Pixote

From what I have read he was an extremely productive tackler in STL during his 6 years, some at a heavier weight, some at his current weight. I have no concerns at all about his ability to tackle. He had 20 PD and 7 INT over 6 years. I hope he proves to be effective in coverage. That is my concern, not his ability to tackle. If he is good in coverage, this guy with his speed and abilities proven in the past 6 years excites the hell out of me when playing beside URL & Briggs.

When I listened to the Radio Clips of the interview of Dungy I was not offended at all and took his comments totally different than some have on the forum. He expressed some concerns about his maturity, yes, but did say that he was sure that Lovie & JA checked out this aspect and was confident he was indeed a "Mature" leader for the team. He also was asked if Cutler could make this team a top 10 team and a playoff team, his response was that if all worked out with him as the Bears management expects, the Bears would not only a top 10 team, but a top 5 team and a Super Bowl contender. How can anyone take an exception to this, unless you are a fan of DET, MIN, or GBP, LOL.

Yep, he has two long arms , and I would love to see him on the Bears if he can get out of the predicament he is currently in and help put us in the Super Bowl.

I love this quote of an article now on the Bears Web Site from "Pisa"

Yes, the good draft times go in a hurry.

I opened and ran 3 FFLs last year for the Talkbears at Yahoo as I use to do at Bearstalk.. I enjoyed this very much as I have always enjoyed FF. However, this year, do to time commitments with family & job, I will be unable to run the leagues as I have in the past. I might have time to join one league but to be commish, just too much time involved for me this year. I think DrunkBomber said he ran leagues here in the past. If I am wrong, please forgive me. If he or others would like to open leagues for the forum I got an email from chitownman saying the Yahoo site is up and running (that is if you want to use Yahoo, some mentioned they would prefer other hosts). I hope to have the time and money to run the Pick'ems, but I will have to wait and see once the new program comes out and by then I may have a better idea of my available time to commit to such a project.

Interesting, but nothing we have not heard already. Still an interesting read while waiting for the season. Article from NFL.com & Video from NFL Network on Bears WRs

It is a two edge sword. If they allow these players to walk with a slap on the wrist, then it means others in the future who step over the line can use this "negotiated truce" as a precident as well. It would seem so far the courts have been pro NFL in this case. So where do you draw the line?

I would like to believe we can return to a top 5 defense this year with the additions, both offensively & defensively, we have made to this team and the change of coaches/attitude we are seeing take place. If that happens, with Cutler running the show, look out, record every game possible, this could be a year to remember. (with many more to come).

Very reasonable expectations. In his first year as a WR (2002) after being primarily a return guy in 2001 Steve Smith had R Peete throwing to him and he caught 54 passes for 872 yds and 3 TDs. In his 2nd year as a WR (2003) he caught 88 passes for 1110 yds and 7 TDs after Carolina brought in an upgrade at QB in J Delhomme. In Hesters 1st year as WR with Orton he made 51 catches for 665 yds and 3 TDs. Now I have to believe Cutler is a better QB than Delhomme and I see no reason why in his 2nd year he can not match S Smith's 2nd year production. S Smith was lost do to injury in 2004 but in his 3rd year as a full time WR he caught 103 passes for 1563 yds and 12 TDs. If Hester can come close to the progression S Smith made in his 2nd & 3rd years, I would be very excited.

This kinda pisses me off. I can not believe the NFL would do this. Since when do they let players get a free ride. I am sory, but a 6 figure fine is nothing for players making the money these guys are, especially when they will probably get paid back under the table.

Man that is great news. He was signed to a 1 year contract but if he works out like I think he will look for JA to rework his contract during the season. Our defense is going to be awesome!

7 now signed, only 2 to go.

From Brad Briggs of the Sun-Times:

On Offense I strongly believe G Olson becomes the top TEs in the NFL, voted to the Pro Bowl, and among the leaders for TEs in catches, YAC, TDs, & Yards. He has always been an excellent "under used" TE & with the chemistry he is developing with JC & with Jay's history of going to the TE in Denver, the sky is the limit for Greg. On defense I suspect Gilbert will turn out to be huge, 10+ sacks, and a steady contributer on the DL.

I agree, of the 2 I wanted Tinoisamoa far more. I think he could be a very good starter for us whereas I saw Hood as depth for our DBs. I just read on KFFL that Tinoisamoa is visiting NEP, crap, more competition for the guy.

Thanks AZ54 & Nfo, I did not remember all this info on Graham. I am still somewhat surprised as the talk was that Graham was to push Vasher if he did not return to form. Why would they say this one day and talk of him moving to FS the next day? Guess we will just have to wait and see.

Maybe? I would love the move........ http://blogs.suntimes.com/bears/2009/05/st...ion_pisa_t.html

Has it been reported that Graham is being looked at as a possible FS? I thought this was just our (BearsTalk's) banter. I thought it was Zach Bowman that was reported by the Bears to be moving from CB to FS?

We had a great time. In reading the reports from the Trib & Sun-Times, it appears to me there is not a whole lot I can add to the reports. I expected as much for the media usually jumps on any worth while quotes from such events right away. So was it a waste of time & money to go to an event of this nature when I could have read up on it on the net or newspaper? Absolutely not! It was worth every penny (and every sore muscle I am experiencing today after walking around for 9 hours). On the locker room tour I noticed that the players lockers were grouped a lot by position. Makes sense but something I was not aware of. Olsen & Cutler in the same area, not surprising. These guys are joined at the hip. They signed autographs together at the same booth. They sat next to each other at the seminar where they answered questions. We all know they have enjoyed some night life together. Cutler even joked that Olsen was staying in his guest room of his home (I think he was joking, LOL). I thought the locker room seemed smaller than I got the impression of in locker room interviews or after game locker room reports. I also was amazed at how small the visitors locker room was (not part of the tour but I got to see it when getting some autographs set up there). You talk about cramped. It had to be half the size of the Bears LR. Going out on the field was a blast. Remember, I had never been to Soldier Field. Going out onto the field and walking where my beloved play was just awesome. To view the stands from the field was quite an experience. The field looked incredibly small when actually standing on it. I played a lot of FB in HS but the field was not engulfed by such a massive structure. Makes a big difference in perception. They had field goal kicking opportunities. I am talking very short field goals, less than an extra point attempt. Yet only approximately 10 % made the attempt. Hail to bowlingtwig, he was successful, but I would definitely not sign him to a contract, it was just barely over the crossbar and just a bit inside the left upright, LOL. In our quest for offensive help, bowlingtwig looked OK in the RB drills but dropped a long pass, hands of concrete, LOL. Scratch him off possible help for Cutler. We were among the first 4000 fans to enter so got a guaranteed signature opportunity. Did we get Cutler, Olsen, Urlacher, Forte, Pace, NO. Gary & I both got Chris Williams. Now that was not so bad, I like the guy and think he will be a darn good OT. However, when we got in line for the signing and after 45 minutes past the signing time he still had not shown very few in line had much good to say about him ;-) As a result of his no show 2 things happened, one good, one bad. On the good side, they had Jarron Gilbert & Johnny Knox replace Williams so I got to meet and get sigs of 2 very impressive rookies. My hats off to them for volunteering to substitute for Williams as they had more signings and a seminar later in the day. Gilbert is a monster, huge, muscles on muscles, and Knox for a small WR was definitely a regular in the weight room. It was great to meet them and shake their hands. On the negative, because of the 45 minute delay, we were late getting to the seminar for the "big show" with Cutler, Olsen, Forte, & Pace. Thanks CW! As a result we had lousy views of the players but was able to view them from a distance and on a huge monitoring device set up. We were able to later get front row seats to the rookies seminar. Gilbert, Knox, Freeman, & Moore. Knox was a bit uneasy in the prime light. He seemed a bit nervous in the spotlight. He was very open and friendly but just seemed uncomfortable. This guy ran a 4.25 40, man that is fast. He admitted he will need to improve his route running skills but seemed confident in his ability. Next to him was Freeman. Of all the 4 rookies he seemed the most polished in the interview process, always coming up with excellent responses and never got rattled. I got good vibes from this guy. He could be a huge player for us in the near future. Gilbert was next to him and also seems a bit awkward in the spotlight. However, he did not shy away from questions and seemed humble. He had rave reviews of RM from rookie camp saying he had already learned a lot from Ron in his limited time. Enormous physical specimen. Huge wing span. Huge muscular build. Could touch the ceiling of his dorm doom flatfooted? Could put his fingers to the floor under a door frame and reach up with the other hand and touch the top of the door frame. Had a 37" vertical leap and over 10' in the broad jump? Man, turn him loose, this could be fun. Next to him was DJ Moore. This guy was funny and had a bit of swagger to him (like many CBs). Man did he look small. He has great vertical leaping skills which he reminded us of when he was asked about the press & experts questions of his height. He was definitely very comfortable in the "prime time". DJ was the first to arrive for the rookie seminar and spent a lot of time signing autographs before the start. Tom Thayer was fantastic helping out in the Seminars and spent hours between shows signing autographs, shaking hands, allowing fans to take pictures of him with them, etc. I was super impressed with his rapport and tireless efforts to please the fans attending. In short, I had a blast!

Unlike many on the forum, I drool over the idea of signing Plaxico. Hell, I was in love with the guy when he was in the draft. He is an elite WR who could easily make our offense one of the more dangerous in the league. Put him with Cutler, Forte, Hester, & Olsen, sprinkle in our rookie WRs and an improved OL and what do you have? Something I assure you we have not seen in Chicago for decades. Add to it one of the top STs in the league and what I hope will be a top 10 defense, and what do we have? A Super Bowl. If we can not get Plax (or he winds up in jail) maybe the Boldin trade will resurface with lower asking price or B Edwards is a possibility. I know we may be fine with what we already have on the roster, but I would welcome a proven veteran with open arms.

Yep, will do. It's about 5:30 AM and I am getting ready to make the trip to the Expo. Gary (bowlingtwig) will be picking me up in a few minutes and we are looking forward to some BEAR sightings.

Looks like things may be slipping in my hopes of a "Pisa" signing.

If cheap, why not? I'd take the gamble.