defiantgiant

Hmmm, that's worrisome. The front office must be really confident that his value around the league isn't very high. From Hanie's comments, it sounds like he wouldn't hesitate to leave for a team that'd make him the #2 QB, and I can think of several teams that have worse backup QBs. The Colts have Curtis Painter backing up Peyton, and Ron Turner's their QBs coach now...I could see them making an offer to Hanie. I hope the Bears can retain him - I like him a lot as a long-term backup to Cutler.

I don't know, man - I've heard a lot of Packers fans say that Hawk can't turn his hips and run with a guy in coverage, even a TE. It's kind of a moot point, I guess, since it looks like Green Bay's going to bring him back. One of the things that makes Pisa such a great Sam linebacker for our system is that he's like a fifth DB on the field when he drops in coverage. A guy like Brian Rolle from Ohio State (who the Bears have already met with) or Doug Hogue from Syracuse might be a good replacement for Pisa in the 5th or 6th round.

So here's a player that could be the answer at three-technique: Brandon Mebane, from the Seahawks. He played both the nose and the three-tech in Seattle, and Ruskell (our new personnel guy) is the one who drafted him. He's either going to be a UFA or a restricted FA, depending on how the new CBA shakes out, but even if he's restricted, they only tendered him at the original pick level, so he would only cost a 3rd-rounder to get. He's still fairly young (26) and he's great against the run, pretty good rushing the passer. I'd be very OK with a line of Peppers-Adams-Mebane-Idonije, and then rotating to Peppers-Mebane-Melton-Idonije on passing downs to get a little more rush. Plus, getting a starting DT with our 3rd-rounder would free us up to go OL-WR or OL-OL in the 1st and 2nd.

It's not certain what the judge will do, but from reading that article it sounds like the union's asking for an injunction that would place the TV deal funds in escrow, where the NFL couldn't touch them, until the lockout ends. Generally, to get injunctive relief you have to show that damages would be inadequate - the prototype case for an injunction is one where the damages are both very large and very hard to accurately measure/predict. It seems like, in very general terms, the damages that the players would suffer in the event of a lockout could qualify - it's hard to measure just how badly it would impact any given player's career to have a year with no football, but it's pretty clear that the players as a whole would suffer a major loss. I'm not a lawyer, though, just a law student. Does anybody on this forum do contracts or sports law? I'd be interested to know the particulars here.

He wouldn't fit in the Tampa-2, I don't think. He's a great 3-4 inside 'backer, but he really wasn't that effective when the Packers played a 4-3, and he'd have way more coverage responsibilities in our defense, which isn't his strong suit. Some 3-4 team should jump all over the chance to sign him, but he's not a good fit for Lovie's scheme. Buffalo would be a good landing spot for him - Andra Davis is 32 and dinged up, and Paul Posluszny is a UFA. Even if they can retain Poz, signing Hawk would let them move Davis to a backup role, and Hawk/Poz would be a very good pair of ILBs in a 3-4.

Well, Smith isn't THAT raw; he's already a more polished wideout than DHB, but that's not saying very much. I think he'll eventually be a very good WR (which I don't think DHB will) but it's just going to take too long. But yeah, I'm with you all the way - the Bears have enough speedy, raw receivers. They need a big possession guy who runs good routes. I'm starting to warm up to Austin Pettis - his speed is a concern, but he looked really smooth changing directions at the Combine, and he shows really good hands in traffic when you watch his college games. The Bears should be taking a long look at both Little and Pettis in Round 3-4. Randall Cobb is EXACTLY the kind of route runner that Martz would love, but I'm not sure he'll last until the Bears pick in the 2nd. Lots of teams would love to have that guy.

Yeah, hopefully the owners will have to knuckle under (or at least negotiate with the union in good faith instead of just stonewalling them) if they can't count on the TV money coming in. They've still got their $900 million lockout fund, but losing $4 billion in TV revenue would hurt them immensely.

Yeah, I think Baldwin's problems are pretty manageable, all told. Especially when you consider his potential physically. I like the idea for this thread, though. Here's my two cents: Torrey Smith, WR, Maryland: seen him projected to the Bears more than once. I love the guy as a prospect, but not for Chicago. He's got decent size and phenomenal speed, but needs a HUGE amount of work on his route-running. He's very gifted and is apparently an ultra-high-character guy, but he's just too raw. As a rookie, he's only really going to provide a deep threat, and the Bears have that covered. Down the road he could end up a very good #1 receiver, but it's going to take a lot of time and the Bears need a #1 target right away.

I don't think anybody is going to take a risk on Austin in Round 1, especially not with how deep this D-line class is. Fairley, Dareus, Paea, Liuget, and Muhammad Wilkerson will all go before him, plus all the ridiculous DEs this year. Even after his great Combine, I think there's a very good chance that he makes it to the Bears' pick in the bottom of the 2nd round. He was being projected as a 2nd-to-3rd round pick before the Combine, so just solidifying himself as a late 2nd-rounder would be a step up for him.

Wouldn't have been a great pickup for the Bears anyway. He doesn't offer much in terms of pass-rush any more. There are younger, cheaper guys out there who can fill the situational run-plugger role.

Yup - this. Look at what San Francisco did last year - a first-round pick on a left tackle in 2007, then two more first-rounders on o-line in 2010. Barring a catastrophic injury, they're going to be set up front for the next 6-7 years. Add in a go-to receiver in Crabtree (another recent 1st-round pick) and they've got a pretty ideal situation for any quarterback to step into. They still need to find that guy, but they've got all the other pieces in place for when they do. That's going to be a good scenario for some QB to succeed. Any quarterback, no matter how good he is, needs a solid line in front of him and a dependable #1 to throw to. Even among the best QBs in the league, guys still don't play their best if the protection or the receivers are lacking. Tom Brady can still get it done without an elite wideout, but his best seasons were throwing to Moss and Welker. McNabb made a bunch of scrubs look better than they were for a number of seasons, but he was really at his best when he had TO and then DeSean Jackson. If Angelo wants to get the best out of Cutler, he needs to give him the tools to succeed. If he does manage to hit on an o-lineman in the 1st and the line starts playing well next year, then he needs to turn his attention to getting a go-to receiver. Fixing the o-line this year is a start, but drafting somebody like Justin Blackmon next year would put the offense over the top.

I've heard that Melton could be an option. He's got the quickness and agility, but he's pretty undersized. I see him more as an interior nickel rusher, but that could still be a solution, at least for a year. Ideally, you'd have a three-down under tackle, but it wouldn't be the end of the world to use more of a run-plugging DT (like Toeaina) on first and second down, then sub Melton in for third downs and obvious passing situations. It's not as good as having a legit 3-tech who can play the run and the pass, but it could be a band-aid solution while we develop a rookie to take over.

The fact that Aromashodu didn't play in many games doesn't mean that the team didn't explore him as an option. It means that they explored the option during the offseason and in practice (and for the first game or two of the regular season) and determined that he didn't earn playing time. You don't find out if a developmental guy can be a starter by giving him the job outright and hoping for the best - you make him prove that he's a starter in practice. If a guy sucks in practice, why would you play him in a game? Lovie Smith said that they were looking for Aromashodu to take a step forward last offseason, he failed to do it, and Mike Martz basically confirmed that when asked about him. I don't know what more there is to say. I know there's a lot of love for Aromashodu on this forum, but let's be realistic. The guy had a great game in relief of Hester against Minnesota, but how much did it tell us about him? He was running mostly vertical routes against an injured Antoine Winfield, who was so hobbled that he had to line up 10 yards off and bail immediately, and he still couldn't keep up. Any fast WR in the league will look great if he gets a free release at the line against a corner who can barely run. Bernard Berrian would have looked like an all-star if he'd been playing in Aromashodu's place in that game, and we all know that Berrian isn't the answer at WR. And outside of that game, what has DA shown? Baltimore and Detroit contained him very well in 2009, despite having two of the worst secondaries in the league. He contained himself against Detroit in Week 1 of 2010, by dropping at LEAST 3 or 4 passes that hit him in the hands, including one throw that was a sure TD if he'd held on. And it's not like he didn't get his chances in the games he played - Cutler clearly loves throwing to the guy, and forced the ball to him like there was no tomorrow. He got 10 passes in Week 1 and dropped 4 easy catches...that's just unacceptable. I'm not hating on the guy for no reason, I just think the cons vastly outweigh the pros with him. I like his size/speed combination, and I like him on vertical outside-the-numbers stuff, go routes, back-corner fades, etc. But those just aren't enough when you throw in his lack of physicality, his total inconsistency running routes and catching the ball, the fact that he seems to hear footsteps over the middle, and the fact that he doesn't play in the slot or offer anything on special teams. Plus, we have other guys who can run 7, 8, and 9 routes. We need a guy who can go over the middle, be in the right place at the right time, and reliably catch the ball in traffic. DA isn't that guy, any more than Hester or Knox are. The Colts figured he wasn't worth keeping, and they definitely know how to evaluate receivers, especially the late-round/free-agent types. Peyton Manning has made a lot of receivers less talented than Aromashodu look really good, because they're consistent and dependable. Aromashodu has enough physical talent to be a starting receiver, but so far he's proven (with multiple teams) that he's too inconsistent and unreliable to earn the job. It's time to cut him and move on.

Yeah, and that first-step quickness is the most important thing for a 3-technique in the Tampa 2. Marinelli can teach him the things that he still needs to learn - like hand placement, counter moves, and keeping his pad level down - but you can't teach a genuinely elite first step. The difference between a freakish first step and an average first step is the difference between 2006 Tommie Harris and 2010 Tommie Harris. Plus, it's not like Austin's a pure finesse DT, either. The dude put up 38 bench-press reps, which was the best in the whole Combine except for Paea (who's a monster in his own right.) At UNC back in '09, about half his pressures/hurries (that I saw) came when he just manhandled guards straight back into the pocket. If he can get his head on straight, he's got the quickness of a prototype under tackle, but with a lot more size and strength than most UT prospects. That said, Marvin Austin the person is a legitimate concern. I definitely won't fault the Bears if they pass on him because they think he'll be a problem off the field or in the locker room. You don't need every player to be a choirboy, but if a guy won't take coaching or can't stay out of trouble, that limits his value pretty severely. Seeing how he stayed in shape during a year off from football, I don't have many doubts about his work ethic, but as far as his character, the scouts who talked to him at the Combine seem to think he's a knucklehead. According to one reporter who's been talking to scouts, here's what they said about Austin: "If he had any character at all he'd be a first-round pick" and "he's a punk, but he has special, special feet and he can run...he does some (athletic) stuff you go, 'Holy (expletive).' " So it's a major question whether they think they can straighten him out to the point where he won't be a problem to the team. If they think they can, then they need to run to the podium and pick him.

Yeah, if it were just about any other injury, I'd say give him a shot, but a torn Achilles at 30+ years old could be a career-ender for him. It's a shame, because he's a very good RT when he's healthy.

I'm not even sure they want him that bad. In an interview at the Combine, their DC said that he hasn't even bothered to watch film of the 1st-round defensive players...it's THAT much of a sure thing that they'll be going offense in the 1st. They've got a few good receivers, serviceable running backs, a promising young TE, and a very solid o-line...that only leaves one position that they could be considering at #4. I wouldn't be surprised at all if they picked Cam Newton, or Blaine Gabbert if the Panthers take Newton first overall.

I'd like that strategy...I also think they should take a long hard look at Rodney Hudson if Pouncey's gone. Hudson can be a one-year stopgap at LG and then an All-Pro center once Kreutz retires.

I think Paea's awesome, but I'm not sure that he's a fit for the Bears. They need a replacement for Tommie Harris, and Paea's not a great three-technique prospect. He really doesn't have any pass-rushing moves other than a bull rush, and he doesn't have the kind of quickness and agility that great pass-rushing 3-techs need to have. Mostly, he's just incredibly strong and impossible to move backward. In the Bears' D, I think he'd play the 1-tech, Anthony Adams' position. He'd be great at it, but that's not the biggest need on the d-line right now. It's probably a moot point anyway; I'd be shocked if he's still around when the Bears pick in the 2nd. CBS Sports has Paea as a borderline 1st-2nd round pick, and their rankings are usually more accurate than most. I wouldn't be surprised if he goes in the mid-1st: between weighing in over 300 pounds and the ridiculous bench press, a lot of 3-4 teams are probably going to be considering him as a nose tackle, which is a huge premium position. Paea's not the traditional build for NT, but he's similar in terms of build and strength to Kyle Williams on the Bills or Kelly Gregg on the Ravens, and both those guys are beasts at nose. If 3-4 teams think he can play nose tackle, he's not making it out of the first 40 or 50 picks.

Yeah, that's a concern. Tom Brady has worked with the same QB tutor since he was like 15, but Tom Brady never had outstanding physical gifts, so he probably understood that he wasn't going to be able to cut it unless he had flawless mechanics. Cutler's made it this far covering for his sloppy footwork with God-given talent...he doesn't have the same incentive to improve his fundamentals. Which is a shame, because he really could be something else if he had Brady's consistency and sound mechanics. Still, he doesn't have to be a perfectionist like Brady, but I hope that he'll at least put in some work with a QB coach in the event of an offseason lockout. I'd hate to see what'd happen if he showed up in September having gone eight whole months without working on the basics.

I'm not crazy about a lot of aspects of Baldwin's game, but he does bring exactly what the Bears' WRs are missing - a big red-zone jump-ball threat. I mean, his height/reach/vertical leap combination is in the same conversation with Calvin Johnson and Larry Fitzgerald. He's not as fast or shifty as either of those players, but he has the potential to be elite in red-zone situations. That said, the scenario where I'd want the Bears to consider him is if he falls into the top of the 2nd. I still want them to go o-line with their 1st-rounder, but if Baldwin falls out of the 1st they should make a serious effort to trade up from their 2nd and grab him.

So George Whitfield, the QB coach, has said that he'd like to work with Cutler, going so far as to call him "arguably the most naturally gifted quarterback on the planet, maybe the most gifted since Elway." He thinks he could work with Cutler on mechanics and consistency and take his game to another level. For those of you who don't know Whitfield, he's Cam Newton's QB tutor right now, but don't judge him just by Newton. He also worked with Ben Roethlisberger during his suspension, and Roethlisberger came right back into the league playing some of his best football. Roethlisberger is a very similar player to Jay in a lot of ways - in the past he's tended to rely on his great mobility and arm strength, improvise a lot, and hold onto the ball until he sees something develop rather than throw with anticipation. If Whitfield could get the best out of Roethlisberger, he might have success working with a similar QB in Cutler. Mike Martz threw some cold water on the idea, and with good reason. His position is basically that developing the Bears' QBs is his job, not anybody else's. That said, if there's a lockout then Martz won't be allowed to meet with Cutler, nor will any other coach from the Bears. If that happens, Cutler might want to keep Whitfield's number handy.

Yeah, if Little had played, I think he'd be in that mid-2nd round conversation. Physically, he might be the second-most impressive wideout after Julio Jones. Also, I'm watching the Combine now, and Warren Sapp seems to really like Marvin Austin. Austin and Liuget are the guys who've been drawing ooohs and ahhhs from Sapp in the bag drills, not Fairley or Dareus. Can't blame him...Austin was just blowing up the bags - a couple of times he just about knocked the other DL holding the bag right off his feet. Yeah, you know, I wasn't that high on Pettis until I saw him at the Combine. He looks to have great hands, and he was a lot smoother changing directions than most of the other wideouts. He looks like he could run the kind of precise routes that Martz asks for.

A 1.62 10-yard split is nuts for a 319-pound offensive tackle. For reference, that's just one one-hundredth of a second slower than Cutler's 10-yard time.

I still think he's a left tackle, at the end of the day. He looked pretty good there in 2009, even with Omiyale crashing and burning next to him. If they get a Pro Bowl left guard lined up next to Williams in 2011 and beyond, he could be a good starter. I don't think he'll ever be great, but he could be good enough to solidify the position for the next 5 years or so.

Can't hurt to give him a shot. If they're really going to let him walk, Lovie and company should bring him in for a workout and see if he can play guard. He's going to be 32 before the season starts, but at least he'd give them the flexibility to draft a developmental guard instead of needing to spend an early pick on an immediate starter. Even if he's just a one-year band-aid, that'd be useful.