jason

It's hard to know how to get an A+ draft unless you play it a million times, because getting Jake Butt in the late-late 4th round would be a superb move.

I don't see anywhere that someone is defending the owners because of their finances. Everyone opposed just appears to think this law, as it currently stands, is ridiculous. Their career never would go to 67. The reason for that age and other professions is because it links up to when theyd stop working. NFL players stop working three decades earlier.

Why is there no talk about Kirk Cousins? Pretty good TD to INT ratio. Good accuracy. Tons of yards. Young enough to be the QB of the foreseeable future. No question marks about his ability to play in the NFL or whether the coaches/scheme is the reason he's succeeding (JG Because he'd likely take $20M? That's kind of the going market, right? And the Bears have a ton of cap space, right? Hell, when the Bears dump a player or two (Houston and Royal), they'll have at least $10M more. And wouldn't he be more likely to leave Washington than Berry leaving KC? Next you'll say, what about Alshon? Well, he's going to command more than he's worth, and he doesn't seem to want to be in Chicago. Easy enough, grab Kirk Cousins' favorite WR (DeSean Jackson) and use the rest of Alshon's cash on other available FAs. It seems to me, signing Kirk Cousins might be the best move for the Bears.

Revisiting this thread....James White. Just say no to Jimmy G.

If you honestly believe that, we obviously can't agree. To pay them until 67 is insane to me, because the point of the payments is to take care of the reason they can't work anymore. That's one thing for the average joe, because we all have to work until we're almost dead anyway. But for these guys, they don't have to do that. And their careers don't last that long. Which brings me to the other point... You bring up the fact they have a career where they get beat up a lot. First, that's a choice. Aside from that, however, is the entire reason why they shouldn't be paid until 67. They are in a career that they wouldn't work at until their mid-60s. So why should they be compensated until their mid-60s?

So you think and NFL player, who by nature has a limited career, should get millions per year from the McCaskey's (and city?) for decades, even though they are able to work elsewhere like any other person? It's not like they can't work ever again.

BTW - You're misremembering the sequence of events. The drive where the Patriots got all three defensive holding calls in their favor? Brady threw the pick-6.

Here's the first hold: The defender grabs Edelman's arm with both hands. On the EZ view it's pretty obvious the official is going to throw the flag (5:48) before the pass is even thrown. Here's the second hold: The defender reaches out with both arms, and using his left hand, grabs the inside of Amendola's shoulder. It obviously slows and impacts his route, unless of course Amendola makes a habit of running straight forward while his head and shoulders are turned almost 90 degrees to the sideline. BTW - This could also have been called illegal contact. Here's the third hold: This one is not even worth debating. He literally grabs the back of Mitchell's jersey and hangs on for 5+ yards.

With all due respect, you have absolutely no clue what you're talking about. Trust me on this. That's not how it happens, not how it works, not how those officials are graded, and not how they remain NFL officials. If they did it all willy-nilly like you propose, they'd quickly be run out of the NFL. In regards to those passes, the general philosophy for the deep officials is to look for advantage gained. If those WRs are getting held, and the play is a run, they will not throw the flag 99.9% of the time. So there is a little bit of a process there. They see the hold, then check to see if the foul had any impact on the play. Sometimes the foul is obvious and they call it regardless of whether or not the play is affected (edit: because they don't know where the QB is throwing on a pass play). As soon as the pass is thrown, particularly if it causes the QB to throw the ball away after looking at his target, they'll throw the flag. In some instances, they throw a flag earlier than that because of the NFL rules on when and where a WR can be "chucked" (i.e. illegal contact). I know everyone wants some sort of 100% robotic response from officials when a foul occurs, but the game isn't that way, never was that way, and never can be that way.

Ohhh. We probably shouldn't even get this one started, but there is no doubt whatsoever MJ is the GOAT. Older eras had atrocious defense and less athleticism. More recent eras have altered the game in such a way that the physical nature of the sport is gone, and players get way more foul calls. MJ would likely average 50 in today's NBA, because nobody would be able to stop him from going to the rack without fouling him. That old hand-check rule had a big effect. As for Brady, yeah, he's the GOAT. Every year he takes a scrub and turns him into a fantasy sleeper the next year.

Agreed. Once the WR establishes himself as a WR going out for a pass, and not a WR blocking for a run, it's a pretty easy thing for a deep official to see. When that WR can't disengage for some reason, or when he gets his route altered, it's a defensive holding most of the time. And in the NFL, that's a foul that gets extra attention because of the rules that determine where and for how long a DB can contact a WR.

I agree. I think they will try to aggressively move forward and maximize the final Brady years, trying to cement this Patriots run under Brady as the best of all time.

Patriots 35 - Falcons 31. Tom Brady MVP, cemented as the GOAT.

But if that analyst has Deshaun Watson as the number three QB and 22 on the big board, I have a little less faith in his player rating system.

I agree. Been thinking it for a few weeks now. The difference between round two and round three guys this year seems minimal.

That law is obviously not written with pro athletes in mind. Pure greed. It is ridiculous to hold that against the Bears.

I don't know how their algorithm works, but I'm guessing if you pick a player of great value you don't get as much points as a player of good value at the position they deem your "need." Sorry, but it keeps listing ILB high, and that's way down the list. Your score is: 10477 (GRADE: B+) Ridiculous Your Picks: Round 1 Pick 9 (CINN): Mitch Trubisky, QB, North Carolina (A+) - Franchise QB after trading back. Round 1 Pick 18 (TENN): Marlon Humphrey, CB, Alabama (A-) - 6'1" shutdown corner. Round 2 Pick 4: Taco Charlton, DE, Michigan (A-) - Explosive 5T with room to grow. Round 2 Pick 19 (DEN): Taylor Moton, OT/OG, Western Michigan (A-) - Super strong. He's the RT of the future. Round 2 Pick 25 (HOU): David Njoku, TE, Miami (Fla.) (A+) - Elite athlete, high jump champ, great redzone target. Round 3 Pick 3: Obi Melifonwu, SS, Connecticut (A-) - A 6'4" safety with great range and size. Stud. Round 3 Pick 9 (CINN): Dion Dawkins, OG, Temple (A-) - Monster in waiting. Can play G or T. Round 3 Pick 32 (N.E.): Zay Jones, WR, East Carolina (A+) - Starts immediately. Likely becomes the #1 target. Round 4 Pick 10: Kevin King, CB, Washington (A) - A 6'3" CB who can potentially play FS. I want to know WTF an A+ draft looks like.

I hate it.

HA! You had to try to do that poorly. With the third pick in the 2017 NFL Draft, the Chicago Bears select, "David Wojkowski, linebacker, from Eastern Louisiana State University."

He seems like an intriguing prospect, but the age doesn't seem to be in this front office's wheel house.

No way he's getting picked at #3 now. http://bearswire.usatoday.com/2017/02/01/p...hernia-surgery/ A shoulder AND a hernia? This close to being drafted? Nope. Not at #3. Not after Kevin White.

That would be AMAZING. Derek Rivers is an interesting wild card. I also like squeezing in Zane Gonzalez at the end of the draft.

He is talented enough to play all three. But he's more suited for DE.

Without trades, that would be one of my favorite drafts possible. Garrett would transform the D, and make the need for secondary just a bit less. Meanwhile, Cam Robinson would protect one edge better than either starter, and he'd be protecting a franchise QB in Mahomes who would quickly learn that Zay Jones catches everything, and Jake Butt would be a steal in the late fourth. Keep the mocks coming! I love this site!

HAHAHA! Great job! Three firsts next year would be absurd. And Kizer mid 2nd?! BWAAAHAHAHA!!