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As the team stands right now, Moore has to be on the bench over Cedeno. DeRosa and Theriot are the only backup 3B, and neither of them are ideal there. Cedeno is probably 3rd on the depth chart for the 2 positions he plays (ss and 2b).

The thing that scares me is that the defense has been just awful. That is supposed to be the backbone of this team. It has allowed over 300 yards of offense 5 of the last 6 games after not allowing it all season prior to that. You can call it simplified schemes or whatever, but the fact of the matter is, the defense has sucked since before we had everything wrapped up. If the offense doesn't step up without Brown and Harris, there is no reason to rely on the offense to 'save us' in our playoff game. I see what you are saying, but I guess I'm not that worried. Both starting CBs haven't played at the same time in the last 5 games. I love the man for his return skills, but anytime Hester has to play DB, it's gonna be a problem for the defense. Get both CBs in there with Manning as the nickel and none of the potential QBs in a playoff matchup scares me.

Wow! What a horrible game! This has been a strange season. Win 13 games, and most of the fans think this team is horrible. All season, all I have heard is: - Griese should start. - Benson should start. - To start the year, people thought Bradley should start over Berrian. - Desmond Clark isn't a good enough TE. - Tillman isn't a good enough CB. - Urlacher is overrated. Well, folks (granted most on here have not been saying most of these), these are the same guys that are gonna represent the NFC in SuperBowl XLI. This team is good enough to win it all and be the undisputed best team in the NFL. I will agree on one thing, Benson should get more carries than Jones at this point. I'm probably the last to come around on this one, but Ced hits the hole much harder....hell, he actually hits the hole, which is something I can't say Jones does consistently. Another big key is he doesn't fumble the ball. It's not like Jones puts it on the ground often, but Benson has the most touches in the league this year w/o a fumble. The Bears are good at shutting people up. When they have something to play for this team will turn the intensity up, and that combined with the talent they have will mow through the NFC. The Giants are no match for the Bears at this point. The Cowboys can be exploited with a good pash rush and on special teams. Seattle won't beat the Bears either.

IU beat Ball St. pretty handily last night, 71-57. Ball St. got to w/i 10 2 minutes into the 2nd half, but was behind at least 20 for the majority of the final half. IU is finally starting to look like a Kelvin Sampson team, with again just 8 turnovers and again holding an opponent under 60. Still lacking a signature win that makes the team a tourney lock, but does have a win over So. Illinois (at home) who looks to be a tourney team. They will get plenty of chances though, with a road game vs. Ohio St. to start the conference season. Right now, we look like the 6th-7th best team in the Big Ten. But I think Illinois, Purdue, and Michigan St. are very beatable, and a finish in the top 3-4 in conference would be a great season.

Gotta be huge favorites in the East. 9 of their 12 losses came in their first 12 games, including 6 on a ridiculous 7 game road trip. Detroit is just 1-3 vs. the division, and has not played the Bulls yet. Cleveland is a good team, but I don't see them making a lot of noise in the division, unless they add 1 more player. Detroit will hang around, but the Bulls will pull away with the division and #1 seed late. Isn't it great when an organization has a legitimate plan and it actually works?

For a Payton jersey, if you know someone in the Chicago area who would be willing to check out a Sears or two, that would be your best bet. They're the only place I've seen that sells Payton and Butkus replica Reebok jerseys that are not the EQT (nameplate and numbers sewn on) jerseys. They're just like other replica jerseys with the numbers and name screened on. They retail for $55. Home only, though. I've never seen a road replica Payton jersey. At least not one that has been made in the past 5 years. EDIT: And take a look at this list. Still wary of the authenticity of some of them, though. Know anybody? :wink:

We drank a LOT last night.. I bet he's still in bed. I'll give him a call in a bit. What? Drunk trading is fun! Shoulda tried it. I'm just messing with you man, you don't have to pressure him to do anything.

Still nothing, DB. A simple yes or no would work, so I can go in a different direction.

Ugh! Career .315 OBP, with barely .700 OPS for his career. Has some speed, but is 33 years old. Even with speed, he can't play CF, where the Cubs could actually use some help. So, that makes him a corner OF, with no arm or power, and yes....he k's more than he should for a slap hitter. I guess the good thing is he could play 3B or 2B in a pinch, though he hasn't played the former in a year, and the latter for about 6. I'd rather give Pagan the last spot on the team than this guy.

How on earth do you have room for: Morneau, Wells, Crawford, Santana, Webb & Patterson as keepers?!?! Those guys can't possibly all fit under 2500 points. I don't have the room. Of course, that will change when Matt gets off his rear and accepts my deal! He's coming over here tonight to go play poker. I'll show him the message when he gets here. Let him know he can counter if he wants. But he would be fine points wise afterward. I'm willing to negotiate to get the player I want. There's only a couple players on Matt's roster that would both improve your roster and reduce your points... Kazmir's a pretty good pitcher. :twisted:

How on earth do you have room for: Morneau, Wells, Crawford, Santana, Webb & Patterson as keepers?!?! Those guys can't possibly all fit under 2500 points. I don't have the room. Of course, that will change when Matt gets off his rear and accepts my deal! He's coming over here tonight to go play poker. I'll show him the message when he gets here. Let him know he can counter if he wants. But he would be fine points wise afterward. I'm willing to negotiate to get the player I want.

For lack of a better term.....I think the Cubs gave up in building the farm system. I think they saw all he talent in their draft picks (Patterson, Prior, Sisco, etc) and international signings (Zambrano, Choi, Ryu, Pie) and thought they honestly had enough quality prospects and players to sustain a long future of success.

Bingo. Andy and Jim said the same things 10 years ago. 10 years ago, it was actually starting to be put in place though. Hopefully, the organization at least has another run in them like 98-03. Edit: I should add that the scouting was very strong in those years, but it will end the same if player development isn't stepped up and a change happens within the organizational philosophy.

I love bowl games. Holy hell is this a great one!

How on earth do you have room for: Morneau, Wells, Crawford, Santana, Webb & Patterson as keepers?!?! Those guys can't possibly all fit under 2500 points. I don't have the room. Of course, that will change when Matt gets off his rear and accepts my deal!

I don't know if he can trademark those words, but they have already only been applied to 5'9" white guys.

In 2 seperate deals, I picked up Vernon Wells and John Patterson for Brandon McCarthy, Kevin Kouzmanoff and my 1st round pick.

At this point, I wouldn't look for a "stud" player in return for a package including Prior. Obviously, if the Yanks or Marlins ask for Prior in a deal for Arod or Cabrera, it's a no-brainer. But I'd likely trade Prior for a player that just has the potential of being a "stud", who has eclipsed his prospect status or is a pretty sure bet to do so successfully. If a team offers players or prospects that would be under the Cubs control for more than 1-2 years, I'd probably go for it. If Tampa offers Baldelli or Crawford, I'd probably do it. The main reason has nothing to do with Prior's ability. It has more to do with the fact that he is nearing his FA season. I think the best case scenario for 2007 has Prior showing greatness when healthy, but not being healthy for more than 140-160 innings. That to me, still isn't enough to throw big money at him, especially when the Cubs will have a ton of long-term money tied to the rotation in Zambrano (hopefully), Lilly, and Marquis. Prior is different from Wood in that he has not yet had his projected big pay day, therefore has no incentive to show loyalty to the Cubs. So, even if he does play out his contact and throws the 150 great innings in 07, and gets back to the 03 form in 2008, I think he still walks away when he gets that chance.

I have asked before and people have given me links..... But I am really gonna buy a Payton jersey now. Not looking for anything authentic, and I prefer the road jersey, but any link to a good place to buy jersey would be great.

http://chicagosports.chicagotribune.com/sports/football/bears/cs-0612280242dec28,1,7268686.story?coll=cs-bears-headlines Thanks. LMAO. :lol: Indeed. All I can do is laugh and say......indeed. I don't understand why anyone would think that. Rex had a better than average game last week. He's been more than good enough to win a SuperBowl the last 3 weeks and most of the weeks this season.

I agree. Just need to look at the Steelers game from last season when their speed was limited in the snow. But the B & B debunking needs to be looked at carefully all the same, to make sure their observations indeed hold true. They sure looked good in the 8 degree Atlanta game last year though...but that might be because Vick was slowed because of the cold. The Bears are still hard hitters, and no one likes to be hit hard in the cold. The difference there is the cold vs the snow. Snow is bad for speed teams. Cold is not. The Bears don't have big fat guys taking on blocks, but they hit very hard. I don't think the Bears are necessarily a team that thrives on playing in cold weather either.

This Bears group, and pretty much every Bear team since Urlacher has become the MLB, is not a cold weather team. They have drafted a lot of players from warm weather teams and for as much props as the D gets, they are pretty much a finesse defense. Meaning, they rely a lot more on speed than they do getting up in people's faces and physically beating them. The Ravens are the same way. Urlacher, Ogunleye, and Harris are completely different players than Singletary, Dent, and Hampton.

Bet they'd change their tune if he were offered an extension for Wells-like money. Which is something we absolutely know the cubs will not do. What makes you think that?

Doesn't that take away Soriano's strength as a hitter over hitters like Juan Pierre? Pierre can maintain a similar avg as Soriano, he just can't drive them in from 1st. If you want to take advantage of speed, hit Lugo 7th. Lugo gets on steals 2B, BB the 8th hitter, P bunts them over for Soriano. Obviously, situation determines when to steal. I think OBP has to be a key factor with the 8th spot with someone like Soriano. I would adjust my line-up accordingly. Soriano Murton Lee Ramirez Jones Barrett Lugo Derosa. Yes, that is a very good idea. The key is to have several guys that can get on base. It really doesn't matter how you construct the lineup if nobody is a liability offensively. 2-7-8 are all interchangeable. Even Barrett and Soriano can be moved around the order.

Lugo 8th wouldn't be a bad idea in that scenario, because he steals bases. He could steal and conceivably be at 3rd (sac bunt) with Soriano up.