balta1701-A

Tillman get no a-spect.

One thing that saying this, and doing it in the preseason does...it makes it where teams have to defend against Melton as an option if he's put in there as a FB. can make the playfake or the 2nd back more effective if the LB's take a half second to see if Melton has the ball.

And the Bears right now have a combination of their best QB since you've been alive (or at least they should have that) and the most pass-friendly rules that the league has had since you've been alive. When the Steelers get to Super Bowls led by their passing attack and not their running game, the message is clear.

Some of that balance in the modern league appears because teams can build a lead using their passing game and then grind down the clock using the running game.

I believe from the moment he was drafted he would be entering the league's substance abuse program since he already has prior issues with it. Thus, I'd think a suspension is actually likely. Here's food for thought: If this had happened in March, could it have knocked him down to 19?

If Rodriguez is everything they hope he'd be, he'd be a compliment to Davis, not a replacement, he's a different type of player. The Trib is telling this story as him being "highly sought after", but really, the reason why the Bears let the Cowboys talk to him is so that they wouldn't be the only ones setting the market for this player. If the Cowboys had an offer out there, then he has a Cowboy offer that the Bears can compare to.

But...that same defense put up some genuinely terrible numbers during the regular season. Gave up a ton of yards in particular. But it was able to keep the Patriots from scoring. And the Packers. Turn around the other way, the Giants had a very good offense as well, the Patriots don't have a stellar pass rush, and they also slowed the Giants down considerably to keep the Super Bowl low scoring.

But you don't decide roster spots or starting positions based on probabilities. You're completely right, 1st and 2nd round picks give you the best chance of being starters. But that doesn't mean the back end/UDFA's can't be just as good...there's just a lower probability and often a little more work to find/develop those guys.

I know it's trendy to say that the Bears should play less cover 2, but I'm going to go the reverse and say I think they've got a good balance in defensive playcalling and they might well be effective playing it more, if they can generate more pass rush from the side opposite peppers. If you watched the Giants and Patriots this year in the playoffs, the reason they got to the super bowl was the cover 2. That's how the mega-offenses can be held somewhat in check.

The only reason why you wouldn't think you could get 3 solid years out of Forte is if you really dont' have confidence in his health. If you think he's only got a year or two left on those knees, then that committment would be excessive.

Yes, it makes a ton of sense. Basically, here's the question...if the Bears give Forte a guaranteed contract and he gets hurt, and that keeps them from having the cap space to sign other guys, and they wind up missing the playoffs because of it, is that acceptable since Forte has already contributed so much? Somehow, I doubt most people would be happy about that.

You should be able to add ipad links if you go to the web page and do some copying and pasting. It takes some time, but it can be done. Anyway, here's the link.

I'd go with either he has a good year or he gets hurt early again and is cut. No inbetween ground any more.

Depends on how we define "Dominant teams". The Giants and Iggles certainly can pull off being "Dominant teams" (one of them did, you know, win the Super Bowl last year), and the Cowboys might be able to if they can ever play up to their talent level. There are a lot of "Ifs" there, but you can apply that to the Bears and Lions as well.

It certainly could be. There are 3 very solidly constructed teams. The only difference might well be that the NFC East doesn't necessarily have a doormat.

Knox addresses media, says there's no timetable for his return, suggests that missing 2012 season is a possibility.

Link

Seattle was also able to absorb a $4.8 million cap hit while trading for Winslow, the Bears probably couldn't have done that if the most recent cap number is to be believed.

Entirely an attitude thing.

This was the most recent cap thread I could find, and hey, it's close to the current number quote!

I'd say the real problem here, in my eyes, is that Forte thinks he deserves that level of contract. If he'd been willing to go under $20 mil guaranteed, this would already be done.

Just my impression, but I get the feeling that if Forte was willing to accept $18 the team would have gotten there.

At least there seems to be a pair of plausible plans, with either Webb or Williams taking the LT spot (with that UDFA as an unlikely 3rd option). Better than just having it handed to him with no offseason work.

Matt Forte will not be holding out at the end of training camp.

If he doesn't, he won't play. If he does, he will play. Really that simple, one hopes.