madlithuanian

I like Alex Brown. His attitude and work ethic impress me. He seems the consumate team player. I also get a full sense that he;s giving it his all and he cares. Sometimes the results come, somethimes it's not as apparent. I've been dissatisfied w/ Wale for a while. But I honestly didn't expect the world. I thought he was a product of Jason Taylor...and it pretty much looks like that's the case. Maybe my irritation w/ Daniels stems more from the horrid overall team than his performance alone. I just don't recall him ever having an impact in any significant moment or game. Is Wale a bust? I don't know. Depends what your real definition is. You take Reggie While, Deion Sanders, Drew Brees and a few others out of the mix, and for the most part, FA's are all busts. I suppose maybe I'm being harsh on Daniels, but I think I bring it up becasue I think people are being too harsh on MM. For 2 years, I think he was a huge help for the club. After that, not so much...and that's when people were calling for his head. But w/o him, I'm not sure we make our run at the SB.

I loved the big boys in the middle, Ted and Traylor...but Robinson and Daniels didn't impress me in the least... That scheme back then let Rosie Colvin loose and urlacher as well. With some big plays by Holdman as well. Definitely a difference than today's scheme. But, I disagree w/ Blache, sacks are important!

AGREED!!!!

I definitley recall the play you mentioned. I'm honestly not sure what to make of it. But I still kind of hold the philosophy, that he simply needs more carries. I think he's trying to find his groove. Maybe thinking a bit too hard about what he can do to get it started. It's kind of like an NBA shooter needing to take some more shots. He's maybe in a little funk and needs to hit some free throws. We bust on him for his lack of productivity for these 1st 2 weeks, but is it rreally warranted? 1. Green Bay - Turner didn't have us off the bus running. We were passing fools. We insisted on passing pover running. Then when we ran, it seems at ill position on the field, ill down and distance, and the D looked ready. Say what you want about Benson running on GB. But he never saw the end zone last week. And even with that, pretty much everyone expected a better GB D than last year. 2. PIT - The play calling for runs was a bit better, but I still don't think good. Down, distance, selection etc seemd to be off. And a good reason for that is PIT's D is freakin' good. Look what Chris Johnson did in W2 vs what he didn't do agasint PIT in W1. I'm not saying there isn't reason for concern, and some of the negative that you and others mentioned. However, I'm going to reserve my real concern until after these next 2 games. I expect Forte to get his running going and return to form. If not, then we may have a legit problem.

Fair enough. I got the gyst from your comments, but after re-reading, you don't specifically state that. You say bad. Even with that, I disagree. You really think Daniels helped the Bears more than MM? Wow...I'm shocked. I also think in order to really prop you argument, you need to look at all FA signings in the NFL. Look at the mad loot the Skins and others paid for guys with bad productivity. Maybe your argument in general is that FA's aren't worth the price. Then, I'd give you that. But as far as the reality of FA's go, I think MM was better than the norm.

Yep. It does give the reporters something to talk about. You can look at quality of oppnent,etc...maybe even a good bar argument. But, without the wins, it's just fluff.

The the volume, not the % of more... I just expect everyone to pick up their game...some more than others (Forte, Olsen).

I just am expecting better play all around. More from Cutler, more from the OL, more from the D, more from the WR's, more from Olsen and more from Forte.

Really guys? MM's contract and performance was worse then Smith and Daniels? MM $30M compared to Daniels of $25M (20% more) and Smith $22.5M (about 30% more)? http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/columns/stor...&id=2000387 http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/football/...smith_bears_ap/ Factor the cap in 2005 compared to 2000. (Basically $85M compared to $67M) 27% increase. 2000: http://entertainment.howstuffworks.com/question644.htm 2005: http://football.calsci.com/SalaryCap.html Tack in generic inflation as well... Bottom line, I just don't see how MM and his money are any worse than Smith and Daniels....

Yep. We can save the arguments for which championship teamis better than the other...but I just want a championship.

No argument there. Beat what is put in front of you. It's that simple.

T.J. Houshmandzadeh got a lot of attention this offseason because of what he said, in addition to what he did: sign with the Seahawks. He's been quiet on the field with his new team, trailing Nate Burleson and John Carlson slightly in receptions and yards. But Housh isn't done talking yet. In advance of this week's game against the Bears, Housmandzadeh was asked if he had any serious talks with Bears G.M. Jerry Angelo. "Man, the Bears ain't holler at me,'' he said. "Jerry Angelo probably didn't even think I could play. So I'm going to show him Sunday." Houshmandzadeh will have to show him without being fully healthy. The former Bengal sat out practice Wednesday with a back injury, but Seahawks coach Jim Mora says that his wideout will be ready. Matt Hasselbeck's status is far less certain. A broken rib kept him out of practice Wednesday, and the Seahawks are treating his injury as "day-to-day." Also uncertain is whether Houshmandzadeh is enough of a difference-maker to be worth all the money Seattle is paying him. Angelo clearly didn't think so. On Sunday, Houshmandzadeh gets to prove him wrong. Permalink 0 Comments Back to Top

I'd rather dangle his as trade bait. We could get something for him I imagine. Look what Seymour got? And he's older and has his fair share of injuries. I loved Tommie when he was healthy and kickin' butt. now, I just don't know. I just want to get something for him rather than just cut him.

Losing is unacceptable. Under any circumstance.

Something has to be done. It's becoming the norm for key players to be out for significant time. And I don't see anything turning that tide in the other direction. I know the owners want the games at the their facilities, and the bye doesn't really do that. But the extra bye expands the TV revenue, and that gets shared by all. I hate the idea of an 18 week season. But I'm a traditionalist and hated the 16 one too... More isn't always better. Now it's more diluted, and will be even moreso with 18.

No argument there!

Ha! It was a lot of Wanny guys! I was finally out of college during those years and could afford to go to games, so that's when everything really became very apparent! Me too!

Not sure i agree with you on harris, But I do think we need to look at OL, S, and DL fr next year. WR to, but I actually think the other slots are more important. Especially OL. We have too much age.

THE NFL best take notice when they start clammoring for an 18 week season. If they want 18 weeks, add another bye!

Again, what exactly were you expecting from MM? That somehow one old decent WR was going to turn our stagnant system into "Air Coryell"? That you were going to get exactly the same out of him from the previous year? Beggar's can't be choosers. And at the time, the Bears were pretty much a laughing stock of the league. When that happens, as we now wee in Cleveland, you have to over-pay. Something tells me the McCaskey's still pulled in a hefty profit for the seasons MM was here... I'd hate to see what it would have been without him...

i argue that money doesn't make the difference. You have to pay to get FA's. And as far as I can assess, his signing didn't prevent us signing anyone else that would have made a difference at that time w/o knowledge of the future. My bad on Tillman...I meant Lewis Tillman formerly of the NYG in the 90's...

You're just trolling! There's not enough to talk about that we've not all already gone over! When he made the comments about orton, he also tempered them with great comments about Rex. (Yes, we now know more as hindsight is 20/20). As much as he made some drops, and we got on him for it. He also made catches. I personally saw him bring in a great td catch in Chicago while sitting in the end zone. he had talent. And I still contend that his presence took opponents' top coverage guys away from Berrian,etc. You can argue the dollars. But, the bears had always been well under the cap, and his money, to the best of my knowledge, didn't prevent any other signings. You may want to re-assess your comment and say that he might now have been worth the money, but I'm sure there were more FA's out there in the NFL pulling down similar with far worse situations. I guess I'm just not seeing why you have such anger towards MM. What exactly did you expect when he came here? Jerry Rice? I certainly didn't expact that. I thought we'd be getting a decent vet that could command some D/referee respect in the league. He did just that. i certainly didn't htink he'd mirror that ridiculous seasonhe had before. We didn't have the O for that. But we desperately needed something. And when you do that in FA, you usually pay far more than things are worth.

Yeah, i think it was McKay...I just remember Wyche as the coach at that time. I can't argue agasint any of those points!

If I look at it from the perspective of "was it a bad signing?" ...I say no. We brought in a veteran WR with a few good years left inhis tank. He was on the downward slide and obviously took his prior season to the bank with our deal. But, he came in, attempted to be a leader, gave credibility to our WR corps, and drew the best coverage, thus making berrian look better. I think I could even argue that MM was a good signing based on a lot of the above. Look, I don't think we could expect miracles. But, he brought us some stability for a very shaky QB. He had his share of drops and then proceeded to throw everyone under the bus...but only really after he left. I look at other botches like Phillip Daniels, Rick Mirer, Kordell Stewart, Merril Hoge, Ironhead Heywood, Edgar Bennett, Charles Tillman, Ricky Manning Jr, Brian Cox etc... as all pretty much bordering on worst of all time. So, by comparision, MM was a stellar signing!