ASHKUM BEAR

I think I'll go in the opposite direction. Start off with Steltz b/c I think he can bring more to stopping the run. Even though Manning showed some improvement, I would hate to seem him take the wrong angle on Johnson and get burned or try and strip the ball from White while getting dragged into the endzone. Either way, losing Brown will hurt. Maybe Steltz can continue showing signs he can make the big plays in this league. We seen it from Payne last year, let's see if another JA later round DB can play.

I think Orton saying he may play gives the Titans a little more homework to study on. They'll have to prepare there schemes to either A.) blitz the hell out of Rex or B.) Figure out what Kyle's kryptonite is. Hopefully that's all this is b/c I think having a healthy Kyle against division rival is much more important like slection7 says. Orton's a tough dude though and has played with pain before, so maybe he's not bluffing.

I like this post! I'm not sure if there are many contracts expiring after this season (Mike Brown, Rex Grossman). Otherwise we are in decent shape. As for drafting, I would go w/ either DE or Oline RD1. If Robinson is off the board, I think it'll be too early to draft H. Johnson, so DE may be a better option or possibly S. I do not want to see the Bears draft a WR early b/c they take too long to develop and there are going to be some big names available. I personally would like to see the Bears bring in Anquan Boldin, but my second choice is TJ Housh.

He also threw a nice pass to Thigpen on a "wildcat" play.

Lovie Smith today at practice said he is backing Barack Obama. Just thought I'd help "share the knowledge" with Cracker Hopefully I won't be "sharing the wealth" with him though, sorry Cracker.

I've been wondering also, but I think it has to do with Lovie not wanting to break up the chemistry the Oline has had. If he were to do it, this would be the best time to do so. I would also look at inserting Chris Williams. I think playing Detroit at home next week should allow us to test those postions to see how they play. It may be a boost, or if it doesn't work out, will those players demoted be able to suck it up and not hold it against the coaching staff if they think its best for the team to go back to them as starters?

Thanks for the answer. That's the reason why I posted the question. It seems maybe 3/5ths are on board to let him walk b/c just seeing his name turns up there body temp. I think we are all on board the Orton bus except for maybe 1, and we all like the potential in Haine. The problem lies in having a third QB as the #2. Half want to draft one and half want a vet and most likely our current #2 will seek a starter role. But will it be like last year, and not a lot of knocks on his door? Below is a list of FA QB's in no particular order. Matt Cassel QB NE 26 - not much exp., would be fairly cheap Kerry Collins QB TEN 35 - a little old, but could hold the fort down Jeff Garcia QB TB 38 - a little old, but still ticking. Most would approve Rex Grossman QB CHI 28 - knows the system, may look for starter postion Byron Leftwich QB PIT 28 - Can't even look decent at PIT, not sure if he lands a job after the year J.P. Losman QB BUF 27 - may look for starter opportunity, but couldn't cut it in BUF J.T. O'Sullivan QB SF 29 - Was a 5 minute wonder in TC, but where is he now? Patrick Ramsey QB DEN 29 - JA has always seemed to like him Kurt Warner QB ARI 37 - May resign in ARI, if they can afford him (Dansby, Boldin, and other big contract disputes) Kyle Boller QB BAL - Has had multiple opportunity in BAL, could never take it anywhere Charlie Batch QB PIT - Age may be an issue, but always does alright when called upon in PIT I like Garcia,Grossman,Warner, -maybies Ramsey&Losman. Other NFL teams that will be searching for a #1 QB: DET - they will draft one RD1/RD2, may look more towards exp. in Warner/Garcia MIN - should have alot of money, may look to unite Berrian/Grossman. I see Childress wanting Garcia KC - In rebuild mode, may also draft QB. SF - w/ Martz at helm as OC, maybe they bring in Warner Teams that will be in search of a #2 QB CHI ARI BUF CAR DEN

I just want to ask your opinion on keeping Rex Grossman. If JA offered Rex a contract that was set up to pay him as a #2, but with incentives that kick in with meeting certain stats, would you be opposed. I for one would not be opposed because I think we have our starter and franchise in Kyle Orton. Grossman would be considered a vet, he knows our coaches/system/players, has been very loyal, and has done good things at the helm. With some time on the bench, maybe a light will turn on, kinda like what happened with Orton. Also, I would hate to see him go to MIN and see him flourish with an offense already built and I have his jersey LOL. Thought this might be a good question to ponder over the bye week and since Orton is performing the need for a top draft QB is not as important. Finding a vet backup is the need IMO.

I'd also like to point out that Mike Brown is playing out of the box, I think this is a scheme to keep him healthy. Before, he was playing the SS (in the box) safety. So I can't hate on him as he is not playing his natural position which he was very sucessful in. As for Urlacher, I think the way we are scheming him is also hurting his stats. This is the first year I've seen him consistantly playing right on the line over the center. This IMO has helped shut down the opposing teams run, but it's hurt his coverage in the middle of the field since he has further to cover. Also, it's much harder to blitz when it's not disquised. Has it improved our team playing him on the line like that, possibly b/c we have shut down all RB's except purple jesus. But it has gave the opposing QB's the middle of the field. Once our Dline can get on track and pressure QB's, we may see this pay some dividends.

Not bad 5 out of 8 contributing. Like you said, we brought in Roach and thought he was a better option than Okwo. If Roach didn't pan out, you can bet Okwo would probably still be here. Whether or not he'd be contributing, we will never know. Also, at the time when we drafted Bauzin, we had no idea if we'd have Alex Brown or not. He was upset with the Bears and they were trying to trade him. Bauzin would've been more important and maybe have contributed, but injuries and his slowness to learn led him to be cut. Looking at the draft last year and now this year, maybe JA has a somewhat of a clue. Williams -/+ yet to be seen, but he is now ready to step in. The question is, do we break the chemistry the oline has created. Forte + Looked great early on, but hasn't been getting those rushing yds we want lately. Still a great pick, and the experts thought we should have taken Brohm instead. 3rd string Brohm sitting behind Flynn. Bennett - Hasn't had his chance yet, but looked great at times in TC and also looked poor. I think once the team/coaches give him a chance and Kyle hits him w/ some passes, he will come along. Harrison + Has stepped up and shined in a crowded DT crew. Future looks good for him. Steltz -/+ got a little playing time against MIN, looked alright. He is basically a SS and as long a Payne stays healthy, Steltz won't see much time on the D. Bowman -/+ Looked pretty good in his one game (Dusty II ?) Named co-NFC player of the week. Too bad he is out for the year b/c I think with our brittle CB's he'd see a lot of time. Are we blessed or cursed with our CB's Tillman,Vasher,Graham,Manning,McBride, and Bowman. I can see a future w/ Tillman at FS and Vasher at Nickle. Kellen Davis -/+ Looked great in TC, but is behind some pretty good TE's right now. Once he gets his footwork down on blocking this kid will be a steal. Baldwin - on the practice squad right now, but he may develop, still some hope. Adams - showed promise in TC, but got hurt. Right now, I believe he is not signed, but once healthy we get first dibs. LaRoque - on 53 man roster and playing ST, if he can get some big plays, maybe he gets a + Barton - Was waived with intentions to sign to practice squad, but MIA claimed him, then SF claimed him from MIA Monk - was waived and then signed with NYG which they cut and he is currently not in NFL

I am not completely satisfied with our defense as we expect them to completely shut down every offense. But looking back, the defense hasn't been as bad as some a saying. IND - Top offensive team, at least at one time they were and we shut them down at home. I thought our D was great that game. CAR - Our D did pretty good this game, I'd put it on the offense for blowing this game. Olson fumble in 3rd Quarter really shifted the momentum. CAR just marched 52 yds down the field, but the Bears held them to a FG. After the kick off, Hester runs is out of the endzone 24 yds and the first play was to Olsen who fumbles giving CAR the ball at the 26 yd line and Stewart blows us up for 19yds and a TD. After that our O couldn't do anything and only got one first down. TAM - We shut there run down almost 100% allowing Griese to dink/dunk. He did throw for 407yds, but don't forget Kyle through the pick 6 in the 2nd quarter and an INT in the endzone when throwing to Forte. Also, with 3:11 left in the game it was 3rd and 2 and we ran play action and no one was open, another 3 and out. Thats when Griese marched 79 yds to tie it up and put it into overtime. PHI - Another good offensive team, held McNabb in check. Once again the D was pretty good. DET - We should have shut them out, D was pretty good though ATL - Our game plan was to shut down Turner and put it in the hands of a Rookie QB, we shut down the NFL leading rusher at the time, but the rook tore our secondary up. I think we would have won this one if we wouldn't have squibbed kicked it. Lovie also agrees. MIN - Game plan once again was to shut the run game down, I think if AP didn't break off a 54 yd td we would have accomplished that part of the game plan. Once again, our secondary allowed Ferrotte to throw for almost 300 yds. In the end, we won and we should be happy. Looking over the first 7, I think our D has done well. We've changed our D game plans unlike what Hampton says (keys:Manning, McNabb, Delhomme, Turner, Graham/Dunn, Peterson). I still don't see alot of changes during the game, but have we ever in 5 yrs w/ Lovie? Our key will be to get healthy on D during the bye week and to game plan on shutting out Detroit before facing Ten. The TEN game plan will be like ATL/MIN by concentrating on defending the run. Hell, lets talk about Rex Grossman or Cedric Benson bahahaha

I would love to get Taylor Mays, I just don't see us drafting high enough to get him, but if there's anyway he falls or we can trade up, I'd be in favor. As much as we need to get a future dominating DE here, I think we can wait until the middle rounds, and hopefully we can find a gem like Marcus Harrison, Mark Anderson, or Dusty Dvorecek. I wouldn't put it past JA to grab one high b/c he knows you have spend the high draft picks on the DL. But you also have to spend the high draft picks on the OL too. Urbik in the third would be a steal if we landed him, I think he would be a perfect pick for us in the third round. If we land Mays, then RD2 I would draft a RT (Ciron Black, Phil Loadholt, X. Fulton), RD3 Urbik, RD4 hopefully a fallin DE. JMO

That's why it put it as: "The Monday morning winning formula" I really think it show's that Lovie and Co have a hard time making the quick decisions. Even Lovie himself admitted he should of kicked it deep. Oh well, hopefully losing these close games keeps this team grounded b/c once they think there they bomb is usually when they get lazy and fall apart. Plus I give ATL a lot of credit, they kept the Bears D on the field, making all the plays when needed. If it weren't for some bad penalities on the ATL offense, we might not even been close.

Metcalf on steroids would explain his rude behavior at Bourbonnais. Not sure whatever happened to this tool, but the first time I met him he was a rookie. He was very polite and focused. My last encounter with him, he was very cocky and had a different personality which didn't seem to follow the mode of the other offensivie linemen. Metcalf seemed to be the open mouth for the squad. My favorite and most personal was St. Clair, I'm glad he has his shot at starting and is doing a decent job, Beekman also. Metcalf on the other hand, has not lived up to a 3rd RD selection and as much as I would of liked to see him suceed, I think he drew his last straw.

Thanks Lucky for that find. With 11 seconds, the clock does not start until the ball is legally touched (unlike at the start of the game it starts when ball is kicked), so maybe Lovie gambled on the ball bouncing off of an opponent starting the count down. I'd prefer kicking the ball deep and forcing ATL to decide to run with it or get out of bounds. If they decide to run with it, figure Norwood would of made it to the 25 yd line (thats avg) With a 20 yard return, take 4-5 seconds off the clock. That gives ATL possesion at the 25 with 6 or 7 seconds to go. With that time frame, there is maybe enough time to get two plays off before a FG attempt. Odds would of been definately in favor of the Bears to kick it deep. I couldn't believe they squib kicked it with only a 2 pt lead giving ATL a shorter field to work with and a chance to win it. The Monday Moring winning formula: 1 Kick it deep, but not into the endzone and keep it as close to the middle of the field. 2 Norwood has no choice but to either run for the sidelines or run for the endzone. a.) runs out of bounds - approx 20 yards to the sideline = minus 3 or 4 seconds - ball approx 15 yd line b.) run for endzone - most likely he would of been tackled somewhere around 25 yd line = minus 4 or 5 seconds - every 10 yds is about another second. If Norwood was to get to the 40 yd line, that would of left ATL with only 5 seconds to make the same play to put them in FG position.

Actually the whole trade thing is: Chicago Bears have the 17th pick Washington Redskins have the 24th pick. Washington wants a LBer really bad so they trade us the 24th along with the 3rd and 4th RD picks to move up. It works out on the trade value chart. The select Ohio St. James Laurinitis

Which way do the Bears look to rebuild as the offense keeps getting stronger and defense and ST keeps slipping. With a 3-3 record, which could be 5-0 as close as the losses were, the Bears weakness have been: DL, DB, OL. The defensive line has not been putting the kind of pressure on the QB as Lovies D requires. The depth behind often injured Nathan Vasher and Charles Tillman needs to be improved since these guys seem to find some time on the inj. list every year. At safety, Mike Brown has stayed healthy, but is he holding back to help insure another contract in the NFL. The Oline has been much better than thought, but they don't seem to have the push/power to win the trenches. Right now, I have the Bears selecting 17th with the 500 record: RD1 Pick 17 (trade with Washington Redskins for pick 24 and RD3 pick 88 and RD 4 pick 120) James Lauritis LB Ohio St. RD 1 Pick 24 Phil Loadholt OT Oklahoma - The Bears now have some key youth at the offensive skill positions with Orton, Forte, Hester, Olsen. The Oline is one of the oldest units in the NFL and JA looks to bulk it up. Loadholt is a big mauler for the Sooners and should be a nice addition to help improve the run game. RD 2 Pick 49 Herman Johnson OG LSU - Knowing the need for more talent on the D, JA knows having a run attack can help his defensive unit by controling the clock. Johnson is another talented lineman who excels with the run block. RD 3 Pick 81 Courtney Greene SS/FS Rutgers - The Bears just can't seem to find the right safety to work in there scheme. A healthy Mike Brown is what they look for, since they cannot turn back time, they keep selecting safeties to hopefully find the right combo. RD 3 Pick 88 (from WAS) - Matt Shaughnessy DE Wis - A tall quick DE that is a class act, the Bears are deep at DE, but need to find some youth to eventually take over for Adewale. RD 4 Pick 113 Pat White WR WV - White is an athletic QB that will make the transition like many other former athletic QB's. The Bears can use White on ST, gimmick plays, and emergency QB until he can make the conversion from QB to WR. RD 4 Pick 120 (from WAS) - Jorvorskie Lane FB Texas A&M - Best FB in the draft, 6-0 285 Lane can not only run the ball, he can open up lanes for Forte. RD 5 Pick 145 - Ramses Barden,WR Cal-Poly-SLO - Barden is 6-6 226 and runs 4.5. Plays for a small school, so he isn't very well known. RD 6 Pick 177 - Jonathan Casillas OLB Wis - One of the fasted linebackers in the draft, the Bears look to add depth and competition for Hunter Hillenmeyer RD 7 Pick 209 - Dwain Crawford CB/S Baylor - 6-0 200 4.44 speed, Baylor will be another small school secret for JA.

First off, No hard feelings, It was kinda of bait to get the reaction. We have different views and that's fine. I just wanted to lay out some issues whether they are cleared or not that I find kind of funny. Mysterious-I have a right to question Mr. Obama's background just like Hillary did when she put the effort into a background check. "Insight never claimed -- not once -- that Obama had attended an Indonesian Madrassa as a young boy. What we did claim -- and stand behind 100 percent -- is that the Hillary Clinton camp had conducted an investigation into Obama's Muslim background, and they had concluded he had been raised and educated as a Muslim." -Religion- OK, so he's had some upbringing around the Muslim religion. I personally have nothing against that religion, it's just the names that get brought up with him that concern me (I not saying he acknowledges them, but has those names associated with him whether he likes it or not): Khadafi, Ayers, Yousef. Farrakhan, ? This may just be propaganda to sway opinions, but your damn right I'm concerned and thats a chance I don't want to take. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ikGM862Iivw Khadafi on Obama -Abortion- Obama has history of pro-choice and has even stated: He promised at a Planned Parenthood event in July 2007 that "the first thing" he will do as president -- his top priority for the nation -- is sign the Freedom of Choice Act, which would erase every federal and state restriction on abortion, no matter how modest. His top priority, again, is to re-legalize partial birth abortion under all circumstances, abolish all laws on informed consent and parental notification, and eliminate all state restrictions on taxpayer funding of abortions. -Former member of anti-white church: Jeremiah Wright "the US of KKK"? huh At least Barack left that church which honored Louis Farakkan, I'll give him that. Jeremiah Wright Trinity Chicago -Citizenship: I never said he wasn't a US citizen, but there is documentation showing citizenship of Indonesia. Whether it's right or wrong, it doesn't matter. There is proof showing Indonesian citizenship: http://www.worldnetdaily.com/index.php?pageId=72656 As to having Kenyan citizenship, he had that up until 1982, so just another point - fact. Does it matter? Not really. His name: So his giving birth name was Barack Hussein Obama, which when he was adopted by his 2nd father it became Barry Soetoro. That was the name he used when going to grade school, see above link. So I asked what's up with the name? Was his name changed when adopted, and when was it changed back to Barack. That's why I don't trust him. You can call me what you want, "sticks and stones" but these are issues I have against him. Good luck and sorry I'm not on your side on this issue. As to the Bears-different story.

I would still look for a QB in first 3RDS along with Oline and WR. Even though I happy with Hester, Lloyd, Booker, Davis and a M.I.A. Bennett

Sorry, but how can you trust someone with such a mysterous back ground? Birth Name: Barry Soetoro, changed to Barack Hussein Obama Citizenship: Indonesian, USA, also lived in Kenya Religion: Islam -former member of an anti-white church which concentrated more on hate than love for Christ -denies muslim background, then why the name change? -looks to raise taxes to record levels to support UN and poverty in Africa -supported by our enemy -has many conspiricy's tied to him -abortion I don't mind change, change is good. But please tell me why Obama was the best candidate on the Dem. side. I don't trust him one bit. McCain may not be exciting and may remind you of GWB, but once again the American people will have to decide between the lesser of two evils. Obama call's for change, but I fear his change is not for the interest of American's, but the interest of his hidden identity. I'm not sure which Dem. candidate I would of preferred b/c both scare the hell out of me(Clinton/Obama), too bad Biden didn't get elected, I'd feel 100% better about him in office. With that said, I feel much safer with McCain. A true American, who fought for his country/life once and is ready to do it again. He will keep America in his best interests, and hides nothing about his past. He doesn't portay a too good to be true image and also has plans to imporove economy, health care, enviroment. Every candidate sells you this. Feel free to spin away as I entered my .02. I do enjoy these reading's b/c there's a lot of fire, but I threw out my concerns and really don't care to write anything else on this subject. I luv you guy's as Bear Bros and politics and religion should be left alone amongst Bros. Whomever takes over the office, God Bless America and the American people and may we all find a way to be prosperous.

Good for Garrett. I was in favor of getting him, but JA blew it selecting him in the 3rd when IMO he would have been there in the 5th. Now that he is on this team, he is earning his stripes so far on ST this year. If the Bears offense hasn't been so lost and can come out and show confidence and dominate, I believe a guy like GW can shine on certain offensive packages. Every once in a while, we've seen what he can do, but the Bears are seldom in position to put him in. IMO it's the Bears philosophy on game day to protect the lead when they get it instead of going for the throat. Games when we have a 10 pt or more lead is when we should throw a look here and there with GW and let him show his strengths. But the Bears philosophy on 10 pt leads is to run between the tackles and punt. I'm surprised we haven't seen or heard much of AP on ST so far. I'm also surprised on GW's ST play so far too. You always see #25 hustling getting in on the tackles. With GW's ST play so far and if it continues, I can see AP getting cut after this season. I kind of thought he would have been the odd man out before the season started b/c I thought we'd only keep 3 RB's on the roster. The #1/#2 was going to be CB/MF then MF/KJ, and I thought GW offered something special as the #3 which was different than AP. I think the Bears decision to keep 4 RB's came down to not knowing what MF would bring as a rookie, KJ's health, and GW not able to be an everydown back. Now that we know about our RB situation, the decision would be much clearer next season.

I'm glad the football god's were working for us this offseason. I'll be a first to have my serving of buffalo Crow wings. I was one of those that said this team team could live without Briggs and that he was just a product of the system. Boy was I wrong, and I gladly eat my Crow with some ranch please.

Like Brian Bear, I will continue with my mock's each week with were I see the team and there biggest needs. As of right now, this team can very easily be 3-0. The players on the field isn't the biggest flaw IMO, so far it's been coaching. Lovie and Co. are out of excuses, this regime has been in place for 4 years now and the teams concept has been figured out and they are too stubborn to make any changes. It also seems whatever needs JA addresses, Lovie and Co can't seem to find the time of day to implement the tools JA gives and those tools (players) go to waste. After week 3, positions in need of upgrade: OG - Beekman is showing promise, but Garza keeps getting burned everygame. It's time to make a change and play Dan Buenning to see if he is the answer. If so, finding another G can be found in rds 5-7 instead of 1-3. CB - Yes, Nathan Vasher has lost his coverage skills. He is always getting burned and may be better suited as our Nickel. If none of our reserves (McBride, Graham, Hamilton, Bowman) can play better than Vasher, then drafting one early should be considered and this could upgrade two positions CB/Nickel. S- Brown's days of dominating also seem to have been lost with the injuries, so getting another stud safety that can match Brown's glory years would help this D alot. QB -Orton is what he is, a body on the offense that won't do much (score/turnovers). For those that say we don't need a star QB to win in this league must be content with our offense's performance the past 25 years or so. OT - Chris Williams has just padded up for the first time today, John Tait is holding his own, but not getting any younger. Find a starting caliber OT to replace Tait withing a year needs to be a priority. Tait can then become a reserve swing tackle as he would have experience at both postions. As of today, the Bears are slotted with the 10th pick! RD1-10 Mark Sanchez QB USC -Like Brian Bear said, Sanchez's stock will continue to rise. Sanchez is the 3rd QB taken in the top 10 as KC took Stafford and STL took Tebow. Sanchez as a 1st year starter looked like a pro in USC's west coast offense. Players the Bears thought about, but passed up: S-Taylor Mays USC, OT-Ciron Black LSU, CB-Vontae Davis UofI, RD2-43 Phil Loadholt RT Oklahoma - Loadholt is currently the 5th ranked OT who is suited to only play the right side. 3 OT's are taken in RD1 and KC selected A. Boone from Ohio State to start RD2 off. The Bears like Loadholt as he is 6-8 350 and excels in run blocking. Players the Bears considered: S-Patrick Chung Oregon, G-Herman Johnson LSU, CB-Darius Butler UCON/Mike Parson Ohio. RD3-76 Juaquin Iglesias WR Oklahoma - Inglesias has nice size/speed. Unlike former Sooner Mark Bradley, Inglesias has played and is a big contributor for the offense. RD3-99(comp) Emmanuel Cook S South Carolina - Cook is 5-10 214 , which many consider a little small. Well, Bob Sanders is 5-8 206 and Cook can hit in a similiar fashion. RD4-109 Devin Moore RB Wyoming - Moore will be the fasted RB at the combine and the Bears look for him to be there home run threat everytime he touches the ball. His size/speed are similiar to Tenn's Chris Johnson. RD5-142 Brannon Sutherland FB Georgia - Sutherland's talent are an upgrade over McKie's. He's a lead blocker for Moreno, the short yardage back, and can go out and make the catches. His talents are everything the Bears look for in a FB. RD6-176 Jon Cooper C/G Oklahoma - Another Sooner in this years draft. Cooper will be the Bears future center, but while Kreutz finishes out his last 2 years, Cooper will be the backup at C/G. RD7-209 Jason Chapman DT Wisconsin - A quick DT Chapman with a knee injury. The Bears take a chance on his pass rush abilities as he is best suited to play for a team the runs the cover-2.

Thats what Hub was saying also on the Score. Hub was thinking JA and Lovie had differences on Mark Bradley. For some reason Lovie would not give Bradley the time of day so JA just gave up and cut him. With the Bears picking up Hamilton, the Bears may be looking for a nickle that can step up. I have a feeling that JA's "feelings' toward Lovie may be shifting. A lot of moves Lovie has made are not working out either. Lovie is not developing draft picks (Grossman, Benson, Bradley, Bennett, Olsen, Hester, examples) , making coaching changes that may not have been favorable with management (Rivera) and told everyone to trust him. Lovie's Club Med training camps seem to Not have our players in shape to finish a game.

The only way that it would be a wise pick (for a WR), is if we signed a young OT like Max Starks and then acquired someone like Jeff Garcia/Derek Anderson/dependable vet. I can see us then using our pick on BPA and if that ends up a WR, than so be it. But right now, without using FA as a tool, we need to address the oline, safety, and QB positiions.