BearSox
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Posts posted by BearSox
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Green Bay...it's all about their running game and O-Line. Are you convinced that they improved that?
With Aaron Rodgers solidifying himself as legit threat at QB last year, as well as some other pieces they have brought in, I'd say so. I think last year, a lot of defensive game plans around the packers revolved around stopping the run and making Rodgers beat them, and I think Rodgers, along with Jennings and Driver, has shown he can beat a D through the air. With this being known now, defenses won't be stacking the box as much as they did last year to prevent Green Bay's running.
Plus, I love the ZBS. They have brought in a couple guys in TJ Lang and Jamon Meredith through the draft who I really like and both were born to play in the ZBS, or something very similar. They both should add more competition and what the Packers would hope, light a fire under some of the stagnat starters.
At RB, Brandon Jennings has been becoming more of a threat, and Grant is solid. The one dract pick that I really love of their's is FB Quinn Johnson. He has the potential to be the next Lorenzo Neal, Tony Richardson, etc. He's a former linebacker who loves to run people over and is just a great lead blocker who clears holes for the RB. It'll be interesting to see how he does, and it looks like he will be the starting FB.
I think the Packers will be fine on offense, probably better than fine. It's their D that will make or break them. Dom Capers has a great defensive mind and is a great defensive coach. If anyone can teach a team a completely new defensive scheme in one offseason, it's him.
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There's really no reason to move him to fullback. For the last couple of years we've been using a TE as a lead blocker more and more often. We can use Gaines to lead block for Forte without a position change, and if we changed his number we couldn't put him on the line in goal-line or 3TE sets.
That's not true. Plenty of TE's have numbers in the 40's, and at least in the NFL, any player can line up at any spot regardless of number. The number groupings are for primary positions only. The only time a number comes into effect is if you have a number between 50 and 79, because those are possible numbers for linemen, and you'd have to check in with the referee to let him know your eligible.
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I'd be curious to see what some of our rookies would do in punt returns. DJM was an excellent returner in college from what I understand from bowlingtwig. Knox has blazing speed and would be exciting to see returning PRs. I would like to see these guys auditioned for the PR duties as well as KO returns. Manning could be outstanding as our KR man but it would not be a bad idea to have DJM or Knox in line if needed for either KO or P returns.
Good catch with DJ Moore, I forgot about him. He was a playmaker in college who was used all over the field.
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I still think we are sleeping on Green Bay. If they can get that defense going, they are gonna be a tough team. They had a really good draft as well with BJ Raji and Clay Matthews. Plus, our team isn't used to the 3-4. I know we didn't face a single 3-4 team in the regular season last year, and I'm not even sure if we faced a 3-4 team in 07.
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There's no reason why Dan Manning shouldn't get the majority of Kick Returns. However, Hester is still probably our best option as the PR.
If/when Hester develops into at least a solid no. 2, I'd take away all return duties except for maybe opening up the game or the half, etc.
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Hasn't Marshall already said he didn't like Chicago? I mean, that was without Cutler here, but still...
In an interview he did after the trade, he said something like "I've only been to Chicago once, and didn't like it." The only time he came to Chicago was in 07, and it was a really shitty day out and the Bears beat the shit out of the Broncos.
I'm sure he'd have no problem coming here if we wanted him and offered him a contract he is looking for.
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I have the same dream, except it's next year, Mike Shannahan is our HC, and we sign Marshall... By the way, Marshall say the light and has reformed his life, but is still a beast on the football field.
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I read somewhere that Cutler is like 15-1 when his team (The Broncos) hold the other team to 21 points or less. Now if our defense contuniues like it has the last five yeares will have a great chance for many winning seasons. These are the scoring precentages over the last 5 years.
Well, the only flaw in your thinking is that in Denver, Cutler also had Brandon Marshall, Eddie Royal for one year, a great OL, and an offensive guru in Shanny as his HC.
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I think almost everyone will refer to him as Pisa. Not a lot of Pisa's out there to confuse him with.
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I can't agree enough. He's a hammer on coverage teams: nobody who weighs 270 pounds should be able to get down the field that fast. Probably my favorite Idonije moment was when he just DEMOLISHED Darren Sproles on a return in the San Diego game. I can't imagine being a little 5'7" guy and having Izzy come hurtling down the field to level you.
I think that's the main reason why we are having him shed weight to move back to DE. When he packed on the pounds to play inside, he lost some of the speed that made him so deadly on kickoffs.
Plus, he's good at blocking kicks with his extremely long arms.
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Nice. Good solid player. Can fit in multiple schemes, and gives it his all. Really good special teams player as well.
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It's because of this offseason that makes me think JA's job is safe no matter what. An f'n incredible offseason by JA.
As mad stated, this is gonna be our fastest LB corp yet. A lot of speed and a lot of coverage ability.
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Okay, lets see here:
CB1: Tillman
CB2: Vasher
Nickle: Manning
FS: Bullocks
SS: Payne
Those will be the 5 starters, IMO. That leaves 5 more spots. The following 2 are locks, IMO:
-Steltz makes it do to him being able to play both FS and SS and his special teams ability.
-Graham makes the team as the backup FS and dime back (if we ever go to the dime).
That leaves 3 open spots for 5 guys with a shot of making the team:
-Bowman provides a bigger, more physical corner who makes more sense to backup Tillman. However, he can't stay healty.
-McBride has been a solid backup who has shown special teams ability.
-Moore is a rookie, but if he shows solid special teams ability and a better feel in coverage than McBride and Bowman, they are in trouble.
-Afalava is a rookie as well and his size and speed might make him an intriguing option on special teams.
-Earl would be a safer option for backup SS, but doesn't provide as much ST potential. However, be he got injured, Earl was turning into a good player.
I'd say Afalava gets the IRedshirt or PS'ed because of how raw he is and Bowman gets put on either the PS or is IR'ed because he really is injured. Thus, making the final 10:
Manning (Nickle), Tillman (CB), McBride (CB), Moore (CB), Vasher (CB), Graham (FS/CB), Bullocks (FS), Payne (SS), Steltz (FS), Earl (S).
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9 DLinemen and 10 DB's = only 6 LB's.
If we sign Pisa, that's 4 guys who will make the team for sure: Lach, Briggs, Pisa, Jamar Williams.
That leaves the final 2 spots to Freeman, Hunter, LaRocque, Roach, and the UDFA guys.
Hunter, while no longer the player he once was, is still a solid special teams player and has experience before at MIKE when Lach was injured. Plus, he's a vet and always giving 110%, I think he'll make the team unless he completely sucks it up during camp.
We could very well see Freeman get the IRedshirt. It wouldn't be the first time we did that. However, he seems like he could be a solid option at all 3 LB spots and a solid special teams option. The IRedshirt makes sense if the team would feel more comfortable this year with someone like Roach or LaRocque on the team.
I agree with NFO that Roach probably has the least chance or on the bubble for making the team. He wasn't very impressive last year, and I don't think he ever contributed much on ST. I'd say our LB's will be (if we sign Pisa)...
WILL - Briggs | J. Willams | Freeman/LaRocque
MIKE - Urlacher | Hillenmeyer | Freeman/LaRocque
SAM - Pisa | Hillenmeyer | Freeman/LaRocque
Right now, I'd put Freeman at 50/50 for making the team.
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Cheap 1 year contract where he gets drug tested every week is the only way I'd take him.
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Don't even go there!
We are going to take the division this year, making the Williams Wall crumble, putting an old-fashioned Halas butt whoppin' on the Puckers and bringing back nightmares of last year for the Kitties in Detroit.I'm looking forward to what our D can accomplish with a QB that can handle all aspects of the O.
I'm really not that optimistic this year. I love Cutler, and he will make this team better, but we still have a ton of holes. Besides for QB, RB, TE, OT, UT, MIKE, and WILL, there isn't much depth or talent on this team.
We need a no. 1 receiver. We got some solid guys at WR, but Hester is at best a no. 2, IMO.
Our interior of the OL is still lacking a physical presence.
Not loving any of our options at FB. However, this isn't a crucial spot.
NT is a big question mark. Dusty sucks, can Harrison play the run? Adams is a decent, but not overly impressive option.
DE is by far the biggest question mark. Brown is solid. Ogunleye, outside of 1 year, has been a bust and has been declining. Anderson seems more and more like a 1 year wonder. Melton? Idonije is more a special teamer.
Only decent options at SAM. Not a crucial spot anyway.
Outside of Tillman, there is a lot of questions about the other guys.
Payne still needs to prove he's a player. Who is our FS?
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Not when Denver already has the team's 1st round pick next year.
I'm not even talking about that. If we don't make the playoffs, Lovie will for sure be canned. And personally, I'm not a big fan of this coaching staff, and I think we could use an improvement.
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I tend to agree with you about Clark. He continues to put up good numbers every year. He may be the starting TE but Olsen is our Featured go to guy. Clark did pretty well last year considering how much Olsen did and how bad our offense was.
Yep, they are both starters actually. Clark is the starter at the true TE position, while Clark starts at the Hybrid TE position where he can be put out wide at receiver, FB, or TE.
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I'm just loving having him on the team right now. Even if we do bad this year, or even not as good as expected, the arrow is still pointing up as Cutler is only 26.
Hell, I'd venture to say even if we don't do good this year, that might be better for out future.
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I see either Afalava or Bowman getting the IRedshirt. Probably Bowman because he's inbetween positions right now, is injury prone, and Afalava seems like someone who can make a bigger impact on ST.
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You say Gaines is a TE period,but so is Olsen and we used him at FB on certain plays. Gaines is a better blocker than McKie and I could see him as a FB becaause of his blocking and catching abilities.Now is we moved him to a FB only role I don't think we would do that, but the problem now is that We have Olsen,Clark,Davis and Gaines at TE along with McKie and Davis at FB so do we keep 4 TE's and 2 FB's? Who is the odd man out Kellen Daivs (TE)and Jason Davis(FB)? We also have Lance Louis who is a TE but we are playing him at guard, and Fontael Mines at TE(gonna get cut).IMHO I would be hard pressed to cut Kellen Davis TE at 6'7 because he can provide such a mismatch in the red zone in the two TE set. I think this will be Clark's (6'3. 244lbs 11th yr) last year with the Bears with Gaines (6'4, 277 lbs 6th yr) taking his place.
Clark is still only 32, the started TE, and pretty cheap with 1 more year on his contract after this year. It would make 0 sense to cut him unless he completely blows, but there is no reason to think he will suck. TE's usually have a long life span, and even between the ages of 32-35, he should be able to still play at a high level. No reason to think this will be his last year.
Jason Davis has no shot at making the team unless McKie doesn't make the team for some reason. Odds are, we'll keep 3 TE's (Clark, Olsen, Davis), 1 FB (McKie), and 1 FB/TE (Gaines).
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nfo, I agree with mostly everything you said.
As for DIME back, I think that will for sure be Graham (If Bullocks wins the FS job, which I believe he will). However, we rarely use the DIME package in the first place, so this is pretty much pointless argument.
I think we'll see Iglesias at the no. 2 with Bennett as the slot. However, I see Olsen getting a lot of time split out wide in Iglesias' spot. I think Iglesias is a better compliment to Hester than Bennett is, and Bennett is a good fit in the slot, so that's my logic behind that.
I could see Gaines overtake McKie. We like our FB's to catch, and Gaines is a converted TE. However, I don't think it'll happen.
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The only thing Dusty did well last year was his hustle, and because of that, he would make a couple good plays here or there. However, hustle doesn't do you much good when you are getting manhandled and being driven off the ball and out of the hole like you are a sled pad.
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Wouldn't hurt to bring him in, especially with how we're lacking at DE. Vet minimum, and lets see what he does in camp. Really makes a lot of sense.
Predictions
in Bearstalk
Posted
9-7 or 10-6.
Biggest disappointment will be the defense, with the OLine struggling for the first half of the year.
Offense will be much improved.