Banedon

I have no idea where you are getting that Kreutz is 38. He just turned 34. And what I've read of the other guy it says he's 29. That is not young. That is a minimal gain in youth. But it's still a guy who has probably seen his best years and is a guy who has suffered a significant amount of significant injuries. Of the 2, Kreutz is probably the better bet to start 16 games this season. He's a respectable placeholder, but I can't consider it an actual improvement, and I have big doubts about his ability to stabilize the position for the intermediate term, let alone the longterm. Regardless, the line was bad, and via free agency all they have done is held steady. That is not a good thing. The draft picks are just making up for all those lost years where they routinely ignored the spot, but it is a group that requires 5 starters and an additional 2 useful fill-ins, and they are still lacking. Hmmm...yeah I'm not sure where I got the Kreutz age either. Brain cramp on my part. I understand your reservations, and I agree that the OL still needs more work. I'm still hoping for another signing there, though the options aren't nearly as exciting as they were a couple days ago.

The fact that they got more scheme friendly TEs is kind of meaningless to me because I don't see Martz or his scheme staying here much longer. Either they have a good year and he gets a better job, or they continue to struggle and they have to strongly consider making changes. Plus, we saw what a scheme friendly TE was last year and they had to cut the guy and waste millions. I've heard the same complaints about the new guy from Steelers fans. Yes, they got younger at center, but not in any meaningful way. They still got an old player with miles on his beat up body who is very doubtful to be any sort of longterm answer. Gholston is a pathetic joke. Barber is kind of worthless. There is some hope that Williams can rekindle some of his Martz-led ability, but he's a huge question mark. I'm very disappointed because they have literally added zero in terms of guaranteed upgrades. The defense is still led by the same aging group that has been on the decline for a few years, and the offense is still going to rely on Jay Cutler covering up for the weaknesses of the rest of the group. I applaud the concept of holding strong on the Kreutz situation. He didn't deserve the $4m, let alone the 4.5m. But when you have the opportunity to save money on a change away from legacy lineman, then you better utilize that savings in the form of actual upgrades elsewhere. The Bears had plenty of money to spend and plenty of spaces to fill, but with the vast majority of real upgrades now off the table, they stuck with the status quo. I'll diagree about Barber being worthless. He'll be a big upgrade over Taylor, and should be good for short yardage and red zone, which is an area that the Bears do struggle with. How are you considering Spencer old? He's 28. Kreutz was 38. I've heard people say that Spencer is better at run blocking, poorer at run protection, and then other people say exactly the opposite. At this point I don't know enough about the guy to be critical of the signing, but it's a center. We saved money and got 10 years younger. Seems like a good move. Ghoulston and Okoye are reasonable low risk high reward chances. Any production from either of those is just bonus. The Bears are still counting on developing draft picks from this year and last, and I understand the disappointment in that regard. Lots of FA's available, and it'd have been nice to get some big names in here. I will say that although they did try to get Colon, which I applaud, my biggest disappointment is that they haven't done anything following that failure to get another OL in here.

ROFL

Yeah, I'm with you. They didn't go high profile, but they did get some solid additions. I'd like to see another OL move, but I'm ok with the way this offseason has gone, considering the wildness of it all.

Haha..this article is good stuff... http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/story/15379942/end-of-lockout-brings-us-the-most-fun-nfl-ever

That's why you should have drafted more of them over the years. Sounds just like Hendry who was also bemoaning the state of the team while glossing over the fact that he's the one who has compiled the team for over a half decade. Anyone else think JA was a little too sarcastic and VERY defensive of his "strategy" if you would like to call it that. He probably was....but he was also right in a lot of places. Specifically about Kreutz. The media really blew that out of proportion, imo. Old player thinks he's still worth more than he really is. Only thing noteworthy is that he was a guy that had been around forever and tons of people really liked personally.

Man, the beat reporters are all sad about Kreutz.

Angelo press conference at 5:30. Guessing that he'll officially put an end to the Kreutz era. Spencer telling friends he's heading to the Bears.

Seahawks to release Tatupu. Any interest there I wonder? We definitely need LB depth.

Judging by the quotes from Patrick Mannelly, one of Kreutz's options, if he doesn't re-sign with the Bears, is retirement.

And hopefully this 1 doesn't die Eh...at least if this one dies we didn't lose a draft pick for him. I'm a terrible human.

With Barber signed, will Taylor get cut?

Vince Young said that in his press conference. It was pretty casual...I'm sure he meant it was a dream landing spot for him. And Philly gets Cullen Jenkins...jesus.

Bears waived some UDFA guard already. Also Marcus Harrison to start camp on non-football injury list.

Yes but where does he fit on the Taiwan Easterling Scale of Ripped? http://a.yfrog.com/img620/622/h8fkd.jpg

The Bears signed 4 more UDFA's. They now have 89 on the roster. If Kreutz signs, that'd be 90. Obviously they can just drop a UDFA if they sign another player, though.

Carimi is going to play left tackle. They said he might not be with the first team in his first practice. It's possible they could flip the tackles as TC progresses.

lol...calm down on Ghoulston guys. They're taking a chance on the dude. If he has a bad TC, they cut him. There's no risk there. At all.

Patriots release DE Ty Warren.

Peppers, Idonije, Paea, Adams, Wotton, Toenia, Melton... who else am I forgetting? Feels like we could use another piece. We'll probably dress 7, so you'd want at least 3-4 more for camp competition, practice squad fodder and the inactive list. There are some UDFA's too.