AZ54

Flacco appears to be everybody's smoke screen for QB. It's amazing how little PR coverage all the other QBs are getting. I hear nothing about interest in Brohm, Henne, Woodson, or anyone else for that matter except Ryan who's expected to go top 10. You'd think there were only two QBs in this draft. I know more pro days are coming up and this will change but the Flacco PR machine still amazes me.

We need a #1 WR but there are many teams that can say that. We now have enough options from which we should be able to find at least a good #2 if not two or even three (among Lloyd, Hester, Bradley, and the rookie). Teams can survive in this league just fine without a bigtime #1 WR as long as there's good talent among the top 3 WRs. On top of that we do have two very good receiving options in our TEs. I do like the idea of Hester being out slot WR. He's got the quickness needed for the role and keeping him there instead of trying to develop him into a #1 or #2 would steady his development. It would also give him less reps so he'd be able to handle his KR/PR responsibilities.

If we take Stewart in Rd 1 I'll be pissed. I don't see anything special in him, he's a good RB but not a guy I want to spend a 1st Rd pick on. I watched him play a lot last year and he had some good games but I can't recall a single play he made that wowed me. I'm very cautious in RBs that come from spread offenses like Oregon's that had a good dual threat QB.

If it's just a 1st rd pick of course I'd take him but I'd prefer to give up next years 1st so we can still get our LT this year.

I don't see him as being worse than Rashied Davis and that's who I view him replacing. Or Hass replaces Davis. Or rookie replaces Davis. I never felt the Bears were that interested in keeping him around (me either) and I wanted Moose gone. I'm not ecstatic about where our WR corps is at right now but I do like the competition that's being brought in for the second tier of the WR roster without breaking the bank. A rookie will be added to compete for the first tier this year or next. Expect at least one of our young guys to have a breakout year in 2008 (Hester, Bradley, Lloyd, Hass, rookie). If two of them do, we're ok but this is a long shot. If not we add another WR next year. In other words, rebuilding the WR corps is a two-year project and since there wasn't anyone worth the money given to Berrian (let alone the other big $$ contracts) I think that's a good decision. Between Hester, Bradley, this years rookie and next years addition we should be able to have a decent first tier of WR (assuming we draft wisely) and a reasonably priced second tier.

About 4.9 million less after we pulled it off the table. After this many years in the league as a key special teams player the only reason Ayanbadejo talked up playing LB was because he felt it would help him get his big contract. Now that he's got that bonus in his pocket I bet LB is scratched off his to-do list.

When it comes to our offensive needs we are not in a position to reach for a player. Get somebody somewhere on offense that we can build around. I strongly prefer to get our LT for the next decade but if that's not a good option when we pick get me somebody else that can make a difference on the field. Reach for an average player to fill a need and your back to hoping you get a stud next year. Ask any Cubs fan how that's working for them.

Other teams draft Olineman in the later rounds and they turn out just fine. I'm not saying you'll get a prime time OG or OT that way because, like other positions on the field, you need to have a couple high round talents to make it work. In between we should be able to fill in the gaps with later round picks.

I take the player that is likely to become great...the RT. Defenses aren't entirely focused on pass rushing from the left side as much as they used to be so there's a greater need for better talent at the RT spot these days. Anyone that can anchor either tackle spot that well allows you to move your TE to the other side. Or at least the RB knows his first pass protection read is from the left side. On top of that I still say your always better off taking a longer term approach and any time you can add a great player you do so versus just filling a need.

Payne on D and on offense I wait to see who we have on the team. As far as Hester being used like Welker that isn't going to work because Welker has one thing Hester doesn't: Randy Moss. In fact, Hester is more of our Moss when he's on the field because he commands a lot of attention. Welker just has to run the underneath routes after Moss and others clear it out. What we need to do is use Hester a little more often like the Patriots use Moss and have him help clear out the underneath stuff. That doesn't mean he has to be on a fly route all the time but he can run some 15 yard out routes, or a skinny post from the slot position. Just do something with him besides throwing him the ball within 3 yards of the LOS and watching 11 guys run over to tackle him.

The Bears staff knows how he's doing and I prefer not to hear anything before the draft, or if they do I'd prefer they just say he's doing great. After we draft our next RB then the chatter can start.

I don't think TJ cares as much about a rookie being drafted as he's already gotten his last big contract. Plus there's no way the Jets would cut him as you need two good backs to make it through the year.

How interesting for the Bears to telegraph so much interest in a first round pick. Wonder what's behind that?

I can see Oakland drafting McFadden, he's their type of home run player and he carries the big name to excite the fans. They have their QB, they just signed Walker and yes they have Fargas signed too but his contract was reasonable. They can easily split time between him and McFadden.

Hester: Thanks for saving me the post but I'll add another point. He's too much of a project for a team with Grossman on a 1 year deal and Orton with only 2 more years. By the beginning of next year the Bears will be committing to a QB for the long haul, or at least a longer contract. Grossman and Orton both have enough question marks IMO that I think JA will want somebody with a higher chance of being at least an average QB at the start of next year.

No doubt, I haven't seen anything at all about his contract. I know he's not playing for free and I doubt it would be 3.5mil for 2 years. I could see 3.5mil/yr but how much is bonus?

While I am all for fixing the OL in the draft this year if the best LT prospects are gone when we pick we have to look at other options before reaching on somebody. If you can get a guy that has a chance to be a special player, or say has a ceiling of being a Pro Bowl players, then you have to take him versus reaching to fill a need position. We're all keyed in on having success this year but we also have to have some vision for the long haul. This all goes back to the draft strategy threads that always show up ....best player or best player for your need? IMO the value of who you pick has to have some correlation to where you are picking. I prefer great LT and average RB combo versus the other way around but if I can't get the great left tackle I'll take the great RB and put him behind an average LT. At least I've got one great and one average player versus two average ones. Elite players change the game for everyone around them and there are plenty of examples around the league where average players standout because the great player. Is Mendenhall going to be a great player? What he did against USC I didn't see anyone else do to them all year long. I never saw Stewart run like that and I watched him in a lot of games. I'm starting to prepare myself that if one of the top LTs in the draft don't fall to us JA will be content to just draft a very good RT prospect in Rd 2 and we'll see Tait at LT again. That means Rd 1 is wide open to fill one of many other needs.

Ridiculous and I'm glad we weren't interested.

The problem is you can't make that trade until AFTER the draft because you don't know who will fall to us. Make the trade early and you're locked in to LT in Rd 1. Right now we need a LT but we could get away with waiting a round and drafting a RT so there's at least some doubt. I agree that Tait has his limitations with speed rushers but I think he also played through a pretty tough leg or ankle injury. While I'd like to move him back to RT and draft one of the top LT in Rd 1 things change dramatically for us if we don't need to do that. Suppose we steal Starks away from Pitt and put him at RT and keep Tait at LT. Now we have a lot of flexibility in the draft. We can go RB in Rd 1 (Mendenhal), QB, WR, S, and even JA's favorite Rd 1 pick DT. WR and S might not be worth our first round pick but the other 3 options could yield a very good prospect. With the talent at LT in this draft I'm not saying we should do this because as I've said already, if you can get a stud at LT then it anchors that spot for many years, if not a decade. If we're not locked into filling that spot we have a lot of flexibility in Rds 1-3

JA seems content to sit out the initial fireworks (duh at this point) and just take whichever WR is left regardless of what his strengths are. He'll take what's left, be it a bigger possession type (Booker) or the smaller faster type (ala Berrian) and then just go draft the complimentary WR. Other teams seem to have targeted a WR for their system or needs and have already gone after them and signed them. It seems most of these guys are not making multiple team visits. Maybe it's because the money is so crazy but this is the first year I can recall so many FAs making just one visit and signing. In the past almost all the agents would visit at least two teams if not three. Teams used to do the same bringing in a couple FAs at one position. It seems we're getting to that point now in FA but the first weekend players have gone really fast, even 2nd and 3rd tier players.

No trade of Harris. He's the only guy we have on the DL that commands a double team. Lose him and everyone on that line takes a step backwards.

I disagree. How many Bears players have held out and not played games because of a contract dispute? I understand your logic with all the whining players do about getting more money but in the end the only leverage they have is to not play. We just haven't seen that not even with Briggs, Vasher, and Alex Brown the two biggest malcontents last year. If they play but don't play well they lose their leverage too. I think overall the Bears are known as a team that will reward their own players for good performance and this system in general has given us decent cap room over the last few years so we can make a few moves each offseason. I just wish we'd be able to use this concept on a young OL prospect but we don't seem to be able to find those guys.

Given the option of Turner or Johnson I'm taking the WR. IMO it's easier to fill the RB spot via the draft, especially in the middle rounds. Johnson is good enough to replace Berrian but he's not good enough that he should automatically be handed the starting job over Bradley. In other words I also think Bradley is good enough to replace Berrian but his injury history puts a big question mark on him. Johnson should win that competition but I don't think it should be handed to him because he's had too many character issues in the past. On the other hand to get him to sign here we're probably going to have to give him assurance that he'll at least be our #2 WR. I think we'll end up seeing Bryant Johnson (or other FA) as our #1, Bradley and Hester splitting the #2 role. I also think we'll see Greg Olsen lined up as a WR more than last year.

Harris has spoken from day one about getting another huge contract so money is clearly all he thinks about. He has to weigh his options carefully because his injury history is not very good. While he played through tough injuries last year it's still going to be a factor in any GM's mind before he hands over a huge signing bonus. As far as the Redskins making a play for Briggs this sounds like pure BS from Rosenhaus so he can save face for him and his immature client. Making "a run" might have been nothing more than one quick phone call to see what Briggs' wanted in signing bonus. After that they probably hung up.

I'll take Anquan Boldin over Berrain any day of the week and he has way outperformed Berrian on some BAD Cardinals teams. Not taking the time to go through the rest of the italicized WRs. Also your statement that there were teams who thought he was a #1 and were willing to pay him that money is incorrect, at least based on the fact only the Vikings offered him that much. He never went anywhere else so we only know that they think of him as being worth that much. But they paid a lot for Bobby Wade last year too and he was their #1 WR. We know how that worked out. Goodbye Bernard, it was nice having you around but you're not worth that much coin.