AZ54

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).

To be fair Shane Ray wouldn't be duplicating anyone we already have on the roster but yes, the Shelton momentum continues. Bud Depree? Having us pick another LB who doesn't play with good instincts. That is truly mocking the draft.

I re-watched it and much later in the press conference he listed a mistake of taking a player just to fill a need and how that negatively impacted the roster for years. He cautioned strongly against not taking BPA. I don't think he's going to diverge much from BPA just to fill a need especially when you consider he is not a win-now mode that would drive that kind of a decision (see SMC and Lovie). If you have very close ratings on players then I'm sure he'd go with the need. When you look at our defense there are needs at every level so BPA there is no brainer IMO. Offense less so but the draft is shaping up to nicely fit BPA and one of our needs.

We should be looking at everybody.

If our GM is a true BPA guy then there should be no reason he wouldn't sign Knighton and then draft Shelton (assuming he's BPA).

I agree with you here. First 5 are a given and we are sitting at a great spot at #7. Aside from someone being desperate to trade up and grab one of the top 5 players this is likely where the trading action starts as value starts to balance out against needs. Shane Ray has the potential to blow up the combine. If he does run in the 4.4s he's a clear top 10 and maybe even garners some top 5 consideration.

A month ago he wasn't anywhere to be found in top 10 draft picks. Back then almost every mock draft had us taking S Landon Collins. Now I find Shelton on a quite a few mocks for the Bears pick. http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/draft/mock-dr...rt/dane-brugler http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/draft/mock-dr...expert/rob-rang http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/draft/mock-dr...pert/pat-kirwan http://www.walterfootball.com/draft2015charlie.php

Looks like he's an h-back type. From the two games I watched he seems to be a good blocker. Sounds like he dropped too many passes in camp last year for the Eagles so they cut him and Emery signed him. Gase hasn't used a FB for two years so my wish for one might not come true. Maybe we'll run more h-back stuff with a guy like Annen. http://draftbreakdown.com/video/blake-annen-vs-purdue-2013/

Aside from the obvious measureables this gives the players and teams a chance to get together in one spot and meet. This is going to largely be guys that are 3rd tier FAs on the verge of being out of the league, or maybe 2nd tier guys who need to show they are healthy or getting healthy.

I see your points but I'm in line with others here in that if, as you say, we are on nothing but a 3 year plan then burn the bridges now and cut guys like Cutler, Forte, Allen. Might as well get as much cap space as possible in 2016. I just don't see our roster as being that bad and unable to compete. So while the draft will play out on a 3 year plan I don't think we go at Free Agency that way at all. Carey is not really a power runner who can run people over but he is an inside runner who is good at finding the little gaps to squeeze into and has the leg drive to gain positive yards. At least in college he was. I didn't see enough of him last year to get a good feel for how productive he can be in short yardage situations but I think he can do it if given enough reps to get a feel for the game. ILB is far too big a need regardless of what defensive scheme we go to and must be addressed in a significant way either through FA or draft and likely both. Given what Pace has said about filling in gaps via FA so he can go BPA in the draft I'd say we see a 2nd tier FA who has been a starter like David Harris. I'd take the money from Mark Ingram and use it for defense. If we're going 3-4/hybrid I think Terrance Knighton makes a lot of sense for us as a FA. He's not going to be that expensive and we have nobody on the roster like him. Those two moves make our inside defense much stronger. A RB can be found later in the draft, or bring in a lower cost FA.

I agree on keeping Cutler as there are just so few options in the draft or FA. I expect to see Clausen as our backup again this year and another player brought in to compete with him and Fales for a roster spot. I do not care for Jake Locker as I watched him all through college and while he's a phenomenal athlete he just doesn't read defenses well. RB…don't see us spending big money in FA here. I don't know what Ingram's market will be, I know it won't be huge but he should be in enough demand to put him beyond the price range I want to spend. I wouldn't rule out a FA RB, perhaps Vereen, but avoid the big expense and keep that cash for defense. Draft a RB in the 4th or 5th Rd to fit in the mix. Carey is an inside runner, he's very quick and that's where he can be most productive and as far as I can tell that fits what Fox likes to do. He should get a chance to compete for the #2 role in camp. WRs…there is no way I see Marshall getting cut. He's still a very productive receiver and, equally important to this new coaching staff, he's an excellent run blocker. Running is going to be a big part of what we do next year. We'll continue to pair him with Jeffrey on the outside but will add a speed guy to compete with Wilson. I actually wouldn't mind some spending some FA cash on this position because I think it's key to getting our offense less predictable. Randall Cobb would fit in well but he's likely getting a huge payday and he's not coming here to be a #3 WR. Eddie Royal fits the bill IMO…2nd tier FA money and different skill set from Marshall/Jeffrey. If that doesn't work out there isn't another good FA fit for what we need so in that case this would likely to be a Rd 4-6 draft pick. Colleges run spread offenses everywhere now and good speed WRs are now available late into the draft. Backup TE: Likely a FA pickup as you state. OL: I don't think they move Long to LT. You have a guy who has been a Pro Bowl player at OG 2 years straight. Why mess with success? We don't know how he'll handle the transition back to LT. I do agree he can play out there just not sure how well he'll do. I don't think De LaPuente returns as a starter, maybe as a backup. Pace was in charge of pro personnel in NO and had to be one in the front office with the most input to letting him test the open market. Yes, NO wanted him back once he had trouble finding work. Again, he had trouble finding work last year so I think we're over-valuing one of our players. I think we're fine at OG with Slausson and Long. OC can be ok even with Garza but wouldn't be surprised to see us go after another FA here. I am totally open to grabbing a LT with #7 overall. Love the idea of Bushrod at RT and someone like Peat at LT, a big man who is mobile and a nasty run blocker. Not sure his value is there at #7 but I don't think Mills is starting material. Either way it happens, many here see a need to do something at LT and these are players you have to get early in the draft or not at all.