NFL 2008

[Vendetta]

Favre to Buccaneers within the next 48 hours.

Brian Gresie and Chris Simms will be cut. Jeff Garcia will be sent to Greenbay leaving just Cool Hand Luke and rookie Josh Johnson as back ups.

[NobBe Nobbs]

And apparently Vendetta's time away from the board was not spent learning how to be a better poster.

Garcia to Green Bay? Are you retarded? This whole fucking saga has been, when it gets to brass tacks, about an over-the-hill quarterback desperately trying to cling on and the team wanting to move the fuck on and let Aaron Rodgers play. How the fuck would bringing Garcia in be a good idea?

[Vendetta]

Garcia would be a viable backup behind Aaron Rodgers.

[livid]

ROC...what? Shockey, while not the best TE in the league, is certainly far and above better than Eric Johnson or any other TE the Saints have had lately. Also, he had his best year under a Sean Payton offense so that's also another thing to look forward to. Being out of the media coverage and in a system where he had the most success in his career.

And no, don't be stupid. Garcia isn't going to the Packers. I don't even think that Favre will be going to Tampa Bay, either.

Edited July 23, 2008 by RocknRolla

[JStarr]

I also think Shockey's going to be an asset for the Saints, as his presence will help that much more in freeing up space for Colston and Bush to get out and catch passes. Of course, if Shockey's just going to be a decoy, he'll start bitching again, but hopefully the coverage won't be as wall-to-wall as it was with him being in NY.

And yeah, Garcia would rather eat his helmet than go carry Aaron Rodgers' clipboard. Vendetta, your fanboy is showing. His whole contract situation is predicated on the fact that he went out there and proved he's still a starting NFL QB, so why in Buddha's name would he want to go back up some shmoe who's only famous for being stranded in the MSG green room for six hours? Now, if they could work out some three-team deal that would get Garcia to Minnesota, that would be nice. But that's also just me blowing smoke, as opposed to coming on here and stating a BS theory as fact.

[NobBe Nobbs]

Someone needs to start a fantasy league right now.

[alldaws1]

I don't see the point in starting fantasy leagues this early. It would be a bitch if half the team you drafted got injured in training camp or pre-season.

[Mr. X]

Devin Hester a no-show

Dragsy and I have been talking about this, and wonder what kind of contract Hester is expecting. He is a great return man but is very much a project at WR still, so the Bears must be very careful when offering him money. If it ends up that Hester wants a big amount, could we find a team to trade him to and what for?

[JStarr]

I wouldn't be all that sure that Hester could command that much interest in a trade. Like you said, he hasn't proven anything as a receiver or a DB, even if he is very likely the best return man of all time. Someone would have to be willing to fork out millions upon millions for those six to eight big plays per year. His head's gotten too big for the room if he thinks he deserves any more than what Dante Hall made after his second Pro Bowl. At least Hall had contributed something to the Chiefs' offense while he was there.

[Mr. X]

I just fear that Hester will get overpaid. I wouldn't bitch if I were getting paid 400k a year, but I can see where Hester might be a guy you'd pay more as he is the greatest return man in football history (although I would refuse to pay him anything over 3 million, most of that contract would also include incentives for him to convert to a hybrid WR). Other than special teams what are you paying him for? Being a project WR who may not pan out?

[punky]

Hester is the best offense the Bears have, he's single handedly won them many games. I'd definitely try to keep him happy.

[Mr. X]

That doesn't mean you overpay him just to make him happy when he still has an obligation to play through his contract. If Hester thinks he deserves big money how about he fucking learns to be a pro-caliber WR as otherwise he's still a return man (and since he is the best we'll probably have to pay him a bit because of it). Otherwise, the Bears will have potentially spent money on special teams. I'm not saying we shouldn't give him a raise, but there is a point when you must realize you shouldn't overpay guys just because. If Hester is only wanting a reasonable increase, this will not be an issue to me in the end. But if it becomes "I deserve top money" or something ridiculous I'll continue to say he isn't worth multi-millions yet.

I know you, or someone else, will bring up Urlacher or Briggs but both of them play key positions on our defense and happen to be guys who have been on the team longer than Hester. This is just another instance of the way pro sports contracts are absurd.

[punky]

Hester is the single most explosive player on the Bears entire team. The guy is the best return man in the business, he could realistically get you six every time he catches a kickoff/punt and when he doesn't, he's giving you great field position when a team doesn't kick to him. When the Bears drafted him they knew he was a great return guy and a decent DB, not a WR. Just because the guy is fast and explosive in returns doesn't mean he can be a great wideout.

I'm not saying you break the bank to keep him happy but he definitely deserves more than the 445k contract that he currently has. At the very least he should be getting 1 to 2 million.

Edited July 25, 2008 by punky

[Mr. X]

Hester is the single most explosive player on the Bears entire team. The guy is the best return man in the business, he could realistically get you six every time he catches a kickoff/punt and when he doesn't, he's giving you great field position when a team doesn't kick to him. When the Bears drafted him they knew he was a great return guy and a decent DB, not a WR. Just because the guy is fast and explosive in returns doesn't mean he can be a great wideout.

I'm not saying you break the bank to keep him happy but he definitely deserves more than the 445k contract that he currently has. At the very least he should be getting 1 to 2 million.

Well, I did say that I wouldn't have any trouble with him getting more than 440k but not much more than 3 million. My main concern is that we keep players for a fair price so that we have some money to pursue options next year and for to sign 09 draftees.

[livid]

Doesn't matter if he's a good WR or not, as long as the Bears continue to put 10 men out there on offense every play, they're going to suck.

Edited July 25, 2008 by Livid

[Cactus Drags]

Doesn't matter if he's a good WR or not, as long as the Bears continue to put 10 men out there on offense every play, they're going to suck.

Why do you even post?

Yeah, Hester deserves more money, but it's not like his current contract was a slap-in-the-face lowballing thing, it was his rookie deal. He doesn't want to be paid like a special teamer, he wants wideout money, and that's the problem. He needs to prove himself a capable receiver rather than the flashes of ability we saw last season. What he should be doing is getting his head down, working hard on route running and such in camp, and earning it. He's still got two years left, this shouldn't even be an issue till next season. What he definitely shouldn't be doing is all the diva bullshit, like telling papers he should be paid like a one of a kind player and holding out like a douche. Fucking spoiled athletes.

[livid]

Doesn't matter if he's a good WR or not, as long as the Bears continue to put 10 men out there on offense every play, they're going to suck.

Why do you even post?

Yeah, Hester deserves more money, but it's not like his current contract was a slap-in-the-face lowballing thing, it was his rookie deal. He doesn't want to be paid like a special teamer, he wants wideout money, and that's the problem. He needs to prove himself a capable receiver rather than the flashes of ability we saw last season. What he should be doing is getting his head down, working hard on route running and such in camp, and earning it. He's still got two years left, this shouldn't even be an issue till next season. What he definitely shouldn't be doing is all the diva bullshit, like telling papers he should be paid like a one of a kind player and holding out like a douche. Fucking spoiled athletes.

Why do you? Geeze, don't take things so seriously.

However, what I said is true. Instead of trying to get a guy who is actually capable of not acting like a retard when playing QB, they're complacent with the likes of Kyle Orton and Rex Grossman? I understand the Chicago defense is it's backbone but c'mon, you don't honestly think that Grossman and/or Orton (I predict that Lovie will again play games with both and generally fuck the situation up more) will lead the Bears to a winning record do you? Because let's face it, yes Grossman was the QB for the Bears when they went to the Super Bowl in 06, they only made it there because of a couple of things: 1. their defense was amazing (something not so true now as they dropped from 3 down to 16) and 2. the NFC was generally a lot weaker two years ago than it is now and 3. they had some semblence of a running game.

Grossman is awful, Orton's not much better, they're defense is getting older and less productive and while I think Matt Forte will be a pretty good back in the league, he's unproven as are Peterson and Wolfe for the most part, as integral parts of the offense.

The only hope that the Bears have is if Hester takes back like every kick or punt he touches or blossoms into a great WR, neither of which I see happening. Not to mention, they should start using him much like the Saints use Reggie Bush instead of making him just a flatout WR. And he deserves more money but if he expects a huge contract he's stupid. $3 million a year is about right for a guy of his caliber. Though I'd imagine that if he were to hit the open market, he would get considerably higher offers than that, simply for the fact that you pretty much have to overpay for any free agents these days.

[alldaws1]

If they can keep Mike Brown healthy for more than a quarter this season the defense will be significantly better and with Urlacher and Briggs re-signed and happy I'd expect them to be even better this season too. They had a lot of injury problems last year, especially on the defensive line so the key is staying healthy this year and just by doing that they should be able to get somewhere near the form of their Super Bowl run, defensively.

I think the key is just staying healthy for the Bears. Kevin Jones will be a very good addition if he can stay injury-free (unlikely, I know), they have one of the best tight end combinations in the league and the offensive line has received a much needed boost in youth with Chris Williams. Their offensive weakness is definitely the passing game although I don't think the loss of Berrian will be felt as much as most people think. Then again, they didn't have much of a passing game when they went to the Super Bowl either.

As Livid said, though, the NFC is tougher than it was a couple of years ago and I think the Vikings are the top team in their division. Wildcard race should be tight this season.

Edited July 26, 2008 by AD

[Mr. X]

Well, Hester isn't holding out anymore but didn't get a new contract yet. If he keeps delivering for us in practice and in the games I see no reason why we won't give him an extension/raise soon as we really do need to keep him around for now.

The other news from today that caught my attention is the Patriots signing Lamont Jordan. I wonder what the Colts fans are going to say about this now. >_>

[JStarr]

I'll yawn, for one. Jordan's probably been ground into jelly by being ostracized in Oakland, and he might be a worthwhile player again if he ever stays healthy for a length of time. Maybe he'll start to bitch about being Maroney's personal waterboy and screw the Patriots' locker room up.