adam

I think it is pretty hard to get an honest assessment of a player's performance when he is in a bad scheme or has bad coaching. Regardless of how good the player is, the scheme can literally neuter a player's performance and hinder his growth. That is why some players explode on the scene when there is a change in coaching or when they go to a different team. The same can be said negatively, and I think we may have witnessed some of that here this year. Mel Tucker and the defensive scheme were historically bad. The players were never in sync and were always out of position. With real coaching, first, this wouldn't happen, and if it did, it would be corrected immediately. I almost think that is why Fuller actually regressed during the year. He came in early in the season without being tainted yet, so he played well just by running out there and acting on his previous experiences and instinct, then once he was "forced" into the scheme, he struggled. There was constant miscommunication, and the entire unit went down the drain. So even when they grade missed tackles, how many of them occurred because our guys were so far out of position that the tackle they were making was much more difficult to make than the one they would've had if they were in the right scheme or call? I really feel like with a legit HC and DC, who can coach and put players in a position to make plays that we will at least be back to an average squad. Then if you add 2-3 more legit starters we can get back to being a reputable defense again. The D-Line has enough on it going into next year. The LB's with Jones and Bostic will get better, especially with a legit MLB. If we can add another Corner and starting Safety to go with Mundy, we won't have any major holes to fill. On offense, if we can get a Center and possibly another Tackle, we will be pretty solid across the board. Regardless of the QB situation, I feel like we have the skill players to be a top 10 squad as long as the scheme is not from the mid-1980's.

The dysfunction was pretty rampant, but Briggs didn't really help the cause either. What is crazy is Emery and Trestman are probably still with the Bears if Urlacher/Peppers/Hester were not let go. I say this because Urlacher was the team leader and Peppers and Hester were at least team players. The team lost a lot of leadership and identity when Urlacher left. In the end, it actually works out for us because Pace+new HC are already better than Emery+Trestman. Especially for long term success.

I think we can turn over this roster in two years, but at least be competitive next year. To me, we need 3 new starters on defense, 1 Safety, 1 LB, and 1 CB. Then could use additional depth at CB, LB, S, and DE. However, if we can acquire a Safety like McCourty and LB like Marshall, we would really only need to go into the draft looking for a CB, but could draft BPA for basically any defensive position making it an upgrade. Teams needs: 1. Safety (Mundy is the best we got) 2a. LB (Bostic and Jones would be great with a true MLB in the middle) 2b. CB (Jennings is over the hill and drunk, Fuller is under-sized, so we could use 1 or 2 here) 3. O-Line (Obviously need a Center and ROT, or LOT and shift Bushrod to the right) 4. DE - Young and Allen are fine, but I can see Allen only lasting one more year, but I don't see this as a huge need in 2015. 5a. Skill positions - If you can get BPA and pickup a RB/WR/TE, you do it 5b. QB - This would obviously shoot to the top if Cutler is gone, but with him on the roster, this is not really a need area if he is starting. 5c. DT - With Ferguson and Sutton, and possibly Ratliff and Paea, I think we are good here 6. Kickers - I would replace Gould only if you could find comparable skill for cap savings; O'Donnell got better but needs to show more to stay

Saints UFA's of interest (ties to Pace): Patrick Robinson, CB, 27 Mark Ingram, RB, 25 Ramon Humber, ILB, 27 Robert Meachem, WR, 30

I don't know about this guy, he only placed 361st in his age group in the 2014 Austria Ironman, and it took him 12 hours and 45 minutes to swim 2.4 miles, bike 112 miles and then run a marathon. https://twitter.com/RobertDriskell/status/4...7322624/photo/1

Here are some realistic candidates that are under 30: Defense: S: Devin McCourty, 28 Will Hill, 25 Tashaun Gipson, 25 LB: Brandon Marshall, 25 Jason Worilds, 27 Craig Robertson, 29 Brandon Spikes, 27 CB: Brandon Flowers, 29 Kareem Jackson, 27 Byron Maxwell, 27 DL: Ndamukong Suh, DT, 28 Terrance Knighton, DT, 29 Nick Fairley, DT, 27 Jared Odrick, DT, 27 Jerry Hughes, DE, 27 Brandon Graham, DE, 27 Offense: OL: Stefen Wisniewski, C, 26 Orlando Franklin, OG, 27 Mike Iupati, OG, 28 King Dunlap, OT, 29 WR: Cecil Shorts, 27 Kenny Britt, 26 Andre Holmes, 27 Denarius Moore, 26 FB: Henry Hynoski, 26 Cory Harkey, 25 Will Johnson, 25 Jed Collins, 29 RB: Stevan Ridley, 26 Shane Vereen, 26 Jaquizz Rodgers, 25 Roy Helu, 26 Mark Ingram, 25 Ryan Mathews, 27 TE: Jordan Cameron, 27 Chris Clay, 26 Niles Paul, 26 QB: Jake Locker, 27 Ryan Mallett, 27 Mark Sanchez, 28 Austin Davis, 26

I thought Pace did great in the presser and revealed a few things. I actually like that he picked the Bears and felt that it was the right fit and he wasn't desperate or looking for "the next job". Just him listing off the characteristics of the QB makes it seem like there is no way Cutler is back this year (or at least not in the long term plans): After saying things like "reliable" and "instincts" and "intangibles" which are basically what Cutler lacks, I really don't know how an interview is going to change his view on him. Also, I liked that he said that he wants the coach to be able to maximize the player's abilities with the schemes and not pigeon-hole them into something they are not (McClellin anyone?). Then he also mentions about drafting BPA and not to weight the needs so high. McClellin was basically not a need, BPA, or in the right scheme, so Emery failed 3 times on the same pick. Also, merging of the scouting departments makes a lot of sense, since technically the traits you are looking for should be similar. He also said he would use analytics, but it was only another tool - which is in stark contrast to Emery who would go into detail about all the stats he looked at: Lastly, this might sound weird, but I liked his energy. He was enthusiastic and is big on everyone buying into the plan, which is much easier to do with a boss that you respect and trust, and a vision you believe in. In a way Emery might have gotten a raw deal at first with the "you must keep Lovie deal", then he did the same thing to Trestman with Marinelli, so the culture was tainted from the beginning. As Pace said, his next step (and arguably biggest) is getting the right HC. This will be our first true assessment of Pace, so I will withhold any judgement until after that selection, but all signs are pointing to this being a great move by the franchise.

Just kidding, but here are some videos of Ryan Pace if you haven't seen them: http://www.neworleanssaints.com/media-cent...70-0645c279fa4d http://www.neworleanssaints.com/media-cent...cf-c411bc91921c

Nice one. I really didn't know a lot about him, but the more I read on him, the more I like. I will go on record and say that I approve of this hire.

I just remember initially not having a good feeling about Emery (whether it was his age or connection to the Bears), but this is what I initially had to say, when speaking about the GM candidates, lol:

Once again thanks for the great info.

I actually got a ticket once for not stopping at a red light before a right turn when I actually stopped twice. I stopped about 6 feet short, then pulled up and did a rolling stop before turning and the cop said I never stopped. I tried to explain that I had stopped before the line then pulled up to see the traffic. He didn't care and said that he didn't see me. I actually had to restrain my wife from getting out of the car to yell at him.

It is cheaper to keep him. With him on the roster the cap hit would be $5.2, if cut, it would go up over $1 mil due to bonuses, etc. So he is on this team in 2015 unless he is traded.

Things are definitely speeding up.

If you can trade them and take most of their cap hit off the books fine, but otherwise I think Cutler and Marshall stay at least one more year. Looking at Dead Money vs Cap Savings, these are the players with with a huge cap savings (Forte) or comparable dead money to cap savings value: Name - Dead Money / Cap Savings Forte $1,000,000 / $7,800,000 Houston $3,960,000 / $3,030,000 Gould $1,800,000 / $1,800,000 SMC $1,888,036 / $741,227 So Houston would cost $6,990,000 to keep or $3,960,000 to cut. The big savings really come after 2015: Name - Dead Money / Cap Savings Cutler $3mil / $14mil Marshall $3.75mil / $6.25mil Bushrod $4.4mil / $4.3 mil Allen $0 / $8.5mil Houston $2.97mil / $4.02mil Bennett $1.15mil / $5.18mil Jennings $1.5mil / $4.25mil Gould $1.mil/ $2.9mil Cutting these 8 would equal dead money just over $18 mil, but would save almost $50 mil. So if they all played in 2016, their cap hits would total around $68 mil.

Looks like we had Brian Gaine and Lake Dawson todayyesterday and have Ryan Pace and Chris Ballard tomorrowtoday. I assume the Ballard announcement will come Friday?

I would say my order of preference would be: Bowles, Quinn, Kubiak, and Toub, and I would not be interested in Shanny. Obviously Bowles and Quinn for their defensive prowess, Kubiak for his ties with Cutler and Zone Block Scheme), and Toub for his blue collar style and ties to the Bears (seen as good and bad). I would be ok with any of them to be honest.

He would be a huge upgrade over Mel Tucker.

I could see a team like Seattle or New England taking a look. Great teams without a true #1. Also, CAR, PHI, or KC as well who are cusp teams without a legit #1. Like others have mentioned, Marshall and Alshon are sort of redundant commodities. Jeffery has actually led the team in receiving the last two years, so the torch has already been passed. With that said, Marshall does bring some competitiveness to the team. That SF game was epic. I would give this core one year to prove themselves, and if not, dump Cutler, Marshall, and Forte (FA) after 2015. I would also cut/trade SMC, Houston, Allen, Bushrod, Jennings, and Gould after this season (if they are not gone already).

I don't mind the trade down, especially if it parlays picks, but I can't see NE giving up that much to move up to #7. Also, it would be hard for me to pick an RB in the 2nd round when we have Forte, especially one who has never played since an ACL injury. We just have too many holes on defense that we almost have to go defense, defense the first two picks. I like McKinney, Grasu, and Fisher.

I was looking at Pro Football Reference's AV (approximate value) rating and based on this year's stats, Wilson would be comparable to Watt and Kuechly. Suh would be slightly lower because of the lack of stats. Then if you consider the difference between Cutler and Wilson vs Watt and Allen, there is a bigger value difference between Watt and Allen. Same could be said for Kuechly and (any Bears LB). If you compared Earl Thomas to Chris Conte (using the AV rating), the difference is actually comparable to Wilson vs Cutler. For odds, they are trying to balance the betting, so the more the public bets on one side, the more the line goes up. So a bigger impact on a line is more to do with public opinion than the actual impact on the game. Favorites are not always the better team, they are just the team with the most bets on their side.

Looking at KC's staff, since Toub is there, I am just throwing some names out with offensive experience: Brad Childress and Tom Melvin

Tell that to Dave McGinnis.

I like everyone but Everett. Top 3 would be awesome. We still would need a legit MLB.

Very tough to assess exactly how many wins they would be worth. Wilson has a lower completion %, TD and INT rates, but a higher Y/A. So Wilson would have had around 25 TDs to 9 INTs with 63% Completions and 4200 yards passing using Cutler's attempts. I would have to figure out how much 9 less INTs would be, the extra yardage and 3 less TDs. For the other players, I think those players would be worth more than one extra win. JJ Watt was arguably the best player in the NFL and had an impact on almost every single play. In a way, he possibly would have more impact than Wilson if added to a team since Wilson would not have as much impact on all running plays where Watt is disruptive on every play from at least a scheme standpoint. Suh is huge and impacts both the pass and run, and Kuechly is the QB of the defense. I believe those 3 individually are worth 2-4 games if they are on our team.