AZ54

I think he stays. I'm with Jason in that he didn't blow the doors off this year. He was highly touted the year prior after working with Peyton Manning. A year later without him, and he's average. Now, we all think he's done well given a) Cutler and the injuries at WR and Oline. However, I don't think around the league the owners and GMs see that. GMs might notice what he's done this year moreso than owners but any current GM hiring a HC is likely on thin ice themselves. They must sell the new HC candidate to their owner. Grabbing a less-proven young guy who has only really had success with Peyton Manning, and who wasn't even selected as HC at his current organization (Chicago), is not likely to impress an owner. Head Coach is a much different role than OC and what you need in that role is different from a skill and leadership standpoint. Add in that this is a copy cat league. Who is successful? The Belichick coaching tree has been picked over and born very little fruit but his guys are always on the list. Years ago teams wanted the up and coming young guy ala Tomlin, who had a lot of success very early. However, a month ago I read an article that indicated people felt the better way to go now was the veteran coach who had been around a variety of different situations and still found success. Your lead example in this scenario is Bruce Arians in Arizona who was basically retired before he came back to work at Indy. Toss in Pete Carroll in Seattle, something of an NFL retread when Seattle brought him in. On the flip side to that argument is Todd Bowles who is successful this year with the Jets.....but he came from Arians' organization. Gase came here with Fox after they got fired in Denver because they couldn't win it all with Peyton Manning and a lot of money put into the best FA for defense. Their replacements have taken Denver with a backup QB into the playoffs (I know Manning wasn't good early on). I don't think all this puts Gase at the top of the HC candidate list. He'll get some phone calls and interviews I just think at the end of the process people will feel he's a year or two away. He's only been an OC for 3 years now which is not a lot of experience. We need to keep in mind that Gase withdrew from the 49ers search last year so he's smart enough to understand he wants to be at the right spot as a HC. To help keep him from being blacklisted for being too picky, if he's pursued by an organization he's not comfortable with I think Fox would "promote" him and change his title to Assistant HC. Fangio is the guy that fits the veteran coach who has been successful at a few stops better than Gase yet apparently he's not being mentioned around the league right now. He likely needs to turn the Bears into a top defense before he'll get consideration again. "Only two coaches in history have been hired off losing seasons" .... http://mmqb.si.com/mmqb/2015/12/30/nfl-hea...st-black-monday

I don't see Acho providing much in terms of pass rush and he's not that good in coverage. He can defend the run ok but somewhere among our next group of OLB we need someone who has speed around the edge. I know McPhee isn't going anywhere, Young has played well enough of late to earn his keep. Houston might be a bit on the outside given his somewhat high contract but he's been at or near the top of tackles/gm in the last 4-6 weeks and has had some decent pass rushes at times. I think those 3 players stay.

I think this is largely colored by the way Urlacher was shown the door. There are plenty of former Bears who are still actively working with the organization in a variety of capacities.

In the order of highest salary: http://overthecap.com/free-agency/chicago-bears/ Forte: All depends on what he wants but I wouldn't go over $3mil/yr and I wouldn't commit to a big bonus either. I like having him around for his leadership with the younger guys but he's just part of the platoon next season. Ball: goodbye SMC: I would bring him back simply because we have nothing here and having a guy around who knows the defense and can call the plays is helpful. I would bring in a FA and use a 1st or 2nd Rd pick on ILB. In other words SMC would be at best #2 and more likely #3/4 on the roster and contract I'd offer to him would reflect that. OTOH if he goes he goes. Mundy: I say let him go. I don't see a scenario where he is part of the 2-3year plan and I like the athleticism of Jones-Quartey better. I think JQ can develop into a good backup safety for us. Jeffrey: Can't let go of a Pro Bowl WR when we have so much unknown behind him. A deal will get done that is fair to both sides. Montgomery: I like him and he played better for us than I expected but if Grasu is the future then I don't see any scenario we would want Montgomery back. Any backup center (likely Slauson anyway at this point) will have to also be a backup OG and that isn't part of Montgomery's makeup. Besides that I'd like to see us get stronger at the LOS. Porter: For the right price I'm ok with bringing him back for a 2-3 year deal, but not at guaranteed starter money. At times he plays very well, others he is so far off in coverage he's useless. Not sure which guy will show up on which play, or in which game. If he's back he's part of the competition for a starting job. Jenkins: He was good in the first 4 games then as the season wore on he tailed off. He's decent depth on the roster and that's all we should pay him. If he leaves I think he's replaceable as Pace showed when he found productive players mid-season. Ducasse: goodbye McManis: Time to move on. He regressed in coverage skills when asked to do more man and hasn't stood out as much on special teams. Jacquizz Rodgers: He did enough early on to earn the backup role. I see no reason to not give him another 1 year deal and let him compete. Sherrod Martin: Can't remember him doing anything at the safety position so time to move on. Unrein: Sign him to a 2-3 year deal with a some guaranteed money. He's a hard working player and is the type of player you want to fill out the bottom end of the roster. Prosinski: Sign him. He's not starter material at safety but he's at least serviceable there. More importantly once he got on the special teams our coverage improved significantly. We need him back covering kicks again and knowing that your special teams ace can at least fill in spot duty if needed at S is a plus. Acho: Goodbye. Haven't seen enough good things might as well find someone younger and faster to fill this spot. Housler: I'd bring him back on another 1 year deal and let him compete for a roster spot. Nothing to lose IMO. Miller: Definitely bring him back Deonte Thompson: Bring him back to compete for a job as returner. The fact he can only return kickoffs means he needs some competition as the returner. If he has a full offseason to learn the offense I like the idea of having his speed and quickness out there moreso than Mariani. Mariani: Goodbye Bellamy: Bring him back. Nothing to lose LaRoy Reynolds: He might be back on 1 year deal but I haven't been impressed at all so I prefer to see someone else take this roster spot. Nick Becton: If you haven't yet been able to get involved in the turnstile at RG by now you probably will never earn that chance. Omameh: I expected more consistent play from him and too often he had poor technique. He's not expensive ($500k) so if he's back on a 1yr deal to compete for a job that's ok I just hope someone else wins the job.

I can believe it, not sure I agree with it. He'll certainly get better with an entire offseason to work on his technique but I like having the Pro Bowler at RG.

Not sure if this is the right thread for this but I noticed this week that the top 2 QBs in the draft have both moved into the top 10: Paxton Lynch and Jared Goff based on Drafttek. http://www.drafttek.com I think Goff will hold that after the strong showing in his bowl game. Although Air Force didn't get any pressure on him and that IMO is his biggest weakness. Dallas added some excitement to the QB prognostications when Jerry Jones said he absolutely has to look at a getting a better backup QB this year. This from an owner who wanted Manziel a couple seasons ago. I don't think after this season's issues with Romo he'll be persuaded to go after any other position in Rd 1. He's drafting early (unexpectedly) and he'll want his next franchise QB in place. Although QBs always rise higher than they should this is a significant change that greatly helps us. Previously only Lynch was consistently showing in the top 10. This makes it much more likely that either a top LB, CB, or even OT prospect falls to us. If we're outside the top 10 I doubt we'll see Stanley fall to us. LT tend to go early too. Generally it is ILB types that aren't as coveted and 1 or 2 of these players could easily fall to us. Ragland isn't even listed in Drafttek's top 20 anymore but I think that changes if he runs well at the combine. A previous late 1st Rd or early 2nd Rd option I liked, Jonathan Bullard, has skyrocketed all the way up to #13! WTF

Cleveland traded a Hall of Fame player for just a 3rd and 6th Rd pick? Atkins went on to the Pro Bowl 8 of 9 seasons in Chicago. Talk about a steal, Halas had to love that deal. Cleveland's misery goes back a lot further than I realized. "The Browns traded Atkins and Ken Gorgal to the Chicago Bears for a third-round and a sixth-round pick in the 1956 NFL draft.[4][5] In Chicago, Atkins quickly became the leader of a devastating defensive unit. With the Bears, Atkins was a First Team All-Pro selection in 1958, 1960, 1961, and 1963; along with being a starter in the Pro Bowl in eight of his last nine years with Chicago. "

You are very correct about Chicago and the opportunity for extra money in that city, not just now but even long term if he's an elite star in the likes of Urlacher. If he can't see that writing on that wall he's got to be totally blind. I think Alshon has always been a level-headed guy regarding who or what he is as a player and i don't think he'll be pushing to get a "top 5" deal. Alshon is clearly capable of 1500yd seasons and if I were Pace that's where I'd put down some big incentive $$ for him to achieve. You have to stay healthy to hit that mark.

I'm not so sure that is accurate. Lovie had a ton of roster control after he got his second contract. OTOH Pace was adamant that he would absolutely retain control over player personnel when questioned during the coaching search. Given all the shuffling of the roster this season there is no doubt that 1) Fox has complete control over who plays and who doesn't and 2) Pace and Fox work closely together on roster moves. While it might appear Fox is making the calls it could also be they see eye-to-eye on evaluations. When you start looking at the turnover at the bottom of the roster I think that is absolutely led by Pace. Going back to the last draft I felt it was clearly Pace making the final decisions. So far I think it's been very good and has produce solid results for a first year rebuild, especially considering we didn't have a lot to work with in cap space last offseason. This year, this offseason, was the plan all along made clear by all the 1 year prove-it deals we did last year, and the silence on future talks for guys like Forte, Jeffrey, and Long.

No surgery required, should be ready for the Superbowl parties. I like putting Jeffrey on IR. Kinda puts him out of our misery for a week and even though it's just for one week this takes his bargaining power down just a notch.

For Mariota's sake I hope he doesn't end up there. I think Mariota can develop into a top 15, maybe top 10 QB in the NFL in a pro style offense. If Chip goes there he'll have him running all over the field. Marietta might get some good numbers for a couple seasons in that system but he won't last physically. Mentally that will just see his development way back.

Apparently Belichick and Brady haven't had your memo for several years and this is just one player's impact: http://espn.go.com/blog/statsinfo/post/_/i...e-without-gronk

Would you really rather defend Forte on a screen pass or Langford? Let me phrase it this way, which one is more likely to take the ball 60+ yards and score a TD? Forte is a very good and versatile player who is getting older and slowing down. Unlike Langford next year will not be better for him.

Great question.... Among all players I think Amos has impressed the most. Biggest disappointment I'll stick with Ratliff. After being called our only good Dlineman in training camp his actions and release were very disappointing.

I know that you know you can't coach a 4.6 guy into a 4.3 guy. So yes, coaching can take players that have similar physical traits and make one better over the other, if the player has the right mental traits needed to learn from that coaching. After that you must get elite physical talent at a few spots on the field. On the other side of argument Jason and Connor are both right. Losing does give the team a higher probability of finding those elite players. Yet the organization from front office through coaches can only and absolutely preach winning is everything. Once you open that door that losing in this circumstance was ok then each person below you in that organization opens that door a little wider. Eventually that translates to players feeling it was ok to "lose" on this play or possession because i'll win on the next play or series. Fact is New England looked unbeatable until a few players were lost to injury and then the Eagles beat them. The difference from the middle of this league to top is just a few players.

The franchise tag is an easy decision as we all know. If we end having Alshon play on that deal for one year then that's ok. We have the cap space and it gives us another year to see if he's handling his health issues better and deserve the big money deal. If not, we move on. It also gives us the opportunity to trade him if a good deal shows up. You never know someone might throw a late 1st RD pick at us, plus something later. I haven't really looked at WR in the draft but a quick scan at CBSSports shows only two WR in the top 32. The 2nd WR listed is just 5'10". So this draft is not like the last couple years for WRs. If Alshon were drafted again there is zero doubt he'd be a 1st Rd pick. Still, a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush so I think keeping Alshon around for at least a couple years makes the most sense and we hope the coaches and training staff get him setup right for the future. The prospect of having Alshon and White on opposite sides is too enticing. I see Pace willing to pay a little more per year in exchange for the team having a way out if Jeffrey's injury woes continue and I think Jeffrey takes that deal.

If the Jets want any hope of getting a deal done with Wilkerson they pretty much have to come out and say this in advance. It let's him know they are serious about a long term deal and (more likely) let's other team's know they are wasting their time pursuing him. We know they don't have a franchise QB, they hired Todd Bowles, they drafted Leonard Williams, so it seems clear they have every intention of winning through their defense. Doesn't mean it will happen but keeping him around has to be on their wish list.

Merry Christmas to my fellow Bear fans!

Jets have $14mil in cap space this offseason but that is with losing QB Fitzpatrick, DE Wilkerson, OLB Pace, DT Harrison, RB Ivory, RB Powell and a bunch of other players. http://overthecap.com/free-agency They'll have to make some tough decisions and I can't see them letting go of Fitzpatrick after he's led them into playoff contention. If anything they'll have to pay him more than this year's $3.6mil. I don't remember how using the franchise tag affects salary cap space in the offseason but I have to think tagging Wilkerson will be challenging for them.

You might be onto something here. http://nep.247sports.com/Bolt/Jets-Damon-H...nt-for-42237685 You don't get many words out of Belichick when discussing any player but he had a lot to say about Harrison. He'd be much cheaper than Wilkerson (and for sure he'll be available). Park him in the middle on run downs, move Goldman out to the DE position, and then backfill the other side with whoever wins out among Jenkins (I think we should re-sign him), Sutton, Ferguson, Unrein. We still need a pass rusher at DE and I think we're hoping Washington fills that role. They seemed to want to keep him around despite his injury instead of doing an injury settlement. He'll have had a year to settle into his new playing weight and the new role. We'll see what he can do in camp. Toss in a mid-round draft pick if they want or even a guy like Wolfe or Malik Jackson and move on from Jenkins. Plenty of cheap options here. Somewhere out of that we should have a pretty good group centered around Goldman and Harrison. Take some of that money we'd spend on Wilkerson and use it on Eric Berry if he's healthy. Berry paired with Amos would be our best safety combo in a long time. I'm still focused on fixing ILB in Rd 1, along with signing Trevathan. Keep Timu (if he continues his progress), and if they want bring SMC back as depth to compete while the rookie settles in. Rd 2 and 3 can then go to finding Oline and pass rush help at OLB. ...and we'd still have a lot of cap space.

Wach Timu beat SMC to the ball... http://www.chicagobears.com/multimedia/vid...4b-1914e89e8ce8

I agree, losing Brandon likely had Alshon a bit upset. Next offseason he'll be able to work with a hard-working young man names Kevin White, plus a veteran in Eddie Royal. Now they've gotten to know each other whereas last summer there was no relationship there.

1) We don't have a dominant OLB and we likely won't have one in 2016 via FA or the draft. Likewise we do not have a dominant Dline although they are good and should see some improvement in talent this offseason. We will likely do something at ILB in FA but we could use more help than one player and after Trevathan there is a talent drop off. 2) I grew up watching highlights of Butkus blow up RBs. Watched Singletary in the 80's dominate the box area. Later I watched Urlacher's speed dominate offenses by making plays sideline to sideline and sometimes 20 yards downfield. 3) I want another great ILB. You can't predict greatness but I'll settle for a really good ILB. This is the draft where our biggest need (two ILB) among all positions meets 3 players who are ranked anywhere from #5 to #20, on CBSSports all three are ranked #13 or higher. 4) No point looking a gift horse in the mouth as far as I'm concerned. By that I mean the probability that we will get one of those 3 players where we draft is very high. That gives us some assurance that we can use FA to prioritize other needs like Oline, S, and Dline. Given all the cap space we have I don't think that precludes us from pursuing Trevathan either. If one of these 3 ILB are there we take him and now with Trevathan ILB goes from biggest weakness to a strength. In the unlikely event all 3 are gone when we pick then somebody fell to us and drafting him should be a no-brainer.

Here's my plan: Rd 1) Ragland. Since the focus of this is run defense I'm choosing the best ILB for that right now. In FA I re-sign SMC and I sign Trevathan. Let the three compete to see who starts but we'll have the depth we need. Rd 1a) I'm trading Martellus Bennett and swapping our 2nd Rd pick to move backup into the 1st RD to take DeForest Buckner. He falls a bit because of concerns about his pass rushing but he's a 2-gap run-stopping stud with the length and agility to improve his pass rushing skills with proper coaching. Rd 3) Kyler Fackrell. He's a 6'5" 250lb OLB with the edge quickness we don't have in our current mix of OLB. He has the length to get off blocks well in the running game but needs more strength. In the meantime, he's more of a 3rd down specialist as he learns the game and, since this is about fixing our run defense, that means our better run defending OLB get some rest for 1st and 2nd down. Fackrell can run and cover in the open field as well, something we really don't have among our OLB. There aren't many highlights on Fackrell and in some cases you can't even find his name but I'm betting by the time we hit the draft he'll be better known because he's a good athlete. CBSSports has him listed at 113 overall but before his knee injury in 2014 he was looked at as top 60 prospect. Before the 2014 season, and his knee injury, Kiper had him as the #18 prospect overall. As a side note, I was about 10min into researching him before I realized he went to high school with my kids and led their football team to the state championship. He played QB, RB, WR, DB, KR, and PR. First time I can remember watching someone play a lot of high school games and then seeing him come back around for the draft.

I kinda take all this as the beginning of the offseason smoke screen. If other teams don't know where Long is playing next year it's harder to predict our draft. In general this team hasn't strayed far from what we see so I can't really see them moving Long to LT when in fact Leno has been good there, better than Long has played at RT IMO. Long at LT might have been tossed out there just in case we sign someone at RT in FA. If I were Pace and company I'd leave this all right where it is no matter how much the fans and media want to know.