Bears.

JIm

For a team with as many injuries, rookies and practice-squad level players they have, the Bears sure do over-perform on the field. Not in the final score, but man, they should not look as good as they do. Makes me hopeful for next season (as usual).

For a team with as many injuries, rookies and practice-squad level players they have, the Bears sure do over-perform on the field. Not in the final score, but man, they should not look as good as they do. Makes me hopeful for next season (as usual).

Eagles at Bears game prediction: Bears lose. It’s that simple. I think Fields will continue to make things happen but the Bears are just totally overmatched. It won’t be close, but I hope its fun to watch.

Eagles at Bears game prediction: Bears lose. It’s that simple. I think Fields will continue to make things happen but the Bears are just totally overmatched. It won’t be close, but I hope its fun to watch.

The Bears finally had their bye week and have four games remaining on their schedule. The things I’m most interested in seeing are the changes they make to their offense, if any.

After the loss to the Commanders in week 6, they had a “mini-bye”. During that time they made some changes to they way the offense operates and started a streak of scoring 30+ points per game. Now that they had their real bye week I’m wondering what additional changes they might come up with and how different they’ll look offensively.
What I’d like to see, and am hoping I’ll see, is an offense that takes more risks and puts the game into Fields hands a bit more than his legs. I know, their receivers can’t catch and their line can’t pass block long enough for plays to develop down field. But I hope to be surprised. I hope to see some wrinkles that allow Fields to throw more. More timing throws, more tight windows. That sort of thing.

I’m hoping to see the Bears look even better on offense than they did coming out of their mini-bye leaving fans and the league saying, “Holy crap! If they can do that with so little talent, what are they gonna do next season?” That would make me a very happy Bears fan.

I’m guessing (hoping) we see just that and that the Bears end up winning 3 of their final 4 games. This will, of course, cause them to drop out of the top three in the draft and end up picking somewhere in the 6-9 range leaving fans furious. But that’s OK. I’ll take that along with the feeling they really are a franchise on their way up and should be contending for a Super Bowl in the next few years.

JIm

Late Bears on bye prediction: Bears are off this week then have four more games to end the season: Eagles, Bills, Lions and Vikings. My prediction, Bears win 3 of these last four games and fans go bat-shit crazy because they play themselves out of a top-3 pick.

Late Bears on bye prediction: Bears are off this week then have four more games to end the season: Eagles, Bills, Lions and Vikings. My prediction, Bears win 3 of these last four games and fans go bat-shit crazy because they play themselves out of a top-3 pick.

Good old Cox communication. After being on hold for 15 minutes I get transferred to collections for some reason. They can’t help me so they go to “transfer” me and hang up. Now I get to start all over again.

And the cable internet industry wonders why people hate them and are fleeing in droves. Trying to close my account because I am moving. They deliberately make this as painful as possible.

Good old Cox communication. After being on hold for 15 minutes I get transferred to collections for some reason. They can’t help me so they go to “transfer” me and hang up. Now I get to start all over again.

And the cable internet industry wonders why people hate them and are fleeing in droves. Trying to close my account because I am moving. They deliberately make this as painful as possible.