AZ54

It is not Kreutz's calls I'm worried about, it's Brees' calls.

Sure he knows everything he needs to know about the new and improved Henry Melton. The newest addition Amobi Okoye. Once again, what the Bears do is pretty basic. We are not the Jets. We line up, straight up, and do what we do, and Drew Brees knows that too. It's all on film, except the Saints only have one game of Amobi and Melton.

End around with one of the slowest skills position players on the team? Martz called a good game overall but sometimes he drives me nuts. Don't need Bennett out there playing QB in the wildcat either. We traded the farm for a Pro Bowl QB, keep him on the field.

I thought Colon was being courted to be switched to OG here.

Seems Jay is making a point to management: http://www.chicagobears.com/news/NewsStory.asp?story_id=8138 "His ability in this offense is endless," Cutler said of Forte. "He's such a smart player and he's so versatile. This offense really can't run without him back there. The way he's able to take screens and get into the passing game and still run between the tackles, he's a threat all over the field and there's not many running backs who can do what he does."

It was awesome! I love how the entire stadium was feeling the energy.

I rate the Oline better....B-. They were far from perfect but they did enough to make the offense effective. Not only that, they were opening holes on running plays in the second half when we had the lead. I give them credit too because they played with composure despite all the pressure that was on them. I grade the DBs lower too because they gave up too many big plays late in the game when all they should be giving up is underneath stuff. Meriweather was pretty much just reacting after the throw but I'm glad the coaches got him in there to get some reps. With his ability to break on the ball, once he gets comfortable with the reads, assignments, and with that pass rush in front of him I expect a few big plays from him this season.

Can't say the mistakes the Bears D made was any different in this opener than past years. We've always had some missed assignments, missed tackles, etc. What was different is having a puss rush up the middle.

Read my sentence more carefully: He isn't worth what DeAngelo ISN'T worth.

How many playoff and other key games has Minn lost due to AP's fumbles? Pass protection? Over the last couple years AP has lost some of his burst. I haven't seen him run this year so maybe he's got it back. He's still a beast to tackle and he's still one of the top RBs in the league but he's a RB. If Forte thinks he gets that money or anywhere close to it I say let him go. I much prefer to spend that cash on building an elite Oline in front of Cutler then we can put Khalil Bell back there to run the ball and he'll look like AP.

I see us matching up very well against Atlanta. I don't see their defense stopping our offense. Yes, you heard it here first. Not saying we'll put up 40+ pts but I think 25-30pts is doable. I don't see our defense giving up that many points against them. Just avoid the big plays and keep it all in front of 'em and the D will be fine.

Bears last year couldn't find success on 4th and short up the middle. Kreutz heads to New Orleans and they can't find success on 4th and short up the middle. At least they made it easy for us Bears fans to forget all the chatter about how cheap they were with Kreutz, and all in week 1. Kreutz will always be one of my favorite Bears but even lining up next to N.O. "better OGs" isn't enough to mask the deficiencies in his game these days.

Meet Hall of Fame player: RANDALL MCDANIEL Class of 2009 Guard >>> 6-3, 276 (Arizona State) 1988-1999 Minnesota Vikings, 2000-01 Tampa Bay Buccaneers Is Spaeth too tall? Maybe, but players at a lot of NFL positions along the lines (both sides) are taller these days than they were 10-15 years ago. I don't think the mismatch is always as great as believed. Regardless, he made some great blocks containing the end on many running plays in the preseason. He does not get tossed around like Greg Olsen did.

Sanzenbacher is very instinctive in how he runs his routes. He does those little things that QBs (and coaches) like in how he comes back towards the ball, or shifts away from a defender. After watching replays of him (gotta love the DVR) I can see why Cutler likes him. Jay knows he can throw away from a defender and Sanz will step into spot at the last moment. It has to make Cutler a lot more comfortable throwing into traffic. Earl Bennett has some of that ability as well but for Sanz to display it so early in camp is rare, at least among Bears WR history. I'll add that I wasn't very high on him when the early reports came out but after watching him against some 1's in preseason he still looked good even though he's not that fast. I don't expect him to become something he's not, but I can see how he could be a solid backup WR for us, and eventually end up as a 3rd/4th WR in the league. It's not always about how fast you are, I know you have to have some of those guys but you also need others that know how to get open. If anything, watching Devin Hester's development has proven that.

He isn't worth what Deangelo Williams isn't worth.

Don't want Osi over 30, coming back off knee surgery, and wanting a huge contract.

J. Moore is still eligible for the practice squad.

I disagree over your premise that we only complain about the players. Over the years I've been reading this board there has been plenty of digital ink spilled complaining how the Bears were too cheap to pay good players and that it hurt the team. I think most of us look at each individual situation and evaluate it based on player performance and pay relative to other players/teams around the league. As far as I know, nobody on this board has come out stating that Matt Forte does not deserve a new contract, including me. In fact I've seen more complaints about the Bears dragging out the process but there has been plenty of debate over what the terms of his new contract should be. Of course Forte hasn't demanded a trade.

LOL, I thought about those days but I was a kid back then. About all I can recall from then is thinking that those guys didn't look like they knew what they were doing.

Not at all. You have the freedom to shop your talent and you found a higher bidder. Your employer and you both chose to accept the risk that comes with a "at will" position where either side can terminate the agreement at any time. Briggs too has the freedom to work anywhere he wants. He does not have to work in the NFL and he can walk away tomorrow. He chose to sign that contract and received a huge bonus for doing so (unlike you). He does take the risk that the club will decide they don't want him anymore but in that instance he walks away with that huge bonus money. What you forget is that the club accepted the risk that his performance would stay at a high level for that many years.

I am not comparing my job to an NFL players, not even the money. I am comparing behavior. Briggs publicly threw the entire Bears organization under the bus years ago then the Bears rewarded him with a bigger contract than anyone else offered him. Briggs had more value to the Bears and the Bears honored that. Briggs could have pursued a 3 or 4 year deal with lesser money upfront so he could hit FA again but he wanted the long term deal with bigger bonus. His choice not mine, and now that he made it and got the reward he wants to throw the team under the bus again. This is not the type of locker room leadership I want on the roster. It's one thing if he made a request to team, even if everyone knows he would like a raise, but to rant and rave and then officially demand a trade is total BS IMO. What this team needs is some competition at LB and we're going to get that next year, early in the draft.

I'm surprised we're keeping 5 UDFAs. There is no way the Bears keep Reed and Addison on the roster for the entire year. My guess is that Reed is the better player right now stays and Addison, reportedly a better athlete who needs more time to develop, heads to the practice squad once the Bears sign a backup LB. Also, one thing I didn't realize was that after the first week of the season teams can sign veterans w/ 4 years experience to a non-guaranteed contract. At this point I don't think the Bears have any interest in any veteran Oline so we can take that off the table. Definitely backup LB help is needed. This DeCicco experiment is just that, an experiment that is best done on the practice squad. I wouldn't be surprised to see the Bears doing something at safety, or CB. Did we really keep a FB? What's up with that? Seriously, this is Mike Martz running the offense. Will he even be active on game day? I'll be watching to see how this plays out in week 1.

Why can't we throw something at Michael McCaskey?

1) Unlike Chris Harris and Lance Briggs I have never been given a huge signing bonus that is mine to keep regardless of how well I perform. 2) I have asked for pay raises, certainly, but I didn't do so through the local newspaper and TV networks, nor did I even tell my coworkers. 3) I didn't sign a contract. 4) If I were too stupid to know how to read a contract I would at least maintain enough common sense to never make that so obvious to the entire world.

One way or another, it's always the beginning of the end when the negotiations show up publicly. They're either close or very far apart.