Chisoxfn

I presume Collins is more making independent observations that change is needed. I don't know that he would be elevated to the role driving the change (mainly because I presume he likes his consultant role at this point in his life). Kaplan doesn't usually just throw stuff out there, so I am hopeful there is more to this story (by the way, my comments on Collins are my comments and inferences based upon other articles over the past couple of months...not tied to anything Kaplan said).

Oddly enough I was just reading and Kaplan evidently said he is hearing their will be meanginful change in the organization and it will consistent of hiring outside of the organization. I always assumed Pax has a job for life, but I 100% believe Gar is out as is Jim. Maybe Pax will retire or just step in to some ambassador type role. My understanding is Collins observations are going to lead to stark change within the Bulls organization.

The lack of adjustments coming out of halftime and the 3rd quarter crushings is just damning. Despite the losing streak, this team had taken a couple top western conference teams to the wire and very well should have won the game if it could ever get over the hump. This is always a very tough process with young teams and I listen to a lot of road commentary (vs. Stacey King) and it is interesting how much kudos they tend to give the Bulls and the overall lineup. The reality is Lavine, like he has done every year in the league (when healthy) continues to take steps forward. Is he perfect, no, but the fact that he keeps growing still gives me some hope he can be a #2 if they could ever find a superstar. Lauri has at least made progress (after being horrific) and Wendell is a nice player. The team has a good chunk of a core, but when that core doesn't have superstars, it is hard to do much. If I were the Bulls I think I would seriously look at acquiring Chris Paul to see if it could push the team to a new level (using Porter and other bad contracts). Gar and Boylen will both be the scapegoats by the end of the year. I guarantee it (unless something drastic happens).

I agree with this as well. Vizquel and Andruw Jones were the two who just looked way low to me. Omar, one of the greatest defensive SS of all time (if not the greatest) and Andruw, a two way talent with 400+ HR's who was the best/one of the best at his respective position for a good part of his career.

How is Andrew Jones not higher.

Brady.

What do the Bears do if the Titans don't keep Tannehill? He would be one of the guys I would be most interested in. Still young enough you could get a good run and he's always been pretty darn solid and maybe getting out of Miami has done him well. Very good athlete, etc.

I would be fine going after Rosen. I love his mechanics, albeit, his massive struggles in Miami didn't help. He is still very young and has a ton of raw tools. And I absolutley would love getting Shurmur. Would be a stellar addition.

This as well. If a superstar opportunity came up, I think they would be all ears, but it is nice to know they have this team positioned to where if a chunk of their signings are solid players (not stars..just solid player) and their young players continue to grow and develop, they will be in a really nice position.

The Bears weren't just bad, you look at their skill position players under PFF and Burton put up one of the worst advanced stat seasons out of any TE in league history (that is how bad he was and he got a lot of snaps). Shaheen...ditto. Now some of that could be impacted by QB play, but the guys the Bears brought in after Shaheen/Burton (Holtz and Hornstead or whatever his name was) were not world beaters either, but just them alone looked far better. Shaheen is a joke and was a joke of a pick way back when they got him. It was a deep TE draft and they whiffed big time. Injuries certainly play a factor and you don't know what he could have been without that, but from some of the comments the coaches made, it also sounded like he didn't know the systems/made too many careless mistakes which implies to me a separate work ethic issue as well (or it could just be limited football/practice due to all the injuries). On the receiver front, Gabriel was non-existent outside of the Redskin game and as good as Robinson was, he still had some costly drops and ranked in the low 30's by PFF (maybe part of that was due to Mitch) but he is not an elite wideout. He is an elite route-runner who can make nice catches, but he is not a wideout that teams game plan/scheme against. Miller grew as the season went on, but had his own issues and Montgomery and Cohen ranked horrifically under all metrics. Than there is the line which was its own bit of terrible. Bottom line, there are a lot of freaking issues with this offense. There are also quite a few young players (miller / whitehair / Daniels / Montgomery / Cohen / Wimms / Ridley / Trubisky) who can turn things around take steps forward to solve things, but a lot of work is needed and it absolutely goes well beyond the simple factor of Mitch Trubisky (in my personal opinion).

Solid move. He has a lot of wear and tear from the past couple of years, but has been a productive reliever and is a good veteran and the option year on the back-end is nice. Relievers are always fluky so you never know what will happen, but collect a few of them and you should be able to get to a good spot. I still don't buy Colome as the long-term closer on a contending team and think they have one more move left (which if you do it...shifts the pen dynamic significantly).

I think they would. The reality is McDaniels is only going to go to a spot that is totally ideal to him. He was never going to go to the Giants with Gettleman. I do think there is a legit chance he ends up in Cleveland. They still have a good roster (on paper) and real coaching can help them. Browns will give him a ton of input on the GM spot too. I don't get why the Giants didn't go for an offensive mind, given they have Jones/Saquon there. I heard (no idea if this is true) but they want to make Garrett the OC (although I have no idea why Jason Garrett would take an OC gig at this point vs. take a season off and get another gig).

Yeah. I would be in on Kimberly if it didn’t take much prospect wise.

I wonder if the Dodgers are quietly shopping Kenley Jensen. I know he fell out of favor in LA and hasn't been the same elite closer he was. Any other relievers in that camp, still quality/above average relievers, but with price tags in excess of their current protection (i.e., minimal to negative surplus but still positive baseball value)? I would think of those as good potential fits.

Fantastic. Great to have Stoney back.

IF he was there in the 2nd, I would think the Bears would have to give it a good long though. I can't imagine he makes it out of the 1st round.

Yep. Bummer injuries got the best of him. 31 is still young too. I wonder if he is a guy that ends up coming back after sitting out a season (depending on how his body heals). The injuries he had suffered were brutal though. He made lots of money and I am glad he is retiring a Bear. Dude left it on the field every time...but man, wish he could have stayed healthy.

Dix was solid for Bears but I agree with above point. We need to get Jackson to be what he does best which is a pure free safety.

Had a down year but nice to pay someone we developed into a Star.

would he count against the pool? Or is he is true international free agent

How good is this guy?

I figured at most he would get 2 years given his age. Good for him going 3 years, but no way I do that if I'm the Sox.

Some reports Bears showing interest in Kafka (Chiefs QB coach) and Morninweg. Totally different level of football experience but both from the Reid camp and having worked with Nagy. This would differ from The main assistants we had this past year (who weren’t really from the Reid system). Nagy going to go all in with guys who speak his language (good or bad) which I think is the right move. Kafka might be a big up and comer but part of me likes the experience Marty would bring to the table.

I am in your camp. Regular contention makes every season fun. Marlins have won multiple championships but suck pretty much every year other than that. Nothing fun about thag. Sustained winning and playoff appearances are what I want. Hopefully a series win comes with that but I’d take a Braves like run or recent Dodger run.

I’d sign both to one year deals and if possible option second years. Better odds at least one hits. I’d rather have one more than not enough. Having bullpen implode because they couldn’t fill depth of pen just wouldn’t be right, especially since you aren’t talking about long term deals (or at least I assume not).