goonys evil twin

I'm sure he would have been given a chance this year if he didn't have to go on IR.

If Grossman were smart, he'd be hitting Des Clark as often as possible. A tight end is a quarterback's best friend. Especially when that QB is struggling. I noticed Grossman was at his best when he used Clark and his FB. I'd also like to see more of this. Clark's been very good this year when called on. Grossman only found him a couple times last week. I think McKie got hurt, which explains why there weren't many throws to the FB in the flat. Reid was filling in. Grossman utilitizes the TE position about as much as he can, and about as much as he should. Rex got in trouble against GB when he was just dumping to the underneat guys. You can't just focus on one. You have to try and go deep but be willing to settle for the short stuff. Don't take the snap anticipating the dump off.

I don't see how he can, or is even trying to, sell him as a CF. Everybody else knows his limitations, and Hendry hasn't shown the least bit of interest in allowing Jones to play CF for his own team. It would be hard to convince other GMs that Jones is a worthwhile CF when you have nobody to fill that position and won't even mention the guy as a possibility for the spot.

This. I don't want to say it, but I sorta feel like people that are fans of teams from all over the place aren't really... as good fans as those that are from the hometown team. I get into this hometown thing really strongly. Conciously thinking about it, I know that people are big fans even when they aren't from a certain place, but it just doesn't feel right to me. I don't want to disrespect anyone, but thats how I feel. Nothing confused me more than the friend I met in college who was a fan of teams from 4 different cities in the NFL, MLB, NHL, and NBA. To top it off, sort of became a Yankees fan in the late 90's, then claimed he always kind of liked them. Officially he's a Celtics, Flyers, Giants, Pirates fan.

What is there to understand? He's a mediocre corner OF. Mediocre pitchers are making a ton of money. And mediocre guys who are considered quality top of the order CF are making lots of money. But mediocre corner OF are not in high demand. Perhaps. How was he OPS wise as a corner OF compared to other corner OF's? Last year, I think he was above average. But no sane GM will judge a guy by one year. Generally Jones is just another guy. And nobody is going to jump when they notice a GM really wants to get rid of just another guy.

I doubt he makes less than $10m in 2007. Is that big? I'm sure he'll make more than that in 2008.

What is there to understand? He's a mediocre corner OF. Mediocre pitchers are making a ton of money. And mediocre guys who are considered quality top of the order CF are making lots of money. But mediocre corner OF are not in high demand.

Yes, she takes too much heat. She's just doing her job. I think of her the way I think of a George Stephanopolis or aTony Snow or any government spokesperson. Their job is to put a good spin on any news as it affects whomever they are working for. I'm not going to go to Cubs.com to find breaking news or indepth analysis of a game. Technically, she isn't a spokesperson or PR rep for the Cubs. She fancies herself a journalist.

I was going to answer your question until your Bears comment. I will just say that it's never to early to be thinking about P&C reporting dates.

QB's don't mentor other QB's, unless it's their only reason for being on the team. Guys will often say the right thing for the sake of keeping the peace, but a young QB's future relies on his relationship with the coaching staff, not another QB who is trying to make a living being a QB.

I would be shocked if they gave Prior more than 1 year at this point. There's no reason to offer it, unless he's willing to take peanuts in the 2nd year. I could see him getting a 2nd year, but that's it. Why would either side go to a 2nd year? The *only* way Prior would sign a 2 year deal is if the 2nd year was high enough to justify locking into that salary, and the Cubs would have no reason to guarantee him a 2nd year with so many questions regarding his health. There's too much risk on both sides to lock into that 2nd year. Prior is going to want to prove himself healthy and effective enough to be worth $10+ million next offseason, while the Cubs are going to want Prior to prove he's worth locking up past this one season. I guess there could be another reason, and that is if Prior is convinced he won't be good enough in 2007 to have a chance to make more in 2008. But the Cubs would have to know that, and would therefore not want to sign him.

I'm not envisioning any 1/1 type of trade.

You can say that about quite a few quarterbacks though. Take away Rice, and Montana and Young's numbers changed dramatically. Bad decisions aren't that uncommon among quarterbacks. Favre has how many interceptions in his career? But he's still considered one of the best. And Favre isn't anybody's mentor either.

None of what you say would defend the notion that he'd be a good mentor. He's as turnover prone as any QB in football, he's been great at times, and just as bad at others. He's an inconsistent chucker who has been at the helm, or heavily involved in multiple sinking ship type seasons. He got by on tremendous physical tools, but he's not the same athlete he was back at his best, and given the nature of his injury, probably will never be again. If I ran a team, I would never in a million years* consider him to be the guy to groom the heir apparent. I'd put him in a group with Rex Grossman, Mike Vick and Eli Manning, as guys who are either going to enjoy great success starting with their current team, have frustrating up and down success starting with their current team, or force their team into a complete rebuilding mode with somebody else. *In 5 years, maybe Daunte will have matured as a QB and could become a solid stand-in while the next guy is groomed, but right now, no way. Franchise QB's, or guys who think they are franchise QB's, don't mentor young studs on the rise.

That's funny. Not sure what your problem is with Culpepper. Three pro bowls and solid success in Minnesota. With Harrington, I can understand questioning him, but I tend to think that a lot of his problems have been having no one around him. Things changed somewhat when he went to Miami, but outside of Chambers and McMichael he doesn't have great weapons. Again, I'm not crazy about Harrington but I'm not sure you can just write him off from being an adequate mentor. If Culpepper/Harrington qualifty as adequate mentors, everybody in the NFL qualifies as adequate mentors. Miami would be wise to get rid of both and start from scratch if they want to groom somebody.

Or Ohman. Why would we want to trade the less expensive, more effective one? Especially when considering the fact that Eyre's market value is well above his actual value, trading Ohman instead of Eyre would most likely be foolhardy. Well, the question is which player the other teams would prefer. Maybe Eryre doesn't tickle their fancy, but Ohman does. In that case, you trade Ohman without blinking an eye, if it involves a player that can really help the team.

That's funny.

I would be shocked if they gave Prior more than 1 year at this point. There's no reason to offer it, unless he's willing to take peanuts in the 2nd year. Maybe they offer him an incentive-laden deal similar to Wood and Miller? I don't see the point. They'll sign him to a one year deal worth about the same as he made in 2006, possibly a little less, but likely a shade more. He's not a free agent whom they need to entice to return. He is under their control, and their only obligation is to offer a contract no less than 80% (or similar) of what he made last year.

I would be shocked if they gave Prior more than 1 year at this point. There's no reason to offer it, unless he's willing to take peanuts in the 2nd year.

The Bears had been playing throwaway games for a month. Those two situations aren't even close to comparable. You didn't point out anything that would suggest New Orleans should mow the Bears down. And this new trend of only talking about the most recent games is quite amusing. That's the same logic that had people picking the Eagles as the most complete, and most dangerous NFC team entering the playoffs. It's also why the Colts stood no chance to advance. The Saints are quite a flawed team. They lost to a bad Redskins team when the postseason positioning was still in doubt. They lost 6 games this year, to some very good, very mediocre and very bad teams. They've given up a lot of points to a lot of Only one of those losses can truly be considered throwaway. I think its pretty clear the Bears could hand them number 7 without anything out of the ordinary happening. Obviously this Bears team has its flaws, and Vegas is quite justified in only making them a 2.5 point favorite. I'll just say that I'm enjoying seeing the football world basically hand this game to the Saints, saying they are clearly the better team, and that its up to the Bears to prove people wrong. This is a very evenly matched ballgame. I don't see any reason why one side would think they're poised to mow down the other side, besides wanting to be a blowhard.

I tend to agree, but I'm not completely sold on him. May just not know enough about him. He is a good QB though. I think if the circumstances are right he will be a steal. He needs to go somewhere that he can sit behind a solid veteran for a couple of years, then be ready to take over a competitive team. The other option would be to go to a good coaching situation. I dont follow the NFL regularly so I have no idea where this would be. I know this may not be the most popular thought on this board but I bet either Henne or Brohm is the #1 QB taken next year. I am not saying who will have the best NFL career I am just saying that one of these guys will be the top QB taken. If either one was in Brady Quinns position they would be Top 5 picks this year. I could see the Bucs taking him in the second or third round to replace Chris Simms (I know they say they're high on Simms, but I don't completely believe them) or Miami behind Harrington or Culpepper. Either of those situations would fit your scenario. Not sure about the Miami situation.

This has me hopeful that the Bears can get back to being disciplined and play better...but I don't know. If they were going to be able to do that, you'd have thought it would happen during the bye week. I wouldn't be so sure. An off week leading up to your first playoff game is exactly the type of atmosphere that would breed going beyond the scheme and being undisciplined. They were obviously going to be jacked up for that game, and playing with a lot of emotion. That's how you "get out of your lanes" so to speak. I think this one win was a huge load off their shoulders.

For most teams, that would be true. But this franchise has been more than happy to give lots of times to guys who deserved nothing more than a NRI to ST. You had the recently released from SF Neifi Perez, and the released in ST Glendon Rusch. Then you had a handful of other NRI with no upside guys, like Rey Ordonez, Tony Womack, Enrique (he knows how to play in yankee stadium) Wilson, that all got playing time. In the big picture, it probably doesn't matter, but when this team signs worthless NRI guys, there's going to be a natural negative reaction out of fear that they'll actually play. But let's also keep in mind that we were all fretting about the ST invite that Maquis Grissom got, and that turned into nothing. Yeah, it probably won't matter. But a negative reaction is not unfounded.

For most teams, that would be true. But this franchise has been more than happy to give lots of times to guys who deserved nothing more than a NRI to ST. You had the recently released from SF Neifi Perez, and the released in ST Glendon Rusch. Then you had a handful of other NRI with no upside guys, like Rey Ordonez, Tony Womack, Enrique (he knows how to play in yankee stadium) Wilson, that all got playing time. In the big picture, it probably doesn't matter, but when this team signs worthless NRI guys, there's going to be a natural negative reaction out of fear that they'll actually play.

They might be solid. It's hardly a given. That seems a bit harsh, don't you think? They might be solid? We're just talking about being solid, not all-star caliber at every slot. Of Soriano, DeRosa, Lee, Ramirez, Barrett, Jones and Murton, which one of those is likely to have a below average year for their position? Any of them? DeRosa is probably the shakiest of them, but is he likely to put up a below average OPS for a 2B next year? If none are likely to have below average offensive production for their position, then doesn't it logically follow that they are very likely to be a solid 1-7? Just curious. You mention circumstances that Hendry has brought about. Which circumstances are you referring to? Thanks. Harsh? Saying they might be solid is harsh? My lord, the level of angst people have when others don't praise this team is absurd. DeRosa could easily have a very bad year. Lee could easily have a year more similar to his non-2005 than his 2005. Ramirez has some injury issues, and there is always the post contract syndrome to worry about. Same with Soriano, who, by the way, could very easily just be okay. Barrett broke a nut. Plus he's got a lot of mileage as a catcher with general health concerns, and is backed up by Hendry Blanco, who will play a lot. Jones isn't even guaranteed to be on the team, and if he is, then he and Murton aren't a lock to be in the lineup at the same time. Speaking of Murton, he could have a setback, as a young guy whose hardly an established impact hitter, there's no guarantee. Furthermore, we aren't assured that Izturis will be batting 8th. What are the odds of any one of those things happening? It probably varies. But the odds are something will go wrong with one of those guys. The point is they aren't a lock to be solid, not in my book. The furthest I'd go is saying they are a lock to be better than last year, but even that could be wrong, especially if they end up with an unproductive CF and Lee somehow can't recover fully or gets hurt. Then, you're basically the same team as last year, with Soriano replacing Jones. Now, that'd be a disaster, and I'm not predicting it. But nobody can say it would be unthinkable. We are talking about a team that has had an average to terrible lineup for multiple years now. I'm going to make them prove it on the field before I hand them anything. And you know you don't need an answer to that last question. This is Hendry's team. He built it. He is responsible for the fact that they are below .500 under his watch. Some people are saying you can't expect Hendry to do anything more than he has, as if he's the new guy who came in to fix a bad situation. That's just not the case. Hendry broke this team, it was his job to fix it, no matter how difficult a task that was.