CrackerDog

I'll give him a bit of a break because he's breaking in so many new people but this needs to improve ASAP. If they aren't performing well by the third perseason game, he needs to be shitcanned. This team has too much potential to have ST lose us a game. One game can mean the difference between playoffs or not, home field or not, etc. The busts on Friday night were pretty big ones so Trestman needs to step in and show some leadership on this big part of team's production.

True. but his time away was meaningless to him and, as it turns out, beneficial to the team. We may not have learned that we have other solid options at TE without this happening. And seeing his teammates welcome him back was pretty cool. He's an important "leader" on the team and needed to be sent a message. I'd say this is "Mission Accomplished!"

Not that Palmer looked bad but I just like Jimmy better as our #2.

ST is a clusterfudge tonight. DeCamilus to the woodshed.

I agree pretty much across the board with this. However, the Bears will likely play the starters a series or two because we're at home.

Smart move on his part, IMO.

I think this suspension is bullshit if it's over that skirmish. If Bennett is slacking off that's another thing altogether and Trestman and Cutler need to tell him to get his head out of his ass.

Meh. I'm not concerned.

I didn't. Feels good. Now if we can just get the D a little mojo we may have something here.

It's probably earier to be more sure of himself when he isn't learning a new system every season. And more mature now with the wife and kids, maybe? Anyway, it appears to be translating to leadership which is a damn good sign.

Have fun dude! Wish I could be there but I'll be up in the north woods fishing.

Story here. Won't that just drive some of the haters here nuts? I'm sure rooting for Brandon to be right.

I disagree. I think Brian was great and deserves the HOF and probably some slack from us fans who are on him about his whiny bitch breakup period... But there were lots of other reasons to watch the Bears during his tenure here. I'm a fan of the whole team and there's only one player I've ever put ahead of that, Sweetness. If the Bears had broken up with #34 the way they did with #54, I'd have sided with Walter. Beyond that, the Bears very clearly offered Brian a good deal and he declined. I'm sorry he didn't get to go out on his terms but few do. I hope he handles his affairs during his post playing days with more class and dignity than he did while he was in the spotlight. Because while he was an awesome player, he was a ferkin' asshole. And I say that with all due respect.

The fantasy football update I read this morning said it's probably nothing but "sore foot" can becomme something more severe. Has anyone heard an update?

No biggie. I can't worry about people who don't want to participate in this forum for whatever reason. If you're here you're part of family and if you deserve a noogie because you're acting like a punk ass little brother, you'll get that. But always with love. Nobody here should take anything anyone else here says personally. It's an easy trap to fall into. Frankly, even this post breaks my golden rule of avoiding meta but I thought it was worth closing the book on this chapter. As to the original question in this thread, I posted a link to a CBS story that says players now have to show up by early August or they don't get credit for the year of service. I knew the new CBA was tougher on player holdouts than the previous ones but that's a lot tougher than I thought it was. In any case, I think you win your bet.

PS. I think the record is clear that I didn't chase him off. We had colorful disagreements but it was always just us breaking balls. It was a silly thread during silly season that pushed him over the edge.

Ha! I can feel the love. As to Jason... She'll be back.

I'm glad you're back too. I wonder if the new CBA changed this. I agree with you 100% that that's the way it used to be. But the owners got a lot in the last deal so I'm not sure if it's still the same Week 10 situation. [EDIT] Just found this recent story about holdouts. Not sure if this is 100% accurate but it says... "A year of service toward free agency isn't earned without a player reporting to his team at least 30 days prior to NFL's first regular season game (Aug. 5 reporting date this year)."

Right, a normal punt would be about 40 to 50 yards and would have hang time of around 4 seconds, right? So we're only adding a second to cover that extra 20 yards or so. I guess with momentum already going forward that's possible but when you get there you could be in a bad position to make a tackle. I'm not too worried about it. The coaches will work with him to get more height and less distance on his big booms. That'll help with coverage everywhere but Dallas where he'll probably hit the scoreboard.

Ha. Even I can cover 70 yards in 5 seconds! Thanks. PS. Not really.... But the guys in the NFL should be able to get there and surround the receiver as he makes the catch.

Depends. There is a thing called out kicking the coverage. But if it was toward a sideline and he's consistent it'll make those who questioned the pick look like fools.

Not interested.

I knew he'd be excellent when that dope Terra didn't like the pick.

Could be. Could also be my eyes seeing him without pads and a uniform but even his face looked thinner to me. I'll bet it is the substitution of muscle for fat....

I'm not worried about Jay. I saw him at our building the other day when he was doing that live remote on ESPN radio. He looks great, like he's lost some LB's. The beard's got to go. Anyway, it sounds like he's fully bought into the program with Trestman and he's excited (as excited as Jay can be, anyway) to get the season started. The man has the god-given talent and now he's surrounded by stars on offense. If I'm right and he's lost a few pounds, he'll be more elusive in the pocket, etc. I see good things happening this season.