2nd_city_saint787

I wanted Jaime Collins so bad when I was making mock drafts...he was a available when they picked Bostic too....That man is gonna be a player.

Well that was fun. Colston needs to brush up on his rugby.

Soooo do they already have a backup plan at 3B???

I'd be fine with trading Jo if they had the opportunity to get a 1st rounder in 2014 and some future picks. He's a monster defensively but I trust in Thibs to get whoever they bring in to play really good defense. What would really blow though is if they do all this moving and shaking and they end up missing out on Lebron/Melo. I suppose they can build a team on 1 year contracts then hope Love opts out next year.

QUOTE (pettie4sox @ Jan 10, 2014 -> 04:31 PM) Do people pick against the Patriots because they hate them? Do you really think Luck is going to march into Foxboro and beat TB? Lack of Gronk could have something to do with it.

Since I don't have hulu I think I'm most excited about NXT shows being aired on the WWE network. First show is supposed to feature another Zane/Cesaro match and a Dallas/Neville ladder match, both of which should be fantastic.

I was making the argument that the Sox should have enough money to sign Cano so I obviously think they should have enough money to sign Tanaka. Make it happen Hahn.

I'd have zero problem rooting for Lebron if he were playing for Chicago. I couldn't imagine how sick the team would look like if all the cards fell right and they added him, a healthy DRose ( ), a top 5 pick, 2 picks in the 10-15 range, and Mirotic. Even if it means they have to trade Noah to go along with the amnestying of Boozer, I make those moves all day. Since I love playing armchair GM.... PG- Rose-Jordan Clarkson-Augustine SG- Butler- James Young/Gary Harris/Wayne Seldon (Best available SG) SF- Lebron-Snell PF- Mirotic-Taj C- Embiid-Vet-Isaiah Austin *drools*

Finally got my battling rope, just toyed around with it, and I've got a question....I have it wrapped around a pole, but does it have to be anchored down so it doesn't move up and down on the pole???

QUOTE (dasox24 @ Jan 9, 2014 -> 05:38 PM) That's correct. It's half the cap hit this year and the other half the next year. Cutting a guy after June 1 allows you to spread the cap hit over a two year span. I edited my previous post because I forgot Jake brought up a purposed 2/20 restructured deal for Pep in this hypothetical scenario. IF they can actually restructure that much of the deal into bonus money and his cap hit is only 10M each year I'd have to think about it. 20M in reverted into bonus money just seems insane.

QUOTE (Jake @ Jan 9, 2014 -> 01:29 PM) Right - the question is whether you would rather have an extra 10 million in cap room and no Julius peppers or an extra 8 million in cap room and have Julius Peppers. I was not aware of this June 1 business -- if we're only eating 4 million to send him away, that changes things substantially. By lowering his cap number are you just pushing cap problems a year down the road? Edit- nvm, I forgot you brought up a restructered deal of 2/20. If they can actually restructure it that much to where his cap number is on 10M both years I might have to think about it so long as they're still adding another guy like Michael Bennett to the fold or drafting a DE high in the draft. I don't wanna go into next year with Peppers/Wootton as the starting DEs.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Jan 8, 2014 -> 07:14 PM) The problem is...$7.5 million in dead space this year is a lot of money too. And? You're not gonna have that either way, but with that 9.8 you can upgrade 2 positions. It's quite simple to me, they need cap space and IMO they need an upgrade over Peppers. This is an absolute no brainier in my book.

QUOTE (witesoxfan @ Jan 8, 2014 -> 04:23 PM) That's exactly it. If the contract is almost 100% guaranteed, your opportunity cost for getting rid of him is dumb. If you can save substantial money, then it makes a lot of sense. Same thing is going on with Steve Johnson now. Beat writers and (idiot) fans are talking about cutting Steve. This year, if the Bills cut Steve Johnson, they'd save like $100,000, and you take on a hit next year on top of that too. If they cut him next year, they save $8 million. In those instances, you may as well just keep the guy. 9.8M in cap room is substantial cap money. That very well could be enough to upgrade over Peppers, and add another piece to the defense.

QUOTE (Jake @ Jan 8, 2014 -> 03:46 PM) It would mean $10M each year if he is kept or $10 million this year and $6 million next year if he is cut. The real question (for this season) is do you want to pay $2 million to have Julius on the team? You're paying him $8 million to go away regardless. Again I come back to the consistency issues. If he's willing to take a lesser role then sure. He's not getting any younger and I think it would be a mistake to rely on him as the every down DE he's been. At this point, he's just a name to me.

QUOTE (witesoxfan @ Jan 8, 2014 -> 02:11 PM) Losing Peppers will hurt, but he's a guy that can potentially be released and brought back. Plus their line looked a lot better late in the year too, though it could obviously be better. Given the payday Bennett is probably looking at, I think aiming lower is the smart choice. I'm not sure if we can discount having his brother on the team. It won't be a HUGE discount, but I can see him taking less money to play with Martellus, who has already talked about "recruiting" him. QUOTE (Jake @ Jan 8, 2014 -> 02:20 PM) If Peppers would agree to restructure his deal to 2/$20M but with a $6M guarantee in each season, would you do it? That would mean a 6M cap hit each year? If so I think I'd pass. Last 2 years he's been extremely inconsistent. He'll have games where he still goes off, but he's been a non factor more often than not. He really went off in the nasty Baltimore game, and against Minnesota, in those 2 games he had 19 tackles and 4.5 sacks...In his other 14 games?? 28 and 3....That's scary low for a guy who plays a lot of snaps. Jake, you might have this info available on PFF or might know where to find it, how often were teams running away from Peppers? Is it clear he was making an impact in that regard?

QUOTE (witesoxfan @ Jan 8, 2014 -> 12:27 PM) I don't know that I'd say that, but I completely understand. Then again, I think, especially with a Cover 2, you can find effective safeties for much cheaper too. Frankly, Cover 2 safeties - if they run a Cover 2 again - primarily just have to play deep zones and tackle. You can find a lot of guys who can do that. QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Jan 8, 2014 -> 12:37 PM) The problem is that the scheme doesn't work unless your front guys are getting some pressure. The Bears didn't do that this year. This is my point with my original post on Bennett over Byrd. They have to fix the DL first before they look into spending money on a top flight Safety. At this point I think it's a lock that Peppers gets cut so they're going to need at least 1 starting DE, and depending on what they do with Melton they're going to need a starting DT as well. If I'm the Bears I'm getting those guys first before I think about spending big money on Byrd or Ward.....I do indeed think that is, as you put it, smart.

Finally got around to watching Raw....The "ground breaking announcement" tomorrow is just honna be the announcement that WWE TV is finally launching right?

QUOTE (Jake @ Jan 7, 2014 -> 05:23 PM) Safety is by far the most pressing need. By the end of the season, our DL was the second best position on the D after the corners. Now, most of our interior DL (the part that was playing borderline adequate) is not under contract. But if we can bring some of them back, I'd certainly pay more attention to safety if all else is equal. With that said, I'll take the best players I can get at any defensive position. My argument against that, and it might be a silly one, but in 2012 the Bears had the same 2 safeties they did this year and they finished with a top 5 D. I'm not saying they don't need an upgrade, they do, but I don't think getting "superstars" there will fix the D more than adding "superstars" to the DL will. If Michael Bennett and Jarius Byrd both hit the market I'd want Bennett. If Melton isn't resigned and the Bears are looking at HaHa or Nix/Tuit/Hageman I'd take one of the lineman....Safeties are usually the "last line of defense", I think the Bears need to fix the "first line of defense" first. Improved DL helps every level of the defense. Safety? Not so much.

QUOTE (GoSox05 @ Jan 7, 2014 -> 10:54 AM) Here is how bad Packers safety M.D Jennings is. He played 855 snaps this year and did not defend one pass. Not one. Only player in NFL to play over 800 snaps and do that. You think he would have defended one on accident. Packer safeties had zero INT this year. @zachkruse2 Morgan Burnett and MD Jennings were targeted 60 times in 2013. Allowed 46 catches, 612 yards, 9 TDs and a passer rating of 148.1. I think the DL and CB(if they let Tillman walk) is the more pressing need but I wouldn't mind the Bears taking HaHa if he's there not only because it is a need nut also because the Pack could really use him.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Jan 7, 2014 -> 02:32 PM) I don't know this draft class well enough but let's throw out the hypothetical since we're imagining. Would you swap that for the #1 or #2 pick? All 3 of those I mean? Hypothetically, if one of the teams in the 1 or 2 spot wanna give up on a chance at Wiggins/Parker, yes I'd give our pick and one of the 11/12 (no chance they'll take just the 11 and 12). Then take Parker and hope someone verastile that can play the point and 2 guard like Levine or Exum drop to 11. Then get some big like Isiah Austin in the 2nd round. Rose-Levine Parker-Levine Butler-Snell Taj-Mirotic Noah-Austin Parker and Butler are pretty much interchangeable as far as position goes, and there's also a chance Levine ends up being a starter over Butler. If Rose gets hurt again Levine can be plugged in at the point. That is just so sexy to even think about. I need to step away before I get wood cause I gotta go outside and install a battery, don't want my s*** to fall off.

QUOTE (bmags @ Jan 7, 2014 -> 02:22 PM) I won't say 100% Bulls can't get that pick while the NBA Injury Fairy is working overtime so much. Looking again at the bottom of the standings, you may be right. Didn't really notice how bad the bottom of the league is...Just 3 games from the 11spot. How sexy would it be if the kings and bobcats finished 11th and 12th then the Bulls get a top 5? Then they still have the money to bring in Mirotic?! Oh sweet baby Jesus, make it happen NBA Gods.

QUOTE (ZoomSlowik @ Jan 7, 2014 -> 01:45 PM) I wouldn't even say they have A TON of talent. Who's their 4th best player? Derrick Williams? Do Jason Thompson and Marcus Thornton worry you at all? What about McLemore and his 37% shooting? It's not like their big-3 is anything close championship-caliber either. Cousins, Thomas, and a top 5 pick could be pretty nasty. How does their cap situation look? Gay a FA next year? If so, sans Cousins, who are they paying big money too? Thomas-Mclemore-Wiggins/Parker-Cousins-? or Thomas-Mclemore-?-Cousins-Embiid or Thomas-Mclemore-?-Randle-Cousins all look scary id they got the $$ to add a good piece into those question marks. As for this year, ya, they're not getting that pick.

Kings should be pretty good next year if they stay bad and hit on one of the uber prospects in the draft....Cousins and Wiggins/Parker/Randle/Embiid should be pretty damn good.

...28 Still though, I think they can add, at the very least, 1 impact player on defense.

A breakdown off the Bears cap situation (If overthecap.com has their numbers right) 45.5 to begin with Cutler- 22.5 Jennings 5.2 Slausson 2.7 Gould 2.6 Fiametta .7 Rookies 5 Cap to date ~6.8 Possible cuts and how much they'd free up Peppers 9.8 Bush 1.8 Bennett 2.4 Podlesh 1 Weems 1.1 Total Cap ~22.9 Marshall can be extended to save lets say 2M to make the cap room 24.9 If things happen like that the Bears should have plenty of money to add 2 or 3 good defensive players. Esp. if they can work out contracts like they did with Bennett/Bushrod last year where they only counted 4.9M against the cap combined.