DrunkBomber

For the most part HC's pick their own coachs and coordinators so its not that big a deal. Keeping Lovie is, but this doesnt make it THAT much worse for a new GM. Also, I know he wasnt calling the plays but when Tice was HC in Minnesota in 2004 Culpepper threw for 4700 yards, 39 tds, 11 ints and 69% comp and the leading rusher on the team was Onterrio Smith with less then 600 yards. Moss also wasnt the leading WR either. So I dont think we have to worry about turning into an exclusive run team. http://www.pro-football-reference.com/teams/min/2004.htm

Exactly this. IMO we NEED to sign a #1 WR and possibly a #2 or 3 WR depending on what they want to do in the draft. But there are zero circumstances where this team should even consider not signing the best FA wr they have any chance at.

I dont think the new gm has to draft specifically to suit Lovie but he certainly should get players to compliment what we currently have. Whether Lovie was the coach or not Urlacher, Briggs, Peppers and Tillman are pro bowlers and excel in a base cover 2 defense so as long as we go after players who can play a 4-3 we should be fine. We certainly have a lot of holes to fill on both sides of the ball so I think how we draft completely depends on what we do in FA. I think first and foremost we need a number 1 wr and starting caliber OL in FA. After that see whats available and who you can get to fill some other holes and then draft BPA based on the remaining needs. Our defense might be on the verge of being in shambles in a few years, but for the time being we could get by with getting one impact DL, could be either a DT or DE and then a starting safety, preferably FS, and then possibly a 2nd/3rd type corner. Now I know we have more needs and holes on defense but if you do those few upgrades our defense will certainly be good enough. On offense we need 2 new wrs and should pencil in Bennett as the 2 or 3 and Hester as the 4. We need one of Bowe, Vjax, Colston, Stevie or Wayne (IMO in that order) and then can either use our first on another WR or go after another FA like Lloyd, Manningham, L. Robinson, Garcon, Plax or maybe Steve Smith PHI. I think we need to upgrade at TE but I dont think the urgency is there yet because we dont know what Davis can do with a new OC so he should be ok for another year unless something falls into our lap, maybe like Fred Davis. Then as I said we need to sign a starting OL, maybe 2 and then take a couple in the draft and try to develop them. Im good with Bell and McCown as backups for now.

Yes clearly Bowe is the prize of the WRs this season but if you cant get him then the Bears better go after Vjax. Of course its not gonna be cheap but most good players in FA arent cheap. The Bears have to get one of Bowe, Vjax, Colston or Stevie. Hopefully one or two of them become available but they have to get one of them.

I certainly remember what he did to our pro bowl corner back this game http://www.nfl.com/gamecenter/2011112010/2...s&tab=recap

I think its come to the point where we cant afford to take the moral high ground with WRs anymore. He will be one of the few number 1 wrs available so the Bears need to make a run at him (if Bowe cant be had)

One of the greatest things to happen in Chicago sports history.

Its tough to get excited about where the Bears will pick for me as long as JA is making the picks.

Ya Martz was a great offensive mind when he had a HOF QB, RB, LT and 2 of the best WRs in the NFL at the time. Its ridiculous to even consider that when rating how he will do as the Bears OC. He hasnt been as bad as I thought hed be but when the biggest reason to keep an OC is so your QB doesnt have to learn a new system then it doesnt say much about him.

If were just going off of what we can get from someone production wise and ignoring everything else Id rather have TO then Roy, assuming hes healthy. Roys streaky production isnt enough to compensate for stuff like what he did at the end of the KC game and all the third down drops he has had. If he was a good team player or had a great work ethic then maybe Id feel different but Ive seen enough of him to know he wont be a contributor when we need him.

Thats a good point. I guess he is one of the better motivators and his team always seems to want to play their hearts out for him but youre right, it stings when we struggle to develop any of our young players whereas teams like the Packers and Steelers dont even sign free agents because they can consistently reload in the draft and seem to rarely miss. Its also a combination of JA not drafting the right players too. Either way Id rather see JA go then Lovie but it doesnt look like that will happen anytime soon.

Tillman did a great job on Megatron in the 2nd matchup with the lions. He was getting destroyed by Vjax (his future teammate) but I believe thats also the game he had that key fumble caused. Hes been a great Bear for years so its nice to see him get some recognition.

I actually think Lovie has done a pretty solid job year in and year out considering the players he is given from his gm. Im not a fan of Martz and I think JA is one of the worst gms in all of sports but I cant complain with the job Lovie has done. He took this team to a Super Bowl with Grossman at Qb and Berrian as the number 1 WR, missed the playoffs by one game one year with Orton and Adrian Peterson starting and had us in the NFC championship last season with a combination of Hester and Knox as the number 1 wrs and one of the worst o lines in the NFL. It could be a lot worse. I think Lovies tenure here is tied to Urlacher also. Even though they have strayed away from the tampa 2 a little more the past few years its worked here for so long because Urlacher is probably the best MLB in NFL history to run that type of defense. Once you lose him you basically are going to have to start over from scratch with a defensive scheme and thats probably the best time to look at a new coach.

Ok everyone is paid up. We obviously have plenty of time until we need to get organized but it cant hurt to look ahead. If any owners dont plan on returning let me know, if youre not sure then dont worry about it right now just try to let me know whenever you decide and give me enough time to replace you. I also want to propose a tweak in the scoring for defenses. Maybe just lower sacks to 1.5 and takeaways from 4 to 3 or 2. I just dont feel a game should be won or lost because someones defense scores 40+ points. Finally, Im 99% sure that next season we are going to be starting a 2nd league through talkbears. If a few of you from this league are interested in maybe being in both let me know. I have had a good amount of people wanting to join this league and had to turn them down so I thought it would be nice if once I got this league running smoothly to create another one to give some other people a shot, and I think this year went pretty well. As of now Ill assume the basics of the league would be the same, $25 with the same or similar scoring and wed have to decide about making it a keeper league. So anyone from this league or anyone who isnt in a league who is reading this, if youre interested throw your name out there because Im not sure how fast it will fill up.

Ok first and second have been paid and if the last person pays Ill pay myself for third.

Thanks

Absolutely not. Going into this season I wouldnt have minded TO but that was just because we did nothing else to upgrade the position. They better not do that again.

We have one person who didnt pay. Not sure if hes a member of the forum or not. I tried sending a message through leaguesafe but dont know if it worked. For the time being Ill pay first and second and wont pay myself for third until that gets handled. Can first and second PM me verifying their real names so I know I send it to the right people.

Here are the final standings: final standings Great season and probably the most competitive league Ive been in. Its rare to have 9/10 teams fighting for the playoffs up until the last week of the season. Not to mention the the only team who tanked had Charles, P. Manning, Andre Johnson and Miles Austin so its nice to have a good group of players who know what theyre doing. I cant complain too much about finishing third but going into the season with Rodgers at QB, MJD, Gore, Fred Jackson, Beanie Wells and Lynch at RB and Mike Wallace, Britt and Santonio at WR I really liked my chances. Payouts are 60/30/10 and Im gonna try to handle those right now.

10% so essentially you get your money back

Congrats to TELLMARTZ SAYF*CKHIM and DevilDogs for reaching the championship, both with big wins in their semi matchups. Me and Madlith are playing for third after our first round byes

A nice holding penalty by Davis to negate a Barber first down run

Wow, Bears doing everything they can to lose

Cheers to first round byes!

Congrats to the teams who made the playoffs