Listen, I got nothing against old people.  When I see an old man or woman sitting alone in the diner, I have to fight the urge to sit with them and just chat.  I always imagine they’d come to that dinner with their loved one every day for the fifty-one years of their marriage and now have continued the tradition as a loving tribute. 

But Al Davis must be stopped.  He is too old and out of touch to run an NFL franchise.  When he signed the mediocre Tommie Kelly to a seven-year, $50.5 million contract, we all laughed.  It’s his money and – aside from leading to other silly contracts – it did not destroy the competitive balance of the sport.  Now Davis has given a 2011 first-round draft pick to the New England Patriots for the soon-to-be-thirty-years-old Richard Seymour.  A franchise with more missing parts than a stolen Buick in Newark has given up a first-round draft pick to acquire an aging player who has made his name playing a position (3-4 end) that does not exist on their football team (they run a 4-3).  Add in that he’s set to be a free agent come the end of the season and you realize that the Raiders will be forced to overpay Seymour in order to refrain from losing the pick outright.

And that’s not what bothers me.  What bothers me is they gave the pick to the best team/franchise in the sport.  How can other teams hope to reach the Pats’ level of success when Davis is throwing them future top-ten picks and alleviating their salary concerns?  To realize the value of that pick, you need to look no further than difference at our quarterpack position this summer, as opposed to last summer.  First round draft picks – especially with coming changes to the league’s salary structure – are gold to a ballclub.  What if this deal were made with the Packers or Vikings?  How angry would you be? 

At what point the league will burst through the door and force action is unknown.  But it needs to be soon.  Otherwise the Raiders will become the laughing stock off the field that they already are on it.     

Your 2009 Chicago Bears

Franchise – Caleb Hanie – Double Deuce – AP – Hungry Like the Wolfe – Jason McKie

DA – The Duke – Skunk – Hands – Juaquin Iglesias – Jackass

The Dez Dispenser – Kellen Davis – Jersey Greg – Michael Gaines

Olin Kreutz – Roberto Garza – Frank Omiyale – Orlando Pace – Chris Williams

Josh Beekman – Lance Louis – Kevin Shaffer

Tommie Harris – Anthony Adams – Marcus Harrison – Izzy Idonije – Big Toe

Mark Anderson – Wale – AB – Swimming Pool

Lance Briggs – 54 – Pisa Tinoisamoa – Jamar Williams – Nick Roach – Hunter Hillenmeyer

Zack Bowman – Peanut – Vash – Tru McBride – Corey Graham – D.J. Moore

Volcano – Kevin Payne – Steltz Bomber – DanMan – Josh Bullocks

Robbie Gould – Brad Maynard – Pat Mannelly 

Please scroll down to the post below for the continually updated list of player cuts.  I just don’t have the bloodthirst to keep it as the top post through the night.  These are guys losing their jobs. 

Coordinators, Be Gone
Brian Kenny just asked John Clayton why we are seeing – for the first time ever – a rash of offensive coordinators being fired prior to the start of the regular season.  His answer: panic.  His answer: wrong.  The reason offensive coordinators are being fired is because – for the first time ever – fans are focused on these preseason games.  The NFL has become so much the dominant sport in this country that even the fake games are drawing a remarkable amount of attention from thriving fanbases.  When teams are not productive in the summer, they’re reading about it in the press and hearing about it in the stands.  As the years pass, and the preseason continues, look for even more scrutiny. (Side note: I can’t believe Dick Jauron fired the Turk after spending four seasons in Chicago defending the putrid playcalling of John Shoop.  Can’t fucking believe it.)

Cuts Being Rumored
Jeff Garcia in Oakland, Joey Galloway in New England and Jamal Lewis in Cleveland.  If they happen, each one would provide a particular upgrade on the Bears roster.  I’ll lobby hard for Garcia, who’d instantly become the only available quarterback capable of saving a Bears season should Cutler face an injury. 

Why Eric Mangini is a Total Turd
My brother is a die-hard Jets fan and I watch all their games so we have something to talk about on Monday mornings (he reciprocates).  Eric Mangini is a dreadful football coach; far more interested in presenting the appearance of a tight-lipped organization than actually earning the trust and respect of his locker room.  Does he really think defenses give a shit whether he starts Derek Anderson or Brady Quinn?  Does either of these piles of stink keep Les Frazier and the Minnesota defense up all night, wiping sweat from their brows.  No.  This is why Mangini will never be as smart as he thinks he is.  

Brad Biggs seems to have the best sources inside Halas Hall, as he’s been on top of each cut as they happen.  Not surprisingly, he’s also reporting that Kevin Jones is done for the year. Here is the list of cuts thus far:

G Dan Buenning
C Donovan Raiola
FB Jason Davis
DE Joe Clermond
WR Eric Peterman
CB Rod Hood
WR Brandon Rideau
LB Kevin Malast
LB Darrell McClover
LB Mike Rivera
LB Marcus Freeman
FB Will Ta’ufo’ou
CB Woodny Turenne
CB Rudy Burgess
CB Marcus Hamilton
CB Dahna Deleston

I will update as Biggs and company do.

Update 7:20 PM – So the Bears are keeping 11 defensive backs, 6 linebackers, 3 specials, 2 quarterbacks, 3 running backs, 1 fullback, 6 receivers.  Assuming 4 tight ends is 36.  That leaves 17 spots. 

That leaves room for 8 offensive linemen and 9 defensive linemen.  Is Lance Louis on the team?  Will the Bears keep Matt Toeaina or Henry Melton?      

It was December 29th 2002. 

I sat on a bar stool at the Boathouse in Belmar, New Jersey with a cold bottle of Coors Light in one hand and my head in the other.  Over the course of the evening I had become the first fan in the history of the establishment to apologize to patrons.  Not for my drunken behavior, mind you, but for my quarterback.  Henry Burris had started for the 4-11 Chicago Bears that night against the Tampa Bay Bucs and worked his ass off to get the team to 4-12.  Scrambling like a mental patient, four interceptions…etc.  It was the saddest day I’d ever had as a Bears fan.  Not because of the significance of the loss (there was none) but because I was embarrassed to love a club that started a guy this terrible at a position this important.  Embarrassed to love the team I’d spent most of my life sneaking into shady Jersey sports bars to watch play.

In ten days, at that stadium in the city over there, those same Chicago Bears will place under center one of the best quarterbacks in the sport.  Argue against that statement if you’d like but I don’t want to hear it.  Why?  Because Bears fans are ten days away from a season wherein they will never – not once in sixteen weeks – be out-manned at the quarterback spot.  To most of us, that means the world.  To some of us, that is the world.

So with the next game played by the Chicago Bears being a real game, I’m taking a moment to ponder what has been and what may be.  To remember the interceptions, fumbled snaps and unnecessary sacks while relishing the possibly-hoisted Lombardi trophies, prospective MVP awards and Prime Cutler steakhouses.  This season will be different, no matter what the final result, because of #6.  Because of Jay Cutler.  Every one of us will remember this season because this season will be his first.

And I, for one, can’t wait.  Lace em up, kids.  It’s Packer Week. 

As simple as I can say it, I shall.  Here are three guys I want on the Bears roster.

Johnny Knox
A rare species of wide receiver who reminds me a lot of a raw Santana Moss.  Knox’s athletic ability, specifically in the return game, can be an asset from day one.

Matt Toeaina
I know that Jarron Gilbert and Henry Melton are the kinds of players Lovie will try to mold into a prototypical cover-2 linemen but I don’t care.  Toeaina plays with guts and heart and keeps blockers off the elite linebacking corps.

Devin Aromashodu
I am ready to err on the side of Jay Cutler when it comes to every single decision made on offense.  Aromashodu clearly has a solid relationship with Franchise and I’d like to see it develop when the score matters.

MINNESOTA VIKINGS
Mike Florio at ProFootballTalk believes a ruling is due any day now in the StarCaps case that could should lead to the Williams Sisters being suspended for the first four games of the season.  The Williams’ cheated and have spent the better part of year using their unlimited financial resources to circumnavigate league rules with a cunning use of the warped Minnesota judicial system.  Enough. 

The Vikings are now shopping Tarvaris Jackson, creating a possibly-combustible situation.  With reportedly half that locker room believing Jackson should be the starter, what happens if Brett Favre struggles early against the Vikes’ cakewalk September schedule?  What happens if he gets hurt?  Will Sage Rosenfels take this club to the Super Bowl?

Jason Whitlock – one of the most underrated columnists in the country – wrote a scathing indictment of the Vikings’ signing of Brett Favre.   GREEN BAY PACKERS
Hard to keep up with every team but did you all know that Packers’ stud linebacker Nick Barnett may not start against the Bears on the 13th?  Barnett has been slow to recover from his November ACL tear and will tackle for the first time tonight against the Tennessee Titans.

Some folks in Green Bay believe that Brian Brohm may be cut by the Packers this weekend.  Couple that with Matt Flynn’s bruised shoulder and apparently you don’t have to travel very far to find a weaker backup quarterback than in Chicago.

DETROIT LIONS 
Ernie Sims, still on the Lions, took an opportunity to insult the linebackers he’s played with the past three seasons.  Would any football fan mind if players were restricted from ever giving interviews until after they’ve retired?  How stupid are these guys?  (Answer: Real stupid.)

Matt Millen drafted 39 players between 2002 and 2006 and only one of them is still on the team’s roster.  Who?  You guessed it.  Ernie Sims.

And a note on the Lions quarterback situation.  Why are they even considering playing Daunte Culpepper?  Is getting to five wins more important than settling for only three?  Matthew Stafford is going to be the starting quarterback no later than the start of next season so why waste valuable experience?   

Both of the local beats have projected the Bears’ 53-man roster and there are a few surprises.

Click here to read David Haugh in the Trib.

Click here to read Brad Biggs in the Sun-Times.

Both men have some similar opinions but I’ll just respond to the trends I’m seeing.

1. I hope the Bears do not cut Craig Steltz in favor of Josh Bullocks.  Bullocks may have a lot more starts under his belt but those starts are for that horror show of a defense down in New Orleans.  Bullocks has no upside and Steltz has a ton, in my opinion.  It’ll take a day for someone to scoop him up.

2. On the “scoop up” trend, I agree with Biggs on this one: the Bears need to be careful with Lance Louis.  He’s young and very raw but everyone who sees the kid play thinks he has a future at tackle.  Good offensive linemen are expensive properties and teams will be eager to grab this value. 

3. The Bears will be walking a fine line if they do as Haugh suggests and cut Matt Toeaina.  Marcus Harrison and Anthony Adams are true defensive tackles, with Israel and Jarron serving as more DT/DE hybrids.  When Tommie Harris goes down for the season in week six, the team will wish they had his bulk available to clog up blockers for 54.

4. Trumaine McBride or Rod Hood?  I’ll take Hood.  Trumaine McBride or Albert in Tucson?  I’ll take Albert.  Trumaine should already be on the street.  He can not be allowed to play in a professional game for the Bears this season.

5. My final point is simple: don’t worry about perceived “mistakes”.  If Iglesias isn’t better than Rideau, lose him.  If Melton isn’t worth what Toeaina is, lose him.  If Michael Gaines hasn’t panned out, don’t worry about it.  This team is built to win in 2009.  Let’s worry about 2010 after Valentine’s Day. 

There is no worse week in the football calendar than this one, wherein the only element of interest is which players will earn the right to not dress on Sundays.  So on that note, here’s an interesting tidbit from Jerry Angelo on DaSite:

How many spots on the 53-man roster are still up in the air heading into the preseason finale?

I would say there’s as few as three and as many as five. Part of it
involves the numbers we’re going to keep at various positions. Will we
keep five or six receivers? Will we keep nine or 10 defensive linemen?
Those things work themselves out. Going into this last preseason game,
there’s still decent competition going on. I remember in 2006 Mark
Anderson was a bubble guy to a degree. He could have wound up on the
practice squad. He had had an injury and he came on late and the last
preseason game was going to be the determinant. So sometimes there will
be a situation like that.

Are the Bears actually considering only five receivers?  In that case, what the hell have we all been arguing about for the last month?  I would assume that puts Rideau out to pasture and spells disaster for one of the two rookies, with Jackass being infinitely more impressive during game action.  My gut says they go with six but who knows?