bradjock

Wow. Bears at Lions on Thanksgiving Day. As per Adam Hogue.

Also, the article also states that we will open with Buffalo on September 7, have a primetime game with the Jets on Monday, September 22, Cowboys on Thursday, December 4, and Saints on Monday, December 15.

Nice! You can count on that being a prime time game!

One thing I thought was interesting was Trestman saying that his main requirement for Forte's back-up would be the ability to pass block. I only mention that because we always talk about the Bears getting a shorter change of pace running back. I don't think Trestman is interested in that. As for his return experience, it seems like we keep bringing in guys for depth with return experience, that aren't any damn good at returning the damn ball.

I've argued that when teams say, "take the BPA" there's probably 7-10 guys who are real close. So you take the one of greatest need. Unless a player is clearly ahead of the rest. That's the case here. "With the second pick of the 2014 NFL draft, the St. Louis Rams select . . . Jadeveon Clowney, DE University of South Carolina." With two top tier DE's in Robert Quinn and Chris Long already on the roster, this is definitely not a need pick. But Jeff Fisher will figure out a way to get the 3 of them on the field at the same time. That and the Rams have the luxury of picking again at #13, #44 and #76. Plenty of time for offensive help later. The Jacksonville Jaguars are on the clock . . .

I'd add Roy Williams into the mix of guys who had that type of physique. Not that it helped him catch the damn ball. Also, Izzy Idonije used to look freaking cut.

What's the time limit??? I want to run on the podium and steal the pick!!!

Nice! So is scs on the clock?

So when are we starting? I'm not in any rush. I'm just fairly limited to being on here only in the early morning and evening. Although I can probably sneak something in around luncthtime. I just don't want everyone waiting for my pick.

Nah, you're wrong about him being near the ball. More often than not, his hand was an inch from the ball . . . as it sailed past him and into the receiver's hands for a touchdown. There were no complaints about him two years ago because our defense was good. He should be good again this year.

Based on what you described about his strengths, being springy and working in space, should he be in line for the middle linebacker position? If he plays the strong position, he'll be required to shed blockers which is not a strength. At the MIKE, he would operate in open space where he could utilize his speed. I wouldn't be shocked if he's not the starting MIKE linebacker by mid-season.

Yes!!! Shea needs to get on PED's so he can look like Patrick Willis!!! I'll admit Urlacher and Allen look natural looking. Patrick Willis??? Not so much. Thanks for the pics.

After he was drafted by the Bears, there was talk that he was too skinny to play DE so he was "bulking up." I suggested in my previous post that we asked him to put on weight that his slim build was not designed for. These pictures are evidence of that. I would view it as being comparable to every DT who has a spare tire around their waist. They are expected to maintain a certain weight to play the position. Don't be mad at Shea. Be mad at Phil Emery and the Bears for wasting two years asking him to do something that doesn't fit his greatest strengths.

Yep. He was actually a guy I was hoping we would sign two years ago. I was irritated that Washington signed him. Then we traded for Brandon Marshall and it became a moot point. Which reminds me as we struggle to fill certain positions and we hope guys have break-out years, everything becomes easy once you get a legitimate top player.

I doubt this has anything to do with Weems. Last season we seldom used Weems as anything but a special teamer. Devin Hester was in the main return guy and Earl Bennett sometimes filled in for him. Please help me out in remembering who else was in the mix for punt and return duty. Either way, we have Weems for special teams purposes. He's making the veteran minimum so it doesn't save us anything by cutting in. He might battle with Chris Williams for that extra spot. In terms of depth we have BM, AJ, Wilson, Morgan, Hixon, Weems, Williams, and a couple other of guys I've never heard of.

And there was no way we were trading for a back-up quarterback. Don't forget that last year we traded our 5th round pick for what amounted to Jordan Mills and Marquis Wilson. That's a starting RT and starting slot receiver. Those late picks can be important. I get what you're saying about the back-up QB position. Last year during the pre-season I complained about this often. Then Josh emerged and Lovie broke the bank for his services. After that, I'm going to give our coaches the benefit of the doubt when it comes to back-up QB's.

Thanks for posting that. Reading that I went through a progression of 4 questions: 1. Is Shea the new MIKE? When he was drafted, there was speculation he would replace Urlacher. I know that officially he's competing for the strong side linebacker position, but it wouldn't surprise me if we didn't have other thoughts for him. 2. Why the hell didn't we do this sooner? Photo A is him trying to be a DE. He does not have the physical build for it. 3. Why isn't Shea on some form of PED??? Unfortunately, IMO I think this will be the greatest indicator of his success. I'm cynical and I'm convinced that 3/4's of the league is using PED's. If he's been working out 3 hours a day for 5 days a week, shouldn't he looked ripped? You can argue how ethical this is, but at the end of the day, we want the Bears to win. If Clay Mathews is doing it and Shea is not . . that's a huge advantage. Can someone please post the picture of the typical "ripped" linebacker vs. Shea? (I apologize that while I am somewhat tech savvy, that after 2000+ posts, I have never bothered mastering the skill of posting pictures on this web site.) 4. Isn't this awesome??? Without PED's he may not be elite. But if he's running a 4.5 and with good coaching, he can be a damn good player.

That's a great move for added depth. He continues in the mold of being a big WR who is a good run blocker. Like Hixon, he has experience as being a return man and like Hixon he is not very good at. I hope we address this in the draft.

I think we are going DT but I'd be happy with a safety. More importantly, HaHa and Pryor are two much different players. Pryor seems to be more of a strong while HaHa is a ceterfielder. Which one do we covet if both are available? It would seem that HaHa would replace Conte and Pryor would replace Mundy. I'm thinking we favor HaHa over Pryor. I'm just speculating, we might covet HaHa, he could be long gone, and we don't want Pryor so we draft a DT.

I will point out that in 2012, most teams seemed to have disastrous drafts. There's a lot more bad than good. Also, this is only Emery's 3rd draft. Paea and Conte were Angelo. Although I'm with you. I just hope we draft a day one starter in the first round at either DT or safety.

Agreed. In terms of need, WR is way down there on the list. Now if we drafted a guy with the intent that he would be our PR/KR, that would be a different story. But stricly for WR, it's not a need and not likely. Heck, why not resign Earl Bennett? He's still available and he'd be pretty damn cheap. I

I'm in!!!

Agreed that we are in great shape that we don't need an immediate starter. For example, how does Houston trade Matt Schaub without anybody in place that anybody believes can be a realistic starter? That leaves a glaring hole. For better or for worse, the Bears have starters at every position. The two specific positions with openings are DT and safety. The way we introduced Ryan Mundy with Lamar Houston, I really think he's out starting SS. And I think we believe Conte can be good. I look for us to draft a DT and he will start on opening day.

The tricky part is, usually there are several guys tied for being the BPA and there are several right behind them.

I'll be happy to play.