DABEARSDABOMB

Let me work on getting the chat room up in the next day and than I'll get a drop down section with draft links on the top of the forum that can be easily accessed.

I'm pretty sure that one player was Curtis Conway. Not positive, but I think thats the case.

I think the supplemental pick would work out for the following year and not this year, but I'm not 100% on that. I would imagine that barring major injury, if we lost Briggs we would get the highlest level of supplmental pick. I can't envision the Bears getting any supplemental picks for this year (unless somehow Gage gets the Bears a supplemental pick and he was signed off the scrap heap for a minimum amount which I think would effect whether the Bears would get any compensation).

I think in Moss' case it had to deal further with him having severe attitude issues. However, if a 4th round pick ended up being the asking price I'd be all over that.

Haha, that was pretty funny.

Rex Ryan is a great coord, he may end up getting a HC position this off-season and if he doesn't you know he'll get a fat contract to join some other team as a DC. It is a big mistake if the Ravens axe him. Than again I understand that they will want the knew coach to bring in his guys (But I'd at least give the knew coach the option of having Ryan). Billick was completely overrated as a HC and for all I know isn't near as smart as everyone once thought he was as an offensive mind (considering how piss poor the offense was in his entire tenure in Baltimore). I wonder if Billick will go back into the coaching ranks (and be willing to be an OC somewhere) or if he will sit out a year or two and than eventually doop some team into hiring him as an HC.

I think the Bears should look to add one very good safety and than let Brown battle for the other job with Manning in the role that he will step into either spot with an injury (and with Brown starting you know long term wise there will still be room for Manning to start if he ends up developing into the player the Bears think he's capable of being). You also have McGown and Payne for depth as well so you bring in one new safety, keep Brown (maybe restructure his contract), with Manning/McGowan/Payne all in as backups. Have Manning work hard in the off-season to be ready to be a potential replacement for RMJ as well (who will get cut) so Manning would end up getting plenty of playing time even though he wouldn't be starting anymore (Manning got torched against top WR's this year, but if he was guarding the teams 3rd to 4th best WR he should end up being pretty good).

I would be all over this, especially if you could get him for a 3rd round pick. This would give you a ton of leverage if Berrian were to walk, but the bears would also have the ability to get Walker in at a relatively fair rate (3rd round pick is well worth it) and than keep Berrian (resign him or sign another WR) and give the Bears there first legitimate receiving corps in some time. Obviously you have issues with his knee and whether he would whine again (since this is now his second incident where he has demanded a trade) but bottom line if you weren't totally relying on him as a #1 the move could pay off big time. I do wonder if he would have any interest coming to a place like Chicago and being that he is leaving because he is no longer a #1, would he have any interest in coming to Chicago along with a WR like Berrian (or someone elese as they would each be kind of like top dogs). Personally if I were an above average WR, I'd like playing with another above average WR because it would prevent teams from being able to completely double team one of you (since they'd be worried about two above average guys).

That works for me. Wolfe and Peterson are solid special teams contributors and you never know what happens with injuries. Plus, you know if Benson struggles early or doesn't do what you expect of him you can dump him at the end of the season knowing that you still have a pretty deep set of backs.

Out of all the guys, to be honest, I'd rather deal Ogunleye since he is the oldest of the group and has the biggest contract. However, he is also the most productive and as Strahan has showed, a quality defensive end can actually get better with age (surprisingly enough). Bottom line no matter how much I rip on Anderson for being a one dimensional player, I also admit he has a ton of talent and is very cheap for the Bears so there isn't a chance in hell I'd trade/give him up. I also love Idonjie as a quality backup which is why I wouldn't be opposed to getting rid of one guy, but like I said, I'd want to get value in return and I don't know if that is out there, but I guess if there was a position teams seem to always be looking for help, it is at the pass rush.

That is fine and dandy, but unless you are going to get a 2nd round pick or similar talent for Ogun or Brown you are making a massive mistake, imo. Bazuin is completely raw and I have no problem with Anderson starting again (although I clearly think we've seen he isn't ready to be a starter in the NFL and is more effective as a pass rush specialist). Now if a team were to offer a trade that gets the Bears are very good WR (not pro bowler, but a legit #2 WR) for Alex Brown I would be happy to do such a thing (or a high draft pick). But very rarely when you trade a proven player do you get value in return (especially if it is a draft pick you are getting back). So in theory I don't necessarily have a problem with your idea but in practice I see it very difficult to get equal value back when you are trading anything except draft picks (or players who are on the franchise end of thigns and as such there aren't any salary cap rammifcations surrounding a trade).

If the Bears add a RB it will be later on in the draft (at least 2nd round or later and I think 3rd or later is more realistic) or via FA (Julius Jones, Lamont Jordan). I'd say Michael Turner but I don't think the Bears are going to want to give out the type of money that Turner will get (plus Turner will likely get a 4-5 year type contract while you could probably get the other guys to agree to shorter term deals). I'm really liking the idea of Julius Jones, Cedric Benson, Garret Wolfe (I think the Bears are stuck keeping Benson because he is a top pick who was bad this year but there were a lot of factors that played into things). Peterson could fit in as well but I don't know if they want to carry 4 backs (I'd love for the Bears to trade Wolfe but that probably isn't realistic nor do I think they would want to just dump Peterson since he's a great special teams player, a darn good receiver out of the back field and an all around class guy).

Walker will be cut because he has a 5M roster bonus due to him and there is no way they will give it to him. Mike Brown could save them cap room, not a ton of it though when you consider the difference between cutting him and what his replacement would cost (even if you went with a super low budget replacement). Moose/Griese would each save you a bit of money, but both of these guys contracts were pretty evenly structured to the point that I don't think there would be any substantial savings when you cut them (but you could probably clear a few Mill off the books). I don't have exact numbers though and hopefully LT or someone else can stop by and give a pretty good analysis on the Bears options to get under the cap. I do remember seeing that it is possible for them (by getting rid of a few players) to get about 25M under the cap (you also have to figure that Briggs, even if he gets a fat contract from the Bears, will have a smaller cap hit than he did this past year given the fact that his money will be spread out over the contract).

Is Ronald Curry available? I really like him as well. I don't think he is a #1, but he's a pretty darn good target either way. I also should indicate it seems as if I'm one of the only people that believes Berrian is fully capable of being a #1 wide out in this league (note that I'm not saying he'll be a Chad Johnson, but he's good enough to be a #1 in this league).

Berrian has indicated that he may take less money to stay in Chicago but I also think he wants to know what the future is going to be in terms of the offense (in regards to the coaching staff, the qb, and the front offices commitment to bring better talent in on the offensive side of the football).

The one thing I wonder is what happens if a couple top notch candidates end up being available, would the Bears reconsider keeping Turner when Cameron is out there (and Cam runs a system I really like). I understand that firing Cameron is because Parcells is going to want his people in there, but he really really got a raw deal.

I agree on Manning. He took off when McBride took over as the 2nd CB and Manning was allowed to just worry about one position (safety).

I'd give him borderline #1 money but not full fledged #1 money. Still, I think the drop down to Berrian and any other Bears WR compared with Briggs to Williams is way more extreme (and this is coming from someone who believes Briggs may very well be the best OLB in the league).

I think I saw enough in Tommie late this season to say he's going to be healthy and that they should extend him this off-season as opposed to waiting any longer. This problem means the end to Briggs.

I really like Porter, but I also really like Berrian. Heck, I'll be honest, I'd love a core with both of those guys because you'd have some massive speed on your receiving corps (and Moose would make an oustanding slot guy with Hester being utilized a ton in what could be 4WR sets). Of course financially the Bears won't make that happen as it would cost a fortune to sign Berrian to his deal and than sign Porter. Still, if the Bears lose out on Berrian, Porter is where I'd go and you could make a case that Porter is a better player than Berrian. One difference is Porter has had attitude issues, hence his one reception in 06 (when him and Moss were busy whining/arguing with the coaching staff).

I think it is dissapointing that Alex Brown does this but I really can't blame players in this case because they sign a deal that is good on there end and they can't really opt out of it, but the owners can opt out 24/7 if anything happens to such player. However, I don't think Brown has played to the point where he should get an extension, nor do I Think he will garnish the value it would take on the trade market for the Bears to be willing to deal him. Alex Brown should have started this season (we all saw how superior he is to Anderson the past couple weeks) and I just hope the Bears realize what they always had in Brown and stick with him (Brown and Ogunleye are complete ends and while Brown may never get 15 sacks in a season, he'll get good pressure, tips, play the run outstandingly, and make plays).

The defense was as big of a reason for the complete collapse as the offensive problems. In fact there were many games where it was the defense the failed to stop 3rd down drives and ended up blowing leads. Bottom line, sans the special teams unit, this Bears team didnt' do much right until the final 2 weeks of the season.

Welcome aboard and good post.

Do you mean Peterson and Wolfe?

Pretty sure the Bears will bring in another back to compete with Benson/Peterson. Unless of course the Bears feel that Peterson is starting material and they will go with a competition involving Benson/Peterson (however, given this years season long performance I don't see that happening). The one thing I wonder is when it comes to Wolfe, how are the Bears going to prevent teams from just knowing it will be a passing down with him in (eventually they are going to figure out that for the most part he's been an ineffective rushing the ball, although amazing receiving the ball).