BearFan PHX

Either way., we wouldnt know, but we will soon

I think they can get a 4th rounder for MT in a trade, since he has a year of his rookie deal left with a second year option. Pretty cheap to take a flyer on a reclaimation project for the #2 pick overall. Bear would have to eat $9Mil in dead space to remove MT. If they declare it a June first cut, it spreads it out over two years. But (and I know Im a tired record) it doesnt matter who is at QB if they dont have a clean pocket.

I think Floyd is gone. I think it's more of a fire sale than people thought it would be, but Pace did the same thing with the WRs a couple years ago. Im still waiting to see what happens at OLT of course.

agree

I have been thinking the same thing. We can disagree with each other without being so condescending and stating opinions like cold hard facts, and calling people names when they dont agree. It isnt achieving the desired result of dictating from the point of an expert, it feels just internet fighty.

I think that resigning Trevathan is a sign that the Bears will move on from Floyd, and replace him with a young player who wont be great at first. Trevathan provides continuity to offset a rookie. The logic may be that youre not getting production out of Floyd anyway, and you cant really afford a proven vet pass rusher there, so youre going to have to draft a young player to grow, so given they will be on a lower rookie salary, you can take a few dollars and keep Trevathan for the veteran continuity he provides to offset the inexperienced younger player. I think the odds of Floyd being traded or released just went up.

this is good news. I gotta say, that while I really LIKE Kwitkowski, and I recognize his Rudy-like heart and grit, he just isn't fast enough to play in the current pass happy NFL. If you could transplant the heart of Kwit into a faster athlete, you'd have a pro bowler. This is an excellent move. I'm really looking forward to the next couple of weeks to see what the Bears do about Floyd, and other positions.

agree 100%

I agree. You cant reliably find franchise QBs without high draft picks. We dont really have the chips to make that happen this year. I think that for all practical purposes, Mitch and Nagy get another year to make it work, or not. I would be shocked if Pace is allowed to AND chooses to trade next year's first rounder, so it is what it is. Not saying he should either, just saying he doesnt have big ammo to go find the next big QB. We may well sign a mid tier backup to challenge Trubisky, and he might even play well. But the odds are that the only QB that can take us to the promised land this year is Mitch, and that'd have to be the surprising upside of Mitch. It IS possible, and I'd LOVE to see it. But more likely we will be rebuilding the staff and looking at a QB this time next year. They'll be playing with their backs against the wall this year thats for sure, and they will be easy to root for. We should see a lot of hustle.

thanks Grizz. That does answer it! I think that when a team and a player, especially a QB, have discussions, they discuss the team makeup. If the team needs OL or WR or something, they probably have to convince the player that they are going to fix those issues.

If Eli is retired, is it tampering to talk to him? I honestly dont know.

yeah, but it wasnt against the rules to meet with Trubisky, the only risk was showing their interest to other teams who might leapfrog them. In this case, it'd cost us a high draft pick if we were caught, so I dont see it. Not saying people dont do stupid things, they do, I just doubt it in this case, but of course I have no proof.

it seems unlikely that they would meet in public where they could get caught. And it's not like Eli is such a hot commodity. We may well have interest in him, but I dont see us flaunting the rules so stupidly, but people have done stupid things before...

+1 for logic. It's like the articles about the Bears trading Mack that don't even mention the cap implications. So much internet BS these days. Cant wait for March 18th!

good info! thanks for that!

I think most times trading back is a good thing. The exceptions are when you have a loaded roster and youre looking for that one or two guys who can take you over the top OR if youre drafting a QB or a pass rusher and you have your eye on someone special in the first round. But the Bears this year, and most teams most years are in a position where trading down is probably a good thing. But that's the problem. To trade down you need a partner who's looking to trade up. And that's rarer, so you end up losing value in the trade to make it work, and then you arent really ahead. If Pace can find a good trade down deal, then Im with you guys - he should take it. But lately I've been playing with the draft site games without doing any trades, and boy, is our cupboard bare this year. I haven't been terribly critical of Pace so far, and I will wait to see this year's roster before I make judgements. He's made a risky play, and if he has a plan that works, more power to him. But I can see from here in early March, that there is a good possibility that I will think Pace really whiffed. I would like nothing more than for Pace and Nagy to make me eat my words.

actually, any of us can do this. If you quote someone, you can just type inside the quote - whatever you want, and delete whatever you want. It can say anything. It's good that we all know this so no one thinks someone said something they didnt actually say.

probably right - which is another way of saying that if someone DID, we should jump all over it.

Im with you there.

Fair enough - thanks for saying! We can agree to disagree on Leno. For what it's worth, in today's Sun Times, there is an article about draft choices, and the article says the first pick should go to Leno's replacement. To be fair (and Stinger will like this) the plan they outline is starting the rookie at OG and letting Leno play at OLT until the rookie is ready. In that case, I'd have been right that Leno needs replacing, but Stinger would win the bet! Damn! LOL But Im just saying, it isnt just me that thinks this.

yeah I think thats all I'm saying. If someone offers a 3rd for him, you jump on it. I still think changes are coming on the OL (duh that i think that hahaha) March 18th and soon thereafter will be very interesting.

yeah Ashkum, so the big disagreement is on Cohen, and I just think he has trade value worth investigating. I dont think any of us are really that far apart.

I'll add this, two years ago I said we should blow up the WR roster. Everyone here told me I was crazy. We were all crying about losing Kendall Wright and Cameron Meredith. And I was right. Pace cleaned house and we got a lot of new WRs, and our WR group was great. I think what's happening here is that we are Bears fans, and so we grow attached to players on the roster and get defensive thinking that cuts or trades are being disloyal or something. But you have to do what's best for the roster, best for the Bears. ANd I think changes on the OL are coming, and I think Floyd will get restructured or traded. Amukumara and Gabriel are already cut. So this is all about Cohen and Patterson? Neither is even a starter at their position. And again, Im not even saying to cut or trade Patterson, Im just saying you have to listen to offers.

No I didnt say anything about getting rid of either of those two players. But the idea that someone had a bad season isnt a reason to keep them either. Which player(s) are you talking about, because I see each as a unique situation. I am not saying trade everyone, and I am not saying keep everyone. I'm saying I (and half the sporting world) called the release of Prince and Gabriel. It is equally expected that Floyd will not play next year under the current contract. None of this is controversial at all. So what are we talking about? Cohen? He tries to outrun the whole team and ends up getting pushed out of bounds too much. And hes too small to run hard between the tackles. And Patterson? I LIKE Patterson. Im not even saying to trade him, Im saying its something to THINK about, but it's right on the line. Hes worth something to us for sure, and we could probably get something for him. Im really not understanding why you guys think Im saying to blow everything up, cuz Im just not. But when you say we have to step forwward with the talent we have or blow everything up, I dont agree. There are other plays that are neither of those two things. ANd that's what Im discussing.

We want to get rid of big contract guys who arent playing at average levels. That's what it's about. Floyd is definitely one of those. He's gonna get $13Mil for this year. No way he is worth that. You may say we should rework his contract. Ok cool, but that's the same as cutting him and then resigning him in free agency, and out of every possibility is he the best option for the same money? What if you got a 4th round draft pick if you promised to sign ANY free agent except Floyd? That's a trade scenario. If it helps,. I'm all in on extending Robinson. He's great. Im very excited to see Mack, Hicks, Goldman, Smith, Jackson and Fuller. I really like Trevathan too, but he is getting older, and may be too expensive. Some like Kwit as a replacement, others like Pierre-Louis. If we can find a way to keep Trevathan, so much the better. I think we were right to cut Amukamara. $9Mil was way too much to pay for him. You can find a free agent who will play better than he did for cheaper. Same with Gabriel, especially with good players like Miller, Wims and hopefully Ridley too. So trying to paint me as a negative nancy is really not gonna work. There is lots of talent on this team to be excited about. Hell, I havent even complained much about Trubisky, and I dont think Ive criticized Pace much either. I think Nagy has real problems. I think Leno is atrocious. I think those are not radical opinions. This isnt an emotional thing about either loving or hating the team, nor is it about generally having a negative outlook. It's about how awful our OL was last year, and how it made everything else worse. Amukamara and Gabriel are already gone. Floyd is serious trade bait. So what's this grand charge about? That I think we wont resign Cohen after next year so better to get a pick now? That I recognize that Nagy didnt utilize Patterson much and I think his value is useful elsewhere? Or simply that I think Leno was awful? He WAS awful. He was terribly horribly awful. I havent heard anyone here say that Leno is GOOD. The only argument I hear is that he has $7Mil of dead cap space so we have to keep him. If you beleive, as I do, that our entire season fell apart because of Leno, then it is foolish to trade a whole season away for $7Mil in cap room. I heard the same arguments before we cut Parkey too. In his case it was $5Mil. Maybe we are looking for a trade for Leno too. Anyway, there is a lot of good on this roster, and I think we could have a playoff year, but we need a few things, and to my eye, OLT is a big one. Lastly, I'll add this. I think Whitehair is decent, and I expect Daniels to look better next year too. I can live with Massie for one more year, so I'm really just looking at Leno and someone has to come in for Coward, because he didnt belong there either. It was Long's demise that did that, I dont think they ever planned on him being a starter. Anyway, int he NFL you have to give to get, and in a good trade both sides get value. Trading doesnt bring us closer to an overhaul, we lose one player, but we gain another.