Bearstalk

Some people are upset over the Bears about the lack of FA involvement, but with almost everybody locked up long term, we only have so much room before we have to start cutting guys and taking cap hits. I have 45 players I feel are locks for the 53 man, at least 5 draft picks will be on the roster, and I have some tweeners that could go either roster, practice squad, or cut. That pretty much fills the 53 man and as much as I would love to, I think we'd be better off not signing a guy like Tory Holt becasue we need to play Bennett and whoever we draft at 1 or 2. 57 Kreutz, Olin C 72 Buenning, Dan G 67 Beekman, Josh G ~~~~~~~Look to add a RT a…

So far, according to either the Times or NFL.com, the Bears have had/will have private workouts with Phil Loadholt (RT, Oklahoma), Hakeem Nicks (WR, North Carolina), and Eben Britton (RT, Arizona). They also really like Herman Johnson (OG, LSU), along with Tampa and San Diego. Just wanted your guys' thoughts on this.

Now that St. Clair is gone it looks like Omilaye will be the new starting right tackle.

Hi everyone! Last year's Talkbears mock draft was enjoyable enough for me that I figured WTH, I'll do it again. I'm open to formatting suggestions, but here's a basic outline. Each participant picks a team, or multiple teams if you'd like. From the moment we start, you're the GM. You want to trade picks, you want to bring Cutler to the Bears, whatever you want to do, do it. (2009 picks traded in the 2008 Talkbears Mock Draft do not count ). My goal is to start the draft process on Monday, March 30th, give or take. This gives us a little more time before the draft than we had last year, so we can push it longer if we want, and we won't be in a rush to get…

Here's a list of the WR's drafted in rounds 1and 2 since 2004:Bear Picks* 2004 Round 1 Round 2 Larry Fitzgerald Devery Henderson Roy Williams Darius Watts Reggie Williams Keary Colbert Lee Evans Michael Clayton Michael Jenkins Rashaun Woods 2005 Round 1 Round 2 Braylon Edwards Reggie Brown Troy Williamson Mark Bradley* Mike Williams Roscoe Parrish Matt Jones Terrence Murphy Mark Clayton Vincent Jackson Roddy White 2006 Round 1 Round 2 Santonio Holmes Chad Jackson Sinorice Moss …

http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=3991029 Updated: March 18, 2009, 9:15 AM ET Bears' Orton unfazed by speculation Comment Email Print Share Associated Press LAKE FOREST, Ill. -- On a strange day for football, Kyle Orton was unfazed by speculation, offseason comments or any challenges to his standing as the Chicago Bears' starting quarterback. Kyle Orton Orton As the Bears kicked off a minicamp two months early and the weather on a windy March day soared to 70 degrees, Orton was asked about comments from general manager Jerry Angelo last December that Chicago needed to stabilize the quarterback position. "I haven't talked to Je…

Okay, so here is the question. Which is worse. Which is the lesser of evils. Wasted salary cap space or overpaying for FAs. Normally, I am not a big fan of overpaying for FAs, but I view this year as being different. In the past, we had plenty of our own to re-sign. That isn't the case today. In the past, we didn't seem to have nearly as much cap to work w/. This year we had anywhere from $30-34m, depending on what numbers you use. In the past, if you didn't love what you saw, you could use LTBEs and whatever other fun tricks the accountants use to eat cap today in order to epand it tomorrow, when pickings may be better. But w/ the potential of an unca…

Read on PFT that Cincy could be putting Levi Jones on the block, and this is not the first time I have heard this. What i have yet to really understand is, why? He was their 1st round pick and I thought has proven to be a very good OT for them. Why would they be shopping him?

...and another one's gone. ********************************************************* ST. CLAIR LANDS IN CLEVELAND Posted by Mike Florio on March 17, 2009, 5:40 p.m. Tackle John St. Clair has opted to sign with the Browns, and to spurn the Bears. According to Brad Biggs of the Chicago Sun-Times, Biggs has agreed to terms on a three-year, $9 million deal, with $600,000 guaranteed. The Bears had offered exactly half that amount — $4.5 million over three years. But Biggs says that the contract appears to be a series of one-year deals; this suggests that sizable roster bonuses are owed to St. Clair at the start of the 2010 and 2011 league years. …

St. Clair receivers offer from Browns, negotiations underway By Brad Biggson March 17, 2009 1:01 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0) The Bears' first minicamp practice begins in less than 30 minutes and the team could have an answer soon for the gaping hole they will have at right tackle. Negotiations for veteran offensive tackle John St. Clair are believed to be taking place. St. Clair remains in Cleveland where he arrived Monday for a free-agent visit with the Browns. A source close to the situation said that Cleveland has offered St. Clair a contract. We have no idea what kind of money he is looking at in Cleveland. Whether or not he is leaning one…

NFL | Multiple teams showing interest in H. Johnson Tue, 17 Mar 2009 05:41:23 -0700 The San Diego Chargers, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Miami Dolphins and Chicago Bears are teams who have shown the most interest in Louisiana State OL Herman Johnson during postseason events. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- NFL | H. Johnson's draft stock rising Tue, 17 Mar 2009 05:35:01 -0700 Louisiana State OL Herman Johnson has lost 26 pounds since the Senior Bowl, down from 382 pounds to 356 pounds, and as a result has steadily risen up the draft boards of many teams, according to his agent Albert Elias. -------…

Could this be why the Bears are sitting on their hands this offseason? LEAGUE READY FOR “WAR” Posted by Mike Florio on March 17, 2009, 10:30 a.m. As new NFLPA Executive Director DeMaurice Smith proclaims that he’ll spend every day hoping for peace but preparing for war over the next Collective Bargaining Agreement, a league source tells us that the owners are hoping for “war” — and already are prepared for it. Per the source, the owners already have been taking steps aimed at ensuring that a lockout will have minimal financial impact. For starters, and as we’ve previously pointed out, most if not all contracts for assistant coaches hired in 2009 hav…

By Brad Biggson March 16, 2009 12:21 AM | Permalink | Comments (14) | TrackBacks (0) With John St. Clair visiting the Cleveland Browns today it forces us to pose the question, what's next? If St. Clair signs with the Browns or another team, the already changing Bears' offensive line has another major question to answer--who plays right tackle? General manager Jerry Angelo could draft a tackle in the first round with the 18th pick and plan on plugging him in there from Day 1. He tried that last season and that didn't work so well with Chris Williams, although by all accounts he will be ready to go as the starting left tackle when minicamp opens Tuesday. T…

This is a guy that a lot of people had pegged at points in his career as a guy with star potential. He never truly emerged into that and he had some off the field problems this past season, but as a whole he's the opposite of any WR's we have. The guy is a beast of a target with good hands and he seems to be a very good red zone target. He clearly is a step down from Holt, but again would be a significant upgrade over anyone the Bears had at the WR position last season. He's also still young enough that he could in fact have a few 900 yard plus seasons in him.

I remember a few years back, most likely on the other board, a lot of people were saying (me included) that the Bears are trying to model themselves after the New England Patriots. This was brought up because the Bears weren't targeting big name FA's. The Patriots were winning Superbowls left and right, built there team through the draft, plugged holes with either mid level FA's or older vets that wanted to come for a shot at a title. When one of their players became a nuisance about getting more money, they let that player go. Now after thinking about that thread, I look at what the Patriots have been doing the last two years. It seems like they have flipped t…

I just read that Greg Gabriel, head of scouting was personally at West Virgina's Pat Whites workout on his pro day. I dont usually hear his near on visits.

http://www.virtualsportsnetwork.com/2009/0...-madden-nfl-10/ Some Madden 2010 details revolving around player movement & player momentum. The strides I am seeing definitely make 2010 look very good from what has been shown to us fans so far. Thoughts?

Even as early as it is in the offseason, the Bears have "committed" to at least three position switches that I've seen: Frank Omiyole from OT to OG, Zackary Bowman from CB to FS, and Israel Idonije from DT to DE. While I am aware that often a position switch is both natural and logical (like the move from safety to MLB for Urlacher when he came into the league), it seems to me the Bears make their positions switch decisions based on the present shape of the roster and trying to find a cheap way to solve problems without any real eye towards what is best for the player. Thinking of position switches in recent years for this team, the vast majority of those that were effect…

Bowman moving to free safety One of those players is 2008 fifth-round pick Zackary Bowman, who is being moved from cornerback to free safety, a position he played at New Mexico Military Institute before transferring to Nebraska. The 6-1, 193-pounder possesses speed and athleticism, but has struggled to remain healthy. He suffered knee injuries in each of his final two seasons in college and then sustained a season-ending biceps injury while making his NFL debut last Oct. 19 against the Minnesota Vikings. In that game, Bowman scored a touchdown by recovering a muffed punt in the end zone and then later preserved a 48-41 victory by intercepting a Gus Frerotte pa…

Unless they stupid with money and are only offering him a swing tackle job, then he will be back here tuesday. Who the hell would pick Cleveland over Chicago?