The Bears Offseason Thread

[RynoRules]

If he really does not wish to negotiate at all in the future, I'd trade him for a first and 3rd in this year's draft.

[jaydee]

It is all about the money with Briggs. Where are his big plays last year? I cannot remember him making any big plays other than a 4th down stop against Seattle. The guy is good, but not as good as his agent tells him he is. He isn't Urlacher, not even close, but he thinks he should get as much money. Riiighhht. Make him sit out a year unless someone is willing to trade an arm and leg for him.

[goonys evil twin]

It is all about the money with Briggs. Where are his big plays last year? I cannot remember him making any big plays other than a 4th down stop against Seattle. The guy is good, but not as good as his agent tells him he is. He isn't Urlacher, not even close, but he thinks he should get as much money. Riiighhht. Make him sit out a year unless someone is willing to trade an arm and leg for him.

 

The thing about "Urlacher money" is that Urlacher signed that contract prior to 2003, without the benefit of free agency. It was a franchise record, but since then, the salary cap has skyrocketed, and therefore, salaries have skyrocketed. The market is paying so much more for players. In other words, a player who is a lesser player than Urlacher could still expect to sign a contract in 2007 that is as big as Urlacher's contract. It's not outlandish.

 

I think a side issue is a concern by the Bears that Urlacher will want some sort of renegotiation if Briggs gets the same amount. But he really doesn't have much to stand on, given he is signed through 2011.

[Soul]

I guess we'll really find out after that deadline for a long term deal passes.

 

If that goes by the boards, then expect a lengthy, very painful, holdout from Briggs.

 

I hate to say this, but it might be better for Angelo to seek a trade for Briggs sooner rather than later. Maybe you don't get quite as much, but this situation could be poison for the club.

 

 

 

.....on a side note, I'm not sure why everyone is so upset over Rivera leaving. The man was interviewing every chance he could get, he obviously had little interest being with the Bears and he's not getting Lovie's job. Resigning the man would have been out of the question; he wanted to be a head coach.

 

It's not the Bears' fault Ron Rivera couldn't land a head coaching job this offseason. Sorry -- but that's all on Rivera.

[goonys evil twin]

.....on a side note, I'm not sure why everyone is so upset over Rivera leaving.

 

The reference to Briggs being "distressed" about the departure of Rivera doesn't really mean he's upset. I think it's just ammunition he could use when trying to complain about the Bears. I really don't think many people are upset, except for Rivera, who wanted out, but with the hopes of getting at least more money.

 

Briggs might be a little upset that the Bears didn't "take care of one of their own", but only because it reflects on their willingness to reward their own people.

[UMFan83]

It is all about the money with Briggs. Where are his big plays last year? I cannot remember him making any big plays other than a 4th down stop against Seattle. The guy is good, but not as good as his agent tells him he is. He isn't Urlacher, not even close, but he thinks he should get as much money. Riiighhht. Make him sit out a year unless someone is willing to trade an arm and leg for him.

 

Are you kidding me? Briggs was a beast last year. How many forced fumbles did he have? He was devistating to any RB that tried to run to his side of the ball. He also had 2 INTs, and 8 passes defended. But his value to the team goes beyond stats and even big plays (which he had more then 1 last year).

[Banedon]

I hate to say it, but a trade may be the best thing at this point.

 

If Angelo does make a trade, who would replace Briggs?

[goonys evil twin]

I hate to say it, but a trade may be the best thing at this point.

 

If Angelo does make a trade, who would replace Briggs?

 

I'd have to guess Williams and Wilson would compete with a draftee for the job.

[Banedon]

I hate to say it, but a trade may be the best thing at this point.

 

If Angelo does make a trade, who would replace Briggs?

 

I'd have to guess Williams and Wilson would compete with a draftee for the job.

 

What about Leon Joe, or Ayanbadejo?

[Soriano12]

I hate to say it, but a trade may be the best thing at this point.

 

If Angelo does make a trade, who would replace Briggs?

 

Rufus Alexander

[goonys evil twin]

I hate to say it, but a trade may be the best thing at this point.

 

If Angelo does make a trade, who would replace Briggs?

 

I'd have to guess Williams and Wilson would compete with a draftee for the job.

 

What about Leon Joe, or Ayanbadejo?

 

I think they'd be looking for a young guy to emerge. Ayanbadejo is 30 already, and probably locked in as a special teamer. Leon Joe is still pretty young, but he was drafted at the outset of the Lovie era, and already waived once by the team (and another time by Arizona). I just think he's thought of as more of a special teamer as well, as opposed to Briggs' heir apparant.

 

Williams and Wilson are more recent draft picks, presumably drafts that had a little more input from Lovie and his staff. I'm just assuming they are more likely candidates. Although obviously there is no clear cut favorite. And it's really hard for a fan to really gauge pro football prospects when all they do is practice.

[Butterscup1679666578]

After reading the crap Briggs said today, and after seeing how good Angelo is at getting excellent defensive players in the later rounds in the draft, I am all for trading Briggs away. Get a draft pick or two and let's rock this draft.

[Soul]

After reading the crap Briggs said today, and after seeing how good Angelo is at getting excellent defensive players in the later rounds in the draft, I am all for trading Briggs away. Get a draft pick or two and let's rock this draft.

 

If teams know we're desperate to unload him, a 1st rounder will be out of the question.

 

I think that's the problem. Angelo has to appear strong -- like he's perfectly willing to let Briggs sit all year if necessary. Otherwise he'll look desperate and teams will try to fleece Briggs away.

 

I'm still not sure the exact value Briggs brought to this ballclub. He's playing right next to a Hall of Famer in the prime of his career, was a 3rd round pick, played for THE premiere linebacker franchise in the NFL.

 

I mean if there's one thing the Bears can do, it's turn a bag of bones into a solid linebacker. Just look at what we did with Hillenmeyer.

[Handlebar McSkullet]

After reading the crap Briggs said today, and after seeing how good Angelo is at getting excellent defensive players in the later rounds in the draft, I am all for trading Briggs away. Get a draft pick or two and let's rock this draft.

 

If teams know we're desperate to unload him, a 1st rounder will be out of the question.

 

I think that's the problem. Angelo has to appear strong -- like he's perfectly willing to let Briggs sit all year if necessary. Otherwise he'll look desperate and teams will try to fleece Briggs away.

 

I'm still not sure the exact value Briggs brought to this ballclub. He's playing right next to a Hall of Famer in the prime of his career, was a 3rd round pick, played for THE premiere linebacker franchise in the NFL.

 

I mean if there's one thing the Bears can do, it's turn a bag of bones into a solid linebacker. Just look at what we did with Hillenmeyer.

 

Drew Rosenhaus..... This is all his fault!!! :jocolor: I just dont understand how a long term agreement cant be reached. We know what Adalias Thomas got, why cant they formulate a contract around that?

[imb]

I hate to say it, but a trade may be the best thing at this point.

 

If Angelo does make a trade, who would replace Briggs?

 

Rufus Alexander

 

How big is Briggs? Rufus played this year at 217, I'm sure Briggs is closer to 240. I don't know that Rufus is big enough to succeed in the NFL to be honest with you.

[CubColtPacer]

I hate to say it, but a trade may be the best thing at this point.

 

If Angelo does make a trade, who would replace Briggs?

 

Rufus Alexander

 

How big is Briggs? Rufus played this year at 217, I'm sure Briggs is closer to 240. I don't know that Rufus is big enough to succeed in the NFL to be honest with you.

 

217 pound linebacker? That's huge for the Colts-in fact, Cato June is about to get a big payday and is only 204 pounds (and is probably actually under 200). That doesn't necessarily mean that Rufus will succeed for the Bears, but with the similarity in schemes a small linebacker could work well for the Bears as long as he has the required speed.

[Banedon]

If we end up trading Briggs, I suddenly would have a renewed interest in Paul Posluszny in the draft.

[Flames24Rulz]

After reading the crap Briggs said today, and after seeing how good Angelo is at getting excellent defensive players in the later rounds in the draft, I am all for trading Briggs away. Get a draft pick or two and let's rock this draft.

 

If teams know we're desperate to unload him, a 1st rounder will be out of the question.

 

I think that's the problem. Angelo has to appear strong -- like he's perfectly willing to let Briggs sit all year if necessary. Otherwise he'll look desperate and teams will try to fleece Briggs away.

 

I'm still not sure the exact value Briggs brought to this ballclub. He's playing right next to a Hall of Famer in the prime of his career, was a 3rd round pick, played for THE premiere linebacker franchise in the NFL.

 

I mean if there's one thing the Bears can do, it's turn a bag of bones into a solid linebacker. Just look at what we did with Hillenmeyer.

 

A first round pick is out of the question now that he came out publicly and said this.

 

From an outside viewpoint, Briggs is a hell of an outside LB...one of the best in the league. I guarantee the Bears would have a weakness at that position if they wouldn't draft Poz, or sign Joey Porter. Briggs is a real dependable LB. Don't forget the couple of huge stops he made against Seattle that basically won the game for the Bears.

[goonys evil twin]

A first round pick is out of the question now that he came out publicly and said this.

 

I think that's a bit of an exaggeration. All you need are two teams to compete for him there's no telling what the deal could be.

 

You can also get creative with a trade so that you end up giving up a later pick for the 1st rounder. Maybe you can't trade him straight up for a 1st. But what if you trade Briggs and a 4th for a 1st? Or trade Briggs and the Bears #1 for an earlier #1 and a #3? There's ways to make it work.

[BigSlick]

Whoever gets Paul Poszlusny is going to be really really dissapointed. I really feel like the knee injury will haunt him for the rest of his career.

 

He was a heck of a ballplayer in college, but considering the move to the middle and how they coddled him this year and tried to hide him, I really don't think he's the same player.

 

I know the Penn State fellas will come and defend him, but as a Bears fan first, I'd stay away from him. (Don't take offense to what I said about Poszlusny, but I'm really fearful of his bust factor. We need an impact player and a safe player with the first pick)

[Banedon]

Whoever gets Paul Poszlusny is going to be really really dissapointed. I really feel like the knee injury will haunt him for the rest of his career.

 

He was a heck of a ballplayer in college, but considering the move to the middle and how they coddled him this year and tried to hide him, I really don't think he's the same player.

 

I know the Penn State fellas will come and defend him, but as a Bears fan first, I'd stay away from him. (Don't take offense to what I said about Poszlusny, but I'm really fearful of his bust factor. We need an impact player and a safe player with the first pick)

 

The Bears are really good at defensive drafting though. If they draft Posluszny, I think we can probably safely assume that they are confident that he's healthy. Now I wouldn't have that same confidence with an offensive guy...

[Soul]

After reading the crap Briggs said today, and after seeing how good Angelo is at getting excellent defensive players in the later rounds in the draft, I am all for trading Briggs away. Get a draft pick or two and let's rock this draft.

 

If teams know we're desperate to unload him, a 1st rounder will be out of the question.

 

I think that's the problem. Angelo has to appear strong -- like he's perfectly willing to let Briggs sit all year if necessary. Otherwise he'll look desperate and teams will try to fleece Briggs away.

 

I'm still not sure the exact value Briggs brought to this ballclub. He's playing right next to a Hall of Famer in the prime of his career, was a 3rd round pick, played for THE premiere linebacker franchise in the NFL.

 

I mean if there's one thing the Bears can do, it's turn a bag of bones into a solid linebacker. Just look at what we did with Hillenmeyer.

 

A first round pick is out of the question now that he came out publicly and said this.

 

From an outside viewpoint, Briggs is a hell of an outside LB...one of the best in the league. I guarantee the Bears would have a weakness at that position if they wouldn't draft Poz, or sign Joey Porter. Briggs is a real dependable LB. Don't forget the couple of huge stops he made against Seattle that basically won the game for the Bears.

 

Briggs is good, but I don't know that another player couldn't have made those plays. The question isn't whether Briggs can play. We know he can. From a Bears standpoint, the question is whether another guy can be brought in to replace his production at a much cheaper price.

 

I strongly suspect the answer to that question is yes.

[Flames24Rulz]

Breaking news on ESPN, Thomas Jones traded to the Jets.

[CubColtPacer]

Wow-good job predicting it Bears fans. Another board is reporting that this deal was for the Jets second rounder-they must have seen the money that the running backs were getting on the free agent market and gotten desperate. This is a good deal for the Bears.

 

Edit: Wait a minute on that, there are conflicting reports on what has been traded. Another source is claiming that the Bears only moved up in the second round by making this trade-I'm going to wait to figure out what it actually is.

Edited March 5, 2007 by CubColtPacer

[USSoccer]

Breaking news on ESPN, Thomas Jones traded to the Jets.

 

Really...