Looks like Torry Holt has his eyes on somewhere else. 

The Bears just made two huge additions to help the team win now, so it comes as a bit of a surprise to see Holt's agent shooting down the idea.

Getting him would have been awesome and most likely would have completed one of the greatest offseasons in Bears history, but now we're left with one (glaring) hole to fill.

It'll be interesting to see what the Bear's do (if anything) to fix this problem. Draft? Other free agent options? Stay put?

The Chicago Bears have signed free agent S Josh Bullocks one-year contract worth (at least guaranteed) $525,000.

per Rotoworld:

Bullocks, 26, lost his starting job to Kevin Kaesviharn in New Orleans two years ago because he was weak in coverage. He'll compete to start at free safety with 2008 fourth-round pick Craig Steltz, who has a similar profile.

I know we all joke about "typical JA signings", but this has goon way too far. He lost his job to Kevin Kaesviharn. That's all I can say.

link

Look, I know we just played a great game and beat a perennial power house, but we really need to think and calm down right now. Sure we looked great right now, but we still have a ton of question marks on this team, and I don't think many of them have changed after just one game.

QB: Orton looked good, basically what we expected (medium passes, not taking too many big risks). I still don't fully trust him to be a starting QB, but he convinced me to give him time.

RB: Forte looked great this game and has potential.

O-line: Looked pretty strong in the running game, but struggled badly in the passing game. Still needs a lot of work.

Defense: Much better than I thought, but I'm not fully convinced that they can still be a dominant defense.

Bottom Line:

We need to chill out and still remember that is still a team that was expected to finish last in our division. It was a nice win, but our expectations shouldn't change too much after this game; 9-7 imo, should be our goal.

http://www.profootballtalk.com/2008/09/02/bucs-send-buenning-to-bears/

Has played both guard and center for the Bucs. I don't know much about him. I'm not sure if this move was made to finally get an average starter out there at LG or to just bring in some more depth, but at least the front office has done something to try to improve the o-line.

Anyway, as long as the pick we give up isn't higher than 4th round, I'm happy with this deal.

It would be nice to get some opinions on this guy from people that have actauly seen him play.

File this one under the "random" category:

http://sports.aol.com/fanhouse/2007/07/30/brandon-lloyd-raps-im-like-no-other/

Thanks to Hog Haven for the link.

I need more words. I need more words. I need more words. I need more words. I need more words. I need more words. I need more words. I need more words. I need more words. I need more words. I need more words. I need more words.

I know this is kind of out of the blue, but I saw this video and I thought I should put it on here. I find it interesting that almost everything they say, we have talked about here. Anyway, here's the link.

http://www.nfl.com/videos?videoId=09000d5d8076cfe5

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Apparently, the Bears front office is taking this whole thing very seriously. I feel like we shouldn't even go through the trouble. It's not worth it.

http://msn.foxsports.com/nfl/story/7916862

P.S. Hat-Tip to Pro Football Talk.com for reporting this

One-line diaries are prohibited on Windy City Gridiron. Give your diary a bit more thought, then give it another shot. If you have nothing to add to your proposed diary, then it probably belongs as a comment under another appropriate thread.

The minumum is 300 characters.

I know you've all been waiting for this...
My mock draft! I'll probably change this a couple times from now to the draft. I'll have what I think will happen and what I want to happen.

              I think will happen:                

1st round: Chris Williams OT    
2nd Round: Joe Flacco QB        
3rd round: Ray Rice RB    
3rd round: Eddie Royal WR      
4th round: Jamar Adams S        
5th round: DeMario Pressley DT  
6th round: Jamie Silva S      
7th round: Chris McDuffle, OG    

               I want to happen:

1st round:  Rashard Mendenhall RB
2nd Round:  Joe Flacco QB
3rd round:  traded  

             Trade both 3rd's and next
             years 2nd to move back to
             late 1st, draft
             Branden Albert OG

3rd round:  traded
4th round:  Craig Steltz S
5th round:  Tom Zbikowski S
6th round:  Adrian Arrington WR
7th round:  Chad Rinehart OT

Continue reading this post »

So apparently JA is gonna find our next #1 in this year's draft. Who knows what will happen. I don't want him drafting a wide-out anywhere in the first 2 rounds for fear of a "bust". I don't really know what to think of all this.

http://chicagosports.chicagotribune.com/sports/football/bears/cs-080302-chicago-bears-free-agent-dav id-haugh,1,5741688.column

P.S. My mock draft will be coming soon.

Apparently Flozell Adams was re-signed by the Cowboys. I would have liked to sign him, but I'm not gonna cry over it.

http://www.sportingnews.com/yourturn/viewtopic.php?t=364666

One-line diaries are prohibited on McCovey Chronicles. Give your diary a bit more thought, then give it another shot. If you have nothing to add to your proposed diary, then it probably belongs as a comment under another appropriate thread.

I've been reading comments from different diaries and still see many people who want Briggs back, Grossman on an incentive laden deal, Berrian with the franchise (even though Angelo decided that won't happen), and even Ayjanbadejo (even though he decided he wants 2+ million AS A SPECIAL TEAMS PLAYER). So who do you want back the most? The contracts would be: 4 years, 38 million for Briggs, 1 year, 2 million base salary for Grossman (can earn another 3 million in incentives), 5 years, 50 million for Berrian and 2 years, 4.5 million for Ayjanbadejo. I would probably take Grossman's, just because it would be pretty cheap and he would probably make the biggest difference.(This is all hypothetical and all the numbers were made up by me. If you have other ideas, than just say them.)

Since he lost his job to Trent Edwards because of injury, it seems like J.P. Losman is trying to be traded by the Bills. Losman, a former first-round draft pick, played well last season, but struggled mightily this year. If we don't resign Grossman, I don't think it would be a bad idea to try to get him from the Bills. We would probably have to take on his whole contract, and I'm not really sure what it would cost to get him. I've heard everything from a mid-round draft pick to a first found swap (like the Matt Schaub trade except without the second-round draft pick). I wouldn't mind getting him if the price is right. Thoughts?

I've been thinking about starting this new thing where I pose a situation that could possibly happen during the draft. Here goes.

OK, so you're part of the Bear's draft room. It's the second round and something very strange is going on. You're picking soon, and Rashard Mendenhall, Felix Jones and Kenny Phillips are all still on the board. (by the way,  you drafted Ryan Clady in the first round) The pick gets to you, and Shard, Felix and Kenny are still there. Who would you pick?

So this year, we're picking at #14 in the draft. We have a lot of needs in my opinion, and I don't know if there's anyone we can get at #14 that we can't get at 21 or 22. Plus we get another 2nd round pick. I say we wait until we're up to pick, then see if there's anyone that's special where we're picking. This draft is very deep, and I think there are many o-lineman we can take in the later stages of the draft that we can take where we're picking now. Thoughts?

Now that the Cub's have officially signed Fukudome, where do you think he will bat? It seems as though he could bat anywhere in the lineup. I wouldn't mind having him bat as the lead-off hitter or in the #2 hole because of his high on-base percentage. But he might have to bat 4th because we need a left-handed bat in between Lee and Ramirez. Where do you think he'll bat?

Look, I know everyones set on getting Fukudome, and don't get me wrong, I would love to get his bat in this lineup, but how about we talk about Andruw. I think a one or two year deal around 30 million and up would be fair. His skills are diminishing, but he his has some pop in his bat, and a powerful bat like his would really help this lineup. Of course, Pie would have to move to right for a year or two, but he could get a lot of help in all ways from Jones, then when his contract runs out, Pie could move back to center. Here are the downsides of acquiring Jones. It would take at least somewhere around 18-20 million per year. It would also block Pie from center for awhile and finally, it wouldn't be the left-handed bat Piniella is apparently craving. What do you think?

Obviously, you have all heard about talks about the Cub's signing Kaz Matsui to try to maybe comfort Kosuke Fukudome and for middle infield help, I don't believe it's a good idea. But I bring up something new. Why not sign Tadahito Iguchi? He played in Japan before coming to the U.S. to play for the Sox. And from what I heard, he enjoyed playing in Chicago. He is also flexible defensively being able to play second base and third base. He probably could learn how to play short easily. I know he would cost a bit more than Matsui, but he seems like more of a reliable option than Matsui. Just an idea.

Hopefully by now all of you have heard about the Cub's signing Kaz Matsui. I'd be okay with maybe a 1 year or 2 year deal. But Jim Hendry inexplicably is thinking about signing the below average hitter to a three year deal, whose stats have obviously been helped greatly by being in Denver. I know many people think that they are signing him to comfort Kosuke Fukudome, a free agent outfielder from Japan. But in that case, why not just sign another, better Japanese free agent, like Hiroki Kuroda or Masahide Kobayashi? You can never have enough pitchers and Kuroda is one the best son far in this weak market. Kobayashi is a former number 1 pick and has been a pretty good  reliever in Japan. Better off getting good talent than washed up talent, right?  

To all of you Cub's fans or people who are just reading this, I pose a question for you: What will happen to Ronny Cedeño? The infield seems pretty deep except for the uncertainty as short (I think that TheRiot is gonna keep the job) and he's still young and has potential. What do you think the Cub's should do. Trade him, give him a roster spot as the utility infielder let him battle for the starting shortstop position or send him back down to the minors? Voice your opinion!

Well, as you should all know, the Rays need a shortstop. Most likely a defensive minded one with a  short contract. Sadly, my favorite choice, Omar Vizquel, resigned with the Giants. There are still a few choices left. Which would you want? (signed as a free agent or traded for?) Comment if there are any choices that I left off that you think would be a good match for the Ray's.