AZ54

Both offense and defense sucked last year. At different times of the season, even game to game, one was worse/better than the other. Of course some of that had to with the strength and weaknesses of the opponents, some due to injuries, some due to what was absolutely inept coaching (Wolfe up the middle against one of the best inside run D of Minn). I love this game because of the many complexities but we were let down in a lot of different ways last year. As far as a defense being more affected by the offense than vice versa; I'll add that if a D consistently forces an offense to go 3-and-out then our offense gets to beat up on their tired defense. That's been one of the problems with Lovie's cover-2 scheme. He uses lighter players who don't hold up well against long drives. At varying times in the last few years we've had stretches in games where the D just could not get off the field. They didn't always give up points but the change in field position didn't help either.

Yes that's what I was saying. I didn't imply we'd have a great offense, just that if we're going to be average middle of the pack type of offense we need a skill position player to step up in a big way. Where are we most likely to get points which is what offense is all about. I don't see our Oline becoming very good much less one of the better units in the league. I admit I would love to see that I just don't see it happening with all the changes. So at best IMO they'll be average. QB play at best will be average. RB with the trio we have is again likely to be average at best especially given the Oline they have to work behind. TE will be good to very good but they can't really create much on their own. The only one I see doing this is Hester because he can create so much on his own. If Hester can attract a lot of attention then many other aspects of the offense will look better than they are on their own. IMO Hester is the only player or position we have on offense that could make a D adjust what they do. Will he do that? I'm not very confident but I just don't see any other player or position group that has that potential right now. Consequently I don't expect much from our offense this year but I still think we'll be better than last year.

Tait was hurt last year and missed a few games where St. Clair filled in for him. He returned but it was clear his ankle injury hadn't fully healed and it affected his movement. As a result he was pushed around a bit easier and had more trouble with the edge rushers.

For the offense to be average we need a surprise (a good one) good play from one guy. I'd like to say it will be Williams but I think he'll be satisfactory. I do not see him being worse than St. Clair at LT. As much as I like our TEs they aren't scoring threats on every play, just first down threats. Forte? I think he'll be good and more versatile than Ced in the receiving game but I don't see him carrying the offense. QBs...nah, they are good with the right ingredients around them but not good enough to make others around them better. If the offense is going to take off it will be at the hands of Devon Hester. We have nobody else who could steal the focus of a defense like he can but he must learn his routes to be effective. After what I saw last year from him it was clear his limited use early on was more his lack of understanding of the offense. I blamed Turner and still think he shares some of that blame but Hester clearly hadn't prepared himself as well as he should have. The other pieces of the puzzle must play decently for him to be succesful but I think they can. I'm just not sure what to expect from Hester at the WR spot.

I'll pass. Obviously Leftwich didn't read defenses that well although he has a strong arm. I just don't see how he's better than Rex or Kyle and I really prefer finding a 3rd stringer who has potential. Leftwich is maxed out and I don't see that max as any better than Rex or Kyle. If Mr. Hanie isn't what we think he is then go find some other young prospect. As far as his leadership, I believe he had some locker room issues and wasn't very well liked in Jacksonville. Do we really want an arrogant and selfish guy as our 3rd string QB? As hard as it is for teams to find good QBs and good backup QBs, and even a cheap 3rd string QB you have to realize there's a valid reason nobody has interest in this guy. Not to say someone won't bite if they get desperate enough. I just hope that isn't us.

For the first time since Harris has been on the team we might actually have a decent backup for his position in Harrison. He'll need to keep himself out of trouble but if he pans out we'll be able to rest Harris more often during games. That might help him later in games and more importantly later in the season when his performance usually fades.

Yep, JA was fool for not signing this guy.

I think he is making a veiled reference to Urlacher and Briggs. Why shouldn't we think so? I've heard several people on the NFL Network (Rod Woodson yesterday) calling Urlacher greedy and saying he got a great deal from the Bears a few years ago and it's still a good contract. Urlacher had no complaints when his contract broke the bank a few years ago, now it's an issue. I agree with those thoughts. Remember it was Urlacher who called out the organization first and they've done nothing but take care of him in the past before his contract was up. He signed the deal he should shutup and play and allow the team to take care of other players like Hester before his contract is up. As for Briggs, he's just cares about himself.

I agree with him and I think Harris' comments already reflect his leadership. The Bears have fairly rewarded their own players from Vasher, Tillman, Urlacher, Kreutz, Alex Brown, and (although he might disagree) Briggs. It seems clear Harris is now the face of our defense, and the entire team. Ced is rapidly becoming a distant memory.

http://www.suntimes.com/sports/football/bears/1016781,harris062008.stng Harris: 'Classy' talks led to deal June 20, 2008 FROM THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Tommie Harris says the talks that led to his four-year, $40 million contract with the Chicago Bears were businesslike and ''classy.'' Speaking at a morning news conference at Halas Hall, the defensive tackle said he and Bears management kept negotiations private in reaching a deal that will keep him with Chicago through 2012. That differs from what has happened between the team and linebackers Brian Urlacher and Lance Briggs. They've both gone public with complaints and either hinted or threatened holdouts. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ It's nice to see this comment from a player after the way Briggs and Urlacher and Lovie have handled their contract negotiations the last couple years. However, had this deal not been done this year I wouldn't have put it past Harris to keep things out of the media.

Awesome news, something the team needed to hear after all the recent acrimony. This was the big one that had to get out of the way for us to close the deal on the other contracts. It's nice that we have Harris, Vasher, Tillman, Briggs, and Url locked up long term and I believe Alex Brown has an extension too. I'd like to see a good safety in that mix too. Behind Harris we also have a rookie DT who is supposed to be pretty good at shooting the gap too so not only do we have our starter at that spot we likely have his backup. At the other DT spot we have Dusty/Adams. I have to say that right now it seems our D is loaded with top talent and depth everywhere except safety. On the flip side this also means the focus of our big spending the next year or two can be on the offensive side of the ball. Something we badly need, assuming we can find someone worth the money.

Nobody has seen Kevin Jones run yet so we can't assume he's got all the lateral movement and speed he had last year. Nobody has seen Bentley play in two years so nobody has a clue what he can do. They need to stay on our radar and if we like what they're capable of then going after one or both is fine. I think it's too early to assume either is the player we saw in the past, especially Bentley. Culpepper was an INT machine and we have one of those on the roster right now. He can no longer run, even if he's not afraid to try. If you don't think it was Randy Moss who made Culpepper a Pro Bowl QB go back and watch some of Moss' highlights from last year where Brady threw to him even in tight double coverage. Brady had that much confidence that Moss would come down with the ball or nobody would. The way he played last year Randy Moss could have put Grossman in the Pro Bowl. Before someone flies off their handle I'll add that Brady is good enough to get to the Pro Bowl on his own. There's a reason they rewrote the record books last year.

Alright then, this begs the question: which of these no-name RB on the roster has made that good of an impression that the Bears would feel comfortable with him the final roster? I have no clue. Having seen Pope before in preseason games I don't think it's him, at least I hope it's not him.

I agree on that, Faneca would have been a great fit for our team. I think in the end it came down to going after him or extending Harris' contract, and even at that $8mil/yr was an incredible amount of money for a LG.

He was not on one of the main streets in Vegas so you have to ask yourself-- what's millionaire doing hanging out on a relatively quiet street in Vegas in the early hours of the morning with a lot of cash? You can pretty much get whatever you want in any of the big hotels and have lots of security around you.

Look at it this way, if Haynes is outworking you, you have serious problems.

In a way this is a positive thing to hear but on the other hand knowing we might have to rely on him as our #2 WR is kinda scary. My hope is that he's good enough to win the slot role only because somebody else beats him out for the #2 WR. I'm assuming Booker takes the #1 WR role.

I always loved Ruben, thought he played well for us. He was the only Oline player who was any good at pulling, and that's amazing considering his age. I have no problem bringing him back if he's healthy and I agree that he'd still be our starting LG. That's actually something I'd love to see because his experience and leadership could really help Williams at LT.

At least he scored over 30 on his Wonderlic test so we can have hope he's a quick study.

Thanks for the update. I too am a big fan of Peanut.

Bentley has been injured the past two seasons with ZERO games played. How do you know he's an instant starter? Just because Ruben Brown played for us with one arm and Metcalf played for us with one hand, doesn't mean Bentley can play for us with one leg. He might be able to play but the lack of interest in him indicates how serious his injuries were. How much damage was done in the surgeries to cure his staph infection? Three surgeries to cure an infection, as far as I know that's only done to remove infected tissue. I'm not ruling him out as a possibility but we must be realistic in knowing he's not the same player that he was two years ago.

Which brings up the question of how bad was the 2005 draft class? That's 7/10 top picks that haven't done much, not nearly enough to warrant their contracts. I don't know the exact number but I bet in combined signing bonuses they garnered over $100 million. That's just bad for business. http://chicagosports.chicagotribune.com/sp...,1243940.column 6. I know that the 2005 draft already included nearly as many busts as the foyer at the Pro Football Hall of Fame before Benson joined the list. The group of misses among the top 10 picks includes Pacman Jones (No. 6, Titans), Troy Williamson (No. 7, Vikings) and Mike Williams (No. 10, Lions). The running backs sandwiched around Benson at No. 2 (Ronnie Brown, Dolphins) and No. 5 ( Cadillac Williams, Buccaneers) haven't done enough lately for various reasons to justify their high selections either. Throw in the No. 1 overall pick, shaky quarterback Alex Smith of San Francisco, and the top half of the first round in 2005 serves as Exhibit A in proving how inexact the science of the NFL draft is.

Bob Sanders equals Mike Brown. Key players for their respective defenses both hurt all the time. One difference, they had Sanders for the Super Bowl and we didn't have Brown.

He'd be a great fit for our team and I'm not so sure the Cards wouldn't deal him. I just don't think we'd be willing to pay the price.

For me the most important part of this whole process (watching high draft picks bust) is the fact the league absolutely must change the salary structure for rookies. There's absolutely zero incentive to work if your first contract is so high there's little financial incentive to work for the second one. Top ten picks should not be among the highest paid players in the game.