dasox24

Yeah, I've talked about this with my dad, and this is a solid number that we've come up with. In this day and age, it's actually a heckuva deal for a Head Coach who's taken your team to a Super Bowl. Seriously, though, the Bears have the money. Pay him!

Yeah, I'm pretty excited too. I don't think it can be overlooked that he was our LB coach in addition to Asst. Head Coach and a key part of turning Urlacher from Pro-Bowler to MVP, Briggs from 3rd rounder to All-Pro, and even Hillenmeyer from Packer reject to solid starting LB. The LB's have made a lot of progress under him, though they were pretty talented to begin with. I'm not trying to make it sound like without him, Briggs, Url, and HH wouldn't be good, but I don't think they'd be as good.

Exactly. It's why sticking the franchise tag on him was so important. Whether we sign him to a long term deal, just give him the 1 yr. franchise, or he signs with another team, it helps with knowing what we need going into both Free Agency and the draft. Let's say he does sign with another team. We can use their 1st rounder on a LB like Willis or Posluszny and our own pick on an OL like Arron Sears or Ben Grubbs from Auburn. This allows us to use the 2nd round pick on a safety or TE, or even another OL. If we had either transitioned Briggs or just did nothing and lost him, we'd only have 3 first day picks to address about 4-5 needs. In this case, though, we'd have 4 picks to address those 4-5 needs. All that said, and I've said it before, I'd much rather just resign Briggs to a long term deal, and have 3 first day picks to use b/t OL, S, TE, and maybe DL, though I think our DL is deeper than people think, especially w/ Dvoracek coming back and the probability of resigning Boone.

I'm definitely very happy with this move to Franchise him. I really don't see Lance holding out, so I don't think we'd have to worry about that. It's really a win-win b/c (as SoxFan1 said) we either bring back one of the Top OLB in the league or we get 2 1st rounders.

Surprised this hasn't been posted yet, but Toub is coming back for 3 more years as our ST coordinator! I'm so glad he's coming back b/c Special Teams is a huge part of our team. Toub Resigned

Well, you're right that Posluszny has a good chance of being the 1st LB taken with Patrick Willis right there with him. However, with LB's being somewhat neglected the past few years in the draft (teams are realizing you don't have to take LBs so early b/c good ones can be found in the 2nd/3rd rounds), I really think it's a possibilty that he could fall to 31, though highly unlikely. With that all said, I think everyone knows that I'd love Sears in Round 1, as I've mentioned him numerous times in previous posts, and he's in my avatar. He really would be my first choice as our pick with Greg Olsen, Posluszny, and maybe a Saftey like Michael Griffin as my 2nd choices for #31. Plus, he's from the University of Tennessee, which is where I go, so I saw him play every game this year, and believe me, he's a stud.

Yeah, that's the thing about Pos. He's all but assured of being gone by the time we pick, but if does he fall, it would be a very solid pickup. Though getting him would all be contingent on Briggs leaving, otherwise I think we gotta take an OL.

Hmm... Unless RMJ had some opt-out clause we didn't know about, he is not a free agent, so I'm not sure where they got that. As for the LB you're refering to, it's Paul Posluszny. Complete stud LB. He's the guy in my Sig. And no way do I want Marcus Thomas (Florida DT) on this team. He may be talented, but I don't want his troubles around our team, especially being that high of a pick. We have better things to spend that pick on anyway, like OL, S, TE, or LB (if we don't draft one in Round 1). Ah, beat me to it.

Damn. That was the 1st thing I thought about when I heard he was fired. However, I'm not sure they would want to scrap the 3-4 defense, so let's hope that deters them in the long run.

Oh, my bad. I assumed when I read that the Chargers were "letting him go" that it meant they were releasing him. Well, cool. Makes me feel better about him as an option to replace Briggs.

I see where you're coming from. But a lot of Stokley being "wide open" comes from the fact that he is the 3rd receiver, not the #1. When you've got other teams trying to guard Harrison and Wayne, you're gonna get open. It also has somewhat to do with the Colts' play calling. They have some great routes for their receivers to run.

I really wanted Donnie Edwards when he was a FA a few years ago before going to the Chargers, but my question is why are the Chargers going to cut him, especially when they have plenty of cap room? I didn't really watch the Chargers this year, so has Edwards lost a step or what? If he's still the same old Donnie Edwards, I wouldn't mind him at all as a replacement. We'd just have to give him time to adjust to the new system b/c he's never played in the Cover 2 and has been playing in a 3-4 in San Diego. This is all contingent, however, on us receiving 2 1st rounders as compensation for Briggs. Just think of how many holes we could plug with 3 picks in the 1st 2 rounds this year. Probably OL, S, and LB or TE.

Good stuff. The only think I don't agree with is that Moose is worse than Stokley. No way would he be the Colts' 4th receiver.

Well, that may be true, but he was bad b/c of technique, not skill. I think people are just thinking that w/ proper coaching, he can learn proper technique and become better. He definitely has the speed, size, and agility to match up with any receiver.

I don't think so. If that's what happened, then Minny wouldn't have a pick in the first round, but they do.

Anyone have a clue about what teams are supposed to go after Briggs if we don't resign him? I've heard the Pats, but who else? Just trying to get a feel for what draft picks we could get if it comes down to having to trade Briggs. I really think that if we could get a mid-first rounder, then we could draft Patrick Willis from Ole Miss, who (mark my words) will be a complete badass. Not too many people know about this guy, but that's pretty much b/c he played on such a bad team. If he was at Florida or USC or somewhere like that, I guarantee you that he'd be seen as a Top 10 pick for sure.

I agree with BearSox. It should just be a namesake thing. At the end of the season, players get named to the "Pro Bowl" team or "All Pro" team or whatever they want to call it. That should be it. No game at all. I don't even know anyone who watches it anyway.

If we take a TE, I'd really want it to be Olsen. I'm just enamored w/ this guy. The few times I watched him play, he just sucked up balls when they were thrown his way, and he's a huge redzone threat. When catching, he just looks so natural. Didn't really pay attention to his blocking, but I'll take yalls word that it's no better than decent. But, I'm sure w/ proper coaching and working with Clark, it's something he can improve.

Actually, this was a question my brother posed to me in mid-December. He told me that pretty much every QB Wilson has coached has been pretty bad. I forgot the exact list, but he told me all the QBs he's coached, and it's not impressive at all.

As I mentioned in another post, I think losing Toub would be worse than Rivera. I really do want Rivera back, though, especially b/c it's not like the Bears can't afford him. But, if he does leave, I think we'll be okay.

True. But they haven't said anything about him staying either. I'm not sure who this comment was directed at, but I think a lot of people are throwing in the possibility of taking a LB in the draft b/c of the fact that Briggs might not be back. Gotta prepare for either situation.

I really like the concept of Benson starting and pounding away at defenses, and then bring in TJ occasionally as a change of pace. The only problem, like Jason said, is will they both stay unhappy having to share carries?

Wow, I never thought I'd hear someone ask for being more conservative on offense. lol... I really like Turner. I wasn't happy w/ the game he called in the Super Bowl, but overall he's a very good O-Coordinator. No way do I want him gone. I think the only direction the Offense can go is up b/c the longer Rex and Turner work together, the more and more comfortable they'll be.

See, as much as I would like having a TE like Miller, I just don't think TE is as big of a need as OL and S, and even LB if Briggs goes. Right now, I'm not very excited about the OL. They're old and not getting any better. The only way they can go is down, which is why I want some youth. Signing Steinbach would be awesome! Add an OT like Aaron Sears, and that makes the line deep and talented for the future. Plus, if we could convince Brown to resign as a backup, how solid would that make our interior? I don't know if next year we can count on not having any serious injuries to the OL again. Then, add a S like Aaron Rouse (who could also be a smaller OLB w/ room to add weight) in round 2, and that's a great start to the draft. New starting Oline: LT- Tait LG- Steinbach C- Kreutz RG- Garza RT- Sears Oh, and as for coaching changes, as much as I'd hate to lose Rivera, I'll say that I'd rather keep Toub than anyone. Our Special Teams unit is way too important to the team to dick around and let Toub leave. He's the best in the Biz, and should be paid like it.