AZ54

By the way....who thinks Olsen is an elite player? I've seen many who say he's a good player and they prefer to keep him but I can't recall any who said he's All Pro potential.

We did pursue Antrelle Rolle but his price was way too high. Even Cards fans are stunned he's now the highest paid FS in the league but they don't think they lost much, if anything, when they picked up Rhodes.

As near as I can tell teams wold only do this in two situations. One where you are willing to accept the risk of losing a player who you'd like to keep but don't view as necessary. Let the market set the contract and if it fits your budget match it. The other time you do it is when you flat out will match any offer sheet he signs. My guess is the teams around the league all know the Rams intend to match any contract.

Apparently you think the Bears can just print money like the government (or Dan Snyder).

Nobody will even know he's gone.

I didn't say the Bears have never been cheap so please don't change the point of the thread because we all know they have been cheap. I also said you can argue over how they spend their money or who they spend it on but they have spent money very comparable to the top teams in the league. That includes our coaching staff as Lovie was one of the highest paid coaches when he got his second contract and many on that Superbowl staff that stuck around got significant raises. I just don't see the data in the last several years showing where we've been cheap. We can go back to Urlacher's first contract extension which put him at or near the top paid in the league. Hester got a boat load of WR money for being the best KR/PR in the league. Tommie Harris picked up $10 mil/yr which got a lot of attention. Our 1st Rd picks in recent years have all had solid contract offers comparable to any other team and almost all have been in camp on time. We even pay our UDFA a little better than average to attract better quality. You can argue whether or not that worked but I think from an ownership standpoint since the new stadium deal they've ponied up the dough but they aren't spending like that fool Daniel Snyder. We now have the highest paid defensive player in the league. As far as keeping Lovie around this year (which I was against) I think this was a deliberate decision by the team to either spend money paying coaches who don't work for them plus the high cost of hiring the new staff (estimated at $15 mil swing) or take the money and use it on FA and go after the best player available in Peppers. I'll live with Smith another year in order to keep Peppers for 5.

Clark is getting old and it seems Davis is becoming the better combo TE (pass/block). If Clark is the odd man out then it seems we'll be bringing in another big body TE for depth in training camp which is why Fontel Mines was let go. Not that he was a contributor in anyway just saying he's not what Martz wants so you go get another fringe guy that fits Martz system.

The season is just too long for a single back to carry the load anymore. It's not just a question of 16 games either, the goal is to make the playoffs and that means 18 or 19 games. There will be exceptions to the rule but those exceptions haven't lasted long after their big season. Even the Vikings Adrian Peterson, who is still a beast, is slowing down already, that's obvious to me early in the year but especially in the playoffs when a LB ran him down from behind. You need at least two good RBs and they both need to share the load.

I think the Bears supported Forte finishing his degree at Tulane but I have no doubt he went there with a solid workout routine. Perhaps his effort in those workouts wasn't what the Bears expected? There's no reason to think the Bears weren't in contact with the trainers at Tulane to check on his progress.

Teach him to be an OG let's not waste development time moving him around. Besides if it's a short yardage situation you can always put anyone at TE as long as they report in as "eligible".

Good luck with that prediction: http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/footb...0,5957798.story . Running back Adrian Peterson is expected to move on after eight seasons with the Bears. Special teams player Darrell McClover also became a free agent. We haven't even replaced him with a special teams monster yet. Oh wait, we did with that linebacker Shaw who tore it up last year on coverage units. Before Shaw even arrived Peterson had fallen way down on the list of special teams performers.

I think we all have doubts about Peppers desire. For me it comes down to one question: Does he really desire to be in the Hall of Fame?

IMO Dez likely wants some assurance from the club that if he's not in their plans he'd like to get released as soon as possible so he can find a new home. He's still a solid productive player and will find a job if we let him go. He was a great signing as a FA considering the production/value we got out of him over the years.

I like the quote I just heard on NFL Network...I'm paraphrasing a bit ...."the last time we saw the Cardinals defense they were getting destroyed by New Orleans." Consider that and the fact they had DRC, a Pro Bowl CB, on one side yet the Cards still ended up next to last in passing yards given up in the playoffs and 23rd in the regular season. Heck we were 13th in pass defense. I realize there are many factors in determining how well a passing defense played but you have to consider this performance of which Rolle was a key factor when evaluating his contract demands. I can't see any reason he's worth the $7.5mil/yr the Giants just paid him. As odd as it seems I was more worried about overpaying Peppers if we signed him yet I feel better about that money and the value we'll get in return than I would had we given Rolle that contract.

I'm not upset at all that we passed on Boldin. What I would like to point out is how cheap he went (no first round pick here!) and that tells you what teams around the league felt his value was and it was nowhere near what his value was on this message board. Baltimore will get a few good years out of him for sure and his contract extension was not as high as I expected he'd demand. It seems even Anquan came down to earth on his true value. I agree with Bradjock that we did more to improve our team today than we could have if we'd have made the same deal for Boldin and we still have time/opportunity to fix the FS position which has more value than putting Knox or Aromashodu on the bench.

I don't think Taylor is anything more than a 2 yr contract for us. If he's still performing after that we keep him around but otherwise we're free to move on. If I'm not mistaken Taylor is pretty good at picking up the blitz or sneaking out on a quick hot read and that's a key in this offense. Garrett Wolfe will still be the third RB for us because of his special teams play unless we get lucky and find some decent UDFA which is possible with RBs.

At this point in his career Forte already has to start thinking about his next contract. One good season and one subpar season does not turn into a huge signing bonus. Now I feel he has a legitimate threat to compete with too. While I don't view Taylor as a full-time RB he could end up with the majority of snaps if Forte doesn't get his act together.

another thread about how the Bears ownership is cheap or too cautious to pull off big deals. Two years in a row we have gone after and signed the top players available. In that span we now have acquired a top tier QB and top tier DE plus today they went after the best RB and TE available who fit Martz's system and got those two deals done before I even sat down to eat lunch. Peppers was signed before I got to the afternoon coffee break. Wow! You can argue over the quality of the players, bad decision etc. but to say they are cheap I just can't see it anymore.

Thanks for making my point. If Rolle is that great as a FS he wouldn't have to have a premier pass rush in front of him. He's better than what we have but I don't even think he's worth the $6mil/yr the Cards offered him.

You are saying we should pay Boldin $9mil/yr (that's what he wants) and give up a very good player who still has upside for him? That will make our team better? Boldin can't run away from anyone but he can still break tackles with his strength. Once again I will state that while I love the way he plays the game he has only had ONE FULL SEASON in this league. He has missed the majority of the last two playoff seasons due to injury. At some point for $9mil/yr you would like to have the guy working for you late in the year. He's just not worth trading for. If he was a FA that might be worth discussing but he's still not worth the $9mil/yr he wants.

That statement goes way beyond smoking. I'm not sure what it takes to be that enamored with all the drag routes Boldin runs but I'm pretty sure it requires a chemist to make it.

If Rolle wasn't happy with $6mil/yr I don't want him. I've seen enough missed tackles from him.

These are good times to be out on the Western side of the country. I'll be surfing the rumors at 10pm.

Release him in June and who has money left to sign him to a big deal? Then the Bears turn around and try to sign him to a lesser contract. It could be a cost savings move. Of course it's an uncapped year so there would significant risk to it but they could try it. It's not like Harris fits into everyone's scheme and his play and attitude has been really poor the last couple years. How big would his market be that late in the summer?

Excellent point!