Sometimes we (me) here at DaBlog like to report on the reporting. Today's a good day for it as Devin Hester's holdout has drawn nearly unanimous opinion from a rabid fan base - some of which would chip in out of pocket to ensure The Skunk arrive at camp before the end of the week.
From the Tribune and Steve Rosenbloom:
"Can I get a show of hands of Bears fans who don't think it's worth it to show up for work at a measly $445,000 and would rather pay $15,000 a day for the right to pout at home?"
Hey Steve, can I get a law passed that stops failed athlete sports writers from comparing professionals to the guy laying tile in an Arlington Heights kitchen? This argument has become so tired and old, that it's starting to offer me a second bowl of soup before I finish my first. (Inside joke about my Aunt Nellie)
From the Tribune and David Haugh:
"It only means Hester has gone about arguing his position in the worst possible way. Holdouts ruin seasons, reputations and occasionally careers. And this one could affect Hester's if he's stubborn...If Hester wants to get paid like a No. 1 or No. 2 wide receiver, then every practice he misses makes it harder for him to develop into one."
(1) It is the Bears organization who have reiterated time and again that Hester can evolve into their top receiver - not Hester. (2) Didn't Emmitt Smith hold out once and then put the Cowboys on his back en route to a Super Bowl before mumbling incoherent jibberish on ESPN once a week? (3) Hester has not made his demands for a new contract PUBLIC (the right way) but he has made them known to the team. (4) Brian Urlacher cried to the press, sat out mini-camps and received an extension on an already insanely lucrative deal. What does this say about the Bears and Hester?
The voice of reason...ugh...
From the Sun-Times and Jay Mariotti:
"He floated it. But I didn’t really take it serious," Angelo acknowledged on the practice field after the first session of a downcast camp...Sounds like another dumb special-teams coach who kicks the ball to Hester, only to be burned."
Jay's just...right.
Every day they refuse to meet his contract demands is on the organization - not the player. Especially when I hear "I didn't really take it serious." Oh no, Jerry. You didn't take the contract demands and possible holdout of the best player on your team seriously? Wow. If this were any other profession, I believe someone would walk into your office with a cardboard box and ask you to fill it. However, since the Bears have no ownership, that won't happen.
#2 Phil from SATX said . . .Waaah. That's all I have to say. Boo-fucking-hoo.
July 24, 2008
#3 DTB said . . .How about the chair builders in Bolingbrook? I think chair builders would definitely take the $445M.
If there's anyone on this team who has a right to request, nay, demand, anything he wants it's Devin Hester. That was a very weak response from Jerry, it sounded so bad I can only believe that it was true - he really didn't think it would happen. That's okay, we're talking Day 2 here, Devin insists he understands that he doesn't yet deserve #1 receiver money nor is he looking for it. If he's to be believed, what's hard about a deal?
I honestly think this will be a very small tempest in a teapot, and I'm not going to get worked up about it. Jerry'll get it done, it sounds like they were well on the way anyway, maybe Devin and Eugene just decided to turn up the heat for a little insurance, and I predict it will work. But don't just get one year out of him like Mikeb says - gotta add at least two to the deal, even if it's renegotiated.
After a long silence that was unfortunately somewhat appreciated by me after his poor performance last year, Haugh comes out of the box swinging - again. Dude has taken a serious turn for the worse since a stellar year in 2006.
I too like to evaluate the reporting. Biggs is now the go-to guy.
July 24, 2008
#4 Pissed Off said . . .Had to continue...
Reality is that a Pro Bowl kicker for 3 mil/yr is a very reasonable deal. Point is that Devin deserves to be paid for his proven worth to the Bears. Do we all think that he is worth the same to us as Berrian was to the Vikes? I would emphaticly say yes. Give him Berrians contract...
July 24, 2008
#5 mikebdot said . . .Already bored with it.
July 24, 2008
#6 Bob said . . .Phil: The only reason I suggested 1 was because it's a win/win. If Hester really believes he's going to get #1 money, we can show good faith by trying to let him earn that money, but paying him for the past two seasons as well as the possibility of him being a #1. Also, it buys us protection in the case that he can't learn the system and excel in that role, in which case we can pay him less than #1 money if he craps out.
Because, if he craps out at receiver, and we're on the hook for $6-8M per season, and he is still performing in the ST role, breaking Mitchell's record, etc., you think we're really going to just cut him? You think he'll renegotiate his contract? You think 3-6 TDs from your ST player is worth that money? Some might argue "sure".
If so, I can understand the frustration. I just don't think we can afford that. Anyone know what our current cap space is for '08? I doubt it is close to $10M and probably more like $5M.
And we don't want to fill up our cap space. It would make roster moves very unlikely, especially if someone goes down to injury and we actually go try to get someone via trade during the season. Not that that happens frequently, but still. Don't want to hamstring yourself before you even have your roster set...
July 24, 2008
#7 RandomName said . . .Devin is overrated. Watch the replays -- good blocking springs him for most of his kick returns. I mean, he is a great returner, but you can be great and still overrated if people start thinking you're the best player on the team and worth 3 million a year. The season is still going to come down to play from the qb and the o-line, period, with or without Devin.
July 24, 2008
#8 JWilson said . . .Bob: Hester's overrated? nope.
They're paying him like he's underrated.
I see good blocks but not anyone can do what he does given the same team to block for them.
Hester, needs more money. I feel like i cant say it enough times especially when people like you can still call him overrated.
Bob, if you were a coach would you kick to him? I somehow think yes.
July 24, 2008
#9 mikebdot said . . .Hope it is not serious, but this was just reported.
CHRIS WILLIAMS HURT??
http://www.windycitygridiron.com/
July 24, 2008
#10 JWilson said . . .Marques Colston just signed a deal with the Saints. The Bears should go ahead and give him that kind of money/deal. 3 year extension. Terms not disclosed, but would guess $5M per season overall with 5-10M up front.
Base of 2,3,4,5,6 per year with 5 up front, that'd be about right.
July 24, 2008
#11 animal said . . .As far as Hester goes. He needs to be paid. He's a star returner and that is how he needs to get paid. With WR incentives. He needs to earn the WR money. I say we keep him. I say we pay him a little more. And resign him next year to a big deal for what he is worth. He's not going to holdout very long if he's being fined $15,000 a day. The deal we already offered him can't be that bad.
July 24, 2008
#12 mikebdot said . . .Speaking of people writing about the Bears... John Clayton actually has a good article in ESPN today about Rex and Orton. He makes nice points, noting that Orton played at 240 his rookie year and is at 214 now, and comparing Grossman to Napoleon. He has a great line, something to the effect of "Grossman beats Orton in a throwing contest but Orton will make less mistakes" and talks a lot about returning to the team we were in 2005, which is not a bad analogy at all.
Unlike most articles it does not condescend the Bears. In fact it is almost optimistic.http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/trainingcamp08/columns/story?columnist=clayton_john&id=3502967
July 24, 2008
#13 AfroCelt said . . .Another thing about the Hester situation. Anyone seen "leaked" information about the offers we have actually made? Surely we've at least floated numbers the past few months. Usually, when those offers suck or are not "great", the agent will leak them to the media to get them out there and put pressure on the organization. This leads me to believe that the offer is actually pretty good and they're just working out the incentive-ladenness of it.
July 24, 2008
#14 jeff said . . .Anytime you agree with Jay Mariotti, alarm bells should be going off in your head. Maybe that tired old arguement is still there because it still applies?
He does deserve more, but there are better ways to go about it...this will hurt both the Bears and Hester if they're not careful.
Side note: Since when has Rosenbloom represented every single A**hat in the NFL?
July 24, 2008
#15 DTB said . . .no that argument is meaningless. whenever i hear someone say a quarterback should not want more money because the plumber wishes he could make that much - i cringe. if people paid a hundred a pop to watch him unclog a toilet, he would make that much money. that argument is drummed up by sports writer in an effort to emotionally instigate their readers. rarely do they actually believe it themselves, especially not rosenbloom.
that's a very right wing thing to say, i must add. that because i dislike jay mariotti, every word that comes out of his mouth must be utter garbage. today he's right. 75% of the time he's not. and i will never be a bears organizational apologist who believes the athletes are always wrong in contractual disputes.
sports is the only area in the world where more people side AGAINST the worker. and i'll never understand that.
July 24, 2008
#16 Z said . . .If Devin Hester were able to plow 52 streets during a blizzard, he should get paid for plowing 52 streets. Not 10.
July 24, 2008
#17 PolygonHell said . . .Exactly DTB.
There are things both sides could have done to make this situation smoother and already resolved before now. They didn't, so here we are.
There is no denying that a happy #23 is very important for the Bears having a shot at the playoffs with so many question marks on this team. We are FUCKED without him this year. So pay him and pay him quickly and lets all learn something, whatever that is supposed to be and move on so we can start focusing on gelling as a team and winning football games.
July 24, 2008
#18 Craiger The Missle said . . .How much he should be paid is irrelevant to this,
Hester is clearly pissed because the Bears dealt with everyone but him, and left them selves with sod all cap room to come to a deal. All the time stringing him on telling him it was a priority.
I think he was trying to do it right, turning up to minicamp, but when you see Urlacher moan to the press then suddenly get a deal done.
The Bears have made it clear they pander to the vocal, so Hester is being vocal about it.
I think any deal at this point is going to require restructuring other player contracts, so I wouldn't expect a quick resolution here.
July 24, 2008
#19 mikebdot said . . .OK. Go at this the opposite way. Humor me for a second....The Cubs held onto Sosa was too long...what if the Bears put Hester on the trade block (AFC team only). Returners (See K.C's Hall) only have about 3-4 good years...
Bears fans, what you be happy with in exchange for Hester?
Just a question. Don't kill me for saying it. Just throwing out a hypothetical. What if....
July 24, 2008
#20 jeremy34 said . . .The best part about the Urlacher situation? He got nearly the same exact extension he turned down 3 months ago. Hmmm, that's funny, the same thing happened with the Briggs situation. What's more amusing to me is that the Bears organization has signed every talented piece of ass who they thought could help out the team and now all of a sudden we don't have our priorities right. That's bullshit. We've been in negotiations for months and Hester's agent must be just as dumb as Hester. The Bears brass has guessed correctly with Urlacher and with Briggs and Vasher and Tillman. Shoot, ever guess at a reason they didn't sign Berrian for so much money???
Duh, so they didn't have the same problem the Cardinals had with their two receivers taking up something like $20M in cap space. They intend to pay Hester and the fact he is oblivious to that fact is a sad state of affairs. He will get his money.
It's also possible they wanted to see how well he could pick up the playbook and run his routes. If he looked sharp, the checkbook would have been opened even further than they are currently prepared to open it. If not, he was fucked and he knew it. Hence the holdout. He has no leg to stand on right now. They will offer him what he's proven to be, a fair price for the best special teams player in the league plus a little more.
July 25, 2008
#21 animal said . . .Thing with great returners is, history says they have a short shelf life. I am not saying he will, he is certainly the best I have seen in the last five or so years, and he has been fantastic every year in the league. I have doubts he can be a great reciever, I hope like hell he can, but I just don't know. I don't think he's overrated, he is quick and fast, but above all, he makes the best cuts ....period. They are unbelievable. His timing is great on returns, just waits for the kicking team, and it seems he makes awesome cuts. You guys probably no talent on the football better than me, and you probably don't need me to tell you he's awesome. So what I'm saying, I still don't know if he is worth wide receiver one money or not, but he is of course worth a lot to us, lining up out wide or not. We kind of do owe him.
Have to ask, we got any nicknames for Chris Willilams or Forte??
July 25, 2008
#22 shonbear said . . .Fort Matte was coined by others on this site. I like it.
July 25, 2008
#23 RandomName said . . .If we can't take advantage of this scenario we don't deserve to go to the playoffs. I don't care if he is in or out I want the Bears to make up for that lost Superbowl...
http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=3504073
July 25, 2008
#24 mikebdot said . . .Craiger the Missle and Jeremy34, short shelf life or not DH the nfl record should not be paid less than 1million dollars when his peers are making more. The guy who has more touchdowns in the last two years than anyone else on his team should not be making less than a million dollars a year.
Unfair that NFL players make that kind of money in the first place? maybe, but it's a psychological thing especially for the best of the best to not get paid on level with his peers.
NFL should stand for Not For Long because the average NFL career is 4-5 year anyway. NFL Players all have relatively short careers shorter than nba etc.
That million dollar level is something that could make you feel valued when you show that you're worth it it. Hester's Jersey is probably now in the top 15 best selling jersey's thanks to his roadrunner like performances. People like to see what he can do all around the country even non Bears fans admit he's the best.How can he be making less than half a million dollars per year. I'm just not finding that good in today's game and wages.
You cant hook this guy for his rookie contract anymore and you cant "[be] surprised" Jerry Angelo when you wrap up so many guys before training camp and not him. Pay him for being the best at his position and give him the incentives at receiver. I'm sure the kid can wait an prove himself for more money.July 25, 2008
#25 mikebdot said . . .RandomName: Riddle me this, how much have we offered DH to this point? Surely it was more than $1M per. Like I said, I would guess we've given him a fair offer and if he doesn't take it, he's the asshole. Period. They're showing him good will by offering him more money (most likely substantially more money) and if he's turned it down for "number 1 WR money", he can go to hell.
I would bet serious money that he was one of the first people we offered a contract to early on in the process.
Both sides have been very good to this point about not overplaying their hands. Holding out 2 years into a 4 year deal when you are an unknown commodity is definitely overplaying one's hand. It divides the fan base, some start to hate the player and some start to hate the organization. Regardless of what side you're on, HE caused the issue, not the organization. They were continuing negotiations, hence JA's surprise.
July 25, 2008
#26 jeremy34 said . . .http://blogs.suntimes.com/bears/2008/07/hester-reports-to-bears-camp.html
Entire Bears nation heaves sigh of relief.
I'm ok with all that went down.
July 25, 2008
#27 bfos7215 said . . .We owe him more money, without a doubt. And the argument well he agreed to the contract is bogus, and probably the whole structure for paying rookies is bogus, that's what owners and I'm sure some players say. You get drafted on how well they think you will do, not how well you actually do. My favorite-worst example, M Colston a 7th round pick is a stud, and a great wr, pretty hard to come by, and then here is an overrated R Bush, who is a d-bag and thinks he's a celebrity and actually good at football and is picked second overall, lot of money guarenteed. I hated that prick before he waved to Urlacherr running in the endzone. Anyway, I think Hester does deserve more money. Hate to bring it up again, but if we had maybe a different owner, he has a new deal by now.
July 25, 2008
#28 IndyBears Fan said . . .WHO CARES ABOUT HIS WR SKILLS?!?!?!?
Even if he never plays a snap on offense, he's STILL our most valuable player. Who has he not proved that to over the last two years? No one in the NFL changes games so quickly like he does. All of this WR conjecture is ridiculous.
July 25, 2008
#29 Pissed Off said . . .Hester Reported to Camp this morning. Anyone know if they got a deal done?
July 25, 2008
#30 Anytime said . . .Pleased to see Hester report to camp, he's having breakfast with the rest of the team as we speak I bet. He didnt want to fall too far behind and thats why he showed up. That and maybe he realized if he performs well in camp the offer might go up.
Mikeb, by reading some of the comments I dont think some people get what your trying to say. I do and I agree.
July 25, 2008
#31 Duff Diggler said . . .It has been reported that DH showed up today at camp. Stay tuned.
July 25, 2008
#32 Z said . . .....yeah, i'll take the credit for "Ft. Matte"
PAY DEVIN!!!
July 25, 2008
#33 beardown1982 said . . .I agree bfos7215 as long as he isn't demanding a salary of a proven #1 WR or close to it. He is the most important and dangerous weapon without us even knowing his full potential at WR. If we give him a raise based on what we know he is worth to us and he improves at WR he will still be a great value with a raise.
No problem with a 2 day holdout to say hang on a second houston. Based on this offseason's contract dealings, we have a problem here. If he is demanding anywhere close to #1 WR $$ he is being very unreasonable. Hopefully it is incentives that are being ironed out.
#23 is in camp showing good faith that it will get done. JA. Your move!
July 25, 2008
#34 Phil from SATX said . . .Maybe that was Hester's plan all along...to threaten the hold out for a day of camp, and then report. Show them he means business? Who knows...and who care!
I'm glad he reported. Now let's get him signed and happy.
July 25, 2008
#35 Z said . . .Thank you Devin. Good job - just a little civil disobedience to get his point across. I'm completely with bfos and everyone else here who recognizes the fact that this guy is ONE OF A KIND. He must get paid like that. Throw away the "give him top ST pay plus a little" - he probably needs at least DOUBLE top ST play. There's simply no one else like him. Short shelf life, diminishing returns? Don't forget NFL ain't like the NBA - only the guaranteed money is guaranteed, if he gets hurt later, he's cut. Plain and simple.
There is no formula to figure out where to slot him, but on the Bears, he should be one of the highest paid players. Not Urlacher, not Briggs, not Tommie, but definitely up there. $5MM per year would obviously not be a waste of money to the Bears.
Bob, I can't believe you think Hester is overrated. I don't know what you've been watching. I suppose Michael Jordan is overrated, Tiger, who else? This is one guy who proves it virtually ever time he lines up to return a kick, and changes games without ever touching a ball. There's no one else like him in the league, and his numbers already show there's never been anyone like him. I will reiterate BFOS - who cares about him as a receiver? That's just gravy (and I hope it's not a case of hogs getting slaughtered instead of pigs getting fat - for whatever reason I am seriously worried about receiving screwing up his kick returns).
I would think about what they can afford, and add some more to it. Set him up like Urlacher - make it clear through your negotiations that you fully intend to make him a lifetime Bear, so there's no question he will be wearing a big orange C when he's inducted into the Hall of Fame.
Devin, your actions didn't bother me in the least. Jerry, think of a number, then add 50% to it. Get it done.
July 25, 2008
#36 Anytime said . . .And I agree mikb this is not how these things should be handled by any of the players. It is always bad for the team, the fans and everyone involved when someone holds out. You signed a contract and the team is doing you a favor even talking about giving you more.
This is what the players use for leverage. The owners have no problem using the leverage at their disposal when it benefits them.
And the Rookie scale is ridiculous and insulting to the proven vets. That has to be fixed.
July 25, 2008
#37 Bob said . . .I agree Z,
The way salaries are structured in the NFL is all fucked up. There has to be a better method. The NBA way perhaps?July 25, 2008
#38 WierdAl said . . .Too bad Hester came back, overrated piece of junk. I wish we would have traded him and got a real football player.
July 25, 2008
#39 How Stupid Are the Packers? said . . .Shut up Bob! Go crawl under the rock you came out of. You're not a Bears fan, you're not even a football fan. You don't watch Bears games or if you do you must be drunk when you do. Hester, a piece of junk? There should be a rule that people like you shouldn't be allowed to post thoughts on this blog. There should be a rule that people like you shouldn't be able to use a computer.
July 25, 2008
#40 Max said . . .OFF TOPIC:
NFC North QBs: Kyle or Rex, Jon Kitna, Tarvaris Jackson, Aaron Rodgers.
How do you not embrace one of the all-time best qbs when that's the competition he has across the division??
We had the Curse of Sweetness plauge our runing backs for 23 years because Da Coach let The Fridge score a TD that rightfully belonged to Walter Payton in Super Bowl XX. What wrath of the football gods will Green Bay inflict upon itself by choosing Rogers over Favre and making Favre sit the bench or finish his career elsewhere?
July 25, 2008
#41 Duff Diggler said . . .Hey, i gotta say, DH with a smart move.
He goes to all team meetings before camp. holds out 2 days to show hes serious and that he wants money, and now he reports to camp which demonstrates his dedication to the Bears. Good move by Devin. thats all i gotta say. Get a deal done now
July 25, 2008
#42 Phil from SATX said . . .Bob, do you have some poor, yet sick obsession with fucking with people's emotions, or are you just retarded? Which is it? Either way, you're a digi-douche. To say Hester is an "overrated piece of junk" is absurd....
...I can only imagine that responses, such as mine (guilty, I couldn't help it u guys...), give you your jollies....
....you're wasting your time. And ours.
True Da Bears Bloggers:
Please succeed where I have failed in not even offering this jerk a rebuttal.
July 25, 2008
#43 Bob said . . .I would guess that was a fake Bob post. Anyone want to take credit for it?
July 25, 2008
#44 Pennington to Da Bears? said . . .He's a KICK RETURNER
He touches the ball a couple times a game.
He gets his yards because the people ahead of him block well for him.
He's fast, he's "good" at what he does, but he's overrated.
If we traded him, we could have gottne a 1 and two 2's for him??!!
That a quarterback --- the most important position on the team, hello.
Whatever you fools.
But I'll just say one more thing. We had the best kick returner to ever play the game on our team last year and we went .... 7-9.
Let's say we had a couple high round draft picks this year but no Hester, let's say just for the sake of argument we got like a Chad Henne and a stud wide receiver in the draft instead of Hester. We're not a better team down the road for that trade? Really?
July 25, 2008
#45 Da Bears Boy in CT said . . .So, apparently Favre is talking to the Jets. And if the Jets sign Favre they will supposedly cut Pennington. One of the most accurate qbs to ever. play. the. game. Would we welcome him on Da Team? I say YES - emphatically so. I wish he had more arm strength, but he's good enough to lead this team.
July 25, 2008
#46 Pissed Off said . . .I read this thing everyday and it is obvious that Bears fan are the smartest people in football. I've been a Bears fan for 36 years I missed one year becasue I wasn't tall enough to change the channel., once I turned 2 it was over. This year is one of the most exciting years for me becasue:
1. We have the league where we want them.
2. Aruguments about new contracts denote a demand to be paid for what you intend to do not what you have done.
3. Tommie is healthy, Urlacher is happy and we have experience at safety. So when my favorite Bear M Brown get's hurt, we can still get it do.
4. Lastly, it has been painful to watch but good things are getting done in the offseason.DH's situation will work out. Him reporting to camp today tells me that the conversation behind the scenes among the players and coaches is get your ass in gear, this is our year. Call me the opptimist but I don't see anything stopping us from balling this year. Last year was an embarassment that none of the Bears want to repeat (including Grossman). I think all the moves and changes are an acknowledment of that and we will take the field fired up ad ready to go, as Obama would put it.
July 25, 2008
#47 Wayne said . . .Bob is probably old Mike in disguise.
Packer guy: The packer brain trust and fans are sick of his crap. Its time to move on, he retired, he needs to stay retired. And its not that big of a deal if Favre finishes his last year or two somewhere else. Brett will always be a packer and be remembered as a packer, just as vince lombardi was even though he left green bay and went to Washington for a couple of years before he died. Look at his legacy, does anyone think of lombardi as anything other than a packer? No
IF Brett goes to the Jets, Pennington will be a Viking. BOOK IT! Why do some of you think this team is looking for a QB? I will bet anyone my house that the Bears will not sign a QB before the start of the season unless Rex or Kyle gets hurt. There has been no evidence of them looking and its just not going to happen. Stop speculating non-possibilities and wasting your time. Its like speculating that pigs are going to fly or that Obama is going to ask Hillary to be his veep. Its just not happening. GET IT?
July 25, 2008
#48 Pennington to the Vikings? said . . .I don't know who Bob is and frankly don't care, but to not understand the importance of this guy to this team is a little alarming. That is assuming you like the Bears, and I would assume you do or are a very lonely cheesehaed fan with nothing to do. Jeff said it best, the guy is our leading TD maker, LEADING. And when he isn't scoring on every play, he gives our inept offense a short field to play on every time. How many TD drives did we have of 80 or more yards? Not Many. I understand why it is hard to measure Devin, there has never been a player like him. Ever! You can't compare him the way you would any other player in history! He is that unique, which is what makes him special, which is why we need to get him the money he deserves and get him on the field.
July 25, 2008
#49 Phil from SATX said . . .Vikings go to the Super Bowl.
They might just go anyway.
I'm not a Vikings fan. But they're loaded.
Just to clarify, my original thought was not that the Bears START Pennington but bring him in as a vet to sit the bench. And that IS something we're looking for, right? At least according to Da Site.
But I think you're right -- if Pennington has a choice to compete with Tarvaris for a starting spot or be the number 3 qb on the Bears, he's probably going to the Vikes. Which sucks for us. But as much optimism as I have in the Bears for this year, I never thought we were beating the Vikes anyway.
July 25, 2008
#50 Phil from SATX said . . .Nice job, DBB-CT! I agree 100% with you! There's going to be some major achieving and wins this year that will look like total overachievement to the rest of the league but we know better! I am counting on Marty to be a good football player like he was for us before (I'll take the line that experience and smarts make up for loss of speed and quicks). I am counting on all these reports of the incredible Rashied improvement to have at least some credibility (the reports continue from twittercamp! - Rash = Long Ball Threat = Huh? I am counting on Earl Bennett being a very good pick and being in the mix for us, EARLY, this year. I am counting on Ft. Matt-ay exciting Bear fans like no one has in that position since Neil Anderson. (I remember being excited by early A-Train, I must admit). I am counting on Chris Williams JUST MAKING IT THROUGH CAMP UNSCATHED and then contributing to the Most Improved Line in football (me hopes, me hopes). I know I can count on the Tea Time boys. I am counting on Rex to continue the season he left off with last year (second half, please) and improving on that.
I know I can count on D, I know I can count on ST, and I am going to count on enough good things happening on O to = many wins this year. MANY. A bunch more than last year, fo sure.
Bob is the new Mike.
July 25, 2008
#51 mikebdot said . . .PO'd, you beat me to it! Dang!
July 25, 2008
#52 Phil from SATX said . . .I don't want Chad Pennington.
Thanks, PO'd.
I'm excited about the season. Especially after we sign Hester. They might make room by cutting Manning Jr. Maybe that was another reason they were waiting. Figuring out places to save money.
July 25, 2008
#53 Colts vs. Bears said . . .I DO NOT WANT Chad Pennington going to Vikings. So... Note to Vikings:
Tavaris Jackson is AWESOME! The most underrated player in football! He's a keeper!
John David Booty's is so good HE NEEDS THREE NAMES! FUGGEDABOUDIT!
(through a megaphone)
VIKINGS WE HAVE YOU SURROUNDED - PUT THE PENNINGTON DOWN AND NO ONE GETS HURT!
July 25, 2008
#54 Phil from SATX said . . .I'm becoming rather optimistic about this game: Peyton coming off surgery, Harrison distracted by legal troubles and old, Sanders hurt, Freeny hurt. All these guys will be in the lineup but will they be sharp? People are overlooking our healthy and dominant D, most of whom have big things to atone for given the way they let Addai absolutely embarass them in the Bowl two years ago. Mike Brown is healthy - so far. And nobody knows how to defend Forte yet. If we pull off the win, it will have to be 2005-style: all D all the time with just enough specialness from Devin and the special teamers. I'm starting to get a good feeling about this game.
July 25, 2008
#55 Pissed Off said . . .I'd say the same, except for that big unknown - who makes it through camp. For that I'm holding my breath every day. I think for my health I'd be better off just assuming we'll have at least two camp casualties. I'm going to have to put a few people in a special box - the ones that if they go down, I am depressed to start the season.
That box would include Tommie Harris, Brian, Lance, Wale, Brown, Vashar and Tillman. Anyone else on D I can live without. I'm including Mike B in there only because of the expectation that he'll be one of the guys, and we've lived through it before.
If Chris Williams doesn't make it through camp, he's one of the guys that will make me depressed. Ditto Forte, either of our two tight ends, and Rex. That's about it on O.
And of course the (overrated) Devin. Gould, and Maynard. Maybe I wouldn't get depressed without Brad, but just hope they could sign another good one. I'm a big Maynard fan, though, so I probably would get depressed.
Anyone agree that the over/under on camp casualties is 2?
July 25, 2008
With all due respect Wayne, we rarely have the opportunity for an 80+ yard drive becuase we have Hester. That said, Devin is a stud. I do think he'll taper off in about 3 or 4 years because of age and thats why we need to focus on winning now. I think Devin is very valuable but its so damn hard to guage how valuable he is. Yes he cant be compared to any return man ever in the NFL but he also cant be compared to a good #1 or even #2 WR at this point either and for that reason I cant put him up there in importance with Urlacher or the top offensive or defensive player on any team.
Hey Pennington where on da site did you see the bears are pursuing a back up? Hanie or Hill will have the #3 spot I think.
Colts/Bears I like your optimism thru bears colored glasses but I think your digging. Outside of Manning potentially missing some training camp this team will be just as good as last year and it will be damn hard for us to win in the new Lucas Oil stadium with the team and crowd that pumped up. I sure do hope though that something goes aray with Mannings infection and he sits out that game. Of corse if he's not 100%, why wouldnt he sit out, they are probably 10-15 point favorites going into the game according to the bookies. But if we did play and win a close game with Manning on the bench would that win feel as good as if we had beaten them at full strength?
July 25, 2008
Here at DaBearsBlog, you are free to kill us or the Bears as you so wish. You are not free, however, to be an asshole. So if you spew racism or ill-meaning foul language (cursing about football is just fine) or anything of that ilk, your comments ain't gonna last long, jerk.