BearsFan

Some players need to have their world rocked before they wise up and start producing. (See Benson, Cedric) That's the case with Bradley. The Bear Report publisher was around the guy every time reporters were allowed in the locker room. He's posted a couple different times on the open board that Bradley had a crappy, arrogant attitude, which no doubt polluted his work ethic in Chicago. Well, the Bears got fed up with him and cut his lazy butt. World Rocked! Now Mark has finally figured out that if he doesn't produce, he's going to be the newest burger-flipper at his local McDonalds.

A few people questioned why Drake said what he did, but I figured it was sending a message to Lloyd. I suspect that Turner has talked to him, and I wouldn't be surprised if Lovie has as well. Even when Lloyd was here in San Fran, he was never 100% committed to playing football. He's always done what he wants, despite what's best for the team. That's why 49ers fans were glad to see him leave town, and why he got benched in Washington. As long as he feels even the tiniest bit of soreness in his knee, he's going to refuse to play. JMO .

Teams aren't allowed to go over the cap, so YES Chicago had to have the $10M to cover Hamilton's bogus LTBE. I don't know the details, but if Hamilton was still on the waiver wire when JA grabbed him, then the Bears would pick up the existing contract. If he cleared waivers before the Bears brought him in, then the SunTimes is full of crap because his contract would have been null and void the second he hit free agency. Regardless, the Bears are getting the benefit of the LTBE loophole that teams use to circumvent the "use it or loose it" cap rule. Some teams abuse the heck out of the loophole, like the vikings. It's been my observation that the Bears don't use it much unless they have a specific reason. My theory is that Angelo knew he was going to need extra money in '09 to give a QB a big contract, and Hamilton's contract gives him an instant $10M boost. Also, if Grossman's incentives are LTBEs, the team will get another $2M boost since there's no possibility he can earn them playing only part of a season. It's too early to know how much cap space the Bears will have going into the '09 cap year. It's going to depend on what the league cap number will be, if the Bears cut players before free agency begins, etc. .

I read a couple articles by Atlanta's press, and both writers agree. As for KGB, packers fans are saying he ran out of gas and is suddenly old and slow this year. Also out of gas: Chicago's cap! They're well under $1M left, so JA won't be signing anybody unless it's an emergency. JMO .

nfoligno, that's exactly what I told my son the first time I saw the wildcat. The quickest way to stop it is to lay Pennington out hard every time, because he's a legal target. .

Wildcat doesn't pull the QB for an extra blocker, nor will anything Turner might do, IMO. Again, Devin hasn't done squat running the ball. If the Bears want to get humiliated with another failed trick play - the direct snap, or a variance of the wildcat - at least make our REAL play maker the focus. Snap it to Forte with Jones, Wolfe, or AP the 2nd option. That will have a lot better chance. Even then, I predict it's going to be a disaster.... Chicago's offense is doing fine with basic football, so why screw with it??? .

daa84, did they say it was the wildcat formation, or just a direct snap play? There's a lot of difference between the two. Mad, it can hurt. The hype of the wildcat is fading as defenses find ways to counter it. First off, Chicago's "trick plays" are notoriously bad - usually resulting in a loss. Second, the 'phins went to the wildcat to take advantage of Jake Long's great run blocking. The Bears don't have anybody who's a good run blocker, so that advantage is taken away. Third, Hester can't stay healthy this year, so I don't think they want him taking big hits from 300# linemen, LBs and safeties by running in the middle. Since they won't run him between the tackles, he's got to go wide left or wide right. Teams don't worry about Hester running the ball, no matter WHERE he's lined up. He has a total of 8 carries for a horrid 5 yards - five carries around left end, three around right end, and zero tries up the gut. So, Ds know all they have to do is take the away the edges from Devin, and he's totally harmless.

OOOPS! In my first post I said that Hamilton's bogus $10M LTBE would count against the '09 cap, but will be credited back for '09. I meant to say that it counts against the '08 cap, and is then credited in '09. I've now corrected it. .

I have to question that the Bears have anywhere near that much cap space left. dbears54 (big board) has us under $1M. He makes mistakes, but his numbers tend to be ball park close. AdamJT13 is kffl's favorite cap guy, and he lists Chicago with only $318K as of 10-23. I haven't seen anybody challenge his numbers. Adam gives one possibility where the huge discrepancy might be. In the same thread he said Marcus Hamilton has a $10M LTBE incentive that's most likely bogus. That money counts against the '08 cap, but will be credited back for '09. See Adam's thread HERE. LT, do you have any thoughts on this? .

Bradley made a nice catch, but he came within a millimeter of having the 2nd foot out of bounds. The thing is that he got lazy and took the 2nd step, instead of dragging his feet. I think it's boneheaded lazy stuff like that that kept him off the field in Chicago, and finally got him cut. JMO .

Responding to the OP, and assuming Orton stays healthy and plays good: I would love to see Rex re-signed as the long-term #2. It's going to be hard to find a backup who's as good, IMO. Still, I'm convinced Grossman will want to go to a team that will let him compete for the #1 job, which won't happen in Chicago. As for trading Rex this year: The trading deadline has passed, so it's not an option. Spending a draft pick on a QB any higher than the 3rd round (more likely higher than a 4th) isn't going to happen, if the Bears believe Orton is their franchise QB. 1st day draft picks are selected to become starters, not remain backups. JMO .

Living here in the South Bay, I always wish both the raiders and 49ers the worst. It's hell being a Bears fan sround here when either of those teams does well. Mike's going to have his work cut out for him, and I seriously doubt he can turn the 49ers around. The owner is an idiot, their D is terrible, and O'Sullivan is showing that he doesn't belong on the field with all his fumbles, INTs, and sacks because he doesn't get rid of the ball soon enough. On top of all that, Martz now feels dissed. Mike is going to have problems with him.... .

He had a pin put in his wrist, which I'd guess means he fractured it. .

McCargo failed his physical because of a bulging disc in his neck. So, he's headed back to Buffalo.

Surprise! "The Bears will sign punter Zac Atterberry to the practice squad this morning to replace guard Tyler Reed, who was let go. Atterberry was with the team through the summer and averaged 41.5 yards in the preseason with a net of 39.5. He has had four workouts since, including one in Green Bay on Monday. ''All I can tell you is they're bringing him in and they're going to put him through a fire drill,'' said Rob Sheets, Atterberry's agent. ''They want to see what they have in him and make sure he is at where he was when he left.'' It's a curious move considering teams rarely have two punters around. Brad Maynard, who missed a game last season with a pulled groin muscle, leads the league with 15 punts inside the 20-yard line and has had only 11 of his 31 kicks returned. Signing Atterberry might be in preparation for a potential emergency down the road." -Brad Biggs .

How much the Bears run will depend on whether they get the lead and hold it. If Vasher and Tillman are both out, I see Kitna having a huge day, and the lions grabbing an early lead. Should that happen, Turner will go heavy on the pass to try and catch up. I don't know who Orton's supposed to throw to with Lloyd out, since he's the only receiver who's been playing worth a damn, but that's Turner's mentality when behind. .

The Chiefs normally only carry four WRs on their roster. Bradley was signed because rookie Will Franklin got injured; he only had one catch this year. If Bradley can't do better than that, he's hopeless. .

Booker is on a two-year contract. He got an $800K signing bonus and $950K salary this year. I don't know what his '09 salary is, but unless he shows a tremendous improvement it won't matter since he'll be released. .

Gruden has denied that he shopped Garcia to anybody. If he lets Jeff go, he's making a big mistake because Griese is a hot or cold QB who gets injured very easily. My guess is that Brian will stink up it up in the next couple weeks (hopefully against the Bears) or get hurt, and Garcia will be back on the field from then on.

Look out Mad! Somebody will call your post "dumb crap" if you start wanting Lovie to discipline players for unacceptable mistakes that impact game flow. It would be terrible to be so mean as to bench them. (Sorry, Bears 88. I couldn't help but take one more little poke at ya, but it's just in fun!) .

The only stupid crap comes from somebody who minimizes a two-catch, 7 yard day with 2 fumbles - that easily cost the Bears 14 points and the win - as only "a bad day". That's a disasterous outing. I'm not saying inactivate him permanently - I want him to sit for a game and think. Think really hard. Meanwhile get Bennett on the field for some plays and see what he does. He might be a pleasant surprise. One thing's for sure, he couldn't do any worse than Greg did. .

I've never been impressed by Olsen, and those two fumbles cost the Bears the game. I want to see Olsen, McGowan, and Davis deactivated this week for their suckitude, and give AP, Steltz, and Bennett game uniforms. .

As it stands right now, Hanie has a great chance to work into the #2 spot next year - assuming Orton stays on the field all season. There's no way Grossman will be content to stay in Chicago behind Orton, and the team sure isn't going to franchise tag him. .

no, Anderson is strictly an RT. IF HEALTHY, which he hasn't been lately, he would certainly do as good or better than Tait - probably better. However that means playing musical chairs with the O line. Most likely Tait would move back to LT and St Clair moves to LG. Then our QB(s) and RBs suffer through while three guys try to adjust to playing together in their new positions. .

A couple fans saw Reuben on a TV sports show and they said he looks like he lost a ton of weight. One guy said he looked more like a linebacker than a guard. If that's true then it would take him a long time to bulk back up and get into game shape. I'd guess that he's enjoying retirement and has no plans to play again. .