nfoligno

Could still affect Bell/Wolfe in one sense. Some thought we could simply not keep a FB this year, with the believe Manu (TE) could fill the dual role of TE/FB. If that was to be the case, it would then be possible to keep a 4th RB as you free up a spot w/o a FB. Now, that spot could also go to an extra TE, but just saying, it was possible to be open. Now, if Unga is going to fill the FB spot, either Wolfe or Bell may stick, but not both. I like Wolfe, and love what he brings on special teams, but simply do not really see his value. Sure, he could offer something as a 3rd down type of RB, but on the other hand, I am not sure he would be better on 3rd downs than our top 2 RBs. You don't pull one of them to allow Wolfe a chance. Bell doesn't offer much either, but I would say is better depth if one of the top 2 go down with injury. Bell can more likely handle a greater workload, while Wolfe can't.

Expect Jason to go ape-$hit when he gets wind of what we just did I have no issue with the move. We lacked a legit power RB, and this guy may even be able to play FB. He was considered a solid talent, but his stock tanked due to a weak 40 (I think he ran a 4.65/40). That would be awful if he were viewed as a tailback, but as a back expected to pickup short yardage, who cares if he doesn't have good 40 speed. I think Bell and Wolfe are gone, though not before camp. Problem with those two is, they simply do not bring much different to the table from the top two guys. Unga absolutely brings something different to the table. The only knock for me in losing Wolfe is the loss of his special teams play, which was dang good, but we have also added more special teams players, so I think we should continue to be solid going forward.

While there was a lot of interest in Unga, I was ticked about our getting him till I saw it cost us only a 7th. That doesn't bother me at all. Say good bye to Wolf and Bell

As I mentioned in another post, I just hope we have a legit, open competition at WR for ALL spots. If that happens, I think we could see a heck of a competition. I have to say, while I still have reservations about Martz, one thing I love moving forward is how many WRs he uses, as I think we have a lot of talent at WR this year. Think about this. Lets say DA does step up into that #1 role. I still like having a more possession WR on the other side, and I still think Iglesias can beat out Bennett. But even if Bennett does keep the job, that still leaves Hester AND Knox. What we could see is something we have never seen before, and that is having both starting WRs being in the mold of speedsters. I am starting to wonder if the staff won't consider the TE equal to the possession role, and thus not need the #2 WR being a possession guy. If that is the case, you could have DA, Knox and Hester as your three WRs on the field (in whatever order) while Olsen is considered your possession guy. W/ receiving RBs also in the mix, the offensive potential here is incredible.

As BigDaddy said, I disagree on DA. DA showed all-around ability late in the year when he finally got on the field. He was not simply running go routes downfield, but working the field through many different routes. For the record, I have no issue with the statement that Hester is the starter until either DA or Knox prove capable. My concern is if the team sets Hester as the starter, and only demotes him if he bombs, rather than if one of the other two do in fact step up. If it is an open competition, awesome. If the job is Hester's to lose, I think that is a mistake.

I have no issue with questioning Cutler. Despite all the potential reasons for his high pick season, plenty of blame is on him, and there are plenty of questions. My issue was with the one angle they took, flat saying Cutler did not elevate the play of those around him. I don't see that argument at all. Question his decision making, vision, leadership, whatever, but when I look at the group of receivers we had, and that they all had better numbers than previous, how can you say Cutler didn't elevate their play. And again, for further evidence, look at what the Denver receiver did with him and w/o.

CNNSI has a small piece where they question whether Cutler is a franchise QB. I have no issue with this question in general. I have my opinion, but it is a fair question. The issue I have is with their reasoning. They say a franchise QB is one who makes those around him better, and goes on to say Cutler did not do this. Hester may not have had the big leap in stats many hoped, but he did continue to improve with more catches, yards and average. Bennett barely saw the field his rookie year, but managed over 50 catches and over 700 yards. Olsen is another, like Hester, who many hoped for big things, but while that didn't happen, he increased his number of catches, yards and scores. DA has been in the league a while and done nothing, yet in a short period, he has 24-300-4. Knox, a rookie from a small school, has 45-527-5. Can you really argue Cutler didn't improve the play of these players. Would DA, Bennett and Knox have had half their numbers w/o Cutler? How about in Denver? Marshall, Sheffler and Stokleys numbers all took a hit with the loss of Cutler. Royal's numbers dropped off the face of the Earth w/o Cutler. Sure seems Cutler elevated the play of those receivers. There are plenty of reasons to question Cutler, and even question whether he is a franchise QB, but I question trying to say he doesn't elevate the play of those around him.

Your about 15-20 years too late. Had plenty of fun in college, but these days, "partying" likely means watching a rented video with the wife.

Ouch! Now that stung. Probably true, but ouch

Hey, if they want to pay me, I'll give up what little credi I have

Nice thoughts, but at the same time, I think reality is a touch different. Lets say he was in the car and they found him in possession. Fine. What kills me is the fact that they had an undercover operation to bust him for this. When you are talking about such an endevour, you are talking about spending time and resources few police departments have in abundance. So for me, when I think about the minimal level of this crime, I just have an issue with such an operation.

cracking up at the stories. In college, when the beer was gone, we would try just about anything in the house, including chugging Nyquil due to the alcohol in it. Sure, sip sip is a bit different, but only a bit IMHO. Well after college, I had an ankle injury and had pain meds. Obviously you are not supposed to drink while on pain meds, but come on. No drinking? So after some scotch/pain med combo, I was feeling little pain. Unfortunately for me, the combo actually kept me awake rather than knocking me out, thus I too sat in front of the TV. As I recall, there was a Godfather marathon. Luckily, I think I finally fell asleep in the beginning of part 3.

crap. with bonehead mistakes like that, I should be working for ESPN!

Jason, I think most would agree we have a legit OC, legit QB and potential/talent (albeit unproven) WRs, solid RBs and even solid TEs. The question, as it has been forever, is the OL. Just curious, as I know how you feel about OL in general, but what are your thoughts on the OL. For me, while I am FAR from happy, at the same time, I do have a greater level of hope this year than in recent memory. That hope may be based on faith, I don't know, but I just have more hope than usual. LT - Even when Tait was more in him prime, he was never a legit LT IMHO. He was a RT who could be decent at LT, but we have not had a legit LT since Brockemeyer, and that was a long time ago. In Williams though, I think we have a legit LT. Does he have to prove himself. Obviously, but based on the small amount we saw him at the end of the year, I have pretty high hopes there. RT - Few would say they are excited about Omiyale after what we saw last year, BUT (a) he was out of position at OG, which most fans knew back in camp, but it took all year for the staff to figure out. It was his play at OT that prompted us to sign him, and that is where we now will see him again. Also, ( as bad as he played at OG, he showed a pretty high level of improvement later in the year, which only furthers the belief that much of his awful play was due to being out of position and having to learn a new position. Further, even if he doesn't step up as hoped, we have a pretty good veteran (Schaffer) waiting in the wings to step in. Center - Kreutz has not played well of late, but has also played through injury. I do not think we will ever see the pro bowl caliber player again, but we could see an improved Kreutz, which would be a significant upgrade from what we have gotten. Further, we have depth here too as Beekman should be capable of stepping in. LG - I believe even you have agreed that while Garza is far from a favorite player, at the same time, he has not been the worst either. I have little expectation of him really improving, but if he is our weakest link, I do not think that is horrible. I also like that we are going to make him earn his spot, as I have not liked the lack of competition. RG - This is the big question mark. Camp reports give a lot of promise to a couple young OL battling for the spot. In the past, I would hold little hope for these late rounders, but now that we have a legit OL coach, maybe there is hope we see a greater level of development from later round picks, which is not unusual for most teams. Finally, I think Tice adds a high level of hope too. I LOVE that we plan to alter our blocking philosophy from a drop step to a more power block, allowing OL to attack the DL rather than sit back and wait. I have felt we lacked a legit OL coach for years, and finally adding one could have a series impact on the unit as a whole. There is no question we have big concerns along the OL. At the same time, I simply have greater hope than in the past that we will be able to provide reasonably positive answers to those questions. Further, with a more aggressive scheme in general, it will be harder for defenses to predict our plays and pin their ears back attacking Cutler.

This is an area all our WRs could use some work, and has been an issue on our team IMHO for years. While Drake is still our WR coach, my hope is that Martz brings something to the table in this regard. I remember in Stl one of the key ways to stop their passing game was to press the WRs at the LOS. It was a risky thing to press their WRs, but at the same time, they were nearly unstoppable if you gave them room to work with at the LOS. The few teams I remember having success against them were those who would press at the LOS which would (a) breakup the timing of their routes and ( make Warner hold the ball longer. But I also remember Martz doing a lot of things to try and counter the press, whether it meant moving WRs around and employing shifts, or simply improving WRs use of hands and beating the press. Knox has a lot to learn frankly. As well as he did, in many ways, he was a one trick pony finding success based on pure speed downfield. He has a long way to go in terms of development, and I agree how he develops is key to our success.

I know what the medicine is. I have it in my home, though I would have never thought to mix it to make a drink. Stuff is freaking awesome when you have a really bad cough that prevents you from sleeping. This stuff will hinder the cough, numb the throat, and best yet, knock you out so you can sleep. Really common and easy to get a doc to perscribe.

By "prioritization issues" I assume you mean "Jamarcus Russell would rather do drugs than work his fat ass into shape and learn the playbook well enough to make a strong enough impact that the Raiders didn't cut him." Hey, I think few would argue with this. I am not defending Russell, but if I were to sit down and make a list of all the problems facing our nation, cough syrup would be pretty low on the list. It's not cocaine, but people have died from the drug's abuse. People can, and have, died for abusive amounts of most everything. Crap, take too much advil, and bad crap happens. While that article you mention gives some "people of interest" who have died from this, the issue is still a pretty dang small one. This may seem minor to some, but starting low is how the cops work towards getting the big criminals who fund massive criminal activities, like Mike Vick. So you are comparing cough syrup to dog fighting? I'm sure that wasn't the intent, but it is at the same time the implication. I know this is totally not bear related, but it is a super slow time right now, so what the heck, right?

Seriously? Codeine syrup? Okay, one, there was actually an organized undercover investigation? arrested as part of an undercover narcotics investigation Okay, do the police really have nothing better to do than organization undercover ops for codeine syrup. If the investigation was for more, then was the arrest for the syrup nothing more than trying to save face? I don't know. I understand it is illegal to have perscriptions not in your name, but really? To me, this is simply not a big deal. And as for the police talking about how some mix this syrup with sprite and call it "sip sip" or whatever, unless they have it mixed, I don't see how you can assume such. Codeine syrup is not uncommon. Doctor gave it to me all the time if I had strept throat, or other throat/caugh issues. Hey, I think Russell is a joke, but to me, this story is also a joke.

Sure, anything for you Flea. 2a. Cubs finish last in their division. 2b. White Sox win the World Series. Happy

One. With regard to DA, I think it worth pointing out he was set to be a starter until he went down with injury at the end of camp, allowing Knox an opportunity, and Knox took advantage. The problem was, in Turner's offense, few WRs other than the starters really got much of a look once the season began. That will be very different this year. Two. I agree about martz, but wonder if we won't see the Martz you talk about regardless what we have heard thus far. Hester is our most proven WR at this point. We talk about Knox, but while he had a pretty good rookie year, he needs to take another step to be a legit starter. DA looked great, but only in a small window of games. If both of these players "show up" at camp, I think we may in fact see Hester play more from the slot, but the key is those two WRs. Knox especially, IMHO. He came from a small school, and while he looked good last year, it was in a fairly limited role. Can't he handle an expanded role? Its one thing to talk about Hester being a starter before camp when the others have yet to prove themselves. What will be interesting is what happens if DA and Knox prove themselves ready in camp. If Hester still starts, I think it points to Martz giving in to Lovie and Angelo. If Hester moves to the slot in that situation, I think it shows we may well have the OC who does what he feels best, rather than listen to Angelo/Lovie and how they want him to use players.

Giant, One. You mention first about Hester's ability to make people miss. While I agree with you, I also understand Bradjock's perception. Since Hester signed his new contract, he has (IMHO) played more hesitant with the ball, both on special teams and as a WR. Early on, Hester was full steam ahead. More lately, he just didn't appear to have the same mentality, often stepping out of bounds rather than try and make a move or break a tackle for extra yards. I know you provide examples, and I agree he has that ability. For me, it is a state of mind thing. Hester has the ability to make people miss, but of late, seems to too often out-think himself, trying to make so many juke moves the defender simply goes straight in for the tackle. Two. I am not saying Hester CAN"T track the ball downfield, but I do not believe that is a strength, and yes, would call it a weakness. Sure, there are examples of when he tracked the ball downfield well, but plenty when he didn't. I remember Dez White making some great catches, but that doesn't mean he had great hands. Even Cutler seems to question Hester's abiliity to track the ball last year, or at least adjust to it on the fly. Does this mean Hester can't track the ball downfield? No. Does it mean he can't improve? No. But I just don't see it as a strength. Look, I know how you feel about Hester. While I do believe Hester has value as a WR, and further feel he has developed as a WR far more than most give him credit, at the same time, there are aspects of his game I would still call a weakness. Areas I think Hester has really improved: (a) knowledge. Many find it hard to forget those first year or two where Hester didn't have a clue where to line up, and even after that, it appear he was often "thinking" rather than just playing. I think he has hit a point where he understands better the routes, and could play more on instinct. Of course, he now has to learn a new system, but at least he know has a better base of understanding to work from. ( Route running. Early on, his timing, breaks, pretty much everything were sloppy. He wasn't a full time WR in college, and didn't start as one for us, and his development was very much lacking, but over the last two years, I have seen tremendous improvement in route running. © Hands. I think this goes back to the first point. When you can just play and not have to think about the play constantly, you can better focus on the ball. Tracking the ball downfield, positioning against the defender (shielding), is still an area I think he has a lot of room to improve. I like the idea of moving him around, but at the same time, I do feel we may have better options on the outside for go routes. Knox and DA has very good ability downfield. Hester does too, but I think Hester's quickness is a greater attribute than pure speed, and I think he has quickness far more than DA and Knox.

Understood, but with it being in the middle and baseball season, and NBA free agency being pretty much the lead story, those were the start.

1a. In addition to James, also sign Boch. 1b. Win a title. 1c. Win multiple titles. 2a. Sox win the World Series. 2b. Cubs finish last in their division. 3a. Bears win their division. 3b. Bears win the SB. 3c. Brett Favre returns only to be "retired" by Peppers. 3d. Minny-ha-ha finishes in last place. 4. Blackhawks win the Cup again.

He could also be thinking in terms of expectation. Williams has so much to prove, but he is a 1st round pick that did well when finally put at the position he was drafted to play, and Tice may simply believe he will move into the elite category. As for Kreutz, most bear fans have been on his case for a few years now, but (a) the league still continues to give him credit and ( Tice may believe his decline was more injury related, and a clean bill of health could move him back into that elite category, or at least Tice may believe so. The aspect of this I liked was that Tice believes RT and RG are open. Garza has never impressed me. On an OL devoid of talent, Garza didn't seem bad, but I just never felt he was that good. I like that Tice is at least saying he will allow a competition there. As for RT, I think most everyone here would have expected there to be a competition, but the way Omiyale was handled at LG last year, well, its just nice to hear the coach say he will have to win a camp battle to have the job. Is the OL what I would like? Hell no. At the same time, I do see potential this year for an improved OL, due to both personnel and coaching we have lacked in the past.

As far as what we will see from Lovie I think it might end up being anyone but DManning at NB. Do they like Jennings? Maybe, I don't think there is much there. I do expect us to cut DJ Moore and end up keeping Woodny Turrene. I rank em: Bowman, Tillman, Graham, Joshua Moore, Jennings, Turrene, DJ Moore with the last two getting cut and Turrene hitting the practice squad again barring injury. Why down on Jennings? Understand, it isn't that I am high on him, but more have little opinion. I do not like his size, which is why I do not like him on the outside, but I have no real issue with him in the nickel, which is where I believe he played in Indy. No way I would list him behind Moore, at least not at the moment. From what I have read, he has looked good in OTAs, which means little, but enough to keep him ahead of a mid round rookie. Otherwise I pretty much agree. I am still not 100% that I would rank Bowman ahead of Tillman. I think Tillman is still a bit better, but has hit his ceiling and is one the way down, while Bowman is on the way up. The expectation is Bowman will take that next step forward, but until he does, I would still rank Tillman ahead of him. Agreed Graham is next, but I would put Jennings ahead of Moore. Moore may have more potential, but as a rookie, he has to show something before I rank him ahead of even Jennings. And I agree Turrene is likely PS, while DJ is likely cut. Why we are messing with Danieal Manning again this offseason I have no idea. Had we not picked up any new safeties perhaps it makes sense but given that we have Harris back in the fold along with Major Wright plus Steltz reportedly is playing well (but limited in speed as always) it seems like a waste of practice time. All I can think of is they want Manning as part of the depth chart at SS but that is far from his strength. Is Afalava doing that poorly after getting so much playing time last year? Bullocks, we know he can't tackle. Is this just a depth move so Manning gets early reps in the offseason and then slots back to NB for camp? Or do we like Graham and/or Jennings as our NB this year and just expect Manning to be KR/backup SS? Yes, I'm not listing DM as our starting SS because that can't possibly be the plan. Honestly, I think there is a good chance DM ends up as our nickel. If he does not win the starting SS spot, and I do not think he will, I am not sure he would simply ride the bench on defense. Why are we evening looking at him at SS? I have no clue. I assume the staff wants more athleticism in the secondary, but while he may be more athletic, he is weaker in instincts and run support that others would offer. For years I have not understand our handling of the safety positions, and this year is no exception. In the end, I think I will get my wish and see Major and Harris starting, but the staff appears intent on Major proving himself first. As fans, we simply have to hope Major, much like Afalava last year, shows enough in camp for this move to happen sooner rather than later.