Jay Glazer has reported that the Minnesota Vikings have signed Bernard Berrian to a six-year deal, putting him in a significantly more unstable quarterback situation than the one he just inhabited (the Vikes just offered a third round pick for Sage Rosenfels). Berrian sought cash and cash he's reportedly found - though the terms of the deal have not yet been released. The rumors are swirling that he's being paid 7 million a year with 16 up front. My God.
The Bears now need to be very careful. (1) Don't sign Bryant Johnson to some ridiculous contract because you need to fill the position. (2) See what it takes to be involved with the Randy Moss situation. I second my previous statement that lining up Moss and Hester at the same time would make the Bears offense more exciting than it has ever been in the history of the franchise. You can't double team both. (3) Javon Walker is going to win comeback player of the year next season and he won't cost the house. (4) Call Devin Hester. Get him to Chicago if he's not there. Teach him the offense. He's the ballclub now.
#2 jdawg said . . .Moss would definitely be an awesome acquisition but I only have one concern. The guy hates to get hit. One of the reasons he did so well in NE was the fact that he knew the ball was going to always be in the right place at the right time. That can't be guaranteed if he played for the bears and he's not the type of player anymore who is going to go get a ball if it means possibly taking a shot. Personally I think the bears would be better off using Hester as the deep threat and then finding a tough receiver who is going to make the tough catches.
Just to note I realize that on deep balls Moss can haul them in better than anyone else in the league. Its the short passes that worry me.
March 1, 2008
#3 HesterFan23 said . . .Moss will not come here, unless he really misses mooning the cheeseheads once a year.
BB is basically Moose with jets -- he'll drop the easy ball and make the circus catch.
In 2009 the Vikes are going to be hurting cap-wise. AP is awesome, but we'll see if he lasts a whole season.
Funny thing is, the Vikes boards are probably talking SB already. Poor bastards.
March 1, 2008
#4 jeff said . . .Yeah, they can enjoy finally gettting a free agent to sign, but they just over-paid badly.
March 1, 2008
#5 jdawg said . . .i never care about over-paying. but he doesn't make sense in their offense. what he does best, they're quarterback can't do.
March 1, 2008
#6 MNGOTEMBABY said . . .Hey Jeff -- I hate to disagree, but their QB has a cannon for an arm. Remember the 60-something-yard TD pass?
Their whole offense now hinges on Jackson. Sound familiar?
On a more important note, everyone should rent the movie, "The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters"!
March 1, 2008
#7 HesterFan23 said . . .Wow Bears fans are a lil testy about Berrian going elsewhere! Im not saying that the vikes will hit the SB with Berrian, but they are 100% better off than they were without him. Sure they might of overpaid him. But they just left one of their division foes with one less weapon for their offense!! No Muhhamed, No Berrian, NO running game...Ouch I bet it does hurt to see Berrian go!!! Can't wait to see AP run all over that defense again. BTW Walker isnt going to chicago, Moss isnt going to chicago, and I believe the best you can get now is Johnson,Hackett,or some kind of trade or the draft. Can't say I feel sorry for ya bears!
March 1, 2008
#8 jeff said . . .I'm not really all that testy. In fact, I could care less. I think he is wasting his prime time of his career, but that's his choice.
I'd love for us to get Johnson. We'll finally get to see Bradley too.
March 1, 2008
#9 MNOTEMBABY said . . .dawg, he doesnt have a canon arm. and that touchdown pass was sailed into the arm and was a jump ball reception....the receiver ran another 20 for the touchdown. fistful is a great movie.
March 1, 2008
#10 Al in WI said . . .It's ok. I just hope when we play Chicago this year(Twice) that Berrian burns ya badly. Its a friendly thing going here I dont mean any harm to anyone. Bears have been to the superbowl lately which i cant say about the vikes. Should be very interesting. Im pretty sure both our teams will be behind GB again this year!! Just make sure Urlacher gets Favre bad this year!!
March 2, 2008
#11 Phil from SATX said . . .I wouldn't be so sure they keep TJack as their qb. Besides I think he and Orton are basically the same guy. Jackson is more mobile, Orton is smarter, both are wildly inaccurate.
At this moment the Bears have the worst recieving corp in the NFL. Signing Johnson and Walker would turn things around in a hurry.March 2, 2008
#12 craig said . . .Bernard Berrian has instantly jumped to the top of my Most Hated list! How 'bout if Lovie puts out an old school Forrest Gregg-style bounty on that greedy, overrated, underperforming traitor? That'd be Must See TV. Don't forget, Bernard doesn't particularly like to get hit either. We'll get to lay some wood on him two times next year, and I hope they make the most of it!
Tarvaris has a cannon arm, jdawg? Remember our discussion about what it takes to have an NFL-caliber arm - strength AND accuracy. Don't know about his strength but I've seen his accuracy, and it ain't good.
And MNMUTUMBO (or whatever), not much disrespect intended but please don't lump us in with you in talking about who's lining up behind GB. The Bears WILL WIN THE DIVISION next year, NOT MN, NOT GB (and of course NOT the pussycats). Trolling Vikings blogs next year should be fun when the Dropmeister shows his world class stuff to you guys. $7MM per year with $16MM guaranteed? You have just proven that you're NOT a well-run franchise. Just another stupid one that will suffer from salary cap issues in the years to come.
March 2, 2008
#13 Phil from SATX said . . .I don't think Berrian is an irretrievable loss... he did okay in what was essentially a sort of power vacuum. He's a burner, but not really #1 material as far as I'm concerned. So losing him, in and of itself, doesn't scare me all that much.
What scares me is that we've got a LOT of holes to fill. A LOT. And there isn't all that much out there. Free agent talent is like airport food latelyâ€â€not that great, and about three times more expensive than it should be. And there are only so many draft picks. Especially premium draft picks. So we're short two on OL, at least one WR, and we'd like to have another RB and another QB... and oh yeah, the defense could use a little bit of help too.
Now I'm not really ready to panic just yet, because you never know what can happen... but I'm starting to feel like we could be headed for a freefall here that would take years to reverse, and waste the primes of some of the best defensive players to come around in a long while...
Maybe that's a little pessimistic. But how can I not be pessimistic? Adam Archuleta still has a job.
March 2, 2008
#14 Serious. said . . .Bernard Berrian is now the 4th highest paid receiver in the league. Know how he rated last year as a WR? Well, let's see - there's a couple ways to cut it. NFL.com stat default is number of catches.
He tied for 26th in the league for number of catches.
Wait, you say, but in that 3-way tie he had way more yards than the other two guys.
Sort by yards, since Bernard is all about the streaking touchdown, and he ranks...
26th.
Yeah, but the guy was a touchdown machine, right?
Oops, tied for 36th.
Bernard Berrian, 26th best receiver in the league last year, is now the 4th highest paid receiver in the league.
Welcome to NFL Free Agency in the Year of Our Lord 2008.
I don't care if we don't sign anyone, as long as it also means we do nothing anywhere near as insane as what the Perennial Super Bowl Contender Minnesota Vikings did in this offseason. A bunch of draft picks will perform better than the guys who left.
March 2, 2008
#15 jdawg said . . .Wow. i thought the bears 25 MM/5 years with 8 mil signing bonus was alot. I can only laugh at anyone paying B-twice 16 mil upfront and 8 MM a year. bad move vikes. they should just start showing that dallas sure touchdown drop at solider field everytime we play the vikes.
Rex is has a way better arm than jackson, and he had chemistry with BB. Vasher and Tillman will OWN him. He sucks underneath. Besides when jackson has about 3 seconds to throw the ball cause tommie harris is on his nuts, good luck hitting that deep route.
You're better off hoping AP can "run all over" our defense missing 6 starters and anchored at SS with AA.
Too bad... i liked B-twice. Now i have to hate him for the next 6 years. but i'm ok with that. 23 will be lighting you up again, the vikes should have put that 16 million dollar signing bonus into a couple of corners who arent complete shit.
March 2, 2008
#16 Bears99 said . . .I'm not saying Jackson is a great QB, or is even accurate. I'm just saying he can chuck it down the field.
MNGOTEMBABY -- its on like Donkey Kong!
March 2, 2008
#17 Rancid said . . .I honestly cannot wait to see either Nate Vasher Or peanut tillman cover BB. Sweet revenge on that greedy bastard. and Jdawg, chucking the ball down the feild requries some accuracy, otherwise the pass can end up out of bounds, or 15 yards away. Take your pick on that situation.
March 2, 2008
#18 Jeremy said . . .I don't hate BB more than any other in conference player. BB/Rosenass is smart. They're a part of what's ruining football, but they're smart. He knows who he is (not the #4 WR in the league), and he knows this is his one chance to cash in big time. Kudos. He took advantage of a dumbass team in a perfect storm of a FA year. I can't blame him. I'll just be pulling for him to tear his ACL every year now. But we would be a bit dishonest if we don't admit something isn't needed at WR now.
March 2, 2008
#19 Pyrobob said . . .Bears sign Lance Briggs. 6 yrs, 36 mil. http://www.suntimes.com/sports/football/bears/821409,briggs030208.article
YES!!!!
March 2, 2008
#20 kylejo said . . .Bye bye Bernie, not sad to see ya' go. Good luck Vikes BWAHAHAHAHAH!
Welcome to your future Lance, you've joined a Championship bound team!
Anxiously looking forward to the BT's focus on the O-line now...
March 2, 2008
#21 Serious. said . . .helllll yeah! MUCH rather have briggs than berrian. this went from a dissapointing day to a day to celebrate.
March 2, 2008
#22 Rancid said . . .YES. Briggs keeps this defense scary. We will have the best front seven in the NFC. Now if everyone can stay healthy (thats you mike brown) we could be fucking awesome.
We still need saftey help... but i think attention should be turned to the offense. We need a minimum of two more FA's. One WR (Johnson or Hackett) and one OL. Is Gross still available? We need a LG or LT badly... then we can draft another in the 1st round. Then in rounds 2-3 we take WR, QB, RB (not necessarly in that order). A second day OL and we're in better shape.
I think if we can get the fucking running game going, protect the ball a little better, and start using our TE's more... with a lights out defense and special teams we can own the NFC north (maybe the NFC??).
I am 100% more stoked then 3 hrs ago.
March 2, 2008
#23 Matt said . . .I am desperately trying to understand how Berrian is worth more than Briggs. Insane. I'm glad we signed the right one. Somewhere Jamar Williams is cussing and banging his head against the wall
March 2, 2008
#24 Phil from SATX said . . .I still can't believe that BB landed 16 mil up front.....
wow
March 2, 2008
#25 Phil from SATX said . . .YEEAAAHHHH!!!! Yeah BABY!
The new BEST NEWS OF THE OFFSEASON! Never thought it would happen, BUT IT DID!
The BEST D IN THE NFL IS BAAAAACK!
Screw BB! Lance Briggs signs for less than Bernard Berrian?
INCONCEIVABLE!
Thank you Lance! Thank you Jerry! Thank even you, Drew Rosen-Rosen!
Time to get a #55 jersey, PRONTO! Now I know what to replace the son's Moose poster with - come to think of it, Lance looks much better next to Brian than Moose ever did!
HAPPY DAYS ARE HERE AGAIN
March 2, 2008
#26 kylejo said . . .Jeff, sometime tonight you've got to change your post so that sleepy-eyed Bears addicts can see it tomorrow morning first thing!
I'm still flabbergasted. I'm thinking we need to stop doubting Jerry Angelo so much. Think about all the ridiculous, idiotic deals that are occurring all around, yet Jerry pulls off signing one of the best linebackers in the league for a mere $6MM per year! Aside from Derek Anderson, the ONLY reasonable FA deal I've heard of - but it's more than reasonable, it's a fantastic value for the Bears!
Think, too, what this does for chemistry on this team - chemistry that had all but evaporated in last year's offseason, and that lingered throughout the 2007 season. The boys are back, the whiners and Money-First guys are gone, there WILL be an extension announced for Brian U. and Tommie H, and this core - this incredible core of fabulous defensive football players - will stay together, hopefully, presumably, BEARS FOR LIFE!
Count our D, do it, I double dog dare you!
Brian Urlacher
Lance Briggs
Tommie Harris
Charles Tillman
Nathan Vasher
Wale Ogunleye
Alex Brown
Mike Brown
Mark Anderson
Hunter Hillenmeyer
Dusty Dvoracek
Danieal ManningLook who we have in the wings, guys we don't even know how good they could be
Jamar Williams
Kevin Payne
Brandan McGowen
Matt Toeina
Michael Okwo
Dan BazuinWe could use another safety. Maybe a little more depth at D. Tackle. That's it - we are READY TO GO!
ONE FA WR, ONE FA Guard, that's all we need to worry about right now! Names not important! The draft can do everything else!
Jerry, HAT'S OFF TO YOU, BUD! GREAT JOB!
March 2, 2008
#27 Shady said . . .jacob bell. sign him.
March 2, 2008
#28 Mike said . . .Great to see Angelo re-sign top-performers last year:
Briggs
A. Brown
D. Clark
Nice post Phil, I agree chemistry has a lot to do with a team's success and I hope we see Angelo lock up Harris, Hester and perhaps re-structure Urlacher's contract.
Although I'm pretty pissed about BB landing inside of our division. That kind of shit pisses me off. Where's the loyalty these days? Oh well. Now he'll get a taste of what it's like to get smashed by our pro-bowl linebackers and under-rated corners twice a year. Be careful what you wish for BB, you backstabbing son of a bitch.
Keep up the good work J.A.
March 2, 2008
#29 Rocco said . . .Brad Childress knows something about quarterbacks. He clearly has faith in Tavaris Jackson and his cannon like arm. Therefore I wouldn't go dissing the QB situation in Minnesota. Especially when we are saddled with Rex Grossman and Kyle Orton.
March 2, 2008
#30 TMAC said . . .Ok, let me get this straight.
Moose is gone. In the top 10 for TD in the last 4 years, CAN be a clutch guy. BB is gizzone, despite the fact that he tends to "miss judge" a ball here and there, the guy spreads the field out. Were hoping Cedrick can pull his weight and not just get a 3 yrd avg. QB is still a wait and see what happens in trainning camp, and our OL is in need of a "little tweeking"......Come on Jerry, pull something out of your thin white ass!!
March 3, 2008
#31 Alexwebmaster said . . .bears still suck!!! way to give up your only decent receiver.
March 3, 2008
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