Mongo3451

I'm coming out of my "bell tower" a little on this situation. But to clarify what I said, it's if you draft the right guy. You are correct in stating some players play to high, etc... In Williams case, he relies on quickness and technique which really translates into the zone blocking our OL does. If you want a mauler/road grater, he's not your guy. I actually did not say anything about him getting stronger. However, you may have read the same article on the Bears website that eluded to that. Above, I stated I am coming off the "bell tower". This is where I am now, under one condition. We must sign Gross. We must have someone, going into next season, we know can play the left side. So, if we sign Gross, I'm all for drafting an OG on day one. No Gross, I want an OT and OG day one and maybe a free agent OT. That would leave Williams, St. Clair, draftee and FA at OT. Knowing St. Clair can play inside makes him valuable still. Oh hell yeah! I have this mind though. (Gross, Williams, Olin, St.Clair, Oher) I'd put Gross at LT, he just made All-Pro at it. Then you groom Beekman for C, Keep Garza/Buenning as swing OG's. If one of the tackles get hurt, you simply slide the guard over. Bam! St. Clair was never out of my equation. I was talking some serious over-compensation. We must get this ONE thing right before we'll ever return to glory.

Until I hear Lovie, JA or Babich say it, I won't believe it. It could be yet another smokescreen. Biggs didn't even name a source within the organization. I'm still on the bandwagon!! Agreed and you can narrow it down. When all is said and done, we are probably top 5 in cap shape, due to us not having any major free agents to re-sign. If Gross is not signed by Carolina by day one of free agency, poison pill the bastards.

OL was again a weakness on the Bears last season. With the recent announcement that Tait may be retiring, the OL will be rendered weaker than it was last season. Looking into the depth of our OL, tackle is the glaring need; with the most important tackle being the left. Tait provided insurance in the instance St. Clair and/or Williams failed. IMO - St Clair was borderline at best. I don't have a direct source, but I think I remember reading that he gave up the most sacks in the NFL last season. (please correct if wrong) His run blocking was not above average either. With that being said, how do we plug St. Clair in at RT with confidence he will be an asset? How can we be sure that Williams is a good football player, since he has not played a snap at LT in the NFL? So, we know St. Clair is not a good LT, Williams may not be able to play anything and Tait (the player serviceable at both sides) retiring leaves us with zero confirmed talent. Sorry guys, St. Clair is NOT a starting caliber player, allthough his signing should be a priority. The reason LT makes sense is due to them usually being better athletes. If Gross becomes availible, we should may a play for him. In the draft, if we luck out and Oher falls to us, we should all do backflips, as he has better natural ability than Williams. Even if we get Gross, I still take Oher. Then, we can go into training camp with our young new tackles battling it out for which side they will play. You can do so much more with an athletic tackle than you can with the other positions. You can even play them next to each other if needed. Some of you may disagree, but time will always tell, you can never be overstocked with talent at this position. At this point, the cupboard is practically bare and it needs overstocked to ensure adequate talent is availible.

They must have very clear plans to upgrade the position via free agency, as there is nothing close to a sure thing in this draft. Otherwise, I don't get it. He was, though oft injured, the best safety on our team. My guess is they will get new talent at CB for "the move" we've been anticipating.

Haynesworth is a huge wildcard as a FA. GM's are very leary, as they are unsure of his performance being FA related. If he's saying that he's going to top bidder, it is a mistake that may cost him $$. Detroit has a chance to get a beast or a guy that goes totally complacent with cash in hand. If Detroit signs him, of course the latter will happen.

I liked what I saw from Lloyd on the field, but have to leave his fate to the staff, as they know what he's really like. Man he has the ability to make some great grabs. On Booker, you must think the staff are idiots (as I do ) to think they feel he may have something left in the tank. We saw what he had already and so did Miami in letting him walk.

Detroit is going to have to "overpay" to attract any top free agents. They are going have to "earn" a reputation as a team that players want to play for before they can be competitive in FA. As of now Detroit has been the toilet of the league for years and winners will not go there. On the other hand, Detroit has to be very careful who they spen on, as they may continue their string of bad luck by signing money grubbers.

I'd rather just cut Booker ASAP. He was absolutely useless last year and I'd rather reps go to someone else. As far as Tait is concerned, I'd like to see him take a pay cut and remain on the roster as a valued backup. Agree, no need for big announcements unless we are surprised by a cut.

I would like to get him if we don't have plans to upgrade the CB position. I'm still on the sign Osamuhga, move Nut to FS, and draft a pass rusher bandwagon. I also want M. Brown back in uni for the Bears. He can player coach and backup both safety positions. Vasher to nickel. D Manning to special teams, situational defender and dime package.

Don't go there, please. The talent levels are not even close to comparable. DHB is very raw VS Fitz who was very refined. DHB has questionable hands VS Fitz who was gold. DHB is off the charts fast VS Fitz who is football fast with a bad 40 time. Completely different players. If he has dreads that may be it. That being said, I really think we'll be going DE, CB or OL in the 1st. If we trade down somehow; I wouldn't mind getting him later, as I like his upside.

Welcome to the enlightened side Bradjock! We'll have the rest eating crow soon enough. Detractors show yourselves and be counted!

IMO - Lovie probably felt the year after the Superbowl was "the hangover", combined with the rash of injuries, Rex sucking and Benson's turd-itis. I really think he thought his D was going to be back with a vengeance last season. Now, he feels burned by those he trusted to step up and carry the team as the professionals they are supposed to be. I can really see that mentality. Kinda like your kids when they take advantage of your generosity. Time to take the keys to the car away. So, the gloves are off and hopefully Mr. Nice Guy has hit the road.

It's his show now Take it from Madden: Smith calling defensive plays makes a lot of sense February 7, 2009 BY BRAD BIGGS bbiggs@suntimes.com When Bears coach Lovie Smith announced the day after the season ended that everything was going to be reviewed, he left little doubt change was coming. Whether it's change you can believe in is too early to tell, but change has arrived. Smith has moved veteran minicamp up almost three months. The mandatory three-day session begins March 17 and will allow the new assistants to acquaint themselves with the players and enable free-agent pickups to get into the system before the voluntary offseason program begins. Lovie Smith is taking on the additional role of play-caller for the Bears’ defense. ‘‘Every year I’ve missed some of that,’’ he said. Above all else, this is about Smith putting his foot down and taking control. He is scheduling the minicamp first -- smack dab in the middle of what has been recreation time for players -- to set the tone for the year. We already knew Smith was taking charge. He announced he was taking control of the defensive play-calling from coordinator Bob Babich after the coaching staff was assembled a few weeks after the season. A defensive coordinator by trade, Smith said he missed that part of the job, and after the unit stumbled again in 2008, something had to be done. It's one of the big decisions coaches must make, and a lot more goes into it than just X's and O's. Smith got more hands-on last season when he took over the nickel position and coached Danieal Manning personally, meeting with him in his office every day. That was the first step in his return to play-calling, which he hasn't done since 2003 with the St. Louis Rams. ''I think all head coaches would tell you that they miss being able to have a position,'' Smith said. ''And of course some of the play-calling, you miss that. That's what you've done all your life. Every year I've missed some of that.'' Former San Francisco 49ers and Detroit Lions coach Steve Mariucci called offensive plays in his first season with the 49ers, then delegated for his next eight years in charge. The Niners went through a restructuring with the departure of owner Eddie DeBartolo Jr. and front-office chiefs Carmen Policy and Dwight Clark, and Mariucci found himself being pulled in many directions when it came to personnel decisions. ''I prefer someone calling the plays,'' Mariucci said. ''Some head coaches are capable of doing it, some are well-equipped to do it, some prefer to do it. Mike Holmgren never wanted to give it up. He said, 'Steve, if you give it up, it's going to be hard to take it back if you feel like you need to.' ''I prefer to have a play-caller because I find myself getting too preoccupied by personnel, with officials, with the trainers, to be able to focus constantly on the plays. I got sidetracked too many times.'' In Smith's case, he will have Babich to lean on, as well as defensive line coach Rod Marinelli, who knows the scheme as well as anyone. Play-calling by head coaches usually has been reserved for coaches with offensive backgrounds, but Dallas Cowboys coach Wade Phillips took over the defensive play-calling duties at midseason. New head coaches Rex Ryan of the New York Jets and Jim Mora Jr. of the Seattle Seahawks both are expected to call defensive signals. ''It's never made sense to me why these guys were great as defensive coordinators and great as defensive play-callers and become head coaches and don't call them anymore,'' said analyst and Hall of Fame coach John Madden. ''The offensive guys usually do. Defense doesn't. I'm not sure exactly why. ''If you say you [have too many responsibilities], why don't the offensive guys have too much on their plate? I think you can train yourself to do both, especially if you've done it. If that's what you do and who you are, you probably should do it because that was the reason you were hired. Maybe you have to get hit in the head a couple times with a baseball bat to figure out it's not a damn bad idea.''

You know whats sick? My mind thought that just by reading the post title.

I agree with both of your assessments here. I want throw out a thought on this. Is it really relevant that Wolfe can pass block? If he is used to chip and go to his route, wouldn't that suffice? I would think Wolfe as a threat on passing situations would negate a defender rushing. If the defender keeps coming instead of tending to Wolfe, Turner needs to find a way to make them pay. Wolfe can slow the pass rush without touching anyone. If he can't win these one on one battles on a consistent basis, he's not worth having. As AZ54 says, he has to be given reps in the game.

NE has the best of both worlds in this situation. If they trade Cassel, it's for precisely what they want. No trade and they have the security other teams drool over. Madlith brought up Url to NE. Belicheck would jizz imself drawing up new schemes.

Agreed. I would like to see the P&L statement. I sure the coffers are brimming. Plus, I think the NFL in general has been leaning on teams. One thing NFO brought out was the same as I was thinking yesterday is that we have the smallest stadium. I think that was also done to always ensure TV revenue nevers is missed, as I think there were games that we didn't sell out when we sucked. The big money comes from TV and merchandizing anyway.

You just sent me into a full blown panic attack!

Orton development - Maybe I am just naive (sp?), but I honestly believe Turner when he speaks highly of Orton. Doesn't mean everything he says is true, but I really do get the feeling Turner is in fact high on Orton. Turner said he believes Orton is a long term solution to our QB problems. Talked about how well his development was going prior to the injury, how the injury seemed to kill his timing, but how his timing seemed to get back to him again at the end. The reason I agree with this is, I see the same things Turner is talking about. IMO – Orton came back from his injury, playing not to re-injure. Once that creeps into your mind, things like going through your reads and instinctive timing with the receiver go out the window. It basically keeps you getting “in the zone” so to speak. If you look at Orton with the game on the line, he always seemed to up his game. (as in forgetting about staying healthy and just playing) Orton lack of deep ball - Turner seems to truly believe in the need for the big play, but also believes Orton is capable of such. He said Orton did miss on some deep balls, but went on to say it wasn't all his fault. He implies the biggest issue was a lack of timing between Orton and the WRs, also mentioning a lack of practice reps between he and the WRs. Mentions injuries, and I get the impression he means WRs, but not sure who he is talking about. "The more he’s around them and the more experience he gets, he’ll hit those. A lot of it has to do with practice. We had some guys who couldn’t practice as much as they wanted because of injuries. If you’re not throwing those things full speed in practice, it’s hard to hit them in the games." Again, I agree with Turner on this. Orton was showing good accuracy downfield prior to the injury. It wasn’t great, but good enough to keep the opponent honest. Is Wolf Sproles - While he speaks well of Wolfe, and also believes Wolf has a role in the future, he doesn't sound like he see's the two RBs are being that similar. Says that while they are similar in height, Sproles has more power in his lower body and is more compact. He does mention Wolfe's ability in the screen pass and explosion. He talks about AP getting reps Wolfe may have due to confidence in AP, particularly in regard to blitz pickup. I get the impression that if Wolfe get more impress the coaches in terms of blocking and protection, we may see Wolfe more and more phased in and AP phased out. Turner has to convince me on this one. I do agree that they are not the same player. But Turner has to show me he is able to get Forte off the field. There was another question in that interview regarding Forte’s touches being high and Turner agreed they don’t want to run his dick in the dirt. But the unwillingness to play players like Bennett, or even Williams (at guard) late in the season when the people ahead of them were atrocious lets me Turner gets locked into personnel. AP at FB - This was one of the more interesting ones, IMHO. Someone mentioned the idea of AP at FB, similar to Larry Centers. Turner called the question great, said it was a great observation, and even said it was something they have talked about. Said it is something AP can do, and mentioned the idea of a backfield w/ both AP (as the FB) and Forte as the halfback. Interesting idea IMHO. I am not sold on AP as a lead blocker, but would not mind taking a look at this. IMHO, AP would offer FAR MORE potential from the FB position when it comes to passing or handing off to the FB. Interesting question, and even more so w/ Turner saying it is something they have talked about. I think this may rely on Wolfe, and his ability to improve or impress in blocking. If Wolfe can improve his blitz pickup, and thus phase AP out of the RB rotation (and knowing how the staff loves AP) we could see AP move more to the FB position. Blah blah blah. I don’t want to find any more reason to use AP as a skill position player. He strikes fear into no-one. I won’t settle for anything less than a real fullback this year! Interesting that there wasn't much feedback on the Oline other than Williams. Maybe it's just me trying to read the between the lines too much because I think it was a big problem for us. This is the time for information and disinformation. The O-line was the weakest link last year. That being said, they played better than I thought they would. My hope is that was all left out because they feel our O is going to be prominent with the new OL additions they are planning and don't want to tip off the enemy.(Like they don't know) We can only hope.