AZ54

Now that Berrian is a Viking I don't see any way Bryant Johnson signs with Buffalo without first visiting the Bears. If his agent suggests that he does he should fire him on the spot. The Bears situation clearly gives Johnson a shot at being a #1 WR. On top of that they already know the money the Bears were willing to spend on Berrian. The fact Berrian is gone should make us a bit more desperate to sign a WR. That threat alone should raise the Bills offer to Johnson. I'd be stunned if his agent doesn't at a minimum use the Bears as leverage in contract negotiations.

Glad to have him back with us. Now we have a strong LB core with decent depth for the first time in years. Briggs price is reasonable given that he's been a Pro Bowl player. While I've said he's not a great player he fits well with what we need.

Remember Briggs play against the Cardinals on Monday night football where he overran the play and the RB scored a TD? Stop them for a FG and we were in the game but Hester made amends on the next play. Even though I've said Briggs isn't a great player and pointed out some of his weaknesses I'm glad we have him back. He does make some great plays for us even if he'll miss one now and then, he knows the defense and fits in well with our scheme. Having Williams and Okwo just gives us some depth that we haven't had at LB for years and I for one have no problem with that.

We have a ton of special teams players on our roster and we'll have a few more after this draft and FA are done. I just don't see that as an overriding factor in keeping AP. But like I said a couple months ago. We'll go to camp with 4 guys competing for 3 spots. The new guy probably stays and I suspect Wolfe also stays because we invested a 3rd Rd pick in him and JA won't want to give up on him just yet. You can argue that all you want but it's what I think JA will do. That means Benson competes with AP for a job. The difference is Benson has to be good enough to compete for the #1/2 spot while AP has to be good enough to fill the #2/3 spot.

Regardless of having JWilliams and Okwo, if Briggs is gone who do we have as backups? Assume Jamaar Williams starts, that leaves us with Okwo as the lone decent (but unknown) backup LB. If we sign Demorrio Williams to a modest contract and let him compete with Jamaar Williams for the starting role on the weak side I have no problem with that. Nor should Jamaar as he has the inside edge knowing the defense for 2 years. At least you know Williams is your starting WLB heading into training camp.

3 years $12million, how many Lamborghini's does that buy? Wait, I forgot to take out child support.

Who over-rated Bryant Johnson? Guy sometimes runs poor routes, sometimes drops easy passes, and sometimes makes a catch that makes you say wow. Sounds a lot like Bernard Berrian. The difference is he's bigger than Berrian, faster than Moose, quicker than Moose in/out of cuts, and has enough speed to get deep. I also think Johnson is finally starting to mature and not just because he wants a new contract. Time will tell if I'm right on that as he was nothing but a punk his first couple years in AZ. Things like getting totally wasted the night before his first training camp began, so drunk that he couldn't even practice the next day. Refusing to work out with his QB in the offseason. Being lazy in minicamps. Don't get me wrong, he still has a ways to go to become as good as his talent would allow him to be but if he's surrounded by the right character guys he just might turn the corner. If he doesn't, at least you won't be tying up so much money that you can't get out of his deal in a few years. I think he'll at least be a good #3 WR and possibly a good #2.

I've been saying for the last year that Briggs has trouble getting off blocks, more trouble than Urlacher does yet he never gets any press about it. Briggs almost always shies away from contact with pulling guards by just diving out of the play and makes little effort to even hold his ground much less get to the ball carrier. He doesn't even fight off Fullbacks. He's at his best in space where his athleticism lets him get to the ball carrier. That doesn't mean nobody will want him but I don't think he fits any scheme. I also think with record cap space available for so many teams and the lack of day-one interest in Briggs that nobody views him as a cornerstone type player that you build a defense around. Don't worry. Rosenhaus is a good agent and if nothing else he drum up some visits for Lance even if teams are that interested in him at his asking price. He'll have to do something if nobody has Lance in for a visit this weekend.

Since Lance is getting very little attention while all the big money is tossed around this might also light a fire under him to consider our deal in a different light (i.e. the best he'll get).

Bernard Berrian is never going to go after Travaris Jackson's off-target passes so if he ends up in Minny I view it as an opportunity for our safeties to knock him on his butt. Of course first we need some safeties capable of doing that.

You only gave two options; keeping him or losing him. It's the third option: replacing him in a more cost effective manner that might make us a better team overall as it would not only replace most of his production but allow us to sign another player that would also improve the offense. If the money gets ridiculous I think there's enough options in FA at WR and in the draft to solve this problem.

Read somewhere this week that Ced had been paid 13.8 million so far.

He's a great 3rd QB, relatively cheap and with enough experience that he doesn't need reps in practice. Look at the AZ Cardinals whose 3rd QB is Anquan Boldin and tell me that a guy like Griese isn't a better option. More likely if a team is in a spot where they'll be spending a 5/6/7 rd pick on a QB to fill that 3rd spot trading that pick for Griese might make more sense. Especially if you don't have much confidence in your #2 QB.

I think in the end we'll just draft a guy to compete at RB. Adrian Peterson is on the way out unless Benson comes back poorly from his injury. In that case Ced gets cut in camp and we keep AP, new guy, and Wolfe.

After reading the Suntimes article http://blogs.suntimes.com/bears/2008/02/mo...offense_ag.html I started laughing at this line: RAY BUCHANAN: “Not too really burn a bridge with the Chicago Bears man, but what was it like not really being able to be yourself? I know the Moose that we’ve seen back in Carolina, but tell them what it was like actually being there with Chicago.” I would love to see what Ray says when he sees Moose has no speed and no quickness on top of the questionable hands. Just how exactly is an OC supposed to use a guy that can't run away from anyone and needs 3 steps to come out of a cut and drops a significant % of passes that hit his hands? Equipment manager comes to mind.

I totally agree. Right now with the cash available we can probably sign two good WR that will help us more than Berrian alone. Then draft one more. I think we tendered Davis as a stopgap in case everything falls apart on us but he doesn't offer much as a slot WR. I don't want him back and hope we find another option. Keep Hester and Bradley sign two FA WR, one a good second tier guy, one a third tier depth player with experience to compete with Hass. Draft another WR in the 3rd round. It's a lot of turnover at the WR spot but given what we had last year those numbers (and drops) aren't a difficult thing to replace. ON top of that I think Olsen will really shine this year and become our go to guy.

It's easy to say he may lose a step after the surgery. He might also gain a step if he actually works hard at rehab. Right now none of us know. Regardless we need help at RB.

I'd rather have the LT who can anchor that position for the next 7-10 years instead of a stopgap that leaves us in the same spot in a year or two. You don't get many chances to do that so when opportunity is knocking it's best to answer the door. Decent OG are easier to find than LT so fill that in later rounds or with one of the FAs available.

Not interested in Colvin for all the reasons other already listed. Just doesn't fit the scheme.

Josh Barrett. I like him a lot athletically but he seems a bit raw (i.e. late reacting) in how he plays the position. Definitely worth a look on day 2. Had he stayed healthy ASU would have made a bigger finish at the end of the year, he was that important to their defense.

I'd be happy if we picked up Hester on the second day. I like the way he runs and (from what I've read) he blocks well too. I think he'd block as well as McKie but his versatility out of the backfield is what could really change things for us. I think he'd also be good enough to fill in as the RB if injuries depleted the roster. Of course, that's only if the Oline gets upgraded. I'd still keep Wolfe and get rid of Runnels or McKie.

I'll add one more thing I really want in a QB and that is accuracy in hitting a WR in stride. The QB needs intelligence enough (at least football smarts) to understand what a defense is doing but no matter what, passing windows in the NFL are often small even 30 yards downfield and the QB has to be able to get the ball in there. It's a big reason I'm no fan of QBs who come from systems that run a lot of hooks or sit-down routes. I'll name one guy, Akili Smith, who in college could only hit a WR when he stopped. He still got a big contract because of his measurables but couldn't do anything in the NFL. I'll also add that a QB who can't consistently complete passes to a WR in stride might not be that good at reading what a defense is doing.

The Hawaii WRs seem to be nothing more than just a replacement for Davis, same type of player. And since we already have that guy on the roster who knows the plays why make the pick? I agree with those guys being picked in the 7th Rd but I just don't see it as much of an upgrade. If he's there I'd rather pick Dennis Dixon with the plan to just put him on IR. We will be drafting another QB much earlier than that but we also have Rex to experiment with for one more year and Orton for two more years. If neither Rex nor Orton show enough to warrant being our starter in 2009 then we can cut ties with Rex, let the high draft pick take the reigns in '09 with Orton as the #2 and Dixon as the #3. We have a year to evaluate Dixon and if he doesn't look like he's got a future in the NFL then we can draft a #3 or find one in FA.

I get it and I like it. $5 mil bonus for a couple more years on the contract. TE is the most injured position in the NFL and having two solid players there is a huge boost to consistency on the offense. As stated above it also gives us more options in receiving since there are so many questions about who our starting WRs will be next year. It can also help our Oline since there are so many questions about who will be starting there as well.

I'd take Bryant Johnson too over Stallworth.