scs787

Vegas has the over/under on Bears wins set at 8. I think I may actually have to throw down some cash on that. I think worst case it'd be a push at 8 wins. With all the talent they have now I'd be SHOCKED if this is a below .500 football team.

Ya....Injuries blow.

Sadly we'll just never know if that is true or not. Had he signed elsewhere and balled out then yes your statement could be definitive but as Cracker has said we're not the ones who know what his situation was physically.

Whats getting lost in the whole "Team was better with Brian on the field" argument is the fact that they had to trot out Geno Hayes for 3 starts, he was awful, and then Blake Costanzo for the 4th, again awful. Brian may have been on the decline but he was still better than the likes of Geno Hayes and Blake Costanzo, so I'm not sure that whole argument is any good.

Briggs is certainly a possibility, esp. if Bostic proves to be a solid MLB. If that doesn't happen I think they let Briggs go and throw Bostic there and look for a MLB. Hopefully that's SMC/Greene/Jones. Pouncey would be a nice get, I kinda think DLP is the future center though. I think Vereen/Mundy will be a good combo but I'd love to see Ihenacho hits the market.

I just threw out the starters and some backups at key positions.....Right now they have 47 players signed for next year.

Alright so I'm kinda getting ahead of myself here, but I find looking at the 2015 season very intriguing.....Look at who we already have locked up... QB-Cutler/Fales RB-Forte/Carey WR-Marshall/Jeffery/Wilson TE-Bennett/(Onubun) LT-Bushrod LG-Slauson C- ? RG-Long RT-Mills DE-Allen/Houston/Young DT-Ratliff/Ego/Sutton LB-Bostic/SMC/Greene/(Jones) CB-Jennings/Fuller/Frey SS- Mundy FS- Vereen They have all of that AND about 30M in cap space. Hypothetically speaking if Bostic takes a step forward, SMC proves to be a solid LB, Greene shows the talent I saw in him in college, Vereen takes the starting FS job and runs with it, and the Bears resign DLP to play center, what the hell are they gonna spend that 30M in cap space on! If all goes right we're gonna be set up for yet another interesting offseason next year. Phil is doing great things here.

I was actually thinking he'd get somewhere in the 12-15 range. Man, I just love what Emery has done with this team. What I find a little interesting to look at now is the 2015 season. I'll start a new thread for that so I don't take away from the BMarsh talks.

I'm goin with my guy Jon Bostic. Everyone loved him in preseason (when he actually has a DL in front of him) and I still believe he has loads of potential. I think he wins the MLB job over DJ and just takes off with the improved DL in front of him. Of the rookies I think Vereen takes the job right out of the gate and has the biggest impact of any rookie in year 1.

Zach Zaidman ‏@ZachZaidman 3m 6th-round draft pick Pat O'Donnell routinely hit roof of Walter Payton Center during punting drills. #Bears play two indoor games in 2014.

18 of the punters in the NFL were drafted so it's not like we're the first to do it or anything.

Man I sure am rooting for him to succeed. He's got the speed to succeed in coverage and playing in space should only help when playing the run. One things for sure is it's gonna be real interesting to see how the starting LBs shakes out. I think there's a lot of talent there. I really think Bostic and Greene have a ton of talent, and SMC is a real wild card

FWIW, Bears carried 6 WRs + Hester on last years 53. This year I'm thinkin we see Marshall/Jeffery/Wilson/Morgan/Hixon/Williams with Jones making the team. I wouldn't be surprised if he doesn't make it either. If he does make it I don't think he'll make as what everyone wants him as, MLB, I think he'll be more of a WLB.

I'd be pretty bummed if they gave up on Greene already, I still think he has a ton of talent. Last year the Bears carried 6 LBs on the 53 man roster. With Hester gone I'd like to see his spot given to a LB so they can go with Briggs/Bostic/Williams/SMC/Greene/Senn/Jones....Like what was said in another thread I think theres a good chance Jones gets plucked off the PS if they put him there.

Ya, he's a guy most here were talking about drafting in the 3/4 round. He was one of the few LBs I actually liked in the class, didn't see a need to use a draft pick on a LB though, but as a UDFA it could be a huge gem. Kinda doubt he starts this year but if they let Briggs walk next year I could certainly see him being in the mix with Bostic/Greene/SMC. It'd be real nice if 3 of the 4 end up being the starters.

Interesting, ya I think it was last year. I just saw that quote about the contracts being formalities on rotoworld and thought I'd throw it out there.

Looks fair to me, I think they'll finish higher(somwhere in the 6-8 range) but I suppose we gotta see how all the new pieces work together.

Agreed....It's been a fantastic offseason. The most I've been excited about an offseason in as long as I can remember.

Not to rain on the Stein parade but after the new CBA was put in place, rookie contracts are mere formalities with bonuses and salaries basically predetermined by draft slot. I don't think we'll see anyone holdout in the whole league.

Again, the first 4 lines there are 1st rounders, so they only had the chance to add 1 starter by this logic. I can imagine they probably take Jernigan if he was there in the 2nd just based on Ego being a similar player. Nix apparently just wasn't a fit or had serious injury concerns. Help was obtained. Fuller/Ego/Sutton will all play big roles, and it's very possible Vereen is a starter. BTW Frey played 417 snaps last year...I'm not sure he was any good or garbage, I couldn't tell. You put Tillman/Fuller/Jennings out there for those 400+ snaps and that is gonna help A LOT. Esp when you start to consider the hogs up front they have. Don't get me wrong, after Donald was off the board I probably would have gone HHCD or Pryor but again, for whatever reason, Phil/Trestman/Mel like Conte. We as fans may not, but we're not the ones who see them in practice and all that.

Lol thats what you got out of all that?? Landry was a 2012 pro bowler and would of made it last year had he not got hurt, he was on pace for 139 tackles...as a Safety... Kyle Williams(Buffalo) is one of, if not the, best DT in the league. Micheal Brockers(STL) is better than Dorsey. There's a reason why LSU had the most players drafted this year. They continue to churn out solid NFL players. You're just stuck on Steltz I guess.

Fixed your comment.... LSU DT 2013 stats. Kyle Willams- 68 tackles 10.5 sacks Micheal Brockers- 48 Tackles 5.5 sacks Glenn Dorsey- 41 tackes 2 sacks (as a 3-4 NT) Bennie Logan- 27 tackles 2 sacks (Rookie with a bright future) Al Woods- 16 tackles 2 sacks...(Just got a 2yr 5M deal) Ricky Jean-Francois- 19 tackles 2.5 sacks (Was hurt for 7 games....Signed a 4yr 22M contract last year) Other LSU D players in the league Perry Riley LB- 117 tackles Eric Reid S- 77 tackles (Pro Bowler) Patrick Peterson CB- 42 tackles (3rd pro bowl) Barkevious Mingo LB-5 sacks 9 TFL 12 QBH Honey Badger DB- 68 tackles (One of the most exciting players in the game) Laron Landry S- 87 tackles in 12 games Ryan Clark S- 107 tackles

By this logic, they only had the chance to draft 1 day 1 starter and that would have been a Safety. What other positions are you guys looking for a starter at? Apparently not DT because they got those guys. What about CB?? Naw, guess not cause they got that. I think the fact of the matter is, for whatever reason, Phil Emery likes Chris Conte.....But he also "hedge his bets" by picking up perhaps the most athletic safety in the draft. I mean it's not like none of these guy are gonna see any snaps this year. In a passing league, esp. the NFC N, having 3 really good CBs will be huge. Having 2 DTs will be a huge part of a rotation is big, esp. with Ratliff being old and Paea not being that great. It may not seem like a sexy draft for this coming up year but if in a year or 2 we get a stud CB, 2 starting or starting caliber DTs, a starting FS, a reliable #2 RB/QB, our punter with a rocket leg, a swing tackle, and perhaps even a starting LB??? Which is all entirely possible, this draft would have been a gold mine.

My guy! Not a big McShay fan but I'd have to agree. He says he should contribute in sub packages, but I really think he'll be an every down player sooner rather than later. Perhaps even right out of the gate.

I wouldn't really call Mundy a cast off. He was stuck behind Polomalu, Ryan Clark, and Will Allen for years. Last year was his first real chance to play from what I read he preformed admirably. Again, FWIW, Matt Miller has him ranked as the 26th safety in the league (That includes SS and FS) so by that ranking he's above average. Not sure how you can say the DL wasn't that horrible. Yes, I know Paea was dealing with issues, and Ratliff was coming off injury, but neither of those guys are anything to write home about.