Chisoxfn

QUOTE (KyYlE23 @ Jan 8, 2015 -> 09:00 AM) If that is the case, i wonder if Ballard has any regrets about telling everyone he is not interested I don't think so. It is clear he is confident that he will get a job and will only take a job that is on his terms where he is confident that he'll have the opportunity to succeed. I personally am skeptical on this but I also long thought all those reports on Ballard being pre-chosen as the guy and it already was a done deal, a bunch of BS too. I just hope the Bears are picking who they think is the best candidate. I don't want them listen to all these people who poo-poo Ballard just cause he spent time in our organization and the McCaskey's hearing that and letting it influence their decision. And to be frank, as stupid as that sounds, I wouldn't put it past them. At least Pace comes from a winning organization. I want the report to be false though...I think Ballard is a tremendous fit but I'm just an armchair owner.

Saw this on another board. This is from someone who "supposedly" has a close connection to someone within the Bears organization. Take it for what you will, but the individual indicates the Bears will announce they have hired Pace prior to interviewing Bowles. Evidently he blew the Bears away. I am still hoping it is Ballard.

QUOTE (Brian @ Jan 8, 2015 -> 04:03 AM) McDowell, Fernandez, Alvarez, Bere. Such a fun rotation. Bere is now the bullpen coach for the Indians I believe.

QUOTE (KyYlE23 @ Jan 8, 2015 -> 08:40 AM) I didnt think Accorsi was supposed to be the interviewer, he was supposed to provide Philips and McCaskey candidates and info on them. I do think he spends time prepping them on questions but he is directly involved with the GM interviews (to what extent who knows) but to me that is the key hire that he is influencing and involved with. Accorsi shouldn't be the one making the head coaching decision. He can provide lists and feedback but that is the GM's job. I'd be irritated if I found out that Accorsi wasn't taking part in Pace or Ballard's interviews but by all accounts he has been at all of the GM interviews.

QUOTE (Harry Chappas @ Jan 8, 2015 -> 08:29 AM) an independent evaluation by two people that are not qualified to give an independent evaluation does not make for a positive result. Also if the GM is going to hire the coach why are the ticket manager and accountant interviewing him? This has been stated a lot, but if the Bears didn't interview them and the teams advanced to the playoffs (e.g., Seattle and Denver, which are the only two teams whose head coaches we have interviewed), than we would not be able to interview them again until after the superbowl. However, if you at least have a preliminary interview with them, you can than meet with them again during the bye week leading up to the superbowl. That is why the Bears met with Gase and the Seahawks guys. It was a preliminary meeting for us to show interest, get initial info, and I'm sure told them, we are going to work on hiring our GM and will than have him vividly involved and in charge of the next conversation, etc. Strategically it would have been stupid not to interview them. And in the case of Bowles, I think this is more of a matter of the Bears organization doing Atlanta a favor and moving our interview because of things more important than football. I'm going to guess we planned on Saturday because it worked for us and allowed us time to have our GM in place. Either way, you usually bring in guys twice prior to hiring them (unless you already had a lot of comfort with him). I still wonder if the Bears have made up their mind or if some more candidates will be brought in for the GM spot. If not, I would think they would have an announcement come out today (or you'd at least start hearing some leaks as the Bears started talking terms with their chosen candidates).

QUOTE (kev211 @ Jan 7, 2015 -> 09:59 PM) If Kirk could just get a season ending injury that would be great. Stupid post. We have one of the elite coaches in the league who raves about him. Have you guys seen what Josh Smith has done, guys like Rudy Gay, etc. There are things that don't show up in the box score. This Kirk hate is just absurd. Yeah, he could do some things better but clearly he's valued amongst the league. Listen to any former coach talk about Hinrich, the knowledgeable analysts, etc, and you hear nothing but big time praise for a lot of the things he does and the value he brings to a team.

QUOTE (SoxAce @ Jan 8, 2015 -> 08:08 AM) Good lord... To be honest, I don't really care. I want that to be the GM's decision anyway. Yeah, we should get some feedback from Ernie but I want our GM in full control and I want our GM in place for any of the main moves.

Awful game but its just one game. We still are playing way too sloppy, imo. That said, still a lot of time to clean a lot of that up and get stronger. Hopefully the Bulls learn from this. And Rose really needs to get out of this funk and start playing more aggressive. Stop f***ing settling for all these damn jumpers. They'll pull through and Rose will get better. I wonder if Rose is going through some dead legs or something like that as well (which is impact his shot).

QUOTE (elrockinMT @ Jan 7, 2015 -> 03:02 PM) A lot of good knowledgeable baseball people, including on this board, believe he ranks just below Ricky Henderson. He deserves to be in the HOF I think what really hurts him is that he was rarely the best player on his team (those Expos teams were loaded) and he never really lead the league in any major category. For whatever reason, he was often overshadowed. He is statistically the 6th best left fielder to play the game. That alone says...sure fire HOF'er.

Peyton Manning threw 22 TD's & 10 picks in his first two seasons in college. Winston threw 65 and 28 picks. Peyton actually threw more picks his 3rd and 4th season (23) than during his 1st two seasons. Peyton's numbers were over the course of 22 games while Winston's were over course of 27 games.

He will get a significant push these next two years, the question is can he get that much of a push. IF there were a good two years for Raines to be in his final two years, it would be the next two years where only Griffey is a sure fire first ballot HOF'er. Vladdy is a sure fire HOF'er as well but don't know that he is first ballot. Manny should be, but those positive tests and other issues are going to keep him out for a while (if not forever).

QUOTE (Soxfest @ Jan 7, 2015 -> 12:45 PM) Jennings on the field got old real fast this year he can go. I think a lot was his attitude and the fact that he didn't want to be there. Safeties took a lot of hit for his continous screw-ups. If you noticed, by and large all of those wide open big plays, which were driven by miscommunications came on Jennings side of the field. He really blew and that type of attitude is what the Bears need to get rid of. Like I said, I thank him for his run, but unless the cap hit was significant, I'd let him go somewhere else (that said, I do understand the fact that we are extremely thin at CB; although I did like the play of Al Louis or whatever the undrafted CB's name was).

QUOTE (KyYlE23 @ Jan 7, 2015 -> 11:59 AM) Tim Jennings arrested in Georgia for speeding, DUI, and reckless driving. so there is that His play stunk on the field and now this off the field issue. I personally would have no problem getting rid of him, however, I don't know how much dead money that turns into. Emery really made a mess of things last off-season.

QUOTE (Soxbadger @ Jan 7, 2015 -> 11:49 AM) I think he could be a top 10 NFL QB, I doubt he will ever be a top 5 and most likely will be a mid range QB. Is that worth a top 10 pick? In my opinion not really, given how often QBs get injured etc, I would always rather trade down and get more talent when rebuilding. But that is just my personal preference. I think Winston is a pipe dream anyway. No way he is there @ 7 and I can't justify moving up to get him. I think the best scenario is a team has a guy they want at 7 and we can move down and take Hundley and accumulate another high pick. Ideally we could also move Jay for a draft pick as well (I still think there will be more market for him than has been talked about). I think my dream scenario would be moving down, acquiring a 2nd for Cutler, and getting a 3rd - 4th for Marshall. I than have zero problem going with Hundley (or another QB) and bringing in a veteran QB who can help groom Nick. That said, I'm probably higher on Nick than most. It does mean that you need to have extremely bright offensive coaches to go with Nick though.

QUOTE (witesoxfan @ Jan 7, 2015 -> 11:32 AM) Absolutely. No other position can change so much of your team so fast than a good QB. Put Cutler on the Packers and to be frank, I don't even think they are a playoff team. I think they are about 1-2 games better than this years Bears, if that. All that said, their are very few elite QB's.

QUOTE (shipps @ Jan 7, 2015 -> 11:29 AM) Not with decision making. And nowadays I think we can all agree that may be the most important trait to have. Jameis made a ton of questionable throws. Albeit many college QB's do make a lot of mistakes but to compare him to Luck is nuts. He isnt even in the parking lot of Lucks ballpark. Luck actually makes a lot of questionable throws. Luck is the best talent to come out of the draft since Peyton (and Luck having better physical tools and Peyton having better intelligence...albeit by a very narrow margin). I said Jameis is best since Luck. Doesn't mean I put him at the same level as Luck but if it weren't for his off the field issues, you would be talking about a guy everyone would be salivating over. He has made tons of big time throws and came up huge in big game after big game. Will he make the occasional turnover, certainly, but he's playing in a pro-style offense. You are going to turn the ball over running that style far more than you would in a spread offense. Mariotta really doesn't have the opportunity to throw a ton of picks given their style of offense. Heck to be frank, Cutler should have never had the opportunity to throw as many as he did given the style we were trying to run in Chicago.

QUOTE (Soxbadger @ Jan 7, 2015 -> 11:28 AM) As long as Cutler is on the team you cant spend a top 10 pick on Winston. Might as well take a flier in the later rounds on a guy like Jacoby Brissett. Sure you can. The goal is to build a long-term winner. If you have a shot at a guy you think is the franchise QB, you take him, no questions asked. We know we don't have a franchise QB on the roster currently.

QUOTE (RockRaines @ Jan 7, 2015 -> 11:24 AM) Its been said his knowledge of the playbook was pro-like but it could also be Jimbo's bulls*** like everything else we hear about Winston. Yeah, I'm largely basing my view on the fact that not only does he have the tools, but he's supposed to have a very high football IQ. He's also done things on the biggest stage, dealt with adversity (albeit self inflicted in many instances), handled a pro offense (which makes it a lot easier to project him, imo) etc, and overcame it. Tools are obviously fantastic. Dilfer apparently spent a day with him last year and ever since than has talked about how smart his football IQ is.

@Edwerderespn: Despite success with Jay Cutler and Brandon Marshall, I'm told #Bears do not have Mike Shanahan on list of HC prospects

If he didn't have the off the field issues, he would hands down be the 1st player taken in the draft. His football talents are extremely strong and many experts rank those skills amongst the top to come out of the draft in the past 10 years (basically ranking him behind Luck). If I were going to bet on 1 QB in this draft being a star, it would be Winston. If I were going to bet on 1 being a bust, it would be Mariotta. If I were going to bet on one being Russel Wilson, it would be Hundley (UCLA). Hundley hasn't developed as you would expect but his makeup is fantastic and he has a ton of tools. You'd have to adjust the offense accordingly and obviously run the read-option. If we hired the Seahawks OC, I would be exstatic with Hundley in the 2nd (although I doubt he falls that far). I think when teams interview with him, they'll realize he has the tools of Mariotta and an even better make-up (although Marcus clearly had better production...however I think a lot of that was the product of the system). I might be wrong though and Mariotta has really strong make-up as well.

QUOTE (Tex @ Jan 7, 2015 -> 09:48 AM) I don't mind seeing names at the bottom of the ballot that don't belong. As long as the argument is so and so should be in and isn't I'm not as concerned as "how the hell did he get in?" They definitely need to increase the # of votes that the writers get (and update who can vote). Too many clowns who don't even cover baseball anymore are allowed to vote and with the window only being 10 years (vs. the previous 15), I think it only makes sense that you have a few more votes to keep some guys on the list. I don't think that the additional votes are going to result in more guys getting in, just keep more guys in play.

QUOTE (witesoxfan @ Jan 7, 2015 -> 08:01 AM) Hoffman was an incredible pitcher for a long time, so I'd have no problem with him getting in, but I think Wagner deserves it more. I think people just forget how good Billy Wagner really was. Frankly, if Mariano Rivera is the greatest reliever of all time, you can make a damn good argument that Billy Wagner is the second best reliever of all time. Blasphemy. Hoffman > Wagner. Their was a period of time you could argue Hoffman was better than Riveria. He didn't have the longevity and I agree Wagner was nasty from the left side. Part of this is my eye test and just watching Hoffman, I thought he was legendary at his position (similar to Mo). Wagner wasn't at the same level as either of them from an eye test (however, I agree he is a borderline hall of famer). MLB Now last night was fantastic by the way. I think Pedro is the greatest pitcher I've ever seen so I think he should have gotten 100% of the vote and the highest vote but I have no arguments with who got in. I'm surprised at how much Sheffield was impacted (given his story feels more genuine than a lot of the other users).

With Jameiss going pro, I am in the camp that if he is there, you take him at 7. I hate saying it too, but I think he has all the tools to be a bonafide star. The key is that you are comfortable with him maturing, etc, and obviously you get comfort on his off-the-field matters. I believe him to be the best QB to come out since Luck and one of the best QB talents of the last 10 years. PS: I don't expect him to be available at 7 and he's the only QB I would pick this early. I've also said if Hundley is their in the 2nd, I take him. As a whole, someone could say QB isn't our biggest need, and I'd agree, but I think his football skills grade him out as a worthy #1 overall pick at a huge impact position. I don't pass up on that. I want the Bears to look to the future vs. trying to half ass their way to a 9 win season and the playoffs. We need to focus on being great and if that takes a little longer, so be it. If he's not there, I look at LT & Dline. I think the talent typically at those spots can warrant impact production. I'm also okay with going with LB. I know safety is a huge need, but if we are taking a safety, we need to move down in the draft. My personal belief is that a safety is not worthy of a top 10 pick.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Jan 6, 2015 -> 12:48 PM) Those are the guys who will post things about how it isn't snowing there and it is 70 degrees.... Correction...it is not snowing here and it is 80 degrees f*** its cold here.

QUOTE (SoxAce @ Jan 6, 2015 -> 01:38 PM) Yea but now we'll be back at square one whether he likes it medium rare or well done.. Easy answer, medium rare. Unless the steak has sat a little longer in the fridge and is considered "sketchy"...in which case, well done, haha.