jason

Based upon what some said, it looks like many here were down on the Bears. http://www.talkbears.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=2839 6-10s, 5-11s, and things like that. What's everyone thinking now that the Bears took the Colts to the woodshed? I don't see why a 10 or 11 win season is unreasonable.

Do I think, worry, or believe as she does? Hell no. The defense and special teams are solid, and when healthy they are both in the top five of the NFL, if not the best in the NFL. Put that with an average to good offense, especially if that offense is primarily based on a strong running game, then that is a recipe for success. I honestly think that the bad defense was almost a direct result of injuries. And the bad QB, RB, WR problem was almost a directly result of bad OL play. If the OL play improves, or does as well as it did versus Indy, then the Bears will be fine, and the skill players (QB/RB/WR) will look better as a result.

It's just too bad that I can't separate Olberman's smug political attack-dog asswipe persona from his sportscasting personality. The guy turned out to be a complete douchebag, and now I get disgusted when I hear his voice. As far as Brady goes, that screwed one of my fantasy teams. So, that kind of sucks.

Completely agree...it's what I've been saying and why I think that the Bears could be good this year. They won't be pretty, but they can win with the running game controlling the clock, the defense playing tough, and the ST controlling the field position battle.

Normally, I'd rip this guy and say he's crying. In this instance, however, there has to be some validity to the statements because of the current regime's horrible record with drafting, developing, and utilizing offensive talent. Maybe the confusion and frustration is warranted.

As far as I'm concerned, 3 and 5 are the same thing. And, ultimately, the two combined are the actual single key to the season: Will the OL play well? Will they open holes and protect the passer? It's essentially the major difference between last year and the year before. With good OL play the year before, the Bears were in the SB. Without it, the offense looked atrocious. For the record, my five keys: 1) Solid OL play 2) Winning the time of possession battle 3) Getting pressure on Manning 4) Avoiding injuries 5) Winning the battle of "big plays"

Translation: Drafting Benson was a horrible decision because the Bears already had Thomas Jones, and at least his teammates believed in him.

Good, solid analysis Noots! I think the key is in the trenches, as normal. If the Bears healthy D can do any damage to the Colts offense, pressuring Manning and possibly getting a turnover or two, then the Bears have a shot. But if they can't stop the offense at least some, then it's over before it begins, because I don't see the Bears getting more than 10-14 offensive points against the Colts' D.

I say you pretty much have to make this trade. 1) Who the heck knows when Lee Evans will have his three or four good games a year? You'll end up getting pissed at him, bench him for another WR, and THAT will be the week he goes off for three TDs. Welker is a solid producer, and will continue to be as long as he has Brady throwing it to him and Moss taking off all the heat. The added bonus to this is that you get doubled-up points with Brady on your roster. 2) Ronnie Brown will get the majority of the carries. Ladell Betts and Stewart probably will not. So, you have a good shot of getting several solid games from Brown versus a hit and miss chance with the other two. I know the RBBC with Williams is tough, but he's more of a #1 RB than the other two guys. The downside to this is that you have to give up the Vikings' D for the NY D. I sure hope that is the NYJets and not the NYGiants, because the Giants are hurting with the loss of BOTH of their starting DEs from last year.

Damn Cracker...no offense, but aside from Manning and the Bears' D, I kind of hate your team. I think you could easily end up starting 2 of three from your bench WRs every weekend over your two main WRs. Good luck; you'll need it.

Agreed completely. I'll go one further. The hate for him seems to be more than that for Muhsin Muhammed, and he was near garbage for the Bears. MuhMuh was overpaid, had bad hands, rarely got open, didn't really mentor anyone, was nowhere near a go-to WR, and threw players under the bus. I really think the WRs will look very good this year if the OL and QB play is mediocre or better.

I can't say I know the percentages of each round, but wouldn't you rather put your money on a few 50/50 bets, versus a whole bunch of low percentage risks? It's like craps. You have a much better chance in the long run to keep betting on the line or against the line, because it's a 50/50 bet. The proposition bets, high risk-high reward, are for the suckers. Sure, you hit every once in a while, and you look like a genius, but you end up losing all your money in the long run. The casinos put those bets in because they influence people to take larger risks with the possibility of having the big win. To put it another way, would you rather put your money in high-risk stocks, or low-risk mutual funds? The smart money says that you invest smartly and for the long run. But, then again, what do I know? There's noooo way that anyone could possibly do a better job at selecting talent than people like JA who do it professionally!

Of course, I'd say it starts with an OL. The best QB in the world behind a garbage OL will just end up on his ass a lot. A great OL and a decent to good QB? That's a recipe for success.

This is also why I qualified the entire "I could make better draft selections than the Bears" debate with the fact that I KNOW I couldn't manage the cap right now. I am not nearly versed in the details...besides, I'd just hire LT2 to do it.

You know, if this guy ever gets his head on straight, he could be amazing. (side note: I feel the same way about Bradley, but replace "head on straight" with "body to stay healthy")

I'm interested to see the rebuttal to his last post. I've respected and believed Lloyd's work for several years now, and his reputation as a solid cap analyzer gets proven more and more as he posts numbers different than that of the media, and then the media eventually changes to what Lloyd posts. Until I hear him say, "You know what? You're right hoof...I missed that one"...I'll have to believe LT2_3.

Agreed. Culpepper should have been the guy they drafted to begin with. As far as Simms goes, pass...he's all hype and has made it long enough on his daddy.

http://myespn.go.com/blogs/nflnation

DAMN! How many teams are in some of your leagues!? Bears88 & VenomSox...your teams, like Devin Hester, are ridiculous. Are there a few retarded owners in your league?

I'm in a 12-team, $200 per team league. I ended up with the following: Player, Team, Position - Bye, Round drafted Anderson, Derek CLE QB - 5 4.09 (From week 1-13 had just as good of fantasy stats as Peyton Manning last year) Warner, Kurt ARI QB - 7 10.09 (Strictly backup, but tons of upside provided Lienart doesn't win back the job) Johnson, Larry KCC RB - 6 2.09 (Great value in the 2nd round) Jones, Thomas NYJ RB - 5 5.04 (I think he's going to have a huge year with Favre and two FA OL additions) Westbrook, Brian PHI RB - 7 1.04 (Solid #1 pick) Cotchery, Jerricho NYJ WR - 5 6.09 (Not a sexy WR, but seems to do well. Will improve with Favre) Ginn Jr., Ted MIA WR - 4 12.09 (Just an upside pick) Houshmandzadeh, T.J. CIN WR - 8 3.04 (Will put up huge numbers again, and with CJ's injury, it could be more) Stallworth, Donte' CLE WR - 5 9.04 (Will benefit from being a top-two WR on an explosive offense) Olsen, Greg CHI TE - 8 11.04 (Pretty good for my backup TE) Shockey, Jeremy NOS TE - 9 7.04 (Will EXPLODE this year with Brees throwing 40 times a game) Akers, David PHI PK - 7 15.04 (kicker, who cares) Dawson, Phil CLE PK - 5 14.09 (kicker, who cares) Bears, Chicago CHI Def - 8 8.09 (Oh yeah!) Eagles, Philadelphia PHI Def - 7 13.04 (Going against a weak offense on the Bears' bye week) I think I had the second best draft.

The thing is, I feel that my analysis of them as talented is just as valid as someone's who says they are not talented. Until the Bears have a competent OL, QB, and OC...we'll never really know. Just for shits and grins, however... -Booker - Solid vet who has large vice grips for hands. He is a good route runner, albeit not spectacularly fast, but makes smart plays -Hester - An enigma with undebateable talent. In limited time last year he blew past people when they knew he was pretty much only going to run deep. If he gets an even rudimentary understanding of what it means to be a pro WR, he'll be one of the top 30 in the NFL. -Bennett - A highly touted rookie who destroyed the toughest college conference in college football. He played on a weaker team when compared to other SEC teams, and still managed to look like a complete stud. When he gets comfortable, his talent will shine through. -Bradley - Despite being often injured, when Bradley has been on the field, he has looked faster, stronger, and bigger than nearly every other player in the Bears' WR corp, not to mention the defensive secondaries. If this guy can manage to stay healthy, he has legit #1 WR talent, IMHO. -Davis - A former Arena league guy who is just tough as nails, makes the clutch catches, goes across the middle, runs solid routes, knows how to work the inside of the zone, and has a good enough combination of strength and speed making him difficult to stop in the open field. -Lloyd - A guy with tons of talent that just hasn't translated to NFL success. Was absolutely lost on a horrible Washington offense after doing well on a horrible San Francisco offense. Nobody doubts his speed, size, or talent...it's just his heart. -Rideau - Don't know much about him, but he has looked pretty good every time I've seen him. At 6'3" and 200lbs, he's got the size to cause trouble for defenses. -Haas - From all accounts, catches absolutely everything. Not to mention the fact that the Bears are 3 deep at quality TE. I'd say that's talent. If this receiving group was on the Colts, Pats, Browns, or Bengals (all teams with at least 2 of 3 out of the good QB, OC, OL combo)...three of these guys would have been drafted in fantasy this year.

That's hilarious. I can't wait until he gets traded to a team that already has a player with 85, and that player refuses to give up the number.

Either way, the mere fact that a fairly respected journalist said the guy is the best WR on the roster, and then the guy gets cut, says something about the lack of balance talent-wise on the Bears. Somehow the Bears have enough WRs that arguably their best WR gets cut, and meanwhile there's a bail of hay and a tackling dummy on the OL.

I admit that I'm drinking more koolaid than most others, and I think the Bears D/ST are good enough to bring about a winning record. However, if things don't go well, and the Bears' do end up with an early first rounder next year, they better not draft a dumbass WR in the first round. That would be an atrocious move.