AZ54

It seems everyone still has us taking Shelton. I'm hoping Gregory falls to us and we take him.

If we're taking a flyer I'd rather do it on a younger player for exactly the reasons you listed. This team needs to get some good young players not older ones who can't make it through a 16 game season.

I need to spend some time on who is available this weekend. For now among your list I can say I'm not interested in Hillis and I think if we want a FB we can either draft one very late (i.e. 7th Rd) or find one UDFA. On Julius Thomas…I think he'll cost too much and we have Marty B. but adding Virgil Green as others have suggested is a great idea IMO. Talking with Knighton makes a ton of sense for both sides. He will likely get more money from Oakland.

Of the two I'd take Jones but that's more because he's an excellent returner. As a WR he has never done much considering how many years he's been in the league. If he had something as a WR you'd think the Ravens would be hanging onto him knowing that they are likely losing Torrey Smith. $2.5mil wasn't that much to keep him around.

I was thinking the same thing in this proposed scenario…more than SMC turning it around I think it will be Washington who gets the nod at OLB. He showed strides last year in the pass rush but he's a natural athlete and it shows on special teams. He might be a better fit at OLB than he was at DE for us.

Why so much love for Ted Ginn Jr.? I watched a few Cardinals games and saw nothing from him to make me think he's better than Mariani, and in fact I think Mariani is better. That in itself doesn't mean there aren't players better than Mariani.

http://www.chicagobears.com/multimedia/vid...57-c11c6e59eae1 Not that I see him that much these days but I have to say this is the first time I've seen him so relaxed and smiling at a media event. Great job doing something like this for kids and I like the life lessons he put in his book.

Pass on Ted Ginn. He is not a better option than what we have on the roster today.

The combine is there for a reason and measurables do count but are just there to backup the tape. Or in other cases, make people wonder why a gifted athlete wasn't more productive. Shelton isn't going to be Haloti Ngata in the NFL unless he shows later that he has more short area quickness. If you aren't that quick then you better have some long arms to help you get off blocks. I still see Shelton being a good player, he's still strong enough to hold his ground even against a double team. I just don't see him as a perennial Pro Bowl player. When you draft someone at #7 that's what you must come away with and we don't have anyone on our roster that should prevent us from doing that. There are so many good rush OLB and we need one badly. Beasley impressed me the most today. He's a more fluid athlete than Fowler but adding the weight, the strength, and running a 4.53 was pretty good.

I don't want Suh's $100mil+ contract because it comes with his attitude and poor decisions, and because we have so many needs. I think we'll be better overall if we spread that $$$ across several good players at each level of the defense.

You summed up in numbers what I was going to say about watching Fowler. Fowler has the straight line speed but he does not appear to be nearly as flexible in space (turn and run, change of direction) as Beasley. What Fowler has though is much more size and any team that values having a guy who can set the edge in the run game will most likely prefer to have Fowler among this group. For me we can have Willie Young, Jared Allen, Washington, or Jones play that role in the run game. IMO Beasley showed enough power to handle himself ok in the run game and for our roster I value the guy who is the better passer rusher. I have to add that Randy Gregory impressed me a lot. I know he checked in very light at 235lbs but his frame can easily handle another 10-15lbs. He said he had been the sick the week before the combine and lost some weight. He's not as fast as Beasley but has very long arms, and we know from video he has very quick and violent hands to get off blocks. In the open field his change of direction was unreal for a guy this tall. He can pass rush, and drop into coverage with those skills but he has the frame and arm length to develop into a very good run defender. I have to go back and watch highlights of both Beasley and Gregory. Shane Ray will put up speed agility results similar to Beasley so he's still in the OLB mix. http://www.atlantafalcons.com/media-lounge...0a-5a1305199d81 http://www.atlantafalcons.com/media-lounge...ef-7f0ccda58e17 I think Fowler has set himself as the best 4-3 DE with Gregory and Beasley showing themselves as purely 3-4 OLB. Mariota did well enough that he'll be gone before we pick. Knowing that we should have one of the two, Gregory or Beasley, there when we pick. I haven't walked away from Shane Ray either.

Reality bites sometimes. We're rebuilding a team and he'll get over it. I can't see anyone trading for him at that salary. It would have to be a deal his agent is in no where a new contract is largely in place before the trade, a contract that drops his cap hit and gives him maybe a 3 yr deal.

…and Beasley just ran a 4.53. He's added weight and kept the quickness and speed. He still had trouble with the run in college so the gamble is will that be better with the added bulk? As a speed rusher he's got it.

I don't mind if they decide to move on. Lots of money for an aging and slowing down RB. His pass protection is often non-existent and he was responsible for some of Cutler's bad plays due to the early pressure he allowed.

A few thoughts on the thread overall... If this is true, this is the perfect time to throw this rumor out there. Teams are getting a first-hand look at the rookie QB class and are likely to come away unimpressed after the top 2. Mariota does have question marks but as far as him skipping some of the pre-draft stuff it's because his shoulder was sprained badly in the championship game. He'd be a fool to throw too soon and injure it again before the draft. If he doesn't throw this weekend he'll throw at his pro day. However, all that just adds to the skepticism of this QB class and helps Cutler's trade value. I still see Mariota being taken before we pick at #7 and I don't see us trading up to get him but maybe we make a deal if he's there at #4. Oakland is not going to draft a QB so they will listen. There are just a few hundred points on the old trade value chart between #4 and #7 so the price is not that high and dropping down to #7 keeps them in position to draft one of the elite players. If we traded Cutler for a 3rd Rd pick we could toss that in and it almost balances out perfectly. I think we'd have to get to that spot ahead of Washington and maybe the Jets if we wanted him but it's also a deal that wouldn't happen until draft day because someone else could easily trade ahead of us. If this were the Bears intentions they'd likely sign someone before the draft and name them the starter.

If he doeth protest too much…he's gone. I think Allen knows that and also knows that after last year any other paycheck he could get would be much lower that what Chicago will pay him this season. He's no dummy and he'll shut up and toe the line. I also think Fox knows enough to curtail his snaps and keep him fresher for 3rd and long situations. One thing about Allen is he hustles on every play so even if he does occasionally drop into space he's headed for the ball once it's released. Plus I think he is a much better locker room presence than Lance Briggs.

Shane Ray is fast, very fast.

Wrong year to be thinking anything QB. Now there is one upside to this drought of QB talent and that is that it makes Cutler's value much higher. Desperate HC and GMs that need to make something happen will see Cutler as their best option to get something going on offense in 2015. Even Mariota will need a year or two of experience to be ready to play in the pocket. Behind Mariota and Winston there is nothing. In FA there is nothing. Our GM and HC have time on their side so to sit back and wait a year to get their QB is less of an issue especially if the right deal comes along.

I think this was a free agent meeting because we might want McCown as a backup but it was also a chance to get McCown's inputs on Cutler the person.

History says one of these 4 players will be a bust. 2 will be average good players. 1 will be a perennial Pro Bowl player. If you know what you are doing you stay at 7 and have your choice among the four players and take the Pro Bowler. Beasely reportedly played around 225-230lb and that's not big enough to hold up in the running game which already is his weakness. There is speculation he will bulk up for the combine but won't run there and instead will drop weight and then run at his pro day. With many similar traits and/or upside in one aspect or the other, the combine is going to do a lot to sort out these players.

This is interesting and both of these guys, Fangio and Gase, decided to come to Chicago to prove their point working alongside John Fox and Ryan Pace. I don't think they came her believing this was a long term rebuilding situation.

I think that's reading an awful lot into a very simple statement from Marshall. Jay Cutler doesn't know if he'll be back either. Neither does Forte, Allen, or any player for that matter being listed as a part of the future plans. I don't how Marshall saying he doesn't know if he'll be back is a huge distraction to the team in Feb. All I've seen is that they are evaluating the roster. I don't want them to commit to anyone as a long term key for this team right now…not even Forte and his $8mil cap hit.

I'm with you on this one. Nobody was complaining about Brandon after the 49ers game. Team goes on a 5 game losing streak, gives up 50pts in back to back games, and suddenly Brandon is a leading cause for the decline. Sure Briggs wasn't happy with Brandon but Briggs is the same guy who walked out his team's first practice of the season. I'd say Brandon was pissing off the right people (Briggs and Gould) because nobody else was doling out the discipline. Did it go too far? Maybe but I agree that with the right leadership at the top and in the locker room (bye Briggs) Marshall reigns it in. I'm not buying this story of a paycut nor do I think we'll just grab a WR and replace his production in year 1 or 2. That's if we draft one at #7. Take one later and the odds go way down. Let's step back for a moment. How does a team get a player to take a pay cut? Player has to be on edge of getting cut and worried that he might not get as much on the open market. Marshall just got his guaranteed $14.5 million. To the new GM that's water under the bridge that he won't be held accountable for. He only cares about money going forward. Marshall will earn $7.5 million this season. That puts him around 15th in the league for 2015 salary. I think his production is easily worth that. To Marshall it's more about guaranteed money plus his 1st year salary. If the Bears want him to take a pay cut he's immediately thinking if he can get a new deal with $7.5mil guaranteed. If he can do that or better, and I think he can easily exceed that, then he is not taking a pay cut. Among last years' FA WR who would you rather have: Eric Decker (5yr $36mil w/ $15mil guaranteed) or Brandon Marshall? In 2015 Marshall would compete against (forget Dez and D. Thomas who will be franchised if they don't sign) Randall Cobb, Jeremy Maclin, Torrey Smith, and Michael Crabtree. Teams with a Tom Brady, Aaron Rodgers, or Peyton Manning don't need WRs with a huge catch radius. Everyone else does. Marshall has no reason to take a pay cut so if the new GM doesn't want him around for $7.5mil he will cut him. If we were in FA and close to signing an elite player and needed a little bit of cap room I could see this conversation taking place. Then they would play on Marshall's desire to win. But in Feb before the combine and before any other significant player decisions have taken place?

If Fox and Co. have an ounce of common sense they would not introduce any sense of a return to the things Trestman did. It's time to chart a new course and this team and organization is moving away from Jay Cutler. That doesn't mean he won't be our QB next year, maybe even the one afterward. It just means he is no longer the focal point of the franchise as he has been since his arrival. No more talk of "franchise QB". No more talk of "building around Jay". We can find someone else to handoff besides McCown.

I'd be very happy with those first two picks. I need to read up on the safety but I've already said I don't want Holliman because he plays too soft. I don't want a safety who is afraid to tackle in college because that isn't going to change with bigger faster players in the NFL (see Brock Vereen).