Bearstalk

People are getting really worked up about the draft and the Bears relative inactivity in free agency, but don't forget, June 1st salary cuts are around the corner, and I expect JA to look long and hard at some guys cut at OG, QB, DT, WR, RB, and S. Remember, the season isn't over yet.

I really like what the Bears did in the draft. We got some players that we needed and we won't have to break the bank for them. We got competion for so postions and starters for others. I really think that on opening day we will start on offense LT will be Williams LG will be ST.Clair C will be Kreutz RG will be either Garza or Adams RT will be Tait. TE will be Clark/Olsen/Davis WR will be Booker/Bradley/Bennet/Davis/Monk/Hester(Hass and Lloyd will get cut) QB will be Grossman with Orton/Hill as back ups FB McKie RB will be Benson if healthy starting he knows the system already, but Forte will be in the wings. They will be splitting carries like…

The most obvious pick is Chris Williams because he is basically guaranteed a starting position at left tackle unless he's injured or something. This is a good way to start building up a young offensive line, and you can't have enough good offensive lineman, everybody knows that. Depending on what they do with Benson, Forte will be an impact player for the Bears this season. Now I remember watching him play a little bit last year and I remember he had over a 300 yard game with like 4 or 5 touchdowns. I don't know much about his gamebreaking speed but he looks to me like a better version of Thomas Jones. He will push Cedric for a starting spot come training camp and I …

Our WR corps was a big problem going into this draft but I must say I am very pleased with this pick. I know a lot of us would have preferred Doucet but I think Bennett is exactly the type of WR we needed. Good hands, good route runner, tough, not afraid to go over the middle, good blocker. Thats exactly what we needed. We have our burners in Hester and Bradley and we have our bigger targets for the most part in Olsen and Clark, or even Monk or that other TE we drafted but we needed a guy like this. I heard him compared to Hines Ward a few times and thats exactly what we need. Jay Cutler was also lobbying hard for the Broncos to go after him because of the succ…

Bears signed Southern Illinois QB Nick Hill and Western Kentucky WR Curtis Hamilton. The Bills told Hill they'd take him with the No. 251 pick, but at the last minute went with CB Kennard Cox. Hill is a top-notch athlete and was an accurate passer at SIU. This is an ideal landing spot for the southpaw.

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2008/writ...qb.draft/1.html The three teams I didn't like: 1. Chicago. The Bears had 12 draft choices this year. No quarterback picked. Chicago had nine draft choices in 2007. No quarterback picked. Chicago had seven draft choices in 2006. Three years with a quarterback need, 28 draft choices, and never a passer picked. This isn't odd. It's negligent. The thing that drives me craziest about the draft is when you see a team with talent not doing enough to bolster the most important position on the field, over and over and over again. With Chad Henne, who absolutely should have been a first-rounder, and solid guy Brian Bro…

Bears GM Jerry Angelo considers second-round pick Matt Forte a "three-down back." Beware Cedric Benson, your job is in great danger. "I felt like our running game obviously was one of the weak spots on our football team," Angelo said, referring to last year. "He gives us a big back, a three down back." Forte is going to compete to start right away, and he just may be the favorite. Source: Chicago Sun Times

Overall, I thought it was a pretty good draft, looking at the individual players we got. At the same time, I can not help but feel this draft will go down as the draft that could have been. I feel we missed the bus on some players, and while there are later picks I like individually, I question the selections due to who we passed on. 1st - I like Williams. I like him a lot. At the same time, I can not help but feel Albert will be a far better player. Williams may indeed be the better, immediate, prospect, but down the road, I think we look back and wonder why we didn't take Albert 2nd - Forte - I like Forte. I think most do as well. This fills a need, and…

In mid-December of 2007, The Bears were 5-9 after losing Monday Night to the Vikings and were completely eliminated from playoff contention. With their super motivational 2 game winning streak to end the season, they moved from a #8/#9 pick all the way to #14 in the 2008 draft. With one loss they would be drafting #9 and would be the only 6-10 team. That would mean they would not be in the draft rotation for teams tied at 7-9. So if the Bears had the #9 and the #40 picks, plus earlier picks in the later rounds, would that have made a difference in the draft, or do you see them picking the same players? Ryan Clady would've been available in the 1st. The Bear…

IMdO, JA REALLY #%@$&!!! screwed this draft from the Fourth Pick on. Marcus Harrison in the Third?!? Character concerns, Injuries, and "a problem at times in the locker room (the staff questioned his toughness, as he would not give full effort when hurt and while trying to become a leader, he failed to live by example and spent more time yelling at teammates rather than mentoring them)" Furthermore, how many NTs does this team need? What about trying to find another 3 technique before Tommie leaves or gets hurt again? Both Carlton Powell AND DeMario Pressley lasted until the Fifth round. Sorry JA, but, with the way the O-Line played l…

Don't know if any other draft picks will be introduced. Chicagobears.com will have the feed.

That the Chicago Bears picked up: QB Nick Hill, WR Curtis Hamilton, FB Russ Weil, QB Caleb Hanie, K Shane Longest UDFA Tracker Does anyone ele have any link that might be better? (I love the name of the kicker we brought in!)

So that we have addressed some needs how will it translate to a winning season? Here is my take on what needs to happen, with our players on offense LT=Williams/St.Clair LG=Adams/St.Clair/Oakley C=Kreutz/Beekman RG=Garza/Oakley/Beekman RT=Tait/Barton 1 WR=Booker/Bennet 2 WR=Bradley/Monk 3 WR=Davis/Hester/Hass TE=Clark TE=Olsen TE=Davis QB=Grossman,Ortan,Hill FB McKie, Runnels RB Forte, Benson Peterson,Wolfe(Either Benson will be on IR or Wolfe might be left out

Discuss.

http://www.suntimes.com/sports/football/be...l042708.article Peace

When Detroit drafted Caleb Campbell from Army. I hate the kittens but I will be rooting for this kid to succeed. Peace

My first gut instinct, with the way things are right now (Urlacher, Hester and others with contract disputes...no drafted QB and the improvement of both Detroit and Minnesota) I fear a less than .500 season for 2008-09. Convince me otherwise but I feel 4-12 or 5-11 is in the cards.

I find it interesting that there are those of us who are thrilled with the draft no matter what we do, and those who hate it no matter what we do. Our o-line, WR's, D-line, D-backfield, and running-back situtation are all significantly better. It's perplexing why we made a statement in not drafting a QB, but I'm sure we had our reasons. Either way, I had a great time spending about 12 hours message boarding about the Bears. Thanks to all of you who participated. Great draft.

I'm just curious to see what others think. What front office, organization, war room did well in your opinion? I like Baltimore and Kansas City...they both had good drafts, IMO.

1. Chris Williams - Pretty much a certainty on drafting a LT. Dont understand why it was him, if we wanna be a running team isnt this guy a fantastic pass blocking OT? To me all OL are the same so wont argue it. 2. Forte - Still upset we made no play at Mendenhall but it was either Forte or Kevin Smith as our RB, but thought we shoulda taken Brohm (Or Henne, bleck) and/or aquired another 2nd rounder and taken either of the above. Forte will immediately loved in chicago and will probably open the door for Benson to leave. 3. Earl Bennett - Dont really like it. With a rather shitty WR class, at least take a guy with crazy speed. We dont need any more possession "r…