AZ54

Why then did Blank keep a GM who has failed to rebuild a defense for the last 3 years? A GM who gave up a lot to draft to get Julio Jones. Granted he's working out but that was an all-in move designed to get them to the Superbowl and it failed in a big way. I'm happier the Bears are being more decisive and cleaning out both levels at the same time. Start fresh.

I'd live with a trade of BMarshall if we go that route simply because I will defer to the new GM but I prefer not to do that. He's still a stud WR and we are going to have average to good Qb play, or worse if Cutler leaves, and having big quality WRs especially for the red zone situations is preferred. That should not stop us from adding more speed to the group and we will also have Marquess Wilson in the mix next year. I'm perfectly happy going LT in Rd 1. I don't see how that's coddling to Cutler, it's making our team better. Peat is a big man, the type who moves people backwards at will but he's got the quickness in his feet to handle speed off the edge. He also plays with the attitude I love to see on the Oline. Line him up next to Slausson right now and put Long/Bushrod on the right and we'll be running when we get off the bus. That's exactly what we need to do while we try to figure out this QB situation over the next few seasons.

Absolutely no to Bryce Petty. If we go mid-round QB I prefer Sean Mannion. Before that I'd prefer to drop back and take the risk on Winston. We probably would have to take Winston at #7 if we want him. At least the talent is there and maturity may show up down the road. That debate is going to rage for the next 4 months.

When you set it up so that your best candidate is your last interview you are setting the stage for a quick hiring decision should things work out as expected. Ballard canceling visits to other teams indicates there is a strong desire on his part to let the Bears know he's all in. Ballard worked with the team for 12 years, and at a very high level. That builds a strong personal relationship among owners/management and him. I wouldn't be surprised if the Bears haven't already conducted an extensive phone interview with Ballard and Wed is really the second interview. It's odd twist that on one hand we've been frustrated that DeCosta wouldn't interview for other jobs yet our top candidate Ballard has taken a somewhat similar tact focusing solely on the Bears.

I wanted the guy from the Ravens, DeCosta. I think that's the best run franchise in terms of consistently putting a talented team on the field season after season. They have about 8 players left from their 2012 Superbowl team and they are still back in the playoffs. They do it with a QB who I consider to be on par with Cutler as opposed to organizations that rely on their superstar QBs to make it happen year after year.

When Emery came on board, and then when Lovie was fired, we saw some of our best talents leave the organization. Ballard was promoted then decided to leave a year later because he reportedly wanted to work with someone else. Marinelli was offered the DC job and after a week or so he chose to leave town for a lesser job with the Cowboys. Toub had our special teams at the top of the league year after year and when Lovie was gone he was offered a job to stick around. After a week or so he left town to take the same job in another city. Clearly something with Emery and Trestman made some good coaches and talent evaluators leave town. Now we have rumors of Ballard being our next GM and just as suddenly there are reports from several media outlets that Toub could be a our next HC. It's hard for me to have much of an opinion on any GM candidate unless they are experience because their work is behind the scenes and we only hear reports of their successes (i.e. drafted Tillman). If Toub ends up our new HC I'm ok with that. He always had discipline and good schemes on his special teams. I think he'd demand the same from an entire roster.

When I watched the press conference with George McCaskey and Ted Phillips I was surprised at how nervous Phillips looked. His behaviors as George spoke looked to me like that of man that just got smacked down. No words have been spoken but I sense Phillips has either been given a very short leash or more likely (since he's still there) he knows his role will be reduced once the new GM gets to town. Pure speculation on my part. Video is at the link. If you hit the link take a look at the photo and how George McCaskey is looking at Phillips. It doesn't appear to me that George wants to hand the car keys over to Ted. http://www.chicagobears.com/news/article-1...68-a96e96a1d0d7 If that's true the Bears would not and should not act like Kromer and go public with that announcement but rather just make it clear to your candidates what their level of responsibility will be and where Ted fits in the picture. I said before I don't care if Phillips manages the concession contracts, parking and sponsorship stuff, and the overall accounting for the organization. I agree with the rest here that he doesn't need to be involved in football decisions.

When I watched Petty thump my Cyclones I wasn't that impressed but I was also depressed. So I watched his game against SMU and while they scored a lot of points there is nothing on this video that says to me this is the future Bears QB. I realize that was his first game on the 2014 schedule and most teams don't look sharp in game 1. Ok, go look at the 3rd game on the schedule against mighty Buffalo. I see the same things. QB with little arm strength, inaccurate all over the field except on the short throws. Some of his throws end up in the dirt, some are over the head of his receiver. Quite a few throws off his back foot but we all know announcers only call that out when it's Jay Cutler doing it. Petty's best attribute is a quick release and that works great with all those track stars he is throwing to. When I see him play I see David Fales with one exception…Fales is very accurate on his ball placement and despite limited arm strength can fit the ball into tight windows on short routes. Unless we have Crowton as our OC again I don't want Petty. In any case we already have Fales on the roster if we go back to a college spread offense. http://draftbreakdown.com/video/bryce-petty-vs-smu-2014/ http://draftbreakdown.com/video/bryce-petty-vs-buffalo-2014/

When I watched Petty thump my Cyclones I wasn't that impressed but I was also depressed. So I watched his game against SMU and while they scored a lot of points there is nothing on this video that says to me this is the future Bears QB. I realize that was his first game on the 2014 schedule and most teams don't look sharp in game 1. Ok, go look at the 3rd game on the schedule against mighty Buffalo. I see the same things. QB with little arm strength, inaccurate all over the field except on the short throws. Some of his throws end up in the dirt, some are over the head of his receiver. Quite a few throws off his back foot but we all know announcers only call that out when it's Jay Cutler doing it. Petty's best attribute is a quick release and that works great with all those track stars he is throwing to. When I see him play I see David Fales with one exception…Fales is very accurate on his ball placement and despite limited arm strength can fit the ball into tight windows on short routes. Unless we have Crowton as our OC again I don't want Petty. In any case we already have Fales on the roster if we go back to a college spread offense. http://draftbreakdown.com/video/bryce-petty-vs-smu-2014/ http://draftbreakdown.com/video/bryce-petty-vs-buffalo-2014/

I liked Sean Mannion in the one game I watched mid-season. He looked like he had the arm strength needed to hit the out routes and was accurate in short to mid-range. Not sure about his long passes and since I only saw one game I don't know about his consistency which scouting reports say is a problem. I'd say he reminds me of Jim Miller.

That's not quite true. Lovie would trade down twice and with 4 picks in the 3rd Rd two of them would be safeties. The others would be DE and DT.

I'm pretty sure that only pertains to coaches.

I was impressed with what he did in Buffalo this year. Beat every team in the NFC North. Did it with a bad QB, and got that defense to improve as the season went along.

I don't think Bostic fits MLB. He can play there but he doesn't have the leadership or instincts to standout there.

Very smart to at least get on the list of both these candidates. We all know the GM needs to be in place first but reaching out early and letting them know we are interested is smart IMO. In years past we'd have sat back and waited until after we hired a GM before making any contact like this.

Put DE at the top of the list. We need someone fast off the edge. Washington started to show flashes before he was injured but not enough to count on going into next year.

Drafting a LT may be the best option for us at #7. I don't see Cutler going anywhere but they might find a trade partner. With, or without, Cutler the best path for offensive success on this team is improving the running game. Drafting a top LT would go a long way toward doing just that.

I think Allen stays. Houston and Young both coming off injuries leaves us with Bass, Washington and ….? Houston I think will be back too. At this point there is no value in the discussion because we don't know what scheme our new coach is going to use. If we go 3-4 on D then what value does Jared Allen have? Houston OTOH can play DE. Stay 4-3 and the opposite is true. I do agree that Jared Allen is not a full-time player. He'd be more effective with less snaps and his leadership will be needed on a young roster this offseason. Not worth the contract we signed him to but we still have to field a team and I believe veterans like Allen help a young team compete much quicker than you will see under a full rebuilding project. I don't care to see Peanut back. I think his body is done. DJ Wiliam's body is done with football too. Nobody knows when SMC is on the field so nobody will know if SMC leaves. Now that Bostic and Jones seem to have learned how to play we need to get a proper MLB on the roster and fix both safety positions and the D is ok. Greatness will never come until we get a pass rush and I think that is 2-3 years away.

Yes but can they get off the bus running?

I finally got a chance to see the press conference. His statement went beyond "she's pissed off." He clarified that "she is fed up with mediocrity and she expects and demands better." Add in that George or Ted said that "they didn't look at this from the money standpoint…just what is the right thing to do." This sure feels like a different message being sent throughout the organization right now than what I've seen or heard over the last couple decades. The owners not only want to win they want the Bears toughness and pride back. Separate from the press conference thoughts …. organizations often move in the opposite direction from where they've been. For example: Detroit under Jim Schwartz was tough, cocky, undisciplined let's go fight approach. They go get Jim Caldwell who has the opposite approach. We are a soft team. The comments from George, and his comments from what Virginia said, tells me we are going after a coach who wants a physical team both on offense and defense.

We have assistant coaches I like. Hoke, who I liked back when he was with Lovie. I think Reggie Herring has done a good job coaching LBs with improvement from Bostic and especially Jones. Even SMC, while not making enough plays improved during the season. Pasqualoni kept our Dline competent with two rookies, a guy off the street in Dunn filling in for Ratliff, Paea's best season by far, improvement in Washington, and Willie Young had his best season ever too. I'm not going to lose sleep if those guys leave but I think it's a decision the next HC should make.

He shot himself so badly he'll be taking on water for years. Still I liked what he did with fixing the Oline. Time to move on.

I agree there. Probably most decisive moves the ownership has made in three decades. If you are old like me you remember what happened in the early 1980s. Emery was George's first hire and it didn't go well. Let's hope his 3 years running things have helped him gain perspective on what we need in the next GM.

NFL Network reported it too. Looks like Phillips is staying. Gotta believe Trestman and company are gone now too. Can't make the same mistake forcing a new GM to keep existing coaching staff.

I believe he has earned the opportunity to compete for a starting position. We're a bad team and nothing should get handed to anyone. I like his chances to win that competition and it looks like long term he'll end up being a stud LB for us.