nfoligno

The majority of those yards were on three runs. I think it was a total of nearly 70 yards. For the most part the OL did jack-$*@% against the Vikings DL. Look at the average without those three carries and you'll see how consistently the OL did a good job. I think it's much more likely that those three runs are an abberation, and the Vikings made mistakes or lost gap-responsibility. For instance, on the first long run two Vikings' players (#42 & #52) took horrible angles. Normally, that play is stuffed for a minimal gain. It was more a Viking mistake than a Bears' OL success. Can that not be said often though? Everyone has talked about how AP tore us up, right? He had 131 yard (4.6 avg) and a score. But what happens when we take away his big breakaway run? Take out that 59 yarder, and he had only 72 yards rushing and a weak arce 2.6 ypc avg. Take a look at most scoreboards, and I think you will find the same. I have NO issue if you want to say our OL looked like crap, but by trying to rip the OL, IMHO you at the same time minimize what Forte did by saying it was more an abberation or Viking mistakes that led to his yards, rather than good, solid runs.

1) What about Bennett? He never sees the field. He may already be the stud the Bears need. I know I saw more than a few of his games at Vandy, and the dude looked like a beast. (i.e. coaching) Hey, I saw Chester Adams at Georgia, and he at times looked like a beast. Even more. I saw Barton at Ohio, and he looked like a hell of a lot more than a 7th rounder. Maybe we shouldn't draft OL? As you know me well enough, you know I am being sarcastic. The point is not that we don't need OL. The point is I don't think you can look at some rookie who hasn't played and think he is the answer. Many, myself included, thought Dusty would be solid, but what have we seen? Just because you saw Bennett in a couple games in college doesn't mean he is the answer, nor does it mean we should count on him. 2) MuhMuh, Berrian, Wade, Gage, Bradley - All seem to do fairly well elsewhere. Perhaps it's not a WR we need; perhaps it's what is around the WR that we need. (i.e. coaching, OL, QB) First, I would argue Berrian did as well, or better, here than in Minny and is not really a factor in your argument. Moose? Sure. Part of it was a crappy OL, QB and RB, but lets be honest. Even now, he isn't exactly great. He looks better than w/ us, but far from great. Wade? Is he really that much more today than he was w/ us 3 years ago? Gage? As I recall, part of the issue was injuries, and guess what. He has injuries again. Have some of our WRs gone on to look better w/ other teams than w/ us? Sure. And your point is? We had Rex Grossman, Benson and no OL. Is that a surprise? But Orton is an upgrade from Rex and Forte an upgrade from Benson. You watched the game, right? Orton was hitting our WRs in the hands, and they were dropping the ball. That's the fault of coaches? OL? QB? At some point, can we point the finger at the receivers? 3) Devin Hester appears to have the talent to get open; it's plainly obvious that no person in the NFL can really stay with him when he's cutting and juking in one-on-one coverage, but for some reason he's rarely on the field. And when he's on the field he's rarely open. (i.e. coaching, OL, QB) I'm sorry, but Hester has sure not seemed the great WR you seem to want to make him out. I have watched CBs blanket him FAR more often than I would have expected this year. The hester you describe is the Hester who returned kicks last year. Not the Hester we have seen at WR this year. And as for saying he is "rarely on the field"? Are you kidding me? While I am not sure if he is a starter or not, I will say he seems like he is on the field as much as any other WR on our team. The Hester I have seen runs very sloppy routes. He has not shown the speed or burst I have seen in the past. I believe I have seen him run the wrong route, and other times simply stop his route or slow down. Oh yea. And how about the drops. While I am FAR from writting him off, lets not pretend he has shown the signs of a stud being held back. While there may be times I agree surrounding talent hinders other talent, I am simply not sure Hester can say the same. 4) Rashied Davis is a very competent possession WR. And that's all the Bears need from him. He just rarely seems to be getting the ball while finding the gaps in the zone that every other team seems to find against the Bears (i.e. coaching, OL, QB) Really. Seems like Orton has found him in the gap plenty of times, and Davis has decided to not make the catch. Come on. You damn near blow your argument when you try to make out like Davis is a "very competent WR". 5) On a purely athletic-based concept, there is no reason Greg Olsen doesn't get five catches per game. (i.e. coaching) Okay. I can go along w/ this one. Why draft a WR when there are so many unknowns otherwise? Until the Bears get a new set of coaches - or at least a competent offensive mind - and a combination of OL/QB that can deliver the ball, getting a WR seems like a waste, IMHO. What's the point of getting the talent if it won't be used? Seems to me this offense is better suited with fixing the OL, which will allow #3-#5 a higher chance of success. One. There are always unknowns. Rarely do you have an ideal situation. Just because you don't have the ideal QB and OL doesn't mean you ignore WRs. Two. Hey, I want new coaches too, but doesn't that mean we simply quit until that happens? Do you believe our current staff does a good job developing QBs? Assuming the answer is no, I guess that means we should not draft a QB as he would go to waste? Hell, w/ my opinion of the staff, I guess that means we shouldn't draft any positions. Three. I agree w/ fixing the OL, but please stop pretending our WRs are good otherwise. Why can we not fix the OL and WRs at the same time? Both suck and both need to be fixed. Four. Final point to think about. Before the draft, you and I screamed we should not draft a RB as he would go to waste behind our OL and in our system. Well, I have to say, it sure looks like we were wrong. I still believe we need to build the OL, but that doesn't mean we do it to the exclusion of the rest of our team. Improving the OL will improve our WRs. Sure? But IMHO, they may improve to no more than mediocre. The reality is, our WR corp simply is not good. We can improve all the rest of the part, but then we will still need to improve the WR corp. You and I have always seen eye-to-eye w/ regard to the OL. I still feel fixing the OL is priority #1, and goes beyond just adding one player. At the same time, this season has really shown me just how mediocre our WRs are. It is simply amazing how sloppy the routes can be run, and how many drops our WRs can have.

Dusty has had a few good games this year and disappeared in others with the rest of the line. I know it is his 3rd year but technically he is a first year player. I think it might be too early to put him on the list. I'm a pretty big Dusty fan, but I am not sure we can really say he started out w/ a few good games. He has a very high motor, and I love the way he approaches the game, but he simply wasn't getting it done. Tank Johnson was becoming a kick ass DLman before he got cut, certainly not because of ability, but because of his off-field problems. I am not sure you can fault Angelo for that. He drafted a talented DT who played well. I think we absolutely can fault Angelo for Tank's off-field issues. He fell in the draft due to similar concerns. If you draft a player w/ a history of injury, and he busts due to injury, I think you can fault the GM. Similar, if you draft a player w/ a history of off-field issues, and similar issues lead to his being cut, then again, I think you can fault the GM. Bradly was a good WR when healthy, he just never could stay healthy. Again, is this Angelo's fault? But there was more to it than just injuries. He sure looks healthy in KC. Are we to assume he had a miraculous heeling? I suspect he was likely healthy for us this year, but what did he do for us?

For the record, that was sarcasm. Leading up to the draft, you couldn't read more than 3 posts w/o reading about Mendenhall. Many here wanted him in the 1st round, and felt most any other pick would have been a waste. I know who he is. I was just screwing around. And for the record, he is not buried on Pitt's depth chart anymore. He has been on the IR since, I think, about week 4 or 5.

The lack of anyone showing interest in signing him had much more to do w/ his injury than ability. In posting the below numbers, you seem to have left off 2004. In that year, he had: 1,133 (4.7 ypc) and 5 scores. Sure, his YPC were down the next few years, but seriously. He played for Detroit. 3.8 ypc is pretty good in Detroit. He also did rack up 5, 6 & 8 rushing scores each year. I would further point out that his 61 catches for over 500 yards and another couple scores is impressive. Kevin Jones is a good RB who was unfortunate to play for Detroit. The key reason teams didn't show more interest in him this offseason was due to injury. Even when he signed w/ us, it was expected he would start the season on the PUP, and it was unknown if he would be available after that. I have no problem w/ our signing him. I think it was a good signing (risk/reward). I would have no problem if we wanted to use him more, but at the same time, I have no problem if we want to de-activate him due to his lack of special teams potential.

As was mentioned, regardless if they are suspended, as practices for the game have begun, the suspensions would not go into effect until the following week. W/ that said, there were reports that came out that may put into question whether there will even be any suspensions. If I recall correct, there was info that the diet substance all these players took with held the ingredient that was on the banned substance list. Further, it was reported that the league was aware of the substance being in the diet pills, but did nothing to inform players for fear it would be used as a ready excuse. But in doing so, the league set itself up for a very logical argument from the players to fight any suspension.

Yes, they can and will play. As was mentioned, if a player is not suspended until that weeks practice begins, the suspension does not go into affect until the following week. The rule makes sense. If not for the rule, a team would be at a major disadvantage if they practice all week, and then lose players just before the game. The problem to me is how long these proceedings drag out.

The good - GB getting their arces handed to them. The bad - How much more pathetic does last weeks debacle look when GB looks so damn bad tonight? The good - One less team tied w/ us for 1st place. The bad - We have to play NO in a couple weeks, and watching them own what was considered an elite pass defense worried me what they can do to ours. Okay, thats enough. To hell w/ it. Its the packers and they are getting their asses handed to them on Monday night football. If this were a Sunday game, the netword would change games and tell everyone they were switching to a game that was still competitive.

Bottom line - It's obvious you don't like him and he doesn't like you. Why else would you bring up his name in your post. My recommendation - ignore his posts. Agreed.

I was w/ you, right up until "good blocker". Last year, I thought AP was our worst blocker among our RBs. I honestly felt both Wolfe and Benson were better. AP was that bad. He was smart, and usually knew where to go, but would then just get blown up. Now w/ that said, I have no problem w/ his being active and KJ not. People don't want to admit it, but our special teams has simply not been good this year, and we can not afford to de-activate good special teams players. Nor do I believe KJ is good enough to warrant a spot w/o playing special teams. Sorry, but backups play special teams, and if you can't, don't be upset when you are not active.

Hey, I don't think he does get in. He has similar numbers to Forte, but I don't think Forte gets in at this point. And why he is a Cowboy, he is also 8th in rushing (in the NFC). Despite the receiving, I think being that low on the stat sheet hurts. Right now, I think Portis is a lock. I think Adrian Peterson is a favorite, and Turner would be 3rd. You can argue for others (Forte, Barber, Gore, Jacobs) but those three I think would be in the pro bowl right now. W/ that said, if Forte can kick it into high gear over the last 5 games and catch up to those three, then who knows.

Who? I wasn't sure who you meant, so I checked the NFL rushers, and didn't see his name among the top 40 or so. Who is this Mendy guy we coulda, shoulda, woulda taken?

I assume this is in response to me? I mentioned Barber as a pro bowl candidate. In fact, if you look at the numbers, his may be the most similar to Forte in terms of rushing/ypc/receptions/receiving yards/total tds. Barber plays for the cowgirls, which gives him a boost, but I just don't think his numbers are high enough. I think many fans first look is simply rushing yards, and Barber is 8th in the NFC. So, asside from Cowgirl fans, I am not sure that many will be voting for Barber.

Wow. Whats up? Are you representing the thread police today? I mentioned a particular play, and how it was a great example of the difference between this year and last. So what is the big deal. You don't have an opinion on the thread, move on.

Tough call. How many RBs go to the pro bowl? 3? That could have Forte as an alternate right now. Portis - 1,206 yards rushing (nearly 300 more yards than Forte) and nearly 5 ypc avg. In consideration for league MVP. He may not have as many receiving yards (only 22-170) but Portis should be a lock for the pro bowl. Adrian Peterson - 1,180 rushing, and like Portis, a sick 4.9 ypc avg. AP also has the name/ popularity vote due to his electric play. He is a non-factor as a receiver, but I think his rushing and overall electric style lands him a spot. Turner - 1,088 yards rushing, though virtually no receiving. Still, 13 rushing TDs, double Forte. Also, I think Turner gets credit for the overall success story of the Atlanta franchise. Forte is 4th in the NFL in rushing (908) but adds 45-336-3 receiving, which puts his overall numbers w/ the leaders. Gets extra credit for being a rookie, running behind a less than great OL, and what was considered an "game manager" at QB. But also loses votes due to not being a household name. Until this game, I would have ranked Forte's chances lower due to a weak ypc avg, but now that it sits at 4 ypc, I think his name is absolutely in there. Others who could get consideration. Frank Gore - 860 rushing and 331 receiving. Bright spark on a bad team. Jacobs - 880 rushing, but virtually no receiving. But 11 scores and a whopping 5.4 ypc average, not to mention playing for one of the elite teams could garner consideration. Barber - 840 & 350. Only RB w/ comparable receiving numbers to Forte, both in catches and yards. In fact, when looking at the numbers, the two are near identical down the board. D.Williams is up there in numbers too, but as he is part of a RBBC, I think his numbers would have to be more overwhelming. Right now, I think Forte would be an alternate. If he continues to play great, that could change. No question he is a sucess story, but Portis, AP and Turner are having great years too. What could also be interesting is the offensive ROY vote. I think Forte has passed Chris Johnson, who has slipped in the last few weeks, but could still be behind Ryan. While I think Forte has been a better rookie RB than Ryan has as a rookie QB, the reality is, it is much tougher to start as a rookie at QB, and I think he gets a big boost for that. Final thought. Whether or not he is ROY means little. Remember. A-Train was the offensive ROY, and where did that lead?

One thought on one play that really stood out to me. Orton drops back to pass, and is engulfed by a wave of attackers. Long beats St. Clair and reaches, pushing Orton up in the pocket, but that pocket in general is collapsing. I seriously could not even see him, but somehow he gets a little shuttle pass off to Forte. Forte takes it, then has one hell of a (I believe) 7 yard run after the catch, as he breaks tackles and pushes his way forward. After watching this play again on replay, a thought hit me which as much as anything, defines the difference this year from last. If Rex Grossman and Cedric Benson were in the game, does ANYONE believe we would have walked away w/ the same result? If that was Rex, he would have been dropped for a sack. Orton simply does a good job of "feeling" the pressure and stepping up in the pocket. Also, once pressured, he keeps his eyes on the field, and continues to look for an "out" which he found in Forte. If Rex were starting, that would simply have been a sack. But let's say for a moment Rex does step up in the pocket and shuttles it. Who thinks Benson catches the ball? And further still, who thinks Benson breaks tackles to gain solid yardage? Maybe Orton isn't pro bowl. Maybe Forte isn't pro bold. But how much better this team is w/ them is shocking. Further, it can only excite to think how much better the two can be, and thus how much better the team as a whole can be.

Can anyone answer this? I watched the game online yesterday, so it was a bit more limited. One thing I wonder is, how much did Harrison play. He seemed to play more, but I really don't know how much. But my main question is, on Harris' sacks, who was the NT? I think there are multiple reason for the improved defensive play (playing an awful team, some new scheming like stunts, new inspiration) but I also wonder how much personnel changed had to do w/ it.

Hey, this may all be true, but I can't get past the fact that before Babich, Anderson had 12 sacks, and since? But I guess Anderson just got old and lost a step too. Right? Seriously here. If it were just Urlacher, fine. He has been playing a while and has the back. Maybe he lost a step, and as speed was so much of his game, that would explain it. Mike Brown. Maybe he lost a step after the injury, and as he wasn't that fast to begin w/, he can't get it done. But it isn't just Urlacher, or just Brown. It is the entire freaking D that went from top 5, loaded w/ pro bowl caliber talent, to just plain sorry. Wale, Brown and Anderson suddenly became crap. Harris? Went from being considered maybe the best pass rushing DT in the game to doing a casper impersionation. Urlacher, Hunter, Vasher, Tillman, Brown. That is why I have a difficult time believing the coaching is not the biggest problem here. Logically speaking, it would simply seem to make more sense that the signle change from Rivera to Babich is the cause, rather than believe that each and every one of our players on defense suddenly forgot how to play.

1. Regarding Jerry Angelo. The emperical evidence points to a decidedly spotty resume. When one considers Roosevelt Williams, Rex Grossman, Michael Haynes, Terrance Metcalf, Cedric Benson, Mark Bradley, Dan Bazuin and Michael Okwo, you paint a picture of a GM who is not especially adept at judging collegiate talent. We may soon have to add Danneal Manning and Dusty Dvoracek (who looks incredibly weak at the point of attack) to this list as well. There are certainly some signficant successes for Angelo on draft day, but he has blown WAY too many picks in rounds 1-3. A quality, results oriented franchise would not tolerate this. Speaking of not tolerating... I am not going to get into a debate where I am in the position of defending Angelo. I have been his critic for too many years. My only point is that, while there is no question he has drafted many busts, I would also argue that (a) he has had quite a few solid picks and ( some of the players he drafted that didn't pan out w/ us have seemed to look better elsewhere, which makes me wonder how much of the problem is our coaching staff's ability to develop the talent brought in. Evaluating prospects prior to the draft is only part of the process. From there, you must rely on your staff to develop those prospects. When I look at, for example, WRs we drafted like Wade, Gage and Bradley having a greater level of success after leaving the team, it simply begs the question whether the issue is in pre-draft talent evaluation, or in our ability to develop the talent brought in. 2. Angelo's philosophy on the oline was flawed in that it guaranteed that the Bears would be on borrowed time. Additionally, the acquisitions of Ruben Brown and Fred Miller were necessary because Mark Columbo got hurt and Terrance Metcalf was a bust. Those stop-gap measures meant that, if Angelo didn't act responsibility and draft some developmental linemen OTHER than the no-talent stiffs he tabbed in the 6th and 7th round - players who had no business being drafted at all btw - the team would be in trouble. Now, the Bears have a rag-tag group pieced together with duct tape. Hopefully, the damaged goods he drafted - Chris Williams - will turn out to be the goods. When it's an Angelo draft pick, the best we can hope for is 50/50. Hey, I basically agree. I said I disagreed w/ his philosophy, and have for a long time. My only comment is that I understand what his philosophy was, not that I agreed w/ it. I have no problem signing veteran OL. That's fine. Where I think he really blew it was in drafting so few OL (last round or two doesn't count) to develop and eventually take over for the older, average OL you sign in FA. For example, I loved the signing of R. Brown, but not then drafting an OG earlier than the late 2nd day to develop and eventually replace Brown was a mistake. 3. Peppers is stronger and arguably quicker than either Brown or Ogun - he's in a completely different class as an athlete and could adapt to most any system save for a pure 3-4. The Bears WON'T go after him, but he's be an instant upgrade. Understand. That is NO argument Peppers is an absolute upgrade over what we have. I agree he is faster, and far stronger, and simply better. But if you are talking about the traditional cover two DE, and arguing Brown and Wale are not Lovie's style DE, then I would have to argue Peppers is not either. Freeney, Little, and even our own Anderson. Those are the style DEs that Lovie covets for his system. Now, you can argue Peppers is so good that he trancends systems, and I wouldn't put up much of an argument against this. But if you are talking about getting the prototypical DE for Lovie's system, I simply do not buy that Peppers would be it. Further, I believe our scheme would kill Peppers. He uses a lot of stunts and mis-direction in his game and would go nuts being told to just attack the edge. 4. Wish you were right about Tommie Harris, but I don't think so. He's couldn't be further from "fine." He's the highest paid player on defense yet he's being manhandled week in and week out. In addition to his terrible play, he doesn't know when to shut up. When Warren Sapp, a player who represents everything Tommie Harris was SUPPOSED to be, calls him out, I tend to listen. Sorry, but I listened to the Sapp interview, and have heard him talk numerous times w/ the guys on the Score. He is a huge fan of Harris' and has said he believe Harris is the only guy on the DL giving 100%. He FAR from calls out Harris, and in fact says the problem lies in how poorly other players have looked. He really rips the NT, and even pointed out a time when our NT knocks Harris down. He has said also that our DEs look like they are standing around waiting for Harris to do something. So if you are going to put a lot of faith in what Warren Sapp says, I am not sure how you can attack Harris. Sapp seems to believe our problems lie w/ the other 3 spots on the DL, particularly the NT position, and believes harris is one of the elite DTs in the game. 5. None of this exonerates the coaching staff. Jerry Angelo mis-scouted his defense and paid some too much $$, but they should still better than THIS. They don't have the talent to dominate, but they shouldn't give up 41 points to Minnesota, they shouldn't allow a rookie QB to butcher them for 300 yards, they shouldn't allow Brian Griese to torch them for 400 yards and they shouldn't allow Dan Orlovsky to have a career day against them. THIS is where coaching, scheme and game planning come in. Spagnolo in NY has shown how a team with smaller, quicker linemen can be very successful in this modern age. Creativity and adaptability - things that Lovie and Babich lack - are needed for this defense to return to respectability. The only area you and I disagree here is when you say, "they don't have the talent to dominate". Two years ago, we had nearly identical talent, and did in fact dominate. I am of the opinion that our talent hasn't across the board gotten old and bad suddenly, but that changes in coaching staff have destroyed this group. I truly believe that if we had a change in coaching, we could in fact dominate w/ the personnel we have on the roster now. 6. Have to disagree on Wilks - COMPLETELY. Trumaine McBride plays hard, tries hard, but he's far from a "solid corner." In fact, arguably, Bowman should have made the 53 man roster and the small, slow McBride should have been released. He can't cover a bed 1:1, let alone an NFL wide receiver. The Bear corners are being coached to give up inside leverage time and again - Wilks has to accept some accountability for this. Marcus Hamilton's mental gaffe at the end of the Atlanta game has to fall to some extent on Wilks, who should have implored him to FORGET THE BACK IN THE FLAT. No one tells Hamilton this and, being the typical idiot DB that Angelo picks up, he bites on the shorter route and the rest is misery One. McBride looked solid last year as a rookie, and I have to give Wilks credit for that. You talk about Bowman, but he too looked good when he got a chance. And how about Graham? My point is, in the 2 1/2 seasons Wilks has been here, we have seen development from CBs on a pretty solid level. I would further argue that it has been 2nd day draft pick CBs that have shown development, which further is a credit to Wilks. He isn't just developing 1st round players. Two. You want to blame Wilks for the CBs to "giving up the inside", but Vasher himself has said that is the scheme. Wilks does not decide what scheme to run. That is on Babich and Lovie. Three. Regarding Hamilton, I can go either way here. He was w/ the team what, a week? Problem I have w/ shredding Wilks for this is, you and I have no idea what the position coaches are expected to do. I can see where Wilks should have said something, but so should have Babich. We can talk about this potential responsibility or that, but the one area I know is the responsibility of the position coach is to develop talent, and IMHO, he has done a better job in that area than maybe any other position coach on the team.

1. Jerry Angelo ignored the offensive line in the first 3 rounds for 5 consecutive seasons - something that's unheard of for teams that have General Managers. Sometimes, when a head coach runs the draft, we see this kind of irresponsible drafting and player procurement, but rarely with a GM. Few GM's in recent memory have been as negligent in this area as Jerry Angelo. With that said, No argument what-so-ever, but I would like to point something out. Angelo is on record saying he prefers veteran OL. He has talked about how he believes the OL is one of those areas which is difficult for a rookie to pickup, and where it takes 2, 3 or more years to develop into a good starter. Thus, he has always sought OL in FA. That was fine when, other than LT, most of your OL were simply not very expensive. RTs were just this side of dime-a-dozen, and OGs were bought for even less. Unfortunately, in more recent years, the price for OL has gone up. Way up. I would say that first centers began to see bigger contracts. Then RTs began to see the bigger deals as more and more LDEs were solid against the pass, whereas they were once just run blocking bull rushers. But then you have the Hutchinson deal, which I think was the one to pretty much break the ice for OGs. Now OGs are making big contracts, and it is simply too expensive to "buy" your OL. Angelo admitted as much prior to the draft. So while I disagree w/ Angelo's philosophy in the past, I did at least understand it. Further, while I wish he would have been a little more forward thinking and seen the trend in OL pay sooner, he at least now seems to realize he can't buy an OL, and thus may be more prone to using more of the draft than in the past. At least, that is what I hope. 2. Knowing his m.o., the MOST he'll do next April is consider a right tackle prospect in the third or fourth round. Tait's age and atrophy may compel him to try to find an heir apparent. As far as the guards are concerned, knowing how Angelo approaches the offensive line, he'll view Buenning as a significant acquisition and competition for either Beekman or Garza. He'll also draft someone who isn't even on most draft boards (Reed, Anderson come immediately to mind) in the 6th or 7th round to spend a couple of years on the Bears' practice squad. I agree we should not expect much, at least in quantity, but I disagree we should write off his drafting an OG fairly high. It was one thing when he could buy OGs for relatively cheap prices, but now he can't. I think OG will be viewed as a target heading into next year. I do agree we can expect him to draft a player or two for the OL (is sign after the draft) which elicits a board response of, "Huh? Who?". 3. What SHOULD the Bears do this off-season? Well... A. Wide Receivers, Wide Receivers, Wide Receivers. If the Bears believe Kyle Orton to be their franchise QB, they can't afford to handicap his development by saddling him with garbage like Marty Booker, Brandon Lloyd, Rashied Davis and (even) Devin Hester. They need REAL front line NFL wideouts. Agreed they need to improve their WR corp, but the question I think will be what sort of WR do they seek. While Boldin and Housyourmama are the favorites around here, I just don't see it happening. I am a fan of both WRs, but at the same time, the cost to sign one in FA is simply obscene. Further, how many of these top tier paid WRs actually live up to their reps w/ their new teams? Not many. I think we will be looking at a middle of the road tier WR who has potential. B. Offensive line. The current group has overachieved, given their age, lack of talent and lack of power. They are not exceptional run blockers but, overall, they've done a decent job of pass blocking. Williams will be the left tackle, but the Bears need a right tackle and a front-line guard. IMHO, the bears need to replace 4 positions on the OL, but that will take a couple years. I think next year, we should look to add one front line OL (my preference is to get a LG) and then use a top 3 round pick on another OL. Adding a stud WR sounds great, but if the QB doesn't have time to throw, then that WR will struggle to make an impact. C. Defensive line. They need a legit pass rushing DE and should also be on the market for a legit nose tackle and possibly another "3-technique" to pair with Marcus Harrison as replacements for the pathetic Tommie Harris I think Harris is fine. Frankly, I think our talent on the DL is by and large fine. I think a coaching change would be the biggest lift possible to this unit. Most every team would love to add a legit pass rushing DE, and we are no different. The one position I do believe we need to find is a NT, as Dusty just does not appear to be it. At the same time, why can Harrison not play NT? The two are nearly identical is size (Harrison is actually a few pounds heavier) and I thought Harrison was supposed to be very strong too. I am sure we will draft DL, Angelo ALWAYS does, but at some point, I think we really need to look at other areas. We have devoted a very large amount of money and picks to DL. My preference would be to make a coaching change and give the players we have a chance. D. Free safety. The Bear safeties are awful - but their free safeties are non-existent. They simply don't have one. Steltz? Too slow to be a FS. Could be a solid SS one day. Kevin Payne? Can be "ok" in the box but is lost in pass coverage. Danneal Manning? If he's not returning kicks, he doesn't belong on the field Agreed, but one of the problems (IMHO) is the assinine, stupid, mother@#$%^&* belief that our two safeties are interchangable. Seriously, how many times have you heard our coaches say that? The two safety positions are NOT interchangable. One safety needs to excel in coverage. He needs to excel in reading and breaking on a route. He needs speed and quickness. We continue to draft a bunch of SS', and then wonder why we don't have a safety that can play coverage. Think about it? Look at the safeties we have drafted: Steltz, Payne, Harris, Todd Johnson, Gray. Every safety Angelo has drafted has been in the SS mold. They were in-the-box safeties. I think Angelo looked at Mike Brown, and how well he played FS, even though he was not a prototypical FS, and felt anyone similar would do. Mike Brown is the exception, and not the rule. E. Coaching. Babich, Haley, Wilks and Drake should be fired immediately after the last game the Bears play. These clowns have no business being in the jobs they're in today. Babich - Hell yes. Haley - Hell yes. Drake - Hell yes. What WR has developed under Drake. In fact, if you look at how much our Wrs seem to excel after leaving chicago, I think it should be an indictment on Drake. Wilks - Hell no. No way. When looking at position players, the A#1 thing I look at is development. IMHO, few positions have shown development as well as CB. McBride looked solid as a rookie when forced to start. Graham looked solid after a red shirt rookie season when forced to start. Heck, freaking Bowman looked good for his one game appearance prior to injury. While Vasher has stunk this year, he was a 2nd day pick that developed into a starter. I think Wilks has done a solid job developing our players. How they lineup or how they play within our scheme is not on him, but on Babich/Lovie. I think Wilks has done a solid job, and feel the problems we see in the secondary are far more the fault of babich/lovie for scheme and playcalling and Angelo (w/ regard to S) for drafting a bunch of in-the-box safeties and expecting them to play centerfield. 4. Will the Bears address all of these areas? Doubtful. They may be a BIT more aggressive in free agency after their strategy of "paying their own" backfired. I could see them being suitor for a FA WR. Peppers? IF he's not franchised, I don't see the Bears being major players - but not because of the scheme (Brown and Ogun aren't fast enough to truly be considered Lovie's-kind of DE's) but because of the money. I expect the Bears to draft defense early and often - what we have to hope is that Angelo doesn't tab stiffs like Bazuin and Okwo. You mention how Brown and Wale are not really Lovie's type of DEs, but neither is Peppers. While he is an awesome DE, he is not really a cover two DE. While I do not know where it will be, I think we will see one area where Angelo will spend big. Most off-seasons, he does add at least one big contract player, and I think that will hold true again next year. I think OL and WR are the most likely, but who knows. I agree we will most likely see a lot of defense in the draft, though I hope there will be an early sprinkle of OL too. I do agree with the "Lithuanian" on one thing - the franchise seems to be slowly spiraling downward. We're starting to see that last year wasn't a complete abheration. Jerry Angelo's failed drafts are starting to catch up to the Bears and Lovie Smith's ill-advised egomaniacal power play after signing the big contact are starting to rot-out the franchise. Agreed on Lovie. On Angelo, I have traditionally been one of his loudest critics, but more and more, I think the problem lies more in our coaching than in players. I disagree w/ Angelo in terms of philosophy, but also wonder if players he adds are not better than what we often see, but due to poor coaching, we never see that development until they are wearing a different uniform.

IMHO, if Rex were our starter this year, we would be screaming how the entire OL is crap, how we do not have a WR that belongs in the NFL, how old Clark looks and what sort of bust Olsen looks, and why did we draft this Forte guy. Before Bears88 rains down fire, allow me to point out that I think our OL is poor, and our WRs are sad. I simply believe Orton does a better job of masking how below average the talent on offense we have is.

Just to chime in. If we fired Lovie, and offered Rivera the job, I think he would take it in an instant. As pointed out, it was all Lovie's decision to let him go, and frankly, Angelo could really talk that point up. But more importantly, head coaching jobs offers do not come along often, and Rivera would be an idiot not to jump at the chance. Now, if we were talking about whether or not he would return to Chicago as a DC under Lovie (if Babich were fired and Rivera were a FA) then I would agree there is little chance of that ever happening. I think the Lovie-Rivera bridge is beyond burned. But if Lovie is gone, I think the path would then be open to rivera returning.

I do not agree that St. Clair has been good. From what I have seen, we often roll extra protection to the left side to help him. Thus, his man doesn't cream Orton, but at the same time, it isn't because St. Clair played well but more due to our game planning to provide him help. Further, I think he has been pretty poor on run downs.

I think the key is blitz pickup and pass protection. I think KJ is simply a better blocker than Wolfe. I personally do not think our OL is good. Forte has been great in protection. If we sit him and put in Wolfe, we could be leaving Orton exposed. I think that is a key reason many would prefer to see KJ. I have no problem getting Wolfe some carries, but see him more in a specialist/situational role, rather than as a RB who gives Forte a rest. I do believe we need to get Forte off the field more. While he may not be getting 35 carries, he is one of our top receivers, and that increases his hits. So I would absolutely like to see us use both KJ and Wolfe more, but think it is KJ who needs to be getting the bulk of the 2nd RB carries.

Agreed...I'd take a few other steps... 1. Dvoracek AND Tommie Harris should be in street clothes for AT LEAST one game. The DT rotation should be Idonije, Harrison, Adams and Toieanna. I would not bench Harris. According to all who have watched tape and talked about the team, Harris is working hard, but seems like the only one on the DL, and thus can't get it done. I would also not put Dusty in street clothes. While he has not done well, he always appears to be giving it his all, and thus I can't "punish" him. I can remove him from the lineup, but I can't see fit to punishing a guy when he is giving it his all. His all doesn't appear to be enough, but that should not warrant putting him in street clothes. 2. No more games for Nick Roach. He's useless. Agreed. Hunter needs to be back in the mix. 3. Mark Anderson needs to be in street clothes. Give his reps to Baldwin Disagree. I would take Anderson out of the normal rotation, and make him a pure pass rush specialist. Anderson should never been in the game if the other team even has a chance to run the ball. Again, like w/ Dusty, I have not seen the lack of effort, but simply the lack of results. 4. Manning - yes on kick returns, no on ANY role on defense. He's an absolutely brutal defensive back and, save for his kick return duties, another rancid draft pick by Jerry Angelo. AGREED! 5. Kevin Payne - one more game to prove he belongs. Agree and disagree. Two problems. One, we have few alternatives. Steltz has looked as lost, or more so, than Payne at FS. You have already said you don't want DM at FS. Who does that leave? Personally, as well as he has played, I think it was a mistake to move Brown to SS. I think Payne or Steltz would do well enough at SS, particularly in the box, but at the same time, feel Brown would offer more from the FS spot. 6. Booker? Don't just sit him - CUT him. While I would not cut him, I would not play him so much. Unlike Dusty and Anderson, I do believe there has been a lack of effort w/ Booker, which surprises me. 7. Vasher? Street clothes. IMHO, Trumaine McBride is a no-talent "try-hard guy" - while he can't cover anyone 1:1, he's going to give the effort that Vasher refuses to give. I would not go "street clothes" but I would demote him. I still think Vasher may be our answer at nickel. That demotion may be enough of a slap in the face. If he fails there, fine, but at least try him out there. Our lack of a nickel DB is killing us. While Graham and McBride have done well enough at times at CB, neither are really good fits for the nickel. Vasher is, and was once a very good nickel. I would move him to nickel, and allow Graham to start. 8. IF, heaven forbid, the Bears lose to the Rams - a team that has packed it in for the year - Babich, Haley and Wilks should be launched immediately. They can get by with what they have for the remainder of the season, which will be over if they flop in St. Louis. No problem w/ this, but Lovie is more loyal to his guys than Jauron was to Shoop, so I don't see this happening.