BearFan2000

Apparently my java was out of date updated and all good now hope people come and chat

I've been trying to get into the chat room but I never get the log in option.... wonder if I'm doing something wrong lol.

Anyone going to be in the chat room on here during the draft?

Yep that is totally how that one went down Manning was going to be the #1 pick IIRC and Sandy Eggo had the first pick, and Manning said he wouldn't play for the Chargers. Thus the Giants and Chargers traded I believe after the picks were made. It was weird and I agree with the earlier post no player should be above the system. It's just the way it works out the higher the pick you are the better the odds of you playing for a team that had a bad season the year before.

This is just my 2 cents for what it's worth lol. If someone would have asked me who I thought would still be with the team between Hester and Urlacher, I'd have thought it would be URL but. I wasn't sure how it was going to shake out would he quit, make it clear he wanted to be elsewhere, or stay put. I felt the whole time if he were to stay here it would and should only be in the capacity that he currently is. And that is special teams only. I don't think he's smart enough to play wide receiver TBO. He struggled at being in the right place at the right time. The whole mindset of a WR is different than a returner. Where as a wider receiver requires precision, running proper routes, timing, and hitting pre-determined points on the field so Jay can trust you will be where your supposed to be. It's a much more technical thinking position After the catch or when a play breaks down is the only time you are then able to freelance. As a returner you have your blocking schemes but it is a much more fluid freelance style of running with the ball, once you field the ball it's all up to following the blocks, finding the crease, setting up blocks and using your vision as the play develops. I feel this is where Hester excelled before he was put on offense and had a lot of fun doing it. Putting him back in a position where he can focus on what he does best without having to also "think" too much like he would if he was on offense (especially with a new offense being installed). I think this gives him the best chance to get back to where he was as a return man. Not saying it will happen, since there's no guarantee you can get your groove back but if Hester can I think they are putting him in a position to do so. We'll just have to wait and see how that works out. If it does work out and Hester does get his groove back, that will help our offense tremendously in the field position department with teams having to fear kicking to him again. If he doesn't we have other guys on the roster who can return as well.

"Davis set career-highs with 19 receptions for 229 yards and two touchdowns for Chicago last season." This part made me laugh so hard. When your stats are so bad you almost have to try to sink that low and that is your career high. Good luck with that Clevelend there's a reason we dumped his worthless hide.

It is what it is. I'm a big fan of Urlacher and have been since he got here. The fan in me wanted him to be back and wanted him to have that Walter Payton type exit as he retired a Bear. But the reality is very few players end their careers where they start or get to end them on their terms. When you have a coaching and/or GM change there is often roster changes that turn heads and shake things up. We've watched and enjoyed Brian's 13 year career here and are pretty attached to him and the player he's been for his time here. When you don't have those attachments you are able to look at things more objectively and evaluate who on the team do you want to keep, who you would be willing to let go if you have to. As well as who you would like to bring in to fit the schemes you want to run going forward. These kinds of moves are tough from a fans perspective because sometimes a player deemed expendable is a fan favorite, but we may well look back realize it was the hard right decision. Sometimes these moves send a message that you better perform or you could be gone. It's also easy to forget that more than once Brian and his agent threatened holdouts, other tactics to leverage more money added to past contracts. He's even admitted that at times he's acted like a baby crying for more money. Brian has been handsomely paid during his time here. It does suck to see him go, but I think he's now trying to play the victim angle and the media (local and national) are more than eager to oblige and stir up controversy. I think what Brian is going to have to realize is his injuries and diminished skill-set are a concern to anyone thinking of signing him. That any team will want an incentive laden contract and he'll need to prove that he can stay on the field and be effective. 31 other teams in the league don't have an emotional attachment to him so they are looking this objectively. The Bears chose to look at it that way as well focusing on what he can provide now rather than past performance.

I don't see us running it a lot but more like once in a while, Cutler is a mobile QB and I do see this as similar to play action as AZ pointed out. It would be dumb to run this a lot or use it exclusively that isn't who Cutler is and it is going to get those running QB's killed. But having it in the playbook and being able to pull it out when the situation is right I can see it being effective. If it's done sparingly as I believe it will be then I'm for it if it's something we will see a lot of then I'm not a fan of it as it only exposes Jay to more hits. Trestman has already said that protecting Jay is a top priority so I don't see us using it a lot but having it available doesn't hurt.

I think this does suit Cutler and agree I don't see it being used a lot but used situationally (what a concept the Bears doing anything situationally lol). I like that Trestman is thinking outside of what us Bears fans are used to seeing as the preverbal box. An offense with roots in the west coast system that utilizes various different wrinkles tailored to our players to get the best out of what we have will be a breath of fresh air. This along with the Hester thing (assuming he remains a bear) we have a head coach who sees what we see that Hester is a returner period not a WR. Here's hoping to a coaching regime less likely to try to force square pegs into round holes!

Per NFL.com

I believe he'll be back here and finish where he started. I believe it's what he truly wants and I believe the Bears want him back. I agree that it will probably be something like 2 years in the area of 4-5 mil which is I think fair for Brian and fair for the Bears. It's easy to forget that last year he was coming off an injury that hampered his speed at the start of the season. He barely had much of an off-season aside from rehab. He was even limited in camp. As the season progressed he got better. This off-season he's been able to work out and I think will be in far better shape heading into camp than last year. No doubt he's lost a step, and injuries are more of an issue, but at his age that's normal. I definitely think that he has a couple more years in the tank and can help train his replacement. Signing him doesn't diminish the need for his replacement to be brought in. I don't think (and he's said as much) that he's not looking to break the bank, he isn't going to dig for every cent he can get, he's aware of the situation he's in. I think Brian, the Bears, and us fans would love to see 54 retire a Bear and see his jersey retired along with the great LB's through the history of the Bears. It would sadden and even sicken me to see him go to Minny, or Dallas. If he went to dallas I'd probably burn my 54 jersey lol. I'd love to see Brian finally get that ring as a member of the Bears.

they sent him his walking papers but he dropped them

Forest Gump may have an edge on him in the intelligence area.

Wishing Knox the best, I think this is the best thing for him. Living a normal or fairly normal life after such a horrific injury in and of itself is a victory for him. I honestly didn't want to see him play again, the risk is not worth it if I were in his shoes. I've had respect for him and hope he can just enjoy his family. Classy guy.

what's the read/dig on this guy? I've never heard of him and don't know much about him other than that article from last offseason and what's been posted here.

I don't know if he's referring to the statement that Dungy made about the last african american coach to be hired through an external search and that it was 6 years ago. There apparently are some feathers being ruffled over the results of the filling of the coaching vacancies this offseason. And talk of tweaking the "roony rule" to better ensure diversity in coaching and GM management roles in the NFL. Personally I think imposing requirements like the Rooney rule that teams have to interview a minority candidate. Rules that say you must have this many minorities, or you must interview this many minorities regardless of how qualified they are is the wrong way to go about it. I believe coaches should be interviewed and looked at for their ability to do the job not the color of their skin. How many candidates that have been interviewed post Rooney Rule were essentially token interviews to fill a requirement. It's becoming a joke. If a coach can do the job or has the resume that suggests he can then interview him. It should be about bringing in the right guy who's the right fit for the team.

I do recall an article mentioning of the 3 finalists both Trestman and Bevell were inclinded to keep Rod. But that the new coach would have the freedom to build the staff that he wants. Also remember the word was that the first interview with Tresman was something like 8 hours or at least longer than usual. What I believe is that the staff positions and who has the final say on them is Trestman but I would believe that Trestman is smart enough to gather as much info about who's available who could be available, who would be a good fit at the different spots. I also believe that Regardless of whether Rod stays or goes they have a plan in mind if he stays and a plan in mind if he goes, and both may be in the works at the same time. Time will tell what the final staff will look like. I'm sure being out of the NFL for 8 years Trestman is going to pick a lot of peoples brains and study a lot of different guys. My guess is the final interview they were looking at options for the staff. I believe it's a good thing for the coach and GM to be on the same page and work well together at building this staff. This will help so much in how we attack free agency and the upcoming draft.

Thanks for the insight CanadianBear, I've gone from hearing we interviewed a CFL guy (thinking this has to be a joke), to learning about him to the point where he was the one out of the finalist's I wanted. I like what I've read and heard about Trestman, and thrilled with our OC hire, as well as the Special Teams coach hire. Whether we keep Rod as DC or he brings in his own guy, I would lean towards keeping Rod because I feel like from what you've described I think they could work together well. There is risk in this move but but I think it's not risk for the sake of risk. I feel Emery did his due diligence in the search and in this hire. I like how quickly things are coming together, and that it doesn't appear to just be quick decisions but also smart decisions. I'm excited to see what Trestman and his staff will do with the Bears. Could we finally see the makings of a balanced football team not reliant on turnovers and defensive scores to keep us in games till the gets going, or has to practically win games for us. We have a very good defense who's very skilled at creating turnovers, but it's time we had an offense that can carry the load with or without the D getting those takeaways and scores. There sure seems to be a change of culture at Halas Hall from the firing of Angelo, and hiring of Emery, to George taking a larger more hands on approach and seems focused and intent on bringing championships to Chicago. I feel like Papa Bear would be proud of George and hopefully with him, Emery, and Trestman, we can have a football team that would make Papa Bear proud. It feels like new life has been breathed into this once proud franchise. Can't wait for FA and the draft!!!!

This all bodes well here's to a new Era in Bears history. Kudos to picking Emory in the GM search, it sure feels like there has been a serious culture shift within the Bears organization.

My first choice of those three (which would have surprised me merely a week or so ago) is Trestman. When I first heard Emery was to interview a CFL guy, I laughed and thought it was just part of the wide net and probably was to an extent and if so then even wiser to cast a wide net. I thought it was a joke that we interviewed a CFL guy, but the more I learned and still learn about this guy the more I think it would be a great fit. He's had a lot of experience in the NFL with different QB's different offenses, is a guy who has been a head coach at the pro level for 5 years not some guy who'd be learning how to be a head coach on the job. I have a feeling he is going to be the guy. I don't want Bevell and Arian's age kind of worries me a bit when I think of longevity in the position but I would not be opposed to him. I think both he and Trestman have a good offensive background to help this fledgling offense here in Chicago. But I lean more towards Trestman because he has head coaching experience and has had success as a coach winning two championships. What would be cool would be Trestman head coach, and Arian as OC best of both there. I do like that Trestman would be inclined to retain RM as DC that would help maintain continuity on that side of the ball, and I believe also with Lovie gone, Rod would have more freedom to adapt his scheme to the players. Remember that was one of the hot button issues between Riviera and Lovie was that Ron didn't feel the freedom to tweak and improvise Lovie's defensive philosophy. It shows the recognition that the D isn't broken, it's just aging. As they get younger It would be nice to know that Rod has the freedom to adapt to the younger players he gets. If we can relatively maintain the effectiveness of the D and fix the Offense (which would definitely help the D out) this team could be dangerous. I'm also glad to see that whoever comes in is not saddled with someone by Emery or George, or the Bears FO. The new coach will have the option to retain but isn't required to. I think it makes sense to retain RM, If I were the new coach I would strongly consider it given the body of work.

Thing is Offensive line is something that is worth throwing at least one pick at every year. We've played OL Damage control and musical chairs the past 3-4 years. You don't wait till you are in a crisis position to start putting picks into it and high picks into it. You are going to have first rounders not pan out, but by the time we started putting first round picks into our OL positions the microscope was fixed on them so them not panning out is even more of a failure because you absolutely needed them to pan out immediately. When you do look at the breakdown from year to year and you consider the college success the players had and it didn't translate to the NFL or hasn't yet. I do have to wonder at some level if it's not so much tools or the mechanic using the tools. You need to have coaches, coordinators, and position coaches who are skilled at getting the most out of players and developing talent. I don't see the Bears as a team in recent memory where we've really developed new talent. There are some guys who have cracked through over the years but we've seen guys come here and regress, we've ruined players. We are going to have new mechanics in our shop this coming season and if we get the right ones perhaps some of our guys can be salvaged and the ones that can't will be sent packing. Mix in new talent in FA and draft, and it's not unheard of for a team to see vast improvement on the OL from one season to the next. You just need the right mix of players and the right mix of coaches and staff to turn it around. I don't expect all our issues in this area to be fixed this coming season but a definite step in the right direction would be welcomed. And will help build confidence that Emery will be able to build this team for the present as well as the future.

I have a feeling Emery will never have to explain why, and how he forgot to check a box on a form LOL

He's just that good LOL

the way he's gone about this from the get go has been refreshing and has given me confidence that he will bring in the guy he feels will be the best fit here in Chicago. I like that he didn't wait a few days before firing Smith, he did so the day after the game. He had already prepared and sent out paperwork to get permission to interview candidates Monday morning. We find that he had pretty much made up his mind weeks before that regardless of how things shook out that he wanted to go in a different direction with the Coaching position. I think it was also respectful to Lovie by making the decision right away on Monday which gives Smith more time to make his plans and contact other teams for their vacancies. I think both Emery and Smith handled the situation with class and I think that will serve both the Bears and Smith well going forward. It sends the message that Emory, knows what he's doing, has a plan and isn't afraid to take action. This choice was not a spur of the moment, reactionary move as a result of the packers vikings game. It was premeditated, he had a list of guys he had in mind before he waved goodbye to Smith. I like that he started interviewing as soon as possible and has been interviewing a lot of candidates with a variety of backgrounds. It does show he's not just saying it but he's demonstrating that he will be thorough in the search, and that bodes well. It's very smart to cast a wide net here, given he's new to the GM position, its a smart move to pick different candidates brains, and see who has the best ideas/plans to take the Bears to the next level.

I agree I think both Conte and Wright played well overall. I had almost written Wright off as a complete failure but It looks like he's starting to get it. I think they both play well together. What I'd like to see is let them both stay where they are. It's hard for any player to succeed in when we keep playing musical safeties. I say give them time to develop further in their roles. I think they played well and I feel we got better overall play out of the safety position that we have in the recent past.