jason

I don't have the time or desire to crunch this, but it would be interesting to pair up the FAs with the teams in the most dire salary cap situations. If I were GM, that's a nugget of information that would always be in my mind.

If it's only those four on the Bears' radar with that grade, then it absolutely has to be Cooper. Period. And, in my opinion, Ertz shouldn't even be in the picture with the others. TE in the first?

Beatty doesn't excite me, and I consider just about any draft that doesn't address OL in the 1st, or 2nd, or both, a poorly planned and executed draft that doesn't adequately address the 1st and 2nd biggest problems with the Bears.

There you have it...OL, OL, OL. PFF basically just said all the players on the Bears OL suck. This offseason should be very OL heavy...like it should have been for the past several years.

Obviously hate the draft. Two LBs and two WRs?! C'mon.

This is why I don't want to go to games any more. http://espn.go.com/chicago/nfl/story/_/id/...ticket-prices-a $80 for the cheapest seat in the house?! And that's before some asshole scalper gets his hands on all the other tickets and charges a 50% markup (if I'm lucky). So, take the family and you pay a couple hundred, plus $20+ parking, plus $50 or so for grub/drinks. No thanks. I'd rather watch ALL the games and sit in the comfort of my home.

Why does everything have to be so elementary all the time? Jeez. If you have access to an online resource of every time Hester had the ball in his hands, I'd love to see it. I'll gladly break down the film. In the meantime, the plays I mentioned demonstrate he still has lethal speed. What he lacks is the vision and decision making. Having said that, I don't disagree with the production angle you and AZ bring up. Hester has done little to warrant his salary the past two years.

That's a poor logical jump. I was getting my hair cut yesterday by a lady at Sports Cuts who said she wasn't a sports fan, tuned out the TVs most of the time, but was completely sick of the Teo story. I bet a lot of those voters voted the way they did for the same reason.

There were several glimpses this year when he showed his burst. Look at his one receiving TD this year, for instance. You don't get that kind of separation from a pro DB unless you possess serious speed or great route running ability. And we all know he doesn't possess the latter. Watch his return from the Tennessee game. Undoubtedly the same Hester from years past. He just needed someone to step up and make one more block. A breakdown... He makes a drastic cut at the 50 and gets between two Titans who are about two yards apart. Absolutely flies by the second level of players who thought they had an angle/chance. Makes a jab-step cut at the 30 that leaves the Titans punter nearly falling down at 8-yards away. And if #37 Anthony Walters (who?) had looked to make a block instead of watching the play, Hester has a return TD again.

Dude, there is no if to it. Lovie was, without a doubt, highly instrumental in the selection process for the players. The link for this thread is exactly why both guys were fired. Both share the blame.

So you think Lovie is at fault for choosing the wrong OCs, but you don't think he's also at fault for choosing the wrong players? I'm just saying it's convenient if you blame Lovie for selecting the wrong OCs if he also had a big hand in selecting the players that directly led to those OCs doing so poorly.

Exactly And I'm still angry about it because it was ignored AGAIN. Preach.

Dub

For certain? I don't know. I haven't seen him run a straight-line 40 and timed it. But when I see him in the game, he still looks lightning fast with crazy misdirection ability. The eye test, for me anyway, says he still possesses very rare speed.

Maybe not, but he was instrumental in the players' selections, as well as how they were used. So, he got the fifth highest dollar value to play with, and produced a horrible offense. Similar to what Parcells(?) once said, Lovie was allowed to help shop for the groceries AND cook, but dinner was disgusting.

Read between the lines please. He is "slower" because he lost confidence and has eroded decision making. This is directly connected to Lovie and staff wanting him to be a WR rather than the best Return man in history. He's still got elite physical speed; in my opinion, he just doesn't know how to use it. A good coach would be able to accentuate his speed with techniques and philosophy on special teams, followed by harsh discipline when not followed. First time he runs backwards or sideways? Benched.

I believe so...but assume the Bears will get one.

And if that's the case, then the Bears need to make sure they go ahead and get him in the 6th round, just to make sure he isn't taken before their 7th round pick. That would be a huge BPA situation, with his talent level being far beyond 99% of all the other guys at that point. And while we're taking flyers on late-round players with upside, I'd love to see the Bears take Marcus Lattimore in the 7th if he's available.

Very cool website. Great find. Although, this is the Bears on offense and defense. Look at where all the little circles are at.

That's a matter of choice, not speed. He has the capability to still run fast...he just doesn't do so. Sounds like coaching to me.

What's funny is, I remember the same thing, on whichever board I was posting on, and 100% wanted him on the Bears.

BTW - Hester is getting killed in the comments to his Facebook page. He asked about Derek Rose coming back from injury, and about a fourth of the replies are asking about him leaving Chicago, or crying, or falling off the last few years.

C'mon man. That dude still has ELITE speed. He just has subpar vision (now) and decision-making abilities.

No, you agree. "pretty darn close to average" = "below average" It's just a matter of degrees. The latter part of your post is something I've said for far too long. It's the reason why the Bears OL, while sometimes solid for stretches, was worse than many other similar OLs because they'd split time sucking. They were literally worse than the sum of the parts.

Good point. There doesn't appear to be great OG talent out there in FA. WHICH IS WHY IT SHOULD HAVE BEEN ADDRESSED THIS PAST PRESEASON WHEN IT WAS POSSIBLE. Not only were Grubbs and Nicks FAs (regardless of the price tag), but the Bears passed on David DeCastro and Kevin Zeitler in the draft! I freaking hate Lovie Smith and Jerry Angelo.