akshaz

The fact that we're really only talking about two drafts is the problem itself. Some teams pick a quarterback almost every year for competition. If we emphasize the quarterback position like we do the DL, we should have better luck finding better guys. Of course it doesn't have to be first round. Even if we don't hit a solid starter every draft, it raises the competition/expectations/production. Now, I'm not saying that our focus on defense isn't good. I just think that we need to expect more from the QB position. We fall in love with mediocre guys and give them 4-5 years to suck before we bring in a single replacement. Usually, the replacement will have a couple years to suck and the cycle continues. I like Angelo's newly found high expectations from the position. We shouldn't be happy enough with Kyle's play. Bring in a guy. Give Hanie a real shot. Make them all compete. Next year draft a guy or bring in another FA.

The fact that we're really only talking about two drafts is the problem itself. Some teams pick a quarterback almost every year for competition. If we emphasize the quarterback position like we do the DL, we should have better luck finding better guys. Of course it doesn't have to be first round. Even if we don't hit a solid starter every draft, it raises the competition/expectations/production. Now, I'm not saying that our focus on defense isn't good. I just think that we need to expect more from the QB position. We fall in love with mediocre guys and give them 4-5 years to suck before we bring in a single replacement. Usually, the replacement will have a couple years to suck and the cycle continues. I like Angelo's newly found high expectations from the position. We shouldn't be happy enough with Kyle's play. Bring in a guy. Give Hanie a real shot. Make them all compete. Next year draft a guy or bring in another FA.

The fact that we're really only talking about two drafts is the problem itself. Some teams pick a quarterback almost every year for competition. If we emphasize the quarterback position like we do the DL, we should have better luck finding better guys. Of course it doesn't have to be first round. Even if we don't hit a solid starter every draft, it raises the competition/expectations/production. Now, I'm not saying that our focus on defense isn't good. I just think that we need to expect more from the QB position. We fall in love with mediocre guys and give them 4-5 years to suck before we bring in a single replacement. Usually, the replacement will have a couple years to suck and the cycle continues. I like Angelo's newly found high expectations from the position. We shouldn't be happy enough with Kyle's play. Bring in a guy. Give Hanie a real shot. Make them all compete. Next year draft a guy or bring in another FA.

Give it some priority. Both of the times you mention, the Bears had an opportunity to pick a better QB with a higher pick. But, they chose to trade down and get a cheaper "second tier" guy. Don't forget that Rex was our SECOND pick that year. We picked Michael Haynes first. Again, I say make the position a priority. Don't trade down. Use our highest draft pick to select the best QB on the board. In fact, I'd be okay with trading UP for a change instead of trying to corner the 5-6 rounds. To answer your question about Rodgers, there is no way he'd be as good as he is if he played for the Bears. We also put little stock in QB development. If we draft a QB with a high pick, we need to supplement that with a premier QBs coach.

I just don't think that the Bears focus on the position enough. We always focus on the defense and running game; which of course is very crucial. But, I don't think that we'll ever be a consistently good team until we get a franchise quarterback. Man, if you watch some of the balls that Phillip Rivers, Manning and even Matt Ryan and some of college qbs threw over the weekend, it's clear as day. It's easy to see that until we have a guy that can make those difficult throws on a consistent basis. Get first downs and continue drives; we'll always sputter. A real quarterback can make throws that are impossible to defend in crucial moments. We may have a good season here and there. But, until we get a real quarterback, our success will be sporatic at best.

Exactly!! It's not the Cover 2 that's the problem; but the way we run it. I also don't really believe that Peanut and Vasher got bad all of the sudden. The Cover 2 works if you have pass rushers like Freeney. IMHO, I believe Lovie's version of the Cover 2 emphasizes playing the run more than Dungy's version. However, I also believe you need tough physical corners that can bump and run. Even if we do get the rare pass rush; we refuse to bump and run, so our defense breaks down. If you guys remember the Giants game a couple years ago, Peanut shut down Plax by playing an aggressive, tough style of play. I think Vasher would get more pics because of this as well. How many times have we gameplanned like this recently? I think our corner play is key to our defense and it's not the players; but the coaches. It's the scheme. Even the best corner would give up easy hitches, curls and slants across the middle if they played 10 yards from the LOS.

Agreed!! But, even if he has been throwing balls to other inmates in Levenworth (sp) for two years, he still would be better than any other QB on our roster. I think that's an indictment on our roster. Again, I'm not saying he's the answer. There's a good chance that he's not. But, he probably has more skills than almost anyone else on our team and is definitely a playmaker. Can he play QB, WR, KR, PR? I don't know. But, to be opposed to him helping our team because of some dogs is, IMHO, irrational.

Wow. You guys and your pets. Supercedes everything else. For me, I'm a Bears fan and am down with almost anything that makes us better. Vick would immediately be amongst the top 1-2 athletes on the team. Now, I'm not saying I would agree with him being our solution at QB. But, if he served his time and can be had for the cheap, why not? This is the NFL. We're not looking for saints or alter boys.

Ummm....did you watch Rashied Davis and Marty Booker play this year. As far as offense, I would bet that JA added Brandon Lloyd to his $---list

We decided early on that we weren't going to spend any significant money to re-sign him. Now, I'm not really saying that was a good/bad decision. I was just making a point that he's been productive with Tavaris Jackson and Gus Ferotte. These guys are no game breakers. We always blame our problems on bad WRs but don't really give enough urgency to the QB position. There are several former Bear WRs having productive careers around the NFL. For some reason, we gave up on all of them and never really looked at the QB position.

Man, it's a shame that we're reduced to defending Kyle against comparisons to Gus Ferotte. However, I think that we all know that Gus is nobody's answer. Minnesota went back to Tavaris when both were healthy. As far as Jake Delhomme, it's not even close. Kyle is nowhere near this guy's level. Delhomme is a Pro-Bowl qb and a proven winner. It's not just about stats. Kyle simply can't make the throws that Jake does. Steve Smith at least has a ball there to catch. If we had Steve Smith, he'd never get the ball.

Marinelli=Babich. I say no. I'm tired of Lovie guys that only want to blitz on running downs, then drop back into a soft cover 2 on passing downs. The QB sees no pressure, then calmly finds the WR who exposes the soft spot in the zone. Then we hear the stat that we blitz more than anyone else. Hey, I'd bet that if anyone dared to run the numbers, they'd see that we blitz less than anyone on 3rd down. We always act like we're going to send the LBs, but never do. This is fooling no one. The QB knows they aren't going to blitz. Trust Lovie again? No thanks. In fact, I say he should hire another Chico type that will challenge him enough to make us a good defense again.

I agree. But, only partially. Did you see the re-emergence of Muhsin Muhammed this year? How about Benard Berrian? Both of those guys were easily dismissed from the Bears and went on to have nearly 1,000 yards with their new teams this year. Berrian had to deal with freakin' Tavaris Jackson and still averaged more than 20 ypc because Tavaris can at least throw the deep ball when the opposing defense puts 8-9 men in the box. Yes, we can use another WR. Yes, our WRs dropped plenty of catchable balls. But, until we get a real QB, I still don't think it matters much who we have at WR. After our game on Sunday, I watched QB after QB complete balls downfield. I especially remember a throw by Phillip Rivers to Antonio Gates that hit him in stride down the field. I thought to myself, "there's no way Orton can complete that pass". Therein lies the problem. Defensive Coordinators watch the film. They know we cannot go downfield. So, they stack the line and dare us to throw the ball. The only time in recent memory that we had a guy to do this was Rex on/off during 2006. As many mistakes he made, defenses still couldn't always stack the line against us; because every once in a while he'll hit that throw and make them pay. Ortan cannot make them pay. He'll miss that pass every time. All this being said, I'm not throwing Orton under the bus. I think that he can be solid for short stretches. But, there's no way we should take the approach that he deserves to go into next season as the unquestioned/unchallenged starter.

Are you suggesting the Kyle Orton will all of the sudden hit a much faster Randy Moss downfield when he consistently misses Hester?

Exactly how will this make or offense any better next year? Or will we be stuck with more of the same? We still won't have a QB capable of spreading the field, so Forte will continue to have to beat 8-9 men in the box. Orton will continue to over/under throw wide open receivers or hope for a pass interference penalty. Yes, we need changes on defense. But, none of these changes outweigh the need at QB or will show the level of visible returns. The staff obviously doesn't believe in Hanie. We seem to be the only team in the NFL that doesn't care about the QB position or give it much thought.

That's until you see those guys running wide open down the field without anyone able to get the ball to them.

Atlanta's defense??? New Orleans'??? Gimme a break. But, let's use their team as a case in point. Last year, Atlanta was one of the biggest jokes in the league. Now, these guys are in the playoffs, finished 11-5 and almost won their division. I live in Atlanta, so I watch and follow them as well. Last year, everyone used to talk about how terrible their offensive line was. It's funny how a good quarterback/running back combination can make an offensive line look good. We have the running back. We just drafted a premier pass protector. We just need a "passer" for them to protect. I don't understand why nobody wants a quarterback. Please don't say Garcia. I'm tired of the old rundown QB approach, ie Kordell Stewart, Chris Chandler. Again, let's draft a guy and develop him. Why is that such a crazy idea?????

Good points. But here's the deal. There was never a question of whether or not Tom Brady could make all of the throws including the deep ball. Of course the same goes for Peyton Manning. Brady just needed someone to actually catch the ball. Now of course we need guys that can catch as well. But, what good does signing Ocho or TJ do if they run downfield, as open as you can expect late in the season, and the ball never makes it to him? I've found myself hoping for a pass interference call every time a WR goes downfield. For some reason, actually completing a deep ball really never came to mind. Also, regardless of WRs, Brady was controlling his division, going to and winning Super Bowls. Heck, if you back up a little bit, the Pats would probably never be where they are if they didn't actually create real competition for Drew Bledsoe, who was a much better QB than Kyle Orton with a far greater track record. But, he still wasn't above competition. For some reason, we feel that we have to coddle our QB's fragile egos. We did it for Rex last year and we're planning on doing the same for Kyle next year. Again, I believe this is BS and reeks of mediocrity. This guy is, in no shape or form, good enough to be above competition. But, for some reason our management doesn't think enough of the quarterback position to ensure we have enough talent there. I still think we need to draft and groom a big-time quarterback.

Dude, you obviously haven't watched Tebow play. The guy has a better arm than anyone we've had in these parts in years. The guy is the real deal and a good kid. I would love to get him. But, we'll never pull the trigger.

I'm sorry. But, this is BS. Really? You guys are really okay with Kyle going in as the unchallenged #1 QB next year? Frankly, I'm pissed. Did they not see the game yesterday? The guy absolutely cannot complete a pass over 20 yards!!! He cannot do it. If we ever find ourselves down and really needing to score against a solid defense, you can hang it up. I think that he can be a solid QB. But, there is NO WAY that he has done enough to be above serious competion. I know this is Chicago. But, c'mon. If we are really going to compete year after year, we need a real quarterback. We have to stop fooling ourselves. All of this "flash in the pan" stuff is not going to get it done. We don't need to draft OL first round. We don't need to draft WR or DB. Of course, we'll never do it. But, I think we need to draft a big time quarterback and please get somebody to develop him. We already have Williams. We can slide St. Clair inside. Let Beekman compete for RG. Tait can be solid enough to not have to draft another lineman. If we have a real QB, we can get a FA WR. I don't see drafting or signing a WR until we fix the QB position. We can get a DB in the second round. I can't believe that you guys are okay with this mediocrity. I guess reality has settled in and I'm the one being unrealistic.

Next, we'll let Mike Brown and that will be a mistake. Did you see our confused secondary yesterday???? OMG!!! The guy has lost a step. But, he obviously is still a major part of what we do on defense. I don't know how letting him go makes us better. Hey, but I said the same for Cedric Benson. He obviously made some mistakes and wore out his welcome. But, his performance in the last few weeks shows that he can play in this league. I really think that we could have used him the last few games instead of Adrian Peterson.

I don't know why Bennett cannot see the field. Surely, his hands are better than Davis'. We need an inside WR that's not afraid of going across the middle on 3rd down, taking the hit and moving the chains.

Got it. Point taken. Personally, I know Hester has been crap all year. Man, I've been waiting for him to bring one back. Every time, I'm disappointed. That being said, I'll root for my guys to make it. Not long ago, we weren't sending ANYONE to the Pro Bowl when we probaly had a guy or two that deserved it. Hey, I'd love to get one of those "token" or popularity honors for a change.

Conner, are you really rooting against Hester in the Pro Bowl?

Man, I think that it's clear that we need a franchise QB. I'm tired of this mess. I say draft a guy and let him compete with Kyle and Hanie for the stating job.