bradjock

I think we'll draft guard Kelichi Osemele from Iowa State. This might be a little high for him, but we gave him a lot of attention in the off-season. Who I'd take: I'd roll the dice on Mike Adams or Janoris Jenkins.

If we'd drafted Reiley Reiff, I think EVERYONE would have been thrilled with that. He'd have helped our line and he was projected to be a top 10 pick offensive tackle. We'd have LOVED it. Because he was projected by the media to be good, we'd have been thrilled. The thing is, every damn team passed on him which means he was misevaluated. My immediate concern was that we'll only be able to use him as a situational pass rusher. But if we drafted him that high, we obviously believe he can play every down and that he's going to constantly pressure the QB. I'm with you and Mad Lith. I'm going to get excited about our speed rusher "kill the quarterback" pick.

I wouldn't be upset if we gave up our 4th round pick to move up. There's real good players left at o-line, DT, TE, and WR.

But Lovie still has two years on his contract and you don't fire him if he's winning. More importantly, McClellin isn't THAT big of a stretch for a "Lovie" pick. Lovie LOVES undersized speed guys. It's not like we drafted a big-fat 3-4 nose tackle. If Emery did want to switch to a 3-4, he'd be better off blowing the defense up and starting over.

First off, no matter who we'd taken, we'd publically say "He was #1 out of the 7 players." They'd be foolish not to say this. As to your 2nd point, you read my mind. We seem to have a slight change in philosophy, one way or another. It's tough to see McClelliin being an every down DE with his size. My guess he'd be a liability against the run. Yet you figure we love his speed and versaility. I can see us moving him around and utilizing him in different situations.

Let me add to this your thoughts: Why would me make every off-season move with a "win now" attitude, only to draft a guy who doesn't fit the scheme so the coach will get fired and hope the next coach is a 3-4 guy? That's a stretch.

Problem with the Jared Allen comparison is that Allen is 6-6, speed and motor. Same with Peppers only he's 6-7. That's what you want from your every down DE who can get to the QB. It's not about speed as much as it is the combintation of speed and length. I haven't checked his wing-span, but at 6-3, I doubt he has the wing-span necessary to be elite. Again, if he's a 3-4 he can drop back in coverage and then use his speed. He just doesn't look like an every down 4-3 DE.

Nice analysis. There were a bunch of guys I'd have been thrilled with. He was not one.

My "Predict the pick" is officially shot.

Right now it's just me. Hopefully it will pick up more business as we get closer to #19.

I'm guessing they want the safety. This is going to be a record for trades.

My guess is they want Cox or another D-lineman. They can pick up a 4th round pick and get the same guy they wanted in a different spot.

They're slow to announce it. Is this part of the NFL's new lock down on information so we stay focused on ESPN and not alternate sites?

The thing is, they want to get either Kalil or Claiborne. They don't want to move down much further. I'm convinced they want Kalil. It's damn shrewd of them to put down the "we want to trade down" rumor. They got extra picks for nothing. Good for them, dumb for Cleveland.

I disagree. Don't get me wrong, I'd love to have him. But there's two things: 1. Floyd is similar to Marshall. Ideally, if we're spending a #1 pick on a WR, we want a speed guy to compliment him. 2. In terms of our roster, we don't need another WR. Brandon Marshall, Earl Bennett, Johnny Knox, Devin Hester (if healthy), Eric Weems, and Devin Thomas are all locks to make the team. Plus we still have Sanzenbacher. We don't have to add anybody, and our roster could look the same. Meanwhile we only have 2 DE's definite to make the team--Peppers, Idonije. I consider Wooton a big question mark. Meanwhile, we only only 3 DT's definite to make the team--Melton, Paea, and Toeania. We pretty much have to add a quality DE and DT who can compete for playing time.

To move all the way up to #4, we'd likely have to give up Forte, our #19, and next years #1 pick. We wouldn't get the #22. Not to mention Cox is not worthy of the #4 overall pick.

Emery also said that in rounds #1 and #2, you hope to draft guys who will start immediately. The only way Hightower starts is if we either cut Urlacher or if there are injuries. I have no problem drafting his eventual replacement in round #3. Hightower is not even a great "value" pick at this point. If he was projected top 10 and fell, that would be one thing.

I wonder if that includes what we have to spend on rookies. Is the 5 million already spent??? That's good to know as various trade rumors are brought up. The SCORE was just discussing if we'd give up a 3rd round pick for Dwight Freeney. Damn good idea, except Freeney is due to make 13 million this year.

Alonzo Spellman was the guy I was thinking of. He was drafted #22. Looking at his stats, he was nearly as bad as I remember him being.

Damn good quesiton. Without having the data, my guess is the success of late risers is comparable to other players drafted. Chris Conte was a late riser and he looks pretty good so far. i'm trying to think of other examples the Bears have taken on players who were late risers. Who was the defensive lineman I'm thinking we too in the 90's who looked great at the combine, was taken around #10, he was real bad and wound up in a mental institution? I could google it but I know somebody knows . . . it's right on the tip of my damn tounge.

Glad to have you back! Nothing wrong with taking a break. Hell, during the regular season, I almost never visit this site. That's because there is an overwelming amoung of Bear's information. During the draft, I plan on spending a great deal of time in the Talkbears chatroom.

Shouldn't he have 19 players he's targetting with the 19th pick? If those 7 are gone by the time we pick are we just screwed? I assume they've figured for that. I'm just saying.

I read the article. If we think he has an upside, I have problem with using our 6th round pick on him. It's worth the gamble. Course I'm a bit cynical since under JA we'd just spend that pick on a bad QB or a bad safety.

I heard on the SCORE they expected him to get a minimum of one game regardless of guilt. He's a repeat offender and he put himself in a bad situation. Him being at the wrong place at the wrong time, regardless of fault, looked bad for the league. Just about any other player would receive the benefit of the doubt. He's lost that privilege.

Good article. I've been reading the book War Room by Michael Connelly. It focuses on the Bellichick and his years with the Patriots. There's a pattern of: 1. In terms of the draft, quantity over quality 2. Drafting high character players that fit what you want to do 3. Cutting real good players as soon as you realize their production is slipping, and their output does not equal their pay. Based on this, it wouldn't be surprising if Emery traded down to stockpile picks.