AZ54

I have to wonder if that was that because he was off the juice?

As Peyton would say...sweeet!

I think the guy stepping up will be Bennett. However, let me add here that if he does become our reliable underneath receiver it will help Hester in a big way. Point is Hester could end up with the bigger numbers because of his deep speed but Bennett could be the guy that makes it all work with reliable short routes and consistent hands. WR corps in 09: Bennett Hester Davis (will stick because of experience) Iglesias Knox (unless he is a total bust and deserves to be cut he won't stick on the practice squad without someone else picking him up). Kinder to practice squad I don't see Bears keeping 6 WR especially with our DB situation so unsettled. Players like Melton and Louis could also force an extra lineman on the roster compared to what he carried last year.

He has serious character issues. Maybe he's been humbled, who knows but I think it's worth giving him a tryout so we can get to know him a bit better with no risk.

nor anyone else

I don't think Mike Doss was ever any good, except maybe in college.

I'd be more than happy to see Davis move on after what he did last year. However, what worries me is that he was considered to be playing great during training camp and was expected to have a breakout year. Then he dropped key pass after key pass. Point is that he might be a great practice guy but terrible on game day. Other guys can be the opposite. If that same scenario happens this year will the coaches put more stock in what they see in preseason games versus the practice video?

Don't forget our backup RB is Kevin Jones who should be much improved with another offseason to recover from his knee injury. I also think he'll be back at a lighter weight and we'll see more explosiveness from him this year.

6 TDs were against Arizona.

Part of Rashied's value to the team was that he could be a backup for KR. Well we now have Iglesias who can do that albeit without the explosive you want to see and Knox has also returned punts and kicks but wasn't a full timer at it. So I agree Davis should be on the bubble but with the lack of experience we have at WR I think he still makes the team. If Knox and Kinder impress in camp then I can see us keeping 6 WR. Most likely I'd say Kinder ends up on practice squad. That could be a risk if he plays well in preseason as other teams will likely be keeping an eye on him.

Packers D was bad last year. How are they going to suddenly be so good this year in a new scheme and with so many pieces that don't quite fit the new roles?

That's a heck of a bandaid for a minor cut.

I really feel like Burress is the perfect compliment to the experienced WR we have the on roster but given the good young talent we have at WR I do not want, nor do I foresee, JA going after Burress. I do feel we have 3 good rookies at WR and believe at least two should end up contributing long term to this team. If we are going to add a vet WR these young guys need to see how a real professional goes about learning the craft. Plax is only going to teach them it's ok to skip practices, be late for meetings, get fined and stay home, shoot yourself, whatever you want and the teams will keep giving you money as long as you play well on Sunday. I don't want these guys hearing that message much less seeing it play out in their locker room.

I based the inconsistent comments on the draft profiles I read. His first few seasons he showed raw talent but it didn't translate to the field. Last season he worked hard and it paid off. Today even Dick Tomey came out and said he wasn't on anyone's radar until this season. So I said he was inconsistent during his college years. If Jarron Gilbert had played better his junior season he wouldn't have been there in Rd 3 for us.

On Melton all I'm saying is we grabbed him in the 4th which was higher than where he should have gone just because we felt he was the right player for our scheme. Disregard any comparison to Freeney at all, that was just one situation I though of where a team simply drafted their guy earlier than expected. I guess if I used the Raiders and Mitchell FS scenario it would have been a better comparison. Freeney situation came to mind just because he's a DE. With regards to your relationship with JA, I think now that you've committed to him for this season you'll be hearing about this from all sides until the next offseason. I'll at least grant you that it must one of those love - hate relationships.

The combination of Harvin and Peterson will be tough to stop at least they don't have a QB with a good deep arm to really take advantage of Berrian. I'm really surprised they gambled on Harvin that early. Rewarding bad behaviour by giving a kid a lot of money usually doesn't change them. The other thing about Harvin is that he's not a polished route runner. For this year at least it might give us a chance to smack him around a bit.

I'll take two different approaches...best player this year and best player long term. This year I think it's Gilbert simply because the need for a backup of Harris is significant. Harris has the most lingering injury issues and misses practice time so that means Gilbert runs with the 1st team a lot in practice. Harris also needs a lot of plays off so again Gilbert gets the call on gameday. Second pick: Iglesias as our slot WR. I think he beats out Rasheid Davis just because he can catch. Long term: I'll stick with Gilbert again. second pick: Melton. Love his athleticism and size off the edge and a year or two with Marinelli will get him the skills he needs to be successful.

I like the draft but Nfol's love affair with JA is kinda making me nauseous. Is there no shame left in the world? A couple thoughts on Gilbert and Melton. I believe Marinelli had a ton of input on these picks, especially Melton. Neither guy performed consistently well enough for any of us to get real excited about them. However, they both have a ton of athleticism and that is intriguing. Read the posts in the various threads and it's clear that it's Marinelli's ability to work with these guys that is generating the excitement not the players themselves. I liken the Melton pick to the day the Colts traded way up to draft Freeney. Not saying Melton is anywhere near that level just saying that I think Marinelli really wanted this guy and JA made it happen even though we reached for him at a time we had biggers needs.

If Boldin becomes a big problem for the Cards his trade value (and hence his future contract value) keeps dropping. He and Rosenass need to go back and review the situation and perhaps try a different approach....like dropping the salary demand. Boldin would be best served if he just played this year at $5mil and then pursued his big deal but he's greedy.

To be fair you can only include Denver vs. Chicago. What other teams did with their picks from trades is irrelevant to how the two key teams ended up with in the trade. I think Denver did ok in the draft but considering what they gave up to get I'd say they totally messed up this year's draft, and now next years draft too. I like Ayers and Smith but I don't see where either is going to be an elite player. The TE, he'll just be another guy nobody outside Denver knows about. Orton is a good QB and will continue to be just a good QB. IMO to make this deal worthwhile they had to come out of it with at least one elite player and they had two years to pull that off. Of the players they added with our picks I'd say Ayers is most likely to get there but I just don't see it. Advantage: Bears. We got an elite player at the toughest position to find an elite player.

It's clear he likes blocking because he pancaked two players on ESPN's play of the year.

I was never that much in favor of adding Boldin as I felt the price was too high. I certainly don't want to give up our 2nd Rd pick next year. I'd rather just grab a FA WR to round out the competition.

I find that surprising. I like the 3 WR we picked up but it's too much to count on all of them panning out.

In reply also to the statement that Brandon Marshall is a #1 WR. It made me curious just what was said about Marshall when he was in the draft. No doubt Marshall is a very good WR but after reading this I'm even more curious to find out if the QB makes the WRs better. Aside from the obvious size difference I think Iglesias skill set matches up well with Marshall and it appears Iglesias is a better open field runner. Here's a couple of Marshall's draft profiles: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/football/...ayers/2846.html BIO: Full-time starter the past two seasons. Team.s leading receiver as a senior with 74/1,195/11. Junior totals included eight receptions for 84 yards, and he also spent time at safety during the second half of the season. POSITIVES: King-sized possession wideout who may eventually develop into a tight end. Physical, outmuscles opponents and comes away with the reception. Consistently extends and catches the ball away from his frame. Offers the quarterback a nice target, has soft hands and plays with excellent body control. Adequate blocker downfield. NEGATIVES: Overall game lacks quickness and speed. Marginal route-runner. ANALYSIS: Displaying significant improvement as a senior, Marshall presents himself as a receiver used in third down or red-zone situations at the next level. PROJECTION: Late Sixth Round http://www.sportspool.com/football/draft/492.php Brandon Marshall has excellent size and has shown a willingness to catch passes going into traffic. Brandon can take the hard hit and hold onto the ball or he can reach out and pluck the ball away from his body. He has the ability to use his body to cut-off/shield defenders from ball and make tough catches. When Marshall goes up aggressively, he has shown the hands to catch the high pass easily. He has the natural size and strength to be a strong runner after the catch when he runs aggressively. Brandon Marshall and can drag tacklers for extra yards after intial contact. He was Central Florida's go-to-receiver and learned to use his hands and strength to fight through jams well. Brandon Marshall despite his great 40-time, Marshall does not show quickness, speed or explosiveness in routes. He has enough speed but in terms of quickness to the ball he struggles to get separation in routes because his routes. Not a great route runner, his routes are not sharp and he runs very upright. He does not have the playing speed to stretch the field and get separation on deep routes. Brandon Marshall does not have natural hands and he tends to allow easy passes into his body, fights the ball, and drops some passes he should catch.

The combination of Jarron Gilbert, Henry Melton, and Johnny Knox is better value than Mitchell.