defiantgiant

That all looks good to me, although I'd rather have VJax than Sidney Rice (fewer injury concerns, more physical player.) I don't think Pouncey will fall to the bottom of the 2nd or Austin to the bottom of the 3rd. Both those guys are 1st-round talents, and I think somebody's going to gamble on Austin's character issues before Chicago picks in the 3rd. I'd be happy if Chicago traded up to the top of the 2nd for Pouncey, though, or used their own 2nd-rounder on Austin.

Yeah, I completely agree. The offensive line, by the end of the season, could just about protect long enough for a three-step drop. Anything deeper than that was a foregone conclusion all season long. I think that's why we saw Cutler stop taking normal drops altogether and just backpedal out of the pocket at top speed. That's why I think the Cards' asking price is so important. WR is, in my mind, a more important need than anything BUT offensive line; if getting Fitz meant standing pat on the d-line and at safety, I'd be OK with that. But if Arizona is asking for so much compensation that getting Fitz would mean going into next season with the same offensive line, forget about it. Again, I think it's pretty unlikely that they'd deal Fitz for less than two 1sts, considering that they refused to take a mid-2nd for Anquan Boldin (who was a year older at the time than Fitz is now, not to mention significantly banged up.) Ultimately, that's why I think Vincent Jackson is a slightly more likely target. If he hits FA or if San Diego tags him and is willing to trade him for a 2nd (or even two 2nds, like Brandon Marshall,) then I say go for it and forget about Fitz. That way, we still have a 1st and a 3rd to get a tackle and a guard, and we can give Cutler some protection AND a legit receiver to throw to. Plus we'd still have our 1st next year. Fitzgerald would be awesome, but I'm sure the price will be astronomical.

On top of the bogus issue about his toughness, hopefully this puts an end to all the media people questioning Cutler's demeanor/body language/etc. The knee sprain is one thing, but the media have been picking apart Cutler's posture and his facial expressions since before he came to Chicago. Every time the guy slouches or frowns, we all have to hear about how a real leader wouldn't do that. It's a bunch of crap, and hopefully Madden's the one guy who can make everybody shut up about it. I can't imagine (as I'm sure most of us couldn't) doing what Cutler's doing: playing the most demanding position in sports at the highest level, all with Type 1 diabetes. It's amazing enough that he can play through his condition, I don't think he's required to do it with a smile on his face.

HA, yeah this is pretty much right on the money. Now we just need a guy who can jump out of a pool and a lineman with a preexisting back/knee injury. God, I hope it doesn't go down like that.

Right, this is kind of my point. If we're saying that the Bears should play more man and less zone, then sure, they should get a lockdown man-coverage corner. For the record, I agree. I'd like to see some more aggressive blitz packages in the Bears' playbook, stuff like what the Eagles and Lions run. But I don't see Lovie changing that defense, which is why I don't see them shelling out for Asomugha. And Luciano, some people might call Ronde Barber a "shutdown corner" but his skillset couldn't be more different from Asomugha's. He doesn't blanket guys in man coverage: he sits in a zone, makes great reads, and jumps the route like all good Tampa-2 corners do. Barber's game is about creating turnovers, Asomugha's game is about just preventing the throw in the first place. They're as different as any two corners I can think of. It's not like I'm trying to say that no Tampa-2 corners can cover in man AT ALL. Obviously that's not true, but the fact that Barber is pretty good in man doesn't change the fact that what makes him a special player is what he can do in shallow zone coverage, baiting a quarterback into throwing his way and then making a play on the ball. What makes Asomugha special is the opposite - that he can stay in his receiver's pocket in man and make sure quarterbacks never throw his way. So the Bears' scheme, unless it were to change, doesn't emphasize the skills that make Asomugha special, and we don't really know if he has the skills that the Tampa-2 prizes in DBs, the kinds of things that Ronde Barber can do.

If they can afford his contract and not give up too much value in the draft, that would be a huge get for Chicago. Fitz is exactly the receiver Cutler needs - a downfield threat, but one who's completely dominant in jump-ball situations. A lot of those picks and incompletions would turn into receptions if we had Fitzgerald on board. That said, they'd have to make sure they had enough ammunition left to fix the offensive line, although it's possible they could still do it with a 2nd and some later picks. Also, remember that Arizona's front office has asked for more than a player was worth in trade talks before - Jerry tried to land Boldin with the Bears' 2nd-rounder a couple of years ago, but the Cards wouldn't take less than a 1st. Then the next year they ended up trading him to Baltimore for what, a 3rd and a 4th? Unless they've learned from that episode, I wouldn't be surprised if they were asking for two 1sts for Fitz or something like that. EDIT: Just to chime in on what everybody else here is saying, I'm a big fan of Knox (despite his shortcomings) as a #2/deep threat kind of receiver, and I'd still trade him and a 1st for Fitz in a heartbeat. Fitz/Hester/Bennett is a great group of WRs, and they can pick somebody up late in the draft to be the #4.

I don't see Nnamdi Asomugha happening, not in a million years. The guy's a pure press-man corner, he'd be wasted in a zone-heavy defense like the Tampa-2. If we're in some fantasy scenario where everybody gets fired and the Bears install a completely new defense, then sure. But given that Lovie's staying, the Tampa-2 is staying, and the whole point of that scheme is that you don't need elite man-coverage corners to run it. Meanwhile, the Bears would be competing with teams like the Jets, the Raiders, and maybe even the Lions - teams whose schemes DO demand an elite cover corner. Those guys are going to set Nnamdi's market value, and it's going to be HIGH. His last contract was worth almost $30 million guaranteed over just two years. He could potentially top that figure this time around. Paying Asomugha his market value to play in the Tampa-2 would be like hiring an MIT professor for $200,000 a year to teach your kid his multiplication tables. Sure, he'd probably be good at it, but so would a $10-an-hour tutor. I think Vincent Jackson has got to be the Bears' #1 priority in free agency, and I think they can actually find the money to pay him. A lot of the Bears' big expenditures were front-loaded onto this season, and they still only spent $120 million on player salaries in 2010. That number puts them 10th in the NFL, but it's still $25-30 million cheaper than teams like the Raiders and Cowboys, and only about $7 million more than league-average teams like the Bills and Panthers. Plus, if they cut Tommie and (with any luck) Chester Taylor, that'll free up $4 million a year or so in 2011 salary, which is close to half of what Vincent Jackson's going to be looking for annually. Cutting Manumaleuna (who utterly sucks at blocking, which is his only job) would save another $2.5m in 2011. They could probably scrounge up another $3-4 million per year without blowing their budget, and that would be enough to pay Jackson. That said, I don't think they're going to be able to get him AND get another big-ticket free agent. I wish they would, because god knows we could use Logan Mankins or Davin Joseph at guard. But I'd be OK with making Jackson our big FA acquisition, and attacking the o-line problem with multiple draft picks. If there's money left over after Jackson, maybe they could get a cheaper FA guard like Marshal Yanda from Baltimore, who would still be an upgrade over Garza at RG. Give Cutler a line that can hold up for 3 seconds and a receiver that he can throw to under pressure, and there's no doubt in my mind that he can be a top-10 or even top-5 quarterback. What he did this season with no go-to receiver and no protection is remarkable enough: let's see what he can do with some help.

I'm OK with extending Lovie. He's not a top-tier coach like Belichick or an elite defensive mind like Dick LeBeau, but he's a solid coach, his players want to play for him, and these days he seems to have an understanding of when he needs to make drastic changes, which he didn't always have in the past. In wondering whether to extend him, I think you've got to ask what the odds are that we could find somebody better to replace him. For an above-average coach (which I think Smith is) chances are you're going to get a downgrade if you ditch him and go out on the open market. Prior to this season, I was OK with Lovie getting fired, but that was because I thought the only way the Bears would fire Angelo is if they completely cleaned house. Now that we're definitely stuck with Angelo for another year, I don't see any advantage to canning Lovie. The Bears' problems are mainly personnel, not coaching. It was Angelo who traded Thomas Jones for peanuts, and it's Angelo who blew all the draft picks he got out of the deal (along with most of his picks every year.) Think about this: Angelo's not just responsible for deciding whether or not to draft o-line (most years not,) but he's actually personally in charge of grading offensive linemen during the draft. They break up prospects by position groups among the scouting department, and o-line falls to Angelo himself. So it's not even like he's getting bad advice from one of his scouts - he's the one who decided that Phil Loadholt and Sebastian Vollmer weren't worth a 2nd rounder back in 2009, and he ended up trading down and getting Jarron Gilbert instead of a starting right tackle. Most of the problems the Bears have today are on Angelo's shoulders, not Lovie's. I don't think any other coach out there is going to get better results with the same subpar personnel that Angelo puts together. Also, here's an article on Ron Rivera where he has some praise for Lovie's approach and says he learned from him as a coach.

At least the scarecrow wouldn't false start or get flagged for holding.

If it's anything like his previous drafts, he'll trade back at least once, draft a defensive lineman relatively early, and hit on a pretty good defensive back or a linebacker in the middle/late rounds. Also, there'll be at least one guy drafted solely on athletic ability, which works out sometimes (Hester, Johnny Knox, Danieal Manning kind of) and sometimes not (Gilbert, Mark Bradley.) Also, as much as I want them to draft Carimi, I have a strong suspicion that Anthony Castonzo is going to be the pick if he's available at the Bears' 1st-rounder. The Bears have a history of drafting BC linemen (like Marc Colombo and Josh Beekman) and Castonzo's skillset reminds me a lot of Chris Williams in college. On the BC topic, has anybody else noticed that there are certain schools that always seem to show up in the Bears' draft classes? Oklahoma, Vanderbilt, Abilene Christian, the smaller Louisiana schools (Louisiana-Lafayette, Louisiana-Monroe, Tulane, but basically never LSU)...it seems like certain schools have a pipeline to the Bears' regional scouts.

Splitting hairs here, but Williams plays LG, not RG. And he barely played LT in 2010 - his only full game there was Week 1 against Detroit. Then he got hurt early in Week 2 and Omiyale stepped in. By the time Williams was healthy again, I think they just had to leave Omiyale in place to try to establish some continuity on the line. Tice said a couple of times that he was going to wait for the offseason to see whether Williams' best position is guard or tackle. I guess we'll have to wait and see. But yeah, part of me wants to say draft a left tackle and leave Williams at guard. That'd let him keep developing into a pretty good guard, and moving him again might waste some of the progress he's made. On the other hand, leaving him at guard means Chicago needs to find two starting tackles and a guard. Moving Williams back to LT (if he can hack it) means that we'd need two new guards and a right tackle, which would be a lot easier. I think Williams should at least get a shot at the LT job in the offseason, if only because of the resources it would let them devote to the other line positions. If Williams can play at LT on par with how he played in the last three games of 2009, they could draft a RT in the 1st, find a RG in the middle rounds, and then grab a FA guard like Mankins or Davin Joseph to replace Williams at LG. That way they're only devoting two draft picks to o-line, but they can upgrade four positions. Williams-Mankins-Kreutz-Moffitt-Carimi would look a LOT better than Omiyale-Williams-Kreutz-Garza-Webb.

This is what I'm worried about. Manning played decently this year (although "decent strong safety" is pretty disappointing value from a high second-round pick who was supposed to replace Mike Brown) and he's relatively durable. He's nothing special outside of kick returns, but if he goes, we have PAPER-thin depth at safety. Sure, Major Wright could probably step in to replace him, but both he and Chris Harris got dinged up a little this year. If one of them goes down, that means we're starting Josh Bullocks or Craig Steltz, and I don't think anybody wants to see that (except maybe Aaron Rodgers.) Safeties are like running backs these days: you really need to have at least one starting-caliber guy on the bench, because injuries are just going to happen. If Manning goes, we either have to spend a draft pick on a safety (and this is an awful draft class for safeties) or add a guy in free agency. Otherwise, that position goes back to being a liability (like it was from 2007-2009) the instant somebody gets hurt. However, if Manning really can't be retained or wants an astronomical amount of money, I think they should bring Brandon McGowan back. He's a free agent next year (assuming the FA rules stay the same,) he knows the defense, and he could be a decent backup behind Harris and Wright. At a minimum, they've got to target somebody in FA that they wouldn't mind starting for a game or two if they had to - how many teams these days start the same 2 safeties every week from September to January?

Well, I agree and disagree. Bennett is starting to show the kind of precise route-running that an elite slot receiver like Welker has, and Hester definitely has Welker's quickness and cutting ability. That said, what makes Welker so special is that he has both. Bennett might be right where Cutler expects him to be 100% of the time, but he can't always separate from defensive backs. Hester has very few problems getting separation, but his rapport with Cutler is still not so great: it seems like they have a lot of miscommunications about where Hester's supposed to be. This season, I saw a lot of throws to Bennett get broken up because he was tightly covered, and a lot of throws to Hester fall incomplete. Welker's a go-to guy because he can always separate from coverage, but also always runs a great route and ends up in the right spot. Don't get me wrong, I think both Bennett and Hester are good options in the slot, but neither of them is a #1 receiver out of the slot, the way Welker is. The Bears need a go-to guy for Cutler, and I don't think that guy is on the roster right now. We've got three guys who would make really good complementary pieces in the passing game: a deep threat in Knox, a slot guy in Bennett, and a guy who can do either in Hester. If they were the #2 through #4 options behind a big possession receiver like Brandon Marshall or Vincent Jackson, Cutler would have all the weapons he needs. EDIT: Also, Jason, I like your mock draft. The Bears really need to replace just about everybody except for Williams and Kreutz - couldn't hurt to draft another o-lineman early. I might like to see a guy like Marcus Cannon in the 2nd: somebody who could potentially play either tackle or guard. That way, they'd have a little more flexibility to give Williams another shot at LT (where he played pretty well in 2009) and then still be able to replace both tackles if it turns out Williams' best spot is really at guard.

Oh yeah, that was my dream draft, not what I think they'll actually do. I'm sure they'll give Taylor and Manu another shot based on the payday they doled out, but if it were me, I'd cut the losses and replace them. A real H-back would definitely be nice, somebody in the Chris Cooley mold who can lead block out of the backfield but also play like a TE. I don't know who in this TE class fits that profile, but it'd be a nice addition. Watching Manu motion into the backfield pre-snap was kind of hilarious at first, but that joke's gotten pretty old at this point.

I totally agree, but in my mind there are two types of receiver that fall into the "always open" category: guys like Welker who get separation by running perfect routes and having great quickness, and guys like Brandon Marshall who may not always get separation, but are strong enough to fight off a DB even when they don't. The Bears need to get one or the other, because Cutler desperately needs a safety valve at receiver. Our current receivers would make a GREAT set of #2-#4 options in the passing game, but none of them has shown that he can be the #1 guy for Cutler. My ideal offseason would go something like this: first, pay Vincent Jackson whatever he wants when he hits free agency. He can bail Cutler out on contested throws and win jump balls. Then draft something like this: 1. Gabe Carimi, OT, Wisconsin (fallback: Anthony Castonzo, OT, Boston College) Carimi's a road-grading tackle who still looks pretty solid in pass protection. A very polished player, he could probably step right in to replace Omiyale at LT. On the other hand, if Chris Williams can move back to LT, Carimi would be a stud RT. He'd be better in pass protection than most RTs, which is a must in Martz's scheme. Castonzo's probably limited to the left side and needs to get stronger, but (like Carimi) he'd be an upgrade in pass protection over any of our other LT options. 2. Drake Nevis, DT, LSU (fallback: Marvin Austin, DT, UNC) Tommie Harris is done, and the Bears REALLY need to get some consistent pressure from the three-technique spot. Peppers can't do it all himself - this year proved that teams could limit his effectiveness without using double-teams, mainly by sliding protection away from him and moving the pocket. Getting a legit three-technique would keep teams from just running away from Peppers, freeing him up to get back to double-digit sacks. If Rodney Hudson or Mike Pouncey were available here, they'd probably be the pick, but I don't think either one's going to fall that far in what looks like a VERY weak guard class. 3. Delone Carter, RB, Syracuse Chester Taylor was a huge disappointment as a complement to Matt Forte, and barely adequate as a short-yardage back. Carter's a very different back from Forte: he's a bowling-ball (5'8.5" 226 pounds) power back like Maurice Jones-Drew. He can get tough yards, break tackles, and run through defenders. 4. John Moffitt, OG, Wisconsin Chicago needs immediate impact at several positions on the line. They can't afford to have guys struggle to learn how to play together, like what happened this season. Drafting Moffitt, who played next to Carimi in college, could speed up both players' learning curves. And it doesn't hurt that he's a great run-blocking guard. 5. Jake Kirkpatrick, OC, TCU Experienced center, won the 2010 Rimington Award (given to the best center in the country.) Made all TCU's line calls, is supposed to be a very intelligent guy. Good in the run game. Could probably use a year or so to develop, but that's about how long Kreutz has left, and Kirkpatrick could learn from him in the meantime. 6. Mike Mohamed, LB, Cal The Bears need to reload at Sam linebacker (Hillenmeyer may retire, both Roach and Tinoisamoa are going to be FAs) and on special teams (where like half the coverage team is slated for FA.) Mohamed projects best as a 4-3 OLB, specifically in the Tampa 2 thanks to his range and coverage ability. He's not a real thumper, but his speed could make him an asset on ST while he learns the scheme and develops. 7. Lee Smith, TE, Marshall One of the biggest and most overlooked problems with Chicago's blocking this season was Brandon Manumaleuna. He gave up something like a half-dozen sacks, and whiffed on as many blocks as he made. Smith is a big, powerful TE (6'6" 270 pounds) who's supposed to be an outstanding blocker. If he can outplay Manumaleuna, maybe the Bears can have a competent blocking TE next year.

Yeah, that's the worst. As much as they've obviously improved this year, they're going to have the same great draft position as last year. I don't want to see Patrick Peterson on that defense in 2011.

It's true - if this defense could stop Mike Vick and the Eagles, they've at least got a shot at beating New England. That said, Tom Brady is the kind of quarterback who usually carves up Lovie's defense - they've never been able to stop that dink-and-dunk passing attack, and he's better at it than anybody else. I think a lot's going to come down to the Bears' red zone defense - I expect the Pats to move the ball, but Chicago has a chance if they can mostly keep them out of the end zone.

Yeah, as long as the Bears are winning, I'm kind of pulling for the Lions too. You always want the underdog to do well, and those dudes deserve some wins. Now that the Bears have swept, I'd like to see Detroit get a couple more wins before the season's over. That's a 6-10 or maybe even 7-9 team on paper, but they've just had a meat grinder schedule and some really unlucky injuries. They've had 9 games against potential playoff teams, depending on wild cards...that's an insanely tough slate for a rebuilding team. Looking ahead to next year, it'd be pretty cool if the Bears won the division and the Lions got a wildcard spot. Send the Packers and Vikings home early, let Detroit get that playoff drought behind them, etc.

Sounds like he was reined in by basically everybody. I can't find the article now, but I was reading that Lovie, Angelo, and Ted all talked to him during the bye week, asking him to please make some adjustments. Some anonymous team source said the tipping point was when Mike Tice sat him down and hashed out exactly what the o-line could and couldn't do. If that really happened, then Cutler needs to buy Tice a new car or something - the guy saved his season (not to mention his brain cells.)

I don't know...his track record since leaving the Rams is pretty poor, and I think it's widely recognized that he had once-in-a-lifetime talent in St. Louis. On top of that, the guy has a reputation for being extremely difficult to work with. I think it'll take at least another solid season with the Bears before he's considered for head coaching jobs. If he can put in another good year as OC, though, then hopefully the Bears will be able to convince him to stay on long-term, like Dick LeBeau with the Steelers.

In Boxer's scenario, there's at least one way that the Bears could go 11-5 and still miss the playoffs. If Chicago goes 2-2 the way he was suggesting, the Saints would only have to beat the Rams and Bucs to finish 11-5 and get a WC tiebreaker over Chicago (better conference record.) Assuming the Eagles can beat Dallas and Minnesota (which they definitely should,) then if: 1) Giants win against Minnesota, Washington, and Green Bay (Giants finish 11-5, have 9-3 conference record to Bears' 8-4) 2) Eagles beat Giants (Eagles take NFC East, putting Giants in WC hunt) ...then the Bears go home. Basically, in Boxer's scenario, Bears fans need to hope that either: 1) the Giants beat the Eagles and win the NFC East (Eagles end up tied with Chicago at 11-5, Bears have the tiebreaker (common opponents)) or 2) the Giants lose to the Eagles and one other team (probably Green Bay) or 3) one of Saints/Eagles totally falls apart down the stretch (not likely, seeing as they have some cupcakes on the schedule)

Yeah, usually does; I think we can expect even bigger things from Knox next season. I've been really impressed with how good he's looked, especially for a guy who's still working on his learning curve. I mean, he played two years in junior college, then two years at a D-II school. Even after a year and a half in the NFL, he's clearly not a finished product. The fact that he's on pace to be a 1000-yard receiver just makes me think about how good he's going to be, once he really comes into his own. I give Jerry Angelo a lot of crap about his drafts, but Knox was a great find.

I'm sure the NFLPA will fight it, but I think the Redskins might actually win this one. They're saying that on the day they suspended him, Haynesworth told the coaching staff that he wouldn't speak to Shanahan any more. Pretty hard to coach a guy when he won't let you talk to him. And (according to the team) this was after he'd already refused to play in a bunch of their defensive packages and disobeyed the coaches' instructions during games. If any or all of that is true, I have to think they've got a pretty good "conduct detrimental to the team" case. I'm starting to rethink my position on Haynesworth. You can have some egos on a team and still succeed, but you can't have a guy who's willing to shut it down if he doesn't like what you're telling him to do. I mean, there are lots of me-first guys who'll gripe and moan when they're not happy, but a guy who actually refuses to play if he doesn't like his role, that's another thing. Sure, maybe he'd be happy in the Bears' scheme, but if it were me, I wouldn't want a guy who only plays when he's happy.

Oh, I don't disagree at all. He's definitely improving every week, he's just still a pretty below-average starter. But I like his trajectory so far, especially considering that he's making the DII-to-NFL leap. Webb needs a lot more seasoning, but it seems like he has WAY better tools than a guy like Omiyale. I'm not an o-line expert by any stretch, but I haven't seen Webb get beaten physically; usually when he gives up a sack or pressure, it seems like he just didn't identify his blocking assignment. Like, I've seen him crash down on a DT and leave the DE unblocked, double-team the DE Garza's blocking when there's a blitzing LB/DB or a stunting DT coming around the edge...it seems like it's mental stuff with him. When he stops making mental mistakes, I think he'll be a capable tackle. EDIT: And yeah, sulster, I don't think it's a coincidence that the run game got better after Webb took over RT. He can definitely drive-block, which the Bears haven't been able to do for a while. Also, I think Chris Williams has quietly done a great job blocking on pulls and screen plays. The past couple of weeks, I've seen him make some nice blocks out in space to spring Forte and Hester. Webb, Williams, and Garza coming back from his injury have all helped the run game out.

Yeah, Webb's been sucking it up so far. That said, no team with a halfway decent o-line would be starting a 7th-round rookie out of a D-II school. It's no surprise that he sucks right now, but I'm willing to give him a pass for this year. That's a learning curve that anybody would struggle with. Like you said, we'll see whether he's any good next year, once he's had time to learn the game a little. Same goes for Johnson, I think - who knows what he's got at this point...we'll just have to wait and see. I'll say this for Johnson, though - that dude is a very large man. When he reported to LSU as a freshman, he checked in at 411 pounds. The Bears' nutritionists are going to have their work cut out for them.