rawaction

that's right! You shouldn't be surprised by Kinsler and Sizemore. Kinsler continues to hit everything. Grady is the king of HRs in blowout losses.

I cannot ever rank O-line depth that low. Plus, the Bears could still use a stud OG. Omiyale has never played there. Beekman, Garza, and Buenning are average players at best. I'd rank them. WR D-line O-line depth Secondary LB Backup RB Another need is FB. Not that the Bears play a lot of the FB, but McKie is pretty horrible.

Wonder how antsy you are going to get sitting for 10 hours before the Bears first pick. Ha..yeah...I was gonna say..not having a first round pick has me less than antsy. I can shut it out until the afternoon :) I just want to get past the speculation. I'm ready to know what we're actually going to be working with here (for the most part). I'm looking forward to my... "what I would've done draft". Yeah, I'm really hating losing that 3rd rounder now. The talent that would have been there at 80 is a lot better than the options will be at 99, especially at WR. I think they almost have to go WR at 49 at this point. Still, I'll take Cutler 10 times out of 9.

Holy crap. That's messed up.

I'm starting to sour on Robiske a little. I like him. But I think I like Iglesias better. I think Iglesias is actually a better route runner and is great after the catch. The west coast offense needs guys who can make plays after the catch. It is predicated on short passes and west coast teams tend to get big yards by getting their WRs the ball in space. One thing I want to point out though is if people didn't want Harvin because he was too much like Hester.....I think Iglesias is a lot like Bennett. Similar size. Similar lack of blazing speed. Both produced in college. Robiske will be a decent WR, but I don't think he is the best fit. Kenny Britt would easily be my #1 choice though of the guys who have a chance at being there at 49.

http://www.draftexpress.com/rankings/NCAA-Seniors/ :hello: ETA: Jamelle Cornley not even in their top 80 seniors. Ouch. Good luck in Greece, Jamelle He's a 6'5" power forward, he'd get eaten alive. I don't think he will be a good pro at all but he can test the waters and get the feedback of what teams think of him so he knows what to work on. Cornley has said on record that he would be willing to try TE in the NFL.

worried about having 2 of the team's 3 worst hitters hitting 2 and 3 in the lineup. Granted Lee isn't horrible, but Fontenot should out OPS him this year. That being said, I'd take Derrek Lee as the 6th best hitter on my team 100 times out of 100.

Houston takes Zach Follett. My bad.

Houston selects OLB- Tyrone McKenzie USF

I wouldn't make any decision on who I'd like to see them get based on Mike and Mike. That said, I'd be all over getting Lance Moore too if he didn't cost too much. I don't see that happening though. Lance Moore would cost money and a 2nd round pick. That would make #99 the Bears first pick. Granted, Moore would be better than any 2nd rounder the Bears could bring in, but you can't keep giving up draft picks for players with larger salaries. Good teams build thru the draft, and despite they would be bringing in another young WR, at some point you gotta sign all these guys.

Kept him. Edit: nevermind. counted Guzman twice.

What did they do with Vizcaino?

I don't understand the concern about the line in 2010 or 2011. The line is about the easiest thing to shore up in the draft, it won't be hard to address that hole when the time comes. That's a hard argument to win considering the Bears haven't shored up the OL in any drafts recently and had to bring in 3 free agents just to make it respectable this year.

I don't think you are looking deep enough. There are clearly a lot of areas that need upgrades. Still need a better pass rushing DE. Still need 1 more DT since you can't count on Dusty to help. Still need a FS worthy of an NFL roster. Still need an SLB upgrade. And that's just the defense. Offensively, the team needs 2 WRs and a FB at the least, and are weak at RG. Marinelli and Lovie aren't going to make these guys better simply by their presence. And no, the defense didn't "suddenly" get old. It's been getting old since 2006, the last time they were even in the top 20 in defense in the league. Urlacher has gone from an elite MLB, to just a good one. Hillenmeyer has gone from underrated to a possible training camp cut. Mike Brown has gone from pro-bowl caliber S to unemployed and possibly retiring before the season starts. Tillman is 28, past the prime for a CB. Vasher is young, but an injury risk. Same with Tommie. Both starting DEs are over 30. There are 2 ways to look at the defense. One is that this is the same defense (save for Tank and the safeties) that played 2 Superbowls ago. The other is that the Bears got a great defense by bringing in fresh, young, hungry talent in a system that maximized their abilities. Now if you look at the fact that many of the D doesn't have the same ability they had before due to being 2-3 years older and the only young talent they brought in has been Harrison and Payne....then things get very shaky on defense. I still say the Bears need to find at least 2 players that can contribute on defense in this draft (DL, DB) and still need the couple young guys they do have to step up in order to be any better defensively.

You keep saying this and I still don't know where you are coming from. What should the Bears have done that wasn't, in your opinion, a patch job? There was not a single free agent that they could have signed that would have been a long-term solution on the line. There has not been a single lineman traded that could have been a long-term solution on the line. The best they could have done to upgrade the line and not patch it up is the draft, which hasn't even happened yet. If you are still upset that the line wasn't upgraded for the last few years, then that's a completely different issue. But the fact is, they got MUCH better at LT, while getting just 1 year older. They probably got better at RT, and got 7-8 years younger. They got bigger at LG, and stayed young. They have 4 lineman 27 or younger, with a decent chance of 3 of them starting. I don't see how they are likely going be "very" desperate for lineman either way. Worst case scenario is Pace being forced to retire, Williams and Omiyale both failing miserably. I'd say it's a longshot that all 3 happens. They have a solid backup OT in Shaffer. They have Kruetz's replacement in Beekman. I could see them needing a guard, but it won't be out of desperation. They needed to draft lineman early in previous years and draft them early this year. I'm not complaining about what they've done this year, but you're deluding yourself if you think they are set longterm. None of the guards are sure things, and Pace is a lock to miss time and/or deteriorate. Williams is still unknown. If he is anything short of franchise tackle, this team will have huge holes by 2010, let alone 2011. Shafer isn't young at all, and he's nothing but a backup, a placeholder, a guy you'd like to replace almost immediately after he'd take the job. For now, they are fine. But they probably need a lineman in this year's top 4/5 rounds, and another in next year's as well. Now that they have a franchise QB, they are no longer going to have the freedom to go out and sign multiple free agent linemen, they are going to have to draft guys they can control and reasonable cost, because by the end of this season, they are probably going to have to talk extension with Cutler. And I'm not sure how long Forte is going to be happy under his very cheap rookie contract. Plus, Olsen is going to get a big deal if he starts getting real numbers under Cutler. The defense is already deteriorating, and the best way to make up for that is with an elite offensive line that can control games. This line might be able to do that in the short term, but there's a lot of age and uncertainty there. When did I ever say they were set longterm? I'm just arguing against you constantly bringing up that the line is a patch job like there was another alternative. They do still need to draft a lineman this year (probably a G in the 3rd or 4th). They still do need to spend a high draft pick on OL next year. I never said otherwise. You keep going on about Shaffer being a backup, but he was part of one of the best OLs in the league in 2007. He regressed some in 08', but still gave up just 2.5 sacks and Cleveland was 8th in the NFL in rushing to the right side of the formation. If Pace goes down and Williams is ineffective, I have no problem with him stepping in. I still think he'll compete at RG. And no he is not young, but he's not old either at 29. "If Williams is anything short of franchise tackle, this team will have huge holes by 2010". That's not even close to being true. There are plenty of teams that win a whole bunch of games without franchise tackles on either side (last year's superbowl teams to name two). Plus, if Williams is even a little better than servicable this year, that doesn't mean he can't be a franchise tackle in the future. If he falls flat on his face, you may have an argument here, but still I think Shaffer/Pace can hold the fort while the Bears bring in someone else.

I hope they are not done upgrading the line. In particular, I'd like to see them still look at tackles. I don't feel like we know enough about Williams yet and I don't trust Pace to stay healthy. If Angelo is going to ignore one side of the ball in the draft I hope he ignores the offense, but of course I don't think he'll ignore the draft. I would still expect better players in rounds 1-3 than rounds 4-7 though. I disagree. We have Pace, Williams, Schafer, and Omiyale. More than fine. not only do we have them, but we have beekman, garza, buenning, draft pick on the bench. while those names aren't anything special as starters, they're experienced lineman that give us excellent depth. the line is an area of strength this year, so we can stop pretending like it's still a weakness and actually now focus on the weaknesses. jeez, we patch a hole that has existed since the 1950's andpeople are still complaining. if we upgraded the defense, people would be whining about the quarterback and offensive line. come to think of it, we've upgraded the offensive line, greatly, and people are still complaining about it. It has been upgraded, but it is a patch job, nothing more. Going into 2010 they are likely to be very desperate for linemen. The guards are all questionable, and Kreutz is not worth his cap number. You keep saying this and I still don't know where you are coming from. What should the Bears have done that wasn't, in your opinion, a patch job? There was not a single free agent that they could have signed that would have been a long-term solution on the line. There has not been a single lineman traded that could have been a long-term solution on the line. The best they could have done to upgrade the line and not patch it up is the draft, which hasn't even happened yet. If you are still upset that the line wasn't upgraded for the last few years, then that's a completely different issue. But the fact is, they got MUCH better at LT, while getting just 1 year older. They probably got better at RT, and got 7-8 years younger. They got bigger at LG, and stayed young. They have 4 lineman 27 or younger, with a decent chance of 3 of them starting. I don't see how they are likely going be "very" desperate for lineman either way. Worst case scenario is Pace being forced to retire, Williams and Omiyale both failing miserably. I'd say it's a longshot that all 3 happens. They have a solid backup OT in Shaffer. They have Kruetz's replacement in Beekman. I could see them needing a guard, but it won't be out of desperation.

I don't think Plax is stupid, misguided, but not stupid. With that said, if the Patriots can get Randy Moss to toe the line in New England, the Bears could have a chance with Plax. Besides all the Bears would need Plax for is about 2 yrs. This way both Hester, Bennett, and Olsen can developed as playmakers without having to carry the offense. After two yr, this should further enough along that the training wheels can come off. By no means, I am calling Plax stupid. Just making dumb decisions. I mean, literally, how the hell can you shoot yourself through your leg? Either way, the question is, is Chicago willing to shell out a money to a very talented guy, yet, may hinder the team's progress towards a common goal? And on top of that, he may have to sit out at least 4 games because of his actions that occured last season. Still, it's a intruging though. Personally though, I'd see how Holt could do, although he is a injury risk. Not sure what Oucho Cinco would cost. Marvin Harrison (last I checked) is still available, IIRC, but may or may not have legal issues as well, on top of that, his declining health. No, call him stupid. From all accounts, Plaxico is an idiot. And this has nothing to do with him shooting himself. Being in Pittsburgh, I have met people that have met him. I have met people that know people that know him. And to a man, everyone that has ever met Plaxico Burress has confessed him as being one of the most unintelligent people they have ever met.

This should be fun. Week 3 of the preseason: 8/30- Chicago Bears at Denver Broncos. Week 3 is the game where you see starters play for at least a half. So barring injury, Cutler will face his former team in his former home in the biggest tune up before the season starts.

He also threw over 600 passes last year, so his actual % of passes that led to an INT is lower. But then I guess using that logic somewhat discredits his 25 TD. You also gotta think that next year is his third full season starting as a QB. Here is what some other prominent NFL QBs did between their second and third seasons. Drew Brees: 2nd year: 11 TD, 15 INT (11 games) 3rd year: 27 TD, 7 INT (15 games) Peyton Manning: 2nd year: 26 TD, 15 INT (16 games) 3rd year: 33 TD, 15 INT (16 games) Brett Favre: 2nd year: 19 TD, 24 INT (16 games) 3rd year: 33 TD, 14 INT (16 games) Jay Cutler: 2nd year: 25 TD, 18 INT (16 games) 3rd year: ??? Exactly. Everyone assumes Cutler's numbers will be worse because he's on the Bears offense, but I'd imagine the team will let him throw the ball much more than the jokers they've had at the QB position for the last 60 years. It will be interesting to see the playcalling next year. How many times did the Bears take the ball out of Grossman's hands on 3rd downs?

I was thinking Reggie Williams (JAX) as far as a WR. Big WR, good hands, possession type that is good in the red zone, still young and improving despite being considered 1st rd. bust by the Jaguars. To me, he's a #2 WR with the slim chance of becoming a #1 if he improves his route running. I was joking about Burress. I'd love him on this team if the situation was different. But picking him up does nothing for this team as he probably will be suspended for all of 2009 anyway. Reggie Williams is the first person I thought of when I saw the report that Torry Holt wasn't interested. He'd be an OK fit.

One thing that bothers me about Cutler is the high number of INTs. He led all non-should've retired QBs (aka Favre) in picks. But after looking into them further, 13 of his 18 INTs came in losses. Of those 13, 7 came in clear situations where he was trying to do too much. 5 INTs came with his team down by the scores: 27-0 13-0, after his team fumbled twice vs. NE 24-6 33-14 24-10 1 more came down a TD late in the 4th quarter. 1 more INT came on the 1st play of the 4th quarter after having the game tying 77-yard TD called back. I think if he can cut down on his INTs, he will be up there w/ the best QBs in the league, a notch below Peyton, Brady, Brees and probably Warner. I think the Bears defense keeping the team in the game should minimize a few of his bad decisions.

Yeah, that's the kind of receiver I'd like too. We can stretch vertically with Hester and attack the seams with Clark and Olsen. I think we need that guy who can take over in the red zone and pick up big chunks of intermediate yardage so there's effective players at all levels of the defense. Britt would be amazing. What about Robiskie? I'm pretty sure he will be around. I wonder if Murphy will be there in the 3rd round... Murphy won't last til the 99th pick. It may have been a reach with the Bears original 3rd rounder. He may go late 2nd, the comp pick that the Bears have as their only 3rd now, is essentially a 4th round pick , as it is after every team has already picked 3 times (if there were no trades).

The Bears offense is built on yards after the catch. They need someone that can get the ball in the open field and take it to the house. In order to get away from the defender that much, they need to be able to run great routes. Hester can do it occassionally.

New potential Bears pickup available. Giants just cut Plaxico Burress.

Anyone ... ? Any thoughts...? Not worth it, IMO. I don't think there's any chance the Bears get back in the 1st. They'd have to trade their 2nd and a pretty good player or another 2010 pick. As for DHB, I like him but always thought of him as being way too risky and more likely to bust than boom. However, with Cutler on the field, no raw offensive talent scares me. Eddie Royal had an excellent year out of nowhere for Denver.