RynoRules

It's a roster spot that could have been used for an impact player on offense.

It's not just you. Their stubborn refusal to acquire dynamic, impact players on offense is incredible. They need receivers and RB's. They very little depth and/or playmakers at either position. Here's a short list of FA's who realistically could have been or could still be signed and would/could make an impact on offense: - Darren Sproles - Santana Moss - Joe Addai - Michael Bush - Michael Floyd - Lance Moore - James Jones - Mike Tolbert

Martz used him well previously, and Williams has a relationship with Daryl Drake, the WR coach, from their days at Texas. Yeah, I know all that, but it doesn't mean he can still play. Come to think of it, other than 2006, he's been a very ordinary receiver overall. As I understand it Martz value receivers who run their routes well because the offense is predicated on timing. Jump balls to tall guys aren't really part of the deal. Is Williams known for running his routes well?

I wonder what the Bears know about Williams that no one else seems to. He hasn't a good year since 2007, IIRC.

Look, it's easy to explain away almost anything as a team-related issue, except catch rate, which is pared down to only catchable balls thrown his way. If you are in the bottom 5 in the league in catch rate, and your only job is to catch passes, then you are not very productive. What the hell is meant by "catchable ball"? Isn't that subjective in and of itself?

Explain to me how this team has gotten better over the last couple of days, particularly as compared to a team like the Pats, who have less cash to spend under the cap and yet have managed to acquire two impact players in 24 hours without giving up the farm.

Just because Martz is too stupid (stubborn?) to utilize him properly does not mean that he is not a very valuable football player. They threw plenty of passes to him. He just didn't catch near enough of them. How ever will the Bears replace Olsen's one good catch every 3 games now? Its tough to catch lots of passes when you have to stay in to block most of the time because your O-Line is on roller skates, or when the defense focuses on you all day because you are the only real threat on the team....let's just trade Cutler now. He has no one to throw to, and I don't give a crap if they get Roy Williams.

Oh help me Rhonda

None of those guys is worth Olsen, unless Shwartz is better than I think. Gettis could be, but that's based on a couple of games last year. At least Olsen has a track record. Remember my earlier post - I'm telling you, that conversation or a reasonable facsimile is what is going on behind the scenes...

Is Angelo playing a fiddle?

We still have Davis, right? So now the TE's are Spaeth, Davis and Olsen?

I would argue that Kruetz has been getting by on reputation for acouple of years, but do we really want to let him walk when we are turning over at least two other positions on the OL, and possibly three?

At least we don't have to watch him drop passes anymore. I realize he was a good ST player, but he had the worst hands on the team.

No way. See my earlier post. That exchange seems plausible based on giving 10 mill to a punter.

Angelo: We have to play a field position type game. We play in a cold weather city and need to win with defense and special teams. I'm going to concentrate on getting a new punter and trading Olson so we can have some extra cash around for a couple of more three-technique DT's. Smith: Yup, yup... Martz: Uh, who is Jay going to throw the ball to? Doesn't GB play in a cold weather city too, but they are pretty aggressive on offense with dynamic receivers? And remember what Brady did to us in the snow last year? It really doesn't get cold here until December, plus we play at least two road games per year in domes.... Angelo: STOP MAKING LOGICAL STATEMENTS AND DO WHAT I SAY!!!!!

Awesome. Let's trade our best receiver for a 3rd rnd pick. I don't understand why this franchise can't get more creative and get Jay more weapons. As good as Aaron Rodgers is, he wouldn't be without a good OL, a good running game, and guys like Finley, Jennings and Driver. The Bears don't have anyone who is even as good as Driver is in his mid-30's. IMO they need another RB as well. Taylor hasn't shown that he can do it anymore and Wolfe is a ST player. When Grant went down the Pack had Starks and Jackson to fall back on. We need something similar.

To be fair, the guys that have signed so far at positions of need for the Bears have either gone back to their former teams (Free, Yanda, Holmes, S Moss) or got overpaid (Rice). But I don't think the Bears are going to make a big splash this year, which is the norm for the Bears. I think they are really going to build up depth. As long as it's quality guys, I'm ok with that. I understand the interest in depth, but didn't we get at that via the draft and the two dozen UFA's we inked? The offense is desperately in need of impact players. Cutler is one and I guess it could be argued that Forte is another. You can't expect to beat the best teams in this league without consistently legitimate threats at WR. The Bears don't have any.

IIRC, there are only three teams further under the cap than the Bears. Yet here we sit without one bloody thing to show for it and the names we are being associated with aren't likely to have a serious impact. This is either arrogant, foolhardy or both.

I don't see how getting Brad Smith is of any help to Cutler. He's a no. 3 at best, and is basically a Hester type inasmuch as he is a talented returnman and WR is not his "natural" position. Cutler's most reliable option remains Greg Olson, IMO.

Is this real? Is this on? Kenny? And WTF to the Cards as well.

This is a poor strategy by the NFLPA and the players, IMO. The vast majority of the players don't have nearly enough money to outlast the owners. For most of the owners, football isn't their primary business or money-maker. Those guys have gobs of liquidity that the players simply do not have. If the owners want to (and I don't know that they do) they can carry the players several rounds in federal court via the anti-trust suit. The players are hoping that the suit itself will cause the owners to back down because - unlike in collective bargaining - the owners will likely face a court order to disclose detailed financial records for all 32 teams. In other words, in the context of collective bargaining the employer doesn't have to open it's books unless it says, "We can't afford to pay you what you are asking for", or some statement similar to that. However, in the context of an anti-trust suit, the players are probably going to be able to get their hands on the financial records via the discovery process. Even if the owners refuse to volunteer the records as part of that process, the players will likely be able compel disclosure of the records by motioning the court. The owners can of course apply tried and true litigation tactics to delay this disclosure, but eventually it's going to happen. I think that issue is where "the rubber meets the road" in this case and it's what the players are counting on in order to leverage more money out of the owners.

If the tweet by the NFL spokes-guy is to be believed (that the Union hasn't responded to any of the owners written proposals), this is a VERY dangerous game that the NFLPA is playing. They'd better be right about the anti-trust issue, because often times in negotiating when you back your opponent into a corner you leave them no choice but to fight their way out.

I like the thought of trading down somewhat. The Bears have a lot of needs, but only 6 picks. So, if they can go from 3 to 4 picks in the top 100-110, the better off the team may be. Then again, they also need some legit 1st round talent on this team. But at 29, those guys are going to be borderline 1st rounders anyway. It's going to be tough to justify trading down if guys like Pouncey, Liuget, and/or Carimi are there. I think those 3 are all good fits for what the Bears do and can be Day 1 starters and stay there for years to come. I agree, particularly if Pouncey is there at 29. Perhaps under that scenario you trade the 2nd rounder and pick up an extra, early fourth or later third round pick?

The more I look at this the more I think the Bears should trade into the middle of the second round and pick up an extra third round pick. There are a bunch guards being valued as 2nd and 3rd round types, and lord knows we need more than one offensive lineman, a corner, and probably a DT at a minimum. I'd love to see them somehow grab Austin from UNC.

If it happened during the season it might matter a bit, but this is nothing. Probably evolved from Silva being frustrated that he isn't guaranteed a spot in the rotation. I think the most likely result of this is that Silva gets traded falong with cash in exchange for nothing or is released.