rawaction

I always thought it was hilarious when some analysts would cite RG3's speed and mobility as a reason to take him over Luck, basically implying that Luck was Peyton Manning. I've never heard anyone that knows what they are talking about question Luck's athletic ability. Honestly, he reminds me of Peyton Manning's brain on Rich Gannon's body. Gannon was one of the best athletes to ever play QB at a high level. Probably only behind Steve Young and Randall Cunningham.

Grubbs is going to be expensive as hell. Don't get me wrong, he'd help us out for sure, but I'd probably spend that kind of money elsewhere personally. By the way, the comments I've heard from Tice and Lovie, make it seem like Webb is definitely our LT next year. I don't know what a Grubbs signing would mean for Williams. One thing CW has shown is adaptability. He's building up a nice skillset. Maybe the Bears are thinking along these lines... Just a thought. But the Bears also have preached for the last 2 years, they just want to get guys in the same place to get some continuity. I don't know why they would move their best lineman from last year after he struggled for the first 3 years of his career at other positions.

Per Rotoworld, The Carroll County Times' Aaron Wilson is "hearing" the Bears will be a potential landing spot for free agent LG Ben Grubbs if he is not re-signed by the Ravens. Grubbs has been expected to reach the open market, but coach John Harbaugh insisted in a radio interview last week that the Ravens were going to "really make a run" at re-signing him. The Bears ended 2011 with former undrafted free agent Edwin Williams at left guard. I'm guessing this would mean Chris Williams back to LT, which has been a very quiet rumor this offseason.

He can't stay healthy. I'm sure you could do better than that. I wouldn't be so sure the Bears could do better. But they should at least try. I'd rather go for one of the guys that is young and going to be cut. Hell, I'd rather go after another Frank Omiyale project. A guy that's been on the bench for his first 4 years and give him a chance to show if he can start in the league. Clifton will be 36 before next season and played 6 games. He's still decent when he's on the field, though.

I'd like to see the Bears either spend big on DE or get a really good starting SS. Michael Griffin or Tyvon Branch would be ideal at S. Probably going to have to overpay either, but overpaying a S isn't big money and Branch is 25, with Griffin being 27,. At DE, I'd love to give Cliff Avril whatever he wants if he's not franchised. Mario Williams is probably a long shot, but obviously I'd do the same for him. But if not, I'd love to take Robert Mathis, even though he's older, on a 2-year deal while the Bears develop a pass rusher. There are no big money worthy OL FAs. The FA WR list is dwindling down as I type this (Bowe franchised). If the Bears are going to spend wise money, they are probably going to have to do so defensively. As for CB, I'd never pay money for a FA CB. CB is one of the easiest positions to come into the league and perform at a high level as a rookie. No matter what the round. It's also very typical for players to fall off the map at CB from year to year (see Asomugha, Nate Clements, Devin McCourty). And good FA CBs cost a buttload of money. I'd bring back first to sign his name between Jennings and Graham, and then double up on CB in the draft. Probably 2nd or 3rd and then again late.

That would be a pretty sick offseason, though I'd go CB 3rd and LB 4th. And Jenkins may not last til the 5th. I also hate the thought of trading Olsen for a 3rd rounder and then drafting a TE in the 2nd round, even though I do understand there was going to be a money issue also. But Charles may be worth it. Big fan of his. Doesn't have the great height of a Grontkowski/Graham, but has really good short area quickness. Also, strong as an ox apparently based on his bench press. Unlike most TEs in this draft, he also lined up on the LOS over 80% of the time. Not a glorified slot WR, not a guy that needs to be off the line to get a clean/quick release into his pattern. As for the CB/LB thing, I think the Bears could have any of a crapload of CBs in the 3rd round that I'd be happy with. Trumaine Johnson, Brandon Boykin, Josh Norman, Casey Hayward, Coryell Judie, Leonard Johnson, or Ryan Steed. T. Johnson has the size. Norman and Steed are small school potential studs. Judie and Boykin are big time athletes. L. Johnson and Hayward are NFL ready, Hayward in particular is a prototype Cover 2 guy. In the 4th, I think there will be plenty of LB talent left on the board. i see your point. i don't know if prater necessarily fits the mold of the cover-2 cb like those other guys you mention. i just really like spence. Prater is a good cover 2 fit also. Iowa plays a defense very similar to the Bears style of D. Prater is pretty fast, but I worry about him holding up on the outside. He's not very physical and doesn't have great ball skills. I worry that he's going to be stuck as a nickelback.

That would be a pretty sick offseason, though I'd go CB 3rd and LB 4th. And Jenkins may not last til the 5th. I also hate the thought of trading Olsen for a 3rd rounder and then drafting a TE in the 2nd round, even though I do understand there was going to be a money issue also. But Charles may be worth it. Big fan of his. Doesn't have the great height of a Grontkowski/Graham, but has really good short area quickness. Also, strong as an ox apparently based on his bench press. Unlike most TEs in this draft, he also lined up on the LOS over 80% of the time. Not a glorified slot WR, not a guy that needs to be off the line to get a clean/quick release into his pattern. As for the CB/LB thing, I think the Bears could have any of a crapload of CBs in the 3rd round that I'd be happy with. Trumaine Johnson, Brandon Boykin, Josh Norman, Casey Hayward, Coryell Judie, Leonard Johnson, or Ryan Steed. T. Johnson has the size. Norman and Steed are small school potential studs. Judie and Boykin are big time athletes. L. Johnson and Hayward are NFL ready, Hayward in particular is a prototype Cover 2 guy. In the 4th, I think there will be plenty of LB talent left on the board.

Agree with the re-signs. Don't agree with trading for Jackson, though personally it would be awesome for me to have a Bears player sharing my name and giving up that 3rd wouldn't be much (or accepted by Philly). Mario Williams would be insanely awesome, but not happening. I'd rather spend money on something else other than Henne or any backup QB. Adams in the 2nd would be amazing. Ladarius Green is intriguing, but I don't see him as anything other than a big slot WR. He's has Jimmy Graham's height and athletic ability, but Graham has about 20lbs on him. Don't think Green is an in-line TE. Won't be much of a blocker at sub 240lbs. Will slow him down to have him uncoil out of a 3-pt stance.

FYI, Luck was rumored to want to throw but the Colts advised him not to. My guess is they want him to wait until his pro day when their coaches (OC/QB coach) can dictate the throws he makes. Gives them a chance to see Luck make plays in their offensive scheme somewhat. As for Harkey, Raisin...yeah, I don't know what's up with him. He's climbed a lot of draft boards in the last couple weeks. I can't figure why or how this was possible. As for Adams, he's not Shaq. A 300lb man should be able to hit 20+ reps regardless of how long his arms are. But to be honest, I don't put a lot of stock into the combine stuff other than to see who's possibly not as big, fast, or strong as I thought they looked in the college season.

I like Perry, and he's a guy I would not mind spending the 16th pick on pending all the combine stuff (interviews and etc). He could do really well for himself working out and he's a guy who hasn't gotten his 15 minutes yet during the draft process. I'd really like to see both Curry and Perry go through LB drills. Brockers' potential is ridiculous, but he's extremely raw. My team has one of the best defensive coaching staffs in football so I'd be fine with taking him at 16 too, but I think Cox's hype is warranted. Plus, I think Cox is better against the pass now, though with coaching Brockers can be a devastating all around player himself. Iunno, I'm one of those people who thinks Barron is more than s run of the mill SS. I think he's too smart and instinctive on the field to be a run of the mill SS. He's got some FS ability. Who do you think are the coverage first safeties in this draft? Coverage first was probably a bad phrase to use. Because safeties that are coverage first are typically CBs, or at FS because they are too slow for CB. I meant more that I prefer safeties that can potentially make game changing plays in the passing game. Markelle Martin probably most fits the bill in this draft. I also like George Iloka who you mentioned. He's huge but also think will be faster than people think. Former Vol, Janzen Jackson can be a stud if he can stay out of jail. I'm probably being too hard on Barron. He's not Roy Williams (former Cowboys, Bengals SS) in coverage. He does seem to have some Adrian Wilson qualities to his game, but I also think Wilson is overrated and not very good in coverage. But Wilson is still a very good SS, and top 5 in the league probably.

I agree for the most part. The Cox/Pryce comparison is dead-on. But I think Brockers has so much potential. Have to take him ahead of Cox. I'm not a huge fan of Mark Barron, but I may be a little biased. Prefer S that are coverage first over run stopping first. I like Vinny Curry. I think he's more of an effort guy than an elite first-step, QB hunter. But he has a little bit of that to his game. I think Curry's a 4-3 guy though. Upshaw, I feel is more of a 3-4 guy. I do feel he's more of a "thumper" than a Ware type. There aren't really any sure-fire great pass rushers in this class. Nobody is going to be putting up consistent 12-16 sack seasons like Ware, Matthews, etc. But Upshaw I think can be as good as any of them. He doesn't have the great first step, but I do think he has a good array of pass rush moves and will be a very productive player. Nick Perry is the guy with the 12-16 sack upside in this class. Great first step. If he can get stronger without losing quickness, he could be a notch below that elite class.

Mike Martz. He wanted "his" type of WRs. He was clearly trying to re-create success from his archaic form of offense. I think he was pushed by the other coaches and Cutler to get a big WR. And the result was to make both happy. Get a 6'2" WR who had success under Martz, Roy Williams.

Which Jackson? Oh, that one! Seriously, I don't know what's going on here.

Which Jackson?

I know the Bears have a new GM, but you're also talking about an organization that has been in denial for the better part of the last 15 years that they need help on the offensive line. I think people are severely overestimating the Bears desire to help the OL. Tice himself has come out and said that he doesn't see the Bears going after an OT in the first unless someone slips. The coaching staff feels that getting rid of Martz and his leaving a TE to 1-on-1 block a speed rusher, leaving Webb on an island vs. Jared Allen in pursuit of a sack record, and repeated 7 step drops will automatically make the OL improve enough. They have a point, but they're still wrong. Problem is, they don't think they are wrong. You're talking about a team that gave up their 2nd round pick for Gaines Adams, when they needed tons of help on offense and didn't have 1st round pick. For Mike Wallace, this is the guy that the Bears called him Day 2 of the draft and told him he would be their pick and then traded down. Again, new GM, but I think if the coaching staff has any influence, they'll make a push or this move to happen.

that's a huge price to pay for wallace, no thanks. let's diversify. like i said, a draft consisting of adams, cam johnson, zeitler, spence, prater, and aj jenkins, coupled with a big free agent signing like vincent jackson will absolutely solidify the team on both sides of the ball in one offseason Jackson would cost the same as Wallace to re-sign, maybe more since you'd have 32 teams vying for him vs. the handful willing to give up a 1st round pick for Wallace. Jackson is also 29 years old. He's looking for 5 years/50Mil. Even if you take 10Mil off of that, you're still talking about paying a guy at a speed position 8-10 Mil in his 30s. Wallace would be just 30 when his 5-year deal is up. Nevermind the fact that Wallace is actually a better player than Jackson, who has never had a year with the 72 catches Wallace had in 2011, the 1193 yards Wallace had in 2011, or the 10 TDs Wallace had in 2010. So, Wallace is the younger player and the more productive player. The only issue is the 1st round pick. You can still have that same draft, minus Adams in the 1st. And I would go after one of the inevitable cuts at LT, like Jason Smith from St. Louis, Marcus McNeill from San Diego, or Levi Brown for Arizona. Granted, you're hoping for lightning in the bottle from a guy that's been cut...but it's not much different from throwing a 1st round pick in there as a rookie.

Jermichael Finley back with GB on a 2-year deal.

FWIW, my thoughts on the Mike Wallace situation. On one hand, the Bears could get a FA WR and draft a WR in the 1st round for the price of Mike Wallace alone (will pay #1 WR money and lose a #1 pick to get Wallace). But on the other hand, Wallace would probably be safer than having both. Mike Wallace is the proverbial "bird in the hand". What if NO finds a way to keep Colston? What if the Rams or Bucs, with more money to spend, back up the truck for Vincent Jackson? What if Stevie Johnson's antics aren't something the team wants to deal with? What if Michael Floyd is off the board by 19? What if Kendall Wright is off the board? What if the Bears feel Alshon Jeffrey can't separate well enough to be successful. What happens if the Bears fully plan on going after a big name WR in free agency and drafting one early, but cannot do either? Mike Wallace takes all the "what ifs" out of the picture. He's 25. Don't have to worry about what happens if you give a 28-29 year old WR (Colston and Jackson, respectively) a $40-50Mil contract. Don't have to worry about Floyd's drinking, Wright's size, or Jeffery's ability to get open. Sure Wallace could develop a meth addiction or tear his ACL and never run as fast again, but you know as of today what Mike Wallace is capable of doing currently and for the next 3-5 years. To me, this is Jay Cutler all over again. That offseason, the Bears could have gone after Kurt Warner, Matt Cassel or "gasp" Brett Favre and/or they could have gone after someone like Josh Freeman in the draft. But just like 26 year old QBs don't come into reach very often....26-year old stud WRs aren't often in reach. Wallace is a true #1. Almost 2500 yards in the last 2 years, still with potential to get better. This is the same point in his career, that the Bears got Cutler. To me this would be a similarly bold move, and I think it will work out just as well.

I think if the Bears approach the whole, "defenses window is closing thing" the wrong way, it can set the team back a long time. If they decide they have to try to win a ring in the next 2 years, they are going to mess up what could be a huge window of opening. The best way to deal with a closing window of a defense is to get the offense to the point where it can overcome the defense taking a step backward, while at the same time, re-tooling the team defense with young talent. That being said, I don't buy the "window is closing" stuff. It is strange that the best 4 players on the defense are the oldest (Peppers, Urlacher, Briggs, Tillman). But the rest of the D is pretty young. Idonije is the only other old guy on the D, and he can be replaced pretty easily in the draft this year. Draft a CB too, and you have 3 solid, young DTs (if you bring back Okoye), young safeties, a young SLB, and now a young DE and CB from the draft. Also of note, the defense isn't all that great in the first place. The offense needed to win games the last few years, and will continue to need to do so for the Bears to be contenders. The offense though, is also pretty young. Other than Garza, nobody else on the offense is over 30. Chris Spencer, who should be a backup next season would be the 2nd oldest player. With 28yo Cutler as the old man probably as soon as 2013. This offense is really a couple WRs and a LT away from having a legitimate level of YOUNG talent on the offensive side of the ball. Legit young talent on offense = legit offense.

Charlie Campbell's mock has Bears taking Michael Floyd, Coby Fleener, Philip Blake, Brandon Taylor, Keenan Robinson in his 4 rounds... I like Walter's mock more than Campbell's. However, either way, I don't like taking TE so early and CB so late (or not at all in 1 case). Campbell's mock actually has Charles still on the board after the Bears pick in the 3rd. Based on who's available in both mocks, I'd go with (without knowing FAs): Walter: Michael Floyd, Cam Johnson, Kevin Zeitler, Casey Hayward, Bruce Irvin (I guess) Campbell: Floyd, Johnson, Orson Charles, Josh Norman (CB Coastal Carolina), James Brown (OT Troy) or Nigel Bradham Walter's mock should be updated by the morning. Hit post, then refreshed and it appears I was actually looking at the updated version. Original post mock is tomorrow's update.

Disagree. Yeah, everything about that post is incorrect. None of it is. (i) If you have Luol Deng as 'untouchable' youre just stupid. (ii) no defender can stop lebron, those two have a massive history playing against each other and Lebron meets or exceeds his production against the bulls, (iii) none of us can prove the superior on ball defender, but it was Brewer who guarded Lebron down the stretch in last years series, and brewer had a lot of success in huge situations. (iv-v) Appreciation for Deng's defense has skyrocketed since Thibs became our coach. Before the last year, I dont know many, if any, Bulls fans who didnt want out of Deng's contract. And not that it means much but i dont believe Deng has ever been All-D team recognized. Deng is a really nice player, but this would be a great time to sell high on him. Hes having one of the worst (non fan voted) all star seasons ever. Hes just not a great player and shouldnt stop you from pulling the trigger on getting a great player in return. I didn't mean every word of it is incorrect. Just every point you were trying to make. I don't think anyone on Earth thinks Deng is untouchable. I agree that it's stupid to call him such. No defender can stop Lebron. Not really much of a point for or against Deng. Point for Lebron, I guess. Ronnie is not a better on ball defender. And Deng's defense is not overrated in a league where nobody can play defense.

Disagree. Yeah, everything about that post is incorrect.

Like who? The teams with few holes tend to have a lot of money toward the cap already. Baltimore and Cincy have been mentioned, but the Steelers aren't going to let that happen. Teams like TB and the Rams aren't going to give up top 10 picks. The Eagles don't have the need if they franchise Jackson. Patriots are a team that could get in on Wallace, but I don't know that they do. They have Brandon Lloyd basically begging to play for them. Have to re-sign Welker. And I think the Steelers would be just as anxious to try to stop this as they would him going to a division team. I know the Steelers don't have much leverage, but if those AFC teams are showing interest, I think they'll start cutting vets. And if the Bears come in with the highest draft pick to offer, they'll get him.

I wouldn't put money on them beating Michigan St. Even in Bloomington.

Matt Forte is a little more then "no talent whatsoever" So is Johnny Knox.