CrackerDog

Agree. And one thing you forgot, he's just god damn fun to watch. If he'd accept that salary level (not sure what his market value is) I'd sure want to see him back.

Yep. Can't say we agree often but I'm with you 100% on these comments. With that said, I think the question could be: Will the Bears trade down in the first? And there I think there's a possibility. At least I wouldn't be surprised if they move down. I'd expect them to stay in the first and get a 2nd or 3rd for doing so. If they move back and one of the guys I really want is on the board, I'll be pissed.

Meh. No clue. I just know that success in the Canadian league doesn't necessarily translate. And as to returns, isn't the field up there wider? 6 returns for TD there might convert to none here. Not sure. But if they think he's got what it takes, I'm all for replacing Hester with a new, young burner.

I agree with you here. He certainly loves to talk about himself. I don't like players like that, even if they can back it up. I think he's got a ton of talent but fear what you suggest, that he'll waste a lot of energy on bullshit for the first few years of his rookie contract. So, with that said, I've changed my mind and probably wouldn't move up to get him.

I would. My guess is they (Oak) wouldn't but if the facts were as you suggest, I'd do it. I also doubt Oak would want Peppers under his current contract as an option to this trade.

Now we'll see if Emery's biggest bust to date can actually contribute. Unless you count putting Rodgers on the bench for half a season... That was pretty cool.

I couldn't disagree with that last paragraph more. The contract gives Emery the flexibility he may need. Moving Cutler's money around doesn't hurt the team in future years if Cutler himself lives up to the expectations of the contract. I'm not willing to rehash that whole argument again but it's clear your expectation is that Jay won't and that you'd have been happier with Josh and some free agent. So be it. But don't think for a minute that you're going to convince me (or others) that Jay's contract is screwing the team when it's basically the exact opposite. I agree with you on Peppers, I don't see a way forward there. I expect they'll cut him, bite the bullet and then if he doesn't draw a long term deal elsewhere, perhaps they can sign him for a shorter deal at reasonable money to bring him back. I think someone will toss a decent signing bonus at him and he'll be gone.

It's my understanding that Emery has that option and could therefore clear space as suggested. It's also my understanding that we could wait on Peppers and cut him then, spreading the cap hit over two years but that we wouldn't have his $$$ available for the start of free agency if we did that. I see almost no way Peppers sticks with the club under his current deal. Emery is probably well down the road with Pepper's agent, likely has a hit list of FA's he wants to go after hard and he'll be pulling money from various sources as the need comes up. It looks like we'll need to purchase/draft almost an entire defense. That isn't going to be easy, regardless of how much cap space we have.

I'll never fault you for being a guy who defends true Bear greats. Kudos for that. I hope it works out and he's able to close out his tremedous career wearing Blue and Orange.

I agree with you more on Nut than Url but have to ask you if you didn't think Peanut looked a lot older last year, despite his numbers? To me, he did. No doubt it'll hurt to lose him if we do, but I'm not expecting him to play at the level he played in his prime, by any stretch. So, I expect a hometown discount, an old guy discount, call it whatever you'd like. He isn't going to be paid top 10 CB money, IMO.

I'd say your first two points are obviously and demonstrably false. I wouldn't say I hate anyone other than Dick Cheney. Lastly, a definition is what it is. I'm just using the word as defined.

Your later comments are fair enough but homophobia is a term that means irrational fear of, aversion to, or discrimination against homosexuality or homosexuals and is a psychological condition, not simply the definition many like to apply "fear of homosexuals." Homophobia is therefore much more damaging than those who dismiss it would allow for in their mindset. Further, while it may be OK for some to say "It's in the bible" there are many (MANY) things written in the bible that most Christians have left behind. This isn't unlike the Nazi foot-soldier saying he was just following orders, IMO. Persecution of any group in these United States should never be tolerated. Equal access to employment, etc should be protected by the law. So, I would disagree that anyone is being slandered when the term bigot is thrown out there. Why, because the person who wrote the bible was a human being with a Medieval (or earlier) mindset. Pre-enlightenment, pre-science. We now know lots more than we knew then, as a species. Therefore, the blind following of a book written during a bigoted time, IMO, doesn't lessen the bigotry. Catholics, for example, widely use contraception against the churches beliefs. So, all I'm saying is we all have the opportunity to be more selective about the things we believe, unless we're fundamentalist.

Dude, that cracked me up! Thanks.

Based on your first comment I don't think you have the right to judge anyone about the second. But whatever, the point of the other thread was to let the man be who he is without having to hide it. He wasn't asking for any special treatment, just saying that if he wins a honor at some point in his football career, he won't be bringing the date everyone expects him to bring. As to racial bias, I've never seen any direct evidence of it here although I questioned one member's motives when discussing the Rooney Rule. What the folks here saying "Let's all get along and only talk football" miss is that life, all aspects of it, eventually impact our sport. And when that happens, it's a topic for dicussion. And that's GREAT! Sport, in so many places in the world has been an avenue for advancement. Imagine Obama as President today if Jackie Robinson never existed. NOT POSSIBLE. There's no place for race or bigotry on this board and I think this board is generally a pretty classy place for Bears fans to let it all hang out. There's no danger in free open discussion! Problems come up when people don't talk it out, IMO.

My point was clearly tied to the law when I mentioned the right to marry. But I could've said the right to employment afforded by other protections under the law. It's my opinion that those who see their religious rights allowing them to hate on any group or individual as bigots. I can point out many references in the bible that so-called righteous people no longer believe in. But I don't have to because it was done so well here: I hang my hat on rational thought. With that said, I'm done. I learned long ago not to waste time arguing with racists or bigots (not saying you're either) but if this goes on any longer I'll be called a faggot liberal and you'll be a Nazi. I'd rather go home and enjoy time with my family.

No. Although there's certainly a paradox there and it comes up any time someone with a religious viewpoint want's to force their bigotry into law. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paradox_of_tolerance However, the Constitution, which in itself isn't perfect by any means, does fairly clearly state that "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof" which means the law can't enshrine anyone's bigotry to the detriment of others. There's also this little thing called "The Equal Protection Clause". Lastly, he is who he is and you have no right to tell him to be otherwise. So keep your nose in your own business.

I'm not getting into this too deeply either other than saying I agree with you completely NYC. He didn't want to live a lie so he got it out of the way early. It's done and if he plays well it won't be talked about going forward, ever. And others will likely follow his lead and we'll all find out that gyuys we've been rooting for are gay. No biggie. I don't, however, tolerate bigots of any kind. So for those that feel they have some special god-given right to marry that doesn't transcend race, sexual orientation, etc. You're wrong.

I'd normally just say the 85 team and the Superbowl. But that single game got out of hand and was a foregone conclusion well before it was over and the 85 season was full of great moments but you couldn't enjoy them because nerves always got in the way, assuming the bubble would burst. And the fact the #34 didn't get a TD in the Superbowl left a bad taste in my mouth. So mine is actually an almost meaningless win in the scheme of things... Right after Payton died we played the Packers and Bryan Robinson blocked a last second field goal for the win. As far as a "high" that one is mine. It was so emotional.

I agree with TD that Long probably gets moved up to #2 but that's, in my mind, because he so wildly exceeded my expectations for the year. Regardless, this is a good conversation to be having. With that said, depth is another question and with so much attention needed on D, I'm not sure we can expect to pick up much in that regard. If one of these building blocks goes down next year, Trestman's entire house of cards will collapse on offense.

If this is 100% accurate I can't imagine them doing anything but cut him. Even say a restructure where he gets a smaller bonus up front and then vet minimum salaries doesn't seem to make sense cap-wise. Now they may have something up their sleeves and they may think he played well enough to retain at a reduced price-tag, but this doesn't look like it'll come together if the Bears can honestly get out of this deal for only $4 mil of dead space in 2014 and 2015.

BTW, you're 100% right about this. I remember lots of years ago a buddy of mine was out with this group we used to hang with and I wasn't there. He asked this one gal if she was interested in me and she said something to the effect of "Cracker's too nice a guy." My buddy said, "No he's not, he's an asshole." He told me to just be myself and stop trying so hard and within a few weeks we were going out, etc. She was awesome in many many ways!

LOL! Well, I've had the same G/F now for 4 years, been divorced for 5 and that isn't an issue. But you saying you want to "see some of us get laid" is a little creepy dude.

Ha, I'm almost 50. Bimbos have better options.

I could be wrong but I think he meant "man" in terms of a "Man of the Year" type of context. Related to how Nut is associated with all sorts of charities and cool stuff and Urlacher had sex with bimbos, etc. Again, that's how I read it. Your mileage may vary. EDIT: Just saw that he replied and confirmed what I thought he meant. Sorry for the duplication.

So who you got in the Super Bowl? I guess I really don't care who wins but I assume it'll be the Broncos. I don't really like Manning but there are any number of reasons not to like that Seattle team. I do think it'll be a good game and getting together with friends for this event is always a lot of fun.