AZ54

Michael Bennett reportedly signed for less than what we offered. Before he signed, and after Griffen signed, there was talk of us needing to pay Bennett $10mil/yr. I didn't want to go there. He ended up around $7mil/yr which I'd have agreed to. We were reportedly offering closer to $8.5mil/yr which is getting to high for me. Allen said to be heading off to Denver but we'll see. I"m not that interested in him because I know he wants to be full-time starter and at this point I think he might be best as part time pass rusher. If he signs early in FA he is likely signing for more money than I'd want to pay for his services. More to my point is that there are several ways we can improve our Dline, largely because it was so bad, and I'd rather not be forced into an expensive box to fix one position (Dline) so early when we have so many needs on defense. I realize Bennett is the better pass rusher between him and Houston but either will help. If signing Houston means we end up with a significantly better FA CB (even Tillman) then it's a plus IMO.

Last rumor I saw had him interested in going to Denver.

Rather than overpay for 7-9 sacks per yr for the next 4-5 years (Bennett), I'll take the excellent run defense of a guy like Houston who can also contribute 6 sacks. He is big enough he can slide inside on some 3rd downs too giving Tucker the flexibility he wants this season. If we ended up with Houston, Jared Allen, and Wotton as 3rd man in the rotation we'd have a much better 3-man DE rotation than we had at any time last season. We'll have SMC coming off the edge at times too and I think he'll be better in that standup role. Hopefully a guy like Washington steps up and can contribute. It appears we are about to cut Peppers. While I've bashed him a lot based on last year's performance, if he ends back with the Bears at a fraction of his salary (in place of Allen above) we'd be ok on run D but short on edge speed for pass rushes. Although to be fair Peppers got pushed around by OTs a lot last year.

That'll make the fans in Tampa happy with Lovie.

He said he clearly wants to be a starter and take the majority of the reps. I'd prefer him to be the 3rd guy in a balanced rotation (equal reps) with a focus on 3rd downs.

You didn't like Bennett or you didn't like what we were about to pay him? I like the guy but not for $8.5mil/yr.

I'd take him and while I hated his attitude playing against him we need someone like that on our defense. He should be cheaper than Bennett. In fact we might be able to afford him and a guy like Johnson to bookend the Dline.

If we sign Bennett I expect he'll get a very big bonus in yr 2 of the contract, maybe another one guaranteed in yr 3. If we sign him for $80 million I'll be throwing a fit…which usually means drinking another beer.

Jordan Palmer is not unexpected at all given the waning interest in McCown. We've hedged our bets at the QB position and now we see who else falls to us either in FA or the draft. Very happy to have Nate Collins back. He worked hard and played well for us. Should provide good depth at this position. Now we have Ratliff, Paea, and Collins. Need to add at least one more FA DT and one via the draft. Toss in some more competition for the backup roles at the tail end of FA and we should be ready to go. And now back to the DE position...

I've been saying I don't want to break the bank on Bennett and that's where the market appears to be headed. At this point it seems like keeping Peppers is a better deal and focus spending our money on the DTs. Build a strong interior of the line and we'll go after DEs in the draft. See if a guy like Jared Allen is looking for reasonable money to be a 3rd down specialist.

…and I keep asking myself who is Griffen? I'm thinking a guy worth $42mil is someone I've seen plenty of highlights on ESPN or NFL Network. Maybe even someone the Vikings fans talk about as one highlight in an otherwise bad season. Maybe the networks just didn't have enough time to sort through all of those 18 tackles and 5.5 sacks. Had we known they were willing to pay $466,000 for each tackle we should have traded Julius Peppers $14mil to them. Pepper's 31 tackles and 7 sacks fit right into that model. No, I don't want to pay $84mil to Michael Bennett.

A bad Dline didn't help but taking bad angles and over-running plays has a lot to do with Bostic himself. He could have done a lot better to get in the right position to stop plays. The most troubling aspect is that he didn't seem to have a learning curve as the season went along. Of course his position coach was fired so we'll get to find out how much that played into it. This is football, he's played enough years that he should have some of these basics down.

…. and Matt Forte.

I think any team with a QB crisis, and therefore no big cap hit on the QB position, will, after last year's performance, look at McCown as a potential stopgap QB while their rookie learns the ropes. Add to that all the good stuff about McCown pulling rookies into meetings during minicamps and other times to learn the offense and you have exactly what a team will want from their veteran stopgap QB. No QB very quickly equates to no job for GMs and others in the front office. There is no other position as important to stabilize as that one. I don't think guys like McKenzie in Oakland with a ton of cap space will think twice about spending $5mil/yr for a 2yr deal on a guy like McCown.

I think your estimates are some of them are reasonable from what we've seen so far but you are too high on the deal Mundy will get. He seems to be a backup player and special teamer. In other words, competition for Conte. Mitchell is starter material and could end up with a bit more than 3yr $10mil. I know we jump in the ring going after the first tier of FAs like all teams do but hearing about our interest in guys like Mundy makes me think Emery is very targeted with his initial FA contacts. It feels as if he IDs 2nd tier and some 3rd tier guys he really wants, knows the market value, and goes after them aggressively from day one willing to give them top dollar for the range they are expecting to sign for. It seems a lot of other teams wait to see what the market will be for the 2nd tier and especially the 3rd tier. We do some of that as well, as we should. However, I think some teams look at it as: Ok we have these 3 players ranked similarly get me 1 of the 3 for the lowest price of the 3 players. Emery seems to be more clear in his first 2-4 FA targets and for those he knows which 1 among that group of FAs he wants and goes quickly to sign them even if it means he ends up paying the most of the group. We don't have a big data sample yet but so far in the last two off seasons this appears to be his M.O. IIRC we went after Bushrod and Martellus Bennett very quickly when bigger names were available. We waited for the market to drop but it seems clear now that Slauson was targeted early on in FA last year. He hit on all 3 of those signings last year IMO.

http://www.suntimes.com/sports/football/be...mel-tucker.html Lane gives some insight into how Tucker ran the D in Jacksonville. He is right, I can't name 5 players from that defense that ranked #6. In fact I can't name two (one name only because of Lane). Sounds like we are going to see a lot of different looks from our defense this year. Can't say results will be different but after a decade watching the Lovie 2 if nothing else at least it will have me wondering what we're going to do next.

I watched this video on the Chicago Bears website and have even more appreciation for what Ratliff will mean for our new Dline. Shots of him coaching guys like Wootton on how to play the position are great to see. Add in his experience playing at a Pro Bowl level (even if he doesn't get back to that) will benefit those around him. http://www.chicagobears.com/multimedia/vid...ca-d5495e3b057d

Two items caught my eye yesterday: Chad Henne signed a two year deal for $8mil Matt Cassell signed a two year deal for $10mil If that's the market for backup and/or care-taker QBs while rookies learn the ropes, goodbye Josh McCown. He did a great job for us and if he can now get a similar contract to those above then that's great for him and his family. It's just not a deal the Bears can do given all the needs on defense.

I'm interested in Sproles but I'm not sure what he has left in the tank. He's over 30 and we all know what that means for RBs. I have a feeling the Sproles I want on the team is the one I saw 3 years ago and that's not the same guy who is available in FA. I actually prefer that we draft a good backup RB to get some youth at the position (I don't count Ford because I don't think he brings much to the table). This is the year where FA talent is loaded on the defensive side of the ball. That drives prices down and it's exactly what we need. I think the draft will focus on D but we can fill a lot of slots via FA and use a couple picks to solidify depth at RB and C.

Giving Bailey money to play a position he's never played is a big gamble. That's a gamble I'm not willing to take given that both of our safety positions need help. I may be wrong but I don't think the market is going to come calling his name very quickly.

When Urlacher was complaining about his contract, the one he signed, it was because it was all business and in his business mind he deserved more money. No loyalty at that time was needed on his part. The disloyal Bears gave him a pay raise in the middle of the contract. He needs to start growing up. Has any KR/PR ever made more money than Hester did on his last contract? I don't know the answer but I'm willing to bet on it. Hester has shown class and appreciation for his time here. I think the club is looking for a returner who can contribute in other ways, either as WR, RB, or DB. On a side note related to that: I still can't figure out why the league won't change the stupid game day roster rules and just allow all 53 to be active. Makes no sense in today's game.

You only get to do that when your QB is making less than $1mil. They got lucky last year in FA the way the market ended up. Reality is headed their way.

That's about what I was hoping for. Good deal by Emery and puts some strong leadership in the locker room at a position we will need it with so many new players.

I think Paea is quality depth. He's had too many injuries in his short career to be relied on otherwise. He can play at a decent starters level when he's out there. I liked him in the past, still do, and thought he'd turn into a good starter for us but at this point he is what his stats say he is. I would like Melton back but I'd also like Donald better in his place. Can't teach that elite athleticism, and he hustles too. IMO, if we draft Jernigan or Donald and pair either up with Ratliff we're in a much better situation at DT than we were at the start of last season. In either scenario, Paea is our backup. We should be likely bring back another DT from among our own FAs. I wouldn't rule out seeing Turk McBride (depending on how they felt about him before his injury) or Collins return to. Add in one more 2nd tier DT and we're done. On top of that Emery will toss in one more late round pick, or 3rd tier DT to compete. One thing is for sure, he is not going to training camp short on DTs this year. If the money isn't right on Melton's demands I'm probably moving on fairly quickly to get the next best talent.

No tipping of the hand please.