bradjock

My point, like pretty much all things in life...if you have someone performing (in whatever positive capacity, be it on an all star level or as a solid contributor), focus tends to veer away from such indescretions. Yep. If this were Tillman, Peppers, Briggs . . . we'd be laughing about it. Because it's a 7th round bad starting LT it's cause for debate. I'm just thankful it wasn't Cutler. It would be on the front page of Yahoo! if it was him. It would be more concerning if he was at a night club at 4:00 a.m. Although, being in Pulaski County might be worse. I hope he was on his way back to Texas. That place is like the scene of a bad episode of the Dukes of Hazard.

Didn't we start to hear McClellin's name being connected to the Bears pretty late in the draft process? Thought that was what happened.. Maybe I'm wrong. He was mentioned. But most in the media believed the Bears wanted a DE. Pretty much every possible first round pick DE was connected. I do remember after the draft there was word that they really wanted Bruce Irvin, but Shea was the second guy on their list. I remember that also. If the Chargers didn't take Melvin Ingram at #18, he's our guy. Shea was probably 3rd. All speed DE/LB types. I would be pretty upset with a Fluker pick because he's a RG only. Most scouts believe he'll have to move to guard over concerns that he's not quick enough to handle speed on the outside. So if the plan is to pair Fluker next to Carimi, my head might explode. At this point we need a guy who can start immediately. If we draft him and he's good on day #1, that's awesome. I don't give a damn if it's a guard, tackle or center. You have five spots and you can't look to one returning spot being locked in as a starter for next season. There is Garza who is 34. Webb is the next best bet. It's ugly.

He was the best LT as far as pass blocking on the absolute worst passing team in the league. KC was worse than the Bears and unlike the Bears, they were often losing by a lot. What does that mean? PFT reported KC would consider franchising him, moving him to LG and drafting Luke Joeckel with the #1 pick. Why would you do that with a top 10 LT? He'd automatically be the best o-lineman on the Bears but he'll cost us.

With last year's media, most predicted we would take a DE. If you'd told me Riley Reiff would be on the board and we'd take Shea McClellin, I'd have said you were nuts. I always wondered how the media knew that. Either way, there's not absolute secrecy. As for Te'o, he's a bit different because he attended college relatively close and he's on the front page of Yahoo!. Emery was specifically asked about him. He can't say, "no comment" and he can't say, "we won't draft him."

The thing to remember is KC is thinking about moving him back to guard, his natural position. Which is why the Bears passed on him to take Chris Williams in 2008. Essentially, we'd be paying for an average/mediocre LT who would likely be a pro bowl guard. That being said, the last time we took an o-lineman from KC it was John Tait. He turned out pretty damn good.

I agree with most of what you said but Carimi at LT seems like a stretch. The "experts" say he's best suited at RT. He was good at run blocking but so bad at pass blocking he was benched. The new coaching staff talked about Carimi's versatility. That's not a compliment IMO. To me that's like saying, "we've got 2 starting quarterbacks" when in reality you don't have one. Chris Williams could play anywhere . . . yet he couldn't play anywhere. I'm not ready to give up on Carimi but he needs to earn his position. As for the TE, it depends on how we want to utilize the position. Matt Spaeth is a good blocker and he didn't wet himself when the ball came in his direction. He's never going to stretch the field but he has value. Evan Rodriguez is in the mix.

Great thought on Henderson. He'd be ideal if he can still run and he'll be cheap. He ran a 4.37 at the combine (although that was 2004 . . . ) For the first time in my lifetime we're actually solid at WR. Brandon Marshall is the best WR the Bears have ever had. Alshon Jeffry deserves to start and has incredible potential. We have Bennett signed and I hope he'll return to form when healthy. Hester still lurks . . . We have lots of "across the middle" guys. That's what Welker is this stage in his career. What we need is a deep threat to stretch the field. We need a Johnny Knox type. That being said, with the needs we have in other areas and limited cap space, spending big money on Welker is laughable.

You've been correct each year you've said the Bears should do more to upgrade the o-line. What you've been wrong about is you can't replace an entire unit in one offseason. It's not feasible. Forgetting what we "should do" (fire the whole damn bunch and start over new) in terms of "feasible" where do we start? With limited cap space and picks, at BEST I'd say we sign one good starter, draft one starter, and draft another guy to develop. Who are the two starters we replace and who are the 3 who you think aren't as bad as the rest? That being said, I swear I asked you the same question last year at this time. I thought we'd sign one guy and draft a guy in round #1 or round #2 . . .

That's not true. When you look at the week to week grades, guys like Dan Pompei always had Webb graded out as ok. Not great but not terrible. At the same time, Pompei and others declared Carimi should be benched.

There was a story that the Bears were considering making a run at Ryan Clady or Jake Long. Why would we consider that if we were that limited in cap space? I don't understand all the intricacies of the cap but the media is often wrong. Two years ago heading into the start of the season we had $500,000 in cap space. Then we sign Brandon Meriweather for 3+ million. Loyd (the Capmeister) always had far different versions of the cap situation than the media. We can make it work if we want. We may have to restructure Tillman and or/Peppers. We may need to let Melton walk. The new staff seems to be fixated on protecting the QB. If we could get ONE stud lineman, that would go a long way.

I have been reading Bears reporters tweets and it has been stated that they wish to bring back Idonije, Scott, and Louis. That Carmi is figured to be a flexible player G and T. so what does all that tell us? Biggest thing that does is beg the question, how do we sign those guys and bring back Melton when we have 11 milliopn in cap space? Does the possiblity exist that McCellan goes to LB if they bring back Idonije? Emery stated he could play other positions? Anything is possible, but don't we need a 3rd down DE like McClellan with great speed to get the qb? If they bring back Scott, I would say he is our RT? Zac Zaidman on the SCORE was saying Scott it a back-up swing tackle With Louis coming back our RG? I suppose that depends on health. He'll be hard pressed to be ready for opening day Carmi being flexible, does that mean he goes to LG? That's be my guess It has been stated they are looking at 2 FAgent OTs. So if thats the case, whoever it is, that Webb becomes our swing tackle? Like it or not, Webb appears to be a starter at LT or RT If all this is true, what would our first 2 draft picks be, considering Emery stated, those picks should be starters. o-line and TE in either order. LB is a possibility, but I look for us to take care of that via free agency or bring back Urlacher Maybe a TE, and WR? Then in the 4th and 5th some olinemen to add depth? At WR, we'll be looking for a slot receiver who can stretch the field. A Johnny Knox type. I don't see us spending much on this

I'd be shocked if we went to a 3-4 simply because we don't have the personel. This team was 10 & 6 purely because of it's defense. Why would you blow that up to make a change? God knows we have plenty of necessary changes to make on offense. We probably want to resign Cutler, add one or 2 TE's who can be a threat, add a slot receiver who can stretch the field . . . anyone want to take a guess at how many offensive lineman we want to replace? That's a lot to do on one side of the ball. While we need to inject youth to the defense, if it ain't broke, don't fix it.

Cincinatti fans will tell you that having two "alpha-male" WR's doesn't work. Not to mention, we're paying BM 9 million per. We can't lock up that much in one position. We need a competent TE and a speed guy off the edge who can stretch the field. If Johnny Knox could return to form, that would be ideal but that ain't likely happening. Either way, we could get both of those for far less than what Wallace would cost.

Agreed. Is there anyone who doesn't want to see us continue with our current defense? Our defense was good. Our special teams was good. Our offense was putrid. That being said, we are letting Dave Toub interview for other special teams jobs which indicates we don't want him back. WTF??? To me that would rank up their with firing Chico and replacing him with Bob Babich. Not good.

Both cornerbacks??? Wow. I hope his report is correct. Next Sunday is at home is probably our easiest game before we finish the season playing 4 games against divisional foes.

First and foremost, what's up with Bush? There is no post game coverage due to stupid baseball. That being said, Cutler was disappointing but we still won 20 to 6. Not bad.

My lousy cable provider doesn't offer NFL Network. That means I'd have to switch to Direct TV. I might have done that if I'd none it wasn't going to be broadcast locally. Usually these games are on locally, including all the pre-season games.

The last two years the Thursday night NFL Network games have been broadcast locally in the Chicago area (which has extended to Peoria) Pixote asked over the summer about viewing the Thursday night games and I told him it wouldn't be a problem. Checking the local listings the game is not on . . . sorry about that Pix. Any tips for how to view the game? Otherwise I'll be in the garage with the radio checking the computer for video updates and likely chatting here. I do feel for all of you who don't live locally and deal with this problem every week.

It's too bad we couldn't have IR'ed him for the season. The guy has talent but he needs to get it together physically and mentally. The Patriots just put a sprinter who's converted to WR on IR. That seemed questionable. It also sucks we gave up a 7th rounder for him. Worth the gamble, but it's too bad it didn't work out.

Price is out of shape but he has occasionally had plays where he just dominated at the LOS getting into the backfield quickly. Then he just disappears for a few plays. One thing though is I don't recall him gettin. g pushed back 5 yards on run plays even when he took plays off. I see the potential but he is so badly out of shape I was half-expecting the team to cut him. I haven't seen enough of Price. I hope you're right. It's just concerning that Tampa gave up on him. I was surprised we kept 7 LB so perhaps you are right, one gets cut to make room for Amobi Especially since we often carry on 5 LB's because Urlacher and Briggs are so religable. Does the fact we kept 5 DEs mean we are going to use Izzy and Peppers inside on some 3rd and long situations with Wootton/Cheta/ or SMC on the outside? Haven't we normally kept 4 DEs and 5 DTs? We've used Izzy and Peppers inside so it would make sense. It also indicates we are not thrilled with our defensive ends not named Peppers. As for our DT's, Paea, Melton, and Toenia are locks. If we're signing Okoye, I'm assuming he's somewhat of a lock. That's four. While we could keep six DT's, I believe either Price or Collins get the ax.

Practice squad? At this point it's tough to see us dumping somebody for him.

As for Price, did anyone else notice he looks like a 3-4 nose tackle? The dude is huge. He seems like a strange fit for our "shooting the gap" style. He could have a mysterious injury which puts him on IR. Price may have potential but he does not appear to be in football shape. I thought Collins looked much better than PRice. Statistically and in terms of playing time, Okoye was arguably our top DT last season. That ain't good.

Now I'm wondering who is the 54th man? I'm thinking either Collins or Price could go. Cheta Ozouga. I'm crossing my fingers that it will be one of the LB's like Patrick Trahan or JT Thomas. That would be a good indicator that Urlacher would be close to 100% for week #1.

Thank Christ. Our defensive tackles were bad last year. So we are hoping Melton and Paea will improve, and we dumped Anthony Adams. I'm not excited about Brian Price or Nate Collins.

Good info on the scope. Although I disagree with how we'll use him. Under Lovie, I can't remember us ever using an every down player like Urlacher and working him in slowly. Either they are 100% and can play the whole game or they are inactive. I feel like we've worked guys like Hester in slowly, but he's a little different since his playing time is always sporadic. If the defense is on the field, Urlacher is on the field.