bradjock

Thanks for that info. I'm wondering if the 4 Rosenass clients might act collectively and all wait until FA starts to sign a deal. (Except for Tommie of course who's not a free agent.) Rosenass holds a lot of power, but at the same time Angelo holds the check-book. It'll be interesting to see how this power-struggle plays out.

I REALLY believe that Angelo does EVERYTHING with the "win-now" "win-later" mentality. For him, he went a little crazy bringing in Archuletta & Darwin Walker & franchising Briggs. You have to believe he thought we'd return to the Super Bowl. Obviously, that plan back-fired. I think he'll continue to do what we've been doing. We're constantly red-shirting rookies, and most contracts are heavily front-loaded, so we can dump guys like Moose, Miller & Walker if they don't produce. Every year we're in a position to sign new players are resign our own. If Angelo's learned anything, it's "Don't pay big money for older FA's." Tait turned out great, while Moose & Miller are busts. So to answer your question: a) I don't think we'll sign Faneca. Unless he comes fairly cheap for some reason. I don't think we'll draft a QB in round 1. That would indicate rebuilding. As long as we're able to be competitive year in and year out, we've got a chance to make it to the Super Bowl and maybe actually win one.

We should have that starting competition always, reguardless of salary. That being said, we've seen Mark Anderson for what he is: he's just as you described, a situational pass rusher. No more, no less. In 2006 when the defense constantly had the other team backing up, he was huge. In 2007, when it's 3rd & 3, the other team was sending their RB right at him, usually for a 10 yard gain (after they dodged him & Archuletta.) I hate that fact that Brown had one hellua a season with his back against the wall, and not that extra motivation is gone. But the fact is, he's the 2nd best DE on this team next to Wale. We've locked him up for 2 more years at a reasonable price. I can't bitch about that. On a side note, is Alex Brown a Rosenass client? If so, it'd odd that he agree, yet Briggs, Berrian, Harris, and Ayanbadejo did not. (That means bad things)

I REALLY think we'll give Ayenbadejo the money he wants (2 million per season?) There's been speculation Dave Toub is a big reason our special teams are so good and we'll find a replacement, but he's been a GREAT ST's player. We kind of scoff at the fact we've been #1 in special teams, but when was the last time we were #1 in defense? The 80's??? When was the last time we were #1 in offense? The Sid Luckman era? Sure Devin Hester, Gould, Maynard, & Idonije have been huge in giving us that #1 rank. But if we have to overpay a little to get him, it's minor in terms of the entire cap picture and he's definitely worth it.

Maybe, but I'm not sure how he fits in with them. Randy Moss will likely be back, and Welker will continue to get a ton of work. Is Rashied Caldwell a free agent? Last year the Patriots bucked their habit of under-paying for guys. I can't see them "over-paying for Booker. He has far more value to another team then he does New England. Hell, he would immediately be the #1 WR for Minny or Tenn., two teams that have a ton of dough in cap room to spend. (Even if Berrian walks, you can't say he'd immediately be the #1 for the Bears because of the Devin Hester factor)

Let me throw this out: Did Angelo's draft strategy change in 2007? In 2006 we needed help at safety, we needed a return man, but that was about it. So we rolled the dice on guys with great talent, but had dropped. You had: D Manning who is incredibly fast but too damn stupid to play division I (Which means he's not as smart as Hester. Wow.) Was it Nebraska he flunked out of? How the hell does that happen? Hester: The Shoeless Joe Jackson of football players. "Can you spell cat?" A top 10 talent. Dvoracek: Would have been a #1 pick except he got drunk & beat his friend into a coma. Jamar Williams: I can't remember why he dropped to the 4th round but he was projected higher. Mark Anderson: Dropped because he was to slow to be a linebacker & too small to be a DE. So he turned into a fast as hell DE (but a TERRIBLE run-stopper.) Angelo repeatedly took a risk on talented guys. They were introduced to a veteran team returning all starters, and the game paid off. In 2007 we had even fewer major needs. Greg Olsen fell, but the real criticism comes from Bazuin, Okwo, & Wolfe. All 3 players were guys with limited talent who seemed to over-achieve in a college, and were considered "reaches" when the Bears drafted them. Now all 3 have "bust" with a "?" next to them. (I left Beekman out of this because I think he fell.) Maybe Angelo needs to focus on talent first. Sign over-achievers, but don't draft them.

Do you really tihnk they'll produce this year? The strange thing is, last year at this time, the word out of Halas (as per the SCORE) was that we LOVED Jamar Williams & Dusty Dvoracek, 2 players who red-shirted the previous year. This year the SCORE guys have said is "Michael Okwo, Dan Bazuin, possible busts." Seriously. Granted that's all talk, but I haven't heard one damn good thing about either one of those guys. As for Wolfe, do you REALLY think he'll ever be more then a nice #2? Which is fine, except when you draft a guy in the 3rd round, you want him to be a starter. Wolfe's a nice player, but he's not a starter.

Like you, I've went back and forth on the subject. At this point I'd say there's no way in hell we sign him. First & foremost, I think if Angelo was going to do it, it would have happened by now. Secondly, we probably got burned by tagging Briggs. We paid more money then we should have for a guy who's likely to walk. The difference is that we were coming off the Super Bowl & we were gearing up to make another run. Now we are not in "rebuilding mode" but we're definitely in "retooling mode." More importantly, Lance Briggs is a pro-bowl player and is considered to be a top linebacker. If you were ranking top linebackers, rank would likely make the bottom of a top-ten list. Where does Berrian rank? Does he even make the top 20? Several teams have not one but two better WR's. If you're going to pay a guy to be the "top 5 at his position" you'd like for him to be near the top 5. Stallworth & Booker are available which loosens things up, throwing in more competition. Stallworth is close to Berrian. We're better off waiting to see what happens then over-paying. No tag.

I guess I think the bidding war is already secretly happening. Otherwise, why would ANY of these guys sign right now? Mike Wahle was probably the #2 guard in free agency after Faneca. Not to mention, the Bears were supposedly still in the process of making their free agent evaluations. It would seem clear his best option was to let Faneca set the market and wait until more teams like the Bears were ready. Instead he immediately signs with Seattle. I never saw the numbers, but the reports were that he didn't get a ton of guaranteed money. So either he's an idiot, or there's a lot more going on that we'll never know about. I'd be curious as to which other free agents were discussing with Rosenass & Eugene Parker. For instance, I suspect that Julius Jones would be a guy we were interested in. I don't know this, but Thomas had Rosenass as a client, so it'd make sense that he represents Julius also.

I think you're forgetting that the bidding war is already going on. PFT wrote about this today, and yesterday they mentioned how Moose was originally signed within 12 hours of being cut. Sure the bidding might escalate, but a high profile guy like Rosenass is going to know what his client is worth. This reminds me of when Randle El said he wanted to play for a team where he could be the star receiver, and then signed on to be Washington's #3 WR. Money talks, bullshit walks. Players inevitably go whereever they can get the most money. You mentioned in a different post about us signing all of our own guys. I agree that's not good. For instance, what if we bring everyone back and do nothing to improve the team? As you mentioned, that's highly unlikely to happen. Hell, we might not sign any of them. Giving contract offers to all these guys sends an important message to the rest of the team: If you produce and bust your ass for us, we'll reward you. At the very least, these players will use Angelo's offer as leverage.

As always, thanks again Loyd Thomas for your brilliant cap insight. Oustanding. As per LT, cutting Darwin Walker saved us 6,350,000 (I double checked that and much to my surprise, my commas are in the correct spot.) Dumping Fred Miller netted another 3,404,560. Alas Moose only saved us 100,000 (My wife will no longer have to ask, "Why are they booing?") Before this, our free cap space was 22,490,133. Arch will eventually cut, rounding up (and being to lazy to use the calculator, that leaves us with approximately 32 million to spend. Wow. (Thanks again LT) So where do we spend our money?

Agreed. The timing of this would indicate that something is already in place. Hell, it might be we're trading for someone. Not likely, but not out of the question. Either way, by Friday of this week I'd be shocked if we don't have a new WR on the roster.

Walker talked about really wanting to be in Chicago, and playing for Chicago, and I think he has family in Chicago. The combination of his comments indicating he wanted to be here, and the fact there's a ton of question marks at the position for the Bears, really made me think something would get done. He had an extremely dissappointing season, but Wale's first season was dissappointing also. Either way, he bust his ass to get on the field even when he was hurting. I wish him the best of luck also.

I'm not certain, but I think the Bears previously offered Berrian something like 5 million, 28 million (I forget the exact terms of the supposed deal, but he was guaranteed 8.) If we could get Bryan Johnson for 3 years 12 million, that'd be a steal. I'm guessing that's what we'll have to pay for Marty Booker, and he's 32 years old. Great in theory, but neither likely.

Yet Archuletta hasn't been dumped yet??? Curious. Wow, we've cleared out a bunch of cap room today. We've got to be close to being 30 million under. It ought to be interesting.

Wow. I thought we'd here about Arch or Miller before Walker.

I bitched when we dumped David Terrell because he was our #1 WR & we seemed to have no back-up plan. I don't remember how long it took, but it seemed like within the next week, we'd signed Moose. We obviously dumped DT knowing we'd get Moose or someone similar. So what's our plan now? Is it: a) Marty Booker: The most obvious choice, but who knows? Resign Berrian: Very possible. But why are we waiting on the announcement? c) The unknown: There's rumors Detroit wants to trade Shaun McDonald. There will be other WR's available also. Predictions????

Arch, Mike Brown, or Walker . . . it could be anyone of those 3. For what it's worth, I'd bet on Arch. He's done in the NFL. He's short & slow. I don't think Mike Brown is due any roster bonus, so we might as well see what will happen with him through training camp. He's a pro-bowler if healthy, and he don't cost much. I think we'll renegotiate with Walker.

Either that or a precursor to a Berrian signing. Moose was off the field during the 4th quarter most games last season. In other words, we couldn't count on him to make the big play. It would make sense that we're resigning Booker, and going with a combination of Mark Bradley, Devin Hester, and whatever guy we draft in the first 3 rounds as our #2.

The problem I see is that in 2005 we took Benson in the first round, and in 2007 we took Wolfe in the 3rd round. Any player you draft in rounds 1 through 4 you expect them to be able to start. We've done that twice at the same position and have crap to show for it. I don't think JA can justify doing that 3 times in 4 years. Our best option is free agency. Justin Fargas resigned with Oakland for 3 years, 12 million, with 6 million guaranteed. I'm guessing we'd be able to sign Julius Jones or Derrick Ward for something in that price range. (Ward looked like a hall-of-famer against the Bears, but it scares me that every running-back the Giants played all season looked monstrous.) Michael Turner has a better "up-side" but would cost more and has proven less. Either way, Cedric has ZERO value. If the cap number was minimum, a team might throw us a 6th or 7th rounder for him, just to take a chance. That's it.

Here in Central Illinois, it's cold, rainy, windy as hell, the temperature's dropping, and we're supposed to get 2 inches of snow. In other words, I'm bored as hell. I decided to look up every mock I could think of & share the results. With the major sites, everyone seemed to have something different. When I got to the lesser-known guys, they all seemed to agree that Jeff Otah was our man. #1 http://msn.foxsports.com/nfl/story/7786546...g-close-to-home Fox has us taking FS Kenny Phillips @ #14 saying "He's the best player who can help the Bears immediately." That'd be nice except I can't help wondering: 1) Who the hell is our strong safety if he's a free safety, and 2) what do we do with Danieal Manning? This mock has 5 WR's going in the first round. #2 http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2008/writ...art1/index.html Sports Illustrated has us taking QB Brian Bohm saying, "Opinion varies greatly on whether the Bears will go with a quarterback in the first round, and Brohm doesn't currently carry a first-round grade on every draft board. But the Bears can't go through another status quo year at quarterback, and the free-agent pickings are pretty slim. Unless the Bears have a strong conviction about a passer in the second round, we're giving them Brohm over an offensive tackle like Otah or a defensive tackle like North Carolina's Kentwan Balmer. " #3 http://www.nfldraftcountdown.com/sub/mockdraft.html Nfldraftcountdown has us selecting Jeff Otah, saying our offense is going to under-go a major over-haul and Fred Miller is all but gone. Not exactly shocking news there. #4 http://insider.espn.go.com/nfl/draft08/ins...02=stateChanged Todd McShay at ESPN has us taking QB Andre Woodson saying, "The Bears will have a tough decision to make if Brohm still is available at No. 14. There has been a lot of talk about the Bears going in a different direction with this pick, including offensive and defensive tackle. And while that makes a lot of sense, I still wouldn't rule out Brohm just yet. His stock is likely to soar between now and April's draft because he should impress scouts with his overall passing efficiency and football intelligence during the combine and individual workouts. " This mock was posted February 5. Most experts think Woodson will fall way down. Guess we'll find out this week. #5 http://insider.espn.go.com/ncf/insider/col...&id=3199691 Kiper has us taking OT Sam Baker from USC , although his mock was dated almost a month ago. #6 http://chicagosports.chicagotribune.com/sp...1,5572846.story Dan Pompei from the ChicagoTribune has us taking DT Kentwan Bulmer from North Carolina. #7 http://walterfootball.com/draft2008.php Walter football has us taking OT Chris Williams saying, "The Bears have major offensive line issues, as their two starting tackles will be 33 and 35 by the time the 2008 NFL Draft rolls around. That's why it shouldn't shock anyone that Chicago couldn't pass protect (43 sacks) or run block (3.1 yards per carry) last year. Brian Brohm is an option as the franchise's future signal caller, but the Bears can't possibly pass on a premier offensive tackle like Chris Williams. Look for them to grab a quarterback in Round 2." #8 http://www.footballsfuture.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=196748 Football futures has us taking Jeff Otah saying, "Although many people think that Chicago should go with a franchise QB here, I think the OL choice would be a lot smarter. They will get a great QB later in the draft and this big boy will protect him for many years to come. This would be a stellar pick for Dabears." #9 http://www.drafttek.com/round12008.html Draft Teks, without much explanation, also has us taking Jeff Otah. #10 http://thefootballexpert.com/abromowitzmockdraft.html The expert says, "Grossman is out of Chicago. But, I don’t see the Bears wanting to draft another first round quarterback. I think the Bears will focus on protecting that quarterback, and the massive Otah (6-6. 340) is a great way to do that. Brian Brohm is tempting, but before a quarterback can succeed, protection is needed up front." Ten mocks is all I can handle.

When Arch was in St. Louis he was a defensive MVP canidate. He's been an embarrassment with both Washington & Chicago. Which picture would you want on your web site? I know he shouldn't be declining, but what else is there other then his speed & quickness? The coaches have said he gets where he needs to be. Physically he appears to be in great shape. He's just constantly a step too slow. NFL.com lists him at being 5-11. I seriously question that. On one special teams play towards the end of the season, he was flat out blown up by a line-backer for the other team. The guy appeared to be a foot taller. If Arch is short & comparitively small, if he's lost his speed & quickness, then what chance does he have?

As of right now I'm looking forward to free agency. I have a real tough time speculating on the draft, when so many things may or may not be answered by draft day. For instance, I think we'll sign Julious Jones, Michael Turner, or some other top RB. If we don't, there will be speculation the Bears might take Mendenhall at #14. In other words, so much might change between now & then, what's the point in predicting this early? That being said, FA is often just waiting & waiting. For all the time we spend speculating on free agents, the majority are never, ever mentioned on Bearstalk. For instance: 2007: Adam Archuletta, Darwin Walker, & Athony Adams: There was some talk about Arch, but zero about the other two. 2006: Brian Griese & Ricky Manning Jr: There was some Griese talk (although he didn't sign until April) but ZERO Manning talk until he came to Chicago for a visit. 2005: Reben Brown, Fred Miller, & Roberto Garza: Seriously, I don't remember ANYONE mentioning any of these 3. In other words, speculating on who we might sign is probably counter-productive. For all our speculation, more often then not, we miss.

The thing is, both of those teams are EXTREMELY smart about letting players walk. How many of their previous "stud FA's" went on to greatness somewhere else? What kills me is that both of these teams are in the Super Bowl hunt year in and year out. Sure Pittsburgh took 2006 off, but they bounced right back. To me that proves that you're better off tweaking you're line-up each year, letting some big names walk (Lance Briggs), and pick and chose very carefully about who you bring back. New England will let Asante Samuel walk, but they made sure they locked up Richard Seymour. It's tough to measure Tait individually, but his first year with the Bears our o-line was easily the worst in the league. (Yet Kreutz made the pro-bowl???) If TJ was that good, why did we draft Cedric? The kicker is, all those "lower tier guys," along with Tom Brady, helped them to be in the Super Bowl hunt year in and year out. Yes, the guys they brought in put them "over the top," but don't forget they had a huge lead in the AFC championship game just the year before. I honestly believe the Bears will be better off bringing in some guy who makes us say, "Who?" to play guard, the way we did Reuben Brown & Roberto Garza. Garza has been very solid, and Reuben Brown was a pro-bowler with us. This won't be a popular move, but it has a lower risk, and could potentially have better end-results (especially since after negotiations, it'll be, "Soldier Field, presented by Tommie Harris."

That's what I thought in 2006 when TE was a top talent in the draft. That's all we heard or talked about for 4 months. Des Clark went on record as saying he knew it was inevitable and that he looked forward to the challenge. Hell, we even traded down to get extra picks and STILL didn't draft a TE. I remember telling my buddy, "The only thing certain about this draft is that the Bears will take a TE on day one!" Wow. Of all that talent, after 2 seasons, none of the top TE's drafted have distinguished themselves and none of excelled. (at least that I'm award of.) Because so many teams filled their TE needs that year, Greg Olsen falls all the way to #31 to the Bears. Hell, right now I'd take him over Vernon Davis, the guy some moron posters were declaring, "We should trade our entire draft for him!" (Now I have that stupid Garth Brooks song about "unanswered prayers" going through my head.) Just because we sign Starks, doesn't necessarily mean we'd pass on a LT. The rookie will take at least one year before he's ready to start at tackle, and we still have a guard position to fill. I would not be the least bit surprised if we continue with Fred Miller.