dawhizz

I'll bet you see them go hard after Shaffer.

I do agree that great players will (within reason) be great no matter where you play them (Colvin would have been a good DE, Urlacher would have been a good S). The problem is that when you are dealing with very good, good, and decent players, I think it's the organization's responsibility to put them in a position where they can be the best players they can be. And those players have much less margin for error than the great players, because they depend on getting reps at a constant position to be able to prove themselves. I mentioned Manning and Idonije originally. I don't think anyone would argue either are great players. But if you put Idonije at DE only, instead of forcing him to fluctuate weight to play DT and DE, I think you get a better overall player. The same thing with Manning if the Bears had put him at safety and kept him at safety. And I certainly understand that there is, as many have said, "not much difference" between some of these positions. But for very good to average players, those subtle nuances are the difference between being in position to make a play or allowing a touchdown. They depend on those repeated reps at one position to learn from mistakes, and putting them at another position can often slow that learning curve in a way that doesn't help anyone.

Even as early as it is in the offseason, the Bears have "committed" to at least three position switches that I've seen: Frank Omiyole from OT to OG, Zackary Bowman from CB to FS, and Israel Idonije from DT to DE. While I am aware that often a position switch is both natural and logical (like the move from safety to MLB for Urlacher when he came into the league), it seems to me the Bears make their positions switch decisions based on the present shape of the roster and trying to find a cheap way to solve problems without any real eye towards what is best for the player. Thinking of position switches in recent years for this team, the vast majority of those that were effective were done right out of the draft and were somewhat natural (Urlacher, Rosevelt Colvin, Jerry Azumah, to a lesser extent). I generally have no problem with this, and a certain amount of it is expected as a part of effective scouting (moving a college OT to OG because of mobility concerns, moving a college DE to LB because of size concerns, moving a college CB to S because of speed concerns, etc.). However, despite those successes, the vast majority of position switches this team has attempted have been miserable failures, or only successful insofar as they corrected an earlier position switch mistake. The ones I could think of (and feel free to add to these if possible): Qasim Mitchell - Moved from OG to LT and had limited success before becoming an abject failure and perhaps one of the more reviled Bears offensive linemen in recent memory. He was tried at LT, correct me if I'm wrong, simply because we needed a LT, not because that was necessarily the best place for him. Dustin Lyman - College LB drafted to play TE (in the third round!) despite the fact that he was widely considered a legitimate LB prospect. Never a factor. Michael Haynes - Moved from DE to DT in his later years in a vague attempt to scrounge some value out of a bad draft pick. It made no difference and he was cut. Rod Wilson - Moved from S (where he played in college) to LB. Didn't make much difference, but this was a pretty natural change given the Bears scheme calls for smaller, faster LBs. Danieal Manning - Has shifted between safety and CB several times and while he has had his moments, he has been unable to stick at one position. Israel Idonije - Has shifted from DE to DT several times, which requires him to bulk up and slim down at the whim of management. Rashied Davis - Played WR and CB in college, but was a productive WR in Arena Football. The Bears signed him and immediately moved him to CB, where he was unremarkable. They moved him back to WR, where he became a relatively productive WR. Devin Hester - See Davis, Rashied (without the Arena football sidebar). I guess my point is, the majority of the position switches the Bears have made were made for one of two reasons: 1) We need a guy at "x" position, maybe we can get this guy who plays "y" to do it, or 2) This guy is really bad at "x" position, maybe if we move him to "y" he won't be so terrible. Which, it seems to me, is the wrong reason to move someone. You move someone because you legitimately think they would be better there. And when you move them, you should committ to them at that position. Israel Idonije might be a good DE, but I'd never know because he's been shuffling between DT and DE too much to establish any consistency. How much more developed would Hester be now if we hadn't wasted time trying to make him a CB? Would Daniael Manning be a better safety if he was allowed to concentrate on only playing safety, instead of jerking him from CB to S? Now, I certainly understand that a player is essentially the team's property and should move if it is what's best for the team and the player. But the track record for the Bears shows that, more often than not, it is rarely what's best for the team and even more rarely what's best for the player. Zackary Bowman hasn't done anything in the last month that makes him a better candidate for FS than he did the previous seven. He's not moving there because it's what's best for him, because if it was what's best for him, he would have been moved there as soon as they drafted him. He's being moved there because 1) The Bears have a need at FS, and, most importantly, 2) THEY ARE TOO CHEAP TO GO OUT AND SIGN A FS. By the same token, Idonije is moving to DE because it's cheaper to demand a player slim down to play DE than to actually sign a DE who could help. I really am sorry to ramble and rant like this, and it's very likely that I am blowing this out of proportion, it just seems like this is indicative of the larger problem many have posted about that this team appears largely unwilling to spend money to improve this team this offseason. Essentially, the Bears are saying "Why spend money on a FS and a DE when we have players we can just move, regardless of whether it is actually the right position for them to play?" I sincerely hope we see Bowman starring at safety for years, and Omiyale locking down the LG position, and Idonije providing the pass rush we need at DE. But, based on this team's record with these kind of moves, I'm not counting on it.

Not bad at all. But I think that a body who can compete for a starting job at safety and a quality WR are both bigger needs than a pure guard at this point, since we have 4 guards on the roster (Buenning, Garza, Beekman, and Omiyale) with starting experience and only 3 WRs who caught a pass last year. I've been working on a mock myself (with the projected 4th & 2 7ths in compensation) and this is how I would go: 1) Hakeem Nicks, WR, North Carolina 2) Jairus Byrd, DB, Oregon 3) Kraig Urbik, OG, Wisconsin 4) TJ Lang, OT, Eastern Michigan 4) Stephen McGee, QB, Texas A&M 5) David Veikune, DE, Hawaii 6) Quan Cosby, WR, Texas 7) Brannan Southerland, FB, Georgia 7) Terrill Byrd, DT, Cincinnatti That gives you a starting caliber WR in Nicks right away, as well as another sure-handed guy ready to step in and contribute in Cosby (maybe a poor man's Lance Moore?). Byrd can make a strong run at starting at FS from day one. Urbik and Lang are versatile linemen who can both push for time at either guard or RT. McGee is a nice, athletic QB prospect who reportedly really impressed at A & M pro day. Veikune and Byrd provide you with speed on the DL to put in the rotation in hopes of generating a better pass rush, and Southerland gives you a strong blocker to push McKie (though he may need a year to recover from an injury in the last year).

I keep hearing people say we need a CB, to the point that some mocks I've seen have had the Bears targeting one in the first round, and I just don't understand where there is even room on this roster for another CB. It doesn't seem like anyone is being traded. Lovie has already spoken out about not moving Tillman to FS, and it seems like the staff is committed to keeping Manning at CB. Therefore, your present roster has Tillman, Vasher, Graham, McBride, Hamilton, and Bowman. Unless you can convince me you're ready to cut several of those guys outright, I don't see any place on this team for a pure CB.

It also should be noted that the Rams may now be looking at WR at the top of the second round, which would make it that much less likely that a good WR falls to us in the second. They may have a worse WR corps than us at this point, as there starters at this moment may very well be last year's rookies Donnie Avery and Keenan Burton. All the more reason to take a WR in the first.

Don't we still only have 3 safeties on the roster right now (Steltz, Bullocks, Payne)? I guess it depends on what you consider Manning to be, but I think safety remains very much in play for the draft.

Plus, if it's between him and Sharper, I'll gladly take the guy who is younger and faster. Looking at his stats, he actually put up some good stats the last few games.

http://blogs.suntimes.com/bears/2009/03/be...sh_bullock.html I remember liking him when he was coming out, but getting a guy from the terrible New Orleans secondary does not seem like the best move.

Wouldn't you at least wait until you had your camp next week to see how he looks compared to Omiyale (who hasn't actually played guard yet)? No doubt any money saved will immediately be used to bolster our impressive free agent haul this offseason...

I was thinking the same thing, but it depends on what St. Louis is asking for. I tried to find an article that indicated what St. Louis wanted in a trade and couldn't find anything. The presumption is that they would take anything, but that's not always the case. I think I would be comfortable giving up to a 5th round pick for him if it meant we could avoid trying to outbid other teams for him. But I also have to wonder if the Bears would need to make sure he's comfortable coming here first. I don't want to trade for him and find out he had his heart set on the Jets or something. He doesn't seem like that kind of guy, but who knows.

It depends on what you consider a "good receiver". In my book, the WR cut off is after Robiskie, leaving you with Crabtree, Maclin, Heyward-Bey, Britt, Nicks, Harvin, and Robiskie (although I'm willing to consider Derrick Williams). We know with some certainty that Crabtree will go early. I also think that Harvin replecates too much of what Hester does, so he doesn't really interest me. I think that if the Bears want one of those WRs, they need to either take one in the first or trade up in the second, because those are the WRs I trust to be able to come in and contribute, which is what the Bears need, because if you don't you end up (like I did in the mock draft results I recently posted) with all those WRs gone. Now, certainly, a lot can happen between now and then. The best thing that can happen may be that the WRs stay relatively the same, but players at other positions start shooting up into the last half of the 1st/early 2nd to push the WRs down. But, again, at this point you can't really count on that.

I participated in a 4 round mock draft with our old affiliation (www.nflfans.com) this morning. Pretty much every team had a representative, no trades, and we went straight through in about 2 1/2 hours. Things did not go at all as I had expected them to, so I thought I would share my picks, my thoughts, and the full results: 1) Mark Sanchez, QB, USC - I was truly unprepared for Sanchez to be here and had been preparing to take a WR. But Maclin went right before my pick and all the next WRs batch (DHB, Britt, Nicks, Robiskie, Harvin) were still on the board. Knowing that our back-up QB is currenly Hanie, not being sold on Orton, and hoping that I could at least get Robiskie in the 2nd, I took Sanchez. I'm still not sure how I feel about it. 2) Jarron Gilbert, DL, San Jose State - When Robiskie went 5 spots before me, I was not happy. I'm not overly impressed with the WRs after him, so I didn't want to reach for the next one on my board (either Iglesias or Louis Murphy) for the sake of taking a WR. I considered a FS/DB (particularly Jairus Byrd), but I was confident that at the least Darcel McBath would be there in the next round, and cautiously optimistic I could get William Moore there (who I had drawn up as my ideal 3rd round pick before the draft). Unimpressed with the value at WR and FS (as well as OT), I took Gilbert, knowing he can probably play inside and outside and he's been moving steadily up the draft boards. As it was, a lot of DEs fell, so I'm not sure this was the best pick in hindsight. 3) William Moore, S, Missouri - I get my FS here. Moore may have fallen after a disappointing Senior Bowl, but he's stupid value in the last half of the third round. Strange that I still haven't taken a WR, but again, this is the best value for the pick, since the next WRs on my board (Murphy, Massaquoi, Barden, and Collie) are pretty bunched up, while Darcel McBath is the only other FS I have valued near Moore. McBath goes right after Moore. 4) Louis Murphy, WR, Florida - Three rounds past when I expected to take a WR, I get Louis Murphy in the fourth. It was pretty much between two somewhat raw WRs (Murphy or Ramses Barden), so I took the one who is probably more ready to contribute now. Murphy seems to have all the skills you want in a top WR, so here's hoping he can prove it. Here's also hoping the Bears sign some FA WRs. There you have it. Even after it's over, I'm still not sure I made the right decisions. In fact, in hindsight, I think I would have preferred to go: 1) Hakeem Nicks, WR, NC 2) Phil Loadholt, OT, Oklahoma 3) William Moore, S, Missouri 4) David Veikune, DE, Hawaii I thought I would share this so other posters can see how a draft goes when the drafters are pretty much looking out for their own team. I'll probably participate in the full 7-round one we do in April as well, so if you have suggestions, feel free to let me know. Full Results Round 1 1. Lions - Matthew Stafford, QB, Georgia 2. Rams - Jason Smith, OT, Baylor 3. Chiefs - Aaron Curry, LB, Wake Forest 4. Seahawks - Eugene Monroe, OT, Virginia 5. Browns - Brian Orakpo, DE, Texas 6. Bengals - Michael Oher, OT, Ole Miss 7. Raiders - Michael Crabtree, WR, Texas Tech 8. Jaguars - BJ Raji, DT, Boston College 9. Packers - Malcolm Jenkins, CB, OSU 10. 49ers - Andre Smtih, OT, Alabama 11. Bills - Everette Brown, DE, FSU 12. Broncos - Rey Maualuga, LB, USC 13. Redskins - Vontae Davis, CB, Illinois 14. Saitns - Brian Cushing, LB, USC 15. Texans - Knowshon Moreno, RB, Georgia 16. Chargers - Chris Wells, RB, Ohio State 17. Jets - Jermey Maclin, WR, Missouri 18. Bears - Mark Sanchez, QB, USC 19. Buccaneers - Clay Matthews, LB, USC 20. Lions - Peria Jerry, DT, Ole Miss 21. Eagles - Brandon Pettigrew, TE, Oklahoma State 22. Vikings - Eben Britton, OT, Arizona 23. Patriots - Darius Butler, CB, Uconn 24. Falcons - Larry English, DE, Northern Illinois 25. Dolphins - Aaron Maybin, DE/OLB, Penn State 26. Ravens - Darrius Heyward-Bey, WR, Maryland 27. Colts - Ron Brace, DT, Boston College 28. Eagles - Hakeem Nicks, WR, UNC 29. Giants - James Laurinaitis, LB, Ohio State 30. Titans - Percy Harvin, WR/RB, Florida 31. Cardinals - Robert Ayers, DE, Tennessee 32. Steelers - Alphonso Smith, CB, Wake Forest Round 2 33. Lions - Alex Mack, C, California 34. Patriots - Tyson Jackson, DE, LSU 35. Rams - Kenny Britt, WR, Rutgers 36. Browns - DJ Moore, CB, Vandy 37. Seahawks - Louis Delmas, S, Western Michigan 38. Bengals - Max Unger, OC, Oregon 39. Jaguars - William Beatty, OT, Uconn 40. Raiders - Jamon Meredith, OT, South Carolina 41. Packers - Clint Sintim, LB, Virginia 42. Bills - Duke Robinson, OG, Oklahoma 43. 49ers - Connor Barwin, DE/OLB, Cincinnati 44. Dolphins - Coye Frances, CB, San Jose State 45. Giants - Brian Robiske, WR, Ohio State 46. Texans - Sean Smith, CB/FS, Utah 47. Patriots - Lawrence Sidbury, DE/OLB, Richmond 48. Bronocs - Evander Hood, DT, Missouri 49. Bears - Jarron Gilbert, DT/DE, San Jose State 50. Browns - Patrick Chung, S, Oregon 51. Cowboys - Rashad Johnson, S, Alabama 52. Jets - Fili Moala, DT, USC 53. Eagles - Donald Brown, RB, Uconn 54. Vikings - Jarius Byrd, CB, Oregon 55. Falcons - Herman Johnson, OG, LSU 56. Dolphins - Sherod Martin, CB, Troy 57. Ravens - Chase Coffman, TE, Missouri 58. Patriots - LeSean McCoy, RB, Pittsburgh 59. Panthers - Sen'Derrick Marks, DT, Auburn 60. Giants - Eric Wood, OC, Louisville 61. Colts - Shonn Greene, RB, Iowa 62. Titans - Paul Kruger, DE, Utah 63. Cardinals - Rashard Jennings, RB, Liberty 64. Steelers - Phil Loadholt, OT, Oklahoma Round 3 65. Lions - Michael Johnson, DE, Georgia Tech 66. Rams - Josh Freeman, QB, Kansas State 67. Chiefs - Trevor Canfield, OG, Cincinnati 68. Seahawks - Asher Allen, CB, Georgia 69. Cowboys - Troy Kropog, OT, Tulane 70. Bengals - Tyrone McKenzie, OLB, South Florida 71. Raiders - Jonathan Luigs, OC, Arkansas 72. Jaguars - Derrick Williams, WR, PSU 73. Packers - Andy Levitre, OG, Oregon State 74. 49ers - Andre Brown, RB, NC Stae 75. Bills - Jared Cook, TE, South Carolina 76. Jets - Mike Mickens, CB, Cincinnati 77. Texans - Marcus Freeman, LB, Ohio State 78. Chargers - Fenuki Tupou, OT, Oregon 79. Denver - Victor Harris, CB, Virginia Tech 80. Redskins - Antoine Caldwell, OC, Alabama 81. Buccaneers - Juaquan Iglesias, WR, Oklahoma 82. Lions - Shawn Nelson, TE, Southern Mississippi 83. Packers - Gerald Cadogan, OT, Penn State 84. Bears - William Moore, S, Missouri 85. Eagles - Darcell McBath, S, Texas Tech 86. Vikings - Pat White, QB/WR, WVU 87. Dolphins - Mohammed Massaquoi, WR, Georgia 88. Ravens - Cody Brown, DE/OLB, UConn 89. Patriots - Jason Watkins, OT, Florida 90. Falcons - Dominique Johnson, CB/S, Jackson State 91. Giants - Cornelius Ingram, TE, Florida 92. Colts - Jarrett Dillard, WR, Rice 93. Panthers - Captain Munnerlyn, CB, South Carolina 94. Titans - Darry Beckwith, LB, LSU 95. Cardinals - Jasper Brinkley, LB, South Carolina 96. Steelers - Kraig Ubrik, OG, Wisconsin Round 4 97. Cowboys - Gerad McRath, LB, Southern Mississippi 98. Chiefs - Mitch King, DE, Iowa 99. Rams - Dannell Ellerbe, LB, Georgia 100. Browns - James Casey, TE, Rice 101. Seahawks - Brandon Gibson, WR, WSU 102. Bengals - Alex Magee, DT, Purdue 103. Jaguars - Javon Ringer, RB, Michigan State 104. Raiders - Michael Hamlin, S, Clemson 105. Packers - Ricky-Jean Francois, DT/DE, LSU 106. Bills - Nic Harris, S/LB, Oklahoma 107. 49ers - Chip Vaughn, S, Wake Forest 108. Texans - Vance Walker, DT, Georgia Tech 109. Chargers - Scott McKillop, LB, Pittsburgh 110. Broncos - Xavier Fulton, OT, Illinois 111. Jets - Kyle Moore, DE, USC 112. Saints - Derek Pegues, S, Mississippi State 113. Cowboys - Keenan Lewis, CB, Oregon State 114. Saints - James Davis, RB, Clemson 115. Bears - Louis Murphy, WR, Florida 116. Buccaneers - Rhett Bomar, QB, Sam Houston State 117. Eagles - Ramses Barden, WR, Cal-Poly 118. Texans - Brandon Williams, DE, Texas Tech 119. Ravens - Cary Harris, CB, USC 120. Patriots - Austin Collie, WR, BYU 121. Falcons - David Bruton, S, Notre Dame 122. Dolphins - Frantz Joseph, ILB, Florida Atlantic 123. Colts - Zach Follett, OLB, Cal 124. Panthers - Brandon Tate, WR, North Carolina 125. Giants - Courtney Greene, S, Rutgers 126. Titans - Terrence Taylor, DT, Michigan 127. Cardinals - Ryan Purvis, TE, Boston College 128. Steelers - Zach Potter, DE, Nebraska

If you take JA at his word (a scary proposition for sure), then he's looking at Omiyale at guard, not tackle. Therefore, the depth chart going into the draft would likely be something like: LT: Chris Williams, John St. Clair, Cody Balogh LG: Josh Beekman, Dan Buenning, Frank Omiyale C: Olin Kreutz, Josh Beekman RG: Roberto Garza, Terrence Metcalf, Frank Omiyale RT: John St. Clair, Frank Omiyale I think a lot of the interst in signing St. Clair is the knowledge that Williams will be coming off an injury, so you want to know you have a guy on the roster who can fill in capably at LT. That's a pretty flexible roster, but knowing that Angelo traditionally likes to build from the lines, you don't have a "RT of the future." That said, the first round isn't traditionally the place you get a RT, you generally look there in rounds 2-4. So while signing St. Clair may take RT off the board in the first, I think it might keep it in play in the subsequent rounds.

This is fine by me as well. If he's fully healthy, he can help take a bit of load off Forte. After the overwhelmingly slow 40 times by the RBs this year, the draft didn't seem to be the place to get a good compliment. Hopefully between Jones and maybe an enhanced role for Wolfe (I'm still holding out hope) we can have a nice, balanced RB attack.

That kind of "highest floor" theory is one of the reasons I'm intrigued by Max Unger from Oregon (who I mentioned in the "Outside the Box Prospects" thread). Here's a guy who has played LT and OC. He projects best to OC or OG, but seems to be able to at least be "in the mix" at either OT spot as well. Maybe he has the skills to be the starting OT opposite Williams. Certainly the mix of experience inside and outside suggests he deserves a look at RT if needed. But, ultimately, you may be able to stick him at your worst position and consider it an immediate upgrade and he provides true flexibility for the roster going forward. When you compare that with a pure OT like William Beatty who would be available at around the same time (late first round), but might have a difficult adjustment period if you moved him somewhere else (or just rot on the bench waiting for his chance), isn't Unger the more valuable pick?

Sorry if this has already been posted, but Draft Party (http://www.youtube.com/user/DraftParty) has put together videos of the top WR prospects in the draft, which is helpful for those of us who haven't seen much of them in college: Michael Crabtree http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ySmg1f8ZSM Jeremy Maclin http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nA619-10IIM Darrius Heyward-Bey http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IyjaBWuo4zA Percy Harvin http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=34--XTjboDI Kenny Britt http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a98USWn8dG0 Hakeem Nicks http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oWakmo3_m2s Brian Robiskie http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=urUgs3FeiGc Juaquin Iglesias http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0qGtpemtA08 I realize it's a small sample size, but the two I was most impressed with (besides Crabtree of course) were Nicks and Robiskie. Nicks made everything look really easy the way that you want your WR to do (didn't fight the ball, didn't let catching the ball affect his stride, etc) and that behind-the-back catch was ridiculous. I'm actually warming to him at #18. On Robiskie, I'm starting to think that a more accuracte QB at Ohio State would have pushed him up another round. On one of the plays (around 0:35), he has a faster DB on him, he slows down like he's going to have to go back to the ball, causing the DB to slow down too, then at the last moment he gets a burst and springs forward to make the catch. That's a really savvy, veteran move that not a lot of college WRs do.

To be honest, I've never particularly loved Holt. I know he's been tremendously productive, but he hates contact and very frequently runs out of bounds or goes down in the middle of the field to avoid getting hit. That was fine when he could get open enough to still get a big chunk of yardage and was fast enough to avoid tackles. Now that that quickness is gone, I think you see that he's a different kind of player. He would certainly be our best WR at this point, but at the price he will probably be asking, I don't think it's worth it.

Now that I've started to look at the draft more closely, I wanted to get some reaction to those who watched more college football than I did regarding a couple players who seem to fit what the Bears might want, but who I haven't heard mentioned much on this board: Max Unger, OL, Oregon - Started for four years, beginning at LT and finishing at center and can probably play every position on the line. Looking at his measurables and combine performance, I can't help but be reminded of Branden Albert last year, who played OG but everyone projected could play LT. Unger seems to offer the same ability, except you KNOW he can play OT. I keep seeing him go in the last first, early second, but doesn't his combination of versatility and track record put him in play at #18? Sean Smith, DB, Utah - Great size for safety or CB at 6'3". He might be gone by the middle of the second and I don't know that he's worth #18, but he seems to offere the size and playmaking ability we are looking for in a FS, especially when you have to match up against big receivers on a regular basis. Are these guys good fits for us? Any other players who aren't listed in many mocks for the Bears who are worth a look?

Which FS do you think is worth the #18 pick? Because I don't see one. Plus, if Oher is gone before 18, what OL do you want to draft? Duke Robinson? Eben Britton? Would you really take both those guys over Maclin or DHB?

In summary: 1) Jerry won't even entertain signing a FA QB before the draft, but doesn't love Orton, Hanie, and Basanaz to start the year and is hoping someone is miraculously released after the draft. 2) Trades are hard, so why try? 3) Your first round pick is Maclin, Nicks, or Britt (or maybe Heyward-Bey). But if Crabtree starts falling, JA might trade up. I'm also curious how Jerry can feel comfortable with his "nucleus" of 2-6 WRs when there are only two WRs currently on the roster who caught a pass last year. Apparently we can expect big things this year from Rudy Carpenter, John Broussard, and Devin Aromashodu. So that's somethin to look forward to...

The ironic thing is, I think Jerry would argue that it is better to not go after people (and not even to appear to go after people) because if you do and you don't get the guy, your fan base will be upset. In reality, I think the opposite is true. For instance, say the papers reported that the Bears were "interested in" Housh, were "intrigued" by Cassel, "exchanged figures" with Michael Clayton, and had "contacted" Stacey Andrews. At the very least, that sends the impression to your fans that you are actively trying to get better. I think most of us would agree that the prices paid for those players didn't really work for the Bears (with the possible exception of Cassel), but that, had we heard reports like that, we would have had increased faith in Jerry's dedication to upgrading this team. As it is, I don't understand how he expects people to be excited when you imply, without a hint of sarcasm, that Rod Marinelli will be your big free agent pickup.

Given that we are obviously looking to upgrade on the cheap (and not go after someone like Deverey Henderson who I think could actually be really helpful here), here's the guys I would go after, in order: Ronald Curry - After 7 seasons in Oakland, do we know what he can do with a competent QB? I'd be willing to find out because he's got the size and speed to do well. The downside is he doesn't have great hands, but in terms of low risk and possible high reward, I actually think he's the best option available. David Patten - I've mentioned him before, but he's sure-handed and he plays hard. Even last year, the Bears didn't have that guy who could get open on third down. Patten may have lost a step (or two), but he can still find the soft spot in the zone and move the chains. Darrell Jackson - He didn't do much last season in Denver (or in SF the year before that), but it's easy to forget he's only 30. He was so productive in Seattle that I'd be willing to take a flier on him. At least he's someone who has been a #1 WR before (unlike most of the rest of the available FA WRs). Amani Toomer - He's actually been strangely productive even as he's declined physically. I don't love him, but I'm certain he could outproduce what Booker did last year.

Hoo boy, does JA have an answer for you: Darren Sharper. If only it was 2004. http://blogs.chicagosports.chicagotribune....ears-radar.html

Would you say the Manning switch has worked? And if so, what's the position that works for him?