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I thought about him for the Bears, but he may want to go somewhere that he'll get more carries - and he may cost too much to be a backup to Forte. Taylor apparently wants to pass Jim Brown's career rushing total before he retires - and he's still almost 1,100 yards short of it.

yes please to both, thank you I've never understood the struggles Garcia has had sticking with a team consistently. He's not a great QB, but he's been successful everywhere he's gone and he's got a career 61.6 completion % and a 2 to 1 career TD:INT ratio.

Figured I'd bump this back up to the top. The scouting combine begins tomorrow (Wednesday) and runs through next Tuesday, I believe. That means we'll shoot for starting either Wednesday or Thursday of next week. All the teams have been filled, but if anybody is interested in joining a war room, there are still plenty of spots available.

A couple of guys who were just cut may interest Bear fans a bit. Jeff Garcia is not returning to the Bucs this year - he's be a definite upgrade at QB, though it'd be a short term move - and Dewayne Robertson might provide some depth at DT, though he would be best in a 3-4 scheme.

The Broncos have cut defensive tackle Dewayne Robertson, along with 5 other vets (including LB Jamie Winborn and Niko Koutouvides). Robertson would be a nice pickup for some 3-4 defense needing some depth at DT.

The Ravens cut Chris McAlister and the Jags cut Fred Taylor. And Jeff Garcia has been informed by the Bucs that he will not be brought back next year. A few big names hitting the free agent market early on in the process.

Now I just hope he stays healthy. If he stops putting himself in a handicap match with refs and his manager, maybe he will 8-) This is an excellent point.

Now I just hope he stays healthy.

So you're saying sign Sheets and stockpile him with steroids then? Hopefully, he use the steroids for recovery before we get him. Come on, just admit you're condoning the cheating. :wink:

I would imagine all of it unless another team picks him up off waivers. Unless Hill suddenly figured out how to hit, I saw enough of him in 2007 to feel much more comfortable with Bako as the back up (and that is saying a lot since I don't think much of Bako either). Hill was about as close to an automatic out as you can get. It's like having two pitchers in the lineup (and even that is an insult to some of our pitchers). His line in 2007 was .161 / .231 / .269. His career line is .190 / .257 / .281. And most of that is before he chopped off a bunch of his fingers. Sorry, he does not belong on any 25 man roster, especially not on one for a contending team that will need the back up to make about 40 starts in order to keep their everyday catcher fresh. For what it's worth, Hill's OPS'd .834 and .842 the past two seasons in Iowa. Those are the best two years of his career (OPS-wise) in the minors. He's also projected for a roughly .100 point better OPS than Bako this year (Bako: .566-.617 range and Hill: .659-667 range). Again, take that for what it's worth.

I mostly agree with Bruce on the key issues for the Cubs this year. For as much complaining as I've done this offseason (mainly about Aaron Miles), I still think this team is clearly better than anybody else in the division. And overall, the offseason hasn't made us that much worse. The only places where I think we downgraded more than a little bit are second and the bench. I think the rotation will be fine. As long as Harden can be healthy, our top 4 will be very good and I think the fifth starter will get worked out between Heilman and Marshall. Little dropoff there, in my opinion, from Marquis - if any. The depth behind them is a tad bit scary, but how realistic is it to have good options for your 7th and 8th starters? I really hope Bradley can stay healthy this year, though I strongly doubt he will. If he can stay healthy, his production should be well worth the $10 million we're paying him. If he can't, I'm worried about what we'll have. I'm hoping for 100 games. I think Kosuke will improve. He's had a year to get used to MLB and being in America and hopefully that will help him adjust this year. I don't know if he'll reach what he was projected to do last year, but I think he'll be a pretty decent amount better than last year. The only spot I disagree with Bruce on is closer. I don't think it's in much doubt with Gregg and Marmol back there. I hope Gregg ends up as the closer, as I think his penchant to walk people will be less damaging if he enters most games with no one on base. That leaves Marmol to be a fireman again, which is a good thing. The rest of the pen shouldn't be much, if any, worse than last year - especially if Angel can stay healthy and pitch well. The bench will likely be terrible, but that's the only severe downgrade I see. I think we'll miss DeRo's ability to play RF (especially when Bradley's out) and I see no power on the bench right now (save for Hoff if he remains). My thoughts on second base are probably pretty clear at this point. :D It's worse, but the degree to which it is will be determined by how well Fontenot does. Miles was an awful signing. Overall, we're the best team in the Central by leaps and bounds and still one of the top 2-3 teams in the NL. We're worse than the team we fielded in the playoffs last year, though (partially that was to be expected, but I think we're a bit worse than normal regression).

So you're saying sign Sheets and stockpile him with steroids then?

At $9 mil a year, I think every team but the Raiders will agree with you.

I'm not sure if this is the best move, but Dan Morgan is making a return to the New Orleans Saints.

Yet another reason to be a Titan fan. :D And I'm not sure I'd give a 4th rounder for his rights. Maybe a fifth or sixth. I wouldn't be livid if the Titans threw a 4th out to move him to WR, though, I guess.

That is a name I've not heard in a long, long time. And I really could care less who the mods are. You shouldn't be so nonchalant about the mods. They can be a vengeful bunch. And it's "couldn't care less" :wink:

The Giants have franchised Brandon Jacobs and are working on a long-term deal.

Soccer, What will Al Davis give up in this trade? A 1st or two seconds? :wink: I posted this in the Bears offseason thread as well. Apparently the Falcons are looking to trade Vick's rights, but there are no suitors yet.

Here's another QB option:

If the Titans don't bring him back, it appears the Bears may have some interest in Chris Simms.

I wouldn't mind him as a #2 option. But that would imply that we had a #1 option. That's actually the first thought I had when I heard the Titans might have some interest. A third round pick might not be a terrible amount to give for Holt, though.

Apparently the Titans want to piss me off. It looks like they're interested in bringing back Chris Simms - in more than just a backup role. Just bring back Kerry or start Vince.

I'd love to see TO on the Raiders. That would be fun. Yep, it's official. I'm definitely picking a second team to root for next year until Al Davis croaks/gives up the team. Hey, at least it'd be hard for TO to make things worse. It's just that it's such a predictable move that it pisses me off. I've been considering picking a second team to root for next season for a while, and I think I'm going to go through with it. It doesn't even have to be a good team, just one that isn't as embarrassingly pathetic as the Raiders are. The Lions? He said NOT embarrassingly pathetic. Hey, Matt Millen is no longer there. It's sort of like if the Raiders did away with Al Davis, they might have some hope.

I'd love to see TO on the Raiders. That would be fun. Yep, it's official. I'm definitely picking a second team to root for next year until Al Davis croaks/gives up the team. Hey, at least it'd be hard for TO to make things worse. It's just that it's such a predictable move that it pisses me off. I've been considering picking a second team to root for next season for a while, and I think I'm going to go through with it. It doesn't even have to be a good team, just one that isn't as embarrassingly pathetic as the Raiders are. The Lions?

Free agents: TJ Housmandzadeh, Antonio Bryant, Devery Henderson, Lance Moore Trades: Anquan Boldin and maybe Torry Holt Draft: Percy Harvin, Jeremy Maclin (pipedream), Michael Crabtree (pipedream), Darrius Heyward-Bey, Kenny Britt, Derrick Williams, Hakeem Nicks, Mohammed Mossaquoi If we go the veteran route, I'd want either Houshmandzadeh or Boldin. If it's the draft, assuming Maclin and Crabtree don't fall to us, I'd look at Harvin or Bey. Knowing the Titans, though, they'll just take a running back. They only do that in the second round. Except for last year when they took Chris Johnson in the first round. :wink: But yeah, they're probably due to take one in the second round this year.