AZ54

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.

I'm with you on this one. We can't give up everything for one LT when we have so many needs. Signing one of the second tier FA OTs give us room to fill out the roster and still makes our Oline much better.

There is wisdom here. Years ago teams like New England switched to a 3-4 in part because it was easier to find players that fit that system. That was due to the fact that most 4-3 defenses had no use for a huge NT who could do little more than play run defense and force double teams. Same with the LBs who often were labeled as tweeners (too big and slow to be a 4-3 MLB or too small to be a DE in most schemes). The back end (DBs) of these defenses is, as far as I know, interchangeable with a 4-3 depending on what scheme that coach wants to run. Now that so many teams want to run 3-4 many have trouble finding the NT. Supply and demand. Or they struggle to find the pass rushing LB. So yes it comes back to personnel as usual. One plus for having the 3-4 is having someone able to cover TEs or rush the passer on the field at all times. Guys like Gronkowski get open anyway. Teams have countered that with looking for safeties who are better in pass coverage and less like mini-LBs. The way the NFL rules are structured now for offense I am of the mindset that the only real way to stop an offense is to get after the QB. Doesn't matter if you can't rush the passer out of a 3-4 or 4-3 you are going to struggle all day.

That would be rushing the passer and occasionally dropping back into coverage? Which is exactly what he did last year. What you really mean is that you wish SMC could rush the passer like Clay Matthews.

It will depend on who his coach is but I see no reason a WR couldn't make the occasional pass coming off a reverse or bubble screen. Walter certainly did enough passing in his career as a RB. These plays aren't a staple of the offense but are run once every few games, just enough to keep defenses alert to the possibility of it on certain plays.

Late in the season I can remember him throwing over a wide open Rodriguez with 10 to 15 yds open space in front of him to pass to a double covered Marshall or Jeffrey in the endzone, a pass that went incomplete. With just 10 yds to go for a first down in the red zone and a couple plays to get it, taking the shorter option would have been the wise thing to do. Cutler was moving out of the pocket to his left due to pressure so he had to see Rodriguez right in front of him. In the first Green Bay game how many guys were covering Marshall? Always at least two and often three. Given that, it's hard to believe we couldn't get someone else open. A big chunk of that problem goes to Tice who upon seeing that heavy focus on one player couldn't scheme to take advantage of what they were doing but Cutler shares part of that responsibility too. Regardless the Packers knew where Cutler was looking to first and second option so they just stuck with it.

That's correct whereas it seemed on each play one of our Olinemen would mess up their assignment the Packers could more often string together several good plays. They had protection issues but it wasn't consistent on every play like Cutler faced. Cutler always knew there would be a breakdown he just never knew where it was coming from. I do think some of that stabilized the last few games of the season (i.e. Scott was better than Carimi at RT) but by then it was too late.

During his initial press conference Trestman said one line that stood out among many (paraphrasing): The QB must take what is there and live for the next play. This is one of Cutler's weaknesses as we have often seen him overlook wide open options on short underneath routes only to throw into coverage 15-20 yards down the field.

No it's not better than Cutler sulking on the sideline it's the same thing but your pretty boy will get treated with kid gloves for his tears. His goatiness needs to be fined for trying to blow out the knee of that Raven's defender. That guy should have been right in his face after that cheap shot. By the way, is the goat's girlfriend making excuses for his sulking this year or is the goat stepping up and taking the blame for throwing so many passes into the dirt or his game ending INT?

It's always enjoyable watching Tom Brady sulk on the sidelines. I'm quite sure the media will be all over him for that when there were still almost 3min left in the game. Anyway, this game was where finesse met brute force and lost.

No news on the much anticipated new WR coach. I guess it's addition by subtraction with Drake being gone.

Yes, that is the only way to ignore what your eyes see. I'll take him as a H-back or TE once he comes to his senses.

No on Te'o in the 1st Rd. I'd take Ogletree and I have only seen his highlights but he certainly looks more athletic and is a better fit for defending the passing game in the NFL.

I think what everyone knows and nobody wants to talk about is that we really need Urlacher's cap space to improve our roster.

I went about two seconds before I hit the WTF button.

I really don't know the background of these guys but to be honest many coaches hire assistants who have only been assistant coaches at the college level and nobody blinks an eye most of the time. At least these guys have dealt with professional players so I'm not worried about it.

They should have been stingier.

He hasn't changed since he almost ate his way out of the first round of the draft.

I misread his line and thought he said playmakers at LB. Nonetheless I like our defense but just didn't see them dominate consistently like a great D does. I agree on Melton, Peppers, and Jennings. Turnovers were the only area I'd say we were great at. We struggled all year to get off the field on 3rd downs. To get to that next level we're going to need someone else on the Dline to step up and be a more consistent playmaker. We also need a more mobile MLB regardless of scheme. Hopefully Urlacher can return to fill that role for one more season because I don't see many options without him. I think we'll still have a good defense this coming season.

I think our situation on defense is good not great. I only saw one real playmaker at LB last year...Briggs. I'm not sure what Urlacher will bring to the table with a full offseason to actually run and work out. I hope if he's back he regains some of his mobility but if he can't then at best he's got one more year. We were still better with him on the field than off. The dine is good but not great. Two Pro Bowl CBs but one is near the end of his career and isn't really a shutdown corner until he knocks the ball out of the WR hands.

From out of nowhere. At least Jacksonville and Cleveland are as close to nowhere in the NFL as there is. Very curious to listen to his press conference.