AZ54

I would like to see DA/Knox outside with Hester in the slot. I think that fits everyone's skill set the best. However, what's really nice is that it appears we are finally getting some real competition among the WRs. Even if it's Hester and Knox outside whoever we have in the 3rd and 4th spot should be capable WRs. There shouldn't be much dropoff from 3 to 5 on our roster. Word is that Davis is performing well but he's always been a better practice player and fades when there is contact in the games. He may end up on the roster but I hope he's not a routine active player for us.

What I love is that the players took the Stanley Cup around town and each will get to take it home for at least one day. IMO that makes it the best trophy in all of pro sports. I said best trophy, not championship...that is reserved for the Superbowl.

Seeing as it happened at this early stage I tend to agree with Nfol, this is a good sign. In fact I think it's a very good sign. They didn't have to come out this early and make a statement that Shaffer was out of the OG competition so why do that? Doesn't it make more sense for the team to leave him in the mix at least until training camp starts? You have one of two scenarios: Shaffer is absolutely horrible at OG. IMO they couldn't really make that determination seeing as there is no contact yet. The only other reason that makes sense is that Tice has confidence in both of the young guys being better options than Shaffer in any case. This being the Bears I'm remain totally unconvinced that we have a good solution at LG but I think this is a step in the right direction toward finding that guy. Just a step.

If I did this right my new avatar should make you smile. That folks is the smartest person in Wisconsin!

Let's say this about Russ Grimm, he got far more out of Mike Gandy at LT than we did. While I kept thinking every season they'd dump Gandy he stuck around and actually played "good" (I know it's bad english). He's not what anyone wants at LT but he was servicable under Grimm's tutelage. Consider that he was blocking for Warner who often took deep drops or held onto the ball longer than the original drop called for, plus Warner wasn't fleet of foot.

I understand that point but we have one of the best contract negotiators and salary cap managers in the league with Cliff Stein. It is time to get creative and package in some bonus this year but overpay with guaranteed roster bonus next year, or even roster bonuses for both 2nd and 3rd year. At this time of year how much cash do teams around the league have anyway? Nobody else has signed all their draft picks and you know those huge bonuses for first round picks require lots of upfront cash. Until their rookie contracts are signed can teams afford to throw a lot of money at Otogwe? He's not going to find the money he'd have found back in the beginning of FA.

You might want to have a chat with Kurt Warner about that. After his 4th or 5th game as a starter he went to Whisenhunt and pushed to open up the offense with more passing. Whisenhunt agreed and the Cards went to the Superbowl. After that miracle they weren't going to change strategy last year. This year is a totally different story because their QBs aren't very good and everyone agrees the Cards are going to focus on the run game behind Beanie Wells and Tim Hightower. You'll get your chance to see how well they block when everyone knows they are going to run.

I say we go get him. Wright is not going to be the FS we need this season. He might be better than what we've had but consider that we have the potential for a solid defense and putting Otogwe back there with Harris gives us a solid starting tandem with good depth right behind them. Cornerback depth is still a concern so solidifying the safety spots helps minimize that risk. I have to add it was good to see some good words said about Graham on the Bears website today. I'm curious what he did this offseason to get a step faster, which of course opens up the question of why didn't he do it sooner. Keep in mind the division we play in. Green Bay and Minn have two of the better passing games in the league. Detroit has one of the top young QBs/WR combinations. We need excellent pass coverage. Close the deal with Otogwe and safety becomes a strength of this team. When was the last time we said that? If we sign Otogwe....then look ahead to next offseason....what positions do we need to focus on in the draft? Oline, CB, then what? It gives us nice options to go best player available at LB, RB, grab another Oline, CB whatever ranks highest. We can skip the expensive FAs to save cash and just use the draft. Make it happen.

I am in agreement too! Last season it was said to be one of the biggest problems Omiyale had; he struggled adjusting to making a drop step before moving forward. It's an assumption on my part but if that was true because he had never done that before then he should be getting back to what he used to do and hopefully he'll be a better run blocker using Tice's technique.

How refreshing to hear an Oline coach NOT SAY all his players are doing well and that the fans don't know what they are talking about. I am really glad to see both Tice and Martz focus in on the details of execution. Not just from a "we gotta run this play right" approach but rather the details of how receivers make their cuts, QB throwing fundamentals, blocking fundamentals, etc. I think these aspects have been lacking in the past and this will pay off for us as the season progresses. Fundamentals don't guarantee success but you don't have success without fundamentals.

I don't think Graham did that well as a CB. He was ok but was not much of a pass defender, rather he just seemed to always be shadowing the receiver and made the tackle after the completion. Rather than blame Hoke for his demotion we should keep in mind he had the lead over Bowman in the competition (far more experience too) and it was Bowman who stood out in the minicamps and OTAs last year and he stayed that way throughout training camp thus earning the starting job...as it should be IMO.

Me too and I'm happy he's back to his workout warrior ways.

I don't think Hillenmeyer goes anywhere. We have often kept a special teams ace and last year it ended up being Casey Shaw but in other years it was McClover or Ayanbadejo. This year Shaw is in the mix at backup LB with Jamar Williams gone. I don't think the Bears had anything to lose by bringing in Iwuh especially after all the LB injuries we had last year.

Pass, one he's hurt all the time and it's too risky for him to play. Two he hasn't done anything in two years and it's tough to come back from that at any age let alone his.

This is the right call. I've always liked Tillman, especially his toughness, which he isn't often given credit for. He was never the quickest DB and that showed last year. Hopefully he has more of a full offseason of workouts as opposed the limitations he had last and that will help but regardless he won't be nearly as athletic as Bowman.

Not even questioning if Knox is ripped and said as much last year when I saw the video of him dunking a basketball. I just hoped he'd appear to be a bit bigger as it looks like his frame could handle a few more pounds to help him get off press coverage without losing any quickness. It's just a couple photos of him catching passes so it's hard to tell we'll see what folks say during training camp.

My impressions from photos and videos (yeah it's the offseason and I'm bored): It's only two plays but from the Trib video I was surprised at the quick cadence of the offense in the first day of minicamp. I didn't expect to see the coaches push that sense of urgency so early on but I like it and the reporters seemed to confirm that it was that way throughout the practices. Forte has more quickness than I saw last year. Reporters commented on this and in the video on the Bears' site he looks quick and fluid moving through the D. Just minicamp so defenders can't hit but it still shows on his pass routes when DBs try to cover him. Mark Anderson looks like he's had another good offseason working out and appears to be bulked up a bit and stronger. I felt last offseason was the first time I'd seen him look like he had worked out hard and in general he played better than in '08. I hope that's true again this year. Maybe we'll finally see the player we thought we'd get after his rookie season. Johnny Knox doesn't appear to have bulked up much if at all. I was hoping to see him add 10lbs. Urlacher looks like to be in good shape too possibly a bit leaner than last year, same goes for Cutler.

I agree, leave him at NB and KR and he'll be happy and we'll be happy.

I sense a lot of excitement.

Url needs to man-up. Sayers has a right to his opinion and if Urlacher disagrees how about using some on-the-field performance or data to back up your disagreement. As Url said, it hurts getting criticized from a Bear insider. Yeah, well it hurts watching a defense give up TD after TD to the Vikings.

Yes, and you got that breaking news a month ago on this board courtesy of your Arizona Bears fans. Anyway I this is the dead part of the offseason where journalists are paid to talk about news even when they have none, so they grab an old item and recycle it. I agree with his assessment that the Cards will hold on for awhile to see if a decent bid comes in but I don't think they'll get much interest as most teams play the waiting game to evaluate their talent and also to see if Deuce gets cut. For the record I don't think Deuce is a great fit for what we need with Martz but he could provide some solid depth for us and/or be a starter.

Hell yes. I'm already nervous as it is about the Oline and if Shaffer isn't in the competition at RT then we do have a problem. Tice has film on Shaffer from last year and Omiyale from a couple years ago. Maybe they just want Omiyale to get more reps in the minicamps at RT so he gets back in his comfort zone. Then we open up the RT competition in training camp. Meanwhile Shaffer gets some minicamp reps at LG to see if he can fit in there for a backup role. If Shaffer is better there than Beekman and IF Omiyale is solid at RT you put your best 5 on the field. Given what we went through last year I'll take any improvement and I don't care where (or who) it comes from.

I've always felt in sports the guy who knows where he is going has the advantage on a slippery surface. If the field is slippery I'd rather be the WR than the DB who has to follow him as he cuts. The key in all this for a timing offense (for lack of better term) is the consistency of the WRs, formations, down/distance to disguise what they are going to do. Get predictable for any one reason and you have problems.

I don't know that we can go back in history and say this situation is due to the same leadership. We have Tice and Martz making these statements, and really I think it's all Tice at this point as far as the Oline. Yes, we do know Lovie supports and and all player rotations instead of focusing on one role but quite honestly I expected Tice to be different in this aspect. As always I'll wait to evaluate the results. 1) It could be this is a smokescreen to push Beekman to be better since he really has no competition. 2) There is another side to this too that just came to mind: The Trib reported today that we are likely to carry more than 4 WR on the active roster. That means some other position has to give up a roster spot on game days. Could it be the coaches want that spot to come from the Oline and thus they are asking Shaffer to get some practice at OG even though the reality is he might just be the emergency backup on gameday? Meanwhile they throw him a bone about possibly being the starter there if he's better than Beekman and conversely Beekman gets some competition. He could fill that role regardless of being the starting RT or backup. In this case Tice is saying that Omiyale is NOT an OG and he doesn't want him there even in a backup role. If this is the logic then I say Tice and Martz and doing what they'd be doing anyway but also finding a way to setup a competition at LG...nothing wrong with that IMO.

One thing about Cutler is he has outstanding arm strength. That means he can wait longer to throw than the average QB in this offense. It should help in the early games as players work to get on the same page but we still have to expect some INTs.