WHEN WILL THE BEARS PICK?
It's been quite sometime since I've posted on WCG.  But whether I post or not, know I'm always reading.  Everyone is doing a great job with creating great Bears fan content.  Shout out to Lester who is a personal favorite to read!

So why post today? Well, this morning I began wondering what time the Bears might actually pick.  After spending some time searching on Google, I found my way back to the site and decided to go through the comments from last year's first round open thread.  I was able to figure out approximate times for about 1/3 of the players and then moved on to other SB Nation blogs and found approximate times for the rest.

SPECIAL NOTE: All times are CST and written in the first column after the pick #.  The draft started at 6:30 pm CST last year, but will start at 7:00 pm CST this year.  Add 30 minutes for an approximate guess for this year.  At pick 29 the Bears should be picking between 10-11 pm.

Round 1	2010 NFL Draft--April 22nd, 2010
Pick(Overall)	Player Name	Position	Team	School
1 (1) 6:42	Sam Bradford	QB	St. Louis Rams	Oklahoma
2 (2) 6:45	Ndamukong Suh	DT	Detroit Lions	Nebraska
3 (3) 6:50	Gerald McCoy	DT	Tampa Bay Buccaneers	Oklahoma
4 (4) 7:00	Trent Williams	OT	Washington Redskins	Oklahoma
5 (5) 7:05	Eric Berry	S	Kansas City Chiefs	Tennessee
6 (6)  7:10	Russell Okung	OT	Seattle Seahawks	Oklahoma St.
7 (7) 7:21	Joe Haden	CB	Cleveland Browns	Florida
8 (8)  7:28	Rolondo McClain	LB	Oakland Raiders	Alabama
9 (9) 7:30	C.J. Spiller	RB	Buffalo Bills	Clemson
10 (10) 7:37	Tyson Alualu	DT	Jacksonville Jaguars	Cal
11 (11) 7:43	Anthony Davis	OT	49ers (Via DEN)	Rutgers
12 (12) 7:47	Ryan Matthews	RB	Chargers (Via MIA)	Fresno State
13 (13) 7:55	Brandon Graham	DE	Eagles (via Den via SF)	Michigan
14 (14) 7:57	Earl Thomas	S	Seattle Seahawks	Texas
15 (15) 8:14	Jason Pierre-Paul	DE	New York Giants	South Florida
16 (16) 8:19	Derrick Morgan	DE	Tennessee Titans	Georgia Tech

17 (17) 8:22	Mike Iupati	OG	San Francisco 49ers	Idaho
18 (18) 8:23	Maurkice Pouncey	C	Pittsburgh Steelers	Florida
19 (19) 8:33	Sean Weatherspoon	LB	Atlanta Falcons	Missouri
20 (20) 8:37	Kareem Jackson	CB	Houston Texans	Alabama
21 (21) 8:41	Jermaine Gresham	TE	Cincinnati Bengals	Oklahoma
22 (22) 8:44	Demaryius Thomas	WR	Broncos (via NE)	Georgia Tech
23 (23) 8:52	Bryan Bulaga	OT	Green Bay Packers	Iowa
24 (24) 8:53	Dez Bryant	WR	Cowboys (via NE, DEN)	Oklahoma St
25 (25) 9:05	Tim Tebow	QB	Broncos (via BAL)	Florida
26 (26) 9:14	Dan Williams	DT	Arizona Cardinals	Tennessee
27 (27) 9:24	Devin Mccourty	CB	NE Patriots (via Dal)	Rutgers
28 (28) 9:30	Jared Odrick	DT	Dolphins (via SD)	Penn State
29 (29) 9:39	Kyle WIlson	CB	New York Jets	Boise St
30 (30) 9:44	Jahvid Best	RB	Lions (via Min)	California
31 (31) 9:55	Jerry Hughes	DE	Indianapolis Colts	TCU
32 (32) 11:04	Patrick Robinson	CB	New Orleans Saints	Florida State

BONUS:  A few interesting things that I'll share with you, that I noticed from looking through the other team blogs on draft day 2010.

- Texans fans really wanted McCourtey (CB) or Dan Williams (DT) or Kyle Wilson (CB) and were elated to see all three sitting there at their pick... but instead they ended up with Kareem Jackson (CB) and all were pretty furious.
- Most were shocked to see that Eric Berry (S) went before Earl Thomas (S)
- Everyone spends draft day telling Al Davis jokes
- Gerald McCoy (DT) was both laughing and crying when his phone rang.
- Jerry Jones surprised no one by trading up to grab Dez Bryant (WR)
- Bears fans were spending much of the day wondering what Denver would do with their 1st round pick (traded it to SF).
- Denver fans were left in amazement, as management said a prayer and traded a fortune to move up and grab Tebow.  

 

JUST FOR FUN:
Game 1 - Let's see who can be the first to guess the actual time the Bears pick will be announced.  Post the time you want in the comments.  First to post that time will be the winner.

Game 2 - Copy and paste your favorite quote from last year's open threads.  It may be a prediction or comment. Open thread round 1, 2, 3

Who is this guy?
I am not a regular poster at Blog a Bull, but I do stop by and read from time-to-time.  I am a huge fan of the team, and watch as many games as I can find here in Indy.  Thanks to all who post online links.

Disclaimer
 I'm hoping that those who know the salary cap rules, our salaries and cap space, and any other important details can tell me if this is a possibility.  I apologize in advance if this has been covered before.  Like I said I read sometimes, but I don't read all the trade ideas.

Could we land Bosh and Wade?
So here is my idea that could totally not work.  Could we do a sign and trade for Bosh or Wade or some other free agent and in the trade send them Deng and Hinrich?  Would that allow us to grab 2 max free agents like Bosh and Wade or Bosh and Lebron or Bosh and Johnson (notice all the Bosh mentions)?  I would love to see a break down of how much that would put us under the cap and if that type of sign and trade would work.  Also do you think Jerry would allow the Bulls to go over the cap a little bit to get a second guy, maybe a lower priced guy like Boozer?

Thanks and keep up the good work.  This losing streak stinks, but next year is looking really exciting for Chicago!

Cutler throws 2 picks including one in the redzone and another on a Hester slip.  Robbie Gould hits one from 50 because the 45 was too close (and a delay of game penalty).  202 total yards in the first half, including the longest reception of Forte's career, but only 3 points to show.  Although the defense was not good on several 3rd and long plays, they only gave up one TD.  The one they did give up was following a pick that put the SF offense on the 10 yard line.  Oh, and Bowman had a nice pick! 

Considering the mistakes the Bears on in this game.  On to half two.

Inside the Den
alexbrown96 Great win today! It sure is good to have a great offense. They carries us in the first half then we woke up and did out part. 3-1 feels good

BradBiggs Bears will re-sign DB DeAngelo Smith to practice squad today http://bit.ly/2IYc8U

alexbrown96 At work getting treatment on this ankle which felt ok yesterday. Great win for the Bears heading into the bye week.

trumaine26 Wrappin up rehab.... Next i'm Headed 2 da gym to get my upper body workout in....

SI_PeterKing RT @grizzlyblair: How bad is Hester's injury? ... Not bad at all. Sore neck.

JayCutler6 Big win before the bye week. Defense played great in the second half and we were able to put up a few points. pink cleats and all.....

JasonDavis43 @JayCutler6 pepto bizmal cleats and all

Poll

How do you think the pink cleats affected Jay Cutler's performance?

• Gave him super Jay leap abilities he used in the end zone
• Players were so distracted during play the huddle they didn't know what Turner called and had to wing it thus the 48 point performance
• I'm not feeling very fun today, no effect

  36 votes | Results

Continue reading this post »

This is the master list of twitter feeds of known Bears players, reporters, and people of interest to follow.  I'm posting this one time, so it can be linked to in future Twitter Da Bears posts.  If you are interested in following these players the links are below.  If you have a recommendation for someone to add please place a link in the comments.

Bears Players: Jay Cutler - http://twitter.com/JayCutler6 // Caleb Hanie - http://twitter.com/CalebHanie12 // Matt Forte - http://twitter.com/chitownforte22 // Jason McKie - http://twitter.com/Jmack37 // Devin Hester - http://twitter.com/D_Hest23 // Greg Olsen - http://twitter.com/gregolsen82

Desmond Clark - http://twitter.com/tightwork88 // Tommie Harris - http://twitter.com/RealDeal91 // Alex Brown - http://twitter.com/alexbrown96 // Trumaine McBride - http://twitter.com/trumaine26 // Nick Roach - http://twitter.com/ricknoach // Henry Melton - http://twitter.com/HenMel

Former Bear Players: Jason Davis - http://twitter.com/JasonDavis43 // Brandon Rideau - http://twitter.com/BrandonRideau // Jerry Azumah - http://twitter.com/jerryazumah

Bears Reporters: Brad Biggs - http://twitter.com/BradBiggs // ZachZaidman - http://twitter.com/ZachZaidman // vaughn mcclure - http://twitter.com/vxmcclure23 // Jeff Dickerson - http://twitter.com/ESPNChiBears // Larry Mayer - http://twitter.com/ChicagoBearscom // Bears News - http://twitter.com/Bears__News

Notable Tweeters: Drew Rosenhaus - http://twitter.com/RosenhausSports // Peter King - http://twitter.com/SI_PeterKing // Adam Shefter - http://twitter.com/Adam_Schefter // Rich Eisen - http://twitter.com/richeisen // Merril Hoge - http://twitter.com/merrilhoge // Chris Mortenson - http://twitter.com/mortreport // Warren Sapp - http://twitter.com/QBKILLA

Interesting NFL Players: Maurice Jones-Drew - http://twitter.com/Jones_Drew32 // Chris Johnson - http://twitter.com/ChrisJohnson28 // Terrell Owens - http://twitter.com/terrellowens // Chad Ochocinco - http://twitter.com/OGOchoCinco // Larry Fitzgerald - http://twitter.com/Lfitzgerald11 // Randy Moss - http://twitter.com/r81m // Shawne Merriman - http://twitter.com/shawnemerriman // Shaun Phillips - http://twitter.com/ShaunPhillips95

Poll

Do you read Twitter posts?

• Yes and I have a Twitter account
• I don't have a Twitter account but read these twitter posts
• No, I don't read twitter posts

  12 votes | Results

Ok, not much happening with the Bears over the last 24 hours, but I thought some might enjoy reading some funny comments from some other NFL players and writers.  I also added in some injury reports on Bears players if you had any concerns.  Enjoy!

Twitter Da Bears

 

jerryazumah Everyone keeps asking me about predictions for tomorrow. Well here we go, Bears by 17. Statement Game!!!

jerryazumah Received a few text from some Bears! I expect big things early and often! Now back to my scotch!

alexbrown96 On the train headed down to the Hilton. Getting ready for the game tomorrow! Bear Down!!!

alexbrown96 Having dinner with my wife at red lobster!

Bears__News Jamar Williams / LB Jamar Williams will make his second career start for the Bears at strong-side linebacker http://bit.ly/7cdLe #NFL #CHI

BradBiggs Breaking down new defensive coordinator Lovie Smith & The Blitz. http://bit.ly/11aAHW

ZachZaidman Reminder of new policy at Soldier Field: http://www.soldierfield.net...

Adam_Schefter He practiced this week and said he expects to. RT @FreshGrooves: @Adam_Schefter Kevin Smith going to go for the Lions?

Poll

Who get's the best tweet of the day?

44%

TO, saying that Jesus came to comdemn the world

4 votes

22%

Adam Shefter, reminding us David Lettterman's company name

2 votes

33%

Ochocinco, nuff said

3 votes

9 votes | Poll has closed

Continue reading this post »

  

ZachZaidman "[Desmond Clark's] ready to go," said Lovie Smith. "He's been motivated to get back on the field as quick as possible."

JayCutler6 Might be wearing these Sunday  http://twitpic.com/jz5g6

BradBiggs Lance briggs had full participation in practice. Good to go sunday with minor foot injury

vxmcclure23 Alex Brown was full go today off the ankle injury

vxmcclure23 Dez Clark full go for sunday. Hillenmeyer out, as expected. As is pisa.

ZachZaidman How's this for different? Bears having their defense practice with artficial crowd noise in background to prepare for Sunday's game at home

BradBiggs Johnny Knox ranks very well among rookie WR's. http://bit.ly/rJ0lC

BradBiggs Plenty of Bears/local ties on final United Football League rosters, including Tony Parrish, Simeon Rice, Bobby Sippio http://bit.ly/1OifFf

Jmack37 God Bless bear nation..getting closer to gametime cant wait..

BradBiggs Johnny Knox on WR he modeled "I would say Ochocinco. I like his style, not the way he talks, but the way he conducts himself on the field."

gregolsen82 Good week so far preparing for detroit..hangin in tonight catchin up on tv shows

JayCutler6 Had two good days of prep for the Lions.  Going to find some dinner and rest up.

 

Poll

How will Jay Cutler look in pink cleats on Sunday?

2%

Like a woman, no man should ever dawn pink shoes

1 votes

26%

Hard core, I mean it takes guts to wear pink on a football field

12 votes

2%

Like a metrosexual, hey if you can pull it off, do it

1 votes

68%

Like a charitable guy, good job Jay

31 votes

45 votes | Poll has closed

Continue reading this post »

Is former Colts receiver, Marvin Harrison, really a possibility in Chicago?  Do you really want Harrison?  I sure don't, but this guy says that Harrison has an offer on the table.

According to an undisclosed source of mine, that encouragement from Tony Dungy may have worked on Coach Lovie Smith as the Bears have offered Marvin a contract to play for the Bears in 2009.

This line is the funniest of the article and could discredit everything else he says.

If in fact Harrison joins Chicago, his arrival should make the Bears' offense the best in the NFC North. His ability to stretch the field will allow for quarterback Jay Cutler to throw deep passes to him, as well as freeing up the middle for short throws to tight end Greg Olsen and dump-off passes to running back Matt Forte.

Hmmm. Not sure Harrison stretches the field anymore with those old, banged-up knees. What to think about this "RUMOR." Personally I'm hoping Rideau and Aromashodu both make the team. I'm not sure that would happen if Harrison was here.

Poll

Do you believe Marvin Harrison has an offer from the Chicago Bears?

33%

Yes and I hope he signs

713 votes

9%

Yes but I don't want him

206 votes

26%

No he doesn't have an offer but I'd take him

551 votes

30%

No and I hope he never gets an offer

632 votes

2102 votes | Poll has closed

The new layout has it's benefits and the autotag is nice, but it is hard to figure out what links you want us to click on to read articles now.  Can links we post be in orange as opposed to the standard blue for all the tagged words.  Or can we underline the links to the articles.  Or can we title links "link" and make the article links more obvious.  Or can we unlink all the auto tagged links like the tutorial mentions.  It is just difficult to figure out what to click on to go where we want to go now.  Thanks.  This is my feedback, if anyone else has feedback, feel free to add it.

Of course we are rooting the Devin will score many more TD's on punts in his career, but where did he rank compared to some of the best of all time and who are they and what did they do. 

 

There are many excellent return specialists today in Hester, McGee, Cribbs, Carr, Rossum, Davis, Hall, and many more. Some specialize in returning mainly punts or kickoffs. Some do both. Devin Hester deserves mention.

 

He has scored seven touchdowns on punt returns in the first two seasons of his career. Now entering his fourth year, hopefully he mas many more games to play. But, it is the NFL: Not For Long.

 

One can never assume he will score again, nor not suffer a career ending injury at any given moment. Even if he never does anything again on the gridiron, his two seasons have put his name on many peoples list.

 

This article is a great history lesson, but honestly some of the content is debateable.  It is a good read though especially with the slow week in news.

 

 

 

Poll

Will Hester finish his career as the best return man of all time?

81%

Yes

86 votes

18%

No

19 votes

105 votes | Poll has closed

So today I ran across this Jay Cutler twitter page.  It is obviously not him, but it is abolutely hysterical to read.  You will roll over laughing.

I thought I would also include other notable Twitter feeds here as well.  If you guys have any that we might like, post them in the comments and we'll compile a list.

Also, Drew Rosenhaus has some comments about Idonoje and Ogunleye.

Fake Jay Cutler:

http://twitter.com/jay_cutler

 

 

Greg Olsen: http://twitter.com/gregolsen82

? Tommie Harris:http://twitter.com/RealDeal91

? Matt Forte: http://twitter.com/chitownforte22

ex Bear Brandon Lloyd: http://twitter.com/mrblloyd

Drew Rosenhaus: http://twitter.com/RosenhausSports

Peter King: http://twitter.com/SI_PeterKing

PTI: http://twitter.com/PTIShow

Windy City Gridiron (largest football blog on SB Nation): http://twitter.com/WindyCG

So reading through the John Madden retiring thread was pretty hilarious.  I hate John Madden, I love John Madden, I hate Cris Collinsworth, I love Cris Colinsworth, and so on.  It got me thinking, who was the most annoying announcer on TV.  Who do you hate the most to listen to?

Here is a small list of football announcers to choose.  Tell us who you voted for and why you hate them.  Also feel free to debate with others about their picks.

 

 

Poll

Which football announcer do you hate the most?

5%

John Madden

5 votes

17%

Cris Collinsworth

15 votes

4%

Phil Simms

4 votes

27%

Tony Kornheiser

23 votes

15%

Other

13 votes

28%

Joe Buck

24 votes

84 votes | Poll has closed

Due to a couple requests, I'm moving this to a fan post.

Post anything here that you have loved that JA has done or things that you have hated.  It could be trades, missed opportunities in the draft of FA, great moves big or small, bad contracts, good contracts or whatever.

-----------------------------

Here are some of my thoughts:

I honestly feel pretty similar about Jerry Angelo. Everybody wants to make the big splash but spending money wisely every season is a discipline. One thing I really like about Angelo is the way he puts a value on a player and then sticks to it. I don’t always agree with the value, but if you got get two big FA this year and over pay and they don’t pan out then it makes next year more difficult and the year after even worse.

Also, as far as trades go, a lot of times we assume that we didn’t go after someone and just lose out because a team wanted too much. We don’t hear about all trade inquiries. I think that if we did, we be shocked about the ideas that float around. Assuming we know is a bad assumption.

Some decisions I disagree with though are as follows:

• Alan Feneca last year would have really improved our line, still pick Williams and Forte and the line would have been much improved. Our interior line was horrible, and Forte still looked good. He needs a guard with some good run blocking.
• Not franchising Berrian. A lot of people knocked me on it, but one more year to get the position right could have really helped us. We wouldn’t be asking so many what if’s about Orton this year if he had Berrian, Hester, & Olsen to throw to. I also think we win one more game with him, make the playoffs, probably win the division.
• Not signing St. Clair – the guy wanted to stay. 3 million is not a lot for a starting OL no matter who thinks that is too much. Rookies are getting 6-7 million a year in the first round. Most lineman make 3-6 milliion if they are anything. Now we are desparate in the draft for a tackle when we could have developed a guy. We may even miss out on picking a WR in the first round because OL is so important now. Also we will be forced to start 2 rookies and this unknown guy. Yuck.
• Resigning Lloyd – We need someone with athletic catching ability and a known talent to stay on the team. He is cheap. Yeah he had an injury thing he could have played through, but 8-12 games of him would be worth that cash.
• Trading away Chris Harris – he is better than Payne and Steltz bar far. He is a great hitter and tackler. We just needed find a guy who could cover to pair him with. Now we have two safety positions to think about.
• Releasing Bradley – He never got a second chance after injury. The guy looked good to me and not to the Bears. I’m still baffled.
  
  Moves I like:
• Signing and resigning Kevin Jones. We took a flyer on him last year and didn’t see much, but the potential is even greater this year. We all know what he can do and has done. For the low cost of this signing and a backup role is well worth it.
• Releasing Bazine and Okwo – that was the beginning of not holding on to draft picks anymore. Admit your mistakes and move on and give someone else a chance to make you look good.
• Drafting Williams and Forte 1 & 2. Now we don’t know for sure on Williams, but I have hope there. Forte was a steal and a great move.
• Drafting Harrison in the third. That guy had a very decent rookie year. I think he will stay out of trouble. He comes from a spiritual family and just wasn’t living right at the time. He seems to have changed his heart and grown up some and is back in the faith. Hopefully he stays.
• Get Anthony Adams. We grabbed him for a steal of a price and even as a backup he is quality. Great value signing from SF.
• Drafting Hester and Manning really for special teams first and hopefully defense second. Toub is the man, but Angelo has been the architect. I think he has been a big reason for our special teams by drafting and signing FA’s for special teams like Ayenbedejo.
• Not signing Orton to a long term contract mid season – that would have been a waste of money. Now we can see more out of him or possibly be in the Cutler sweepstakes, although I’m not holding my breath.
• A lot of these moves seem small, but a bunch of small good moves put you in position. We’re still well under the cap and Briggs, Harris, Urlacher, A Brown, Peanut, and Vasher are locked up. We just need to fill in lots of wholes.
  

A few random thoughts:
Hopefully Steltz and Harrision will be payoff picks. We still don’t know much about Bowman although he is be moved to safety. Yikes, but if it works, that would be a lucky move and a joyous occasion. He is tall and fast and hopefully can help in coverage. We’ll see.

Windy gave me an idea for something fun.  Once in a while I'll find some fun pictures and give them some captions for the article they go with using recent or past information.  I hope you enjoy this edition of Headlines Bears Style.

Now that Maynard is getting up there in age, the Bears are looking to the future.  Due to the lack of depth in our receiving corp and lack of backups in our kicking game, Coach Lovie has decided to move Devin Hester from WR to punter.  Lovie and Jerry both believe that Hester can become a true number 1 punter in this league and Brad Maynard is the guy to show Devin the ropes.

Follow me for more...

Continue reading this post »

Coaches
- Babich - Fire this guy and bring in Rod Marinelli.  He just lost his job, but he is a proved defensive coordinator and was a coaching in Tampa with Dungy when Lovie was their.  This could actually happen.  He really has a lot of character and I believe coached his butt off with horrible talent.
- Turner - Many want this guys head and I'm not opposed to it although I think this year he did his best work.  The question is, is that enough?  Well our WR's and QB's have stunk under him so is that his fault or Angelo's?  Hard to say.  My solution, bring in Mangenius.  He also just lost his job and can maybe help the Bears draft some offensive guys and better develop QB's.  He was a coach under Bellicek so maybe he has some fresh perspective that could help us in the draft and coaching up offensive players.

Lovie - He obviously stays.  With a better staff around him he'll be better.  Look at what he has done with the 2 yahoos he coached with the last two years.  Some will disagree and we'll have to just agree to disagree on this one.  I've see Lovie grow this year by benching stars and cutting high draft picks wasting roster spots and that is why we went 9-7 instead of 7-9.  He is still getting better.  With a better staff, this team wins an extra game or two.  (i.e. Atlanta, Carolina, and Tampa Bay)

Players to cut, trade, resign, or let go
- Nate Vasher, he makes too much.  Talk to him about taking a big pay cut which I doubt will work, but if he really wants to stay 1.5 million would be the target.  I'm not even sure if that is possible.  We would have to cut him and then sign a new  deal I'm pretty sure.  If he doesn't want that then trade him for any pick, preferably a 3-5 but to get rid of the salary take what you can get.  Maybe you could even trade to get a player we need.  That would be the best situation.
- John Tait - He's old and almost done.  St. Clair will likely be here longer and be more productive in the long haul.  Tait has a good salary that we could use toward a younger guard that we all know we need desperately.  You can't keep everyone so a younger, better guard and St. Clair at RT is better than Old Dependable John taking up money we need to give in FA.
- Urlacher - Chances are someone will want him and we need the picks.  Maybe Urlacher to Arizona to get Boldin.  I would rather see Briggs in the middle and Boldin on offense.  Urlacher is getting old and played at New Mexico.  I don't know if there is any connection, but he is killing our scheme over the middle and his salary would be better put to use else where.  It time to cut the cord.  You hate to do that with a franchise player and this likely will not happen but it should.  That is really my point.  I'm sure it won't though.
- Mark Anderson - Maybe someone has a plan for this guy.  I wouldn't cut him because he is still on a rookie contract, but if you could get a 4th or 5th rounder for this guy and we could draft a new DE in the 2nd or 3rd it would be worth it.  Anderson has been useless for 2 seasons and a 4 or 5 could help give us the depth we need at CB/ST's.
- Resign Lloyd to be the #3 WR.  Look the guy catches the ball and he is cheap.  Yeah he wouldn't play hurt, there is a reason he is cheap.  Not every player on your roster can make 4-10 million a year.  We can get this guy for one million and have Hester be #2 and find a #1.  Bump down Davis to #4 and let the guy play special teams.  I'll take a #3 like him any day.  He saved Orton's butt a ton of times this year.
- Booker - Thanks for trying to help us this year. We're going to move forward without you.  We knew you were old when we signed you and we hoped for more, but were surprised that your not too effective anymore.  Thanks for helping us when we were in desperate need of help at WR.

Free Agency
- Sign Cassel.  Assuming that  you bring in Mangini, then this guy can hopefully make sure Cassel keeps performing.  Make sure Cassel's contract has a nice bonus up front and make it easy to cut him in 2-3 years if really sucks.  If Orton outperforms him for some crazy reason then we have a nice trade piece next season.
- Sign a FA WR - My wish list would be to trade a 2 or 3 for Burress and take on his problems.  It would most likely include the lease lost.  Antonio Bryant is another option that would preserve draft picks.  He may not be a flashy name but at least he can make some plays.  We at least need a playmaker.  Sign TJ Houshmygrandaddy to a 3 year deal.  We know the guy can catch.  It gives us a few seasons to find another WR.  Buying time is important.  Housh and Hester and Olsen would be pretty nice.  TJ isn't finished yet.    What he did this year on that horrible team, was impressive.  Forget Boldin, he costs a bunch and we're going to lose a ton of draft picks.  Sure if we could get a good trade, but honestly everyone and their brother wants him and the stakes are likely going to be too high.
Sign a FA G - Not much to say here since I don't know OL talent around the league, but our push up the middle was very weak this year.  We saw it in goalline situations and 3rd and 1 all year.  Forte will get the yard even if it isn't there, but we need something better up the middle.  Cutting Tait, could open up salary to sign a FA.  Then St. Clair could move over to the right side or stay on the left.  Although St. Clair isn't amazing, he only had about 3 bad games this year going against the best pass rushers in the league.  Maybe on the opposite side he will better.

Draft
Safety - I wasn't originally thinking this way, but I'm now convinced.  Everyone else was right on this one.  We need a star back there and should draft a high caliber guy immediately. (pick round 1 or 2)
DE - Many may not see this as a priority, but it is.  Ogunleye and Anderson have ()
G - If we address this through FA, then we can look for a value G later in the draft, if not, this should be a first round pick.  Fixing the line is the top offensive priority with WR being the second and also very important offensive priority.
WR - If we sign a star like Burress or Housh or Boldin, then draft a mid rounder, if we don't then we need to try to draft in the first or second round.  This may be impossible considering our other needs, but we should be signing someone through FA or else we're morons.
CB - Next season we should have Bowman and McGowan back to add with Manning, Tillman & Grahm.  With that said and assuming Vasher is gone we still need two more guys to create competition and depth.  I actually believe in Angelo drafting solid CB's and think he can do well drafting both of these guys in rounds 4-7.  Especially if we can grab a pick or two by trading one of the players above.

Conclusion:
We have 4 positions G, WR, DE, and Safety that we should be drafting in the first 2 rounds.  We don't have that many picks, so my recommendation is to sign a FA G and WR.  That would allow us to draft a Safety and DE in rounds 1-2.  Then in rounds 3-4 we could grab a WR, OL, or QB.  Then we could finish up by grabbing CB's and another WR, OL, or DL. 

As far as WR's, I'm attempting to be realistic.  Boldin is the best option but so expensive that it hurt us at putting together a full team.  Yes Burress has issues, but the dude plays hard and is a huge play maker and he is a cheaper option because of his issues.  As far as I know we have no one other than Lloyd that comes with baggage.  Our WR's should look like FA #1, Hester #2, LLoyd, Davis, Bennet, & a rookie competing for #4 and #5.

 

Monday night we should be seeing a warm front of yeah right with skies of partly freeze your nizzos off.  Bring your mittens boys, because it as cold as a scorned woman making a snow angel in a Siberian  Winter Weather Warning.

Urlacher said on the Mike Turico Show this week that last year's game with Green Bay and 2005 verse Atlanta were the two coldest games he had ever played in.  Lucky for us, we have dominated in cold games lately.  That Atlanta game was a huge part of our season in 2005.  It should be interesting to see where this game ranks.

This morning here in Chicago where I live, there was 20-30 mph winds on -5 degree day bringing the wind chill factor to -27.  Tomorrow will be extremely cold all day, but is suppose to get warmer by 4-5 degrees at night.  Believe me.  No one will notice.  It should still be below zero.

http://www.weather.com/weather/wxdetail/USIL0225?dayNum=1&from=36hr_topnav_undeclared 6am 4°F Feels Like -15°F 9am 4°F Feels Like -14°F 12pm 7°F Feels Like -9°F 3pm 9°F Feels Like -5°F 6pm 7°F Feels Like -6°F 9pm 8°F Feels Like -5°F <!-- end hourly --> Day Night Partly Cloudy High 9°F Precip 10% Wind: WSW 15 mph Max. Humidity: 75% UV Index: 1 Low Sunrise: 7:16 AM CT Avg. High: 35°F Record High: 56°F (1957) Snow Shower Overnight Low 6°F Precip 80% Wind: S 15 mph Max. Humidity: 75%       Sunset: 4:23 PM CT Avg. Low: 21°F Record Low: -12°F (1989)

Ok, today was the best possible outcome for the Bears.  Actually not just today, but the whole weekend.  Correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe we can win the division or earn the wild card.

What went right this weekend
Baltimore defeated Cowboys
Chargers defeated Tampa Bay
Atlanta defeated Vikings (This game was a toss up.  Either winner helped us.)
Redskins defeated Eagles

How we win the Division:
Bears defeat Packers this week and Houston next week
Vikings lose to Giants next week

How we can win the Wildcard
Bears defeat Packers this week and Houston next week
Eagles defeat Cowboys next week
Tampa Bay Loses to Oakland

Not bad!  If we win out, we have two scenarios that get us in.  We basically have 3 games that if two go our way, we are in and one if that game is the Vikings.

Remember guys, we do need to win our last two games.  Go Bears!

 

CHICAGO BEARS (4-0)	GAME #14	NEW ORLEANS SAINTS (0-4)
	vs.

Date:	December 11, 2008	Location:	Chicago, Illinois
Time:	7:15 P.M. CST	Stadium:	Soldier Field
TV:	NFLN	Know Thy Enemy:	New Orleans Aint's
Grade:	B	Grade	F
Final Score:

The Bears are up 21-7 at half. Manning returned a kickoff for a TD, Forte had a injury scare, and the defense has shut down the Saints. Go Bears! Put the foot on the gas and finish them off!

Now this is just an opinion article written by a sports writer from the USA Today, but because there was discussion on this site if any management personnel listened to people outside their office, I thought this would be a nice read.

Fox's Curt Menefee Sunday suggested some NFL teams listen to anybody: "It absolutely amazes me the impact sports talk radio and the Internet has had on the mind-set of people in the NFL. � Why let Larry from Longmont on Line 3 influence your decisions? Too many team decision-makers don't know any better because they don't have a football background." So they turn to radio shows?

It was an interesting read, and I tend to agree that their are times when the pressure from the media of TV, Radio, Newspapers, and blogs can influence people. Is it all the time. Nah, definitely not, but does it happen. Yeah I think it does.

Well, we had the spammers come through several times, and I'm sure that is everyone's first thought, but one thing that we never did was find out who was playing Goallineblitz and what teams they were on.  This in no way is meant to spam or to get anyone to signup using a referral, but I thought some of us may check out each others players and teams.

If you would like to put a link to your profile on GLB, it would be cool to hook up over there as well.

http://goallineblitz.com/game/home.pl?user_id=49123

Here's my stadium.  I made some upgrades:

Also, I started recommending WCG to some friends I made on the site that are also Bears fans.  So maybe we'll bring some guys back over.

 

 

So we have been arguing about QB's for 2 plus years here and now we have a HOF qb asking to play here.  I don't even know what to think about this, but here it is:

FOXSports.com has learned that multiple Packers executives are continuing to meet with Favre off-site in an attempt to resolve the situation.

Favre has told the team that he wants to be traded to either Minnesota or Chicago. But according to sources, it is believed the Bears have no interest and the Vikings appear to be a long shot as well.

So I thought we could debate this.

Let's answer the following questions:

What do you think the Pack would take for Farve?
If it meant winning the Superbowl this year, would you take Brett?
Do you think that Jerry Angelo is considering making an offer?
What would you predict our record with Brett at QB?

Now I realize that many hate this thought, and I'm not a huge fan, but winning for a couple seasons with Brett and drafting a new QB as a backup doesn't sound as bad as it use too.  Who is really a huge Rex or Orton fan here?

Ahh, which Smith?  No not Lovie, Steve Smith.  As many have heard Steve Smith got into an altercation in practice that left Panther CB, Ken Lucas with a broken nose.  Now Steve Smith is getting punished for his crime. 

eceiver Steve Smith was suspended two games by the Carolina Panthers after a training camp fight with cornerback Ken Lucas.

Smith will miss the season opener at San Diego on Sept. 7 and the home opener the following Sunday against Chicago. He will not face any additional punishment from the league.

Could this be a sign that this year could be full of positive surprises.  Last year everything went against us.  Maybe the universe is trying to balance things out.   We already got rid of Benson, maybe Grossman will lose the gross and just be a man this year.  Maybe Mike Brown, will find a new herbal doctor that helps him stay healthy by channeling his inner strength. Maybe the Pack will release Brett Farve and have Aaron Rodgers break his elbow on Pat Williams rush up the middle knocks Pat unconscious and forces him into early retirement from a severe concussion.  Who knows?

For now, I'm just glad one of the guys who has severely punished our team in the past will not be available for to haunt us this regular season. 

And at the last hour Chris Williams is now ready for camp.  It was getting pretty close.  It doesn't seem like that huge of a contract, so it looks like we'll get a good deal on a good OL for 5 years

The Chicago Bears have signed first-round draft pick Chris Williams to a five-year worth $16 million, including $10 million in guarantees, NFL Network's Adam Schefter reports.

Williams, an offensive tackle out of Vanderbilt, was the 14th overall selection in the 2008 NFL Draft. The team announced the deal two hours before the opening of Wednesday’s first training camp practice.

The Bears now have all 12 of their draft picks signed.

 

I told you guys that JA better watch out and here is the proof that he was paying attention.  About 80% of the off season moves mentioned were made out of these two articles.  The ones he didn't make are the ones that are going to haunt him.

The only things he did not do was:

-sign a free agent OL (He'll regret that)

-sign Michael Turner (Obviously he would be nice to have now, we probably would have drafted another OL if that were the case or a QB.  I'm happy to have Forte, but we needed the extra pick.)

-sign Berrian (he should have been franchised so we could have 2 drafts to find a replacement, but we'll move forward)

-I may have missed the boat on Rueben Brown

-I couldn't find it, but somewhere I posted about cutting/trading Ricky Manning, Jr.

-He should of traded Benson, now we got nothing

How much better would this season look with a FA G, Berrian, Turner, and possibly Brohm at backup QB.  The only thing I couldn't say for sure is whether we would have been able to resign, Briggs & Harris which were very important.  I'm pretty sure we would of had the cap space, but maybe the owners didn't want to spend that much.

________________________________________________________________

 

 

Cut or Trade Immediatel - Jan 7, 2008

 Personally, I think we have learned all we need to know about a few of our players.

Benson is a very expensive backup running back. Trade him immediately and save his salary to put toward someone else.  I would love to see us go hard after Michael Turner.  I do realize that it won't be easy to trade him, but we need to do whatever it takes.  Give some dough up to to get rid of him and get a 3rd round pick or something.

Moose served his purpose, but is now old, slow and only catches the ball when life is good.  Anyone remember the Orton season.  The guy couldn't catch a cold.  There were signs of that this year too. He played well last year and was a mentor this year.  We don't need him anymore.  He commands too high of a salary and only plays well when the offense is good.  Cut or trade.  I don't know how the penalties toward the cap work on a cut, but he is taking time away from Bradley, Davis, and Hester who all are fast and could actually break off a big play.

Fred Miller has to go.  Someone has to take the fall for this line and Fred you are the man.  I remember watching the Giant game and seeing 4 straight plays a guy running right you and not even being touched.  Hello you block for a living.  I don't know if he is hurt, but I think the writing is on the wall and his career is over.  Oh and the penalties this guy racked up.  Get rid of this guy, way too much salary.  

Adam Archaletta was a huge mistake.  The guy can't cover a pass.  He hits pretty well when in position, but how many times was he out of position. Then he missed so many big tackles.  That was suppose to be a strength of his.  This was the worst move we have made in the last 3 years.  Wasted money.  It even ended up costing Chris Harris.  Bye, bye, Adam.  Good luck at your next stop.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Angelo Better Watch Out! - Jan 8, 2008

by #23 on Jan 8, 2008 10:47 PM CST

Jerry I hope you're reading this.  This would be my approach to this year;s off-season. Jerry if your bosses see this they may offer me a job for my clever use of draft picks, free agency moves, and financial decisions.  If you use them though, I won't tell.  

Here's 10 things I would do to put this team in position to bounce back.

1. I would sign Grossman to a incentive based deal.  If he does well, he see the money, if not he becomes a decent backup QB.
2. Give Orton a chance to compete for the job.  He's not pretty but he doesn't turn the ball over.  His pocket presence was decent.  Hopefully, he can learn not to lock in on one receiver and improve his accuracy.
3. Trade Benson for a 3rd round pick or better and/or Moose for a 4th round pick or better.
4.  Acquire Michael Turner!  This is so huge I can't even describe how much.  This would be the #1 goal.  If we can't get Turner, look for a value pick at RB in either the 3rd or 4th round.
5.  Cut Fred Miller and pick up two new good offensive lineman. Definitely pick-up one through free agency and two if possible.  If not draft one in the first round.  If we pick up two through free agency, then trade the #1 pick for more picks or draft a QB if available, or safety, or RB (I love Mendenhall being an Illinois fan).
6.  Draft a safety day 1, but also make an attempt at Atogwe from St. Louis.  The guy is a stud and realistically we probably couldn't get him, but at least I would explore the option.
7. Sign Bernard if he is being reasonable or else let him go.  Honestly, he could be very good, but his inconsistency isn't worth the big bucks.
8. Sign Briggs if he will give us a hometown discount.  I don't see this happening.  He obviously care about the Benjamins, but I think it is worth it to offer him a good deal, but not an outstanding deal.  If not thank him for his contributions and let him go as well.
9. Sign Rueben Brown and Brendon  Ayenbedajo.  Rueben will sign cheap and I believe Brendon wants to stay.  He may get a little more than desired, but he is a valuable leader to our special teams.  This is the year of saying good bye if anyone tries to break the bank.
10. Finally, make the smartest move of the off-season and make sure that we sign Hester to a huge contract now.  The guy is getting faster every second.  I think he hits 88 mph, travels into the future, checks to see where all the players are going to be during the kick-offs, then comes back to the present, and blows our minds.  How much do you think he is going to be worth if he gets any better at all as a receiver?  He's already priceless, sign him before he takes every dime we own.

Final notes to the sceptics:  Realistically we need to prepare for the future at QB and RB, but I really believe that improving the line is more important this year.  I think QB's and RB's will perform significantly better with an improved line.  It would be nice to get a QB in the draft this year, but I wouldn't be opposed to waiting one more year if the right guy wasn't there.  

I think we will be fine at DT with Harris, Dvoracek, Adams, and the guy we got from Cincy's practice squad.  I would consider a second day pick at this position and also WR if we loose Berrian.  

You can't do everything in one year, but I believe that this would give us the best chance to improve all the areas hurting.

Elton Brand just opted out of his contract and he will be looking for a new team.

Elton Brand and Corey Maggette opted out of the final season of their contracts with the Los Angeles Clippers on Monday, the first day they were allowed to do so, according to the Los Angeles Times. 

Both will become among the most attractive free agents on the market.

Brand, 29, played only eight games last season after suffering a ruptured Achilles' tendon, but he has averaged 20.3 points and 10.2 rebounds in nine NBA seasons. He was owed $16.4 million had he stayed in the final year of his Clippers contract.

Could Elton Brand be coming home to Chicago?  Could the Bulls pick up that low post scorer without trading anything? 

The Bulls are definitely going to be considering this off season how they could get a low post scorer on this team and bring home Brand would make the Bulls scary the next 4 seasons and we still have trade options. 

I think we will make a serious offer for him, what do you guys think?  Do you want him?  Is he worth it?

So I head over to Mocking the Draft to read something different and I come across this list of all the TE's in the league.  It is ranked according to who you would want to start on your team.  Since we have a couple TE's I thought I'd see where they fell.

Olsen - 16
Clark - 42

OK, I know that Clark is down to 2-4 years, but he isn't even considered a starter in this league.  Give me a break.  On our offense he still shines and that is saying a ton.  Give him a real offense and that guy is a stud.  He does nothing but make big plays every time you need it.  He is clutch, a great blocker, good hands, gets open, and what else do you want.

Well that is my opinion.  Does anyone else think that is bogus?
Where would you rank each?
What does your top 10 look like?

 

So I'm a Bears fan and I wanted some outside feedback to get a better perspective on my team.  Feel free to give as much or little explanation as you want.

Does losing Cedric Benson make our running game better or worse?
Who would the be best for the Bears to start, Rex or Kyle?
Will Devin Hester be any factor as a WR this year (they say they are going to triple his play time this year)?
How many games do you predict the Bears to win?
Do we have a good or bad GM?

Thanks.  You never know what people from other teams think.  I'd be willing to comment from the outside on your team as well.  I think it gives you better perspective.

I know we heard all the amazing passing reports last year at of Bourbanois, but I'm going to throw this out for discussion.  It may be possible the Cedric is ready for a big season.  Lovie appears optimistic that he may surprise...

Will the starting running back position be Cedric Benson’s to lose or will there be an open competition between Benson and Matt Forte, similar to what will transpire at quarterback?

Blake
Waxhaw, North Carolina

It’s totally different. Matt Forte has never played a down for us here. He’s like all other rookies, starting from the bottom and working his way up. Cedric was our starter last year, and he’s our starter right now. For someone else to be the starter, they’re going to have to beat him out. I’m going to put Adrian Peterson and Garrett Wolfe in there also. We like what Matt Forte brings. When you draft a player that high, you’re expecting him to eventually play and have a role with your team. But Cedric Benson has looked good in workouts out here. I’m hoping that Cedric will get back to form and we see that guy that we know he is

It is not hard to read Lovie Smith.  If he sees a guy that might do well he makes it sound like an open competition.  If not he praises the starter and says everyone has a shot.  If he has to make the guy a starter even though he's not happy, he says Rex is our QW

The question has been posed here why hasn't Jamar Williams taken over for Hunter Hillenmeyer if Jamar is so good.  Well this you may get a chance to see that.  I'm speculating on some clever wording by Head Coach Lovie Smith in his recent interview on chicagobears.com.

Do you see promising young linebackers Jamar Williams and Michael Okwo challenging Hunter Hillenmeyer for the starting strongside position in training camp?

Joe
Chicago

We’re very pleased with Hunter. He’s a veteran who’s been around here, going through all the offseason workouts and looking good doing it. But in the same sense, Jamar Williams and Michael Okwo are good players. They have a lot of talent. They’ve made a lot of progress. I don’t think Michael has missed a day the entire offseason and Jamar has been here just about the entire time too. I like all three of the players, but we’re not disappointed in Hunter at all. I’m still going to say that we’re starting over. We haven’t handed out any positions. Everyone who plans on starting is going to have to earn it, and if you have competition you’re going to have to beat out the competition

 

I think we will all be excited as well this year to see Okwo play, and we all appreciate Hunter, but I think we will fall in love with the play making abilities of Jamar.  The guy has great instincts and has a knack of being around the ball all the time.Could there be a new LB starting in Chicago?