balta1701-A

With the 8th pick in the 2009 NFL Draft, the Jacksonville Jaguars select Rey Maualuga, ILB, USC.

Just forcing the safeties to play the deep ball instead of stopping the run ought to be huge for that offense.

There's talk that he may not get past Seattle.

They had "Absolutely no running game" except some how they were what, 12th in the league in total rushing yards and near the top of the league averaging about 4.8 yards per carry. I'm not sure exactly what the reasons were...whether it was the zone blocking scheme they use, or the fact that Cutler was their QB and everyone thought him a bigger threat than their running game, they were able to chew up more yards on the ground than the Bears by quite a bit. It will be interesting to see what happens when you put Cutler with an actual solid RB.

Even with that...the Bears #3 WR still winds up being Rashied Davis, correct? I want to see those guys get their shots as much as you do, but there still is room for an addition. I'm not sure if Plax is the right move/fit, I think a check-down, possession receiver would be even more effective, but the Bears have room to add without blocking those guys.

WR's take long enough to develop and this draft is deep enough in them that a 3rd rounder or lower would be a reasonable move also. The Bears could use some WR youth and depth, but they shouldn't force themselves in to drafting one in the 2nd unless there's one there that they particularly want.

If Holt would sign for that I think the Bears would be crazy not to do it. They ought to have the money to outbid most teams anyway. Right now it just seems like there's something on both sides other than simply those issues standing in the way.

If Harrison can still find ways to get open, I think he'd be an excellent compliment to Hester, Bennett, and Olsen. The guy I feel like the Bears are missing right now is the underneath route, possession, solid hands receiver who you check down to if your deep route is covered to still gain yards. Hester isn't that guy, Clarke or Forte maybe comes closest on the current roster, but you'd really like someone who can do that from the wideout spot.

Babich?

I think we can take up a pool here to try to get you a PSL...

Skanberg

I'm going to assume he meant the Lions. Brianbear is on the clock.

Heard Gould earlier...he sounded fairly excited...but you know, they're not going to throw anyone under the bus or start cheering until they at least meet the guy.

Next year is still currently uncapped.

I would like to announce that the 2009 Talkbears NFL Mock Draft is underway. Please see the Mock Draft subforum. Official draft thread is here. The Detroit Lions are on the clock, and this thread is closing.

And here is a version of the top players sorted by position. It comes from this website. I chose it entirely because it was easy to copy & paste the data I wanted. QB 1. Matthew Stafford, Georgia 2. Mark Sanchez*, USC 3. Josh Freeman*, Kansas State 4. Nate Davis*, Ball State 5. Rhett Bomar, Sam Houston State 6. Pat White, West Virginia 7. Graham Harrell, Texas Tech 8. Nathan Brown, Central Arkansas 9. David Johnson, Tulsa 10. Tom Brandstater, Fresno State RB 1. Chris "Beanie" Wells*, Ohio State 2. Knowshon Moreno*, Georgia 3. LeSean McCoy*, Pittsburgh 4. Shonn Greene*, Iowa 5. Donald Brown*, Connecticut 6. Javon Ringer, Michigan State 7. Cedric Peerman, Virginia 8. James Davis, Clemson 9. Andre Brown, North Carolina State 10. Jeremiah Johnson, Oregon WR 1. Michael Crabtree**, Texas Tech 2. Jeremy Maclin**, Missouri 3. Kenny Britt**, Rutgers 4. Darrius Heyward-Bey*, Maryland 5. Percy Harvin*, Florida 6. Hakeem Nicks*, North Carolina 7. Brandon Tate, North Carolina 8. Derrick Williams, Penn State 9. Brian Robiskie, Ohio State 10. Patrick Turner, USC 11. Jauquin Iglesias, Oklahoma TE 1. Brandon Pettigrew, Oklahoma State 2. Jared Cook*, South Carolina 3. James Casey*, Rice 4. Travis Beckum, Wisconsin 5. Chase Coffman, Missouri OT 1. Eugene Monroe, Virginia 2. Jason Smith, Baylor 3. Andre Smith*, Alabama 4. Michael Oher, Mississippi 5. William Beatty, Connecticut 6. Eben Britton* Arizona 7. Phil Loadholt, Oklahoma 8. Jamon Meredith, South Carolina 9. Jason Watkins, Florida 10. Troy Kropog, Tulane OG 1. Duke Robinson, Oklahoma 2. Jamon Meredith, South Carolina 3. Andy Levitre, Oregon State 4. Kraig Urbik, Wisconsin 5. Greg Isdaner*, West Virginia 6. Herman Johnson, LSU 7. Trevor Canfield, Cincinnati 8. Cornelius Lewis, Tennessee State 9. Louis Vasquez, Texas Tech 10. Tyronne Green, Auburn C 1. Alex Mack, California 2. Max Unger, Oregon 3. Antoine Caldwell, Alabama 4. Eric Wood, Louisville 5. Jonathan Luigs, Arkansas DT 1. B.J. Raji, Boston College 2. Peria Jerry, Ole Miss 3. Fili Moala, USC 4. Evander "Ziggy" Hood, Missouri 5. Ron Brace, Boston College 6. Sen'Derrick Marks*, Auburn 7. Ricky Jean-Francois*, LSU 8. Terrance Taylor, Michigan 9. Jarron Gilbert, San Jose State 10. Corvey Irvin, Georgia DE 1. Everette Brown*, DE Florida State 2. Aaron Maybin**, Penn State 3. Brian Orakpo, Texas 4. Tyson Jackson, LSU 5. Larry English, Northern Illinois 6. Michael Johnson, Georgia Tech 7. Robert Ayers, Tennessee 8. Paul Kruger, Utah 9. Connor Barwin, Cincinnati 10. Matt Shaughnessy, Wisconsin OLB 1. Aaron Curry, Wake Forest 2. Everette Brown*, DE Florida State 3. Aaron Maybin**, Penn State 4. Brian Cushing, USC 5. Clay Matthews, USC 6. Cody Brown, Connecticut 7. Larry English, Northern Illinois 8. Clint Sintim, Virginia 9. Marcus Freeman, Ohio State 10. Connor Barwin, Cincinnati ILB 1. Rey Maualuga, USC 2. James Laurinaitis, Ohio State 3. Clint Sintim, Virginia 4. Jason Phillips, TCU 5. Darry Beckwith, LSU 6. Dannell Ellerbe, Georgia 7. Scott McKillop, Pittsburgh 8. Jasper Brinkley, South Carolina 9. Joshua Mauga, Nevada 10. Worrell Williams, California FS 1. Derek Peques, Mississippi State 2. Louis Delmas, Western Michigan 3. Darcel McBath, Texas Tech 4. Ladarius Webb, Nicholls State 5. Rashad Johnson, Alabama SS 1. Louis Delmas, Western Michigan 2. Emanuel Cook, South Carolina 3. Kevin Ellison, USC 4. Clarence "Chip" Vaughn 5. Patrick Chung, Oregon CB 1. Vontae Davis*, Illinois 2. Malcolm Jenkins, Ohio State 3. Alphonso Smith, Wake Forest 4. D. J. Moore, Vanderbilt 5. Darius Butler, Connecticut 6. Sean Smith, Utah 7. Coye Francies, San Jose State 8. Asher Allen*, CB Georgia 9. Victor Harris, Virgina Tech 10. Jarius Byrd, Oregon

A few suggestions of people who are available. We'll try to keep this updated as the picks come in so that you know who's still out there at each position. Here is one version of a top 100 list. It comes from this website. Don't waste time criticizing the list, I don't care if it's crap, it's roughly got the right people. Rk Player Name Pos School 1. Aaron Curry LB Wake Forest 2 . Eugene Monroe OT Virginia 3. Michael Crabtree WR Texas Tech 4. Brian Orakpo DE Texas 5. Rey Maualuga LB USC 6. Jason Smith OT Baylor 7. Matthew Stafford QB Georgia 8. B.J. Raji NT Boston College 9. Vontae Davis CB Illinois 10. Michael Johnson DE Georgia Tech 11. Brian Cushing LB USC 12. Mark Sanchez QB USC 13. Jeremy Maclin WR Missouri 14. Knowshon Moreno HB Georgia 15. Brandon Pettigrew TE Oklahoma State 16. Chris Wells HB Ohio State 17. James Laurinaitis LB Ohio State 18. Malcolm Jenkins CB Ohio State 19. Andre Smith OT Alabama 20. Josh Freeman QB Kansas State 21. Sean Smith CB Utah 22. Michael Oher OT Mississippi 23. Tyson Jackson DT Louisiana State 24. Clint Sintim LB Virginia 25. Darius Butler CB Connecticut 26. Peria Jerry DT Mississippi 27. Kenny Britt WR Rutgers 28. Larry English DE Northern Illinois 29. Percy Harvin WR Florida 30. William Beatty OT Connecticut 31. Donald Brown HB Connecticut 32. Connor Barwin DE Cincinnati 33. Clay Matthews DE USC 34. Aaron Maybin DE Penn State 35. Darrius Heyward-Bey WR Maryland 36. Eben Britton OT Arizona 37. LeSean McCoy HB Pittsburgh 38. Hakeem Nicks WR North Carolina 39. Alphonso Smith CB Wake Forest 40. Evander Hood DT Missouri 41. Everette Brown DE Florida State 42. Robert Ayers DE Tennessee 43. Jared Cook TE South Carolina 44. Max Unger C Oregon 45. Brian Robiskie WR Ohio State 46. Myron Pryor DT Kentucky 47. Fili Moala DT USC 48. Donald Washington CB Ohio State 49. Herman Johnson OG Louisiana State 50. Jasper Brinkley LB South Carolina 51. Alex Mack C California 52. Jarron Gilbert DT San Jose State 53. Cornelius Ingram TE Florida 54. Keenan Lewis CB Oregon State 55. Eric Wood C Louisville 56. Gerald McRath LB Southern Mississippi 57. Andre Brown HB North Carolina State 58. Patrick Turner WR USC 59. William Moore S Missouri 60. Patrick Chung S Oregon 61. Duke Robinson OG Oklahoma 62. D.J. Moore CB Vanderbilt 63. Jairus Byrd CB Oregon 64. Rashad Jennings HB Liberty 65. Jamon Meredith OT South Carolina 66. Shawn Nelson TE Southern Mississippi 67. Kenny McKinley WR South Carolina 68. Mike Wallace WR Mississippi 69. SenDerrick Marks DT Auburn 70. Lawrence Sidbury DE Richmond 71. Mitch King DE Iowa 72. Tyronne Green OG Auburn 73. Chris Clemons S Clemson 74. Sammie Stroughter WR Oregon State 75. Ron Brace DT Boston College 76. Victor Harris CB Virginia Tech 77. Marcus Freeman LB Ohio State 78. Chip Vaughn S Wake Forest 79. Ramses Barden WR Cal Poly 80. David Bruton S Notre Dame 81. Zach Potter DE Nebraska 82. Darry Beckwith LB Louisiana State 83. Derrick Williams WR Penn State 84. Courtney Greene S Rutgers 85. Dannell Ellerbe LB Georgia 86. Dorell Scott DT Clemson 87. Corvey Irvin DT Georgia 88. Shonn Greene HB Iowa 89. Maurice Evans DE Penn State 90. Andrew Gardner OT Georgia Tech 91. Cedric Peerman HB Virginia 92. Chris Owens CB San Jose State 93. Troy Kropog OT Tulane 94. Michael Hamlin S Clemson 95. Phil Loadholt OT Oklahoma 96. Stephen McGee QB Texas A&M 97. Xavier Fulton OT Illinois 98. Rhett Bomar QB Sam Houston State 99. Louis Delmas S Western Michigan 100. Darcel McBath S Texas Tech

Please use this thread for all discussion, pick bashing, calling people insane, loud boos, wondering what the Hell Michael Irvin just said, whatever.

For round 1, here is the draft order we will start with. On the advice of others, we will not allow trades. If there is another major trade in the league while we're doing this, we'll decide what to do at the time. To place your pick, either post it in this thread and the first post will be updated accordingly, or send it in PM form to me or one of the other mods/admins. The first post will be updated as we go along. Do not use this thread for trade discussion - it'll simply make it too confusing for me to keep up, I want a new post in here to mean someone made a new pick. Keep all discussion in the other thread I'll be setting up. As a reminder...you get roughly 24 hours to stay on the clock. I'll be generous, especially on weekends and for the first couple picks, but if you get on the clock and no one can find you, someone may pick for you. So at least try to stay current if you've got a team coming up. 1. Detroit Lions - Dabearsdabomb - Mark Sanchez, QB, USC 2. St. Louis Rams - Brianbear - Michael Crabtree, WR, Texas Tech 3. Kansas City Chiefs - bowlingtwig - Aaron Curry, LB, Wake Forest 4. Seattle Seahawks - jason - Jason Smith, OT, Baylor 5. Cleveland Browns - Pixote - Brian Orakpo, OLB, Texas 6. Cincinnati Bengals - Pixote - B.J. Raji, DT, Boston College 7. Oakland Raiders - The Prophet - Jeremy Maclin, WR, Missouri 8. Jacksonville Jaguars - Balta1701 - Rey Maualuga, ILB, USC 9. Green Bay Packers - bowlingtwig - Aaron Maybin, DE/LB, Penn State 10. San Francisco 49ers - Madlithuanian - Eugene Monroe, OT, Virginia 11. Buffalo Bills - Balta1701 - Everette Brown, DE, Florida State 12. Denver Broncos - Stinger226 - Matthew Stafford, QB, Georgia 13. Washington Redskins - Chitownhustla - Andre Smith, OT, Alabama 14. New Orleans Saints - Ashkum Bear - Malcom Jenkins, FS, Ohio St. 15. Houston Texans - The Prophet - Clay Matthews, OLB, USC 16. San Diego Chargers - Stinger226 - Michael Oher, OT, Mississippi 17. New York Jets - Drunkbomber - Josh Freeman, QB, Kansas State 18. Denver Broncos (From Chicago) - Stinger 226 - Tyson Jackson, DE/DT, LSU 19. Tampa Bay Buccaneers - Stinger226 - Peria Jerry DT Mississippi 20. Detroit Lions (from DAL) - Dabearsdabomb -Brian Cushing, LB, USC 21. Philadelphia Eagles - Ashkum Bear - Vontae Davis, CB, Illinois 22. Minnesota Vikings - jason - Kenny Britt, WR, Rutgers 23. New England Patriots - MadLithuanian - James Laurinaitis, LB, OSU 24. Atlanta Falcons - Ashkum Bear - Brandon Pettigrew, TE, Oklahoma St. 25. Miami Dolphins - The Prophet - Darius Butler, CB, Connecticut 26. Baltimore Ravens - MadLithuanian - Darrius Heyward-Bey WR, Maryland 27. Indianapolis Colts - Balta1701 - Evander "Ziggy" Hood, DT/DE, Missouri 28. Philadelphia Eagles (from CAR) - Ashkum Bear - Robert Ayers, DE, Tennessee 29. New York Giants - Dabearsdabomb (BrianBear) - Hakeem Nicks, WR, UNC 30. Tennessee Titans - Stinger226 - Percy Harvin, WR, Florida 31. Arizona Cardinals - The Prophet - Knowshon Moreno, RB, Georgia 32. Pittsburgh Steelers - Drunkbomber - Louis Delmas S, Western Michigan Round 2: 33. Detroit Lions - Dabearsdabomb - Alphonso Smith, CB, Wake Forest 34. New England Patriots (from KC) - MadLithuanian - William Moore, S Missouri 35. St. Louis Rams - Brianbear - William Beatty, OT, Connecticut 36. Cleveland Browns - Pixote - Chris "Beanie" Wells*, Ohio State 37. Seattle Seahawks - Jason - Sean Smith, CB/S, Utah 38. Cincinnati Bengals - Pixote - Brian Robiskie, WR, Ohio State 39. Jacksonville Jaguars - Balta1701 - Michael Johnson, DE, Georgia Tech 40. Oakland Raiders - The Prophet - Clint Sintim, LB, Virginia 41. Green Bay Packers - bowlingtwig - Eben Britton, OT Arizona 42. Buffalo Bills - Balta1701 - Duke Robinson, OG, Oklahoma 43. San Francisco 49ers - MadLithuanian - Larry English, DE, Northern Illinois 44. Miami Dolphins (from Washington) - The Prophet - Patrick Chung, S, Oregon 45. New York Giants (from New Orleans) - DaBearsdabomb - Max Unger, OC, Oregon 46. Houston Texans - The Prophet - Donald Washington, CB, Ohio State 47. New England Patriots (from San Diego) - MadLithuanian - On the clock 48. Denver Broncos - Stinger226 49. Chicago Bears - MadLithuanian 50. Cleveland Browns (from Tampa Bay) - Pixote 51. Dallas Cowboys - Chitownhustla 52. New York Jets - Drunkbomber 53. Philadelphia Eagles - Ashkum Bear 54. Minnesota Vikings - jason 55. Atlanta Falcons - Ashkum Bear 56. Miami Dolphins - The Prophet 57. Baltimore Ravens - MadLithuanian 58. New England Patriots - MadLithuanian 59. Carolina Panthers - Flea 60. New York Giants - Dabearsdabomb 61. Indianapolis Colts - Balta1701 62. Tennessee Titans - Stinger226 63. Arizona Cardinals - The Prophet 64. Pittsburgh Steelers - Drunkbomber

No. That's all I have to say about that.

Called that one.

Bears Pro-bowl QB's since 1950: 1985: Jim McMahon 1963: Bill Wade 1956: Ed Brown 1955: Ed Brown 1952: Johnny Lujack 1951: Johnny Lujack

Hell, before someone else posts another thread I'm going to bump this thread.

There certainly are some concerns with that, I'd say it may well affect the longevity of his career, and it might not be the greatest thing in Chicago December weather. But last year, he finally was receiving treatment for it and he was responding to it very, very well.