Pixote

I think our Offense will be better than last year, but I do not think that will be the main reason we go to the SB this year (and yes, I do believe we will take the NFC Title). I think it will be our defense and STs that will take us to another chance to win the Big One. I think we will have a top 5 D and the number 1 STs squad this year. Urlacher will return to Pro Bowl form. Marinelli will have our front 4 kicking butt and taking no prisoners. Manning is going to be an enormous weapon on KO returns. Our Offense will improve, but not just because of Cutler. Our OL will be greatly improved. Our running game will be more effective with a great 1-2 combo of Forte & Jones. Hester will be in his second year as a full time WR and will continue to improve like he showed in the last few games of 2008. Greg Olsen is going to have a monster year. I am predicting a 12-4 season and undefeated in Post Season Play.

There you go getting me excited again. Hell, now I am going to have to try and find a way to wait 3 weeks for Training Camp to Open without going stir crazy. IMPOSSIBLE. Lock me up please before I snap. LOL

People criticizing Cutler seem to forget he is only 26 years old, has only been a starter for only 2 full seasons in a system with a terrible defense that forced him to gamble to try and catch up to teams that were scoring at will against them. In those two seasons he threw for a combined 8023 yds and has a Pro Bowl appearance. He has come no where near his prime. He is only going to get better with more experience, a better running game to support him, and a better D/ST to give him better field position and not force him to try and be the savior.

The thing I worry about is I love the prospect of K Davis. I think he could be a monster TE for us. When Clark hangs it up I would love to see Olsen & Davis in our 2 TE package. How do we carry 4 TEs?

I agree, keep it as much under wraps as possible in the preseason, and then surprise a few with an occassional 3-4. That would totally be cool. Might force a few time outs by the offense, ;-)

Seems like your main goal in joining the forum here is to promote VSN Writers, the Bleacher Report, & your avatar promotion. To be quite frank, it is becoming a bit irritating. The posters on this site post better articles in the attempt to start threads of meaningful discussion than almost all of what you are promoting. AZ54's last thread he started blows away your last two VSN articles.

AZ54, this is an outstanding article. This is one of the better reads I have had about the Bears in many many weeks. I hope DBDB or someone familiar with the news page publishes this article for all to read on the main page. Well thought out, good structure and organization, intriguing topic well supported and argued. I think the only thing in the article I would disagree with is that I think Mike Brown's departure had nothing to do with this game directly. His play had deteriorated over time due to injuries. I just think management felt it was time to accept the fact that his injury history dictated a need to move forward and develop younger safeties to contribute. He would be in a KC uniform today even if we had won this game, IMO.

What WR would not benefit from going to a team with a QB upgrade? What CB would not benefit from better Safety backup? Thigpen Is a #1 QB? You were that impressed with TE M Bennett? DJ Williams hasn't been able to showcase his talent in a 3-4 defense? How much time has he played in a 3-4? I am not going to go any further. A waste of time, as was my time reading this article.

August 30th, Sunday, would be perfect. I can draft anytime that day, morning, afternoon, or evening. Off on Sundays & Mondays from work.

I had also read this earlier. Good article. I hope Bowman continues to develop. He could be huge for us. I think Harrison will be a monster next to Harris. I think I am more excited to see the defense take over dominance as much as I am to see the "new" offense.

I agree, Plax & his representatives thought they were going to put one past Goodell & play 2009 in its entirety. Now they have screwed themselves. I doubt if Plax will play a single down this year unless they change gears and get this resolved asap.

Not only do you know about all the TIMES, but you learn a lot about other teams also, LOL.

They both are known for YAC - IF - they do not have to slow down, dive, jump, reach behind them, grab the ball off their shoe laces, etc... To get good YAC the QB (as I am sure everyone here knows) has to hit the WR in stride, allowing him to use his skills, and (as I am sure everyone here knows) that is something Orton did not do with regularity. It is something Cutler does very well. I have always argued our WRs in the past could not be totally blamed for their performances. A WR has to have some confidence in the QB's ability to spot the open receiver and put the ball where it is suppose to be. If the WR has doubts in his mind it will effect his performance. Our WRs kept the company line and in the press always expressed confidence in our QBs but I am sure that was just to be a "team" player. M.M. after returning to Carolina was heavily criticized for the comments he made about Chicago. He may not have been far off in his evaluation IMO. I guess the true test will be on the field this year. Does the numbers for Marshall & Royal drop significantly? Does the numbers for the Bear's WRs increase significantly? If there was ever a time to prove the theory that "The QB makes the Receiver" this is the ideal situation.

Hey, news is hard to come by this time of year for NFL fans. I found this article on a blog of a Bears fan and found it a bit interesting. It goes over how the cover 2 defense is suppose to work. Nothing earth shattering. Still found it one of the better descriptions on how our defense is suppose to work. Tampa 2, Cover 2; What do the Bears do?

I liked the article, anything this time of year while we wait for action to start is a joy. I saw the poll and voted. Will Cutler make the Bears better in 2009? I assumed most reading this article (it included snippets for other teams as well) were football fans with something between their ears other than a black hole. I now have to assume I was wrong or some FB Fans from rival teams got into the voting (which might support my black hole theory as well LOL). How can 4%, at the time of this note 887 fans, say the Bears will be worse this year because of Jay Cutler? Then there were 4,174 fans (18%) who felt his coming to Chicago would have zero effect, no improvement for our offense. Now if any of these fans call themselves Bears fans, I assume they are chronically depressed and have no positive outlook in life at all. Hide the razor blades. Thank you 18,087 fans (78%) that showed some optimism (and IMO intelligence).

I agree, if he had a healthy career he very well might have put up HOF stats. He was a tremendous player when healthy and even with his limited career as a starter over the past 5 years still has some remarkable stats. I will never forget the 2 games back to back he scored the winning TD on INTs returned. Doesn't he hold the scoring record for Bears defensive players?

Former players rave about Bears line coach Rod Marinelli I've read posts before from former players who were taught by Marinelli, but this one expands on it with even a quote from Ron Rivera. I can't wait to see how our D Line plays this year. If they produce like I think they are going to, Lovie's defense is going to be a top 5 defense and our team will rock and roll!

???? Wow, that is kind of a rough assessment of Hester.

Cutler is saying and doing all the right things since coming to the Bears. He has worked his ass off in meetings with Turner and in private workouts with many of the receivers. I had to laugh my ass off when I read an article (I can't remember which site it was on) where they said round one went to Orton because he has worked so hard in Denver picking up the new system. They obviously missed the fact that Cutler has not been vacationing in the Bahamas. I suspect Cutler would love it if we went after Burress but he knows that is not his decision and by suggesting the same it would show a lack of trust in his current WR group. At least that is my guess. Hopefully I am wrong and he means exactly what he is quoted in saying. I have heard a lot of positive remarks made about Bennett, Knox, Hester, & Rideau. The few things I have heard about Iglasias & Kinder seems to be an "after the fact" statement. I have yet to hear any glowing reports on Kinder. My guess is going into camp on July 31st Bennett, Knox, Hester, & Rideau are our top 4 WRs with the remaining spots up for grabs. Kinder will probably come up with a mysterious injury and wind up with a patented JA "Red-Shirt". Iglasias & Davis will probably round out the roster. Now, if we pick up a "Burress" type of WR, I am guessing Davis is toast.

I was thinking the same thing when I saw what the judge handed down to Stallworth. It is hard to believe that a guy DUI killing someone in an accident would only get 30 days. I am sure the family of the deceased victim are furious.

I am still all for Burress. Yes, Edwards or Marshall would be a significant upgrade. However, Burress IMO would have the most success of the 3 in our system. He would have the best skill set & the least baggage combination of the 3. I think the agent is correct in saying Burress is unlikely to go to trial until after the 2009 season. I also doubt that with the CBA negotiations coming up that Goodell would step in on Burress until after the legal system runs it's course. I would be all for the Bears giving a big 1 year deal to Burress with some kind of clause to protect us in case he does indeed have time lost do to the legal situation.

Yep, seems like a very MATURE respone.

A quote from an article on the Sun-Times (About Rapport Building between Cutler & WRs):

I agree. I love our group of WRs. I know the coaches & JA do as well. However, it is so obvious to me at least that if we could add a WR in the likes of Burress or Marshall, our offense would be HUGE. Assuming our defense rebounds, and I am confident it will, we would have a tremendous chance to return to the SB. With that in mind, if they really wanted to trade him, we have the ammunition. We are absolutely loaded at LB and could package one with a draft pick if necessary to go after Marshall. We have Briggs & Urlacher, both IMO are untouchable. Now you have J Williams playing lights out in preseason, a proven cover 2 LB in Pisa, a great looking prospect in Freeman, Roach & HH (who if healthy could be a solid backup). Denver is desperately trying to rebuild on defense. I have to believe a package could be set up to satisfy them.

I know it is VERY UNLIKELY to happen, but wouldn't it be sweet to have Marshall join Cutler in Chicago? Like I said, just dreaming.