Chisoxfn

We are getting back on the winning track tonight!!!

On a sidenote...I will be surprised if it ends up being a guy the caliber of Hoffman traded but if so, yes, I'd have moved Kenny for him, haha.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Jan 22, 2015 -> 10:33 AM) At his age, James Shields would be insane to take a short term deal unless it was like $35 million next year. He needs to take the longest deal he can get. If that's only 4/$70 then someone might get a decent bargain out of him. Taking a 1 year deal would be crazy. I don't disagree with you. I just said if he was willing to take a short-term deal. Never said I thought he would. Crazier things have happened. If best thing he is getting are really bad AAV 3-4 year deals than maybe he takes a bet on himself at a higher AAV. 4/70 would be worth signing him, imo.

This is a nice move.

QUOTE (shipps @ Jan 22, 2015 -> 09:53 AM) I know its fun to talk about for most people it seems but I have zero interest in "Deflate Gate". Nothing about it leads me to want to know more about it or follow another second of the story. I usually find myself getting sucked into these stories but this one is just plain boring. Cause it is stupid and completely overblown. If it were the Patriots complaining about this, the media would be talking about how the Pats are just sore losers, etc. Bottom line...this is a story only because it involves the Pats. Stupid stupid story.

Reddy...I think you are delusional at this point. Too hard to see what the legacy would be down the road but I don't think there are a lot of people who today would call him one of the "great" presidents. If you go off of historical approval ratings, there is nothing to indicate he is great. Hard to predict what the view of him will be 20+ years from now but to be able to make a claim that he is in fact going to be regarded that way is pretty crazy.

QUOTE (Chilihead90 @ Jan 21, 2015 -> 09:44 PM) The idea is that you just drafted a guy, and you don't want him to be a liability because some coach overused him in the CWS. There have been stories in the past of teams being upset that certain programs will fully exhaust a pitcher in the CWS because they already know he got drafted and if he blows out his arm, who cares, he left the program already. Rodon had some of these issues being pushed 130+ pitches for a team his coach knew he would never play for again. And another reason could be that players may try harder if they are pushing to increase their draft stock, not saying "Well, I'm a millionaire already, f*** this team, get me out of here so I can start pro ball". I get both points, they make sense for a team perspective. But from a fan perspective, it's annoying because I really enjoyed following which players the Sox drafted that are in the CWS. I promise you I would have never watched a Rice Owl baseball game if I didn't know the Sox had drafted Christian Stringer. But being able to watch guys like Gordon Beckham and Adam Engel and Jared Mitchell with rooting interest was actually fun. Now, I'll probably watch significantly less of the CWS this summer. Eh, I see that point but I think the other point is just as valid. That sounds more like protecting the teams than protecting the players, to be frank. And if you look at college ball, plenty of guys who weren't drafted or aren't draft eligible throw a ton during the CWS. Part of it is the way the tourney is structured with the format almost ensuring that you have to go to your horses more often (just like you see ace pitchers used more often and on shorter rest during the playoffs).

If Shields was willing to go short term, I'd be all over it. Than you see if Shark is willing to go long and let the other one walk.

QUOTE (Chilihead90 @ Jan 21, 2015 -> 05:05 PM) We now have another month to argue about who we take at #8. The league is close to pushing back the draft until July 1st, so protect those who play in the College World Series. Why does it protect those who play in CWS? I would think if I were a player, i'd rather get drafted early before my arm gets blown out or a team gets more concerned, etc. At that point, I figure downside risk is more likely than upside risk. Not often are you going to shoot up draft boards because you got hot during the CWS (doesn't work quite the same as say march madness or a player getting hot in the playoffs ala Tim Thomas and than turning that into a massive contract).

This is a fantastic staff. Wonder how much he got and if he gave any assurances on his commitment.

QUOTE (zenryan @ Jan 21, 2015 -> 02:50 PM) Brilliant is being very generous. Since his first two years at ND, he really hasn't had any success. He had a lot of success in his one year at KC. Matt Cassel made the probowl with him and the Chiefs had the #1 rated rushing offense in the league that same season. As a HC, he's crap, but as an OC, he's elite.

QUOTE (bmags @ Jan 21, 2015 -> 02:31 PM) That straight up disappoints me. I hate Weis. I don't care that he ever did well in the NFL. Perhaps his pouty mojo is perfect for Cutler thou. Weiss is a brilliant offensive mind though.

QUOTE (bmags @ Jan 21, 2015 -> 02:29 PM) Thank you!!!!!!!!!!! Look at our offense at its worst, and it's guys receiving the ball and having zero clue what to do next. Even in Dunleavy's bad shooting games, he always makes a decision within 1 second of receiving the ball. Drive, pass, shoot. He knows immediately. Yep. What he does creates points for other guys (even if he doesn't get the assist) and makes teams have to play defense and work. It helps us a lot on offense. He plays his role perfectly and really is a near perfect fit for the role we ask / need him to play.

QUOTE (Jenksismyb**** @ Jan 21, 2015 -> 02:19 PM) Fine, but he's averaging 9 pts and 4 rebounds. Not exactly lighting the world on fire there. Mirotic is at 8 and 5 playing 10 less minutes a game. It is an efficient 9 points and 4 rebounds for a win player and he does it all in the context of the offense while providing great spacing. I like Nik too but Nik would get shredded playing the 3 so giving him minutes at the 3 isn't the short term answer. Tony Snell averages 2.7 ppg on below 40% shooting with worse ball movement, etc.

QUOTE (Jenksismyb**** @ Jan 21, 2015 -> 02:07 PM) No. Dunleavy is good for about 1 game out of 10 when he hits some good shots. McDermott has been a non-factor in every game he's played. What better happen out of this is more minutes for Moore. If he doesn't start playing more minutes than Hinrich, Thibs should get blasted by the reporters. That's just a no brainer at this point. He's shooting 42% from three and 45% from the field. He's a very productive player.

QUOTE (bmags @ Jan 21, 2015 -> 02:08 PM) The only think I'll say is this: We would win games last year without Hinrich/Deng/Taj and rolling out DJ/Snell/Jimmy/Taj/Noah. That we can't win with combos of Pau Gasol/Taj/Niko/Butler/Derrick freaking Rose/Kirk Hinrich is incredible to me, especially defensively. That's why I'm so disappointed. Well I think part of that is most of the glue defensive guys continued to stay in the roster and were fine and at the same time, we had relatively good PG play, which hasn't happened right now (understandable because of Rose's rust). I also think during those times we had some pretty bad losses from what I remember as well, they just didn't come in such a tight window. This team has had pretty significant injuries and quite a few more key contributor's to the rotation than years past, imo. I think we have done a worse job plug and playing but it comes to the fact that some of the critical positions are being replaced with people who aren't near as familiar w/Thibbs system and are playing relatively critical roles in our defense. Pau was never known for his consistent aggressiveness, etc. We as a team seem to have taken a lot of Pau's attitude vs. Noah's. I think a lot of that has to do with Noah not being 100%.

QUOTE (bmags @ Jan 21, 2015 -> 02:02 PM) Absolutely. Atlanta is quite clearly the best team in the East, and would absolutely be great in the west as well. Sigh. Do you remember some of those possessions in December where we'd whip around 5 passes to an open 3 pointer? If it's there it can always be recovered right? Of course...one of the best passers on this team has been out in that stretch and his replacement is Tony f***ing Snell. I really don't think MDJ gets enough props for what he means to this unit. He is no star or anything but he really helps make the offense go. I still vote to move Pau to the 2nd unit and go with Taj / Noah once Noah is ready till Noah can get some comfort. He's just having a hard ass time with Gasol in the game and Noah and Taj's ability to defend all things is what really made our defense elite all these years (well one of the many things but those guys have been critical).

QUOTE (Jenksismyb**** @ Jan 21, 2015 -> 01:56 PM) See, i think it all has to do with (1) Rose becoming more prominent in the offense, lessening Butler's effectiveness. On top of Butler just having a down stretch. I'm concerned that the more Rose goes back to being MVP-Rose, the worse the team will actually be. It becomes one on one ball, not team ball. (2) Gasol coming back to reality and getting tired. His boxing out the last few games has been embarrassing. Cavs players were just running around him to secure the rebound. (3) Noah. Even when he played this year he hasn't been all that effective. I hope it's the injury and not that he's lost a step. (4) Mirotic coming back down to earth. That stretch of big games against a few top teams he was shooting like 60% from three. At one point he hit 13 or so in a row. Now he's down to like 30% the last two weeks. The defense has been god-awful for a Thibs team, but the offense has been equally terrible. They've been shooting some terrible %'s the last couple of weeks. Offensively, I think the big hit came from MJD going out. With our starting lineup he really spreads and spaces things out and moves extremely well without the ball and ultimately makes very crisp passes and decisions. With Snell in, we are talking serious downgrade from all aspects (even defensively). Plug that with Noah being out and Rose having some of his bad games and still not being comfortable yet as a "point" guard and you can see why we have had some of these hiccups. I do think Rose's point guard play will improve as the season goes on. Its going to take a while and he won't be back to really being a point guard until next year, imo, but he'll be a lot better by the end of the season than he is now. His play is so predictable right now...long jumper or a drive and a wild jump pass out or wild shot or a quick pick and roll out to Pau (which is actually a good play for us and is something we should do more with Mirotic who plays that stretch 4 role better).

QUOTE (KyYlE23 @ Jan 21, 2015 -> 01:49 PM) Sheridan reported that Thibs is on the hot seat, and Woj said it was false and that none of his sources indicate that Thibs job is in jeopardy Gotcha. Gracias for that.

QUOTE (iamshack @ Jan 21, 2015 -> 01:26 PM) I really don't know...I think that is a personal thing...and it certainly might be affected by weather conditions. Also keep in mind the Pats short passing game and the velocity at which those passes are being thrown from short distances. Yep. Every QB has their own personal preference. Some like the balls overly pumped (i.e., Aaron Rodgers).

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Jan 21, 2015 -> 01:26 PM) I have had the thought lately that maybe Thibs has lost the team. For that type of coach, there is usually an expiration date where players keep listening. I don't know if that is what has happened, or not, but it crossed my mind. It sounds like they started to believe the media and outsiders and that they could win without putting in all the effort they used to, etc, and started sleep walking through games and I presume practices. Taj has had a couple pointed quotes on this subject and said they are starting to figure out that isn't the case. I'm hoping this is more the stage where the players are getting a little more brazen and now are learning that the coach is right and are going to move back in line with the general "coach" speak and that Thibbs is almost kind of giving them this longer leash to take the beatings because it will help him down the road. Early in the season, the quotes were contradictory (between what Thibbs was saying and some of the guys)...now it seems like everyone else is moving closer to the Thibbs line which is what we've seen in years past. I think a lot of this was also stemmed by internal management pushing some of this edicts down as well. I'm also curious what would be happening if Noah was 100%, which he clearly isn't right now. He is the team leader and I think Gasol has really taken him out of his element and comfort zone and neutralized a lot of what he does well. I don't know if it is Gasol but I think it kind of is and I think the Bulls need to be more careful when Noah comes back as to how they are going to run the units. I think we should see more of Noah / Taj and than switch to the European duo (even though the defense will suffer when the Euro duo is on the court).

QUOTE (KyYlE23 @ Jan 21, 2015 -> 01:08 PM) Gar texted Cowley and said that Thibs is safe, and his job status is a non story. Woj went pretty hard at Sheridan this morning too, on Mully and Hanley What did Woj go hard at Sheridan about this morning? And why the hell would Thibs job status be a story. A lot of this crap that gets reported is pure crap...I swear. Bulls just need to focus on themselves and getting this stuff cleaned up and it will all be forgotten a month from now. 2 - 3 weeks ago we were looking like the best team in the league. We got hit with some injuries and have had some garbage efforts and looked bad...they will figure it out.

QUOTE (Harry Chappas @ Jan 21, 2015 -> 11:14 AM) Teams may want to see how Gase does without Manning. What better way to see than to work with Cutler. Gase or Cutler will be selling cars in two years. Jay isn't getting another coach fired, not in Chicago. If Gase makes Jay look good, than it is a major coup. If Cutler plays like he always has, the story will not be negative on Gase, it will be, well that is who Jay is and the Bears will transition to a new QB (not a new coach).

QUOTE (bigruss22 @ Jan 21, 2015 -> 11:19 AM) If they were allowed to keep using them by the refs then it's pretty clear the NFL just doesn't care, or didn't before it became a headline. Which again makes it even more pointless and goes back to the point that most all the players don't think it is a big deal. And this, oh the Colts player picked it and noticed it. Lets not act like that is the first time a Colts player would have touched the ball. They pick up lose balls all the damn time. Think of how many times during a Lovie Smith Bear game we'd see the Bears pick up a ball that came loose. I realize Bears did it more than most but every team goes after those 50/50 balls or balls that come out after being tackled. Refs touch the ball a million times. Seems to me that 1, it probably isn't that critical to the rules (other than certain QB's have different preferences...Brady likes it under-inflated apparently where as Rodgers prefers it over-inflated) and/or the NFL just doesn't really care all that much. I still don't buy that the balls were used in the 2nd half. Not after the Colts lodged a complaint. I view this as one of those, you try to get whatever advantage you can and you make the other team call you out on it. If they don't, fine, if they do, than you adjust back to whatever it is. Happens all the time in baseball, etc. Someone trying to steal signs. Pitcher wearing something to distract a batter. Etc.

QUOTE (Harry Chappas @ Jan 21, 2015 -> 11:14 AM) The balls were not gone, they were used the whole game. The NFL was alerted of the issue which is why the balls were taken after the game. In the normal course of events the balls are taken by the teams after the game. In regard to the officials, during he course of the game it is not something they will check. As teams are hurrying to get plays off, how would you think if there was an unfounded delay for the checking and rechecking of he balls. This is unchartered territory and the reality is the officials are going to put their faith in the teams and ball boys to do the right thing. Teams may want to see how Gase does without Manning. What better way to see than to work with Cutler. Gase or Cutler will be selling cars in two years. They were checked at halftime by the league and determined to be underinflated. Why the hell would they continue to use those balls? That would just be ludicrous and make me question the point of checking the PSI levels.