Bears 2008

[Dan Michler]

If the Bears do not draft a damn RB in the upcoming draft, then there is no point in watching them next season.  Its bad enough we have to watch Grossman/Orton throw horrilbe passes to Rasheed Davis, Brandon Lloyd, and Marty Booker (solid FA acquisition there  )  Atleast give us a new RB to watch struggle.  I can't believe we basically did nothing in free agency other than re-sign Briggs.

[pearso66]

I hope they use every pick on offensive line,(half kidding) so that they can get a couple/few good young ones. If the line is better, Benson is more than capable at RB, and Grossman/Orton will be fine at QB.  I don't care who you are, unless you're Payton or Sanders, nobody is going to get yards when they are hit behind the line 3/4s of the time.  Grossman was playing well when he came back from being benched, when he actually had time to make reads, without dropping back and getting hit immediately.  Offensive line should be the #1 priority this coming draft, and it's a deep draft for offensive tackles.

As for free agency, there is a whole other free agent period after the draft, and more players will be released depending on what those teams draft.  Just because they didn't pick anyone up this time, doesn't mean they won't later.  I'm glad they didn't sign Berrian, he got vastly overpaid for what he was, an ok 2 receiver.  I wouldn't be surprised if Hester can be close to what Berrian gave us.  A fast receiver who couldn't run routes, and dropped too many easy passes, and gave up over the middle.   As for the other receivers there wasn't anything out there that they wouldn't have to overpay for, unless you wanted Hackett, who is an injury risk, just like Bradley.  As for RB, Turner was available, but lets see how he does as an #1 back, not to mention as I said earlier, no one could run with the line the Bears had last year.

[Dan Michler]

I disagree on Benson.  The other Adrian Peterson looked much better than him.  Benson can't hit the hole.  He just dances around it.  They could have atleast made a play for Turner and probably gotten him if they tried.

I agree on Berrian, he wasn't worth nearly what he got.  Nonetheless we have nobody at WR.  It has to be a concern.  I also agree that we dont' have a chance unless we improve on the O-line.  However, saying we will be fine with Grossman/Orton is just comical.  I don't even think Rex's Mom agrees with you on that.

[CEValkyrie]

Turner is a North Chicago guy who comes back and lives with his mom in the summer. I think the Bears could have been a front runner on him if they wanted him.

[pearso66]

Rex has shown he can be a good quarterback.  I agree he wasn't good at the beginning of this year, but I wouldn't pin it all on him.  He had no line, no RB who could do anything (Adrian Peterson averaged exactly the same YPC as Benson this year) and WR's that couldn't catch the ball.  Don't forget that Rex is the guy who brought the Bears to the Super Bowl last year.  He had a very good postseason, minus the Super Bowl where he was average.  I think with a good offensive line, he can be pretty good, look at what happened to Eli Manning at the end of this year, he was average like Grossman, and then he started getting time in the pocket, and he improved dramatically.

I also think the Bears need a whole new coaching staff, but that's another story.

[Dan Michler]

http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/news?slug=ap-bears-bensonarrested&prov=ap&type=lgns

Solid draft Benson was.  Hopefully this gets him suspended and gets our 2nd rd. draft pick from this year a chance to step up and take the job.

[JP S.]

I think last year's offense was just a complete mess as a whole. The dinosaur line finally showed their age. None of the QB's had time to make reads and get the ball off. (I saw a funny stat said Rex was sacked nearly as many times before he was benched as he was in all of 06. I don't think you can pin that all on him.) The WR's did not seem to get much separation and Berrian and Moose both dropped a lot of passes. Benson did not hit the hole hard but there was rarely a hole for him. They also ran a lot of delayed handoffs to him which has never been his strong suit being a power back. It also seemed that whenever he would get going he would get taken out and they would go pass-happy. When he finally got momentum going in his last two games he gets injured and Peterson and Wolfe can't do anything behind this same line. Probably our best position at tight end was severely neglected. Clarke and Olsen got some TD's but I think the offense would have generated a lot more points had our TE's gotten 4-7 more touches per game. I really have to question Ron Turner's play calling.

With that said I doubt our offense does a whole lot this year but I think Angelo has done a great job. He didn't break the bank on Berrian, who is one dimensional with just deep routes and terrified to go over the middle. Moose's whining was gotten rid of. I like Booker as a possession wideout.

The draft may not have been the most flashy but looks good. Williams starts and LT and allows Tait to go back to RT. Forte comes in most likely as the starter after the Benson fiasco. Earl Bennet put up great numbers in the SEC with being the only weapon on his team with crappy QB's. Marcus Harrison was a first round talent with questionable character; if he gets it together is a great pick. Steltz replaces Ayanbadejo as special teams monster. Even the 7th round was impressive. Kirk Barton started 3.5 years at Ohio state and may be able to slide over to be a mean run-blocking guard. WR Marcus Monk is an absolute stud at WR. He's 6-4, runs a 4.4 40 time, loves working the middle, and catches everything in site. If his injury is all cleared up as it's supposed to be he will be the steal of the draft and Monk and Olsen on the same side will give opposing defenses fits on the goal line.

I don't think many share all this optimism and we may not do a whole lot this year with how young we are, but I think Angelo put a lot of great pieces together with only 1 draft and we have now taken a huge step in the right direction.

[Jon Brakel]

http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/news?slug=ap-bears-bensonarrested&prov=ap&type=lgns

Solid draft Benson was.  Hopefully this gets him suspended and gets our 2nd rd. draft pick from this year a chance to step up and take the job.

Running 3.4 yards and falling as soon as someone touches you can NOT be considered resisting arrest, can it?!?!?