The Bears Offseason Thread

[Chocolate Milk]

I think Smith will be there at #37. I think they trade out of the first and get two 2nd's or a 2nd and 3rd.

 

Jarrett or Smith would work for me. I see Jarrett as being a lot like Moose....when he was good. I think Smith is gonna be a star though.

 

Agreed on Smith.

 

I'm also a big fan of Smith and I have a feeling the Bears are looking at him at 37, if he's still there. Allegedly, the Bears have "shown interest" in him, whatever that means.

[Chocolate Milk]

Tampa Bay has inquired about Briggs.

 

NFL Network's Adam Schefter reports the Bucs have made inquiries about disgruntled Bears franchise player Lance Briggs.

 

Schefter says Tampa may simply be doing its "due diligence," like with Saints franchise player Charles Grant earlier in the offseason. But the Bucs are making an effort to get younger on defense, dubbing Barrett Ruud a starter and signing Cato June. If they don't like what they see at No. 4, it's possible the Bucs will trade out and Briggs will be involved.

[Soul]

Tampa Bay has inquired about Briggs.

 

NFL Network's Adam Schefter reports the Bucs have made inquiries about disgruntled Bears franchise player Lance Briggs.

 

Schefter says Tampa may simply be doing its "due diligence," like with Saints franchise player Charles Grant earlier in the offseason. But the Bucs are making an effort to get younger on defense, dubbing Barrett Ruud a starter and signing Cato June. If they don't like what they see at No. 4, it's possible the Bucs will trade out and Briggs will be involved.

 

That #4 pick could be very, very interesting. Trouble is, Angelo has already alluded to the idea that getting a high 1st rounder might cost more in salary than the team is planning on, given they still will need to sign a few high-profile guys soon.

[RichHillIsABeast]

Tampa Bay has inquired about Briggs.

 

NFL Network's Adam Schefter reports the Bucs have made inquiries about disgruntled Bears franchise player Lance Briggs.

 

Schefter says Tampa may simply be doing its "due diligence," like with Saints franchise player Charles Grant earlier in the offseason. But the Bucs are making an effort to get younger on defense, dubbing Barrett Ruud a starter and signing Cato June. If they don't like what they see at No. 4, it's possible the Bucs will trade out and Briggs will be involved.

 

That #4 pick could be very, very interesting. Trouble is, Angelo has already alluded to the idea that getting a high 1st rounder might cost more in salary than the team is planning on, given they still will need to sign a few high-profile guys soon.

 

Yeah, but you can then trade down from 4. :D

[Banedon]

Tampa Bay has inquired about Briggs.

 

NFL Network's Adam Schefter reports the Bucs have made inquiries about disgruntled Bears franchise player Lance Briggs.

 

Schefter says Tampa may simply be doing its "due diligence," like with Saints franchise player Charles Grant earlier in the offseason. But the Bucs are making an effort to get younger on defense, dubbing Barrett Ruud a starter and signing Cato June. If they don't like what they see at No. 4, it's possible the Bucs will trade out and Briggs will be involved.

 

That #4 pick could be very, very interesting. Trouble is, Angelo has already alluded to the idea that getting a high 1st rounder might cost more in salary than the team is planning on, given they still will need to sign a few high-profile guys soon.

 

Yeah, but you can then trade down from 4. :D

 

Teams have had a ton of trouble trading out of the top 10. That's why I doubt this goes down. I don't see Angelo going for it.

[rawaction]

Tampa Bay has inquired about Briggs.

 

NFL Network's Adam Schefter reports the Bucs have made inquiries about disgruntled Bears franchise player Lance Briggs.

 

Schefter says Tampa may simply be doing its "due diligence," like with Saints franchise player Charles Grant earlier in the offseason. But the Bucs are making an effort to get younger on defense, dubbing Barrett Ruud a starter and signing Cato June. If they don't like what they see at No. 4, it's possible the Bucs will trade out and Briggs will be involved.

 

That #4 pick could be very, very interesting. Trouble is, Angelo has already alluded to the idea that getting a high 1st rounder might cost more in salary than the team is planning on, given they still will need to sign a few high-profile guys soon.

 

Yeah, but you can then trade down from 4. :D

 

Teams have had a ton of trouble trading out of the top 10. That's why I doubt this goes down. I don't see Angelo going for it.

 

May really be tough in a draft like this too, with only 1 "can't miss" player in the draft. If the Raiders pick Johnson #1, it could get interesting. Does a team trade up when there are 2 QBs on the board?

[CubColtPacer]

Tampa Bay has inquired about Briggs.

 

NFL Network's Adam Schefter reports the Bucs have made inquiries about disgruntled Bears franchise player Lance Briggs.

 

Schefter says Tampa may simply be doing its "due diligence," like with Saints franchise player Charles Grant earlier in the offseason. But the Bucs are making an effort to get younger on defense, dubbing Barrett Ruud a starter and signing Cato June. If they don't like what they see at No. 4, it's possible the Bucs will trade out and Briggs will be involved.

 

That #4 pick could be very, very interesting. Trouble is, Angelo has already alluded to the idea that getting a high 1st rounder might cost more in salary than the team is planning on, given they still will need to sign a few high-profile guys soon.

 

Yeah, but you can then trade down from 4. :D

 

Teams have had a ton of trouble trading out of the top 10. That's why I doubt this goes down. I don't see Angelo going for it.

 

May really be tough in a draft like this too, with only 1 "can't miss" player in the draft. If the Raiders pick Johnson #1, it could get interesting. Does a team trade up when there are 2 QBs on the board?

 

I can't see a team trading up too far to take either Russell or Quinn-they are too risky of picks to be worth trading up.

 

BTW raw, it's actually your pick in the mock draft in case you haven't seen.

[Soul]

At the #1 pick, I'd take the best player available, and that means Johnson. I just don't see the QBs in this draft as worthy of the #1 pick status.

 

But, it's the Raiders. They'll probably pick Russell, fail to coach him properly, and he'll wash out.

 

One thing people need to remember about QBs is that more than any other position a QB must be coached and groomed properly once he gets on an NFL roster. Plenty of teams have drafted top prospect QBs, but because they can't coach 'em, they wind up washing out.

 

A guy like Johnson has the WR skills to overcome almost any amount of bad coaching, and his position doesn't really require the same amount of grooming that a QB does. For a team like Oakland, I wouldn't draft a QB #1 unless it was Peyton Manning--an obvious superstud, capable of succeeding no matter how badly the coaches bungle things.

[Chocolate Milk]

Tampa Bay has inquired about Briggs.

 

NFL Network's Adam Schefter reports the Bucs have made inquiries about disgruntled Bears franchise player Lance Briggs.

 

Schefter says Tampa may simply be doing its "due diligence," like with Saints franchise player Charles Grant earlier in the offseason. But the Bucs are making an effort to get younger on defense, dubbing Barrett Ruud a starter and signing Cato June. If they don't like what they see at No. 4, it's possible the Bucs will trade out and Briggs will be involved.

 

That #4 pick could be very, very interesting. Trouble is, Angelo has already alluded to the idea that getting a high 1st rounder might cost more in salary than the team is planning on, given they still will need to sign a few high-profile guys soon.

 

I'm not sure the #6 pick is worth the money but the #4 pick, Joe Thomas, would be worth the money.

[Soul]

Tampa Bay has inquired about Briggs.

 

NFL Network's Adam Schefter reports the Bucs have made inquiries about disgruntled Bears franchise player Lance Briggs.

 

Schefter says Tampa may simply be doing its "due diligence," like with Saints franchise player Charles Grant earlier in the offseason. But the Bucs are making an effort to get younger on defense, dubbing Barrett Ruud a starter and signing Cato June. If they don't like what they see at No. 4, it's possible the Bucs will trade out and Briggs will be involved.

 

That #4 pick could be very, very interesting. Trouble is, Angelo has already alluded to the idea that getting a high 1st rounder might cost more in salary than the team is planning on, given they still will need to sign a few high-profile guys soon.

 

I'm not sure the #6 pick is worth the money but the #4 pick, Joe Thomas, would be worth the money.

 

Oh yeah. God would I love to add him to the roster.

[CubColtPacer]

This is slightly OT, but I thought I'd post it here-it does have a fact about the Bears that I found interesting. This is an article about the Ravens drafts-I'll give you a few tidbits:

 

Baltimore is one of six teams (the others are Chicago, Indianapolis, New England, Oakland and Washington) that do not belong to the two scouting services used by the rest of the teams in the NFL. These services, which cost about $100,000 to join, share information about college prospects with their members and help spare teams the grueling legwork necessary for scouting.

 

Hmm-let's see. Chicago, Indy, NE, and Baltimore are typically 4 of the best drafting teams. Washington doesn't need a scouting service if they are going to trade all their picks anyway, and Oakland has the Al Davis factor that messes things up. It certainly tells you that these scouting services the other teams pay is really out of laziness more than anything else if the best drafting teams don't use them.

 

Unlike most teams, Baltimore does not psychologically evaluate its prospects.

 

You have Ray Lewis Baltimore. We already knew that fact must be true :D

 

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/04/24/AR2007042402416_2.html

[Soul]

Yeah, there's really no substitute for simply having the in-depth knowledge of players when you draft.

 

It's not a suprise that teams trying to outsource core knowledge necessary to run a draft are not among the top drafting clubs.

 

It's like anything else in business. You outsource what you don't do well -- your non-core functions. Then you concentrate on what's really central to your business. Well, in the NFL drafting and player evaluation is always central to the business. In any sport, really.

 

Bears have done a good job turning this around, BTW. We used to be pretty shaky on draft day; it's gotten much better under Angelo.

[rawaction]

That is interesting. I'd love to see a Bears draft board. Probably completely different from the consensus of the 26 teams using the scouting service. That's how you get players like Briggs, Tillman, Berrian, D. Manning, etc. who seemed not to be on anyone else's radar when they were picked.

[Derwood]

i haven't followed the Bears much pre-draft, but is there any chance that they pass on Posluszny if he's available in the 1st round? considering the briggs situation, does this force their hand to get another LB?

[jersey cubs fan]

i haven't followed the Bears much pre-draft, but is there any chance that they pass on Posluszny if he's available in the 1st round? considering the briggs situation, does this force their hand to get another LB?

 

They seem to be taking the position that they will not allow the Briggs situation to force their hand. I would say there is a good chance they pass on Posluszny, and look to take either a WR or OL with the 1st pick (or trade down).

[Soul]

That is interesting. I'd love to see a Bears draft board. Probably completely different from the consensus of the 26 teams using the scouting service. That's how you get players like Briggs, Tillman, Berrian, D. Manning, etc. who seemed not to be on anyone else's radar when they were picked.

 

Tillman and Briggs are two prime examples. Both were considered reaches when we drafted them.

 

Then there's guys like Anderson, who were just sitting around for no reason at all. Berrian was kind of like that. It's good to have a GM who doesn't flap just because everyone else is, and is capable of picking up that great value.

 

The only flaw is the spotty 1st round performance, and I still can't really figure out why he misses so often with the big picks.

[Jon]

Nothing really new, but the door still remains open for Ian Scott:

 

ChicagoBears.com[/url]"]LAKE FOREST, Ill. – Although the Bears are prepared to move on without Ian Scott, there’s still a chance that they could re-sign the unrestricted free agent defensive tackle at the right price.

 

“We like Ian,” said coach Lovie Smith. “We’ve liked Ian all along. He hasn’t signed with anyone else. We keep all options open until an option closes and that hasn’t closed.”

 

Scott played in 15 games with seven starts for the NFC champions last season, registering 31 tackles, four tackles for losses, five pass breakups, one forced fumble and one fumble recovery. The 6-3, 302-pounder joined the Bears in 2003 as a fourth-round pick from Florida.

 

The Bengals, Broncos, Falcons and Vikings have expressed interest in Scott, but if he isn’t offered the type of free agent contract he’s seeking, he could return to the Bears in 2007.

 

“There’s definitely interest in bringing him back,” Smith said. “Ian has helped us win a lot of football games around here. When you’re a free agent, I know you want to go out and test the waters, but he doesn’t have a contract with anyone else, so we look at him as an option.”

 

Lovie also talked about how they're considering switching Danieal Manning to corner. He has also been impressed with Dvoracek and Jamar Williams so far.

[BigSlick]

That is interesting. I'd love to see a Bears draft board. Probably completely different from the consensus of the 26 teams using the scouting service. That's how you get players like Briggs, Tillman, Berrian, D. Manning, etc. who seemed not to be on anyone else's radar when they were picked.

 

Tillman and Briggs are two prime examples. Both were considered reaches when we drafted them.

 

Then there's guys like Anderson, who were just sitting around for no reason at all. Berrian was kind of like that. It's good to have a GM who doesn't flap just because everyone else is, and is capable of picking up that great value.

 

The only flaw is the spotty 1st round performance, and I still can't really figure out why he misses so often with the big picks.

 

Pressure to deliver a superstar?

 

I'd rather he trade down in the top 25 or so picks. So he'll pick up Danieal Manning (A fine backup/starter in a pinch) and Devin Hester (a superstar in waiting) rather than one bust.

 

But in the 31 spot, I think that pressure is lifted, and he can finagle what he'd like to do.

 

Maybe thats a big reason why he didn't make the trade to the 6 spot with Briggs.

[jersey cubs fan]

That is interesting. I'd love to see a Bears draft board. Probably completely different from the consensus of the 26 teams using the scouting service. That's how you get players like Briggs, Tillman, Berrian, D. Manning, etc. who seemed not to be on anyone else's radar when they were picked.

 

Tillman and Briggs are two prime examples. Both were considered reaches when we drafted them.

 

Then there's guys like Anderson, who were just sitting around for no reason at all. Berrian was kind of like that. It's good to have a GM who doesn't flap just because everyone else is, and is capable of picking up that great value.

 

The only flaw is the spotty 1st round performance, and I still can't really figure out why he misses so often with the big picks.

 

Pressure to deliver a superstar?

 

I'd rather he trade down in the top 25 or so picks. So he'll pick up Danieal Manning (A fine backup/starter in a pinch) and Devin Hester (a superstar in waiting) rather than one bust.

 

But in the 31 spot, I think that pressure is lifted, and he can finagle what he'd like to do.

 

Maybe thats a big reason why he didn't make the trade to the 6 spot with Briggs.

 

If Grossman and Benson succeed, then I think the "Angelo can't pick in the 1st round" story kind of goes out the window. Columbo got hurt, Haynes was a bust. But Harris was great, and if Grossman and Benson are good at all, that's a nice record for 1st round picks.

[Chocolate Milk]

Columbo is even a solid if unspectacular player after his injury. Gotta agree that the jury is still out regarding the first round picks.

[Chocolate Milk]

The Bears and Dolphins have reportedly had minor "exploratory talks" about a possible draft day trade.

 

In this scenario, Chicago would trade up to the ninth pick of the draft, then move Lance Briggs to Washington to get to six and take Brady Quinn. It's far-fetched, like most of these rumors, but we do expect Chicago to take a quarterback this week.

Source: FoxSports.com

 

Sounds far fetched. Why not just get the 6th from Washington directly?

 

Edit: FoxSports article says "This is a very hot rumor running around the league." Take that for what it's worth. Nothing.

[jersey cubs fan]

The Bears and Dolphins have reportedly had minor "exploratory talks" about a possible draft day trade.

 

In this scenario, Chicago would trade up to the ninth pick of the draft, then move Lance Briggs to Washington to get to six and take Brady Quinn. It's far-fetched, like most of these rumors, but we do expect Chicago to take a quarterback this week.

Source: FoxSports.com

 

Sounds far fetched. Why not just get the 6th from Washington directly?

 

Are they saying all they'd end up with is the 6th? Or are they saying they'd trade to get the 9, and then end up with the 6th and 31st still?

 

Anyway, I'm all for getting a QB in this draft. I wouldn't complain about Quinn, even though I'm fine with Grossman in a make or break year.

[Chocolate Milk]

The Bears and Dolphins have reportedly had minor "exploratory talks" about a possible draft day trade.

 

In this scenario, Chicago would trade up to the ninth pick of the draft, then move Lance Briggs to Washington to get to six and take Brady Quinn. It's far-fetched, like most of these rumors, but we do expect Chicago to take a quarterback this week.

Source: FoxSports.com

 

Sounds far fetched. Why not just get the 6th from Washington directly?

 

Are they saying all they'd end up with is the 6th? Or are they saying they'd trade to get the 9, and then end up with the 6th and 31st still?

 

Anyway, I'm all for getting a QB in this draft. I wouldn't complain about Quinn, even though I'm fine with Grossman in a make or break year.

 

It sounds like they would trade up with the Dolphins then trade up again with the Redskins. Not really sure what they would we be trading in all those senarios. I actually wouldn't mind Quinn either but I am fine with Rex if thats the way they want to roll this year.

[CubColtPacer]

The Bears and Dolphins have reportedly had minor "exploratory talks" about a possible draft day trade.

 

In this scenario, Chicago would trade up to the ninth pick of the draft, then move Lance Briggs to Washington to get to six and take Brady Quinn. It's far-fetched, like most of these rumors, but we do expect Chicago to take a quarterback this week.

Source: FoxSports.com

 

Sounds far fetched. Why not just get the 6th from Washington directly?

 

Are they saying all they'd end up with is the 6th? Or are they saying they'd trade to get the 9, and then end up with the 6th and 31st still?

 

Anyway, I'm all for getting a QB in this draft. I wouldn't complain about Quinn, even though I'm fine with Grossman in a make or break year.

 

It sounds like they would trade up with the Dolphins then trade up again with the Redskins. Not really sure what they would we be trading in all those senarios. I actually wouldn't mind Quinn either but I am fine with Rex if thats the way they want to roll this year.

 

Yeah, I don't see any way this deal is happening. To trade up with the Dolphins for #9 without using Briggs, the Bears would probably have to give up #31, #37, and their third round pick. Then, to trade Briggs to Washington for only moving up 3 spots doesn't make very much sense, and Washington doesn't have any decent picks they can throw in to make the deal more fair. That rumor just doesn't make sense.

[jersey cubs fan]

Yeah, I don't see any way this deal is happening. To trade up with the Dolphins for #9 without using Briggs, the Bears would probably have to give up #31, #37, and their third round pick. Then, to trade Briggs to Washington for only moving up 3 spots doesn't make very much sense, and Washington doesn't have any decent picks they can throw in to make the deal more fair. That rumor just doesn't make sense.

 

With all the stories out there about how little value people are putting on picks early picks this year, who knows what it would take. Then again, with sentiment moving against those high cost picks, maybe we'll be surprised with a bunch of moves up there.

 

I think it makes a little more sense if the Bears trade Briggs for the 6th, then move down to 9 so Miami can get Quinn and the Bears get out of the really expensive first round area (plus likely adding some mid-round picks).