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Ok. That I could buy into and I'd be a huge fan of that move. I like Johnson quite a bit though. He has his flaws but I think he'd still excel with a QB like Cutler.

I'm pretty sure Stevie Johnson is going to get almost double what you are proposing. How its structured and how much real money is involved is whole nother story but I wouldn't expect an average salary of just $5M per year. In fact, I thought I had heard on the radio he was talking 9-10M per year (consistent with VJax/Bowe). Why would you cut Spaeth? He is a good blocking TE and solid depth player? Plus he's the only TE the Bears have under contract.

I hope so. As a Hawkeye fan I like McNutt a lot. I also completely agree with you that Williams has zero heart and it is pretty clear. If I were to play devil's advocate, I would still say that sadly if the Bears don't add at least 2 other quality receivers, it might make sense to bring Williams back. And it really kills me to say that but this receiving corps is terrible (especially with Knox, who I don't even like, having to face issues that are far bigger than football).

Absolutely. He was a bust as a top pick. However, if you look at his overall career numbers and say he was a 3rd round pick, well, you'd be pretty pleased with it.

Routt is a good guy to look at. He isn't a great corner but he would be an upgrade over Bowman/Jennings. The problem with Routt is he's about the only quality player who you could sign at this point in time so the demand will probably be high. He also isn't exactly known to be a physical corner or that great of a tackler which means he probably isn't a great fit for the cover 2. Still better than our current starters and we know the Bears need to address the cornerback position this off-season. Personally I think Finnegan would be a great pick-up. Guy is tough as nails and physical as hell and to me not only is he a good cover corner, I think he'd be a very good cover 2 corner. He's also, surprisingly, a very good person. I used to think the dude was an ass, but he's just that on the field. There is a lot of stuff out there about the type of person he is off the field and lets just say he helps out and does significant charity work.

Roy Williams will probably have a significantly better career than either of these guys.

I don't think McNutt will be a stud in the league. I do think he'll be a solid player and you put him along with Bennett and find a #1 and I like the potential of those as your top 3 wideouts. Add in a Hester as a #4 and you are in decent business in time. However, I probably wouldn't pick McNutt until the 3rd round. I'm an Iowa fan and I like him a lot. He's gotten better each and every year. He has good hands and is a good route-runner with good speed and strength.

No. I just don't consider a blog a fully authoritative source for information. Ocassionally blogs can get things right (and I own a huge blog so I'm not anti blog's) but I'm not about to say that they are authoritative when they stand on their own.

Amen to that.

I don't, but i'm not going to buy off on everything based upon what the windycitygridiron says. I don't think the Bears had decided they didn't want him. I do think they decided there were other guys they wanted first. They aimed high and missed and got a guy that I think they knew would be out there. I hope it works better than the last time they did this (e.g., when they hired Martz).

Meacham would be a good pickup and given the Bears cap space they could afford signing a #1 and Meachem. They would not be able to afford both of those guys and a DE though which means you than need to look at DE and LT early in the draft.

One thing to point out, currently the Bears are only indicating he was hired to be the QB coach (not the passing game coordinator). Whether he is actually hired to do both has not been confirmed.

I don't recall the Bears stating that. I do recall a writer saying that some sources indicated that the Bears were not interested in Bates. However, everything I ever read was that the reason he didn't consider the Bears much the 1st time around was related to some sort of communication issue between Angelo and Bates. I realize people have a fun time ripping on management but the Bears reached out to some very good candidates, who turned them down (for better offers) and ultimately they got a guy that a lot of fans seemed to like from the beginning.

Seems like a good hire. I have zero problem with it and it made a lot of sense. Only confusing thing is why it took so long, but oh well.

I agree with you and like the depth we have in our current backfield. However, I seemed to get the impression that the Bears were going to cut Barber. I'm not quite sure I understood why because outside of that Denver game (which was dumb) I thought he played solid and I do think he fills a need. I also think Bell is pretty solid (outside of the fumbles). I like Lemichael as well but probably pass on a RB this year. However, late in the 3rd, I got to admit, that is pretty good value.

Completely agree. I want Dwayne Bowe bad. I think the Bears end up with Colston though (after the Saints franchise Nicks). Or at least I certainly hope they end up with one of Bowe, Jackson (V not D), Colston, Johnson). I had wanted Manningham as the other signing but given his superbowl performance that will probably change (someone will overpay and give him too much money). The scary thing is the other wideouts are probably going to be ridiculously overpaid. What hurts the Bears is they have a decent amount already tied into a crappy wide receiver corp's. Bennett is paid decently (and fairly for a #2) but Hester gets a lot of money as well and clearly isn't that. He is the best return guy in the game today but he's also by far the highest paid return guy in the league.

Eli took a lot of hits on the year in general. Unfortunately I deal with a lot of Giant fans and they constantly referred to their line as being the worse in football.

The Bears went after him prior to hiring Marinelli as the DC. However, he ultimately felt that the situation in New York was more stable and a better fit for him. This was primarily because people wondered how much longer Lovie would be in Chicago.

Great analysis and I agree with what you talk about above. Clearly the oline is an important aspect and something the Bears need to improve. I know we've debated between how much it needs to be upgraded but I definitely agree with you 100% regarding the overall importance of the position.

Had the appearance? Appearance of what. It was a depth move and was always sold as that. Never did I see anyone in the front office say he was the starter or even insinuate such. It was a good solid signing and solid move but even than you find a way to complain about it.

One is still in the league. The other, unfortunately, as the result of injury is complete garbage. And I completely agree, TO was the better player and always was. The big difference in our opinions is the fact that TO is no longer healthy. He is slow and can't cut and that is why no one even considered signing him. Now maybe he's gotten better and will show that, but until he goes out and shows some sort of regained speed and cutting ability, he won't be an effective player and he most certainly isn't worth the risk of signing him. The other component I'd point out is that Ocho in 2010 had 800+ receiving yards in 14 games. Yes, it was less than Owen's but I'm not arguing that Johnson was better than Owen's that year, I'm arguing Ocho is better than the current post-injury TO. And I have read quite a few articles on the Pats talking about the fact that Johnson's issues in New England weren't related to talent and were related to his ability to be in the right spot. Given the minimal amount of practice time and the way the Pats offense work, I am not overly surprised that he wasn't able to make an impact. That isn't me saying he should have had 1000 yards, rather, that I think he can still be a productive NFL wide-out (as a solid red zone target and veteran #3 or #4 wideout).

I think it puts further emphasis on the point that the Bears should invest money in a guy like Mario Williams or Avril. A dominant pass rush can do a whole lot. I realize the Pats oline did a pretty good job most of the game, but the reality one of the big reasons the Giants made a run in the post-season was that pass rush (and obviously Eli Manning). As a whole, they were a very flawed team. They also had some luck go there way with Kyle Williams fumbles and the Pats receivers drops.

Which is valuable, especially when said back-up can come in and be decent enough at guard and center.

Spencer was never deemed the starter. It was a depth move and Spencer only started playing when other guys went down.

Ocho is better than TO. And I don't really want either guy, but there is a reason that Ocho was on a roster this year and TO wasn't. TO's tryout that you keep talking about was a giant laughing stock. Owens was slow as shit and couldn't cut worth a damn. Ocho is about 5 years younger and while TO was the better player over the career, Ocho's problem, which was well documented, was the fact that he couldn't figure out the Pats offense without a full training camp and as a result, he was just behind in the curve. I wouldn't at all be surprised to see him go somewhere and catch 5 or 6 TD's and 700 yards.