AZ54

http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap300000064...for-2016-season I think this is good for the game and will change the game. It is common to get a chop block on the outside when a team wants a quick WR screen or inside slant. This should increase chances of getting to the QB too because OTs who get beat to the edge can't dive out there to take out the legs of the DE or LB. I expect some linemen will struggle with this and some RBs who like to dive into the knees of oncoming defenders instead of squarely taking on the player.

Lots of press conferences recently so this seems as good a place as any for some news items: http://www.chicagobears.com/news/article-1...0c-a047ca95c992 It's time to run... "Dowell [Loggains] has done a good job of identifying traits that we're looking for offensively in each player and we felt that Bobby matched those traits for a right tackle. We want somebody that's tough and very strong and physical in the run game and has the size to do that, and Bobby definitely has that. Kyle has position flexibility, so now he goes back to guard and we're rolling." On Zach Miller: Why do I sense a little dig on Martellus Bennett here? "When we talk about the kind of teammates that we want here, Zach embodies that to a tee with his work ethic, his preparation and his attitude. He's just a pleasure to have in the building, and it's infectious just being around him. In addition to that, his game elevated last year. Credit him for staying healthy and doing all the little things and being proactive with injury prevention. We expect a big season from Zach. He's going to excel in this offense and we're really excited to have him back." On Alshon: "We know we have an extended period of time to continue to negotiate with him, and that's what's happening. The conversations have been cordial and productive, and they'll continue. I know Alshon's working hard and he's training and we're communicating with him on that. Everything's been going well." From the Moon: http://www.csnchicago.com/bears/bears-mass...en-extend-draft "rush linebacker Pernell McPhee is targeting a lower weight as a means of increasing his speed and decreasing strain on his injured left knee, repaired with a scope procedure this offseason." Dline in the draft: Seems we're taking a DT early. I wouldn't be surprised if we shopped Will Sutton during the draft to see if we can get a late Rd pick. Top 5 Dline: Goldman, Hicks, Ferguson, Unrein, Sutton but then there is competition among C. Washington who figures to be better pass rusher than Sutton, Terry Williams who figures to be a better NT than Sutton. Put a rookie in the middle of that and Sutton quickly drops off. “There’s talent there but it’s also a deep position in the draft,” Pace said on Tuesday during the NFL owners meetings. “So it’s a spot when we talk about improving our defense, it’s an area where we can make quick improvement.” Lamaar Houston is not going anywhere: “We feel good about Lamarr,” Pace said. “He came on strong. Luckily we’re in a healthy cap situation so we can [stay with him]. Those guys are hard to find. I think the playoffs were an example of pass rush and having a strong pass rush, and the more we have of those guys, the better. So we’re comfortable with where he’s at.”

Everyone sounds confident the deal will get done with Jeffrey. I'd say this is more about the players behind Jeffrey and White. Eddie Royal isn't going anywhere this year but next year his departure would free up $5mil in cap space. I also think there is little confidence in Marquess Wilson and anyone behind him. If we trade back it is possible Coleman is BPA and Fox said they wanted to get more speed on the roster. In a trade back scenario I would think a CB or DT is more likely the pick. It's also possible he falls into the 2nd Rd.

Overthecap has the Saints with just $267,000 in cap space but either way they have little wiggle room. They are renegotiating Brees' contract and that will free up a lot of money, perhaps $10mil (reduce cap hit from $30mil to $20mil). However, they still need their rookie pool money. If they get Brees' deal done they can match but assuming the Bears put a spoiler into Hill's contract offer with a lot of upfront roster bonus money that would likely mean a backup TE is their only remaining FA signing. I find it hard to believe that would be their biggest remaining FA priority right after they just signed Fleener. Plus they've been seeking visits with some DTs recently. http://www.nola.com/saints/index.ssf/2016/...ades_to_sa.html And at the moment the Brees' deal doesn't look close to being done: http://blogs.theadvocate.com/blackandgold/...done-this-year/

I was surprised to see him at the top, and very consistent too. I do like his write-ups on the top 50, seem to match with what I've seen on a few of these players with a bit more insight. Love the quote on Nkemdiche: Added a third scout: "His character will keep him off the board for us. He's talented enough to be in the top 10. But holy (expletive), buyer beware on this one." http://www.jsonline.com/sports/packers/201...-370399721.html

I like all the physical talent Cardale Jones has. I'm not so sure he has the mental toughness and work ethic for the job.

Intersting data here on draft sites accuracy based on Top 100 rankings being selected in the top 100 picks. http://www.thehuddlereport.com/scoring/top100.shtml

Found this and thought it was interesting since there are some prospects that might interest the Bears. http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/draft/nfl-dra...rrated-in-draft If we're looking for a safety on day 3 Kavon Frasier is a nice prospect. He is more SS than FS IMO. At 217lbs he runs a 4.5 forty plus he likes to hit. http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/draft/players...4/kavon-frazier http://draftbreakdown.com/video/kavon-fraz...minnesota-2015/

Not done yet at TE. Sean Payton had some good words to say about him. http://espn.go.com/blog/chicago-bears/post...ll-visits-bears

Ducasse was here on a 1yr deal. He is still available as a FA but I'd rather not see him return. Nick Becton, a practice squad player last year, was brought back. I wouldn't get too high on him, NFL.com said he compared to J'Marcus Webb coming out of college. http://www.nfl.com/draft/2013/profiles/nic...cton?id=2539660 We still have Fabuluje. I think he's got the talent to play OT, mainly RT, if he can get in shape and works on his technique. We'll see how he does in camp. The Bears roster shows just one OG, although Long is still listed as T. (Becton is listed as G/T) I'm sure Pace will address OG depth in FA and possibly again in the draft.

Scared of Jake Long's age? No. Injury history? Yes I don't see it happening because he's starter quality but if Fox were able to Vasquez here that would be tremendous depth. Greg Hardy is not coming here. Set aside for the moment his issues in his personal life, the fact he's a locker room cancer and we just moved on from Bennett for less controversial actions and behavior means we won't add Hardy to the roster. You have to go way outside the bounds of normalcy to piss off Jerry Jones and lose your job. Hardy has that rare distinction. Signing any player who is known for skipping numerous meetings is not what Fox wants on this young team.

Wanted back...yes. Unsaid though, is at what price?. When SMC wanted more than $3mil, Bears said we got better players on the market for that, and then they went and signed one in Freeman.

You might not have seen it but Rashad Johnson was stuck in the spin cycle (turning the wrong way while in coverage) during the playoff game the Cardinals lost. We don't need that in our FS. I think Patrick Robinson would be a solid depth signing but it sounds like we are not interested, at least not at the price he wants, after signing both Porter and McManis. We have Callahan, Fuller, Porter, open, McManis (ST and depth). Not sure if we'd keep a 6th CB, all depends on the elusive Special Teams fit of course. I suspect Robinson is looking for a better shot at being a starter versus going to a team where he has to compete to make the roster. His agent should know we are likely drafting a rookie CB early and that would put Robinson squarely on the bubble.

I really think RB is more important. Elite players aside, RBs touch the ball far more often and that alone makes them more critical to the success of the offense. They have to block just like TEs, they have to catch passes, plus they have to be able to run the ball. What's the first thing you hear when a team drafts a new QB? Better have a good running game. Nobody says better have a good TE, not that it doesn't help and this is usually the second thing you hear. RB are devalued in the draft simply because of the wear and tear of the position. TE is a close second on the wear and tear front. Based on money thrown at FA (CJ Anderson) and the obvious loss of Bennett, I'd say Fox thinks the same. There are lots of pieces to the puzzle so it's always hard to say one over the other but for sure it does depend on what you a) want to do on offense and have players capable of doing on offense. Get a Tom Brady who can make the quick reads and throw very accurately and you want to spread a defense apart and throw the ball. Most teams don't have a Brady. Unless you have one of the top 5 QBs, maybe top 7, your best bet is to go after a strong running game. I would also say being a RB is the easier job. If I had an elite QB who could take advantage of an elite TE I'd go that route. If I didn't, then I'd go with the elite RB every time. I'm curious so let's see if the NFL agrees with me. Teams typically keep 3 of each on their roster so that is equal weighting. Both positions are near the top in terms of injury rates as far as I know. using: http://www.spotrac.com/nfl/draft/2012/tight-end/ Draft 1st RD RB 2nd Rd RB 3rd Rd RB RB Tot 1st Rd TE 2nd Rd TE 3rd Rd TE TE Tot 2015 2 2 4 8 0 1 3 4 2014 0 3 5 8 1 3 3 7 2013 0 5 1 6 1 3 2 6 2012 3 2 2 7 1 2 3 6 2011 1 4 3 8 2 1 3 6 5yr total RB drafted in 1st 3 Rds = 37 5yr total TE drafted in 1st 3 Rds = 29 Based on this admittedly very small sample size, in 80% of drafts more RB will be taken in the first 3 rounds than TEs.

One thing is clear we will not have a TE who can play as well as Bennett this year. As someone who has openly stated I wanted him back this year, if not signed to a new contract, I'm not convinced the team won't be equally as good without him. We've all pointed out some of the inconsistencies in Bennett's play, or at least what we think are inconsistencies because we don't know who was wrong when a pass is thrown towards him and he never turns around to see the ball leading to an INT. Missed blocks here and there. Those were surrounded by good plays breaking tackles for first downs. Taking some time to reflect on Bennett's tenure with the Bears one thing comes to mind: In his 2 years as HC, Trestman only punished one player, or even coach in case of Kromer, and that was Bennett. I don't think his hiatus from almost a week of training camp was just because of one fight with Kyle Fuller. There were plenty of other scuffles and other disciplinary issues to deal with that were ignored. So I wonder what else was going on that was so bad it led Trestman to take such drastic action, the only disciplinary action I can remember him taking, with one of his star players in Bennett? We know how he bent over backward to ignore stuff Briggs did. New coach and GM come in and a year later we're trading a good player in his prime for next to nothing in terms of what we (fans) perceive his value to be. Doing that when the draft in this position is weak. Also interesting is that I don't recall any big effort being attempted to recruit another FA TE outside of Miller. That door isn't closed as there are some FA available but nothing special. Team is more or less content losing Bennett and maybe adding mid-Rd rookie?

LOL. I quit reading after I see ROSENBLOG. He's a worthless writer who does nothing but pick the easy targets to write about and then just runs on and on about it like a little kid. I'm pretty sure a week ago he wrote something complimenting Pace for seeing the same team we see and making the right changes. Which is it?

Finding the next Von Miller won't start with Shaq Lawson. He's a good player but we already have players like him on our team.

As someone else pointed out a couple weeks ago, I still think there is more to this story than we are being told. Many here have noticed that there was tendency for Cutler to throw INTs Bennett's way early in the season. Then there is the fact the team removed him from redzone packages late last year. That's just mind-boggling considering all the WR issues we had. Both may be a result of poor practice habits or someone not paying attention to details. If the coaches and Cutler felt they couldn't trust Bennett to be where he was supposed to be, when he was supposed to be there then it makes sense why he's gone.

I don't like Dunbar. If he were here on an easy-to-cut contract then no worries. Hillman is no good either. I hope this is posturing for the draft and teams wanting Elliot.

Patriots always have a top target in the draft and may need to move up to get him. Or they have a clear need for 2 players, at least they do now IMO, on Dline and Oline. Cooper failed here in AZ, an amazing bust as I expected he'd be a stud OG for a decade. The Cardinals are desperate to fix their pass rush and view that as the single biggest gap keeping them from getting to the Superbowl. This is Bruce Arians putting all of his chips on the table believing he has a 1-2 year window with Palmer (and maybe his own career since he was retired) to get it done. If they are still on the board expect to see Leonard Floyd or Noah Spence in AZ. Now we know why Belichick was personally calling Hicks asking him to stay with the team. Losing both Hicks and Jones seems like a huge loss for them because they are in a similar position as the Cardinals (aging QB/Superbowl window). Even if they didn't want to pay him in 2017, it seems like keeping Jones around for at least one more season would give them the best shot at winning the Superbowl. Patriots have tons of cap room in 2017 too.

I was most surprised by the Ravens signing Weddle for $26mil, $6.5/yr. That just doesn't seem like something that organization would ever do. On another note: Malik Jackson's deal has him with a cap hit of $10mil this year but after that it's about $15mil/yr. Next year Trevathan's deal has a cap hit of just $3.5mil. Therefore in 2017 for the price of Malik Jackson the Bears will have acquired the services of: Trevathan, Hicks, and Massie. Or if we prefer to stay on defense: Trev, Hicks, Freeman, and kept McManis around.

I think this is ok. It starts out well the first two days but in the 4th Rd I don't like Zack Sanchez at all. Skinny CB and he's not that quick. Looking at 4th RD CBs I prefer DJ White who plays with some attitude, will get up on the LOS and press. He's small too but plays more competitively. 6th Rd: Jalin Marshall....what are we going to do with a 5'10" WR who runs a 4.68 forty and has trouble fielding punts? Looking over late round WRs there just isn't much worth looking at. Maybe if Cody Core is there we take him but he's got a 5th Rd grade. Better to go with BPA and take that kicker here although Aguayo now has a 2-3rd Rd grade.

Those charts are interesting. Early in the first (top 10) it's clear teams have needs and you see a strong vote for one or perhaps two players. As you move toward 10-20 it becomes more of a BPA with numerous players listed somewhat evenly in the votes. Then in the last picks 20-31 it becomes more need driven again.

http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap300000064...ses-on-the-rise Some more love for our ILB and FA overall.

They have been structuring contracts so the cap hit is relatively balanced. Most except Trevathan can be cut after 1yr without a massive dead money hit. Freeman has $2mil in dead money in 2017 but just $500k in 2018. http://overthecap.com/salary-cap/chicago-bears Trevathan 2016 = $6.3, 2017 = $3.3, 2018 = $7.1, 2019 = $7.6 Massie 2016 = $5.8, 2017 = $6.0, 2018 = $6.1 Freeman 2016 = $4.0, 2017 = $4.0, 2018 = $4.0 (by the way he's getting $4mil/yr not $3mil/yr as reported earlier) Hicks 2016 = $4.5, 2017 = $5.5 Porter 2016 = $3.8, 2017 = $4.0, 2018 = $4.0 (can be cut after 1yr leaving $600k in dead money with $3.45mil in cap savings)