jason

I don't like the fact they are concentrating on OT, apparently. If Colon or Bushrod get picked up, that automatically moves Webb or Carimi. Let's hope like hell it's not Carimi, because that would be just plain retarded. So why not just concentrate on OG?

I didn't realize they had the third most cap space. That being said, here's what I would like to see: 1) Resign Olin. He wasn't great, but he's steady, a leader, and the glue. 2) Sign Nicks. I don't care who he replaces; he's a massive upgrade at either OG position. 3) The minute after Nicks signs, I want to hear from the FO, "The Bears are happy to welcome Nicks to the Chicago family, and we'd like to announce that Chris Williams will be playing OT next year." This needs to happen because Webb is almost as bad as Omifail. 4) Sign whoever is left between Braylon Edwards, Randy Moss, Vincent Jackson, Roy Williams, etc. Basically, make the move to get a "big WR," and to get the hounds off of the FO's back. That'd be great.

Rarely do I agree with the Bears front office when it comes to player management, but I like this punter signing, and I also agree that WR isn't that great of a need. Fix the OL, and the Bears will soon have a Curtis Painter - or some other random WR who does well despite being unknown - of their own. No WR can excel when he's limited to less than half of the routes in the playbook because the QB is on his ass in less than 3 seconds every other play.

First of all, the wait time on Ticketbastard is atrocious. So slow because everyone and their brother is logging on. And then, the slap in the face...this is what I came up with: Section 208 Row 19 Seats 16 - 17 Description Price Level 4 CLUB LEVEL TypeFull Price TicketPriceUS $348.63 x 2 Nearly $700 for seats in the middle deck?! I'm sorry, but that's just F'ing outrageous. I can see paying $700 if I'm going to be on the bottom level within a few rows of the sideline, but at a certain point you have to draw the line. Looks like the NFL has priced out yet another dedicated fan. I'll be watching all games at home unless I can get preseason tickets in Nashville.

Carl Nicks - NO. Would be a massive upgrade.

Agreed. Not a big fan of Sidney.

Even though reports have him as stiff and somewhat unathletic, I like this blurb about Ricky Henry: Henry is known for his punishing blocks and a mean streak so vicious that he has sometimes struggled to control it, even against teammates in practice. That's the type of attribute that is difficult to teach in an offensive lineman And if I told you we had a center who was 6-2, 300 lbs, with the following description, you'd probably say Olin. But it's the new guy, Alex Linnenkohl. I like this pickup a lot, and see him taking over for Olin in a year or three. Sturdy pivot man whose low center of gravity aids him in leverage. Does not get moved off the spot by bull rushers very often. Extends arms immediately after snap in pass pro, maintains distance from defender. Strong help for guards when uncovered, extends arms to get push when tackle's shoulders are turned. Has some mobility to get in front of screens. Coaches laud him for his strong character, toughness, leadership, and work ethic. Plays through pain.

Hey Manning, don't like the Franchise Tag? Cry me a river, dickface. You're making megamillions and ensured one of the top salaries at QB every year the FT gets used. But that's not enough, is it? He wants to paid the most. It's talk like that that convinces me even more that the players still place finances above winning or team.

Interesting. I always thought Briggs needed to do a better job of wrapping up, but I was pleasantly surprised at the presence of Danielle Manning and P-Nut on the "sure tackler" list. Seems like they miss their fair share of tackles as well.

I'm ambivalent. I like that it saves the Bears for one more game. Less risk of injury. On the other hand, I recognize it's one less chance to tune up the engine. Less time to mesh. To get the offense synchronized. Not to mention the fact that I want to see 50 Bears' games a year, and would probably want more even then. My greed aside, I think this is probably good for the aging defense, and bad for the offense.

Agreed. If the season starts with Carimi playing RT and Webb playing LT, the coaches should be investigated for the attempted murder of Jay Cutler. There is no way Webb should be a starting LT in the NFL, nor should he be on the depth chart ahead of Williams at RT. And I'm not even going to discuss Omifail. As for the topic at hand, Moss only moderately intrigues me. I don't think he'd be a significant addition other than to the Bears' wallet.

This is a short blurb linked from Forte's twitter account. They both look good, but notice that Forte appears to be pushing harder (I like). http://www.twitvid.com/XHUGT

I will obviously be unhappy, but it's not for the reason you'd think. The reason I wouldn't like the picture being painted by this article is that it marginalizes Williams. Are the Bears giving up on him already? A first rounder they've tossed around? A guy who has been hurt? I think it should be Williams and Carimi at the tackles. This plays out pretty easy for me. Carimi was drafted to play LT. Period. End of discussion. It has even been confirmed by the media and the coaching staff. So that leaves RT open. Webb was rated the worst offensive lineman on the Bears, and maybe the worst in the NFL, last year and gave up a ton of sacks. The only reason he saw time was Williams's injury. I have way more faith in Williams at RT than Webb. The OL should be: Carimi - BLAH - Kreutz - BLAH - Williams Just because the OGs suck doesn't mean a former first rounder should be used as a utility lineman. The solution is to draft or sign competent guards so the square peg doesn't get shoved into the round hole.

Since this board was pretty pro-league when we discussed the current lockout, I'm curious as to where everyone stands on the James Harrison comments. Also, if the Steelers cut ties with him, would you want him on the Bears?

Comparing Pierre to Moss is laughable. Pierre will be forgotten in 20 years, and Moss will still be discussed as one of the greatest WRs of all time. The two are nowhere near the same ballpark. Your statements about Pierre are dead on accurate...but Moss didn't put up the career stats he has by simply running a fly pattern. His football talents FAR outweigh anything Pierre did, or will ever do.

Now THIS is a valid reason why the Bears shouldn't get Randy Moss. He does half ass it when he is disinterested. And we've already seen what half assed routes can lead to in a Martz offense (Cutler and a few of his interceptions are looking at you Knox). But any talk of his talent being lessened because he had to go to a few teams last year is just ridiculous. The guy still has the physical goods.

COMPLETELY disagreed. When the Pats get rid of you, it's because they are already a team that has proven it can win without you. They are the equivalent of a millionaire throwing away 50 bucks. The did because they can.

Let's analyze that a bit... NE - 4 games, 9 rec, 3 TDs. Not the receptions you'd normally like, but 3 TDs in 4 games equates to 12 in a season, which is a very good season for 90% of the WRs in the NFL. MIN - 4 games, 13 rec, 2 TDs. Again, not up to Moss standards, but they were still figuring out how to use him and he still got 3 catches a game. Keep in mind that players spend the entire offseason, and sometimes multiple years, trying to figure out how to play on an offense. On top of that, Farv was atrocious last year. On top of THAT, the fourth game was against NE: a much better team than the Vikings, a team Moss just left, and a team Moss still wanted to be on. So, really those stats (except for one catch) were in 3 games. TEN - I live where the Titans are covered exclusively, and he didn't work out because they never gave him a shot. He barely saw the field (only started four of eight), and when he did, he saw the ball even less (had multiple no catch games). Add to that the Titans run-first philosophy, their turmoil at QB, and their inconsistency when the QB position was decided, and there was no chance for a WR to succeed there. It's not a slight on Moss that he wasn't used; it's a slight on the Titans' organization from top to bottom. Sorry, but I just don't buy the thought that last season defines how Randy Moss can play at this current time. He's much better than that. His previous season of 83 catches, 1200+ yards, and 13TDs speaks volumes...just like his off the field antics that led to last season.

Yeah, but it's comical because just about everyone seems to be jerking it to the thought of picking up Plax, a guy, who, ya know, just got out of prison for actually committing a crime, but have in the same breath said something similar to, "Oh, no. Not TO or Moss. Those guys wouldn't work." Even though anyone who's been watching football knows that TO would be a better option than Plax, and Moss probably still has more raw talent and ability (not that he was given a chance to show it the past year or so).

Agreed. Idiot. I just wish the closing to the article wasn't so true and bittersweet... The record-setting running back in college got only four carries in the first season under offensive coordinator Mike Martz. Wolfe never really got a chance to get involved offensively under Ron Turner either as he has only 72 rushing attempts in his career.

That's better than when I tried to do the same thing (I removed political content without changing the post's football content or message), and someone on the board cried like a bitch, and I essentially got "demoted" from admin.

But, but, but...all those guys from all those teams have all been in the NFL for years, and therefore all know what they are doing!!! Isn't that what has been said ad nauseum on this board? I firmly believe this board could have had a better draft history over the last than the Bears' braintrust.

But that probably has a lot to do with the fact that OL is about twice the need as DT is on the Bears, and Jay Cutler's health - by extension this team's offensive success - is directly tied to that pick.

Quick thoughts on Santonio Holmes: 1) How can any of you guys want Holmes and in the same breath (or in a previous post) get all bent out of shape about the possibility of Moss or TO. Hell, if we want a #1, it's Moss. He has a proven track record in games, and got screwed around last year. I'd rather take the guy with more talent if we're going to pick up a guy with problems off the field. 2) Is Holmes really all that reliable? Everything I can find shows that he's got somewhat unreliable hands and a case of the drops. He's not the worst in the league, but he's certainly not the best. (I realize that drops correlates, to some extent, to the number of targets). Iffy hands doesn't sound like #1 WR stuff to me. Clearly "number of targets" and "team leader" data aren't reliable, because there are a ton of other factors to measure (e.g. opponent, type of offense, type of defenses faced, number of targets, team's record, team's scoring, etc.). But let's put it another way: If this were a fantasy football draft, is he even in the top 10 WRs? Top 15? The fact that there is guaranteed pause tells me he's not really a true #1. I'm not seeing the consistency spoken of in this thread. I'm not seeing the reliability spoken of in this thread. The fact is, he is an above average WR who has one or two big games each year, and disappears in other games during the year. Of course, the same applies to Knox. STATS % of Catches Per Target Over the last three years - when Holmes has been considered a #1 WR, which is based primarily on his # of targets (2010:95, 2009:138,2008:114) - he has 40 total regular season games and 181 catches. Right off the bat we have the following: % of Catches Per Target = 52% (By comparison, Knox - if he's the #1 WR for the Bears - has 54%.) Small/Medium/Large Games Small = Less than 5 catches Medium = 5 or 6 catches Large = More than 6 catches Holmes: 47.5%, 37.5%, 15%, respectively. Knox: 76%, 24%, 0%, respectively. This leads to the concept that Knox is shut down more easily than Holmes, but it's a far too simplistic rubric. Again, we could point to a variety of reasons for this difference. % of QB Completions Holmes - 2010:24%, 2009:23% Knox - 2010:19%,2009:14% Now, this could be taken multiple ways. It could be an indication of QB/WR trust, or perhaps a way to determine if the QB spreads the ball around a bit more. Of note, however, is that over the last two years, the Bears have had 1 more receiver (i.e. eligible pass catcher) with significant catches (i.e. >19) than the teams on which Holmes has played. 2010 - Jets - 5, 2009 - Pitt - 6 2010 - Bears - 6, 2010 - Bears - 7 This gives more support to the hypothesis that the Bears spread the ball around more. ==================================================== Anyway, I thought it would be interesting to crunch a few numbers. Food for thought.

Knox is ALREADY a #2, at worst. I'd say he's more of a 1.5. You've pegged Bennett correctly, even though I honestly believe he's a 2.5. I obviously give the "rankings" in jest as a way to say that each player above is better than the slotted area into which everyone wants to put him. And I that's the problem with the Bears' WRs. None of them can step up into the roles that we'd like them to step up into. Whether that's play design, QB decision, OL protection, or something else, they are currently hindered from becoming the receivers they could be. This goes right back to what Muhsin Muhammad said, "Chicago is where receivers go to die." But since Muhammad there have been multiple changes, so the axiom shouldn't hold true anymore. Should it? This is what helps to shape my OL, OL, OL thoughts for the past few years. I just don't think it can consistently be the WRs. It's something else. I see talent in the Bears' WR corp, but it never seems to shine through. Now if we could put Bennett's hands/toughness on/in Knox, or give Knox's speed to Bennett, then we'd be talking.