lemonej

DFG I have always felt that Hester is not under used but not used properly. At his size he will be hard presses to be the prototypical #1 receiver but if the OC decides that he has a player with special ability when he gets the ball in space he will create more plays to get hin the ball. I would love to see a formation with 3 WR a TE and Hester in the backfield. I'd also like to see a Hester and Forte combo in the backfield and then send one in motion in our 2 TE set. I know I'm probably over simplifying it but you get what I'm thinking.

Pisa Yes ,Boldin and Plaxico no. Why? Look at what Boldin is doing right now after basically being the second receiver on a Super Bowl team. Is this what we want in our lockerroom? Talent alone is one thing but there seems to be an underlying theme to some of Drew Rosehaus' clients current and former. Lance Briggs, Thomas Jones and Tommie Harris all have Drew as their front man and look how all three have acted recently. Briggs with his threatening not ot attend the OTA last season is very similar to Thomas Jones with the Jets this year and Thomas Jones in his last season with the Bears. TO and all his antics and Drew represents him. One of the quietest clients of Drew is Wale and prior to coming to the Bears he and Drew orchestrated a hold out, a trade and contract extension. As for Pisa he seems to be exactly what we need at SAM and now you can make Roach and Hilly fight for a roster spot unless Pisa plays like the last guy that we thought was a perfect fit for Lovies scheme and that was Archuleta.

I'm sorry I took so long to respond DFG you are so right about the prototype at Tampa 2 MLB and Urlacher doesn't fit the mold but he is the type of athlete you need at the position.That is what is wrong with this defense? You need to have special players in a couple of positions to play it. The original team that played this defense was the Steelers under Chuck Noll and they had a HOF at DT, MLB, WLB and CB. The next most celebrated team that played this defense was the Bucs under a former Steeler Tony Dungy. That team will have a HOF at WLB,DT,SS and CB. Our defense has only one potential HOF player and a possible 2nd. Taylor Mays I'm a big fan and think he may be in the top 10 next year and also believe if he had come out this year he would have been a top 15 pick and the top safety on the board.

Do you remember how Griese left here? He felt like he wasn't given a fair shot at the job. He had some parting shots for the organization so I think it would be unlikely that he would be brought back here. Plus I believe Griese is like Jeff Garcia and thinks he should be a starter no matter what the situation is.

Man you took the words out of my mouth. This continues to be a problem I have with Ron Turner. I can go all the way back to when he had Curtis Conway and saw how slow he was to develop. He always seems to prefer veterans over rookies

Hey guys I overlooked another guy who actually should have been mentioned and that is Ricky Proehl. When he was playing here he was the go to guy and he IMO had a decent NFL career.

I agree and really think that current Bears teams are measured by that 85 team which is a little unfair since that team has 3 HOF players and should have 2 more. 1978 wow I was wasting time on Western Illinois' campus as a freshman. That was when there was the Mike Phipps and Vince Evans QB battle. Neil Armstrong was the coach and Buddy Ryan was in his first year as a defensive coordinator.

I know its not easy to write an article for anything but how can you list Bears QBs after McMahon and not have Jim Harbaugh a 1st round pick in 87 on it? You also didn't mention Steve Walsh, Jim Miller and Will Furer. 2am? Were you on a deadline?

The question was about who you actually saw play for the Bears. I'm sure there are some fans in Dallas who think the same way you do about McCardell since he was on their roster first.

On offense I will go with Kevin Jones. Last season it was obvious that Forte was over used so I think there will be a big push to reduce his work load and the one guy that would surprise me is Jones since he will be farther removed from his significant knee injury. On defense I'm picking Marcus Harrison because I liked what I saw last year and think Marinelli will take him to the next level.

I was reluctant to list Robinson higher since he was buried on the depth chart by Wannie and supposedly he was a bad practice player.

Mad L you went Webster's on me about my post? Wow! All I was saying is there has been quite a few guys who have coached the team since George Halas. Prior to the 85 Super Bowl team he had the last world championship as a coach of the Bears in 63. I have been a fan since he last won one and if there is only one world championship since then I think there has been some exertion,negativity and sufferance since that time in the 46 years that have passed. Mad L I come from the era when we had to listen to the home games on the radio because they were blacked-out. There also was no UHF channnels either. I didn't say anything negative about Ditka but I did list him along with all the Bears coaches since I have been a fan. It was not about one particular coach it was about the whole group. After 63 there were only 2 playoff appearances before Ditka came and his record aside that team should have won more than one Super Bowl. Why didn't they? Who should we blame? Who is the guy that started Doug Flutie in a playoff game? This is not to cloud your fond memories of "The Coach" but he had his warts also.

I'm doing this to see just where everyone is at in terms how they view the Bears' WRs. I go back to the 60's and have actually saw Johnny Morris play but taking him out of the equation I'm hard pressed to find a guy who I could say is second to Morris. We have had tandems or individuals that have had great seasons but if you twist my arm here is where I would go with rankings after Morris: 1 Dennis McKinnon he was a smaller version of Hines Ward and would block just as good as he would catch the ball. 2. Dick Gordon he was one of the other players that came from the 1965 draft that netted Sayers and Butkus. His flamboyant lifestyle was his downfall but he did actually make the pro bowl one year. 3 Marcus Robinson this guy had one of the greatest years a Bear WR has ever had but the problem was he was a late bloomer. I believed the Bears are still looking for a WR with his size and speed. 4 Willie Gault world class speed and game changing return ability he would stretch defenses and make defenses keep their safeties back out of the box. 5 Tom Waddle after being cut by the Bears 5 times there was no WR besides McKinnon that had more heart than Waddle. You see him now on NFL Network and Pro Football Weekly joking about his carrer but he was never afraid to go over the middle. 6 Marty Booker this former QB did a lot as far as YAC in his first 3 seasons with the Bears and he actually has tthe record for most consecutive 90+ catch seasons. 7 Bo Rather back during the 70's he along with George Farmer were the Bears steadiest performers at the position. Not so Honorable Mention Ken Margerum If he could just stay on his feet he might have ranked higher. Ike Hill good return man but nothing else. Musin Mohammad/Bernard Berrian this inside outside tandem we basically showed the door when it was time to pay them. Jeff Graham after he was acquired from Pittsburgh I said "Who?" then he started catching passes from Erik Kramer and he became one of my favorites. He just doesn't have a big body of work for me to rank him higher.

I'd rather bring back Mark Bradley than Lloyd. He and Booker IMO were stealing from the Bears. I still stand on my thoughts that if we are going to go after a vet with issues lets go get Marvin Harrison. There won't be much competition for his services. I think that Matt Jones might have some upside but if no one has made him an offer I'm guessing he is under investigation by NFL security.

I listed all the coaches that I have endured as a Bears fan so why wouldn't I list Ditka? At the end of his tenure the guys had stopped listening to him anyway? I can really say that I have watched Bears football since 66 so Ditka and all the rest get lumped into the group of coaches that have coached since PAPA BEAR who was coaching when I can remember football.

It is amazing how we as fans have grown so attached to an undrafted FA that the Bears signed off of another teams practice squad. Nfo you have surprised me on this also mentioning how the games were called didn't put Hilly in a position to succeed. This is a guy who went undrafted we have gotten more than our moneys worth from him. I put Hillenmeyer in the Adrian Petersen category. I think Lovie likes both of them but its getting harder to keep both of these guys on the roster if they are making the veteran minimum and have no significant playing time besides special teams.

I mis read your post Mad L but I stand on what I said about Mike Brown.

Mad L Mike Brown needs to use his degree or become a DB coach. Matt Jones just finished his first NFL contract. There is a big age difference in the two. Just look at how Koren Robinson keeps getting a chance. He is the Steve Howe of football. If we can here how Vick deserves a 2nd chance then Jones' misshaps are minimal compared to Vick.

DFG I am on board with you and will even add that this FAMILY OWNED team has never dismissed a coach with money remaining on his contact. Some of the comments that are being posted about Lovie is not taking into consideration the stats that you have just posted. I like Lovie as a man but I think he is lacking in certain aspects as a coach. He tends to bge very tight lipped when it comes to information about players and I have grown tired of his "We'll go from there" statement. With all that being said Lovie is the 3rd best coach in Bears' history in terms of wins. So If you have endured Jim Dooley, Abe Gibron, Jack Pardee, Neil Armstrong,Mike Ditka. Dave Wannstedt,Dick Jauron and Lovie Smith since Papa Bear who was actually coaching when I first started watching football you wouldn't be so quick to condemn this coach.

Guys all I can say is that Matt Jones was a workout wonder at the Combine but he played QB all his college career. With all the other guys who have had to make the transition lately Brad Smith and Michael Robinson are the guys who come to mind, Jones has been the worst.I also take into consideration that the Jaguars have not developed a WR of significance since Jimmy Smith and Keenan McCardell were there when Tom Coughlin was the coach.How has Mercedes Lewis and Reggie Williams done there. Didn't they sign Jerry Porter also? It will be interesting to see what Torry Holt does down there. I still think that Matt Jones did what he had to do to make an NFL roster but with the advent of the Wildcat formation Matt Jones if he is clean could be a good addition to a team.

DFG that first statement could be a similar comment about Grossman also. It seems that the two of them were neck and neck on being on the IR list and I think it impeded the Bears from replacing him also. Since the Bears seem to change DB coaches every other year that also might be part of the problem. If Lovie wants to have certain techniques performed by his safeties then why not coach them along with calling the plays. Supposedly he worked one on one with Manning after being unhappy with the way he was progressing under last year's DB coaching scapegoat. This year I'm taking the gloves off when it comes to Lovie because I've grown tired of his vague answers and penchant for throwing some of his defensive coaches under the bus. I wonder if when Herm Edwards money owed to him is over if he comes here and we can have a Tampa reunion. As for the size of the safeties I can remember the original guys that played in this defense with the Steelers and they were the same size. The problem is those guys played in the mid to late 70's. Now you can't have a MLB that weighed 215 pounds like Jack Lambert. If we could play a 250lb MLB in this defense why not some bigger safeties? I was really high on Patrick Chung and didn't care about some of the comments about him not being good in zone coverage because as you and I have both discussed zone coverage is rarely taught in college. I think that is probably one of the most overlooked transitions that rookie NFL players have to go through. You hear more about the QBs having to come up under center but not about the DBs having to learn how to play in space. I believe this also is part of the problem that WRs have when it comes to their learning how to run NFL routes and read coverages since its new to them also.

Thats what is so puzzling to me. The 49ers have Shaun Hill and Alex Smith. Who's the backup at San Diego? Even New England has unproven backups behind Brady. I'm starting to get the feeling that there is something more to the story that we don't know about. If Shane Matthews could keep getting calls from teams why not Grossman? This is real weird since he did start on a Super Bowl team. I think Grossman is similar to Chris Chandler and Drew Bledsoe. Hell Charlie Batch is still in the league and even Byron Leftwich has gotten a call. If Grossman has an out of touch value of himself he should be humbled now since there is a team that is willing to court a 40+ QB that has an injured arm.

Back in my day I did alright since I stayed single up until I turned 26. The problem is that was 24 years and one wife ago. With a married son expecting an addition( Future Bear) and a 20 year old son in college its time for the 20 year old to build up his arm strength. LOL

First of all I think all of this is just premature discussion since its OTAs in May. When I went to TC last year I saw how the Bears essentially were going to line up on offense during the season because they were almost exclusively lining up in 2 and 3 TE sets. Well that 2 TE set was almost their base offense most ofthe season. One other thing I saw was Orton and Grossman alternating snaps. Things couldn't be more equal than that. As for Forte getting the job handed to him. I don't agree with that because I feel they had no one else to assume the spot. During TC Kevin Jones was on the sideline with Devin Hester and Chris Williams. Garrett Wolfe is not an every down back and AP isn't either. With Benson banished from the team who else was there? I say Forte earned the job by showing that he was able to recognize blitz pick ups. As for your last comment I agree with the fact that aside from the O-line there wasn't much need for open competition. This year I think that even Kreutz should have to prove he deserves to remain in the starting line up. This year there should be competition at: Both OG positions Beekman/Omayale Garza/Buenning Backup RB Jones and Wolfe WR Hester,Iglesias,Rideau,Knox,Davis and Kinder FB McKie and Gaines SLB Roach and Hillenmeyer CB Vasher,Graham and Moore FS Bullocks,Graham and Manning SS Payne ,Stelz Nickel Manning, McBride and Moore Dime McBride and Moore

If thats the case I should be able to throw through a brick wall all the 12oz curls I've done in my life.LOL