scs787

When Hixon was given a chance to start he's played well. That's probably all he'll be looked at to do here. Especially in Trestmans system, Hixon would be the better receiver.

I can dig it...hopefully he stays healthy this year. Good coverage can turn a lot of those pressures into sacks by our DEs

Wonder if the Bears might be interested in Pat Sims, a line-mate with Houston in Oakland. Not sure how they feel about Paea/Ratliff as the starting NT, if they feel they're better off as depth guys I'd love Sims. Raiders last year gave up 3.9 ypc on the ground last year... Same as Seattle for 7th in the league, just .5 behind the jets, and 1.4 less ypc than the Bears. Should have money for both he and Melton.

Sounds about right to me..

Played very limited time so I think it's a little silly to throw a number it. But it was a positive +0.7.... In 2012, when he got some starting time, he had a +8.2 though. Here's what they had to say about him... "Hixon was the ultimate complementary receiver for the New York Giants, repeatedly stepping in with productive efforts when other receivers fell to injury. In the past five seasons, he only has four games with a grade worse than -1.0." also "Summary: With the Giants hit by injuries this season, Domenik Hixon found himself with an unexpected opportunity to get back into the lineup and contribute, and he again showed himself to be a capable receiver. He caught 67.2% of the passes thrown his way, topping 500 receiving yards and scoring a pair of touchdowns on his 39 receptions. Hixon is another player that won’t be confused for a stud any time soon, but could easily start for some teams and upgrade plenty of receiving groups. " I think he's a huge upgrade over Weems, and on talent alone he's probably a push in comparison to Bennett but when you factor in contracts it's a win for the Bears. Also FWIW, and I hope what I say doesn't get overblown into me saying Hixon>Hester at returning kicks, because he's not... Hixon returned 80 kicks in his career, his average is 24.6. Hesters career average is 24.8. He'll never be the home run hitter Hester is (does have 2 return tds though) but he'll be serviceable if he wins the return job. Still love the potential of Chris Williams in that role though, and Ford looked good in preseason so he'll have some competition.

Agree that the F- is harsh, but disagree with the rest of the post....but I'm also quite the optimist. The sack colored glassed are blurring your guys vision. Houston>>>>Last years Peppers Young>>Wootton or SMC Mundy>Wright Hixon overall> Hester At DT if we end up signing Melton I think it'll really be Melton>Ratliff and Ratliff>Paea (meaning Melton will be the 3 and Ratliff the NT) No way, baring significant injuries, we're gonna catch up with the Broncos, Seahawks, and 9ers, those guys just have some ridiculous squads....But with some hits in the draft this year and next coupled with the big money we have to spend next year I really like the direction they're heading. We all thought it was gonna take time to turn the D around anyway. I think we'll be around middle of the pack this coming up year then year 3 of the Trestman era we'll be legit. This offseason is at least a C in my book. That grade goes up if they add Melton, goes up even further if they can hit on 3-4 players in the draft that contribute.

Lol I heard it for the first time toda. "Sarasm"... thought you guys would love it based on past talks. I hate rap, but I actually kinda like it.

I said he didn't excite me that much...I also said I was fine with Wootton as the other DE, so my standards were a little low there. As a 2nd DE I like it Young>>>>Wootton. Shea led the team....with 20....Young more than doubled that. If he thought Shea was great then Young must be a monster in his eyes.

Expecting something else?

https://soundcloud.com/martysaurusrex/4-smo...orange-dinosaur MartyB released a mix tape, I'm sure all you young cats will love this. Thoughts on track 4?

It's related to what happened awhile ago. There's 2 sides of the story apparently as he was planning on suing the bar so I don;t know what to believe. Video not clear enough to really see what went down, Henry obvious took a punch so it's not one sided. If it's not something that will get him suspended, or a distraction, I'm fine with signing him. Tell him to lay off the sauce and call it a day.

Certainly a possibility.

I think, after Phil said there's more value in the draft at Cb, that'll we'll snag a starter from the draft. Maybe Denard in the first or a guy like Roberson/McGill/Baptiste in the 2nd. If they brought back Melton I'd bust a nut if Gilbert falls to us....Can't imagine he gets past the lions though.

The problem is a rookie probably doesn't come in and take command right away. Bostic was praised as a strong leader at Florida, by draft experts as well.

Absolutely. If the right situation comes up though I wouldn't hesitate to dip into that contract though. Say they sign Melton at ~6M that leaves em with ~2M, if the market for a guy like Chris Clemons (the safety) dries up and he only costs ~3M I wouldn't hesitate to dip into the contract a few mill to cober that cost and give them a little more money to perhaps bring a guy like Britton, Bowman, and Rosario back. Your point remains though, right now the Bears salary for 2015 is 85 mill and that includes all but the guys I mentioned in my last post. If Bostic really is Briggs replacement next year then the Bears will really only need to resign Marshall. Even if we say BMarsh gets 10M then that's 45M in cap space.

That's the entire league BTW, not just FA DEs. Bring more heat from the LBs, get a penetrating DE, and boom they'll be lookin good.

Guy with a subscription to PFF posted this on soxtalk.... Stop % (how many tackles made for no gain or loss/run plays) among DEs: 1. Houston 2. Young Bears ain't messin around in trying to fix the run defense.

From what I can tell, the Bears cap # is 10,293,177. But that doesn't include Mundy, MD Jennings, Hixon , or Palmer. On an extreme high end those guys are 4m. I'd say we will see either 1.6 or 2.4 mill added to that number with Weems or Bennett being cut. So I'm guessing they have at least 8 mil left with 2 mil needed for the drat. Give me Melton plzzzzzz.

If spotrac is correct Willie Youngs cap hit will only be 1.6m this season. (I trust overthecap more and they don't have his numbers up yet) So the Bears freed up 9.8m from cutting Pep and turned that into 2 starting DEs, a starting LB, and a potential starting DT. (Young, Houston, Williams, and Ratliff add up to 9.4m)

Yup, makes an already big WR group even bigger. Hixon is 6'2 compared too the 5'9" Weems or the 6 foot Bennett.

Terrator, I saw a tweet from you awhile ago and saw you were a fisherman...you might appreciate his sack dance... )

From rotoworld....(obviously before he signed with the Bears) Free agent DE Willie Young is visiting the Jaguars. The Lions were high on Young the past few seasons, but he registered just six sacks across his last 46 games. He started 15 games mostly at left end last season and generated an impressive 48 hurries, which was third-most among 4-3 ends. Disruption is production. Young could flourish under coach Gus Bradley. "Disruption is production" I like that line.

Love the idea of Jernigan if they can snag Melton. Don't think he'll provide much of a pass rush to play him as the 3T, and we need a guy that will provide pressure up the gut. Houston-Melton-Jernigan-Young should be DOMINATE against the run. If they cant snag Melton or Hatcher I really hope Donald falls to us. If we get Melton and the Bears like Ratliff/Paea at NT I'd be cool with Dix. Like Roberson in the 2nd.

FWIW PFF wasn't fond of Allen. Had a -4.0 rating, just a touch better than Peppers. Neither Houston or Young are sexy picks for those who judge on sack numbers alone, but they are both really good signings IMO. Still really think Jason Babin would be a good signing. Also gimme Melton.....On obvious passing downs kick Houston inside and go with Babin-Houston-Melton-Young. Also, Austen Lane said Mel liked to rush LBs now and then so we can gets some more sacks out of them. Then there's the pass rush guru Joe Kim who could get more out of all these guys. I like the direction we're going.