The Chicago Bears Preseason Thread

[Banedon]

lol at Hester holding out when he was already in negotiations for a contract.

 

He's only making 445k this year. At 15k a day, a ten day hold out would lose him over 1/3 of his football salary for this year.

 

Ouch.

 

He's gonna make a few mil...he's coming out ahead here. And you know, they gave Alex Brown, Robbie Gould, Brian Urlacher more money...why shouldn't Hester be a little ticked that they haven't gotten his done? He's the only "offensive" star that they've had the last couple of years. I think holding out before a final offer is a bit strange, but I can't say I blame him.

 

That said, this better get resolved in a hurry.

[RynoRules]

I think Hester is in the higher leverage situation here. The Bears need him far more than he needs them.

[Soul]

Yea, he's doing it because he knows he's the only deep threat on the team. That gives him leverage.

 

Bears need to make this go away quickly. The larger problem I see with Hester holding out is that he, of all players, needs to be in camp learning.

[RynoRules]

Yea, he's doing it because he knows he's the only deep threat on the team. That gives him leverage.

 

Bears need to make this go away quickly. The larger problem I see with Hester holding out is that he, of all players, needs to be in camp learning.

 

Agreed. But his agent is probably telling him that the risk-reward balance is weighing pretty heavily on the side of reward. That is what I would tell him also.

[jersey cubs fan]

If the Bears don't want to pay him number one receiver money, they shouldn't have said in the offseason that he was their number one. With that said, being a number one Bears receiver isn't worth much!

 

They never said he was the number one. They said they thought he could become a number one.

 

 

As for an earlier statement, no, Hester is not listed as a CB by the Bears, there's no reason why espn should still be labelling him as a CB, he hasn't been one since 2006.

[jersey cubs fan]

I think Hester is in the higher leverage situation here. The Bears need him far more than he needs them.

 

Yes he has leverage, but no, they don't need him more than he needs them. He needs them a lot. He's not anywhere close to becoming a free agent. He's not making any significant money outside of football. It's not like he's a lock to be a great receiver.

 

So, let's say the hold out goes until early August (when he'd have to report or risk losing service time for free agency purposes). The Bears can just slot him back into a return man only job, and the effect on the team may only be negligible. Meanwhile, Hester would have to play this year at significantly less than the $415,000 he doesn't deem acceptable right now. And he's still be a long way away from free agency.

 

I completely agree with Hester that he deserves more. I don't have a big problem with him sitting out the first day and making a stink. But anything beyond that and he starts to lose the benefit of the doubt. The Bears have shown over and over to be completely fair with their players who are being underpaid. Only the ill-informed or ignorant can call them cheap. Any reasonable person would think there's an agreement to be made if they keep negotiating. As others have said, it's a tricky point between a hybrid KR/PR/3rd receiver (which Hester is now) and a KR/#1 receiver (which Hester may become). I think they need to negotiate a deal that protects the Bears if he fails to improve as a receiver, and rewards him if he does do well as a receiver. But that's not easy to do with salary caps and the CBA.

[Soul]

On that I agree. The Bears have been resiging these guys as much as can be expected. They finished 7-9 and yet the Bears are doling out new contracts as if they made a return trip to the Super Bowl.

 

Nobody can claim the Bears aren't paying their guys.

[Banedon]

1:33 p.m. Just a minute after Mike Hass soared through the air and snagged a pretty pass from Kyle Orton, Orton lofted an ugly ball down the opposite sideline that was picked off by Hunter Hillenmeyer.

 

1:04 p.m. Rookie left tackle Chris Williams left the practice field with what appears to be a back injury.

[jersey cubs fan]

1:33 p.m. Just a minute after Mike Hass soared through the air and snagged a pretty pass from Kyle Orton, Orton lofted an ugly ball down the opposite sideline that was picked off by Hunter Hillenmeyer.

 

1:04 p.m. Rookie left tackle Chris Williams left the practice field with what appears to be a back injury.

 

Reminds me of my first day of practice senior year. Stretching before the first two-a-day, I managed wrench my back, how embarrasing.

[Butterscup1679666578]

1:04 p.m. Rookie left tackle Chris Williams left the practice field with what appears to be a back injury.

 

 

And so it begins.

[Banedon]

I'm cribbing from the Chicagosports.com blog...FYI...

 

1:45 p.m. The Bears signed Ryan Grice-Mullen, a receiver out of Hawaii, and cut full back J.D Runnels.

 

1:41 p.m. Rookie left tackle Chris Williams walked off the field under his own power. It appeared to be an injury to his lower back or right leg.

[Butterscup1679666578]

1:33 p.m. Just a minute after Mike Hass soared through the air and snagged a pretty pass from Kyle Orton, Orton lofted an ugly ball down the opposite sideline that was picked off by Hunter Hillenmeyer.

 

1:04 p.m. Rookie left tackle Chris Williams left the practice field with what appears to be a back injury.

 

Reminds me of my first day of practice senior year. Stretching before the first two-a-day, I managed wrench my back, how embarrasing.

 

I puked like 3 times on my first two-a-day my junior year. In between practices I went home (I lived 5 minutes from the HS) so I could shower and change clothes and stuff, and I puked twice in my car in the 5 minute drive. I tried to roll down my window and puke out the car but I missed and it all went down the side (inside and out) of my car. It was gross. Then I puked once more when I got home. It was all water.

[Banedon]

Rex just fumbled the snap from center for the first time this year.

[USSoccer]

Rex just fumbled the snap from center for the first time this year.

 

Oh geez.

[Banedon]

Dan Pompei: Trade Hester.

[Soul]

Someone check my computer, something's obviously wrong. It just said Williams is already hurt. But I know that can't be true.

[BigSlick]

Being picked off by Hunter Hillenmeyer of all people is a humbling experience

 

We may be in for a 2004 like year in terms of offensive production

[David]

1:58 p.m. You can imagine the reaction after Rex Grossman just fumbled a snap from center.

 

1:35 p.m. The biggest buzz of the day was created a minute ago when Rex Grossman hit Rashied Davis with a nice deep ball. "Make it sing, Rex," a fan yelled.

 

 

lol

[David]

LOL and according to a friend who has been at TC, Orton has fumbled a snap both yesterday and today.

 

WTF is with this team and the QB-C exchange? Griese had some issues with it last year, too.

 

People started to blame Olin for it, but even he's not around right now...

[David]

Angelo on MJH just said that Williams is fine. Just a "minor episode" today.

[swordsman]

It's what, day two of TC? I think we can forgive a few mishandled snaps at this stage, can't we?

[Soul]

It's Beekman today right? I think a few bobbles can be forgiven as they get more used to his way of snapping the ball. They were expecting Olin.

 

Didn't someone run stats last year that showed the Bears aren't really fumbling the snap all that much more than other teams? I thought I saw that, but I could be wrong.

[Derwood]

this is why i don't bother following the NFL until September. I don't have the constitution to hang on every update from day one of training camp

[jersey cubs fan]

this is why i don't bother following the NFL until September. I don't have the constitution to hang on every update from day one of training camp

 

I like seeing them show-up and reading the stories, but the minute-by-minute updates of practice, and fan reaction to practice, is a bit much. It would be impossible not to follow it at all until September though.

[David]

It's what, day two of TC? I think we can forgive a few mishandled snaps at this stage, can't we?

 

I'm not too worried about it. Just think it's funny.