nitetrain8601

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Jan 16, 2009 -> 11:24 AM) One thing about Deng right now...the offense we're running currently isn't really tailored to him any more. His job in the current offense is to sort of sit outside and wait for a shot to come to him rather than generate anything. Yeah, his performance is down, but if he's not in position to do what he's good at, we ought to expect that. Yeah, if you can't do one of two things, you're useless in this offense. That's drive or shoot. Deng's dribbling isn't great, but he doesn't have a even decent first step(which is how a slow guy like Pierce actually gets his shot off), he doesn't have footwork, and he lost his jumpshot about a year and a half ago.

QUOTE (DBAHO @ Jan 16, 2009 -> 04:01 PM) Would the Bears go after Jordan Gross to play RT if he became a FA and cut John Tait I wonder? Gross is probably one of the best 2 or 3 RT's in the league. That would be hard not to.

QUOTE (Jordan4life @ Jan 16, 2009 -> 03:46 PM) Yeah, that's exactly what I meant. First of all, calm down. Second, my only point in regarding the fans is that it's easy to play Monday morning QB AFTER a trade/draft/signing backfires. If you didn't have a problem with a move at the time it happened, STFU about it and move on. Don't sit here acting like you knew all along it was a bad move. Or want to roast the guy who made the move when you had no problem with it at the time. There isn't a GM in the history of sports that hasn't made multiple bad trades, FA signings or made bad draft picks. If you fired a GM after every bad move/moves they made we'd have a different GM every week. Everybody loved Paxson in 2007. Now a year and a half later he's garbage and should be fired. Give me a f***in' break. Bingo. KW has made way more questionable moves than Paxson has at the time acquisitions were made. Of course, baseball and basketball are two different things, but at the same time, on the day of actual moves, I don't think no one could say that was a terrible trade minus letting JR Smith go for nothing. Other than that, Paxson has always solid acquisitions. Paxson's problem has always been his lack of trades and consildating talent.

QUOTE (RockRaines @ Jan 16, 2009 -> 03:35 PM) Its not the pass rush that let someone like Griese have his best game against the Bears. The pass rush needs a few seconds to get penetration and the coverage wasnt there to allow pressure at times. We have a terrible secondary. Vasher is done at this point, we dont have a true starter to fill in. Our safeties are average AT BEST. Dont discount the value of a dominant DB, it eliminates usually a team's best threat and half the field. 2 seconds more coverage leads to sacks. We have plenty of DE talent IMO but are VERY thin at LB especially with Urlacher moving into decline and at DB we have a crew of fillins. Took the words out of my mouth. Tillman has never been a world beater and IMHO he should be no more than a nickel or a #2 with Champ Bailey on the other side of him. Vasher is like Tillman IMHO as well. They have good qualities and I think Vasher is a better tackler and coverage person why Tillman is the better ballhawk. Either way, they are not the answer at CB. The S is screwed up as well IMO. Bears have good backups starting at those positions, especially when Brown is injured. I also think they have to move on from Mike Brown. Other more prominent needs IMO are WR and DE.

And also, to his credit besides the 07 draft, he took the BPA's available. No one could really make a case for anyone else taken after his lottery picks as better. In 07, Roy didn't make sense(he still doesn't as him and Gordon's production is very similar and Roy's defense is worse than Gordon's). The only debate was Tyrus or LA. Tyrus won because he was way more athletic which is what Paxson and Skiles wanted along with some fans here. BTW, I still want Paxson fired for his lack of pulling triggers. Hopefully that Hughes, Nocioni for Jermaine deal gets done. Heck throw in Gooden and Noah to sweeten the pot. I could do without all four.

Well the Wallace signing was pushed by JR. That's where things started going downhil. 50% of the blame goes on ownership, 50% goes on the GM. JR pushed BW, Paxson did it. BW shook up the lockerroom. He tuned out Skiles while before coming here, that was blasphemy because you would not play if you did. Wallace was going to play no matter what on that contract. Still, Skiles could spin it as he's a vet and he has earned things in his career. Then Joakim Noah, the most immature Bull who's ever put on the uniform came about. He started disrespecting coaching, and other players saw this and to me it seemed like, "if Noah doesn't have to listen, we surely don't as we are now vets, and he's a rookie." Noah yells at Ron Adams cursing him up and down, and hell ensues. It's no coincidence that since Noah, especially came on, we've had problems with players buying into the coaches for the most part. Paxson's fault comes in acquiring too many assets and not trading them in for star assets. That means consolidating talent. The Bulls were built up of pieces who bought into the system, who worked hard, but weren't always the most talented group. Every player had their flaws, but we really didn't have a guy like Shaq and Kobe, Duncan and Parker, Pippen and Jordan, Isiah and Dumars. I think Paxson fell in love with his core and also thought the Detroit Piston model was the new rule and not the exception in terms of having at least one superstar leading your team. Now, while some of the fault falls on the players for not buying in, Paxson also had to know, not everyone was going to reach their potential. Luol seems to have settled for getting paid. Even at his best, he was never an impact player on this team and he always always faded in the second half of games. His rebounding since his peak season, has gone downhill. The only thing that I can say is better this year than any other year is his defense. He's playing really really nice defense. Gordon has improved the most out of the Baby Bulls as he no longer sucks on defense. He's also become more and more efficient and his overall(despite popular belief, check the numbers) game has improved. Rose, looks good, but he's not really a leader. He's humble to a fault. Doesn't have any killer instinct. Never has dating back to high school. Nocioni has turned to crap, but I think that's because he doesn't know how to play on a crap team. On every team he's ever been on, he's been a role player. Now he thinks he has to do way more on the court to start winning again instead of playing within himself. Tyrus has regressed from his rookie year IMO and LA IMHO was always a better choice(look back at my posts), but a lot of people here even wanted Tyrus. Over the past month though, Tyrus has been a really nice player. Noah cares more about smoking a j instead of on the court stuff. Gooden is terrible defensively and there's a reason he's been traded so many times. Hughes is what we all thought Larry Hughes is. Thabo is not an impact player either. He's a 7th or 8th man, but I think too many people love his size and don't pay attention to his actual ability. Kirk has regressed from his peak season and he's not as bad as I may have stated, but he's also no longer as good as 06/07. The thing is, he's too expensive as a backup and he's not suited to be a full-time SG.

If you ask me, the Bears' biggest need is in the secondary. S and CB are definitely a priority. I think they may go second round with OL, but more likely the 3rd since they want to see what they have in Chris Williams.

QUOTE (MHizzle85 @ Jan 15, 2009 -> 07:07 PM) Bulls fans. How much does Lebron go for tonight? I say 40. 37.

He's gone to poop and needs to go.

I prefer Getz. I really like how he looked at the plate in limited action last year. I think he could become sorta like Marcus Giles for Atlanta before he and Prior injured each other.

QUOTE (witesoxfan @ Jan 15, 2009 -> 06:38 PM) The question in the playoffs always becomes whether the pitching staff is good enough. If both were healthy come playoff time, I imagine one of Garcia and Colon would man up to go along with the big 3, but the lack of development time does suck. We'll have to see what comes up in the upcoming weeks. It's tough because if the Sox go the vet way, and make the playoffs, it stengthens the casual fan base which are the ones most likely to drive merchandise and tickets up. If the Cubs fail again next year, you would see more fans jump to the Sox side as the Cubs are expected to contend once again, the Sox are supposed to be a team rebuilding and hopefully on the rise(again, not my opinion, but ask a casual baseball fan and that's what they think). All depends on the health of the vets and how well the youngsters do.

QUOTE (witesoxfan @ Jan 15, 2009 -> 06:01 PM) I'm not sure why anybody would exactly rule out Garcia coming back right now anyways. If they get him for a deal similar to Colon's, it'll be cheap and well worth the risk. It's becoming more and more obvious that a trade of Dye just isn't that likely, and the only real downfall I think that comes of it is that Owens may be the opening day CFer simply because he is currently the best fit for "leadoff hitter," though I'd prefer Thome leading off over Owens. It's iffy with Garcia. I'm pretty sure the organization wants to bring him back, and he wants to come back, but we also don't want to stunt anyone's growth. I'm pretty sure the Sox could capture the division if they were to sign FG34, but would they be good enough to contend for a WS and would losing in the playoffs be worth losing development time. I'm for signing FG and winning the division at least one more time and letting the dominos fall in the playoffs as I don't think Poreda is ready yet(should be in bullpen for a year), Richard is capable enough(as a starter), and Marquez is ready yet(I don't know if I would put him in the bullpen or not).

QUOTE (witesoxfan @ Jan 15, 2009 -> 06:11 PM) The top of the order is the only real question mark, but it's almost annually been a question mark in the Williams era. There are no longer many CFers available to fill the hole, and the only move that would really piss me off is if KW traded for Pierre. One risky move that I wouldn't be opposed to is the Sox trading for Willie Harris. The Nationals outfield is absolutely stacked and Harris has the most service and the least amount of upside. However, he does get on at a pretty decent clip and he can probably play an adequate CF. That would be about Plan C, but with Plan D being Owens, I'd take it. As would I. He's also versatile enough to where Ozzie would keep him on the roster since he could play those multiple positions. I've always wondered why we didn't bring him back. He has decent plate discipline, a good OBP, and is speedy. And one more thing, he doesn't suck like Owens.

I wanted to bring back Willie Harris and Pablo Ozuna this year. And then have one play C while the other pitches. That would amuse me, entertain me, and make the Sunday lineup, that much more exciting.

QUOTE (Buehrle>Wood @ Jan 15, 2009 -> 04:31 PM) Nomar is the most notorious case Nomar had every reason to believe that. He was basically the Grady Sizemore of his position before injuries, etc. slowed him down.

QUOTE (kyyle23 @ Jan 15, 2009 -> 02:45 PM) LOL, Michael Irvins carjacking story is starting to show some leaks Yea reporting it a day later. Then saying he didn't want to go public, but still talked about it on his radio show I believe is what I heard. I'm a Cowboys fan and grew up in the days of Smith, Aikman, and Irvin, but this is hilarious.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Jan 15, 2009 -> 10:46 AM) After seeing the disaster that VDN has become...after seeing this team add a guy like Rose and actually be worse than last year...I'm a trading deadline away from joining that bandwagon. The next month is his last shot. Either we need 2009/2010 cap space, or we need to acquire someone decent, or at least clear away some of the Chaff. For God's sake, we actually ran a lineup in the 4th quarter last night of: Deng, Nocioni, Gordon, Hinrich, Rose. I think Ben Gordon is your Small Forward in that lineup. Whether or not we won the game...that's just awful. True the Bulls have 2 good players right now. Hinrich is useful, but overpayed. Really, the only way the Bulls win these days is if Gordon or Rose (preferably both) go off that night. And I'm not saying 18 pts, but more like 25pts or at least combine for around 45ppg. If they don't, it'll probably be a blow out. Everybody else is literally useless. Nocioni runs around with his head cut off. Deng got paid and doesn't seem to care. And don't get me started on our frontcourt who allow guys like Varejao go off.

...For The Loss!!!!

QUOTE (Brian @ Jan 14, 2009 -> 07:05 PM) Lots of crow to eat, ya know. Osiris will eat that crow for all their fans. There's nothing that can stop him.

Yeah, what was up with Earl Bennet not playing last year? Also, if the Bears sign Jeff Garcia, that would be more craptastic than drafting a guy like Painter.

QUOTE (DBAHO @ Jan 13, 2009 -> 02:00 PM) Hence why someone such as Luol Deng is such a horrible fit in VDN's offense right now. You've got build your offense around the strength of your players. Yes, Rose should be able to drive and penetrate, that's his game. But unless you have forwards like Rashard Lewis and Hedo Turkoglu sitting out on the perimeter, that type of offense isn't really going to work. I've long been tooting Tom Thibodeau's horn as a head coach. When you look at Boston's D, and how Rondo has come on as a point guard, and yet all of the forward likes Pierce etc. don't have to jack up 3's, that's why I thought he was the perfect candidate for the Bulls. If they win less than 35 games this season (distinct possibility), they need to blow everything up, and rebuild with a new GM and coach. Because the danger is, even with such a big market, if you can't get the team into a top 4 playoff contender with Derrick Rose, what's to stop his bolting when his rookie contract finishes? They're good because they have 3 superstars and there's a good chance all of them will be HOFers when all said and done. Bulls defense would improve, but alot of people did not like the offense ran in Houston as a result of setting up Tom's defense. The dribble drive motion offense which Boston runs a bit of, works, but that's because again, they have studs on their front line. Notice how their bench sucks at running the system. It's the only system I know though that will cover a PG's inability to hit a jumper as it predicates on the ballhandler driving for the most part.

QUOTE (Ron @ Jan 13, 2009 -> 01:06 PM) Steelers backup and former Jags starter Byron Leftwich wants a crack at the Bears QB starting job. Sun-Times I've never really been high on Leftwich. Big arm, but slow, wonky delivery and no mobility thanks to a troublesome ankle. He's never had mobility. Even before he got injured at college. What he had was a huge arm and he was pretty accurate. I see him as another Ben Roethlisberger as his peak which isn't bad, but it isn't super great either. If I were the Bears, I'd take a crack at him.

QUOTE (lostfan @ Jan 12, 2009 -> 06:04 AM) You were the only one actually arguing this that I can recall. Nobody really cares, the Seahawks and the Rams are still laughingstocks, the 49ers still suck but are improving finally, and even though they're in the NFC Championship, the Cardinals are still a 7-loss team who went 2-4 down the stretch but they clinched early so it doesn't matter because he division sucks. Why do you bring the NFC North into everything? Because you stated they were much better than either West team, but yet, those teams clinched their division, and you gave them(ARI) crap for losing down the stretch. You know a lot of teams are more concentrated on being healthy down the stretch once they clinched. And for SD, yea, their division was down, but it was still better than the NFC Bore as evident by both West teams advancing at least into the second round of the playoffs.

So much for the NFC West being weaker than the NFC North.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Jan 4, 2009 -> 02:57 PM) I'll admit, looks like I was wrong. Given the cap implications, this tells me 1 thing: Tom Brady will not be starting for the Pats next September. Probably not October either. No way you do that if Brady can go. They could trade Cassell. Or keep him and let him start. Brady is way behind schedule from everything I've heard.