AZ54

I don't like Minter at 20 either. Too slow, has good skills reading the plays but he seems like the type of you can find in the 2nd Rd in most drafts.

I'll support that line of reasoning. When Bruce Arians took over he fired the DC, who had done a very good job. Said he didn't want anyone from the old regime on hand to undermine the positions of the new staff. There is no way he is the only person in the NFL thinking that way. Overall I think the Urlacher position comes down to the fact they wanted to pay him solely for what he could do on the field but there was no added value in their minds for his leadership. That's simply because the potential positives were outweighed or at least offset by the potential negatives of him not liking the "new system".

The final calculation of this will have to be based on the fact he wanted a 2yr deal. We know he wanted $5mil/yr but for sake of discussion we can assume he'd have agreed to something in the $3.5mil/yr range. Of course we'll be able to see how he performs for whichever team signs him, and for how much over these two seasons.

I think at this point AZ just grabs whichever QB remains at their 2nd Rd pick. Can't say there's much difference between the few who will go in the first round and those who will be available in Rd 2.

Probably the first time anyone has used the phrase... DIII steal.

Agreed

Best available in Rd 1 now and I don't even mind if that's a CB. Tillman isn't getting any younger.

"Career high 19 receptions last year" Not gonna miss that.

After digging around a bit it seems he had a $22mil deal with Carolina in 2011 and his stats are pretty good. That kind of money doesn't get tossed around for nothing so he must have been good. The back injury is a big concern and likely is why he signed a 1yr prove it deal heavy on incentives (that can take him near $1.75mil for this season). All in all it appears Emery went out and for Urlacher's money (seems he wanted at least $3mil/yr) definitely filled two spots with equal or better talent than we had last year. Net savings equates to what we'd have paid Roach. We gained more flexibility in the draft for our first pick as well. This is why the team gave Urlacher an ultimatum or "best and final" offer. Emery knew the market had come down for some of these available LBs and he had to act fast to get the players he wanted.

What does that have to do with the amount of muscle he has on his frame?

I don't hate Hester, I don't like what we've paid him versus what he's done lately but if moved back to strictly return duties hopefully he'll focus on losing the bulk and get some of his quickness back. Hopefully he won't run scared either. I won't be upset if the Bears trade him or cut him, he's no longer a must have IMO.

Let's hope they'd like to move up to #20.

I like your plan but I believe the staff feels we have options. With the team stating they'd like to re-sign Scott it seems they feel Carimi will be at OG and so I see him at LG. He used to play LT so changing back to the left side should be a no-brainer for him. -------------------------------------------------------------------- If we stay at 20 I can see us taking Fluker for RT simply because the wish list OG are gone by then. In this case Scott gets cut and Webb ends up as our swing OT. Or Webb gets cut, don't care either way. Rd 2 goes to LB. Rd 4 goes to rookie C. Bushrod,Webb Carimi/Brown (best man wins the job) Garza/rookie Louis/Brown Fluker/Webb -------------------------------------------------------------------- If we trade back and Fluker is gone I see LB in Rd 1, OG in Rd 2, and C in Rd 4. The 3rd Rd pick we get is used to draft a safety.....(just kidding Lovie's gone but wait didn't Emery draft an injury plagued S in Rd 3 last year?) I'd say we draft our WR there. Bushrod/Carimi Rookie/Brown Garza/Rookie Louis/Brown Webb/Carimi (best player wins starting role) ...and yes, I said the staff feels Carimi is best suited for OG but his versatility to backup either OG/OT does add value over a player like Scott. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- From an overall team standpoint I'd like to see us trade back as it helps us out tremendously. I don't know college players that well so I'll let others fill in those blanks but there are several good options for OG in Rd 2, several good WRs available in the 3rd that fit what we need, and finding a C in Rd 4 should be no problem either.

1) Chad Johnson has been inspired to earn a decent multiyear contract for several years, it ain't happening. 2) Don't need him running his mouth on the bench. That's a spot for a rookie who can play some special teams and be groomed to take Bennett's place. 3) I can go to Fit Speed and work my ass off, be in great shape, and I'll still run a 5.5 forty. So it will be for Chad Johnson: Faster than me, but he's still going to be slow by NFL standards. Conditioning has not been his problem, the film doesn't lie.

I like it. I don't see Brown as a MLB but talent is there and soon we'll need to replace Briggs. DJ can man the middle for a season (or two if he behaves).

You completely lost me in that argument. At first you compare signing Roach who has several years of NFL film for teams to evaluate versus college players who have none? I see no correlation there and I believe the odds of Roach performing at a similar level to what he did in Chicago are much higher than 50/50. These are the same people who have film to watch on Urlacher, playing alongside Roach no less, yet don't call him because ....? Then you say "The NFL Owners have their hands firmly in a bucket of "what if," and a known quantity with some upside and years left in the league is about a sure a bet as they can expect to see." Is Roach or Urlacher the sure bet?

Maybe it confirms that teams ran at 225lb Geno Hayes and he wasn't good at stopping the run? Or Blake Costanzo, or the 6th guy off the bench?

Riddle me this: Why did Roach have multiple team visits right off the bat in FA and then sign for more than $3mil/yr when Urlacher can't find work?

Maybe Cutler is supposed to read Webb's block and then start running?

Take the $500k in savings and use it to help sign a FA LB.

Minter is to too slow, may end up just a two down LB. Jarvis Jones' might run just as slow but he has proven he can rush the passer very effectively. Better fit in a different scheme (i.e. 3-4)

Your argument is losing steam because anyone around the league is looking at... ... Julius Peppers earning his $13 million this year ... Charles Tillman is set to earn almost $8 million ... Lance Briggs will make $4.25 million ... Jay Cutler $10 million ....Brandon Marshall $9 million ....Tim Jennings $4.25 million Every guy on that list earned their money with an excellent season last year with the exception of Cutler who played average. This talk of how negatively the teammates feel toward the Bears organization would have us think they all lined up at the door to take a pay cut for their leader. That wasn't even the case with Lance Briggs who eagerly grabbed his extension just last year without the foresight to realize it might cause him to lose his teammate. I'm quite certain that the younger players on their first contract realize that Urlacher earned over $60,000,000 (with a couple of mid-contract increase no less) from the Bears during his tenure there and that is not "cheap". I'm 100% confident they'd love to have one of those cheap contracts and then be willing to be shown the door 8-10 years later.

Saw Urlacher play when I went to Chicago for the Seattle game. He is not nearly what he used to be. He was slow all over the field. In the end it was SMC playing the spying role on Russell Wilson...that didn't work well either. Urlacher is still good in a small area and can make some tackles but Roach had something like 14 tackles against the Cardinals while filling in for Urlacher. Did I want him back? Yes. Do I regret the team not overpaying to bring him back? No. I agree with their assessment that he's a 2-down LB these days. As far as those stating the Brian's teammates will miss him. Brian has yet to state which of those teammates he will cut to make room for his demands.

That was Lovie's #1 WR!

Agreed, this is bad for Izzy. Izzy has looked very slow in his last two seasons, a far cry from the athlete he used to be.