Bearstalk

The Bucs have informed free agent Jeff Garcia that he is no longer in their plans. "With a new head coach, they want somebody pulling the trigger that they can mold," said Garcia. The 39-year-old will likely have to compete for a job no matter where he lands, possibly Minnesota. The Jets have been suggested as a potential suitor, but Garcia's noodle arm makes New York a poor fit.

Rams | Team has little wiggle room under cap Wed, 11 Feb 2009 05:24:57 -0800 Nick Wagoner, of stlouisrams.com, reports the St. Louis Rams have roughly $14 million in cap space. However, the team must budget a little less than half of that open space to the rookie class that must be signed following the NFL Draft, which leaves little wiggle room to re-shape the roster with the cap situation as it stands. Rams | Negotiations with Atogwe expected to intensify soon Wed, 11 Feb 2009 13:11:42 -0800 Nick Wagoner, of StLouisRams.com, reports the St. Louis Rams are believed to begin serious negotiations with impending free-agent FS Oshiomogho Atogwe later thi…

I was watching NFL Total Access earlier and they said the Tribune reported it. Still looking around for a link anywhere. Thoughts?

Packers | Might not re-sign Montgomery Sun, 15 Feb 2009 17:16:47 -0800 Pete Dougherty, of the Green Bay Press-Gazette, reports the Green Bay Packers might not re-sign DL Mike Montgomery because they may not fit the team's 3-4 defensive scheme. Cole is eligible to become an unrestricted free agent this offseason. Packers | Might not re-sign Cole Sun, 15 Feb 2009 17:16:01 -0800 Pete Dougherty, of the Green Bay Press-Gazette, reports the Green Bay Packers might not re-sign DL Colin Cole because they may not fit the team's 3-4 defensive scheme. Cole is eligible to become an unrestricted free agent this offseason. Bills | McCargo could be released …

The Perfect Compliment for Matt Forte: Cedric Benson by ifuwannacrownem on Feb 13, 2009 6:41 PM CST There is no Denying that Matt Forte Gave us the best chance to win in 2008. He broke many rookie rushing records last season, as well as some receiving records. He also finished third in total touches behind the Vikings Adrian Peterson and the Falcons Michael Turner. Through the good, Chicago still managed to finish 24th in yards, 26, in average yards per carry, and 24 in yards per game. The aforementioned teams had the right formula to constantly pound the rock: a spell-back and the threat of a deep pass. The Bears however, had their backs against the wall, and…

RAMS CHOP CHAVOUS Posted by Mike Florio on February 13, 2009, 3:33 p.m. The Rams have parted ways with safety Corey Chavous, according to Jim Thomas of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Chavous, an eleven-year veteran, spent three years with the Rams. He started 43 of 48 games. The move came days after Chavous’s agent requested that the player be released. Chavous previously played for the Cardinals and the Vikings, starting every game in Minnesota over a four-year career there. Per Thomas, the moves creates $1.2 million in cap space.

Hey Gang, With the retirement supposedly of Brett Favre once again from the Jets, speculation is that Mark Sanchez is going to fall all the way down to the 17th pick which the Jets currently own. I know that we need a lot of help on both sides of the ball however, would it be in our best interest if Sanchez is falling that far down that some how Angelo gets his head out of his ass and moves up one or two spots to grab Sanchez. It would be nice to obtain a great receiver however, if we are not able to get the ball to him down field, what the hell good is the receiver to us? It just seems that as the draft goes on and Sanchez has not moved, that the Bears talk with …

At this point, John St. Clair figures he's headed out into the open market. Free agency begins in two weeks, on Feb. 27, and the veteran offensive tackle has yet to hear from the Bears. "I feel I have no choice,'' St. Clair said. "If you haven't heard anything, of course you're going to the market. I haven't heard anything as of yet. I'm just down here [in Florida] enjoying my time off.'' The quiet front doesn't mean the Bears have ruled St. Clair, who started 16 games at left tackle last season, out of their plans. The organization has been going through meetings to plot the offseason plan and teams retain exclusive negotiating rights with their own pl…

PFT reports that the Bears have released Marty Booker. Not a big surprise. Now we need to bring in some WRs. DUH!

Last year the Bears announced they were cutting ties with Darwin Walker, Fred Miller, and Mushin Muhammed on the same day. I'm pretty sure it was around then they announced they'd extended Alex Brown and were parting with Ruben Brown. I mainly remember this because I was home celebrating Barack Obama day, which allowed me to listen to the SCORE for 12 hours straight. With Barack Obama day coming up this Monday, I was wondering if we'll see a similar "big day" of announcements coming soon, and if so, who's on the chopping block? It seems that Vasher is safe. But what about Tait? Booker? Wale??? Will we officially cut ties with Lloyd, Mike Brown, Rex .…

I knocked on the office door, and the old man answered. He was hunched over, with sunken eyes and brown skin that looked weathered. He wore a blue Members Only jacket, denim jeans and white Reebok sneakers. When he walked, his feet shuffled, reminding me of my 83-year-old grandmother making her way through her Florida assisted living community. The date was Feb. 15, 1999, and I was visiting a suburban Chicago office complex to meet Walter Payton, the Bears' Hall of Fame running back who had recently announced that he was suffering from primary sclerosing chonlangitis, a rare (and deadly) liver disease. I was assigned the piece by Sports Illustrated, whic…

Profootballtalk.com listed what they have projected for team's cap numbers: http://www.profootballtalk.com/2009/02/11/...ers/#more-11223 They have the Bears listed at 104 million, meaning we're 20 million under the 124 million cap. Which sounds great, until you realize that 15 other teams have as much or more money to spend then the Bears. Twenty-five teams have at least 10 million to spend. Our capmeister LT projected we'd have 27 million to spend, and I believe that completely. But I'm guessing that many other teams are like the Bears with more money to spend. I mainly point this out because it appears to be a seller's market. ESPN has a nice list of …

For those potentially interested in him as a FA... Furrey is out there. They released a few other guys, but no other name seemed of interest or was recognizable to me. There was mention of a safety, but I couldn't remember the name.

Here are the free agents at the safety position, restricted and unrestricted. RESTRICTED: Jamaal Fudge, Falcons. Dustin Fox, Bills. Dawan Landry, Ravens. John Busing, Bengals. Nate Salley, Panthers. Atari Bigby, Packers. Jarrad Page, Chiefs. Abram Elam, Jets. Anthony Smith, Steelers. Reed Doughty, Redskins. UNRESTRICTED: Lawyer Milloy, Falcons. Jim Leonhard, Ravens. Mike Brown, Bears. Brandon McGowan, Bears. Cameron Worrell, Bears. Mike Adams, Browns. Sean Jones, Browns. Chris Crocker, Bengals. Marlon McCree, Broncos. Keith Davis, Cowboys. Nick Ferguson, Texa…

Bears | Showing interest in Heyward-Bey Wed, 11 Feb 2009 15:18:07 -0800 Brad Biggs, of the Chicago Sun-Times, reports the Chicago Bears are known to be interested in University of Maryland WR Darrius Heyward-Bey.

Nathan Vasher is "all but out of the mix" at cornerback for the Bears, according to the Chicago Tribune. The Tribune points out that Vasher's tackling skills have declined. He also isn't ideally built to play cornerback in the Bears' scheme at only 5'10/180. The Bears are expected to consider a corner with the No. 18 overall pick. http://blogs.chicagosports.chicagotribune....-the-draft.html

As per profootballtalk.com, in summary, Warner said he's staying in Arizona or retiring, and 1/3 of the teams in the NFL have interest in Leftwhich. This is news to Bears fans since after JA's state of the Union address, many of us have taken his comments to mean that Angelo will pursue a QB in free agency. Now Warner, the top QB in free agency, is off the market. That will drive Leftwhich's price up, since as PFT pointed out, there are a ton of teams in the NFL desperate for a QB. Early indications suggest there won't be a QB really worthy of the #18 pick. Anybody we draft won't likely provide immediate competition for Orton. I mentioned in a previ…

Who would you take if we had the #1 overall pick? I'd take Crabtree. It's just the Fitzgerald factor- after watching him over the playoffs, I think he's the closest thing to Fitz that's come out in a while- good size, good hands, not overwhelming speed, quiet guy, etc.

The college all-star games have come and gone, and NFL prospects and teams are looking toward the upcoming combine. Individual workouts and combine showings certainly will affect the stock of many top prospects over the next few weeks, but enough questions have been answered for Scouts Inc. to present its first two-round mock draft of 2009. Here's how we see things shaking down at this point: Note: * denotes junior; ** denotes draft-eligible third-year sophomore 1. Detroit Lions (Record: 0-16): Matthew Stafford*, QB, Georgia Yes, his inconsistency can be frustrating, his footwork needs polishing and he must learn to take some heat off his fastball whe…

http://blogs.suntimes.com/bears/2009/02/fo...9_the.html#more Makes sense, if we get a good corner either thru free agency or the draft and move Tillman to FS we take care of 2 needs by only picking up one player and can focus on fixing other needs then.