Alaskan Grizzly

There have been exceptions to rule (or singularly speaking anyhow) and that example of a worthwhile 1st rounder is Greg Olsen. A lot of good he's doing us now though. And Jason we really need to stop this agreeing thing...its starting to creep me out.

Ok... Same applies.

The Bears are not drafting a TE in the first round. I will denounce my loyalty to Lovie Smith and herald Cutler for 1st ballot HOF if they do.

1) No. If they do it won't be until late in the draft. I suspect they'll look at potential current or future FA's for a good reliable TE. You know teams aren't done cutting yet so there's still time to look for a decent one that way. Right now there are a few serviceable ones out there in Owen Daniels (even though he's older - 33) and Andrew Quarless (late of GB). 2) See above 3) No idea. All depends on his ability to play the full year. I don't think he has actually played a full 16 game season yet. Then again, and looking towards what MaddLith pointed out, the majority of our starting 4 WR's haven't completed a full season in the last two years so to me that would be more of a concern. Hence why our team may look to draft a WR before they even think of TE. Have to remember that Housler was also resigned just before Bennett left. He's been holding down the back up role for a few years but has managed at least two seasons of +400 yards. Perhaps they see something there they can work with?

Thank you for saving me from bringing up Lovie Smith. Lol. Given John Fox has been to two Super Bowls (with two different teams) and won neither. I would definitely prefer that he win at least once if not more.

I'm not-not a fan (double negative means positive right?). But I'm still speculative. As a person he seems genuine and very energetic. Like that he has a player's background. Just need to see that his personnel moves are all going to pan out. Thankfully for him he did good in assembling a top notch coaching team. So far my grade is a solid B edging towards B+.

You're going to have to change your lineup now since we got rid of one sixth round and gained a fourth with the Bennett deal. Call it: "Post FA Mock Draft 2.0".

Oddly enough he went to the IR in week 4 last year after tearing his ACL while returning kicks. So he has done special teams...or at least used to. But beyond that I can't really understand why our team would consider him. Can he catch passes? Sure but that's about it. Seems he'd be pigeon-holed to doing just that and if he were to be lining up other teams would figure out that we were going to probably pass. I mean the best he's done in his 4 (?) years of playing is 150 yds total rushing (2013) and 217 yds rec (2014). He did get 215 yds receiving last year before getting hurt. I'd say absolutely no thank you. I'm just hoping they're throwing up a smoke screen to possibly draft Elliott or Henry (or some other suitable RB in later rounds).

I have to say you need to post here more often. Your initial post had me rolling. And the fact you have Farley as part of your ID is awesome! Not sure if it was due to Marshall's being a pain in the ass or his speaking the truth, I'm sure that him being outspoken didn't set well with the coaches and management. And given the relative frailty of the roster at that point they probably determined he couldn't contribute positively any longer in the locker room. Maybe why Forte said what he said. There is no doubt the team missed his (BM's) skills at WR last year. There is history that he usually lasts with teams about 2-3 years before he starts pissing people off. And again whether he was right about Cutler or not, the team had too much invested in him (mostly money-not trust) they couldn't have people openly questioning their tactics. I suspect if the Jets don't resign Fitzpatrick Brandon will start shooting off his mouth again and get himself in trouble. And you know what, he'll probably be right that they should keep him...but they'll have their reasons for not if they don't.

Still not a big fan of mocks but anyhow.... You know my stance on Olinemen for round 1. - Negative. I'm going to hedge and say if they are available it'll be one of the offensive skill players; QB - Wentz, RB - Henry or RB - Elliot. And despite the team's recent adds I would still very much like to see them pickup Ragland. Dude looks like a thumper. Edit: thought I'd share this interesting read. Shows a compilation of various mocks and presents it pie chart form. http://www.sbnation.com/nfl-mock-draft/201...dencies-experts

Here's a comparison of Von Miller and Jones: Von Miller - 6'3", 254#, 4.53 forty, 33.5 arms, 37" vert., 10.6" broad, 6.7 3-cone C. Jones - 6'3". 240#, 4.74 / 40, 33.5 arms, 33.5 vert., 9'6" broad, ???? cone As far as height and weight he's pretty comparable. Not quite as good in all the combine skills (although I would've sworn he looks faster). And you have to consider Miller was a first round pick, Jones was not. Nevertheless, probably better (and younger) than most of our current OLB's. Again the biggest thing against him (IMHO) is his 'rawness'. And besides that SCS wants to see him give it a shot and he's either the real Ryan Pace or the second coming so it's pretty much a guarantee.

Right but that's for ILB, not OLB. I think he should be re-evaluated in that position. And whether its worth considering, he was alleged to have been thought as a round 2-3 talent but had some drug issue pop up just before the draft. Hence why they think he went undrafted.

Below is an article I found that was written about Jones coming out of college. Makes for a great read especially if you look at it with the Seattle Seahawk consideration the author gives at the end. In a nutshell, Jones hasn't really had an opportunity to play what amounts to his 'natural' position. In fact coming out of High School he was a 5 star prospect playing OLB. And according to the article both his brother and dad (Willie who played for Oakland) played OLB and did pretty good doing it. Like someone mentioned I think Jones has enough raw talent that with McPhee, Young and Houston all on the roster he could at least contribute for depth. I'd rather not see a draft spot be used if we already have a player of Jones' potential on the roster. http://thesidelineview.com/columns/draft/c...christian-jones

Saw Hicks do an one-one interview the other day on ITB. Have to say from what I heard he seems like a great character guy. Not that it and skill are related but I at least know he won't be a distraction in the locker room. In listening to him he said his mom is from South Chicago and has been a lifelong Bears fan and that she's thrilled to be able to go and cheer her son at the games. That too me is pretty freakin cool.. Good luck to you Mr. Hicks. I look forward to seeing what you can do.

I think in all fairness he (Jones) hasn't really been evaluated by a legitimate DC until last year. Before Fangio came along Mel Tucker was the one calling the shots and well, we know how that ended up. JOnes must have had some relevance if he was still on the team last year. Granted Timu started seeing the field late in the season but again that was more in the ILB position. Perhaps Jones could play OLB? He has the speed and range so why not give it a shot? If Fangio sees it as a possibility I'm good with it.

Just last week I was reading where NFL.com did their 4.0 mock and had the Bears picking Floyd at 11. At the time I was trying to make sense of it. But perhaps its not all that far fetched. As you pointed out he's really small (in overall weight) but could put on some weight and be the 'Von Miller' type we need? Wasn't Fox in Denver when they drafted Miller? Probably would know what to look for if that were the direction the team was going. Although after some of the discussions we've seen where the team tried, and failed, to land CJ Anderson, makes you wonder if they aren't looking at an RB in the first 2-3 rounds.

And oddly enough he went to a pretty decent team in the Jets. They played tough last year and are on the edge of making a run. I think they need Fitz back to make it work..odd as that sounds. Agree he'll probably last a few years longer than most think.

Second tweet down. Kyle is impressed. https://mobile.twitter.com/ChicagoBears?ref...7Ctwgr%5Eauthor Interesting side note if you look at the retweet originally from Lester Witfong (about 8th down) says Mariani had no drops last season. 33 targets and 22 catches. So if I'm reading that right it means the other 11 (about 1/3) were misses? Ergo Cutler bad throws?

Tell it to the experts at NFL.com. I was just repeating what they wrote and trying to figure out why so many get excited about Hicks. The fact he's rated lower than some 'has beens' should make you pause.

So what about this Rob Housler guy currently on the roster? He's relatively young and had a year or two of semi productive play. Although in my reading up of him I can't tell if he's on the roster or a FA.

Again (about history with Pace) I ask why does the history matter? He wasn't a starter in NO just a fill guy. Pace hasn't been proven right with him yet. If he had anything to do with him to begin with. And as far as how he (Hicks) compares to Raji and Knighton I just read what NFL.com posted. Again there were more pass rushers (not just pure DLmen) listed ahead of Hicks. The troubled Aldon Smith (59) and long in tooth Chris Long - no pun intended (25). I also should mention that the aforementioned Nick Fairley (26) is still available who is listed as a simple DT.

So Freeman is that good eh?

Every one of those you guys listed; Jefferey, Royal, Wilson and White were hurt at some point in the last year or two. I'd say at least 50% of that group will be hurt again. Smart insurance signing. He's clutch and reliable.

This appears to be the situation on Jenkins. And Hicks.... https://mobile.twitter.com/JasonLaCanfora/s...415899250720768

The more I read on Hicks, the less I'm enamoured with him. The fact that he still hasn't signed makes me think he's either overrated or has a high opinion. And that they just resigned Unrein makes me less wanting him. He's definitely not a "must sign". On NFL.com and of the 'top 100 FAs available he's listed as #82. As far as just defensive tackles go he's listed behind my personal fav Knighton at #56 and BJ Raji at #48. If we're in the market for a pass rushing type DL there are even more of them listed ahead of Ayers. Must get - no. If we get, maybe.