DrunkBomber

Renegotiate Urlacher and then Im not sure about some of the other guys. I cant think of any key players off the top of my head whose contracts are up soon. When is Ogun signed through? Also, possibly Mike Brown if he stays healthy this year.

I dont think so.

This was the one we all knew was going to get done no matter what. Hopefully we can keep Urlacher happy and then begin working on what could be one of the most difficult contracts in NFL history with Hester. Having Briggs, Harris, Vasher and Tillman signed long term provides us with a very solid core for our defense.

I agree about the regime change. As much as I love the tradition of defense and running the ball first I think they need to stay current with trends in the NFL and work with their personnel better. If you dont have the players to effectively execute the game plan you need to either get different players or a new plan. The fact that we drafted a corner and tight end before an OG absolutely baffles me. id rather bring back Brown before taking a chance on another back. Dont get me wrong, I wouldnt mind bringing in Kevin Jones because of his possible upside. He is the one guy out there that I feel if remained healthy could contribute immediately. I just know how the Bears are and they dont do things like that, which is why Im surprised to see so many people think this news is unexpected.

This doesnt make any sense. Just because teams have more backs going into camp doesnt mean that they need to run out and sign as many backs as possible. The "no-names" would be the only guys that would be around to compete. Its not realistic to think the Bears are going to sign a back that has the potential to make the roster because of the three guys that are here. They love AP for his durability and contribution to special teams. Theyre obviously keeping Forte and JA isnt going to admit how big of a mistake it was to draft Wolfe after only one season. That said, anybody brought in would have to be a special teams ace or would more than likely not make the final roster. The Lloyd comparison is also poor because WR is a position that can have 4 or 5 on the field at a given time while there is only one tail back on the field at a time. Barring bringing in someone who can come in and immediately start it would be irresponsible to use a roster spot on another mediocre back given our need for youth at OT and depth at OG. How many second tier running backs do we need? So where there isnt any harm in bringing in a vet back things like that dont happen. Teams dont just go and sign all kinds of players in hopes one of them can make the team, at least not players that arent "no-names." How many times have the Bears done anything like this? Just because it makes sense to fans doesnt mean its going to happen or even that its a good idea. It was like everyone being so surprised that the Bears didnt draft a QB when it was very obvious they were happy with the two that had.

I understand that between the three backs on our roster, one is a rookie, one is a career third stringer and the other one has no business being in the NFL (just my opinion, and its not relevant to my point so no need to debate Wolfe now) but when Benson was here we had one too many backs as it was. Its not common for teams to carry more than three running backs so barring injury it doesnt surprise me that they are saying this. If they do bring in a new back you might as well kiss Wolfe good bye because if they brought in someone good enough to play than they would be ahead of him and there arent enough carries to go around for all these guys.

Also for first overall we cant overlook guys like Kijana Carter, Tim Couch, Courtney Brown and maybe even David Carr.

ya thats true about Smith. He hasnt completely fallen off yet so he still has a chance. Vick is magnified because of how much stock they put in him to become the face of the franchise but once defenses figured out how to stop him he had been terrible.

Walker didnt get in any trouble though. Regardless of how stupid he was acting, in both cases he was either the victim or his friend was a victim. Now, he did put himself in that situation both times but he didnt get in any trouble so its not really fair to compare this to something like Pacman or even Benson.

Especially considering that the guy who was neck and neck with him to be picked first overall turned out to be one of the best qbs in NFL history. The story would have been a lot better if Leaf went first. Ya, Akili Smith was pretty bad too.

I forgot about the unwritten rule that spraying champagne on someone is grounds to get killed or beaten and robbed. Im not saying he wasnt acting like an idiot but this was a little extreme.

Charles Rogers was drafted second overall. I think Alex Smith is a bigger bust too because at least Vick had SOME success.

Believe Im not the type that sympathizes with a lot of the things that happens to players when they put themselves in certain situations but in both of his cases him or someone he was with were victims of crimes and regardless what led to the event, nobody should have to hold their 24 year old friends in their arms as theyre dying.

I think that its good that they honored him but I think it was a poor decision not to include Damien Nash. He died less than two months later so you would think the memorial should have been for both of them. The only reason why I can think of that they didnt was because Williams was murdered and Nash wasnt. I hope it wasnt because Williams was a better player and more well known.

Thats exactly why we wanted Faneca. he would have immediately made our offense line good. Having him, drafting Williams at LT right next to him and moving Tait to the RT would be a huge upgrade. Kruetz more than likely would return to his probowl self and Garza or even St. Clair would be the only question mark.

Javon Walker might have the worst luck when it comes to going out. First one of his friends gets shot and dies in his arms on New Years Eve. Now he gets robbed and beaten in Vegas...

Pretty crazy. They found him unconscience on the street in Vegas.

I kind of have a good feeling about this squad too. Nobody is expecting anything from the offense so they can fly under the radar and I think our division hasnt gotten much better.

I honestly think they will try to keep the qb competition fair but in the back of their minds they subconsciously think Rex is the guy. I have always been a Grossman fan but I dont think he should get the job handed to him. If Orton and Grossman both play at the level they were at the end of last season it might come down to the wire.

I dont think anybody would oppose adding depth on the o line.

Me and Mad were basically the ones on the other side of your stance but I dont think either of us said it would be ok because Benson deserved it. It was more, he got hit hard in practice, oh well. I said numerous times I have no problem with them going at him harder but I never said if they were trying to hurt him intentionally its ok. I never believed that to be true anyway which I also stated many times. Im not going to take Jay Glazers opinions over players who were there when it happened so it brings me back to my original point. If the defense didnt like Benson so they went at him harder in practice I have no problem with that. As long as it was clean and was allowed in whatever drill was being run. Since there were no repercussions I dont think he took a cheap shot or anyone went out of their way to hit him with the intent of injuring him. I also dont care if they went at him harder than TJ or AP as long as it was fair.

You think hes gonna have the job over Orton for sure?

Brown: No one on Bears tried to hurt Benson By David Haugh | Tribune staff reporter 8:46 PM CDT, June 15, 2008 Ruben Brown showed again Sunday why if he doesn't find an NFL team that wants his services this fall, he should have no problem finding a media outlet. In an interview on WMVP-AM, the outspoken Brown chastised a report by Fox Sports' Jay Glazer that as many as 10 Bears players once tried to hurt Cedric Benson in practice. "That sounds like a lot of mumbo-jumbo," the former Bears guard said. "Nobody does that anymore. We all respect each other's right to earn money. I mean, we're all trying to make it, and that makes no sense. "You're saying Mike Brown, Brian Urlacher, Lance Briggs, outstanding stand-up people in the community and on the team, leaders of our team, wanted to go and hurt another teammate? Come on, that's far-fetched. ... I was on the team. I saw when Cedric got hurt. Cedric got hurt on his own accord. Why would Brian Urlacher care to intentionally hurt our starting running back that's going to keep us from making it to the playoffs?"

A healthy Mike Brown and Bob Sanders injured swings things really far our way.