AZ54

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.

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.