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Toliver to LSU Hell yeah! Get McKnight in the fold, and we could have a top 3 recruiting class! Much as I hate to see a guy with that talent go to an SEC team other than Tennessee, at least ya'll took him away from Florida. Thanks. :D

I'm not predicting that's what will happen, but I think 4-5 year windows for the great teams is the norm these days. They usually end up mixing in a 8-8 or sub .500 season after 4-5 good years. Indy could break the trend of course, especially with the greatest QB of this generation at the helm. This offseason is going to be a big key for the Colts in my opinion. With guys like Dwight Freeney, Corey Simon, Cato June and Nick Harper all eligible for free agency and coming off a Super Bowl victory, the question will be can they re-sign the guys they want (Freeney and Harper) for a price that will not handicap them down the road and replace the ones they don't want back (Simon? and June) adequately. They already saw a weakness in their defense after choosing not to pay David Thornton to come back, will they find a Gilbert Gardner-type terrible player to replace them or someone of quality? The answers to those questions will decide if they can keep the run going.

???? DAVID CARR IS THE BEST THING TO EVER HAPPEN TO THE TEXANS Their [expletive] fans can't comprehend that the team around him is double atrocious. 68.3% COMPLETION PERCENTAGE? Thats 15% better than Grossman. Give me that. Give me that right now. We win the Superbowl by default. Exactly. There is a perception that David Carr is no good, for much of the same reason that it was said Peyton couldn't win the big game. Peyton never had the talent or luck around him necessary to win the Super Bowl, just like Carr has never had the talent around him to be any good. The fact that he has put up decent numbers while in Houston is even more telling that, given talent, he could really blossom.

That's why you trade Lovie to the Cowboys and use those picks + others for McNabb. i'm confused...so you would be out a coach with a hurt QB? I like McNabb, he would make the Bears the odds on favs for the super bowl, but the chances of him getting hurt ar soo damn high Not really. His injuries have been one time things and mostly fluky. Granted as Cub fans, we all get scared over these types of injuries (see Prior and Lee) but he's not injury prone in terms of having a degrading, long-lasting injury. As far as I know, he's never had any injuries of any significance through college and the pros other than the last couple years.

I'm afraid of what we'd have to give up for him. Personally, just about anything would be worth it. The only possible drawback to McNabb is that he finished the last two seasons on IR but before then had no significant injuries I'm aware of. When/if healthy, he might be the third best active QB in the game (behind Peyton and Brady) and possibly the second dependant upon how you view Brady. In 04 he had a completion % of 64 and threw 31 TDs to only 8 INTs. That's a better TD:INT ratio than Brady ever had and a higher completion % than he's ever had. McNabb would be worth whatever you have to give up. I'd like to see him go back home but I wonder about the salary cap hit it would be for the Bears. No cap hit for the Bears unless you gave up players. It would be an incredible cap hit for the Eagles, which is another reason I think the trade would be horrendously bad from their perspective, but if the Bears gave up only draft picks, there would be no cap hit.

I'm afraid of what we'd have to give up for him. Personally, just about anything would be worth it. The only possible drawback to McNabb is that he finished the last two seasons on IR but before then had no significant injuries I'm aware of. When/if healthy, he might be the third best active QB in the game (behind Peyton and Brady) and possibly the second dependant upon how you view Brady. In 04 he had a completion % of 64 and threw 31 TDs to only 8 INTs. That's a better TD:INT ratio than Brady ever had and a higher completion % than he's ever had. McNabb would be worth whatever you have to give up.

I wonder if they would take Griese for Carr, stright up. Griese and a late round pick for Carr? I'd be interested. I'd let Grossman and Carr battle it out in camp. I'd definitely be interested. A little competition may help Grossman. Especially if the rumor is correct and ya'll give up only a fourth round pick.

Carr has been getting progressively better since is first year and currently is sitting on a 68.3% completion rate and 11 TDs to 12 INTs. The numbers aren't great, but consider what he'd do on a team that actually was good. The entire time he's been there, they've had career backups on the offensive line and no receivers behind Andre Johnson (except last year when they acquired Eric Moulds). Also last year, they lost Dominick Davis likely for his career so there was no running game. Put Carr on the Bears and he's immediately significantly better.

Statistically David Carr has been very good on a bad team. I'd be interested. Do the Texans just want to spend the money at other positions? Do they have someone waiting in the wings that I'm not aware of? Bradlee Van Pelt and Quinton Porter according to ESPN. I think they just want to get rid of Carr because he's the scapegoat for their struggles (undeservedly so). I think it would be a mistake to trade him, he just needs the o-line to develop a little more and get a running game (the Texans drafting Adrian Peterson would fix that). It would be a great trade by the Bears if they just give up a 3rd rounder.

Doesn't SC have something like 30 recruits "verballed" to them? What's going to happen tomorrow if they all somehow qualify academically? I think that's the understatement of the year, assuming you're a UF fan of course. The talent Urban is stockpiling is reminiscient of those last few USC classes that just went through. They could be scary good if he keeps this up for a couple more years. Tennessee is facing a similar situation. We've got 32 guys currently committed, but it's extremely unlikely all of them will be academically eligible plus there are options of greyshirting a guy (which means they sign now but enroll next spring and thus count towards next year's class) and you can back count any guys that you are currently recruiting that you also recruited last year (players that were ineligible to enroll last year can still be counted toward that class). Not sure what the situation is exactly in South Carolina, but those are the main ways of working around the 85 scholarship limit.

The Vols are doing great with pretty much a guaranteed top 5 class and possibly top two to three if we pull in a few interested guys (4-star DE Rae Sykes, 4-star WR Ahmad Paige, and/or 4-star S Nevin McKenzie are probably the most interested. This is after we pulled in the top corner in the nation (Eric Berry), the top LB in the nation (Chris Donald) and filled needs on the d-line and receiver with four and five stars.

Matt Giordano Giordano is a badass. I'm not sure what his flaws are that kept him from starting over Bethea, but the dude can run and hit very well. He's extremely awful in Madden, but that's probably not completely relevant. :D

I think they actually plan on using him in CF, where his value will be high but not quite as high as it would be if he played SS. Isn't Hall suspect at best defensively at short? I seem to remember him being pretty weak-perhaps they think he'll be better in CF thus raising his overall value? When he first came up he was kind of a butcher there, but he was pretty reliable last season. He's a great overall athlete, so maybe Melvin thinks he can be a better CF, or the best option that the team has since they seem pretty committed to Hardy at SS. I think moving him to center could be a very good move, if JJ Hardy plays respectably at short.

I think they actually plan on using him in CF, where his value will be high but not quite as high as it would be if he played SS. Isn't Hall suspect at best defensively at short? I seem to remember him being pretty weak-perhaps they think he'll be better in CF thus raising his overall value?

Yes, in Oxford, Miss., we have two FOX channels and every weekend they show the Saints game on one and the Giants game on the other (Since Eli is a hometown boy basically). So I get to see the Giants every Sunday, and I can tell ya that Burress is a punk and I would much rather have Berrian than that punk. He quits on nearly every route, and he's one of the worst WR blockers I've ever seen. Plus their defense is so bad that Eli hardly ever gets a shot to do anything, so when he does get his chance, he's usually trying to force things. Plus the injuries on that team have been incredible the past couple of years. They lost Arrington, Petigout (easily their best o-lineman), Toomer, and Strahan for significant periods of time last year. The year before, Petigout, all three starting linebackers and one backup (I think), plus numerous other starters. I don't know what it is, but that team gets the injury bug more than the Cubs (if that's possible).

What? The 99 Super Bowl isn't ahead of those programs? A travesty I say, a travesty. Honestly, in terms of quality of games, there have been multiple better Super Bowls in the past 10 years. But, I guess it shows the fan base of each team is widespread.

Burress is extremely talented but may take more plays off than Moss. I watched the play where Pacman intercepted the ball in the Titans' comeback and Burress quit, he should have been embarassed. I would take Berrian and Muhammed over Burress in a heartbeat. Barber is without a doubt a great running back but the duo of Jones/Benson is not significantly worse (they gained 195 more yards this year). Finally, there's no question Shockey is better than Clark but Clark gained 3 more yards than Shockey with 21 fewer questions. Which offense is better is debatable, saying the Giants are significantly better is not because they are not significantly better.

Warning: do not hold me to this. Wale signed a 6 year contact with a $15M bonus. He's played 3 years so half of the bonus would be a cap hit. Roughly $7.5M. I think if they cut him after June 1st it would count towards 2008. Either way its a huge hit. He is going to get $3.9M in salary next year (not a cap hit). So its better to pay him than cut him (roughly $2.5M bonus + $3.9 salary= $6.4 cap). Wow, much better to keep him. That's a lot of what happened to the Titans the last few years. During our championship run years (99-03) we backloaded many guys like McNair, George, Hopkins, Miller, Wycheck, Rolle, etc. and then had to cut them in the final couple to three years of their contracts and took ridicoulously high cap hits because of it. In 05 I think we had far more money tied up in players no longer on the team (even some who were retired) than we had in players actually on the team. It was a very bad situation, but would have been worth it had we won a Super Bowl.

Dan Patrick mentioned the rumor on his radio show today.... something along the lines of McNabb (a Chicago native) being traded to the Bears (for who knows what) and the Eagles going with Garcia as their QB next year. I doubt the rumor is much more than random speculation, but I can't say I wouldn't be very excited if the Bears opened 2007 with McNabb as their #1 QB. Honestly, that would be an absolutely horrendously illogical and flat out dumb trade by the Eagles. I don't care what they get in return, McNabb is easily one of the best QBs in the game and is a great leader. That said, the Bears absolutely have to make this trade if it's a valid rumor.

Not that much better actually. Giants are only averaging 15yds per game more than the Bears. 4.7 YPA, good enough for top 6 in the league, compared to 3.8 YPA, which is bottom 3rd of the league. It's a significant difference. Bottom line is that Grossman is getting extra criticism for losing a game that Eli couldn't even sniff. He'd have been better off if the Bears missed the playoffs. Not only was the NFC East a FAR tougher division than the North was this year, but Rex also had the advantage of having one of the best defenses in the league on his team (5th in ypg, 3rd in scoring defense) while Eli had to deal with one of the worst (25th and 24th in the same categories). Eli had to do much more for the Giants to win and had a much smaller room for error than Rex did. Very true. Saying Rex is better than Eli because Grossman's team went to the Super Bowl is akin to saying Peyton can't win the big one because his team wasn't good enough to make it all those years. The Bears are a significatnly better team than the Giants. The Bear defense is immensely better and the offense is somewhat better. Would you rather have Urlacher, Briggs, Harris and Brown or Arrington, Strahan and Umenyiora? Also, would you prefer Berrian, Muhammed, Jones/Benson and Clark or Burress, Shockey, Barber and Toomer? Again, the defense is no question significantly in the Bears' favor and the offense is slightly. Plus when you factor in the ridicoulous injuries the Giants have faced and that the Bear coaching staff is remarkably better, the no Super Bowl means Eli sucks is a very poor argument.

This is completely off topic but I really think either Dwight Freeney, Jared Allen or Justin Smith would look great as Titans next year. Just a thought (please Colts don't re-sign Freeney ).

Schaub is a restricted FA after this season, I believe? Or maybe it's next year? Its this year. Thing is, teams interested likely will want to trade for him because if Vick proves he can't cut it with Petrino, I have a feeling he'll be traded and Schaub will be re-signed.

Yup, best to judge a quarterback after his first full season of play. Unfortunately, many of Rex's flaws are not ones that are easily corrected, IMO. He has little poise under pressure, throws off his back foot too much, has poor pocket awareness, and seems to have an obstinate attitude regarding his flaws. Personally, I have always been very patient when it comes to developing players, like Corey Patterson, for example. But I see little in Rex Grossman that inspires confidence that he will develop into anything other than a league average QB, at best. And given his set of flaws, I think that would take 2-3 years to achieve. The Bears' overall talent level puts them in a position to win again next year, and perhaps the next, but the window will not be open forever. If I am Angelo, I move to add some stability to the offense. And the problem is if Rex isn't the answer, Griese isn't either, and Orton could easily be out of the league by next year. Do the Bears make a trade for someone like Byron Leftwich, which I don't see. Is a back-up like Schaub in Atlanta a better option then Grossman? Or do you go with a rookie straight out of the draft? Significantly better in my opinion. Schaub has proven in very little action that he has a good bit of potential- in 05 he was 33 of 64 for 495 yards with 4 TDs and 0 INTs, in 06 he was 18 of 27 for 208 yards with 1 TD and 2 INTs. Plus he's only 25 and has receivers that can't catch the ball. The biggest problem is, he would cost at least a 1st round pick if he's available at all.

The Colts deserve their due, but the Bears really, really helped them out tonight. The Colts did their share of helping out the Bears too. Not as much. The Colts were the better team tonight for sure, don't get me wrong. But with even a modicum of competent play calling in the first half, the Bears could have been in control. That was really the difference, not the talent on the field, but the tactical aspect. The Colts helped the Bears by turning the ball over, and the Bears did the same. What the Colts didn't do was employ stupid and counter intuitive strategy. Even if the coaching staff had tried, Manning wouldn't have gone for it. The Bears helped the Colts by being conservative when they should have been aggressive (no play action when everyone was expecting them to pound the ball), and aggressive when they should have pounded the ball (throwing on 2nd and 1 when they were starting to move the ball for the first time). Not using the weapons they should have (Clark) until the game was decided didn't help either. Ron Turner's game plan was absolute garbage, and really hampered the entire team. The Chicago defense really was doing a pretty good job of keeping the Indy offense in check (even with it's uber-conservative plan) until it was simply too tired because it was constantly on the field. This was due as much to Turner as the Indy defense, which was good, but not as good as they were made to look. I'm not going to say Chicago is the better team, because I don't believe that. I actually expected the Bears to lose. What I didn't expect was for the Bears to be the ones who beat the Bears, and to a large degree, that's what happened. I expected Peyton to pick the us apart, but he didn't. This game was totally winnable for the Bears. The difference tonight? Brainpower. That, and not better talent, is what won the SB for Indy. But that's part of being the better team, I guess. Valid points. I disagree with little of what you said, the Bears had opportunities but didn't capitalize. The Colts, on the other hand, did capitalize.

Much as I strongly dislike him, I actually think Leak will do at least fairly well. All the other QBs you mention (except Spurrier) were products of the Spurrier fun-and-gun offense: drop back and chuck the ball downfield every play. That style simply doesn't work in the NFL and they couldn't adjust. Leak on the other hand, spent most of his time under Ron Zook, who runs more of style that fits an NFL system (even though he's not a good coach).