No more signings

[Stinger226]

Beyond popular belief the rest of the FAgency will be valve choices. We had the one big one, so now we find people at our price. We made offers to Peanut and Melton but they think can get more money out there, so they are letting it play out. Now there could be a Cleamons(S) or an Allen(DE) still there but they will be at our price.

 

It is not fun when we(fans) dont get a bunch of players to goggle over,but they addressed the biggest need, and will wait to let the rest fall in place. Slauson, D.J., Anderson last year didnt excite us, but they filled needs and now Slauson is a staple on the OLine. D.J. is coming back to give us time to find a MLB, or maybe Bostic grows into one. The rest wont be exciting, we just have to be patient to let it fall in place and then get some draft picks to goggle over .

[bradjock]

Beyond popular belief the rest of the FAgency will be valve choices. We had the one big one, so now we find people at our price. We made offers to Peanut and Melton but they think can get more money out there, so they are letting it play out. Now there could be a Cleamons(S) or an Allen(DE) still there but they will be at our price.

 

It is not fun when we(fans) dont get a bunch of players to goggle over,but they addressed the biggest need, and will wait to let the rest fall in place. Slauson, D.J., Anderson last year didnt excite us, but they filled needs and now Slauson is a staple on the OLine. D.J. is coming back to give us time to find a MLB, or maybe Bostic grows into one. The rest wont be exciting, we just have to be patient to let it fall in place and then get some draft picks to goggle over .

 

Agree with everything you said. More importantly, this is a terrible free agent class with few big names available. I suspect we will eventually lament the money we gave Houston. That was a signing out of desperation. What's even worse is that we are just as desperate. We added Houston and dumped Peppers.

[scs787]

Unless I missed someone there are still several DEs still out there.

Tuck

Cleamons

Allen

A. Smith

Neal

Wootten

Ayers

Young

 

I think we still get one of those.

 

Also I wouldnt mind a Hachter/DT

Sims/DT

Melton back

Raji

 

 

This a post you made earlier. I agree with this post more than your post in this thread.

 

They have 11 million dollars to spend (I factored out the money for the draft), I'm pretty sure they'll sign more than just a few "valve" guys.

[sulster]

Finally someone posting realistically. Baffled folks wanted front office to broke after the first day. There will be more cuts after the draft, so there will be a couple more pick ups before camp starts. Along with the draft picks

[Chitownhustla]

Beyond popular belief the rest of the FAgency will be valve choices. We had the one big one, so now we find people at our price. We made offers to Peanut and Melton but they think can get more money out there, so they are letting it play out. Now there could be a Cleamons(S) or an Allen(DE) still there but they will be at our price.

 

It is not fun when we(fans) dont get a bunch of players to goggle over,but they addressed the biggest need, and will wait to let the rest fall in place. Slauson, D.J., Anderson last year didnt excite us, but they filled needs and now Slauson is a staple on the OLine. D.J. is coming back to give us time to find a MLB, or maybe Bostic grows into one. The rest wont be exciting, we just have to be patient to let it fall in place and then get some draft picks to goggle over .

 

 

Funny our big name signing was a guy I had never heard of........ Sweet!!!! Lol

 

 

Emery said..... He's going to let the market settle and see who is worth what and add accordingly

 

 

I'm hoping they make a move on Jared Allen..... Dude still has some gas left!!!!!!

 

[bradjock]

Funny our big name signing was a guy I had never heard of........ Sweet!!!! Lol

 

 

Emery said..... He's going to let the market settle and see who is worth what and add accordingly

 

 

I'm hoping they make a move on Jared Allen..... Dude still has some gas left!!!!!!

 

Several decent d-lineman still available. I'd be shocked if we didn't sign one of these guys: Jared Allen, Justin Tuck, BJ Raji, Henry Melton, Jason Hatcher, Corey Wooton, Julius Peppers, Antonio Smith.

[Stinger226]

This a post you made earlier. I agree with this post more than your post in this thread.

 

They have 11 million dollars to spend (I factored out the money for the draft), I'm pretty sure they'll sign more than just a few "valve" guys.

Allen could come here at our price, I am not saying they will not all no names, its just about the money and spending wisely.

[AZ54]

I think Allen is actually hurting his value by stating he'll sign for what he wants or he retires. If I'm the GM the fact he's thinking about retiring at all makes me stop and think twice before committing big money to him. That may be a ploy to get more money or it might be real. The last thing we need is Sedrick Ellis version 2.0.

[jason]

Agree with everything you said. More importantly, this is a terrible free agent class with few big names available. I suspect we will eventually lament the money we gave Houston. That was a signing out of desperation. What's even worse is that we are just as desperate. We added Houston and dumped Peppers.

 

I honestly believe the move will turn out to be unspectacular but ultimately good for the team. Peppers may be a more dynamic player, and have better rush skills, but he got pushed around on running plays. What the Bears need is stability. They need run-stoppers so the young/inexperienced LBs can get their feet wet without standing in front of Class IV rapids. If the D improves modestly in terms of stopping the run, it drastically alters the TOP and makes the Bears a legit title contender.

[scs787]

I honestly believe the move will turn out to be unspectacular but ultimately good for the team. Peppers may be a more dynamic player, and have better rush skills, but he got pushed around on running plays. What the Bears need is stability. They need run-stoppers so the young/inexperienced LBs can get their feet wet without standing in front of Class IV rapids. If the D improves modestly in terms of stopping the run, it drastically alters the TOP and makes the Bears a legit title contender.

 

 

Yup, people dwell to much on the sack number as the determining factor of who's good or not. Sacks are sexy, but they aren't everything.

 

Plus I can almost guarantee Houstons sack total will be closer to 10 than 6 next year. Oakland had an awful offense and often played from behind....Can't rush the passer when they're running the ball.

[Stinger226]

Yup, people dwell to much on the sack number as the determining factor of who's good or not. Sacks are sexy, but they aren't everything.

 

Plus I can almost guarantee Houstons sack total will be closer to 10 than 6 next year. Oakland had an awful offense and often played from behind....Can't rush the passer when they're running the ball.

I think with the bodies there adding that we will end up with many sack men and none over 10, but overall a better team. 44 sacks?

[AZ54]

Emery is doing exactly what I thought he'd be doing. Staying away from the sexy names, and let's be clear even Michael Bennett doesn't fall into that category and signing good players. We have not broken the bank on anyone. That doesn't mean these guys are guaranteed to play up to their new contracts but I think they will. What he is doing is building a solid base, one from which he can add the speed element and better talent via the draft. With these type of players mix in a guy like Donald (I'd take him even if we sign Melton) and we're in good shape. Find a surprise gem to speed rush from the outside (say a guy like Washington develops) and we're in great shape.

 

One thing is sure, we are throwing a lot of darts at the DE position: Willie Young, Houston, Trevor Scott, and Austin Lane. Toss in our returning guys like Washington, Bass, and Cheta Ozougwu (had to look up the spelling) and you have one heckuva competition heading into training camp. We know Young and Houston were signed to be starters but behind them it is wide open and we could add a draft pick to the mix.

[madlithuanian]

Well said.

 

Emery is doing exactly what I thought he'd be doing. Staying away from the sexy names, and let's be clear even Michael Bennett doesn't fall into that category and signing good players. We have not broken the bank on anyone. That doesn't mean these guys are guaranteed to play up to their new contracts but I think they will. What he is doing is building a solid base, one from which he can add the speed element and better talent via the draft. With these type of players mix in a guy like Donald (I'd take him even if we sign Melton) and we're in good shape. Find a surprise gem to speed rush from the outside (say a guy like Washington develops) and we're in great shape.

 

One thing is sure, we are throwing a lot of darts at the DE position: Willie Young, Houston, Trevor Scott, and Austin Lane. Toss in our returning guys like Washington, Bass, and Cheta Ozougwu (had to look up the spelling) and you have one heckuva competition heading into training camp. We know Young and Houston were signed to be starters but behind them it is wide open and we could add a draft pick to the mix.

 

[adam]

Emery is doing exactly what I thought he'd be doing. Staying away from the sexy names, and let's be clear even Michael Bennett doesn't fall into that category and signing good players. We have not broken the bank on anyone. That doesn't mean these guys are guaranteed to play up to their new contracts but I think they will. What he is doing is building a solid base, one from which he can add the speed element and better talent via the draft. With these type of players mix in a guy like Donald (I'd take him even if we sign Melton) and we're in good shape. Find a surprise gem to speed rush from the outside (say a guy like Washington develops) and we're in great shape.

 

One thing is sure, we are throwing a lot of darts at the DE position: Willie Young, Houston, Trevor Scott, and Austin Lane. Toss in our returning guys like Washington, Bass, and Cheta Ozougwu (had to look up the spelling) and you have one heckuva competition heading into training camp. We know Young and Houston were signed to be starters but behind them it is wide open and we could add a draft pick to the mix.

My biggest concern is the Secondary, and Mundy and Jennings are not the answer.

[madlithuanian]

The situation is still incomplete.

 

My biggest concern is the Secondary, and Mundy and Jennings are not the answer.

 

[Stinger226]

The situation is still incomplete.

What we have left to do;

 

I think were waiting on Melton to see what he does, if he comes back we will only be filling roster depth.

We are letting players fall to our price. Peanut found out his market was limited and came back.(loyalty to Bear)

I think we still grab another S as market drys up for big contracts. Clemens, Lewis, IIhegigbo, and DeCoud

I think if we dont get Melton, our other choices will be: Sims,Carrington,Peria at DT

I think the possiblity exists we still get another DE,choices would be:Allen,Ayers,Carriker. If we dont get Allen or Ayers, I think we resign Wootten.

I think we still resign Bowman and get a CB in the draft

Brian De La Puente is still out there, and I think the possiblity exists he could come here.

I think we still kick the tires on a backup QB and names to look at:Fritzpatrick,Kolb,Weeden

I think if we can upgrade backup TE we do it, names:Owen Daniels,Dustin Keller,Ed Dickson, Tony Scheffler.

I think we grab another RB for depth, names to look at:Blount, Starks,MJD,Moreno,Stephyens-Howling,Scott

 

conclusion: I think we are waiting on Melton and if we sign him, all we have left to do is add a few min. Vet deals

If we dont sign him, I think we have one more suprise left, a MJD, Jared Allen, Cris Clemens.

Bowman, Wootten have possiblity to come back after the dust settles.

[bradjock]

Emery is doing exactly what I thought he'd be doing. Staying away from the sexy names, and let's be clear even Michael Bennett doesn't fall into that category and signing good players. We have not broken the bank on anyone. That doesn't mean these guys are guaranteed to play up to their new contracts but I think they will. What he is doing is building a solid base, one from which he can add the speed element and better talent via the draft.

 

Agreed. He's really accomplished a lot in the first 5 days of free agency and he's putting us in a good spot for the future. You don't want to be like the Coboys, Redskins, and Raiders: teams that have a ton of dead money from bad deals. We've plugged so holes and I look for us to cointinue adding depth.

 

With these type of players mix in a guy like Donald (I'd take him even if we sign Melton) and we're in good shape.

 

Donald & Jerrigan are speculated to be our top targets in the draft. What I don't get about this is that they both play the 3 technique. Nate Collins plays the 3 technique, Jay Ratliff plays the 3, and Henry Melton plays the 3. Next to that postition, we have Steven Paea and that's about it.

 

Find a surprise gem to speed rush from the outside (say a guy like Washington develops) and we're in great shape.

 

One thing is sure, we are throwing a lot of darts at the DE position: Willie Young, Houston, Trevor Scott, and Austin Lane. Toss in our returning guys like Washington, Bass, and Cheta Ozougwu (had to look up the spelling) and you have one heckuva competition heading into training camp. We know Young and Houston were signed to be starters but behind them it is wide open and we could add a draft pick to the mix.

 

I'm not NEARLY as optimistic about the DE position as you. Houston is a good solid starter but he's not a game-charger. Young seems to be best suited as a rotational player, not a starter. As for the good competiton, what that means is that we don't have anybody good enough to solidify the posiiton. In previous years, we would have annual competitions for o-line spots and WR spots. Inevitably, the guys competing were fringe NFL players. Aside from Young Houston, none of the other DE's are even locks to be on an NFL team next year.

 

I'm hoping we at least resign Wooton and keep him exclusively as a DE. I haven't heard any rumors about Wooton.

[bradjock]

Good analysis and I agree with most of what you have said. Just a few things I'm not sure about:

1. Jared Allen is rumored to want 12 million per year. No way he's getting anything close to that from the Bears. Seeing what Peppers signed for, I think he's out of our price range.

2. I particularly like the idea of adding a 2nd TE and those are some pretty good names you've mentioned. How damn good would we be with a two TE set and both are legitimate receiving threats?

3. Disagree with kicking the tires on a big name veteran back-up QB. Last year we shied away from getting a big name back-up QB. I don't think we will want another situation where the back-up QB outplays the starter and all the news is "Josh McCown shold be starting!" Fits, Kolb, and Weeden are likely still looking for a chance to start somewhere. Although, I wonder if we would have interest in Jason Campbell.

 

What we have left to do;

 

I think were waiting on Melton to see what he does, if he comes back we will only be filling roster depth.

We are letting players fall to our price. Peanut found out his market was limited and came back.(loyalty to Bear)

I think we still grab another S as market drys up for big contracts. Clemens, Lewis, IIhegigbo, and DeCoud

I think if we dont get Melton, our other choices will be: Sims,Carrington,Peria at DT

I think the possiblity exists we still get another DE,choices would be:Allen,Ayers,Carriker. If we dont get Allen or Ayers, I think we resign Wootten.

I think we still resign Bowman and get a CB in the draft

Brian De La Puente is still out there, and I think the possiblity exists he could come here.

I think we still kick the tires on a backup QB and names to look at:Fritzpatrick,Kolb,Weeden

I think if we can upgrade backup TE we do it, names:Owen Daniels,Dustin Keller,Ed Dickson, Tony Scheffler.

I think we grab another RB for depth, names to look at:Blount, Starks,MJD,Moreno,Stephyens-Howling,Scott

 

conclusion: I think we are waiting on Melton and if we sign him, all we have left to do is add a few min. Vet deals

If we dont sign him, I think we have one more suprise left, a MJD, Jared Allen, Cris Clemens.

Bowman, Wootten have possiblity to come back after the dust settles.

 

[scs787]

Emery is doing exactly what I thought he'd be doing. Staying away from the sexy names, and let's be clear even Michael Bennett doesn't fall into that category and signing good players. We have not broken the bank on anyone. That doesn't mean these guys are guaranteed to play up to their new contracts but I think they will. What he is doing is building a solid base, one from which he can add the speed element and better talent via the draft.

 

Agreed. He's really accomplished a lot in the first 5 days of free agency and he's putting us in a good spot for the future. You don't want to be like the Coboys, Redskins, and Raiders: teams that have a ton of dead money from bad deals. We've plugged so holes and I look for us to cointinue adding depth.

 

With these type of players mix in a guy like Donald (I'd take him even if we sign Melton) and we're in good shape.

 

Donald & Jerrigan are speculated to be our top targets in the draft. What I don't get about this is that they both play the 3 technique. Nate Collins plays the 3 technique, Jay Ratliff plays the 3, and Henry Melton plays the 3. Next to that postition, we have Steven Paea and that's about it.

 

Find a surprise gem to speed rush from the outside (say a guy like Washington develops) and we're in great shape.

 

One thing is sure, we are throwing a lot of darts at the DE position: Willie Young, Houston, Trevor Scott, and Austin Lane. Toss in our returning guys like Washington, Bass, and Cheta Ozougwu (had to look up the spelling) and you have one heckuva competition heading into training camp. We know Young and Houston were signed to be starters but behind them it is wide open and we could add a draft pick to the mix.

 

I'm not NEARLY as optimistic about the DE position as you. Houston is a good solid starter but he's not a game-charger. Young seems to be best suited as a rotational player, not a starter. As for the good competiton, what that means is that we don't have anybody good enough to solidify the posiiton. In previous years, we would have annual competitions for o-line spots and WR spots. Inevitably, the guys competing were fringe NFL players. Aside from Young Houston, none of the other DE's are even locks to be on an NFL team next year.

 

I'm hoping we at least resign Wooton and keep him exclusively as a DE. I haven't heard any rumors about Wooton.

 

 

Jernigan is a 4-3 NT, not a 3T. He might have the ability to play there but dude is more of a run stuffer. I'd say the same for Ratliff, he's capable of playing the 3, but I'd rather see him at NT.

 

I don't expect us to grab Donald and Melton. I'm hoping it's either or. And by hoping I mean I hope if they can't sign Melton that Donald will be there in the draft.

 

Young is a starting caliber player, I promise you that.

 

Also FWIW, PFF has hated Wootton as a DE the last 2 years.

[bradjock]

Jernigan is a 4-3 NT, not a 3T. He might have the ability to play there but dude is more of a run stuffer. I'd say the same for Ratliff, he's capable of playing the 3, but I'd rather see him at NT.

 

So they can play either. That's good to know.

 

I don't expect us to grab Donald and Melton. I'm hoping it's either or. And by hoping I mean I hope if they can't sign Melton that Donald will be there in the draft.

 

Even if we sign Melton, I still say there is a good chance we draft Donald. There's no defensive tackle we have now that you feel really good about. Nate Collins is just an ok player . . . when he's healthy. Paea went games at a time without having an impact. Ratliff is old and who knows if he can play an entire season. Not to mention the question marks about Melton.

 

Young is a starting caliber player, I promise you that.

 

I hope your right. But he came relatively cheap and he won't have the benefit of playing next to really good d-lineman who draw double teams.

 

Also FWIW, PFF has hated Wootton as a DE the last 2 years.

 

How did they like him as a DT? PFT has Wootton ranked as the 4th best free agent still available. (Melton is 3rd). The Bears raved about his work ethic and leadership. Although, they said similar things about Idonije last year and made no real effort to bring him back (which they ultimately regretted).

 

 

[scs787]

Jernigan is a 4-3 NT, not a 3T. He might have the ability to play there but dude is more of a run stuffer. I'd say the same for Ratliff, he's capable of playing the 3, but I'd rather see him at NT.

 

So they can play either. That's good to know.

 

I don't expect us to grab Donald and Melton. I'm hoping it's either or. And by hoping I mean I hope if they can't sign Melton that Donald will be there in the draft.

 

Even if we sign Melton, I still say there is a good chance we draft Donald. There's no defensive tackle we have now that you feel really good about. Nate Collins is just an ok player . . . when he's healthy. Paea went games at a time without having an impact. Ratliff is old and who knows if he can play an entire season. Not to mention the question marks about Melton.

 

Young is a starting caliber player, I promise you that.

 

I hope your right. But he came relatively cheap and he won't have the benefit of playing next to really good d-lineman who draw double teams.

 

Also FWIW, PFF has hated Wootton as a DE the last 2 years.

 

How did they like him as a DT? PFT has Wootton ranked as the 4th best free agent still available. (Melton is 3rd). The Bears raved about his work ethic and leadership. Although, they said similar things about Idonije last year and made no real effort to bring him back (which they ultimately regretted).

 

As for signing Melton and drafting Donald, I'm just no so sure about that. Melton isn't that good against the run, and I can see the same thing with Donald. I'd prefer to pair one of them with a run stuffing DT. Pairing Melton and Jernigan would be fantastic if the Bears don't think Paea/Ratliff are fits at the 1T(NT).

 

As for Young, the way I see it is he won't be seeing double teams here either.

 

PFF actually liked him much more as a DT than at DE. He ranked 45th of 52 DEs who played at least 25% of their teams snaps at that position. He only had 1 sack, 1 hit, and 6 hurries in 327 snaps.

 

At DT he ranked 35th of 69, with 2 sacks, 3 hits, and 19 hurries in 523 snaps.....Certainly not great, but he was actually better there than at DE.

 

 

Houston and Young rated as the 11th and 16th respectively.