BEARS offseason - NOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!

[COACH DITKA]

All I can say is WOW. I don't like where this offseason is heading. Jones and Briggs demand trades, rumblings of Ogunyele getting moved, Rivera gone, took much too long to get Lovie his extension, etc.
Now, TJ traded tonight (basically just moved up 26 slots in draft), Briggs wants out (umm why?!), draft needs all screwed up now b/c of trade, nothing done in FA yet, and so on.

TJ - should have paid the man! He is a great fit for our running running scheme and the perfect blue collar type of guy the city embraces. He's proved durable as well as a respected leader in the clubhouse. Benson has done nothing to gain acceptance from his teammates, from holding out as a rookie, making dumb statements, and simply not staying healthy.

Briggs - Shut up already. Not saying he isn't a great player, but may only be good, as obviously somewhat a product of our system. If he wasn't surrounded by all the great players we have on D, like D Line, Urlacher, healthy Mike Brown, etc. If he wants to get his contract bigger and better than Urlacher's from a crappy defensive team, let him and don't expect to see him back to the Pro Bowl.

DRAFT Needs:
* How big of a need is RB now w/o TJ? Dunno how Benson can hold up or if Peterson could handle a full load if Benson goes down.
* OL is aging and has to be addressed, both G and T. Guys like Blaylock (TX), Free (NIU), Sears (Tenn), and Staley (C. Mich) hafta be considered at 31 or 37.
* TE always a pressing concern and even though Clark had a great year, it NEVER hurts to have a pair of quality TEs - Miller (ASU) and Olsen (MIA) will be looked at.
* S, depending on Brown's health and there is word Todd Johnson and Worrell will not be back. 3rd/4th round possible here.
* OLB, depending on whole Briggs situation. If he dealt, Bears would get something decent for him, though I believe if he's signed by someone else, we would be owed 2 1st Round picks as a result of franchising him. Willis (S. Miss), Posluszny (PSU), Beason (Mia), and Timmons (FSU) all would get looks, as if no Briggs next year, Bears will want someone to come in right away, start, and make plays.

Any FA or draft thoughts or what to do w/Briggs?

Anyways, sorry for long post and rant. Just have been increasingly discontented with the Bears offseason thus far and the Jones trade is what finally set me off. I know there are other Bears fans on here and am just curious to hear your thoughts on the subject, or anyone's for that matter. Thanks. Go Bears!


Moose

[Daws1089]

I think benson and peterson could shoulder the load quite well. While i still think QB is the weakest position on this bears offense, they obviously wont draft that. Like you said drafting OL is a great move and i would even consider it with their 1st or 2nd round pick.

[snowman]

i dont think i would have gotten rid of TJ. i thought he was a good fit.

[Fish2006]

TJ - should have paid the man! He is a great fit for our running running scheme and the perfect blue collar type of guy the city embraces. He's proved durable as well as a respected leader in the clubhouse. Benson has done nothing to gain acceptance from his teammates, from holding out as a rookie, making dumb statements, and simply not staying healthy.

Agree - we kept the WRONG bloody RB. Bad move.

[Skinsfan]

You can pretty much cancel christmas here....

[CHIcity]

i like talking to bears fans outside of the bears messageboard...it's a bunch of kids over there that don't know too much.

i think the tj trade was basically made 2 years ago when benson was selected with the 4th pick...they tried to deal him last offseason but it didn't happen. i feel like they got fair value for him by moving up so many places in the 2nd round...like it or not, rb's don't carry much trade value (especially backs with 1 year left on their deals). plus turner's system calls for more of a straight ahead runner like benson instead of the "dancer" we had in tj. i'll feel confident going into the season with benson and ap as our 1 and 2 back...they'll be able to add depth from another teams cuts...no need to waste a draft pick on a rb this year.

as far as briggs goes, the bears have ALL the leverage. he can cry all he wants to about the 7+ million franchise tag they hit him with but if he doesn't play, he's not getting paid and may ruin his chances of a bigger payday next season with another team. i think briggs is a special player BUT definitely benefits from a cover 2 system that pushes plays to the weak side. bottomline is, they can't tie up that much money in one position (lb) so briggs needs to go. hopefully they can groom jamar williams in his 2nd yr to replace briggs in the 08 season. if they have a chance to grab a special OLB in the 3 or 4th round this year, angelo will probably pull the trigger.

i'm very happy they didn't join in on the overspending in this years free agent pool...they have too many players they've developed thru the draft that need to be re-uped (tommy harris, tillman, vasher). i remember last offseason when every bears fan was bitching they didn't dish out top dollar for randal el...how good of a year did he have last season w washington??

i'm pro rex grossman by the way...look for a lot of progress to be made this upcoming season...no one will mention griese anymore by the 3rd or 4th week of the season. chicago fans are very impatient when it comes to qbs b/c of our track record w that position but dude is gonna b the real deal...hopefully the new qb coach works with him on stepping up in the pocket this offseason.

the draft...our biggest need is depth in the secondary (this is obvious after the superbowl)...really wish we could move up and get ol boy from lsu but it's not gonna happen. i'd love another quality tight end, maybe even another wr even tho i really like our wr corp (moose, berrian, a healthy bradley and currie, davis), and more depth on the DL (boone and scott are about to b gone). i'm not too into the idea of drafting OL this year...we have a lot of depth in that area with metcalf, st claire, etc.

hmmmm what else...wish the offseason wasn't so damn long