nfoligno

Used to be, even if we lost, the team knew they played us days later as their list of players injured was long. Recently, it seems like it is our team that ends up feeling the pain for days/weeks after a game.

What year is this now betwen NFO and Cdog? Anyone keeping score besides them? lol. Not sure what year this is in, but I know I am winning. Of coarse, winning a debate w/ crackerpuke is sort of like watching a heavy weight boxer thump a feather weight class guy. Its fun at first, then you just feel for the light weight. Cracker ends up bloodied, but give him credit for always getting up. Everyone screams, "stay down", but the idiot keeps getting back up for more punishment. Maybe he has seen too many rocky movies.

I am not saying I know much about him either, but I don't get the "if he can't cut it in Miami" comment. He was a 2nd round pick and has only had his rookie year. The team used another 2nd round pick (or was it a 3rd) on a QB this year, and had already added a veteran. Then Pennington came available, and all their plans changed. Maybe he hasn't impressed them. Okay, but he had his rookie year. How impressive do you think he should look his rookie year, on THAT offense. Thats one of the few OLs that might match ours. WRs? They traded their best WR during the year (Chambers) and I think had traded, or let go, their 2nd best receiver (McMichael). Again, I don't know much about him myself. I think he lacks arm strength, but is considered to have the head for an NFL QB and is very good in the pocket and short-mid passing range. Even that I am not sure about. Regardless, I think we should absolutely be looking at other teams young QBs.

I think it has to do w/ opportunity. Orton hasn't taken the job, and the 1st preseason game was his opportunity. Now, if Rex has a decent showing, he has an opportunity to pull ahead. Not saying it will happen, but simply that Orton didn't take charge w/ his one game opportunity, and now Rex gets an opportunity.

The idea of getting a QB like Beck would have FAR more to do w/ the future than the present. If the Rex/Orton experiment doesn't go well, our options for 2009 and beyond are simply ugly. Yea, the URFA has looked okay, but are we ready to declare him our future franchise back? My point w/ Beck is, we should be looking to add a young QB this year to develop for the future.

There may be those looking at the give and take between Nfoligno and me thinking we hate each other. I suggest you read between the lines. Obviously Nfoligno is dumb as a box of rocks, but I think he and I both agree on one thing... We're just having fun. I agree. It is fun to make a grown man cry, and even more fun when that grown man is a dog. We'll need a sense of humor this season fellas. Let's always remember this is a sport, something we enjoy, something we really care about... But it ain't life. No matter what happens this year, let's try to keep it fun on this site. Well, we have not played the 2nd pre-season game, and there is already a poll on who we will take w/ the 1st pick of the draft. OUCH! Anyone who doesn't have a sense of humor may have a heart attack before the end of the 1st half of the season.

He started a game for us at LB in 2006. Wow. You are right. If a guy started one game in however man years, he must not be a specialist. Obviously, how could I have thought different. Sorry, but your killing your own argument. You know Ayenbedajo was a special teams specialist. He was no more a LB than Hester has been a WR. In fact, I would argue Hester has been more of a WR than Ayen a LB. You talk about one prior year start, but how many snaps do you think Ayen actually saw on defense. Now how many snaps do you think Hester lined up for on offense? Wanna bet Hester saw more? I'd never cut a pure WR at this point if that WR looked to have potential to be a starter. We don't have that luxury either. Hester is just a hope at this point. And I'm with everyone else in hoping he's great. But again, see the next point... Is Hester really any more of a "hope" than say Bennett? Or Bradley? You can try to spin this 20 ways from Sunday, but the truth is, while Hester w/o question gained his reputation as a special teams player, he can not be called a specialist at this point. He played more offense last year than numerous others on the depth chart, and he is being worked into the offense even more this year. I can't say whether he will ever make it as a WR, but the same can be said about 1/2 the roster. IMHO, a specialist, regardless what "other" position he is listed at, is one who simply is not even part of the plans on offense or defense. A player who is the 6th LB, and part of no defensive package, but plays special teams, is far more of a specialist, IMHO. Oh man, now you've done it. You just touched the third rail of being an internet Bears fan! You just cut down AP's status. He's the sacred cow of internet Bears fans everywhere. Except for Hanie, of course. I know. I know. I have been blasted before for such comments. I like AP, but I simply am not sure where I see his contribution this year, except on teams. What role does AP serve as a RB? What does he bring to the table one of the others do not? I like AP, and would hate to see him go, but when talking about having a special teams specialist, that is AP. He is a luxury which the staff may have to question whether or not we can afford w/ Williams roster spot being saved.

1.) The "student" just said Ayanbadejo wasn't part of any defensive package. Obviously he was known for his role on ST but he was also a backup LB and actually had a start for the Bears. You need backup LB's on a team, no? NEXT! We usually have three or four backup LBs, and Ayen was at the bottom of that group. He may have been a backup LB, but be honest. He was a special teams specialist. Every specialist is listed at some offensive or defensive position. That doesn't mean they are expected to ever contribute there though. 2.) Saying Hester had 20 catches and that made him more productive than little miss priss Bradley ain't saying much. Didn't Bradley sprain her vaginal wall in the second game of the season? Funny how you didn't even mention Davis, who I mentioned. He had more catches than Davis last year too, despite far fewer snaps. 3.) The staff sought to "expand his role" last year but the guy isn't smart enough to be a WR. So they say. Unless his extra money made him smarter, I still don't know how this will turn out. He's got all the physical gifts he needs. We'll see about the rest. The staff did in fact expand his role. He was moved from defense, and learning a new system, and still provided more than some other depth at WR. If I set 20 catches at the over/under for Bennett this year, which would you take? Hester may not have done a ton last year at WR, but it was similar to a rookie year for him, at least as far as WR is concerned. So getting 20 catches out of him was in fact an expansion of his role. Whether he is smart enough for the position, I have no clue. I have been suspect about this myself, but while I take everything I read this time of year w/ a grain of salt, at the same time, it does appear he has taken to the position at least a bit more than I expected. I still question his becoming a legit #1, but at the same time, I do also feel he will provide production at the WR position. I'll make you this bet. Barring injury, he will have more catches than at least two other WRs on our roster. I think you can question keeping a WR like Bradley far more than keeping a WR roster spot for Berrian. 4.) There's a certain logic in saying any WR on this team is a waste of a roster spot given our QB cluster. Damn near could say the same about our QBs. Except Hanie, of coarse. 5.) I agree on AP. If he plays much RB for us this season, something went VERY wrong. If that is the case though, should his roster spot not be the one we are talking about. At WR, we are not talking about keeping an "extra" spot for our special teams stud (Hester). At RB though, it would appear we are talking about keeping a 4th RB we did not carry last year, and doing so at a time when we are already losing a spot for Williams. When you talk about keeping an extra roster spot for a speicial teams specialist, to me, it is AP you should be talking about. Not Hester. Hester is far more in the plans at WR than AP is at RB.

If they couldn't get anything out of him, I'm not sure we can. Not that I have faith in our coaches, but I would point out he was a rookie on a bad team. When you say they couldn't get anything out of him, what should have been expected? Maybe he is simply a bust. I don't know. What I know is, our immediate and long term options at QB are limited. Beck was a fairly highly regarded QB in the draft who didn't get much of a shot. Are we set enough at QB to ignore potential options. Hanie aside of coarse.

PFT is talking about Miami's QB situation. W/ Pennington added, and you have to believe Henne is a lock, that will leave one spot for two other QBs, McCown and Beck. McCown was signed in the offseason, and got some bonus money too. Beck was a 2nd round pick in 2007. One is likely to go. They make some points why Beck could be on the block, or cut. It could be McCown, but I think there is enough logic to make Beck a reasonable choice. Anyway, I know all here have fallen in love w/ Hanie, but if Beck were available, what are the thoughts. I don't know a ton about him. He wasn't very impressive as a rookie, but was a rookie, and on Miami. He was a 2nd round pick only a year ago. Anyone have any comments on Beck?

First, regarding my education, I would have to follow the philosophy of looking at the teacher for a students failures. Second, If Hester did not play WR, or DB in the past, and was simply a return specialist, then I could see your point. But since he is used in the offense, then I think your post was simply a pile of Lt2 heaping bullcaca. Last year, Hester (in a more reserve role than planned for this year) had 20 catches. That would be three more than Davis, 14 more than Bradley, and some others didn't have a catch. Your post may be valid if Hester were truly nothing more than a specialist, but the reality (I know how much you hate reality) is he has been a more active player on OFFENSE than some others. Ayendebajo was a true specialist, as he was not part of any defensive package I know of. There have been others as well. But Hester is not a player who only serves a role on teams. He already is a bigger player on offense than some, and that was before the staff sought to expand his role. If you want to question a roster spot for a speical teams specialist, who about AP. W/ Wolfe looking good, and KJ added, AP is more than likely going to be back to his special teams ace role. I have a feeling AP will be far more of a specialist than Hester. Gotta love when the student passes the teacher. Then again, I think this student enrolled for the simple pleasure of laughing at the teacher everyday.

See! Without the providing your quote above, my use of the mighty giant question mark wouldn't be soooooo damn funny! It was once explained to me that anytime you have a joker feeling the need to explain his joke, then the joke was not that funny.

I am printing this post, and framing it Personally, I think both the RB and WR screen is used more than you talk about. I see it pleny often around the NFL. No, not as often as a simple slant, but I would argue it isn't unique, and that our inability to run the play is in fact more unique. Where I think I see the RB screen the most is against us. This is a flat out awesome play to expose an overly aggressive defense. DL doesn't have time to get to the QB, and if the LBs are committed elsewhere, the RB can have a nice hole. Also, our LBs struggle to fight off blocks, and thus again why we can be exploited. Too many times I have seen it look like we got penetration, only to realize the QB was setting us up. RB only chip blocked, and some OL gave up too easily. It appears our DL has the QB in their sites, but then the QB tosses it over their heads, and the RB has space and blockers in front of him. What appears a bit sack for loss turns out to be a big gain. It doesn't matter that our LBs are fast. If they are fooled, they are out of position to make a play, while the offense has blockers in place to keep them out of the play. The biggest key, IMHO, for the WR screen (at least in terms of matchup) is having a DB backed off the LOS. Watch a WR like Steve Smith, and how often he gets a WR screen thrown to him. When done right, the play is great as LBs can't attack the QB as aggressively for fear of the ball immediatly going outside. But again, it matters so much where the DB lines up. Most every snap, our WRs have a DB in their face ready to give a little bump. They do not fear the WR beating the press. They do not fear the WRs beating them downfield. And even if those happen, they do not fear the QB taking advantage. So our WRs face the press nearly every snap. It is nearly impossible to catch the screen w/ a DB drapped all over you, and then do anything more than just catch the ball. Counter that w/ us on defense, and why I have seen too many screens work against us. I have screamed for a long time about our CBs playing well off the LOS. At times, they look 10 yards off the LOS. That means a WR can easily turn on the snap and take a quick screen from the QB w/o fear of the DB interferring w/ the play. Now the CB is coming on, but there is still space between the WR and CB, and the WR now has an opportunity to make a move on the DB. If he does avoid the DB, he will have a lot of green field in front of him. If not, he likely still ends up w/ 3, 4 or 5 yards. Until our passing game gets respect, and DBs play off our WRs the way our DBs play off opponents WRs, the screen should be put away.

My bad. Your right. I just checked my brand new idiot to English dictionary, and the question mark as a stand alone is in fact the dumbed down version of a meaningful point.

Asking the wrong person when it comes to local guys. I just do not listen to North or the others enough to know (a) who is good and who is not or ( what their current status is. Now, if he is a tool, and you want to ask a tool about a tool, give a shout out to Madlith. He's your man. JK Mad. Just having a little fun today.

I get what you say, sort of. I too questioned Hester making it at WR, but thus far, he seems to be stepping up more than I expected. Has he proven jack. Nope. But hasn't he proven as much as most 4th, 5th or 6th WRs? From what I have read, he has looked better than Bennett, who gets a roster spot, not to mention Bradley. So I guess my point is, I think it would be more apt to question keeping a spot for Bradley than for Hester.

Wow. And see how well using quotes works. Lets see. You quoted my post. You then re-typed a couple words I said (I guess to quote me again) and then tossed in a quetion mark and eye rolling smiley face. Nice contribution. Guess what. If you didn't quote me (much less twice) and tossed in that cute little eye rolling happy face, I would have still understood your post.

Hey, at least I'm not ignorant about using a tool provided on the web site to make communication more clear. Although, let's be honest, your incoherent babble probably couldn't be salvaged, regardless. Perhaps a "Dumb to English" dictionary would help... Get me an English to dumbarce dictionary, and I think you may better understand. Yes, the site has plenty of tools, and hey, I think I am arguing w/ one yuk yuk yuk

Regarding eating a roster spot, you said, Probably doesn't help we're already eating one for Hester... Maybe. What do you mean. Hester seems to be more than proving his value, as a WR and not just as a return man. Not sure I get your meaning.

Didn't see the need. I use the bold feature when I am making a point to point argument, but when I am talking more in general terms, I think using the quote feature can be done w/o. Plus, as often as Crucker yells about using the quote feature, it is a bit of fun to not quote. I hate to make him too happy

Hey dog, we see the same thing every year. Every year, there are players we fall in love w/ in camp. Often it seems like some hard hitting safety or a WR instantly become fan favorites. This year it is a QB, and a whole new ball of wax, so to speak. If he does nothing from this point forward, then sure, no one is going to care much about him. My point was, at this point, I think he may have (a) already been on a few teams radar and ( may have intrigued those already interested teams even more. Frankly, while I agree w/ you that I don't see the point in (getting panties bunched), at the same time, I am not even sure why this is such a firestorm. When have we gone into the season w/ only 2 QBs. Maybe a team like Indy, who has a starter known for playing 16 games, can get away w/ it, but as often as not, we use all three QBs on our roster, so I am not sure why anyone thinks our staff would enter the season w/ only 2 QBs on the roster. To keep Williams off IR, we are going to have to eat a roster spot somewhere, but I seriously doubt it will be at QB. More often, you give up a roster spot at a position of strength, where you are less likely to need that last guy on the depth chart, rather than a position of need, where your starters are questionable and your depth is more often needed.

In general, I agree. But I would also state the idea of his being grabbed off the practice squad, based on NOTHING MORE than what has been seen to this point, is not out of the question. He has had a pretty good camp, according to all reports. While a QB in his situation having a decent camp may get zero publicity, in a QB starved city like ours, it at times warranted front page news. So there was already a tad bit of buzz. Then we start preseason, and he has a nice looking performance in the 2nd half. Against lesser competition? Absolutely. While you take everything in perspective, at the same time, you play even that part of the game for a reason. It is an opportunity to look at players. If that part of the game is such a waste, why even play it. It isn't like Hanie was a total unknown. He was known during the draft. I believe when we got him, several other teams were looking at him. It wouldn't surprise me if several teams were considering him late in the draft, but choose to go in another direction. Anyway, the point is some teams may well have considered taking Hanie already, and then combined w/ good reports out of camp and a nice showing, he very well could today be a player other teams are watching to see what we do w/ At the end of the day, I guess I question why we would even risk it. IF, and it is a huge if, but if he is jack as a QB, why would the most QB starved team in the league expose him?

Why? If you are thinking about how we red shirt players, I would say this is different. Other times, we red shirt a player who is stuck behind good veterans. Haine doesn't have that issue.

that's 19 first day picks over a six year period and we have 3 starters on defense!! Yuk. That verp didn't taste too good. Give some warning next time, and I will skip your post after eating Mexican food.

I think you might misunderstand my post. My point is that we WERE just that bad. I am not sure, when looking at individual player and/or units, we downgraded that much, if at all. But at the same time, I said we didn't really upgrade either. Se we were an AWFUL offense, and we still are. I just am not sure we actually downgraded much, but as we were already at a very low position, remaining the same is still very bad. I also agreed w/ the ranking. Frankly, I have said this before, but I am not sold our defense is going to be so great, and I see our offense being awful.