AZ54

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.

Dusty. The guy needs a lot of help with his pass rush but he's a hard worker and I think he'll take to Marinelli very quickly and get a lot of benefit out of it.

Just "a couple guys and play that nose position"? Doesn't sound to positive to me but I like what he says about practice.

Well that's interesting. I have to say that 14.5 sacks would look awfully nice from one of our DEs. We have a lot of cap space and if we're not going to spend it on a QB then we might as well spend the cash on getting a pass rush. He's only 28 so he definitely has a few good years left.

Payne has all of 16 games experience. He wasn't perfect but IMO it's too early to throw him under the bus. We have to give players some time to develop. I prefer to focus on our FS fiasco and our Dline dilema so Payne can focus on his primary responsibility. Everyone complained about how we let Chris Harris go and he's played well for Carolina, although at the time I agreed with the decision based on the fact I felt Payne could replace him.

Rumor is the Patriots are asking for a 1st Rd pick for Matt Cassel. I'm not ready to give that up for a one year wonder, especially with the talent on that team as well the coaching staff. I don't watch Patriot's games so I really don't know how good he looked as a QB but he did put up some very impressive numbers in the second half of the season. I'd give up a 3rd Rd pick plus maybe a 6th Rd pick. What do you think he's worth?

For player profiles I usually read CBS Sportsline. I find their profiles to be the most thorough. They don't have a link up yet for the 2009 draft.

I was afraid going into the offseason that Lovie wouldn't have the balls to make the hard decisions. Our defense let the team down game after game and he went out and completely overhauled the D coaching staff. Demoting Babich had to be difficult (I think he should have been gone or totally demoted with lower title and salary) but at least he's not calling the shots anymore. It would be interesting to know how much of this was mandated or pushed for by JA but I suspect getting Marinelli was the key piece of the equation. After reading that interview from Sapp it seems that Lovie is going to draw up game plans with more help from Marinelli than Babich, hence the assistant head coach title. That's work on Mon/Tue by Wed Marinelli wants to be back on the field working hand in hand with the Dline, which is fine by me. Babich and Lovie can worry about coordinating the practice schedule and what not while Marinelli does what he does best.

I'll take Maclin in Rd 1 and pass on TO.

As competition for Orton I'd sign him.

I do think Harris has the same talent level that Sapp had, perhaps better because he's even quicker off the line. At DE I do not think we have anyone as quick at getting around the corner as Rice was. I thought Mark Anderson had that type of burst but in his last two seasons he doesn't look like he even works out in the offseason.

Rice was a terribly selfish player on the Cardinals and he always neglected his assignments on D so he could just do one thing, go upfield and rush the QB. His locker room antics were just as bad and I don't regret not going after him. For those who feel Marinelli had such better Dline talent in Tampa, are you the same ones who blame our coaches when our players perform poorly? The scouts bring in players with physical ability. The coaches have the responsiblity to turn that into production on the field. Marinelli's record on the Dine in Tampa is a good an indicator you can find that he's capable of doing this with a Dline. Even Rice turned into a more complete player when coached by Marinelli.

I agree his play is puffed up due to surrounding players, and I guess I was implying that by saying staying here is his best chance to succeed. Cards Oline vs. Bears? First, I don't think our Oline was in the bottom 5, but clearly in the bottom half of of the league. However, Throughout the year the Cards had times where they struggled to run the ball and times when they struggled to pass protect similar to us. Warner got hit a lot in some games so it's not like he's just standing back there all day waiting to throw deep. With such good WRs and QB blitzing the cards Oline is a very risky proposition and I clearly don't think they saw nearly as many 8 man fronts or blitzes as compared to what our Oline saw. As you say, surrounding talent makes others appear better and in this case I think the Cards Oline looks much better because the QB/WR talent is so good. Bottom line: I think the Cards Oline is better but not by much. Get Williams on the field at LT and move St Clair inside while adding a good rookie RT and I think we'd have the better Oline.

Is this a battle to see who's post is "bigger"?

Everyone is missing a piece of the equation for Warner. He is now being talked about as a Hall of Fame candidate. You can offer him all the money in the world but from where he is right now his best shot at getting into the Hall is by staying in Arizona with those WRs and a coach who loves the run game but still will let him throw the ball up to 75% of the time. As for some of the other arguments about him throwing INts or fumbling when under pressure. Arizona hasn't had a great Oline this year and he's taken some big hits. Quite simply he's doing a better job taking care of the ball. Anyone remember Mike Gandy at LT? He's better now than his LT stint with the Bears but who on this board was asking to sign him to fix our LT spot when he last hit FA? As for Leinart, the Cards just won their first home game since 1947! I won't say the entire city is going crazy over this like they do for the Suns but it's building. The team is being run by Bidwill's son now and it seems clear he wants to keep that momentum. They have good things happening for the team such as sold out home games two seasons in a row that they've never had here. That is helping the revenue stream which is helping to sign FA (or better yet keep guys like Fitzgerald). Phoenix is the 5th largest city and a big sports town, this team can be very successful financially by keeping this momentum. All that makes Leinart's salary a moot point. Even Edgerrin James is now indicating he might want to come back here.

I don't think New England will keep him tagged until the season starts. They are hedging their bets to 1) keep him there until they get a look at Brady and his knee and 2) get something in exchange for trading Cassell. One of these QBs is going to be available but it might end up Brady with a bum knee.

I can see some of the issues with the scheme affecting Urlacher but he wasn't always up at the LOS. His play dropped off and that's that. He can say the fans don't know football and I suppose now he'll say Sports Illustrated doesn't know sports. As for Hester, he used that blocking excuse all year long and it worked great until DManning took over KR duties and led the entire league. I'll also add that he did it consistently game after game getting big returns. You can't do that without blocking. I'll also add that DManning runs upfield towards the endzone while Hester runs sideways toward the bench. Perhaps that has something to do with how many yards he gets on his returns.

Of that list I'll take Alex Smith. Ok so he isn't on the list but what the heck I think he's an option I just don't know what Singletary is going to do in San Fran but I suspect after all he's been through Smith would love to get out of there. I'm not necessarily an Alex Smith fan but I'm not a big fan of anyone on the list above, I just think when we consider getting a veteran QB he should be in the discussion. I don't care that Mike Martz kicked him to the curb, Martz can be a QB killer with his system and demands. I'm curious to hear everyone's thoughts on if he's even worth a look.

Boss Bailey had monster rookie hype, I don't recall a monster rookie year. He was a lightweight coming out of college and IIRC was often injured.

I always liked this guy and wish him well. I wish I could have seen him play in a few games for us, especially with all the poor WR play we've had to watch over the last two seasons.

St Clair wants to remain with the Bears http://www.chicagobears.com/news/NewsStory.asp?story_id=5511 excerpt: Knowing that Williams likely will be given every chance to earn the starting position in 2009, St. Clair wouldn’t be opposed to moving back inside to guard. In 2007, the 6-5, 315-pounder started one game at left tackle, one at right tackle and the final three at left guard. “I’ve played everywhere,” St. Clair said. “If it fits, I’m all for it. I’ve always been a team player. I can play all the positions. I pride myself on playing everything.” Coach Lovie Smith said last week that it was premature to discuss St. Clair’s role next season. “We’re just excited about getting Chris Williams back in the mix and having as many good offensive linemen as we can keep here,” Smith said. “John is an unrestricted free agent. We would just like to keep as many of the guys as we possibly can, let them compete and there they’ll tell us where they need to play.” St. Clair joined the Bears in 2005 after spending his first five NFL seasons with the St. Louis Rams (2000-03) and Miami Dolphins (2004). “Since I’ve been here, it’s been a first-class organization,” he said. “I just like the team, my teammates, my brothers on the o-line and my o-line coach [Harry Hiestand]. There are first-class people here.”

Chico was using quite a bit of the cover 2 scheme IIRC.

Key point #1: The article clearly states you must have CBs who are jamming WR at the LOS to prevent the quick pass. We simply don't do that. Key point #2: The Dline must get pressure on the QB, this is to handle the 5 and 7 step drops that lead to longer pass routes that will be open in the zone scheme. We've let our entire defensive coaching staff go except for the guy calling the shots, Babich. In terms of placing blame that's about as damning as you can get except it makes absolutely no sense that you'd still leave Babich in place. All the managers I know would look at an underperforming team or group like that and make changes starting with the guy at the top. I don't want Marinelli as our DC but because of the above situation I still feel he was offered more than just a Dline coaching job. Lovie may not want to let go of Babich yet unless he has Marinelli on the staff. IMO that would be a stupid approach for Lovie because if he truly thinks Marinelli will do a better job as DC then he should have fired Babich and clearly offered Marinelli the job. That brings things back to JA versus Lovie and who is calling the shots on the coaching staff. Lovie may be holding out on Babich at the risk of losing his job after next season and JA may be pushing for Marinelli to take over as DC now. It seems like we're headed for a middle ground where we give Babich one more shot with a new staff while JA tries to bring in Marinelli as Dline coach/Asst Head Coach so he's waiting in the wings to take over next year. This also gives Lovie a way out in mid-season if Babich hasn't found a clue, he can make the change after 4 or 5 games before all is lost. Like I said, it's not what I want but IMO it's how it appears to setting up.

Hester actually ran pass routes this year and it was a big improvement over what he did in 07. Expecting him to work from 3 different positions on the field is too much to ask of him at this point. Perhaps next season we slide him around a bit but I don't think that would have worked well for him this year. We have to walk before we run with this guy.

If Lovie pulls for his buddy Babich to stick around then JA may very well tell him that if it doesn't work out next year he'll be gone too. Now that would make me smile but getting through next season with Babich will be emotionally difficult. As they say, no pain no gain.