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Etherington is going to transfer now too. I've heard rumors that there might be 1-2 more? Basketball in the state of Indiana is a mess right now. Hollowell and Marlin are rumored to be next. Oh no, not Johnny Marlin!

Etherington is going to transfer now too. I've heard rumors that there might be 1-2 more? Basketball in the state of Indiana is a mess right now. Butler even sucks now.

Maybe it says something about Castro? In the sense that they don't feel Castro will be around long-term and they don't want to lessen Castro's value (or hurt his confidence more) by moving him away from SS. And moving Baez to 3B could force moves with Olt, Villanueva and/or Bryant that would be unnecessary if Baez is just going to go to SS once Castro is gone.

Top 100 picks losing playing time in one of their 4 years on their rookie contracts to players who either aren't very good or aren't part of this team's future, when the team should be rebuilding on defense. I get what you are saying, I just don't get why it upsets you when a rookie "loses" playing time to a superior veteran. The better player generally sees the field more in football. I never said anything about a "superior" player. But either way, a marginally superior player over 30 on a 1-year contract, shouldn't start over a rookie with the potential to be better with playing time. And a top 100 pick usually should have the potential to start over a veteran in those circumstances.

Top 100 picks losing playing time in one of their 4 years on their rookie contracts to players who either aren't very good or aren't part of this team's future, when the team should be rebuilding on defense.

Run Off? I picked Frazier, Wells and Balaguert.

Yeah, part of it is last year's start and the bullpen being monumentally better on paper. Plus, the Pirates pretty much made it to the playoffs doing that, except their offense picked up and they were able to add a starter (Cole). The Cubs don't have a Cole to add, and Baez's impact may be lessened by taking time away from Olt or Valbuena who look like they're going to hit enough.

To me, he'd be the only S on the roster that would be a shoe-in starter. I think he'd be the SS, with Conte and Mindy competing for starting FS. I'd personally would rather have a draft pick used on a S rather than sign a 30 year old who is going to be gone after 1-2 years. So if Ihedigbo prevents drafting a young S then im against it. Though, I guess you could still draft a guy and cut all or most of Steltz, M.D. Jennings and the other scrubs they signed. On a related note, its nice to go into the draft without any glaring holes in the starting lineup, but at some point, you gotta throw some guys right in there. You can't keep losing a year of development for your young players. And im sure it didn't help Bostic playing all camp, then sitting for 5 weeks. As I see it, the Bears need to draft a S, CB, DT, DE and maybe a LB in this draft. But as it stands right now, none of those picks would start. Not horrible until you realize they wouldn't stay over guys like Tillman, Ratliff, Young, Williams and Ihedigbo (if signed).....all guys over 30 and on very short term contracts. Clinton Dix would start. Prob Dennard too. Nothing wrong with moving Peanut to safety. Except Tillman's said he didn't want to move to safety. And even HCD, I see in a strong competition to start with Mundy and Conte. I don't want a top 15 pick in competition. I want him on the field. Like I said, it's all fine and good for a rookie to lose time to a prime Urlacher, Briggs, Tillman, or Peppers. But at some point it becomes counterproductive to have veteran depth for the sake of having depth, especially when those players aren't that good or don't have a future with the organization. The issues get compounded, IMO, when you're talking about only 4 years til free agency for non-1st round, top 100 picks. You don't play a guy much as a rookie, you don't know if he can take over the job as a soph. If he has growing pains, an injury, or something else that year...you're down to 2 years to figure out if this is a player you want long-term.

If Arizona wins tonight, I'll have 7 and 8 of the Sweet 16 in my 2 brackets.....but I'll have 6 and 7 of my elite 8 still alive and my final 4s entirely in tact.

Is it irrational that I kind of vision the Cubs getting off to a really good start and hanging around in the division/wild card for a while? I think the starting pitching gets off to a good start. I think the bullpen will win the close ones. I think the offense will hit for more power than a lot of the teams they face. Im thinking a lot of 3-2 type wins.

Feel bad for Wichita. They are too good to be remembered as a mid major that got eliminated in the first weekend. This is what the committee wanted by loading this bracket.

To me, he'd be the only S on the roster that would be a shoe-in starter. I think he'd be the SS, with Conte and Mindy competing for starting FS. I'd personally would rather have a draft pick used on a S rather than sign a 30 year old who is going to be gone after 1-2 years. So if Ihedigbo prevents drafting a young S then im against it. Though, I guess you could still draft a guy and cut all or most of Steltz, M.D. Jennings and the other scrubs they signed. On a related note, its nice to go into the draft without any glaring holes in the starting lineup, but at some point, you gotta throw some guys right in there. You can't keep losing a year of development for your young players. And im sure it didn't help Bostic playing all camp, then sitting for 5 weeks. As I see it, the Bears need to draft a S, CB, DT, DE and maybe a LB in this draft. But as it stands right now, none of those picks would start. Not horrible until you realize they wouldn't stay over guys like Tillman, Ratliff, Young, Williams and Ihedigbo (if signed).....all guys over 30 and on very short term contracts.

At one point, very late in the first half, Louisville was averaging a point per minute. .....and led by 7.

Im assuming ACL and he's never the same again.

YES!

and they signed Ryan Fitzpatrick. Do they see Fitzpatrick as a starter? Does this mean they don't pick a QB at #1? No and No. Fitzpatrick (or Keenum) will likely be a placeholder for Bortles.

He definitely gets the award in this draft class for "most likely to go Richie Incognito".

Torrez, Ben Wells, Frazier

It's the NFL, anybody could be a free agent next year. Suh, McCoy, Earl Thomas, Orakpo, Alex Mack, Greg Hardy, Rolle, Haden, Revis, Von Miller, Dareus, Devin McCourty, Patrick Peterson, Aldon Smith. Everyone from the loaded 2010 draft. You forgot the #1 FA IMO... JJ Watt Didn't even realize he was. Heh.

It's the NFL, anybody could be a free agent next year. Suh, McCoy, Earl Thomas, Orakpo, Alex Mack, Greg Hardy, Rolle, Haden, Revis, Von Miller, Dareus, Devin McCourty, Patrick Peterson, Aldon Smith. Everyone from the loaded 2010 draft.

I think the things us Cutler fans have to realize, is that the Bears are not 100% sold on Cutler. They are sold enough that they didn't offer McCown. And they paid Jay a bunch of money to not test free agency. But there's still a very good chance Trestman and Emery think they can find and develop a QB to take over the QB job in 3 years for a hell of a lot cheaper, because they are not sure Jay is the guy for the rest of his career. The out after 3 years gives them a ton of leverage. If Jay misses 5 games every year, like he did this year... or if he doesn't take the next step closer to the elite QB level, then the Bears can get out of the contract. I think that's was the goal of the contract, to give the Bears leverage. I guess I don't understand your angle now. Obviously they aren't going to completely "fix" a horrible defense in one offseason. I don't understand why anyone would think they could. But they are actively making steps right now to improve, as well as position themselves for the future. I really doubt Emery considers this upcoming season a lost cause. The season isn't a lost cause. The defense is pretty close to it this year. It's kinda throwing stuff to the walls and see what sticks. Right now, the Bears don't have any for sure pieces of the defense long term other than Tim Jennings. I'd imagine Emery's hoping for Bostic and Greene to be a couple pieces. He's hoping Conte, Paea and maybe McClellin are more pieces. He's hoping Houston can be a big piece. And obviously, hoping for a good draft for a few more pieces. But he's set the team up to move on in a big way if none of those guys are pieces. And there are people who think the offense was fixed in 1 year. 4 of 5 OL and a TE were added last year, but the offense already had Cutler, Marshall, Forte, and Jeffery in place. Trestman was probably the biggest "fix" for the offense. And there are a lot of people who thought, new DC, bunch of new players, and/or moving to a 3-4 would fix the defense by Sept.

I think the things us Cutler fans have to realize, is that the Bears are not 100% sold on Cutler. They are sold enough that they didn't offer McCown. And they paid Jay a bunch of money to not test free agency. But there's still a very good chance Trestman and Emery think they can find and develop a QB to take over the QB job in 3 years for a hell of a lot cheaper, because they are not sure Jay is the guy for the rest of his career. The out after 3 years gives them a ton of leverage. If Jay misses 5 games every year, like he did this year... or if he doesn't take the next step closer to the elite QB level, then the Bears can get out of the contract. I think that's was the goal of the contract, to give the Bears leverage.

I think that Emery is figuring that this is a 2-year job to fix the defense. This year is basically a lost cause. Not that the Bears can't compete, but they defense isn't going to all of a sudden be anywhere near good this year. So, I think the Bears are (rightfully) structuring things so they have big money next year to do basically whatever they want. Cutler's cap hit is only 15.5 next year and 16 the year after. Then the Bears can cut him with no dead money in future years, or they can basically have a series of cheap 1-year contracts with him, or best case, he's a top 5 QB by that point and the Bears extend him. Next year has the potential to be a loaded FA class. And the Bears are geared for that with all the 1-year deals, cheap long-term deals w/little dead money, and opt out in Houston's contract.

He's had visits with several teams, so there's definitely some interest around the league. Maybe his asking price is too high given the issues he's had. I don't know, I feel kind of bad for a player who gets a serious injury at the exact worst time contract-wise. He never had a chance to come back and prove himself on the field before trying to sell himself around the league. It's got to be tough. Did the Bears have contract discussions with him before/after franchise tag? If so he had an option, unless the Bears were drastically low balling him, to ensure longer term stability. Instead he chose to play a season getting paid like a top 5 player at his position (I'd argue he is clearly not close to top 5) and risk something like this happening. I think he's top 5. Or was the last time he finished a season. That's why I don't get the "should be much better than he is" from a couple posts up. I thought he had at least a couple seasons in the top 5-10 at his position pretty firmly. I don't know how he "should" be better, considering he was a college RB, DE, then an NFL redshirt rookie, then a DE in his 2nd year. It wasn't until his 3rd year in the league when he was firmly entrenched at DT. I understand not signing him. But I don't know how nobody has nothing good to say about a guy that was an All-pro 2 years ago and his team thought enough of him to not let him hit the FA market that offseason.