Futures option?

[Stinger226]

Since our defense sucks, and the offense is close to being very very good, how about it we sold out on defense and continued building the offense first.

 

Grab a star TE in the first round and a OC in the second and then draft defensive players the rest of the draft?

Pick up free agents to fill defensive spots, and bring back some of our own players?

 

This is out of left field thinking but if we get two TE options and improve our oline and let the the defense suck with mild improvement.

 

what do you think.

[adam]

Since our defense sucks, and the offense is close to being very very good, how about it we sold out on defense and continued building the offense first.

 

Grab a star TE in the first round and a OC in the second and then draft defensive players the rest of the draft?

Pick up free agents to fill defensive spots, and bring back some of our own players?

 

This is out of left field thinking but if we get two TE options and improve our oline and let the the defense suck with mild improvement.

 

what do you think.

Adding a TE would be a waste unless he was a Graham/Gronk caliber. Otherwise, Bennett is good enough for that position. I just don't see the value in the first unless we are going OLine again. A speedy slot WR maybe in the top 3 rounds. We really need to address the aging defense in the first few rounds, otherwise we will get even worse before we get better.

[BearFan2000]

If we go offense early I'd rather it be a QB that we can groom behind Cutler/McCown for a year or two.

[CrackerDog]

I think we can afford to go "Best Player Available" in the first round and then I expect us to go hard after defensive players for a while. So if a great center slips to the Bears spot in the first, they'd take him. More than likely we'll stay away from TE or QB and I don't expect them to draft a WR either in that spot. After that, you can expect D Line & D backfield. With that said, I don't really have a handle on what's available out there in FA in those spots. It's generally cheaper to find players in the draft though so I don't expect the Bears to break the bank this year on FA's unless it's Cutler's deal we're talking about.

[AZ54]

We need both another WR option as a TE and a speedy WR for the slot. One or both should be something we can address in FA for a reasonable cost. I should say we need to fill a couple needs via FA, it could be either the above or DL, CB, S. Phil has to figure out the best balance of FA talent versus draft talent.

[Mongo3451]

If we invested highly in any offensive weapon, I would prefer a speed guy. Whether it be a slot guy or RB, we are slow at those positions. Plus, Hester may be gone. If so, he will need replaced with that guy. Still want a center. Don't like the idea of Slaussen sliding over. I want a true center. Otherwise, we need to rejuvenate the DL and DB positions.

 

This is one of those years it would be great to have 14 picks like the niners had last draft...

 

[scs787]

A lot of the beat writers last year talked about how Trestman will use a lot of "ace packages"(2WR/2TE/1RB) so I was on board with drafting a 2nd TE, it didn't happen. Then they traded for Rosario and I thought using the ace package was the idea behind it, I still haven't really seen it that much. I don't know if Rosario just hasn't shown it in practice to utilize it more in games, or that's just something Marc doesn't want to run. If the idea behind Rosario was to indeed try to run more of that package but he's just sucked then I have no problem with them drafting a TE. In the first round though? idk about that. Same goes for OC and a speed guy in the first.

 

We've had a top ranked offense, without a 2nd TE, without a burner in the slot, and with Roberto Garza at OC. Those positions aren't that high of a priority to take them over a defensive player.

 

However, if they bring back all their guys (Tillman/Jennings/Melton/Collins/Ratliff) and there isn't a Safety or CB that high up on their draft board then I would have no problem with them getting a guy like Eric Ebron, Austin Jenkins, Marquise Lee, or Jordan Matthews. I'd actually prefer the monster TE's vs a speed guy, Jeffery has proven to be one of the biggest deep ball threats in the league, he's the guy who takes the tops off defenses.

 

 

[jason]

I would absolutely hate a TE in the first. Same goes for a speed guy. TE is not a need. Neither is WR. Besides, a speed guy can be had in the mid/late rounds.

 

This team needs defensive help at all three levels. And if the FA period doesn't go as we'd like, it may need even more help.

 

 

[madlithuanian]

Agreed. Seems frivolous.

 

I think line in 1 and 2. D and O. Then secondary or LB's. Then anything else...

 

 

I would absolutely hate a TE in the first. Same goes for a speed guy. TE is not a need. Neither is WR. Besides, a speed guy can be had in the mid/late rounds.

 

This team needs defensive help at all three levels. And if the FA period doesn't go as we'd like, it may need even more help.

 

[sulster]

I want all Noles drafted...Lamarcus Joyner as nickel/return man. Tim Jernigan as a Dt. Christian Jones as OLB. Bryan Stork as a center and Kenny Shaw as the slot guy. Throw in Terrence Brooks as safety.

[Stinger226]

I want all Noles drafted...Lamarcus Joyner as nickel/return man. Tim Jernigan as a Dt. Christian Jones as OLB. Bryan Stork as a center and Kenny Shaw as the slot guy. Throw in Terrence Brooks as safety.

I am a traditional Bears fan, great defenses along the way to enjoy and this defense is God awful. Everytime I watch them, I feel like a dog just bite my nutsack.We have to rebuilt our defense and how long will that take. History tells us, you draft well for 3 years and grab a couple prime FAs and you can have a stout defense. The problem with that is, if this is our first year of rebuilding it we have a 2nd and 3rd round pick that is a long way from being decent let alone having an impact.

 

I wrote this with the thought, since our offense is on its way, and the time it will take to rebuilt our defense, by the time the defense gets good again, Marshall will be done, Cutler will be at the end of his career, and Forte will be trying to catch on with another team. I think it will take 3 years to get anything that resembles a defense again and by then the offense will be starting to fade. Add 3 years to the play of Cutler , Marshall, and Forte, and then we will have to rebuild the offense again.

 

So I thought....WHAT IF...we just jump on offense and add some pieces and try to win with an awesome offense and patch the defense. Add a speedy WR or a stud TE(two TE sets)(see past NE games) and a anchor OC and we cam rival the NEs, and Denvers of the league. We have the disadvantage of sitting on a team that has had many bad drafts that instead of stocking this team has us out on a ledge.

 

Add in the change in rules, lack of practices(bargining agreement) creating lousy tackling. The cards are stacked against good defenses any more, why not buy in and build a dynasty with a great offense this time.

 

[AZ54]

I am a traditional Bears fan, great defenses along the way to enjoy and this defense is God awful. Everytime I watch them, I feel like a dog just bite my nutsack.We have to rebuilt our defense and how long will that take. History tells us, you draft well for 3 years and grab a couple prime FAs and you can have a stout defense. The problem with that is, if this is our first year of rebuilding it we have a 2nd and 3rd round pick that is a long way from being decent let alone having an impact.

 

I wrote this with the thought, since our offense is on its way, and the time it will take to rebuilt our defense, by the time the defense gets good again, Marshall will be done, Cutler will be at the end of his career, and Forte will be trying to catch on with another team. I think it will take 3 years to get anything that resembles a defense again and by then the offense will be starting to fade. Add 3 years to the play of Cutler , Marshall, and Forte, and then we will have to rebuild the offense again.

 

So I thought....WHAT IF...we just jump on offense and add some pieces and try to win with an awesome offense and patch the defense. Add a speedy WR or a stud TE(two TE sets)(see past NE games) and a anchor OC and we cam rival the NEs, and Denvers of the league. We have the disadvantage of sitting on a team that has had many bad drafts that instead of stocking this team has us out on a ledge.

 

Add in the change in rules, lack of practices(bargining agreement) creating lousy tackling. The cards are stacked against good defenses any more, why not buy in and build a dynasty with a great offense this time.

 

Why not? Because I don't think we need to sell out the defense to improve our offense in the ways mentioned. As stated, with Garza at C we're the leagues 2nd best offense in pts/gm and 7th in yds/gm. Would I like to see an upgrade over Garza? Absolutely. Can Kromer find that guy late in the draft or in FA? I believe he can.

 

Speed WR? I'm thinking like Jason here: Find another Johnny Knox in Rd 4/5.

 

2nd TE? Same thing, grab him in Rd 4 or 5. We don't need a stud here, not even a guy who is a good blocker but one who can go out and catch some passes and occasionally hold a block on the edge. The edge blocking in helped dramatically by guys like Marshall and Jeffrey so we have wiggle room here in terms of player capabilities we need.

 

Again, of those 3 needs I believe at least one will be filled by a vet FA. Jacoby Ford will be a UFA. He's fast and he's also been a very poor performer as a WR. He's also been injured. I don't watch Raiders games so I won't say he's what we need but his 4.3 speed would look great in the open field underneath some deep routes run by Marshall/Jeffrey. He can replace Hester as a KR too. I'd say goodbye to Weems too. There will be options for us without a huge investment in either money or high draft pick and with this offense we now have a place for WRs to come to if they want to succeed in their career. That doesn't hurt the recruiting process.

 

 

In doing this we keep the big money and high draft picks available to rebuild the D.

 

[scs787]

I personally don't think it will take long to rebuild our defense at all. The reason our defense was so god awful this year was because of injuries, if they just bring back the injured guys, who should all come on discounts, then the defense will be at the very least, good enough.

 

DT was the biggest problem this season. If they can put a healthy rotation of Melton, Ratliff, Paea, and Collins they should be really stout in the middle. Maybe throw in a 3-4 round pick to protect ourselves against injury.

 

DE gets better because of the improvement at DT. Not only do they get to move Wootton back outside, but because of the attention paid to the guys on the inside, it makes the guys on the outside job a little easier. I also really think we'll see Peppers get the boot and add MartyBs bro Michael to take his place. Wootton and Bennett on the corners should be a big improvement over Pepper and SMC.

 

CB will be fine whatever way they wanna go with it. If they let one of Tillman or Jennings walk I'm fine with that because Bowman has played really well in the absence of Tillman. Frey hasn't been noticeably bad either so I can see him sticking around in the nickel.

 

LB isn't in bad shape. Briggs will be back, and despite somewhat bad play out of Bostic I think you gotta give your 2nd round pick a chance to start next year. The Sam LB should be easy to fill. Whether they wanna bring Anderson back, play Greene there, or find another cheap option there they should be fine.

 

Safety should be priority numero uno. I would LOVE to see Ha-Ha fall to us, or see Tillman accept a move to safety and have Denard fall to us....Those are ideal situations to me. Like another poster suggested, I wouldn't mind Joyner in the first round either, he reminds me a lot of Bob Sanders looking at his tape from when he was a Safety.

 

 

Assuming they have the money to bring back Melton, Collins, Ratliff, Wootton, Tillman, Jennings, and bring in Bennett, then hit on a Safety in the first round then I think they could, at the very least be a top 15 defense. If they're a top 15 defense, and the offense remains a top 5 offense i think that team could make a deep playoff run.

 

In an ideal world, if all those guys are brought back they can go with a draft that looks something like....(using WF mock)

 

1R Ha-Ha/Denard/Joyner/Oregon dude withe the weird name/Verrett- In said ideal world if they get a CB here it would mean Tillman to Safety

2R- Travis Swanson OC

3R- Taylor Hart DT/DE Oregon

4R- CB/S

5R- CB/S

6R- LB

6R- Huge TE/Speedy WR.

 

DE- Bennett/Wootton/SMC/Bass/Washington/Hart

DT- Melton/Ratliff/Paea/Collins/Hart/Cohen

LB- Briggs/Bostic/Greene/Vet/Costanzo/6R

CB-Tillman/Jennings/Frey/Bowman/4Ror5R/McMannis or Denard/Jennings/Frey/Bowman/4Ror5R/McMannis

S- Ha-Ha/Wright/4Ror5R/? or Tilman/Wright/4Ror5R/?

 

 

[ASHKUM BEAR]

I personally don't think it will take long to rebuild our defense at all. The reason our defense was so god awful this year was because of injuries, if they just bring back the injured guys, who should all come on discounts, then the defense will be at the very least, good enough.

 

DT was the biggest problem this season. If they can put a healthy rotation of Melton, Ratliff, Paea, and Collins they should be really stout in the middle. Maybe throw in a 3-4 round pick to protect ourselves against injury.

 

DE gets better because of the improvement at DT. Not only do they get to move Wootton back outside, but because of the attention paid to the guys on the inside, it makes the guys on the outside job a little easier. I also really think we'll see Peppers get the boot and add MartyBs bro Michael to take his place. Wootton and Bennett on the corners should be a big improvement over Pepper and SMC.

 

CB will be fine whatever way they wanna go with it. If they let one of Tillman or Jennings walk I'm fine with that because Bowman has played really well in the absence of Tillman. Frey hasn't been noticeably bad either so I can see him sticking around in the nickel.

 

 

LB isn't in bad shape. Briggs will be back, and despite somewhat bad play out of Bostic I think you gotta give your 2nd round pick a chance to start next year. The Sam LB should be easy to fill. Whether they wanna bring Anderson back, play Greene there, or find another cheap option there they should be fine.

 

Safety should be priority numero uno. I would LOVE to see Ha-Ha fall to us, or see Tillman accept a move to safety and have Denard fall to us....Those are ideal situations to me. Like another poster suggested, I wouldn't mind Joyner in the first round either, he reminds me a lot of Bob Sanders looking at his tape from when he was a Safety.

 

 

Assuming they have the money to bring back Melton, Collins, Ratliff, Wootton, Tillman, Jennings, and bring in Bennett, then hit on a Safety in the first round then I think they could, at the very least be a top 15 defense. If they're a top 15 defense, and the offense remains a top 5 offense i think that team could make a deep playoff run.

 

Speaking of LB, did you hear Emery on Bostic? He recently said he sees him as an OLB with his speed and would like to see him play there next year. Maybe he sees Briggs as an asset to trade for a pick or thinks them two swap positions. I think Briggs can play MLB and we would be more disciplined.

 

[scs787]

Speaking of LB, did you hear Emery on Bostic? He recently said he sees him as an OLB with his speed and would like to see him play there next year. Maybe he sees Briggs as an asset to trade for a pick or thinks them two swap positions. I think Briggs can play MLB and we would be more disciplined.

 

 

Very interesting, I had not heard that. Hasn't Briggs said he doesn't wanna play MLB? I'd kinda hate to see Bostic at the SLB just because they come off in nickel situations and I'd like my 2R pick to play every down.

 

[ASHKUM BEAR]

Very interesting, I had not heard that. Hasn't Briggs said he doesn't wanna play MLB? I'd kinda hate to see Bostic at the SLB just because they come off in nickel situations and I'd like my 2R pick to play every down.

 

Briggs had said that earlier. He'd be on his last year, so maybe they can sway his opinion for the better of the team. If not, the I see DJ Williams back if healthy. I can't figure out were Greene will fit yet, that's why I think they need to find a new scheme to fit some of the players we have. This offseason will be a wild one. Id like to see a hybrid D, that's out of the norm. If Trestman can envision an offensive philosophy that works, lets hope he has an idea for a defense.

[Stinger226]

I personally don't think it will take long to rebuild our defense at all. The reason our defense was so god awful this year was because of injuries, if they just bring back the injured guys, who should all come on discounts, then the defense will be at the very least, good enough.

 

DT was the biggest problem this season. If they can put a healthy rotation of Melton, Ratliff, Paea, and Collins they should be really stout in the middle. Maybe throw in a 3-4 round pick to protect ourselves against injury.

 

DE gets better because of the improvement at DT. Not only do they get to move Wootton back outside, but because of the attention paid to the guys on the inside, it makes the guys on the outside job a little easier. I also really think we'll see Peppers get the boot and add MartyBs bro Michael to take his place. Wootton and Bennett on the corners should be a big improvement over Pepper and SMC.

 

CB will be fine whatever way they wanna go with it. If they let one of Tillman or Jennings walk I'm fine with that because Bowman has played really well in the absence of Tillman. Frey hasn't been noticeably bad either so I can see him sticking around in the nickel.

 

LB isn't in bad shape. Briggs will be back, and despite somewhat bad play out of Bostic I think you gotta give your 2nd round pick a chance to start next year. The Sam LB should be easy to fill. Whether they wanna bring Anderson back, play Greene there, or find another cheap option there they should be fine.

 

Safety should be priority numero uno. I would LOVE to see Ha-Ha fall to us, or see Tillman accept a move to safety and have Denard fall to us....Those are ideal situations to me. Like another poster suggested, I wouldn't mind Joyner in the first round either, he reminds me a lot of Bob Sanders looking at his tape from when he was a Safety.

 

 

Assuming they have the money to bring back Melton, Collins, Ratliff, Wootton, Tillman, Jennings, and bring in Bennett, then hit on a Safety in the first round then I think they could, at the very least be a top 15 defense. If they're a top 15 defense, and the offense remains a top 5 offense i think that team could make a deep playoff run.

 

In an ideal world, if all those guys are brought back they can go with a draft that looks something like....(using WF mock)

 

1R Ha-Ha/Denard/Joyner/Oregon dude withe the weird name/Verrett- In said ideal world if they get a CB here it would mean Tillman to Safety

2R- Travis Swanson OC

3R- Taylor Hart DT/DE Oregon

4R- CB/S

5R- CB/S

6R- LB

6R- Huge TE/Speedy WR.

 

DE- Bennett/Wootton/SMC/Bass/Washington/Hart

DT- Melton/Ratliff/Paea/Collins/Hart/Cohen

LB- Briggs/Bostic/Greene/Vet/Costanzo/6R

CB-Tillman/Jennings/Frey/Bowman/4Ror5R/McMannis or Denard/Jennings/Frey/Bowman/4Ror5R/McMannis

S- Ha-Ha/Wright/4Ror5R/? or Tilman/Wright/4Ror5R/?

Injuries have been a downfall for us, but I dont think we were playing well before everybody got hurt. I was just throwing out the idea of loading the offense, but there is no way we get good in one year. Play better , yes but still not very good in my opinion. I like the idea of Bennett we pretty well have to take best player available in the draft whereever the position. The only way we get a chance at an impact player. I see SMC gone after this year.

[Stinger226]

Why not? Because I don't think we need to sell out the defense to improve our offense in the ways mentioned. As stated, with Garza at C we're the leagues 2nd best offense in pts/gm and 7th in yds/gm. Would I like to see an upgrade over Garza? Absolutely. Can Kromer find that guy late in the draft or in FA? I believe he can.

 

Speed WR? I'm thinking like Jason here: Find another Johnny Knox in Rd 4/5.

 

2nd TE? Same thing, grab him in Rd 4 or 5. We don't need a stud here, not even a guy who is a good blocker but one who can go out and catch some passes and occasionally hold a block on the edge. The edge blocking in helped dramatically by guys like Marshall and Jeffrey so we have wiggle room here in terms of player capabilities we need.

 

Again, of those 3 needs I believe at least one will be filled by a vet FA. Jacoby Ford will be a UFA. He's fast and he's also been a very poor performer as a WR. He's also been injured. I don't watch Raiders games so I won't say he's what we need but his 4.3 speed would look great in the open field underneath some deep routes run by Marshall/Jeffrey. He can replace Hester as a KR too. I'd say goodbye to Weems too. There will be options for us without a huge investment in either money or high draft pick and with this offense we now have a place for WRs to come to if they want to succeed in their career. That doesn't hurt the recruiting process.

 

 

In doing this we keep the big money and high draft picks available to rebuild the D.

Realistically we probably need to draft all D players except for a QB prospect. Like some of your thoughts, but Garza is now our weak spot on the OL, I was thinking of a Pouncey type or a Austin type to draft for those positions high and what a great offense we would have. I just threw this out there as (food for thought) but am getting more behind the thought the more I give it mileage.

[bowlingtwig]

I would hate a TE or WR in round 1. Gotta build up the D. I think we can get TE/WR via FA. And what about Wilson at slot nxt yr. I would love to see what he can do having a full yr in the system. Maybe Marshall can take him under his wing the way he did with Jeffrey