AZ54

Simeon Rice and leadership in the same sentence, now that's new. He's certainly worth a look but I don't have my hopes up.

He's worth $9mil/yr but we have too many needs on offense to make him happy here.

I agree on a couple calls were terrible, especially the roughing the passer. How many times did Ben pump fake the ball and then pull it down and run. It's all just part of what I call the pussification of the NFL. Then you get guys with hands all over Fitzgerald in the endzone and no flag is thrown. Somehow Fitz made the catch but come on. In the end it was Warner's bad throw at the endzone and the Cards inability to hustle downfield and tackle a guy that made the difference.

I'm one of the guys willing to draft WR in Rd 1 (Maclin) but I also would like to add Boldin but don't want to give up our 1st Rd pick. The difference for me is the $8-10 milllion/yr salary Boldin wants. It's not that he's not worth the salary that Berrian got, he is. But giving up a 1st rd pick plus giving up all that cap space when we have so many needs is not something I favor. In particular if we added Boldin I really want to use #18 on Oline in a strong draft for 1st Rd OTs. Bottom line is the old economics idea of opportunity cost. It's not necessarily what it costs to get Boldin but what I lose the opportunity to add when I do that. If I were to simply draft Maclin I would not have a WR as capable as Boldin, at least not at the start but I will also have enough extra money available to get the best FA FS on the market. Breaks down like this: Boldin + 2nd Rd Oline IS NOT GREATER THAN Maclin + 2nd Rd Oline + best FA FS

Just because Dallas made bad deal doesn't mean we must follow in their footsteps. Consider also that Dallas had a ton of draft picks and at the time of the deal they still felt they were a team capable of competing for a Superbowl. In other words they aren't looking at adding a bunch of young talent to their roster. JJ figured Roy would put them over the top, Bears fans knew better. Read carefully...I didn't say they would do that deal I said I'd give up a second round pick for him and but if it were to make Rod Graves smile we could throw in a 6th and 7th because IMO those picks as pretty much inconsequential. I agree this is a deal that is not likely to happen if only because we have too many holes to fill on our roster. Because of that, right now I'm not willing to give up more than our second round pick and perhaps those late round picks. If you want to start a thread about what the Cards will ask for Boldin I'll tell you it's a minimum of a first round pick. Boldin has two years on his contract so most likely they will make him a decent contract offer but not great and tell him take it or leave it. Fitzgerald also stated the other day that he'd restructure his deal to help resign Boldin. However, sometimes s*** happens and in this case there could be a lot of acrimony between these two sides. If the Cards truly feel Boldin might brecome a huge distraction who knows what they'd do last minute to cut a deal. To make things more palatable for both sides perhaps the Bears would trade first round picks with the Cards and then I'd be giving up a 3rd and maybe 5th pick. I'm not sure where all that would be on the value chart.

I'm not a big fan of using a first round pick on guy whose stock rises so much after the season. There are too many question marks for me. He only had 3 sacks his last year in college? Before I'd take Ayers I prefer to grab our future RT (Oher if there) or a WR in RD 1.

I would not trade those picks but I'd trade a 2nd Rd pick. I've watched him play since his first game in the league and he's exactly the type of player Bears fans will love, tough, fights for every yard and he's strong going after the ball.

I agree there have been some extenuating circumstances affecting the WR position but nonetheless the success of a guy like Gage after he leaves has to make us wonder. He didn't sign a huge deal with the Titans after he left the Bears. Was that a deal we couldn't match? It didn't really bother me when Gage left so I'm not trying act as if I knew something nobody else did. It didn't bother me when we cut Wade either. However, our coaching staff is right there with these guys day after day, they watch film of these guys they have to know a guy can or is developing and will get better with another year or two. Better yet, why is their development taking so long? Now we are once again in the same spot with Bennett. He was drafted in part because he was smart, studious, and hard working yet he couldn't get on the field because he didn't know the plays. To top it off, our WR corps was horrendous last year. I can't believe it was that hard to break though among that group. If Bennett truly was that bad we should have just cut our losses and brought in someone else, or given Rideau or Hass a shot to see if they could take his place. It's this trend that makes me wonder what is going on with our coaching staff.

I'll just have to agree completely with post.

After the Cards got their butt kicked in New England their head coach ripped into them verbally. When they got back to town their first practice was in full pads with full contact. Since then they are undefeated and you can watch them on Sunday. Maybe that won't work with the Bears but for once I'd like to see Lovie give it a try. Players can be in the right gap but if they don't make the tackle or can't quite get to the QB for a sack then they don't make the play. That's where the emotion of the game comes into play. Ayanbadejo said it himself before the Ravens - Steelers game; the Bears were just too comfortable.

Random thoughts from watching the Senior Bowl QBs... Graham Harrel flat out sucks and won't get drafted. I don't think I've ever seen a QB with a weaker arm, not even in high school. Rhett Bomar looked ok at times, seems to have enough arm strength to play in the league and showed some decent athleticism, his accuracy was way off on some plays. Comments like this in an interview make me think he "doesn't get it" and will drop below where his athleticism would put him: http://www.draftcountdown.com/interviews/R...Rhett-Bomar.php "Scott Wright: When scouts and NFL decision makers inevitably ask you about your time with the Sooners how are you going to explain the situation to them? Rhett Bomar: I’ll explain it to them. I don’t want to get into it right now but it’s not going to be as big of a deal as everybody says. They don’t care that much and it was a long time ago. It’s nothing that hasn’t gone on at a lot of places… It’s just a thing that happened and I’ve moved on. If I have to answer questions I’ll do that but I don’t think it’s going to be that big of a deal in the long run." John Parker Wilson...looks like he has the physical tools but accuracy isn't always there. I'd be ok if we spent a later round pick on him. Nate Bowman...interesting player, seemed to have that leadership on the field and ability to just get the job done. Nothing great athletically but worth a late round pick. Pat White...too small but other than that he has the tools. I like the way he handles himself on the field but don't draft him. Cullen Harper...don't even remember seeing him play. WR... Robiskie looked good but I didn't see anything that made me say get him with our first Rd pick, ok to use our 2nd Rd pick on him. I really like Mike Thomas from UofArizona. I've watched him play all year and I think he'd be a great slot guy plus his return ability. Problem is he is not what we need (small WR/returner) so pass on him. Somebody will get a good football player when they draft him. Oline... Oher looked ok but doesn't seem to hold his blocks long enough to really finish off a guy. He did show some good mobility though. Seemed to give up the edge a bit at times but recovered enough to prevent a sack, however, that makes me wonder if he'll really hold that in the NFL. I still like the guy but he didn't seem like a dominating top 5 pick in what I saw. Herman Johnson is just huge and that alone can help you look good in college. How would he look against Philadelphia's pass rush? Levitre didn't look good at times. For all the Oline I always feel they have a disadvantage vs. the Dline because learning new plays and new QB cadence is harder on them than a defense.

Bryant Johnson had character issues in AZ but still managed to work out as a decent WR. The fact he's back on the market after one year raises a big flag IMO. Is he worse than what we watched most of last year, no, but if he shows up in Chicago make sure it's for a contract that we can get out of down the road if there are problems.

First time I can recall a board member predicting a loss to the Cards. What happens next? Do the Bears draft a future HOF QB in Rd 6?

Can I choose this: 89 rec 1,038yds 11.7 yd/rec 86.5 yd/game 79T (long) 11TD That's Anquan Boldin

I can see us redoing Idonije's contract but not until we've completed our FA signings and finished the draft. I don't think Idonije will want to break the bank and Rosenhaus and the Bears actually have a pretty good relationship (might that bring Anquan Boldin to the Bears?). JA and the coaches love his versatility from DT to DE to special teams. Keeping him around will make some of the other painful decisions easier to make. We all know we don't have much settled at DE or DT right now. Signing Izzy for a few more years to a contract that rewards him well but allows us to cut him (i.e. lower bonus) gives us a bit more latitude to make some moves for the next couple seasons.

I'm not so sure Oher will move back up the charts. The questions on taking plays off and the Wonderlic test will likely be enough to keep him around for our pick. When you start paying top ten money to a OT early in the draft you are looking for a sure thing. Elite LTs routinely score high on this test so that means something and I don't expect Oher to ace the test. If he's there at 18 I'd gladly take him to be our future RT. This is one prospect where the player interview is going to play a huge role in where he gets drafted. That's one piece of info that is impossible to get our hands on before a draft.

It is interesting how Mike Brown gets a pass for the huge mistake he made in the Atlanta game, among others. Then there's the philosophy that he is so valuable because he helps line everyone up. Well he didn't line up the CB on that one play and that was an easy call to make.

If Green Bay runs a 3-4 then we'll see it more often. That's good thing for us because it will make us better at playing against it. Playing a 3-4 doesn't automatically make you a great defense or everyone would be using it. Arizona went to a 3-4 when Whisenhunt showed up and they used it all season long.

He has to "make the team." http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/chi-1...0,6072150.story Do you still consider Nathan Vasher a starter? He really hasn't played in two years, so he needs to redefine himself, starting in the off-season. He has to earn a spot on our team. He has to show he can be a starter, somebody we can depend on. We rewarded a very good player. He earned a new contract. But since then he has had some injuries, and when he has played, his play hasn't been up to his standards, I'm sure, and certainly our standards.

We already have Orton out of Purdue.

The rule is in place to stop players from leading with their helmet in helmet to helmet contact. The Steeler player was clearly leading with his shoulder and the way the RB leaned forward caused the helmet contact. Probably the league will fine him because this has become a game for soft players but IMO it was damn good hit.

Amazing how many guys are projected to run a 4.48 or 4.49 forty.

Signing Peppers would do a lot for our defense. At a minimum it would make our entire secondary better. Given our shortcomings at FS that's something we could use. Assuming Harris can return to something close to his former self every offense we face would have a tough choice on where to focus their protection -- inside our outside? A little more concern about an outside pass rush might finally open up some gaps inside to make our blitzes more effective, although we should need that much less often. Last, Briggs and Urlacher will be more effective as they return to their former role playing off the LOS which might finally stop these quick inside slants. I know we have a lot of money invested on our D but when one player could make the entire group better that's worth quite a bit. Cut Ogun to make some room, or better yet trade him. Getting something is better than nothing. I'm sure we'll address FS in the draft of lower teir FA but if we were to get Peppers we could make offense the focus of the rest of the offseason.

I got the feedback on Cassell and it seemed to be about half for a trade and half against. In any case the draft pick had to no higher than a second or lower. Now there's some talk in Phoenix of the Cards considering trading Leinart. After getting to the playoffs I don't think they have a choice but to re-sign Warner and effectively make him the starter for next year. That means they can free up cap space and get another draft pick if they trade Leinart. My opinion is that Leinart doesn't have the work ethic to really succeed in the NFL. That might change as he gets older but I wouldn't bet on it. I don't have a clue what his contract is but I'm sure he'll come with a large cap hit. I'm not in favor of pursuing a trade for him but if we did I would not give up more than a 4th Rd pick.

I have always liked Tillman and I admire his grit. Simply put, he's a Bear. As far as the scheme, I can live with CBs playing off the LOS a bit 5-7 yards as long as they close hard when a play is in front of them, and as long as we use some more inside technique to get in front of WRs on the quick inside slants Lovie has made famous. We just don't do that but I see other teams do it all the time so I know it can work. I'll add that, as I understand, the whole reason for playing off the LOS with both CB and LB is so that they are better able to move forward and attack the play. Pressure comes from the front four and the the next wave of defenders read and react into their gap. Our players might read the play but they don't react with enough forward burst to limit the gain or stop the play (i.e. breakup the pass). Is this the players' fault or a result of a coaching staff that was preaching the need to play it safe. I think there's some fault all the way around.