nfoligno

I think you have to take into considering what is going on with our OL. While the DL is loaded with talented veterans, the OL has many young players still learning their position. Further, the DL (for the most part) can simply tee off right now based on talent, while the OL is trying to impliment new blocking techniques/schemes. Tice also talked about how the OL is working on various snap counts. Point is, the OL is more of a development here while the DL is simply in a position to take off at the QB. Still, the reports thus far about Omiyale have not been good. He has been getting flagged a lot for false starts, and the staff has been pulling him from the lineup from the infraction (which I love). To me, a big reason for a false start is a player who feels he has to cheat a bit in order to win the battle. That or a lack of concentration, neither of which is good. So Omiyale has been getting flagged for false starts and been fairly abused. I think it is still way early to pass judgement on the OL, and I think the DL should have been expected to outperform the OL early on, but if the DL continues to own the OL longer into camp, then I think we will begin to worry. While it could mean our DL is playing well, I just have a hard time believing they are "that" great.

If he were still alive, FA may not have passed through! Now that I might agree with.

10.) TE John Carlson, Seattle Seahawks I drafted him in my FF league last year. In fact, I thought he was going to break out so much that I took him as my top TE in the 6th round. Very good at times, but also very inconsistent. Thankfully I drafted Brent Celek, who really saved me. Carlson was killed by the issues Seattle had on offense, particularly at QB. I think he definitely has breakout potential, and as he didn't do it last year, likely is still a sleeper. 9.) RB Jerome Harrison, Cleveland Browns Not sure that I see this happening. Plays on an awful offense. Most of his big games were against dreadful defenses. I don't think Delhomme is their savior, and think their offense sucks again. Harrison is going to find it tough sledding, and I doubt he has a breakout season. 8.) TE Jermichael Finley, Green Bay Packers To call him a sleeper, he would need to dramatically improve on his 2009 numbers (55-676-5). Not sure I see Finley putting himself in with the elite class, which is what he would have to do in order to be a sleeper, IMHO. Too many solid receiving options in GB, and I think Rodgers is one who likes the WR first. 7.) WR Arrelious Benn, Tampa Bay Buccaneers Talk about putting some pressure on a rookie. Most of the talk out of TB is about their other rookie WR (Mike Williams) who has shined while Benn has not. It is possible TB starts two rookie WRs with an unproven QB, and questionable OL. Not usually the recipe for success. 6.) QB Alex Smith, San Francisco 49ers I agree with this. SF has weapons, and added Gin too. Even their RB is an excellent receiving RB. OL is still the big question here. 5.) WR Mike Wallace, Pittsburgh Steelers Awesome big play WR, but as the article said, w/ Big Ben out 6 games, Wallace may not see much production until later in the year. 4.) WR Julian Edelman, New England Patriots Disagree, simply because I think Welker returns, and thus Edelman is become a non-factor. 3.) QB Kevin Kolb, Philadelphia Eagles The real question is whether to consider Kolb a sleeper. Where is he likely to be drafted. If Kolb is already being considered a top 10 QB and going in the top 5,6 or 7 rounds, I don't think he can be called a sleeper. 2.) RB Knowshon Moreno, Denver Broncos Just went down with injury, and I bellieve he has a history of injury. Is he really a sleeper though? 1.) WR Devin Aromashodu, Chicago Bears We will see. By the time most hold their FF drafts, the hope is our depth chart is set. If DA is a starter, then I might call him a sleeper. He doesn't have big numbers from last year and thus goes under the radar. With everything we have on offense, if he starts, he could put up big numbers. But if he doesn't win the starting job, I don't know if he will be a great sleer pick. He could still put up good numbers, but I am not sure the draft position/stats value will be that great.

Just to clarify, though I am sure you were playing, when I say Halas I am referring to Halas Hall. I realize there is no longer a true Halas, and that is sad. Then again, I have a feeling if Halas were alive today and running the team, fans would have a VERY different opinion of the man. Fans complain about how the team is cheap. Really, this team is not cheap anymore, but decades of cheap management (Halas) earned a very strong reputation. Do you honestly believe Halas would have bought Peppers, or doled out the contracts we have seen in the last decade. If Halas were alive and still running the team after FA began, Bears fans would have turned on him.

Ouch. I will say, my friend made a convincing argument for Forte as the #1 RB (in a PPR league) last year. AP was the usual #1, but he doesn't catch the ball, and thus loses a ton of potential points. I ended up taking S.Jackson with my top pick. He actually did very well, but considering how horrible that offense was, his numbers could have been so so much better. In terms of keepers, Crushers (Bowlingtwig) is sitting pretty damn sweet. He took Chris Johnson in the 2nd. It will cost him his 1st round pick, but as CJ is considered the #1 pick in most Mocks so far, he is going to be a solid keeper regardless. He took Aaron Rodgers in the 4th, and I have seen many mocks with him going as high as 2nd. He took Cedric Benson in the 11th. Benson not only had a very solid season last year, but with the additional receivers, he is likely to find some wide open lanes this year. He took McCoy in the 12th. Not huge rushing yardage last year, but a solid 4.1 avg in his rookie season, plus he added 40 catches, which is huge in our league. Westbrook is gone, and McCoy could be big this year. No freaking wonder he won last year.

Well, my pick of Ronnie Brown in the 3rd was far from inspired. I think Ricky Williams may have actually double Brown's yardage and points. Eddie Royal in the 5th? I must have been drunk. Oh yea, and my back-to-back AARP picks of Holt and Mason. Nice! Mendenhall in the 13th and Hakeem Nicks in the 14th were picks to please, and Rothlisberger in the 16th did me very well, but when I look back at my draft, I....I don't know. Not one of my proudest moments. At least I didn't take Forte with the first pick of the draft, as my friend did.

PS - It's K-6, 7-8, then 9-12! You should have heard the arguments yesterday. My kids will have similar to what I did through middle, but here, they have 9/10 and then sep 11/12. Dang class sizes are in the 1,500 to 1,800 range. Others said they had k-6, but their middle was 7-9. In the end, it was simply educational how different school systems are set up, even when they are 10 minutes apart, and how passionately people can argue which is better.

You're probably right...but I'd have to think they'd get LS and JA's sign off on it. Smith's been touting it, so in some shape or form, he's OK'ed it. Otherwise, he's brush it off. Simply disagree. If the decision comes down from Halas, all below would be expected to follow. I know the Sox and Bulls often come up with some sort of theme or phrase to advertise in the offseason. I remember "these kids can play" among many others. I doubt seriously Ozzie or Del Negro were needed to sign off. I see no difference with Lovie and the Bulls. Lovie has power over the roster (not sure anymore about the coaches) but when it comes to how the team advertises, not only does Lovie not have power, but I would think he has more important things on his plate than to help the team sell tickets and design a PR campaign. Who knows. Maybe it was Lovie's idea, or maybe he signed off on it. I simply think this was a Halas thing, and Lovie (as well as the rest) were told what to do.

I just find it shocking that this staff simply thinks the players will tackle on Sundays if not practiced. There was also reference that we were one of the worst teams last year regarding long gains by RB's...which is a tell tale sign of missed or poor tackling. And more refence of guys dragging our tacklers downfield for 10 yards while the tackler is just trying to strip the ball. Agreed 100%. Sort of hard to properly wrap up and tackle when you are using one of your arms/hands to try and knock out the ball. As I commented to Pix, when have you ever heard the staff preach about tackling? Seems like all they really stress is going for the ball. Stripping, knocking it out, whatever. Point is, if that is what the players are told to do, it is no surprise when they miss tackles are tackles are broken. Doen't this kind of thing come from the coaching staff, not PR? Or at least both at minimum? I don't see why Lovie would have anything to do with this. This is a Halas thing. Lovie deals with the football field, and this is a marketing thing. Frankly, I am not even sure Angelo would have been involved in this. This is more a Phillips and his staff deal.

There are other teams that practice tackling. I am not saying we have to act like Butkis on every play through camp, but not practicing tackling at all does tend to have an effect. And yes, I realize there are other teams that do not practice tackling. At the same time, when you suck at something like we do, maybe we should work on that. Also, I do think it is a product of the system. Throughout camp, what do we hear Lovie talk about? Tackling? Nope. He talks about turnovers and fumbles and suck. Players go for the ball and not the tackle. Hard to wrap up properly when you are using an arm to try and knock the ball out.

For the record, there is no such thing as an overdose of coffee. I drink my first pot by 9am, and the 2nd is usually gone by 11. I'll make another pot of coffee early afternoon, and maybe one more after dinner. Sad thing is, it doesn't even wake me up anymore, but I sure get a headache if I skip it. I still want to do the keeper. I don't think there are any big issues that have come up since last year. Minor things like, "how long do we keep a player" or whether a team is allowed to keep one or none rather than two, but those are minor issues. Personally, I really want to stick with the keeper league. That is what I thought we joined the league for, as I don't think the other Bearstalk leagues were doing keepers.

One. I personally hate the idea of basing draft order on last year's standings. This is not the NFL, it is FF. In the NFL, the bad teams get the high picks to add talent to their teams. In FF, you don't carry over the previous years team, as in the NFL, and thus there is no need to base it on last years standings. Further, one of the most frustrating things (at least for me) in FF is when an owner essentially quits. They realize they are out of it and essentially mail it in. They stop even trying to win. IMHO, if you base future draft orders on past seasons, it only gives incentive for a team to mail it in once they are done. Two. Also disagree with forcing a team to keep 2 players from the previous year. Its one thing to get to keep your best player from the previous year (or two players) and another thing to force a team to keep mediocre players if their previous year was just that bad. I guess I simply don't see the reasoning in forcing a team to keep players. It is supposed to be a benefit for good drafting, not a punishment for poor drafting. Maybe this is simply a matter of...whatever you grew up with is what you think is right. I had a discussion at work about school/grades. I grew up with k-5th as elementary, 6th-8th as middle and 9th-12th as high school. To me, that is the right/best way. Others in my office grew up with a varied assortment of different grade pairings, and they too felt the way they grew up was the right/best way. I realize this may be the same. I was in a keeper league for a long time. I like the way we ran it, and thus feel it is best.

I haven't seen anyone talk about this, but it seems the team is bringing back the monsters of the midway as a theme this year, making shirts and everything. There is an article in the Trib saying what a joke this is, asking how can a team that doesn't even practice tackling in camp have the audacity to bring out this theme. I'll go one further. This is not a moster defense, and I am saying even if it is hitting on all cyclinders. It isn't just that we don't practice tackling, but that we don't even want to make the big tackles. We try to wrap a guy from behind and punch the ball out, rather than hit him straight on and make him pay for thinking about gaining yards on us. This is a finese defense, not an attack one. Do our corners line up on the LOS and jam the WRs? Do our corners play physical and make the receivers work for it? Nope. Our corners play off the ball, allow the catch, and then run up to make the tackle..er...I mean go for the strip. While our DL has changed some, it is still a small group. In theory, sure, they get after that QB, but how much does a bunch of 260lb DL scare offenses? Yea, you game plan to stop them, but I am talking fear. Honestly, I don't know who the genius is that thought to bring out this theme, but I think it is an embarassment. Even if this defense works, they are not going to do justice to the previouis monsters of the midway. Further, why the hell would this team want to put itself in a situation of being compared to the '85 Bears? When we last were in the SB and had a solid D, the players talked about how they were not the '85 team and didn't want to be compared to them. Yet here we are, with an inferior group, and we are doing something that will force just such a comparison. IMHO, there is a PR guy at Halas that needs to be fired.

One. Maybe I simply did not drink enough coffee today, but that seems really confusing. Two. It still doesn't touch on the main point I mentioned earlier. Last year, you got lucky and had the 2nd pick in the draft. There was no skill involved in that. You simply got lucky when the computer spit out the draft order. If we allow 1st round keepers, that essentially gives you a 2 year benefit for no more than the computer giving you a great draft pick. That is the biggest issue I have in all this. It may not seem as big now, but I remember those years when players like LT and LJ were consistently not only elite, but there was a big dropoff after them. It was simply not fair to allow an owner to keep those players when they did nothing more than get lucky in the draft order. Does that make sense? Any pick after the 1st round, there is little argument as every team had the option to take that player but passed in favor of someone else. But in the first round, who you can draft often is dictated more based on where you draft. Allowing 1st round keepers simply gives too much benefit to an owner for doing nothing more than getting lucky when the computer spit out the draft order.

I made a big deal about how we handled Graham last year too. He started at CB his 2nd year (1st was lost due to injury) and while he wasn't great, he wasn't bad either. Then in the offseason, he is not even allowed to compete at CB and moved between nickel and FS. I just didn't understand it, until I read an article that talked about how Hoke (our new DB coach last year) didn't feel Graham had the speed to play the position and simply moved him without giving him a chance to prove otherwise. I read this past offseason, Graham put a lot of work into speed training, as well as getting healthy, which supposedly has him faster than previous, and thus he is back in the mix at CB. Still think it was a poor decision, but at least I understand the reasoning. I will always disagree when it comes to Bradley. Yea, he looked good in small flashes, but (a) he came to the team VERY raw as he was never even a starter in college and ( he was always getting injured and not a player who could be relied on. We send him packing and he plays for KC, where he started out looking pretty decent, but (shock) goes down with an injury. KC cut him midseason. He picked up with TB, where he didn't impress, and I believe they cut him as well. I don't think he is even on a roster now. There are some moves I would agree with you 100%, and Graham would be an example. Other examples? Constantly moving Idonije back and forth between DT and DE, asking him to add/lose weight seemingly every year. Moving DM all over. Most shocking to me is, DM proved very capable as a nickel DB, but rather than let him develop where he showed the most promise, we continue to move him around. Hell, you could just about place every S we have had over the years into this category, as we never seem to know where to play them. But when it comes to Afalava, I just don't think there is as great of an issue here. He didn't finish the season well, and started camp behind the veteran addition, top pick rookie and another S (Steltz) who did finish the year on a high note and played well in OTAs.

Yea, that is one of the things different this year. In the past, there were times when our OL would look good in camp, only to be killed when they had to face better DL. I am not trying to bash Brown or Wale, but while both were solid, neither were much more than that.

I take back what I said about Harrison. While he may still be a bust, it seems he has in fact committed himself in the offseason. Coaches are making a big deal about the weight he lost in the offseason, and the condition he is in. In fact, his diet is said to be one of the reasons he hasn't been hydrated enough and thus didn't finish practice. Still a lot to prove, but it does seem the light came on in the offseason and he got serious about getting in shape.

Most reports on the radio I have heard (a) confirm that Favre has been sending text messages saying he was done and ( most question whether this is truly the end of it. Favre is saying his ankle has not progesses as well as hoped, and that he simply can't go. But many know how he loves drama, so this is a great way (in Favre's world) to put a new twist in the saga, only to later come in and save the day. Personally, I think there is a good chance he changes his mind, again, but also think it is more than possible he is done. As the body gets older, it takes longer for injuries to heal. At grandpa's age, some injuries simply won't heal. So maybe he is done.

I guess what I really dislike about this is you benefit two years simply due to where you got to pick out of the draft lottery. If a guy gets the 10th pick in the draft, he can still draft great players, but whoever got the top pick seems to have an unfair advantage because he gets to keep (for example) Adrain Peterson two years in a row simply because he lucked into his draft position. After the 1st round, you really can't complain about the draft position so much as all players are in play, but that 1st round is more about where you get to draft.

I would strongly disagree with this assumption of yours. I am surprised, knowing you read most if not all the posts & threads, that you would even say this. Really? Yea, I have read (and written) plenty of Lovie hate, but have you not read boat loads of Turner hate? How about Babich? I was ripping the OL and DL coaches for years. Angelo? Blaming Lovie is fun, but he is from the only one getting ripped. I am not trying to defend the mediocre product that we have had to endure. I just want to see accountability properly assigned and not all blamed on Lovie. Might not the idea of accountability be partially why fans are leaning on Lovie the most? Offense sucks, so we fire Shea, then later, we fire Turner. Go through many other position coaches as well. Lovie all but drives Rivera to the airport following a great defensive year and SB appearance, followed by his promoting his friend, Babich, who sucks, and finally is replaced by Lovie, who sucks and is replaced. Babich is not fired though, only demoted. Lovie is not fired, only not the DC. Meanwhile, Marinelli does nothing to improve the play of our DL, and yet is promoted. Point is, you talk about accountability, but that is what all fans want. It seems like every coaching position under lovie has been held accountable (multiple times for most spots) while Lovie has remained. Yes, you can talk about Angelo too, and I think most fans would agree there as well. We all want accountability, but it just seems like everyone but Lovie (and Angelo) have been held accountable. Final point, just for the record. I think Lovie is here through next year. While I believe the CBA will ultimately be worked out, it will not happen early enough for our ownership to fire Lovie. No point is firing him if there isn't going to be a season, and once the deal is worked out, it will be too late to bring in a new coach. So, barring a drastic tanking this season (and I mean on the Detroit scale) I think Lovie is here through 2011.

Major Wright...too early to know if he'll contribute at all this year but his athleticism and instincts at times already make him standout among our safeties. I don't know if he will start, but I remember when Steltz came in, much was expected but all reports had him looking lost in camp. Through OTAs and the very early bit of camp, I have not read about Wright looking lost. That little thing is big IMHO. Marcus Harrison is ....in shape? When was the last time the numbers on his jersey were hanging straight? http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/footb...0,3160490.story I have read that he has been unable to finish a couple practices. Coaches said it was the heat, and he was dehydrated. Maybe, but others seem able to finish. Likely would not be much of a story or issue if not for last offseason. After the embarrassment of the last camp, and lack of production through the season, you would really think Harrison would take this offseason really serious. Maybe he isn't as out of shape as last year, but he doesn't seem to have dedicated himself in the offseason the way I think many were hoping. Mark Anderson looks like he's put in another solid offseason working out. He appears bigger and stronger, early reports indicate it might be paying off on the field. Still early and he's going against our Oline. I've been reading good things about him so far, which could go a long way for us this year. Tommie Harris doing a solid interview and sounding like a reasonable person? http://www.chicagobears.com/index.html (check videos) Just checked outside. No Fire and brimstone coming down from the skies I don't see Rivers and seas boiling! I don't see dead rising from the grave. Oh yea, and my cats still hate dogs. Julius Peppers is destroying our OTs. It's either good news or bad news depending on your point of view. I would write this up as good news for now. I mean, even if they were in top form, do you think Williams or Omiyale can stop Peppers 1 on 1? Peppers is elite and schools upper tier OTs, much less our guys. Further, our OL are still green in their roles and learning a new system and new snap counts. So I only this this as a positive for Peppers, and not really hitting negative on our OTs.

Who feels Lovie is the sole person to blame? Honestly, I am not sure you could find one fan who would put 100% of the blame for the last few years on Lovie. You have lived on these boards as have we all. I know you have seen the hate shot out at Angelo, Turner, Babich and many, many more. And as you point out, the players have been shredded early and often. While maybe not in as great of a number, Phillips and ownership get no free passes. So no one believes Lovie is the sole person responsible. BUT... Take a look at the team since this regime took over. What constants are left? Most of the players who Lovie and Angelo inherited are gone. Most of the original assistants Lovie hired are gone, and many of the 2nd assistants are gone as well. So that pretty much leaves Lovie, Angelo, Phillips and Ownership. Nothing is going to happen with ownership. Phillips? Maybe more likely than ownership, but not very likely overall IMHO. He does very well (financially) for the ownership. So that leaves Angelo and Lovie, the two who most fans attack. I think the key reasons Lovie takes more heat are (a) assistant which is his call, not to mention a very popular assistant (Rivera) being run out of town so Lovie could promote his BFF and ( while it may be bogus, the belief that Angelo has added players, but Lovie has failed to develop them.

Actually, by rule, as the HC, yes. Lovie is to blame for everything. To be serious though, who is left? Hasn't every other coach been fired or demoted? As with any company in the real world, #%#$ rolls down the hill. Lovie takes heat, and another assistant is fired. I think we have reached the point where another failed assistant falls on Lovie and he will not be able to blame those below him.

Two interesting things about Lovie's assistants. One, this year we have Lovie's ideal choice OC and DL. As I recall, Marinelli was the DC Lovie originally wanted, but TB said no. Babich was his 2nd choice, but Angelo said no. And while I am not sure about Martz originally, we know that is who Lovie really wanted this time. So there is simply no hiding behind assistants this time. Two, at the same time, I also find it a bit ironic that one of our top assistants was a non-Lovie guy (Rivera). I think Don Johnson would also fit into that category. While I agree the assistant hiring has not been good, I would put player development right there with it. Part of that may go on the assistants, but at some point, you have to look at the HC.

The names that come to mind are Steltz, Payne, and Manning. Personally I do not thing Manning was that bad at safety and if we had ever let him play one position for more than two games at a time he might have developed, as he is no doubt quite an athlete. Payne wasn't injured all year was he? I don't honestly remember, but he was another guy who was said to be great and then disappeared into nowhere. I don't remember Steltz looking "terrible," wasn't he a third round pick too? Again, is he another guy who suddenly looks great who looked bad last year? Payne may not have been injured all year, but I believe went down with injury in camp, which is when Afalava took the job. And yes, Payne has dealt with injuries a lot and is one of those players the staff questions whether they can rely on. DM sucks as a FS. Sorry, but no amount of playing time would change that. Sure, he has athleticism, but so do many. DM lacks instincts. It just does not matter how fast you are if you are slow to react, your still late to the play. Steltz was that bad. Per all reports, and this is not just the coaches, he simply looked lost out there. Are we really going to even think about starting a third round draft pick at safety? If so, I will get ready for everyone whining how bad Wright sucks after a few games. Harris should be a lock at one safety position, preferably SS IMO, it is the other safety position I am worried about... Personally, I don't think Harris should be a lock. He sucked as a FS when last with the bears, and while I like him for SS, that doesn't mean he would be a lock. In sum, we have Harris and a 3rd round rookie in addition to last year. I still think it is mighty strange the starter from last year is suddenly at the bottom of the depth chart. I probably would not find it so strange if it did not seem to happen so often. Technically, I think Bullocks is the bottom of the depth chart. Really, who has Afalava been passed by who he was in competition with last year? Isn't Steltz the only player who has actually passed him on the depth chart? Just not sure why it is so "strange." Maybe it would be one thing if we made no changes and suddenly he is at the bottom, but we added two players, including one who you feel should be a lock to start, and the other was out top draft pick from this year. I find it absolutely hilarious that some on this board would find Lovie anything less than complete crap as a HC. Noone needs to make up things to identify Lovie's weaknesses, you only have to follow the team and look at the won-loss totals. I hope the team does well, but IMO they will do so in spite of Lovie and never because of him. Hey, I think Lovie is complete crap as a HC. Even if this team does well, I think it is inspite of Lovie and not due to him. I simply do not think Afalava is a good example for such reasoning.