lemonej

Sapp's evaluation carries a lot of weight with me since he played most of his career in the Bears scheme and under Marinelli. Thats why when he made the comments about Tommie Harris last offseason it made everyone take notice. BTW- The 40 times though unofficial are outstanding for these D-lineman and bodes well for some of their stock rising ahead of some skill position players.

DFG there is another little problem with Baldwin on his consistency. He will make the spectacular catch and then sometimes drop the routine ones. With that being said if he does drop to round 3 I wouldn't mind them taking the plunge there. Just imagine if Greg Little had played last season. He was obviously carrying 10 pounds more than his 220 playing weight as he weighed in at 230. He looked like he has spent a lot of time in the weight room and the bench press numbers support that. In the games that I saw him play, he was outstanding on jump balls especially in the redzone. Obviously UNC is producing some nice NFL prospects since Butch Davis has gone there and I'm hoping the Bears might have a shot at DT Austin in round 2. One other WR I like is the one from Boise St. Austin Pettis who showed decent speed and ball skills and has the size that the Bears need at WR at 6-3 209 he could be somewhere in the middle rounds when the Bears pick come draft day.

There is also similar questions about his toughness in terms of going over the middle and making catches. The guy that impressed me besides Julio Jones was Kentucky's Randall Cobb who was even more impressive when I watched him in a couple of games. The problem with him and some of these other WRs is that the Bears may have to spend an earlier draft pick than intended to get the type of big physical guy that is needed.

I agree that he needs to be put back on the field at LT and see if he can measure up. If Omayale becomes the backup OT I'm okay with that.

I think JA who drafts a safety just about every year will continue this pattern. A guy like UNC's Deunta Williams comes to mind who recently had surgery to repair a broken leg along with him being a part of the scandal at Chapel Hill will cause his stock to drop him to mid to late rounds. I also believe with no CBA in place, how valid would any of the tags be? If teams are truly trying to control spending then some of these tags should be done away with.

Brian Knight DE converted to LB and Claude Harriotte along with Kinder are the Pitt players that have been drafted by the JA regime. As for Von Miller listed at OLB man handling a guard at the Senior Bowl that would make sense since OG's usually have trouble operating in space which is why they may be better inside. Miller projects as rush LB in a 3-4 and probably would be a problem for an OT and only if he is coming inside on a stunt would he be a problem for a OG. I like that pick because Michigan throughout the years has produced some pretty good pro OL prospects.

DFG evidently Newton showed well in the Texas vs The Nation allstar game practices recently and he showed good movement and if I'm not mistaken the report said he lined up at both LT and RT.

Thats why I only listed 6 picks because I knew we forfeited the 7th on Unga so in essence Unga is your 7th rounder after being on the roster for a year.

Let me add that we have a history of taking players from Pitt and even one that was injured which is why I mentioned Romeus.

DFG the only reason why I threw Dowling in the mix is because quite a few mocks have had him falling to the Bears in the 2nd round. The player I secretly covet for the Bears is DeMarco Murray who in my mind is the same as Forte but I don't think he is going to be as healthy on the NFL level as Forte.

I rarely do this so far in advance of the Combine but I'll play along. 1) Gabe Carimi OT Wisconsin It looks clear that the Bears may really have a shot at this guy who some think may be better inside and he has been practicing inside in offseason workouts.That allows them to move Williams back outside where I think he belongs.At 6-7 315 he is the size of lineman that both Tice and Martz covets. 2)Ras- I Dowling CB Virginia This is the big physical corner( 6-2 200) that the Bears need to corral some of the big WRs in the league. 3) Stephen Schilling OG Michigan 6-4 302 I like this pick here because if this O-line is going to improve ,they need to bring solid prospects in to shore up the interior of this line. 4) Greg Little WR North Carolina 6-2 220 I watched this guy a few times over the past few seasons and saw his potential when he was playing opposite Hakeem Nicks. 5) Greg Romeus DE Pittsburgh 6-5 270 This is my JA pick for sure here since this guy is recovering from knee surgery and JA takes a DE every year(See Corey Wooten) 6) John Clay RB Wisconsin 6-1 248 This is the big back that Martz likes and he may have something to prove going this late in the draft and if Chester Taylor goes then you need to add someone to the mix.

A guy I like is Kentucky WR Randall Cobb who I saw earlier in the year making play after play even though his QB wasn't that accurate his height is 5-11 and he is 190 pounds and is rated the 81st player at nfldraftscout.com.

Dfg excellent point but we all know that when a player like him gets in a goood lockerroom he tends to fall in line. The thing about Austin and all the UNC players is they have been coached by a former NFL HC and DC and I have to think that Butch Davis will tell teams exactty who Austin is if they call him and ask because it will help the Tarheels program the more players reach the league from Chapel Hill. Its sad that a player like Haynesworth is being compared to players who never kicked someone in the head (Andre Gourade sp?), refused to perform a workout set up by the head coach, and basically took the money and shut down. I have watch some of these guys at UNC since Hakeem Nicks was there and I believe that this program along with most of the ACC conference have been producing some solid pro prospects and names like Phillip Rivers and Jericho Cotchery come to mind.

Don't be surprised if Austin slips into the 1st round with the scouting reports coming back positive about his workouts in Mobile and the character issues are tied to him and a few other players at UNC receiving illegal benefits from an agent. If thats all there is to it he should be one of the top tackles selected after Nick Fairley who should be a top 5 pick.

Hanie is a RFA so the Bears would have some rights in this situation.

DFG I like your list of players you like but I think the Bears might be banking on the kid they gave up a draft pick for in the supplemental draft from BYU(Unga) to be the power back they seek. I also am not so sure they will draft another TE. It seems they like Davis a lot and I watched tapes of the first OC under Lovie who was supposed to be running a similar offense to Martz and he used Des Clark in the role that Manu-Shamu played this season. So if they draft a TE I feel it would be a H-Back type that can double as an FB.

This team extended two HC's that got them a total of 2 playoff appearances prior to Smith's tenure in Wannstedt and Jauron. So either you sign him now to an extension only 2 or 3 years max or fire him now and give the job to someone else. We went through this last time he was extended and in my opinion we over-payed because we waited until his contract was almost up. I would think that all of us have learned from the most recent coaching hires of this team that they" screw the pooch" every time they go through the hiring process. Let us review Wannstedt supposedly we beat the Giants out for him,Jauron after we botched hiring McGinnis with a personnel man(Hatley) and GM Mikey and hiring Smith after being turned down by Saban. So let's see you trust the two guys who hired Lovie to hire his replacement? Anyone who thinks that JA is getting fired now is mistaken because he would not have been able to get rid of all the scouts and personnel people he did last offseason if that were going to happen. He also would have been handicapped when it came to going after Peppers,Taylor and Manumaleuna(sp?).The fact that Lovie took the crap that JA gave him for an O-line and didn't publicly complain tells you that he is a company man and perfect for the Bears to do what the Cubs and Blackhawks do and that is keep the fans engaged enough in the team to keep the cash flow coming. Come next fall (God Willing) I can honestly say that I have been watching the Bears for 45 years and they have done much better in the last 25 years than they did in the previous 25. I was 4 years old in 63 and didn't see the playoffs again until 77. The next time they were in the playoffs was 79 when I believe they were cheated and then the next time was 84. 85 was the magical year for me and I still believe that team was strong enough to win at least 3 SBs. The team's record from 84 through 88 backs up my thoughts. We all loved and revered Ditka almost to icon status but he had his flaws also. I guess no one remembers that Ditka's defensive staff was already in place when he came here but we question who Lovie hired this past offseason. No one wants to admit Ditka putting Flutie in as a starter and and getting outcoached by Joe Gibbs in a playoff game here at Soldier's Field. At one point the Redskins played a 5 man D-line and dared the Bears to pass. At the time the Bears had Tomczak and Harbaugh on the sideline if I can recall. All this stuff happened with some HOF's on the roster and a HOF coach/player calling the shots. Payton, Hampton, Singletary and possibly Dent, Covert and Hilgenberg could be recognized and only one SB appearance. You think Ditka's staff got out-coached a few times? Smith has coached the team 7 years and has maybe 2 possible HOF players for sure and maybe 2 others with an outside chance.(Urlacher, Briggs, Peppers and Hester) I personally don't like Smith because of his stubborness and arrogant way of talking down to the public but I have to side with the actual stars of the team when they support his methods of coaching 100%.

I do believe that Deon Branch is a former Super Bowl MVP so he automatically qualifies as a quality WR but with that being said New England went one and done with whoever they had on the O-line and at WR. All of this can be settled by JA if he goes all out in FA and signs Mankins and Vincent Jackson. Then focus the draft on getting younger on the O-line,D-line and either draft a solid CB because it was obvious that GB went after Tim Jennings and if Zack Bowman or Corey Graham or DJ Moore can't challenge him for his spot then we need someone and if it happens to be the CB at Oakland who's name I can't begin to spell in FA then do it. We spent money on an RB and a TE that gave us little in return so why not spend more on potentially the finishing pieces to the puzzle.

I like Stephan Wisnewski of Penn State as a late first rounder if he is available when the Bears get to pick. Lets face it the Bears are one of the last four teams and will be picking when you draft what falls to you or the best athlete available. As for a D-lineman that is going to make an impact, if you are not going to trade up for Nick Fairly of Auburn I don't like anyone else in this scheme.

Over the years I have heard some of the various controversial versions of the National Anthem on both the local and national stage from Jimi Hendrix wailing version at Woodstock to this most recent display during the divisional playoff Sunday at Soldier's Field and I have to tell you honestly that I was ready to go through the TV and put on some pads. I knew this singer was the the one who performs during Hawk games and thought he was great the way he acknowledge the flag while singing and then the fireworks and fly-over sealed the deal for me. As the cameras panned the crowd some were singing and some were cheering. Both seemed to be enjoying the moment. BTW- I am extremely "Old School" and I still take my hat or cap off in restaurants when I'm going to sit down and eat. I look around and there are guys sitting there with hats or caps on so that irks me. Lets face it its 2011 and things are not the way they used to be. I remember starting each school day with The Pledge of Allegiance and sing My Country Tears of Thee when I was a kid so if you are like me a lot of what goes on today is irritating.

When Cutler came out and said that they didn't change any protections versus the Packers from the previous game tells me that they are cooking up something that we haven't seen before and I can only hope that everyone is on the same page so that timeouts are not burned unneccessarily.

1.Jeff Fisher 2.Sean Payton 3.Mike Singletary 4.Les Frasier 5. Ron Rivera 6. Jim Harbaugh Wow 2 for Ditka and 4 for Buddy Ryan and add his 2 son with one being a HC and the other being a DC and you can see the league is being influenced by "Da Bears"

Of this group Light might be a possibility but I think the kid that the Bears put on IR Harvey Unga may be a similar redshirt situation to Bennett, Melton, Berrian and all the other guys they have done this way.

You're exactly right Jason and I believe Garza was hurt then also. I'm not saying that he makes a huge difference but, it seems that Webb has played better with Garza next to him than when he was out and Edwinn Williams was at RG. I believe Webb has learned how/when to hold to protect the QB. I've got another key and that is the middle of the defense has to play much better than last time.

With a lot of teams with the same record I guess the whole league is using smoke and mirrors.