AZ54

That's ok, I just hope he's not ours.

That cap space comes with a lot of needs but it gives Pace plenty of flexibility to mix in some good players on their 2nd contract while his draft classes come up to speed over the next few years. In the meantime, he can secure players like Jeffrey and Long for the next 4-5 years.

According to Overthecap http://overthecap.com/salary-cap-space we have cap space of 2016 $51mil 2017 $84mil 2018 $125mil 2019 $151mil Pace has plenty of room to maneuver and build the roster he wants.

First, total respect and props to Forte for all he has done as a Bear. At the end of the day he earns the best compliment: He did everything the right way. He will be missed. I understand the emotions of the loss and calling this a mistake but comparing stats makes little sense. It doesn't take into account the growth of the Langford throughout the season, and later Carey. While I agree Forte was our best RB last year that does not make him our best RB next year. It is correct that we did not negotiate with Forte but I think it's a bit simplistic to say we didn't talk at all. Pace has a good feel for what's going on around the league and between some conversations with Forte's agent and feedback from around the league on what his value is likely to be I think he has a good idea of what contract Forte will command. We can't "know" this but it's easy to surmise. If the team was set on not re-signing Forte from the end of last season they'd have made this decision long ago. In fact, they could have made it clear at the last home game. They didn't. Pace waited until he had time to put his plan together for both FA and, to a lesser extent, the draft. He looked at the pro's and con's of keeping Forte at the price he is likely to command, even if there was a home town discount, and feels that we'll be better off moving in another direction. It is quite likely Forte will get at least a 3 year deal worth at $5mil/yr with half or more guaranteed. I won't be surprised if he gets quite a bit more than that considering teams like the Jaguars have $$$ and big need. They could want a solid vet to come in and anchor that spot beside their young QB while their next drafted RB learns the ropes. At some point Pace has to weigh the balance of who else he can sign with that money. I'm excited to see this news because I think it indicates we're going to be bigger player in FA than Pace indicated. If he wants an extra $4mil available it's for a reason. He's likely got several options (since you don't know which one will sign) that he views as all being better than re-signing Forte. Therefore he just bids adieu to a class act in Forte instead of leading him on. If this nets us Osemele at RG next to Long at RT then I'm a very happy camper. I'm sure Langford and Carey will be happy too.

Rds 2 and 3 kill me because I'm not a big fan of Cravens for ILB and even less of a fan of Killebrew who seemingly only wants the hard contact when it's easy (as in WR not looking his way). When it's mano-a-mano he becomes an arm tackler from the side instead of squaring up for the hit. Y'all know I prefer football players over guys with the measureables. In this case Cravens is the better football player.

I'll defer to Ashkum as his knowledge here far outweighs mine. What matters most to me is that you've been able to put together some really good drafts that hit on a lot of needs. Pace should be able to add some good talent to our roster this draft at many positions of need. We're not even considering FA which will eliminate or reduce some of these needs, and that's ok because it will introduce too many variables.

I'm also not that enamored with Cash. IIRC what I was thinking that night, he's very good around the LOS but when asked to stay in coverage he seems lost. IMO, the way the game is these days it's hard to commit to an in-the-box safety, at least in the 2nd Rd.

Saw that interview. Forte is a class act and after listening to him I'm thinking there is some middle ground where we can come to terms with him.

QB pressure doesn't necessarily have to come off the edge, there are different ways to get the job done. I don't see a Von Miller in this draft, perhaps Noah Spence although he doesn't appear to be as quick. There are guys like Buckner, Nkemdiche, Sheldon Day, Sheldon Rankins, Vernon Butler, maybe even Adolphus Washington that have inside rush ability or potential. If we can get early push up the middle our current OLB are good enough to take advantage of it. I'd still like to add more speed to the mix.

I'm late to the party so there's already Rev 2.0 and 3.0....and a 4.0! Overall this is not bad. 1) Ragland. As you know, I'm not that high on Ragland at #11 because I think he will be limited in coverage in the NFL but he will bring a toughness to our defense we don't have right now. Assuming the medical reports are accurate I too prefer to take the risk on Jaylon Smith over Ragland. 2) I like Washington, very good athlete for his size and it seems like if he used his hands better he'd be more impactful. 3) Theus. I prefer to address OG early instead of OT, and after watching Ragland run right around Theus (among other players) I'm not that enamored, plus he's not that strong on run blocking. He looks the part but I think there's more development needed than I'd like to see from a 3rd Rd pick. Here I prefer (if I use CBSSports rankings) Joshua Garnett, or maybe Landon Turner. 4) Canady. I'd like this pick a lot. Good athlete, seems like he has very good size/speed and he's a good PR. He'll contribute early on special teams while he learns how to play CB at the next level. 5) Prescott. While I've been a critic of his in the past if he's here in the 5th Rd this is a good place to take him. To his credit he has improved throughout the last two seasons. As a backup with that work ethic he might end up a good player for us. 6a) Since I already have OG filled, and I'll assume the team likes Tayo as backup RT (seeing as they kept him around last year, and now I expect Long to backup LT) then I'll take Nick Vigil ILB. 6b) Not sure about a CB who was implicated in a theft from his own teammate. How about Jordan Lucas, SS/CB out of Penn State? It worked last year. 6c) Aguayo I'm on board with this. 7) Kwiatkoski. Another ILB, yes we need them. I figure this guy will at least be a good special teams player. Throw enough darts at it and something good will happen.

I absolutely agree, Cam will learn from this and he will be back. But he'll respect what it takes to win more, and his opponents more, the next time he gets there. Reality is that Cam is there largely because he had a top 5 defense leading the way. Lost in their defeat was a phenomenal effort by the Panther's defense. On the flip side, Cam is very good when he has 3+ seconds to throw. Not so good when he doesn't, which is like most QBs in the NFL. Rare is the QB who can consistently get rid of the ball in 2 sec or less and still generate offense. The Broncos made Brady look similarly "lost" in what to do just two weeks earlier. I have no doubt if we put a top 5 defense on the field Cutler can get us to the Superbowl.

The real Cam Newton showed up to recover his fumble late in the game. It's all fun and smiles when he's winning and can show up his opponents, but when things don't go his way not so much. If Jay Cutler had his stat line in the Superbowl, including the record 10 over-thrown passes, he'd be getting blasted from all directions, including the media.

Von Miller played in one of the two Superbowls.

If the first round played like they have it I'd certainly be looking to trade down a little bit. It's an even split for me between Jack/Buckner. Knowing Wentz and Goff are both still available when we pick means teams nervous about getting their next franchise QB (Eagles, Saints, Rams) will be anxious to move up a bit and get their man. I'd be willing to drop back to any of... 12th Saints we'll still get to choose between Jack/Buckner 13th Eagles we're assure of Jack or Buckner 15th Rams need more in trade here because we get Raiders slotted at #14 and risk of missing one of our top targets goes up, but I still think Jaylon Smith will be there at #15.

Picking a QB at #11 won't make me that upset simply because our backup is bad. I don't have that much confidence in Fales but maybe he can prove me wrong in the next preseason. There is that valid argument that giving up an elite 1st Rd talent at another position just to have a backup QB for a couple years doesn't help as much as say Buckner or Jack. The flip side is that Jay usually doesn't get through an entire season and last year that meant some automatic losses. Even when he returned he wasn't nearly 100% (75% Jay was a lot better than 100% Clausen). If Pace feels a guy like Wentz or Goff can be a franchise QB in 2-3 years and he's BPA then go for it because I still think it helps us get into the playoffs in at least one of the next two seasons, if not both. If he drafts Cook at #11 then he's outta his mind. I don't see this happening as I think we're more likely to grab a QB on day 3. Now back to the question. I'll put this in the context of likely 1st Rd players at our positions of highest need. I don't want Nkemdiche. I liked him months ago after seeing him in one game where he did some impressive stuff but now I've watched other games, looked at his lack of production vs. talent, seen his lack of effort on many plays, plus the crazy jumping out the window/doesn't talk with teammates, etc. ..... and I just prefer to pass. While his ceiling might be high, his floor is far too low for me to take him at #11.

Watched some video of Spence. For comparison I found some highlights of Von Miller too. IMO Spence is not as quick off the line as Miller is, and probably not as fast. He might be stronger at the point of attack than Miller (lower level of competition in 2015 makes it tougher to assess) but we also have guys who are quite good at that aspect right now in Houston, McPhee, and Young. The need, if we go in this direction at #11, is for an elite pass rushing edge player I'm not so sure Spence will play at that level. We'll see how Spence performs at the combine or Pro Days and then we can better compare against Von Miller. Even without considering Spence's character issues and just going off what I see on the field, I still prefer the top targets I've been talking about: Myles Jack, DeForest Buckner, or Ronnie Stanley. http://www.nfl.com/combine/profiles/von-miller?id=2495202.

If he's firm on that then no way Pace signs him. But it does depend on how much he wants up front too. If it were a straight $5mil/yr with zero bonus, that's still too rich for me as I'm guessing his deal should be in the $2-3mil/yr range, but I'd go on the high side if there's no bonus. Given his history, I would think he'd be all about the guaranteed money.

http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/draft/mock-dr...expert/rob-rang

That's why I put the link, rumor is the knee was not damaged as badly as initially thought and he'll be ready to play in Week 1. If he does there is no way he'll be 100% but he'd likely be there around Nov. Smith at 80-90% is probably still better than the players we had at 100%.

Noah Spence lit up the Senior Bowl and he's exactly what we don't have on defense at OLB. I expect that what Von Miller did only further elevated Spence's value around the league. I'm wondering what thoughts are about him? He will likely be there at #11 although that's not entirely certain if he stays out of trouble the next few months. He won't be there when we draft in Rd 2. I don't see Pace going this route after what he went through with Ratliff, McDonald, and then the injury to White. White's situation is clearly different with the injury but the last thing Pace needs is back to back 1st Rd picks that have issues. I think he goes a safer route and at #11 should have some good options. For the same reason I don't see us taking Nkemdiche.

Looks like we'll have to put Jaylon Smith back in the conversation for our pick at #11... http://nflmocks.com/2016/01/29/latest-jayl...p-of-nfl-draft/

http://www.scout.com/nfl/bears/story/16367...or-bowl-players Others to add to the list: DE Jihad Ward DE Quinton Jefferson ILB Antonio Morrison FB Dan Vitale (I like the idea of adding him to our backfield as a 6th Rd pick) ILB Reggie Ragland

There are three combinations I'd be happy with... 1st preference: If Buckner and Butler fall to us in the the first two rounds that would be awesome. I know our current DEs are serviceable but these two paired up with Goldman would put our Dline among the best in the NFL in 2017. I expect they'll need a year to settle in and learn some things much like Goldman went through. When they do get it figured out, who do you double team and how do you run up the middle? (Buckner/Butler) 2nd preference: It's possible that Myles Jack falls to us in the 1st due to injury concerns plus the QBs like Wentz rising. Jaylon Smith could be there in the 2nd Rd because of the knee injury. I'd take that combo at ILB. (Jack/Smith) 3rd preference: The more people watch Ragland, the more he drops. CBS had him at #32 today so some of his lackadaisical plays and/or limitations in pass coverage are catching up to him despite his head coach's insistence that he's a 1st Rd pick. Having said that, if we ended up with a combination of Jack/Ragland we'd be a heck of a lot better on defense and I'd be ok with that combo since Jack can handle the majority of the coverage responsibilities, to the point he could cover a slot receiver. (Jack/Ragland) -------- I'm not that enamored with Scooby Wright even in the 2nd Rd. I've watched a few UofA games over the years, he never jumped out at me. He's a good college player but I don't recall the wow plays that made me think he'll be a stud at the next level. Doesn't mean there haven't been some, I just don't remember them. I haven't seen it in the videos I've watched recently either.

Retiring while still at the top of the league. Seems like a theme among Lions great players since Barry Sanders did the same years ago. Johnson was Stafford's security blanket (he'd be that for any QB with common sense) and without that big target to bail him out I think we see his production drop quite a bit and an increase in INTs. Although it's good for us from a division standpoint, this is a loss for all football fans. Johnson has been a class act and produced a lot of "wow" moments in his career.

I don't see anyway Robinson goes before Buckner. Every time I watch video of his games I keep wondering what all the hype is about. I've gone back twice to re-watch and see if it's me who has the problem and I still don't see "it". Now I see his teammate Reed, who impressed me more in the championship game, moving up ahead of him. FWIW, I feel the same way about Oakman. For all the supposed athletic ability he has I don't see much dominance. With some players in these situations I might think it's a lack of technique but I don't get that feeling with these guys. That makes me prefer to go with the football player (not the athlete) who has consistent production on the field. 1) Buckner 2) Whitehair OG My preference is to sign Osemele in FA but we don't know these things so OG is a huge need and this guy stood up to everyone at the Senior Bowl. 3) Braxton Miller PR/KR/WR They have him in the 4th Rd but IMO, if he's sitting here in the 3rd Rd, the value now fits so we just take him and move on from Marquess Wilson and especially Mariani. Give him a couple seasons to learn how to be a WR and down the road he'll take over from Eddie Royal. Kevin White, Jeffrey, Miller, and Royal on the field at the same time is a tough cover for a defense. 4) Harlan Miller CB http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2611508...enior-bowl-week Miller was a favorite of mine due to his film against small-school competition, but pre-Senior Bowl he ranked at No. 102 on my board. Seeing him against top-tier receivers all week—and comparing him to the other FBS cornerbacks also on the field—Miller looks like a Day 2 cornerback with top-75 potential. 5) Kevin Hogan QB He always gives me a couple... "where the hell was that pass going?" in each game but also, in the same game, there are the .... "that was a damn good pass." I don't know which one we'll get but there's enough there against a high level of competition to make it worth seeing if a good QB coach can figure it out. 6a) Roberto Aguayo K If he's there in the 6th Rd this is a no-brainer. Might be a no-brainer in the 5th if we had a better Nick Vigil ILB (he's not even on their board but he fits a need and his name will show up sooner or later, he's too good of an athlete. Probably came out a year early) I'm gambling here because I can't find hardly any highlights of him but what little I've seen shows a guy who is good in space and has a nose for the ball. And he plays some RB in the redzone. http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/draft/players...9597/nick-vigil 6b) Nick Vigil ILB He's not even on the list but his name will show up sooner or later in the draft chatter. He's too athletic, probably came out a year early but we can take advantage of that. http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/draft/players...9597/nick-vigil 6c) Nick Vannett TE (possible 3rd Rd talent still on the board? Pair him up with Miller and get ready to bid adieu to Marty in 2017) http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/draft/players...22/nick-vannett 7) Nick Kwiatkoski ILB Don't know much about him other than he's labeled as a tackling machine at a position of need. Nobody ever called our current LB's tackling machines (except Timu in college) so why not throw him in mix? At least he might be a tackling machine on special teams and we definitely need one there. Can he cover in the passing game? I see a couple highlights where he tracks down a RB from behind so there might be enough athleticism there to cover, at least as a backup ILB. In any case Vigil will be the primary cover ILB.