adam

Thanks for the update. They must be confused though, he's not an FA until 2011. R. Manning's contract: 2007: $1,065,000, 2008: $1,850,000, 2009: $4,750,000, 2010: $4,550,000, 2011: Free Agent. Here are the Bear's Free Agents: URFA Lance Briggs Ruben Brown Ian Scott Alfonso Boone Justin Gage Todd Johnson Cameron Worrell RFA Gabe Reid .....the white OLB from PSU is Paul Posluszny.

Yeah I think 12-4 is reasonable, and anywhere from 11-5 and 13-3 seems about the limits. I don't see them any worse than 11 wins, and 14 or more is really tough considering they may be resting in those final weeks again. Does anyone know when they actually release the schedule with dates? It will be interesting to see who is coming to Soldier Field in December.

Did anyone catch this?

I will do it and will pick multiple teams if needed. If I'm Detroit, I'll be picking a WR.

Rivera was been the first name mentioned to replace Schottenheimer, per John Clayton.

He played in only 6 games after an achilles injury and was owed a ton of cash so the new GM released him and a few others (Luke Petitgout).

I don't know if this was mentioned before but David Carr played two seasons with Bernard Berrian at Fresno State. Here are their numbers together and Berrian's numbers AC (after Carr): 2000 Carr 216-349, 2729 yds, 23 TD, 12 INT Berrian 43, 705 yds, 6 TD 2001 Carr 343-532, 4830 yds, 46 TD, 9 INT Berrian 85, 1364 yds, 13 TD 2002 Berrian 2, 54 yds, 1 TD 2003 Berrian 63, 668 yds, 4 TD 2001 was a monster year for Carr and Berrian. Carr led the nation in numerous statistical categories. Just FYI.

Yeah, they get the 2 picks and can pick up a FA to fill the hole at a cheaper price tag. Win, win, win.

Exactly. So even if we lose him, we can still get someone that is close to him in terms of performance at a reduced price. Also, Cato June's stock seemed to drop this year, so he may come cheaper than normal.

Actually I hope more LBs join the fray, that may lower the asking price for Briggs a little.

True, I just think Rex has more to prove than any of those guys after the SB loss. None of those guys had such an up and down season like Rex or are going into 2007 with as many questions (or people questioning him).

Absolutely, but they are beatable, those are not guaranteed losses. With McNabb being a question mark, etc.

That is a tough schedule. I would hope the Bears can go 5-1 in the Division again, then take 4 out of 5 at home, and 3 out of 5 away. At SD seems like the toughest game. The NFC Championship rematch should be interesting. NYG will be without Tiki, Dallas plays better on turf, WAS and OAK are lower tier teams, and Seattle/Philly are beatable. Denver and KC seem to be teams that either show up or don't, so it will depend on how they are playing at the time.

Not many other Super Bowl caliber teams have questions or concerns at QB. Indy, NE, SD, Baltimore, NO, Seattle, Cincy, and even Dallas don't have issues. Now an injury can put you in that situation, but that can happen at any position. I am just saying a struggling Rex in 2007 can really put this team in a predicament, especially if they believe Griese or Orton won't cut it.

Your right. I saw some draft videos of him and he seriously gives 110% on every play, even extra points. He has a smash mouth mentality just like Olin, which is sweet if he can harness that aggression. I think before he was immature and had issues, but the Bears believed in him, and I am sure with an entire year off will make him that much more motivated to crush some QBs and RBs in 2007.

Another factor with this whole situation is pressure. Rex has been under a megatron microscope for the entire season and this pressure seems like it will only get worse next year. The first INT or the first bad pass, he will be getting questioned, ridiculed, etc, etc. I just hope he can handle it. The question is, if Rex does falter, can the Bears win the Super Bowl with Griese or Orton? or are the Bears putting all their chips on Rex?

He was really solid in college and was a having a great training camp before going down. Here was a snippet about him before joining the Bears:

I agree, he doesn't need to be a CB to be an elite player in the NFL. However, I really believe that they can use him in some trick plays as well, even just as a decoy. It is a waste to have that much talent only touching the ball a couple times a game, and that is if they even kick to him.

Here: http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/sport...ll/16614000.htm

In John Clayton's little piece about salary caps, he mentions this in reference to the Cardinals: "They will probably make a run at Bears defensive tackle Ian Scott to help their interior defensive line." So I assume if there is already interest in Scott, that he probably will not be back. He was a decent fill in and rotation guy on the DL but nothing special. Now does this change the Bears draft plans? Do they lean towards DL with Harris coming off injury, Tank having jail/suspension concerns, and Scott possibly leaving via FA? That seems to be the biggest area with several question marks. http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/columns/stor...ce=NFLHeadlines

So no Gabe Reid?

That was a good read, thanks. It just goes to show how media and fans outside of the Chicago (or at least ones that do not follow the Bears) can have a completely skewed view of the talent of this team. I actually like it because the Bears have always played better with the "World is against us" mentality. I would say the SB was just disappointing because of the contrast of play against NO to against Indy. The good news is the talent base is there, injured players to include lessen mentioned players like Dvoracek and McGowan will be back with the likes of Harris and Brown on D. Then top that off with a ton of salary cap space and the Bears are primed for an extended playoff/Super Bowl run for the next several years. I really expect this team to win 11-13 games for the next couple of years and be in the hunt every year. The only thing stopping them from winning a Super Bowl in the next few years is themselves.

Wow, that is almost the exact thing I said last week: http://www.talkbears.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=985#

Yeah, now that is two meaningless game injuries for Brees, his last game into 2005 with the Chargers and now this within 14 months.

Ok, lets see, he was injured in the last game of the season in 2005 in a meaningless game, and now has another fluke injury in a meaningless game. Sooo, it seems pretty straightforward to me. I just used the Warner comparison as an example. Players that peaked really high, got injured and faded. It is just odd that Brees has been injured twice in about a 14 month span playing in meaningless games.