Bearstalk

Now that we're inside two weeks before the draft, and we've gotten some idea of the players the Bears have brought in for workouts or observed at pro days, I'm wondering what people are thinking about what the Bears will do. This is not necessarily what you want them to do, but what you think will actually happen or what their strategy might be. I'm going to go all seven rounds, based on what I've been seeing in newspaper reports and who I think might be available when the Bears draft: 3) Akwasi Owusu-Ansah, CB, Indiana (PA) - I don't think any of the good FSs like Nate Allen or Chad Jones will be available, though the Bears would almost certainly take one of those…

Bears | Olsen feeling good about role Comment (0) Fri, 09 Apr 2010 09:52:18 -0700 Sean Jensen, of the Chicago Sun-Times, reports Chicago Bears TE Greg Olsen said on his Twitter page that he has a great feeling about his role in the team's offense this season. He also said he wants to play in Chicago.

Briggs wants Bears to acquire a veteran safety Apr 7 4/7/2010 8:19:37 PM | More Sean Jensen of the Chicago Sun-Times reports Bears Pro Bowl linebacker Lance Briggs is encouraged by the addition of Julius Peppers and the return of Brian Urlacher. He can even live with the departure of defensive end Alex Brown and cornerback Nathan Vasher. But Briggs is still hoping for one more player: a veteran safety. "I am excited with what we have right now. But I still think we need a safety, a veteran safety, to help our defense," Briggs said. "But, to me, I'm excited to work hard and prove ourselves."

http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/category/rumor-mill/ Alex Brown joins the Saints Posted by Gregg Rosenthal on April 7, 2010 4:47 PM ET After dumping salaries and familiar faces leave town, the defending Super Bowl champion Saints have signed a significant free agent. (Apologies to Zak Keasey.) Defensive end Alex Brown agreed to terms on a two-year contract, according to ESPN's Adam Schefter. Signing aging linemen rarely works out well, but Brown's solid reputation remained intact last year in Chicago. He will help the Saints defend the run at a clear trouble position on the team. We still expect them to draft a defensive end early, but Brown …

Hi Folks It's about that time of year to run our annual TalkBears Mock Draft, if we have people interested. Here's the general way we run it, but I'm more than happy to change based on suggestions. You get a team, you handle their draft as the GM. We can decide whether we want to allow trades or not. You get 24 hours on the clock, so sometimes picks come fast and then there's a small delay. If we start in a couple days, there's probably time to get 2 rounds in. Sadly, no one gets to be the Bears this year, since they're pickless, but that makes things easier on me. Carolina also doesn't pick til the 2nd round, so we can wait on filling that one if you're interes…

Profootballfocus just did a study tabulating how many "catchable" passes were dropped by each receiver and TE last season: they watched each pass themselves and classified a pass as "catchable" if the receiver could get his hands on it and you would "reasonably expect it to be caught" - so passes deflected, slips, and passes thrown where the receiver could only get a fingertip on the ball wouldn't count. It's a narrow category, but it gives you an idea, for each guy, of how many passes he dropped that he absolutely should have caught. It looks like they only discuss the best and worst guys in the league, so the Bears' wide receivers are all missing in action in the …

Here's an interesting bit from Pro Football Weekly on Martz's pass-protection and the punishment his quarterbacks have to take: Personally, I'd like to see Martz make use of Cutler's mobility the way Shanahan did - get him out of the pocket and on the move, where he's harder to defend. None of Martz's previous QBs have been as mobile as Cutler, and he'd be dumb not to take advantage of one of his players' obvious strengths. That said, Cutler's a tough guy and clearly doesn't mind taking a shot or two. I'm sure he'd be able to stand up to the punishment if Martz asks him to hang in the pocket and get hit.

http://www.chicagobreakingsports.com/2010/...rs-tuesday.html Some interesting video on him. Peace

http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=5057937 Could be the veteran QB the Bears need. He's got plenty of experience and proven performance with Martz's system.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/footb...0,7705008.story cant beleive they would trade in thier division, but it happened

Bears may have interest in Flozell Adams Apr 4 4/4/2010 10:48:09 AM | More Michael Lombardi of the National Football Post reports the Bears will be "all over" free agent OT Flozell Adams. Hopefully for Bears fans, Adams has more left in the tank than Orlando Pace did.

As per Mike Florio via the Sporting News: www.sportingnews.com/nfl/article/2010-04-02/five-moves-should-be-made-before-nfl-draft All I can say is, damn I miss having a first round pick. This will be the 2nd consecutive year we haven't drafted before the 3rd round. I have no regrets about the Cutler deal, but it's time to start stock-piling picks again. (And as I type that I'm hoping we give up a pick for Sims)

http://sports.espn.go.com/dallas/nfl/news/story?id=5050137

I have a fanatic Seahawks fan as a good friend, and he had this to say when I talked to him tonight: "The Offensive Line was the worst part of the team, and Sims couldn't even break into the starting lineup. He started a few games this year, but was bad when he was in the game." Further, nearly every draft site has OL as the primary need for the Seahawks...and, yet, they want to get rid of someone? This just doesn't pass the smell test.

He gone . . . Would have liked to see a draft pick, but no one else wanted the price tag. I say good luck to him and hope he doesn't go to a team in our division. http://sports.espn.go.com/chicago/nfl/news/story?id=5047383

http://www.suntimes.com/sports/jensen/2134...-sean01.article

http://www.chicagobreakingsports.com/2010/...aft-safety.html As per the Trib. IMO, I see us doing something like giving up Olsen and our 3rd for another team's 2nd.

http://www.theredzone.org/BlogDescription/...ms/Default.aspx Lions mulling deal for Sims Mar 31 3/31/2010 9:46:16 AM | More Jason La Canfora of NFL.com reports the Detroit Lions are strongly considering making a trade with the Seattle Seahawks for restricted free-agent guard Rob Sims, according to a league source Sims is drawing interest from several teams, and could be signed to an offer sheet. He has a fourth-round tender. At this point, a return to Seattle seems unlikely. Chicago is another team mulling Sims.

Here's a pretty helpful article on Atogwe's contract situation. Basically, the guy thinks that nobody's making an offer for Atogwe because they don't want the Rams to match, and that teams figure St. Louis will have to let him hit UFA after June 1st (rather than pay him $7 million) so they're waiting until then to start pursuing him. The author also makes it sound like Atogwe's going to drag his feet until June 1st and force the Rams' hand. We'll see...

Just saw Vasher is close to signing w/ SD. Could be interesting to see if, with the coaches he played well under if he does so again. Also, while we all knew Rivera was in SD, I have to admit I didn't realize Wilkes (DB) and Johnson (DL) coaches were also in place in SD.