Ten Thoughts on the NFL: Chicago Bears and beyond

1) Everything is pointing to the San Diego Chargers moving to Los Angeles for the 2016 season. And I get it, L.A. is the 2nd largest television market, but how many times is professional football going to fail in the city of Angels before the NFL gives up?

2) When we asked you guys to pick your most hated opposing coach of all time, there were a few mentions of the New England Patriots' Bill Belichick.

I wonder if him making his entire offensive unit, including coaches, run a penalty lap will change or reinforce your stance on the controversial coach.

"It was a miscommunication and you have to move fast because that's our offense -- fast-paced," explained receiver Brian Tyms.

"That's what it takes to win. That's what I've been taught. We won a Super Bowl like that -- we're all as one, it's never one person. There are no 'me' people on this team and if there are, they will be gone before the season starts. It takes everybody collectively to work together and for us to accomplish the ultimate goal, which is the Super Bowl. It took everybody to win that Super Bowl. ... If you had nothing to do with that in the huddle, it doesn't matter. Everybody runs."

3) One of my favorite players back in the day was Herschel Walker. He was a stud at the University of Georgia, and in the old USFL he ran for 5,562 yards in just 3 seasons, including a crazy 2,411 in the 1985 season.

Walker is also claiming that now, at 53 years old, he could make an impact in the NFL as both a running back and a kick returner.

"There is not a doubt in my mind, if I played today, I (could) contribute to a team,"

"Let me tell you the reason why [I can play]," Walker said. "Running backs today don't play every play. They only play, like, a couple of plays and they go out of the game."

"I can return kickoffs," Walker said. "I still run very well, like I've always (run). So I know I can be a positive thing."

"The last time I ran a 40, I ran a 4.3," Walker said. "That was like a year ago. That was when I had not been doing any track work. All I had been doing was [MMA]."

Walker is 6'1", 220 pounds and he has a 5th degree black-belt in Taekwondo. If you've seen Walker lately, you know what great shape he's in, but taking a punch in the cage is different than getting gang tackled in the NFL. But having said that, I wouldn't bet against him if he found his way into a training camp.

4) Word out of Cincinnati is that second year quarterback A.J. McCarron is ready to make the leap to NFL starter. He may not beat out Andy Dalton in 2015, but if McCarron has a good preseason, I'll bet Bengals' head coach Marvin Lewis has a short leash.

I was surprised McCarron fell to the 5th round in the 2014 Draft. I get that he had some technique issues, but he led Alabama to back to back championships and his teams were 36-4 while the starting QB there. Yes his teams were stacked with NFL talent, but a 3 year starting QB, running a pro style offense in the SEC, that can put up such good numbers (77 TDs - 15 Ints), and not wilt in the big games, looks like a long time NFL player to me.

5) By now you've probably heard about the 2013 video that allegedly shows New Orleans Saints linebacker Junior Galette hitting a woman with a belt during a wild Spring Break brawl from 2013.

When word first surfaced about the video, people were wondering how an NFL player could be on a 2 year old YouTube video hitting a woman.

I want to know how anyone can be on a YouTube video hitting a woman.

The amount of sickening clips that have flooded the internet is disgusting. School-aged kids fighting each other, children getting bullied, adults beating up kids and sometimes infants, men beating women, just to name a few. It's a pathetic part of society that commits some of these acts, but equally as pathetic are the imbeciles that stand there and film such horseshit.

I know policing every clip that makes its way onto some website is impossible, but something needs to be done before the younger generation is desensitized into believing this is normal behavior.

6) Hopefully all you Dads out there had a great Father's Day and just in case you didn't get that gift you were looking for here's a splendid idea.

If anyone receives this incredible blanket, please share your pictures with us!

(H/T; Sam Householder via HoneyBearHouseholder)

7) We've yet to hear Lovie Smith utter the words, 'Jamesis is our quarterback' in his familiar Texas drawl, but it would appear that even though rookie Jamesis Winston has been running with the twos all offseason, that Smith expects Winston to be starting for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers fairly quickly.

Telling quote from Lovie Smith on who starting QB is today: "It's just not about Jameis. We need to get our backup quarterback ready, too."

— Greg Auman (@gregauman) June 16, 2015

It makes no sense for a team as bad as the Bucs to sit the #1 pick in the entire draft.

8) And speaking of Winston...

By now you've probably checked out Kev's latest entry into our 30 Day Challenge series; Which current player you wish the Bears had on their roster?

No Kev isn't pining for the Tampa Bay rookie, but when asked to name the player he's most looking forward to playing against, Jameis Winston picked the guy Kev would love to see on the Bears.

"The player I'm most looking forward to play against has to be, probably J.J. Watt,"

Winston is probably just trying to puff out his chest a bit and show some bravado for his new teammates, but to paraphrase Jim Croce, you don't tug on Superman's cape, you don't spit into the wind, you don't pull the mask off that old Lone Ranger and you don't challenge J.J. Watt.

9) Chicago Bears free agent acquisition Pernell McPhee is continuing to wow people this offseason.

One free-agent acquisition to watch: Bears OLB Pernell McPhee. Even without pads, the Chicago offense has had all kinds of issues dealing with the outsized edge rusher. He can play all over Vic Fangio's multiple-front defense, and was only let go by Baltimore because of the Ravens' investments in Elvis Dumervil and Terrell Suggs. If his knees hold up, it looks his $7.75 million per-year average could be a bargain.

Word from camp is that McPhee is lining up all over the place, just like he did at Baltimore, and that spells trouble for opposing defenses.

And I agree, if he fulfills his potential, that 5 year, $38,750,000 deal he signed will look like a steal.

10) But speaking of big contracts, ESPN Insider recently looked at the 10 most overpriced veterans in the NFL and two Bears made the dubious list. They used something called the Jahnke Value Model (JVM) to determine how much money a player should be counting against the cap based on how well he plays.

8. Jay Cutler, QB, Chicago Bears

2015 cap hit: $16.5 million

2015 JVM: $7.4 million

Value differential: $9.1 million

Cutler was one of the most disappointing players in the NFL last season, after cashing in with a big contract in the offseason. Typically, even the worst starting QBs can find success in the NFL when they aren't under pressure, but Cutler defied that in 2014: When Cutler was free of pressure, he managed only 6.8 yards per attempt, and a 16-to-13 touchdown to interception rate. It wasn't any prettier when he had to face the blitz.

It would have been a salary-cap nightmare for the Bears to let go of Cutler this year, and even next year it wouldn't lead to much in the way of cap savings unless they trade him. Ideally for Chicago, Cutler can return to being a good but not great quarterback this season. Regardless of how he plays, the Bears are stuck with him for at least one or two more seasons.

There's no question that Cutler has to play better in 2015, but that paltry 6.8 yards per attempt had as much to do with the screen-pass-happy Marc Trestman than it did with Cutler looking to check things down.

9. Jared Allen, 3-4 OLB, Chicago Bears

2015 cap hit: $12.5 million

2015 JVM: $4.0 million

Value differential: $8.5 million

After choosing not to re-sign Julius Peppers, the Bears instead elected to sign Allen. After seven straight seasons with double-digit sacks, Allen managed just six sacks on 522 pass rushes over the course of the 2014 season. On a per-play basis, Allen was merely average at getting pressure on the quarterback, yet he is still being paid as if he's one of the better pass-rushers in the league. He is now 33 and going through a position change, so if anything, his production is likely to decrease again in 2015.

Due to the contract that Allen signed, it won't be until next offseason that the Bears can cut him and save cap space in the process. Their biggest free-agent addition was Pernell McPhee, and Lamarr Houston is returning from injury, so Allen will likely be just a part-time player this season. It's very unlikely the Bears will ever get their money's worth out of their 2014 free-agent gamble.

I wonder how much the Bears were bidding against themselves when they gave Allen a 4 year, $32,000,000 deal. If you remember it was late in the 2014 free agent process before then GM Phil Emery signed Allen. The only good thing about Allen's deal is the guaranteed money is all taken care of after the 2015 season.

The key to Allen finding some success this year is obviously in how well he converts to a 3-4 outside linebacker, but I think there are two other huge things that need to happen for him. One, not getting pneumonia is very important, and two, not being among the league leaders for defensive snaps at his position would help keep the 33 year old fresh.

What are some of your NFL related thoughts from the last 7 days?