Chisoxfn

You don't win by going big in free agency. First we need to hit on the draft and be efficient in free agency. The home run can help if you already have a really good team (or somehow a top QB hits the market unrestricted).

QUOTE (fathom @ Sep 29, 2015 -> 01:35 PM) I keep hearing "experts" on the radio suggest the Bears should be competitive by the end of next year due to how the NFL is designed to help bad teams become good quickly. To me (and my pessimistic ways), sure seems like it will be a 3 year rebuild given the absolutely lack of building blocks on this team outside of Kyle Long and possibly Kevin White. Jeffrey should be a block as well.

QUOTE (SoxPride18 @ Sep 29, 2015 -> 01:22 PM) How can you say that this regime has sucked when they have been at it for half a year and inherited the least talented roster in the NFL? Sorry, I meant to say the team performance has sucked (i.e., won / loss). I am a huge fan of the current regime. I haven't heard about how great we have been practicing or any of that nonsense. It is clear that accountability exists at Halas Hall. That said, if special teams keeps doing what its doing, I expect to see some accountability their as well.

Big difference between the previous regime and the current regime. We suck terribly in both regime's (won / loss), but the current regime clearly is setting a tone that it is unacceptable and we will find new people until we right the ship.

QUOTE (bmags @ Sep 29, 2015 -> 08:48 AM) Getting new iphone today, leasing through apple and staying on sprint. Doing this for my wife, but like the fact that I can take us to verizon at any time if I find that more problems were with htc one one sprint vs. sprint itself. To take it to Verizon, you have to pay the rest of the lease though, right? Is their also a contract breakage or do you just have to pay off the lease (and thus just own the phone)?

QUOTE (chw42 @ Sep 29, 2015 -> 08:46 AM) What the hell was their reason for that...? I heard Lebatard talking about it this morning. Some of it had to do with a dropped pick six and a fumble he had. Not sure how much that played into things, because even if you assumed he did both of those things, you still have 5 TD's and 2 turnovers, which has to be a positive value performance.

QUOTE (KyYlE23 @ Sep 29, 2015 -> 04:14 AM) Hell to the no. That guy is wrecked if you are going to take a shot on RGIII, you take the shot on him this year and trade for him now. Let him practice for a few weeks and then plan on giving you half a season. I see no problem with that train of thought. Of course that is assuming you can move Jay.

QUOTE (AustinIllini @ Sep 28, 2015 -> 05:56 PM) Stay tuned. You know something special? Harbaugh ranked Fales as one of the top 5 QB's in the 2014 draft.

I'll make my crazy prediction here...Bears trade Cutler to the Texans. Probably doesn't happen, but he'd be a significant upgrade for a QB starved team. Cutler's cap situation is no longer that bad. That said, not sure cap implications of this.

QUOTE (Alexeihyeess @ Sep 28, 2015 -> 05:37 PM) As of 9/2 the Bears had all 7 of their picks, now they have 9. http://www.prosportstransactions.com/footb...uture/Bears.htm I say get a couple more. Willie Young gets a 5th or 6th. The corpse of McClellin maybe gets a conditional 6th, or a 7th. If you can somehow procure a 3rd rounder or better without dealing Long, McPhee or Alshon I'm all about that too. McClellin has been their best lb'er thus far in the season. It is his first year playing the position he should have been playing since he was drafted. Why should we draft him. He's young and could actually be a core starter going forward. I wouldn't even think about trading Shea for a 5th round pick (nor do I think anyone gives us a 5th round pick for him at this point). He's of most value to the Bears, who are desperate to have potential playmakers, and he has actually shown himself to be competent as a LB in a 3-4, although he still has growing to do, but I have confidence in our coaches to help him get better, but I'm not trading him until our coaches get the full year to work with him. I'm hoping we are signing him this off-season to a few year extension, because that will mean he's proven himself. Young will for sure be dealt. I have to imagine Forte is on the block. I still think Cowboys could come a knocking. Colts could get desperate too (GM and Coach are both on the hot-seat).

QUOTE (Knuckles @ Sep 28, 2015 -> 04:12 PM) But Bulls and Hawks are not competing with another franchise for the fan. Those are also sports that sell out at around 20K seats so you don't need near the draw. Plus, to me the in-game fan experience at both are better then a baseball game. That might be because I've been spoiled and attended tons of baseball games where as I rarely go to a live NHL / NBA game (maybe once a year, if that), so when I do, it is a real treat and I get a lot more enjoyment. Of course MLB has been sliding down my list of favorite sports since I had a family. Games are just too long for me to follow as much as I do basketball / football (yes, football games are just as long, if not longer, but once a week is manageable). Right now if you asked me my favorite sports, I'd probably go NFL / NBA / MLB in that order. 10 years ago, it would have been MLB / NBA / NFL and 5 years ago MLB / NFL / NBA.

QUOTE (Alexeihyeess @ Sep 28, 2015 -> 05:29 PM) It's a 6th for Bostic according to Biggs. I'll take it. At the very least, all these 6th round picks should help our special teams. If I'm not mistaken, that now means we have all of our picks back, plus an extra 6th (as we had lost a pick from the Khari Lee trade). So I think we now have 8 picks. I presume we can get a 6th for Willie Young too.

QUOTE (LittleHurt05 @ Sep 28, 2015 -> 05:22 PM) He's totally gonna be a good player for Belichick Good riddance. He was a bust. People complained when I blasted him as a rookie (too premature) but he never made any impact plays out of that big hit he had in the pre-season of his rookie year (where he got fined). He might end up playing elsewhere but he had shown zero football instincts and could never stay on the field due to injuries. Do we even get a pick for him or is this a conditional thing that we'll never end up getting?

QUOTE (LittleHurt05 @ Sep 28, 2015 -> 04:58 PM) Why weren't these trades just made in the offseason? Presume at that point in time Bears don't know exactly who they are and I'm guessing other teams might be happy with existing team and not ready to give up picks? I presume Willie Young is next (no idea if we can get anything for him or not). I wonder if we held him out for those reasons (we know he isn't a scheme fit and their are a few 4-3 suitors who are happy that he's at least shown he's healthy). I'm not expecting much, but a 6th or 7th rounder is better then nothing (if you can get it). I wonder who else will be dealt? Can't imagine anyone on the offensive side outside of Forte (unless we give up on someone like Bushrod who we don't see being a long-term fit). On the defensive side, more of those pieces. I would imagine Ratliff has some value, but first we need to show he's healthy. In fact, I'd think he's one of the guys we'd be best behooved to move (as I can't imagine him being that helpful when we are good). That said, Fox singled him out in the off-season as a building block so maybe they think his skill-set will hold up well to age.

I am glad Allen gets to go play for a contender. He might have sucked for us, but he was at least a good dude. I'll root for him on the Panthers and I hope it turns into a solid pick for us. I also like the fact that it allows us to give more snaps to younger players. I really want to see Houston step up. He was really good in this system for the Raiders and is still young to where he could turn into a core player if he can get back to the Raider days of 2 years ago (not that long ago, given his age). I hope Houston steps up, along with Shea / Jones and if that happens, that at least gives you 3 serviceable players, along with McPhee from the LB perspective (albeit, you still need to find that "special" player for that core, which to me is a critical part of any successful 3-4 defense. On the secondary, who the hell knows, at least Amos hasn't looked like crap already. We'll have to hope they can get Fuller turned around and make this a solid rebuilding year. Curious how long Sutton will be out for, but at least we have a couple bodies who might be decent on the line. Time will tell, but if you can get those guys to pan out as decent, then you hope with some higher picks (and smart free agency moves) you can add an impact player and hopefully another few starters. That said, it is going to take more then a year of good drafting to get their, however, hopefully next year we get a 2nd impact player in Kevin White (consider it an extra 1st round pick). I don't think we'll even recognize this team 2 years from now, which by and large, is the earlier I expect them to be competitive, although part of that depends on what they do with Jay. If you keep Jay, I think you can be competitive sooner (solid vet QB), but if you dump Jay, then you add QB to the list and it takes time for QB to develop, so at that point, I think 2 years is earliest and even then we are probably talking pipe dream and you are looking for progress 2 years from now, with playoff potential 3 years from now, and ideally you are playoffs or bust 4 years from now. Yes, that is depressing to think that, but probably the reality. However, if you focus more on the D and Oline (and keep Jay), you can probably win a heck of a lot sooner and then patiently target a QB over the coming years who you will add and ideally build around longer term. Use Jay as a bridge to the next level while remaining competitive. Not sure if that will work or not, but the offense has enough weapons where it can be a winner (presuming you invest in the line) and then you can focus most of your high picks on the defense, which should help bring them back to respectability much faster.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Sep 28, 2015 -> 03:12 PM) 1. Greg Oden first had to deal with Portland media, not exactly Chicago. 2. Greg Oden probably very much had to deal with those sorts of questions his first 2 years, but no one heard them outside of Portland other than seeing "another injury for Oden". 3. By his 3rd year Greg Oden was no longer getting those questions because there was no chance of him playing any time soon. 4. Greg Oden was never the youngest MVP in league history, so while he had massive hype, Rose actual realized that hype early in his career and was a transcending star and one of the faces of the league (not to mention Adidas).

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Sep 28, 2015 -> 12:11 PM) 3 surgeries is a ton of mileage, even before you add in the minutes. The 1st surgery was a big deal. The 2nd / 3rd were far less so, especially the 3rd. I agree he has his own issues, but he is still very young and has flashed explosiveness, especially in the post-season. I don't think it is unrealistic that he could get better explosion (especially in a back to back) after having a normal off-season (plus a season where he built everything back). Could he get hurt again, absolutely, but if he doesn't, I'd be surprised if he doesn't take a step forward. I would expect his game rust would be less, his passing would be improved, and overall conditioning and confidence to be better...let alone explosiveness from enhanced stamina, etc. I also expect Bulls to be smart to give him some occasional rest, etc. Similarly, I think Noah, who was terrible last year, having a regular off-season, should improve. I don't expect the Noah of 2 years ago but I expect a version better then last year.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Sep 28, 2015 -> 12:04 PM) Since it's "Best shape of their lives" time of year, I can even give myself reason to think that. "Noah had basically no offseason last year to recover from his surgery, with a full offseason he's certain to come back a lot stronger!". "Rose finally got a nearly-full season in last year including a taste of the playoffs, he's also not rehabbing for the first time in years, so he'll come back stronger too!" "Hoiberg will do a better job of figuring out matchups and won't force things like Noah and Gasol onto the court together when they're not working". I know, it's not exactly likely, but it's the season where you're allowed to think things like that. Preach it brother!

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Sep 28, 2015 -> 12:00 PM) Realistically, I can see one of those three things happening and that is Niko stepping up in his second year. Rose and Noah both have some big mileage on their odometers. At their ages and the condition of their bodies, it is pretty unrealistic to think they both can go back to being their old selves. Technically Rose has almost no mileage on his odometer.

Remember this...this time 3 years ago, Trestman, McCoy and Kelly were the talk of the NFL. Bruce Arians is the one whose getting the last laugh. Not how you start, but how you finish. We didn't hire Fox to win a superbowl this year, we hired him and Pace to build us into a perennial contender. That takes time and I expect we will see improvements (even as pathetic as this team is).

QUOTE (whitesoxfan99 @ Sep 28, 2015 -> 11:49 AM) Removing injuries from the equation because the Bulls have just as many potential issues on that front as the other contenders, what makes you think the Bulls could beat the Cavs, Spurs or Warriors in a series? This time last year, who predicted the Warriors would win the title and 65+ regular season games? What about all those titles Lebron was going to win with the Heat? He only won two. Who thought the Mavs and Spurs would get past them? In reality, Spurs should have done it twice? Bulls are a very good team. Are they great, not yet, but whose to say they can't take that step forward. They could also take a step back...but bottom line, they have talent and they belong in the sentence of title contenders...title favorites, no way, but contenders, absolutely.

On a sidenote, I'm sorry that I can at least appreciate the one pro franchise in Chicago, which during my lifetime, has been relevant outside of a ~5 year post Jordan era span. Bears / Sox have failed miserably at being consistent contenders and Blackhawks are great now but they had their own run of supreme futility. I'm a sports fan and the Bulls have been the one franchise who has routinely put a quality product on the court. Its a shame they haven't won the title, but you know what, after all the s*** I've seen from the Bears and Sox, I'm okay watching a team that has routinely had at least a chance (and has consistently been in the playoffs) and one of these years, this team will win a title.

We were all spoiled by the Jordan era, but you know what, this team is pretty good and they have 6th best odds at winning the title. 2nd best odds of Eastern conference teams to make it their (and win). So I'm sorry for being optimistic, but we absolutely have a chance. Favorites, no, but Bulls can definitely win a title. I'm excited what Rose can do after having a relatively healthy season (one where he gained confidence in the playoffs) and also seeing how McD and Mirotic develop as well as hopefully improved chemistry with Butler / Rose on the court at once.

After the Bears and Sox seasons, I'm so excited to cheer for a team that has a shot!!! Plus a like a lot of the guys on the roster.

QUOTE (Jenksismyb**** @ Sep 25, 2015 -> 10:17 AM) Last two years aside, the defense was more than adequate to win superbowls. That's the point. He didn't have to lead the team himself. He had to play decent football and not s*** the bed. 2009 Bears: Cutler was 7-9. He had some bad games but his best receiver was Devin Hester. Forte rushed for 2010 Bears: Cutler was 10-5 and won a post-season game to give him 11 wins. Bears made it to NFC championship where they lost to Packers (with Jay out). Knox was the #1 ( 2011 Bears: Cutler was 7-3, but got injured in a route of the Chargers (5th straight win and during that stretch they averaged 32.2 ppg). Bears looked like an elite team until they were Caleb Hanied out of the playoffs. 2012 Bears: Cutler was 10-5 as the starter. Marshall had a beast of a season, although he really had on other receiving weapons. No other receivers with even 500 yards. 2013 Bears: Cutler had statistically his best season (Marshall was a beast again and Alshon emerged with Forte playing well). Defense was horrendous and Jay is 5-6. McCown goes 3-2. 2014 Bears: Bears are just an outright disaster. Cutler goes 5-10 and defense was beyond pathetic. The only time we had remotely decent defenses, the Bears were playoff teams (which is what you'd expect with a solid QB). The years where we had awful defenses, the types of D's that only a top 3 QB would get us their, well, we didn't make the playoffs and were bad, but not 2 win bad, why, because Jay is good enough to win a few games on his own, but he isn't good enough to go Aaron Rodgers and just win the whole thing. Bottom line, lets fix this football team. I agree if we can get a top flight Andrew Luck type prospect, you get him, but in the meantime, lets find lots of good football players, cause Jay with good players around him (a good defense and special teams, solid offensive weapons), is a QB that can win.