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Looking back, what offseason moves should've been made?


selection7

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This started out as a reply to another post but I thought it'd be better as a topic of it's own.

 

An earlier post was right that there's no shortage of negativity from fans about the Bears' problem positions. I can undertand why of course, but let's go on record with where we think the solutions were. I don't personally remember any real obvious QB or OL solutions this offseason, but I don't follow other teams' players much anyway so that doesn't mean much. The offseason is pretty much over so if a fan was going to assess what moves he/she thinks the Bears should have made this offseason, now is a better time than earlier in the year when some of those moves weren't really possible or required too much speculation but we didn't know it yet.

 

...the original reply.

We did NOTHING to stabilize what hurt us last year and had the chance to do so.

Obviously our personnel hasn't changed much on offense. But let me add not to forget that coaching and practicing to improve the players on your roster definitely is not NOTHING...and done effectively, it will certainly "stabilize". Drafting Chis Williams in the 1st round was definitley something[/i. Really, everything but TE was in need on offense, so Kevin Jones and Forte was also something. Maybe losing Benson was additon by subtraction even. Gaining Booker probably doesn't count since we lost Berrian. Nevertheless. Can you be more specific?

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Positives:

 

Forte

Re-signing our studs

Cutting Benson & Moose

 

Negatives:

 

Passing on Faneca

Not chasing down a QB starter or drafting one.

 

 

Your right there wasn't a whole lot out there that we could have gone after. I think we could have made a stronger push to get one of the 2 or 3 OLinemen that were out there. I forget names but I know the Jets picked up 2 lineman during the offseason. 1 of them being Fenaca.
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You mean in FA or in the draft?

 

In FA, we could have made a play for a few players...maybe McNabb, maybe Warner, maybe Quinn, etc... NOthing set in stone, and maybe Angelo did walk down those streets. We'll never know what transpired behind closed doors. But there was certainly no visible push to better our QB position other than pray Kyle or Rex could flip the switch.

 

In the draft, there were quite a few QB's we opted to pass on...the list is pretty darn long.

 

So, you were really content with just standing pat at the QB spot?

 

Who?
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I wanted to see Michael Turner brought in, but he wasn't,

 

Bryant Johnson was a WR I wanted them to look at, and I'm pretty sure there were a couple others.

 

I think Berrian should have been tagged.

 

We should have been in the Fanneca sweepstakes. Minnesota is a good example of what a good left guard can do to a team, and it scares me with what we have there with ours now.

 

Brohm should have been drafted. If not him, they should have brought someone else to atleast start to groom. It takes a couple years to develop and we need to start that sooner then later. I really think they put too much stock in Orton and Grossman. Now, if they both suck, there isn't aQB waiting in the wings. Haine looked good, but he was brought in to be camp fodder not the QB of the future. It will just be luck if he turns out.

 

Derek Anderson was also available at QB. I personally wanted one to groom in the draft, but I figure he is worth mentioning.

 

Chad Pennington, when he recently became available, would have been a major upgrade over the QB's the team has now. I wasn't as mad that they didn't pursue him since with this line he would be hurt before the season starts.

 

Instead, we draft a LT with a broken back. There was not anyother additions, just subtractions and shifting players. No QB was brought in to groom, there was just the subtraction of Griese. RB is a similar situation to me. I don't think Benson was bad as much as the line sucked. Forte is a player fans will like more, but doesn't seem like an upgrade to me. WR, I think we lost more in Berrian then we gained.

 

Most importantly, some heads should have rolled on offense. I think Turner and some of his assistants should have been fired and replaced.

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I wanted to see Michael Turner brought in, but he wasn't,

 

Bryant Johnson was a WR I wanted them to look at, and I'm pretty sure there were a couple others.

 

I think Berrian should have been tagged.

 

We should have been in the Fanneca sweepstakes. Minnesota is a good example of what a good left guard can do to a team, and it scares me with what we have there with ours now.

 

Brohm should have been drafted. If not him, they should have brought someone else to atleast start to groom. It takes a couple years to develop and we need to start that sooner then later. I really think they put too much stock in Orton and Grossman. Now, if they both suck, there isn't aQB waiting in the wings. Haine looked good, but he was brought in to be camp fodder not the QB of the future. It will just be luck if he turns out.

 

Derek Anderson was also available at QB. I personally wanted one to groom in the draft, but I figure he is worth mentioning.

 

Chad Pennington, when he recently became available, would have been a major upgrade over the QB's the team has now. I wasn't as mad that they didn't pursue him since with this line he would be hurt before the season starts.

 

Instead, we draft a LT with a broken back. There was not anyother additions, just subtractions and shifting players. No QB was brought in to groom, there was just the subtraction of Griese. RB is a similar situation to me. I don't think Benson was bad as much as the line sucked. Forte is a player fans will like more, but doesn't seem like an upgrade to me. WR, I think we lost more in Berrian then we gained.

 

Most importantly, some heads should have rolled on offense. I think Turner and some of his assistants should have been fired and replaced.

No on Berrian. We will most likely be getting a 3rd rounder for him next yr anyway.

 

I watched Brohm in his 1st Packer game. Looks like a rag arm to me. I have a co-worker who is a Packer fan and he agrees.

 

Pennington sucks. He is the king of the rag arm. Pass.

 

Benson is a tool. He has no concept of the commitment you should have as a professional athlete.

 

The one complaint I have is we did not go after experienced o-line help.

 

Peace

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I wanted to see Michael Turner brought in, but he wasn't,

 

My opinions differ from yours in a few places. I think we're good at RB without Turner. Time will tell.

 

I think Berrian should have been tagged.

 

Not worth that kind of money, IMO.

 

We should have been in the Fanneca sweepstakes. Minnesota is a good example of what a good left guard can do to a team, and it scares me with what we have there with ours now.

 

Probably. Need to see what that signing would've done to our cap space and if we could've done everything we did this season regarding our own guys.

 

Brohm should have been drafted. If not him, they should have brought someone else to atleast start to groom. It takes a couple years to develop and we need to start that sooner then later. I really think they put too much stock in Orton and Grossman. Now, if they both suck, there isn't aQB waiting in the wings. Haine looked good, but he was brought in to be camp fodder not the QB of the future. It will just be luck if he turns out.

 

Brohm is making news in Green Bay as being outplayed by the guy they drafted in the 7th round. Besides, Hanie is the next Tony Romo. :)

 

Derek Anderson was also available at QB.

 

I'm not so sure how available he was.

 

Chad Pennington, when he recently became available, would have been a major upgrade over the QB's the team has now. I wasn't as mad that they didn't pursue him since with this line he would be hurt before the season starts.

 

Could be. But he came available pretty late in camp and was signed pretty darned quick. Rex is probably better on paper, IMO.

 

Instead, we draft a LT with a broken back. There was not anyother additions, just subtractions and shifting players. No QB was brought in to groom, there was just the subtraction of Griese. RB is a similar situation to me. I don't think Benson was bad as much as the line sucked. Forte is a player fans will like more, but doesn't seem like an upgrade to me. WR, I think we lost more in Berrian then we gained.

 

LT is an issue. Benson had to be dumped. He had his chances. If he's so great, why isn't he on a roster?

 

Most importantly, some heads should have rolled on offense. I think Turner and some of his assistants should have been fired and replaced.

 

I'm not in love with Ron Turner either.

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Not worth that kind of money, IMO.

 

Maybe not, but he was our best offensive player. The Bears may have been able to work out something long term later. Wasn't Hester's contract similar in money, and he hasn't even proven he can play WR yet.

 

Probably. Need to see what that signing would've done to our cap space and if we could've done everything we did this season regarding our own guys.

 

I would have taken Fanneca over resigning Briggs in a heart beat. I wouldn't have given Grossman a 5 million dollar contract or reworked Orton's deal to similar money if bonus's are met. Money could have been found there.

 

Brohm is making news in Green Bay as being outplayed by the guy they drafted in the 7th round. Besides, Hanie is the next Tony Romo. :)

 

Brohm may turn out to be a bust, he wouldn't be the first player I wanted, or the last to be one. The simple fact is they didn't bring in anyone in to groom, so it will be that much longer we have to wait on one to develop if they do. Hopefullly Hanie is the next Romo, he did show some nice stuff, but it wasn't part of the "Plan".

 

I'm not so sure how available he was.

 

I'm pretty sure he had the franchise tag on him before he signed a deal. He was available to anyone, it was just going to be pricey to get him. Can this team really put a price on a good QB? My main thing I don't like about Anderson is his low completion percentage. Which also happens to be a thing I like about Pennington. I think he has like the all time highest completion percantage, or among active players, or something.

 

Could be. But he came available pretty late in camp and was signed pretty darned quick. Rex is probably better on paper, IMO.

 

Depends on what you are looking for I guess. If you want to throw bombs then Grossman is a better choice. IF you want your offense to stay on the field and give your D a rest, then Pennington would have been a better choice. Completing like 65% of your passes is nothing to scoff at. I think it could be the possible ideal fit for a team with a D as good as this. I think it would help the young group of WR's development too.

 

LT is an issue. Benson had to be dumped. He had his chances. If he's so great, why isn't he on a roster?

 

Who knows. It may have to do with the suspensions he will get or people just think he sucks. I'm just speculating he wasn't that bad as he was pretty good every year before last year. The other RB's couldn't do much either. I'm not dissing Forte as much as I don't think he offers anything more then Benson did other then catching the ball, and Benson may have been better in some areas. I guess time will tell on that one.

 

I'm not in love with Ron Turner either.

Amen!!

 

Edit: On Michael Turner, I just felt he was a special back.

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Can you be more specific?
I'd love too. One - We should have signed a stud OG (Faneca) Two - We should have signed a better WR than Booker. Three - Should have made a move to get Brohm or Henne(my guy) in the 2nd round. If you look at our OL situation you should see that Faneca would have made the OL incrementally better. Even now with Williams out, th OL would 80% good. 60% doesn't cut it. The fact that the staff was comfortable with Benson untill his serial drunkedness took affect slays me. Again, I love that we rewarded our own, but IMO we could have worked it out another day. Your turn...
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Your turn...

I don't have much to add...other than to agree we would've had to seriously overpay Berrian and since we may get as high as a 3rd round supplemental pick out of Berrian, I'm ok with him being gone. Benson's fumble and Moose's non-attempt at competing for the jump ball/tackling after the pick were 2 of the biggest reasons we lost the Super Bowl so I'm not sad to see them go. As a veteran, I'm sure he made the other WR's around him better in practices but Booker can pick up that slack now.

 

I just wanted to hear specific players mentioned. Faneca, Pennington, Henne, Brohm, Michael Turner. Not sure if Derek Anderson counts since I also seem to recall he didn't fully test the market. Bryant Johnson was the only WR mentioned I believe.

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We couldn't have done much, and while I would have loved Faneca, he got a ridiculous contract from the Jets we couldn't match, and would be pretty stupid to pay him all that money as he is getting up there in years.

 

The move we should have made though was to franchise Berrian. He might not have been worth that 7+ million, but he was our best offensive weapon and it wouldn't have been like we made some long term commitment on him with 20 some million guaranteed. But instead, we let him walk, and he signs with the Vikings, making them even better.

 

Most people think Jackson sucks, but I guarantee you guys he is going to have a huge season for Minnesota. I think I could do decent with their Oline blocking for me, with Peterson and Taylor running, and two very solid receivers in Berrian and Rice. Plus, with a great D that will likely shutdown opposing offenses.

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I wanted to see Michael Turner brought in, but he wasn't,

 

Bryant Johnson was a WR I wanted them to look at, and I'm pretty sure there were a couple others.

 

I think Berrian should have been tagged.

 

We should have been in the Fanneca sweepstakes. Minnesota is a good example of what a good left guard can do to a team, and it scares me with what we have there with ours now.

 

Brohm should have been drafted. If not him, they should have brought someone else to atleast start to groom. It takes a couple years to develop and we need to start that sooner then later. I really think they put too much stock in Orton and Grossman. Now, if they both suck, there isn't aQB waiting in the wings. Haine looked good, but he was brought in to be camp fodder not the QB of the future. It will just be luck if he turns out.

 

Derek Anderson was also available at QB. I personally wanted one to groom in the draft, but I figure he is worth mentioning.

 

Chad Pennington, when he recently became available, would have been a major upgrade over the QB's the team has now. I wasn't as mad that they didn't pursue him since with this line he would be hurt before the season starts.

 

Instead, we draft a LT with a broken back. There was not anyother additions, just subtractions and shifting players. No QB was brought in to groom, there was just the subtraction of Griese. RB is a similar situation to me. I don't think Benson was bad as much as the line sucked. Forte is a player fans will like more, but doesn't seem like an upgrade to me. WR, I think we lost more in Berrian then we gained.

 

Most importantly, some heads should have rolled on offense. I think Turner and some of his assistants should have been fired and replaced.

How exactly would we have paid for all these guys? We would have no cap room and no draft picks and a bunch of overpriced guys.

 

They needed to bring in Faneca and take Otah in the first because he fits our style of play better. I like Forte in the second but I also wouldnt have minded Brohm there, but thats it for QBs. I like extended our guys if they brought in Faneca and drafted an OT. I like the KJ pick up as well.

 

I dont care if its McNabb, Anderson, Pennington, Warner or whoever playing qb. Brady would get killed behind our line, that should have been more of a priority.

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The biggest mistake the Bears made was not franchising Berrian. This offense would be a lot different having a #1 WR. I realize Berrian isn't a #1 in the sense of TO/Johnson/etc, but he's an above average WR who would make the entire rest of the core better. Having at least one guy who can make the big play on offense would have been huge.

 

And realistically they could have tagged Berrian and still did everything else this off-season (with the intent of letting BB walk). I'd have loved an offensive line signing but I realize Faneca got a ton of money and signing him would have impacted other areas (ie, in house guys who were resigned).

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I wanted to see Michael Turner brought in, but he wasn't,

 

Bryant Johnson was a WR I wanted them to look at, and I'm pretty sure there were a couple others.

 

I think Berrian should have been tagged.

 

We should have been in the Fanneca sweepstakes. Minnesota is a good example of what a good left guard can do to a team, and it scares me with what we have there with ours now.

 

Brohm should have been drafted. If not him, they should have brought someone else to atleast start to groom. It takes a couple years to develop and we need to start that sooner then later. I really think they put too much stock in Orton and Grossman. Now, if they both suck, there isn't aQB waiting in the wings. Haine looked good, but he was brought in to be camp fodder not the QB of the future. It will just be luck if he turns out.

 

Derek Anderson was also available at QB. I personally wanted one to groom in the draft, but I figure he is worth mentioning.

 

Chad Pennington, when he recently became available, would have been a major upgrade over the QB's the team has now. I wasn't as mad that they didn't pursue him since with this line he would be hurt before the season starts.

 

Instead, we draft a LT with a broken back. There was not anyother additions, just subtractions and shifting players. No QB was brought in to groom, there was just the subtraction of Griese. RB is a similar situation to me. I don't think Benson was bad as much as the line sucked. Forte is a player fans will like more, but doesn't seem like an upgrade to me. WR, I think we lost more in Berrian then we gained.

 

Most importantly, some heads should have rolled on offense. I think Turner and some of his assistants should have been fired and replaced.

 

Things with which I disagree

Michael Turner: Would have been overpriced for a relative unknown

Bryant Johnson: Pointless considering the fact there is a logjam at WR right now, and the OL stinks so bad that there could never be a valid evaluation.

Bernard Berrian: Best WR last year, but not a #1, and not worthy of the tag. Watch him suck this year for the Vikes.

Derek Anderson: See Michael Turner. Overpriced to get him. Sell high, buy low...not the other way around.

Chad Pennington: Abso-friggin-lutely not. He would be worse than Rex or Orton with this OL. His noodle arm would have done nearly nothing except throw INTs under pressure. At least with the two we have there is a chance of a ball squeezing through a window.

 

Things with which I agree

Faneca: This I completely agree with. The Bears should have realized the weakest point last year. Hell, anyone with eyes, a brain, and elementary knowledge of football should have seen this.

Drafting QB: Agreed. There should always be a QB blossoming on the horizon. By the way, Colt Brennan looks to be adjusting to the NFL quite well.

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I'd love too. One - We should have signed a stud OG (Faneca) Two - We should have signed a better WR than Booker. Three - Should have made a move to get Brohm or Henne(my guy) in the 2nd round. If you look at our OL situation you should see that Faneca would have made the OL incrementally better. Even now with Williams out, th OL would 80% good. 60% doesn't cut it. The fact that the staff was comfortable with Benson untill his serial drunkedness took affect slays me. Again, I love that we rewarded our own, but IMO we could have worked it out another day. Your turn...

 

To be honest, I don't see how the team can be faulted for Benson being a moron. As one of this board's biggest Benson haters, I still think the Bears front office had the following to look at:

 

1) A top-five draft pick, with crazy high school and college credentials on the field, and sparks of greatness in the NFL

2) An absolute garbage OL, that allowed more penetration than a 3 dollar hooker

 

With that in mind, you have to concentrate on the OL first, and presume that the improvement of the OL will lead to production from the RB. That only made sense. And when you look at some of Benson's highlight runs from the past two years, he looked pretty good when he was given any semblance of a hole to run through. He had burst, power, and enough wiggle to keep the defense off balance.

 

Aside from Benson's off-field retardedness, the front office made the right decision by going OL over RB. Hell, I think they should have gone OL again instead of picking up Forte. Of course, neither I, nor the front office could have predicted Benson's actions...so the Forte pick ends up being somewhat of a blessing in disguise.

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One. How would having Berrian make a difference when the QB barely has time for a 3 step drop. And DO NOT tell me how defenses wouldn't stack/attack w/ Berrian at WR, because they have been doing it for years.

 

Two. How is it we could afford to tag Berrian w/o affecting any of our other signings, but couldn't afford Faneca w/o affecting them?

 

Sorry, I just don't see how Berrian would make a difference.

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Okay, first, I disagree on Berrian, but that is another story.

 

Point here is, I disagree on Faneca. Did he get a ton? Yup. Elite OGs are making the sort of money that, not long ago, most felt only LTs got. Yea, he isn't young, but oh well. Imagine how much higher his deal would have been if he were.

 

What kills me is, NY signed him for the same reasons we should have.

 

(a) Because he is a stud that solidifies the LG position.

(B) Because they have a LT who they feel has loads of talent, but hasn't developed as they hoped. They believed adding an elite LG veteran to play next to that young LT, there would be a greater jump in development. So you solidify the LG position, and improve the LT positions as well. They actually hope Faneca has that effect on their center too.

 

Sorry, but I will never understand the thinking. We spend a 1st round pick on at LT. Great. But we also intend to go w/ the winner of Metcalf/St.Clair to man the LG spot. Even if he were not injuried, how well does a rookie develop next to either of those two?

 

I just feel you build in the trenched, both on offense and defense. If we put together a great OL, wanna bet how much better the WRs we do have would look? Maybe Hester becomes a stud w/ a great OL. Maybe not. I don't know. But w/ the OL we have, Berrian would never do a whole hell of a lot.

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Michael Turner: Would have been overpriced for a relative unknown

 

Agreed. Spend the money on the OL, not on a RB who would not find holes to run through.

 

Bryant Johnson: Pointless considering the fact there is a logjam at WR right now, and the OL stinks so bad that there could never be a valid evaluation.

 

Personally, I disagree here. Adding BJ would have meant (a) we wouldn't have needed Booker (B) we wouldn't have felt the need (or Angelo wouldn't have) to spend a high pick on a WR. W/ that said, I don't recall how much he ended up getting.

 

Bernard Berrian: Best WR last year, but not a #1, and not worthy of the tag. Watch him suck this year for the Vikes.

 

Not sure he will suck for Minny, but agree we should have never tagged him. Thing w/ Minny is, Jackson may not be that good, but w/ the OL and ground game they have, he doesn't need to be. Berrian will find himself w/ a lot of one-on-one coverages due to defendses stacking up to stop the run.

 

Derek Anderson: See Michael Turner. Overpriced to get him. Sell high, buy low...not the other way around.

 

Again, disagree. I honestly do not know for sure if I would have done it or not, and I don't recall what it would have cost, but we are talking QB here. I would say Anderson would have been a high risk, but at some point, isn't taking a risk worth it?

 

Chad Pennington: Abso-friggin-lutely not. He would be worse than Rex or Orton with this OL. His noodle arm would have done nearly nothing except throw INTs under pressure. At least with the two we have there is a chance of a ball squeezing through a window.

 

Frankly, I don't think it matters. Pennington was going to play for Parcells. That we basically a done deal immediately. But let me say this. Chad may not have a strong arm, but he is probably still better than what we have. His addition may be short term, but I think I would have more confidence in him than what we have.

 

Faneca: This I completely agree with. The Bears should have realized the weakest point last year. Hell, anyone with eyes, a brain, and elementary knowledge of football should have seen this.

 

Yup. For me, it isn't JUST Faneca. He was the player I wanted, and who I feel would have benefited the OL as a whole the most. At the same time, if they added another good OG, then fine. But we added NOTHING, and simply expected St. Clair to man the position.

 

Drafting QB: Agreed. There should always be a QB blossoming on the horizon. By the way, Colt Brennan looks to be adjusting to the NFL quite well.

 

Frankly, I will never understand that one.

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Things with which I disagree

Michael Turner: Would have been overpriced for a relative unknown

 

He asked what we would have done. Personally, I think he is a special player. It's not something the team needed to do, but something I would have looked into. The Bears may have gotten some kind of hometown discount, but probably not since he went where the money was.

 

 

Bryant Johnson: Pointless considering the fact there is a logjam at WR right now, and the OL stinks so bad that there could never be a valid evaluation.

 

Agreed, but I would have broke the bank to bring in Faneca, looked at other free agents and drafted some OL. Bennet and Monk wouldn't be on the team. Lloyd would have never been brought in. Bradley would have been gone by now. My log jam would have been Bryant Johnson, Bernard Berian, Hester, Davis, Booker and Hass.

 

Bernard Berrian: Best WR last year, but not a #1, and not worthy of the tag. Watch him suck this year for the Vikes.

 

We differ on this, but we'll see how he does this year. I always liked what I had seen from Berrian.

 

Derek Anderson: See Michael Turner. Overpriced to get him. Sell high, buy low...not the other way around.

 

I don't think the price was too high, as much as the team needs so much. I wouldn't have paid the price, but looking at the Bears QB history, it would have been tempting. I would have addressed the QB situation most likely by signing Culpepper. He and Orton could have fought it out in camp. All along, working on the QB future that I drafted.

 

Chad Pennington: Abso-friggin-lutely not. He would be worse than Rex or Orton with this OL. His noodle arm would have done nearly nothing except throw INTs under pressure. At least with the two we have there is a chance of a ball squeezing through a window.

 

I never have gotten the Orton and Grossman are better then Pennington because they can throw the ball harder/faster.

 

 

 

It may sound like I am spending alot of money, but here's how I would have gotten it.

 

A) Grossman would have never been resigned and Orton would have never gotten his extension.

 

B) As big as a fan as I am of Dez, he would have never gotten his extension.

 

C) Ricky Manning Jr. would be gone.

 

D) Hester would have had to wait for his extension and prove he was worth a comparable contract to what Berian signed. That was just a ridiculous amount they signed him to IMHO.

 

E) Briggs would be gone. I like Briggs, but you can't put all your money in D, if you want some O too. Between using the money to give him an offense, and another LB getting paid, it may have kept Urlacher from wanting more money...

 

I think that would have freed up enough to bring in Faneca, sign Culpepper, bring in Bryant Johnson and possibly look at another linemen or 2 in free agency.

 

The main jam I would have been in would have been thanks to Benson. I would have drafted OL in the first and Brohm in the second or vice versa. Unless Forte fell to the third, where I did want him drafted, I would have drafted Oline in the third and another round too.

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