Chisoxfn

QUOTE (DBAHO @ Apr 3, 2009 -> 10:46 AM) They want Roy Williams compensation for tradin Boldin. If he's dealy, my guess is he's off to Philly because they have a lot of early picks. And Holt didn't sound that excited about going to Chicago by the recent talk from his agent FWIW. You got a link andrew, I haven't heard anything about Holt saying anything regarding Chicago.

QUOTE (iamshack @ Apr 3, 2009 -> 10:31 AM) Is Boldin still potentially available? I am dreaming of Boldin in the slot and Holt and Hester split wide... Bears don't have the ammo to acquire him. I think Holt or Matt Jones would be perfect pickups and great combo's to go with Bennett/Hester/Forte/Olsen/Clark.

Bring in Holt as a 3rd WR to play in the slot and maybe have a higher load early in the season while Bennett and Hester continue to develop and we'll be in business. I'm super excited to have Cutler in here.

QUOTE (witesoxfan @ Apr 3, 2009 -> 10:24 AM) It was probably one of their linebackers. They have like 3 linebackers who could very well go in the first round - Maualuga, Cushing, and Matthews - and Scott Wright says they have two other linebackers who could get drafted too. Oh and I was talking with my girlfriend going god, Sanchez looks small...I get up to go to the bathroom and he gets up and I was like holy f***, nevermind, he's huge. Patrick Turner is a tall mofo too and apparently had a pretty good workout. Only mistake was I eventually talked briefly with Sanchez and he ends up asking me who my team is and I go the Bears and I said, no offense, I hope you slide because I have always wanted a franchise QB and you could be it). Well no longer is that a concern of mine, LOL.

I believe McCulloch, Rasner and Long will be in the pen. Not certain about Harrel, but thats a possibility as well.

McDaniels didn't sound all that excited about Orton. I'm so f***ing excited.

QUOTE (rockren @ Apr 2, 2009 -> 08:55 PM) Which makes me wonder how the hell Bowlen ever hired McDaniels in the first place. I wonder if he actually said in the interview process..."Yeah I'd like to get rid of that QB you have. I'll bring in a real winner. Who needs 4500 yards passing?" McDaniels is an arrogant f***. He might pan out, but he's being awful ballsy for a young head coach.

QUOTE (rockren @ Apr 2, 2009 -> 08:35 PM) I was relieved the Bears didn't have to part with any of their current players, but was more than prepared to happily have the Bears do so if need be. I'd have rather dumped Urlacher than a 1st rounder, but than again, I'm not Urlachers biggest fan and happen to think he's a moron.

QUOTE (T R U @ Apr 2, 2009 -> 08:27 PM) Brady Quinn? Aaron Rodgers? You would be hard pressed to see ANYONES mock having either of them fall into the 20's in their draft years. I actually sat right next to Sanchez right after his proday (and the rest of the USC guys) and he got a call during his dinner (I was about 1 foot from him the entire time over at ESPN Zone before I went to see Chris Paul beat the Clippers) and some team called him up raving about his workout and when he got off the phone he looked at his mom and said, mom, I might be going earlier than any of us thought. No idea if that meant anything or not. Sanchez was also raving about some guy whom I didn't know ofs workout and all of the USC guys were talking about how much that guy helped his stock. Don't ask me, I Follow the draft and enjoy it but I don't know of every guy USC has.

QUOTE (witesoxfan @ Apr 2, 2009 -> 01:00 PM) Your value is what teams are willing to pay. Raul Ibanez got $11 mill over 3 years, and I'd say Dye is worth more than Ibanez is (though that deal also speaks to the Phillies stupidity). Adam Dunn got $10 mill, and I'd say Dye is a similar player to Dunn. Of course, Abreu got $5 million, and he's arguably a better player than Dye. The point is, the Sox couldn't find a taker for Dye because of how much he cost financially and in terms of players. Teams were not willing to pay the $11 million for Dye while also giving up a very good player. I can guarantee you that there are teams around the league who would be willing to pay Dye $11 mill. For Swisher, he got a utility player with some ability to start at 3B, a starting pitching prospect, and a relief prospect they liked more than the one they gave up. For Vazquez, they got an up and coming catching prospect, a super utility player with the potential to start at SS, 2B, or CF (plus any other position around the diamond besides catcher), and two lower level minor leaguers with high upside. I don't necessarily see what the problem is with the prospects they got back in return. Sure, they were looking to dump salary, but they got good packages back in return. When I was down at minor league camp last week, I heard some interesting tid-bits. The scouts there were raving about Gilmore and shortly after I saw Gilmore turn on a pitch and put it over the fences in a minor league game. I also saw the big lanky lefty they acquired and the scouts were again raving about them. In fact, the Sox scouts were all very excited and we heard on a couple different ocassions that things are going to get fun again down in the Sox minor leagues as the talent level isn't even close to what it used to be and that it is going to be fun to watch these guys develop. Also, another tidbit, but look for the Sox to pick up a starting pitcher for AA sometime shortly (if they haven't done so already). Not like a great prospect, more like a guy that gets waived who could come in and help down in AA.

As someone that has done nothing but slam Gordon until this season (I tip my cap to him), I'll go out and say ROse is f***ing awful defensively. I put him at least on the level of Ben Gordon during the first couple years of his career, if not worse. I completely agree with your assessment Ninetrain.

QUOTE (T R U @ Apr 2, 2009 -> 07:52 PM) I wouldn't go that far, clearly McDaniels still wants to get his guy in there. I doubt that its Orton. I wouldn't be shocked if they tried to flip one of those firsts to get Cassel. Not sure if that's something KC would entertain, but I bet they at least try it. Either way, Orton should work fine for them in the mean time while McDaniels gets the guy he wants to be his QB. I can't see KC dealing with there division rival. They have a lot of needs but they seem quite happy with having Cassel there. And I'm not saying Orton is the guy, but NFL Network was reporting that the Broncos actually liked Orton and I Think its because he can be a system type of QB.

QUOTE (T R U @ Apr 2, 2009 -> 07:48 PM) Yeah and even then Denver traded him because they made any RB look like a stud with their system.. that wasn't a hard choice for them at all. I wouldn't say who cares about a third, the second and third rounds are excellent draft territory especially for those talents that have fallen. For what the Bears have done though, I would feel the same. You move that third if it gives you a young, pro bowl QB which was desperately needed. A 3rd round pick can be a deal breaker when your acquiring a mediocre player, when you are getting a pro-bowler, potential franchise guy, you can't let a 3rd rounder be the deal breaker. That is more or less how I'm handling it. I think Denver will be just fine after making this move. I don't think they are really any better or worse long-term, mainly because there offense was a good RB away from being elite and they could have easily spent the next couple drafts addressing the defense without even worrying about the offense for the most part and probably would have had a couple year window as super bowl contenders (in all honesty). Without having an elite QB that could be a bit harder, but they have more draft picks to potentially land that elite QB or strengthen everything else up so when that QB shows up (if they can find it, big if) they'll be ready. From the Bears perspective, its a huge win. I'd say as a whole I give the win to the Bears given that it not only is a great move for the franchise for the next 10 years, but it also awoke a sleeping giant of a fan base and changed the entire face of the franchise and the way things are ran overnight. Ownership might be the same, but I look at the Bears completely different today than I did yesterday. I can't say that about the Broncos. Plus, a year from now, if the Bears struggle, one of the best coaches in NFL history will be a front-runner to take the position (Shanny). By the way, I know the Bears still have some major holes but overnight they've addressed a need that every team wishes they could address (role of a franchise QB that could go down as one of the best ever...obviously a big if, but no expert will tell you that Cutler doesn't have that ability).

I heard the USC players talking about him today and they said they admired how honest Floyd was about the entire situation and they were also talking about how helpful he is about there decisions to go pro and that from what he's heard from his peers that play at other programs he feels that Floyd is on a whole other level with the way he treats his players.

QUOTE (T R U @ Apr 2, 2009 -> 07:45 PM) Yeah you're right they don't, and like I said the Bears needed this.. but Denver could easily draft Mark Sanchez this year or wait till next year and if they do suck this year could get a Colt McCoy or Sam Bradford anyways. Either way, Denver isn't in a bad position at all. Denver has to trade him because they pissed him off and he clearly wasn't going to cooperate with them, its not like they just decided hey lets trade Jay Cutler without anything behind it, I still see what you are saying though. I don't think it was more that he wanted a QB to fit what hes doing aside from he just wanted his guy, that didn't happen and that's why Cutler was traded. I would hardly say Denver is in a bad position here regardless of how this season goes for them. If they want a QB, they can get one and have set themselves up pretty good for the future. And once again, not a bad deal for the Bears at all I just feel Denver wins it easily. Its a win win, with one of the wins being just a little more than the other. Anytime you get two firsts it isn't a bad move, plus, I think Orton is a good fit for McDaniels system. McDaniels is going to run a system similar to the run set for Cassel and I fully believe Orton has a similar skill set as Cassel. I don't think either are elite QB's, which Cutler might be and Cassel has obviously proved a bit more, but Orton could very well be the starting QB for the next 5 years in Denver with them building there team around defense and using those picks to upgrade the defense as well as continue to rebuild the oline and get in a RB.

QUOTE (rockren @ Apr 2, 2009 -> 07:34 PM) Franchise QBs don't grow on trees...there isn't a fan base more familiar with this saying than Chicago. When is the last time a team traded a 25 year-old Pro Bowl QB coming off of a 4500 yard season? McDaniels is pretty full of himself if he thinks he needs a QB more suitable to fit what he's trying to do...After Denver goes 4-12 this year, McDaniels may be looking for a new job. Never, there was absolutely no historical marker for such a situation. No player of this caliber at this point in his career has ever been on the market. The only other example I can think of is when Clinton Portis (a rb) was dealt in his prime from the Broncos and the RedSkins paid a very hefty price for him. Bottom line, the Bears got a guy that they can build around not just now, but for the next ten years and I'm f***ing stoked. Say we draft Sanchez, we got to give him money and use our 1st round pick (and probably have to deal up) and still have no idea, we are basically giving up another 1st for certainty and who the hell cares about the 3rd.

QUOTE (Steve9347 @ Apr 2, 2009 -> 04:05 PM) However... Are Brandon Marshall and Eddie Royal better than Tory Holt and Devin Hester? Lovie's Rams connection might just pay off twice this offseason. Gotta make Holt happen. Yea, But Hester/Holt and Bennette or a draft pick combined with Forte/Olsen/Clark is a pretty f***ing good offense, depending on how the line does.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Apr 2, 2009 -> 03:46 PM) I just checked the data...turns out that Denver had more rushing yards and more ypc than Chicago did last year by quite a bit. They were at 4.8 ypc, 12th in the league in rushing yards total. Now of course, one can certainly argue that they were able to rush more because their offense was more open with a solid QB, wasn't facing 8 man fronts, wasn't regularly going 3 and out because they had the ability to convert on 3rd down. They may not have had a premier back, but they picked up quite a bit more yardage than the Bears. I heard Dan Reeves on the raido and he was talking about the Broncos rushing attack and that the yards might indicate that the Broncos had a bit of a rushing attack but that every opponent ignored Denvers running game and did all it could to stop Jay and that it was incredibly impressive that Cutler was still able produce. Reeves went on to say one of the toughest things to do in the NFL is throw the ball sucessfully for an extended period of time when everyone in the league knows your going to. This was in response to a question from the talk show host asking whether Cutler was over-rated due to him being in a pass oriented offense. Reeves basically said not at all and that he had all the tools to be a great one.

QUOTE (Athomeboy_2000 @ Apr 2, 2009 -> 03:41 PM) I want to amend that, Cutler threw for over 4500 yards with nothing special at WR. Some good players, but not "OMG". So, he could do well with the guys we have. Brandon Marshall is one of the top WR's in the league. YOu could argue that Cutler makes him better, but he's no slouch. Eddie Royal was a youngster that was brilliant. Again, Cutler might have helped but he had weapons. He had little running game though.

That would be badass. I saw this blurb when I came to Soxtalk and was like wait a minute, did the Bears get Cutler, than s*** myself.

He has one of the nations top recruiting classes. I just know one thing, Tim Floyd is one of the premiere coaches in the land, whether its at USC or Arizona, he'll win a national championship or two by the time his career is done.

Orton isn't bad, but Cutler can be a franchise QB. He should make Olsen and Hester so much better even if neither of them progressed. He can make throws few QB's can make and his ability to throw accurate and powerful balls should make our WR's a lot more confident and help them develop.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Apr 2, 2009 -> 03:28 PM) Bennett, Hester, Olsen, and White is a good starting point. There needs to be 1 more in that mix, possession type receiver, but it's a decent fit given the QB the Bears just got. This also probably just got Forte another 100-200 yards running just on its own, because now the safeties and CB's have no choice but to play back. You can't play an 8 man front against Cutler. Whose White? I assume you mean Clark?

Please get Holt.

I think I jizzed myself like 4 times. I ran up and down my street, called all my friends...wow....most exciting move in franchise history. Someone link me, I want to buy his f***ing jersey NOW.