AZ54

This was the gameplan we were all calling for in the Superbowl. Instead we got pass happy and gave up too many yards rushing. Last night we won against an elite AFC team on the road in their brand new stadium where they had everything going for them. I don't want to hear any BS about how they had to make do with 3 backup Oline when we were making due with our backup LT and backup LG. Do you think there's a Colts fan out there who can name our starting WR? Hell half the Bears fans I know still don't know who our starting WR are. How about a rookie RB? We also had essentially a rookie safety in Payne out there on D and still we gave up only 13pts to Manning. Find excuses wherever you want but we still went into their house and beat them at their own game.

Instead of micromanaging every single play call find a way to celebrate a big victory. A victory nobody expected. We beat Indy soundly on both sides of the ball. You might not like the play calls but you can't argue with results.

Wow, J. Norwood ran for 93 yards against Detroit too I guess we should have signed him up too.

As of today the Bears depth chart lists starting WR as Davis/Hester on one side and Lloyd on the other. 2nd string is listed as Bradley and Booker is listed as our 3rd string WR along with Earl Bennett.

The problem is they are saying the exact same thing on their side only they have Peyton Manning to execute the plan, we have Kyle Orton. On D we should be better than them but that wasn't even remotely close last year. At this point we have quite a bit to prove on both sides of the ball. We do have better special teams though!

Sorry but the game is about winning, not talking about how good a player (or team) was years ago. I like Booker but he didn't do anything to show me that he's still got it. You want to give him a pass because he's a vet, fine. I just want production. That includes the D and no I never gave them a pass for playing like crap. I have pointed out that not everything the D did was terrible but did likewise with the offense. I am always ready to eat crow when a player performs better than I expected and I never mind doing so because I just want this team to win. Someday we may cut Brian Urlacher, Tommie Harris, Olin Kreutz and I may very well agree with the decision but that does NOT mean I don't respect their contributions to this team, or them as a player and person.

In another article the Bears players commented on how the Giants' D from last year was the model they were using to set their goals for this year. I might be wrong but I thought the Giants D rotated up to 8 players on their D line throughout a game. We typically rotate 3 De and 3 DT (6 total). This year for the first time under Lovie it appears we have a couple backup DTs who can provide a pass rush up the middle (Harrison, Idonije). Will we see more of a 4 man rotation at DT this season? Will Idonije do double duty rotating in some at DE and DT throughout a game? Reducing snaps per player for the Dline might help us as we get to the 4th quarter and also later in the season.

I think it's clear that a team like Dallas would have been willing to put Hanie on their roster as a #3 QB and that's all us Haniacs wanted for the Bears to do. Why folks keep assuming this means we believe he's the next Tom Brady is beyond me. I believe he's shown enough (comparable numbers to Joe Flacco by the way) to Keep him around and let him learn on the sidelines. Then let's see if he improves again next year. And no, that does NOT mean he becomes a starter next year, it just means let's see if he improves. We all know that Rex is gone after this year and there will be another QB in camp next year who will have the potential (hype) or even the experience of being a starter in the league. In that situation guess what, Hanie is still likely your #3 QB and Orton or the new guy are 1/2. Certainly there will be a 4th QB in camp next year to compete for that third roster spot.

If the odds of a Rd5-7 pick making a team are less than 20% then it makes more sense to get as many of those guys as possible into training camp. That's purely a statistical viewpoint, of course you must consider the quality of the players is dropping the further back you drop in the draft. The point is if you have many prospects evaluated fairly evenly and the opportunity arrives to drop back a bit and pick up two of them (versus one) then you increase the likelihood of adding a good player to the roster.

I agree with the majority of the speculation about Davis/Lloyd/Hester. I want to add that keeping this under wraps is going to make it a bit more difficult for the Colts to prepare.

Let's compare him to the golden boy from last years draft: Player Att Comp Yds Comp % Yds/Att TD TD % INT INT % Long Sck Sack/Lost Rating Joe Flacco 67 35 284 52.2 4.2 1 1.5 0 0.0 30 6 25 68.3 WK OPP RESULT Passing Rushing Fumbles Comp Att Pct Yds Avg TD Int Sck SckY Rate Att Yds Avg TD FUM Lost 2 @ SEA 5 9 55.6 46 5.1 1 1 0 0 67.1 1 1 1.0 0 -- -- 3 SF 3 7 42.9 59 8.4 1 0 1 8 112.5 -- -- -- -- -- -- 4 @ CLE 12 17 70.6 115 6.8 0 1 0 0 64.6 1 15 15.0 0 -- --

Anyone figure out who our starting WR are? I haven't really seen this listed anywhere and the Bears website still shows 4 guys as co-starters.

Great our #2 QB wouldn't even know the offense. I didn't like Simms in college and I don't like him now.

If we pickup help for the Oline who do we cut?

There's no way you trade for a backup OT making $7mil/yr. He would be our backup. What I've seen Pitt this preseason they can't run the ball at all (no blocking) and pass protection isn't great. If Starks isn't standing out against this competition it makes me think he's not all that good. If we're interesting just wait until he's cut.

Glad to see this kid on the roster.

As opposed to Bears QBs who look like scrubs?

Don't let Hanie go. Guy has shown more promise in a short time than any other QB we've had in here. I know he's far from ready to start but I think he can at least be a good #2 QB for us, and possibly more. I am not convinced either Orton or Grossman will be the future starter for us. Clearly Grossman is already out of the equation. If Orton doesn't play that well this season he's out too. He might stick around next year to be our #2. Then in Hanie's 3rd year he takes over as #2 and we go with whoever we get in 2009 via draft/FA as the starter.

My daughter had heart surgery when she was just 2mo old so in some ways I know how he feels except his situation was much more serious. My heart goes out to him and his family and it's great to hear his daughter is finally coming home.

The Bazuin pick just totally upsets me because we wasted that when we could have had Oline help. Same goes for Okwo.

Wasn't it last year or two years ago we faced these guys with two rookie OG and we still couldn't get any pressure up the middle. I'm not going to be optimistic this time around. Part of that is the fact Manning is so good at reading pressure and getting rid of the ball very quickly.

No way I'd trade Ogun, we'd lose far too much from our D. I would entertain a trade of Bazuin. If we cut Bazuin then we're going Idonije as our #4 DE which is not something I'm thrilled about since I think he's been very good inside this preseason. But if the offer is right I'd take it. That would keep Toeaina on the roster. For all his positive press Toeania hasn't looked that great this offseason but as a backup he'd be ok.

Who is the odd man out? From what I've seen reviewing the first three games is that DManning hasn't been that bad in the nickel spot. Not nearly like he was as a FS. McGowan hasn't played well at all in coverage appearing totally lost at times. Payne has better speed than him and has played at least as well as him if not better. His arrow is pointing up so he gets the nod to start at SS. Nickel DB should go to Graham. He's done well all throughout the offseason and training camp. He filled in a lot for Tillman at CB and held up well. He deserves to be our Nickel DB. I view giving him more game experience will only make him better if he's called upon to replace Vasher or Tillman. McBride did well in coverage last year but was terrible in run support. He hasn't looked good so far this training camp but he gets a pass for showing up last year. He will not be the #4 CB, instead it's the bigger Bowman who gets the call. At the bottom of the roster the Bears could keep DManning as a backup S. He could also fill in as the nickel DB if needed letting the other guys stay outside and he can also be our #4 safety. It seems many don't want to hear that but I think it's a real possibility. The guy who can't master any position ends up being decent enough at several positions to stick around. That means the odd man out is Craig Steltz who the Bears try to place on the practice squad. In any action I've seen Steltz hasn't looked good at all. He's slow, late in pass coverage, and doesn't tackle downhill like you want from a safety. We can try to give him a year on the practice squad to see if he can bulk up and learn the system better. STARTERS: FS Mike Brown SS Kevin Payne backups Brandon McGowan DManning CB Tillman, Vasher NB Graham backups Bowman, McBride

He didn't even pick his top 5 WR. How chicken sh** is that. Saying Lloyd has disappeared in games in contrast to Booker makes me think he's just being nice to Booker out of respect. We all know what Lloyd did in that 2min drill with Orton. My top 5: Davis, Hester, Lloyd, Bennett, Bradley.

Has anyone seen a single word about Miller working out? Is this guy in any kind of shape to play football? Last I heard he was playing softball.