ASHKUM BEAR

Recession won't affect Bears by Mike Mulligan Sun-Times This has some good info to ponder during this offseason until FA 1 - Sources don't think the Bears will have a pass rusher as a top priority 2 - Turner will like to see WR and depth at Oline as priorities. 3 - Bears might be looking for a CB in draft - moving either Tillman/Graham to FS?

Looking over this contract breakdown, I think it'll be closer to 3.3, but I'm not a good cap guy. usatoday.com : forgot about there contract breakdowns Player...........................Base Salary......Sign Bonus.....Other Bonus...Total Salary..Cap Value...Position 04 Ogunleye, Adewale..$ 455,000........$ 10,000,000..$ 0..............$ 10,455,000..$ 2,113,855 DE 05 Ogunleye, Adewale..$ 1,014,305.....$ 0................$ 5,003,850..$ 6,018,155...$ 7,677,010 DE 06 Ogunleye, Adewale..$ 4,000,000.....$ 0................$ 3,850........$ 4,003,850...$ 5,662,705 DE 07 Ogunleye, Adewale..$ 3,900,000.....$ 10,000,000.$ 4,200.........$ 3,904,200...$ 5,563,055 DE 08 Ogunleye, Adewale..$ 4,700,000.....$ 10,000,000..$ 4,080........$ 4,704,080...$ 6,362,935 DE 09 Ogunleye, Adewale..$ 4,800,000.....(1.5/yr?)..............?...........$ 4,800,000...$ 6,300,000 DE

Gross was the RT before they drafted Otah. Wharton was the LT. Wharton moved into LG which helped solidfy Gross's play. Gross has showed he can handle both sides, Whether or not Carolina can afford him is a different story. If tagged, Gross will get rewarded with a top 5 average OT salary 8,597,893 (which Gross is #5 right now). My feeling is that they drafted Otah so they can afford to lose Gross. Releasing Gross, may help Carolina become creative in resigning Peppers, Delhomme, and Ken Lucas (maybe Gamble too). But like nfoligno states, if Carey were the only OT available, he still wouldn't get an average contract at 10/yr. He would be more in line like Stewart RT Tenn who is a top RT.

from sun-sentinial.com Carey hopes free agency leads to a contract similar to the one another former UM alum, Eric Winston, received this season from the Texans. Winston, also a right tackle, reportedly received $30 million over five years, with $10 million guaranteed. I think this is what Brianbear is referring to. Not 10/year, but 10 guaranteed over 5 years. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Some recent RT contract signings: David Stewart RT Tennessee Titans 6/27/2008: Signed a six-year, $38.9 million contract. The deal contains $10 million guaranteed, including a $6 million signing bonus. 2008: $1 million (+ $2 million roster bonus), 2009-2012: Under Contract, 2013: Free Agent Sean Locklear T Seattle Seahawks 2/21/2008: Signed a five-year, $32 million contract. The deal includes $12 million in guarantees. 2008-2009: $1 million, 2010: $4.85 million, 2011: $5.6 million, 2012: $7.295 million, 2013: Free Agent Flozell Adams T Dallas Cowboys 28/2008: Signed a six-year, $43.8 million contract. The deal contains $15 million in guarantees, including a $13 million signing bonus. 2009: $1 million, 2010: $5 million, 2011-2013: $5.1 million, 2014: Free Agent. Cap charges: $3.6 million (2009), $7.6 million (2010), $7.7 million (2011-2013). Kwame Harris T Oakland Raiders 3/4/2008: Signed a three-year, $16.3 million contract. The deal includes a first-year roster bonus of $1.5 million and $2.3 million in likely to be earned incentives. 2009: $2 million (+ $6 million roster bonus), 2010: Under Contract, 2011: Free Agent Willie Anderson T Baltimore Ravens 8/4/2008: Signed a three-year, $11 million contract. The deal contains $3.5 million guaranteed, including a $1.67 million signing bonus. 2009: $3.5 million, 2010: $4 million, 2011: Free Agent

Below is some scribble, breaking down some contracts w/o having full details. Looking at John Taits contract status at rotoworld, it looks like we can save 4.8 million. His signing bonus remaining looks to be 550,000. 3/6/2004: Signed a six-year, $33 million contract. The deal included a $14 million signing bonus. 2009: $4.8 million, 2010: Free Agent. Cap charge: $5.35 million (2009). ------------------------------------------------------------ Bears | Contract update: R. Garza Mon, 13 Mar 2006 17:51:01 -0800 Chicago Bears OL Roberto Garza's six-year contract extension included base salaries of $586,250 (2006), $691,250 (2007), $711,250 (2008), $711,250 (2009), $670,000 (2010) and $770,000 (2011). I believe he also had a 4 million signing bonus. So cutting Garza probably won't save anything b/c if his SB is divided equally it would be about 610,000/year x 3 remaining = 1.83 mil - 711,000 = 1.12 cap charge. W/O full details, we can't see how much was front loaded. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Terrence Metcalf: from: thehuddle.com The Bears solidified their offensive line situation when unrestricted free agent Terrence Metcalf agreed to terms last Friday on a six-year contract for $9 million with a signing bonus believed to be $2.5 million. 6 divided by 9 = 660,000 base (approx). Signing bonus 2.5 divided 6 = 240,000 (approx.) So cutting Metcalf will accelerate his SB to 720,000 minus the 660,000 base = cap charge of 60,000 approx. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Adewale Ogunleye: Signed in 2004 w/ 15 million SB. His Base is 4.8 million and his remaining SB 2.9 approx. = 1.9 savings ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Outlook: Cut Tait and Ogunleye = 6.7 addition cap space, also cut Metcalf (-0.06) = 6.64 additional cap space 26 + 6.6 = 32.6 million , that can leave us with some decent FA scenerios.

Here's the deal IMO, Chicago needs to build a dome if they are to host the 2016 Oylmpics. Right now they have proposed to build a temporary dome here that they will take apart once the event is over. Why not try to attract another NFL team here. I know my heart will always be with the Bears and so will the majority, but think of the pressure that will put on the McCaskey's to stay competitive.

That could be a possiblity, but I see us adding some players with the growing pressure coming on Lovie/JA. If we were to move forward money, maybe they will do it to help out eventually moving on w/ Urlacher and Vasher as there play seems to be diminised the most. Hopefully STL looks to rebuild and lets him walk. After him, I like Phillips out of Tampa, who may be a little cheaper. I'm not high on Simms myself, but unless we go after Warner, I think Simms can be a stop gap to backup Orton for 1 year, Or maybe even Leftwich which some have mentioned. Whats really bad about the FA QB's, I'd rather keep Grossman for another yr just to see if Orton can take another step to earn a long term contract. It's hard to actually judge how Carey has done since you really don't here much about RT's in the league. All I really know is he was pretty good at the U. and he has played some LT also w/ the phins. The type of RT is personally want is the best run blocking, especially if Orton is to stay QB. As for cutting Tait, does anyone know what we'd save or lose. Maybe cutting Tait can cover resigning St. Clair. I really don't think we'll do a whole lot to upgrade the interior in FA, I would like to see us draft a G in the 3rd RD like Canfield. We also have Buenning who I think we'll get more of a look this offseason. You also got to expect Beekman will keep his job next year as he was better than expected and another offseason he should really improve by just knowing were he needs to be in terms of strength. I can see JA cutting Tait, Garza, Metcalf if he brings in Carey, resigns St. Clair, and Buenning is ready to go. I here you there, but w/ only 25 million or so to work with I'm not sure if we can squeeze a FA WR in. Maybe we can work it out were we can bring in a Clayton from Tampa or A. Bryant. Or if were confident DM can play FS and we move Vasher to nickel, we can use the Atogwe money on Housh?

One thing I don't get is everyone thinking we won't be a big player in FA this year. We will have 25-26 mil in available cap and who do we really have on our roster that we will be putting money up on? That money will have to be spent somewhere. I expect some big moves, heres a possiblity: OJ Atowge FS - Even though JA said Manning will get looked at again at FS and were crowded at CB with average. We could really solidify the D with finally adding a topflight FS. Atowge will get top dollar at FS if STL don't resign/tag him. Using Ken Hamlin's contract heres what to expect: 7/15/2008: Signed a six-year, $37.5 million contract. The deal contains $15 million guaranteed, including a $9 million signing bonus. Another $2 million is available through escalators in 2012 and 2013. 2009: $4.305 million, 2010: $5.596 million, 2011: $5 million, 2012: $6 million, 2013: $7 million, 2014: Free Agent. Cap charges: $5.805 million (2009), $7.096 million (2010), $6.5 million (2011), $7.5 million (2012), $8.5 million (2013). 26 million minus 9 million = 17 million left Chris Simms QB- JA said QB will be a priortiy until they get it right. They have always been high on Simms since he was drafted. He can come in a compete with Orton and push him to improve. Looking for a similiar contract a backup QB just signed, I used Seneca Wallace. 8/21/2007: Signed a four-year, $6.2 million contract. The deal included a $1.6 million signing bonus. 2008: $605,000 (+ $400,000 roster bonus due 3/15), 2009-2010: $1.5 million, 2011: Free Agent 17 million minus approx. 3 million = 14 million left. Vernon Carey RT - To help solidy the Oline, JA may look back to FA. Carey is a RT who right now would prefer to stay in Miami where he played college ball, but a lucrative deal and maybe some swaying from Hester and Olsen can land CHI a solid RT. Using David Stewarts contract from the Titans should be close to what it would take. 6/27/2008: Signed a six-year, $38.9 million contract. The deal contains $10 million guaranteed, including a $6 million signing bonus. 2008: $1 million (+ $2 million roster bonus), 2009-2012: Under Contract, 2013: Free Agent 14 million minus 9 million = 5 million left. There should be a player or two that we can cut that will increase our cap for a little more flexiblity with rookie pool, etc. Adding those three, I'd like to see the draft go: 1-Michael Johnson DE Georgia Tech 6-7 257 2- Louis Murphy WR Florida 6-3 204 3-Trevor Canfield G Cincy 3b-Rashad Jennings RB Liberty 4-Scott McKillop ILB Pittsburgh 5-Brannon Sutherland FB Geogia 6-Graham Gano PK USC 7-Cullen Harper QB Clemson

I'm thrilled we got Marinelli. I think we can throw the whole Detroit thing out the window, because he was not given the best opportunity to succeed. The guy wants to bring the best out of everyone. In media intervews,the guy is always spinning negatives into positives. He'll be the drill sergant in TC that will demand excellence from the players. Just with his enthusiasm, he will turn around this team. The guys I can see him helping out the most: Tommie Harris - He will become a believer once again (in the team that is). Marinelli/Sapp will work with him to give him techniques and a better mentality to the game. Harris will follow Marinelli and once again become a vocal leader. The elevation of Harris will spread through the D, because that is were it all starts. Once Harris gets back to his early 05 form, teams will have to scheme to contain him. Dvorecek/Harrison - The NT's will benefit greatly from a healthy/motivated Tommie Harris. Like with Harris, Marinelli will get these guys prepared with proper technique. He will have them in shape and motivated. The push all starts from the middle in the cover-2. Thats why Lovie has the DE's take wide angles to swallow from outside then in. DE's-whoever we will have at the start is the biggest unknown. I can really see JA going after Peppers or Suggs and then using a RD1 or RD2 on a DE in the draft. With our system, the DE's can't just be a specialist. They will need to be good at run contain, but excellent at pass rush. Mark Anderson had the pass rush down his rookie year, but all of his effort/talent was used firing off to the QB and his run defense was horrible. Once teams found that out, they attacked him. Brown is a little bit of the opposite. His run D is great, but he just don't have the speed to get to the QB. If you watch Brown, he is always anticipating the snap. He is really good at getting off before the Olineman, and sometimes gets the offsides call. With that sound technique, he still only manages 6-7 sacks/yr. Wale, I won't bring up b/c I believe he will be cut. With our DE's, I think Marinelli will teach them how to use there feet/hands better to fight the olineman until they can make a play. I don't think we have a DE on our roster right now that can elevate there play to cause other teams to panic over. Sign Peppers and draft Everett Brown, and then we a talk about panic. LB's - I think the addition of Marinelli will also bring Urlacher back to pro-bowl level. Because the Dline will be back to swarming the QB, the LB's will get free roam over the middle of the field. You won't see a G using his first steps to target the LB as he will first try to chip the DT. I expect Urlacher to increase his tackles, and have 1-2 INT's. In order for any of this to work out, Marinelli needs to get Tommie Harris of old back and the rest will follow.

The problem with Lovie is that he doesn't show any emotion or personality. He speaks in monotone and his answers are short and it seems to make the media mesmerized. Maybe that's his plan? It's that personality that has everyone turned off about him. If he gave us some emotion, showed "some" fire on the sidelines (like he was actually involved), maybe the fans/players would have his back. I know when I played football, my coach was a fire ball. Throwing clipboards and spitting during practice, he got our attention. I still respect him today, because he taught me that as hard as somethings can be, grind it out, give 100%, leave it all on the field, and when it's over you will regret it if you ever held back. This personality may not work with everyone, but it worked pretty good with our unit. I fully expect Lovie to show a different side this coming season. He will be taking the reigns of the defense and will have to interact with the players during the game and his lips will be moving when he calls the plays.

link please

Something else to add: Did anyone else catch 670 the score the other night, Hub was taking calls from fans. They recieved one call from someone saying that they currently play for the Baltimore Ravens. The caller said he loved the city of Chicago and grew up there, is great friends with many of the players there, and then he said Chicago will never accomplish anything because the "team" is cheap. Hub answered back and said "do you think Tommie Harris thinks the Bears are cheap, Brian Urlacher..., Devin Hester..., Charles Tillman...., Nathan Vasher..., Alex Brown..... The caller never gave his name, but it sure sounded and coincides with former Chicago native/player Brendan Ayenbadejo. Just thought it was funny listening to that part of the show, and when I seen this, I thought I'd see if anyone else heard it.

I really like these picks, and that would definately be my next choice. As much as I like/want Maclin, I still feel Hester will progress and become a better WR. That's why I prefer Duke, who we'd be over reaching a little at 18, but he'd be worth it. How 'bout this: (26mil cap approx available) Sign TJ Housh day 1 of FA (8mil) , also sign S from STL Akogwbe(?) (5mil), T. Suggs DE (8mil), QB D Carr (4mil), {cuts-only if they save some- Tait, Ogun, Metcalf,Garza,Booker} Draft: D Robinson 1, Loadholdt 2, Canfield 3

With the list composed from Walterfootball.com. If I were JA and I had my choice off those available, I would go: 1-18 Duke Robinson G - good chance he's an All-Pro 2-50 Phil Loadholdt RT - He may need some work before he's ready, but w/ his size, we should be able to convert any 3rd/1 3-82 Louis Murphy WR - great size/speed 6-3 204, if he does run a 4.33 40, he'll jump up to high 2nd RD

Below are players that could be around our slot by looking at a Walterfootball.com mock. I did a quick 3 rounds and ranked them in order I like. Round One: Bears Big 10 (In order I think Bears should have them) Duke Robinson G Oklahoma 6-5 330 Pros: Huge body that he used very well blocking. All Pro prospect Cons: Guard is position that rarely see's RD1, Robinson proj around 25th William Moore S Missouri 6-1 227 Pros: Leader for Mizou's D, can play either S position, great hitter, football IQ, ability to create turnovers. Cons: Probably more suited to play the box which we seem to be loaded w/ right now Jeremy Maclin WR Missouri 6-1 199 Pros: Very quick/athletic, return capability, compared to be better than Ted Ginn Jr. Cons: Similiar to Devin Hester in abilities, but is actually a real WR. Bears need a bigger/stronger WR to be able to block/out muscle DB's/ Michael Johnson DE Geogia Tech 6-7 257 Pros: Athletic pass rusher, has nice height to deflect passes. good character. Cons: Been rumored to give up, not go all out. Ciron Black OT LSU 6-5 315 Pros: Started all 39 games of his college career at LT since a freshman Cons: Bears have Chris Williams and Black may not make a good RT Vontae Davis CB Illinois 6-0 200 Pros: Physical CB at line that rarely gets beat deep. Has speed to recover. Great size Cons: Movtivation needs to improve, run D needs work, improve on his ball skills to intercept more passes James Laurinatis ILB Ohio St 6-3 243 Pros: Great size/speed. Has great mobility and can play the pass. Would be a nice replacement for Urlacher Cons: We have Urlacher under contract and cannot afford to add 1st Rd talent to that unit Rey Maualuga ILB USC 6-3 260 Pros: He has great size/speed combo and is a leader and playmaker. Cons: His mobility may not translate well for the Cover-2 and we have a lot of money tied up at LB's already Knowshon Moreno RB Georgia 5-11 207 Pros: Great vision, moves, hands. Would be top 10 if most teams weren't already set w/ #1 RB's. Cons: Bears have RB of future in Forte. Eben Britton OT Arizona 6-6 310 Pros: Showed he can play both RT and LT effectively Cons: ranked in RD1 b/c some team will take him for his ability to play LT. Bears need a RT. Round Two: Bears Big 11 Phil Loadholdt OT Oklahoma Kenny Britt WR Rutgers Matt Shaughnessy DE Wisonsin Larry English DE Northern IL Herman Johnson G LSU Sam Young OT Notre Dame Fenuki Tupou OT Oregon Emanuel Cook SS S. Carolina Josh Freeman QB Kansas St. Tyson Jackson DE LSU C.J. Spiller RB Clemson Round Three: Bears Big 7 Juanquin Iglesias WR Oklahoma Trevor Canfield G Cincinatti Antony Parker G Tennessee Louis Murphy WR Florida Rhett Bomar QB Sam Houston St. Mark Parson CB Ohio Jarron Gilbert DT San Jose St.

tidbits: Since Marinelli joined DET, here's what the team did to help out his Tampa-2 D through the draft. 2008 1 1 17 17 Gosder Cherilus T Boston College 2 2 14 45 Jordon Dizon LB Colorado 3 3 1 64 Kevin Smith RB Central Florida 4 3 24 87 Andre Fluellen DT Florida State 5 3 29 92 Cliff Avril DE Purdue 6 5 1 136 Kenneth Moore WR Wake Forest 7 5 11 146 Jerome Felton RB Furman 8 7 9 216 Landon Cohen DT Ohio 9 7 11 218 Caleb Campbell DB Army 2007 1 1 2 2 Calvin Johnson WR Georgia Tech 2 2 11 43 Drew Stanton QB Michigan State 3 2 26 58 Ikaika Alama-Francis DE Hawaii 4 2 29 61 Gerald Alexander DB Boise State 5 4 6 105 A.J. Davis DB North Carolina State 6 4 18 117 Manuel Ramirez G Texas Tech 7 5 21 158 Johnny Baldwin LB Alabama A&M 8 7 45 255 Ramzee Robinson DB Alabama 2006 1 1 9 9 Ernie Sims LB Florida State 2 2 8 40 Daniel Bullocks DB Nebraska 3 3 10 74 Brian Calhoun RB Wisconsin 4 5 8 141 Jonathan Scott T Texas 5 6 10 179 Alton (Dee) McCann DB West Virginia 6 7 9 217 Fred Matua G USC 7 7 39 247 Anthony Cannon LB Tulane

Mentioned on the score 670, but not confirmed. Marinellin will be D line coach and possibly assistant HC.

I would rather they use it some way than letting it go back into the owners pockets. IMO, if the NFL doesn't give us credit, I'll put another notch on the Bears are cheap board (even though I think they broke that barrier and spend more than they should -Url,Hest,etc.). I believe Brad Biggs wrote an article saying the Bears will get that credit, but I just glanced at it without reading it all. Who knows?

So on that cap credit will be missing out on, was that money that could have been spent last year and we missed out on b/c we attached it to Hamilton? If so, that is a huge boneheaded mistake. That money could have been put to extending the following who will become FA after next season: D. Manning J. Williams M. Anderson D. Dvorecek A. Peterson -------------- or ------ N. Roach J. St. Clair

As for cheaper: I'll clarify that it will be cheaper to plug in a coach that fits JA's scheme rather than moving JA and Lovie and bring in a new GM, HC, Coordinators, position coaches, and players that fit the new scheme. The price/time to overhaul the organization could be long and expensive, and may not make us any better off. The short term "quick fix" will only be cheaper if it works out. If not, then it would cost even more b/c then you'd need to go with the whole tear down and rebuild mode anyways. As for how they are linked, Lovie is signed through 2011 and Angelo is signed through 2013 http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=2783609 which I had to just look up. As far as the draft goes, how many guys do not get a fair shake b/c there not Lovies guys. It seems Lovie don't like to try new things unless forced(Beekman,Roach), so were left with not knowing about guys like (Bradley,Wolfe,Bennett, J Williams,- to name a few) I've also heard that Lovie had his say on D. Manning, D Bazuin, and M. Okwo, whether it's true, well never know.

I think if JA thought Lovie was the problem, he would be able to pull the trigger if needed. Lovie has 3 yrs remaining to Angelo's 4. I think if the Bears don't meet expectations after next year, that gives JA a 2 yr window. It wouldn't be a typical Bears move, but with a fan base that is showing more and more displeasure it'll be either Phillips pulling the plug or Angelo pulling the plug. The cheaper of the two and possibly the quicker fix may be to try a new coach. If Phillips pulls the plug, which I can't see happening for at least 2 yrs, will put us to back to 2011, and thats with us hoping we can have a turn around like Miami did. I'm willing to give Lovie 1 more year, that's it and if that means JA goes with him, I can live with that.

I'm not so sure Lovie/JA are BFF. I posted what I think may be going down in another thread, it may not be enough right now, but it may put some pressure on Lovie.

I'm wondering what JA is thinking about Lovie and what Lovie is thinking about JA. I think maybe there's a little rift going on and our next move may be a sign of things to come. Lovie Smith said in his post season interview that it didn't help when he lost his #1 and #2 WR. I take those comments as strikes towards JA. I even think this started about a year ago. Muhammad was released in Feb, Berrrian was not resigned and then Lovie stated "Devin can be a #1 WR in this league" putting pressure on Hester and JA. The Bears also had Mark Bradley who IMO Angelo wanted to see get his shot, but Lovie refused. If it was Lovies choice not to play/develop and then cut Bradley, I'm sure JA was not to pleased at the time wasted with a high draft pick. In Jerry Angelo's press conference, he made the bold statement that it all comes down to having a QB. I seen that statement as an attack back at Lovie for bringing up the fact of losing BB/MM. The attack on the QB could have many meanings, like telling Orton not to even think about demanding a new contract or it could go back to training camp when the "fair" competition didn't go JA's way (Grossman). Angelo also mentioned how he didn't understand why Earl Bennett didn't get to see the field. His speech IMO showed retaliation on Lovie. What the two have said recently makes me believe that there not completely on the same page and this is costing us fans. Right now, I tend to be on JA's side b/c like he mentioned about Earl Bennett, it makes me wonder about some of the other draft picks/players. Lovie also moved Riveria out to make room for his pal Babich who has looked incompetent and brought this team down making JA/Bears D look bad. Now we have Marinelli in the picture and even though Marinelli/Lovie are pals, Marinelli/JA have a connection also and I hope he signs to maybe put pressure on Lovie's back. Marinelli may have failed in DET, but could be JA's last resort if Lovie can't get on the same page. Could this be a sign? Since JA has 1 more year of contract than Lovie, Angelo won't start another scheme, but may try another coach if Lovie don't turn it around within the next 1-2 years.

Ted Phillips needs to hire a "PR" guy that acts like a lawyer and coaches the players what to say when interviewed. Maybe some of our beloved Url, Harris, Briggs, etc won't make asses out of themselves so often. And to all those that are know crowning Briggs, don't forget about the things he said about the Bears, if I remember right, there were alot of "we don't need him" and "his stats are padded b/c that's how the system is set up". I'm glad we have Briggs, but I'm just as glad we have Url. I want them both to retire as Bears and be remembered as Greats. Right now, our D is down, lost, and confused and needs something new to bring in them back in. Hopefully Marinelli can be that guy that brings discipline in running assignments correctly b/c that is the only thing that makes this D sucessful. As even Briggs said, that was there main problem(staying in there gaps/discipline).

If JA/Lovie are really serious about adding Marinelli, they better make it enticing b/c his next trip is to Seattle to possibly be offered the DC job. My thought is, Marinelli will bring out more with our D Line. We need to get back to Bear football and back to leading the NFL in sacks. The Bears are all-time 1st (84') & 3rd (87') in team sacks, maybe Marinelli can find a little Warren Sapp in Tommie and a little Simeon Rice in Mark Anderson/rookie. Another thought, if we add Marinelli, we better see results out of the dlilne as being a top 10 unit, and the linebackers better be a top 5 unit with having two LB coaches in Lovie/Babich.