AZ54

Yes, I agree. You've got his best two years for less than the $20mil upfront money and that doesn't include annual salaries. On top of that the Bears are only locked in one year at a time so they have the flexibility if they so desire. the downside is they only have him for a year or two.

Good point.

If he wants $20 mil then he's a bargain in the Bears eyes at the franchise tag price.

He's not better if he can't get on the field due to injuries. For years people on this board complained about bringing in injury prone players (some have complained about drafting Carimi for that reason). Will Bell be better when he's on the field...yes. Will he be better when he's on the bench injured? Ok, there might be some debate about that one Eschewing a player because he happened to get injured is not the point. Injuries add up over time and can diminish a players ability. A consistent trend also is indication a player is more likely to get injured again. Like it or not, some people are not as flexible as others, or don't have ligaments as strong as others. There's a reason so many medical teams descend on Indianapolis for the combine. I don't know Bell's injury history but I believe all the NFL teams do and the interest he's received on the market indicates the concern. Again, there are many teams in need of upgrades on their Oline, or at least to have solid depth. Even the Packers appear to be just kicking the tires a bit although they might end up signing him. Since we didn't do anything in FA to address the Oline my position hasn't changed...we need a step function up in talent and we should make the commitment early in the draft rather than relying on another veteran with question marks.

Forte won't sit and give up $7.7million. That would be absolutely foolish especially when he's out there demanding more money. He might sit out training camp. If the Bears don't give him what he wants then his best market value for getting the big deal resides in having another Pro Bowl season. I guess I fall into the hater club though. Actually I'm a Bears fan and more interested in having the best team in the league. Having Forte this year definitely makes us more competitive.....this year. Having a 1st Rd and 4th Rd pick instead I believe makes us more competitive in years afterward. Kahlil Bell isn't anywhere close to Forte's ability yet he still averaged 4.3 ypc behind our Oline. Forte had 4.9ypc. In contrast Marion Barber, who often went to the opposite hole from where the play was designed, had a low 3.7ypc. Keep in mind most of Bell's carries were after Williams went out. Bell had far too many fumbles for my taste so he's not the answer IMO, maybe as a third back but he should have competition for that role. I'm just pointing out that it's reasonable to see a guy like Bush averaging 4.3ypc behind our Oline if nothing else had changed. Add in Brandon Marshall's effect on safety coverage and that becomes more likely. There's no reason we can't add another quality RB in the 2nd or 3rd Rd to have a solid tandem here. That means we now have two first round picks and we can grab a DE and perhaps OT/OG. However, if we had this option I'd like to keep our pick at #19 for the DE (hopefully) and trade the other one back into first half of Rd 2 and add another 3rd Rd pick. Then grab OG, WR in Rd 2 and CB, RB in Rd 3 and a pair of LBs or DT/LB in Rd 4. In this scenario we would bring in young talent that can either start right away or be solid depth at all places of need. These days Jonathan Martin sounds more and more like Chris Williams, for that we might as well put Williams back at LT and grab an OG road grader in 2nd or 3rd round to bulk up the inside. I like the kid out of Iowa State, Osemele, because he has some ability to slide outside to RT so he could be our backup RT and Carimi slide to LT if needed. Osemele is still a work in progress but he has the tools to be Pro Bowl caliber and we have the right coach to get him to that level plus he plays with some attitude which we need.

He won't be worried until we get our pass protection fixed.

He won't be worried until we get our pass protection fixed.

We usually see some cuts after the draft around Jun. For now teams don't want to commit until the see who falls to them.

McNeill plays a premium position and he clearly has the talent to play at a high level. For him to be available at this point indicates his injury issues are more serious than we know. How many teams have Oline, and specifically LT, as a top need heading into the draft? It seems everyone wants to wait and see who falls to them and then if it doesn't work out maybe McNeill gets some interest, or he gets interest later as a backup. I would like to see us add some LB depth so looking at Hawthorne makes sense. I wonder if the Forte negotiations are holding us up from moving forward on players like this because we aren't sure of our cap space.

I agree with you in that we need to add someone else for depth. It could be Okoye and the Bears are doing their usual strategy of letting him test the market and then deciding if they will pay market value. If not, we'll have to go elsewhere but there should be someone else available after the draft.

I don't know this guy but his resume doesn't sound like he's better than what we have. If Ted Thompson is so smart why did he wait so long to bring this guy in? For years we've had an Oline composed of backups and we need to take a step function up in ability.

Because the Bears are going DE in Rd 1 and they want everyone thinking WR.

I only hope we get to see him opposite Brandon Marshall.

Okoye was boom or bust. On some pass plays he'd blow up the middle. On most run plays he was blown out of the play often by as much as 5 yards back from the LOS. He's not on my short list of must sign players.

TDs are missing (Foster 10, Gore 8, Forte 3) so yep, that's how I see it. If the premise is that Forte is an elite back and the excuse is that Forte is taken off the field in short yardage situations so he can't get TDs then we have to ask why he is taken off the field. I'm pretty certain Lovie wants to win football games and wants his best players in for each situation. How many complete seasons has Forte had?

Yep, it couldn't have been for nothing. We'd have been giving him a huge signing bonus and all the long term cap ramifications that go with it. He'd still be worth it but now for a couple third round picks we get a 1 to 2 year test drive for a mere $10-20mil but if we decide to we can move on with no long term hit. I like our risk vs. reward scenario a more than what Tampa has with VJack.

I still prefer to add either DE or Oline in Rd 1.

THe news on Martin after his recent workout is that he's dropping to a late first round pick. Reiff is supposedly dropping too. It is possible one of these guys is there for us but of the two I prefer Martin who has the better feet to play LT. I believe Martin is coming out a year early so while there are questions about his strength in a long term perspective that is correctable.

Are the Bears and Forte that far apart? Yes Is Bush a backup or insurance? Both I understand you say the Bears should pay the man but you have to pony up with what salary you think he's worth. The Bears have offered him a good deal with I believe over $15mil guaranteed and in the area of $30mil total but I can't recall if that was for 4 or 5 years. From there they should be able to negotiate something similar to what Gore or Lynch has. I think Forte wants the deal Arian Foster got but I don't see him in the same level as Foster. I don't see him as a good as Gore either.

I definitely want Forte signed to a reasonable contract long term. It seems clear to me that Forte is basing his demands on the fact he is 50% or thereabouts of our total offense and the Bears are basing it on his peers. Simply put he is more Lynch than Foster and thats where the contract should be. As much as I like him you just cant overpay for a RB. If someone dropped a first round pick on us for him then I'm good with it and go build an oline anyone can run behind.

Martin hands down. Coples isnt an ideal fit for us since we have Peppers and i think we need to add a true speed rusher. I think Martin can hold down the left side fpr a decade and Im good with that.

Sean Payton was caught with this bounty program years ago and was told to make sure it didnt happen again. Sean Payton had an email from a convicted former agent stating he had offered Williams $5000 for a player to take out aaron rodgers. Afterwards Payton lied to the commish about knowing anything of the bounty program. Payton lied to his boss and the owner and then when this was all breaking early in the year he went around to his team telling everyone what say to coverup the bounty program. Sean Payton just lost $7million. Drew Brees called Payton a great man yesterday. I have no longer have any respect for Drew Brees.

Good, coaches are losing millions of dollars for their part in leading this scheme. Message sent.

I don't see us spending the money and the pick on Wallace. Wright makes more sense then at least we'd have cash left over to bring in some FA Oline. THere should be more cuts after the draft.

I must be in minority because I liked Louis at RG. He didn't play well as RT (but a heck of a lot better than Omiyale) but after a rough start early in the season he was getting pretty good at RG before the switch. You have a detailed eye for Oline play so what is it you don't like about Louis at RG and why don't you think he'll improve there?