AZ54

Great playoffs, great Stanley Cup series, great win by the Blackhawks. After being on the ropes a decade ago, hockey is on the rise again!

I wonder if they think he's not worth the headaches he causes?

I think you are referring to Terry Williams? Dan Williams was the FA from the Cards who I think signed with the Raiders. I agree there is some potential with Terry Williams but he's 6' tall and isn't likely to have the leverage to get off blocks in the NFL and he isn't quick. He comes with some character concerns too. If Bryant's price is getting closer to vet min I'd take him in heartbeat. He'll give us nothing more than a stout run defense across the 3-man front but you just don't find pass rushers this late in FA. At least if we can stop the run on defense we'll be 50% better than we were last season. We also have UDFA Olsen Pierre on the roster. He's a taller run stuffer (6'5) more in the DE style of the 3-4 we're going to but seems like a project.

The FA I'm more interested in is DT Red Bryant. He's just a run stopper but he could be in a rotation and provide solid depth with Goldman at NT. That would free up guys like Ratliff and Ego Ferguson to just focus on DE. The fact his former Seahawks DC, and now Jaguars HC, let him go after just one year on a $31million contract is concerning. Judging by his stats he didn't play very well last year. I expect Bryant was looking for some big money initially after being cut in March but pretty soon he's going to start wanting a job, any job in the NFL. Your value as a player never goes up if you sit out a year.

Not even a position switch because if it was he'd have been there from the first practices. This is more giving him some reps in case injuries during the season means keeping our best Oline combo on the field has Long at RT.

To borrow a phrase from a famous seargent: I know nothing. I watched a highlight film and can tell he doesn't have breakaway speed but seems to run routes well and has good hands. He's going to compete for the bottom end of the roster or practice squad. I do like some of his hustle plays on blocking that show up late on this link below. He'll need that attitude to make it in the NFL. He' probably quicker in/out of his cuts, with his first step, than Cameron Meredith is. We know the Bears were one of 8 teams in attendance at NAU's pro day so they got a first hand look at him before they brought him in for the tryouts. He made it through the tryout and got a contract offer so kudos to Ify. http://www.catscratchreader.com/2015/3/13/...ro-day-round-up

Of course we like him, he's 6' 3" tall. Kevin White 6-3 Alshon Jeffrey 6-3 Cameron Meredith 6-3 Ify Umodu 6-3 Marquess Wilson 6-4 Gotta wonder how Eddie Royal feels at just 5-10

Willie will return to action at some point this season but I don't see anyway he will be the same player this season. That injury is very tough to come back from quickly. We'll hang onto him for now but I'd say he's very likely to start the season on the PUP list. If we have found some good backup players at OLB by that time he might not ever see the field with the Bears again. Finding quality depth on a roster still searching for quality starters isn't likely so he should have a good chance to play for us in the 2nd half of the season. I hope he hangs on because I really like how he plays the game but he's was limited in what he could do in the pass rush and that won't be better coming back from this injury.

I watched a lot of Carey and Rodgers when they were in college. I always admired both for their toughness despite their size disadvantage. I would take Carey in heartbeat over Rodgers as a RB. He's a tough quick inside runner that just keeps coming at you. Rodgers style was more based on making guys miss but once he bulked up for the NFL he hasn't had the same quickness he had in college. Rodgers, I assume, has the advantage in pass protection based on what I've read. Neither guy will run away from many players in the NFL. Carey will also have to be a better contributor on special teams if he's to stick. I wouldn't count him out at all, not even from the #2 RB slot. We're assuming Langford owns the #2 slot but that's not a given for a rookie. Are we going to more of a zone blocking scheme that fits quick cutback runners with good vision? Carey will look good in that situation IMO. Langford will likely be the best special teams player of the 3 backup RBs so he can hold down a roster spot one way or another. I totally agree that Langford's style is very similar to Forte's. Of the 4 guys on the roster I'd say Carey would be the best one to give the ball to on 4th and goal from the 1, he's the guy who finds that little crease down low and drives through it. We don't exactly have anyone that is stellar at that situation so keep that in mind, nor is that enough to keep a job in the NFL.

I don't think it's bad but we're projecting quite a bit of improvement from Ferguson and Goldman is a complete unknown. Plus which Jared Allen are we getting and will he really adapt well to the new role early in the season? Behind them we have two new MLB who are completely new to the scheme. I actually worry less about the DBs because Fuller will be fine on the outside, likely Jennings too. Rolle will be what he has always been and Mundy was solid last year.

He has all the traits you look for. On his tackling he said he was told during the pre-draft process that he wasn't very physical. He said that was a change because earlier in his career he was told he was too physical when tackling. We'll see what get soon but with just one year at safety he's going to need time to develop. http://www.scout.com/nfl/bears/story/15508...under-the-radar

Nothing I hear about the Bears feels that much different that what I hear about the Cards out here in AZ every offseason. Maybe because it's a bigger market so there are more people competing in the news and reporting space. For all the hype you here there is also a huge amount of angst that Cutler is still our QB.

This guy is very powerful. He's going to improve our run D the minute he's on the field. Pass rush not so sure about but if he can learn to push the pocket it will be a big help for the guys coming off the edge.

Hoiberg it is.

The entire league does this we just don't read every little tidbit about other team's players. It's the offseason for a league in which one team will almost always go from last place in their division to first place.

He's put in a lot of time and effort. Not only that, I like his introspective approach toward improving those things he wasn't doing well at. I'm looking forward to seeing what he can do in preseason. http://www.scout.com/nfl/bears/story/15500...te-ego-ferguson

If it's a straight up trade of Wilkerson for Bennett I'd make that deal in a heart beat. I'll figure out the money one way or another. Forte is open to a new deal that lowers his cap hit. Not sure how much lower but there is a few million potential there. Losing Bennett takes another $3.8mil off the books in 2015 and $6mil in 2016. Figure Jared Allen is gone next year but even if he is around we have $41mil in cap space for 2016. Without Allen add another $8.5mil in cap space. FWIW I doubt we'll be paying Tim Jennings $5.7mil in 2016. Willie Young might not fit in the new scheme so if cut in 2016 he frees up another $2.5mil. Without too much effort we'll have almost $60mil in cap space for 2016 and we can fit in Wilkerson along with Jeffrey and Kyle Long new contracts. The highest 3-4DT contracts are Cofield $6mil/yr and Paea $5.2mil/year both on the Redskins. If you start looking at 4-3 DTs then we're talking $10-13mil (leave out Suh of course). Wilkerson is going to slot in somewhere between those two groups and it might be a perfect swap for Allen's cap hit in 2016. I don't want to lose Marty but Wilkerson is a game changing interior Dlineman and I value that more than a good TE. In other words, although they play different positions, I think Wilkerson has more impact on a game than Bennett.

I"m glad Thibs is gone and I'm not sure why it took so long after the last loss. He's a good coach but there are better coaches. The way the team played against the Bucks and Cavs was horrible. Why was he double teaming LeBron out beyond the 3pt line with his center? All LeBron did was wait for the double team then pass to the wide open shooters who kept hitting 3's, or they'd kick it inside to big guys who had easy layups. Gasol is not nearly as good of an interior defender so leaving him to cover two players inside does not work. At some point Thibs should have realized this isn't working but he kept with it well into the 4th quarter and right to the end of the last game. LeBron was laughing at it because we just kept on doing it. Jimmy Butler was doing just fine guarding LeBron so no need to constantly leave shooters wide open like that. Other things I'm tired of is the same offensive play run over and over and over. Plus his teams never figured out how to run a pick and roll. If you are going to always do a pick and roll with your PG way up high then it's really helpful to do it with a big guy who can shoot outside. Noah is a great passer but he's not making anyone worry about his shot 20 ft from the basket. Why not run this more with Gasol? Noah is a great garbage man around the rim and needs to be setting the screens down low so he can stay where he is most effective. He's also a great interior passer giving him the ball in the post he can still be effective passing to cutting players. Derek Rose never learned how to setup the picks right either so somebody needs to get in his ear and tell him to quit leaving so early before the pick is set. That's high school basketball stuff. I don't think Thibs would get on him as he should have, or maybe Rose doesn't listen. Either way we need a new coach who can get these guys playing together on offense better than they have been the last few seasons. We've made it far to easy for other teams to play defense. Enough venting....I just think there more than can be done with the roster we had and it's time to find someone better. My only worry is that the leading candidate is Fred Hoiberg who has built my Cyclones back to an annual top 25 team.

Martellus had issues with the plays last year and not being in OTAs to learn a new playbook isn't going to help him. Don't think the new Bears brass aren't aware of his suspension during training camp last year. They aren't going to commit more money to him without seeing him work first. His issues with the plays early last year resulted in a couple INTs. Of course Cutler got the blame but IMO Bennett ran the routes wrong or read the coverage wrong. For his part, Martellus has to know we aren't throwing the ball his way as much this year as we did last year so he won't have those high numbers again. I can't say I blame him for trying but I think his strategy is the wrong one.

Not giving up next year's 4th. I'd rather just sit back and see what shakes out from the competition among the players we already have on the roster.

I think he's done. We need to get better but more importantly we need to get younger and better. We're not challenging for anything this season.

He should fire his agent. The goal should have been to get him drafted in the 1st Rd despite this issue. If not there, then the 2nd Rd or 3rd Rd. The agent is now telling us his client did nothing wrong but his goal all along was to get him to UDFA status. Nothing but sour grapes here and an agent who suddenly realizes he'll be explaining all this to potential clients next year.

I agree he started out decently but he never made that improvement you expect to see after the first year. I still think we need to temper expectations. He's a good depth signing but he'll have competition to make the final roster.

I think Acho is over-rated here by Bears fans. Can't find a single Cardinal fan here in AZ who misses him. He might make the roster but he's far from a lock to make it. Do not overlook Fabuluje at RT. The guy is a beast and he now has his weight down so his mobility should be improved. If he takes to the coaching we might have ourselves a nice player for many years to come.

Please read the sentence that says "you have no way to prove how a particular player's use of steroids affected the outcome of a particular game." That is totally different from the fact I believe steroids improve a players performance in the game, and does influence the outcome on the field on some plays. The discussion here is around what the Patriots fan's say: Prove it helped him or the team. Likewise, Jason's point is that we cannot tell the difference in these footballs therefore since we fans cannot tell the difference even if he did cheat it simply doesn't matter. To that I say good luck proving steroids helped someone make a tackle, or catch a particular pass, or run for a TD. We know those performance improvements affect the game even if we can discern exactly in which way. If Tom Brady, as per his own statements, prefers footballs with less air pressure, then it is logical to assume that improved his performance in those games where that was done. If nothing else it made him more comfortable in his work environment when throwing a pass, an advantage he should not have had. Whether or not it would improve my performance; whether or not I can prove it helped him and his team, or whether or not I can tell the difference in the footballs is as irrelevant to the argument as it would be if we were talking about steroids. I can no more prove how it helped Brady and his team in the game than I could prove how one player using steroids altered a game. Do you or anyone else have data about how fast that player ran without steroids? how well he could tackle before and after? No. You just know that those things do affect a game. In the same way we know, from Brady's own words, that lower air pressure improved his ability to throw. Similarly, we can't prove how a GM texting to the coaches on the field helped their team. The GM was still punished because he violated the rules. We can't prove how the Falcons use of fake crowd noise affected their games but they were punished as well. We know crowd noise can affect games but it doesn't always affect every play. Nonetheless we accept that it was wrong because it might have affected one play, and that play might have won the game. Why can't we accept that a QB who says he throws better with lower air pressure in the footballs had an advantage when the air pressure was in fact low ...even if we can't prove exactly what that advantage was?