'TD'

Emery does leave me scratching my head more often than not. The McClellan and Long picks in the first round, letting Louis bolt, hiring of a HC that had been out of the league for years, ignoring the line completely last year, and so on could be added to the list. I am on board with some of the decisions, I like Trestman's hire and Long as a project, but I do see them as gambles. I felt Rodriguez would thrive in this offense with Trestman's love for passing out of the backfield, I think that they should have atleast seen Carimi in camp before they let him go for next to nothing, and I don't even want to go in to how I felt about the Urlacher situation.

Is JA officially the worst drafter ever yet?He gets props for the Briggs and Tillman draft, but wow outside of Forte....

Agreed, after 3 years the Bears are his 6th team. I imagine each team saw the measurable when they signed him but not the talent on the practice field. Hope he turns out great tho.

my take on the Bears this year ? So much change, I can't wait to see

I loved the Trestman pick from the get go. He was who i wanted as soon as I read up on him. I do wonder if it has been to long and the NFL passed him by now. Cutler has been a starting QB so long I wonder if he will be too head strong and conflict. There are questions at the receiving options and he has a passing system. Then, was the line improved enough to be adequate. When Bablich and Lovie respectively, tried to call plays on the defense it was horrible. They were also bad when Urlacher didn't play. The big changes there I hope they can overcome. Trestman has a full plate. If he fails this year, I will give him time because the cards re stacked against him. The schedule isn't too lenient either. I expect a drastic upgrade from last year but not a world beater his first year. It shouldn't be too hard to accomplish.

....because Cutler did target him too much. I took out the attempts from Cutler and targets for Marshall from the Houston game and the game Cutler missed. Cutler targeted Marshall 42% of the time. While 2007 was high at 36%, 2008 was more along the lines as those below at 29%. WR's you listed and % targeted by their respective QB's: Reggie Wayne: 31% Calvin Johnson: 28% Victor Cruz: 27% Andre Johnson: 30% A.J. Green: 31% Larry Fitgerald: 26% Stevie Johnson: 30% Jay Cutler targeted Marshall over 1/3rd more, than any of the WR and QB combos listed last year.

Long has to potential, body and athletic ability, to develop into a guard. I draft him with the hope that one day he can be a Tackle, but honestly the whole line needs talent and youth. Guard was at a premium this offseason through free agency and the draft. Slausson must have some flaws for the Bears to get him so cheap and other teams pass. So, I'd still have been happy if Long turned out as a guard and Warford too.

I said before the draft, I wanted OL early and often. I went with Warford to stick with that idea.

I still would have actually. I would have seen Long as a future tackle upgrade. It's not like Slauson is locked up long term at guard, or neccissarily the answer at his spot.

There's not another acquisition that has did anything on the Bears yet. I like them all but let's face it, Bushrod was questionable on his talent or his scheme. Kromer is just here as an OL coach but how much was Brees and the system. Bennett had on good year. The Lb's sign were signed for small deals for a reason even tho they have potential. There is no aquisition that can be called good till the season starts. The best ones are just predictions. The ineptitude when it came to offense for years and the direction they have went this offseason make me high on him and my top aquisition. Everyone else I have high hopes for, but it will be the end of the season before we can tell. A game hasn't happened that Trestman has won as a head coach, but his influence on bringing in people for the line has won a game or 2 that hasn't happened yet in my opinion, if not more.

I would go with Trestman and Kromer for my 2 acquisitions. Toss up between Trestman's offensive mind, and Kromer making starters at every position on the OL in NO pro bowlers.

I'd have Long on there, because at that point 7 OL taken. It was the Bears biggest need, and he offered something different. He has raw athletic ability, instead of settling for someone with more experience but a lot lower celiling, so my top 5 in no paticular order: Long Eiffert The Vikings 3 picks... lol

He seems to have taken it upon himself to be a real team leader. He is working out with the receivers on the team and was the first to introduce himself to Long and spend time with him. I'm really impressed with him taking huge steps to put himself out there for the organizations. He's really proved me wrong an any questions i had about his character.

Add in a half of a Brandon Marshall, and this is my favorite recent draft. A+ from me.

Opinions on players selected, this draft brings foward something I am not used to see. There were two core groups with gaping needs, OL and LB. The Bears spent the first four picks selecting players for exactly those positions. There is no DE or Safety that were staples of the previous regime, depending on the 7th round to bring youth to the Ol. I like that the team this year saw needs and aggressively attacked the position. While I may or may not be excited about the players selected, Emery gets credit for not ignoring needs like the previous administration. I'm excited to see how this turns out. I think 2 Linemen, 2 LB's, and a half of a Brandon Marshall was just what this team needed. Successful draft to me, just by finally addressing positions of need.

I'd take Fragel, just because I'm from ohio, and it will be an excuse to look up Fragel Rock stuff

I shoulda kept my mouth shut, there he went lol.

Barret Jones?

Not too bad, I switched over to 'TD' whenever we switched to this bored. Just trying to finish up my bs in chemistry. Went from shock when I saw the pick last night, to really liking it the more I looked at the guy. He is now my first avatar in the few years we have been on talkbears, since moving from bearstalk

I'm here, was in the draft room most the night.

He's basically the Mark Bradley of OL prospects. Great measurables, great potential, and a chance to be a steal when all is said and done. He has 2 things that Bradley never had going for him. He has an offensive minded head coach and an OC that got the job because of his ability to develop OLinemen. If he has the drive his brother and Dad have, he should turn out to be a great pick.

Yea, I noticed that too. If they are grouping the positions together instead of looking at the player, I think I see it a lot different. If I was just going to group all the positions, I would do it like this. With yellow and red being positions I could see arguments for players to be picked in the first 3 rounds, and blue being ones I see likely to be undrafted. Blue RB, S, K, P Yellow T,WR, TE, QB, OLB, CB, DT, DE Red C, G, ILB Blue being positions that have depth and little need of being drafted. Yellow needing depth, has questions at starters, or aging vets that will need replaced. Red needs addressed. Major questions at starters and/or depth and/or contracts.

I know they are trying to say that WR is an option in the draft, but to have both yellow is silly to me. Marshall is arguably the best player at his position on the team. One circle should be blue.

I got a feeling that since everyone wants to move back, the price of moving up will be lower. I don't see the Bears getting a 3rd to move back a few spots unless a few is like 30 or 40 spots, to 60 or 70

Position wise, I love it. It addresses the 5 biggest needs imo, (other than guard but I can't ask for 3 OL picks) Wr, the alternate pick, would be next on my need list. This year I went back to school after 5 years off from chemistry, so trying to keep up I haven't had time to look at the players in the draft to comment on the choices. Webb was the worst RT in the league the one year he played it. I know he is young, but RT is high on my list. I'd be happy with a guard tho. LB is much like the offensive line this year, just not as important to me. Cheap question marks filled in and hoping for the best. I would love to see Trestman draft a QB he likes. I still question if Cutler's ego can give into Trestman's system, and whether he can cut back on the bad decision making. Even if all goes well, it's always good to have QBs waiting that you are grooming. Peppers is getting older and may not be worth his salary after this year, bringing in yet another guy to groom to be his replacement is always good. Plus it is a 6th round pick, so it doesn't really matter much.