AZ54

I agree Olsen is lacking in blocking skills but we have to cut him a bit of slack on this because it's the coaches choice on how a guy is used. There are only so many practice reps and meetings to go around. TEs are required to attend meetings with the WRs and meetings with the Oline. Likewise they have to split their practice reps. Over the last couple years Lovie and Turner decided to use Olsen as a: TE, H-back, FB, and WR. That means he had to split his practice reps between a lot of positions. Exactly how many practice reps did Olsen get to work on his blocking? I like Olsen and I like his work ethic. He's done everything the Bears have asked him to do and he has been a good player for us. I see lots of posts about how Martz will use Olsen and hoping he won't just keep him in to block. After thinking about it, I have to say keeping Olsen as just a TE (leave out the WR responsibilities) could be the best thing for him. I think the H-back role is going to be part of his job too. Go ahead and let him take half of his practice reps learning how to block better. I think if he's challenged and given the time to work on it he will improve quite a bit in his blocking skills. We already know he can run pass routes.

I have no concern here. The entire world knows FS is our #1 target at this point in the offseason. There's no reason to attempt to hide it and it's better to do all the necessary research to make sure we pick the right guy, especially if we are going to attempt to trade up to make it happen. I'll never believe we intend to trade up for a FS until I see it happen.

Needs are FS, OL, CB in that order IMO. I see all the holes at DT but quite honestly we've spent picks there and those guys have to get a chance to step up (Gilbert) while others like Harrison get one more shot at being a "pro". While those bodies are ??? at FS we have nobody. Unless we believe in the miracle of Tice the ??? on OG/OT are bigger than at DT. CB has few players (literally 3) but behind them nobody.

Also on the NFL Network they said Flozell was cut with nobody behind him. If you are playing so poorly that a team prefers to cut you and go with whoever they pick up in the draft that's not a good sign. I think we can pass.

Picking him up for a 5th Rd pick would make me smile. We still have the 3rd and 4th Rd picks to do something at FS and CB.

He's available because he's bad.

Maybe Detroit is interested maybe they are just trying to bait us into paying a higher price. I agree, stay out of a bidding war over this guy. While he's likely better than what we have he can't be all that good if they only want a 4th.

Seems like a lot to give up for a 2nd Rd pick. I suspect JA is trying to do something with a package deal like that and for sure Brown is involved and I'm sure he'll listen to offers involving Olsen. I just prefer to keep Olsen around.

That sums it up!

Curious who told Vasher it was ok to miss tackles?

Bazuin hurt his knee in the first minicamp with the Bears or something like that and he was never the same. Not that we even know what he was before the injury.

I am not comparing Melton to anyone else's ability just making a statement that his lack of height in and of itself does not mean he can't rush the passer. Does his body type fit more in line with the typical 3-4 LB, absolutely. Am I expecting anything out of Melton this coming year, nope.

One thing I like about Martz is that all accounts say he's going to criticize and challenge players to be perfect. I thiink our offensive players are in for a bit of a shock but if they handle it well we should improve in all areas.

I'd say Tommie Harris is a real possibility if his play doesn't improve but he'll have all off-season and camp to prove himself. We just don't have anyone else that can play that 3-technique very well so coaches and GM would have to see someone step up in camp and preseason with Gilbert being the most likely IMO. Oline problems especially on the inside means we're likely to keep Kruetz and his ability to call protections while the team focuses on adding talent on his left. I can definitely see Rashied Davis being cut, I see it every night in my dreams about next season.

I wouldn't be surprised if 4 TEs stick on the roster because we got rid of McKie and we'll be using the H-back via the TEs to backfill his spot. Yet we know we are going to keep 6 WR on the roster. How many QBs will we keep on the roster this year...2 or 3? That might determine how many TEs stick. If we cut a TE I think the odd man out is Clark.

Shorter DEs are one of the latest trends in the NFL because they are finding it easier to get their shoulder underneath the OT and gain the leverage to get around the corner. I'm not banking on much from Melton but after seeing what guys like Freeney, Dumervil, and Harrison (Pitt) can do I can't say his height is a factor stopping him from being a good pass rusher especially since all we ask our DEs to do is get upfield and round the corner. It will be interesting to see if he's improved at all from last year under Marinelli's tutelage.

Whether he starts or not Taylor is not built to handle fulltime duties at RB, especially at his age. This is going to be a 2-man rotation regardless. I hope the "competition" does light a fire in Forte so he works harder this offseason to get back to what he was his rookie year.

Despite all the rumors this tells me that Peppers is our new RDE and the team felt that Brown wasn't going to make the transition and be effective at LDE. Izzy and Anderson have already lined up at LDE and been somewhat effective on pass rush, no worse that what Brown is likely to do as LDE. Add in that Anderson was the swing DE last year so he will likely be looked at for that role again with Izzy the starting LDE. We use a 3 man rotation so we'd be paying a backup player $5 mil to sit on the bench. I'm guessing the team feels Melton can sit on the bench as well as Brown except the dropoff is huge if Melton gets on the field. If I'm wrong and Peppers is our LDE then cutting Brown loose makes no sense to me at all. As far as the trade rumors I don't think it's such a big deal the word is out. Why would a team trade for him --- because they feel his current contract is cheaper and a better deal for them (no bonus) than what they'd have to pay up front in bonus/salary to get him. Plus if you make a trade you know you have him on your team. If you wait for FA then you can lose out even if you offer more money because he might not want to play for a team like Oakland if New England is offering him a job. Brown isn't worth much in the trade market and I doubt there'd be a lot of interest. I'd be happy if we got a 5th Rd pick for him but doubt we get a pick that high. Still that's a pick that might help our secondary. The 5th round is where we pick CBs right?

Sorry but if Tebow was serious about doing all this work to fix his throwing motion he'd have done it sooner in his college career. Throwing motion is not my major concern with him anyway, it's his ability to read a defense. I admit to not watching many of his game but what I did see of him it seemed he had one option read, maybe two. I don't see that translating well to the NFL. Plus he's far too slow to be effective as a wildcat QB.

I think the issue is more a lack of Lovie cultivating a true competition for starting spots. I stated last year (perhaps the last two) that Lovie was more open to playing rookies and/or younger player when he first arrived but seemed to get away from the competition aspect after the Superbowl. Yes some rookies got playing time but Beekman, McBride, and I believe Payne getting reps due to injury isn't what we're talking about. During this time is when Lovie demoted Alex Brown and promoted Mark Anderson in the offseason instead of opening up a competition in camp. We all know how well that worked.

Was there any more damning proof of Turner's incompetence than his unwillingness to go after a FB who could do something well. He stuck with McKie the jack-of-no-trades instead of finding a FB who was good at something like blocking, or receiving, or rushing.

Don't worry, if this doesn't have "Bears safety" written all over it I don't know what does: ******************************************************************************** *********** http://www.nfl.com/combine/profiles/morgan-burnett?id=496727 Burnett has been extremely productive for the Yellow Jackets over the past two seasons. He is very active in both run support as well as defending the pass but also misses too many opportunities due to lack of effort, angles and proper tackling techniques. Burnett has good size and athleticism for the safety position which makes him effective in combination man and zone coverage’s. He is an instinctive player but takes too many chances which make him vulnerable to big plays at times. Burnett can bend to shed and ward off blockers but again is inconsistent in this area. His ball skills are good and show the ability to make plays in traffic. Burnett is a solid safety prospect that has some inconsistencies in his play that may concern some clubs in this year’s draft. ******************************************************************************** ***********

If his performance against our Dline is the best thing on his resume then I'll pass.

No way are pro days more accurate, at least not in relative terms. College teams skew things to the benefit of their players. I want to compare apples to apples and at the combine it's all the same surface, same starter, and same timing system (electronic). Players may be working back from injury and may just run badly at the combine so it's worth it to get a second read in some cases. In end whatever you see at the combine or pro day has to match what you see on gameday film.

This was the game where Favre just kept throwing the same inside slants and we never adapted. Hot knife through Lovie's butter defense and no pass rush was going to get Favre down, he was throwing on time in 2 sec to the same spot over and over and over and over.