jason

Feb. 4 update: 1. Ronnie Stanley, OT, ND 2. Austin Johnson, DE/DT, Penn St. 3. Cardale Jones, QB, Ohio St. 4. Rashard Higgins, WR, Colorado State First round looks good, after that I hate it.

And after the first year they suck because there is a QB controversy on a team that is missing a first round impact player, then the next year when the 2nd year rookie puts in his nearly guaranteed subpar season? Back to casual?

I'll start: QB. Any QB.

We can pretty much close this thread. I was the driver of the "Trade Bennett & Start Miller"-train, and even I have jumped off the bus. He's crazy if he thinks he deserves $5M a year after the first healthy season of his career, in which he wasn't even the full time starter the entire year.

Greedy bastard.

If there was doubt before, there isn't now. Jeffery is getting tagged.

Who really knows? But I was flabbergasted he had to share the MVP, and it had to feel disrespectful to him.

1. Ronnie Stanley, OT, Notre Dame 2. Vadal Alexander, G, LSU

We'll know if Jaylon Smith is the pick at 11 because there will be two cameras in the Bears war room, one for the reaction, and one under the table to see their huge balls. I just don't see how the Bears could risk a #11 pick on an injured ILB who will miss half the season when the previous year's #1 didn't even get on the field in his rookie year.

Are you talking about Vernon Butler out of LaTech? If so, no thanks in the 2nd round. In general I'm not a fan of spending high picks on guys from lower/weaker conferences unless those guys absolutely dominate. And Butler didn't dominate. He was really good, but he didn't dominate. One really good weekend at the senior bowl doesn't change much in my mind. I really hope the Bears don't become the franchise who puts in work during the year evaluating a player only to be swayed significantly by the senior bowl or the combine. I've seen Jarran Reed drop to the high second in some mocks. Buckner / Reed work for you?

I think you're right about improving his draft stock, but I think it would be a horrible pick for the Bears. If the Bears were in a position for BPA that would be one thing, but they are not. And like it or not, the best players on the defense are pretty much all at the OLB position: McPhee, Houston, Young. Throw in Goldman wherever you'd like among the three. So, with that said, OLB is a bad pick for the Bears at 11. Especially when the starting ILBs are Christian Jones/SMC/John Timu, and the DEs are Jenkins/Ratliff/Ferguson/Sutton.

Regarding the bolded part, I still say Barry retired because he felt disrespected by the league. The year he went over 2K in yards he had to share the MVP with Brett Freaking Farv, a guy who didn't even go over 4K that year in passing yards. One year after being disrespected, Barry retires. Another reason to hate farv.

I've seen some drafts that start the Bears off with two DEs. I've seen some drafts that start the Bears off with an ILB and then another later. Which do you prefer? Suppose the Bears could get one of the following: OPTION 1 1. A'Shawn Robinson, DE, Alabama / DeForest Buckner, DE, Oregon 2. Shawn Oakman, DE, Baylor / Shilique Calhoun, DE, MSU / Jonathan Bullard, DE, Florida OPTION 2 1. Reggie Ragland, ILB, Alabama / Jaylon Smith, ILB, Notre Dame / Myles Jack, ILB, UCLA 2. Scooby Wright, ILB, Arizona Any other combos like those you prefer? Would you hate either? The way I see it is, the team's two starting DEs are serviceable at least. The two ILBs are not. But seeing a DE combo back-to-back would be a declaration of commitment to the pass rush game.

You can pretty much book the Lions into Corey Coleman, WR, Baylor in the first round.

That would be incredible, especially if someone like Jaylon Smith falls to #22. Pick him up late then package a slew of the late rounders into another 2nd or 3rd. Get multiple impact players in one draft.

No thanks. Forte, Langford, Carey. --OR-- Langford, Carey, late pick/UDFA I could be on board with something here if it turns out the Bears don't like someone in the draft. Hell no. Either stay with Bennett & Miller... --OR-- Trade Bennett, start Miller, pick someone in the draft

I like the idea you have going with the trade. Teams will want to jump to get their QB. I can see Philly and the Rams looking at QB. I have my eyes on a different team, however, and that's the NY Jets. Fitzpatrick had a career year, but he's A. Unreliable, B. Old, C. A fluke, and D. An UFA. Bears 1 11 1250 Jets 1 20 850 2 51 390 Two seconds would be a pretty big bounty.

I hope Pace is throwing smokescreens and he goes all out for Muhammad Wilkerson. Period. The ILB talent in this draft is immense. Drafting one in the 1st round is great value, and there are others later on who look great. I wouldn't be upset seeing 2 drafted, and wouldn't be shocked if they both end up starting. The 3-4 DE talent isn't as deep in my opinion.

Brainfart. I thought it put it in. http://www.draftsite.com/nfl/mock-draft/2016/

Their mock: 1. A'Shawn Robinson, DT, Alabama 2. Shawn Oakman, DE, Baylor 3. Darian Thompson, S, Boise St 4. Tyler Johnstone, OT, Oregon 5. Kevin Hogan, QB, Stanford 6. Clay Debord, OT, Eastern Washington 6. Tajae Sharpe, WR, Massachusetts 6. Joe Schobert, ILB, Wisconsin 7. Jonathan Williams, RB, Arkansas I just don't understand any mock draft that ignores the ILB position for the Bears, but the DE/DE start is intriguing. My alternative according to their layout. 1. Deforest Buckner, DE, Oregon - BPA at a need position, and ILBs seem to have fallen in this draft 2. Landon Turner, OG, UNC - He's a beast. (Jaylon Smith falls to round 2?!) 3. Scooby Wright, ILB, Arizona - See round 1 comments. Also, I love me some Scooby. 4. Tyler Johnstone, OT, Oregon - Yes, two OLinemen. If Long is the OT, might as well make him LT. Johnstone is now RT. 5. Kevin Hogan, QB, Stanford - Someone to mentor. He's got skills. 6. Roberto Aguayo, K, FSU - If he falls this far, this is a great pick for touchbacks alone. 6. Tajae Sharpe, WR, Massachusetts 6. Derek Watt, FB, Wisconsin - I think a FB compliments our scheme well. 7. Nick Kwiatkowski, ILB, West Virginia - Flying way under the radar. He's a tackling machine.

This is as good a place as any to put this information. Apparently the Bears met with the following players at the East-West game. Chris Brown, WR, Notre Dame (EW) Devon Cajuste, WR, Stanford (EW) Rashawn Scott, WR, Miami (EW) Fahn Cooper, OT, Ole Miss (EW) Tyrone Holmes, DE, Montana (EW) Elijah Shumate, S, Notre Dame (EW) Most of these guys seem like later round or UDFA options. Cajuste might go earlier because of his size (6'4" - 228), and the fact that no WR was going to shine in the Stanford offense with McAffery turning into Superman this year.

I just can't see Darrin Lee in the first. That would be a huge reach IMO. Especially when a guy like Ragland is still on the board. If the draft played out like that, I'd go: 1. Ronnie Stanley, OT, ND 2. Austin Johson, DT, Penn St 3. Scooby Wright, ILB, Arizona *That draft would hurt. ILBs Matakevich, Brown, and Scooby right before our pick in the third. I'd use a 6th to move up a few spots and nab the guy we want at ILB. 4. BPA

THIRD?! http://bearswire.usatoday.com/2016/01/28/8...bowl-team-ever/

2003-2012 OT:5 OG:5 DT:7 DE:9 Clearly picked more DL than OL. But 10 to 16 isn't that big of a disparity, right? 2003-2012, by round OT: 1,1,7,7,7 OG: 6,7,7,7 DT: 1,2,2,3,3,4,5 DE: 1,1,2,3,4,4,5,5,7 Seeing it this way is very damning. Look at all the attention given to the DL!!! Three 1s, 2s, 3s, 4s, and 5s!!! And the OL gets two 1s during that same stretch?? Also, this thread is where we FINALLY thought the OL would get attention, and there were a ton of names available. In similar threads during that time I touted DeCastro and Reiff. Of course, Lovie and crew decided to pick up SMC instead. Great.

I get the sarcasm, but he, in fact, sacrificed offense for defense. It's been shown over and over and over on this board in a variety of ways. There were way more DL drafted than OL. There was much more focus in keeping games slowed down than being explosive on offense. It just so happens that the OL Lovie et. al. did pick were all injured. Marc Colombo - Before Lovie, but had a fluke injury, and would have been a cornerstone if not injured. Chris Williams - Injury history prior to the draft. Drafted anyway. Completely dicked around by the Bears (documented numerous times). Gabe Carimi - Fluke injury, basically a career ender. FWIW - I don't think he had much hand in the OL picks. I think in each instance someone advised him to make the picks for the sake of the team. And the simple fact is, the OL was always sacrificed at the expense of the defensive players he loved.