CrackerDog

Ha! I can feel the love. As to Jason... She'll be back.

I'm glad you're back too. I wonder if the new CBA changed this. I agree with you 100% that that's the way it used to be. But the owners got a lot in the last deal so I'm not sure if it's still the same Week 10 situation. [EDIT] Just found this recent story about holdouts. Not sure if this is 100% accurate but it says... "A year of service toward free agency isn't earned without a player reporting to his team at least 30 days prior to NFL's first regular season game (Aug. 5 reporting date this year)."

Right, a normal punt would be about 40 to 50 yards and would have hang time of around 4 seconds, right? So we're only adding a second to cover that extra 20 yards or so. I guess with momentum already going forward that's possible but when you get there you could be in a bad position to make a tackle. I'm not too worried about it. The coaches will work with him to get more height and less distance on his big booms. That'll help with coverage everywhere but Dallas where he'll probably hit the scoreboard.

Ha. Even I can cover 70 yards in 5 seconds! Thanks. PS. Not really.... But the guys in the NFL should be able to get there and surround the receiver as he makes the catch.

Depends. There is a thing called out kicking the coverage. But if it was toward a sideline and he's consistent it'll make those who questioned the pick look like fools.

Not interested.

I knew he'd be excellent when that dope Terra didn't like the pick.

Could be. Could also be my eyes seeing him without pads and a uniform but even his face looked thinner to me. I'll bet it is the substitution of muscle for fat....

I'm not worried about Jay. I saw him at our building the other day when he was doing that live remote on ESPN radio. He looks great, like he's lost some LB's. The beard's got to go. Anyway, it sounds like he's fully bought into the program with Trestman and he's excited (as excited as Jay can be, anyway) to get the season started. The man has the god-given talent and now he's surrounded by stars on offense. If I'm right and he's lost a few pounds, he'll be more elusive in the pocket, etc. I see good things happening this season.

Thanks for that. It was so much fun to relive that. But then I made the mistake of watching this and my blood still boils over this team full of dirty thugs. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=ppR6HzBkT1I

Wonder what the scoring system is. Can't tell after a quick look on the site. If it's PPR (which I hate) it wouldn't be as meaningful as if it's just yardage. But in either case, really, if we have two WR's in the top 20 overall, Cutler is a top 5 QB at season's end. You're right, regardless, fantasy points translate to offensive production and points on the field. That's exactly what they're trying to do. The remaining question, however, is whether the D can be halfway decent enough to have those offensive points translate into W's.

I don't see GB having a better record than us at this point but totally respect why the national media would.

I also doubt it. I haven't been able to find anything. I recall one huge run he had where he beat the safety to the corner and ran like 80 yards for a TD. He had a few nice seasons for the Bears, spelling Walter and then Anderson, IIRC. He was very good player and I believe he still lives in Chicago.

In addition to the questions about injury and the D, I also want to see if Trestman grows a bit this year in his role. He frankly made some mistakes last year. They were errors of aggression so I forgave them a lot easier than I would if he was constantly playing it safe. But he needs to do a better job out there too. If Jay lives up to his potential, if the D is at worst average, if we see few injuries, if we get a little lucky, if we do better on ST's, if we stay focused thoughout the season... It could be a damn good year.

LOL! Overreact much?

I always temper these things a bit because the team is often looking for guys like this to throw out to the fans via the media. Under Lovie and Angelo they almost always turned out to be a popcorn fart. But this is a new era so there's definitely something to be excited about. How about 3 Pro Bowl WR's on the team? LOL!

A very good goal to have! And I'll be out there with the 2 million people if it happens.

I know as a dad one of my top responsibilities was to ensure my son grows up loving the blue and orange!

He was probably following Shea.

Good. We don't need the distraction.

I was going to start a thread like this. I'm pretty pumped too. I think we have the potential to do some good things this year, maybe be a contender. So what would the media folks who like to throw cold water on our excitement have to say? I guess that this team is unproven. The first year with all this new talent on D is going to take time to gel. The DC may not be very good at his job. Cutler has proven injury prone recently and there's no proven backup now. Depth in the O Line isn't great. Lot's of reason to be excited, IMO, but there are certainly question marks on this team too.

First off, injuries aren't the fault of the player. Very few exceptions to that. Jim McMahon head butting his lineman, maybe. Second off, Cutler's deal is definitely within the normal realm of where QB's are being paid. No need to dig up all the stats again, they're all already posted in other Cutler fight thread. With all of that said, I agree with you, this is Cutler's year to prove he can step into elite status. I'll give him a pass so far given he's been under Lovie and his incompetent offensive coordinators, bad O Lines, and injuries. The O Line is repaired, this is his second year under Trestman and he's healthy. If he doesn't look like a top 5 QB out of the gate this year, I'll be very disappointed.

Doesn't matter if you're a fan of Cutler's or not. The correct response is "Cutler alone isn't winning the Superbowl." So you're right, if the D comes around, we improve on ST and the O is at least as productive as it was last year (and I expect an improvement) then we have a shot at it. I see this as a 10 to 11 win team with a chance to do something once in the playoffs. Of course, while Cutler can't win it by himself, he could lose it by himself. If he's injured and we don't have a miracle backup QB like last year, it's all over.

http://www.chicagobears.com/news/article-1...b4-8f804c803c64 “The Bears need safety help, and Vereen has the potential to be the answer for them,” Brandt writes. “He’s a very good athlete with speed and strength who started at both safety and corner for the University of Minnesota in 2013."

Those avatars have always been a part of this site and the last. I hope neither of you let's a couple of prudes change that.