jason

Things I saw in the highlights: -Rex is winning the QB Battle -Forte looks pretty fast -Lots of awkward looking screens (I'd love to see'em work) -Lots of good looking slants (I'd love to see this route used more often. The last play that is a slant to Bradley looks like one of those plays that seems short, and then turns into a 40-50 yarder.) -Olsen is not guardable with single coverage. He's too big for the fast guys and too fast for the big guys. The slant to him from the slot position was a thing of beauty. The main thing I saw in the highlights: Wolfe is INCREDIBLY FAST. This guy absolutely needs to see the ball more on offense. He needs to see the ball the second most on offense out of the RBs, with Forte obviously getting the nod. Unfortunately, this won't happen because there will be an obligation to get KJ the ball. I see Wolfe as a short Hester, and if he has the ball 10 times a game there is almost a guarantee of one explosive play. *First run at :49 - He pauses, finds the hole, and then there is a blur into the next level. *Run at 2:32 - That's a breakout touchdown. That is explosive. He made Mike Brown take a bad angle.

Hell, Bradley looks healthy when he's in games! It's just that those two or three games are a short period of time to leave an impression.

You misunderstood me. I'd love it if the dude turns out to be just like Antonio Gates. However, right now he's third on the depth chart and shouldn't be doing too much on offense if everything is going well. If he sees a lot of time, then there are two possibilities that I realistically see: 1) One of the big two (Olsen & Clark) is not doing well, which would be a disappointment 2) Turner is not using Olsen and Clark to the fullest extent, which wouldn't surprise me since he used nearly no player properly last year.

Interesting video. The one DEFINITE thing I learned was that the Nick Hill's release is horrible, his arm-strength seems to be on par with Chad Pennington or Johnny Damon, and everything about him looks awkward because he's a lefty. He's the odd man out.

I've been saying for a while that I thought the Bears' WR corp were better than given credit for, but just have a hard time proving it with a bad OL and a bad OC and an average-bad QB. I didn't really care for the Lloyd signing, but loved the Booker move. Either way, when they drafted Bennett, that automatically put him in the top 3. Add in the enigma that is Bradley, the undeniably raw talent of Hester, as well as a solid slot-guy in Davis...and you have the makings of a roster too full for Haas. It's unfortunate, but not surprising.

How does he deserve more money? He may be the best ST player in the league, but right now that's basically all he is. AND, he's still under contract for TWO MORE YEARS. He should STFU, show up to camp, and let the negotiations take place like they have for the other players. Holding out of camp just makes him look like a greedy asswipe (like most players).

Conversely, there is no "This guy isn't doing nearly as good as his salary would indicate, but he's not bad enough to cut". For instance, Muhsin Muhammad every year of his contract with the Bears. It's gotta be a two way street. If the millionaire athletes are going to cry about being underpaid when they do better than expected, they need to realize that ownership will want to lessen the salary if the player starts crapping the bed.

Now that's just being ridiculous. Mooselike? Gimme a break. You are clearly letting your anger get in the way. The guy gets injured a lot, and it makes us all upset, but there is no way in hell you can honestly say he looked Mooselike. When he has been in the game, even last year, he looked fairly quick and strong...and it appeared that he had good hands. That is unarguable.

I can't point to specific plays in specific games, but I know this: When Mark Bradley gets in games and gets touches, he seems incredibly fast, bigger than most, and snags every ball that comes his way. Every time the guy gets in the game and makes a catch, he looks impressive. The problem is, he's just so frail that he hasn't been on the field enough. As far as him being looked down upon by the coaches, that means nearly nothing to me...and it should mean nearly nothing to the rest of you. This coaching staff has consistently shown to have a lack of insight and knowledge about player development on the offensive side of the ball.

The reason they put those Captcha things in there, where you have to type the word, is because without them the automated system/program created by the bookie could simply overload the system and take nearly all the tickets. It's there to stop a slick computer programmer from beating the system. Of course, I saw a report about one of these guys not too long ago. He made the system to get all the tickets, and was thwarted for a short period of time by the Captcha thing. So what did he do? He outsourced typists. He simply hired hundreds of people to type in the words as they showed up on the screen. So, it's not 100% automated, but it's about 99% automated, and they still end up getting the majority of the tickets. It's all crooked.

I'll go with a theme: guys who do well, and look great when healthy. Defense: Dusty Offense: Mark Bradley On a side note, if Kellen Davis ends up being the impact player this year, then there will either be a major disappointment or injury on offense, or a horrible display of coaching from Turner.

It's nothing new. I hate Ticketbastard and everyone associated with that company. I hate the brokers who have their hand in the cookie jar and have a secret handshake deal with them (not to mention the league). I hate the scalpers who somehow have a fistful of tickets at every game, standing on the street corner before the gates claiming to "need one". It's the reason why average fans can't get a ticket without paying three times the cost. It's why I despise people who have three or four sets of tickets and rob other fans by selling three of their four sets for crazy markups. The entire system is crooked.

I don't think there is any comparison between the players you mentioned and Farv. Further, there is no where near the same sort of rivalry that there was/is between the Bears and the Packers. I also disagree that the Packers fans would be the only ones upset. There are plenty of Bears fans who would be upset, and you can count me in on that. And judging from the comments thus far, there are at least a few guys here who would hate it. I'm not sure there is a comparison between Favre and any other player of any other sport. He has been the face of my team's enemy for far too long for me to just look the other way. I'd feel nauseated if he signed with the Bears, and frankly, it disappoints me to hear any other diehard Bears fan say otherwise...especially going so far as buying his jersey.

Favre should NEVER play for the Bears, or the Vikings for that matter. Vomitous was the word he used. I completely agree. It's vomitous to consider the idea if you are a Packer fan losing Favre, or a Bears fan possibly gaining Favre. I know it's completely unrealistic, and will never happen, but it's mostly because Favre should be smart enough to know that playing for either the Bears or the Vikings would be a gut-punch to all his most loyal fans. With that said, have Bears fans become so desperate for a competent offense that they are willing to push aside decades of a heated rivalry, decades of genuine anger and hatred, to sign a guy who has continually ripped Bears' fans hearts out for the better part of his career? It completely baffles me, and I'd hate the signing. As I've said, I consider it blasphemous. Is there a reason for this? Is it a newer generation of Bears fans raised during the free agency period that has caused less of a rivalry? Or is it simply the fact that the rivalry has consisted of the Packers beating the Bears more often than not during Favre's career? I don't know about anyone else, but the thought of Favre in a Bears jersey sickens me just as much as seeing McMahon in a Packer jersey.

Blasphemy. That just made me sick. I don't see how any Bears' fan could want this. Thankfully, it will never happen. What the hell happened to the rivalry? What happened to despising the Packers? I just don't get it. I went to a Chicago v. GB game in Lamblow last year, and let me tell you, they have not forgotten it. They still go on and on about how the Bears suck, yelling out choruses of boos and a song about how much the Bears suck. I will always hate the packers above all other teams, and despise farv for what he has done to my team so many times.

Interesting video from Forte, he's humble, and shooting for 1000 yards this season. I honestly see no reason why he can't get more. One note on the video: Bears are without their top passer, rusher, and receiver from last year. Why does that matter? I could understand if the guys did well, but if those top three led to an offense that was widely regarded as a joke, and less effective than several college offenses, then why worry? Why care? The only considerable loss is Berrian, and he hadn't yet shown the ability to be a true #1, something for which he wanted to be paid.

Did you see where anyone in this thread said that? I don't think so. I think you are making an assumption, and it's a very poor one. As far as I'm concerned, I just want a quarterback to step up and be consistent without screwing his team. Rex has been given a ton of chances to do this, and he has failed. Even during the Super Bowl season in which he was wildly inconsistent, he ended up choking in the biggest game of the year and had more trouble holding onto the ball than people in a hog catching competition. Conversely, Orton was given one real shot to start, and during that season, his rookie season, he did MUCH better than one would expect of a rookie. He showed poise, pocket presence, a strong arm, and a pretty good understanding of reads/progression. What could it hurt to let him have a legit second chance? Lord knows Rex has had more than his fair share of opportunities. I repeat; I want a QB who does not hurt his team. Along with that, he should have moderate to good success. But the key is, I'd like him to be careful and not kill the team. And until proven otherwise, that's about the best we can expect from the QBs on the Bears roster. On a side note, are you related to Rex in some way?

Agreed. I would HATE to see Url, Tommie, Mike Brown, or Hester in anything other than a Bears jersey.

I disagree. He belongs in the conversation because he has not lived up to his draft position. As far as I'm concerned, he is on the border of bust status.

Is it the owner, the front office, JA, the coaches, or the scouts? Who chooses the first round selections? I just got to wondering that, because in a recent fantasy mag they mention the numerous first rounders who have not panned out for the Bears. It's truly disheartening. Columbo, Haynes, Enis, Salaam, Rex, Benson, and to a lesser extent Tank (2nd)...that's a lot of misses in the first round. I wonder what the hit to miss ratio is as compared to other franchises?

And I feel the suites thing has been one of the biggest downfalls in how teams deal with fans in the today's modern sports age. As if the owners weren't making enough money to begin with. The rising player salaries has gone a long way towards forcing the owners' hands to keep the same cut they once had. Along with PSLs, and near collusion with the ticket brokers who consistently allow others to pillage the pocket of fans, it's no wonder that, along with the players' salaries, the average fan has become less sympathetic and less supportive. I would like to be naive and say that if the players' salaries were lessened, the owners wouldn't continue to rape the fans, but I know that isn't so. Now that they have the taste of blood, there is no way they're letting go of the chum.

Goodell and finances I agree with him. It's ridiculous. The amount these guys get paid is crazy, but to see a rookie get it is that much more insane. Some will argue about capitalism, but it's not an equal comparison. If it were, there would be bidding wars on each player coming straight out of college, there would be no cap, and the NY teams would be in the playoffs for 20 straight years like in baseball. It'll be so nice to see rookies actually have to do something to get paid, and not crap the bed, costing their franchise tons of money without production.

He was cut because he climbed through someone's window and dropped a deuce in their laundry hamper.

I love the breakdown, and agree that it's worthwhile in its own regard, but I think it's misleading. There are three major problems with this analysis: 1) Turnovers - There is no consideration to the imact turnovers have 2) Impact from the other unit - This could be 1a), but the simple fact is, the offense affects the defense a lot more than the other way around. Reacting to another action is more difficult than acting. The constant 3-and-outs, something the Bears probably led the league in, surely hurt the defense quite a bit. 3) Situational coaching - Because the Bears were down more often than they were up this year, it's probably a pretty safe bet to say that the yardage is only up because the Bears were forced to pass. And as such, they naturally had more yards, but also more turnovers and quick, worthless drives (see 1 & 2). Whereas, the year before, the Bears were ahead more often than not, and able to dictate the pace of the game. Ignore your stats. Ignore what type of pictures they may paint. Can you honestly look back at the games last year and say the defense was worse than the offense? Go from feel, memory, or watch the highlights. I just don't think anyone who watched the games can say that. The defense may have struggled mightily, but the offense sucked something awful most of the time.

In other news, water is wet. This has been the problem with the Bears for nearly every year since...well...since the Superbowl year. Anyone who would deny that the offense hinders the defense, more than the opposite, hasn't been watching the Bears very closely...especially over the past 20 years or so.