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Here is a link from NFL.com that gives Emery's view on drafting "developmental QBs". In a nutshell, he says no. NFL.com Article on Emery's View on the QB position in the draft

I would like to see Michael Ford get some good reps this preseason. From what little I saw in Preseason last year and the few games I saw him in when in college, I think he could be the answer. Not sure on his ability to protect Cutler but was impressive, IMO, running the ball.

LOL, yes, Going senile I guess.

LOL, we posted at exactly the same time, so I deleted mine, no need for a duplicate. Interesting addition, so who starts? Garza or Brian?

I have to agree, given the same deck of cards to play with, I do not think Lovie's "D" would have been significantly better. I suspect his "O" would have been significantly worse than Trestman's. Combine the two and we would have had a top 5 pick in the draft.

I cannot say that I am a big supporter of Tucker, however, several things I would like to bring up. 1) We started the season with some significant injuries on defense, but were able to overcome the initial onslaught. In week 4 power rankings we were, by most experts, considered #5 - So before we started to accumulate more and more injuries, this defense was playing pretty damn good. I remember thinking at that point we had something special and was going to have a great year in all 3 phases of the game. 2) Some have said that Tucker threw his coaches under the bus. I doubt very much it was Tucker's decision. I assume that either Trestman, Emery or both felt that for one reason or another these two position coaches who were let go failed to perform. Maybe these two guys were malcontents with Lovie's firing? Maybe it was felt the lack of fundamentals by the "replacement" players were significantly attributed to these position coaches. I do not know. 3) Emery has already fallen on the sword. He admitted that in his haste to improve the offense, he failed to provide the team with enough quality depth on defense to overcome the injuries we were saddled with in 2013. In his defense, I do not know of anyone who would have predicted the type of injuries we saw on defense. I can also not blame him, at that point, concentrating on the OL and offensive in general. He could only do so much in one year. Now, let's see what he can do with the defense. If Emery can do for the defense line what he did for the offensive line last year, and get a solid draft to shore up the LBs & secondary, it will be interesting how this will turn around.

A lot of times you can simply hold down the control key and hit F5 to clear the cache for the page you are viewing. Worth a shot.

I have mixed thoughts on Tucker. The first 3 games of the season, as pointed out in interviews, were actually very good defensive performances, certainly good enough that if it were maintained at the same level we would have been 10-6 or 11-5 at the end of the season. The rub is with injuries we fell flat on our face. Emery has already said it is his fault for not having provided proper quality depth. However, the "backups" and some of the regulars showed such poor technique after those first 3 games I would have to believe some of the blame has to go on Tucker's shoulders as well. However you look at it, major changes need to be made, and Emery has indicated such changes are in the works, top priority in FA & the draft.

Jennings Cap Hits, per this article This is per Brad Biggs on the Tribune Website 2014 Base salary $1.355 million Roster bonus $6.045 million Workout bonus $100,000 Total cash $7.5 million Salary cap figure $7.5 million 2015 Base salary $4.4 million Workout bonus $100,000 Total $4.5 million Salary cap figure $4.5 million 2016 Base salary $4.9 million Workout bonus $100,000 Total $5 million Salary cap figure $5.0 million 2017 Base salary $5.3 million Workout bonus $100,000 Total $5.4 million Salary cap figure $5.4 million

I agree, there are a lot of questions to be answered. Hopefully more info will become available soon. I am hoping it is very "cap friendly" at least for 2014 as there is a lot of work to be done.

With QB contracts soaring with every new signing I think the Bears were smart to lock him up to a 7 year deal. If he continues to improve in the 2nd year under Trestman you have to consider this: If they had kept him out of FA this year using the franchise tag his cap hit would have been even larger. Then, you would look at resigning him for a heck of a lot more than the deal he just got next year, guaranteed. Is it a gamble, sure. However, it is a gamble when you sign any player to a high profile contract. If, from what I am hearing, the Bears have some "outs" after the first 3 years, it would make the gamble a bit more tolerable. I also like the fact that this was completed so quickly. Everyone, including myself, was concerned with all the free agents we had to resign / cut loose. Getting arguably the most difficult contract out of the way this fast will help Emery & our Front Office to better determine how to allocate our cap room to allow us to make the improvements on defense that are certainly needed. It looks like Cliff not only knows how to put it into high gear signing our draft picks but also our own free agents.

Here is a link: Bears Sign Butler to Compete with Podlesh

I have no idea what they are going to do but: Unlike previous years when the HC seemed to fall on their sword keeping a coach that should have been replaced, Trestman has a history of being pro-active in this area. I think I read an article once saying he had 3 different DC in his very successful run as HC in the CFL over 5 years. This would indicate to me that in the past he has had a history of cleaning house if needed to improve his team. I hope history repeats itself. I loved all the moves that were made for the coaching staff from the beginning, except for Tucker, could never quite figure out why they went with this guy from day one. I just never saw anything from his past that would make me excited about his being named DC.

I think the only thing that will change with GB with Rogers coming back is they will be: Forced to keep extra protection for Rogers in the backfield Rogers will be less likely to take off running with the ball If he is smart and his protection breaks down (and our D actually applies pressure) he will pull the trigger a bit quicker to avoid the sack Our defense had also better watch out because after knocking Rogers out of the lineup the last time we played GB and his return this week, I am sure the refs will call anything remotely looking like "roughing the QB" against the Bears D.

I think one of the reasons there are so many players on the last year of their contracts is Emery realized that after retooling the offense he was going to have to do the same with the defense this year. Tucker got the short end of the stick. He took over a team with a solid starting lineup and was very successful in the past. Then Urlacher retires, Melton goes down, etc... and before you know it he has over half of the players on the starting D that are backups &/or new to the system. I am not so sure they would be playing much better if Smith & RM were still running the show. I see Emery in the backroom right now with his Pro Scouting guys plotting a revamp of the D. I also would not be surprised if Tucker is given full control and in the process of the off-season rebuilding of the D switch to a 3-4 scheme, which is something Tucker has done in the past. As interesting as Emery's moves were last year in both Free Agency and the Draft to get our Offense in high gear, it might be equally as interesting to see what transpires this year in the "year of the defense".

I as well wish everyone a happy & healthy holiday season. Sorry I have not been able to participate as much as I would like on the forum but I have been very busy with work. Be assured, I do try and check the forums often, just have not have time to get involved with exchanges. Take care everyone. Hopefully we will be talking playoffs after the game with the Packers. That would be one great gift to all of us.

I have always thought Shea would have been much better suited to be groomed as a linebacker. I just do not believe he has the attributes for a 4-3 DE

I think the Bears will bring back QB Jordan Palmer to backup.

I have had several requests to lock the Webb thread so that it will roll off the page and we can get onto more important issues, things like the 2013 Bears and trying to make the playoffs. If anyone has major objections I can open it back up. Hopefully we can bury this and move on.

I hope this is true as I also was concerned about depth on the OL after reading the article on the team site. How often have we seen more than one OL go down in a single game? Do we want to be in a position where we have to plug in a TE on the OL in the middle of a game if we have multiple injuries during the game and run out of reserves? It might sound nuts but it has happened to other teams in the past.

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LOL, you trade a player who is having back pain, took shots for the back pain and now has leg pain, no one knows for sure what is going on, will he miss any games? Disc issue? Nerve Issue? or both? Will he need surgery? Will he miss the season? Is his career over? No one knows. But, you keep his handcuff, Tate, on your roster just in case. Pretty slick. Hope the trade works out for both of you but have a feeling only one of you will benefit from this trade.

I expect to see us pick up a veteran CB either now or after rosters are cut before the season starts. I do not think we will put all our chips into the ante with a raw & unproven starter. Frey might kick butt but we still need more depth.

Thanks for setting it up as PPR Everything else works, 1 day waiver, etc... (I agree that raiding the FA list during a game can be a big negative for those of us who might not have the time to spend on game days. It sort of by-passes the whole reason we have waiver position rotation to level the field) Obviously, since I brought it up before, I would prefer to drop one starting WR and change it to either 2 Flex - WR/RB or 2 Flex - WR/RB/TE (not sure if this is an option offered by Yahoo)

Great job in filling out the 12 team roster for the league. I love it, makes it more competitive! Any further thought into making this a PPR scoring league? With the number of starters and limited backups I would also love to see a possible change from 2 RB - 3 WR - 1 TE - 1 Flex to 2 RB - 2 WR - 1 TE - 2 Flex It would give us added flexibility on bye weeks and to cover our butts when we are carrying an injured player on our roster.