jason

Barring any Free Agent moves or trades that haven't happened, I will not be happy with any mock draft that has the Bears ignoring the OT position until the 4th round.

I'll be Benson then. I'm not going to be putting in nearly the effort, and my posts won't be nearly as substantial as nfo's, but I still think I should be a starter.

OL - Clady OL - Baker OL - Schuening QB - Brennan With those guys, I figure two out of three pan out. And then even CedBen could run behind that OL.

Is Turner still the OC? If yes, then disregard the article. Olsen will continue to be mismanaged. Rookie or not, you are a moron as an OC if you have a goal-line fade called to just about anyone other than the massive, young, rookie, TE with strength, height, great hands, and the physical tools that make him too much for nearly any single DB in the league.

Exactly. I have made this same point before. When a player a person likes gets drafted by another team, the "he did well there, so he would have done well here" argument is null and void. It's the same if a player does well or poorly. And once they are drafted, all bets are off. I believe some players have ended up busts, and have never recovered, because they were drafted on a team that was a horrible fit for them. I also believe some players have turned into superstars on their present team, in their present situation, but otherwise would have sat on the bench for years if put in another situation. IF any of the top OT are there, the Bears absolutely must draft them. Otherwise, Mendenhall=Benson.

I'm with nfo on this one. This mock would suck rancid goat ass. Starting with a RB then a WR is HORRIBLE. Not to mention the fact that I don't really like the rest of it either.

So, just like other news, trust NFL and distrust CNN and Fox. Meanwhile, don't believe sites pretending to be NFL experts by leeching off of the NFL acronym. There is only one viable, intelligent, worthwhile selection for the Bears in the first round this year: OT. RB is a bad move because it forces the Bears to more than likely dump Wolfe, essentially stating that a mistake was made...not to mention the fact that the RB will get stuffed behind a garbage OL. WR is just a horrible choice for the first round. The definition of reach. QB is not a good selection in the first round because none of those guys stand out much more than Rex or Kyle did in college, if at all. Rex and Kyle are young, but have more experience and potential than any rookie will have next year. Drafting a first round QB will only cause QB controversy. Not to mention the fact that the QB will be under duress behind a garbage line.

Aside from the first round, I hate that draft in almost every way possible. Only someone who didn't really watch the Bears play last year would make those selections, in that order, in those rounds, for the Bears.

Being in Titans' country, I can tell you that he's not all that impressive, and the move would do nothing but upset us as Bears fans. 1) He's essentially the offensive version of Mike Brown when it comes to injuries. He was out for four games last year, and banged up during many others. 2) He's not all that explosive. 3) He's not all that good at breaking tackles. So, in the Bears' present scheme, he won't do too well. I will give him this, however...he's a good cutback runner. When he can get the defense leaning, he can make the quick transition the other way and pick up big chunks.

IF that happens, the draft is a failure. At least three horrible decisions without going into specific players' faults. 1) Drafting a RB in the first is the absolute wrong movie. 2) Drafting a QB in the 7th, which is basically camp fodder, is a bad decision considering the Rex/Orton situation. 3) Drafting a single worthwhile offensive lineman is atrocious.

I was just following the precedence. We all know there are no hard rules for deletion/modification/locking threads. We also know that mistakes are made, in judgement and in mouse-control. HOWEVER, we also know that there needs to be action when problems arise, and there needs to be admins. Otherwise you end up with the ESPN boards, which suck. With that said, I will speak out for anyone who feels wronged. Since I was clearly the target of the previous attack on the old board, I feel it is my duty as someone who has learned from the mistake, to campaign on the side of the wronged party and ensure that their issue is given attention. You gave it speedy attention, and I appreciate it.

I think the point some are trying to make is this: A great OL makes an average to good RB look great. See Shaun Alexander and Emmit Smith. Take that same RB, especially one who is known for habitually running out of bounds rather than taking on contact in the hole, and combine him with an OL that opens up like Kobe Tai, and you have the opposite...averge/good looks average/bad.

If you could change one piece of the Bears, no matter what it is, and the sole purpose was to make them better, what would you change? I think I'd go with an OC. I'd like the Bears to hire a guy who is well establishe, well known for being successful, a guy who is considered a good gametime adjuster, and someone who has a track record for QB development. Is there even a guy like this?!

And they got the one player I really wanted the Bears to get, who was also someone I thought the Bears might actually get: Faneca. If the Jets keep TJ as the #1 RB next year, look for his numbers to go way up.

Yeah, I want to vote for all of the above, too. Every single one of those guys is getting WAAAAAAAAAY too much money in NFL terms, and an obscene amount of money in real world terms.

I think he has the capability to be a top-notch WR, but for whatever reason he just hasn't done it. And he sure as hell isn't going to do it with the Raiders and what is essentially a rookie QB.

ESPN reporting that he just signed with the Seahawks.

It's cool if you want to change debate tactics. I understand it's difficult to back up the points I just destroyed. At least we can agree that his emotions are genuine. I'll just continue to say that the main reason he stuck around was to break records, and all the BS he fed everyone about "love of the game" and "playing as long as he was still capable" was just that, total BS.

First of all, for Hester316, it's actually spelled Favre. I just prefer to spell it Farv. As for your post, it makes nearly no sense. What do the two more games have to do with anything when talking about a guy who has started every game for over a decade? Nothing. Actually, I did listen to the press conference, and while I thought the tears and emotion was genuine, the reasoning seemed fake. To preach his two points of playing while he still could and playing for fun, and then quitting after putting up a good year and clearly having fun is disingenuous. Once again, you completely missed the point. I don't know how to make it any more simple for you. Are you even reading what I am writing? He should have stayed before the year started! Hell, he should still stay. The fact that he led his team as far as he did is proof that he should stay. But he isn't. If you want to call it selfish then fine, he should be selfish and stick around. I happen to think that it's not selfish and he should play more when he is obviously capable. However, this is the year he chose to retire. And it just happens to be after a year in which he A. Had fun, B. Could clearly play, and C. Conveniently just broke the last few remaining passing records. Actually, this last part is just proof that you are either skipping my posts or failing to understand them. HE.SHOULD.HAVE.PLAYED.LAST.SEASON. HE.SHOULD.STILL.PLAY.THIS.SEASON! The fact that you mention the hardships he has been through only proves my point. IF he can make it through that, then he can make it through the "mental toughness" that it "causing his retirement". Also, your last sentence happens to just prove my point as well. Did you even watch his games the year before last? Have you looked at his stats? Did you even read a single article about how he was washed up or how it was time for him to quit?! That was the perfect time for him to retire, when it wasn't fun, and when he evidently didn't have it. It would have validated everything he stood for, everything he said about retirement, and paved the way for the Packers to move on. it would have proven that he wasn't sticking around merely for the records. But he didn't do it that year. He stuck around one year, after having a horrible year, a year in which many thought he should retire, and showed everyone he still could play, and that the game was still fun. And during that season he broke all the remaining passing records. And then he retired. It's just awfully convenient when it's apparent, once again, that he was having fun, and that he still has plenty of gas left in the tank. Disclaimer: Please read this again so you understand what I'm saying, because you have clearly missed it the past two times.

Completely agree. It makes absolutely no sense to me. If the Bears wanted a Jones, they should have kept Thomas. He's better than Julius anyway. No sense whatsoever.

I would absolutely love to see him in a Bears uniform. And I don't think he'd try any of that crap here. IF he did, I'm quite sure that Olin would straighten him out.

Thanks for taking it over the top and totally ignoring what point I was making. You either didn't understand, which is what I suspect, or you are just being irrational. Brilliant. I'm sure the organization, the city, and everyone who likes the Packers is upset about the decision. That's not the point. I'm sure that he could have played more. That's not the point either. And I'm quite sure leading the organization along for the last few years with talks of retirement, while slightly irritating to some, was no real concern as long as he stayed with the team. THAT'S not even the point. The point is, he fed everyone this line about playing for fun, and playing until he couldn't play any more - something everyone in their right mind admits that he's capable of - yet he retired when he was clearly having fun and clearly able to play. He retired after breaking the records. He didn't retire after his team had a horrible season. Nooo, he wasn't too tired then. Evidently, he was still having fun when they sucked and he was having one of his worst years ever. He wanted to play some more. Fine. But don't feed me this BS about being tired now. It's painfully obvious that he held on for the records, one of which was the INT record most Farv ball-swingers fail to mention. Hell, I think it's awesome he stuck around. I think all players should play until they drop. I think as long as they are good enough to play, they should. Honestly, I do. But don't try to sell the story about playing for the love of the game or some other such nonsense. If a player is holding on to break a record, get paid, or because he needs to pay child support like Travis Henry, just say so. Don't lay it on so thick about this "love of the game" garbage, or "playing until I can't play anymore" nonsense. As for the other stuff... The Vicodin Thing He was addicted to pain pills. Maybe that's how he got through to his record streak of games. I know he isn't the only one to abuse presicription pain pills, but maybe, just maybe, it had something to do with the fact that he was able to keep the streak alive. Abusing any sort of medication to help you do better is definitely a gray area of cheating. It's only a small step away from performance enhancing drugs like steroids. Actually, it's quite a deep issue of degrees when you think about it. At what point is an athlete cheating by using prescription pain killers to stay on the field? Isn't that improving performance? The Sack "Record" Exaggerate and be stupid about it all you want, but Farv laid down for that sack for his buddy. To others it may seem insignificant, but to me it shows that there's a chink in the armor. He doesn't respect the game as much as many would have us believe. You simply don't give away a record because your buddy is on the other team. The Media/League Favoritism That's the only one I admit has nothing to do with him. It's the fact that he became one of the NFL's poster boys, and he got every benefit of the doubt for the last ten years. And I won't even go into the love afair between him and Madden. The Three Consecutive MVPs I'll go to my grave saying he only deserved two, and the media man love of Farv was partially responsible for Barry Sanders retiring early. How the hell a guy rushes for 2000+ yards and doesn't win the MVP is beyond me. Of course, that plays into the Brett Farv love that I despised so much.

I think you are mistaken and misguided. You have more respect for a guy who: A ) Openly cheated by abusing pain pills B ) Fell down on purpose to help a friend break a record C ) Blatantly gets favoritism from the league officials D ) Hanging on for an extra year just to break records That covers misguided, as for mistaken...you might want to rethink the whole "played for the love of the game" angle. He strung out his team three or four years in a row with retirement talks. Then he used the "playing until I can't play" and "as long as it's fun" garbage. And THEN, hangs on after one of his worst years as a pro, a year in which many said he was washed up. IF anything, he should have quit after that year because it "wasn't fun" anymore. Conveniently enough, he waited one more year, broke the records, had a great season, and THEN quit. He didn't retire; he quit. If it was all about "love of the game" and "playing while it's still fun", then I call BS. Because he clearly can still play, and he sure as hell seemed to have fun last year running around like a loon with a WR on his shoulders. Love of the game? My ass. He played for the records. He played for pride. He played for personal accolades. Love of the game and fun are afterthoughts. If they weren't, then he would have retired before this past season.

Not only did I roll my eyes when he cried like a schoolyard sissy today, I rolled my eyes at the decision. So, let me get this right: You keep playing as long as you're able to play, and you're doing well. Wasn't that basically his mantra for the past three years when he toyed with the retirement idea? And now, "all of the sudden", he retires the year after he breaks the records? Hmmm...sounds an awful lot like a bunch of BS, and like a player who held on just to get the records. I have always hated him because he is a packer, and now I have one more arrow in the quiver. Drugs, virtual BJs from the media, never getting called to task for his INTs, giving up the sack record to his buddy Strahan, the refs allowing him to get away with murder and break rules, and now his selfish "retire right after breaking the records" deal. Screw Brett Farv. The era is over, and the deal with the devil is done.

I love being right. I was right about TJ the entire time, and it appears that I was right about Benson (wish I wasn't). Anyone who says that TJ didn't run through tackles needs to watch this video. He clearly breaks arm tackles more than once, and has the cutback ability that is so sorely needed behind a bad OL. Come to think of it, he did well with the Bears this whole time because he was that style of runner. And then Benson comes in and is a one-cut, dive to the hole kind of guy. Well, those holes aren't there, and Benson sucked.