ASHKUM BEAR

Didn't Rhodes sit out the first 4 games because of steroid abuse. Whose to say that Rhodes w/o steroids = bad NFL RB

Bears offense: >[WR]Booker [WR]Bennett[RT]Tait [RG]Garza [C]Kreutz [LG]St. Clair [LT]Williams [TE]Olsen[WR]Hester [QB] Grossman [RB] Forte If the Offensive line can hold there own, I see this line up being one that could put up some points. Hester to stretch the field and pull a safety deep Olsen matched up against a LB running a intermediate route Forte sits back on a delayed play action, helps on a chip block and sits for a dump off Bennett working the slot coming accross the middle Booker on a curl or slant

I really don't think we will cut Benson, but Angelo has done this before with Cade. I really think if Cedric is healthy and he is capable of making all the cuts/moves as he did before, you will see him play with alot more heart and desire. Cedric has one thing on the back of his mind and that is he lost a 2 million dollar bonus over 27 freak'n yards. I'm sure he has another bonus clause that will kick in if he reaches a certain milestone of yards, so you know he will be hungry to get a least one more payday before becoming a FA. If Benson is healthy, he will produce b/c he won't want Forte taking money out of his pocket.

Thanks for all the thanks! Just wanted to help point out that the draft was pretty good at helping the Bears out for the now. I do wish we would have taken a QB over TE Davis, but we did get a couple of UDFA that we liked. This team was recently in the SB, and with the way the Bears drafted, they still believe that Urlacher, Brown, & Harris can carry them back there again before the window is definately closed. If the Bears did decide it was too late and the window was closed, I think we would have drafted much different and would be letting our higher priced FA's walk or get traded.

About the only two guards in this draft that could come in and start would have been Albert and maybe Rachal. St. Clair came in at the end of the season and looked pretty good especially since he had his mind set at being a back up RT or LT. St. Clair is a good player and teammate and if he can be a starting caliber G in the NFL, why not give him his shot at being a starter in the NFL. Last year we drafted Beekman in the 4th. He was considered the 3-5 best guard in last years draft. Rusty/the Bears wanted him to strengthen up a year before putting him in as most teams do with lower drafted offensive linemen. Beekman is still a highly touted G, we still need another prospect I definately agree, but the dire need of the team was still OLT, WR, and RB. As for drafting McGlynn, if you remember he was sitting right there for the Bears, but the Eagles traded up and took him right before the Bears. They were very high on McGlynn and whose to say they wouldn't have taken him. After he was gone, thats when the Bears traded down twice to gain more picks. As for WR's, I love the pick of Bennett and will be the first to buy his jersey when it hits the shelfs. He's not the homerun threat, but we have that in Hester and Bradley who have speed. Bennett is said to be in the mold of Hines Ward and if he becomes that type of receiver, I think every Bear fan will be thrilled with that pick in the third round.

State of the Bears by the Ashkum Bear With the 2008 draft completed, the Bears have added alot of pieces. Many highly regarded analysts and scouts have given the Bears mixed reviews. The one big question asked by all is why didn't the Bears select a QB when they have started a gazillion different ones in the tenure of Favres career. They could have selected Henne or Brohm with there second round pick as both were considered low first round talent. They could have taken Brennan or Woodson with there fifth round pick also. The only reason I could see is maybe adding another developmental project when your other two are still obviously developments would have diluted the process. By adding UDFA's like Nick Hill and Caleb Hanie, the Bears won't feel pressured by the fans/media to put in a Brian Brohm or Chad Henne if things don't start off well like last season. Soldier Field is not very homey when the fans are booing and hoping you go down, just ask Rex and Cedric. What the Bears needed may be exactly what they have done or are doing. Adding a older vet may also be a solution. There biggest need in the last twenty years may be that they need a QB, but there biggest need going into the 2008 season was to upgrade there offensive line. By selecting OLT Chris Williams, the Bears believe they solidified two positions with the pick. John Tait will slide over to the RT, a position he is more superior at and will most likely be lining up next to Matt Garza, who is a decent guard. Kreutz will man the center position while St. Clair has the upper edge on LG because he will be there to help guide Williams at LT. Beekman may suprise many this summer as he will push for playing time, but with the need for a veteren to play next to Williams, Beekman may have to wait his turn. Other backups hoping to make the roster will be Terrence Metcalf G, Chester Adams G, Anthony Oakley G/C, Mike Jones G, Tyler Reed G, Kirk Barton T, Cody Balough T. The Bears may need to add a veteren OT that can play both sides to serve as a backup. The Bears believed there second biggest need was running back. Even though they have three on there roster, not one has proven to be a reliable option. Cedric Benson is coming off of a 3.4 ypc and a severe ankle injury so his status is uncertain. Adrian Peterson is a fan favorite, but he can't be relied upon if the number one goes down. Peterson best value is a number 3 change of pace back, thats were last years third round selection Garrett Wolfe is supposed to fit in. Wolfe is smaller and makes good moves when in space and has showed his skill towards the end of the season. With a mess at the RB position, the Bears addressed that position with a RB that is considered a 3 down back. Matt Forte of Tulane will most likely win the starting role especially if Benson doesn't fully recover to his rookie form. Which RB will get the ax, in my opinion, it will be Adrian Peterson. Bensons value is still high with the Bears as they owe him quite a bit of money yet. Peterson who is servicable, should not be relied on to step in if the number one goes down with a season ending injury and won't cost the Bears to cut. The only hope Peterson has is that Bensons injury keeps him on the IR, or the Bears have the extra money to cut there ties. The third big need for the Bears was WR. They cut Moose and let Berrian walk. That left newly acquired Marty Booker, Brandon Lloyd, Mark Bradley, Rasied Davis and Devin Hester to fill there production. Hester the other day said Lovie doesn't want or expect him to be a everydown WR. That leaves you with Booker as the only for sure as a wideout. Lloyd was successful in SanFran before going to Wash, so maybe a new team will reignite his talent. Bradley has shown flashes of what he can do, but injuries have hampered his development. Davis is a nice #4 option and has been clutch in the small opportunities he has been given. Third round pick Earl Bennett gives the Bears a great WR that is not considered just a deep threat or a slot receiver. Bennett is a gem and will soon be the Bears best WR option. He runs exceptional routes, has good size and speed, and great strength. He will beat man to man coverage with his routes and find holes in the zone. He will go after jump balls and has the strength to win those battles. He's very smart on and off the field and a team leader. His only knock is he doesn't have top end speed to hit the homerun. Not considering Hester as a WR roster spot, will give Mike Hass an opportunity to beat out seventh round pick Marcus Monk. Monk may have an edge because with his height and speed, he may be a good target as the Bears like throw downfield and Monk can stretch the field and catch the high passes. The WR position is full and will take all of training camp to sort itself out, but with the addition of Booker, Bennett, and Lloyd may end up stronger that last year. With the first three rounds, the Bears have filled their biggest needs going into the 2008 season. A QB, wouldn't have made this season and may have only prohibited the Bears development of Grossman and Orton. Adding another guard would have also crowded that postion. The positions they added were all key postions that kept them from winning in 2007. DT was a strength that became a weakness when all the starters went down with injury. Adding a talent like Harrison will help solidify that from happening again. When Chris Harris was traded, Safety was also regarded as a strength. Then Mike Brown, Kevin Payne, Adam Archuletta all went down with injuries. Adding Steltz brings in a player that has the potential to be a starter and will help solidify the safety position. Cornerback is also considered a strength especially having your two starters tied up for the long haul. When both went down and missed multiple games, the Bears defense also went down. Manning tried to play CB but looked terrible, Ricky Manning Jr also looked out of place as he is only suited to play nickel. McBride looked pretty good especially for being a seventh round pick, but who else can help him. The addition of Zachary Bowman will help insure the D doesn't suffer when Tillman and Vasher go down. Bowman has size and speed and if he was healthy would have been considered one of the top CB's in the draft. Picking a TE was a need, but could have waited until the seventh, but since a highly rated one was available like Davis, the Bears couldn't resist. Davis has a skill set similiar to Olsen, but to a lesser degree right now. Kirk Barton OT was probably the best pick from the fifth round to the seventh because the Bears are in desperate need for a back up tackle if St. Clair is to play guard. The Bears overall draft is great considering there needs for the 2008 season. Drafting beyond there needs for this year, the Bears did fail to get a QB and that is the only major one that they have always had. Now if they can get everyone signed and extended, they have the pieces to find success again.

With the 26 pick in the 2009 draft, the Chicago Bears select G Duke Robinson Oklahoma

Jason-I love your passion to Talkbears and well thought out discussions. I don't always agree with you, but your thoughts are always interesting. The one I love the most about you is after every draft, you argue how you would have done better. Heck, somethimes I think I could do better myself. One thing you or me or anyone for that matter don't know is the top managements plans and goals (ie. Harris contract, Bensons health, Bazuin's inability to learn the defense) I'm 80% happy with all the picks, I would have liked to see a couple of things different, but I can't complain. Williams-(A) I too liked Albert, he was intriquing especially how fast he climbed in a month and at least his floor was LG, but Williams is a smart, well rounded LT and a position that will set a team for 8 years if he pans out. Forte- (A) He was our guy all along, I'd prefer to trade down 5-8 spots, maybe we tried but we got our guy Bennett- (A) I was really high on him. Does everything you'd want out of a WR. May be our best WR in a long time Harrison (B ) I really wanted best OG, but we do have Beekman/St. Clair and with Harris mentioning a hold out, and ?'s on the rest of our DT's, Harrison may fill a huge need. Look at the dropoff last year after injuries. Steltz (B ) The more I read/watch about him, my grade might change to an (A). Everyones first impression is an in the box safety (Arch) who is slow. The coaches have him graded to play both S's and there are plenty of highlights with him playing nice coverage. Bowman © This is a gamble pick, he pans out 2-3 years this will change to an (A) if not an (F). CB was also a need last year as Tillman/Vasher both missed a lot of time and our D dropped big time. Bowman has been compared to Cromartie of SD b/c of the potential but injury history, if he turns out to Cromartie no one here will complain about the pick. Davis © I love him as a TE, big & fast like Olsen. TE was a need, but we should have taken either Brennan or Woodson. This is my only major regret was missing these QB's, but I don't dislike Davis. Baldwin (D) who the hell is this guy, Lovie's nephew? If we were drafting BPA my guy Josh Barrett should have been taken (fire Angelo) C. Adams © Don't know much about him so he gets a C probably as good as Metcalf J. LaRocque © Once again, don't know much about him and really don't care. K. Barton (A) I would have drafted him earlier, that's how much love I have for him. Would have went higher (injury) M. Monk (A) Big fast WR that uses body well (CAN YOU SAY OUR MARQUES COLSTON) I would of like to see Schuening/Radovich, Brennan/Woodson, Barrett SS, but if those are the only misses (G and QB) I think well be ok, a rookie G especially RD3 or later will most likely need a year to beef up like Beekman and the QB would be a project (Krenzel,Leak). I think were better off finding someone like Volek than a rookie right now.

Couple of things: 1 Grossman has 1 yr remaining & Orton has 2 yrs (to correct a statement saying they both had only 1 yr remaining) 2. As much as I wanted Brohm, Henne, then Brennan. The only one we can really complain about really missing out on was Brennan. It would of cost us too much to trade back up for either Brohm/Henne at least our (1st) 3rd and 4th. I'd take Bennett and Stetz over a #3 QB as of right now. We got a potential Hines Ward and Doug Plank/Fencik. Our need at RB was also a higher team need b/c AP will either be cut or just a ST ace, Benson will either be injured, suprisingly cut, or come to camp as a legit #1 RB, and Wolfe is a change of pace 3rd down back. Brennan could of been had w/ our 2nd RD5 and so could have Woodson. I like Dave TE, but that spot was the only obvious mistake. If we would have grabbed one of those two QB's, everyone would have gave the Bears an A.

If that's what you hope for, why are you even a Bears fan. I'm hoping with Williams/Forte our offense gets back on track and our defense finds its way back to the top and the Bears are back to the playoffs. I never say I hope Griese throws a bunch of interceptions so I can say "I told you so". That's what it feels like anymore on these message boards. You got the glass half full guys (me) and the glass half empty guys.

I love almost all the picks, we filled some immediate needs and took BPA without reaching a whole lot. You can bitch about the picks, but that will never change anything. I choose to like them Williams=stud OLT, haven't had one in 10 years Forte=stud RB-can be an everydown back Bennett=stud possesion rec, can run good routes, great hands, can go up and get ball Harrison=stud DT that had some character issues, could of been a 1st or 2nd rounder. Steltz=in the box safety, team leader, hi football IQ Bowman=6-1 big CB, 4.35 fast, suffered injurys but if he was healthy would of been RD1 talent Davis=Big, very fast TE. can play DE, block, and run after the catch. Baldwin=Don't know anthing about this guy can't say anything Adams=big physical run blocking RG, played RT at Georgia. Need Oline

Zac Bowman could be a steal. He most likely won't contribute this year, but we got an extra 5 by moving down some slots to get a SS for the team. A bonus draft pick is ok to take a gamble on a player like Bowman who if he'd stay healthy would have been a 1st RD pick

Once again, people complaining about the bears draft. Nothing new here. I'm personnally happy with the picks so far except maybe the DT. I thought we had bigger needs, but you don't know if Harris holds out, Dvorecek injury history and so on. Bennett was my favorite so I'm happy. Forte I had compared to a Mendenhall, he just played at Tulane. We always want the big name from a big school, but those players come to even ground once they get drafted and play in the NFL.

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TWAS THE NIGHT BEFORE THE DRAFT Twas the night before the draft, when all through this board, not a member was stirring, not even Terra Tor. The players were slotted by the war room with care, in hope that the football gods would answer our prayers. The TalkBear alums were nestled all snug in there beds, while visions of Sweetness danced in there heads. And Jerry in his briefs, and Lovie in his cap, had just settled down for a few hours nap. When out of Halas Hall arose from a clatter, Jerry and Lovie sprang out of bed to see what was the matter. Away to the door they flew like a flash, turned off the alarm and removed the latch. The reflection of the moon on the brand new road, gave good indications that the Bears won't fold. When what to there eyes should appear, but a miniature jet with twelve men walking near. With a little old pilot, so awnry and malice, they new in a moment it must be Papa Bear Halas. More rapid than Grizzlies his coursers they came, and he shout and whistled as he called out there names. Now.....to be continued. Just wanted to say Merry Draft day and that I plan on being on here most of the time Saturday and Sunday. I will have espn on TV, the chat room opened, and a couple of other websites opened to get the inside scoops. I will be wearing #23 for good luck and plan on ordering pizza. Hopefully there will be many others here so we can SCREAM at the Bears picks in the chat room.

If the Bears are considering moving up, maybe they do take Mendenhall with 14 and then take Cherlius or Baker at 27. There has been no word on Benson's health, which IMO is some good smoke by the organization. Right now they have their cards at there chest and here are a few combinations: Pick #27 is worth 680 points. Pick 44=460, Pick 70=240, Pick 90=140, Pick 110=74, Pick 142=35, Pick175=21.4, Pick222=2.6 Everything comes down to who's available, so if Clady or Albert are there I don't think the trade happens. If they are gone, I can see the Bears going Mendenhall b/c they may have similiar grades with Otah vs Cherlius and Williams vs Baker. By moving up to 27 theres a slim chance Cherlius is available and a greater chance for Baker. In reality, we will be giving back SD pick at #90 and a future 3rd/4th. My picks would be the blue if the trade happened 1-14 Mendenhall RB 1-27 Cherlius/Baker OT 3-70 Woodson QB, Schuening G, McGlynn G Collins OLT, Avery WR, 4-110 Booty QB, Johnson QB, Hills OT, Franklin WR, Zuttah G/T, 5-142 Woodyard SS, Steltz SS, Burton WR, 6-175 Brennan QB, Dixon QB, DT 7-BPA/ST A lot of Oline drafted, but IMO that's the biggest weakness and w/ a back like Mendenhall I'd make sure he had a lot of talent in front of him Cherlius RT Garza RG Kreutz C McGlynn LG Tait LT(Hills in the wings) Tait can later be moved to G or RT as he gets older

It's also on the front page of www.nfl.com , but no details yet

Whoa, what did Minny give up? I'd also like to point out that I don't see any way in hell Car takes an O-lineman unless they are doing so for the sake of the future even before Rucker retired. They lost Center Hartwig and Guard Wahle which were quality starters. They resigned OT Wharten, OT Gross, OG Hangartner, OT Mathis. Acquired OG Milford Brown 2yr/5.5, OG Keydrick Vincent 2yrs/2 mil, OG Toniu Fonoti. It's been mentioned that they want to slide Wharten over to guard, but I think they have bigger fish to fry with the #1 pick.

"The injury comes at a bad time for Benson, who finished the season with 674 rushing yards. Had he gained 27 more yards—or less than three extra yards per game this season—he would have triggered a conditional roster bonus in his contract in the amount of $1.73 million. It’s lost money now for the running back." Brad Briggs Sun Times There is a lot of that written into contracts as Benson lost nearly two million dollars over 27 yards. I understand you being upset over greedy players as I am too for most part. I was extremely pissed with the supposed leak that Urlacher demanded to be traded or he will retire if the Bears didn't tear up his deal. Urlacher made a terrible decision when he signed his contract. The 9 year deal was lucractive at the time and would have carried him up to his retirement time. The contract is outdated as Urlacher is no longer making the money a player of his caliber should be making. He may feel disrespected by the Bears and the Bears should find a way to reward him. The thing I don't see the Bears doing is to tear up the original contract which is what Harris, Hester, and Urlacher are looking for. The Bears want to extend the original contracts and spread out the bonus money. Hopefully the Bears find a way to keep both parties happy before TC opens.

Alexander has also battled through injuries the past two seasons and after signing the big contract, he lost a little desire. Now, if he wants to be a player, he'll have to prove himself again. I'd be content on giving him an incentive laden contract that won't cost us much to cut him and that will reward him if he reaches certain milestones. Give him a one year deal, at least it's insurance if Benson can't rebound from his injury.

Actually, Russell is project to shift to RT after it was reported he was badly out of shape this offseason.

With the 48th pick, the Atlanta Falcons pick a CB with return abiltiy. Justin King CB, Penn State. Philedelphia Eagles on on the clock with the 49th pick

I think it's everything being thrown at us that's really starting to anger us loyal fans. This team as a whole is starting to look like it might just need to be blown up. With football starting to buzz again, me as a fan would like to hear these players are hungry to redeem themselves and the front office is ready to add the right pieces through the draft to help bring the team to that level again. But all were getting out of the media is the unhappiness of the team. We've read about Harris, Urlacher, Briggs, Hester, and now Gould all unhappy and most of them are skipping the voluntary workouts except for Hester. I know its voluntary, but not showing up to me says that they don't care enough about the team or there goals. Right now, this team has nothing going for them at all. Questions at every offensive position (QB, RB, WR, T, G) and now we have our best D players which should be the leaders of this team threatening the only positive we have to look forward to. If there going to be unhappy and show there displeasure by not showing leadership by being at the voluntary practices/working out as a team, we will never reach our goal. The Bears front office have said they want to get all of these guys taken care of and they want to take care of there own. Negotiations take time which is understandable. These players also have to realize that theres only so many gum balls in the jar and if they all want the most, they all won't be able to dip into the same jar. I hope we can get this all behind us quickly and this team can get together and focus on winning. Otherwise, like thread was titled to hell w/ it. Blow it up.

Also, he can be a returner if the "unhappy" Hester wants to test the Bears and hold out.

With a new QB to develop, the Falcons want to make sure he's protected. The Atlanta Falcons pick Carl Nicks OT Nebraska