Boogua

Franklin is playing one of the worst games I've ever seen in my life. Yeah, I know, it's an exhibition.

QUOTE (bmags @ Jan 3, 2014 -> 08:56 PM) Mauk plays a series every game. Franklin is a senior. Bowl games are exhibitions. Fair enough. Franklin is starting to look better this drive too.

Franklin looks terrible. Why did they take out Mauk?

QUOTE (RockRaines @ Jan 3, 2014 -> 03:38 PM) Based on what? I think he'll be top five and his production won't match expectations like what you just said. I would guess based on the fact that he's a physical monster that was able to put up 13 sacks in his sophomore year after putting up 8 his freshman year. He clearly has motor issues, but he probably didn't want to risk getting hurt this past year. He can be a dominant force against both the pass and the run. If his motor improves, which might happen if he wants to make a lot of money in his career, he should be a pro bowler for years to come. I feel like it's more likely that he is a star than him busting. The guy is a freak.

QUOTE (Athomeboy_2000 @ Jan 3, 2014 -> 03:09 PM) Fanspeak's On the Clock NFL Mock Draft Simulator My third draft: 14 - CB IFO EKPRE-OLOMU (OREGON) 51 - DT AARON DONALD (PITTSBURGH) 82 - S CRAIG LOSTON (LSU) Nick Shepkowski 's draft: 14 - DE JADEVEON CLOWNEY (SOUTH CAROLINA) 51 - DT AARON DONALD (PITTSBURGH) 82 - S CRAIG LOSTON (LSU) 113 - ILB MAX BULLOUGH (MICHIGAN STATE) 144 - S NICKOE WHITLEY (MISSISSIPPI STATE) Clowney at 14? Yes, please. Absolutely no way that happens.

QUOTE (Heads22 @ Jan 2, 2014 -> 09:43 PM) Oklahoma - Alabama going exactly how everyone thought. Alabama seems to not care about bowl games that aren't the national championship game. Same thing happened against Utah a few years back.

QUOTE (KyYlE23 @ Dec 31, 2013 -> 07:35 PM) I generally don't disagree with sabermetric and grading and such, but Webb f***ing sucked I feel like your opinion might be skewed because when Webb was bad he was really bad. In the San Francisco game last year he gave up 3 sacks and 5 hurries. The rest of the year he gave up 4 sacks.

QUOTE (Jake @ Dec 31, 2013 -> 05:01 PM) Great game for Illinois. That wasn't the Oladipo and Zeller Hoosiers, but they are a good team. I wasn't very optimistic about our chances before the game, but JFG teams continue to really come through. Ray Rice is really something else, too. A lot of folks doubted how he'd do in the Big Ten, but this should quell those doubts for a while. Even I was unsure about how much he might drop off in conference. Yeah, Rice is just a man. Next year could be stacked with all the spacing that the Illini will add. He'll have more room to operate.

QUOTE (He_Gawn @ Dec 31, 2013 -> 04:43 PM) How IU was in that game with 25 TOs I'll never know. Rice just flipped s*** on Crean. Great game Well, IU hit 10 3s on 45.5% while illinois hit 2 on 11.8%. IU also made 24 FTs. The only way IU loses a game like that is with turnovers.

Fitting that would be the thing that ties the game. FTs

QUOTE (gatnom @ Dec 31, 2013 -> 03:35 PM) I know what you mean, but it's hard to complain about the other team hitting mostly wide open 3's. Ferrell seemingly can't miss, though. They played an extremely easy OOC schedule and shot 31.5% from 3. The Illini were probably leaving guys like Vonleh open out there for a reason. Illini guys like Ekey have also missed wide open 3s.

QUOTE (gatnom @ Dec 31, 2013 -> 03:31 PM) Getting ugly in a hurry. Indiana shooting inexplicably well from 3 today. Hard to win games when the opponent shoots that much over their average.

Illinois has gone stagnant and Indiana is scoring almost every time down. Not looking good for the Illini.

QUOTE (Jenksismyb**** @ Dec 31, 2013 -> 10:40 AM) I-L-L!. Let's have a nice beat down today, please. I'm taking off work early to catch the game. I think it's going to be pretty close. Line opened at Illinois -2. I wouldn't be surprised if it's a pretty low scoring game.

QUOTE (RockRaines @ Dec 31, 2013 -> 11:59 AM) But to me that doesnt scream the worst player on the Bears. There are probably 5 players on defense that could take that title. Our right side of the line was made up of 2 rookies including one that had been playing the position a little over a year. Thats incredible. Oh, yeah, the grading system is a bit harsher for tackles though. He obviously didn't hurt us much with his poor play like the defensive players did.

QUOTE (Soxfest @ Dec 31, 2013 -> 11:52 AM) Mills played way better than Webb not even close. I could see why one would think that, but it isn't true. As Jake even said, the Bears lined up another RT alongside him a good amount of the time to help.

QUOTE (RockRaines @ Dec 31, 2013 -> 10:05 AM) It didnt stand out to me, and I thought he and Long were a good run blocking tandem. As a rookie I wouldnt put him as the worst player on the roster, not by a long shot. He didn't stand out due to the coaching. If more of those hurries turned into sacks, which they would have with last year's coaching staff, the fans would have been calling for his head. For comparison, Carimi gave up 31 hurries last year, but he gave up 7 sacks. Mills and Long have a lot of potential on the right side and showed flashes during the year in the run game. The run blocking, however, looked even better when Mills got hurt and Britton took over on Sunday. The good thing is that Mills is only a rookie and should only get better.

QUOTE (RockRaines @ Dec 31, 2013 -> 09:59 AM) Mills as the worst player? Thats crazy. Mills was awful this year. People don't realize it because the Bears were good at getting rid of the ball quickly, thus he only gave up 3 sacks. He gave up 62 hurries, which were the most the NFL. It's amazing what good offensive coaching can cover up.

QUOTE (GoSox05 @ Dec 31, 2013 -> 09:35 AM) I think the Packers have a shot at beating the 49ers on Sunday. They played them much the last time they played. I would lean toward the 49ers winning, but would not be shocked if the Packers won. The last time they played the Packers had Matthews, who was dominating the read option plays, and the Niners were without Crabtree. I agree that the Pack have a shot, but I think the Niners win this game 8/10 times.

Luke Fischer withdrew from IU. Weird. Wonder where he tries to transfer to.

QUOTE (chw42 @ Dec 30, 2013 -> 02:23 PM) They almost lost to the Cardinals yesterday after being up 17-0. Green Bay will have a chance, although I still think the Niners will run all over them. The Cardinals are a very good team that was playing at home. That same Cardinals team was able to knock off Seattle in Seattle. Sure, Green Bay will have a chance because it's the NFL. It will be a pretty small chance.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Dec 30, 2013 -> 02:10 PM) GB is a better team by a lot right now than they were in weeks 13-16, for example. That has to be something of a worry, and it's a homegame for them. Eh, the 49ers have looked like the best team in football since Crabtree has come back. They also beat GB early in the season without Crabtree while GB had a healthy Matthews.

QUOTE (Greyone @ Dec 30, 2013 -> 02:06 PM) Bears pick 14, what position do you address (I know it is real early). I'm not a huge college football follower, and I know it is hard to suggest a player without knowing who is officially coming out, but those that follow any stud D-linemen worthy of that pick, what about Safety/ Cornerbacks. Those three positions are the biggest need right now, though Bowman played really well these last few months. Stephon Tuitt and Kony Ealy are two DEs I'm sure the Bears will look at. Maybe Ha Ha Clinton-Dix if they really want a safety. If the Bears elect to stay a cover two team then it is unlikely they go CB in the first round. All of this is too early to speculate though because of the combine, interviews, and the senior bowl.

QUOTE (lasttriptotulsa @ Dec 30, 2013 -> 01:37 PM) You think you know more about football than Tim Beckman? Then go try to find a head coaching job and see how far you get. Wow.

QUOTE (whitesoxfan99 @ Dec 30, 2013 -> 01:33 PM) Meh. Coaches are actually remarkably inept in understanding time and score and clock management. Tim Beckman gets paid a lot more than you do to coach football! He clearly knows what he's doing....