jason

Honestly, I don't really like the signing that much. He's a journeyman at best. I'd rather see competition produce the best backup, hopefully someone that can fill in for Miller when he needs a breather. If Miller is going to be a pass-catcher more than a blocker in thi offense, then Moeaki is not his likely replacement.

Slauson. Slauson.

I agree with and like the plan. I have said many times over I like the guys who are B+ players who bust their ass for the betterment of the team. Those guys don't always look like pro-bowlers. They'd rather have five or six on the defense who each have 8 sacks and a ring than having two DEs who have 15 sacks each, yet they get beaten by intermediate passing.

Their intention I don't know, but I suspect you're right. They're trying to find a swing tackle. My point about him being a 7th rounder is that he wasn't that great to begin with, otherwise he would have been drafted earlier. The fact that he's still young means he still has a ton to work on. A #1 overall guy doesn't have nearly as much to work on. All Long has to work on is conditioning and health, two things that may not be controllable. Make no mistake, however, Long is way more talented, and a better player. Whether a lesser percentage of his abilities is better than a 100% Leno is difficult to to measure, but I'd guess it is.

I don't view it that way. I think they saw a guy with 6 less years, much less injury history, and leaned heavily towards him. It fits the M.O. of this staff, since they're all about finding the guys who are rising veterans who have a few years under the belt and untapped potential.

Precisely.

That's nonsense. He got offered a monster contract before the 2013 season (even after a season-ending tricep tear in 2012) and played 15 games that season. He was definitely better than Leno then in 2013. He came back from the ACL tear to start WK1 in 2014, and played 7 games until he tore the ACL again. He was definitely better than Leno in that season. So, one season being better than Long is the best Leno can possibly be, and that's mostly because everyone was scared off by Long's injuries and he didn't get signed until a team needed depth. Recap: 2012 bicep tear, IR. 2013 AND 2014 with ACL tears, IR. There's no way he'd be fully ready to return to form in 2015. We saw the same thing with several of our players last year, where they returned to form in the later parts of the season, but were hindered in the first part of the season. Dude's body was a wreck the last few years. Unless he suddenly lost all his skill, ability, and freakish talents that made him one of the best young linemen in history, which is possible with that many injuries in a row, then he's likely better than a 7th rounder in 2014. Of course, all of this is moot now that someone else was signed.

I for one love this move. I wanted it when he became a FA. Long at 50% is probably better than Leno. And even if he plays a handful of games, it's probably better overall for the team than Leno. Long is a #1 overall pick and a four time probowl. He was an absolute monster, destined for the HOF before injuries derailed him. This is all leaps and bounds above any Leno will ever do. Because of that, it's worth a shot to see if he has fuel in the tank. I do agree, however, that it's odd to go with age at LT and cut age at LG.

Problem is, I HATE next year's QB class.

Or, Gasp!, trade him for big value while you can? Maybe if he starts ripping up the early season, start dangling the idea that he's on the trade market?

I think AJ wanting top 5 money is insane. He needs to show more consistency, health, participation, and better attitude to deserve top 5 money. The only guys who get away with negatives and still get top 5 money are absolute unstoppable monsters.

You knew what I meant. As for the McPhee observation, maybe it's because opponents started focusing more on McPhee. That would somewhat coincide with the improved stats for Young and Houston. If Young gets traded, sure, I could see Jones in the rotation. If not, I just don't see it.

Could me in. I'm drinking. I've noted Young and Houston before, and how their second half success was much more than their first half. They were nursing injuries in the first half, and really started to come on. Now imagine them both healthy, with one year under their belts at a new position, ready to prove themselves. And, as an added bonus, they don't have to worry about covering the interior of the field and filling the hole created by under-performing ILBs. Add in McPhee and Floyd, and it's impossible the Bears don't significantly improve on the pass rush. Everything else is kind of an off-shoot of that. The run game was brutal at times, and that's mostly because everyone knew we couldn't rush the passer, so there were issues that had to be overcompensated for. As a result, the run D wasn't great. It wouldn't have been as big of an issue if the ILBs were competent, but they weren't. I'm on board with top 10. Very possible.

Terror at FSU or not, the question isn't where does he play, it's when does he play? Right now he is not getting reps over McPhee, Floyd, Houston, or Young. If he really got moved to OLB, he's primarily a ST player who fills in when there is fatigue or injury.

What an intriguing and convincing thread. At this point I'm not sure how I feel about Amos. PRO -He played behind turd ILBs, which made him do a lot. -He was second on the team in tackles. By two. -He wasn't targeted that much, which is often thought of as a big positive for DBs. -He played the most snaps on defense. CON -Nearly every time he was targeted, they completed it. -He may not have been targeted much because teams ran the hell out of the ball on the Bears D. Personally, I think he'll have a monster year because he won't be playing behind a broken front 7. The DEs weren't great last year, which meant LBs had to step forward. Then the ILBs were bad, which meant the safeties had to step up. Adding Hicks up front is big. Adding Trevathan and Freeman means Amos can basically ignore rush defense (not really, but you get it). I don't know how this year will play out, but I can't imagine a scenario where the secondary has a harder job than last year.

That's actually a valid and good point. If something mediocre replaces something horrible, it doesn't mean the mediocre item is suddenly a success. It's just an improvement over something that should have never been accepted in the first place. Add that to the fact that new management often wants to change schemes, which basically requires a change, and many just want to bring in "their guys". If these guys do well on the field and turn the team around? Yeah, great job. If they continue to tread water around the .500 level, then there is no significant meaning to "X new starters".

What I like: Zone blocking What I am uncertain about: Whether or not it accentuates Long's skills as a mauler Zone blocking requires a lot of side-stepping, double-teaming, and bouncing to the 2nd level for OGs. He has the mobility for it all, but I think he's best when he's told to simply man-block and destroy the guy in front of him. We shall see. Interesting season ahead of us.

I've always believed the key to a great 3-4 was having at least 3 very versatile LBs. Ideally 4. This way the blitz packages are more and more complex, unpredictable, and effective.

Argh. I meticulously broke down where I thought we should keep players. Cut Braunecker (don't need four TEs), Becton (average with minimal potential), and Timu (more athletic guys available).

There's my best guess.

I'd prefer if they kept Carey and got rid of Rodgers. I've never thought much of Rodgers, and I actually think Carey has some talent.

Meh. They did it because they had DL depth and he was most likely going to get cut there. They're giving him a shot at TE because it played it some before. He's likely going to get cut.

I don't see how Young or Houston get cut. Both showed tremendous promise in the second half of the season last year. Both were coming off of injury. Floyd is a rookie, but you've got to imagine he's guaranteed on passing downs. On running downs, however, I think it would make sense to keep a rotation of sorts in there. Same goes for McPhee - he needs a breather from time to time. Acho is gone. The only way Acho stays on the roster is if the Bears want to make a salary-cap related move. I like Acho; he showed some promise. But he's inferior to Young or Houston, and it's not really close.

I'm always amazed when guys who make it to the NFL as mid-rounders who may not even make the team are pretty much made millionaires. The longevity of a player in the league who was drafted in the 4th round can't be great, but these guys basically hit the lottery. I should have spent far more time in the weight room and on the track.