The Chicago Bears Preseason Thread

[jersey cubs fan]

Dan Bernstein says that they Bears needed to win in 2006 because their window for winning was pretty small. But when I look at the defense, almost all of them are signed for a number of years. If the offense can improve, this defense should be good for a while.

 

We need a new thread because the offseason is no more!

 

It's training camp time!

[Soul]

Summer is going by entirely too fast. Wow.

[imb]

God I'm so ready for football.

 

Let's do some way too early division picks

 

NFC East

Dallas, NY, Washington, Philly

This division is pretty freaking stacked. You could probably do just as well picking the names out of a hat. Can T.O. stay elite? Was Eli's end of 2007 a mirage? Is Jason Taylor healthy? What about McNabb?

 

NFC North

MInnesota, Green Bay, Chicago, Detroit.

For all the talk about how amazing Minnesota's defense was last year, Green Bay allowed fewer points. It's hard for me to drop the Packers based on Aaron Rodgers being the QB instead of Favre when Tavaris Jackson is still quarterbacking in Minnesota.

 

NFC South

New Orleans, Carolina, Tampa, Atlanta

N.O. isn't as bad as they played last year, I like Tampa's defense but outside of the 45-year old Joey Galloway, I really don't like anyone on their offense. I liked Carolina's draft better than Tampa's, too and if the Panthers get Williams more carries and get average play out of QB, I think they take second.

 

NFC West

Seattle, St. Louis, Arizona, San Francisco

I'll never buy into Arizona or SF until I actually see them do something on the field. They've been the two teams du jour the last two years and neither have done jack. Honestly, I'd like to pick St. Louis to win, but even though I know a lot of 2007 was due to injuries, picking a 3 win team to go from worst to first just seems like too big of a leap.

[Banedon]

God I'm so ready for football.

 

Let's do some way too early division picks

 

NFC East

Dallas, NY, Washington, Philly

This division is pretty freaking stacked. You could probably do just as well picking the names out of a hat. Can T.O. stay elite? Was Eli's end of 2007 a mirage? Is Jason Taylor healthy? What about McNabb?

 

NFC North

MInnesota, Green Bay, Chicago, Detroit.

For all the talk about how amazing Minnesota's defense was last year, Green Bay allowed fewer points. It's hard for me to drop the Packers based on Aaron Rodgers being the QB instead of Favre when Tavaris Jackson is still quarterbacking in Minnesota.

 

NFC South

New Orleans, Carolina, Tampa, Atlanta

N.O. isn't as bad as they played last year, I like Tampa's defense but outside of the 45-year old Joey Galloway, I really don't like anyone on their offense. I liked Carolina's draft better than Tampa's, too and if the Panthers get Williams more carries and get average play out of QB, I think they take second.

 

NFC West

Seattle, St. Louis, Arizona, San Francisco

I'll never buy into Arizona or SF until I actually see them do something on the field. They've been the two teams du jour the last two years and neither have done jack. Honestly, I'd like to pick St. Louis to win, but even though I know a lot of 2007 was due to injuries, picking a 3 win team to go from worst to first just seems like too big of a leap.

 

I think this is very close to the early consensus, which inevitably means that it will end up almost completely different.

[Southpaw191679666239]

This snippit from an article on Yahoo Sports on the Worst owners in the NFL.

 

26. Chicago Bears – Virginia McCaskey (Michael McCaskey, Ted Phillips): By all rights, this should be one of the richest and most successful franchises in sports. The Bears have the NFL’s second-largest market all to themselves, a recognizable brand steeped in tradition and a refurbished stadium. They even played in the Super Bowl two years ago, though it’s hard to remember after last season’s harsh comedown. And yet? “What a disaster,” one owner says. “They should be first or second in revenues; they’re lucky if they’re in the middle of the pack.” With Michael McCaskey, who was publicly declawed by mother Virginia after mismanaging the team back in the ’90s, back in charge of the family business (Phillips is technically the CEO and president), there’s not a whole lot of promise on the horizon. McCaskey, the nominal head of the league’s Super Bowl committee, takes that role very seriously: Before the most recent vote he reminded his fellow owners how important it was to be polite during the presentations, earning eye rolls throughout the room. As for the lagging cash flow, one owner suspects that the Bears intentionally turned down a marketing deal, citing a supposed conflict with one of the league’s national sponsors, in an effort to keep profits low enough to avoid contributing to the league’s revenue-sharing pool. And you thought finding a quarterback was the Bears’ biggest problem.

[GoCubsGo1679625768]

I think it's a bit unfair to go after Virgnia, I'm pretty sure (mentally) she is another world at this point in her life.

[Soul]

If M McCaskey isn't the biggest buffoon in the NFL, he's certainly near the top. Virginia had to take it back from him. She's too old to start revolutionizing the team. The real failure is the inability of any of her children to step up. They're all losers, and we're stuck with them.

[GoCubsGo1679625768]

If M McCaskey isn't the biggest buffoon in the NFL, he's certainly near the top. Virginia had to take it back from him. She's too old to start revolutionizing the team. The real failure is the inability of any of her children to step up. They're all losers, and we're stuck with them.

If the NFL ever ditches the salary cap, the Bears are so screwed.

[Wilson A2000]

There is nothing substantive in that critique. One owner "suspects"...

 

Are there figures for how much profit a team makes? I don't think it is the ownerships fault that the Bears don't have a QB.

[CuseCubFan69]

Summer is going by entirely too fast. Wow.

 

You got that right.

 

I'd kind of enjoy it if the Packers won the SB with Rodgers at the helm.

[Banedon]

There is nothing substantive in that critique. One owner "suspects"...

 

Are there figures for how much profit a team makes? I don't think it is the ownerships fault that the Bears don't have a QB.

 

I don't think that was a critique of the play on the field. As they said, the Bears were in the SB 2 years ago. The rankings the way I see them, are reflections on how each team is run "as a business" and in that aspect, the Bears fare poorly.

[Wilson A2000]

There is nothing substantive in that critique. One owner "suspects"...

 

Are there figures for how much profit a team makes? I don't think it is the ownerships fault that the Bears don't have a QB.

 

I don't think that was a critique of the play on the field. As they said, the Bears were in the SB 2 years ago. The rankings the way I see them, are reflections on how each team is run "as a business" and in that aspect, the Bears fare poorly.

 

Right, but are there any stats?

[UMFan83]

I'm so down on the Bears this year, yet so excited that their season has begun.

[Wilson A2000]

I'm so down on the Bears this year, yet so excited that their season has begun.

 

I remember that first game last year vs the Chargers - what a defense. With Dusty, Brown, and Harris hopefully back healthy this defense could be really good. I hope Forte can chip block and catch a little swing pass, cause whoever is QB is going to be under a lot of pressure. I want to see more from Olsen this year. I hope he gained some strength, especially in his legs.

[jersey cubs fan]

There is nothing substantive in that critique. One owner "suspects"...

 

Are there figures for how much profit a team makes? I don't think it is the ownerships fault that the Bears don't have a QB.

 

I don't think that was a critique of the play on the field. As they said, the Bears were in the SB 2 years ago. The rankings the way I see them, are reflections on how each team is run "as a business" and in that aspect, the Bears fare poorly.

 

Right, but are there any stats?

 

Anecdotally it's easy to bust on the Bears ownership. But as Wilson pointed out, that analysis was quite weak. It's a healthy profitable organization that still employs the vast majority of the people that brought them to the Super Bowl 1.5 years ago. The fact that Silver wrote this speaks volumes. In typical NFL media fashion, Jerry Jones is inexplicably listed at the top, despite the Cowboys having done very little since the Jimmy Johnson era. There are a lot of groups arbitrarily thrown ahead of the Bears ownership, simply because, it appears, he likes them better. He's basing this off of whether or not guys spend like crazy and sell every bit of ad space possible.

[UMFan83]

I'm so down on the Bears this year, yet so excited that their season has begun.

 

I remember that first game last year vs the Chargers - what a defense. With Dusty, Brown, and Harris hopefully back healthy this defense could be really good. I hope Forte can chip block and catch a little swing pass, cause whoever is QB is going to be under a lot of pressure. I want to see more from Olsen this year. I hope he gained some strength, especially in his legs.

 

Lots of If's there. The D is also a year older, Brown hasn't stayed healthy for an entire year since what 2003? Forte is a rookie, but should bring some promise. The only we we succeed this year in my mind is if Brown is healthy, one WR (Bradley?) emerges Bernard Berrian style, and Grossman is Sept 2006 Grossman for half of the season (should he be named starter)

[jersey cubs fan]

I'm so down on the Bears this year, yet so excited that their season has begun.

 

I remember that first game last year vs the Chargers - what a defense. With Dusty, Brown, and Harris hopefully back healthy this defense could be really good. I hope Forte can chip block and catch a little swing pass, cause whoever is QB is going to be under a lot of pressure. I want to see more from Olsen this year. I hope he gained some strength, especially in his legs.

 

Lots of If's there. The D is also a year older, Brown hasn't stayed healthy for an entire year since what 2003? Forte is a rookie, but should bring some promise. The only we we succeed this year in my mind is if Brown is healthy, one WR (Bradley?) emerges Bernard Berrian style, and Grossman is Sept 2006 Grossman for half of the season (should he be named starter)

 

The D is a year older, but they aren't that old. They still have young stars at defensive tackle, linebacker and cornerback. Mark Anderson, going back to being a pass rush specialist is still young.

 

If Grossman is Sept 2006 Grossman for half the season, they will win all 8 of those games.

[Wilson A2000]

In typical NFL media fashion, Jerry Jones is inexplicably listed at the top, despite the Cowboys having done very little since the Jimmy Johnson era.

 

Like not winning a playoff game in 12 years. Do we rate owners by how much money they make, or by how successful their teams are? 1 usually follows 2, so I guess you can say the Bears ownership isn't capitalizing if they are only middle of the pack in profit. But they Bears have been inconsistent lately which doesn't help.

[RynoRules]

In typical NFL media fashion, Jerry Jones is inexplicably listed at the top, despite the Cowboys having done very little since the Jimmy Johnson era.

 

Like not winning a playoff game in 12 years. Do we rate owners by how much money they make, or by how successful their teams are? 1 usually follows 2, so I guess you can say the Bears ownership isn't capitalizing if they are only middle of the pack in profit. But they Bears have been inconsistent lately which doesn't help.

 

True, but I think its unfair to imply that they have been cheap. Angelo is frugal - partiucularly on offense - but I think that is more of a philosophy of how best to build a quality team with depth rather than tight-fistedness.

 

Look at the Skins - Dan Snyder throws money at everyone and anyone who will take it, yet they haven't been a serious, top-of-the-line contender since the first Gibbs era. It takes more than just money to make a good NFL team. Without having looked, I would bet there is greater correlation between winning and solid drafting than there is solid FA pick-ups.

Edited July 23, 2008 by RynoRules

[David]

Per ESPN1000:

 

Hester not in camp as the first practice begins.

 

Tillman and Kruetz not on the practice field.

[UMFan83]

Per ESPN1000:

 

Hester not in camp as the first practice begins.

 

Tillman and Kruetz not on the practice field.

 

So we can assume Hester is holding out then?

[Wilson A2000]

Per ESPN1000:

 

Hester not in camp as the first practice begins.

 

Tillman and Kruetz not on the practice field.

 

Hester can't afford to lose 15k every day for missing practice can he? Plus if he is going to be a decent WR, he has got to be at practice to learn the plays and develop.

Edited July 23, 2008 by Wilson A2000

[Wilson A2000]

True, but I think its unfair to imply that they have been cheap. Angelo is frugal - partiucularly on offense - but I think that is more of a philosophy of how best to build a quality team with depth rather than tight-fistedness.

 

I wouldn't have spent that kind of money of Berrian either. He wasn't even close to being worth it. Are there any good WR free agents out there next year?

[RynoRules]

True, but I think its unfair to imply that they have been cheap. Angelo is frugal - partiucularly on offense - but I think that is more of a philosophy of how best to build a quality team with depth rather than tight-fistedness.

 

I wouldn't have spent that kind of money of Berrian either. He wasn't even close to being worth it. Are there any good WR free agents out there next year?

 

Not sure. I think in football that depends on too many unpredictable factors (how well a team does determines what they do in the offseason with their pricey vets, etc.).

[David]

Per ESPN1000:

 

Hester not in camp as the first practice begins.

 

Tillman and Kruetz not on the practice field.

 

So we can assume Hester is holding out then?

 

That's the theory.