AZ54

In FA you can find OG, C, and even some decent RT but you don't see elite LTs. If one is available to us in Rd 1 we need to take him.

I don't know why they put that in there. It seems like a made up stat just to have something to say. But some of the other stats were surprising to me, especially the 3 and outs by the D.

I must have been at the bar picking up another beer because I can't recall this many good things. The Bears offense ranking 3rd in big plays during the last 13 games? The Bears D leading the league in 3 and outs? One of the best 3rd down defenses? I definitely remember Green Bay going down twice! http://www.chicagobears.com/news/NewsStory.asp?story_id=4288 LAKE FOREST, Ill. – While the Bears stumbled into last place in the NFC North with a disappointing 7-9 record in 2007, the season was not devoid of highlights. The Bears swept the season series from long-time rival Green Bay. The first victory was a 27-20 comeback win Oct. 7 at Lambeau Field. The win was the first of three straight road victories in which the Bears rallied after trailing in the final quarter, a franchise first. The Bears offense was led by a passing attack that finished with 3,362 net yards, the third highest total in team history. Quarterbacks Brian Griese, Rex Grossman and Kyle Orton helped six different players reach the 200-yard receiving plateau (Bernard Berrian, Muhsin Muhammad, Desmond Clark, Adrian Peterson, Greg Olsen and Devin Hester). In the last 13 games of the season, the Bears passing offense generated 25 plays of at least 25 yards, tied for third most in the NFL during that span. Griese, Grossman and Orton each had scoring strikes of at least 55 yards this season as well. The Bears finished eighth in the NFL with 33 takeaways, including 20 in the last eight games, tied for third most during that span. Chicago’s defense forced an NFL-best 65 three-and-out drives on 214 opponent possessions, a 30.4 percent rate that was also tops in the league. The Bears also ranked second in third-down defense, allowing opponents to convert just 32.7 percent of their opportunities. The Bears excelled on special teams throughout the season. Devin Hester broke his own NFL record with six kick return touchdowns (four on punts and two on kickoffs). Robbie Gould became the first kicker in Bears history with at least 30 field goals in multiple seasons after finishing tied for second in the NFL with 31 field goals (on 36 attempts). Chicago’s kickoff (19.3 yards per return) and punt (5.9 ypr) coverage units finished first and third in the NFL, respectively. The Bears also blocked a league-high eight kicks during the season (three punts, four field goals and one extra point). The Bears closed the regular season with back-to-back wins for just the third time in the last 21 years.

I agree we're not going to draft a first round prospect nor spend big bucks in FA so this means our new RB isn't perfect, but he's good enough to provide competition. While I'd like to see the home run speed long runs are really as much about speed as they are about scheme and the ability to make a guy or two miss. What I think we'll see is a guy who has more quickness than elite speed. He'll still be fast enough to break a long run but not that guy who pulls away from guys. He'll still be big enough to run plays up the middle but probably won't have the power to take a LB backwards. He needs to be stout enough to carry the load fulltime if need be because that will never be something Wolfe can provide. Simply put, I want a RB who is good at stretch plays and screens. Add some shake to the bake. I view Ced and AP as being similar. Ced having more ability and AP having more desire. They can battle for the inside running job since neither of them shine working outside the tackles or on screen routes. I don't think we'd have to alter our offense because we have those plays in the playbook they just aren't too effective with Ced or AP. Which style RB starts doesn't matter a great deal IMO since the alternate coming in for 10-12 plays has a different style. The most productive guy starts.

Anderson gets about 2.5mil with the high tender offer. That gives Cleveland the right to match any offer he gets but that would force a team to give up a 1st and 3rd Rd pick. As stated nobody is going to give up the picks for Anderson so he won't get an offer. They have $30mil in cap space. The money given to Quinn is already gone so that's not a factor and it also makes Quinn untradeable due to cap hit. With this team, coaches, GM, etc. fighting for their jobs so they'll keep both QBs which is a very affordable option for them. If Anderson lights it up next year they'll offer him a new contract midseason and then hang onto Quinn as the backup for perhaps one more year and then look to move Quinn. Unless someone comes along with a good offer for Quinn after next year but I'm not sure what cap hit they'd take to trade Quinn after two seasons. I'm not against the idea of inquiring into Anderson but I just don't see why Cleveland would let him go.

I'm not sure we'll Franchise tag Berrian but a Transition tag is likely. At least that gives us the option to match the offer he signs and if it were me I'd want that ability. We won't get any draft picks if we lose him but a side effect could be the fact it might force his new team to front load a lot of the contract. That might force some teams out of the mix and if signs with an NFC rival maybe it squeezes their cap space a bit more than they wanted keeping another FA off their roster. We can only use one tag or the other and I don't think there's anyone else we'd consider for either tag.

Having blasted Babich for much of the year he was able to pull the D back into respectability in the last few games. They played well even in meaningless games. Because of that and the injuries I think he deserves another shot at it next year.

His 13yd average per catch is pretty good, his 2.7ypc is pretty bad and he sucks at runs up the middle when there's no hole. Looks like he got hit by a fly swatter everytime a DT reaches out and touches him. Yet I think we can do better in how we utilize his strengths. He competes with the other RBs in camp for a job but I still think he'll stick around. I don't think he'll necessarily become our fulltime 3rd down back, that job will depend on who we pick up this offseason and who sticks around after training camp. But I can see him being in for 5-7 plays a game. I love AP and he's a good back to have on a roster but we load up on special teams players every year . While he's good at special teams, this being a focal point for keeping him around doesn't have as much value for us as it did a few years ago. He's just average as a runner and really not that great as a blocker as he often just does cut blocks. Are his cut blocks are better than Wolfe's we'll see in preseason next year. There will be 4 RBs in camp and I don't think any are guaranteed a job depending on when/how we pick up the 4th RB. All 4 will be competing for a job or at a minimum the 3 current RBs will compete. It's gonna be fun to watch and anyone getting injured, even a minor one, might be SOL.

I think it's AP who is going to depart. He offers nothing great in the running game and he's a good special teams player, of which we have many. Resign Ayanbendejo and draft a RB to compete with Ced and AP and the top 2 stay. Little Wolfie showed enough on 3rd and long to warrant sticking around IMO. He'd be even more dangerous if we actually had a passing game that forced DBs and LBs to backup. If Ced doesn't show up after this injury then he'll go and it'll be AP, new guy, and Wolfie.

Coaching is one thing but accountability is another. If guys like Berrian kept dropping passes and never got benched then there was no accountability. Guys like Miller kept getting false starts and whiffing on pass rushers yet again no accountability. Nobody on this team got demoted when we were playing poorly, or at least get sent off for a few plays here and there to make a point, except Rex and probably too often Ced who was often pulled in the middle of games after 12-15 carries. Now I realize you can't swap Olineman from play to play but still overall the coaches. We swap out Rex thinking he's the issue and no change. We swap out Ced for AP's (at the time) 3.8ypc and watch AP get 3.1 ypc the rest of the season. We keep using Hester on static routes like WR screens for most of the season for no gain until the end when we finally just send him on a fly pattern and he gets a TD. Ruben Brown plays with one arm for 8 weeks and what do you know he is still better than Metcalf but the coaches put Metcalf in his place anyway, then move to St Clair after Metcalf fails. On D we get the Mark Anderson experiment and when he's not performing we keep him as a starter over Alex Brown. On the other hand when Vasher goes down we move our starting FS to CB and he fails there then we move him back and insert McBride, who the coaches had said good things about in camp. We all have opinions here on the board but the coaches get to watch these guy every day in practice and on film. It seems clear that they can't accurately decide who their best players are nor can they decide how best to use our players to play to their strengths. Injuries definitely played a part in our struggles this year but so did our coaches decisions.

Faneca kicked butt in the second half, moved his man all over the field and I don't recall him giving up any ground on any pass rush. Part of his issue in the first half was trying to help their LT but he didn't do that in the second half.

I'm watching the Steelers game against Jacksonville and so far in the first half Faneca's pass protection is not impressing me. I've been on board with the idea of picking him up in FA but his performance right now isn't giving me confidence in signing him. At least twice I've seen him spun around backwards while pass protecting and a few times he's come off his man and to assist the LT and then his man ran in and hurried or sacked Rothleisberger. Of course 30 min is too little time to make a judgment on a player and he was selected to the Pro Bowl.

I think Hass gets his shot next year. I'd like to see him and Moose line up for a 40yd sprint and see who wins because Moose can't separate from anybody. Hass is quicker in his cuts than Moose too. Anyway, what I'd like to see next year is: resign Berrian if reasonable or pickup Bryant Johnson. Either will be a starter on the outside. The starter on the other side will be a split between Hester and Mark Bradley. We still have Olsen and Clark that get downfield. Stop putting little Rashied Davis in the slot and give me Mike Hass who is 4" taller than Davis and having a bigger target behind big DTs helps. I agree with the Bobby Engram comparison. We rarely work the middle of the field and Hass is a guy who will fight for a ball in traffic, he'll hang on to anything near him.

I think Wolfe already squats around 400lbs, how much more strength does he need? Bottom line is he loses out because of physics, 170lbs (180 with pads on) just won't win many battles when a 300lb lineman gets his arm on you. Wolfe could reduce those problems going through the line if he'd just take a lower stance, instead he seems to always be upright when he hits the hole. At his size he ought to be able to dive through the tiniest holes for at least a couple yards. Hopefully the coaches work with him on that this year and hopefully Ron Turner works on his play calling when Wolfe is on the field and uses him more in space.

I think Ced stays and gets another shot next year, however, read on. Wolfe stays because he gives us something in open space that nobody else on the roster except for Hester can, just quit running him up the middle all the time. Wolfe's first down on a 3rd and 25 play was great to see. We are loaded with good special teams players and our GM tends to draft more of them every year, or even sign a FA for just that purpose so it will be AP who is on the bubble. I expect to see a Tiki Barber type RB on the roster to compete with Ced for the starting role. A guy with more quickness and speed to make the back cuts, get to the outside etc. Julius Jones could fit that role for us. I expect we'll be heading to training camp with 4 RBs competing for 3 roster spots and depending on where we draft a RB, or what we sign in FA anyone of the 4 could get cut. If we draft a guy in the first 3 rounds or put out a big signing bonus to an FA then I expect Ced competes with AP for a job. Put me in for DRAFTING A FB or grab one via FA. I agree with Nfol in that we either get a true road grader except to add that I'd also be glad if we get a guy who can block acceptably while also being able to do something with a handoff or screen pass. McKie is just ok at both roles, our FB has to excel at something.

I don't know how you can draw conclusions by watching a few highlights. Although I respect your opinion, watch a complete game like the upcoming bowl game. I was far more impressed with Brennan in games that I was by Flacco. Brennan does have a weird release but it's very quick, about 1/3 the time it takes Kyle Orton to windup and throw. He's also accurate even under pressure. He did get a lot of pressure and had to scramble a lot against Washington State, which he does better than any QB on our roster. He also threw a lot of dumpoff routes in that game, in fact it seemed like that was 25-30% of their plays, inside and outside screens. He also threw a beautiful deep pass that hit his WR in stride straight down the middle of the field. That sidearm release might keep him from being effective in a West Coast offense since it will be easier to knock down his passes but his quick release would fit the system. I'm not sure why you feel he can't read a defense as he seemed to do that well enough in the two games I saw but there's a big difference between reading college and NFL defenses and there's no way we can know that about any college QB until they get in an NFL game. I'd like to hear your thoughts on why. It remains a legit concern for me especially given the average level of competition he's faced in college. Please don't compare him to Tommy Chang just because they went to the same school. Chang never had any arm strength and never looked anything like Brennan while running the same offense. It's not the overall numbers like passing yards that matter to me because that is related to the system, it's his accuracy and arm strength. Typically QBs in a spread offense have weak arms and just hit guys on quick slants and short outs and the yards come on the run after catch. Hawaii will run more deep outs and come back patterns. I'm looking forward to seeing how he plays in the Sugar Bowl against Georgia. HONOLULU (AP) -- Tired of his prolific passer being labeled a so-called "system quarterback," Hawaii coach June Jones on Monday pointed to another star quarterback running a system: Florida's Tim Tebow. Jones said the key difference, however, is that his record-breaking quarterback, Colt Brennan, runs an NFL-style offense while Tebow runs a "college system." OAS_AD('TopRight');var tcdacmd="sa=a;sz=3;ad"; "My quarterback has been labeled a 'system quarterback' for three years," Jones said. "He is the best passer in college history. He is. There is no question about it. Tim Tebow is in a system."

Hey we ran that WR bubble screen for a total of -15 yards today!

If Turner stays at least fire the Oline coach. I gotta get some satisfaction (i.e accountability) out of this horrible offensive play this year.

Drafting Peyton Manning would make a lot of GMs look pretty good.

I'd rather fire Heistand before Turner, perhaps first half. Then in the 4th quarter go after Turner.

I agree Wiliams doesn't have enough speed to cover the deep middle anywhere close to what Urlacher can but you have to look at the net gain or loss. If Urlacher on the outside is as effective as Briggs (or better) and Williams is a better run defender in the middle than Urlacher then the dropoff in coverage might be more tolerable. The biggest problem I'd have with this is the fact our safety play has been very spotty this season. If we had great safeties behind the MLB then this would be an easy call but if we pull Urlacher out of there our pass defense in the middle is going to be worse than it was this year. That's a scary thought.

Forgot Berrian against San Diego in the opening game. Dropped a sure TD from Grossman when he was wide open on the left sideline.

I only got to see Woodson once this year and he looked like he has trouble reading defenses or was otherwise just clueless and inaccurate on some plays. Could have been just one bad game but based on that I'd be very disappointed if we spent such a high first round pick on him. I'm curious to hear what others who got to see more of him think of his skills.

Maybe we can give Moose one of Lovie's "veteran days off" this Sunday and get Hass onto the field?

That's what teams did to us all year long and still folks railed on Ced. I realize Ryan Leaf's little brother sucks as a QB but I also know that Stewart didn't show much burst when he did have holes and ran tentatively in the hole. He wasn't much good fighting for yards after contact either. He did look good with Dixon in when he had huge holes to run through. We already have 3 RBs on the roster who can do that.