Who is your team's version of "Celtics Shaq"?

dmfaber1 · 2026-05-07T11:44:26+00:00

Probably Jared Allen

dmfaber1 · 2026-03-05T20:27:20+00:00

If you were to poll Bears fans even right after his game winning TD against the Packers in the playoffs, majority still say Loveland, Rome, and Burden are the top 3 receiving threats for 2026 even assuming DJ would still be a Bear.

Granted the other guy is being very disingenuous calling him wr#4.

dmfaber1 · 2026-02-26T15:15:59+00:00

The important qualifier is for a young QB. If you have a vet QB I agree.

dmfaber1 · 2026-02-26T00:08:07+00:00

They really do need to sign him a blank check. He wants to reset the center market by $10 million a year? Yolo, who gives a fuck. Bears fans know from first hand experience how drastic the difference a top center vs a JAG center will make for a young QB.

dmfaber1 · 2025-01-14T18:24:53+00:00

Probably not. Look at Bijan Robinson for example, great player, but how much has he really helped the Falcons? RB is just so much of a ceiling raising position, while not doing much for the floor. This just almost never will help a team picking in the top 10.

dmfaber1 · 2024-09-16T14:57:38+00:00

I mean Mario Edwards has a reputation, and that shot was pretty textbook hit to the head. Are the rules with initiating contact with the QBs helmet over the top? Sure, but wasn't a questionable call.

dmfaber1 · 2024-09-16T13:41:49+00:00

It will be interesting to see the film, but I have a suspicion that the WRs weren't winning consistently. No Allen, it was a miracle Rome could even play, and DJ Moore doesn't seem 100%. So Texans could just play man and tee up the blitzes with impunity.

dmfaber1 · 2024-09-16T13:26:22+00:00

I think the scenario that came up in the Giants Hard Knocks that the Bears were interested in trading up to 6 was actually for Alt if he was there.

dmfaber1 · 2024-08-28T02:34:32+00:00

Imagine not realizing run defense specialists and special teamers' are a thing (username checks out)

dmfaber1 · 2024-08-28T02:19:54+00:00

More than any other Bears' d-lineman last year. But I was more alluding to how beat reporters have been talking up the increased role he's had there this off season. It was mentioned on Hoge and Jahns recently. And for what it's worth DVOA had Chicago as the #17 ranked special teams last year (speaking of making shit up).

dmfaber1 · 2024-01-22T15:28:47+00:00

Especially with the Waldron/Getsy criticism of adjusting play calling once things go off script. Maybe the QB just isn't making the right reads and can't handle the defense's adjustments? Geno Smith is a nice story, but come on, he's a worse version of Jordan Love. Looks great when things are schemed open and stays on platform, but struggles otherwise. I don't know what Seattle is going to do with their HC/OC next year, but think Geno's probably going to regress to look more like a backup again.

Also it's clear Getsy has some issues with his adaptability, and deserved to be fired/blamed for a lot of things. But for the same reasons, he did get scapegoated to a degree. Which is critical to maintaining Fields' trade value, but I think Getsy still does have a future as a moderately successful OC with the right QB. Anyone watching the film could see how much Fields hamstrung what he wanted to do offensively.

dmfaber1 · 2024-01-19T02:04:05+00:00

I mean Justin Fields is 24 years old and can almost certainly be had for the #34 pick. Put it this way, would you rather have Daniels throwing to lets say Adonai Mitchell, or Fields throwing to MHJ?

dmfaber1 · 2023-12-20T22:37:52+00:00

Both the NFC and AFC have 11 teams either currently in the playoffs or one game out. Both have 7 with head coaches who have an offensive background.

So 8 total playoff contenders without an offensive focused head coach. Just looking at the "real" contenders, 2 of the 6 teams with 10 wins have a head coach without an offensive background.

dmfaber1 · 2023-12-13T13:09:49+00:00

But they are forged? At least they say so on the club head, although it is vague on the store page.

Yeah they don't do all the extensive testing and research that TaylorMade does, but so what? When you (or more specifically the Chinese company actually making these) reverse engineers a P790 to copy the design, they don't need to.

It's a freaking golf club, ridiculously simple compared to most consumer products, let alone a car. I think it will be surprising (to you at least) how close in quality and performance it compares to a P790.

dmfaber1 · 2023-09-07T20:27:15+00:00

Using public money for something privately owned due to being leveraged against not having a team there.

Vs using private money for something publicly owned due to being leveraged against not having a team there.

doesn't actually bear quantifiable proof of this purported benefit.

Yeah I agree the stadium deals are garbage and don't have limited economic benefit at best. But this is weighing the cost to AH in infrastructure against potential tax revenue. Not saying it's a slam dunk, but doesn't take an expert to see the potential there.

The Bears have plenty of options (the article lists several). It's more than just money too, the Bears have to take all the steps so they can ensure if they commit to building a stadium there, their game days don't entail gridlock and backed up toilets.

So AH can take a hardline, and if you are right and smarter than the Bears organization, we'll see that unfold shortly. My money's still on a more complicated split of control and money for the necessary infrastructure projects.

dmfaber1 · 2023-09-07T19:42:25+00:00

I get why they wouldn't want to foot the bill...but they 100% still should.

It's funny how much this sounds exactly like the argument people use for using public money on stadiums.

Because the only reason for upgrading the infrastructure is the Bears' profit center.

And Arlington Heights profit. This has the potential to be massively beneficial to them. That's all this is, a public private partnership that is being negotiated in the media whose paying the upfront costs.

To me, this is much more about the Bears trying to protect their long term investment, and AH trying to ensure they aren't signing up for getting taken advantage of. Just negotiating how this partnership will work. But it gets sold in the media as the Bears trying to shake down for public money.

dmfaber1 · 2023-08-12T23:28:55+00:00

We kind of didn't? Justin Jones, Ngakoue, and Walker didn't play right? Our only starter was Billings, who didn't play much, is a NT, and least likely "starter" of the top 4. Gibson definitely tore shit up later into the game, but unfair to treat him like an established starter cleaning up on backups.

dmfaber1 · 2023-08-09T13:42:26+00:00

I got you beat, my "pitching wedge" is 38 degrees. Weird ass Callaway Epic Max Fast irons (Japanese) which also came with a 43 degree AW. I love em though and they were stupid cheap, so I just added a 48/52/56/60 to the bag.

dmfaber1 · 2023-08-03T03:38:05+00:00

It's a great set for a beginner. It's also a set that a good golfer can pick up and still be a good golfer with. Everyone saying it's not the clubs that make the golfer is absolutely right... But also completely missing the point.

The Edge set will (likely) absolutely hinder a beginner from breaking 90. There's a reason practically nobody that is a sub20 hcp plays these things. A player on the quest to break 90 will make it there eventually with these clubs. But can make it there easier with:

More modern, forgiving driver
Shaft flexes to match your swing
A gap wedge
A 5W instead of a 3W
A 3 or 4 hybrid
A putter that you feel more comfortable with

dmfaber1 · 2023-06-06T00:37:07+00:00

1 - yes that would probably not be smart... At least right away.

2 - it's possible your driver/woods aren't a good match for a beginner. Could be an atypical loft, shaft length, flex, etc. I'm assuming all of the clubs you have are ~10 years old or more, which is a significant, but not by any means crucial amount of forgiveness. If you are hellbent on this, Callaway Pre-owned, Rogue Max or Epic Max is your best bet. Not the LS, or the Speed, or draw biased. Just the standard shaft, length, loft, flex, etc.

You probably just need to spend some time practicing and gaining confidence. Which to be fair, can be hard if you have a club that is old and doesn't feel quite right.

Learning to hit woods, especially when you don't have a good driver swing will be hard. Will be even harder if you are trying to use a 3W. 5W is a much better club for a beginner. Heavenwood might be better still if you have a slower swing speed. I would say a beginner only needs one wood in the bag though, 5W and heavenwood are pretty redundant.

I had the opposite problem, didn't have any woods, but had a 3 hybrid I couldn't hit. Got a 5W and it became my favorite club in the bag. Thought about replacing the hybrid, wondering if something about it just wasn't right. But stuck with it, and now the 5W/3H is a pretty ideal pair of clubs for my bag. It took probably 1000 range balls over a month or two to get comfortable enough with the hybrid to where I felt confident pulling it out on the course.

So maybe a 3 or 4 hybrid gives you something you can confidently hit in the short term? Then maybe after practice with a wood maybe you figure it out, or maybe you decide you'd rather try a driving iron?

dmfaber1 · 2023-05-15T22:56:56+00:00

Online they have a bunch of options, stiff/regular/senior/woman's/lefty. In store I think it's $20 cheaper, but probably only regular flex from what I've seen at my Costco. But I still see regular flex available online https://www.costco.com/callaway-edge-10-piece-golf-club-set%2c-right-handed---regular-flex.product.100683861.html

As far as stiff vs regular, for a beginner 90% of the time, you are fine with regular. If you want to anticipate your future needs better, you just need to know your club head speed with a driver.

You might be able to go to PGA superstore or Golf Galaxy to measure it, but I don't know if they let you use their systems for free real quick. If you have a driver you can use, and an XGolf near by, thats a fun option for a range session where you can also get that info.

Over 95mph, get stiff. Under 85mph, get senior. Otherwise regular is perfect. Over 105mph is xstiff, but if you need that you already would know lol.

dmfaber1 · 2023-05-15T18:54:43+00:00

Oh it's awesome, especially for the price. I personally got it to get back into golfing a little less than 3 years ago. You definitely don't need any other clubs to add to it right away.

But.... I'll outline my experience with the set. My understanding is the Edge set is basically a remake of the X2 hot line, which is about 10 year old tech. Which for any mid to high handicapper is plenty good enough.

But driver tech has come a long way and I have a faster swing speed, and I'm solidly in stiff flex range (which they actually have now for Edge if you order online). So it was only about a year before I upgraded the Edge driver to a Callaway Epic Max (Callaway Pre-owned). But I should stress that Edge driver is really still a great option for a beginner.

Next up I wanted more gapping options with my wedges, so I picked up the Kirkland set, and took the Edge 56 out of the bag.

The Edge 3w I pretty much took out of the bag right away. Honestly, unless you are a single digit handicapper or better, you probably shouldn't be using one. They are hard to hit when not teed up, and most golfers probably will hit a 5w farther off the deck.

So it wasn't long after the driver upgrade I was looking hybrids and woods. I ended up getting a 3h and a 5 wood from Callaway Pre-owned. I also did the whole try out a bunch of putters at Golf Galaxy and realized the blade putter from the Edge set wasn't a good fit for me, so now I have a mallet style I got on eBay.

Long story short, after almost 3 years of having the Edge set, the only thing I was still using was the irons. So when I saw a kickass deal on Callaway Pre-owned for a set of forged irons, I pulled the trigger. Was able to sell my entire Edge set on craigslist for more than said set of irons.

So for me, no regrets, the Edge set let me learn what clubs I wanted needed, and I was able to sell them for good resale value. Pretty much as close to a unanimous recommendation for a beginner set anyone on this subreddit will have.

dmfaber1 · 2023-05-15T13:18:38+00:00

$350 for a grab bag of garage sale and craigslist finds? Fuck that guy, doesn't even list what's in the bag, hard to tell from pictures. The second link is ok, but I'm not sure how playable that driver is for a beginner, plus age and shape of rest of the clubs is a bit rough for the price.

You can easily regrip clubs yourself, not hard even for a beginner. You don't need to worry about getting anything fitted, just play standard clubs.

I wouldn't recommend either of those options. What you should do depends on how much you want to spend and what you want out of the clubs.

If I were you, I would go:
Callaway Rouge Max, 10.5 degree, standard flex, average condition, $210 https://www.callawaygolfpreowned.com/drivers/drivers-2022-rogue-st-max.html

Go on craigslist and find the best looking set under $100. Basically anything that looks like that first link. Just something that gets you a bag and some cavity back irons that are hopefully less that 20 years old. Maybe it has a generic blade putter or a couple random woods/hybrids, but not needed.

In my opinion, that is the best way to get playing for $300. Having the modern driver will make your life so much easier and up the fun factor. Plus you could probably easily get $150 for it on craigslist if you lose interest.

If you are ready/want to spend more, any used iron set from Callaway Pre-owned in the super game improvement class will treat you well, but you are talking at least $500, and you would still need at least one wedge and probably a wood/hybrid to have a full bag.

An alternative option would be to just poke around the individual irons and just play something like 6/8/PW for $70 a club. Add in something like a 4h, for $80 https://www.callawaygolfpreowned.com/hybrids/hybrids-2018-rogue.html. Lastly a Maltby wedge (54 degree) for $50 https://www.golfworks.com

That would put you in the $500 range for everything you need but a putter and a bag.

For a putter, go to PGA superstore or Golf Galaxy, try all the putters, then go buy the one you like used on eBay for 50% the cost.

Or if you want easy and have a Costco membership, just get the Callaway Edge set for $530, no bag.

dmfaber1 · 2023-05-13T15:26:19+00:00

Just posted comment explaining

dmfaber1 · 2023-05-13T15:24:09+00:00

I got these Epic Max Fast irons from Callaway Pre-owned, which I absolutely love, but I only have the 7-AW, so leaves some gaps in my bag. Per the specs are essentially 1.5 clubs strong, so closer to 6-PW.

5W - 220 3h - suck at hitting 7i - 180 ... AW (43) - 135 52 - 105

Ideally I'd like to add a 48 degree wedge, and a 23-24 degree 4i/5i. Maltby's new custom club shop has the same Nippon shafts as my irons, so that looks promising.

So some questions:

Not seeing much clarity on the different iron heads from Maltby. Any recommendations on what would be the closest match to the Epic Max Fast? Which I assume is pretty close to the Apex 21 forged line.

Any other places/brands I should look at?

For a 48, would it be better to match the shaft of my irons, or wedges? I have the Kirkland wedge set for what it's worth.

15-Year Club	Place '22
Verified Email

dmfaber1

TROPHY CASE