AZ54

Someone to challenge for the last roster spot (i.e. challenge Bowman again). I never heard of him in the NFL and I never heard of him when he played at ASU FWIW.

Melton can be a very good DE in a 3-4 front. Maybe that's what he's talking about?

I think at this point Johnson's value is about as high as it gets. That's simply because he performed well during the Senior Bowl week and thus some draftniks have him going before our pick. However, he is not without some flags. As always happens we have yet to see who the "risers" are in this draft. They are always there after the combine and after some pro days. I think the odds favor Johnson being available at our pick as some "athletes" jump ahead of him in the next two months. I also think Teo drops past us but I think where he ends up is based largely on his 40 time. I didn't watch many of his games but he never really jumped out as a game changer to me. A good player...absolutely. Blue chip? Didn't notice the above average athleticism (relative to NFL talent). Ogletree's athleticism stands out all over the field but he's also a bit raw at the LB position. Having him chase down guys like Cam Newton, RGIII, or Kaepernik looks awful good to me. He might not be Urlacher's replacement rather he's Briggs replacement. I can deal with that. He can play SLB for a year to learn the ropes, then MLB for a year before sliding into Briggs' spot. Cooper is also a pick I'm interested in. We have to fix the interior of the line but there are more FA options for OG/OT than LB this year so I think we end up doing something for the Oline. -------------------------------------------------------- Of your list I'm taking Johnson. When you can fix the LT spot for a decade you do it. It seems Johnson will need a year or two to develop but he shouldn't be worse than Webb to start and with Kromer coaching him I see him improving quickly.

Crazy expensive these days. I paid $300 for my ticket to the Seattle game this past season but I haven't been to the city to see a game for about 5 years. It will be another 5 or more before I make that leap again. I'll just wait for the next time they are in AZ. For me it's all supply and demand. The team isn't interested in the average Joe coming to the game they want more $$$. As a fan who'd like to see more games it hurts but on the other hand, if they can still sell all those tickets then it means my team has more $$$ to compete for Free Agents! I like part 2. Nobody should be shocked by this. They are paying Lovie $5mil to sit at home. As fans we still want them to go out and sign Melton plus a good FA Oline player. Something was going to give and in this case it's the fans giving more.

This is a pure crapshoot since he's brought in to compete for the last safety spot on the roster. Seeing as his coaches put that speed at the safety position I'll assume he's just a north south type of runner with below average cutting ability. Probably below average vision/anticipation too. He makes the team if we have a bad injury to one of the four players who are ahead of him but most likely either Steltz, or 3rd Rd dude who knocked himself out. How's that for an answer?

I like your list but 1) Urlacher is definitely a question mark depending on what he wants for salary. If it's not reasonable then move on. 2) I would add keeping Khalil Bell, he was more effective than Allen and after what he went through last year he should be willing to play for minimum salary.

Make him earn it.

Chris Williams went away.

It's not a question of what I want as much as what I think the Bears will do given their cap situation and needs (re-signing Melton at the top of the list). To be honest, after watching Spencer and EWilliams at LG I'd be happy if we had average play there. In fact if our Oline became average next year that would be a big step up from where they have been in recent years. Draft the top tier OG of the future and he's in the mix with Louis and possibly Brown for the 2nd and 3rd spot on top of that will work for me. Even drafting a rookie LT assuming it's Fisher or Johnson....both those player need work in the weight room before they can excel. They'll be average. We will not go from bottom feeder to elite in one offseason but we need to put the building blocks in place to get to above average.

I don't see us going after Levitre. Can't see us in a bidding war over a LG when we need LT/LG/RG/RT help. I think we'll grab one of the second tier OG players...probably go after him hard on day one so he doesn't get any other visits. Whoever Kromer see as best potential but needs better coaching (gotta account for the egos).

Yes he looks fast running straight up field while the defenders are running in from the side to tackle him. Faking out a punter does not make anyone in the NFL elite. Look how quickly the defender who made the tackle got into position to even make the tackle on him. Admittedly it was aided by Hester avoiding the punter and forcing Hester toward the tackler. Yet I won't argue the point about his speed and I'll stick with results. His salary equates to more TDs IMO if used for a good OG than it does spent on him. Now I would take Hester back for the right price. I'm not sure his head is on straight but if he'd be happy as PR/KR for say $1mil/yr then I'd do that. I just think he values himself a lot higher than that.

Lol, you don't think Lovie was part of those decisions? How many times did he say Hester was a #1 WR? He had to go out of his way to make that statement when everyone else was just hoping he could be an effective #3 or at best #2 WR. Looking back on this and now the stories about weak minded Hester is, it's clear how much Lovie coddled his ego. How about once Emery came in and then they did the evaluations of personnel? No input there on the Oline and top need for the team, which was clearly stated post draft as adding a pass rusher in Rd 1? Higher need than finding a decent LG instead of relying on Spencer or EWilliams? Chris Williams at LT or LG? Emery is a hard working guy but maybe all that talk about how solid our line was is what Lovie was saying behind closed doors? While the rest of us were busy looking up exactly who SMC was and his highlight films, paramedics were busy reviving Jason. Then there is the effective, rather ineffective, use of personnel. How many passes did one of the best pass catching RBs in the NFL catch in 2012? We can go back to all the hype of Tice's "Hester package" as well here. Quite simply other teams got more out of less talent on their offense. I'm not saying JA had no part of the debacle on offense, he deservedly paid his price. Yet over the years Lovie and his multitude of coordinators have proven he doesn't know offense. We've always thought it was the short leash Lovie was on the last few years causing the lack of OC interest from the last resort selection of Martz to Tice. Perhaps there was a little more to the lack of interest than that. How many horrible offensive game plans have we seen over his tenure where we did NOT attack the opponents weakness? Packers have one the worst run defenses in the NFL but we give Forte the ball 7 or 9 times in a game (going back to the first Packers-Bears game in each 2011 and 2012 season). I won't claim to know how to fix our offense but after all these years I can say that Lovie didn't have the solution either.

That's funny. It's much easier to just say he's getting old.

That sums up nicely why Lovie Smith was fired.

There isn't much to dispute about that statement as anybody would be faster running in a straight line but Hester does not have Jacoby Jones' speed. He never really had elite top speed and for proof of that watch some past highlight videos of other players escorting him into the endzone. What he used to have was elite quickness and the ability to cut in one motion, one step, in a different direction. He still has most of that quickness but no longer uses it correctly in decisive moves and so he's easy to tackle.

Maybe he reads the writing on the wall with a new head coach who expects everyone to know their job and run their routes correctly. Come to think ofi t, Cutler had that same expectation too. Add in the other post's comments about Marshall and Jeffrey and it seems Hester just doesn't like the competition on the roster. Lovie and Drake coddled him for years (he's a #1 WR before he even played WR) and he's going to struggle to find that kind of affection anywhere else. I'm all for a trade.

If this is the Saints philosophy -- focus on getting above average OG/C to protect the middle of the pocket and worry less about the edge rushers so the QB can step up if need be, or slide protection to the outside via TE/RB -- then I have to think this comes to Chicago along with Kromer. Add to this the interview comments from Anthony Calvillo about how Trestman fixed their blocking scheme: http://espn.go.com/chicago/nfl/story/_/id/...o-bears-offense ------------------------------------------------------------- So what did he do? "There's a standard practice in our league on how to block certain blitzes, popping out offensive linemen to block linebackers and leaving the middle pocket vulnerable to one-on-one battles with guys you don't want to block one-on-one. "So he had them protect from the inside out, with as many double-teams inside as possible. Our protections changed week in and week out, but the base was inside-out." No other team in the CFL was blocking like this, Calvillo said. But it worked. -------------------------------------------------------------- Despite all the chatter on here about bad Oline protection our biggest issues were with the middle of the line when considering both run blocking and pass protection. There are many concerns across the board on the Oline but this discussion is largely focused on LT and perhaps the Bears will be more focused on OG/C. With Louis coming off a serious knee injury there is literally nothing in the hopper at OG right now. Between the philosophy and need If past is prologue then I'd say we're more likely to invest in a FA OG to shore up the inside. Since they are cheaper than OTs that should also leave more cash for signing Melton. We might grab another OG in Rd 1 or 2 depending how the first round goes down. If one of the top 3 LTs are there for us then I think we're taking him, otherwise we go with the same 4 we finished with and that includes James Brown. Or will the new coaches consider Brown as a OG?

I believe he was comparing the draft rounds the players were selected in, not their performance on the field.

Don't see anything that makes him better than the 3rd or 4th QB we already have so why waste a pick?

One at least one of the Matthews sacks Webb and whoever LG we had at the time double teamed the DT while Matthews held back for a second. Then Matthews rushed the edge and Webb never left the double team to pick him up. How much more help does he need to read a simple play like that?

Interesting reading. I wasn't so much interested in our rankings as much as the the rankings of some of the FA OL I saw on that list. Bushrod...not so great. Levitre pretty good. Andre Smith...pretty good. I also noted some of the other top ranked Oline on their respective teams weren't what I'd call household names. Talent can be found and developed outside the top 20 picks. We just haven't done it.

Sounds like a good pickup for competition for the bottom of the roster. Is he a faster version of Steltz?

He still has good speed but he is not elite anymore. I agree on the routes you describe for him but then again a lot of players can be successful on those routes if there is plenty of time in the pocket.

I agree. Just watch any game in the last two seasons and tell me who Hester has beaten in a one-on-one situation? He always gets tackled by the first guy and most of the time loses yards (loses as in - does not gain what could be had) by dancing when he should just hit it hard and take what he can get. These are 3rd and sometimes 4th CB on the opponents roster, or a safety. Nobody is worried about covering him. In fact I'm more worried that we'll give him the ball on another stupid reverse and that I'll have to watch him dance around until he runs out of bounds.

Because finding good NT is difficult. Which goes back to my point that many teams now run the 3-4 so finding the right talent for the scheme is harder than it was 10 years ago.