AZ54

I think he starts at LT. I can't really see moving JWebb over to the left side and I don't think Chris Williams is better at LT than Carimi. I prefer JWebb's size at RT over Chris Williams. I think the best bet is to leave Williams at LG and let him develop there. Draft a rookie to challenge for the RG spot. That should leave us with Omiyale as our backup OT, plus we'd have Williams available in an emergency. Assuming Webb improves in his second season that's pretty good depth at OT. The big question is if the Bears really think Edwin Williams can be a starter at C. If not, then we're going after a starting center in this draft moreso than an OG. I hope that's not the case and we can focus on OG.

Didn't realize Tice's son played up there with Carimi. Tice should have known everything you'd ever want to know about this guy before drafting him. If in fact the Bears were trying to trade up to get him, when you know that's not our style, it says a lot about how strongly they felt about him. I think we just drafted our next leader of the Oline (down the road of course). Not only should Cutler be happy so should Matt Forte. Now find a big RG to line up next to Carimi and the road to the playoffs will be paved.

Perfect fit both need and talent. Great pick.

We'll see what Fairley's work ethic is once he gets his big check. I'm always leary of one year wonders.

This would be all fine if the union wasn't still acting as a union. In that case we'd go back to the old days of each team fends for itself financially, as does each player. However, I don't believe the union wants that and would work very quickly to stop that if things started heading in that direction. It would mean a lot less benefits for players, both active and retired. When the union fires DeMaurice Smith and player reps quit acting and talking like player reps (player reps don't exist when you don't have a union) then I'll believe the union is serious about their actions. Otherwise it's just a scam to get owners to pay them during the offseason. I don't really care that the players don't like the offer from the owners, that's their decision. I just don't like this tactic. If the situation were reversed: The players went on strike and then the owners disbanded as a league it would be viewed as union busting especially once they formed a new league. At least the owners admit they want to continue with the similar setup of collective bargaining. I don't really know what the players want anymore but perhaps they should get their wish and see the anti-trust exemption removed and the league disbanded.

Either there is a union or there isn't a union. IMO because the players decided to go this route in court there is no union and therefore nobody to negotiate with except each individual player and his agent.

Hard to say what is a good offer when there's a reasonable chance these guys won't even work this year. If that were to happen or even a partial season there's no telling what happens to ticket revenues. We've seen this before in plenty of other sports to know that fallout from a prolonged lockout/strike (either) is not well received by fans. Anyway, it's early on in the negotiation process and these were likely just feeler offer the Bears put forth to get a idea what the other side is looking for. It always gets blown out of proportion, and it's done by those who want the negative publicity against the owners.

I can't understand the judge's logic. There is harm to the players but no harm to the owners in terms of loss of revenue and profits? It's ok for a union to strike and the players in essence can collectively bargain when they so choose, and disband whenever they feel it's beneficial, but the owners side can't collectively act on their behalf the same way with a lockout?

Sounds like business as usual to me.

I was mocking the fact you aren't sure King's opinion is worth much, it's not. I value your opinion far more than King's. I like what Don Pompei is reporting (link below) about the rush for QBs late in Rd 1 and that it could mean a good Oline prospect falls to the Bears. I can see that happening because there are so many teams in the top 15 of the draft that really need a good QB prospect but with Newton and Gabbert the only players worthy of top 10 picks (even that is debatable) teams will pass on them early to grab a better talent and then the hunt is on to grab the best of the second tier QBs. Knowing this the Bears should not commit to a trade down early, and JA admitted this is what appears to be happening. They must wait and see who falls to them before making any decision. JA seems to agree with this strategy but you know he gets antsy on draft day until he gets his trade-down completed. http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/footb...,4698802.column

You're not sure? Really?

Yes, we all know the players are making a half-assed attempt to upstage the NFL Draft presentation. If the owners are trying to sabotage that event they are just as wrong as the players are. I'm ok if they publicly state they would like the players to attend the draft but going behind the scenes to influence agents makes no sense. Why would you want to do that anyway via the agents? Do I trust anonymous agents with these accusations? Not really. They might be just currying favor with some of their clients and / or future clients by way of saying they are supporting the union. For all I know this is nothing more than team reps expressing their personal feelings that the players should attend the draft if invited. I'll wait for more details on this one.

I agree the need is greater on Oline since we must protect our QB. However, you have to play the hand you are dealt and if there is a big run on Oline early in the first round then we have to be smart and take the better talent that still fits a big need. You know the second tier guys are more likely to be there later because many teams would have addressed their Oline needs early. I still think we'll be able to get either a good Oline or DT prospect with our first pick but that we should lock into one or the other because there is secondary talent that isn't that big of a dropoff at both positions.

Chose Dareus because he fits the biggest need with the top 5 talent. With a great Dline you average corners can play well and we'd have Peppers and Dareus. That's why Green would be my second choice but I just don't see him contributing as much to our Wins next year as Dareus would.

A FA WR is likely to contribute more on offense than any rookie WR we could get. In fact it's reasonable to expect that no rookie WR would perform better than any of current WRs in Martz system, even if they might end up a better player years down the road. OTOH an Oline rookie or two drafted early would likely perform better than what we had last year protecting Cutler as well as opening running lanes for Forte.

I expect our Oline will be better than last year and our offensive unit will be in the second year with Martz so WR and QB will be on the same page far more often early in the season. IMO the year Cutler had with our WR corps and behind that Oline is way underestimated or under-appreciated. Your comment about replacing Tommie last year is interesting in that sense that we had nobody to replace him last year and our defense was pretty good but not great. What we need is someone to get close to replacing the 2006 version of Tommie. Just get some early pressure up the middle to keep the QB from stepping up and I believe Peppers and Izzy will have a field day. So yes, I think the playoffs are likely for the Bears again.

That's interesting but one key to winning the Superbowl is drafting blue chip players when you draft early. Every team has to have a few of them on the roster on both sides of the ball. If you draft in the top 10 and come out with just a starting caliber player, while it helps the team improve I look at it as a missed opportunity. Naturally some drafts the talent level isn't that good. Of course you can also get elite players in FA like the Bears did with Peppers.

I'd be happy with that draft.

We're talking about him falling to late 3rd round. I don't see that because he was too productive at a good program in a good conference. If he is there in the early 3rd and we haven't grabbed a DT yet then the Bears need to consider moving up to draft him. Everyone knows the teams we need to get ahead of to do that and it appears there's only two of them.

IMO the NFLPA was more concerned about managing fan sentiment during the negotiating process than it was with actual negotiating. They lost a bit today when the judge held off on making a decision for a couple weeks and asked them to again go back to the negotiating table. Now that the union has decertified who exactly are the owners supposed to negotiate with? And if the union negotiates it just proves what we already know...that the decertification was nothing but a scam. Because of that this situation puts the owners in the driver's seat. Even if they were to lose this case they'd have evidence needed to file an appeal. Will the players bite on this? I know the judge told them doing so wouldn't hurt their position. I'm not a lawyer but logically I'm not so sure she's right but then there are a lot of things wrong with our laws.

This was done with the Bears, at times, inept offense over the last few seasons. From the Bears website: http://www.chicagobears.com/news/ChalkTalk...p?story_id=7716 I keep hearing that Greg Olsen is no longer a threat in the passing game. But didn’t he lead the Bears in receiving touchdowns again in 2010? Roger W. Iowa Yes, Greg Olsen tied Johnny Knox for the Bears lead with five touchdown receptions in 2010. Olsen also topped the Bears with five TD catches in 2008 and eight in 2009. Olsen’s 20 career TD receptions are the second most by a Bears tight end, trailing Hall of Famer Mike Ditka’s 34. Olsen’s 18 touchdown receptions the past three seasons rank sixth among NFL tight ends, trailing Antonio Gates (26), Vernon Davis (22), Tony Gonzalez (22), Visanthe Shiancoe (20) and Dallas Clark (19).

Sherrod doesn't get much coverage on this board for our first pick This is shaping up to be an interesting draft from the OT perspective because both Solder and Sherrod could be there when we pick. It seems Sherrod is the better player right now but Solder has higher long-term potential and perhaps more importantly better athleticism to anchor the LT position for the future but might struggle this year.

This is one year I'd gladly accept the HoF game. Among all the other positions getting extra practice time, perhaps most importantly would be to let our backup QB situation get settled better by giving Hanie and his competition more reps in game situations.

As much as I'd like to see our defense return to bad-ass status if those options are there then I say we have to protect our franchise QB. Without Cutler we aren't going anywhere. Solder seems like more of project than I'd like but apparently has all the athleticism you want in an OT. He might end up the only OT on our roster who can protect a 7-step drop. But then what will we get out of the running game behind him?

I get the same impression about the talent level in those picks. There are going to be some players that fall out of the top 20 that teams really want. You see guys like Carimi going anywhere from mid-teens to late first, among other Oline prospects. QBs are going to shape the late 1st and early 2nd Rd too because a lot of teams need QBs, three of them will go in Rd 1 but then when it comes to guys like Ponder and Mallett, plus Dalton is getting talked up more too. There's a big drop off after those guys so I expect some movement in the late first to get one or two of them. However, our needs are very acute on Oline and DT and if our guy is there when we pick, just grab him. I think there's a chance of a very good player at one of those positions being there. We can't afford to lose the right fit for our biggest needs in order to get a similar talent-level player somewhere else on the field.