CrackerDog

Good draft other than Robbie Gould. Since the Bears are going to score a TD with every possession, all you'll ever get from him is extra points.

I agree. Hence why I said Mulligan is a shit-for-brains. The media in general. They're trying to stir something up. I don't take issue with Cutler's statement at all. In fact, given this statement, I now don't even take issue with Cutler throwing that ball up there in the first preseason game. For all I know this guy may be just that friggen smart. Basically toss one up there, see what kind of chops Hester has in helping him out, and then breaking his balls for not making the play. And he didn't even go as rough on Hester as many who think Hester needs to do some growing up have gone on him. So... It could be an error that pays dividends down the road. I hope.

Mulligan is a shit-for-brains.

Precisely the reason to be nervous. I could see how adding Cutler would potentially make our WR's better but you can't make a silk purse out of a pig's ear. Our secondary is terrible. Having Lovie calling the schemes made no difference. We need to spend some of that remaining cap cash adding talent at both spots or this season will go up in flames. (And I don't think there's anything available in free agency for the defense's needs.)

It's just the first preseason game... We were vanilla... Had our two top offensive weapons out... Tommie didn't play... Saw a lot of things I liked... Gotta tackle better... The secondary is a concern... Jay's a gunslinger... I could've written this same postgame script after the first preseason game of all the Lovie Smith seasons. They always look like shit this early in camp. And he'll say "Of course" about 17 times in 10 minutes.

Can't tell much about the WR's tonight because of Olsen/Forte being out since they're such huge parts of the offense. But I saw nothing to impress me. Partly due to the fact that Cutler certainly had an off night. Jones showed me nothing. Wolfe looked OK in various ways but really his best carries were against 2nd string so there's nothing to write home about here. The O Line played well, the D Line didn't impress. They got literally no pressure unless they blitzed a corner or safety. There were lots of missed tackles. This was disappointing. Our secondary is weak. 10-10 and it wasn't Peyton Manning out there guys... So no pressure and no coverage. Ouch. Better get their heads out of their asses. That said, again, this is the first preseason game. But I REALLY expected to see something tonight.

Oy!

And I want to see the backup RB's. See if Wolfe has any ability beyond the boutique plays.

LOL. I'm trying to figure out if people really hate Davis this much or if they're just trying to break BrianBear's balls. Personally I don't care who steps up but we need two solid starters and one or two good backups. I don't care if one of them dropped a lot of passes in prior years or not. Let's face it, Hester hasn't exactly produced at WR in his career, yet most of us have high hopes for him. Who can say what having a QB placing the ball in a more catchable position will do for any of these guys?

I mean, sure, we all want to see how Cutler looks. Let's be honest. But there are other things in the balance too. Things that somewhat hang off of Cutler's presence and others that just plain need to be answered after last year. You can't tell much from the first preseason game but there are things we can watch for, even in this exhibition game. Here's my list: 1.) Is Hester a real WR? I've always said he won't make it as a WR because he just didn't have the smarts. But that was always with the expectation that the Bears would never have a Probowl QB on their roster. Does the addition of Cutler make Hester into something I never believed he could be? I hope so. 2.) I'll be watching the WR derby with interest, besides Hester. 3.) Is Jones really healthy and will that mean Forte can expect to see fewer carries? A healthy Jones may not diminish Forte's numbers but could mean fresher legs, later into games and into the season. This could be huge. 4.) Is the O Line playing together? 5.) Is the D Line improvement due to better coaching obvious? Are the techniques they use expanded to include stunts, etc? 6.) Does the defense tackle? 7.) How bad is our secondary? Are they developing or is this going to be our Achilles heel all season? 8.) How badly do we miss Brown's leadership on the field? Who steps up and takes charge? 9.) Are the players in shape? Do they generally execute fundamentals well? 10.) Your additions?

That's only because the Philly Vick jerseys aren't out yet.

You can't tell shit about shit in the first preseason game but... Orton was 9-16 for 89 yards and THREE picks last night. Cutler hasn't thrown a pass for us yet but he's way ahead in the "early voting". LOL! Even worse, IMO, than his three interceptions was his continuing his career average of lower than 6 YPA which simply isn't NFL quality QB'ing. Over 7 is the target. Cutler is at 7.4. Later today we'll see Cutler for the first time. If he has as bad a day as Kyle had yesterday, I'll be calling for Ron Turner's head on a silver platter.

I generally agree. But you've also got to develop rookie talent each year too. So that's got to play into it. No QB in the history of the NFL would ever choose to have a rookie in the group of guys kept at WR. Unless this name was Randy... Obviously there are other examples but you get my point. So, yes, let Cutler have the guys he loves most but don't lose sight of developing talent for the long term either. I can't wait for Saturday's game!

http://www.chicagobears.com/multimedia/ind...mm_file_id=1564

Because this is the internet.

Good video. Pumps you up as a fan.

He needs to step up no matter where the Bears put him. I think it'll be tough for him to make this team this year. I don't know what kind of camp he's having thus far but with the idea to have Hester on the field and them move a TE outside and Hester inside, the slot is Hester's on those plays. Someone bigger and with better hands will be on the outside on the other side and we have two rookies who will definitely make this team. He'll either make the squad or not based on how good he looks in preseason games. If he continues to drop the ball, he's gone. But with Cutler throwing a nicer ball, he may improve and we'll all be back on his bandwagon. Hell if I know.

Well said my man. Great post. I'd say the onus is more on Ron Turner than anyone else here. If Cutler turns into a pumpkin at midnight it'll be Ron Turner's offense that did it. Turner might point to a lack of WR's in his defense but he'll be fired if this offense doesn't produce. I think it will produce as I remember RT being pretty successful with Kramer at QB but only live action will tell us the full story. If the Bears O moves the ball well, Cutler will be signed long term this season while the cap space is there. Or they could extend a few other players reducing next year's cap load thereby freeing up space for negotiations then. I don't know who hits next year though so I'm not sure they could migrate that much space to 2010. LT?

One - He should've said "All else being equal" and it would've solve your concern. Two - I agree. Unless Turner turns Cutler into a chump, sign him up long term before the end of the season! Three - Agree. Four - I think the players may be more forward thinking than LT is giving them credit for. A league with a few Stienbrenner type owners in it, driving up salaries, would be a bonanza for the players in the long run. Of course it would make for a much less interesting and competitive league but the players would benefit at least for a while. I think they'd LOVE to see a cap free season and they might hope it never came back.

Actually, I'm not confusing it. That's the point I was trying to make. Of course, as usual, you did a much better job of it. But my point was exactly that they might "roll over" some real money but that the cap situation might be irrelevant since 1.) there might not be a cap (which I doubt) and 2.) if there is, you can't use this year's dollars next year.

If there isn't a cap next year then you're holding onto something. You'd have $20 mil in real cash still available to spend. But if there is, that $20 disappears at the end of the year. You can't really roll it forward. Either way, if Cutler is what we all hope he is, we should use this money to extend him during the season. Look for that to happen after the first 6 games of the year. And I doubt the owners would allow a season to be played under an uncapped year. There'd be huge pressure on them to close negotiations to avoid this. And if the players union refused to negotiate, just waiting out the uncapped season, the owners would lock them out. This literally has to get done. And with the economy being in the toilet, I think the owners will probably have an easier time getting a deal they like.

No, no, no! Thank you for reminding me why I still read this board. Every once in a while, someone writes something outstanding. Awesome job man.

On Stallworth, I'd like to see a link to a story noting the pedestrian ran out in the street. I hadn't heard that. Regardless, it all goes back to "Nothing good happens outside your home at 2 AM." On Edwards and Marshall, we don't have ammo. Pass. On Plax, do it if you can. His suspension will be 4 games, tops. And will likely be bargained down from there. I'd sign him to a long term deal with a big bonus but have "good citizen" clauses in the contract which would allow you to recapture the signing bonus if he continued to be a douche. His jail time, if any, will be in the off-season. It will be minimal. On the current roster of receivers, I think they're almost all better than they've shown and a good/great QB will prove that out. However, I'm not sold that Hester will ever be anything more than he is simply because he's a stupid bastard. But, I hope I'm wrong. If I'm not, we need a #1 and I doubt any of the kids can get there in Cutler's first year. With our D aging, we can't wait and wish... So, sign Plax, deal with the fallout and git'er done in the Superbowl. Oh, and if Turner turns Cutler into Orton, his NFL coaching career is over. I hope he's got it in him to design and call a high-powered gameplan. Of course, he'll need to balance the attack because of the winter months in Chicago, but I seem to recall Denver gets a little snow too. Turner is on the hotseat with Lovie.

Confirmed: http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/front/6472219.html

Agree. But we need a few of those draft picks to pan out and we could still use help at WR and in the defensive backfield. If injuries aren't a big problem this season, we should be in there at the end. A huge key is production from the defensive line. If the coaching changes help there, we could have a dramatically better team than last year. Teams won't be able to play the Bears assuming 17 points will win the game. They'll need to score more and if we're getting pressure up front on D, that'll lead to turnovers. Getting Tommy healthy is critical.