lemonej

These two are not offseason acquisitions and for what its worth I believe Bennett is trade bait or a cut candidate.

Thanks forgot about him and Tommy Kelly is out there also with the same approach.

Agree on everything except Hester, he is the slot WR and they are down playing it.He won't be cut and as you said they can't justify paying a guy that salary and not give him some toches on O.

Agreed Jason and thats why there is no litigation involving former rugby players against their league. No slight on Rugby and I believe soccer can be a little physical too. NFL football is one of the more violent sports in the world and Hockey is right there with it.

Looking at what has been done after the season my top acquisition has been narrowed down to 2 Bushrod and Kasheem(sp?) Greene. I think both are solid players and will make an impact next year and probably take over for Briggs when he is a cap casualty next year.

My eyes are on McElroy.

I agree 100% and feel that even Paea is a 3T as well that can bench 225 a lot. A space eater is needed because we still don't have big LBs. Here's hoping Fluellen pans out with us. I liked him coming out of FSU but now maybe he was a tad overrated. I keep looking at the Jets and hoping for McElroy is released so that he can be a young veteran with some game experience to try and develop as a successor or young backup for Jay.I'm not a big fan of Vince Young but I think he can be had on the cheap.

The one guy in question is #27 "LA" Mike Richardson and the LA comes via Buddy Ryan who deemed him lazy ass. He has since leaving the league has been in and out of jail. Reggie Phillips wore number 48 and actually was a rookie that year.

After all of us posting mocks, debating FA pickups and FA departures going forward my focus will be on how the current roster takes to this regime and how many of the veterans of the previous regime will survive this TC. I usually take a vacation and visit 1 day. I'm thinking about making a couple of days out of it when I go. What are any of the rest of you expecting to see.

Sorry I took so long to respond. The Jets GM is a moron if he thinks there is enough reps to support 5 QBs and evaluate all of them properly. This job will go to Smith, Sanchez or Garrard anyone else getting reps is a waste of time.

Thanks Balta, this will help make the offseason not so long. I don't want to avoid posting because I have to weed through threads of one on one attacks. Also there have been some backhanded comments by a poster proclaiming his intelligence over everyone. I hope that stops too because, its about our love for the Bears and not how much someone is smarter than the other.

Im thinking most of the players with a zero in the dead money colunm can be on the bubble this year. Because their salary would be the cap savings with Bennett and Garza the most notable.

Since both were taken before where they had been projected it may not take much time. If I can remember what has happened recently I believe Long may sign before Bostic.

When you have the guy that coached him up thats a bargain. When looking at at what Levitre signed for I'll mention the names of Alan Faneca and Steve Hutchinson what did either of those guys do after they signed their big contracts? OGs tend to be more system successful than any other OLineman. The fact that Kromer and Bushrod have a history together makes me feel a little more comfortable about his signing than my normal skepticism.

AZ54 you have always been one of my favorite posters,so I ask you with all those high risk reward players getting decent guaranteed money why is there so much angst about a reach at 20?

CB you know me by now and my tie to Buschbaum is personal. My family had a delivery business for17 years and one of the places we delivered to actually helped produce the PFW draft guide. The one copy I was able to secure helped me read about the likes of a Marcus Robinson a 7th rd prospect out of South Carolina St. JB was not as visible as Hub wants to be and paying tribute to a founder should be annual.We still salute Papa Bear.

My youngest son is going to be 25 in Dec. My oldest grandson will be 21 in Aug

Bushrod started 62 of 66 games at LT for a solid contending team and even started on their SB team. I can't seem to understand why you view him as only as good as the LG next to him.This is a 2 time pro bowler voted by his peers.Then to compare him to a raw 7th rd draft pick who has yet to prove that he belongs to be on a roster in his short time in the league is mind boggling. I want to know what stats you've researched to support this. Since 2 times against Matthews alone showed me that he struggles against elite pass rushers.

When you weigh that against the likes of Ansah and Lane Johnson who went in the top 5 and are being viewed clearly on their potential but a guy taken at 20 viewed on his upside is a bad value pick. You go out in FA and get 2 TEs why take a TE in the first. Look up the stats at the edge rushers taken in the top 10 not a lot of sacks or production from the 2 combined. Ogletree was the guy I wanted but a guy who gets a DUI during the scouting process deserves to be passed up. Again an OLinemen and LB in the first 2 picks and I'm good. For all the guys that rate these players there is a Arian Foster or 2 that slips through undrafted. If the question was Floyd vs Long I lose the argument or even Rhodes but Eifert or Ogletree I'll debate against those 2 all day.

Jason I agree with you and didn't Bushrod make a pro bowl or 2? So either he was voted in or named to replace someone. If that is the case some of the players that playin the league acknowledge his talent or the league office that names the replacements for injured players and those participating in the SB. I don't think that recognition is based on who was playing next to him. Webb OTOH was rushed onto the field after being a Tice favorite and wasn't ready to be on the field IMO then after one year he is switched to the other side. Webb was considered raw and a project coming out and in many ways still is. He and Lance Louis should be viewed in a similar manner and Louis clearly showed solid improvement and drew interest from another team in FA even though injured and rehabbing. Right now there is no market for Webb.

The way he reacted when the Bears made the pick saying"Emery Blew The Pick" proves that he is still mad about getting the ax. I still think he is full of himself as well as all of the PFW staff and rarely pays tribute to the man who was instrumental in the success of that publication and that was Joel Buschbaum who was outstanding and Hub took over after he passed away. Like I posted there was 12 picks besides the 20th that you could find something negative to say. I take what a lot of these guys who write about football comments with a grain of salt but the fact that Hub is on the airwaves here quite a bit is what gets to me because that gives him plenty of opportunity to bash the team. NFL Network's Charlie Casserly who has made a draft pick or 2 wasn't critical of the pick and actually said that Longs work during Senior Bowl week showed how well he takes coaching. Tony Wise who coached an Olineman or 2 says that he should windup at LT. So if we have drafted the future LT at 20 how big of a reach is it.

As a fan of the team since the mid 60's see someone post that they don't remember the 85 Bears, Jimmy Mack or the Honey Bears makes me feel real old having cut my teeth watching Sayers and Butkus.

The whole story about Long being a reach is starting to get to me. He was the 3rd rated OG in most of everyones eyes but the preceding pick the 6th rated OT is not a reach. So as I continue to look at this from a Bear fan's perspective, here is what I see: 1st pick comes from a Mid Major conference what was his level of comp. 3rd pick Former TE on defense for only 2yrs rarely played with hand in the dirt and this was a trade up. 4th pick Former Juco QB,TE and DE and 2 yr OL 5th pick Enetered school as track athlete,tried basketball first,zero starts before senior year 13 games as Senior 4.5 sacks. 6th picks 4.5 sacks and drafted as an edge rusher 7th pick an OG in the top 10 (this is rare) 8th pick 5-9 174 lb WR in top 10 9th pick injured and surgically repaired shoulder and may not be ready fo TC. 10th OG in top 10 again rare as well as in the 1st rd. 12th pick unable to workout at combine as he recovered from a life threatening injury. 16th Raw QB with potential or upside in top 20? 19th pick 6th rated OT by some and 45th overall prospect by some is not a reach but the next pick was. So thats 12 of the top 20 picks that I feel you could question besides the 20th pick. For all the Bull that we heard about the true value would be in the 2nd round why is it bad that this team took a 2nd rd projected player at a position of need? If you told me that the Bears would get an OL and LB in first 2 picks a couple of months ago I would have been okay with that.

Stein has an outstanding track record signing pick.Off the top of my head I can't remember many holdouts under his tenure. Benson and Chris Williams come to mind. I'm not sure on Williams. It is refreashing that now some of these rookies have to earn their money instead of being paid on potential.

I argue with my son about this all the time but I wish Tebow would go away. If he is not willing to do what Brad Smith and Michael Robinson or Matt Jones all similar athletes were willing to do he won't find a job in NFL. You would think someone with his religious backgroung would look in the mirror and see his flaws and humble himself.