madlithuanian

Well said gentlemen...

X takes a square! Spot on!

I thought so. It kind of speaks volumes, no? Smith's entire stint here, in which his relies heavily on at least on stud S, has never groomed one. Brown was already a stud he just inherited. One of Smith's chief failings is the lack of developing players.

They say a bnroken clock is right 2 times a day, but at the S position, this regime has only been right about Mike Brown...and actually wasn't he on Jauron's watch?

What I had seen before was each team keeps 2 players, regardless of where drafted. Then the draft begins anew in opposite finishing order of the previous season. You could only retain those 2 players for one year, then repeat again. It was simple, but worked. There seems to be lots of variations on a theme. I'm just excited to get into a keeper league again after many years of not being in a keeper.

Do you honestly think this staff can make that assessment correctly? I don't...

My vote is that Smith is an idiot.

I second that!

I'd enshine him into the HoF! (But I'm not making any plans for such...)

I just threw up a little...

I like it. I'll be curious to see how it works out, but on paper, it seems great!

Double agreed. I'd rather be aggressive and get burned every now and them, than be passive and get sliced and diced like what Griese did to us...

nfo, you hit the nail square on the head!

Agreed...

Gotcha. I've just never seen a keeper league where no one's kept guys... But I've only played in one, so Im pretty green...

I follow.... I'm no so worried about the running game. Honestly, until a Payton or Sayers drops on our laps, we do what we can with what we've got. I'm really speaking in sense that Bears football is defense. We own the hall of fame with defenders. We have our fare share of O guys, but the Bears are about D. And when we play as poorly as we have the past 3 years, it just breaks my heart. You pretty much mention the same if I read your post correctly...

1. I hear ya! I'd not mind $25 in the least! But, I kind of just defer that if people want to big to a bill, then 'm OK with that. Just means I go from Firestone to Pabst on the Sundays! 5. If it is a keep league and I get no players to keep, why should I want to play then? Just speaking on one perspective... I would be starting at a serious disadvantage. You do want to reward previous years' performance. Maybe I draft last then? Just thoughts...

Honestly...I don't know. He's seemed to live in a different reality for years. Until I hear the actual statement later on Comcast where I can hear the inflection and tone, I'm basing it solely on the letters. Fair enough! But I'm not so upset at the article as the actual reported quotes from our HC. Isaacson is a cheap Mariotti ripoff. Id rather hear form the horses ass himself...at least he's the original. I can't help it...anytime I see a quote like that from him, I feel my blood pressure rise. It literally sets me off like a Pavlovian experiement. I need to somehow get over it, but I seem not to. Winning would probably solve it...

Agreed, but only to an extent. Smith can't be so dumb to not know some semblance of the question was coming. He gets paid a boatload of loot, and part of that is having the savvy to deal with media. It's not like this was his very first press conference. I gurantee 100% that I would have said pretty much exactly what I wrote had that been me. No doubt, the article was fluff junk. And agreed, expect with one exception. The one thing he could say that would be good enough is "I resign". No arguement there...deeds not words. But until we see deeds, we can only judge the words, and right now, it's the same old same old. Insantity is doing the same thing over and over expecting different results... And I'm tired of 17 week stints in the looney bin!

I'm not sure my status as I've wanted to take on the empty seat...but my 2 cents worth on your points (hoping I'm not jumping the gun): 1. I am honestly good with any amount. I defer to what the majority want. I put aside funds every season for various gambling on the season, and anything from $20-$100 is in my budget. 2. Agreed. Being an accountant, it key to spell out money issues at the onset. 3. I'll defer to everyone else...since I didn't play last year, I'm not sure of the ebb and flow. But generally speaking, I trend to like more opportunities to get paid! 4. let me know....those sound like reasonable rules. 5. Again, I'll defer to last years' owners on this, but in other leagues I've been involved in...the new owner simply "buys" the old owners' team. Similar to if Michael Jordan bought the Bears (we can all dream...). You get all the same players as the previous regime.

Indeed! I hope luck shines on us positively in the injury dept...it would seem karma should bounce our way.

Cop out answer! We all want to just win! I'd have Brett Favre coach us if it meant winning a Super Bowl and being great for years... (But I reserve the right to reverse that just becasue I hate him so much....) But you get the point. The key is trying to play the game of fantasy ower with some realism. We fans will never run the circus, but the key is to try to find a realistic option that gets us to the desired goal. I think Cowher is one of a few that could. I'd have loved Singletary. Especially over the current regime. And as you mentioned before, we're probably stuck with this (lack of) brain trust through next year unless something miraculous happens with the CBA before season's end...or we Marinelli it to a winless season. I would honestly love an oeeensive minded HC. A line guy. I'd really like Russ Grimm. I likve his playing and coaching experience. But, if we had to go D, I like the other Ryan brother, or Rivera if that bridge hasn't been burned. Heck, I'd even consider McGinnis if that were a possibility. But the McCaskey circle seems to have burned those bridges w/o knowing more. ...and I still think we need a real GM. Now I'm just rambling! Sorry!

What we can expect, and what we want are usually very different... I fully expected the same garbage from Smith, but hoped it wouldn't be that ridiculous. To say he doesn't remember the past is just pure unadulterated fodder for comedians, writers and angry fans (like myself). I can't remember who made the quote, but it oges something like: "Those who chose not to remember the past are doomed to repeat it..."

I'm not sure that's the crux of the story. Extremes aren't good, reality is. He could have just as easily said, "You know what, we have looked at the past few seasons, and we aren't happy with those results. We look to be able to fix some of the problems we've had with some coaching adjustments and personnel changes. Given what we think we can correct, I think we can be a team that can compete with the very best in the league and from there...the sky;s the limit." By stating that, he's acknowledging issues in the past, answering the question with some honesty, and all the while...being positive. It need not be sugar coated to the extreme that would make Willy Wonka's teeth hurt. But yes, no real news means they're grasping at straws to write about anything.

I also am curious as to what Brown does in NO. I honestly think we screwed up by letting him go. I love your thoughts on what the D should be! While I don't necessarily want to go back to the 46...I just want the D to kick ass. The hybrid of the cover-2 we play is garbage, completely beatable w/o a monsterous D line surge and kickass D Back like Mike Brown in his heyday. I can honestly go on and on about how much Smith blows regarding the neutering of our once proud defensive tradition...but I'll save my venom for later on!