dawhizz

Don't know if any other draft picks will be introduced. Chicagobears.com will have the feed.

I've been a defender generally, but it's hard to give them more than a C. Williams - We needed a LT. We got a LT. We know he can play LT. Maybe he isn't a great run-blocker, but I'd venture it's easier to get stronger and meaner than it is to teach pass-blocking technique to someone who doesn't have great feet. Forte - I like what I've seen. Seems above average at everything and I think he'll be the back this year. Bennett - Another good pick. We have speed guys in Hester and Bradley (theoretically at least). Booker a good big target. I like Bennett as a 3rd or 4th to start the season and make the tough catches over the middle, for first downs, etc. Hard not to like the Hines Ward comparisons. Harrison - This was where you get a QB. Upgrade DT sometime, fine. But when you have two QBs on the roster and no real plan for the future, you HAVE to get a functional QB in the draft, not take injury-prone character risks. Maybe he'll be a fine player. Steltz - A guy I took in every mock draft I ran for the Bears. Good fit in the system & can play on special teams. Don't let the door hit your a$$ on the way out, Arch. Bowman - If he's healthy, he's got all the talent in the world. I'm actually OK with this pick. I don't think Ricky Manning Jr's long for this team, which leaves you with only 4 CBs on the roster. Probably worth the risk as much as Jake Ikuguonu was for the Iggles. Davis - The Bears did have a need for a 3rd TE in the draft somewhere, though I would have preferred a better pure blocker. He certainly has the size to block and speed to burn, so he's got the skill set you want. Baldwin - I didn't know anything about him, but I don't know why. He's got legit DE size (6'2" 270) and was really productive last year with 18 1/2 TFL and 8 sacks. Seems like he'd be worth a pick to me, though it's hard for me to see how he makes the team with Ogun, Brown, Anderson, Bazuin, and Idonije. Adams - Too late to start addressing the O-line, particularly since none of the other players the Bears have drafted this late on O-line have done anything. To me, that says you need to make it more of a priority, and the Bears didn't. Maybe we're in the market to trade a DE for an OG. LaRocque - Should step right in if Urlacher sits out Barton - Injured, but probably worth the risk here. 4-year starter at a top program. He may be your back-up RT at the moment. Monk - At least he brings a size dimension the Bears don't really have. He wouldn't have to try hard to be as good as Justin Gage, but hope they actually give Mike Hass a shot this year. So, I actually liked most of the picks. But the inability to recognize the glaring need at QB and OG are pretty inexcusable. Methinks the Bears are banking on signing whoever doesn't make the Bucs (Gradkowski probably).

My main concern is all the guys with an injury history. I understand getting a couple of those guys, especially with Jerry's habit of redshirting players, but after Earl Bennett, seems like everyone's been injured recently: Harrison - tore left ACL in 2007 Spring practice Steltz - Shoulder injury in National Championship Bowman - left ACL 2006, right pateller tendon 2007 Barton - offseason arthroscopic surgery on shoulder after a strain in the Senior Bowl practices Monk - Two surgeries on right knee this year Maybe a good team can make those picks. I'm not sure the Bears can. Maybe we should have drafted a cadaver for spare parts...

Bears | N. Hill agrees to terms Sun, 27 Apr 2008 16:47:12 -0700 Brad Biggs, of the Chicago Sun-Times, reports the Chicago Bears have agreed to terms with undrafted free-agent QB Nick Hill (Southern Illinois). Terms of the contract were not disclosed. I kind of figured they had something worked out with him if he didn't get drafted. He was a draftable player though.

Plus, I'm not sure how much longer Manning Jr. is with this team. I wouldn't be shocked to see Bowman redshirt for a year like we do with some picks to make sure he's healthy.

Woodson can't be THIS bad, can he? So he has a hitch in his mechanics. At least he has a strong arm,

This is not what I had in mind when I wanted "weapons" on offense... As a bonus, he's represented by Rosenass: "Second round is what we're hoping for and we feel good about it," said Davis, who like Thomas is represented by NFL super agent Drew Rosenhaus.

There have been 5 true guards taken so far (Rachal, Zuttah, Rinehart, Murphy, McGlynn), and some of the top ones (Schuening, Young, Radovich, Thomas, Bernadeau) are still around. So apparently you would be happier if we took Zuttah in the 2nd, which would have been at least a round before anyone else drafted him? Then you'd just be back here bitching about "Angelo's reaches". If the Bears take a quality guard next, are you going to give him props or talk about how Angelo only gets guys no one else gets? "Iffy receiver"? Earl Bennett had more catches in the SEC (a passing conference) than anyone else ever has and he did it in three seasons. "we neeeeed fast safeties in the cover 2"? Mike Brown ran a 4.61 coming out of college. He seemed to do OK.

What makes these diamond in the rough picks? Forte and Bennett are consistently graded as 2nd to 3rd round picks. Chris Williams was also a first round pick universally picked in the middle of the round. Just because there are other players which some boards have going before them, doesn't make them "diamonds in the rough." I think the Bears have consistently got excellent value at every position so far. I know if you had your way every GM would sit around with their Sporting News guide and draft the highest player at every turn, but there's a reason NO NFL TEAM DOES THAT.

From Brad Biggs at Sun-Times. Not sure if this is informed speculation or just guesswork on his part: It was a departure from the best-available-player approach general manager Jerry Angelo has tried to follow in the past. The Bears will continue to go for need today with nine picks starting with No. 70, the seventh of the third round. USC quarterback John David Booty, LSU wide receiver Early Doucet and Arkansas defensive tackle Marcus Harrison are options.

Nolan Nawrocki, Pro Football Weekly: With the versatile Branden Albert still available, it's a surprise that the Bears would pass him, especially given the multiple holes that exist on their offensive line. However, Chris Williams has great feet and athletic ability and is very smart. He should allow John Tait to move back to the ORT position that he played in Kansas City. One pitfall that could eventually sting, however, is that the Bears now have two short-armed edge protectors and have to worry about both being injured, given that Williams was removed from some draft boards for back concerns and Tait is well-aged. Williams lacks the killer instinct, tenacity and nastiness that has definied traditionally tough Bears offensive linemen, but he does fill a huge position of need. Forte fits the Bears' hard-charging, get-off-the-bus-running style and should be able to fight for a starting job immediately with Cedric Benson coming off a career-threatening foot injury. Pete Prisco, CBS Sportsline: Comment: I would have gone for Jeff Otah here. There is some talk that Williams has back issues. That makes this a risky pick Comment: Forte is a stat machine. Great blend of size, speed and versatility, and he's a high-character guy. Think of a bigger Mewelde Moore, with slightly better speed. He's going to make Bears fans forget about Cedric Benson quickly. John Czarnecki & Pete Schrager, Fox Sports: CZAR'S FRONT OFFICE TAKE: The Bears may have been tempted to replace departed receiver Bernard Berrian, but Vanderbilt offensive tackle Chris Williams could start at left tackle and allow them to move John Tait to right tackle. I told you there was going to be a run on offensive linemen, probably the first round's strongest position. Williams played against very athletic defenders in the SEC and held his own. His stock went up with a very impressive Senior Bowl, where he dominated many a pass rusher. This is a solid pick for the Bears, who needed a smart and tough offensive lineman. Funny, but the Bears weren't really interested in a quarterback with this pick. To them, they have bigger issues trying to settle a contract hassle with Chicago's favorite player, Brian Urlacher. SCHRAGER ON THE SCENE: The Bears need pretty much everything on offense this draft, and they start it off by grabbing offensive tackle Chris Williams out of Vanderbilt. Williams is the first All-SEC lineman out of Vandy since Will Wofford in 1984. Go share that factoid at your water cooler on Monday morning. You'll look really cool, I swear. The Bears fans here do what I call "The D'Brickashaw Ferguson." What's that? It's a golf clap and a point to the head, as in "Smart Pick," made famous by the Jets fans' reaction to Ferguson's selection in 2006. The highlights of Williams on the big screen are of a giant man pushing a blocking dummy. Hard to get real excited about that. So you do "The D'Brickashaw Ferguson," and nod. Sage-like. Talk about a perfect match. Forte ran for 2,127 yards at Tulane last season, while the Benson/Peterson/Wolfe trio stunk it up in Chicago in '07. The addition of Forte's quickness and strength should help Chicago's offense immensely next year. Vinny Iyer, Sporting News: Chicago gets a dandy selection in the Vandy offensive tackle. They desperately needed a smart, athletic and sturdy lineman, and they got him. Good move to avoid the temptation of Mendenhall. Williams can start for the Bears at left tackle for a long time. Chicago will probably get criticized for this pick, but I like it. I didn't see Forte run the ball much at Tulane, but I did watch him closely in the matchup against Glenn Dorsey and LSU's top run defense. He ran tough, showing great versatility and competitiveness. He should be more motivated and more productive than Cedric Benson right away. Bucky Brooks, CNNSI: The Bears choose to address their sagging running game by adding Chris Williams to their aging offensive line. Williams, a first team All-American at Vanderbilt, will pave the way for Cedric Benson or Adrian Peterson on runs, and provide adequate protection on the backside of Rex Grossman or Kyle Orton in the passing game. Rashard Mendenhall was considered a viable option at this pick, but its hard to dispute the selection of Williams considering the Bears' offensive line woes from a season ago. The Bears bring in another physical runner to push disappointing Cedric Benson. Matt Forte, who rushed for over 2,000 yards as a senior at Tulane, is a smooth runner with deceptive power and pop. His crafty running style should mesh well with Ron Turner's power offense, and help the Bears improve a ground game that struggled to generate yards last season. If someone finds more, feel free to post them.

Don't get me wrong, I certainly recognize that Mendy is the better prospect, and the "hometown boy" and could very well be a better player in the pros. I was also a little disappointed we didn't get him. But as far as the skills they bring, they both are basicially one-year wonders who catch the ball well and don't have great timed speed. Forte is more suspect coming from a lower level of competition, but he's also coming from a more pro-style offense, from what I've seen. But, looking at the combine numbers, they seem pretty similar to me: Forte Mendy Height 6'1" 5'10" Weight 217 225 40d 4.44 4.41 20d 2.55 2.56 10d 1.49 1.53 Bench 23 26 20s 4.23 4.18 Would I prefer Mendy? You bet. But I don't see why Forte's getting dogged by so many people on this board.

If I were to guess, I'd say they take Jeremy Zuttah next and Josh Johnson after that, though I'd probably prefer one of thee WRs (Bennett, Caldwell, Doucet) next.

I would also add that Williams is easily the better OT right now. I keep hearing people concerned about his strength, but he only put up two fewer reps than Albert did (21 to 23). Williams was by far the more effective lineman as well. Williams gave up 1 sack last year while Albert gave up 5.5. And while I understand people were high on Albert because he played two good games at LT, I feel like it's kind of silly to weigh two starts against Pittsburgh and Middle Tennessee State more than Williams' consistently dominating work at LT every week for two years.

Make that Tulane.

There should be some nice choices at WR and QB.

I'd hate to see him go to the Cowboys. Wonder if the Bears might work the phones and try to get him...

Who is the other real RB?

Washington University in St. Louis.

I'll be around. The tyrants at law school decided to put finals right around the draft (one last week, two this week), so I'll be trying to balance studying and watching the draft. We'll see how that goes...

Since Lawrence Holmes is one of the few Chicago guys I really trust when it comes to the Bears, I made it a point to catch him this afternoon on 670. He says: -Word behind closed doors is that Benson's injury is worse than everyone thought and while he doesn't know if it means the Bears look harder at RB in the first, he says don't be suprised if the Bears are looking for a 3-down back instead of what would be a complement to what Benson would (at least theoretically) be. He did say the Bears really like Ray Rice. -He doesn't buy any of the "Bears are looking to move up" talk. -He says for all the attention on Jeff Otah in the first, the Bears may be even more interested in his teammate Mike McGlynn, hopefully in the third. -He thought there was a chance Sedrick Ellis fell all the way to 14 (a la Tommie Harris) and said, if he did, the Bears would take him. Interesting storylines to keep in mind this weekend.

Those of you who want Mendenhall over an OT, I have some bad news: So does Mariotti... http://www.suntimes.com/sports/mariotti/91...i042408.article

All indications are the Raiders are set to take McFadden despite having 5 decent to good RBs on the roster: Justin Fargas Michael Bush Lamont Jordan Adimchinobi Echemandu Dominique Rhodes I figure they'll keep Bush and probably Fargas. So, if you're the Bears, do you make a play for Rhodes or Jordan? They shouldn't cost much if they aren't released, and it might be a nice way to fill the RB position.

http://insider.espn.go.com/nfl/draft08/ins...dmcshaymock0423 Some different players here than we've seen, but except for a blocking TE instead of one of the late round WRs, I would be THRILLED with these Bears picks: 1) Ryan Clady, OT, Boise State 2) Chris Johnson, RB, East Carolina 3a) Andre Caldwell, WR, Floria 3b) Andre Woodson, QB, Kentucky 4) Athyba Rubin, DT, Iowa State 5) Chad Rinehart, OG, Northern Iowa, 6) Jamar Adams, S, Michigan 7a) Travis Brown, WR, New Mexico State 7b) Ryan Wendel, C, Fresno State 7c) Mark Bradford, WR, Stanford 7d) Andrew Larson, P, California

http://chicagosports.chicagotribune.com/sp...1,3893194.story Don't really get it, but whatever. If you think Mike Hass is ever seeing the field for the Bears, you're crazy.