and move Urlacher to free safety. In the cover 2 he practically plays the position anyway. At least we’d see some absolutely crushing hits in the secondary.

Any player that is even decent will be tendered in 1 of 3 ways:
This is for 4 NFL seasons accrued (values are a little lower for 3 season and slightly higher for 5 seasons):

Second-round tender: $1,759,000
First-round tender: $2,521,000
First & third round tender: $3,168,000

1.759 million isn’t a lot of money for an elite safety (or elite anything for that matter). These guys will at least get that amount of a tender offer from their teams. Even if the Bears offer these guys 100 million in salary we do NOT have a 2nd round pick to compensate the team that is losing out on their own player.

Simply put, there is very little chance that any restricted free agents will be coming to the Bears. By giving away our 2nd round pick, Angelo shut the door on this area of free agency.

He needs to be here immediately! He’s gonna pee his pants!

That the Bear’s top priority in the draft was to get a real safety. Though I wasn’t unhappy with the picks we made (when you’re drafting so low you can only do so much), I had an uncomfortable feeling at the time that the lack of a real safety was going to reach up and bite us.

And it indeed did.

that FS isn’t our #1 priority, a lot of other positions can be filled with adequete/stopgap players. if your FS and secondary is lacking, your game sucks, and that’s the bottom line.

OJ Atogwe would be great, Nick Collins i think would be second best, otherwise Chancellor sounds like a monster

I voted for it, but would’ve normally put DE ahead for obvious reasons. It may not matter who we have back there if the rush is mediocre again.

I agree it is a critical position but I think we need to build the Oline even more with our investment back at QB.

all I could think of was all the bold and italics you used, and it made me laugh. You do use them quite frequently. But no biggie. The end. LOL.

# 1 need = pass rush —> free-agent DE

#2 need = Free-safety
If we can address both of those needs, then it will be a solid offseason.

Yes, an OG or RT would be nice, but I’m much more concerned about the D.

1.Guard I started the Logan Mankins fan club a while back lol
2.FS- we need a hitter/ballhawk
3.DE/DT- Does Ogun come back? Can harrison or gilbert be the other tackle along side Tommie?
4. RB- NOT A STARTER! We need someone effective to spell forte, preferably a burner.
5. Corner- It would be nice to have another decent guy in the mix
6. FB- we need more of an athletic type

thought this was great – LINK >>

the man is a beast…i will be highly offended if we dont draft him. An instant upgrade and force. We need to do anything to ensure we get this guy.

He played “rover” at FSU and is probably the smartest guy in the draft. If you’re looking for a “Mike Brown replacement” this guy is the best shot you have at it.

If the team were to trade someone to replace the pick they’ll lose for signing a restricted FA they could make a run at one. In other words, they could trade Olsen for a 3rd-round pick, and then things wouldn’t be as bad if they lose their 3rd round pick for signing someone like Atogwe.

Manning is a waste of space, but if he’s kept, he can play nickel. Bowman and Tillman can be the starters and Graham can come off the bench in dime. Let Moore get some reps, but bring him along slowly. Payne and Alfalfa are solid at SS and could spell FS if needed on rare occasions. Turenne seems to have potential, but I just don’t see him breaking through the practice squad wall. Steltz is a nice guy. Vasher is gone!

IMO, FS is a huge priority and the Bears need to develop a strategy. In the short term, old FAs like Sharper fit the bill. OJ Atogwe would be the complete fix for the FS position, but it would be difficult to pry him out of STL. Long term I say go get the best FS (Chancellor, most likely) in the draft with the Bear’s 3rd rounder. There are not likely to be great DEs at that point and LG prospects can be had later in the draft and in FA. Another Bowman-type DB in the later rounds would be nice if there is one.

Lastly, I would argue that the BIGGEST problem is still Lovie and the position coaches; namely Hoke. They have failed miserably at all the pahses of coahcing. They have not picked great talent, not developed talent, not identified FA talent well, or coordinated a defense that could have successes at DB. The DMS joke prevalent on WCG says it all. Lovie believes his own bullsh!! I think D Manning and Corey Graham are 2 guys who have talent and are simply not well coached. Bowman may end up better than Tillman, but not with Lovie as a “teacher”. What can I say, this defense is awful and getting worse mostly because of Lovie. Hopefully, JA can get at least the proper talent at FS so when Lovie is fired this season, this offseason won’t be a complete waste!

busy morning, but this is a great lunchtime treat. A lot of what I say will be repetition, but hey I just can’t help myself, sometimes.

For starters I do think FS is our # priority. Not saying we don’t have needs on the OLine and DLines, but not only do I think those needs are not as extreme as our safety needs, but I hope the OLine and Dline are addressed in free agency.

The safety position (FS or SS) lacks the most depth of any position(s) on our team. Year after year the Bears stock up on 5th or 6th rounders to play safety, while using earlier picks to draft DLineman. I understand the need for pressure on the QB, but all an opposing QB?offense needs to do against such a one sided defense is the 3 step drop and our defense is neutralized.

IMO Mike Brown’s injuries and the rotation of 6th rounders at FS since Mike Brown is a big reason this team has declined since the Super Bowl. Sorry Lovie but the rotating safety philosophy is garbage and a poor excuse for not having a decent safety.

I am intrigued by this Chancellor guy… tell me more…. WHEN we draft him it will be irrelevant if he plays SS or FS because he will be the bona fide starter at whatever position. It is interesting to see that there is no consensus regarding what round he will likely be drafted in. I have previously advocated moving up to draft him in the 2nd round where I had seen him projected as going (HH plus a 4th rounder?). Seeing many safeties above him on draft boards means he might actually be there for us in the 3rd. Even if we do get him in the 3rd, i would still like us to move into Day 1 in order to accumulate more talent.

I think it was Muhsin and Ochocinco who said that the Bears defense was no longer intimidating. At 6’3 230lbs. Kam Chancellor would instantly change that (accurate) perception especially for opposing WRs, making them think twice when going over the middle. Watch his videos on NFLdraftscout.com and reminisce about the past while considering the boost to our defense physically and emotionally of having a guy like Chancellor capable of making WRs “hear footsteps”. All that said, i expect us to pass on him in favor of a DLineman who will redshirt his rookie season only to become an unwanted free agent (see Dan Bazuin).

you HAVE to have dominant defensive ends which allow for a dominant pass rush without the need to blitz while having your LBs play their gaps or be in coverage. We MUST have a productive end to compliment Alex Brown and that is our #1 priority this offseason. Peppers should definitely be on the Bears’ radar screen, even though I would be very surprised to see that move.

Of course secondly, we need that FS. Mel Kiper Jr. had the Bears needing to draft another wideout, I don’t think that guy is doing his homework very well. Drafting another WR would be a ridiculous move.

He’s the ballhawk that every team wants at that position. So what if he’s short and can’t tackle well. Moore probably wouldn’t be a star at FS, but solid, probably.

really classy touch to WCG.

The Lac is back. With the embarrassment of Hillenmeyer relegated to the dark days in Bear s’ history, FS will not be as crucial as it was this year. Yes we need a good one, but not as urgently as that monster WR is needed. Somebody can fill in there for a while, but a 5’9 receiver cannot fill in for a 6’4 receiver.

We need a veteran at the FS spot and cannot wait a few years to develop some project out of college. Again, Angelo shot us in the foot with Mike Brown. With the probable airlocking of Vasher we are very thin at CB and an injury away from disaster. But here’s the urgency as I see it : (1) WR (2) FS (3) LG (4) CB (5) MLB !! Week one. Week one. Get thee hence to endless night Hillenmeyer – if he was a movie he’d be “Lost in space”.
As I see it, we can survive momentarily without a new LG, Beekman can man the ramparts until long term help arrives, which obviously needs to be premium.
 
We need a big receiver more than any other single need. Cutler likes/needs his big targets. This was made clear to the blind in week 16 with the ‘arrival’ of Shabb-dabba-do. A guy who wasn’t even the best receiver on the team when Brandon Rideau was on the squad, he is on his own on this squad. The man stands alone on an island as a Bear receiver. Bennett/Knox/Hester have all shown a distinct slowness when it comes to picking up the playbook. Bennett is by some way the tallest of them at 6’0. The alignments, the blown routes, not knowing the hot reads; what happens this year with a brand new, bigger playbook ? What does Greg Olsen do on an offense that requires a single tight end, and a TE whose job it is to block and block alone ? Blocking is not in Greg Olsen’s vocabulary. If he remains as starting tight end for the Bears, one thing is for sure. His ten catches this year after 4 games will take some beating. Bada bing !

We get Dunta and move Tillman to FS
but apparently Dunta wants to stay in Houston and I may be giving Tillman DMS