BearSox

I think he's all but gone. Brady will be back next season, and they are very high on Kevin O'Connell who they spent a 4th (?) round pick on last year. Also, if something does go wrong with Brady, they have enough talent on both offense and defense where they can get by with maybe an inexperienced or mediocre QB. I think they'll be asking for at least a 1st rounder this year, and a conditional pick next year, and if they get that, I don't see them turning it down. It just makes no sense to invest about 20 million on two different QB's, especially when one will assuredly be the starter unless something huge happens and with other players, like Wilfork, in need of extensions. If they don't get what they want, they'll likely keep Cassell. However, I think the Vikings are more then willing to meat the Pats price, if that price is reasonable.

kinda OT, and I know we went through that whole renovation in what just seems like a few years ago, but instead of building a new stadium for a possible expansion team (with the olympics and all the crap), how about a new stadium for the Bears? I don't know if anyone else feels this way, but I hate the new soldier field, at least the outside of it. Just seeing what looks to be a space ship crushing a historical stadium like Soldier Field is pretty ugly. It's nice on the inside as well, but could us more work as well. I'd love a stadium similar to Arizona's except that the roof is always open during the game (except if thunder storms are scheduled or it's hot as balls). It wouldn't be Bears football if it was a home game in December with a tempeture of 70 or something inside. Also, I'd like the seats to be practically right on the field, and to really get the place rocking when we're on D. Also, this could make Chicago an option to host the Super Bowl as well (the roof would obviously be closed). Unlikely, but I'd love for that to happen.

AP has proven to be a terrible blocker though.

the 40 is overrated, but is still a very reliable tool for speed. More important tests however for judging a players agility however are like to 5-10-5 (I believe the run this at the combine), and for a burst, the 20 yard dash (I think there might even be a test for the 10 yard dash). There are also several more tests that are very important. The 40 gets the most pubs by average fans, but most scouts view it only has a part of a whole with all the other tests. If someone runs a mediocre 20 but a fast 40, that likely means that player is just fast. But if a player runs a very good 20 but a mediocre 40, that means that player isn't extremely fast, but has a good burst. Everything has to be taken into account. As for Britt and Hicks, I like both a lot. I think Britt has the most upside of the two, but Hicks is the much safer with a good floor and can likely contribute right away. Personally, I want Hicks in round 2, if he is available there. I think he could step in right away and contribute.

I agree. Ramses very well might wind up being a mediocre NFL player because all he really has is great size. He could be a good matchup vs. smaller corners, but right now that seems to be a role of Greg Olsen's. Personally, I like Hakeem Nicks a lot more to match up with Hester.

When did a 4.55 40 become slow, especially for a 6'6" 230 lb WR?

As far the FB thing with Peterson, I could see it, especially if we plan on bringing in a different more reliable RB to compliment Forte. Forte, Wolfe, Other guy as the RB, hopefully someone like Weaver at FB, and Peterson being the tweener.

I'd love to get Leftwich on a 2 year deal. Let him compete with Orton, and best case scenario is that he out plays Orton and lives up to some of his potential, and worst case is he's a 1 year stop gap in 2010 if Orton sucks and we need to draft a QB in round 1 to develop for a year.

I've been a fan of his for a while. His biggest knocks right now is straight line speed (40 will be huge for him at the combine), and inconsistent hands. I like him though, and think he could pair up with Hester, eventually at least, to make a good duo. I'd love to have either Ramses or Hakeem Nicks as our 2nd receiver.

Yeah, there no chance in hell Alphonso Smith falls all the way to round 3. Maybe he'll fall into the early portion of round 2, but he's almost a lock for round 1, especially with how he dominated at the senior bowl.

Oh yeah, don't know if it's been mentioned, but this guy is an Illinois native from Arlington Heights, IL near Chicago. Went to St. Viator High School which is in the East Suburbarn Catholic Conference, otherwise known as the ESCC.

It's a bad mock, but not for the reasons you mentioned. Moore is a late first-mid second pick right now and will likely have to play SS in the NFL. He doesn't make sense at all at FS for the Cover 2. And his senior year isn't a good example for his stock considering he was injured all week. And he had a mediocre week. Not good enough to get his value back up to mid first, but not bad enough to drop him to round 3. Eric Wood actually had a fairly good senior bowl, but isn't worth a 2nd rounder. In the 3rd, I wouldn't mind him. He's very versatile and a solid player. You're right about Kropog, and he did have a bad senior bowl. He went from a potential early-mid second rounder to a 3-4 rounder. As for the rest of the mock, there's no way Derrick Williams falls past the 2nd, Chase Coffman could go anywhere from the 2nd to 4th, him being a 7th round pick is laughable. Barden will likely be a mid 3rd rounder at the latest, and the rest is meh.

He's a body for camp. I'm actually a fan of his, and I like this signing. I still want to see us either go out and get someone like Leftwich or draft Sanchez if he falls, but this is a good pickup for depth and competition for Hanie.

If we can get him cheap, with no guarantees, why the hell not. Let him compete in camp. Low risk, high reward type of move. Also, I thought this was Jerry at first as well, lol.

It's only because we play the Lions twice. The 2nd and 3rd "easiest" schedules are for the Vikes and Packers. I forgot who the 4th easiest was as well, but I remember hearing that they play the Lions once as well. When you have a team that went 0-16 on your schedule, that's gonna mess up pretty much the whole strength of schedule, especially if you face that team twice.

I wouldn't mind Mike Furrey in a slot receiver role.

You're numbers are way off. If we cut Tait, we'd save 4.8 million. If we cut Ogunleye, we'd save 4.8 million. If we cut Vasher, we'd lose about 4.7-4.8 million, or roughly 2.4 million if we do that thing where we split it into two years when we cut him.

Yes please, and if we cut Tait, even better!

We'd still have plenty of cap (honestly, do you think we're going to make a big splash in FA? Maybe a couple decent signings, but nothing huge probably), and Vasher sucks. He sucked the year before he got paid, and he's sucked last year. He's gotten fat and out of shape, and really doesn't do anything right anymore. Plus, now he can't even stay healthy. Good riddence.

lol, interceptions are suuuuuuch a terrible stat. When a player gets a lot of interceptions, that means they get thrown at a lot. It doesn't mean they're a bad corner, but interceptions are FAR from the whole story. The great corners are never thrown at because they are, get this, GREAT!

I think we lose about 4.7 million if we cut Vasher this year. A big chunk to eat, but we are pretty set financially, and this would send a message to the team, IMO.

I win!

We like athletic linemen, mainly guards actually, who can pull and get to the second level. Herman Johnson, while athletic for a guy his size, is not anything we look for in linemen. Duke Robinson fits because he's a road grader who is the best pulling guard in this draft. Johnson is just a gigantic freak who's college success is mainly because of that size.

First, I would point out you consider him a 10-15 pick player. 15 is only 3 spots in front of us. Dropping those 3 spots is very realistic. I think many (including myself) find it hard to believe Oher could fall to 18 as he was considered a potential #1 pick last year if he would have come out, but the more I read, the more I think it possible. While few question his actual talent, his motivation has been strongly questioned, and this year the OT crop is deep enough that a good player could slip. I don't know why I wrote top 10-15. Right now, he's the best T prospect in my eyes and I see him going in the top 5. Smith could be the OT to fall, but right now, he is the OT who seems to have serious upward momentum, as Kiper has him now as a near top 10 pick, while Scouts has moved him up into their top 32 range, and I bet he climbs their board further. At the same time, Oher is really falling. He is now 23 for Kiper and 20 for Scouts. That may not mean much, but I think it does reflect how his stock is falling right now. Jason Smith is really only a fit for a ZBS or a scheme similar to ours. Also, while he is a really good pass protecter, he does little in the run game. He's high on rankings now because he's the hot commidity, but on draft day he will be the one dropping the most, IMO. When you have Andre Smith, Michael Oher, and Eugene Monroe, you're talking about ELITE LT prospects who can be pro bowlers for years to come. With Jason Smith, you're looking at someone similar to Chris Williams as they should be solid LT's, and could be a franchise LT, but don't really have the potential to be elite. Duke didn't have a great game, and in particular, had one really bad series. At the same time, for me, that only meant he has a greater chance to last to our pick, rather than my dropping him hard on my big board. I would still love to add Duke, and feel he would do wonders for our OL, and offense as a whole. Even before the bad game, he was a bit of a reach at 18. And right now, he's viewed mostly as a late 1st-mid 2nd. I really wish he would have participated in the Senior Bowl because he really needed to answer some questions after that Bowl Game. Personally, not a huge fan of MJ, but he does seem to fit our scheme and does seem like the sort of player Angelo would like. And while you say he is a 2nd/3rd round prospect, I have seen many who have him much higher. Scouts has him at 24 right now. Right now, Michael Johnson is being ranked high by those so called "experts" because of his size and potential. But he's been falling like a rock and most NFL scouts see a guy who has the potential, but has done ABSOLUTELY NOTHING to warrent even being a 1st day pick. Question, if you had the option of Oher or Raji, who would you take? That's a tough one. Personally, I'd go with Raji as I think adding someone like him would make a bigger impact right away, but you can't really go wrong/complain about either. However, unfortunitely it does not seem like we will be able to get either. Agreed. I am not high at all on taking a CB in round one. I have had this argument before, but while CB is a top pick for many teams, I simply do not feel you need elite CBs for the cover two. Elite CBs are often shut down man coverage corners, and that is not what is needed for the cover two. In our system, whether we are in the cover two or another setup, we most often are playing zone, and you simply don't need the top end shut down corners. I think we are much better off upgrading the pass rush, and FS position, rather than the CB position. Agreed. Cover 2 Corners are a lot easier to find, and we have already have a good one in Tillman, and one of Vasher/Graham/McBride should hopefully really step up next year. Honestly, I don't know much about the FS' in the draft at this point, but simply believe FS is our one of our biggest needs on defense. In fact, I believe FS is our top need on defense, though I am sure Angelo would disagree. Right now, this safety class in general sucks. William Moore has done nothing but suck this whole year, and he is more of a thumper of a FS, and the Cover 2 needs more of a coverage/centerfielder type of FS. Both Rashad Johnson and Louis Delmas would make sense, but both are fringe first rounders at best. 18 would be much too early for either, but our 2nd round pick might be too late. Not sure about Brown, but love Oher to the Bears. I am not high on taking a DT in round one, but at the same time, love so much of what I have read about Raji. If Brown falls to us, and neither Oher or Raji are there, I think he's the pick. I simply can't write off Duke due to one game, regardless how big it was. To me, Duke is still a legit stud. Also, I think he will jump back up the boards after workouts, as his athleticism for a man his size is believed to be unbelievable. Agreed on Sanchez. I would consider him a perfect pick, as I see him as having franchise QB potential, but will need time. W/ Orton under contract for another season, we are in great position to draft a player like Sanchez, but w/ the other QBs opting to stay in school, it is a near lock Sanchez doesn't fall to us. Not much to say about that. I am not high on trading down. I think we need studs and playmakers, and feel you are simply less likely to find that the further you trade down. Also, this early in the game, I hate to discuss trade scenarios, as there is simply too much time between now and the draft and too many unknowns. As of right now, it's looking like we will be kind of in a grey area, and we have a lot of needs, but no one really sticks out if none of Oher, Raji, etc. don't fall to us. Do we reach for safety? DE? WR? Freeman? CB? It'll be VERY interesting to see who's available for us come draft time. Disagree 100%. Personally, I love man coverage, but that is simply not a big part of Lovie's cover two. Despite how much we blitz, or how much man coverage makes sense, the reality is, we simply do not use man coverage often. Even when we blitz, our DBs are well off the LOS, and playing zone. You can argue that is due to the talent of our DBs, but I simply disagree. I believe Lovie is a zone coverage guy, and elite man coverage CBs would go to waste in our system as we would ask them to mostly play zone. With the amount we blitz, we need to play a lot of man. And it's not like we play a ton of zone to begin with. I'd say this past year it was about 60-40 between zone and man. Someone like Moore can play both, and would help us a lot. I hear you, but: One. LB is considered one of the deeper positions in the draft, and I think we have a legit chance to find a solid SLB after round one. True, but if things fall the way I see them, SAM might be the BPA for us. Two. Until I see more evidence that our staff will better utilize the SLB position, I just can not see my way to adding a 1st round talent. If I felt we would better utilize the 3rd LB position, maybe, but I just do not believe that, even if we had a stud SLB, he would be utilized to the point of getting value. Part of this could be because we haven't had a good SAM in the past 2 years. Hunter's play peaked in 06, and has done nothing but decrease. Three. While a stud SLB would be nice, I think it is a luxury, and question going w/ luxury when so many huge holes are seen. I question how much a SLB would help the defense if you still have huge holes on DL and in the secondary. We already have two stud LBs, but that has not been enough to offset weaknesses at DL and secondary. I just do not believe adding a 3rd LB would be enough. I agree, but if things fall like that, it might make the most sense.

Great story.