CrackerDog

Ha. Well, on top of trading Marshall, having Forte pissed off and then trading away Bennett... That would basically tell Jay his receivers are all gone. Bears brass to Cutler: "HEY JAY, GFY!!!" I doubt this happens as I've heard this is a terrible draft for TE. We'll see.

Love it. I particularly like the analysis of Jimmy Johnson's chart which is basically gospel in the NFL. If you look at the analysis, the lines cross at selection number 50 (which means Johnson's chart reflects reality at pick 50 if you assume the AV methodology is right and the scales are equivalent) and how far things are apart both before and after they cross. The AV line barely moves down between player selection number 50 and 100 whereas Johnson's chart shows player values by selection 100 have gone nearly to zero. That's essentially the end of the third round! What none of this takes into account is that the draft is only one part of an organization's success. The Bears could've drafted Randy Moss and his career would've been, in my opinion, dramatically worse than it was in Minneapolis due to our coaching and other surrounding players, for example. I think the best coaches get the most out of their average players and the worst get almost nothing out of them. That's a bigger difference than how well you draft in the first place. Again, just my opinion. Then you get into intangible items like team chemistry, leadership, etc. And in the NFL, frankly, ease of schedule. One team can face a dramatically harder road than another. That's all supposed to even out in the end but I'd say over a 10 year range that's probably true, not within a single season for sure. Lastly, the difference in the Johnson chart shows that teams are vastly overpaying guys who aren't significantly better risks than other cheaper players. And that use of the cap can cripple a team that does it wrong. Look at where we are today with Cutler. Love him or hate him, the Bears new staff had their hands essentially tied by what was done by the prior decision makers. This effect can make it difficult for a team to make corrections quickly, leading to coaching staffs getting fired perhaps despite their actual relative responsibility for the team's winning percentage. Good find Jason. Thanks.

I generally agree with you on not wanting a team full of boy scouts. With that said, we always disagreed on TO. My thoughts on a guy like that (besides the fact that his skills had diminished) are that, at some point, the league needs to stop rewarding guys like him despite the antics. Being a distraction no matter where he went eventually caught up with him. As to Moss, unfortunately, his talents would've been mostly wasted here given the lack of QB talent we had here during his golden years.

The latest on Ray is he'll likely fall out of the first round.

There are lots of people concerned his skillset doesn't translate to the next level. We'll see.

I hope one of our guys blindsides Favre during their ceremony. Would be awesome! They cart him off the field and he wasn't even playing LOL! And then do the same to Rodgers during the game.

He bled blue and orange. A true Bear through and through. I still remember getting his Bear Report back in the day. Saw him at a local establishment in my suburb doing his radio show live once. He had great stories and really lived life, it seemed. Maybe he can lend the Bears a hand from above one day when they're in a close one...

Yep

I only snipped the part I thought relevant to my post. I don't really disagree with you that he's had a lot of touches. All I'm saying is that when he "takes himself out of games" it's probably because he's been involved in the previous 4 or 5 plays in a row and he needs a breather. I know my football god Walter Payton didn't do that so I see where you're coming from, but defensive tackles, aside from the Fridge, didn't weigh 300+ LBs back then either. And linebackers weren't as fast as RB's. The game has changed. No, I never really held it against Forte because when he was on the field, he was giving it 110%. He's been great. But you and I definitely agree, he's on the downside of his career and the Bears need to approach his contract with that in mind. You can't give him a deal that's going to be a boat anchor for the cap in future years. And if Matt doesn't realize that, he'll end up on another team.

And would you be in favor of selecting him if he does?

First you reference how his value has been decreased by his massive number of plays and then challenge his manhood on taking himself out of the game. I hope you can at least see the inconsistency here. If I'm Pace I realize I have a great player in Forte but an aging one and I try to treat him better on his way out the door than some other recent former Bears were treated by the last front office... And I draft his replacement this year if the opportunity presents itself. This is a business and while Matt's one of the best, he's only got a few years left in him.

The only reason this may be a "big deal" to the Bears is because it's the first season with the new staff. He ought to be getting as much face time with them as possible. He's still a very good player and I hope we keep him (not trade for a pick this year) but I could see his missing these types of voluntary sessions as being an issue under these circumstances. With that said, it's not a big deal to me.

400 miles NORTH of you? Holy cow, what a hearty soul! LOL

http://www.chicagobears.com/multimedia/vid...1c-4bd977d80b97

I personally think trading up to get Mariotta is a huge mistake. I don't think his skills project to the NFL, we'd be giving up a better QB AND OUR FIRST and creating unnecessary dead cap space. I've been with Pace so far but I'll be against this move completely.

Evidence suggests we've improved all around at other positions of need. We could still use a safety but I'm not convinced one rated high enough will be there at #7. So I'm declaring for the WR position although I'm still open as to who that is. Further evidence is that one of our first moves was to cut Marshall loose. To me that suggests Pace has been planning this all along, playing chess knowing that the goal was WR at the end of the day. Then again, we did add a WR already but he's more a slot guy. So I'm sticking with it, it's going to be WR. Thoughts?

4 years younger than Garza....

I think Wiz is having a hard time coming around to the fact that he isn't worth what he thinks he's worth. Once the numbers settle, the Bears will be in the mix.

I think given the fact that they've signed 11 guys already (outsiders) I think we may not sign any of these guys. I'd like to see Peanut back but only if they believe he's got another season in him. And if not, I'd like them to give him a front office job of some sort.

Sam Acho is a low-key nice signing for the Bears. Always excelled in coverage and played the run well. - Michael Oliver Another very good one year deal for GM Ryan Pace. Acho is good rotational depth with upside. - Aaron Leming

And on April 1, imagine that...

Yes, he's a good return man.

Cooper in town today for private workout.

https://twitter.com/RapSheet Interesting move given Forte being in a contract year.

Link Pretty interesting. They've covered a lot of ground and plugged plenty of holes already.