Bears4Ever_34

IIRC the Bears were in prime position to take Wallace, but passed for Jaron freaking Gilbert.. We were the most active, according to Wallace himself, before the draft even began. He thought for sure the Bears were going to pick him.. Dumb ass Jerry Angelo went for another bust instead. But back to the original topic, if you ask me today if the trade was worth it, I would say no. Cutler hasn't done nearly enough to warrant the picks we had to lose to get him. You trade that many 1st rounders for a guy, usually a quarterback, you expect that player to be able to take you to a Superbowl. Anything less in my opinion is a disappointment. To some degree Cutler gets somewhat of a pass early on because the team had nothing around him, which is the risk you take when you don't have any early round picks for 2 seasons. The Redskins took that risk when they drafted RGIII and the only thing holding him back from being one of the better QB's in the game is injuries. The Raiders took a bad risk in Carson Palmer and have, and will continue to pay for it. The Bears are somewhere in the middle. They know that they are only going to be so bad with Cutler, but you also don't know if you can be as good as you want to be with him. His play has been seriously inconsistent to say the least. This has caused a divide among the fans, in regards to their support for the Quarterback. Some believe he's simply not a franchise worthy quarterback that can ever lead a team to a Superbowl; citing his sometimes childish antics, and his gun slinger mentality on the field as some of the main reasons for why he isn't as successful as he should be. Others seem to have these built in excuses for him to shield him from the criticism that he may deserve. Some are fair, at first, but there comes a time when enough is enough. The guy has to perform. He is coming off the worst season of his career since his first season in a Bears uniform. If he doesn't work on his mechanics as a quarterback, he may never reach his full potential. There is no reason in the world why a guy like him shouldn't be better than he is. His decision making sucks. The off the back throws need to stop, the accuracy needs to get better, and the turnovers need to be lower. If Trestman can't get this through to him, nobody will. I'm of the belief that he will be given 2 more years, minimum, to prove he's worth investing in long-term. If he has a career year next season, he'll likely be re-signed. If not, he will probably be franchised and Emery may look to draft the future QB in that off-season.

If we don't re-sign Melton, we need to use that money to sign a top tier FA like Levitre. I would not be in favor of spending another first round draft pick on a DT unless he's projected to be this fantastic, can't miss prospect. I wish it was possible to trade Melton. I'd take a 2nd rounder and be happy with it if that's what we got.

Fluker didn't even do anything but Bench and run the 40 at the combine. Not sure where you are getting your information. Doesn't really matter anyways because we are talking about two different players with different skill sets. Fluker's area of strength is in run blocking, but his biggest deficiency is in pass protection. The arm length is really nice, but I'm not sure he's going to be able to play against speedier edge rushers in this league if he doesn't show he can get out of his stance and move his feet better than he has. Unless you are throwing Gabe Carimi out of the picture entirely, pairing those two together would scare the hell out of me.

I didn't screw up anything. I'm aware that Fluker was a RT in college, but many people say he's likely to be converted to a guard at the next level.

Do you even read posts? I'm not asking you what you think of it. I'm telling you what my hope is, and then I said those two players could very well be off the board before our pick is up, which you either overlooked or just blatantly ignored to make sure you can get in one of your annoying, premature declarations that can never be proven.

He was in college. He may be moved to guard at the next level. That's what a lot of scouts say, which I agree with. I not sure he's quick enough to play on the outside.

Didn't we start to hear McClellin's name being connected to the Bears pretty late in the draft process? Thought that was what happened.. Maybe I'm wrong. I do remember after the draft there was word that they really wanted Bruce Irvin, but Shea was the second guy on their list. I would be pretty upset with a Fluker pick because he's a RG only. Most scouts believe he'll have to move to guard over concerns that he's not quick enough to handle speed on the outside. So if the plan is to pair Fluker next to Carimi, my head might explode. Cooper is a LG because he's very good at pulling in the run game. Very athletic. He can be effective in a zone blocking scheme, which is what it looks like we will be running some combination of ZB and Power-Man. I'm still hoping for either Lane Johnson or Tavon Austin. The way it's looking now, both could be off the board by the time the Bears pick..

I like all three of the first 3 players you listed.

I've said it before and I'll say it again. Your college position doesn't always = your position in the pros. If everything was equal then why isn't Denard Robinson playing quarterback in the NFL? He's played that position his entire career, so why are teams asking him to play receiver? Same reason applies to other players at other positions. Everything in the NFL is different; From the speed of the game to playing against better players, where everybody is good. Just because you can block some joe schmo as a left tackle in college, doesn't mean you are best suited to do it against the athletes at the professional level. That's why people scout. You find out what players are good at and then determine how their skill sets would be best utilized at the next level. Obviously the Bears felt Carimi was best suited to play RT where he could play to his strengths as a run blocker. He would have been going up against better pass rushers as a LT. His familiarity is only going to take him so far. He never possessed great agility in college, but it didn't matter as much because he was playing against COLLEGE talent in the Big 10 where Wisconsin had arguably the best line in football at the time, like they usually do.

The two linebackers that impressed me the most were Bostic and Gooden. Gooden has incredible explosion and speed to go along with a linebacker physique. I don't know where he's projected to go, but I like the way he showed up at the combine. I wish Arthur Brown would have done more than just the broad jump. He was one of the guys I was interested in seeing how he ran. Ogletree makes a lot of sense for our type of defense, but he's not as athletic as people think he is. On tape, he doesn't look like a freak athlete. He's still very talented and worthy of 1st round pick consideration though.

I'm not a big fan of Finley. He has all the tools to be great, but if he can't work for Aaron Rodgers and the Packers offense, he's not going to work for the Bears. Too inconsistent and too mouthy. Briggs already called him an idiot. Not sure he'd be the best guy in the locker room.

Also underwhelming in the broad jump, which is a good measurement for explosion. Pretty much validates what I saw in the Alabama game. He struggles with the short area quickness needed to get off blocks and tackle in space. Pass coverage won't be a strong suit either, which is a big reason why he's not a fit in a Cover 2 similar system.

Teo' has definitely not helped himself today at the combine. A 4.80 40 after dropping 15 pounds of weight? Not good. The kid from Florida and Missouri can sure fly.

I'm interested in seeing what Ogletree does today. Any particular players you guys are interested in?

The way I look at it with Austin is that his versatility as a runner, receiver, and returner makes him more valuable, and it's because he can have an impact in multiple areas of the game. You have to think with a new offensive mind running the ship this year they will use someone with his skill set in a variety of ways. It would be interesting to see him used in spot situations as a motioned in running back while Forte flanks out to receiver. Kid is a matchup nightmare. Again, just my two cents. Cooper makes a lot of sense too. I still am giving Austin the edge though.

I think Austin is a better football player than Cooper. So yeah.. I would.

Officially Austin ran a 4.34, and Goodwin ran a 4.27. Still very impressive.

I think you're right on Goodwin, but Tavon Austin was already being considered for a late first round pick before the combine. You have to think with these results he's almost guaranteed himself as a lock to be a first rounder. If Lane Johnson isn't available at 20 for us, I am taking Tavon Austin. Just my two cents.

That's what I see, until they change the times to officials.

The two guys that I am really high on, Tavon Austin, and Marquise Goodwin just ran an unofficial 4.25...

Last year the free agent market and draft class for offensive lineman was garbage, but this year it is about as good as it gets for both. It would be wise for the Bears to take advantage of this opportunity.

I'm usually the one defending Webb, but I have to say that I would be surprised if they do not sign or draft his replacement this year, given the type of class that's available. If they don't, I hope they at least are able to add some good interior lineman that can hold their own. He has improved quite a bit in the last two years, but he is definitely replaceable if the right player comes along. Carimi is lucky he was a recent 1st round pick. We may be looking at his replacement come next year if his pass protection doesn't drastically improve.

Here's an interesting factoid I just read via twitter.

Every left tackle drafted outside the top 10 is pretty much a work in progress, and will take a year or two to develop. Tackles are much the same as WR because it is a difficult position to get adjusted to right out of the gate. If you're looking for somebody to come in right away and not have that learning curve, you're talking about free agency.

Vance McDonald is an interesting TE prospect.