AZ54

I don't do the FF stuff, but I'd say make sure you have a good 2nd RB on the roster because Charles will be injured again this year for the very reason you described above.

The contracts may be more of a formality in terms of there is a bracket but that hasn't changed the fact that every year many teams don't get players signed until well into the summer, and a few are signed just before camp starts. If it is so easy then why aren't all the other teams signing their players at this rate? What's happened is the Bears now have a solid reputation among all the agents that our contract offers will be fair and we aren't looking to save every nickel. They know they can sign early and that even as other players sign their deal will still be a good one for their player.

This is where "analysts" like to say everyone, and average fans like me, missed on Burfict. I personally don't think I was wrong on him. He was lazy and very undisciplined as a player his last year at ASU. Then he's doing nothing much but smoking marijuana prior to combine and fails his drug test there, after telling everyone in his interviews he was using the drug regularly. You cannot separate the player he is today from that harsh lesson he had to go through during the draft process. It did one thing nobody in his years at ASU was able to do….knocked him off his pedestal, motivated him to work hard, and stop using marijuana. There are many examples in sports where that "event" had to happen before that player woke up. Cris Carter comes to mind as another example. Kyle Long had his issues as well during college. If during the draft process Burfict was still rumored to be a 1st-3rd Rd pick, and then been selected there, I doubt he'd have gotten the message he needed to hear. I'm really glad to see Burfict realize his potential. It's a great lesson for young kids who have talent and don't think they need to work hard, or follow the rules, to succeed. If kids are lucky they'll have an adult early in their life who has the courage to deliver that message (i.e. high school coach) when they don't toe the line. Too often adults are more interested in their own success and look the other way making exceptions for the elite athlete. I hope Burfict is using his platform to relay this message to kids. http://articles.baltimoresun.com/2013-11-2...layer-ray-lewis IIRC I didn't want to use an early round pick on Burfict, perhaps a 6th or 7th and certainly would have accepted a low risk UDFA contract. I'll live with that decision.

I have my doubts about Clowney as well. Watching him in a couple games this season, even watching Quarles run past him on some highlight films, makes me wonder if he has the desire to really achieve what he's capable of doing. Being on such a good Dline will help him but he was drafted in a spot where he is supposed to be capable of carrying a Dline. I don't see that in him but I hope he gets there because he could be fun to watch (except when playing against the Bears of course). Savage we heard a lot about in the last few weeks leading up to the draft but I wonder about a guy who ran around looking for a place to play instead of competing and winning. How does that guy handle the pressure of being a starting QB in the NFL? To be fair I said the same about a guy named Flacco years ago. I think Buffalo gave up too much to get Watkins. I love how Watkins plays the game but in a draft deep with WR talent and all their needs it didn't make sense to me. He will help sell tickets so that makes sense. I don't know enough to give out grades but I do know that this will be one of the best drafts to evaluate in 3 years. Even looking at it next year will be interesting because there is so much talent, even into the 4th round, that is expected to contribute a lot on many rosters.

I don't rule out Sutton starting over Ratliff. He's a good guy and will work hard to earn the spot. However, I think it's realistic to see these guys in a balanced rotation. Ratliff may get called the "starter" based on his experience and leadership but at his age and injury history I think the Bears take some of the workload off him to keep him productive throughout the season. Sutton is more competitive than Melton IMO, a little more desire to make the play. He's also tough and I think long term Bears fans will come to appreciate him. I wanted Donald but with Ratliff and Sutton on board I don't think we'll miss Melton. His salary (based on $5mil @ Dallas) was effectively used to sign Ratliff, Sutton, and Willie Young. I'll take that 3 for 1 deal.

Fuller's ranking was all over the place. I've seen him anywhere from top CB in the draft to now 5th best CB. Key take away here is that scouts have their own tendencies and preferences as well. Some prefer more of the measurables, likely believing it's the coaches job to get the athlete to play well. Others may put more priority on the "football player" as opposed to the athlete. At this point I think Emery leans slightly more toward wanting football players who are also athletes. He said he had Fuller rated above Gilbert and Dennard. Three of his first four picks were all highly productive players in college, Ego Ferguson being the exception. OTOH, last year he took a risk on Kyle Long.

That's probably true, we all like to have some validation for our point of view. For once in my lifetime I actually hit on two of the Bears picks in the right round…Sutton 3rd, Carey 4th. Now if they suck everyone here is going to validate that I don't know anything.

There is a success rate of late round QBs turning into long term starters but it's far less than 10%. Citing that backup QBs have started some games doesn't change that fact. That's what backups do, they start some games when your starter is injured. I definitely agree there was some smoke screen in his comments regarding drafting a QB. After watching Fales throw I don't see him see him as ever being our long term franchise QB. I will be happy if he can develop into a decent enough player to win half his games if he has to start but earning a roster spot is far from guaranteed for him.

Most analysts didn't like our draft. Prisco is different. I don't really put any stock into this stuff but it's interesting to read mostly in terms of what our division rivals did. The one thing I get from most of the "grades" is that this was a deep draft and almost every team did well. Our draft wasn't sexy so won't get the publicity the big names bring but I think it was good. http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/writer/pete-p...-2014-nfl-draft Within our division the Packers didn't impress me too much. Dix is a good player wouldn't have minded drafting him at all. But behind that GB did ok. Detroit grabbed Ebron early, we grabbed the CB who covered him in college. Ebron certainly makes their offense more challenging... unless we get to their QB. Behind that they did little to address their D and I don't get that at all and then drafted another TE in the 4th Rd. I thought Matt Millen was no longer in charge. Minn did very well early with Barr and then Bridgewater later in the 1st. I'm curious to hear what our draft experts think about our division rivals picks.

I said early on rebuilding our D was going to be a 2 year process. There just wasn't enough money or picks to get everything covered. I have no problem with Emery focusing on building from the front to the back. Frankly, the less I hear a safety's name called during a game the happier I am. That name gets called even when they blow the coverage or tackle (usually followed by a four letter word aimed at my TV). No doubt we'll be watching for any veterans cut between now and training camp to see if we can improve the competition at S but I'd say we're set with the two FAs at SS and now Vereen and Conte competing at FS. I feel good about our Dline now. Sutton IMO can step in and replace Melton from day 1. He won't have to necessarily with Ratliff there as well but I think he can. Ferguson is good competition for Paea. I like the hard working Collins as the 5th man in the rotation. Adding Jones as a UDFA make me feel better with our LB group. Hopefully he cleans up his act because his potential is high. There is now enough competition these LBs have to earn starting jobs. Having two experienced vets in DJ and Briggs to settle things down for the young guys helps. At CB we have the best depth we've had there in many years IMO…mainly because I like Fuller a lot. This is probably the first time I feel we have enough depth to adequately replace Tillman or Jennings if need be. Then you'd have Frey or Hayden coming off the bench to backfill the NB slot. Last season Bowman was the first one off the bench to replace Tillman. Overall I like what Emery did this offseason on defense. We have a lot of young guys that need to learn so it will take some time to see results but I think we'll get back to being respectable.

Damn….6'3" 240lbs, 4.68 forty and he's a good athlete all over the field. Failed drug test at the combine indicates lack of common sense. I think it also means he enters the league already in the "program". Any more failed tests and he immediately goes to a suspension IIRC. 3rd Rd prospect so getting him as a UDFA is smart and if he can clean up his act we may have a future starter. This is very similar to the path Vontaze Burfict took coming out of ASU, assuming this is a failed test for marijuana. Burfict cleaned up his act after getting smacked down in the draft and has turned into the stud player he should have been all along.

Yes seems he's going to compete at RB, or FB, or some odd hybrid h-back type of a role? Trestman telling him he "has 10 things he can do with him" has me curious and the Bears put a lot of effort into the scouting (in this case recruiting) process. He's a good football player and if can cover kick returns on special teams, which he has the right attitude for, then he has a shot at making the roster. He only ran a 4.7 forty so it will be interesting to see what kind of role they envision for him.

Fales at this point has to earn a roster spot. I can go either way, but personally leaned towards drafting a backup QB late as a need. No real WTF moment for me this year. Somewhat by the Ego Ferguson pick. We reached a bit there but the need and his upside at least fit and grabbing Sutton with the next pick was a great 3 tech - 2 tech combo. I was most shocked by the punter we drafted in the 6th Rd. We needed on but at that point I'd think we'd be looking to add more depth to any of a number positions. I realize the punter has a pretty good leg but next to that he's a good tackler (6'5" 220lbs, 4.5 forty) and in terms of having one more tackler on the coverage teams that is a nice bonus. He's going to prevent some punt returns from becoming TDs during his career.

No BS at all. He said late round QBs don't turn into starters and at the press conference he said he drafted Fales to be a backup. Some here are saying Fales was drafted to replace Cutler, but he was drafted to replace McCown. I just watched Fales' game against Fresno St. He reminds me of Chad Pennington in that he doesn't have a very strong arm but he makes quick decisions and he's usually very accurate. If he ever sees the field expect to see lots of passes 10yds or less. He is not going to throw passes down field in windy Chicago weather. Ball placement though is good so even in tight coverage he'll be able to get the ball where only Jeffrey or Marshall can get it. Reportedly he's a film room junkie and will put the time in to learn the offense so that had to be meaningful for Trestman given how complex his offense is. I'm no QB guru but Fales sometimes looks like he's pushing the ball without a proper step through (or something to that effect) so I'm guessing he'll get some coaching on his mechanics. Plus he needs to learn how to lineup under center and drop back. Reportedly Matt Cavanaugh spent some 1on1 time with him a week ago so the Bears know what they are getting. If he can grow into a Chad Pennington type QB I'd be happy with that as a backup.

I agree as well but apparently he's good enough of an athlete to be a pass rush force too. When I looked at Jernigan game film he was more run defender as well. Good at holding his ground. I don't see Jernigan and Ferguson as that much different with the exception that Ferguson has more room to grow in terms of technique. Ferguson has more upside than Jernigan but I think Jernigan was the safer pick. Hopefully we'll see that upside.

We drafted a punter who knows hang time. Guy can cover on kick returns pretty good too so not bad having him as the last line of defense.

Oregon game…you can skip to 4:24 to see his ~25th carry of the 1st half. Or just watch the whole tape and see several 3rd and short plays beforehand. The second half when he's around 40+ carries and UofA is trying to run out the clock starting around 6min all the way to where they are inside the 10 around 7:24 for goal line score. He's good at finding the crease and hits it. He won't sprint to the outside trying to get around the edge.. It's good he doesn't have that habit because that wouldn't work for him in the NFL.

Don't know much about him but certainly seems to have the ability to compete for the starting job.

Carey is not a change of pace RB. He's a mini-me of Forte. 48 carries against Oregon, 206 yds. I watched that game as it unfolded, he was the entire offense. Oregon knew he was getting the ball time and time again and still could not stop him. People will talk about speed and certainly he does not have breakaway speed but he is very quick (shifty) at speed and makes guys miss at the second level leading to a lot of 10-20yd runs. I like this pick a lot because he can do everything…pass protection, run routes, tough inside runner who knows how to find the endzone often dragging bodies with him.

Are you sure? http://walterfootball.com/nfldraftology408_1.php consistently in my study at least 10 players busted in the first round each time and we should expect this in the future. This means at least every third player will bust in the first round, and in some past drafts half the players busted in the first round.

I appreciate that SMC can at least laugh at his spin moves along with the rest of us.

As a 3rd Rd pick Sutton is not a "risk" IMO. I've watched him play a lot of games and have never seen one game where he didn't have or force several negative plays. That's against any team including perennial draft favorites USC and Oregon. There's no doubt in my mind that going all the way up to 320lbs was far too much for him. He did that 35lb weight gain in one offseason. That messes up your body, no different than when Izzy did the same thing to play DT for the Bears years ago and it didn't work. It hurt Sutton's mobility and I also think hurt his conditioning, or at least his endurance. Despite that he was still the bell cow for the ASU defense but I can say I saw him gassed and taking plays off. He fought through it and he fought through a lot of injuries. As the focus of Olines he often face double teams and sometimes took some cheap shots around his knees. I also think he has good character and never heard issues around that other than he's a locker room leader. Here's "bad" Will Sutton against Stanford. Stanford has been producing a lot of NFL lineman in recent years so the level of competition is a realistic comparison to what he'll see in the NFL. He gets quite a few double teams throughout the game and even on those he holds his ground at the LOS. I think this is his floor, to borrow a Jerry Angelo phrase, and he's still effective in this game. Knowing we drafted a big body in Ferguson who can handle, or hopefully forces the double teams his way, will free up Sutton even more. http://draftbreakdown.com/video/will-sutto...-stanford-2013/ Here's the "good" Sutton playing at 285lbs against USC in 2012. We need the player in the middle of these two, stronger than 2012 but keep the quickness. Again, he was a Junior so that's to be expected. I'm not saying he's the next Warren Sapp. Sapp was the 12th pick overall, Sutton is a 3rd Rd pick. He's going to make plays for us (and I hate that cliche). http://draftbreakdown.com/video/will-sutton-vs-usc-2012/

Y'all will come around to liking Sutton. He is not Aaron Donald but I'm confident he can do exactly what Melton did to earn a Pro Bowl berth. I'm not saying he'll be a perennial Pro Bowl player but he can get to that level where he's in the discussion and maybe for a couple seasons he gets the call. I love the fact he gets to learn from Ratliff, and he will take advantage of that opportunity. Ferguson is a young kid who doesn't yet know what he is doing. I don't hate the pick, can't say I love it either, but having two good young DTs in our rotation makes me feel much better about our dine this year. He's a coach's pick where the Bears clearly believe they can get him to reach his potential, which by most accounts is pretty high. He just landed in the right locker room to help him…Allen, Houston, Ratliff, even a guys like Willie Young and Collins who had to work their way up the roster.

Aaron Donald = 285lbs. Houston is not in the same league as Donald athletically but there is no reason to think he can't slide inside on 3rd and long, or play DE in a 3-4 alignment if we go that route at times.

From my post on Apr 9th: ------------------------------------------------ I watched some highlights of this kid and really like how he plays the game, both in pass coverage and run support. He won't be an elite cover corner but he matches up well with the attributes of what Jennings and Tillman have. He can definitely play man coverage and would likely be outstanding in zone coverage as he seems to have great instincts and drives on the ball. He'll need a year or two to add strength (like most rookies). http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/footb...0,4658826.story ------------------------------------------------ I wanted DT in the 1st because I believe it's better to build inside out. When Donald was gone to StL, second to that I preferred one of the top two safeties. However, using the way-back machine….my initial impressions after watching 2 or 3 game films of Fuller were very good. I actually liked how he plays the game better than either Gilbert (who seems bit soft) or Denied (great in press but run support was lacking IMO). If Emery and his scouts had Fuller as their top rated CB in the draft after all the film, interviews, workouts, etc. I am not going to disagree one bit. This kid is a football player and athletically he's very similar to what Tillman was when he came out of college. I think Fuller's instincts on the field might be better (relative to when Tillman was drafted). Now go get us a DT!