AZ54

I'd bet all three would like to know how healthy he is and how that relates to the Bear plans in the draft or the rest of FA. They can look for free.

Stats in sports are not really statistics in the true sense...we've had this conversation before. Just one example is the oft cited stat that Brees gets rid of the ball on average about 1sec quicker than Cutler. Ok fine, but with no standard deviation we have no idea of the distribution of those populations. Or are there two populations in the data...one where Brees has very quick 1-2sec reads, and another distribution where he has 3-4sec reads? I look at the PFF blocking stats the same way. Maybe Bushrod had as many rushers get past him as Webb but did Bushrod completely whiff on the block as Webb occasionally does? Some of this is about consistency. Everyone on this board has watched Drew Brees drop back sometimes as much as 10 yards from the LOS and hold onto the ball a long time before throwing. The fact is that New Orleans would take some deep shots every game and those plays take time to develop. Certainly Brees is far better at quick releases than Cutler is, but I think his offense is better designed for it as well. Hopefully we'll be adding more of that element to our passing game. Hopefully Cutler will learn to take the quick underneath read when that's what the defense gives him. For me, when Phil Emery and (by default) Kromer say that Bushrod was better and more consistent than Webb I'm trusting them (not that I have a choice). Is Bushrod an elite LT? No, but then again we didn't pay him elite LT money which would have been closer to $10mil/yr so I think both sides understood that. I'm also trusting that they are able to design an offense that can make better use of his 3 sec of pass protection and have Cutler get rid of the ball than what Tice and Martz did the past few seasons.

He barely played and still got hurt...won't be missed.

I think we wait for value now. Hopefully a player like Moore, who hasn't been active yet in FA, lowers his $$ expectations and we can add some depth and insurance in case Louis doesn't return, or in case Carimi can't play OT or OG. I would love to know what the coaches think of Brown's performance last year and his future on the roster. Is he OT material or OG? Is he worth keeping around? We won't hear anything on that until we get past the draft.

From the highlight video I see a guy who can go up over the top of defenders to make catches, can adjust to make the back shoulder fade, knows how to find the soft spot in a zone, and can make some diving catches. His speed doesn't look that great but he's fast enough to work well against LBs and good enough of a receiver to be a threat down the middle or on the outside. Is he a one year wonder or was he just wasting on the bench behind a Hall of Fame player in Witten? Stephen A. might not have liked him but I bet Eli is going to miss him.

I think Fluker remains on our short list for RT.

I like this. Now we truly have an average Oline player which is a Bears fan's way of saying UPGRADE. Bushrod at least is good enough that if we have to help him in some games it can be done. Versus Webb who can't figure out the delayed blitz and stunts. I'd say the draft still remains wide open for us in terms of drafting a RT (Fluker) and an OG.

Good choice, mid-priced FA but versatility fits the need very well. Combined with Rodriguez we should have a good tandem in pass catching TEs.

He couldn't run...that's why his stats were down.

No clue why that guy is still associated with the Bears.

For the draftniks out there I thought this might be worth reading. The article breaks down performance trends versus draft position. For example, OTs drafted in slots 1-13 have the highest success rate of being a 5yr starter at 94%, and a bit surprising to me LB is right behind them at 90%. . http://www.nationalfootballpost.com/Diggin...babilities.html

If the Halas Hall janitor (just kidding) can't figure it out that's amazing. Supposedly there was a tweet from Lou Cannelis that the Bears have continued to talk with Urlacher's agent but I don't follow Twitter so I have no clue if that's just old news from the offer Urlacher's agent submitted. Either we are doing very little tomorrow or we will be in the news non-stop with all the moves we have to make.

....and an Oline to open holes?

After reading some articles and listening to a lot of "insiders" thoughts on the Harvin deal one thing is clear: Harvin is a big risk for Seattle given the contract he wants. His problems, or rather the team's problems with him go much deeper than what has been stated in the media. Like any new marriage I expect everyone to be all smiles while the honeymoon lasts. We'll see what happens once Percy gets paid.

Yes, I expected that to happen on Monday but all we have so far is:

If we draft Cooper or Warmack there's no need for that. I'm not advocating that we cut Garza, I think he's very valuable to our organization but I don't view him as a player we couldn't replace and live without. I don't see it happening but right now with this new regime in place (including Emery here too because now he has "his" coach) I'm not ruling anything out.

I'd be fine with Greg Jennings catching passes from Ponder. Mike Wallace with his speed and ability to get on top of the safeties, who have to be worried about AP first, would be more concerning.

I watched some highlights of Austin last night. He's going to be a good player but he's no longer who I want with the 20th pick. If it's between him and Eifert at that point (assuming all Oline gone) I'd take Eifert.

What is Garza's cap hit? What's his contract? He might be more expendable than we think.

A lot of money has to be moved around to make that happen and it probably makes signing Urlacher a remote possibility.

It's Sunday.... two days before FA signings start. There is absolutely no way the always exceedingly-prepared and mission-focused Phil Emery has not renegotiated some contracts. I'm not expecting any comments but had to put this in writing. If I'm wrong I'll eat a Road Runner (instead of crow because we do have them running around out here).

What we don't know is if Kromer sees something simple he feels he can fix to improve his pass protection. Clearly Boothe has enough athleticism in the video to be good at pass protection. He did well on initial double teams and then quickly peels off to the second level block. Of course that was a highlight video not a lowlight video so I take it with an open mind.

Ryan Swope is worth watching.

If we tender him don't we lock up cap space? I'm thinking the Bears would like to have him back but need space right now to go after their priority FA.

Due diligence means assessing what your competition is going to do. If Phil is smart any info he can glean from agents about who is interested in their client and what type of contract terms they are discussing (even a range) helps us plan in terms of other teams cap space and priorities. If we are content with OG Moore and other teams want him too but their priority is to first sign one of the WRs it might help us get the deal done quicker.