CrackerDog

Heard on Score a minute ago.

I just heard Lovie on the Score and he didn't sound as positive as JA did. We'll obviously need to watch this one closely.

I agree. Although, Palmer at QB makes Chad what he is. Gross/ton still needs to prove that having good WR's on this team isn't like putting earrings on a pig.

It says... Angelo also said rookie tackle Chris Williams will be "fine" after Williams left practice today with back stiffness. "Nothing to be overly alarmed about," Angelo said of of the team's first-round pick.

First, use the quote button so people know who the hell you're talking to. Dillweed. That's an order! OK, now that we've got that covered... You're making the point that he deserves at least #2 WR money. I believe if you scan up you'll see I set that as a baseline as well. We agree on the starting point. My whole disagreement with you rests on whether JA can make an agent (and his client) see that the upside to #1 WR money must be proven. And even if agents don't like incentive deals (which I'm not conceding) you and Hester have to realize that he hasn't got a leg to stand on. If the Bears decide to force him to play under his current agreement, he either plays or sits. And this can last for three years (or even longer if PFT is correct about his needing to report by August 5th.) So, I'd suggest he has to at least meet the Bears halfway. We agree the kid deserves a new deal but it has to reflect that pure ST players aren't rewarded in the league and his upside in pay has to be tied to his continued upside in development at WR. That may not be fair but it's a reality connected to the salary cap. This is beyond the control of the Bears. Teams can't tie up a ton of money and a roster spot on pure ST players. They can have guys who are specialists in this area but they don't usuallly get paid very well. By the way, it's Hester and his agent that are making the comparison to WR money. I think it's fair for the Bears to ask him to prove he can actually play the position consistently if that's what he wants to be called and paid as.

He can't say that because he hasn't come close to proving he's a Berrian yet.

They need to get there. This is a very unusual circumstance. There aren't any "comps" out there for Hester.

Yeah, to read some of the stuff here it sure is. Of course, that's a good sign. I'm not sure if you're someone who came over from our other site or not but 2005 and 2006 were some of the worst "OMGZZZZZZZ we're going to be horrible" years ever. And about 5 or 6 wins into the season everyone shut up... Until Rex pulled his Jeckell and Hyde act. We'll see. I hope they've got another one in them. This D is getting a little older and I'm not sold on either coordinator, O or D. Hopefully last season was a fluke.

I've made the statement here that we could win or lose 10 games this season and it wouldn't surprise me. So I'm probably being a bit of a negative "chicken little" myself. But really, with QB play that sucked donkey balls last year, we had a season in which... We swept the Packers, a playoff team and almost a Superbowl team. We played the Superbowl winner to a 5 point loss in December. We lost twice to the Vikings by an average of 5 points. We finished the season with 2 wins in our last two games. We also managed to lose to the damn Lions twice which we know isn't likely to happen again any time soon. Since then, we've improved the offensive line and cut Cedric Benson while bringing in two guys who look like they can play RB. Sure, we've got the same QB's and we lost our #1 WR but let's be honest, we're no worse off there than we were in 2005 and 2006. And maybe we'll get lucky and one of the other WR's on the team will step up. I guess what I'm saying is, we don't know. This team could surprise to the upside. I'm not going to bang on them just for the sake of kicking someone while they're down. Let's see what they've got and hope for the best.

I agree. I think the solution is an incentive laden contract. If he does what he says he can and he accomplishes what we all hope he accomplishes, we're happy and he's rich. If he's just a great ST player, so be it. He'll be the best at that and earn #2 WR money. It shouldn't be difficult to reach agreement on this with JA and Hester's agent. If they push it harder I think the Bears will likely tell them to pound sand. PS. I personally don't see Hester ever getting there at WR but I hope like hell I'm wrong.

Apparently JA is going to address this after the practice ends. Should be interesting.

a Coin Toss. Ah well, at least internet whiner fans can't claim it wasn't an open competition this season. Let the fun begin!

This probably won't be a popular opinion here but... I'd let him stew. I'd tell him he has two years left on his contract and we won't negotiate if he isn't in camp. Get his butt back in camp and his agent will be welcome at Halas Hall. Until then, piss off. Sure, he needs to be paid. No question. And he's one of those special players you're willing to do 2 years in advance. But with that said, the organization has to have some backbone here and demand he be actively participating in camp. Also, his talents are natural god given speed and instinct. It isn't like his missing training camp for a few weeks is going to matter. Unless you really believe he's going to be one of our starting WR's, which I don't. I don't think the man has the brainpower (or height) to play the position. At least not at the level starter WR money would be justified. No, sorry Devin, I love you man, but you're not breaking the bank... We've got your butt for two seasons and then we can franchise you for yet another year. Average of the top three ST's players can't be a very big number, can it be? His leverage is minimal.

But he's technically retired. I guess they conveniently forgot to get the phone back from him when he left Lambeau for the last time. WHICH IS FRIGGEN AWESOME! This couldn't be better gang. The Packers are making asses of themselves, taking down one of their beloved players in the process (actually he's taking himself and them down) while also implicating another of our rivals. Talk about major distractions! Hey, fair's fair. We had to deal with Manning, Lance, Tank and Ced... To name a few. It's their turn in the barrel. By the way, to the original poster, we already knew Favre was a moron. This is just the 243rd bit of confirming evidence. Thanks.

Good to see the Bears get this done. According to PFT there was concern about his "slot" being a difficult one to get signed. Link I think Indy has only signed one of their guys and there seem to be a lot of first rounders out. OK, time to see if we can bounce back to 2006 form.

I only made it to Plattville once, the last year they were there. I like Bourbonnais better because it's closer and the layout makes it easier for larger groups of fans to see everything. More fun stuff for the kiddies too, I think. Plus, Cade McNown was the QB when I went to Plattville so...

This conversation is a bit gay. Just sayin...

Actually, a friend of mine has a Prius and the damn thing is great. It's small but I'm 6-2 and had head room. And when it gets 50 MPG he's smiling all the way to the bank... As to camp, you guys HAVE TO go out there. It's great fun. I'll visit at least twice and try to give you some thoughts each time. Some of my previous visits... * The press was reporting Marc Columbo was getting healthy and the Bears were high on him. I saw him at camp and he looked like he needed a walker. I declared him out for the season a month before the press did. Gotta see it with your own eyes guys. * QB drill with Shoop as OC... Kordell Stewart throwing at stationary garbage cans. I knew we were in trouble. * Hester immediately stood out. Knew the kid was a star. Same with Olsen, really. Just not AS obvious. * Dusty D. jumped out at me in his first camp. Knew the kid had the uglies and mean attitude to get it done. Unfortunately he's been hurt a lot. * Could see the companionship players felt toward T. Jones and the dislike they had for Benson. * Could see the growing connection between Rex and Berrian. Stuff you don't get watching a pre-season game guys. My son loves the place too! You've got to make the trip.

Um, no. I realize you were trying to regain balance after your "Moose-like" statement but there was nothing about Bradley in 2005 that reminded ANYONE of Randy Moss. I think you over-corrected. He's shorter and his single big play in 2005 was a 50 yarder which was a crossing route Orton threw perfectly in traffic. There wasn't any breakaway speed shown on that play and I don't recall him having any other catches that were longer than 20 yards or any TD's that season. He was unpolished and just looking like he might be a decent WR with good speed when he got injured for the first time. He had a couple of games in the middle of 2006 where he made a few nice NFL quality catches. Of course, his vagina started aching almost immediately thereafter.

Ballet dancer.

http://www.lyricsmode.com/lyrics/t/tom_jon...hes_a_lady.html

Argh! Someone had to bring that play up, I suppose. As expected, it's you. I think Taylor in his prime transcended scheme. I doubt Parcells is giving away someone he feels is anywhere near his prime. The Skins are meeting an immediate need, I can't trash them for that. On the other hand, they do seem to have a knack for turning gold in the stacks of hay. We'll see...

Quit using logic Pix. It'll do you no good here with me. The fact is Bradley hasn't really ever accomplished anything. WR should be a position you don't get this type of recurring injury. When a team hangs it's hat on a guy for this long, they're doing so to the detriment of the organization. I agree with you, if he doesn't come back and productively play a full season this year, it's time to move on. The Cubs waited for Prior for too long and I've already written Bradley off. I hope I'm wrong. I hope he makes me eat my words. Hell, I hope she makes it through the first week of the season...

Damn, you're such a negative nancy... On that front, I've been telling people the Bears will either win or lose 10 games this season and I don't know which it'll be as of right now. I head to camp in a few weeks and should get a better idea then. The schedule we have is tough, starting off with 4 games we could lose. But if Rex or Kyle play well enough to be considered an NFL starter (and they've both led this team to winning seasons in the recent past) they can win enough games to make the playoffs and then, who knows? We've still got an excellent D although they're aging. We should see an improvement on the O Line which should help the starting QB. We've cut Benson which should be addition by subtraction. I've recently told a few close friends I wouldn't be surprised if the lineman were subconsciously letting Benson get hit last year. I know, that isn't professional and the line wasn't very good anyways, but they are human and the team didn't like him very much. It's be great if the new RB's were the surprises of the year for the NFL. Could happen with resolve in the gameplans and a refreshed O Line. That, in turn, would benefit the passing game. We still have a tremendous advantage over anyone else in the league at Special Teams. This is very important early in the season. If we could steal a win or two in those first few games by some version of Hester magic, it could be the launching pad we need to get to that 10+ win season. Last item, we need to have found a gem at WR. Marty "old man" Booker and Mark "the pussy" Bradley ain't gunna cut it. We ALL know Bradley will look great in camp, just like she always does, and then she'll rip her vaginal muscles in the first game of the season. Relying on her could be a bigger mistake than relying on Benson was last season.

Culpepper isn't mobile anymore. Still, he is interesting. I didn't watch any of his play last season so I'm not sure what he has left in him. Three teams have had him and none are knocking on his door. That should tell us something.