http://chicagobearsfanforum.com/blog/?p=251

 

The Bears

 

The Bears have added a new scout, presumably to help out on the east coast. Just so you'll know who (else) to blame.

 

Cedric Benson is back at work. No word on why he missed a day but we'll cut him some slack because it's not a crime. As far as we know...

 

David Haugh of the Chicago Tribune makes a legitimate argument that Devin Hester could be among the biggest losers in the decision to opt out of the CBA.

 

Thought playing offensive line was the dirties job in the NFL? Come inside the mind of Israel Idonije of your Chicago Bears.

 

Elsewhere

 

Presumably the vot to opt out of the CBA was unanimous because the NFL owners wanted to present a united front. I hope they know what they're doing. But I doubt it.

 

Mike Florio at Profootballtalk.com made the point that he thought the big money signings by the Cowboys and the Falcons were a subtle sign of dissent from those teams on the day that the owners voted "unanymously" to end the CBA early. IMO you could just as easily argue that the signings were a message to the players regarding how much money they could lose.

 

I happened to be watching ESPN and heard Chris Mortenson comment on the vote. He basically said not ot believe the stuff about rookie wage scales and Mike Vick's signing bonus. While these might be worthy issues (IMO they are) this negotiation is about money, pure and simple. If that's the case I certainly hope the owners will clean their own house and share revenue more equitably. This seems to me to be a more relevant issue than trying to squeeze the players.

 

There was also talk about adding a 17th game, an issue which could be pitched as largely a win-win to the players since they get 59 cents on every dollar. In fact every dollar the league can make can be pitched to the players as a win-win.

 

Florio of makes an, at this point, purely academic argument that replacement players would never work for the league:

 

"Fans who obsess over having two quarterbacks without the same bye week and reduced touches for featured backs who come out in goal-line situations will want the players from their fantasy teams to continue to be on the field. And if they aren't, the options will be to slap together new groups of unknown players on the fly . . . or pay no attention to the NFL until the players from their fantasy teams are back on the field."

 

He has a point, of course. But I'm not so sure such a plan wouldn't work in the long run. Players worked hard to get free agency and rightfully so. But that means that players can come and go. The only thing a fan can generally count on for any extended period of time is the fact that his team will be there. The exceptions are rare. It would take a lot of resolve on the part of the owners and they would take a bath on it for a long time. But I think you could argue that loyalty to the laundry might trump loyalty to players in the end.

 

Matt Birk is skipping workouts in Minnesota. Most Bear fans would put Olin Kreutz ahead of him but many others would rank Birk as the best center in the league. He is also chronically unhappy over his contract and I'm not sure that the Vikings value him as highly. I wouldn't bet that he'll be back after his contract is up next year.

 

Florio had a busy day yesterday. This time writing for The Sporting News he looks at 6 teams that made the playoffs in 2007 that won't in 2008. His fourth was my first: The Green Bay Packers. They'll miss Brett Favre, no doubt but that isn't among my main reasons. Between the luck involved in staying that healthy two years in a row and the men at the Minnesota line of scrimmage, I don't see them doing it again.

 

In fairness to Brian Urlacher, at least he isn't screwing his teammates over because he's gone Hollywood [shaking head in disgust].

 

One Final Thought

 

NFL owners and players aren't stupied... right?

http://chicagobearsfanforum.com/blog/?p=251

 

 

Matt Birk is skipping workouts in Minnesota. Most Bear fans would put Olin Kreutz ahead of him but many others would rank Birk as the best center in the league. He is also chronically unhappy over his contract and I'm not sure that the Vikings value him as highly. I wouldn't bet that he'll be back after his contract is up next year.

 

Florio had a busy day yesterday. This time writing for The Sporting News he looks at 6 teams that made the playoffs in 2007 that won't in 2008. His fourth was my first: The Green Bay Packers. They'll miss Brett Favre, no doubt but that isn't among my main reasons. Between the luck involved in staying that healthy two years in a row and the men at the Minnesota line of scrimmage, I don't see them doing it again.

 

In fairness to Brian Urlacher, at least he isn't screwing his teammates over because he's gone Hollywood [shaking head in disgust].

 

One Final Thought

 

NFL owners and players aren't stupied... right?

 

 

Maybe most would, but I wouldn't. From what I have witnessed, he is average to slightly above average. He gets bullrushed too much, has trouble shotgun snapping, and 85% of the time misses his block on a pull and/or screen.

IMO he needs to step it up this year.