AZ54

We got rid of him for $3mil in cap space, at least that is what I think he signed for and IIRC his deal with us would have cost $2mil. That can translate into whoever you deem it to be among our signees this offseason. Since it seems clear Willie Young and Houston we're our early targets I'd say overall it translated into keeping enough room available that we were able to get Jared Allen. That space along with what Cutler's contract conversion freed up. If you prefer a straight up comparison I'll take the combination of WR Marquess Wilson and KR/PR Williams and the extra cap space.

We're a couple weeks away from the start of the season. I'm curious how our division opponents are doing. As I scan around various websites when I find something noteworthy I'll post the link. It'd be nice of others add in as well. Today it is Nick Fairley making headlines for his eating habits. Actually it seems like there is much more going on than just a man who likes to eat. Either way, he's on their second string and on a Dline that lost Willie Young who appears to be a good player so far. For a team that has invested three #1 picks at DT and then DE they are planning on needing to blitz their linebackers a lot more this season to get pressure. I'm good with that considering their weak secondary. This is a team that needed DBs in a bad way yet went after a TE in Rd 1. Their offense will be tough to stop "if" they can protect Stafford but they'll have to score a lot of points this year to win games. http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap300000038...-got-in-the-way http://www.detroitlions.com/news/lions-ins...0c-612ab195f979

If the owners are willing to spend the money why not? Overall it can only help improve the quality of the players in the league and with a likely expansion coming up (either LA or London or both) that's important.

True, not a lot there that we don't talk about here. I've seen plenty of Forte misses on pass protection to know he's not a great pass blocker, despite what John Gruden says. As far as the Oline…the article looked at overall grades for the season. Early on we had tons of issues with plays, missed blocking assignments, etc. The first 4 games were not smooth at all on offense. I think Long improved significantly over the course of the season while Mills improved in some areas but still struggled with speed rushers in space. We all knew Bushrod was not an elite LT but he does well enough that Cutler doesn't have to worry about it on each snap. The key is that the inside is solid (as Kromer and Trestman wanted) allowing Cutler opportunities to move around. I'm curious to see if Ola continues to improve and gives Mills a run for the spot at RT. I don't foresee that happening but Ola's play could mean the end of the road for a guy like Britton.

The fact we are so unsure of the current backup WRs behind Marshall and Jeffrey along with the fact Wilson was by all accounts playing well and will return around week 4 means he gets a spot on the roster at the 3rd or 4th WR spot. Williams returned to practice this week and hopefully we'll see him against Seattle. I think he makes the roster as a special teams player/WR so that slots him as the 6th WR. While I like what little we've seen of him as a WR I don't believe he has enough experience yet at the NFL level for us to rely on him as the 5th WR/Returner. Durability remains a question mark for him as well. That's why I see us carrying 6 WRs this year. In between we have two spots one of which will end up being Santonio Holmes. He has too much talent and experience in the league and given the weak competition he's facing it's hard to believe he won't show enough to win a roster spot. If he keeps his act together he could unseat Wilson for the 3rd WR slot for the rest of the season. That leaves one spot open…and I'm not sure who will get that but it's likely to be whoever offers the best combination of special teams play and WR play. Right now that seems to be Morgan.

Fuller is day to day. Ankle sprain was nothing serious and didn't look like much in the replay to me. http://www.csnchicago.com/bears/sick-bay-b...ng-jordan-mills Rookie cornerback Kyle Fuller, who suffered an ankle strain covering the opening kickoff of the Jacksonville game, also was out of practice. Both Briggs and Fuller were described by head coach Marc Trestman as “day to day.”

Maybe, maybe not… http://www.csnchicago.com/bears/bears’-ben...g-play-and-fine

Yes, he is gone. One thing I like about the Emery/Trestman regime is that they are decisive. Sometimes we can see things coming like Weems today other times we think they should go one way and they all line up and go the other way. Whatever it is when they make a decision they are clear about it. My biggest issue with Weems is that he can't return kicks very well at all, he has no vision just runs full speed into traffic hoping there will be a hole when he gets there. As a WR he really can't separate from DBs and isn't big enough to shield them. It is extremely easy to replace his skill set with a rookie and should be relatively easy to improve upon it. Easy decision.

I read somewhere it's more or less a two week tryout. With little to lose it's worth a shot but his attitude is my biggest concern. Unless he shines right out of the gate I think he'd be our 4th WR once Wilson returns. Will he be content sitting on the bench?

I'm glad he's back. He has to earn his job, even earn a roster spot so there is nothing wrong with competition being added to the mix.

I think that was a long suspension. Nearly a full week.

I agree on that. Even Miller said afterward that he realized the only opening would be the back shoulder and that's exactly where Cutler threw it. Both were on the same page and having that chemistry this early on from a new player is great to see.

Good post. I watched the game yesterday as well here's my thoughts: QB: Cutler mechanics weren't ideal, he seemed a bit anxious, not from pass rush as he did great moving around the pocket, perhaps more from a desire to make something happen. Despite that I was happy to see Cutler choose many underneath throws. Palmer appears more lost than Clausen when making reads. There just always seems to be some hesitation from Palmer before he throws. Add in that his passes tend to float more and you have a recipe for INTs. When I consider that Palmer has had 3x the exposure to working in our complex offense between last season and this offseason he shouldn't even be close to Clausen. This one is far from over but I suspect it's like that old phrase about WR's on go routes….if he's even he's leavin'. I wanted us to draft Carey and I still like him. I didn't see many holes for him to run through but, as he did back at UofA, he finds a way to make positive yards when nothing is there. I liked how Perry ran as well and Lynch surprised me by looking like he fits at RB at least athletically. Run blocking was bad for all the RBs. I never noticed Shaun Draughn and he only had 2 carries which is surprising for the guy listed as our #2 RB. Or was Draughn pulled because his pass protection wasn't good and then coaches liked what they saw from Carey so he stayed in longer to help evaluate the QBs and WRs? Oline: Not much worth writing about. I though Ola looked bad as did anyone else on the right side all night long but it's his first game. LBs: I don't recall seeing any plays of note from anyone other than Briggs. I won't get too caught up on the SMC bashing because going against the Eagles instant-on offense is tough for a guy who is still getting a feel for the position. OTOH I expected to see more from Bostic. Dline: I liked both the run defense and pass rush early in the game. Ratliff is playing strong and quick showing he is going to be tough to handle inside. Ego did look stout at times and now having more of a 2-gap scheme fits Ego moreso than Sutton. I won't give up on Sutton helping out at least in pass rush situations this season. You are right about Washington. He doesn't look like a guy who wants to play football and I don't think he makes it past the first cut. Trevor Scott, Lane, Bass all looked like players fighting for a roster spot. Kudos to the front office for building some better competition on the backend of the roster. I like how Kyle Fuller played. None of the CBs early on (our top 5 on the depth chart) looked bad, or at least I didn't notice big gaps in coverage. Safeties…nobody stood out until Adrian Wilson leveled that WR in the 2nd half. That made me smile. Horrible game for penalties from both teams. Very disappointing in terms of discipline.

Not a big mystery there. Tedford's name has been tossed around as an NFL OC coaching candidate for years.

It seems each day we find more positive articles on the Bears' Dline. This one is about our so-called NASCAR package. http://www.suntimes.com/sports/football/be...ml#.U-OKRlY8icM I'm optimistic we'll be able to generate some pass rush this season. What's nice to hear are the compliments of Houston's abilities. Behind him we are hearing good things about how well Sutton is picking things up. Ratliff has made his presence known as well in drills and we know what Jared Allen brings to the table on each play. This article focused on the 3 DE's with Ratliff as the pass rush package but if Sutton continues to progress I'm not sure we also couldn't go with Sutton/Ratliff and then Allen and Houston on the outside. Don't forget Sutton worked off the edge quite a bit in college. I see no reason that as he gains experience (perhaps late this year or next season) we couldn't use him on the outside in short yardage situations where we wanted the opposite of the NASCAR package to have a heavy set against the run but still have some quickness off the edge. On a separate note: If this works I hope we come up with a better name than "NASCAR", one that is more oriented towards Chicago's culture and history.

Let's hope this one goes better than the last ex-Cowboy WR named Hurd. One thing is clear, if you want to be a Bears WR you will likely be 6'-3" or taller, and if you're not then you will be really fast. I'd say the days of having an Earl Bennett, shorter, slower but with very good hands, on the roster are over. Herd ran a 4.49 forty at his pro day a year ago and was signed by Dallas as UDFA then promptly cut. Seahawks then picked him up and he didn't last long there either. There had to be some glaring weakness he showed to get cut so quickly…maybe lack of knowing how to run routes. Given the complexity of our offense I was expecting we'd sign a more experienced player but at this point none are available. Maybe he surprises and he's been working on his weakness for a year but right now I say this is a temporary move to see what this guy has to offer. If he shows something maybe they stick him on the practice squad. Once roster cut downs happen I expect we'll be watching the WR market. http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/footb...0805-story.html

I view Kromer as a straightforward guy who won't spin things. It was nice to hear him discuss the talent level of the offense and the improvement from last year to this year. He's not discussing the starters rather the depth on the roster specifically the Oline depth and TE options we have on the roster. http://www.chicagobears.com/multimedia/vid...27-f4c0766bf86e

Good story thanks for posting it.

Thanks for the update. If O'Donnell can get that distance and put it out of bounds inside the 20 it will be great for the defense. Based on reports from camp I'd say he needs to work on that skill for a couple years to get the consistency needed.

Wasn't Holmes always a malcontent on his past teams?

No problem with the suspension and I like the public message Emery sent… this is a private matter between the team and Martellus and he won't discuss the details. The players (and all of us) see the obvious result and that is good enough for the rest of the team as they know it was dealt with. They also know there is no ascending player behind Martellus and he is the clear starter. Making this decision shows that no matter who you are you are expected to adhere to the rules.

I certainly don't like injuries but we all know they will happen in the preseason. This is one that should be easily recovered from so I'm not that worried and certainly don't see how we could consider cutting Wilson based on this. He did manage to get in a couple weeks of practice so he has a good idea on the playbook and Cutler has the timing with him. I expect once he is cleared the Bears will give him two weeks to get back in shape, and in sync with the offense, before he hits the field. I agree he's likely to be back on the field for the Packers game. Of course that also means they don't get to see our offense with him on the field. Is that an advantage or disadvantage? Don't know but given how high everyone has been on his play so far I'd say it's a big help for us. Since there is no reason to cut him I don't necessarily see the reason for signing Earl Bennett. If he was going to help us at the bottom end of the roster I think the Bears would have already called him back to compete for a spot.

I believe when you end practice for the entire team because of what Martellus did that's a pretty strong message to the entire team. Overall I'm not concerned and to be honest I'm very glad our defense has been playing angry all through the camp…we need that attitude to return.

http://www.csnchicago.com/bears/bears-rook...ecoming-awesome Sutton is figuring things out very quickly.

I'm actually surprised SMC is listed as sole starter. If there were 2 people that were going to share a slot I didn't think it'd be DJ/Bostic but more likely Bostic/SMC at SLB.