jason

The thing that bugs me about this argument is that everyone on this board, except for me and maybe a few others, has been saying that the WR corp for the Bears has been garbage for years. And then, the guys leave, and do fairly well elsewhere. Then everyone chimes in that they wish the guys would have stayed with the Bears, and it's clear that the coaches have done nothing with the talent they've had. Which is it? Is the coaching horrible, or is the talent horrible? I'm willing to bet Haas will do decent, Lloyd will sign elsewhere and do well, etc., ad nauseum. I still hold to the belief that this WR corp isn't that bad, but they're being HORRIBLY misused...as your mentioning of the Booker deep route proves.

Plain and simple, I think that if you match up the WRs next to one another, it's very close. And, actually, I do follow them because one of my best friends lives in Seattle and we talk Seattle football all the time. I know about their injuries. Nonetheless... Burleson - bust Engram - solid (always have liked him) Branch - overrated Koren - garbage Haas should be able to step in and contribute immediately, especially if they let Engram hit the free agent wire.

Branch had garbage stats this year even if you project him out for a full season. Engram doesn't fall too much away. Let's not forget that these two guys were in an offense many consider to be a high-flying, passing offense. Their QB is better. Their coaches are better. Their OL is better. And that's the best the WRs could do? I'd say they are much less impressive than the Bears WRs.

Agreed. The Bears need a RT to replace Tait. The Bears need a RG to replace Garza. The Bears will soon need a C to replace Kreutz. And that's ignoring the fact that the LG isn't exactly great, and the LT is a first round rookie who was injured badly enough that he barely saw the field in his first year. Read that again and shudder.

I don't see any reason why Haas couldn't win a starting job on the Seahawks roster. Their WRs are MUCH less impressive than the Bears' WRs. Watch him get a starting job and eat up the Bears for about 8 catches and 100 yards next year...and every single catch will be on an inside slant route that is being guarded by a guy 10 yards off.

Me neither. It looks like guys just hiring their friends...and it pisses me off. Boss Bailey was thought of as a complete stud coming out of college. I'm convinced he still has the tools. Detroit did nothing with the guy after he had a monster rookie year.

If I have to choose between the guys on the list... Derrick Anderson (If available) Byron Leftwich David Carr Chris Simms J.P. Lossman Kyle Boller Luke McNown But that's like choosing to being kicked in the balls and punched in the balls. Leftwich might get crippled behind the Bears' OL. David Carr would have Texas flashbacks and instinctively curl into the fetal position. Simms is flaky to begin with. JP Losman is inconsistent, but interesting. Boller is boring, and the Bears already have a similar QB in Orton. Luke McNown - Meh.

Yeah, thanks to the offensive juggernauts who were on the field this year, tearing up the league and keeping the young guys with great potential off the field.

COMPLETELY different responsibilities in the stupid defensive alignments that Babich called. A MLB is almost useless when they are used as a decoy yo-yo, bouncing from up to back, and back and forth. A MLB should be there to read and react...and Urlacher was never really set up to do this. Instead, he was sent to the line, then forced to back up 45 yards to get into the throwing lane for the skinny post. And when he was blitzing, it was such a predicted blitz that he was damn near standing on the line before the DL was. He may as well have been in a 3-point stance.

Obviously, I COMPLETELY disagree. A stud RG, and probably a RT as well, would make this team immensely better. I'd say each is just as important of a priorty as the positions you listed. A solid RG/RT combo would make Forte even more of a stud, and would finally allow the offense to see what the QBs and WRs actually have. It would allow for the development of a full offense, instead of a "hold onto the lead" offense.

Bingo. Case closed. No defense, no matter how strong or fast, no matter how disciplined or chaotic, can consistently overcome a horrible offensive performance from their team. Rex Grossman and the Bears' offense shit the bed in the Super Bowl, and there was nothing the defense could do about it. If it wasn't a turnover, it was a fumble recovered by the offense or a penalty that caused the offense to fail time and time again. Sooner or later the defense is going to give up a decent play to a high powered offense like the Colts. Anyone who thinks the SB loss is on the defense is delusional. But, back to the point at hand...allowing Chico to move elsewhere was a bad move, and just displays the depths to which Lovie's cronies are able to slime their way into positions for which they are not qualified. Forms of nepotism exist in all professions.

The only option on the list who is worthy of a #1 pick is Orakpo. And that'd be a horrible #1 pick for the Bears. If the Bears had the #1, they have to go with the franchise QB. There is no debating this.

QB - Bears win, there is no debating that Orton is better. RB - 49ers win, there is no debating that Gore is better, right now. TE - Bears win, hands down. OL - Bears win IMHO, but barely. But you are right; they are definitely in a better position to move forward. (BTW - If you recall, I also wanted Rachal a lot) WR - The only source of debate. We just disagree. From top to bottom, from #1 to #4, the Bears are better overall. Is Bruce better than any Bears' WR? Probably. But #2-#4, I'd say the Bears have the advantage.

Agreed. I hated the idea when people mentioned it. I still say it's blasphemous to even ponder Brett Farv as a Bear player. I would have hated this year if he were the QB.

Yes, you'll get flamed for it. I don't care about USC, but your view of the play is way off. Pause it at the 35 second mark and you'll see that the ball has just hit the WR in the chests, and Taylor Mays already has one foot off the ground. Not to mention the fact that he's flying in at top speed. In fact, Taylor Mays has already begun to launch at the WR before the CB actually touches him in the back. USC players may take cheap shots, but this sure as hell wasn't one. Your hatred for USC has skewed your perspective. The reason the flag was thrown is that the NFL and college has turned into a sissy environment where any massive hit is going to draw a flag, regardless of whether or not it is within the rules. I don't blame the leagues because they are trying to make money, and injured players don't draw fans. But the flags have gotten ridiculous. Whenever they want to "protect" a player, they'll just come up with words like "defenseless" (i.e. about to get jacked up on a crossing route by a safety coming at full speed) to make it easier for an official to throw a flag.

Okay, a comparison to Darren Sproles is one thing, but seriously, did you just compare Wolfe to Leon Washington? There's a big difference between the two, most notably Wolfe being an inch shorter and 20 pounds less. A WHOLE INCH!? That's far too much to overcome. Yeah, there's no way the guys can be used similarly! Forget that noise. Seriously, why be such a hater? Besides, being an inch shorter is almost a benefit for a running back (i.e. low center of gravity, low to the ground). Check him out... And just so you know he can do it against the big boys, and not just his smaller conference:

Great hit. KTFO. What pisses me off about the video is that the stupid announcers are talking about rules and safety and helmet-to-helmet...but it's pretty clear that Taylor Mays leads with his right shoulder. And even if he did get a glancing hit with the helmet, what's he supposed to do, break the laws of physics once the receiver starts to duck his head after the catch? It's almost as if the NFL and college are getting to the point where they want defenders to tackle with the sides of their bodies, like a cross-body block in professional wrestling. Last but not least, anyone who didn't forsee USC murdering Penn State (USC put it in neutral and coasted the second half) doesn't have a clue about football.

Maybe, but the Lions and Packers weren't exactly world beaters on defense either. The Bears also played a few other horrible offenses. But, you're right...he probably is a pipe dream. Why would he come somewhere that doesn't want him, has never been known for offense, to a city and an organization that seems to actively fight against becoming an offensive powerhouse?

That's such a scarecrow that I shouldn't even reply, but I will nonetheless. 1) Detroit sucks. Detroit is Detroit. Hell, the people who live there don't want to be there. It's a cesspool, and the team is pathetic. The management and ownership is horrible. And on top of all of that, he still put some damn good offenses on the field. He made Kitna look like an all-star. Look up the stats he put up with Detroit, the shithole of all professional sports organizations. 2) What more was he supposed to do with SF? Their lineup sucks on offense, and he still did more with it than the Bears coaches did with the Bears superior talent (which is scary). 3) Look at any coaches' resume. Wikipedia just about anyone other than Cowher, Shanahan, and a few others. The guys bounce around. It's part of the profession.

How do you know? Oh, that's right, you don't. The coaches have proven to be semi-incompetent, and a horrible judge of offensive talent. Wolfe has received a pathetic amount of attempts at RB, and there is nowhere near a large enough sample size to really know what he's all about. Hell, for his size he shouldn't be a special teamer...but he sure has excelled when given that chance. I wonder what he could do with a few carries.

It's very possible that the RB in question is ALREADY ON THE ROSTER!!! All we need is for Turner to get his head out of his ass and use the guy. If that's not a change-of-pace RB, then nobody is. Alas, the plan falls through because of the OL. Draft OL, sign FA OL, make the OL better, and all of the sudden people would be talking about how they were going to copy the Bears offense. THAT'S simplicity at its finest.

As for the Draft, I can't complain too much. I wouldn't like starting off with a WR, but I'm willing to make concessions for such a good draft. However, I'd take Javorskie Lane in the 4th/5th, and the Sutton pick would be gone. Also, I've seen tons of reports on Willy being high and low, so it's possible he could be had much lower than that.

The Niners have tons of missing pieces, and their WRs may be worse than the Bears' WRs. Actually, I'll go on record and say that I think they are worse. That's the reason the offense hasn't been explosive like it was before. With that said, he's done more there, with less talent (IMHO), than Turner has done here. Total Yards: Niners > Bears (by 15 YPG) Passing Yards: Niners > Bears (by 20 YPG) Rushing Yards: Bears > Niners (by 5 YPG - Big effing deal) The Niners have the worse of the two WRs from St. Louis as their primary guy. Their QB is a bum; their backup is a QB the Bears cut! And their first rounder is worse. Their OL is bad. Their TE is a cry-baby primadonna. The only thing they have is Gore. To reiterate, he's gotten more out of his lesser offensive talent than anyone has on the Bears for quite some time. Give the guy a few weapons (e.g. Rams & Lions), and he puts up points/yards.

1. I will give you the possibility that the "Greatest Show on Turf" may have been an anomoly, but that doesn't mean Martz didn't run it. And that doesn't mean he isn't a good offensive mind. What's more likely is that he's a very bright offensive mind, brighter than Turner, and his run in St. Louis just happened to coincide with his talent. 2. Forte catches the ball pretty damn well. I'd say he's tailored just as much for the Marshall Faulk role as he is the power running role. 3. Agreed. 4. I don't know what games you were watching, but you might want to check the stats for this offense. The Bears offense is near the bottom, or at least in the bottom half of the league in nearly every category. 5. Warner and Holt may be past their prime, but Warner's better than Orton right this minute, and always has been. Similarly, Holt is better than any WR on the Bears, and would fit perfectly as a possession WR that the Bears have been in need of for quite some time.

I don't care how anyone else replies to this thread. If you don't want Martz or Shanahan, you're crazy. We have complained and complained for decades about the lack of an offense, and both guys have been in charge of multiple offenses that have been highly successful. Either would be a massive upgrade over Turner. Either would make the WRs the Bears have look much, much better. Remember when Jim Miller was throwing the ball all over town under Crowton? Well, it would be like that, but better. I know the thing everyone hated about Crowton was the fact that he didn't run the ball, but that's because he was coming from the college ranks and didn't know much better. These guys know the NFL. He knows that running the ball is still essential to the gameplan. It fits perfectly with the Kurt Warner Free Agency. If the Bears were to land Martz/Shanahan and Warner, you can guaran-damn-tee that this team's offense would be improved. Opponents would actually have to prepare for the Bears' offense, and fear it, instead of just coming into the game knowing that they can stack the box and have a good chance of winning. I'll say it again...if you don't want Martz or Shanahan, then you are crazy. All these chances everyone wants to take, well, here it is. A legit NFL OC might be available. You want a better offense? Get Martz or Shanahan.