Mongo3451

#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.

Agreed on all accounts. I also think Bowman will turn out to be a great value pick as well. Aside from not hitting on OL, JA had a potentially outstanding draft. We'll know in a year or two.

Really? http://www.talkbears.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=1582

Best post you have ever written! Of course I don't ever expect much from you, but that was classic!

Rex may not have gotten a fair shake; but the combination of him and the OL are exposed bare naked on the 50 yard line. Orton has to be our QB, not that he's any better. He just the right QB at the right time for this offense. He will not get blitzed as much as Rex.

That is why we need to name a QB and starting WR's today. I called for this last week as well. The main reason is that we to stabilize all other positions so the OL will know what to block for. Right now, you have the "who does what best package". This line of thinking is why I've been down on Lovie. Smart strong coaches like Parcells, Belichick, Cowher etc... would have come in and said, we are going to start by getting one thing right, then we'll work on the rest. I have never seen a situation this far into training camp where NOTHING is solidified. TC battles should have been over with this offense. It's hard enough fielding an NFL caliber offense with talent, timing, play selection, scheme and execution coming into play. We've had all year to figure this out.

I'd love too. One - We should have signed a stud OG (Faneca) Two - We should have signed a better WR than Booker. Three - Should have made a move to get Brohm or Henne(my guy) in the 2nd round. If you look at our OL situation you should see that Faneca would have made the OL incrementally better. Even now with Williams out, th OL would 80% good. 60% doesn't cut it. The fact that the staff was comfortable with Benson untill his serial drunkedness took affect slays me. Again, I love that we rewarded our own, but IMO we could have worked it out another day. Your turn...

I think he shut all his detractors up last week. If he tweaks his hammy, they'll be back. And I'll be tee-ing off on Lovie again.

I never felt it was. Same to you. I attached to your post, but wanted to send a general message. My simple rant is that anyone who has a legit beef with this staff has every right. I, like you and others grow weary of the negative posts with no teeth. To sum my belief in a nutshell: I simply think JA and Lovie played this off-season like they were content instead of hungry.

Agreed. I'm looking to see if they rest Wolfe as well.

Loved it! Poetic justice at it's best. Here's to hoping Mike Brown does the same thing to him!!

I know what you all mean about the negatism. I am guilty to a degree this year though. I wonder if anyone remembers a few years ago, when it was all negative all the time. I was then called a voice of reason and a kool-aid drinker. (and we kicked ass!) I totally love that Angelo has taken care of our own. But, as far as the off-season goes that is it. I have lost faith in our staff, plain and simple, and it begins and ends with Lovie. I am tired of watching and hearing the same old thing with our team and coaching staff. We were supposed to be bulletproof last year and proved not to be. We did NOTHING to stabilize what hurt us last year and had the chance to do so. Looking forward to this season is like looking forward 3 years ago, but with a horrible OL I am not optimistic. It's not being a chicken little or negative nancy. It is simply a football philosophy. I am a Bear fan and used to the ups and downs. I've never been a Lovie fan and likely will never be. I prefer coaches who have a little fire in their belly. Lovie stands on the sideline with a stupified look on his face when he should be fired up. He says things in the media that just dumbfound me. He seems to me like he wants to be a buddy more than a coach. Most of all, he seems in over his head. This coaching staff and team really needs to show me something this year. Starting with the defense: They will have to be dominant throughout the season for us to have any shot at all. Special teams: Will be solid, but not spectacular, mostly because teams will not kick to Hester due to no fear of our offense. Our offense will simply have to hold the line.(literally) I expect them to rank 20th at best and likely around 25th. We should be middle of the pack in scoring, due to the D and ST. What do all the negativity critics have to say about where we will be and how we'll get there? Cause all I hear is a bunch of bitching. Prove me wrong and I'll eat the crow and love every second of it!

One. I said average and you morphed it into good to head off your post. Not a fair start to your argument. Two. Argue the point of which unit would improve/decline the most with the addition / loss of a player. Again, you morphed my post to fit your argument. Three. Don't you think one of our better defensive talents would land us a really good O lineman? Thus helping the O more than hurting the D? Our O will destroy our D this year, if something is not done. Our skill positions will be good enough to do their part, but the O-line will destroy any hope they have to be successfull. I wouldn't want to see any starters go also. It just simply makes sense, if the right value is out there. We'll get an indicator on how the OL holds up on the 3rd pre-season game. Of course it will be too late to get quick value out of any trade.

You two windbags can pontificate and hold court with your common sense all you want. I enjoy most of it. Just wish I had the time and ability to type the manifestos you guys come up with to decide who's tiny penis is the biggest. Oh, I meant to say ego instead of penis.

The intention of the list was NOT to suggest we trade all of those players. It was just players that we could possibly trade. We can't and won't field an average offense with the talent we have. The only way to imagine that is to pick up help on the OL. On the defensive side we are double stacked at all positions. Trading one or two players would not have as significant impact to the defense as it would improve the offense. Addition by subtraction. Not trying to talk you into anything, but I think you misunderstood the intent of the original post.

I have no problem with that scenario. My initial rant had nothing to do with Hanie, as I previously posted an example of the huge love for Orton in his 1st TC. Cont'd below... This i vehimently disagree with. We have no room for error this year. Especially, Ja on down having the ability to save face at the risk of a roster spot. If there was strategic reason to keep Williams on the roster, I would listen. Him playing this year is not going to happen. That is the sole purpose of my rant. When it comes down to us letting someone like AP or Hass go, or stocking an extra OL. There is so much you can play with th practice squad.

If that is the case, I'm starting a Bill Cowher campaign. Hell, I've been doing it anyway. I'm sick of the idiotic things I keep hearing from our organization from JA to the waterboy. Williams will provide NOTHING to us this year, if ever. Not IRing him is only so JA can save face. Someone doesn't get a chance to play because we've got a set of stubborn ass's running the show.

Oher is a beast! Greatest need, OL again.