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.

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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?