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What do you think about Gonzales?

WR 40 Times Aundrae Allison - Eastern Carolina 4.44 4.41 Reggie Ball - Georgia Tech 4.80 4.68 Dwayne Bowe - LSU 4.54 4.46 Steve Breaston - Michigan 4.44 4.43 Yamon Figurs - Kansas State 4.29 4.28 Anthony Gonzales - OSU 4.33 4.38 Jason Hill - Washington State 4.3 4.3 Calvin Johnson - Georgia Tech 4.45 4.38 Mike Mason - Tennessee State 4.31 4.32 Robert Meachem - Tennessee 4.42 4.47 Sidney Rice - South Carolina 4.41 4.50 Laurent Robinson - Illinois State 4.35 4.41 Steve Smith - USC 4.37 4.35 * All times under 4.40 in bold.

Ok, Here is a little comparison between two TEs at the combine: 20 Shuttle Olsen - Not listed in Top 6 Schouman - 1st 60 Shuttle Olsen - Not listed in Top 6 Schouman - 1st Three Cone Olsen - 5th Schouman - 3rd Broad Jump Olsen - 8th Schouman - 2nd Vertical Jump Olsen - 4th Schouman - 1st Bench Press Olsen - 23 reps Schouman - 27 reps Schouman was 1st in 4 events, 2nd in 1, and 3rd in 1. Out of those, he was only 0.04 from 1st in the Three Cone, and only 1" from 1st in the Broad Jump. That is solid if you ask me. He is also trying to make the transition to H-Back, so he is an interesting pick.

At this point I would be happy with a 1st and 3rd. I was also thinking about this. What if the Bears could pull off trades for TJ and Briggs and add something like an extra 1st, 2x 2nds, and a 3rd, or something like that. That would be crazy. Since there would be too many picks to sign, etc, they could pair up some picks and move up.

Little snippet from Profootballtalk.com:

You're right. If it is up to that much they are getting really close. That would be nice to end all the speculation.

Not in our position, but I could see other teams doing it that are in greater need for a younger QB.

Also, Olsen's agent is Rosenhaus.

I was wondering what Miller got because I could not find his time. Now I know why - it sucked. Derek Schouman from Boise St. looks pretty solid. He ran a 4.74 (tied for 4th) and led the TE's with 27 reps. Pretty solid. He was 8-72 with a TD in the Fiesta Bowl, but didn't really do to much throughout his career.

Yeah, Sears had only 21 reps. That is horrible for an Offensive Lineman. There is no way he goes in the 1st Round. I think the lowest for OL was 19. For a 1st or 2nd Rounder, you want someone that can at least do close to 30.

Here is a rundown of some combine numbers: For players that have been linked to the Bears. Olsen is very fast for a TE, and also BP'ed 23 reps, which was one of the highest for TEs. So he has some strength as well. I don't think Zack Miller worked out. Blalock and Ramirez both showed some big time strength in the press. Kalil seemed pretty solid in both areas. A few Mock Drafts have the Bears selecting Beason.

Looks like the price has went up: I wonder who the "couple of teams" were.

I think the Browns were in there too. Right now there are about 6-8 teams that could use an RB like TJ: Detroit - lost Kevin Jones to injury (Dre Bly requesting a trade?) Houston - Ron Dayne? (How about a trade - Carr+Pick for TJ?) Cleveland - Their best RB is Droughns NYJ - Best RB is Washington NYG - Lost Barber, Giants looking for 2nd Back to share duties with Jacobs Oakland - Jordan + TJ (Moss for TJ?) Baltimore - Status of J. Lewis Buffalo - McGahee on the trading block

He has a ton of experience with the Cover/Tampa 2, so he should be able to assist the LBs a ton.

Oh no, the "What Ifs"!!!!! You could say that about almost any team at any position. If you have that mentality, you need two starters at every position "just in case" which will never happen. Quality depth is great to have, but situations like this never last long because most of the time the players are not happy with the situation. I don't recall any RB duo that lasted more than a few years. Watters and Garner Dillon and Johnson etc These type of situations usually ended with the veteran guy moving on.

Jones wants an extension and the Bears do not want to commit, so he is requesting a trade. The Bears are wasting Benson's cheap years from the rookie contract. Once that is up, the Bears are going to have to pay up. So they are at the point where they have to choose Benson or TJ, not both. I am sure if they trade TJ, they will probably draft an RB, someone that could come in immediately and be a 3rd down back. Having two starting backs is a huge luxury, but it rarely features two guys that are fairly young. Rhodes is older than Jones and was also arrested for a DUI. Dillon is also older and is either going to retire or move on. So these situations rarely last more than a year or two. That would be funny if the Bears signed someone like Marshall Faulk as a 3rd Down back to a cheap contract. He didn't play in 2006 and has ties to Lovie in STL.

Lovie was the Linebacker's coach in TB from 1996-2000, and Nickerson played there until 1999. So they had 3 solid years together.

http://www.suntimes.com/sports/football/be...earnt23.article Nice to see the team filling in the coaching vacancies. Now they need to work on Lovie and some players.

Lovie speaks:

This is a huge article that talks about Jones, Briggs, Mike Brown, Ruben Brown, Boone and Scott. It sounds like the Briggs situation is going to get ugly, they don't have an agreement with Ruben Brown, they expect Boone and Scott to both be gone, and they must evaluate Mike Brown's injury situation. The more I read this stuff makes me believe the Bears Super Bowl window is closing fast, if not already closed. I am being pessimistic, but with all the new coaches and what looks like new players, it will be hard to repeat with such a difficult schedule. http://chicagosports.chicagotribune.com/sp...bears-headlines

From what I have read from multiple articles is that the initial comment by the agent was more posturing than anything. The difference is the agent wants more money in 2007 by getting an extension and increasing the salary to 5+ immediately, which would be more than double and almost triple his current salary. Instead the Bears want to keep his salary close to the current amount for 2007 to honor the first contract, then escalate it after 2007. This is where they are disagreeing. Now this is all speculation from what I have read, but it seems pretty realistic.

Thats why I said I would take a 1st and a 2nd in a heartbeat. If it is something less, I would think they would wheel and deal. If he is going to cash in on FA, there will be teams willing to pay and get him a year earlier.

Yeah, I would say any team without a coach or with coaching issues would look to sign him. If the Bears don't get this done it will be a huge mistake. The right thing to do would be to sign him as soon as possible and end all the speculation.

Yeah, that was the speculation at first when they actually didn't give him a position.

The only issue with Briggs is he seems to now be a one year player. The Bears almost have to move him to salvage something. Otherwise they get him for one year and he is gone anyway, and they don't get anything for him after 2007/2008. If no one is going to offer the two first rounders, I would take a 1st and 2nd for him in a heart beat. At least the Bears could sign a FA, then use the extra picks to move up in the draft or to fill more holes.