bradjock

Good point. I'd forgotten that Oakland ran a 3-4. Wow our interior seems very thin. I'd assumed that we'd have an inside starting trio of Jay Ratliff, Houston, and a combination of Sutton/Ferguson/whoever we sign and draft. Remove Houston from that equation, and blech. Now with the outside 4, we have Houston, Willie Young, Jared Allen, McFell, Shea, Bostic, Bass . . . it will be real intersting to see how that group shakes out.

Brad Biggs says his source confirmed Royal signed a 3 year deal.

I've got to disagree with him not being big enough to play DE in a 3-4. Houston is listed at 6-3, 300 pounds. There was discussion about him playing DT for the Bears last season. He seems ideal at the 3-4 DE spot so it shocks me we are moving him to linebacker. Do we plan on having him drop wait? Meanwhile, McPhee is listed at 6-3, 280. They say McPhee is able to play all 4 linebacker positions.

Nice! It seems like we have a lot of irons in the fire. We are still going after Pot roast, two safeties, and at least one WR. It's amazing what a screeching halt free agency has become, not just for the Bears, but for most teams.

You are undervaluing the importance of late round picks. There's a reason why GM's treat them as valuable. Kickers and punters often do not get drafted, mainly because GM's would rather focus on bad position players. We take Pat O'Donnell in the 6th round, and he looks like he could become the best punter in the league and he'll make the minimum. Is that not a big deal? I'm still wondering how we drafted Charles Leno over Christian Jones. Marques Wilson was a 7th rounder who looks like he has the potential to be a really good WR. Richard Dent was drafted in the 7th round. The 7th round gives you the first pick of the best of the rest. A good GM takes advantage of this.

I maintain, I easily take Cutler over half the QB's in the league. The exchange of bad between Philly and St. Louis just highlights that. Blech.

Has Rolle fallen off that far that he has to battle for a starting position? My guess is if he signs here, it's his job to lose. Mundy can practice on his special teams skills.

Damn! I knew that! You even hot the Pot Roast on Sunday! Where did I get Pork Chop??? Sheesh, they don't even come from the same animal.

Okay, let me put this in perspective. On offense I see us having several players with the potential of being pro-bowlers. Kyle Long, Forte, The Black Unicorn, Alshon. On special teams, Robbie Gould and Pat O'Donnell could both be considered. Name one defensive player who can make it to the pro-bowl next year . . . MAYBE Kyle Fuller. McFee is being signed to be a good player, not a pro-bowl player. Even if we signed Pot Roast, he's never been a pro-bowler. I don't expect that to change with the Bears. On defense we have to acquire difference makers. While we are looking at several good free agents, none of them are difference makers.

In the past, Jeffery has put up #1 numbers, and with BM gone, he appears to be a legit #1. You can draft another WR if all our needs are met, but good lord, there's no way that happens. If Tim Jennings isn't any damn good, we might need two starting CB's. To go with a need for two quality starting safeties. Even if we sign Antrel Rolle, that ain't exactly a long term fix. We need 4 linebackers. McFee is a good but not great linebacker who's never played full time before. Do we have any other starting caliber linebackers on the roster? WR at #7 is a luxury we can't afford. At the #7 spot, there will be a few players who grade out about the same. You take the one that fits your need.

But at what expense? Ideally we draft the next HOF linebacker. It would be good if we had a nose tackle to anchor the line for years to come. Maybe a stud for the secondary. If we draft a #2 WR at the #7 spot, I don't see any way we keep Alshon. Too much devoted to the position.

Disagree. While I wouldn't completely rule it out, we want Alshon to be the legit #1 and then we add weapons around him. Assuming he continues to be productive, we're going to have to pay big money for him and possibly franchise him. Fox has indicated he wants to focus on defense and running the ball. You don't want TWO of your best players to be WR's. You can sign guys like Eddie Royal, you can draft a guy in the 2nd round, but a 2nd #1 WR is not a priority.

Good breakdown. Damn we have a lot going on. You forgot to mention we were rumored to be interested in the center from Oakland. I'll feel a little better once the McPhee deal is official. Where did you here we made the highest offer for Pork Chop? I'm hoping we sign him just so I have an excuse to make pork chops. I texted my wife today saying, "I might be firing up the grill tonight!!!" No such luck. Maybe tomorrow?

Good breakdown. Damn we have a lot going on. You forgot to mention we were rumored to be interested in the center from Oakland. I'll feel a little better once the McPhee deal is official. Where did you here we made the highest offer for Pork Chop? I'm hoping we sign him just so I have an excuse to make pork chops. I texted my wife today saying, "I might be firing up the grill tonight!!!" No such luck. Maybe tomorrow?

Royal is a #3 slot WR. It would be a mistake to try to do more than that with him. We need to get away from using Forte so much as a passing option. Get the ball out of Jay's hands. Maybe we draft a WR in the 2nd or 3rd round and they would battle Wilson for the #2 spot . . . I just don't have much faith in Wilson right now. I couldn't wait for him to get back from his injury and then he was a disappointment.

Supposedly he wants 8-9 million a year for 4-5 seasons. Supposedly the Bears bowed out because they weren't going to give him that much. Apprantely, nobody else was going to give him that much either, so now the Bears are back in it.

I read somehwere that he was rated as one of the worst safeties in the league last season. As long as he's cheap, I'm good with it. When you have tons of whols to fill, you have to take chances with old veterans.

Nice! What hasn't been mentioned here is the fact he's an accomplished punt return man. Thus he fills two needs. I'm curious as to what kind of $$$ we're talking. Assuming we sign him, we still need to find a #2 WR.

Would you be shocked if the Raiders paid him a ridiculous amount?

What was Mundy? C+ or C-? He had to be close.

I'm amazed that for so many who hate Cutler, there is so many who hate Kaep. Two years ago the debate was who was better: RG3, Russell Wilson, or Kaep. I guess I'm saying I hope we keep Cutler . . .

With our situation, it might be different. Part of our issue with Cutler is that we have no plan B. He has no competition. Does it scare the hell out of anyone else that if we do cut ties with Cutler, our next best option is Jake Locker? Jimmy Clausen felt so much love from the NFL that he signed a one year deal with the Bears for the minimum.

Agreed 100%. I hope he kicks ass and takes names.

Never sign a guy Bellichick lets go. Unless it's for the minimum.

As per Adam Hoge, Bernstein's report is nothing new. The Bears are exploring offers for Cutler but they are not desperate to get rid of him. More importantly, if we are going to trade Cutler, there is no rush to meet the March 12th deadline. So this deal could take place later.