DABEARSDABOMB

Marinelli is widely regarded as one of the better defensive minds in football and he is a very respected coach in general. The Lions stunk but that wasn't his fault. He was handed a poor roster and very little to work with yet found a way to take an 0-16 team and have it play hard all season long, a team that was in quite a few football games. The Bears are lucky to get a coach of his class signed and as far as his son goes he's supposed to be a pretty solid young mind from everything I heard. Big whoop, he stunk as a DC that might just mean he's not ready to take on that much plus I think some of you guys don't quite grasp how things go in the NFL but coaches have to trust the staffs they have hired which means Lovie puts everything on Babich who puts a lot of stuff on his assistants. Thats how shit works in the NFL unless you are talking about those rare geniuses such as a Holmgren or Andy Reid that could totally call an offense while being the head coach (Shanny could be counted in here as well) and even those guys needed OC's most of the time. And I wouldn't call Lovie a failed coach. I wasn't happy with how things went for the Bears but entering the season no one but a coolaid sipper had this team winning 9 games and somehow they did (and they should have won more). So they did a lot more than I thoguht they would with limited talent. The defense played like shit, no denying that, but those who watched the 2007 Bears shouldn't have really been surprised at that as the defense blew that year too (injuries or no injuries). I'll completely agree that Babich should have gotten ousted or at least moved down to DL duties but I think Marinelli will be much more involved.

I agree, I believe he's proven himself worthy of a head coaching job.

I don't get it. If you sign Warner the window is small so the Bears would need to significantly upgrade other offensive weapons and I don't see them capable of doing all those things which makes this a very dumb move, imo. The Bears should draft a QB very early in the draft if a top QB is available, sign a backup, and stick with Orton until the drafted QB is ready.

Tremendous hire. I still think he should be the DC but my guess is he will be very involved on the defensive side of the football. He preaches Lovie's scheme but is also a bit more vocal and I think he'll be an excellent addition. I assume Marinelli's son will be the linebacker coach which is fine with me.

I hated Vick more than anyone around here after what he did but I'm a big believer in 2nd chances and I'd be an advocate of Vick.

He's also a very strong, physical receiver whose presence over the middle would be a true asset.

I actually think the energy Chad Johnson would bring to the clubhouse would potentially be a welcome addition. He can be a jackass at times but up until this past season he was always thought of as a good teammate who had fun and pissed the NFL league offices off. The Bears have lacked an emotional/face guy of the franchise and Johnson coming in might be a good shakeup.

I still think the Bears aren't getting rid of the DC/OC because they are going to quietly search for other options and only make a move if they feel someone is out there that they want. Marinelli will be that guy and it just doesn't make sense to have Marinelli being anything but a DC because we all know he'd be a very involved assistant who would have significant input on the Defensive Scheme's and play calling and over the long haul that would create a power struggle in the locker room, imo. At OC I could see the Bears making a move if someone becomes available that they really like.

Maclin would only make sense if the Bears were planning on bringing in Mike Martz to be the OC. I will admit though that Maclin reminds me a lot of Desean Jackson and I don't give a crap how small Jackson is I'd love to have him on the Bears. I just wish the Bears still had Berrian. I also believe Maclin will be there when the Bears pick but they have a bigger need at DE (even though our WR's are awful a top pick at DE has a greater chance of making a significant impact in year one).

I agree with you that the Bears need a physical WR who can make plays in the slot as that fits Orton's strong suit plus fills a serious need in our WR corps. I'd love to have Booker in his prime as that would be a really good compliment to Bennet/Hester's skill-set (I'm not giving up on Bennett just yet). I just don't know who that guy is. I still believe the best move for the Bears would be to trade for Chad Johnson. He's coming off his worse career season and is clearly at odds with Cinncy management and could be had at a fair price, imo, and i believe he still has a good amount of football left.

If Holgrem took a job I think he'd do it in a similar manner as that of Parcells and the Bears aren't going to do that.

We were both on the same page when it came to Flacco and Cameron. When Cameron became available I thought for sure the Bears would make the upgrade. Instead they stuck with it and Turner wasn't bad by any sense of the imagination (especially given what he has to work with) but Cameron is an elite OC and he's proven that during his NFL career.

I'd agree with you that Orton has a strong arm, the problem is he really has a long delivery on the deep ball and having that long delivery causes a lot of hitches and kinks which lead for him to be very innaccurate down the field. Orton's best suited for a west coast offense with lots of quick passes and a multitude of receivers that can get open in crossing lanes and make catches (not exactly the Bears strong suit).

It is an interesting offense but it's also a bit of a gimmick. I wouldn't call it a good offense in any sense of the imagination but it is innovative and Sporano has done an exceptional job with a lack of offensive talent (albeit Brown/Williams are very talented and Pennington is a very smart/heady QB). I wouldn't compare Orton and Pennington either. Pennington is a first round QB who has been nothing but sucessful throughout his career when he's healthy.

The Bears might be looking at the possibility of moving up to grab one of Florida's WR's in the 2nd round. Percy Harvin is a legit WR who would got a lot higher had he not been banged up and would be a stellar pickup. I'd assume both him and Maclin will be there when the Bears pick in the 1st but I don't know if they'd grab a WR that early (especially if Georgia Tech's DE is available as he's a very very good athlete that would look well in Lovie's system at the DE position).

I got a feeling Sanchez will be there when the Bears pick and they might think long and hard about going after him. He's had his ups and downs in his collegiate career but has all the tools to be a very good NFL quarterback and he comes from a system that has flat developed good pro QB's (Leinart may not have panned out but you can't deny Cassel/Palmer).

An intriguing selection would be Rhett Rhomar. He was the former Oklahoma QB who got the boot due to his job at the dealership and eventually landed at Sam Houston State. Had he stayed at OU you'd likely be talking about a first round pick and he has all the tools.

I loved me some Flacco. I still think Williams will be a good pick though but the Bears clearly need to address the QB postiion. A nice sleeper is Fresno State's QB. He's got some nice tools and looks like he has the makings of a good pro and I expect him to move up as the combines happen. It's too bad we won't be able to get a shot at Stafford/Bradford (if he ends up going pro).

IT would come down to Matthew Stafford (whom I absolutely love), Sam Bradford, and Andre Smith (Alabama). I realize we spent a top pick on a tackle last season but I'd be thrilled to have tackles the caliber of Williams and Smith at the right and left side's respectably. The 4th option would obviously be Orakpo because a legit pass rushing defensive end has as big of an impact on the defense as any position (it makes everyone on the line stronger and improves the pass defense and creates more turnovers). No freakin way am I taking a safety #1 overall thats for damn sure nor would I take Crabtree because I believe QB, OT, and DE are more impact positions (and I love WR's like no other).

You aren't going to get Boldin without giving up at least a 1st and 2nd this year and possibly a 2nd and 3rd next year as well.

I know if I were running the show Berrian would still be here. Angelos biggest mistake as GM (including the checkbox incident) was not franchising Berrian and at least giving the Bears an extra year to find a WR to replace him.

Jason...I can't disagree more. THe Bears have the worse WR corps in the NFL and one of the worse of all time. Davis is freakin awful...Hester has raw speed, poor hands, and is a poor route runner. Booker is past his prime and Lloyd can't stay on the field. I won't comment on Bennett since our coaching staff won't even let him smell the field (and our coaching staff isn't exactly bright when it comes to which WR's they play as evidence by some of the guys who didn't get playing time here and did decent elsewhere).

He's pretty cheap and I do think the Bears need to have a veteran receiver. I think the better teams in the league tend to have vets in the slot. Maybe it won't be Booker but they'll need someone, imo. It just sickens me to think about how horrendous the WR corps has been the past few years (sans Berrian).

He better be but they aren't going to give Babich the DC title and not let him do it. If they wanted to do that they'd demote Babich and give Marinelli the DC/Assistant Head Coach title not the dline/assistant head coach title. I'm about to throw up if Babich isn't held at least semi accountable for the pathetic defensive schemes.

He played guard in college but I believe most scouts pinned him as a better center prospect for the pro's and the Bears have said some pretty good things about his prospects at center as well. I believe we'll see the Bears pick up another tackle and guard in the off-season (one via FA, one via the draft) and than target a DE and QB in the first two rounds while looking to the FA market for the WR position and going with Hester/Bennet/Booker as the guys that compliment the #1 WR brought in.