madlithuanian

So true! It'll be interesting if they ever put a ceiling on rookie salaries...

Thos seem to be as good a reason as any... However, if we look at the last 3 to come in of any real note... 1. Moose, while very good and a good career, when we brought him in, he came off a silly season. I think that season was an anomoly 2. Booker, while good a while ago, it's clear that he's lost it. 3. Lloyd...he was never really tha great elsewhere. Not sure what we expected, but he played decently when he was on the field. So, maybe the guys we're bringing in aren't all that...

too many "if's" then... I think a large percentage would trade it away... The question is more interesting if you force a pick to be made.

Stafford...he's got a legit chance to be the franchise QB we've not had.

Why the heck not...

agreed...

From one standpoint, it would send a message. You drop easy passes in actual games, and you will be cut. From that standpoint alone, I see no problem cuting Marty (who I used to love), and giving Furrey a shot.

Exactly!

Sorry for the double post! Computer had a hiccup! Please delete! Although if there ever should be a double post...this is it!

I knocked on the office door, and the old man answered. He was hunched over, with sunken eyes and brown skin that looked weathered. He wore a blue Members Only jacket, denim jeans and white Reebok sneakers. When he walked, his feet shuffled, reminding me of my 83-year-old grandmother making her way through her Florida assisted living community. The date was Feb. 15, 1999, and I was visiting a suburban Chicago office complex to meet Walter Payton, the Bears' Hall of Fame running back who had recently announced that he was suffering from primary sclerosing chonlangitis, a rare (and deadly) liver disease. I was assigned the piece by Sports Illustrated, which wanted to report the details of Payton's illness. "Excuse me," I said to the senior citizen. "Is Wal--" Then, in a moment of horror, I stopped speaking. Staring deeper into the man's face, beneath his yellow jaundiced eyes and saddened expression, I came to a crushing realization: This was Walter Payton. And he was dying. ***** Now, some 10 years after Payton's death at age 45, hindsight provides a certain perspective and understanding. I was a New York City resident on September 11. I was the first to arrive when my Grandma Marta died of a heart attack. A close friend is struggling with multiple sclerosis. When I visited Payton, however, I was 26 and cocooned from the harsh reality that, for all of us, life ends. My general day-to-day concerns befitted my age -- I wanted to move up the masthead at SI; I wanted a steady girlfriend; a nice apartment; good times at the nearby pub. Dying? Who worried about dying? So there I stood, face to face with a man I had never before met; a man I had long considered to be indestructible. Throughout his 13-year NFL career, which lasted from 1975 through 1987, Payton established himself not merely as the league's all-time rushing leader with 16,726 yards, but as the embodiment of what it meant to be a professional athlete. He was a 5-foot-10, 202-pound graceful sledgehammer; a balletic runner who often seemed to hover through defenses, but who also went out of his way to seek linebackers to decapitate. "In Chicago's Super Bowl year [1985] we played them at Lambeau," recalled Brian Noble, a former Packers linebacker. "Walter came right at me with the ball ... and I hit that man as hard as I hit anyone in my career. I knocked him back about four yards, but he stayed up and just kept going. Touchdown. I was devastated. [Afterward] my teammate put his arm around me and said, 'Believe me, that's not the first time and it won't be the last time that Walter Payton breaks a tackle like that.'" As opposed to nowadays, where so many so-called "standout" backs couldn't block an oncoming two-legged cat, Payton left behind a long, bloodied list of flattened would-be pass rushers. He pulverized Minnesota's Joey Browner, destroyed Tampa Bay's Hugh Green, flattened Washington's Dexter Manley. "How many times did he save my butt by picking up a blitz before I was blown up?" said Jim McMahon, the former Bears quarterback. "A lot." Best of all, Payton never -- never -- celebrated the aftermaths. (I can only imagine what he would have to say of Terrell Owens.) Yet for all the brilliance, it was Payton's away-from-the-field philosophy that elevated him beyond the ordinariness of "great pro athlete." Unlike 99.9 percent of his professional peers, he didn't view his job as anything particularly special. Sure, he loved to compete and run the football. But once practices and games came to an end, Payton -- who could never sit still for more than two or three minutes -- was itching for new, non-football adventures. He collected antique cars and dove from airplanes and fished and hunted and pursued his helicopter pilot's license. He once beat Artis Gilmore one-on-one in hoops, and another time danced his rear off on an episode of Soul Train. He tried his hand at becoming an IndyCar racer, and later bought his own CART team. He co-hosted Saturday Night Live with Joe Montana, cooked gourmet meals for friends, played a mean game of chess and was the best rapper in the Super Bowl Shuffle. "He was a real person," said former Bears coach Mike Ditka. "There was no phoniness about him." ***** After inviting me in, Payton and I sat down in a small room. This wasn't a time to talk about Super Bowl XX or Jim Brown or George Halas. Payton made no effort to conceal his plight or offer up false hope. Though there was seemingly little to gain in speaking to a scrub reporter, Payton wanted to get the word out about organ donations. Not for himself -- surely, he had begun to realize it was probably too late. But for all the others. The battered. The wounded. The kids. "Everybody has to die," Payton told me, sitting upright in a chair behind his desk. "I'm not afraid of dying. But I'm afraid I'm not going to be here to see the things I feel I have the right to see: my son playing college football, my daughter graduating from college, my kids having kids." He reached for a piece of notebook paper -- one of the approximately 10,000 letters he had received since announcing his illness. This one was from a 9-year-old boy who was battling cirrhosis of the liver. "Christopher says I shouldn't be scared," he said. "God will take care of me." Walter Payton died at his home on November 1, 1999, surrounded by his wife, Connie, and his two children. God, I hope, is taking care of him. Send a comment to Jeff Pearlman at anngold22@gmail.com.

For those potentially interested in him as a FA... Furrey is out there. They released a few other guys, but no other name seemed of interest or was recognizable to me. There was mention of a safety, but I couldn't remember the name.

Holt could help... Not sure Pace is worth it at this point. I don't think we're close enough to bring him in. I'd rather get younger on the line.

It's a good sign, but why did it have to take so long? It's a macro-element of his lack of adjustments in-game...

Fair enough... Both McGuinnis and Jauron weren't gong to break the bank. Parcells may indeed be the exception to the rule. However, why are we never in the derby for those kinds of guys...? Maybe it's dumb luck...who knows. It just never seems like we're trying for the creme de la creme. Maybe the "hot" coordinator...I'll definitley give you that as we did with Wanny (blech!!!). McGinnis, Jauron and Smith, however successful in the league, were never really top tier guys. Part of the label does come with the 90's...it was a long strech and came right after our greatest success. Granted, we now do habve a GM. And have experienced some success. But our football guy is a bean counter, not a football mind. Again, probably cheaper than getting a football mind in there... I guess part of it still lingers too much from the past, and until it's fully righted, I, personally will be suspect of it. I will completely give you the spending on players, facility (although the taxpayers footed a bill for that too), etc... In the meantime, I think we can just agree to disagree. My glass is half empty, yours is half full on this matter. But at least my glass isn't completely empty! Time for another beer...

I hear ya!

Good points... Does anyone know how much tax dollars went into the stadium? To some degree, isn't that a bailout per se? Like the mortgage bankers, shouldn't the team be beholden to taxpayers on some level then? Just stirring it up...

Something tells me they'll figure it out...

No doubt...spending money does not guarantee success. I'm sure Tomlin didn't cost the Steelers and arm and a leg when he was brought in. But, I think there's a difference between making a choice of going with less experience vs not willing to spend the loot. But, look at Miami. They brought in Parcells to help operations.. and voila! They are once again quite good. Jerry in Dallas did go w/ Parcells. But Parcells was beceoming successful despite Jerry's interference. In fact, had Jerry stayed out of the way, Dallas may have been in the SB this year... The problem with the owners who are willing to overspend, is that they tend to butt in too much. You can't say definitively that the McGuinnes bungling and the Jauron hire weren't about money.... I think it was. Maybe I'm wrong. I just see that those coaching salaries wouldn't have come close to a top tier candidate. Also the fact that other teams are doing it doesn't make them not cheap! They are too... Bottom line, I question whether the team is being cheap in this regard or if that is a simple philosophical choice. Given what we know...and that salaries for GM's and coaches have been low, and only re-upped once there appeared to be really little choice, I'm going on the premise that it's still cheap in that area. I'm just very happy they are keeping the fans and their general employees happy and not being cheap there in addition to be willing to spend on FA's. 3 out of 5 ain't bad... overall, you could say the average is NOT cheap. But I think 2 portions are still cheap...GM and coaches...or maybe the idea should be that the decisions have been extremely poor. They hired guys they shouldn't have, and gave extentions they shouldn't have.

I tend to agree... But differ a bit when it comes to those put in charge running the team. All our coaches have really been brought in at bargain basement prices. And Smith was only re-upped after huge media scrutiny after a SB run. I basically question the desire to spend on the management and coaching side of the team. It could be a philospohy to go for the upstart guy...but on paper, it looks cheap. Once in the fold and successful, they have spent. But I wonder when Smith and JA get shown the dorr down the road, how will it play out? I'll be super curious as we all will...

Nice post! The cynic in me wants to say it's simply a marketing ploy that they had no choice in accepting given the economy and potential backlash. But my heart is tealling me that they indeed don't want to pass increased costs on to their fans. I also commend them for retaining their employees. That's certianly one facet of a family run organization that is a huge plus in most cases. I've been very harsh on this organization regarding this matte, but the proof is in the pudding and they have stepped up I believe and are showing their merit by their actions. I still have issues how this franchise is run, but as of right now, I, personally, will no longer call them cheap.

Agreed...

No disagreement here. Just stating, if that's what Jerry's kids wanted, they could probably make it happen. Personally, I think Cassel stays in NE ast least one more year as pure insurance on Brady. Then depending, all bets are off.

Points well made... I knew Hester didn't, but wasn't 100% on Davis. I've been trying to forget about his stone hands...

Count me in too... If we don't draft of pick up a FA, then I'm all for giving AP a shot and tossing McKie to the side.

On the other hand...if mgmt really wants him, they have other trade bait that I'm not sure Minny can part with since they are deemed ready to go to the SB if they only had a GB. We have so many holes, that we could send another guy maybe NE needs... Could we send a guy like Vasher? Ogun? Even Harris? Dare I say Urlacher? I don't see it happening, but if the Bears really wanted Cassel, I think he could be had.