jason

I don't think this is entirely accurate. 2011 - Tyron Smith, Nate Solder, Anthony Castonzo played in 41 out of 48 games. Meanwhile, the three WR counterparts (AJ Green, Julio Jones, and Jonathan Baldwin) played in 39. The fact that it was just a banner year for OT injuries (Carpenter, Carimi, Sherrod) is just bad luck. 2010 - Williams, Okung, Davis, Bulaga played in 56 out of 64 games. The first round WRs played in 22 out of 32. And it gets even uglier when it comes to actually starting, because that's a total of 4 games for the WRs and 51 games for the OTs. 2009 - Eugene Monroe and Oher played in 31 out of 32 games. DHB, Crabtree, Maclin, Harvin, Nicks, and Britt played in 82 out of 96 games. Again, this year hurt OTs because the top two picks (Jason and Andre Smith) both got injuries; otherwise, they were starting the entire way through (Jason Smith started the entire year before concussion, and Andre Smith started as soon as he came off of injury). It's arguable that OTs are more injury prone based on this small data-set, but to insinuate that they are reaches or don't play as well their rookie year is outright false. By comparison, OTs drafted in the first round (who do not get injured) still outperform, in terms of games played and games started, their WR counterparts.

If one of the top four OTs fall to the Bears in the first, they should draft that player. In rounds 2-4 the Bears should pick an OG. If that means Webb is a backup and E.Williams gets cut, so be it. A rookie at 19 will be better than Webb, of that there is no concern. And if they are really concerned about it, they can draft Cordy Glenn, pencil in Chris Williams to LT and Glenn in at LG, let them battle it out for the LT position, and put the loser of the battle at LG.

Pretty much. Although, I wouldn't be terribly upset if they cut E. Williams or Webb in favor of higher draft picks who outperform them in training camp.

I would knit the hell out of Wesson...unless he had the backup of multiple WRs (who are all over 6'4").

Please stop. How many times do I have to discredit and disprove this nonsense? Chris Williams did NOT get moved out of LT because he didn't meet expectations. Period. It's not up for debate. Just like before... Recap 2008 - Injured 2009 - Got screwed because of the Pace signing, ended up replacing Pace 2010 - Started LT, got injured, then got screwed because he was versatile and Garza was injured 2011 - Never given a shot at LT while Webb sucked ass The primary reason he's not the current LT is Tice bucked the common trend of giving the starting job to the starter when he comes off of injury. That, and the fact that Garza was injured, forced Tice's hand and allowed him to figure out a way to place his boy Webb in at LT.

Precisely. Attributing a major portion of wins to the Bears OL of the past few years is like when people tried to give the winning record to Shoop and his offense.

I'm referring to the draft. A #1 draft WR now that Marshall has been signed doesn't make sense. It's especially true if they believe Thomas has even the slightest chance of catching on. Actually, you might want to look back on what you want, or at least stay consistent: "Actually its not stupid......if they had signed Royal instead of Weems that would give us Knox, Hester, Bennett, Royal, Marshall and the other draft pick Floyd/Hill. "

Actually, I've said virtually nothing about those who want a DE in the first. I wouldn't mind the pickup. I'd prefer OT, but I can see a serious advantage to a stud DE complimenting Peppers. It would benefit the defense in numerous ways.

I think people forget that the Bears had a damn good offense the year they had the best defense in the history of the league. Not only could they shut you out, they could put up 30. Even if the Raiders had the "best OL of all time" that year, it wouldn't have been able to withstand the speed, power, and sheer numbers of the 46.

You might be surprised, but I could type virtually the same paragraph about myself. As for the braindead/stupid part, you didn't read my post, replied too quickly because you didn't read my post, and completely ignored the original intent because you didn't read the post. It's entirely possible for a very smart person to be braindead sometimes. The same goes for a smart person who does something stupid or braindead. That's where the distinction comes in. All the agitation is unnecessary and overblown. The instigation by others is similarly unnecessary. I swear this board has gotten more and more sensitive over the past several years. It's like a bunch of people talking about knitting or something (which reinforces my comment about not even caring what you said regarding my injury). Back on topic: Marshall = Jackson (at least in stature) Thomas Weems should be listed on the depth chart as ST #2 instead of WR #5. If the Bears get a #1 WR I will not be happy. But if they do, it's not as bad as what you orginally talked about... Potential Reality: #1 + #5 (Thomas) + Rookie #1. That does not equal #1 (Marshall) + #2 (Royal) + Rookie #1 (Floyd/Hill), what you wanted (I could link it for you if you'd like). Because then the WRs would be Marshall, Bennett, Royal, Floyd/Hill, Hester, and you've essentially done one of the following: -Thrown Hester away as a WR option (the management and Hester's salary makes this unlikely) -Minimized the touches a true #1 like Marshall should get -Minimized the touches a first rounder like Floyd/Hill needs to develop -Created a situation where Bennett, Royal, Hester, and Floyd/Hill are all fighting for playing time and targets Bad idea. On a run-first team where the opportunities are somewhat limited, you're not allowing anyone to get in a groove, to develop chemistry with the QB, to maximize potential. You're really creating a cauldron of pissed off WRs who want to do more, who won't be happy about their playing time, and will want to get out of Chicago. If they draft a first round WR and the corps of WR is Marshall, Bennett, Thomas, Rookie #1, Hester, I think the Thomas signing will be purely for ST and he'll never see the field as a WR. Which still means they got a FA WR (Marshall), and one draft pick (#1)...not FA WR, FA WR, #1.

The RGIII thing is more an indication of my belief in RGIII's abilities vs. Wright's. I believe RGIII made Wright more than the other way around. I believe RGIII to be an elite talent that amplifies the abilities and production of those around him.

And yet, in Martz's last year with the Niners (2008), the second year LT Joe Staley, who happens to be a first rounder, only gave up 8 sacks on the year and performed well enough that the team thought it a good idea to sign him to a six-year contract worth $42M ($18M guaranteed). Meanwhile, the dynamic duo of Shaun Hill and JT O'Sullivan put up 3700 yards passing. If they had anything close to a consistent, NFL-level QB playing more than half the games, they would have not had the problems they did. And even with their problems, it certainly wasn't because their LT was a catastrophic failure. Putting an LT on an island on almost 100% of the plays is bad strategy. Putting a shitty LT on an island for the same amount of time is suicide. There is a definite distinction, and trying to lump the two statements into one is not a way to defend Webb. Others in the same system have previously done better, would have done better for the Bears last year, and will continue to do better than Webb. It would have been smart to give Webb help - I still don't understand why it wasn't done or how much blame Tice deserves - but regardless of the help, Webb would have sucked, and a team shouldn't have to completely alter their offense and protection plans to make up for the deficiencies of a single player.

Agreed.

The first half is also conjecture. Since we didn't see anyone else of note in the Bears 2011 offense at LT, we don't know how well they would have done.

Interesting thought. Depending on the $$, I'd potentially be inclined to agree. Roy was given his shot and he didn't do nearly as well as expected. Having said that, however, Roy put up almost as much last year, in a "bad" year, than Thomas has his entire career.

You still don't get it. NOBODY WAS AGAINST THREE WRS! NEARLY EVERYONE IS AGAINST MARSHALL+GOOD FA+1ST ROUNDER And that's what you were calling for. Signing Weems and Thomas is not what you were calling for. So, once again, you are/were not right. My goodness, man, how many times do you have to read this for it to sink in? Do I literally have to go back and start posting links to your comments about this?! I believe you are right, however, about Komar. If he's on the team I'll be shocked. And if you expect people to read the entirety of your posts, then perhaps you should read their entire posts. Our original issue happened because you made a stupid comment when you didn't read the entire post I made about Knox's health. The original reply you made was stupid. To get your panties in a twist over a commonly used synonym (i.e. braindead) is a little much. Notice I didn't get upset when you obviously took it from level 1 all the way to level 11.

Maybe nobody would have looked "good" last year in the offense, but just about everyone else who played LT in the NFL last year would have looked "better."

You didn't go to the finals...where the 85 Bears somehow lost in the S.Finals to the Raiders. That's what is so ignorant. No way that Raiders team hangs with the 85 Bears.

Bad, rounded routes. As we've seen with Knox, this gets Cutler into trouble. Smaller and weaker. Could have problems getting off the LOS against press coverage. Benefit of RGIII. Because he had an incredible talent throwing him the ball, and opposing defenses were preoccupied with RGIII, I believe his senior season stats are inflated. Lightning in a bottle, if you will. And because of that, he's being valued higher than he should be. Don't get me wrong, I think he'll be decent in the pros, but I don't think he's a first round WR.

http://www.nfl.com/features/bracketology/a...meteams?round=5 Seriously?!

I think you're right...which is what worries and disgusts me. Tice's love-crush with Webb is dangerous for this franchise.

Where do you see the word "because" in my sentence? I said, "overrated, short". Is he short? Yes. Is he overrated? I believe so.

http://www.walterfootball.com/draft2012.php 1. Kendall Wright, WR 2. Jerel Worthy, DT 3. Cam Johnson, DE 4. Ladarius Green, TE 5. Shaun Prater, CB Wow. That would suck ass. A short, overrated WR when superior OL talent is there, an inconsistent and somewhat lazy DT, a slow DE with physical problems and possible disease, a TE who is actually a slot WR or H-Back who lacks true TE blocking skills (which is also ignoring the fact that Davis was resigned), and a 5th round CB who is actually pretty good for the round and for Lovie's system.

Exactly. And as long as he can send an edge rusher down Cutler's throat via the LT highway, I don't think he's that worried.