balta1701-A

It's not like the Bears WR's have been dominant this year. Or healthy. If Sanz had earned a chance to get on the field in practice, he'd have gotten out there.

"Adrian Peterson gets the ball" = Frazier is doing a good job.

With the Bears defense, if they ever got their heads in the game, they could win against any team in the playoffs, esp. now that they're getting a little healthier. But yeah...I woulnd't put money on them to win either of those games.

Heck, the Bears as-is get what, 2, 3 safeties back from IR next year?

If San Fran loses either of their next 2 games and GB wins next week, that can put the Packers in the #2 slot. The Pack will still have to play unless they somehow wind up with a late/night game.

IF he hadn't gotten hurt, would Tillman be DPOY even with all that Smith and Watt have done?

The Saints (and the Cowboys coaching staff) are on the verge of doing the Bears a solid favor.

The reason why you don't try that if you're trying to compete is...what happens if he fails? You have the same problem as this year. If you're rebuilding, sure give him the spot, because you've given up caring whether 3 sacks will cost you the game.

The one name out of all these I really woudln't have interest in is Alex Smith. If there are names like Flynn and Sanchez out there who could be had as potential backup options, I'd rather take the guy without as much playing time as Smith has had, just to see if whatever new coach/system the Bears put in can get more out of that guy. I think we saw Smith's ceiling under Harbaugh.

Only if the Bears are rebuilding completely. If they're not, then they need either another 1st round LT pick or a free agent signing in that spot.

This. Tim Tebow, if brought in, will be nothing but a distraction. Even if he doesn't try to be, his presence alone will undermine Cutler.

Which is one of the reasons why I thought the line was in better shape. Losing Louis also hurt. But man, Carimi was bad enough they outright benched him from the guard spot last game. At the very least he was supposed to be a rock on the right side. If Carimi was holding down the Right side, with Louis next to him, then you could keep putting Spaeth on Webb's side and backstopping the rush with a TE double team. Instead, Carimi's been useless, particularly in the passing game, so there's no side of the Bears' line that can be counted on to hold up on its own.

I'd be willing to sign the Sanchize as Cutler's backup for the same kind of money Campbell got this year. Cutler's likely to miss a couple games next year based on his history and the O-line, and Sanchez in a different system might have a small chance of overhauling his game and taking a step forward. At worst, he's a backup who can win some games. Some team might give him more money with a chance to start though.

Actually, the Giants have the habit of starting fast, slumping in the middle of the season, being especially terrible in November, putting their backs against the wall, and then reeling off however many consecutive wins it takes to make the playoffs.

Did anyone think Carimi would be this bad?

If they're "Shopping" Sanchez, they won't get any interest. Huge cap number, much more likely to be released.

I know it's never fun to do the retread assistant route, but the counterpoint to all of your "assistants who failed in their first stint as head coach" is forever going to be Bill Belichik. Dude was bad enough with Cleveland that they wound up moving the team, and now he's a hall of famer. Sometimes there can be a right candidate buried in a retread, but there's an element of "Finding the right guy" required too. Just no McDaniels. Re: the college coaches. You're completely right. I wouldn't want any part of a guy who had bailed on a team before (Saban/Petrino), and I'm not sure how you judge when a guy might do that again.

I think all of these threads are based on the obvious assumption that Lovie Smith will not return unless there is a miraculous turnaround.

Norv Turner would be a great OC option.

They need 2 tackles, so signing and drafting wouldn't be a bad thing.

(Does Carimi still count as a starter when he was benched mid-game yesterday?)

That QB who put up 4000 yards in his 2nd season just isn't there any more. Whether that's physical or mental, he's not. You might be able to rebuild him, but it's basically starting from the ground up.

Pete Carroll just kicked the Bears tails.

Cutler is an average QB at best. If the Bears are going to win, it's because they found a way to keep him from making the kind of mistakes he's making all the time right now. You pound Rodgers, you sack him a half dozen times in a half, he'll still throw for 3 TD's if it's what it takes to beat you. You do the same thing to Cutler, he gets angry with the team around him, angry with the coordinators, misses throws, throws at least one ludicrous INT, and just cannot step up to carry the team. Today would have been a great day to prove me wrong. He didn't. Cutler gets more excuses made for him than any other QB I can think of and I'm sure people will give me a bunch of them in reply. He's an average QB in a below average system, and he plays like it.

That's one of those items on my list of things I'll never understand.