HoofHearted

Can't go wrong with the Washington Post for those kinds of stats... linky He started 14 games. Having said that, I'm not a fan at all of his phone booth only style. I like my guards mobile, and that is something he most definitely is not.

Rejoice all Bears fans! This kind of shows me what I had suspected. That Brandon M was signed to play that block first h-back role out of the backfield as much as he will inline (like past Martz FB/TEs), and we'd have no problem keeping the other three TEs.

Let's see, where to start. He's not a good lead blocker. He's horrible at running the ball. He's horrible with the ball in his hands in general. He's about as agile as Ted Washington. He provides nothing in the receiving area because even the slowest LBs and DL close in on him or cover him with little to no effort in the flat or anywhere else.

No matter how much you wish it or like the kid, I will right now say he is no more a FS than any Bear on the roster. Watch his game tape and you'll see a guy who has a good chance to be a SS with good coverage skills but his coverage skills and tools don't come close to what I want in a FS. His "eye opening" week in Mobile still showed off his deficiencies in the M2M drills. He's just too tight an athlete for that job in the pros, IMHO.

Overrated! clap clap clapclapclap. All the skills except an arm and mobility. I guess those are tools, but both of those tools on him are bottom of the league material. Crompton, Stull and both Browns are better prospect than half the guys on your list, but it is your list and that's your right.

Shaw was fawesome all year long (well, since we signed him anyway), this was nothing out of the ordinary for him. The guy was easily our ST MVP.

I was on record as badly wanting us to grab a legit #2 back last offseason, and I feel the same today. I'm not down on Forte whatsoever either, it's just that I believe that strongly in a two feature back system that I wouldn't hesitate to bring in a guy to pick up 150 carries.

I guess I'm not seeing this problem. Yeha, they had a nice couple of games as a whole to close out the year, but the individual problems are still there. Shaffer is a nice piece, but today he showed why he is ideally a backup swing T. Garza still isn't getting push in the run game and the quickness that once allowed him to do so has all but left him. Olin gets a bit of a bad rap because of who he plays next to, IMHO. He could still have a couple nice years next to some big power guys, but he has lost a lot and can no longer play on an island out there and be expected to succeed as he could in the past. Omiyale still can't open holes in the run game. I guess it's a problem if you're looking from a JA "It's not that bad they finally gelled," standpoint. However, not going into the offseason not planning on being proactive with the position, you'll see the same 90% crap we had this year. I still think this line needs a two starter turnover at the very minimum (RT and RG).

Pretty good and pulling and sealing as shown in the second play.

HAHAHAHAHA. The thought of McKie EVER playing the HB role makes me want to barf. The thought of him being our FB doesn't make me feel too warm either.

Shocking indeed that he apparently hasn't even heard from them... linky Almost as shocking is that we wasted two spots on total scrubs in Raiola and Asiata. They were both ****ing disastrously bad. Seriously, watching them and Balogh get their asses handed to them MUCH more often than not was painful to watch.

Midget hands. I'd rather grab Kory Sheets. All this talk seems moot though, with the Bears sounding content with what they have. It's stupid, IMHO, but I also thought it was dumb to re-sign KJ and pass up a young healthy guy via the draft.

Technically, he's not a journeyman, and definitely not someone I want carrying the load if need be (what a #2 back should be). He's a good guy to have as a finisher in blowouts along with a handful of carries a game, but he's no longer the ST ace he was and never has been more than a third RB on a good roster.

Redman did look pretty good. Even if it was against third stringers, he still ran through a lot of tackles. Right now, I'd probably put him between Pittman and Ian Johnson as my favorites of those announced.

I can believe it, especially with Perry being a Lovie disciple and craving the same types of players for his system.

Get rid of Bas, and reevaluate AP (yes I said it). I realize AP is a staff favorite, and a good ST leader, but that's not so irreplaceable especially with a fourth HB. To tell you the truth J Will, Wolfe, Izzy, Roach, and Larocque all looked much better on ST last year, IMO, so it's not like losing Dejo who was the clear ST ace. Now we added Freeman, and one of HH or Roach should be constants there, Kellen did an impressive job taking up lanes, as did Steltz, there's countless options from DB to use as gunners, and we just picked another good ST'er in Gaines. So, if you ask me, I have no problem letting AP go, even though I know our staff will probably never make that happen. We could very easily go with 23 on O, but if I was forced to take 25, I'd go with what you have minus Bas, swapped for another OL or maybe sixth WR.

Hx2 was very good for our system when he could stay with TEs, because he was always Johnny on the spot when it came to gap assignments and really never missed a beat for any job thrown his way. He was the uber solid smart guy we needed next to the two playmakers we have at LB. I don't know what happened these last two seasons, but his M2M on TEs has dropped significantly and that makes his "cerebral" and solid play a lot less valuable. Still though, I'm willing to see what he brings this year after fixing his hand and getting some time off his legs.

On Floyd, I believe it is too late to do anything with RFAs. Correct me if I'm wrong, but the deadline to send in offer sheets on them passed the week of the draft. The only real attractive names on that list for me are Hackett and Drew Carter, but honestly, I'd rather see what we have with the enigmas in-house over them. I know it's not very popular to go with such a young and inexperienced cast there, but at some point you have to actually develop those guys and play them, rather than bringing in vet retreads to stunt their growth until they go elsewhere and succeed.

Nice, there's our situational blocker. Also, for those who wonder if this means McKie is gone, doubtful. Not only does Turner love his traditional FB, but Gaines isn't exactly experienced working out of the backfield. Like I said in the other thread, I would love to ditch Jason, but Michael is very much a situational player.

If it means not having to see McKie waste a spot on the field, I guess I'm for it, but I'm still a big fan of the FB when you have an actual quality player back there. I find it highly doubtful though, that Turner would eliminate the traditional FB from his offense, because his playbook is designed for the heavy use of one. Even when he began using the 2 TE set a lot more often last season, Jason was still seeing th efield quite a bit. It wasn't until he went down that we pretty much went to 2 TE/TE in the backfield as FB. At 6'2" 275, I suppose he could play the backfield h-back role though (Yeah, he is actually 6'2", not his listed 6'4"). Even better if he lost 15 pounds, however doubtful that is, because he isn't the most fleet footed guy.

Agreed on the first two counts, but I think both his time at FB and TE will be highly limited/situational. Not sure why we need another TE even though I'll admit our system loves it's edge blocking from the position like it loves pass catching from the FB. But hey, at least the blurb about him being used at FB shows me our staff finally realizes McKie can't be playing on the goaline. Now if they would just realize he shouldn't be playing ever. I hope it doesn't knock Kellen off the roster though, because despite his bad blocking, the guy showed a ton of potential as a pass catcher last PS.

"He's an athletic guard." No, it was one report. Anyone who expected otherwise was not being level-headed (typical of Vaughn "I need a fact checker big time" McClure). A 300 pound guy running a 4.8 is a great thing, but rational thinking says the guy played the last two seasons on the OL for a reason.

Make that report, singular, as in one report from Vaughn McClure, whom I loathe. Really though, him moving to FB isn't gonna happen. At least not beyond some possible goaline formations or down the road if worst comes to worst and he doesn't pan out on OL. Personally, I hope they give the guy one position to learn on the OL, and let him actually get some time to stick there. He's played three different positions in three seasons and was reportedly pretty good at all of them, which makes me wonder how well he would do when actually given the chance to get extended time at one spot. I want a new FB as much as the next guy, but when you look at where the guys biggest upside is, FB is probably plan E. I think some here will be pretty surprised by Ta'ufo'ou in PS, because he can thump while lead blocking. It might be a blessing that Cal's offense only uses their FB in that one role, because had he consistently displayed another skill out of that backfield he could easily been a late rounder competing with guys like Vakapuna or Williams(he's twice the lead blocker either of them is). I honestly don't care about running from the FB, and though I want the guy to be able to catch out of the backfield, lead blocking is far and away my #1 priority, and he is well-versed in that area of his job.

He was closer. Pegues measured in at 5'9-5/8" 199 at the combine. I liked him during the season all the way until Senior Bowl week. During the season, you could always tell he had some size issues but still always looked quick to the play in CF, but he was just brutal SB week. That was when I completely sold all the stock I had in him. He looked small and played small, looked slow and played slow. Got manhandled in every 1-1 drill, and couldn't keep up with any real speed either. Even playing CF and off man coverage left a lot to be desired, with him showing poor range and no ability to close. I hope he can turn out well and overcome his size and athletic issues, but I wouldn't be putting any money on it.

Well, this should close down these talks... LINKY