DABEARSDABOMB

Ya I think Miller is a more toolsy guy which is something I like. Most places I've read have Olsen rated as the #1 TE on the board but with so many teams drafting TE's the past couple years it seems likely that one of Olsen/Miller fall to the Bears, in fact its even in the realm of possibilities that if we do target one of those guys we could trade out of the first round a few slots to a 2nd round pick and pick up an extra 3rd round pick (similar to what we did last year). I think that extra pick could come in real handy when it comes to potentially finding a backup LB that can play both MLB (if Urlacher goes down) or OLB (this is assuming Briggs comes back) and than get an extra olineman (ie draft a guard and a tackle) plus of course find a safety and a TE.

I think right now everyone is speculating. I know usually you have a few different numbers come out and its based on what certain people are estimating that the NFL sets the cap at. In addition, some sites will list the amount the team is under salary while others subtract out the rookie cap and give you an amount that the team actually has available to give to non draft picks (since usually at least 5 mill or so goes to draft picks).

But franchising them gives us the option to gain additional draft picks or make a trade which is a major plus. IIRC a franchise pick means we get two first rounders (if a team only has one this year than it means we get one this year and one next year) and with 23 million to play with we'd have options. I think we either resign Briggs or hopefully find a way to get at least a first rounder and a 2nd rounder out of it (hopefully two firsts).

I'd be a big fan of either pick. However, if we were going to go the route of olineman I'd prefer to sign Steinbach (thus giving us our younger guard) and than draft a tackle to eventually replace Fred Miller and if the guy we get ends up being good enough, move Tait back to the right side. Olsen is a pretty damn good TE. The guy has very very good hands and would be a great guy to have behind Clark. Clark is a ridiculous blocker and could teach Olson and I can't see the two of them not getting along since Clark is getting up there in age and by the time Olson is truly ready (at least 1 year, more like 2 years) Clark will be the type of guy that is more of a split time TE. I'd have no problem with that. Anyone know how Olsen's blocking is? I thought I remember reading he's pretty good at it for a collegiate player but I think we all know that is a key to the system we run so whoever we draft better have the skillset to project into a good blocking TE.

I think this was the most mature thing to do. Yes, he's guilty without a fight but it will also allow this incident to die down and basically let him pay the price. A public court case, which he would have probably lost, would have just given weeks to months were the media could continue to berate him. This way he can let the past officially be the pass, pay the consequences and move on and hopefully never make these mistakes ever again (both for his sake and the franchises sake).

As Per Profootballtalk.com. It seems like we have a ton of dough to spend once again. Although it seems like a helluva a lot of teams are quite a bit under, when supposedly, most GM's say that every team spends their entire cap amount. Here's the list: 49ers: $38 million under Bills: $33 million under Titans: $33 million under Cardinals: $33 million under Browns: $29 million under Packers: $28 million under Patriots: $28 million under Saints: $27 million under Bears: $23 million under Rams: $23 million under Chargers: $22 million under Buccaneers: $21 million under Jaguars: $21 million under Bengals: $20 million under Jets: $20 million under Seahawks: $19 million under Cowboys: $18 million under Lions: $16 million under Vikings: $14 million under Giants: $14 million under Dolphins: $13 million under Texans: $10 million under Raiders: $8 million under Eagles: $8 million under Falcons: $8 million under Chiefs: $6 million under Broncos: $4 million under Colts: $2 million under Steelers: $300,000 under Redskins: $100,000 over Ravens: $1 million over Panthers: $2.5 million over

The more I think about it, the more I am beginning to think Rex is our guy. The guy had a stellar first year as a starter. Just look at the stats of other great QB's in there first year and compare them with Rex's. Yes, people will point out that he did make some of the same mistakes a few too many times. But I'd also like to point out that Brett Favre still makes some of the same mistakes. I'd also like to point out that Peyton Manning, Favre, Marino, Elway and the other greats also made the same mistake multiple times early in there career. Those QB's also showed that they could be very good QB's at certain flashes early in there careers. I'd like to think that 6+ 100 QB rated games would be exactly those flashes. My personal hope is that Rex works on his footwork this off-season. This will make him a more consistent passer (he is accurate, but when his footwork goes haywire he ocassionally gets out of whack) and will enable him to move better in the pocket. In addition, better footwork will make him a better passer when he rolls out of the pocket or is on the move. Lets talk about his strenghts: Arm Strenght - one of the strongest arms in the leauge and that was evident with some of the long TD passes he threw this season as well as the TD pass he through in the super bowl where he had to throw a bullet to Moose to thread the needle Accuracy - Rex throws an accurate ball and a great spiral. He throws a great deep ball and the only time's he is a little haywire on his accuracy is when he gets pressured heavily and gets out of whack. He does need to improve his accuracy on screen passes. Weaknesses: Speed - He is not fast but he could be more mobile. You don't have to be Michael Vick but Rex doesn't use his feet enough to give him extra time or at least make the defense think twice about him potentially leaving the pocket. He needs to improve on taking advantage of situations where he can roll out of the pocket and buy more time as well as the ocassions where he sees there isn't anywhere to throw the ball but he has a hole to run for some yards (and slide slide slide...don't take the hit). Picking up Blitzes - Rex still needs to work heavily on picking up blitzes but what first young starting QB doesn't? It is inevitable that he will be seeing new blitzes and the only way to speed his reads is to go through the motions and see it in person and than review film with the coaches. The more he sees it the better he should be and I expect to see him improve exponentially in this regard next season. Average Skills: Reads - Rex generally makes the right read, the problem is sometimes he'll get antsy and miss his guy. But when the going gets tough he tries to get a little more agressive. However, when Rex trusts his reads (in non blitz situations) he generally throws to the right guy.

I think a lot of it comes down to how the QB coach is working with Rex on his footwork. Rex has great throwing mechanics and he's a very accurate passer. The only thing really preventing him in regards to consistency is being able to make quicker reads (he does make pretty good reads or at least solid reads, imo) as well as being able to feel and move around the pocket (and that is footwork at its finest). Rex improves with that and stays healthy I really am not concerned.

Interesting to see we are going to have a new defensive line coach as well as a new assistant offensive line coach. As far as the dline I'm guessing someone in the Bears was not happy about the way the dline performed as a whole (lack of pass rush). That said someone deserves some credit for the development of Mark Anderson. I'll be interested to see who the squad hires to be its next defensive line coach. I'm not majorly concerned about losing the offensive quality coach and I'm glad to see he'll be an offensive coordinator at Central Michigan. I'm hoping those will be the only guys that leave the staff and that we'll add some quality guys to replace them as well as be able to get the Rons, Toub and everyone else's contracts taken care of (and Lovie's/Angelo's too).

I can't really comment on this as I really am not sure just how much of an effect the QB coach has on the QB. Wade Wilson seems like a good guy, but maybe there are better guys. I think the important part is that Wade/Rex have a good relationship. However, if there was one thing I'd be concerned with it would be the fact that Rex's footwork has not improved that much over the course of the season and that is the one area where I'd expect a good QB coach to help out with. Obviously Rex is probably a bit stubborn in that he's one of the few players in this league capable of making very good passes off his back foot (although when you do this you are also liable of underthrowing a ball or having a ball float on you leading to a turnover) but still I'd expect improvement in that area.

The Pats have given big money to guys though. I realize its not often there own guys but they did make big money signings to Colvin and they are now one of the apparent front runners to go after Briggs. I also think the Pats have paid a bit as of late for who they let go. With Branch they probably are in the Super Bowl as opposed to the Colts and would have had as good a shot of any at winning it all. Rosie Colvin yes, but Warrick Holdman while decent was never special and most Bears fans knew it. The problem was Angelo made a big mistake with the check box fiasco and we had to give Warrick more money than we wanted to which meant we wouldn't be able to give Colvin (a stud) the money he deserved. It turned out Rosie got hurt and missed a good chunk of time but he was an elite player. While Colvin was the better pass rusher, Briggs is an elite OLB in every sense of the word and in my opinion may just be the very best at the position (from an all around standpoint). The guy plays the run tremendous, does a nice job against the pass and finds himself in position to make plays time in time out. When we have big 3rd down stops you see Briggs in on the play just as often as you see Urlacher in on the play. Don't think for one second that Briggs isn't a special player, yes we have Urlacher and having the two of them makes the defense fun to watch but without Briggs this defense goes down a notch (unless of course we replace him with someone but I am not sure who we'd be able to pick up and if we replaced him with someone I'd like it to be a very fast athletic LB who would be an effective pass rusher). Rosie Colvin yes, but Warrick Holdman while decent was never special and most Bears fans knew it. The problem was Angelo made a big mistake with the check box fiasco and we had to give Warrick more money than we wanted to which meant we wouldn't be able to give Colvin (a stud) the money he deserved. It turned out Rosie got hurt and missed a good chunk of time but he was an elite player. While Colvin was the better pass rusher, Briggs is an elite OLB in every sense of the word and in my opinion may just be the very best at the position (from an all around standpoint). The guy plays the run tremendous, does a nice job against the pass and finds himself in position to make plays time in time out. When we have big 3rd down stops you see Briggs in on the play just as often as you see Urlacher in on the play. Don't think for one second that Briggs isn't a special player, yes we have Urlacher and having the two of them makes the defense fun to watch but without Briggs this defense goes down a notch (unless of course we replace him with someone but I am not sure who we'd be able to pick up and if we replaced him with someone I'd like it to be a very fast athletic LB who would be an effective pass rusher).

This would be a great situation for Jeff but I think this is more leverage. Barring us acquiring some front line QB, we are not going to be handing the job over to anyone with the potential exception of Grossman. If we did acquire someone, my guess is we'd make it a wide open competition with no one being guaranteed of the job. In Carr's case I see a guy that is young enough and talented enough to be a franchise QB, so that works. In Garcia's case I see a crafty veteran and while Garcia did a great job with Philly we have our own crafty veteran already on the roster who I personally believe is more suited to run our offense and he's also already familiar with the system and the players (Griese). If we pick up a new QB it should either be a star (don't ask me how we get one) a late round draft pick (personally I may not even do this because I'm happy with Orton as a 3rd stringer and think he has some potential), or a young guy that has been on a bad team but could use a second chance (Carr).

I'd imagine there is almost a zero chance Wade Phillips is going to hire him to a run a 3-4. If he wants out it is so he can run his own system and he won't be able to do that in Dallas. My guess is he sticks around and the Bears will give him an extension and maybe let him add a couple new wrinkles to the defense (obviously we stay cover 2, but have a few more blitz packages and more importantly those blitz packages need to be effective (because I think we are a very innefficient team whose blitzes rarely seem to work).

I think so, this place was going crazy on draft day.

What a dumby. This guy did get his 5 minutes of fame though since he's in a ton of newspapers and was on Cold Pizza. My guess is the judge will not allow him to change his name.

If all it took was a second day pick I would be all over this deal. However, you do have one dillema in that you'd have to deal with a very unhappy Brian Griese. I'd have absolutely no problem bringing in Carr and letting him battle it out with Rex Grossman. Carr has had a few seasons under his belt, has proven he can stay healthy, and is coming off what was his best season while dealing with a team with a very ineffective running game, one receiving weapon, and a putrid offensive line. I think he would be interested in coming to Chicago as long as he was told he'd have a chance to compete. He'd know he'd be in a great position to win and if he did earn the job he knows he has a good oline, good running game, some solid Wr's and a great defense behind him. Plsu he knows that in Chicago, while it can be tough when you lose or struggle (and you will be under a magnifying glass) when you win it all you are king and whether Rex is at the helm or Carr, if the defense is healthy we should be a contender.

I agree that we should invest our money in those guys, however, if JA signs Briggs than I think he's signing him knowing that he will/should also be able to get those other guys signed. We are in a great position, cap wise, and Jerry does a good job consistently bringing in new talent. You also have to remember that Anderson will eventually replace a higher paid guy like Ogunleye or Brown. In fact I think Ogunleye may become the situational pass rusher as soon as next year and eventually be on his way out with Anderson/Brown being a duo. But that is still down the road and having three ends as good as they are is a great situation to be in (albeit Brown/Ogunleye will have to step up next season).

I fear we may have already lost him. It would be really rough to lose Toub. The guy is the stud of special teams coaches.

Nope, I've never quit on any site that I've started. This was the first Bear site and Soxtalk was the first Sox site (albeit it was originally named SoxNet). I'm amazed at how this place has grown and it is definitely starting to get its own culture and it will continue to grow and I look forward to seeing that growth. I'll say this, this place has grown far faster than Soxtalk/SoxNet did.

That was just me speculating.

In that case, lets throw out some names. Who is on your guys radar for people you think could come in and make a real good DC? Obviously Mike Singletary will be on the list due to his history with the Bears and he's now actually gained some experience with San Francisco. Would he be interested in coming back to Chicago. Samuri was as smart as it got on the field and I could definately see him doing a good job, but would he make the lateral move to Chicago and would the Niners let him come? I got to think a bit to come up with some other names since Babich seems like a logical choice if Lovie wants to go with someone comfortable with the Cover 2.

Personally speaking, I'd like to have Rivera back, but given the choice I think it is more important that we don't lose Ron Turner. While I have my gripes about Turner, he's still the best OC we've had since he left and he does do a lot of good things and I think the bad things he has a tendency to do are correctable and I'm guessing he'll study his play calling over the off-season and make some adjustments. Rivera on the other hand, while he's good, is probably a bit hampered by being in Smith's system. I'd like to see what Ron can do on his own, but I'm not about to go away from the Cover 2 system and Lovie is better than Ron with it and I'm pretty sure Babich will do a great job with the system (and even if he doesn't, you still have Lovie capable of watching over it). I also wonder how the defense would look different with Babich as opposed to Rivera. Would we blitz even less, since Rivera previously had worked or been associated with defenses that blitzed a lot (46 D & Jim Johnson's D in Philly).

Lance Briggs has pulled himself out of the probowl and he will be replaced by Bucs LBer Derek Brooks. I'd imagine Briggs is pulling out because he's tired from a long season as well as the fact that he wants to take no chance on getting hurt before he makes his big pay day. Personally I think this is a wise decision. Yes, Briggs has been sucessful but so far he hasn't made enough money to relax the rest of his life or be able to live a nice life if his career ended due to an injury over the off-season. However, after this off-season (assuming he signs a multi year deal as opposed to the 1 year franchise tag deal) he will know whatever happens he shouldn't have to ever work another day in his life (as long as he isn't stupid with his money). By the way, Briggs will resign with the Bears.

Lamont Jordan blew this past year. Dominic Davis missed most of last year (IIRC), if not all of last year, so I find it hard pressed that the Texans wouldn't start a guy like Jones if they had him.

Well maybe Rex won't make it back. I happen to think he'll have a super bowl ring at some point in his career and I am very confident the Chicago Bears will make it back. We became a more battle tested team and I think the quad learned a lot from there near Super Bowl championship and they'll find a way to get back. We also have a ridiculous tough schedule coming up so the team is going to be far more battle tested in the regular season and I think it will have a lot more experience playing in close games which will help Rex mature as a QB or fail as a QB (either way he needs to start dealing with close games and having to make the key plays or fail with the Bears opting for Griese, Orton or someone not on the roster).