Re: Bears Offseason Thread

[Banedon]

Player for player trades don't happen a whole heckuva lot in the NFL...seems like if teams wanna trade a guy...they want a draft pick back.

 

I'm with jersey on this one...WR has it's issues, but a lot of it just has to do with being too young. I can deal with "too young" mistakes more than I can deal with "too terrible" mistakes, which is what is happening with the OL.

[David]

Beat writer Brad Biggs reports the Bears are expected to "hit it big" at the midnight start of free agency.

"This is it," Biggs' source said. "There is no draft. They have to come out with four or five players. The Bears will not be outbid. It's in their budget." The Bears have traditionally been conservative in free agency, but we've now seen multiple reports expecting them to splurge this year. Julius Peppers is squarely in the cross-hairs.

Source: Brad Biggs on Twitter

 

 

BradBiggs

Everyone is a spectator right now, 9 hours from opening of free agency. One source I trust said: "I expect the #Bears to hit it big."

 

BradBiggs

Source added: "This is it. There is no draft. They have to come out w/ 4 or 5 players. The #Bears will not be outbid. It's in their budget."

[SpongeWorthy]

Well I'm excited for the next 24 hours or so.

 

If we could get two guys out of the Peppers, Kampman, Taylor, Rolle, etc. group I would be pretty happy. And then throw in Manumaleuna and maybe a decent lineman or receiver.

[David]

Why do we want Taylor? 30 year old RB? Meh.

 

I mean I guess he could be a good fit. I'm just not very excited about him.

[SpongeWorthy]

Because he's really good.

 

It's not like he's LT or anything and is a 30 year old RB who has racked up 300+ carry seasons consistently.

[Hairyducked Idiot]

Which Taylor are we talking about? Chester?

[SpongeWorthy]

Yeah.

[David]

Because he's really good.

 

It's not like he's LT or anything and is a 30 year old RB who has racked up 300+ carry seasons consistently.

 

 

He wasn't very good last year. Not that he had a ton of carries or anything but it's something to consider when you take into account his age too.

 

I mean, he did a nice job catching out of the backfield, but Forte does that too.

[Hairyducked Idiot]

I'm not seeing how Chester Taylor is all that good.

[David]

All this talk makes Phillips's statement the other day extremely bizarre.

[jersey cubs fan]

All this talk makes Phillips's statement the other day extremely bizarre.

 

Negotiating

[SpongeWorthy]

Because he's really good.

 

It's not like he's LT or anything and is a 30 year old RB who has racked up 300+ carry seasons consistently.

 

 

He wasn't very good last year. Not that he had a ton of carries or anything but it's something to consider when you take into account his age too.

 

I mean, he did a nice job catching out of the backfield, but Forte does that too.

 

Every time I watched him he looked fast and ran hard. His YPC has slipped quite a bit the last couple years but so has Peterson's.

 

I'm not saying he's a huge priority but for a team that needs better playmaking and could use a boost in the running attack I think he could be a very good pickup. He's basically been stuck behind a young Jamal Lewis and a young Adrian Peterson his entire career. Going from a gimp Forte and Kahlil Bell or Garrett Wolfe to Chester Taylor and a healthy Forte could be a big boost.

[SpongeWorthy]

I'm not seeing how Chester Taylor is all that good.

 

The Vikings want to keep him pretty badly but they know they have to cough up big money to extend Peterson. On big third downs they had Taylor in the game just as often as Peterson. He's a fantastic receiver and pass blocker.

 

The Vikings run blocking is not what it was and I would attribute most of the decline in his YPC to that. Peterson has pretty quietly turned into a 4.4 yard per carry guy instead of a 5.5+ beast. When I watched Taylor I saw a player that still had good legs...unlike Tomlinson who just looked like he had nothing left.

[Hairyducked Idiot]

I don't know how you can call him a "4.4 YPC guy" when he's failed to make that four of the last five seasons.

[jersey cubs fan]

I just can't put a good pass catching and blocking RB at the top of the priority list without being significantly more explosive and younger than Taylor. There's so much more important to go for.

[David]

I don't know how you can call him a "4.4 YPC guy" when he's failed to make that four of the last five seasons.

 

 

He was referring to AP, pretty sure.

[SpongeWorthy]

I just can't put a good pass catching and blocking RB at the top of the priority list without being significantly more explosive and younger than Taylor. There's so much more important to go for.

 

Well Sproles is a lot more explosive and younger than Taylor but the Chargers just put a high tender on him. So if you want to upgrade the Bears running game you've gotta go with Taylor, a draftee, or Tomlinson/Westbrook.

 

Taylor is still explosive, IMO, which is why I like him. The Bears have money to spend and they're going to spend it regardless because the management is throwing a hail mary. What would you have them do? The running backs and offense in general aren't so good (in fact, they're horrible) that they should just hold the money and wait for the stud linemen who simply aren't on the market.

 

The Bears need upgrades everywhere.

[David]

Isn't FWP available? He has put up around 4 yards a carry with a pretty shoddy line.

[jersey cubs fan]

I just can't put a good pass catching and blocking RB at the top of the priority list without being significantly more explosive and younger than Taylor. There's so much more important to go for.

 

Well Sproles is a lot more explosive and younger than Taylor but the Chargers just put a high tender on him. So if you want to upgrade the Bears running game you've gotta go with Taylor, a draftee, or Tomlinson/Westbrook.

 

Taylor is still explosive, IMO, which is why I like him. The Bears have money to spend and they're going to spend it regardless because the management is throwing a hail mary. What would you have them do? The running backs and offense in general aren't so good (in fact, they're horrible) that they should just hold the money and wait for the stud linemen who simply aren't on the market.

 

The Bears need upgrades everywhere.

 

RBs emerge from the depths every year, I would simply never spend money on the position. It's a waste, unless you have your own stud. I'd solidify both lines, offense via draft and defense via free agency, and spend money on the secondary. This defense has barely held on over the years and is in desperate need of an influx of talent.

[SpongeWorthy]

I just can't put a good pass catching and blocking RB at the top of the priority list without being significantly more explosive and younger than Taylor. There's so much more important to go for.

 

Well Sproles is a lot more explosive and younger than Taylor but the Chargers just put a high tender on him. So if you want to upgrade the Bears running game you've gotta go with Taylor, a draftee, or Tomlinson/Westbrook.

 

Taylor is still explosive, IMO, which is why I like him. The Bears have money to spend and they're going to spend it regardless because the management is throwing a hail mary. What would you have them do? The running backs and offense in general aren't so good (in fact, they're horrible) that they should just hold the money and wait for the stud linemen who simply aren't on the market.

 

The Bears need upgrades everywhere.

 

RBs emerge from the depths every year, I would simply never spend money on the position. It's a waste, unless you have your own stud. I'd solidify both lines, offense via draft and defense via free agency, and spend money on the secondary. This defense has barely held on over the years and is in desperate need of an influx of talent.

 

I don't know what RBs you're talking about when you say they emerge from the depths. Can you give me an example? Most of the guys I think you might have in mind were lower round draftees ala Rice, Charles, etc. But I don't see why drafting a running back with one of our very few picks would be acceptable while signing one in free agency wouldn't be.

 

And I'm not saying don't spend money on the defense. Get a pass rusher and a ball hawk in the secondary and with Urlacher coming back you MIGHT be looking at a top 10ish unit if the breaks go right. On the other hand, the offense has never been good and desperately needs an influx of talent as well.

 

I think the stance on this board that the skill players are even approaching adequacy is pretty much way off. The Bears skill group is one of the very worst in the NFL. You can get a good return on your investment with the right FA signings there.

[GeoSoto420]

It'll be fun when the Bears sign Curtis Conway after all this hype.

[jersey cubs fan]

You can get a good return on your investment with the right FA signings there.

 

That is very rarely the case with RBs. It is a young man's position and a horrible one to pay big money in free agency.

[SpongeWorthy]

You can get a good return on your investment with the right FA signings there.

 

That is very rarely the case with RBs. It is a young man's position and a horrible one to pay big money in free agency.

 

I'm not sure what you mean by big money. Taylor will get a good contract, not a huge one. The estimates I've seen put him in the 4 years/17 million with 6 guaranteed range. Thomas Jones (for two different teams), Michael Turner, and Ricky Williams were some good FA signings that have panned out. Jones and Williams were no spring chickens either and had more tread on their tires than Taylor does now.

 

The rest of the good running backs are mainly an assortment of guys still with the teams that drafted them--usually in the top 2 or 3 rounds. Somehow I think most of you would be annoyed if we went running back with our 3rd or 4th round pick.

 

If you're going to ignore running back in the offseason you better be comfortable with Forte bouncing back and Kahlil Bell. I'm not that optimistic. So if my options were down to staying pat, spending some money in free agency, or drafting a guy I would probably lean towards free agency.

[David]

Rams tender Atogwe at lowest level

 

 

Mar 4 3/4/2010 4:19:50 PM | More

Jim Thomas of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports the St. Louis Rams have officially tendered Oshiomogho Atogwe at the lowest level possible for a restricted free agent _ the right of first refusal level.

As a result, the Rams get no draft pick compensation if they choose not to match an outside offer.

Atogwe gets only $1.226 million as opposed to the $6.976 million he would have gotten if tendered at any other level.

The Rams are gambling that Atogwe won’t garner much interest in free agency. Or that they’ll be able to match any outside offer if he does.

 

 

hmmmmmm

[David]

Any interest?