The Bears FINALLY sign a veteran OL. EVERYONE wanted one of these, right? So they finally do, and already you people start to compare him to Frank Omiyale, the worst OT on Earth. Wow. You either want a veteran or you don't. Pick one. Hint: great OL don't hit the market, and when they do, paying them $10m/year is a dumb idea

 

i can't account for others but i want 'quality' offensive linemen to START or at least be groomed as a top starting prospect in the next year or two who have the potential to be great. i certainly don't want some highly questionable journeyman or failed player to come in if it prevents us from drafting a quality starter in a high round.

 

i haven't watched any film on this guy and if he is salvageable for a depth position, fine. but who is he better than that we already have on this roster? which 'depth' guy are we ready to cut to make room for him? what i have read sounds like a frank oh-my clone who has the potential to put your franchise player in traction.

 

the high end free agents to me are quality (reasonably) young starters like mcneill who may or may not be able to play due to injury issues and we never even sent him to visit our medical staff to see. gaithers, the now chargers starting LT, was another prospect we never even approached, also young, experienced and up-and-coming potential.

 

so yea, my pick is quality over quantity. we need more bad offensive linemen for depth like we need jerry angelo to orchestrate this upcoming draft.

 

 

 

 

i can't account for others but i want 'quality' offensive linemen to START or at least be groomed as a top starting prospect in the next year or two who have the potential to be great. i certainly don't want some highly questionable journeyman or failed player to come in if it prevents us from drafting a quality starter in a high round.

 

i haven't watched any film on this guy and if he is salvageable for a depth position, fine. but who is he better than that we already have on this roster? which 'depth' guy are we ready to cut to make room for him? what i have read sounds like a frank oh-my clone who has the potential to put your franchise player in traction.

 

the high end free agents to me are quality (reasonably) young starters like mcneill who may or may not be able to play due to injury issues and we never even sent him to visit our medical staff to see. gaithers, the now chargers starting LT, was another prospect we never even approached, also young, experienced and up-and-coming potential.

 

so yea, my pick is quality over quantity. we need more bad offensive linemen for depth like we need jerry angelo to orchestrate this upcoming draft.

Your last statement sums everything up about how you feel. JA has just about all of us confused when if we really look at what this current GM has done it doesn't mirror what JA has done in the FA period. He would try and make a big splash and then shut it down this guy continues to add bodies and anyone who has a 1 year deal is guaranteed nothing. Better yet there was no Lovie spin press conference to talk about this addition.

Your last statement sums everything up about how you feel. JA has just about all of us confused when if we really look at what this current GM has done it doesn't mirror what JA has done in the FA period. He would try and make a big splash and then shut it down this guy continues to add bodies and anyone who has a 1 year deal is guaranteed nothing. Better yet there was no Lovie spin press conference to talk about this addition.

 

i have no problem if he wants to give this guy a flier as LONG as this is not our answer at offensive line that stops us from drafting a high quality guard or tackle in rounds 1-3.

 

i also have no problems adding depth if the quality is there. i think the backup QB was a solid move and i understand the players he put together for our special teams although i am not sold on the CB prospects we looked at (or didn't) and signed.

 

i also understand one year will NOT fix this mess angie and phillips left us, but... the top priority for this GM to be successful, that angelo failed so miserably at, is PROTECTING OUR FRANCHISE QUARTERBACK with quality offensive linemen. there just is no if's, ands or buts about it. to risk his health for a one year superbowl run (if that is what emery is doing) to save lovie's collective arse to me is criminal.

 

 

 

i have no problem if he wants to give this guy a flier as LONG as this is not our answer at offensive line that stops us from drafting a high quality guard or tackle in rounds 1-3.

 

i also have no problems adding depth if the quality is there. i think the backup QB was a solid move and i understand the players he put together for our special teams although i am not sold on the CB prospects we looked at (or didn't) and signed.

 

i also understand one year will NOT fix this mess angie and phillips left us, but... the top priority for this GM to be successful, that angelo failed so miserably at, is PROTECTING OUR FRANCHISE QUARTERBACK with quality offensive linemen. there just is no if's, ands or buts about it. to risk his health for a one year superbowl run (if that is what emery is doing) to save lovie's collective arse to me is criminal.

I totally agree on the upgrade of the OL, but just because he wasnt a big name doesnt mean its not an upgrade. He was a high pick and actually have started a ton of games. This GM looks to do things a little differently and we wont know until training camp what everything will look like. I would say he takes C. Williams guard spot for they will move him to a OT spot,as maybe a swing tackle? I dont think he can start and upgrade the position for us.

i have no problem if he wants to give this guy a flier as LONG as this is not our answer at offensive line that stops us from drafting a high quality guard or tackle in rounds 1-3.

 

i also have no problems adding depth if the quality is there. i think the backup QB was a solid move and i understand the players he put together for our special teams although i am not sold on the CB prospects we looked at (or didn't) and signed.

 

i also understand one year will NOT fix this mess angie and phillips left us, but... the top priority for this GM to be successful, that angelo failed so miserably at, is PROTECTING OUR FRANCHISE QUARTERBACK with quality offensive linemen. there just is no if's, ands or buts about it. to risk his health for a one year superbowl run (if that is what emery is doing) to save lovie's collective arse to me is criminal.

So can that be related to scheme also? Protecting a franchise player whether its a QB ,RB or MLB is on the coaches not the GM who should provide the coaches with the talent that they need. Just name one non-injured O-lineman that the Bears could have acquired to replace a current starter that would allow you to add what has been added and trade for Brandon Marshall and make you happy.

i can't account for others but i want 'quality' offensive linemen to START or at least be groomed as a top starting prospect in the next year or two who have the potential to be great. i certainly don't want some highly questionable journeyman or failed player to come in if it prevents us from drafting a quality starter in a high round.

 

i haven't watched any film on this guy and if he is salvageable for a depth position, fine. but who is he better than that we already have on this roster? which 'depth' guy are we ready to cut to make room for him? what i have read sounds like a frank oh-my clone who has the potential to put your franchise player in traction.

 

the high end free agents to me are quality (reasonably) young starters like mcneill who may or may not be able to play due to injury issues and we never even sent him to visit our medical staff to see. gaithers, the now chargers starting LT, was another prospect we never even approached, also young, experienced and up-and-coming potential.

 

so yea, my pick is quality over quantity. we need more bad offensive linemen for depth like we need jerry angelo to orchestrate this upcoming draft.

But yeah, is McNeil quality? You said it yourself, he has injury issues. What if they brought him in, and only him on the OL, and right away his back acts up on him? It's like they added no one.

But yeah, is McNeil quality? You said it yourself, he has injury issues. What if they brought him in, and only him on the OL, and right away his back acts up on him? It's like they added no one.

 

As for McNeil, I suspect that either:

1) He really is so injured he can't play, or

2) He still sees himself as a top tier offensive LT and wants 10 million per season.

I think this doesn't bode well for Spencer. He's making 3.5 mil, e Williams can play center, we have Louis also. One of them will be gone.

 

I thought Spencer was only making 3 this year? Hey, if Rachal can outperform Spencer, he's likely gone. Either way, it's good for competition.

From what I'm hearing....all three Spencer, Williams and Louis all block better than this chilo Rachal dude. Maybe he is just going to be used for the training camp as a blocking dummy!

 

To me it comes down to if he's better than Herrera or Steinbech. Those are the two other guards we were looking at signing. We brought Herrera in very early, which tells me adding guard depth was a priority.

 

Interestingly enough, we've done NOTHING to indicate we're going to upgrade the tackle position. This tells me either:

1) We're trying to hide our intentions before the draft, or

2) We actually mean what we say and we are happy with Carimi, Webb and/or Louis/C.Williams.

 

My guess is #2.

The Bears FINALLY sign a veteran OL. EVERYONE wanted one of these, right? So they finally do, and already you people start to compare him to Frank Omiyale, the worst OT on Earth. Wow. You either want a veteran or you don't. Pick one. Hint: great OL don't hit the market, and when they do, paying them $10m/year is a dumb idea

 

Exactly. Which is why it makes so much sense to consistently draft OL high.

So can that be related to scheme also? Protecting a franchise player whether its a QB ,RB or MLB is on the coaches not the GM who should provide the coaches with the talent that they need. Just name one non-injured O-lineman that the Bears could have acquired to replace a current starter that would allow you to add what has been added and trade for Brandon Marshall and make you happy.

 

1. i am not sure what scheme related is referring to.

 

2. a QB is not like any other position in the nfl. he can't be compared to a franchise RB or MLB. his existence depends upon 5 men to keep him from harms way. if those 5 men fail to do their job you risk injury to the most critically important position in the game along with the health of your entire franchise for years or even decades to come (in the bears case it is decades).

 

does this also bring the coaches into account? i believe it does but first the GM has to provide quality players for them to work with.

 

3. i think you are missing the point of my post. if emery or the bears front office thinks taking a risk on a player of the quality of chilio to be their major move in the offseason then they are gambling on a 100 to 1 longshot that i am not willing to make. if he replaces their need to DRAFT a high quality prospect at tackle and/or guard in the first 3 rounds of this years draft to draft a defensive lineman (to make lovie happy and give him the best chance to win now at the risk of losing our franchise qb long term) or any other position then we have similar problems we had with angie.

 

we need young quality guards, we need a young quality center and we need a young quality left tackle to groom into top players to protect cutler and the draft is where we can reasonably find them.

 

4. you ask for one player the bears could have signed and that answer is jarred gaither the LT for the chargers. i believe he could have been signed even with the addition of marshall if they would have pursued that avenue. when it comes right down to it if there is a choice between a good + left tackle and brandon marshall it is a no-brainer. you take the left tackle and draft a receiver or go another direction in free agency at WR unless you are sure you can draft a LT of quality.

The Bears FINALLY sign a veteran OL. EVERYONE wanted one of these, right? So they finally do, and already you people start to compare him to Frank Omiyale, the worst OT on Earth. Wow. You either want a veteran or you don't. Pick one. Hint: great OL don't hit the market, and when they do, paying them $10m/year is a dumb idea

 

Thank you Brian. I have to agree. So far what we do know is that he is in fact a veteran player. He was drafted a "high second round" back a few years ago. He's 26 and he came by way of relative inexpensive 1 year deal. What we don't know is how he will compare to the current Guards (OLmen) on staff.

Problem is, it is almost as difficult to predict how good an OLT prospect will be as it is a QB.

 

Tony Mandarich - 2nd pick of the 1st round by GB in 1989

 

I thought this guy was going to be the best OLT of all time, I was hyped. This was back before the NFL draft was such an "event". I remember I was pissed that the Bears did not trade up for this guy, I wanted him on our team bad, and when GB selected him (skipping over Barry Sanders, Derrick Thomas, and Deion Sanders) I was so upset I turned off the radio coverage I was listening to. You know "the rest of the story".

 

This is only one of dozens of sure bets for OLT that were blown.

 

Robert Gallery - 2nd pick of the 2004 draft by Oakland.

 

When that years draft came up he reminded me so much of the hype that Mandarich had, he was a guaranteed blue chip LOT that was destined for the HOF. Actually, he was adequate at best at ROT, when he played LOT he gave up a ton of sacks and was moved to OG. He is above average there but certainly not worth the #2 1st round in the draft.

 

The list goes on and on, so I am just saying that this whole draft thing is more like a crap shoot than an exact science. Hopefully Emery is better at rolling the dice than JA was (although I still think JA did a lot of good things for the Bears).

 

Problem is, it is almost as difficult to predict how good an OLT prospect will be as it is a QB.

 

Tony Mandarich - 2nd pick of the 1st round by GB in 1989

 

I thought this guy was going to be the best OLT of all time, I was hyped. This was back before the NFL draft was such an "event". I remember I was pissed that the Bears did not trade up for this guy, I wanted him on our team bad, and when GB selected him (skipping over Barry Sanders, Derrick Thomas, and Deion Sanders) I was so upset I turned off the radio coverage I was listening to. You know "the rest of the story".

 

This is only one of dozens of sure bets for OLT that were blown.

 

Robert Gallery - 2nd pick of the 2004 draft by Oakland.

 

When that years draft came up he reminded me so much of the hype that Mandarich had, he was a guaranteed blue chip LOT that was destined for the HOF. Actually, he was adequate at best at ROT, when he played LOT he gave up a ton of sacks and was moved to OG. He is above average there but certainly not worth the #2 1st round in the draft.

 

The list goes on and on, so I am just saying that this whole draft thing is more like a crap shoot than an exact science. Hopefully Emery is better at rolling the dice than JA was (although I still think JA did a lot of good things for the Bears).

 

I'd say the draft is a gamble.

 

However, just like in Vegas, there are safer gambles with better associated percentages. The first round is like craps, about 50%/50%. By the time you get to the 6th and 7th rounds, it's like a nickel slot machine.

 

There are first round busts for all positions, but the likelihood of getting a all-pro at LT greatly increases if you pick one up early.

 

Great analogy...

 

I'd say the draft is a gamble.

 

However, just like in Vegas, there are safer gambles with better associated percentages. The first round is like craps, about 50%/50%. By the time you get to the 6th and 7th rounds, it's like a nickel slot machine.

 

There are first round busts for all positions, but the likelihood of getting a all-pro at LT greatly increases if you pick one up early.

 

This move only adds more credence to possibly sliding Chris Williams over to LT to compete with JWebb.

Agree, I am sure Tice, Smith, and Emery know exactly what they are getting, I have faith that Tice can get this guy motivated! If not, no risk, he will be cut before we even start the season.

 

What's funny is that exact same, sound, fool-proof logic gets shot down when talking about future HoF diva WRs.

I have a heck of a lot more faith in Tice as an OC, OL Coach than I do our WR Coach Drake, who I have never cared for!

I have a heck of a lot more faith in Tice as an OC, OL Coach than I do our WR Coach Drake, who I have never cared for!

 

 

Plus signing Rachel is nowhere near the same thing as TO or Randy Moss.

Plus signing Rachel is nowhere near the same thing as TO or Randy Moss.

 

Agreed. It's different on every level. You have more headache, but you also have a nearly infinite talent and experience gap between those WRs and Rachal.

 

In the end, however, it's still a simple proposition: They F up, cut them. They make a scene, cut them. Easy. Just like Rachal.

Agreed. It's different on every level. You have more headache, but you also have a nearly infinite talent and experience gap between those WRs and Rachal.

 

In the end, however, it's still a simple proposition: They F up, cut them. They make a scene, cut them. Easy. Just like Rachal.

 

 

 

Except for the difference in money, starting expectations, how much they need the ball, drama, etc. Its a lot less easy with TO, etc.

 

 

If you would have made the comparison to a Komar, Thomas, Weems, Sanz, etc, that is the same thing.

Except for the difference in money, starting expectations, how much they need the ball, drama, etc. Its a lot less easy with TO, etc.

 

If you would have made the comparison to a Komar, Thomas, Weems, Sanz, etc, that is the same thing.

 

Money with TO? I don't think it'd be as big of a problem since he's out of the league and virtually nobody is taking a look.

Expectations? Minimal. It's a shot in the dark hoping he has gas in the tank.

How much he needs the ball and the drama? If he whines, he's cut. What's difficult about that?

Money with TO? I don't think it'd be as big of a problem since he's out of the league and virtually nobody is taking a look.

Expectations? Minimal. It's a shot in the dark hoping he has gas in the tank.

How much he needs the ball and the drama? If he whines, he's cut. What's difficult about that?

 

Because as previously stated, he'll behave until he's had a good game or two, then he'll get upset about his paycheck and THEN you have a dilemma.

 

Nobody gives a shit when an O Lineman is cut, particularly one of the scrapheap guys we're talking about here.

 

It's apples and oranges, Jason.

but you also have a nearly infinite talent and experience gap between those WRs and Rachal.

 

Bullshit. One of the guys you're talking about isn't getting a look from any team outside the ARENA LEAGUE. How much "infinite talent" do you suppose that guy still has?

I have a heck of a lot more faith in Tice as an OC, OL Coach than I do our WR Coach Drake, who I have never cared for!

 

True. But even that doesn't matter. The reason nobody wants TO is character combined with eroding skills. In this case it's all about skills. Either our coaches can develop them or we'll cut him. In TO's case, you can't coach up an old set of legs and you can't cure his mental problems. Multiple coaches have tried and failed. He's a malcontent and has no place on any Bears team I'll ever watch.