[CBFF] Long goodbye -- chicagotribune.com

Wed Jan 2 03:24:44 MST 2008

The fact that I put the Bears in that means that I admit they had bad QBing this year/don't have an obvious #1, and only proves part of your point.  Your main point is more extreme than I care to accept.  Let's break down the rest of the detritus in more detail, though.

  Niners: A. Smith, T. Dilfer, S. Hill, C. Weinke, D. Olson
  Smith will never live up to his #1 picking, and after a decent 2006, had a Rex-like fall into atrocity this year.  Dilfer was done years ago.  Hill was great... in 1999, and wasn't heard from again until this season.  And he might be starting next year.  Olson's never seen a snap in his two pro years, and we don't need to go into Weinke's stats.

  Ultra-Pessimist forecast: Must admit Bears are slightly better than this mess.

  Panthers: J. Delhomme, V. Testaverde, D. Carr, M. Moore, B. Basanez
  Vinny's gonna retire.  Carr is still a disappointment. The final two aren't worth going into detail.  However, if Jake's not injured, he's all they need.  God help the Panthers if he gets injured again, though, cause there's nothing on the bench.

  Ultra-Pessimist forecast: Delhomme's presence means the Bears are much worse off.

  Falcons: J. Harrington, B. Leftwich, C. Redman, D. Shockley  ...oh, and M. Vick
  Joey's still washed up in a new city.  Leftwich is apparently traveling the same road.  Shockley was a homer pick.  Uh, I guess Redman had a pretty decent half-season, although his TD stats were heavily skewed by playing against Seattle's backups on Sunday.  Mr. Vick won't be under consideration for the 2008 roster.

  Ultra-Pessimist forecast: Slight edge to Falcons, if you favor Redman over Orton.

  Vikings: T. Jackson, B. Bollinger, K. Holcomb
  I have no faith in Tavaris being the long term answer.  He tended to stink even when the Vikes were looking good.  His role was like Orton's in 2005, except he was worse at it.  And he's supposed to be a running threat?  OK.  Jackson was exposed by the Bears, among other teams: if you can stop the run, Jackson can't beat you with the pass.  Bollinger's from UW.  'Nuff said. (No offense, Vic.)  Holcomb's a career backup.

  Ultra-Pessimist forecast: If you like TJack, the Vikes are a little better.  If you don't, the Bears are WAAAAAAY better.  Of course, it's not like Minny needs a passing game anyway...

  Ravens: S. McNair, K. Boller, T. Smith, C. Finnerty
  I think the fork in McNair's back finally drove deep enough this year to puncture both lungs.  I can't imagine any Ravens fan excited at the prospect of Boller starting again for them next season.  Troy Smith played the final 2 1/2 games this year and had unimpressive numbers.  And he's a fumbler.  Cullen Finnerty played at Div II champ Grand Valley State U. a year ago.  No stats this year.

  Ultra-Pessimist forecast: Must admit the Bears are better off than the Ravens.

  Jets: C. Pennington, K. Clemens, M. Tuiasosopo
  Pennington's probably gone this offseason.  The heir-apparent is Kellen, but he had an underwhelming season, never throwing for multiple TDs in a game, but quite a few INTs.  Marques couldn't even hold a starting position in OAKLAND.

  Ultra-Pessimist forecast: Kellen's just finished his first real season, he'll get better.  Jets have the edge.

  Dolphins: T. Green, C. Lemon, J. Beck, C. Bramlet, 2008 first overall pick?
  Do I really even have to write details here?  Green was D-U-N before he got put on IR (twice in two years now).  Lemon and Beck were ghastly.  Apparently Bramlet wasn't even worth throwing into the fire.  Whatever QB they pick in the draft will back up Green next year during Week One, assuming Trent's not on IR again by that point.

  Ultra-Pessimist forecast: The Dolphins get the stud QB of 2008 (not a draft guy; don't know/care who this will end up being).  Therefore, that'll be better than the Bears depth.

  Giants: E. Manning, J. Lorenzen, A. Wright
  Honestly, this whole tome of a response was a big excuse to look up who's behind Eli.  It's still Big Jared Lorenzen, and apparently Anthony Wright, who I remember once starting for the Ravens.

  Ultra-Pessimist forecast:  Eli takes his media lumps, but has put up decent numbers three straight years now.  And the Giants have reached the playoffs all three years.  He ain't Peyton, but he's better than what the Bears have.

  ---------
  The above analysis leads me to believe, Tom, that you are willing to give non-Bears QBs more leeway than the trio we have.  (By the way, I'll admit to baiting you with that previous list email.  I knew how you'd respond.)  I'm gonna have to agree with Jerry, that your POV and ours pretty much is no longer debatable due to the core ideas.  I think the Bears still could actually get worse with change (remember Kordell in 2003?) and that we haven't hit rock bottom yet (not that we necessarily will).  I do agree that some sort of change is necessary, probably in the form of the draft.  Unlike you, I optimistically think there's the potential that more could be seen out of Orton, building off of this past month, and, dare I say it, more out of Rex, too.  I think the benching did him good, and a legitimate QB derby in the preseason with Orton (and maybe the draftee) would benefit both of them.  Assuming that Rex even comes back.

  For the record, I support keeping Grossman and Orton, while dropping Griese.  Griese has no upside left, while I think Rex still might.  If Grossman leaves in FA, oh well, no tears shed.  Maybe keep Griese then because he knows the system.  But I don't see a free agent QB pickup improving our situation for next year.  Fresh blood is necessary, but draft it.

  Matt

Tom Shannon <tshanno at gmail.com> wrote:

> -----Original Message-----
> From: cbff-bounces at chicagobearsfanforum.com [mailto:cbff-
> bounces at chicagobearsfanforum.com] On Behalf Of Matt Langschwager
> Sent: Tuesday, January 01, 2008 8:17 PM
> To: post at chicagobearsfanforum.com
> Subject: Re: [CBFF] Long goodbye -- chicagotribune.com
> 
> I would consider the following teams as bad as or worse off currently
> than the Bears: San Fran, Carolina, Atlanta, Minnesota, Baltimore, NY
> Jets, Miami, and -depending on how you feel about Eli - the Giants.

> All of the above could probably be argued by your stipulations,
> except Miami.

I think the Bears are worse off at starter than nearly all of those. Every
one either has starters who are better than ours or who are young and still
learning. If the Bears aren't the worst they're darn close.

The very fact that you put the Bears in this group makes my point. It is
highly unlikely the Bears will get worse by looking elsewhere. IMO they
need a new possibility at the position. The current ones aren't going to
get them anywhere.

Tom S.

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