AZ54

I agree on that. If we draft at #19 a guy who will be just an average LT then just put Chris Williams there and grab a higher rated player. He may end up being better than average anyway. Certainly we know more about him than any draft prospect and he did not fail at LT. In fact, he was better than Webb was last year. We have too many needs to reach for a guy in Rd 1.

Sorry but you have not been reading the latest medical studies. Beer, in moderation of 1 to 2 beers per day, is good for your health and has the same benefits that red wine does for lowering cholesterol.

I watched Youtube highlights of Mercilus last night and I am no longer very high on him at all. I just didn't see the burst off the LOS that I was expecting. He would still make our team better but I don't see first round talent there, he looks more like just a hustle-type player and if he gets blocked early he's done unless the play gets extended. He won't quit on the play but he's not making college OTs work that hard and I can't see him make NFL OTs worry too much either. Nick Perry on the other hand, he pops off the LOS, has spin moves like Freeney. He doesn't have much size, or at least sometimes seemed to get swallowed up, but for a part time edge rusher like we need I like him a lot more than Mercilus. He will definitely stretch pass protection wider and if he doesn't get there he'll open up holes for others to blitz through. All this is considering that Peppers will have the usual double team going on the opposite side.

Just reaffirms my suspicion that we're going OG this draft and moving Williams back outside. Regarding the comment on Tice putting Louis at RT versus C. Wiliams perhaps Tice was concerned about having Webb and Edwin Williams being next each other on the Cutler's blind side? Wouldn't Jay at least like a fair chance to see who was coming untouched between Louis and E. Williams? As I see it Tice puts what he feels is his best combination on the line regardless of what position certain guys might be best at. That is why guys move around so much.

That's exactly why I say let him go.

I agree with your assessment but I'm assuming Emery & Co. will have done their homework so I would't be upset. Scouting reports about Martin lately have made him sound more like Chris Williams and if that's the case then we might as well put Williams on the outside and backfill him with an OG in Rd 2/3. Considering the needs versus talent available I prefer DE in Rd 1 and OG or OT in Rd 2 or 3. I know I'm in the minority here but I liked what I saw from Kyle Adams last preseason, at least in terms of a TE as a WR. He also was praised for his work on special teams. With Kellen Davis back in the fold I'm not sure the Bears aren't content to head into the season and see what these guys can do. I'd add a late round pick for competition purposes but we have too many big needs at DE, CB, LB depth, Oline, and WR, to go TE early.

The Eagles aren't interested even after losing Jason Peters for the season? Bell is obviously looking for more $$ but he'll have to wait until after the draft when teams have a better idea where they are talent wise.

I'd be happy with Martin but not the TE in the 2nd Rd.

Wasn't Orson Charles the guy who could catch at the combine? IIRC he couldn't even run one of the drills (straight line across the field catching passes from both sides) and stay anywhere close to the line. That's pretty bad for a guy who had months to prepare for those drills. I'm also not part of the Aaron Hernandez fan club, not that he's a bad player but he's nothing special IMO.

Lovie did no favors for Hester by calling him a #1 WR. He didn't do any favors for the team either in ratcheting up his value in that way. He set the bar higher than Hester could achieve but at least there was some reconciliation and they allowed him to step back into his specialty as a returner and part time receiver. In short, Lovie thought he had the second coming of Steve Smith of the Panthers but he was wrong. Bennett doesn't seem to get much credit here but I like him...a lot. He's not flashy but when he's on the field he is very productive..unless Caleb Hanie is behind center. A 2nd or 3rd Rd WR should compliment the current group just fine.

Interesting thoughts regarding Tice and how bad our Oline was/is. Forte ran for 4.9ypc behind that line last year. Bell ran for 4.2ypc behind the backup Oline. Barber ran for a Cedric Benson-like 3.8ypc and half the time he ran the wrong way on plays. At some point we have to accept that someone was blocking for those guys. Jay Cutler was on pace to set a team record for yards in a season. I am by no means calling our Oline great, just pointing out that it's not all bad. I am also in the club of drafting an Oline player early in this draft. I was thinking we should go after LT since Webb is the biggest weakness but now as Jonathan Martin (the most likely candidate to be there at #19) appears to be more and more like Chris Williams, I think we should just put Williams back at LT and grab OG in Rd 2 or 3. Regarding the concept of grabbing starting caliber players via FA. It's friggin' expensive. Teams that try to do that repeatedly don't usually fair well because they can't afford good depth players. For data I present last years' Eagles roster. Huge splashes in FA but no money to fill the other holes on D. For us, I was hoping for an Oline starter or starting WR as our one big splash but in hindsight had we gotten two starters, say Nicks and Marshall, there just wouldn't be cap space to have Michael Bush, and Jason Campbell. We could have gone that way and I wouldn't be upset had we done so, however, I can't say we aren't just as well off or better having done what Emery did. Losing Cutler for a few games won't mean the end of our season. That alone makes us much better. There is still time to address other needs in the draft and FA. I doubt we'll get everything filled the way we'd like because there are just too many holes but a couple good picks in the draft at DE and Oline will go a long way to making the Bears a more complete team.

I'll have to do more research but I thought most drafts had Perry as a second-half to late first round pick. I don't see him being there for us in the second round. We might be reaching a bit to take him at 19 but his ability seems to fit Lovie's system perfectly and there is a large need to get someone with speed rushing ability who can dip their shoulder and get around the edge. After Perry and Mercilus I don't see anyone else who will help our D nearly as much.

Let's see here: "he is most effective in space" "has struggled securing catches in space throughout his career" I found the paradox amusing. Regardless, he sounds like Devin Hester who we already have and who we already pay good money to. Broyles might have better hands than Hester but it's hard to tell from the above comments. One thing we all have to keep in mind is Emery's quote on the day he was hired: "It's a big man's game." I don't think he looks at every player through that lens but let's look at his first foray into FA: Weems (specialty player and small), Costanzo, Jason Campbell, Brandon Marshall, Devin Thomas, and Michael Bush. It's very early in the Emery dynasty and there is not enough data here to determine if there is a trend or not. Plus, each of these players have their own positives relative to the other FAs that made them a good choice for our roster. However, I don't think we can entirely dismiss that quote either and we need to keep it in mind when considering who we might draft or sign in FA. So if I had to guess if Emery would take a chance on a guy like Broyles coming off of injury, I'd say no and not when we already have Hester there.

I tend to think we will take either Mercilus or Perry in Rd 1. If both are there I think we'll take Mercilus but who we get may depend on who San Diego feels is the better OLB in their scheme.

Cutler has already stated he is working on pass plays with Bates and they were installing many of the things they did in Denver. Tice is the OC but Bates seems to have quite a bit of input on the passing game.

Good signing here. Depth at WR with the size and athletic ability but more importantly he plays special teams well. Roy Williams and Sanzenbacher are gone. If anything, at this point they keep Knox as #6 if he truly is headed back to the field, or is that Weems who is our 6th WR? I really don't expect Thomas will be anything more than what he already is but in terms of all around contributions to the team he's better that Roy Williams.

Yes, I agree. You've got his best two years for less than the $20mil upfront money and that doesn't include annual salaries. On top of that the Bears are only locked in one year at a time so they have the flexibility if they so desire. the downside is they only have him for a year or two.

Good point.

If he wants $20 mil then he's a bargain in the Bears eyes at the franchise tag price.

He's not better if he can't get on the field due to injuries. For years people on this board complained about bringing in injury prone players (some have complained about drafting Carimi for that reason). Will Bell be better when he's on the field...yes. Will he be better when he's on the bench injured? Ok, there might be some debate about that one Eschewing a player because he happened to get injured is not the point. Injuries add up over time and can diminish a players ability. A consistent trend also is indication a player is more likely to get injured again. Like it or not, some people are not as flexible as others, or don't have ligaments as strong as others. There's a reason so many medical teams descend on Indianapolis for the combine. I don't know Bell's injury history but I believe all the NFL teams do and the interest he's received on the market indicates the concern. Again, there are many teams in need of upgrades on their Oline, or at least to have solid depth. Even the Packers appear to be just kicking the tires a bit although they might end up signing him. Since we didn't do anything in FA to address the Oline my position hasn't changed...we need a step function up in talent and we should make the commitment early in the draft rather than relying on another veteran with question marks.

Forte won't sit and give up $7.7million. That would be absolutely foolish especially when he's out there demanding more money. He might sit out training camp. If the Bears don't give him what he wants then his best market value for getting the big deal resides in having another Pro Bowl season. I guess I fall into the hater club though. Actually I'm a Bears fan and more interested in having the best team in the league. Having Forte this year definitely makes us more competitive.....this year. Having a 1st Rd and 4th Rd pick instead I believe makes us more competitive in years afterward. Kahlil Bell isn't anywhere close to Forte's ability yet he still averaged 4.3 ypc behind our Oline. Forte had 4.9ypc. In contrast Marion Barber, who often went to the opposite hole from where the play was designed, had a low 3.7ypc. Keep in mind most of Bell's carries were after Williams went out. Bell had far too many fumbles for my taste so he's not the answer IMO, maybe as a third back but he should have competition for that role. I'm just pointing out that it's reasonable to see a guy like Bush averaging 4.3ypc behind our Oline if nothing else had changed. Add in Brandon Marshall's effect on safety coverage and that becomes more likely. There's no reason we can't add another quality RB in the 2nd or 3rd Rd to have a solid tandem here. That means we now have two first round picks and we can grab a DE and perhaps OT/OG. However, if we had this option I'd like to keep our pick at #19 for the DE (hopefully) and trade the other one back into first half of Rd 2 and add another 3rd Rd pick. Then grab OG, WR in Rd 2 and CB, RB in Rd 3 and a pair of LBs or DT/LB in Rd 4. In this scenario we would bring in young talent that can either start right away or be solid depth at all places of need. These days Jonathan Martin sounds more and more like Chris Williams, for that we might as well put Williams back at LT and grab an OG road grader in 2nd or 3rd round to bulk up the inside. I like the kid out of Iowa State, Osemele, because he has some ability to slide outside to RT so he could be our backup RT and Carimi slide to LT if needed. Osemele is still a work in progress but he has the tools to be Pro Bowl caliber and we have the right coach to get him to that level plus he plays with some attitude which we need.

He won't be worried until we get our pass protection fixed.

He won't be worried until we get our pass protection fixed.

We usually see some cuts after the draft around Jun. For now teams don't want to commit until the see who falls to them.

McNeill plays a premium position and he clearly has the talent to play at a high level. For him to be available at this point indicates his injury issues are more serious than we know. How many teams have Oline, and specifically LT, as a top need heading into the draft? It seems everyone wants to wait and see who falls to them and then if it doesn't work out maybe McNeill gets some interest, or he gets interest later as a backup. I would like to see us add some LB depth so looking at Hawthorne makes sense. I wonder if the Forte negotiations are holding us up from moving forward on players like this because we aren't sure of our cap space.