jason

Interior? Yes. With Kush backing up either guard, Whitehair able to play guard or center, and Grasu coming back, there looks like good upside on the interior. On the exterior? Not so much. Neither Leno nor Massie is good. They gave up a bunch of hurries, sacks, and committed way too many penalties. Mike Adams isn't great either.

HA! I forgot all about Hardin missing the college season! I was stuck on the fact that Kevin White's injury was unknown, and Chris Williams' back was a hot rumor, but somehow he checked out in every stage of the process with the Bears (while actually having a back issue).

What about Lamarr Houston and a late-round pick for Armistead?

1. But John Thierry had all those sacks at Alcorn State! (Also SMC 2. ??? 3. But the Bears totally needed three DBs last year (and 2012), and totally couldn't have used that extra 4th rounder on a QB! 4. But Vontaze Burfict wasn't worth a 6th or 7th rounder! 5. Who cares if he went to San Jose State, HE JUMPED OUT OF THE POOL!!!! (Also SMC 6. But Stephen Paea did all those reps! (Also SMC 7. But Cedric Benson was a great pick, even though Thomas Jones signed a multi-year deal the year before, looked good, and had his two best years right with Chicago after Benson was drafted. 8. Good thing that first rounder was dumped for Mirer.

Looks like he's going to be released. Rightfully so. He dropped off the map the last two years. http://www.rotoworld.com/player/nfl/3636/mario-williams But maybe there is something there still? In 2016 he had a pesky ankle injury. In 2015 he said he didn't fit the system. This article talks about it some, but I believe mistakenly places blame on his fit as a 5T DE. The real problem appeared to be the switching he was talking about. I believe he has an excellent ability to be a 5T. He may be a little old, but I'd take him over Unrein in a heartbeat. People say he's lazy. I can't honestly say. But his physical talent says he could do wonders if motivated.

The more mocks I do, the more I read about players, the more I see where some are available, the more I like this draft. There are very, very good players available in the 3rd and 4th rounds. With that said, what's your nightmare mock draft? The picks have to be in reasonable rounds (i.e. no kickers in the 1st), but after that all bets are off. Mine: 1 - Marlon Humphrey, CB, Alabama - I've said from nearly the beginning I wasn't super impressed by him. When I've seen him, he's good but never "the guy." This would be a reach for the hope of a shutdown corner. He should go late 1st round, not early. 2 - Joshua Dobbs, QB, Tennessee - The Bears gamble that one of the top four will be there. None are. They panic and reach. 3 - Bucky Hodges, TE, Virginia Tech - Great TE depth and 3rd round is the sweet spot. The Bears grab the only one I don't want. 4 - Lorenzo Jerome, S, St. Francis - Smells and looks like a Lovie-special. 4 - Riley Bullough, ILB, Michigan St - An overall poor pick on a guy who is not big enough, not fast enough, and . He's easily one of my least favorite players in the entire draft. 5 - Elijah Hood, RB, North Carolina - The Bears not only waste a pick to find a complimentary RB, but they grab a plodder who doesn't have speed. 7 - Any pick that doesn't involve risk. The 7th round should be used for guys who fell for a variety of reasons (e.g. character concerns, injury possibilities, legal risks), have much better than 7th round college production but are slotted there for a physical attribute (e.g. "short"/"slow" guys who put up hundreds of tackles). About 99% of these guys get cut, so it's no risk to take a big gamble.

BUF- 1.3 for 1.10, 2.44, and Taylor Nope. I'd rather just give Hoyer control and see what he can do now that he has a little more experience. If Hoyer had started the entire year like Taylor did, Hoyer's stats would most likely have been better. NO - 1.3 for 1.11, 3.76, & Cooks I don't like this one. Not enough return. I'd want the 2nd rounder instead of the first, especially for a guy who probably wouldn't return to Chicago after his contract ran out. He's used to a high-powered offense and Drew Brees. It's unlikely he'd want to stay "where WRs go to die." CLE - 1.3 for 1.12, 2.52, & Haden This is the most interesting one to me. Haden would start immediately for the Bears, and remove the immediate need for a CB. All that being said, I'd rather the Bears just ask for more picks than get those players.

The more I think about it, the more I believe it's the #1 priority. With one more dangerous guy on the front 3, that's less time for the opposing QBs. Allows us to have lesser DBs. Slower DBs. Unrein was just not very good last year - it's clear if you look at his stats.

I have to admit, I'd be pissed if the Bears passed on Garrett at #3. Very pissed. But if they pulled off what you have above, I'd be so ecstatic that I wouldn't care.

I'm not a lawyer, and I don't have time to read, decipher, or breakdown a 136 page document for you. If you're inclined (you're obviously not), however, just about everything you're asking for is probably in the link AZ provided. Regarding the bolded/underlined section, if you admit to not knowing about it and being confused about it, why are you so adamantly defending it?

Not to mention the fact that the greater percentage of rookies don't play until 35. So that payout, depending on percentage, would be better than what they had received just regularly playing the game.

You're projecting too much. What's so difficult to understand? http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/break...0203-story.html The article makes it pretty clear. Also, it's not salary envy in the least. They make millions for a reason. But they shouldn't continue to make millions via workers comp well after their career is over. I'm in this for the BEARS. If it hurts the team, I'm generally opposed as long as it's not something morally reprehensible.

All those job changes don't mean anything or change the point I was making. Those professions all work towards about the same age range (i.e. retirement age). You're confusing "number of jobs" with "type of jobs".

Ultimately, it should pay you for the length of time you were conceivably going to be able to do the job. In 99.9% of jobs, that's up until retirement age, if not a bit sooner. In the case of professional athletes, that's not the same.

I just don't like it. Thomas is well behind the other options in my opinion. I'd rather have Garrett (won't be there), Allen, Adams, or Hooker.

Do you think Cousins wants to stay there after they've dicked him around? I think all Washington can do is franchise him, and spending $23M for him might be more than they wish to spend (even if they have the cap space).

It's hard to know how to get an A+ draft unless you play it a million times, because getting Jake Butt in the late-late 4th round would be a superb move.

I don't see anywhere that someone is defending the owners because of their finances. Everyone opposed just appears to think this law, as it currently stands, is ridiculous. Their career never would go to 67. The reason for that age and other professions is because it links up to when theyd stop working. NFL players stop working three decades earlier.

Why is there no talk about Kirk Cousins? Pretty good TD to INT ratio. Good accuracy. Tons of yards. Young enough to be the QB of the foreseeable future. No question marks about his ability to play in the NFL or whether the coaches/scheme is the reason he's succeeding (JG Because he'd likely take $20M? That's kind of the going market, right? And the Bears have a ton of cap space, right? Hell, when the Bears dump a player or two (Houston and Royal), they'll have at least $10M more. And wouldn't he be more likely to leave Washington than Berry leaving KC? Next you'll say, what about Alshon? Well, he's going to command more than he's worth, and he doesn't seem to want to be in Chicago. Easy enough, grab Kirk Cousins' favorite WR (DeSean Jackson) and use the rest of Alshon's cash on other available FAs. It seems to me, signing Kirk Cousins might be the best move for the Bears.

Revisiting this thread....James White. Just say no to Jimmy G.

If you honestly believe that, we obviously can't agree. To pay them until 67 is insane to me, because the point of the payments is to take care of the reason they can't work anymore. That's one thing for the average joe, because we all have to work until we're almost dead anyway. But for these guys, they don't have to do that. And their careers don't last that long. Which brings me to the other point... You bring up the fact they have a career where they get beat up a lot. First, that's a choice. Aside from that, however, is the entire reason why they shouldn't be paid until 67. They are in a career that they wouldn't work at until their mid-60s. So why should they be compensated until their mid-60s?

So you think and NFL player, who by nature has a limited career, should get millions per year from the McCaskey's (and city?) for decades, even though they are able to work elsewhere like any other person? It's not like they can't work ever again.

BTW - You're misremembering the sequence of events. The drive where the Patriots got all three defensive holding calls in their favor? Brady threw the pick-6.

Here's the first hold: The defender grabs Edelman's arm with both hands. On the EZ view it's pretty obvious the official is going to throw the flag (5:48) before the pass is even thrown. Here's the second hold: The defender reaches out with both arms, and using his left hand, grabs the inside of Amendola's shoulder. It obviously slows and impacts his route, unless of course Amendola makes a habit of running straight forward while his head and shoulders are turned almost 90 degrees to the sideline. BTW - This could also have been called illegal contact. Here's the third hold: This one is not even worth debating. He literally grabs the back of Mitchell's jersey and hangs on for 5+ yards.

With all due respect, you have absolutely no clue what you're talking about. Trust me on this. That's not how it happens, not how it works, not how those officials are graded, and not how they remain NFL officials. If they did it all willy-nilly like you propose, they'd quickly be run out of the NFL. In regards to those passes, the general philosophy for the deep officials is to look for advantage gained. If those WRs are getting held, and the play is a run, they will not throw the flag 99.9% of the time. So there is a little bit of a process there. They see the hold, then check to see if the foul had any impact on the play. Sometimes the foul is obvious and they call it regardless of whether or not the play is affected (edit: because they don't know where the QB is throwing on a pass play). As soon as the pass is thrown, particularly if it causes the QB to throw the ball away after looking at his target, they'll throw the flag. In some instances, they throw a flag earlier than that because of the NFL rules on when and where a WR can be "chucked" (i.e. illegal contact). I know everyone wants some sort of 100% robotic response from officials when a foul occurs, but the game isn't that way, never was that way, and never can be that way.