dawhizz

Josh Johnson in the 3rd.

I don't want them. And it's not financial (or, at least, not just financial). As for Moss, you say he's "pretty much sure to produce". How quickly we forget: YEAR TEAM G REC YDS AVG LNG TD FD FUM LOST 2004 MIN 13 49 767 15.7 82 13 43 1 1 2005 OAK 16 60 1005 16.8 79 8 46 0 0 2006 OAK 13 42 553 13.2 51 3 29 0 0 He quit on the Raiders. He did. What makes you think he won't do the same thing with Kyle Orton, Rex Grossman, or a rookie throwing him the ball? Because if we pay big money for Moss, you aren't going to be able to sign a big name QB if one becomes available. As for Johnson, he's only going to be available via trade. Are you prepared to trade your next two first round picks for him, or your first and second this year? My guess is that's what it's going to take, and someone will probably pay it or close to it (Jacksonville makes a ton of sense to me). Plus he'll want an extension once he signs. If you think spending a big part of our salary room, giving away two premium draft picks, and similarly keeping the team from being able to add much else in free agency is worth it for Johnson, I'd love to hear your case.

I would disagree with that definition myself. I would agree that a true sleeper can't be widely considered a first day pick (like James Hardy in the original list), but I don't think they need to be non-division FBS players. I think they can just as easily be a guy buried on the depth chart of a good school (like Matt Cassel from a couple years ago) or who is from a big school, but has been too injured to show what he can do on a consistent basis.

PFW isn't exactly Derek Flint by finding out Jerry Angelo is targeting offense heavily in the draft and most likely with the first pick, considering he told everybody that last week: "We're going to look at offense real hard and in all likelihood, it could be [the first pick]," Angelo said. "But we're not going to pigeonhole ourselves into saying one side or the other. We won't know for sure until we know what cards are dealt." http://chicagosports.chicagotribune.com/sp...1,4336029.story

Problem is, it doesn't look like there's going to be a DT worth taking at 14. Sedrick Ellis and Glenn Dorsey will both go before that, and after that you have late 1st-early 2nd guys like Kentwan Balmer and Pat Sims. If they think they need a DT, get one in the 2nd or 3rd, not in the first.

I just finished up, and I personally can't imagine the draft going much better for us than this, with the exception of safety, which just isn't a great position this year, and guard, which is also kind of weak. Here's the breakdown (4 rounds): 1) Jeff Otah, OT, Pitt - As I mentioned before, Clady went #5 and Kenny Phillips went right before me. I decided to pass on QB, figuring it wasn't a big need for a lot of the rest of the teams, and I went for the best potential LT on the board. Good thing too, because there was a big run on OL at the end of the first, beginning of the second, where Williams, Baker, Cherilus, & Nicks all went off the board before my second round pick. Smart move on my part because: 2) Brian Brohm, QB, Louisville - Not that it's actually going to happen, but how about this good fortune? Neither Woodson nor Brohm got selected in the first (the Ravens took Ryan). The Falcons took Woodson in the second, and when the Panthers took Carl Nicks right before me, I couldn't make the Brohm pick fast enough. 3a) Devin Thomas, WR, Michigan State - Heading into the middle rounds, I wanted a big WR, a safety, and was comfortable going BPA after that between OG and RB. The 3rd seemed like a good time to go WR, so I took the one with the biggest upside in Thomas (passing on Earl Bennett, Andre Caldwell, and DJ Hall). He was pretty dominant last year for the Spartans and could easily be a 2nd round pick in the actual draft. Pretty happy with this pick. 3b) Craig Steltz, S, LSU - Probably the only pick that might be considered a bit of a reach, but I really wanted a big safety who can TACKLE and Steltz definitely fit the bill. Plus, I wanted a guy with big-time college experience, not another Central Missouri State Tech A&M guy who would have a hard time adjusting to the NFL (see: Roosevelt Williams, Daneil Manning, etc). Steltz had a great year for LSU and has the size I was looking for (6'2" 210). 4) Steve Slaton, RB, West Virginia - I was pretty set on BPA here. I was hoping a decent OG would fall, but it didn't happen (though I considered Chilo Rachal from USC), and I thought hard about Trevor Laws, the DT from Notre Dame. In the end, Slaton was far and away the best player left on my board (perhaps due to some confusion by the other GMs over whether or not he declared) I just don't trust our RBs and I couldn't pass up Slaton's pure speed. Someone in that backfield has to step up. So, there's your first round rounds of the Bears draft. If pressed to go on, I probably would have gone OG in the fifth, DT in the sixth, and who cares in the 7th. If anyone's interested in how the whole draft went, I can post the list.

So we did the first round tonight, we're doing the second tomorrow, and 3rd & 4th on Sunday (don't ask me why). I took Otah (Phillips went right before me and Clady went 5 to the Chiefs). Baker ended up lasting until the Giants at #30 and no one took Woodson or Brohm in the first. So now what should I do? a. Focus on a QB (if so, how do you rate Brohm, Woodson, Flacco) b. Take best WR available. Available WRs at the end of the first are Limas Sweed, Adarius Bowman, Mario Manningham, Earl Bennett, Early Doucet, Devin Thomas). c. Take a RB (Jamaal Charles, Ray Rice, Steve Slaton, Chris Johnson are on the board). d. Take a DT (Pat Sims, Kentwan Balmer, Dre Moore) e. Something else Any thoughts?

I don't understand what my bias would be given that I already mentioned I would draft one of the OTs. Why would I find it favorable to my postition to classify my own choice as a reach? From the majority of the mocks I've seen, one of the RBs or WRs I've listed have gone ahead of both the additional OTs I listed, so I wanted to allow those who believe that RB or WR is a first round need (I am not one of those people) to pick one of those players if they felt it was the best choice.

I'm interested to see what you would do in this situation: Ryan Clady and Kenny Phillips are off the board by 14. So are Brohm and Matt Ryan. You try to trade down but there are no takers. What do you do (and please let me know who specifically you would take): a. Draft Andre Woodson, QB, Kentucky b. Reach a bit for an OT (Jeff Otah or Sam Baker) c. Draft a RB (Johnathan Stewart or Rashard Mendenhall) d. Draft a WR (Desean Jackson or Malcom Kelly) e. Do something else I'm actually participating in a Mock Draft this weekend, and that seems like a reasonable scenario, so I'd be interested to see what people think. Personally, I'm tempted to take Jeff Otah in that situation, but I can be persuaded otherwise.

There's a whole mess of them. The Shrine Bowl is this weekend. The Senior Bowl is next weekend (generally the best of the post-season bowls). The Hula Bowl and Cactus Bowl were last weekend (I think). Looks like Hill is in the Texas vs. the Nation Bowl: http://texasvsthenation.cstv.com/

I'll be keeping an eye out for Jonathan Hefney, a 5'9" safety out of Tennessee to see to what degree his size might hold him back at the next level, RB Allen Patrick out of Oklahoma to see how fast he is, and WR Paul Hubbard of Wisconsin cause I think we need some size in our WR corps.

I was thinking along the same lines, except trading Berrian for their late first round pick. They obviously need speed at WR, as everyone they have are the tall, possession WR (with the exception of Northcutt, who just isn't that good). They team is already full of young receivers, so they aren't going to want to wait for another young guy to develop, especially one they would get at 26 (or whatever). Unless Ocho Cinco's trade demands rev up again, who else can they hope to get besides Berrian? With 14 and 26 in the first, you have a lot of freedom to consider QB with the first pick, knowing you can nab Chris Williams or even Sam Baker with the later pick and still address OT. Or you can take Clady/Otah at 14, and take the best available playmaker at 26 (Sweed/Desean Jackson/Felix Jones) Just throwing it out there as a possibility.

Just wondering if anyone read Michael Lewis' book The Blind Side? Offensive tackle Michael Oher from Ole Miss (who just declared for the draft yesterday) is apparently featured prominently in the book as the "perfect left tackle on paper" and the book talks a lot about his story. Any reviews (of the book or the player)?

Glad you asked. Exactly half the teams in the NFL had at least 6 players with 200 yards receiving. Moreover, there is no corelation whatsoever to being a good team, as half the playoff teams (Giants, Steelers, Chargers, Bucs, Ritans, and Redskins) did not fall into that category.

200 yard plateau? What the hell is that? How is that a milestone? Other players in the NFL who reached the elusive "200 yard plateau" include Michael Gaines, Sean McHugh, and Leonard Weaver. Truly an achievement to be proud of.

I'll give it a shot Resign Ayanbadejo if it's reasonable, but don't go crazy. Free Agents: S Erik Coleman - Was hurt a bit this year, but had 100 tackles each year his first three years and his injuries were pretty freak (appendectomy, for example) RB Musa Smith - Seems to do everything pretty well and is young enough to develop a little bit. I think he could start, if given a chance. OG Ryan Lilja - Not at Alan Fanaca's level, but young and has been dependable enough to protect Peyton and pave the way for Addai. WR Ernest Wilford - I've always kind of liked him, and I'd love to add some height to the WR corps. Draft: 1) Ryan Clady, OT, Boise State - Though I would be open to trading down and taking Baker 2) Adarius Bowman, WR, Oklahoma State - A taller Anquan Boldin 3) Josh Barrett, S, Arizona State - Time to completely retool the safety spot 3) Joe Flacco, QB, Delaware - Let him, Griese, and Orton fight it out, which seems like the most logical and cost-effective way to handle QB next season. 4) Best guard on the board

This site has a three round mock and user submitted ones too: http://condraft.com/mocks/ Football's Future also has a list of mock links it updates fairly regularly: http://www.footballsfuture.com/mocklinks.html

I've been trying to figure this out as well, and I'm having trouble. I don't think he'll spend big money on a #1 (Turner, Jones). Theoretically, we have a bruisher (Benson), a shifty back (Wolfe) and a all-around runner (Peterson). So, if you look at the most ineffective of those runners (Benson, in my opinion), it makes the most sense to go after a bruiser who can actually break tackles. My guess? T.J. Duckett. Not a sexy name, but Angelo probably wants to bring someone in who COULD win the starting job, but who he won't catch too much heat for if he doesn't work out. He's had injury problems, but I thinke could still be an effective back (he did average 5.2 YPC this year in limted duty).

QB Rex Grossman (3rd QB), CB Nathan Vasher, SAF Josh Gattis, LB Lance Briggs, G Josh Beekman, WR Mike Haas, DE Mark Anderson, NT Darwin Walker Hard to have a lot of faith in a defense missing Vasher, Briggs, Anderson, and Walker, though it might be good to get a long look at Jamar Williams (who I assume will be taking Briggs' place) and another look at the DTs.

My guess, and decide for yourself if this is optimistic or not: Kurt Warner Bottom line is the Bears need to get someone in here who can give them consistent average QB play. Warner's not going to be handed the starting job in Arizona, and if he's not, he'll want to go somewhere where he will. I don't think he will cost a lot, particularly since he's a free agent next year. I think the Bears trade a low draft pick for him, give him a 1-2 year extension, and draft a replacement in the middle rounds.

I gotta be me.

According to this list (http://www.kffl.com/static/nfl/features/freeagents/fa.php?option=By+Team&y=2008), UFAs are: Grossman Berrian Gilmore R. Brown Ayenbadejo McClover Ayenbadejo is worth keeping for special teams alone. I'd like to keep Berrian, but I have no idea what his value in the open market is. The rest can go as far as I'm concerned. I would have no problem dropping Miller and Archuleta. Bradley's been disappointing, but I don't know that he's making enough that dropping him is worthwhile. If you bring back Berrian and maybe pick up another decent WR, I'd be OK letting Moose go, but our WR corps isn't great as it is.

Kennedy came out the same year as his teammate Michael Haynes I believe. I remember a lot of guys (me included) hoped he would fall to us that year. Instead we took Haynes. Interesting to note they were both big busts.