Pixote

Yep, they are out kicking the tires, FA is like a used car lot, sometimes you can find a gem, other times a lemon. Out of that group I would love to take a chance on Rocky McIntosh or Zac Diles, both of which I think would be an upgrade over Roach.

Problem is, it is almost as difficult to predict how good an OLT prospect will be as it is a QB. Tony Mandarich - 2nd pick of the 1st round by GB in 1989 I thought this guy was going to be the best OLT of all time, I was hyped. This was back before the NFL draft was such an "event". I remember I was pissed that the Bears did not trade up for this guy, I wanted him on our team bad, and when GB selected him (skipping over Barry Sanders, Derrick Thomas, and Deion Sanders) I was so upset I turned off the radio coverage I was listening to. You know "the rest of the story". This is only one of dozens of sure bets for OLT that were blown. Robert Gallery - 2nd pick of the 2004 draft by Oakland. When that years draft came up he reminded me so much of the hype that Mandarich had, he was a guaranteed blue chip LOT that was destined for the HOF. Actually, he was adequate at best at ROT, when he played LOT he gave up a ton of sacks and was moved to OG. He is above average there but certainly not worth the #2 1st round in the draft. The list goes on and on, so I am just saying that this whole draft thing is more like a crap shoot than an exact science. Hopefully Emery is better at rolling the dice than JA was (although I still think JA did a lot of good things for the Bears).

Agree, I am sure Tice, Smith, and Emery know exactly what they are getting, I have faith that Tice can get this guy motivated! If not, no risk, he will be cut before we even start the season.

I think he would give us some excellent depth and insurance in case of injury, heck, he might be a starter in place of Roach who I have never been that impressed with. http://espn.go.com/chicago/nfl/story/_/id/...ars-sources-say

You should be ok:

If you have to play 2 games in 5 days, this is the perfect way to set it up for the Bears. They will have all preseason to game plan for the week 2 game against GB Short trip, the Bears are obviously familiar with the opponent, their stadium, etc... We have what should be an easy game prior to the matchup (the team better not think that) but the Packers in week 1 have to deal with SF I am getting excited already!

I did some research and fond this excerpt from an article:

Are they doing TNF for the whole year in 2012? In the past it wasn't until around Thanksgiving they started the TNF games.

Agreed, we have all said it before, there will be picks we will certainly question, players will be available that we personally drool over but will not be selected in favor of another we do not care for, but it all comes down to how the players he drafts show up on the field, and in many cases we will not be able to fully evaluate any draft until we look back on it a few years down the road.

I think it is going to depend on just how good Emery is at sorting out this big mess we call the "Draft". Every year big name 1st round picks flop, later round picks become future HOF caliber players. It is such a crap shoot. I am more interested in how Emery handles this draft than any draft I can remember in the past. He has impressed me in FA, I hope he continues to impress me in the draft.

If there was a chance to grab the top OLT in the draft, I would trade big time with either spot, but WR can be filled later, not even sure if Blackman or Floyd will be the better or the two, not sure what DE would be the best, etc... but franchise caliber blue chip LOT prospects usually, not always, but usually come from the top of the draft.

Fantastic, did you signup to the league I created? I do not see your team listed? I hope we can get a dozen or more forum members to take part in this, we have done this type of event in the past with great success with various members tallying the results by hand, just thought it would be cool to use this interface and get a shot at a trip to the SB.

I have a feeling Emery knows we need to add bodies to the OL. My guess is he is waiting to see how the chips fall in the draft and if we do not get a chance to get good value in an OL selection we will wind up signing someone in FA like the one of the two we had in for a look, both of whom had worked with Tice in the past.

Great to have you join the league, I will bet that one or more of us will be far more accurate than the "so called" experts. Good luck!

I agree, I would like to see at least one quality OLman in FA and one in the draft. They do not need to be pro bowlers, would be great if they were, but even if the two were above average OLmen that can help give Tice alternatives to use in case the status quo fails to live up to what would seem to be high expectations.

CB Janoris Jenkinsis an extremely talented CB, a Pro Bowl Man-to-Man cover guy who will undoubtedly be a great player, IF IF IF IF he can stay off of drugs IF he can keep his "weenie" under control IF he can find an NFL club gutsy enough to give him a shot 4 kids with 3 different women? Bounced from the Gators, winds up in a Div 2 school and still doesn't "get it" I just read a piece on NFL.com saying many have taken him completely off the draft boards and others would only take him in the 2nd or later. I am curious what you think. Certainly, the Bears, running the cover 2, would have no reason to gamble on this guy. If he were this great a prospect and played DE or LOT then the gamble might be worth it?

Excellent, I was thinking it was going to be a one man league, LOL. I am always lousy at this, but I will give it a shot. Towards the end of the first round someone usually picks a player I have never heard of from some small Division II school.

I can't believe it, typed in the password wrong, corrected it in the original post.

I started a league for us at NFL.com. I have not entered my selections yet but will soon. Let's see who among us is the "Draft Guru" or "Draft Prognosticator" LOL NFL.com has a great interface to use free and you can set up private leagues, which I did. The link is : Predict the Pick League Name : TalkBears The Password is : Url54acher Free to join, just need to register with NFL.com if you are not already registered. Hope you guys sign up, this is a slick system they have, real nice interface, and it will be a fun competition among members of the forum for bragging rights, no prizes, just for fun. ( The NFL.com does offer prizes. If you join you may win a trip to New Orleans for Super Bowl XLVII if you have the top entry! ) Let me know if anyone has problems logging in.

Another pre-draft visit, do not recall seeing this in the thread so thought I would throw it out to you. OK for a mid-late round pick but no sooner do to injury history, IMO. Oregon State DB Hardin, projected as a Safety prospect: http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/footb...0,2719358.story

Url did not sustain major damage to his knee, did not require surgery, and I see no reason to wave red flags in regards to his health. We do need to get him extended, resigned, beyond 2012, this is his last year of his contract. Which is why I would have worked on his contract before Briggs. I would have thought that would have been a priority over Briggs, who had a year remaining after 2012.

Is it possible, maybe, ...... I see no reason they did a one year extension unless... Drum roll please... It was to rework his contract to free up cap space to resign Forte before the first voluntary camp opens up on Monday???? Or to sign a free agent that wants more than what remains in the pool????

There are a lot of teams looking for OL help, A LOT! There area lot of unemployed OLmen waiting for the phone to ring. I suspect in some cases the OLmen available are wanting unrealistic paydays. I think in others injuries, age, or lack of skill sets are the reasons the phone does not ring. I suspect the Bears & Emery, despite what might be said to the press know we need to make "some" changes to the OL. I do not think for one minute this area will be ignored.

In the "botched" trade with Baltimore last year in the draft it would have cost us a 4th rounder to move up from 29th to 26th. I am assuming if we tried to move up from 19th in the first it would cost more than moving up 3 spots from the 29th. To move up a few spots in "Blue Chip" territory my guess is it would take a 3rd minimum.

I read Hayden had been talked to by NO also, suspect he decided to stay away from the mess down in the Dome.