adam

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.

He seems better when he can freelance and when playing CB you are mirroring someone elses moves. Hester has awesome field vision and seems to know where the players are going to be when he gets to a certain point. All he needs is one or two blocks and he is gone. The PB return was sweet, he did his little pause thing, then cut in both directions a few times, then found the seam and darted thru it for 40 more yards. He returned it for 60, but he probably ran more like 90 yards. I think you will see teams kick away from him a lot more next year. I don't think there is a way to stop him because he doesn't seem to use the same technique each time.

I updated my first post with about 10 Mock drafts from around the internet, and will continually update with more drafts and updates as they are posted. Hopefully the summary of picks will give us an idea on where they think the Bears will go with their picks. Once we know this, we can assume the Bears will do something else.

I just saw a couple of Pro Bowl highlights on ESPN. Hester had a crazy run back of like 60 yards with basically no blocks and made 5-6 different AFC players look silly. The bad part was he limped off the field after it, hopefully he is not hurt. Gould had a nice onside kick that the NFC recovered. I didn't see any other Bears highlights, but Brees dislocated his non-throwing elbow which is making me believe that he is going to end up like Kurt Warner - a couple of really good seasons, then done.

I assume the higher numbers are based off projections for 2007 with the new cap money. They never are exact. Anything over $20 million is a nice cushion. That gives the Bears some huge flexibility to sign some players in the last year of their contract and even extend a few if needed. Some teams in great position for next year are the Bears and Saints in the NFC and the Pats and Chargers in the AFC. They were all playoff teams that will have over $20 million available in cap space next seaspn. Teams sucking are the Panthers, Redskins, Steelers and Broncos, they all missed the playoffs and they have little or no cap space. Sucks to be them.

He could have pleaded not guilty and fought it, but I am sure it would have lasted longer, or he did a plea deal with the judge to avoid major jail time.

Here is a list of Mock Draft picks from around the internet. FINAL UPDATE - 27APR07 SI.com - Dwayne Jarrett - WR - USC http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2007/writ...art3/index.html Scout.com - Lawrence Timmons - LB - FSU http://nflexperts.scout.com/2/637844.html ESPN.com - Jarvis Moss - DE/LB - Florida http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/draft07/news/story?id=2848586 Fox Sports #1 - Jon Beason - LB - Miami http://msn.foxsports.com/nfl/story/6735038 Fox Sports #2 - Greg Olsen - TE - Miami http://msn.foxsports.com/nfl/story/6746858 Fox Sports #3 - Greg Olsen - TE - Miami http://msn.foxsports.com/nfl/story/6746878 CBS Sportsline - Arron Sears - OT/OG - Tennessee http://www.sportsline.com/nfl/story/9961542 CBS Sportsline #2 -Ben Grubbs -OG http://www.sportsline.com/nfl/story/9999771 CBS Sportsline #3 -Jon Beason - LB http://www.sportsline.com/nfl/story/9999370 Yahoo Sports - Robert Meachem - WR - Tennessee http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/news?slug=jm-m...o&type=lgns NFL.com - Brandon Meriweather - S - Miami http://www.nfl.com/draft/story/10149495 USA Today - Justin Harrell - DT - Tennessee Justin Harrell - DT - Tennessee Ben Grubbs - G - Auburn Dwayne Jarrett - WR - USC Justin Blalock - G - Texas Dwayne Jarrett WR - USC Lawrence Timmons - LB - FSU http://www.usatoday.com/sports/football/dr...-mock-draft.htm ------------------------------------ Fantasy Tailgate - Jon Beason - LB - Miami http://www.fantasytailgate.com/NFL_DRAFT.html Junkyard Jake - Justin Blalock - OT/OG - Texas http://www.junkyardjake.com/NFLDraft/index.htm Sports Outlaws - Ben Grubbs - OG - Auburn http://www.sofantasyfootball.com/mockdraft.html Inside the Eagles - Tony Ugoh - OT - Arkansas http://www.insidetheeagles.com/2007mockdraft.htm Draft Connection - Lawrence Timmons - OLB - FSU http://www.draftconnection.com/nfl/mock-dr...ftb.php?id=1098 East Coast Sports News - Jon Beason - LB - Miami http://www.eastcoastsportsnews.com/2007draft.html Fantasy Football Extreme - Quinn Pitcock - DT - Ohio St http://www.fantasyfootballxtreme.com/profi...asyfootball.php Football.com - Ben Grubbs - OG - Auburn http://www.football.com/cgi-bin/posters/pr...aft_blank.shtml Draft Tek - Paul Posluszny - OLB - Penn State http://www.drafttek.com/firstround.html Walter's Football Site - Jon Beason - LB - Miami http://walterfootball.com/draft2007.php War Room Report - Jon Beason - LB - Miami http://www.warroomreport.com/draft/mockdraft.htm FF Toolbox - Ben Grubbs - OG - Auburn http://www.fftoolbox.com/nfl_draft/2007/mo...pson.cfm?page=2 Draft King - Justin Blalock - OT/OG - Texas http://www.draftking.com/nfl/2007/mockdraft.shtml Scouts Notebook - Arron Sears - OT/OG - Tennessee http://www.scoutsnotebook.com/modules.php?name=mockdraft0607 Huddle Geeks - Michael Griffin - S - Texas http://huddlegeeks.com/NFL_Draft/mockdraft.htm Mock Draft City - Quinn Pitcock - DT - Ohio St http://mockdraftcity.com/NFL/nflmockdraft.htm NFL Draft Countdown - Dwayne Bowe - WR - LSU http://www.nfldraftcountdown.com/sub/mockdraft.html QI Sports - Lawrence Timmons - LB - FSU http://www.qisports.com/nfldraft2007.html MTs Mock Draft - Ben Grubbs - OG - Auburn http://mtmock.blogspot.com/ D&J Mock Draft - Jon Beason - LB - Miami http://www.djnflmockdraft.com/mock.htm The War Draft Room - Ben Grubbs - OG - Auburn http://www.warroomdraftguide.com/mock_drafts/ Football Futures - Jon Beason - LB - Miami http://www.footballsfuture.com/2007/nflmockdraft.html Football Expert - Justin Blalock - OT/OG - Texas http://thefootballexpert.com/buresmockdraft.html DRU FFB - Lawrence Timmons - LB - FSU http://www.drufantasyfootball.com/ FF Cheat Sheets - Jon Beason - LB - Miami http://ffcheatsheets.com/nfl-mock-draft.htm Sports Nutz - Jon Beason - LB - Miami http://www.sportznutz.com/nfl/draft/2007/mock_draft.htm Saturdays 2 Sundays - Jon Beason - LB - Miami http://www.saturdays2sundays.com/mock.htm Draft Ace - Ben Grubbs - OG - Auburn http://www.draftace.com/draft2007/mockdraftround1.htm Ask the Commish - Michael Griffin - S - Texas http://www.askthecommish.com/2007nfldraft/ On the Clock - Greg Olsen - TE - Miami http://www.ontheclockdraft.com/mock NFL Draft Forecast - Justin Blalock - OT/OG - Texas http://www.nfldraftforecast.com/mock/boyer/round1.shtml The Phinsider - Jon Beason - LB - Miami http://www.thephinsider.com/story/2007/3/21/0143/22304 Draft Season - Jon Beason - LB - Miami http://www.draftseason.com/Lupagus NFL Draft Dog - Greg Olsen - TE - Miami http://www.nfldraftdog.com/2007_Mock_Draft.htm Consensus Draft Services - Jon Beason - LB - Miami http://condraft.com/mocks/round-1.html 53 Mock Drafts Jon Beason - LB - Miami - 14 (26%) Ben Grubbs - OG - Auburn - 8 Justin Blalock - OT/OG - Texas - 5 Lawrence Timmons - OLB - FSU - 5 Greg Olsen - TE - Miami - 4 Dwayne Jarrett - WR - USC - 3 Michael Griffin - S - Texas - 2 Arron Sears - OT/OG - Tennessee - 2 Justin Harrell - DT - Tennessee - 2 Quinn Pitcock - DT - Ohio St - 2 Paul Posluszny - OLB - Penn State - 1 Robert Meachem - WR - Tennessee - 1 Brandon Merriweather - S - Miami - 1 Dwayne Bowe - WR - LSU - 1 Jarvis Moss - DE/LB - Florida - 1 Tony Ugoh - OT - Arkansas - 1 By Position LB - 20 (38%) OL - 16 DL - 5 WR - 5 TE - 4 S - 3 By School Miami - 19 (36%) Auburn - 8 Texas - 7 Tennessee - 5 Florida St - 5 USC - 3 Ohio St - 2 Penn St - 1 LSU - 1 Florida - 1 Arkansas - 1

Most NFL QBs make beautiful throws when they have time. Grossman seems to be a mini-Bledsoe/Favre hybrid. He has a great arm when he has decent protection, can make gunslinger throws on the button, but folds in the pocket under pressure while looking completely lost under center. Your right about the height issues too, those will never go away unless he wears some larger insoles. The best thing Rex has going for him is the confidence of his Head Coach and the rest of his team. I don't think I ever heard any of the players questioning him, which has to be a confidence booster.

The "first full year" thing is used a little too much IMO. Even though this was his first full season, he has been around since 2003! He will definitely improve next year, but as a full time starter, his numbers can't be that much worse - he was 2nd to last in QB Rating for QBs that started every game - and that was with 7 games over a 100 QB rating and 1 with a 98.6. If he starts every game next year, I think he will have numbers like this (a slight improvement in most areas): 80.0 QB Rating (6 games over 100, and 2 games under 40). 3400 YDS 24 TDs 16 INTs 20 Sacks 4 Fumbles Lost Throws off back foot 8 less times

http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/news;_ylt=Asfc...p&type=lgns

I am so torn between Good Rex and Bad Rex. The Good Rex is probably one of the best QBs in Bears history and the bad Rex is one of the worst. There is a huge difference. That is one of his weaknesses, inconsistency. I would rather have a guy put up an 80.0 QB rating every game instead of a +100 one game and a -40 the next. At least you know what you are going to get. He knows the Bears system as good as anyone, so I would also add that to his strengths. A new QB will have a much steeper learning curve. The only problem I see is this guy has been playing QB for most of his life, so certain changes will be very hard to do. I can see picking up the blitzes or making the reads, because those come with experience, but some of the other things seem to be ingrained in his head and more habitual. I really believe his injuries have a lot to do with him throwing off his back foot and not stepping up into the rush. Also, even though his accuracy can be a strength, I also saw him totally miss easy dump offs to Jones and McKie on a regular basis, or throw completely behind receivers. So I think more than any one thing it comes down to consistency. When he is on, he is making reads, throwing crisp accurate passes, leading receivers, etc - and when he is off, everything goes into the shitter. I really hope he can fix that.