DABEARSDABOMB

I'm also guessing the game film wasn't kind to him (especially vs. the run against the Lions).

The Zaidman quote makes me think that Ratliff wasn't fitting in. Odd, given that in the off-season he was considered a "building" block.

Yep. He's been cut. See below tweets.

Haven't seen anything but he left the Lions game with the a neck injury, so maybe Bears reached injury settlement and cut him?

I think Rolle and Shea are week to week. My presumption is both will be back for our next game (after the bye week).

To caveat this, Lemming indicated you are talking at least a month until he does any major type of football work. Lemming has been one of the more optimistic ones regarding his timeframe and the fact that he could be on the field somewhere between weeks 10-12.

I think the next step is we see him just play and think less and that is when the big plays will come. PFF graded him out (through first 4 games) as the 11th best linebacker in football. I think we all have issues with PFF, but still a benchmark worth noting. I have seen quite a few just missed plays out of Shea and as he just gets more and more comfortable those are going to become big defensive plays, imo. McPhee also seems to think pretty highly of him. I really like McPhee. Not just his football skills, but his leadership skills. Those have been a huge add to this team.

http://chicago.suntimes.com/sports/7/71/1024518/bears-3 Good article with a lot of quotes from Fangio. Very evident how much Fangio likes Shea. People need to get over his sucking from past schemes, he's now playing the position he was always a fit for. Lets also remember Fangio is not one just to say nice things about people. He's been very up front with the media on players and his rep is as a straight-shooter.

Reports were that White has just been an animal from a rehab perspective. I also heard some people say he looked outstanding during the off-season stuff leading into training camp (where he obviously didn't get any reps). At least he's got the right attitude and work ethic (by all accounts). I personally am excited and hope we get to see him play at some point in the season. Would be huge for him to get some of that experience and adjustment out of the way this year.

Agree - excited to see if he can take some steps forward and turn into the next Olin Kreutz!!! If one thing that could come of this season is find out Long is a probowl tackle, Leno is a serviceable RT, and Grasu has skills to be an above average center, well that would be a great thing. That said, Leno was pretty poor this week but it was good experience.

This is just one of those, everyone hates Shea because of what he was, but it is really clear what Fangio thinks about Shea and he's very very high on him. Shea has been one of the bright spots for this team and I hope he isn't super injured. He's been getting better and better.

Zach Zaidman ‏@ZachZaidman 1h1 hour ago Rookie C Hroniss Grasu says he took some reps with the first team at #Bears practice today.

A lot of people though Long would be raw but Long was also a total beast athlete. Could their be other nuances between guard and center from a spread perspective? Also, one was a 1st round pick and the other a 3rd round pick.

Kreutz seemed to indicate he was in a similar position and had to really learn leverage, etc, and strengthen up when he got into the NFL (and it was why he didn't start until week 16 or so). It sounds like its a relatively common issue, especially when you draft guys from spread systems.

I've noticed Shea getting better and better at being at the right spot and being instinctual. He still has more to do (almost had a pick against the Raiders and had a few plays where he flew across the field to get a tackle). Shea keeps improving and while he may not be a star, he's a guy you resign and keep.

I know you were big on Austin entering the draft, but that isn't the type of player I want given how high the Rams took Austin. If White ended up to be Austin, I wouldn't be happy and I'd call it a bad pick. That said, Austin has had lousy QB play too.

Matt Bowen commented on Grasu at practice and basically said if he sees the field this year, it would be a total disaster. Basically that their were zero scenarios where Grasu could succeed this year. Sounded like he was a boy among men. Supposedly he has been putting on strength, etc, but having a guy who was basically a "redshirt" draft pick start in KC sounds like a recipe for disaster. I agree with AZ54, Grasu will get his chance, but probably after the bye week.

I'm going to guess we sign Garza or De La Puente. Biggs or someone had a blurb on Grasu and it talked about how he has put on about 10 pounds since the start of training camp, but not only does he need physical strength, but their are just a ton of nuances that he needs to learn as a center that he doesn't have due to playing in the spread at Oregon. He's a project who might be ready later on. Now to Grasu's defense, he says he's ready and been training to be ready...next man up kind of a way. However, I think the Bears plan was for him to get a lot of training as the practice squad O vs. the 1st string defense. But maybe he's came along a lot faster then everyone initially suspected based upon his training camp.

He stood out a lot yesterday. Great thing and looks like a good pickup. Hopefully he keeps getting more comfortable in the system and keeps getting better. Great to have a guy who can make plays. We need more of them and would be nice if we had one in McPhee.

The description of Grasu from training camp wasn't a pretty one. Made it sound like he was at least a full year away and was not ready to start in the NFL. Just not anywhere near strong enough.

Good summary. One thing I want to point out is how physical Amos is. For a late round rookie, he seems to find himself on the ball and he looks like a good tackler.

I doubt it. Peyton Manning is the suck in the playoffs.

We probably are getting something closer to a 4th to 6th rounder, but either way, I think the benefit of getting Langford and Carey opportunities is worth just as much as the draft pick (which is gravy).

And where would the Packers and Colts be had they made those moves? Packers ended up winning a superbowl with Rodgers and the Colts have made the playoffs every year with Luck and despite Lucks' turnover issues, if you had an NFL draft, Rodgers and Luck would be the top 2 picks. The Packers were able to stay great because they weren't afraid of moving on past Favre. Yes, Favre still had a few good years but Rodgers won a superbowl the year after Favre retired. Those teams would be in awful shape had they stuck with the respective players. Even if you look at the Chargers, who let Brees go in favor of Rivers and while Brees has won a superbowl and did what he did with the Saints, I don't think the Chargers would have went any other way either (different story cause Brees was coming off an injury and not at the level of Manning / Favre). The great franchises aren't afraid to make tough decisions. Have you seen how many guys the Patriots have shuttled out of New England? Packers have had plenty of guys walk in their dominant era as well. I feel like the inverse happens and it is the loser franchises that fall too in love with their players that they aren't able to make the right business decisions (because they are inconsistent and don't stick to a defined strategy). Heck, look what Sean Payton is doing in New Orleans. I think everyone would say he's an elite coach, but they completely blew things up in the off-season and I presume they'll move Brees at some point as they continue to rebuild (they decided things hit a point and it was time to rebuild). If Forte wants to play with the Bears forever, then I'm okay with that, presuming money is fair, but if he wants to be the highest paid back, well I don't think that is what a good franchise would do and we shouldn't. Forte is one of my favorite Bears and is total class. Now if we think Langford is crap, different story, but if we think we have someone on this roster who is a long-term piece, then we need to be willing to make the move to see if he is that piece. Again, unless Forte is adamant about staying with the Bears, which could be, and if he is, then he'd be okay sharing a bit more carries with Langford and taking a more developmental type role (I don't suspect that he is, but that is what I'd expect if I were to bring him back).

I think the key is the final point, what does Matt Forte want. Does he want to play on a contender or does he want to be part of a rebuild that he won't see the end of? I don't know the answer but if he wants to play for a contender then I think we should respect those wishes. I also think we need to see what we have in Langford. If you play the loyalty card all the time, Rodgers may never have been the QB of the Packers and Luck might not be the QB of the Colts. Both franchises would have stuck with Favre and Manning respectively and long-term, that would not have been the wise decision.