CrackerDog

What I expect the Bears to do is approach Jay this off season and say here's what we think your market value is for a 5 year contract which'll let you end your career a Bear. And they'll negotiate from there and come to some sort of agreement with a big bonus check. But both sides will realize throughout the negotiations that: 1.) Jay's value was somewhat hurt by his injuries this year. 2.) That the Bears will have to write a huge check to tag him and only get one season if they do. These two factors will offset each other and they'll end up pretty much with a market deal. They'll then sign McCown up for a 2 or 3 year deal unless he finds greener pastures, which I don't expect. Jay's numbers go up if he returns this weekend and performs at a high level for the remainder of the season. If Jay comes back and isn't ready or underwhelms, all bets are off. The Bears could very well then think about going with McCown and drafting a rookie if they get a high enough pick to nab one of the prospects coming out this season. That would leave lots of $$$ for signing free agents and bringing the D back to life, which is the upside to not breaking the bank on Jay. Several others here including Jason have rightly pointed out this potential windfall. If the Bears decide this is their best option, I won't be happy but I won't cry either as I do have a lot of faith in Trestman's ability to groom the QB of the future. Jay being a "gunslinger" style QB might benefit elsewhere in an offense more suited to his mindset. It'll be an interesting off season...

Does anyone think if the Bears had both QB's signed up for the next few years that any NFL team would offer more for Josh than they would Jay? The only place in the world that McCown is rated more highly than Cutler is in the world of internet football experts. In the real world, most see the difference. With that said, I repeat, Josh is playing great and I'm happy we have him. And Jay makes too many mistakes! I just want to see what he can do when he's had the same OC for two damn years in a row, and another off season with the Nerd whispering in his ear. He might actually live up to his damn potential! And I want it to be with the Bears, not against them...

Here's what we did on that drive: 1-10-CHI 47 (7:17) 22-M.Forte up the middle to MIN 46 for 7 yards (69-J.Allen). 2-3-MIN 46 (6:44) 22-M.Forte left end to MIN 42 for 4 yards (34-A.Sendejo; 52-C.Greenway). 1-10-MIN 42 (6:11) 22-M.Forte up the middle to MIN 33 for 9 yards (34-A.Sendejo). 2-1-MIN 33 (5:30) 22-M.Forte up the middle to MIN 32 for 1 yard (90-F.Evans). 1-10-MIN 32 (4:45) 22-M.Forte up the middle to MIN 29 for 3 yards (69-J.Allen). Pretty hard to say we "had to" kick on 2nd down when we'd averaged over 4 YPC on that drive up until that point. Both D's were dragging ass. I do see the angle about the Vikings negating their own try with a penalty but you can't coach your team based on what the other team did. I say just line it up, smash mouth it until it's time to kick and then do it. Don't run a lot of cute plays that typically draw holding calls, just straight ahead kick ass football. End of story. And I agree with you, the team has made too many mental errors recently and that's somewhat on Trestman and somewhat on the inexperience of the players out there. Somewhat on the refs too, as there've been enough bullshit calls recently to our detriment. But the Bears had this one in the bag and let it go. I feel a Denny Green rant coming on!

Ha, I was going to say my mind wanted the Packers to win but my heart wanted the Lions. But you said it better. And it didn't matter anyway, as it turned out. We lost yet another game we should've won. I guess some would say we won a few games early in the season we maybe didn't deserve, but I still feel like this team let a 7-5 or even 8-4 record slide down the drain because of poor decisions and untimely mistakes.

Problem is, Emery hasn't proven he can draft D. Hell, he hasn't even proven he can evaluate D talent, based on the shit we have on the field out there now.

Frankly, I disagree with lining it up with a first down run in that situation. I'd have continued the offense until I ran out of options and then kicked it, even if it were from one hash or another. Robby doesn't miss kicks so I get what Trestman was trying to do there but we weren't having problems moving the damn ball, keep going! Settling for close to a 50 yarder isn't the best bet. As many know, I wasn't for Lovie being fired. But we're beyond that now. Trestman is our guy and I'll take the good with the bad as long as he learns from his mistakes. He can't do this shit next year. Let's build up the D through FA and the draft, give Cutler another season to continue to grow in the O and let's make the damn playoffs next season. Otherwise, then, and only then, will I judge Trestman a failure. At this point, I disagree with a lot of what he's done but still have high hopes for him.

Because I doubt seriously I'll be on this site tomorrow, I just wanted to say Happy Thanksgiving to you all. I know we sometimes don't agree and even give each other a hard time, but I'm thankful this site exists and you all participate and put up with me! All the best.

You're way ahead of the game, my friend. Raising 'em right!

I think most here agreed with you at the time of the pick. THe only defense at the time was he was making this pick for the post-Lovie era. And here we are. So now what does this mean? Emery's biggest f-up to date?

I think this potentially has more impact on his "value" than anything else. And it'll hurt him in the open market. He's historically been tough, though. So this is probably just a fluke. I'd be willing to take that bet. And if his value is hurt by his injuries this season, that may work in our favor in terms of a longer deal. It's in the best interest of the Bears (cap wise) to sign him, not tag him. It wouldn't surprise me if we had him inked to a 5 year before the draft.

Ain't nobody in the NFL stupid enough to give us a 2nd for Briggs.

Ha! Well said. Frankly I get the reasons some are thinking about McCown as an option. He's been playing really ferkin' well! But I just see the scenario probably a little worse than even you put it out there. We release Cut, he ends up with the Vikings and destroys us for the next 5 years or so, becoming what he might already be here if we didn't saddle him with dipshit O coordinators and a turd offensive line. And a D oriented HC and GM! No, Cutler has already proven to me that he's made improvements in the time he's been on the field under Trestman. And he's always had the tools. He just needs to get his mind right. McCown will be a nice backup. Contrary to what someone else said, he ain't going anywhere for starter money. Not at this point in the season and his career. If he ends up finishing the season for us because Cutler is worse than expected, maybe he gets a job elsewhere. Assuming he keeps his numbers up. And if Cutler makes good with the Vikings or someone else and McCown turns out to be journeyman mid-thirty's QB, the same folks here squawking about letting him go will be ripping on Emery for doing what they wanted. It's a way of life for internet experts.

I think everyone is agreed he messed up on the play. We just aren't willing to hang him for it like you and Terra. He made a mistake, hopefully he'll learn from it. Mind you, I'm no fan of SMC's. Just don't think most vets wouldn't have bit there, either.

The one thing I'll give you and the other "McCown is the Second Coming" folks; I do trust Emery and Trestman (unless it's about going for it on 4th down) and so, if they collectively think it's a wise move, I'll ride it out, watch what happens and hope like hell I was wrong about Cutler being capable of being an elite QB in this offense.

I'd like a source on that if you can find one. I'm talking about dead money, I think you're talking about the difference between what we'd pay him and the amount of the cap hit. Two different things but if we really free up $9 million despite the cap hit for cutting him, I'm happy with that result. Unless he's been playing on one leg or something and the coaches believe he's still got something in the tank, he's gone after this season.

OK, I see. I still think, despite McCown's solid play, that talk of moving Cutler is foolhardy. I do see the value in having extra cash for revamping the D but wonder how teams like Denver, New England, etc seem to have the money for a great QB and their D? I know, you're now going to say Cutler ain't no Brady. And that's true. I'm just saying, if they can afford both, and we should get Cutler for less than those guys, I don't understand why we wouldn't have the money to stock the Defensive team as well. Heck, if we can cut loose of Pep and his salary, I understnad there's a hit in 2014 for this, but we'll have shotloads of dough for the D after we deal with him. There's going to be a lot of hard decisions this off season. No question. Our team is basically a bunch of guys on one year contracts! But McCown isn't my guy long term. No way.

And wasn't the trade deadline like almost 4 weeks ago? If we "could" still trade some of our "talent", nobody would go for Pep because of his salary and savvy teams would understand he can be had next year for a FA signing. Hester might draw a 6th or later rounder from a team that needs a ST upgrade. There isn't much else to "sell" on the D and our O is pretty much a group of keepers, aside from Bush, and nobody would give us a 6 Pack for that turd.

I think there are potential calls to be made on damn near every play in the NFL. They pick and choose and sometimes they see things and sometimes they don't. I never saw the replay on the Hester return, if there was something to be called there, so be it. And yes, the team played sloppy, as Jason said, and probably deserved some of what they got. It's just that when everything seems to be going one way, call after call, there's a legit reason for a fan to get frustrated. Particularly when I saw the refs blow several offensive holding calls (that would've benefitted the Bears) go uncalled. Frankly though, there is a reason to be concerned with the undisciplined nature of this team. As I mentioned earlier. Not sure where to point the finger there.

Amen.

I don't buy it either. When Urlacher went down with the Bears, when he was their heart and soul, we got worse but we didn't friggen turn into a HS level defense. I'm sick of excuses. Tucker either produces with what he has or I'd shitcan his ass.

I agree with this post, 110%! All spot on observations. We got a few breaks from the officials too, however. They had bad afternoons, as a whole. It seemed like early on they hosed the Bears over and over on bullshit calls and then realized it and decided to try to even it out. It was a clusterf*ck on their part.

True. I've not seen such an undisciplined effort by a Bears team in a long time. Bring back Lovie! McCown made some outstanding throws. I'm coming around on him. With that said, I'd have prefered to have Jay out there when we were down by 14. Just think he had more of the tools necessary under those specific circumstances. Not something that can be proven, obviously. Besides, all of this discussion about QB ignores the elephant in the room.

No. But it had less to do with it than the mugging. Yes, potentially. Below this post you talk about "athletic potential" and in this case, as one of the best TE's in the league, I'd say had he not been forcefully pushed (pulled) out of the play, he would've had a chance at it. That would've been my "judgment" when I saw the play in full speed. Not sure how the hell the other ref saw it differently. And I think it should've gone to review because of that. I try to do it in a somewhat humorous manner. Like you said, locker room talk among the guys. Whatever, if it offended you I apologize. I don't think it did though. I think you were fine with it and the admins threw out the threat of censorship to shut down the chatter before it got more out of control. Which is cool. As to your being an expert on some things and not others, you seem to think highly of yourself on many things and come across as arrogant. I know I come across as an ass here myself but again, it's hopefully in good fun, we've got our personas here, etc. No blood, no foul.

Attempting? You do realize the word mature has two meanings, right? Just mean that their coaching staff, QB, Megatron, etc have been in the same system now for a while. When we were "winning despite ourselves" we were also in the very early stages of this offense gelling. And since then we've been going with our #2 QB and/or an injured Cutler. Damn I can't wait until we get this offense completely healthy with a little more time to grow, with a D that gets them the ball back more often... I'm giving myself a semi.

I thought Jason said locker room talk was acceptable? Alright gents, I probably crossed a line and I'll step back. Peace.