AZ54

Football is game. This message board is also just for fun and this is to play "what if". I'm not sure why you are so stuck on this issue. Like I said, there are too many other variables as Jason correctly noted with schemes and coaching that will impact how a player ends up performing. Nonetheless, we can isolate on the draft itself and choose our players versus what the Bears chose. This has to happen AFTER the draft in order for us to know: a) where we pick in case we trade down or up what players are available when the Bears pick It seems the majority are on board with the concept let's begin defining the rules. How will we setup the "board" of the players that will be in the poll?

Canceling a pro day is a huge PR blow. It basically means there was little to no interest. At this point right before the draft, one with a weak class of QBs, should be the highest point of interest from teams with no QB. Russell might be competing with UDFAs to be a camp arm. There is no way this is what his agent planned on happening.

I've been thinking about all the recent chatter about if the board could be smarter than a GM (or let's say as smart as). Now there are far too many aspects of a GM's job for us to sit here and say we got it...from FA, to staffing levels, scouting, knowing the inside details of player's behavior, details on injuries, etc. However we can approximate the one area of most interest these days...the draft. This is some long term thinking here for those who have been with this board for several years. I believe we can build our own draft and save it for future evaluation. After the draft the board is usually quiet. This off-season I propose we take on the challenge of acting like a front office and run our own draft. Once the draft is in the books we will know which players are available at our picks. We can setup simple votes for each pick. That's the easy part. I think we should handle this round by round starting with round 1 of course. First, we have to setup the "board". Give us some time perhaps a 2-3 days for everyone to submit, debate, and negotiate who should be our top 5 on the board at that pick. Or will we need more players on the list? Then post the vote for a couple days so everyone gets a shot to vote. This approximates what teams are doing these last couple weeks. We'd have to decide on criteria for winning or choosing the draft pick. Will it be simple largest % of votes wins. Or do we run a second vote of top 2 players if nobody gets more than say 35% of the vote? We'd have to debate how best to handle this as there are a myriad of options. In the unlikely event of a tie I propose Pixote gets the tie breaking vote on behalf of his extensive history as a Bears fan and as an admin here. If we need to include more than 5 players (more likely in last few rounds as opinions will be more diverse there) we might have to do two rounds of voting to narrow down the list to a small enough group that the final vote will identify a clear draftee. This is simpler in the first round since we know more about the candidates and who is likely to be there but it does get more interesting in the later rounds and we will (at least I will) be relying on our draftniks for input on players in the later rounds of the draft. Once our round 1 draftee is complete we move on to build the board for round 2, vote on Rd 2 draftee, then build the board for Rd 3, and so on. It's a way to pass some time over next few weeks and it will also build the official 2013 TalkBears draftee list. We can have it archived and reference during the season, next year, and down the road to see how we would have done compared what the Bears did. If we do this annually we'll have a solid history of board vs. Bears GM for the draft. Thoughts?

In that sense yes I think Robinson will end up a decent player in the NFL but not as a read-option QB. If anything the team that plays that game, much like with Tebow, has to waste limited practice time working on those plays.

I know Tillman went to the Pro Bowl last year but the offseason is about projecting future performance. In reality there were several games where Tillman was exposed in coverage. IIRC I think the 49ers game was the worst. His forced fumbles were something to enjoy and were largely responsible for putting him in the Pro Bowl. Yet he's a CB and his first job is to cover WRs to prevent completions. I can't see him at a Pro Bowl level in that role not even this season (I hope I'm wrong) and especially 2 seasons from now. His next contract will have to reflect that or he won't be in Chicago. The one year we finally seem prepared to draft interior Oline early and for the first time ever the top two OG might both be gone before #20. If the OG are gone and CB, in Trufant is the BPA at 20 I'm ok with it. I'd live with a DT as well if the right talent falls to us. Paea didn't perform as well as I hoped last year. No long term deal for Melton is on the horizon although I'd like to see it happen. DE would be an even bigger surprise (disappointment) but I can't rule that out either knowing Peppers huge contract next season is the easiest path to lots of cap space. Now we have to compare the rookie plus maybe 4 other good FA players to see what yields the best team overall versus keeping Peppers. If Emery is intent on getting a younger roster rapidly this may be what happens. I also don't know what FA are available after the 2013 season. There could be plenty of talent available again next year for Oline.

Agreed, In a league where the average margin of victory is within a FG having one of hte most accurate kickers in the history of the game is worth the money. Compare what his $3mil gets us versus Hester's $2+mil? Or Bennett's $4mil?

I'd be ok with that.

Please no. There is no reason to take away the deep threat on any single play just to run some little QB option with a flyweight player. Didn't work with Hester and won't work with Denard Robinson.

Me too but I wonder if that won't happen behind our pick. 20 just might be a bit early to cash in (trade down) on all the action. Plus this is that type of draft with a weak top 10 and a lot of balance across the top 40 picks talent wise where most teams feel they can trade down and do better. That means.... who really wants to trade up?

Be a little careful with their groupings of the picks (i.e. picks 14-40) as even they admit it was somewhat arbitrary where they drew the lines. I do like their Pro Bowl analysis as it clearly showed your safest top 10 picks is LT. In fact that analysis yields more insight into who/what to draft than simply looking at 5 yr starters which, if they are on the Cardinals Oline, doesn't say much about the quality of the pick. Any team picking in the top 10 that does not get a Pro Bowl player missed IMO.

I've been on this board, and the one prior for something close to 10 years. Love it and appreciate all the great work Pixote and the other admins do.

Garza cut next season...agreed. Hester cut next season...not so sure he could end up with a new restructured contract for less if he pans out as a returner this season. If he won't accept that he's gone. Peppers I expect him to get cut and then perhaps rework his contract. I'd still like him around but not at that cap hit. Let's be honest here...he's not going to give us 10 sacks a year after this season. Bennett likely gone unless he excels in a big way this year. I expect his replacement to be drafted this year. I will not be surprised if Briggs is cut next year either but I tend to think that's less likely. Bottom line for me is that I believe Emery will give Trestman every chance to build his team. That was clear when Urlacher was let go.

I think we'll pass on this one. We already have some risk on board with D. J. Williams I can't see Emery putting another high risk individual in that group.

Of course the downside to that is after getting punished he didn't learn his lesson and got in trouble with the police. Brown is the safe choice but Ogletree has the higher ceiling IMO. I prefer Ogletree and if we draft him I expect Lance Briggs to pull him to the side and say "let me tell you a story about a Lamborghini".

I can't see a point where there isn't a better value/need match until late in the 2nd Rd, and that means last 5-7 picks in that round. That might even be a little early considering there will probably be an OG, WR, CB, or DT there that fits our needs better but I just don't know the draftees well enough to toss around names at that point. I even prefer to take Matt Scott with the last pick of Rd 2 (if we had it) over Te'o and I know that's a reach although to be fair I've seen some mention him as a 3rd Rd pick. After all that I guess that means 3rd Rd and I'd be ok.

Will losing 15 more pounds help him read defenses? I doubt it. Really, if this guy were serious about making a come-back this year he'd have been in shape well in front of the free agent signing period. To go out in front of people while still fat and out of shape telling them you'd like them to hire you shows a lot of arrogance. For those who say he may have changed his ways I say that behavior shows he has not. Do you not think his agent would have advised him to get in shape before getting in front of any NFL personnel? Did he listen? Here we are almost at the draft and he's still not in shape. In 2009 he had the worst completion % of any QB with over 100 attempts except for Derek Anderson. Prior years his best was 54%. Our beleaguered Jay Cutler throws between 58-62% completions. Knowing that completion % is the most significant statistic relative to QB success in this league, but not the only important one, and combine that with the above fact that he most recently demonstrated he still does not have the work ethic needed to succeed, what could possibly have anyone excited about bringing him in even if it's only to compete for a 3rd string job where he will get zero reps? I get the fact he can throw a football 70 yards, but I also get the fact that those plays happen perhaps once in a game. Reading a defense happens every snap. There is no lightning in this bottle.

First choice: Ogletree Second choice: Trufant

No to J'Marcus Russell. It's not just that he was bad on the field, he was bad in the film room, bad in the locker room, bad everywhere but McDonalds. I see no reason to suddenly think he gets it, he probably just wants more money.

Joeckel or Fisher and I also wouldn't have signed Bushrod. That money would have gone to fixing the OG or RT position.

Burfict ended up UDFA so he was available to us if we wanted him and there was no need to draft him in Rd 4. He did end up playing well but I was against drafting after watching all his selfish behavior here in Tempe over the years. Has he learned his lesson? Perhaps people sometimes grow up after getting kicked to curb. Massie was horrible for the Cardinals last year but did settle down a bit in the last few games. I don't think anyone on this board, including you, would have been happy with him in the 4th. He may end up on the bench this season if they draft LT in Rd 1 as I expect.

Any of the three is good with me but among them I'd choose Cooper. All three would help tremendously but I'd still continue to fix the Oline and Cooper can anchor the C or one of the OG spots depending on who our best 5 are in camp. I wouldn't care if it were Carimi, Slauson, or Garza who sat on the bench as long as the best 5 are out there. Austin is a unique talent but he's still just 175lbs. We can find a WR in a later round who can provide the speed we need. I'd be looking to go after a LB in round 2, hopefully Arthur Brown will still be there.

Having made my statement I do think it's extremely unlikely he would return to the field for the Bears.

I agree

You can think everyone "not in the NFL" is dumber than a box of rocks so I'll take your insult and move on. For the record, I never said I wanted to be a GM. I will admit I never felt anyone should take Akili Smith as a QB until the middle rounds. That was after watching him play all season long. Somebody who was smarter than me took him with the 3rd pick overall. I just don't have to run around on here insulting everyone who has an opinion. Learn to take a joke!

I haven't closed the door on him returning as a player for this season. I don't know if he'll think it's worth it to play for $2mil but I think that offer still stands. If he's not there he will not be an asst coach this year. Too soon for that. The team will otherwise keep him around for PR purposes.