Pixote

Oh Come on Jason, give me just one good reason

I am sure this hold out coupled with the issues the Bears had with Bennett last August when he was suspended has a lot to do with the "rumors" I would not want to see him traded without getting good value but I can certainly understand Fox & Pace wanting to not only reload the roster with talent but also make sure all players on the team are "all in" and ready to kick butt.

I tip my hat to all of you working on this forum draft. We have attempted many of these mock drafts in the past and had no where near the success as you have with this one. Exceptionally well organized and everyone participating kept things rolling smoothly. Again, Great Job!

NFL Veterans Combine Participants Curious if any of this year's participants in the NFL Veterans Combine will make it to the Bears' roster. I looked over the list (link provided) and honestly was totally unimpressed with the list. Heck, I only recognized a few that were listed. Any of you familiar with anyone on this list and think they would be worth a look?

And it is also very easy for a writer to take liberties and say any damn thing they want to get pub and claim it was from anonymous sources.

If they were "current" coaches, of course, do not do a "Kromer" My understanding is these "opinionated" individuals are not with the team any more. There is no reason for them to not own up to their comments, again, IMO. I am just not one to give credence to "anonymous sources"

So a bunch of ex-bear coaches, who probably sucked at their job while in Chicago, want to diss Cutler but do not have the balls to say it in public, want the anonymity tag. I have always had trouble taking anything from someone who does not want to be named as the source seriously. They could be right, but if they do not want to be named, then they should just shut the hell up. Just my opinion. If they truly feel that way why not come out of the closet.

If this is true and they are asking him to take a pay cut despite the Bears having a good cap number MAYBE it is a sign that they are looking at some very high priced options in FA? Just a thought. If that be the case a lot of players would buy into it especially older players who would like to go to the SB before they retire.

I doubt Pace had the final say in the draft room, although I am sure he will be influenced by the system the NO GM used while Pace was there. One would have to believe although Pace had significant input into the decision making, there were occasions where the NO GM went in a different direction than what Pace would have done. This first draft will tell us a lot of what we can expect in the future. Only thing for sure, from past experiences, there will be some posters on the forum wanting to fire Pace as our GM after the draft because he chose players that they did not want and he skipped over some of their "must draft" list. LOL

Denver special teams are a bit hard to evaluate. Mile High helps produce longer punts with great hang time, longer field goals and lots of touchbacks on KOs. I think I read that Denver had over 80 touchbacks on KOs this year. Hell, our team didn't come close to having to kick off 80 times, LOL. So I have no idea just how good this guy is as the head honcho for STs.

I think the important thing to remember is that Pace is looking to structure his staff with people he can trust and knows will be on the same page as him when it comes to philosophies & procedures. Hiring someone who has worked with him for the past 10 years in NOLA seems a good idea to me.

Greg Knapp actually looks like an interesting option. He has some previous experience as OC and 20 years experience overall on the offensive side of the ball. I am just wondering why he has not been bantered about as a OC until now. He seems to have been forgotten by HCs looking for OCs over the past few years. There must be some reason?

I have had limited time to visit & post, I slip in and out to read as much as I can. I appreciate being able to come to my "Bears Home" and catch up on the news. I do need to ask a question, as I missed some postings, obviously, and do not have time to search for the answer. It seems to be that someone must have posted something indicating K Shanny would be Fox's choice of OC Why is this a foregone conclusion? Does Fox have major ties with him from the past? Just curious.

I hope there are better OC candidates than Kyle S that are on the new HC's shopping list I have to believe there are better options Not saying he would not be a good OC but would be a bit nervous if he was chosen for the position

I know Fox had health issues in Denver so I wonder if the reason for him leaving Denver is that he is retiring from coaching? I cannot believe they would let him go because of performance. Obviously P Manning had a lot to do with his success in Denver but he cannot be blamed for the poor finish Denver had to the season. That IMO was Manning showing his age. Might be time for him to think about retiring. I believe the season was about 6 games longer than what his body could absorb.

Kubiak certainly did not impress me in his first stint as HC with the Texans. That being said, many excellent HCs have struggled with their 1st opportunity, learned from their mistakes, and went on to excel. So I am a bit on the fence with this call.

Damn, Hub with a positive opinion on the Bears? Unheard of, LOL. Good read, thanks for the link.

I think of the HC prospects mentioned I am most interested in the DC from Seattle. Arizona bombed on D against Carolina in the playoffs, scares me a bit Austin, I guess because he is with Detroit, would be a distant 3rd. Maronne (sp) is completely off my Radar, do not like the reports I am hearing I like Shanny but fear a power struggle with the GM if he comes in and has any success so not a long term answer IMO

I think they will, and should IMO, go with Ballard. Maybe they want to interview a few before Ballard to better position themselves. So I agree with your assessment. I hope that is the case. From what I have read of Brian Gaine I am not overly impressed.

I agree, it is different. When everyone was certain Emery & Trestman would get the Axe I was not so sure. The Bears have had a tendency to ride a horse into the ground. Wanny, Juaron & Lovie had long tenures as HC. Angelo was also kept around way too long. So the fact that they made these changes this quick was surprising, and quite frankly, encouraging to me.

Kind of a double edged sword. I would love a HC with previous experience but, of course, that means he was fired somewhere else for what ever reason. Some retreads work out, some do not. On the other hand some inexperienced HCs have been hired and worked out great. (SF, Balt, Pit, etc...) Some were, as we have found out repeatedly, sucked. It goes back to what was written once before, the Bears have hired only 1 HC in the history of the franchise (other than Halas himself) that had previous experience as a HC, and that guy was 10 years removed from coaching the Chicago Cardinals!

My guess is a lot of "good candidates" wanted nothing to do with "Danny Boy" I was surprised Shanny trusted Snyder. Must have been a mighty big check he was offered (and guaranteed). Talk about a total douche bag, aka Snyder.

It doesn't matter, McGinness looked like an idiot in Arizona, so he did not need out help to establish the fact. It was however an embarrassment. On the positive side, Mikey was exposed as the idiot we all knew he was. Hopefully we will make the correct moves to bring back respect & success to this organization.

I have some concerns about Shanny but then again I thought the NYG were nuts to hire Coughlin when he flopped in his last HC position. I was obviously wrong about Coughlin so hopefully I am wrong about Shanny if he is hired. He obviously has the experience, and I am sure has a lot of good candidates that would come in as OC & DC as well as position coaches. As long as he is in the role of HC & NOT HC/GM I think he will be fine. Not sure if he would accept that role but if he is uncomfortable with it as far as I am concerned he can go elsewhere.

OUCH, good point, if Del Rio came in he would probably keep Tucker as DC, no way in Hell do I want that to happen.