Soul

I'm not sure how Jones is a warrior. He was a 1st round draft pick who has been in the league 7 years and has only 5300 yards. He's essentially a 4.0 YPA runner who isn't a threat to break off long runs or rack up any significant TD totals. He was a nice runner, but nothing special. You have a handful of true stud RBs in the NFL and then a few special guys like Brian Westbrook and Fred Taylor who have some very nice YPA numbers, if not the total yards figures. And you have guys drafted in the 2nd round like Jones-Drew who come in and rack up some very impressive numbers as rookies. Then you have a very big least of interchangeable bodies. RB is the one true meat market position. Denver wasn't insane for continually rotating guys in and out of the position. These guys take such a beating, that you just have to keep throwing out fresh bodies whenever possible, and hope you're not left holding the bag when a guy's career starts to fade. The last thing you want at the position is a 30-something RB with 2000+ attempts and a huge cap number barely plugging along at a 3.5-4.0 clip. I'm not arguing, but Jones had a few years in there where he didn't carry much. He's 30, but he hasn't been tapped for 25 rushes a game for his entire career. There's still something left in the tank, which as you point out, can't usually be said of RBs Jones' age. He also was very strong in the playoffs last year. That does count for something in my book, but apparently doesn't carry much weight in the market.

Hutchinson? Walter Jones. Oh, my bad. Is that a new rule then? I was basing what I said off what I heard about some other players who had been franchised several times.

Perhaps a guy like Timmons, due to his lack of college starting experience, will fall to the early 2nd round. Angelo likes FL players and Timmons has the speed Lovie likes.

Moving up the equivalent number of spots that the Bears moved would essentially cost a late 2nd or early 3rd round pick. The Bears basically traded Benson for a late 2nd or early 3rd, and then traded that pick and their 2nd to move up. I don't think he got hosed. 2nd round draft picks are extremely valuable trade chips. I guess this is where I would make a lousy NFL GM, I woulda helpd out and made the Jets pay more, if not, make Jones play angry. Whattya think we can get for Briggs now that he is pissed off? I don't know, but if it's just exchanging a pick? I'd let Briggs sit. All year if necessary. Hell, I'd franchise him over & over and let him sit forever if all I'm going to get for him is an exchange of 15 draft positions.

I think we got mildly fleeced. Angelo did move up quite a bit in the 2nd round, which is good. He might be able to essentially get a late 1st round talent and sign him for 2nd round money----which is also good. But for a warrior like Jones, who obviously still has plenty in the tank -- my idea of a good deal was more along the lines of adding a pick, not exchanging.

If they keep saying the right things and at least attempt to apply it, then I'm willing to stick with Lou and his crew even if success doesn't come this year. It's refreshing just to hear sanity and reason for a change. You are? After 100 years and the payroll they have now? You are satisfied if the talk is good? Sanity and reason? Thats enough? How about wins and a trip to the World Series? I'll accept Insanity and chaos....if it means a winning ballclub and a trip to the World Series. It's really something to see how Cub fans begin to lay the ground work for being satisfied....even if the club continues to fail. Maybe you're right. I'll give Lou more than one year if I think he's taking this club in a direction I think is refreshing. To me, we've had 100 years of chaos and insanity already. And it's gotten us nothing. The actual dollar figures mean little to me -- how we develop and use our players matters more. I've watched 150 million dollar ballclubs win it, and watched 50 million dollar ones do the same.

I enjoyed NOTHING because I couldn't get the game!! Curses,curses....horror....death! :evil: :evil:

If teams know we're desperate to unload him, a 1st rounder will be out of the question. I think that's the problem. Angelo has to appear strong -- like he's perfectly willing to let Briggs sit all year if necessary. Otherwise he'll look desperate and teams will try to fleece Briggs away. I'm still not sure the exact value Briggs brought to this ballclub. He's playing right next to a Hall of Famer in the prime of his career, was a 3rd round pick, played for THE premiere linebacker franchise in the NFL. I mean if there's one thing the Bears can do, it's turn a bag of bones into a solid linebacker. Just look at what we did with Hillenmeyer. A first round pick is out of the question now that he came out publicly and said this. From an outside viewpoint, Briggs is a hell of an outside LB...one of the best in the league. I guarantee the Bears would have a weakness at that position if they wouldn't draft Poz, or sign Joey Porter. Briggs is a real dependable LB. Don't forget the couple of huge stops he made against Seattle that basically won the game for the Bears. Briggs is good, but I don't know that another player couldn't have made those plays. The question isn't whether Briggs can play. We know he can. From a Bears standpoint, the question is whether another guy can be brought in to replace his production at a much cheaper price. I strongly suspect the answer to that question is yes.

If teams know we're desperate to unload him, a 1st rounder will be out of the question. I think that's the problem. Angelo has to appear strong -- like he's perfectly willing to let Briggs sit all year if necessary. Otherwise he'll look desperate and teams will try to fleece Briggs away. I'm still not sure the exact value Briggs brought to this ballclub. He's playing right next to a Hall of Famer in the prime of his career, was a 3rd round pick, played for THE premiere linebacker franchise in the NFL. I mean if there's one thing the Bears can do, it's turn a bag of bones into a solid linebacker. Just look at what we did with Hillenmeyer.

If they keep saying the right things and at least attempt to apply it, then I'm willing to stick with Lou and his crew even if success doesn't come this year. It's refreshing just to hear sanity and reason for a change.

I guess we'll really find out after that deadline for a long term deal passes. If that goes by the boards, then expect a lengthy, very painful, holdout from Briggs. I hate to say this, but it might be better for Angelo to seek a trade for Briggs sooner rather than later. Maybe you don't get quite as much, but this situation could be poison for the club. .....on a side note, I'm not sure why everyone is so upset over Rivera leaving. The man was interviewing every chance he could get, he obviously had little interest being with the Bears and he's not getting Lovie's job. Resigning the man would have been out of the question; he wanted to be a head coach. It's not the Bears' fault Ron Rivera couldn't land a head coaching job this offseason. Sorry -- but that's all on Rivera.

Hall is a pretty good DE. That's a solid move by the Rams. Lions are really dealin'

He's got a website: http://www.ronniewoowoo.com Some of his quotes are pretty funny.

Yes, but even 3-5 minutes of that can get annoying. 3-5? I've heard it last half an hour. Long enough that you begin to wonder how his voice doesn't give out.

I don't think the Bears would take less than a first for Briggs. I could be wrong though. I can't see the Bears taking less than a 1st + another pick for Briggs. That's why they franchised him. The franchise player rules state that if the Bears don't match another team's offer, they'll get two 1st round picks as compensation. As CCP pointed out, my point was that the Bears franchised Briggs because they think he's worth a ton. Therefore they don't intend to let him go unless the offer is very, very good. My strong suspicion is that Angelo is willing to let Briggs sit for the entire season if necessary *IF* Briggs holds out and there's not a very solid offer from another team. After following Angelo for a few years, he doesn't back down often. The other thing is, Rosenhaus' list of teams with whom he has good relations with is getting shorter every year. The Bears are still on that list. Is Drew willing to brew bad blood with yet another NFL team? Something to think about.

I don't think the Bears would take less than a first for Briggs. I could be wrong though. I can't see the Bears taking less than a 1st + another pick for Briggs. That's why they franchised him.

I'd love for this to happen. Izzy or ARod? Hike my ticket price $5 and give me ARod.

Has he ever done anything to get thrown out? Sure, he is annoying as hell, but his "woo's" are simply cheering, just as other fans do throughout the game. That said, I would gladly pitch in the get him an apartment in AZ for the whole summer. It's beyond all reason, though. Nothing like what other fans do when they cheer.

Maybe. Bly's 30 though. And I think he's shorter than Vasher. I'm like you though -- I think he can still bring it.

So you're sayin' there's a chance!

I don't understand why this is so difficult for people to understand. It's a Page 2 article, poking fun at the GMs that through money around for all sorts of guys this offseason. It's not about the Cubs. It's the comment that closes the article, which specifically calls out the Cubs.

Can't they just get security to throw the guy out? I mean come on. Fitch Park is like 4 little-league style fields arranged back-to-back. Think of Woo Woo showing up at your kids' little league practice and doing his act for an hour. The psychological damage to your kids alone should be enough to kick him out.

They may have arrived at the right conclusion, but for the wrong reasons. There's a chance the Cubs hover around the .500 mark, but IMO it would fall more on that pitching staff than the position players. Maybe I'm wrong. But if Lilly & Marquis stay true to form that's not real encouraging. Throw in Hill -- if he doesn't break out like we obviously need him to, that leaves Zambrano and Prior.......and little else. Sure the bullpen looks to be improved, but a weak starting staff has got to cost games. I think that's the whole crux of the season, not the ARam & Soriano signings. This article says nothing about the pitching, instead taking shots at two position players who will likely be pretty productive in any event.

If the Bears stay close to the cap limit and pay their coaches well, what more can they do? Major market doesn't mean nearly as much in football because every team spends about the same-about the only difference is that owners with more money can sometimes come up with multiple big signing bonuses in one year, but that money still has to be managed under the cap-it's more of an actual payroll thing of when the cash is paid than anything. I don't wish to belabor this any longer, but 20 mill under is the near the cap, in your opinion? Again, let's wait and see what happens. I'll be happy to be proven wrong in this case. They were 20 million under during last season? That figure was posted, and after further review was from March 2006. Only teams in trouble are right up against the cap before they even draft. $20 million under in March is most definitely a GOOD thing, not bad.

I don't even think Virigina knows what year it is. I'm convinced someone else within the organization is having an influence on football operations(i.e keeping Michael locked down stairs). Possibly the McKenna's? It's Angelo, and Phillips. Why is this so difficult for people to understand? The Bears haven't been cheap, as goony says, since McCaskey stepped back and Angelo was given full-time GM control. It's old news. Repeating it over & over doesn't make it new.