AZ54

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.

Odd you should post this because I was thinking about it too. I've watched Britton play quite a bit and I really like the way he plays the game, with attitude and he does have good athleticism just not that elite footwork for LT in the NFL. I will say that he's not the strongest guy but we have to keep in mind that he's coming out as a Junior. He might need a year or two to get his full potential but given all the positive things draftniks are saying about him I think if he stayed in school for one more year he'd be talked about as a top 20 pick next year. If that's true, why not grab next year's top 20 pick this year at #18? On the other end of the spectrum I am hearing more about Loadholt dropping down to the 3rd Rd. After Britton the OTs all have a significant question mark in either attitude, work ethic, footwork, strength. The fact he might need a year to get ready for the league could be hard for some fans to accept but IMO it makes bringing back a guy like St Clair key for us. St Clair is a good team player and will help a guy like Britton even if he knows he'll be taking his spot. We need that leadership and it will be helpful for Williams too. I am willing to overpay a guy like St Clair a bit because he knows the offense and is able and willing to help the younger guys. Now if we can find a WR to take on the same role...

Sure teams will wait but they also spend money in the meantime and the longer you wait the contracts that get signed become smaller and the teams bidding for your services become fewer. Every agent knows that. St Clair is simply not a hot commodity and his agent can tell him all he wants but the lack of team visits or even just rumors of teams being interested speaks pretty clearly. He was simply ok last year at LT but he's getting older and slower so will only get worse at that spot. In the end he's at best a backup OT or a starter for deficient team (i.e. Bears). This draft is deep with OT prospects, 5 potential first round picks and several more for rounds 2-3. Just how many teams will St Clair wait for after the draft? I'm betting none and he'll be signed before practice next week.

St Clair has only one offer and that's ours so that is his value in the league right now. He might not like it but that's the way it is.

I see Pace as a better fit for the Cardinals. He's always played LT and I don't see him making a switch to the right side now. He's got to be better than Mike Gandy.

I don't see us picking this kid at #18. His questionable work ethics could easily see him drop to us in the second round and at that spot I could better accept the risk/reward scenario. I haven't heard a single person who is high on him as a football player, just his athleticism. I'll also add this is a smart thing for the Bears to do because if we end up trading down he might be a consideration and then on top of that you get all the smoke screen stuff going for us. Having said all that, there are a lot of other players I much prefer to take to help our team than Johnson. There will be players with talent who actually like playing the game available for us at both picks on day one.

Great work, love to see those pancake blocks! I also like the way you finish blocks right to end of a play. Best of luck with your college aspirations.

We just fired or demoted our entire defensive staff, don't be shy about leaving the coaching criticism to just the offensive side of the ball

Seems like an act of desperation to me.

Hester will be alright as our #2 but we need someone opposite him to take some pressure off. Even if it's a guy who's just another #2 type who is consistent will help.

I like the Sanchez pick but I'd have taken Loadholt in Rd 2 and I like picking up Moore in the 3rd.

Where's the 33 drops he had last year (2nd in the league)? How does that help our offensive offense? How baliistic is he going to get when Orton throws to Davis and Davis drops the ball? Or when Orton misses Hester on a deep route and Owens was open underneath? This would be a huge boost for Orton's confidence. JUST SAY NO!

I disagree. I think a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush. In other words sign St Clair. Of course if he's on the roster it does shape our draft in a different way because we don't have to be so desperate for an OT and it allows us to wait a bit and pick one up in Rd 2 or 3. However, I don't view that problem being JA as much as the fact there is no way to know how the draft will play out. If we knew going in that we'd get one of the top RTs at #18 then no problem but if they are gone do we want to be forced to grab a guy really early? I prefer to keep our options open in case there's a WR we really like at #18, or say a QB like Sanchez. It also keeps the door open for drafting Duke Robinson in Rd 2 instead of an OT, or a FS like Delmas in Rd 2. I have some thoughts on the St Clair negotiating process too. St Clair said he wants to be a starter. I think we've offered him a fair deal but JA did not guarantee him he'd be a starter. We want him back and will allow him to compete for a starting job. I think this was more clear when we signed Omiyale, a guy who looked decent in his one start at LT last year, and then said we want to move him inside. I don't think he was signed for the reason at all, instead I think that's a ploy to let St Clair think he'll have a better shot at starting RT for us. St Clair has proven he has value playing inside as well so I prefer him for that role (backup or starter) moreso than Omiyale. In the end it's the sum of the parts that makes the best team and as badly as I'd like to have a guy like Oher at #18 we might not get that option. Instead of reaching big time to fill a hole I prefer to keep some options open.

I like the signing and I think this completes our RB trio for the year. Why we would keep AP around anymore is beyond me. Take the roster spot and use it on a real hard hitting FB. If you get a FB with the right mentality he'll be a wedge buster too. We have Garrett Wolfe who was more effective on special teams than AP last year and then Kevin Jones did some special teams coverage and did well too. AP is what he is and IMO he's not quite as good as he used to be. I'm not saying there's been a big dropoff in his performance but it was never that high to begin with.

Hakeem Nicks and Robiskie were impressive. Nicks Reminds me a lot of Anquan Boldin and he seems to be the perfect fit for what we need, a big possession type WR who always catches the ball. However, I'm not sure what he ran at the combine and I don't know about his intangibles...character etc. Whereas Robiskie seems much more of a sure thing. ...it seems Nicks ran a 4.54 at the combine.