CrackerDog

ABOUT TIME! I got sick of listening to him slobber all over Favre's jock these last 15 years or so. The last time he was actually good was the mid-80's! I guess not having Favre around to blow constantly was too much for the old boy. Hasta la vista.

This schedule isn't easy boys. The ranking is thrown way off because we get to play the Lyin's twice. There isn't anything easy about it beyond the 0-32 the Lyin's represent. If we win 10 or 11 games in that schedule we'll have earned every bit of our playoff berth. Mark my words, the problem with this year's team is going to be defense. Our secondary isn't strong and we can't rush the passer. We'll be scoring more which will help our D but I'm worried we let that side of the ball get old and we've hung our hat on Tommy in the middle who, quite frankly, ain't git'n er done.

I guess it depends on why he got waived.

Thanks man. One correction: The glass is nearly completely full. Life goes on.

Couldn't agree more. But the question was what are the ramifications and at this point, there aren't any. And I'm not sure they'll want to go out there and extend him with a big deal right away. Too many guys have disappeared after getting the big check... I'd say you sit down with him, be very honest, and tell him you'll do a deal with him in one year. That means with 2 left on his contract which is very fair. I'd then use the cap space we have available now to bring in a Marvin Harrison and front load other contracts for vets we want to extend today. Leaving ample space in next year's cap. (Note: I'm assuming above there won't be an uncapped year. I believe both sides will get a deal done in collective bargaining. Now is not the time, with the economy being what it is, for either side to chance killing this golden goose.)

Did George W Bush assume the Presidency again!?!?!

Had to go through hell for the last several years before I decided to move on and divorce my wife. My son and I are living together and his mom is still working on staying sane/sober. The energy one expends in these circumstances is unreal. But everything was final in February and my son is doing great in school and is otherwise a very well adjusted 10 year old. Life is good.

As of right now, there aren't any financial ramifications to my knowledge. Cutler will be in the 4th year of a 6 year deal he signed as a rookie. So he's going to get paid something like a million dollars which is peanuts these days. Of course, the Bears will probably sign him up long term but they don't have to do anything with this long left on the contract.

Been busy getting my life in order. But THIS was enough to bring me in for a looksee. What a day!

JEEBUS!!! WHO ARE YOU? THIS CAN'T BE NFO!!!! No way you're THIS positive... EVER!

Life is good.

Not perfect. Just don't want the BIGGEST douche in the NFL on my team. A little class would be great. I'm not looking for boy scouts but this jackass is beyond reclamation.

I agree. He's a turd and with our offense he'd go nuts almost immediately. He needs someone throwing him the ball with a high frequency or he freaks. I'd rather go after almost any other WR in FA than TO.

In my mind his success is mostly due to the system and the other talent around him. He'd turn into a lump of shit with the Bears... Now that I've expressed an opinion, you can expect NFO to show up in a few minutes to say that Cassel is the second coming of John Elway. Three... Two... One...............

I won't waste my time in a tit for tat here. Your reputation here is clear. You bitch about EVERYTHING no matter what. I point out things the team needs to work on without questioning the entire system and all of the coaches and player personnel staff. I have a little faith, you have none. You'd rather piss on everything each and every time the team modestly disappoints. I think we have a solid group here and the window is closing on the D talent wise, as happens to most teams as they age. The Patriots are the only team out there that doesn't seem to need to rebuild every now and then. Just be a little more even and fair and you won't get called Chicken Little.

OMFG! The chicken little brigade, led by NFO, King Chicken, is at it again... What the Bears have done this off season already pleases me. 1.) They hired a solid DL coach who ought to get a lot more out of the substantial talent we have there. 2.) They've effectively demoted an ineffective DC and replaced him with Lovie Smith, a guy who clearly had a tad bit of success running the Cover 2 in his previous life 3.) The GM has made it known that QB play on this team (which I actually had little issue with this year given all else) wasn't up to snuff and he intends to bring the heat to that position. Something, if you'd all get your heads out of your asses, that ought to excite you! 4.) The O this season was pretty darned productive with NO wide receivers. NONE. If we can address that, step up the QB play either via free agency or just threatening Orton with a challenge to the position, we ought to see a nice improvement from the O! 5.) Forte is the shit. We're good there for a decade if he stays healthy. 6.) We still need to improve the O Line depth and basically start replacing some of the old guys. Center is my biggest concern now as Olin is a fossil. A few choice picks here and there in the draft will clearly focus here. The sky isn't falling girls. We went 9-7 this season which is dead on for where this team was projected by the optimistic among us. With a few key changes and better production out of the talent we already have, they can revamp quickly and be right back in the swing next season. I'm not saying they will, but damn dudes... Let the actual off season moves take place before you sign the death warrant for 2009. Please! PS. I do/did think the Babich dual role was ridiculous until I found out that Lovie was going to step into a more active role there. I agree with those that say Lovie should've gotten off his ass faster during the season. But that's an opinion based on nothing but a guess that he didn't. Nobody here knows if he was a lot more involved in the late season game plans for the D. NOBODY. And we had a pretty good run at the end of the year until the last game... After Brown was hurt.

Ridiculous.

Which was my point as well. I too doubt it will happen.

How can you say that after Marinelli was hired to be a position coach? You're right, he's still a HC but that's only because they're in the process of hiring a GM and they want the GM to pick the new HC or have him be the one that keeps Edwards. The expectation is that Herm will be cut loose.

Tebow has a windup to his throwing motion that makes Dontrelle Willis look conservative.

Despite what NFO and some others here say, I think this is outstanding. This IS the position Marinelli is best at coaching. I said this a few weeks ago when we were discussing bringing him in as DC and we were all generally against that. Let's face it, our DL sucked shit this season. Is it Tommy Harris disappearing for most of the season or coaching? Some combination of both? Probably. But good coaching in the DL will impact the entire D. Unlike some here, I don't think the Cover 2 is doomed. It's about how good the players in it are and how well coached they are such that you can feel confident with being aggressive. My biggest fear is the players we have on D have gotten old and they just aren't that good anymore. If that's the case; scheme and coaching won't mean dick.

I agree with this. That said, he'll have plenty of options at DL coach. One would think we'd have the "edge" since he and Lovie have a history. But money will probably talk loudest. Our line has the talent to be a lot better than it was this year. Something has to change there or we're doomed to repeat 2008 again. Or worse. Lovie likes to say we were a few plays away from being an 11 or 12 win team. I look at the way this team played this season and feel we were also a few plays away from being a 5 win team. This squad needs help and a solid DL coach is a great start.

I said: and You took one line about my liking Lovie in general and blew off the rest. I realize this is probably just a tactic to get me to waste a lot of time arguing. I won't. The fact is, this isn't a black or white issue. There are a lot of things I like about Lovie. I think he can continue to grow and improve. But he's surrounded by mediocrity and this won't help him in the long run. And yes, Babich is his OWN damn fault! You'd think a guy Lovie promoted would be able to out-coach the guy he replaced but it hasn't happened. I put a lot of faith in that transition and let's put it bluntly, Riveria is ten times the coach Babich is. I don't love Turner either but at least he can say he's limited by the WR talent on the team. Which is true. Babich has the horses, for the most part, and this defense, outside of a few games, has been hugely disappointing and inconsistent. Getting no pressure at all on the QB for 90% of the game and then pulling a surprise party where you get 3 or 4 sacks in the next two series means you can create pressure but choose to hold back. Is this genius or stupidity? My solution: Cut Babich and bring in a better D coordinator. Sign a legit WR via FA. Shore up the O Line some more. See if a healthy Vasher can return to form, if not, replace him. Move Hester back to ST only and if he fails, cut him. He's paid too much to suck. Use him occasionally in certain formations, as a surprise, and hey, here's a crazy idea, actually GIVE HIM THE BALL on one of those end arounds instead of just faking it all the time!!! Has he run it once this year? If you do these things and Lovie doesn't get it done, the window has closed on this team anyway, time to rebuild. And for the dreamers out there, wake up, Cowher ain't coming to Chicago under any circumstances. Won't happen.

I love my son. Not sure how that precludes me from holding him accountable. Must actually take an internet GM because I'm missing something.