2009 Chicago Bears offseason

[Guest]

With what I proposed earlier, it would look to everyone here as if there are simply new forums available within NSBB. However, Bears fans that are not Cubs fans wouldn't have to come to a Cubs site to talk about the Bears, which doesn't seem quite natural to me.

 

Fans of each team would see things from the point of view of their primary team, but everyone would just look at the forums they are interested in of the same database.

[David]

With what I proposed earlier, it would look to everyone here as if there are simply new forums available within NSBB. However, Bears fans that are not Cubs fans wouldn't have to come to a Cubs site to talk about the Bears, which doesn't seem quite natural to me.

 

Fans of each team would see things from the point of view of their primary team, but everyone would just look at the forums they are interested in of the same database.

 

 

That sounds like an idea... Can you just make different home screens and possibly a different forum index page within that outside of the constraints of the BB itself? Like on the Bears-NSBB home page, have links to "Bears Discussions" "Other NFL Teams" and so on? You could even craft it so that it looks like it's generated by phpBB when it's really not. Not sure if what I'm trying to say makes sense...

 

I know it's sort of a jerry rigged way of doing it, but it seems like it would work.

[UMFan83]

I'm starting to see blogger predictions for the season popping up lately, and so far everyone seems to be down on the Bears. The thing is, knowing how we've followed the offseason up close, we probably will overrate the Bears, while fans of other teams will probably underrate the Bears. The people that are making these predictions seem to analyze the Bears thinking that they are 2008 Bears - 2008 luck and Kyle Orton + Jay Cutler. Then they say "Jay Cutler is an upgrade but he's not going to pass for as many yards in Chicago. Some of them follow up with a "if they can get Burress or Marshall they could make a playoff run. I swear people that claim to be knowledgeable football fans think that QB + RB + WR is how you judge an NFL team.

 

NO FREAKING CRAP, Jay Culter isn't going to throw for as many yards as he did in Denver. We don't need him too, and that's not why we traded for him. First of all, there are a lot of things to like about the Bears offseason beyond Cutler. First of all, I like the moves that we made on the line and think that will be much better this year. Pace was a good acquisition although we'll be holding our breath on his injuries/age. We also basically have a first round pick in Chris Williams who people are ignoring. Second of all, If Kyle Orton could put up those numbers with those receivers, you have to think of how much better Cutler can do with them. How much better will our RBs do now that KJ is healthy and Forte won't have to run through 8 defenders every rush. Think of how much better we'd have have been last year if Orton could have hit Hester deep even half the time last year.

 

And that's just talking about offense. Now the defense does worry me a bit, but there are also a lot of things to like there. First of all, the defensive line should be better...Marinelli is there, Tommie Harris seemed determined to prove all his doubters wrong (hopefully), Ogun is on a contract year. The LBs got better and deeper with Pisa signed. Also, while there are a lot of doubts about our secondary, there are also a lot of interesting options here. We all liked how Corey Graham improved last year, Vash will have something to prove, etc etc etc.

 

Now I know I sound like a horrible homer here, and my post is full of coulds, woulds, shoulds, and mights. But the bottom line is, there is more to this team that 2008 Bears + Cutler. I relish being in the underdogs role and think it will help the Bears become playoff contenders next year.

[Soul]

Face it, that's how most football fans do their analysis.

 

They just look at QB, RB, WR, maybe a TE or two. That's it. Maybe if there's a monster DT or LB, they'll factor that in. But for the most part, they talk skill player, they think skill player, and they predict based on skill players, and skill players alone.

 

 

And all these Summer time predictions are forgotten by the time training camp starts, to say nothing of the actual season. So it's kind of pointless, other than as idle banter to get you by while there's no actual football.

[Sosa21MVP]

My biggest concern about the Bears right now is the secondary. I feel pretty good about the rest of the team.

[UMFan83]

Face it, that's how most football fans do their analysis.

 

They just look at QB, RB, WR, maybe a TE or two. That's it. Maybe if there's a monster DT or LB, they'll factor that in. But for the most part, they talk skill player, they think skill player, and they predict based on skill players, and skill players alone.

 

 

And all these Summer time predictions are forgotten by the time training camp starts, to say nothing of the actual season. So it's kind of pointless, other than as idle banter to get you by while there's no actual football.

Yup, so the point is...why bother analyzing when you don't know what your talking about? It goes beyond bloggers and into mainstream media. I can't remember how many times the Bears were dismissed in 2006 simply because of the name Rex Grossman. Yes QB is very important and Grossman was a wild mistake prone gunslinger and a below average overall QB but there are 54 other players on a team.

 

There are a few football Gus that know what their talking about and the rest are complete morons.

[Soul]

Face it, that's how most football fans do their analysis.

 

They just look at QB, RB, WR, maybe a TE or two. That's it. Maybe if there's a monster DT or LB, they'll factor that in. But for the most part, they talk skill player, they think skill player, and they predict based on skill players, and skill players alone.

 

 

And all these Summer time predictions are forgotten by the time training camp starts, to say nothing of the actual season. So it's kind of pointless, other than as idle banter to get you by while there's no actual football.

Yup, so the point is...why bother analyzing when you don't know what your talking about? It goes beyond bloggers and into mainstream media. I can't remember how many times the Bears were dismissed in 2006 simply because of the name Rex Grossman. Yes QB is very important and Grossman was a wild mistake prone gunslinger and a below average overall QB but there are 54 other players on a team.

 

There are a few football Gus that know what their talking about and the rest are complete morons.

 

It's why the whole world talks about nothing but the Patriots and Colts. Then they all wake up one day and go, "holy crap the Steelers have won 2 Super Bowls in the last 4 years!"

 

Yeah -- there's more to the league than Tom Brady and Peyton Manning. They might want to take a step back and realize that for a change.

[rawaction]

The biggest difference to me from 2008 to the team that will enter camp in 2009 is the depth on both sides of the ball and the improvement expected from the core offensive players.

 

The OL has gone from starting essentially a rookie (Beekman), a guy on his last leg (Tait), and a clearly well below average at the most important position (JSC) with backups such as Metcalf, Barton, and an injured Williams to now having a first round pick and a still able HOF'er at the T positions. The interior of the line is the same for 2/3, but adds a competition between two sub-26 year olds with upside. Best thing is the backups are Buenning, Shaffer, and Beekman...all whom have starting experience at an at least league average level.

 

Also going from a rookie RB to a 2nd year RB and a healthy former stud backup. Hester was basically in his 1st full year as a full-time WR. Olsen should be improved. Booker and Lloyd are replaced w/ much more speed and ability in Iglesias, Knox, and Bennett.

 

Defensively, the Bears have young backups at every position who has been a starter in the league (Anderson-DL, Roach-LB, Bullocks-S, Graham-CB/S).....or is a recent draft pick with a lot of talent (Harrison/Gilbert-DL, Freeman-LB, Moore, Bowman-CB) all of whom are 26 or younger.

 

The Bears may not be the most talented team around, but they have a lot of young talent on the team. Sure 3/5 of the OL is over 30, but them and Clark are it on that side of the ball 1st or 2nd team. On D, you have the DEs and Urlacher, but everyone else on the roster is 28 or under. They have experience, they have upside, and now they have a star QB to grow with them.

[Banedon]

I think the defense may well be better just from being on the field less.

[Soul]

The biggest difference to me from 2008 to the team that will enter camp in 2009 is the depth on both sides of the ball and the improvement expected from the core offensive players.

 

The OL has gone from starting essentially a rookie (Beekman), a guy on his last leg (Tait), and a clearly well below average at the most important position (JSC) with backups such as Metcalf, Barton, and an injured Williams to now having a first round pick and a still able HOF'er at the T positions. The interior of the line is the same for 2/3, but adds a competition between two sub-26 year olds with upside. Best thing is the backups are Buenning, Shaffer, and Beekman...all whom have starting experience at an at least league average level.

 

Also going from a rookie RB to a 2nd year RB and a healthy former stud backup. Hester was basically in his 1st full year as a full-time WR. Olsen should be improved. Booker and Lloyd are replaced w/ much more speed and ability in Iglesias, Knox, and Bennett.

 

Defensively, the Bears have young backups at every position who has been a starter in the league (Anderson-DL, Roach-LB, Bullocks-S, Graham-CB/S).....or is a recent draft pick with a lot of talent (Harrison/Gilbert-DL, Freeman-LB, Moore, Bowman-CB) all of whom are 26 or younger.

 

The Bears may not be the most talented team around, but they have a lot of young talent on the team. Sure 3/5 of the OL is over 30, but them and Clark are it on that side of the ball 1st or 2nd team. On D, you have the DEs and Urlacher, but everyone else on the roster is 28 or under. They have experience, they have upside, and now they have a star QB to grow with them.

 

First 6 games:

 

@Packers -- always tough to go up there and win, even though we've had success doing so recently.

Steelers -- defending champs, tough draw. Hopefully we catch them recovering from their celebrations a bit :)

@Seahawks -- Hawks are due for a rebound season. Playing them in their home stadium is rough.

Lions -- on the surface, looks like an easy win

@Falcons -- oh God not this crap again. Hopefully Ryan comes to earth a little bit from where he was when we saw him last year.

@Bengals -- we should be able to go down there and take care of business.

 

4 of 6 look like challenging games. I'm hoping to go 3-3 to start, at the very least. It'll keep us in the hunt, and I'm counting on our offense showing big improvement after they have had a few games to gel.

[jersey cubs fan]

Also going from a rookie RB to a 2nd year RB

 

Raw I agree with what you are saying, but I don't think there is much, if any benefit of having your RB be a 2nd year guy instead of a rookie. If anything, it just means more wear and tear on the body. Rookie RBs can produce out of the gate because it is such a physical/instinctive position, and not really a tactical position, like QB and WR. Frankly, after all the touches he had in college and his rookie year, I'm concerned about Forte's future. He was a sub 4.0ypc guy last year and doesn't have the "liveliest" of legs. He could improve on those numbers this year simply because of Cutler's presence, but I don't think it's a matter of becoming "established" as a veteran or anything.

 

First 6 games:

 

@Packers -- always tough to go up there and win, even though we've had success doing so recently.

Steelers -- defending champs, tough draw. Hopefully we catch them recovering from their celebrations a bit :)

@Seahawks -- Hawks are due for a rebound season. Playing them in their home stadium is rough.

Lions -- on the surface, looks like an easy win

@Falcons -- oh God not this crap again. Hopefully Ryan comes to earth a little bit from where he was when we saw him last year.

@Bengals -- we should be able to go down there and take care of business.

 

4 of 6 look like challenging games. I'm hoping to go 3-3 to start, at the very least. It'll keep us in the hunt, and I'm counting on our offense showing big improvement after they have had a few games to gel.

 

It's really not all that tough. In fact, since Vick won up there in the playoffs, I think a lot of the myth of Lambau has eroded. GB lost 4 times up there, all against warm weather/dome teams. Of course they lost to the Bears at home the previous season, and as favorites in the playoffs against the Giants. The previous year they lost again to the Bears, and two more dome teams, NE and the Jets. I have no more concern about playing in GB as I would playing in Carolina or Cleveland. The two in division domes are where I have concerns about the Bears playing. Luckily Detroit stinks so the disadvantage of playing in the dome is minimized.

 

As for the rest, I really don't like facing Pittsburgh coming off a half bye. They play on Thursday and then get 9 days rest before coming to Chicago. Cutler's first home game against that defense on plenty of rest just bothers me. Seattle's home advantage could be real, but they only won twice there last year and much of the respect they get is residual from when they won multiple division titles against non-existent competition.

[Banedon]

Also going from a rookie RB to a 2nd year RB

 

Raw I agree with what you are saying, but I don't think there is much, if any benefit of having your RB be a 2nd year guy instead of a rookie. If anything, it just means more wear and tear on the body. Rookie RBs can produce out of the gate because it is such a physical/instinctive position, and not really a tactical position, like QB and WR. Frankly, after all the touches he had in college and his rookie year, I'm concerned about Forte's future. He was a sub 4.0ypc guy last year and doesn't have the "liveliest" of legs. He could improve on those numbers this year simply because of Cutler's presence, but I don't think it's a matter of becoming "established" as a veteran or anything.

 

Kevin Jones being healthy and effective would go a long way toward helping Forte be better, just by not having to be on the field as often.

[RynoRules]

I am still very concerned about the D-Line. Mark Anderson and Wally O were awful last season. Harris was inconsistent. Brown was pretty good, but as he ages how much longer can you count on him? Dvoracheck is coming off yet another injury.

[dew1679666265]

Also going from a rookie RB to a 2nd year RB

 

Raw I agree with what you are saying, but I don't think there is much, if any benefit of having your RB be a 2nd year guy instead of a rookie. If anything, it just means more wear and tear on the body. Rookie RBs can produce out of the gate because it is such a physical/instinctive position, and not really a tactical position, like QB and WR. Frankly, after all the touches he had in college and his rookie year, I'm concerned about Forte's future. He was a sub 4.0ypc guy last year and doesn't have the "liveliest" of legs. He could improve on those numbers this year simply because of Cutler's presence, but I don't think it's a matter of becoming "established" as a veteran or anything.

 

Strength and conditioning can be big differences from rookie year to 2nd year. College players work out, obviously, but it's nothing like an NFL weight training program. A 2nd year player going through his first full NFL offseason program can see a big difference. Not necessarily always, but that's the biggest difference for a RB.

[jersey cubs fan]

Also going from a rookie RB to a 2nd year RB

 

Raw I agree with what you are saying, but I don't think there is much, if any benefit of having your RB be a 2nd year guy instead of a rookie. If anything, it just means more wear and tear on the body. Rookie RBs can produce out of the gate because it is such a physical/instinctive position, and not really a tactical position, like QB and WR. Frankly, after all the touches he had in college and his rookie year, I'm concerned about Forte's future. He was a sub 4.0ypc guy last year and doesn't have the "liveliest" of legs. He could improve on those numbers this year simply because of Cutler's presence, but I don't think it's a matter of becoming "established" as a veteran or anything.

 

Strength and conditioning can be big differences from rookie year to 2nd year. College players work out, obviously, but it's nothing like an NFL weight training program. A 2nd year player going through his first full NFL offseason program can see a big difference. Not necessarily always, but that's the biggest difference for a RB.

 

Strength and conditioning programs at the better college programs are fairly similar to what the pros have access to, but even if there is an upgrade I don't think that will do anything to help a RB. RB's succeed based on natural physical ability at that position, and the quality of the rest of their offensive teammates, not by more experience as a pro.

[Banedon]

Bears individual game tix on sale July 25th.

 

http://www.chicagobears.com/news/NewsStory.asp?story_id=5896

[rawaction]

Also going from a rookie RB to a 2nd year RB

 

Raw I agree with what you are saying, but I don't think there is much, if any benefit of having your RB be a 2nd year guy instead of a rookie. If anything, it just means more wear and tear on the body. Rookie RBs can produce out of the gate because it is such a physical/instinctive position, and not really a tactical position, like QB and WR. Frankly, after all the touches he had in college and his rookie year, I'm concerned about Forte's future. He was a sub 4.0ypc guy last year and doesn't have the "liveliest" of legs. He could improve on those numbers this year simply because of Cutler's presence, but I don't think it's a matter of becoming "established" as a veteran or anything.

 

Strength and conditioning can be big differences from rookie year to 2nd year. College players work out, obviously, but it's nothing like an NFL weight training program. A 2nd year player going through his first full NFL offseason program can see a big difference. Not necessarily always, but that's the biggest difference for a RB.

 

Strength and conditioning programs at the better college programs are fairly similar to what the pros have access to, but even if there is an upgrade I don't think that will do anything to help a RB. RB's succeed based on natural physical ability at that position, and the quality of the rest of their offensive teammates, not by more experience as a pro.

 

Tulane is not a big program though. Also, I think a 2nd year RB should be more used to the speed of the game. Maybe the ability to make an extra cut here and there and get a couple more yards. And granted Forte didn't seem to slow down much at the end of last season, but he should be used to the 16-game/17-week grind this year. Hopefully, a smaller load will help there though.

 

Then there's a natural improvement on blocking assignments and abilities, route running, grasp of the playbook. Again, he didn't have any noticeable problems there last year, but a little improvement has to be expected.

[rawaction]

I am still very concerned about the D-Line. Mark Anderson and Wally O were awful last season. Harris was inconsistent. Brown was pretty good, but as he ages how much longer can you count on him? Dvoracheck is coming off yet another injury.

 

Not worried about Alex. His game isn't built on the quick first step and getting around the edge. He's just 30 this year, and he should continue to be solid.

 

Best hope w/ Wale is that he's motivated by getting his final contract next offseason. He had flashes, and was solid vs. the run though. Anderson may be the biggest measuring stick of Marinelli's ability. If he can get him back to double digit sack territory, or at least get him pointed in that direction, the Bears D has the potential to dominate again.

[UK1679666180]

I haven't followed the Bears transactions minus Cutler and the draft, but is Adams coming back?

 

I think he gets quickly forgotten by Bears fans and has been pretty good for the Bears.

[Banedon]

I haven't followed the Bears transactions minus Cutler and the draft, but is Adams coming back?

 

I think he gets quickly forgotten by Bears fans and has been pretty good for the Bears.

 

He's on the roster, but I've heard zip about him this offseason.

[Soul]

I haven't followed the Bears transactions minus Cutler and the draft, but is Adams coming back?

 

I think he gets quickly forgotten by Bears fans and has been pretty good for the Bears.

 

The last I heard he was participating in OTAs. I assume the answer is yes. He's still listed on the roster.

[Southpaw191679666239]

Mike Brown signed with Kansas City...

[Banedon]

Mike Brown signed with Kansas City...

 

Good luck to him. I understand why the Bears didn't keep him, but it's still tough to let Mike Brown go.

[jersey cubs fan]

Mike Brown signed with Kansas City...

 

Good luck to him. I understand why the Bears didn't keep him, but it's still tough to let Mike Brown go.

 

I didn't think he was coming back last year, so I don't view it as all that tough. But I still think it's a little weird that they just let him walk away when they had a need at the position. I still wonder what the full motivation is.

[Banedon]

Mike Brown signed with Kansas City...

 

Good luck to him. I understand why the Bears didn't keep him, but it's still tough to let Mike Brown go.

 

I didn't think he was coming back last year, so I don't view it as all that tough. But I still think it's a little weird that they just let him walk away when they had a need at the position. I still wonder what the full motivation is.

 

Maybe it was just a roster management thing. It's gotta be hard when your starter keeps going down to injury every season. At least planning on Payne/Steltz being in there, you don't have the uncertainty. You buying that? :)