Mongo3451

Except Williams didn't slip, he was drafted within 5 spots of his slot.

We all debated this last year. Some said injuries, some said Babich and some said heart. IMO - It starts with heart. All NFL players have talent. Something else has to set them apart.

OK guys, I'm open for scrutiny. I drafted 10th in my 12 team league. Here's what I came out with, in order. I've never drafted such a WR heavy team, as I have always had success relying on my backs. Since I drafted late to get a good back and many teams are using two backs, I switched philosophy this year. Randy Moss Willis McGahee Braylon Edwards Tori Holt Rudi Johnson Donovan McNabb Da' Bears Ricky Williams Vernon Davis Matt Hasselbeck Ahmad Bradshaw Devin Hester Titans Robbie Gould Overall, I'm worried about my backs: but since I am #3 in FA priority, my strategy is too hold tight on FA pickups until that hot back comes out. I usually burn a lot of FA transactions on WR's and D/ST's. But I won't needing anything for the 1st few weeks, barring injury.

We were owned at home by the 49ers. I did like what I saw from Orton. He looks to be a football gamer. Our OL is still bad at opening holes. Davis looked really good, except the drop. Our WR's were open all night. Hester needs to remember what got him where he is. The self serving descision to take the ball out of the endzone was idiotic. Turner seemed to call a good game, except for the 1st play from scrimmage. The defense made JT O'Sullivan a household name. (Dusty was the lone standout for me) Special teams will be OK. If Lovie disappeared tomorrow, this team would probably not notice him missing.

Thank you for saying it for me! Babich is attached to Lovie's sack and everyone knows it. You know, I'm sitting there watching the game and thinking to myself. "Is the D playing this vanilla because our coaches don't want the Colts to see anything to be fearful of in the opener?" "They can't be sandbagging, can they?" Then I thought of our coaching staff and said, "they don't have the savvy to pull a stunt like that." Then I thought of some of the uninspired performances our D turned in last year. In a nutshell, regardless of scheme and pre-season, there was no sense of urgency / intensity with this defense. My only hope is that someone steps up in the locker room and calls it what it is.

I had a few observations on Urlacher tonight that I want and second opinion on. One – he looked tentative Two – he was broadcasting his intentions to the blocker right before contact. Three – was leading to contact with a turned shoulder without squaring up Four – he looked like his neck was stiff or out of whack. Five – was not shedding blocks well. If anyone recorded the game and could analyze the first two defensive series, I would greatly appreciate it. Hopefully, my eyes were playing tricks on me or I couldn’t see well on the tiny TV I have in my bedroom. Not trying to start a rumor or panic, just want clarification.

Spot on. This was also apparrent during the SB season and last year. Thus the bad mechanics. Some QB's can get hit in the mouth and want to cram it down your throat. Some QB's get hit in the mouth and learn to avoid it. Rex is the latter. When you are facing blitz after blitz, you can NOT piss down your leg at the line of scrimmage. You have to see the HOT read, take your lumps and burn the defense. That's his own undoing. That's why teams blitz Orton less?

The kool-aid in me refuses to predict we will be worse than last year. So I'm staying silent. I will guess, if we go 6-10 or worse, either JA or Lovie will fall on the sword. (maybe both)

All roads lead to Orton this year. Rex has more visible talent, but the items above are attributes that can overcome physical talent.

I have to eat a little crow on Idonije. He has looked pretty good so far.

Human input is what is it is. Thinking outside the bex here, in an attempt to maximige excellence do you think it innappropriate for a QB to have input on what works best and things he feels may be beneficial to the team? Like hey, I really think we can start pulling this play off with this guy. If anyone is going to know and believe, it's the QB. You should not devalue the human aspect. This already occurs at the pee wee level. You just keep it in house. If you played football, you would now. Again, guess who's getting the ball... Comparing a defensive player to a QB is just desparate. I don't completely disagree. But then again, it is our staff. Name some WR's we couldn't live without??

So now you are mis-quoting posters to support your arguments like NFO. Good work. Next time read the part where I said Benson was the no-brainer/obvious pick at #4.

Agreed. We have much greater things to freak out about on the OL itself than Tait.

I'm not saying, hey Kyle who do you want us to keep? It's more like, now that you are the man; tell us what and who you ar most comfortable with. It happens everyday, everywhere. The bosses then go to their meeting rooms and weigh all the options. Getting input the starting QB should be part of the process. My bad using the word "power", that probably triggered an involuntary spasm. Explain how asking for input complicates things? It's a standard way of finding the best possible scenario. Kinda like us fixing the Bears woes, one post at a time. LOL Did I mention Bradley in my post? (Please do not embelish) Whoever gets the quickest sep, would be the one who the coaches feel get the quickest sep. All I'm saying is, if it's close, go with the best fit with the QB. It's not like any of the bubble guys will ever be great ones that got away.

Apparently nobody. I was also a DJ fan (only with a trade down)going into that draft, but at #4 I thought Benson was the surest thing to a no-brainer.

Agreed in general with a question. What do you think losing AP would do their overall offense? IMO - you lose a little on a fledgling passing game and overall explosiveness of the offense. I would say they would have decent run game, not great.

I said this in another post, but I'll add it here. I would give Orton some power in this decision process. I would think they would keep the one's with the best rapport with Orton. Looking at our situation, we made need the WR that can get the quickest separation. Booker may not be that guy.

#1 is still OL. No QB will succeed until it is addressed.

Now that Orton has been named starter, we don't stop there. I'd meet with Orton and ask him were his confidence lies in both players and plays. Then I'd solidify that by naming all starters at skill positions. At this point, if they want to salvage, I'd play the starters for 3/4 of the next game and at least half of the last game. We need continuity on the OL and if we risk injury at this point to do so, so be it. I would be working really hard to find a way to bring in a solid OG. I don't think there is any way JA is going to be able to pull a LT out of his ass. IMO - it's too late for that type of scenario. Lastly, I tell the team to buckle up for a weekly grind, nothing will come easy, but make them remeber who they just got beat up by. That's the Bear footall I love.

I am not replying to any one post or poster in general. But, I have to say this is probably he best argument/debte I have seen on this board. Let me interject some points, because i found my self agreeing with Jason, Cracker and NFO on a somewhat partial basis. 1) I think a knowledgeable fan could make GM like descisions with the proper personnel surrounding him. I think it takes good instincts and a great eye for talent. Do I think anybody can actually be a fully functional GM? Hell no. That's why JA gets a passing grade from me, as he does most things outstandingly. If common folk like us were to be surrounded by people advising us on how to do our job, we would be CEO's not GM's. 2) Would drafting OL heavily have helped us this year? Yes. Why? Because at least we would have a vision of the future. We currently are shaky on the present and future. 3) Does JA have insight to what might unfold as far as availible talent is concerned? The answer is some, but not all. GM's pay attention to rosters and payroll, there is some predictability. Heck, if we can predict some things, just think what they can come up with. 4) Could any of us be a DC or OC? Are you kidding me? Hell no. We don't have the knowledge these guys have in heir pinky. That's the difference in pro coaches good and bad. They all have great knowledge. Just a few are able to bring out the best. Just a few more are lucky enough to get the speciall players to bring thm to greatness. Does anyone believe belichick wins a SuperBowl without Brady? My answer is no. Does that remove him from the great coach list? No. 5) The Bears are NOT cheap when it comes to players. They are cheap when it comes to coaches. They had to pony up when it came to Lovie, because he came due at the right time. We are still one of the lowest paid support staffs in the league.

Whole heartedly agree...

Davis is a beast! Once he learns his craft, sky's the limit for him. He's just not spent a whole lot of time at TE.

Kickers are not football players.

Again, you and Jason need to get off each others nutsacks. Many people wanted OL.(Me, Pix, Chile, Conner, BrianBear, BearSox, etc...) You just happened to be blasted for it.

I didn't say stud. I said better. Bryant Johnson has more upside/talent than Booker and it would not have killed us to franchise Berrian for a year, while we stabilized the position. You don't know much about football. You ask, I'll enlighten.