AZ54

I like your draft. The one problem we have is that our 3rd Rd pick is basically a pick at the beginning of the 4th Rd. I don't think Massaquoi will be there when we pick. I know we need a FS and can easily see Byrd being our pick in Rd 2 for that purpose. If JA is really intent on finding another WR for Cutler then he's going to have to make another trade to get back up to the first half of the third. I have no clue what he gives up to get there but I could see another player being traded. I'll throw out trading Kellen Davis and some combination of picks to get back into the first half of the third. He doesn't fit the blocking TE role we need so why not move him out while we still have Olsen and Clark playing well and then draft or sign a FA TE who is more of a blocking type. IIRC Davis had the talent to be a 2nd or 3rd Rd pick last year but concerns over his character and inconsistent performance put him in the 5th Rd. He got on the field a bit last year and someone might be willing to take on his potential.

We don't need another WR to drop passes. It wouldn't be long before we'd see "good Braylon bad Braylon" signs in the stadium.

If I'm not mistaken Cutler more or less stated the Denver didn't have much of a running game last year and it made him realize that you can't get it all done through the air. You know the quote that more or less stated it takes all aspects of the team to win games.

Forget about Boldin. By then he'll be too old to be much help. We need to learn how to draft a WR. There's a side benefit to having your QB finally in place: Our scouts and pro personnel will no longer have to spend time looking at QBs. They can now focus their efforts on other players and I'd like to that more time spent evaluating someone should improve the scouting ability. It's a small piece of the pie but nonetheless I have to believe we've spent a lot of effort evaluating QBs during Angelo's term.

I'd have no problem with Robiskie. We could use a solid steady WR like him. He has enough size and speed, he knows how to run routes well and he catches with his hands. That's the kind of consistency we could use and his background makes it more likely he'll be able to contribute sooner rather than later. Something we need.

That "talk" could very well be Seattle's attempt at getting those two first round picks. Consider their needs and QB is not at the top of the list. They could drop down and use those first rounders to grab their WR and OT.

They'll be in that mode all season long. The only way they'll recover quickly is to grab a guy like Sanchez in the draft and I think they'll trade up to do just that.

I can't say I knew Denver would like Orton so much but I did feel that whichever QB they liked would be the key to the deal. They need a stopgap QB while they develop their new QB. I also felt that Cutler might try to persuade things away from certain teams which may have been what happened to Cleveland. I really don't care about that because I felt there was perhaps a 5% chance we'd end up with Cutler.

Excellent points! Now maybe some will realize some of my hesitation to give up a first round pick for Boldin. In AZ Warner threw to three WRs for over 1000 yards. Of the three Fitzgerald is the true stud. Boldin is a very good WR and Steve Breaston might have had 600 yards in our offense. The fact Breaston matched Boldin's performance when Boldin went out with injury tells a lot.

Clearly Burress is stupid carrying a gun like he was. They do make holsters for a reason, even those that fit a concealed weapon inside a boot. What worries just as much is the selfish behavior he was exhibiting prior to shooting himself. He missed a couple practices just because he felt like it. One of his "excuses" was that he needed to take his son to school. This from a guy who just signed a $35million contract. Call a limo. Then when he was suspended he said he didn't mind the time off at all. Prior to the Superbowl (and contract extension) he was a good teammate. From a talent standpoint he's exactly what we need. From a locker room standpoint he's not what we need unless we can get good Plax. Recall Cutler calling out Marshall for his poor behavior a year ago (when he cut his arm). That caused a bit of acrimony on the team because some players felt Cutler was being too harsh and didn't need to say that publicly. This offseason Cutler again made it clear he's not afraid to speak his mind. If Plax gets his legal issues resolved and JA/Lovie are interested in bringing him in the first thing they need to do is sit down with Cutler and get his opinion.

I base it on the fact Cutler has the arm strength to make every throw on the field and he's accurate. Naturally you need someone on the other end to catch the ball and we're not swimming in that talent yet. Still, Cutler extends plays and with his arm strength DBs will have a tougher time choosing between coming up to tackle or staying with the guy going deep. I don't think they had that tough of a decision when it was Orton, he can only throw about 50yds (60yds with a tailwind). Cutler will throw 70yds. Bottom line: Devin Hester out ran Orton's arm all the time, he won't out run Cutler's. Cutler's arm strength and accuracy will also allow us to run more deep out routes, say 15-20yds downfield; passes Orton struggled with because the time it took for the ball to get there meant he had to throw it into a tighter window closer to the sideline. Stats don't always tell the whole story, especially on deep passes. How many of those passes were hail-mary throws at the end of a half or end of the game? On the other hand how many were Cutler trying to force something deep? I don't know either way. Despite all that I'm staying realistic knowing we didn't sign Peyton Manning. Cutler is still young, still forces throws at times and he doesn't know our offense nor his teammates. Getting him to dump off the ball to Forte might be the biggest challenge. I view this as a long term solution to a long term problem. We'll see some great things from Cutler this year but we'll see some INTs too. Things should get better as the season moves along.

For the first time in a long time defenses must respect the entire field. Rex could throw the deep ball but not the dumpoff, nor could he move around. Cutler can make every throw, has a quick release, and can buy time and throw on the run. We'll have to be patient because he has to learn a new offense but he has a couple friends in Williams and Bennett (he went back to Vandy to throw to Bennett on his pro day) to help him out. What we are going to see for the first time is a QB scramble out of the pocket and hit a WR deep down the field. This is a league where the games are often won by 3 pts and that one play in a game gets a TD, a FG, or changes field position. The threat of that one play keeps safeties a bit deeper at the snap and opens up the running lanes for another yard or two. IMO Cutler has a better Oline right now than Orton had last year. At least one that's better in pass protection. Add Holt and our WR are better than last year. Get a decent FS in the draft and our D will be at least equal to last year if not better. No reason we can't win now.

In Rd 2 we have to see what falls to us of course but I'm thinking FS is at the top of the needs list now, followed by WR, OG. It's pretty clear there's two top FS coming out this year and both are slated to go in Rd 2. It's a big dropoff after that. Now if JA likes some of the other guys (i.e. Butler) and if the better Rd 2 WR are gone (i.e. Robiskie) then I can see us trading down in Rd 2 to grab another pick in Rd 4 or 5 (then package those three picks to move back up into the 3rd or as early in Rd 4 as possible. With three picks late Rd 2 - Rd 3 we grab WR, FS, OG in whatever order the board has them rated.

Not reading too much into any of it. I don't expect any of Orton's former teammates to throw him under the bus and like the fact that so many, including Urlacher, made it clear they liked him and he was a good QB. That will help Orton in the locker room in Denver. Now Hester's YEAH YEAH when talking with Deion Sanders (not on air) is probably a better indication of what the WRs think. Now Hester knows he can go deep and not have to stop to catch the ball.

Schlereth contradicted himself in his analysis. He stated that a few years down the road Denver would be the better team because of the two extra picks. First consider that Cutler himself is a 1st Rd pick. I view the Orton transaction as us trading him for a 5th Rd pick, one round below where we selected him. I'd say he's worth a 4th but doubt anyone would have given us a 3rd for him. Consider that Denver will likely have to use our 1st Rd pick to get another QB with similar franchise talent, doing that just gets them back to where they were with Cutler, plus they have Orton but only for a year. They could have potentially had him as an FA next year. That means in extra picks to INCREASE the quality of their team above what they had with Cutler, Denver has one 1st Rd pick and a 3rd Rd pick. Now if Denver trades both 1st Rd picks this year to move up early and draft Sanchez then it's a wash and all they really have left to from the trade to increase the talent of their team is an extra 3rd. Does anyone think that will put them over the top? Keep in mind that 1st Rd QBs are still a 50/50 shot. Where Schlereth was really outside the box was stating that Denver in a few years would be better with those extra picks yet for the Bears it was all about this year. It's not. We now don't have to worry about using picks or FA cash on a QB and developmental time on a QB. That last part is a big deal IMO. I see no reason we can't fill our holes in a couple year just like Denver, it must might not be all through the draft. Did Schlereth forget about FA?

Mistake, heck no I was saying we'd have to give up Orton to get the deal done. The question was would Denver feel Orton is a good enough QB to fill in for a year while they groom their next franchise QB. Make no mistake they are going after someone in this draft, likely Sanchez. In Orton they get a guy who works hard and doesn't make many mistakes. Problem is he can't work all areas of the field like Cutler so defenses can take more chances.

I wouldn't do that right now. There's too much excitement around the team right now. Trading Url who is still the face of the defense (sorry Tommy you didn't take it last year like I thought) would not be good for morale IMO. Nor do I think it would it make us a better team. We'd lose just as much on defense as we'd gain on offense, especially when you consider that we could just go out and get Holt and keep Url. Holt isn't as good as Boldin but there's a net gain there. Also have to keep in mind the huge contract Boldin wants. His temper tantrum antics aren't going away until he gets his hands on some $$$$.

Cutler has no say in the deal, however, after this big hissy fit it's clear his attitude has a big question mark on it. In trading for Cutler teams are expecting to have their franchise QB for the next decade. It's likely whoever lands him is giving him a new contract to confirm that fact. What Cutler can make clear to teams is that he has no intention of signing a new contract with them now nor when his contract is up in a couple years. Given his antics with the Broncos a statement like that carries quite a bit of weight. Even if you were to play hardball with him and put the Franchise tag on him, it will cause a lot of issues with the players in the locker room. Just imagine the media circus lining up outside the practice facility. If I were about to give up two first round picks for him that would give me cold feet. So while Cutler has no say in the deal, he and his agent can and likely will try to influence where he ends up. That doesn't mean he ends up in Chicago because he said he wants to be here. JA has to be willing to commit enough compensation Denver's way to get the deal done and it all has to look comparable to other offers to avoid collusion charges. The easy way to do that is to include players in exchange (versus just draft picks) that way Denver can say they wanted that player which is likely true anyway. Denver would have to be a willing partner but if they just wanted to stick it to Cutler they can send him to purgatory (i.e. Detroit) and watch his shenanigans mess up another franchise for the next two years.

I prefer to put Pace at RT where he'll be a better fit than Williams. After playing the left side for so many years he'll have a learning curve but he's a talented player and he'll figure it out. Then Pace is your backup LT and Shaffer is the backup RT. Of course Omiyale is available too.

This could be an indication the Bears liked what they saw out of Bowman at FS in minicamp. That's not a lot to go on and I don't want to imply that Bowman will be our starter. Rather he might be our backup and they feel comfortable leaving him at FS thus leaving an opening at CB. I expect we'll draft another FS and then let the 3 compete for the two jobs. Lucas would be some good insurance in case Vasher or Graham don't step up.

I said it before and I'll say it again: there isn't a single player on the Bears roster that is off-limits when it comes to making this deal. That includes Hester, Forte, Harris, Urlacher, and Briggs, Tillman, whoever. I don't look at this solely as a draft pick bonanza because proven players put fans in the seats just as well and they play better right away. That might be a bigger factor for McDaniels and Bowlen in helping them to save face. I really think this all comes down to two things: Who do they get to play QB this year followed by who plays the position down the road. Right now it appears Sanchez will be gone by the time Denver picks in the draft. At least that's a big enough risk I don't think they'd trade Cutler and take a chance on not getting him. That leaves one other guy...Josh Freeman http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/draft/players/1123282. If Denver has decided that either Freeman or Sanchez will be successful in their system then a deal is on. This is the week scouts were supposed to return home and teams begin building their draft board. Now today Denver confirms they'll trade Cutler. I'll act like I can read tea leaves and say they'll take one of these two to be their QB of the future. That leaves this year's QB up in the air. I think this is key with either Sanchez or Freeman as both have limited experience. I doubt they'd rely on Simms this year. If they think Orton can step in and run their system then it might help our cause. Beyond Orton I have no idea what players Denver might have interest in. In a past thread many felt they wouldn't be interested in Hester. Their defense has been bad for years so I could see us giving up a CB or DT or both plus some picks all depending on the talent of the players we give up.

Some good info on Nicks I hadn't read. That does mitigate the low Wonderlic score. This is where scouts earn their pay, they have to get the scoop on a player from the locker room, weight room, and film room.

I like the fact we're talking to him. I like even more the prospect that this could be a signal we're serious about going after Cutler, something I hadn't even thought of until reading this thread.

If I'm in JA shoes looking at getting production on offense out of my #1 pick I'd have to pass on Nicks after his low Wonderlic score. Of course that type of decision also has to take into acount the interview (if they did one) and background on the guy. Is he a player who studied film a lot in college or did he just rely on his athletic ability to make plays. If he doesn't have those habits now he's not likely to have them in his first year of the NFL and that would push me more towards grabbing a guy like Britton.

JA does not want to be answering questions about him at press conferences so we won't see this happen. Does Jones face any league suspension time?