jason

Give credit where credit was due...he made a decent catch there. But the fact that he was covered like a blanket and Cutler had to throw a perfect pass, pretty much proves the whole point about speed and shiftiness.

Forte out for the second half. Let's see what this kid has. Thus far he has pretty good burst to the hole, a good surge at the end of his runs, but he appears to lack vision.

And apparently he can't read pass defenses well enough to run a proper route. He definitely went the wrong way on the pass that he just missed. Cut this turd before he costs the Bears a game.

Are you trying to start a civil war in here? Shoop was atrocious. If it were Shoop, the Bears would be running their smallest player into a goal line defense, and throwing 5-yard routes on 3rd and 15. Crowton - Wrote down his WR screen plays in ink. Shoop - Picked his nose while scribbling with crayons.

I hate Mariani more than any Bear player I can remember in a while. He drops punts. When he catches them he has the vision of Ray Charles on returns. And on kickoffs, despite the team not getting any sort of blocking, he returns them when he catches the ball 8-9 yards deep in the end zone. He did it twice now in this Minnesota game. It's time for the Bears to go a different direction. This dude is slow, has iffy hands, has bad vision, makes poor decisions, and did I mention he's slow? Please replace this turd pronto.

Did Gase give Gary Crowton a call for the gameplan today?

Four year contract. Not four year guaranteed. He can always be released. Front-load it, and there you have it. Easy. For what it's worth, I'd scrap the entire idea and happily welcome in Langford as the #1 if somehow the Bears could figure out a way to make this trade happen. http://www.sbnation.com/nfl/2015/11/1/9653...ns-trade-rumors

Sign me up since Mariani sucks, is slow, and has dropped the first two punts of the day. On a related note, can the Bears fire their ST coordinator at halftime of this game?

I thought it was a waste when they made the pick. Forte still had plenty tread on the tires, and there were other players available. Players like, oh, I don't know... TJ Clemmings who has started six games at RT for the Vikings. Tre Jackson who has started multiple games at OG for the Patriots. Arie Kuoandjio who looked to be a great run-blocker at OG in the draft, and is 2nd string on the Redskins.

I'm cool with that if the team deal is for 3-4 years, and the fading happens more in year 3. I honestly think Forte still has a ton to offer, and just needs to get the opportunities in a cohesive, NFL-caliber offense with NFL-starter quality players on the field. Scrap heap WRs and OLinemen mean your statement about him being the focal point is dead on.

Yeah, but when you say "He hasn't been very good this year" you know the common English connotation is "subpar". He's been far from subpar. He hasn't had a good YPC, but he's been a warrior, a solid veteran RB, probably the offensive MVP, on a team that is still struggling to figure things out. And, pretty much a Bear standard, with Long having to move to RT, a tackling dummy being put in his place at RG, a rookie being inserted at C, and a revolving door of meh at LT, the OL "hasn't been very good this year."

What are you talking about? The Bears offense hasn't been great, the OL is still not fixed by a long shot, and he's 6th in rushing at this point. Hasn't been very good? I disagree completely.

WOW. Push a coach, throw a tantrum, and get named captain? No wonder the locker room was lost at the end of the year.

This is why part of me still likes the idea proposed by Walter Football's latest mock, where the Bears move Long back inside where he is, quite possibly, the best RG in the NFL, and draft Tyler Johnstone, OT, Oregon. Three Oregon Duck OLinemen next to each other sounds good to me.

Jones-Ragland-Smith-McPhee sounds incredible to me.

I'm also a ND fan, but there is something about Smith that I can't pinpoint that I don't like. Having said that, I'm all aboard the Fangio train, and I think the key to a successful 3-4 is to have a stout NT and a combination of crazy athletes at LB. It's just simply easier to find super athletes for a 3-4 than it is to find mobile monsters for the frontside of a 3-4. Considering the fact that I'm not impressed by either of our ILBs, I wouldn't be completely upset if the Bears went LB in round 1 AND round 2. 1. Jaylon Smith, ND - 6'3" 240lbs - Great 3-4 Will athleticism 2. Reggie Ragland, Alabama - 6'2" 258lbs - Prototype 3-4 Mike thumper If Fangio wants to keep SMC, move his ass to the outside where he belongs.

I like your mock more than either of the ones above. Not a huge fan of Jaylon Smith, but he is a superb athlete. Cameron Sutton is a stud, and has the added bonus of being a return guy. It's odd that I don't like the one OL pick, but Martin is a true center and I think he's sort of clumsy. Loooove Kearse as a FS prospect. He's got the genes, pedigree, and size to be an incredibly rangy FS in the NFL.

I hate that line of reasoning. Green Bay is a far different team. A more stable franchise. Has had a successful offensive scheme for years and years. But, (Stephen A Smith voice) MORE IMPORTANTLY, the Packers sat Rodgers! In 2005, Rodgers fell to them in an odd scenario where he was considered by some to be the #1 QB overall, and teams kept passing on him. It was pure luck and an extreme example of BPA. Then their 1st round QB sat in 2005 while Farv threw a ton of picks. Then in 2006 the same thing happened. Guess what? Same thing in 2007. Then, finally, in 2008 they changed over. Sorry, but that's a completely different scenario from this Bears team. If the Bears go 1st round QB, then he will be expected to start immediately or at the very least his second year. No way the Bears have time, resources, or talent to let a first round QB sit for three years.

Agreed. The Bears get zero pass rush. Maybe the worst pass rush in the NFL. Like I said in a previous thread, I wouldn't mind just spending the majority of the draft giving Fangio toys to play with. Go 3-4 DE, 3-4 OLB, CB in the first three picks, in whatever order. Later picks: Backup QB, one OL.

ON FIRE. :headbang :notworthy No way in hell this team should be picking QB in the first. No matter what happens the rest of this season.

Very good take, almost exactly what I was thinking. Although, I think we should be targeting that QB in the 3rd or 4th (maybe later). There are a lot of guys this year, and the Bears still need talent at several positions before a backup, developmental QB.

If they are truly comparable, and the small sample size says there isn't a huge difference between the two, the smarter choice is younger & cheaper, obviously.

Pretty much my exact thoughts right there.

He's 7th in "qualified players" (which is shocking). He's 23rd total return guys. And he's about 100th in terms of "which player is the opposing team worried about breaking a return for a TD". Not the biggest issue in the world, but there are faster, more explosive players on the team, and I wish they'd let someone else take a shot at returning the ball.

I certainly don't believe he "clearly" became the runner before the ball came out. A catch is confusing in the NFL, but at least it's not the one where we have to determine whether the ground caused the incompletion. The breakdown of pictures is nice. But the problem is that it supports what Blandino is saying. He's basically saying two feet down then taking a step. I still think they got the replay wrong.