adam

I am in if there are spots available.

The Bears really closed the talent gap on offense against the Pack with the addition of Marshall, Bush, and Jeffery. We have a better running game, by far, and our passing game will be a lot closer to theirs this year. We are much more well-rounded on offense and the only thing holding us back is the O-Line.

Jason, However, Bush is going to take a higher percentage of carries than past backups and will probably get more goal-line chances than Forte. Also, with the improved passing game and Red-Zone threats, we may be passing more in the RZ. If anything I believe Forte's numbers will drop slightly across the board.

That makes sense, but I think the league is shifting away from the need for an elite RB so is it money well spent? I think it is a good deal because I like Forte and he is a great player, but I don't think he is necessarily worth 2.5x Bush. Just look at the last 5 years at the Super Bowl teams and their lead RB's: 2011 NYG Bradshaw 659 NE Green-Ellis 667 2010 GB Jackson 703 PIT Mendenhall 1273 2009 NO Thomas 793 IND Addai 828 2008 PIT Parker 791 ARZ James 514 2007 NYG Jacobs 1009 NE Maroney 835 Only Mendenhall in 2010 had an elite year, and only 2 out of 10 had over 1,000 yards. 8 lead RB's had 835 yards or less and their teams were in the SB. The last 4 SB winners did not have a leading rusher with more than 800 yards. That is crazy.

This is a great deal for the Bears, and in line with the market value for Forte. We now have Forte and Bush both locked up for the next 4 years for a total of $46 million (just over $11 mill a year).

We have until 3pm........

That seems spot on for Jay. Eli is always an interesting topic. He had some below average years to start his career which really locked people into a certain opinion about him, at the same time, his brother was tearing up the league. However, over the last four years he has won 2x Super Bowls and thrown for over 100 TDs and 16,000 yards. Over 25 TD's and 4,000 yards a year is pretty impressive. Here are the career QB ratings for the listed QB's (Eli is 13th): Rodgers - 104.1 Romo - 96.9 Brady - 96.4 Rivers - 95.5 Manning - 94.9 Brees - 94.0 Big Ben - 92.1 Ryan - 88.4 Flacco - 86 Stafford - 84.7 Cutler - 84.5 Newton 84.5 Manning - 82.1 Vick - 80.9

I always liked it later in the season, between weeks 8-10, that way you can rest some players for the stretch run. I also like playing the following week at home, that way you essentially get an extra day (no travel). This year we have our Bye in Week 6, a little early for me, but at least we play at home the following week. For comparison, Green Bay has their Bye in Week 10, Minnesota in Week 11, and Detroit in Week 5. All three teams play on the road the following week. Every team also plays one Thursday game.

Yeah, Cutler's omission is sort of puzzling, but at least they had Peppers, Forte, Hester, Urlacher, and Briggs on there. I guess they are going off of last year's performance, and Jay was hurt? Tebow on the list is odd because I thought other players hated him?

Sure, but what would Davis have to do to be considered a breakout player? 50 receptions? 600 yards? 8 TDs? Also, for the criticality of our offense, where would the TE position rank? I would say TE would be near the bottom.

Height advantage:

I was thinking of new acquisitions, but if I go with players from last year Carimi is definitely #1. Davis to me is questionable because with the acquisition of Marshall and the drafting of Jeffrey, I don't know how critical Davis will be to the offense. Especially if Rodriguez gets some playing time. I agree with McClellin to a degree, but I am already expecting a lot out of him for a 1st round pick, so I don't know how much of a surprise he will be if he excels.

I say Bush and Hardin. Bush will provide a 1-2 similar to Philly's Thunder and Lightning did, and something the Bears have never really had. Hardin is a steal and is going to be a dominant rookie.

http://www.nationalfootballpost.com/NFC-breakout-teams.html Bears, Panthers, and Eagles Out of the teams that missed the playoffs last year, these seem like obvious choices along with Dallas.

Sure, but in comparison to other matchups, it is a little low. Philly is favored by 8.5 AT Cleveland, yet we are only giving Indy 1.5 more pts and we are playing at home?

at Home, surprised it is a that low actually. Should be 13 at a minimum.

I don't care if he starts, as long as he produces.

We might have one of the best all around Bears teams in quite some time. The offense is much improved, the defense could actually be better if someone like McClellin or Hardin make an impact, and ST are always a strength. In a way, an improved offense may make our defense better. If we are scoring more, teams will become more one dimensional which should make the D's job easier. Also, longer sustained drives on offense will allow our defense to get some much needed rest.

Article from PFF: http://www.profootballfocus.com/blog/2012/...-chicago-bears/ Pretty good read. Some surprising stats.

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1207568...ayer-in-the-nfl ?

The other incident was when he was 20 (under age), and he was also speeding (92 in a 60 - yikes). This time he was going 60 in a 35 and crossing the center line. Thank god no one was hurt due to this idiot. Two incidents in about 18 months is pretty significant and shows his lack of self control/judgement. Like everyone else stated, how hard is it to call a cab or pay for a driver? I remember everyone mentioning Floyd's drinking problems. It looks like we definitely dodged some bullets avoiding these guys. Does this warrant a suspension for the league conduct policy? He was 3x times over the legal limit AND speeding. I could see a game or two for something like this.

http://sports.yahoo.com/news/jaguars-recei...n3GXmT5gso5nYcB LOL, a month after being drafted and already a DUI (3x the legal limit). Enjoy JAX!

Jeffery and Hester both will benefit from having Marshall on the other side.

Yeah, if you figure the #2's on teams are ranked 33-64, he is right in the middle.

Yahoo Sports posted their first player rankings for 2012, and the Bears are looking pretty good: http://sports.yahoo.com/fantasy/nfl/news;_...rtpoll-pre12-qb Using their Composite Ranking, the Bears ranked as follows for their positions: Cutler - 11th Forte - 9th Bush - 36th Marshall - 5th Jeffery - 50th Bennett - 68th Hester - 75th Gould - 9th Defense - 3rd Those actually seem like some realistic rankings. Marshall may be a little high, but it is nice to see him projected there. I know it is not much, but it is nice to see Bears positional players in and around the top 10 (other than Forte).