AZ54

The Pats were a good team until they found a cornerstone in Brady, a guy likely headed to the Hall of Fame. Suddenly once you have that guy everything else looks so much better. Yet be realistic, the Pats haven't always won in dominating fashion. Take that QB level down a notch to occasional Pro Bowl level and are they still wearing 3 rings? I remember people criticizing their owner for being cheap when they let key players walk away and signed nearly washed up vets to fill in cheaper. I don't want to belittle their success but that one guy was key piece to the puzzle and he alone attracted several of those key vet players who at the end of their career just wanted a shot at a ring. Find a franchise QB and we'll attract some of those guys too.

I watched him at the pro day and despite the weight loss he's still sssllllloooowwww. No way I see him at OT in the NFL, just guard and he's a 3rd Rd pick at best.

I always felt he'd be back and that JA would match a reasonable offer. It doesn't even appear as if he came back to Bears to see if they'd counter. No biggie, time to move on.

What they fail to address is why Cleveland would even make that trade. They end up with Cooley and 5th Rd pick. I don't view Campbell as a decent QB, he always looks lost in the pocket. It makes more sense to keep Quinn. I just don't see it.

I'd move Harris too. I look at him as having 3 maybe 4 good years left. We have Harrison to step in and he's supposed to have pretty good talent. Again getting a big name Pro Bowl player like that makes the deal easier to sell to fans especially if they can get Sanchez in Rd 1. I think they'd look at that as a good situation especially with all the defensive woes they've had the last few years. I know there'd be a draft pick thrown in there too. Make it happen.

Do you think JA is going to pick him up right out of jail? I don't see it after all the Tank and Ced fiascos.

Trade Hester and a 2nd Rd pick. If they want him I'd throw in Orton plus a 3rd Rd pick next year. They get a dynamic KR/PR and a WR who seems to be able to develop into a decent #2. It takes big bait to catch a big fish and this one will keep fan interest in Denver and won't run the coach out of town but I think they'll want to take Sanchez at #12. In other words I wouldn't expect a deal unless it's blockbuster until draft day. I'm assuming they'd like Sanchez but if they pull that off they have Orton to handle the reigns for year if needed and Sanchez as the future. That gives the new coach a reasonable chance of success in year one with a brighter future in year two. We get a franchise QB and with our draft picks this year we can still fill in OT/WR/S all key needs. We will also take a big cap hit losing Hester but we have the cap space so it's moot point IMO. Although I can't remember the details of his contract the flipside for Denver should be a reasonable contract for Hester. We will only have the rookie WR plus Bennett and if this deal went through I'd over spend to get Holt on our roster or we're taking a WR in Rd 3 too.

Very likely indeed. A good agent knows he must have another bidder to increase the price. It seems to me your thought makes sense since the word is Cleveland only wants him as a backup. St Clair has to face the fact there was no market for him other than the Bears and that is where he is most likely to get the playing time he wants. He can wait until after the draft too when some team could only find a late round OT and want StClair for competition. But at that point he's not likely to get much of a contract. This late in FA is basically the scrap heap where guys are just hoping they can find a job for next year.

I'm not surprised at all. White is a guy we should consider late on day 2 because of his versatility. I can see Hanie as being a #3 possibly a #2. White has thrown the ball very well but is not likely to be a full time starter at QB so the questions about him are can he get to the #2 QB level and will he play special teams and possibly take some direct snaps in game? If Orton doesn't pan out we're still looking for a #1 QB unless Hanie suddenly stuns everyone which I doubt will happen.

He's so good Singletary sent him off the field. Not exactly the picture of a blue chip prospect helping his team.

I think this will be a great help for special teams. Idonije was just ok at DT, and he's just ok at DE. But when he's at 270 he's a beast on special teams.

I think the early CB selection depends a lot on how the staff feels about Bowman. If they think he can step up to be our #3 CB along with an improvement from Graham then they will likely wait until Rd 4 or 5 to grab a CB.

I can't really argue against that since technically that is pretty much every players floor. He may be more likely than others to find it but his red flags are different in the sense that they suddenly showed up. When you look at guys like Moss those issues were surrounding the player since high school and stayed all throughout college. I don't Smith's background at all but it doesn't appear that way with him. It seems he got caught up in his own press clippings and let it go to his head in the last 6 months. It's still pretty stupid what he's done but to take this around and question his family background for a lack of guidance as others have done doesn't make sense to anyone who has raised several kids through their teenage years and into their 20's. At some point most teens or young adults struggle finding their balance between work and the fun things in life. Staring at a $40mil salary would have affected me when I was 21, and not for the best. If I were a GM the question I'd be pressing my scouts to answer is what was this kid like his first couple years at school? Was he working hard early on? Here's some of his accomplishments that indicate he was. How do you start at LT as a freshman and perform like he did if you don't put some work in? Playing through games with both ankles sprained? http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/draft/players/1255104 ------------------------------------------------ An impressive physical specimen who compares to Dallas Cowboys' guard Leonard Davis, Smith possesses outstanding agility and quickness for his size. Regarded as a premier offensive line prospect out of high school and one of the standouts of the 2005 recruiting class, he went on to establish himself as the elite at the college level, as evidenced by being named the recipient of the 2008 Outland Trophy. Even at 343 pounds, Smith displays excellent foot speed and agility. He started every game (38) in which he played for the Crimson Tide, missing the 2009 Sugar Bowl when he was ruled ineligible for direct contact with an agent. In addition to earning the Outland Trophy in 2008, he was won Alabama's Paul Crane Offensive Lineman Award, shared the Southeastern Conference's Jacobs Blocking Trophy with Arkansas' Jonathan Luigs, was twice chosen an All-SEC first-team pick and added consensus All-American first-team notice in 2008. ....Smith enrolled at Alabama in 2005, taking over at left tackle. He became the seventh true freshman in school history to start in his first career game since 1972...He delivered 70 knockdown blocks as he led the team by being on the field for 831 offensive and special teams plays. Smith garnered team Player of the Week honors four times during his sophomore season, when he shed over 25 pounds from his once 370-pound frame prior to the season opener. He started all 13 games, as he was named All-SEC and earned the league's Jacobs Blocking Trophy. He led the conference down linemen with 116 knockdowns and had fifteen touchdown-resulting blocks while allowing only 1.5 quarterback sacks on 472 pass plays. He was penalized five times and played the second part of the season with a left ankle sprain suffered vs. Tennessee and a right ankle sprain incurred the next week in the Louisiana State clash. As a junior, Smith was a consensus All-American and unanimous All-SEC first-team pick. The Outland Trophy and Jacobs Blocking Trophy recipient saw his campaign get off to a rough start. He suffered a knee sprain in the season opener vs. Clemson that forced him to sit out the following week vs. Tulane and play just two quarters upon his return, vs. Western Kentucky. He also sprained his elbow in the season's sixth contest vs. Kentucky, but still delivered 103 knockdowns while pacing SEC blockers with seventeen touchdown-resulting blocks. ----------------------------------------------- and some things that say he's not a hard worker but does seem to love playing the game: ------------------------------------------------------------ Character: Runs hot and cold. The coaches have cited "growing pains," especially with his work ethic. He gets by a lot on physical talent and while his suspension was well-publicized, there have been other "minor" issues that make one wonder if he will just go through the motions or that he will mature at the next level. GRADE: 5.5 Competitiveness: On the field, Smith will challenge any opponent that dares to get in his way when drive blocking. He knows how to use his explosive upper-body power to punish, but will get lazy during the games and shows inconsistency shooting those powerful hands. There are times when he simply dominates the action, but when he feels that he is not being challenged, he will throttle down. Scouts have often shown concerns about his lack of a consistent motor, especially questioning his overall aggressiveness. GRADE: 6.5 Work Habits: Smith has always battled the "bulge" and while he is best playing at 335-340, he has seen his weight balloon to the 375-380 range, where that added bulk has affected his overall mobility. He needs to be monitored in the training room, but will respond to tough coaching. --------------------------------------------------- and an interesting thought when looking at what his floor might be: ----------------------------------------------------- Compares To: LEONARD DAVIS, Dallas -- Davis is at least two inches taller, but both could be better lined up inside. Davis proved to be a better interior performer after trying to play on the edge. While Smith might be a good fit at right tackle, some prefer him better as an interior lineman, feeling his lack of lateral range (especially moving to his left) is a big concern for a player that must protect the quarterback's blindside. To date, he has made a nice living vs. smaller opponents (average weight of his main blocking assignment over the last two years is 262.4 pounds, more than 80 pounds lighter than Smith), but in the NFL, he will face much bigger and much quicker defensive ends and his excellent straight-line explosiveness will compensate for his lateral mobility problems. -------------------------------------------------- Between the hard working Britton and the highly talented but hot/cold Smith who might end up having to move inside who would JA pick? If he feels he needs more confidence in filling the RT spot now it might be Britton.

I'm simply not reading anything much, neither positive nor negative except for the fact he's still here and Metcalf is gone. Therefore can we all agree he's better than Metcalf? That's a start to making our depth better, how much is unknown.

I can find a lot of 21 years olds who make stupid mistakes. I know this, you don't bench press a DE, you get your axx in front of him and stay there, or you push his outside rush wide of the QB. For part A you need good feet to get in position and the strength in your lower body and legs to anchor yourself. For part B you need good feet and long arms. I'm not going to impersonate a scout but I've watched a fair number of these OTs workout at the combine and saw some of the footage of Smith's workout. He might not be fast in a race but he has good feet and balance as compared to these other top OTs. Certainly not worse. As far as anchoring your base and moving a DE or DT I've often wondered why these guys do a bench press versus 300lbs squats. Exactly what muscles are more key in run blocking and for endurance during a game? If this is a kid with #1 overall talent who played last season like a blue chip player and he falls to us at #18 then IMO he's worth the risk. It might take him a year or two to mature but most people do. He'd be worth the risk. Even if he doesn't pan out elite his floor is probably a lot higher than what we've had at RT the last couple years, think something like Big Cat.

I agree, he'll have to be in the 4.6 range to get drafted. It would be nice to see him play with a QB who doesn't hold the ball forever.

Perhaps the Bears have quietly contacted Holt's agent to inquire about his interest in the Bears and found out that we're on his second list? Look at the teams listed as being interested in him: Eagles, Giants, Titans. We can assume money is the main reason players sign but not always, sometimes it's a vet going to New England for a shot at a ring. Those three teams can still pay him well, maybe won't offer what we'd offer, but he'll get at least $3mil/yr and that's a lot of money. I wouldn't be surprised if he decided to at least inquire with his first choice in teams before he comes back to the second tier Bears. If JA knows this what is the point in coming out publicly stating we really want him? It won't serve the teams interests (nor player to be demoted) to be blown off like that in public.

You gotta fork over the cash for Boldin plus this guy is often injured. It's his style of play, the same thing I love about him, that gets him hurt. 2nd Rd pick is what I'd offer and I think if that offer is there on draft day the Cards will take it. As far as the pipe dream that Boldin is available or that we'd go after him it's not unrealistic. The Cards have Fitz and Steve Breaston and behind them they have last years 3rd Rd pick Early Doucet. Breaston had 1000 yards last year. If they think Doucet is ready to step in and play (and my devoted Card fan friend thinks they do) then why wouldn't they trade Boldin now when he has his highest trade value? The alternative is to give him a huge signing bonus and $8-9 mil/yr at which point the cap hit for a future trade doesn't work in the near term? With the 2nd Rd pick they'd get they can draft another WR to fill in the 4th WR spot, or take one in the 3rd Rd again. They just gave Warner $11.5 mil/yr and he did just fine without Boldin during the regular season and again when he went out in the playoffs. Maybe a lot of folks don't realize a big chunk of the Cards playoff run was done without Boldin but that type of thing catches the eye of a GM and head coach. If they figure they can keep 90% of their passing game effectiveness while using that 2nd Rd pick and/or free cash to upgrade their running game or defense by 20% they are going to do it.

Since Suggs left the Sun Devils haven't had much of an elite pass rusher, haven't had much of a defense either. Davis has athleticism but he isn't close to what Suggs was at ASU, at least not yet. By the way I'd like to add I'd be happy to see Chris McGaha join the Bears next year. He'll have to run around a 4.6 forty but the kid is a freak with his vertical leap, huge hands, and makes acrobatic catch after acrobatic catch. Something a QB challenged team needs.

We can take that one of two ways. Maybe letting Metcalf go is a sign Beunning is finally ready to play, if only as a backup, but maybe even as a starter. It's pre-draft time and I'm ok with the front office keeping things close to the vest. I"m not saying he has improved to that level but why do we need to show our cards now? As a fan I would certainly like to know if he can start but I'll wait. to find out.

The problem with RB is injury. Even if you get a stud, let's take a guy like Kevin Jones, they can quickly lose their edge. OT and Oline in general once good tend to stay that way for 8-10 years. Also, you can run your starting Oline for every offensive play of the game but RBs cant' handle that load in a 16 game season. If you are going to drop $30 mil on a guy which one gives you more value? I still say a good Oline will always have a good running game. A great RB might not have a good running game without a good Oline. Better pass protection makes and average QB and average WR better too. It's not that hard to find good WR talent but finding an elite QB is. Invest up front and behind the line you can fill in holes with good skill players (not elite) and still be successful.

False premise: They rearranged the line so nobody else had to play LT. That's a compliment to Omiyale. Had they put him in at OG after he practiced all year as the backup OT that would indicate an issue. Anyway, all I can say is why can't he be better than Garza? That's not a tough challenge.

I'm not questioning his strength as a problem so much as saying he needs a bit more maturity to achieve NFL strength. (If that makes sense.) I watched quite a few UofA games this year and oftened keyed in on Britton (as did replays) since we are desperate for OT help. On run downs I didn't always see that crushing block that moves his man backwards. You kind of expect that from a 1st RD talent. UofA ran a spread offense but they ran the ball quite a bit too. Sometimes he'd get his man going backwards quickly other times not so. He holds his ground and often second effort gets his man moving backwards or away from the play. On a positive note I can't recall him getting beat on a run block, not that it didn't happen. Yet these are college DE's were talking about and Pac 10 at that which is not a great defensive conference. You know guys like Ogun and Brown are stronger against the run. I just think it will take a year or so for Britton to get the strength level he'll need to be really effective in the NFL. Of course, with another off season he'll be stronger this year in the NFL than he was last year at UofA. Another factor in his favor is that he is supposed to have a very good work ethic. You can feel confident he'll improve his game over the next few years. While I'm questioning how effective Britton would be in our running game next year, consider that Tait almost never got any movement, same with Garza. I think Tait's biggest problem was simply a lack of mobility in his legs that hurt his effort to gain leverage. Britton will have much better feet to move with the block. With a RB like Forte who excels at reading blocks even if they aren't as drawn up this is a good thing. In pass protection Britton will be ahead of what Tait and Miller gave us the last two years and should only be better as the year goes on. I can be happy if we pick him at #18 but I just won't have very high expectations for his first year but he'll be better than what we've had lately. The arrow goes up from there IMO.

I was curious to see the comment in one of the papers today about Barnes playing for the Jaguars who are Oline deficient. If they felt he had value at OG or RT why would they just cut him outright? While this guy seems to have physical talent I'm getting the feeling that there is more to the story. We see it every year, a player who on the surface seems like a decent player but gets very little interest in FA. Then later in the year something leaks about either bad attitude, poor work habits, or violation of the NFL substance abuse policy, or he's asking for the moon in his contract and nobody wants to give it to him. We'll be hearing more about Barnes later this offseason that will shed light on why he's getting so little interest in FA.

If they are going after Barnes the Bears will want him in this minicamp in a week. The clock is ticking on St Clair.