JA: Talent more Important than Need/Drafting OL

LM: You’ve faced Brett Favre twice a season almost every year he’s been in the NFL, first when you were with the Buccaneers and since you’ve been with the Bears. Have you ever drafted a player to counter what a specific opponent like Favre or another individual can do?

JA: “Not really. I’ve seen teams try to do that and it doesn’t work. I remember when Randy Moss [had a record-breaking season as a rookie in 1998], the Packers spent their first three picks in the next draft on cornerbacks. From my perspective, you really need to focus on getting the best players. Obviously needs are important, but not at the expense of passing on more talented players. The better teams win based on their personnel and execution.”

http://www.chicagobears.com/news/New...?story_id=7268

So If JA is still our GM come draft time can we safely rule out that we will not be drafting an offensive lineman in the 1st with the weak class at OL even though it is by far our biggest area of need?

If the regime stays the same then I expect we will address it in the 2nd round simply because of the pressure JA will be under.

-Mike Tice and Mike Martz will be in Lovie and Jerry's ear about needing OL talent in the draft.

-Public pressure and the media will also be forcing Jerry Angelo into drafting some OLmen.

-Jay Cutler, the man that has saved JA's job will be in his ear as well.

All that has to happen is for Martz to run more and the line improve slightly and magically it isn't a top priority for them. I hope we carry 9 active o-linemen on the roster instead of the normal 8 for a change and esp. since JA says "it all starts up front".
Bare minimum we need a LG and C. Then depth. Plus we need to figure out who's worth keeping after the season is over.
....so here comes another DE in the 1st round lol.

What do you want the guy to do? Draft O-line in EVERY round?...

everyone's argument is JA is crap. Been crap, always gonna be crap.

well what's the say about Lovie?? so you want Lovie Fired cause Angelo has given him crap to work with???
or Has Angelo FOUND talent, and it's the coaches doing a piss poor job of developing.

you can't blame both coach AND GM. it's one or the other.
Look at our solid D right now... look at that talent. who's responsible? answer JUST that Question.

and if you way WHAT talent... you go right back to hating on lovie for having Crap talent..

So WHICH is it? Lovie or JA?.... it ain't both brother.

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Originally Posted by WindyCity

So If JA is still our GM come draft time can we safely rule out that we will not be drafting an offensive lineman in the 1st with the weak class at OL even though it is by far our biggest area of need?

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Meh, I won't go ballistic on anything any GM ever says about the draft even 1 hour before the first pick is made. All he said was basic common sense of not passing up elite talent to fill a need. It's true, but it's not like he said "I won't even think about OL, because the draft isn't loaded on the top end at the position."

I will say one thing about the depth issue this year. There really is really only a handful of guys proving worthy of a first round pick. There are guys dropping off like crazy as the season wears on like Solder, Carimi and Pouncey, but that is some big time upside talent clogging up the 2nd round that will inevitable push guys who normally be drafted there to the 3-4. Right now, it looks like Wiz is the only sure bet to help us where we currently sit in the draft, so maybe CB or DT could end up as the biggest boost for us?

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Originally Posted by GrizzlyBear91

What do you want the guy to do? Draft O-line in EVERY round?...

everyone's argument is JA is crap. Been crap, always gonna be crap.

well what's the say about Lovie?? so you want Lovie Fired cause Angelo has given him crap to work with???
or Has Angelo FOUND talent, and it's the coaches doing a piss poor job of developing.

you can't blame both coach AND GM. it's one or the other.
Look at our solid D right now... look at that talent. who's responsible? answer JUST that Question.

and if you way WHAT talent... you go right back to hating on lovie for having Crap talent..

So WHICH is it? Lovie or JA?.... it ain't both brother.

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At some point the HC has to make a point to ownership and fans by taking a stand against a poor GM. It looks like this offseason was FINALLY the year that Lovie fired back by putting his neck on the line with staff maneuvers and cutting even more of JA's dead weight picks. It might be too little too late, but with the $5mil we still owe him, I think Lovie gets another year in town as long as we don't bomb the last half. All signs point to JA waking up to a horse's head sometime this Winter.

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Originally Posted by GrizzlyBear91

What do you want the guy to do? Draft O-line in EVERY round?...

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I want Angelo fired.

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Originally Posted by GrizzlyBear91

everyone's argument is JA is crap. Been crap, always gonna be crap.

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He is crap, he has been crap and will always be crap.

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Originally Posted by GrizzlyBear91

well what's the say about Lovie?? so you want Lovie Fired cause Angelo has given him crap to work with???
or Has Angelo FOUND talent, and it's the coaches doing a piss poor job of developing.

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I want lovie fired because of some of his stupid ass decisions, for starters, leaving Jay Cutler in games that are not winnable or in games where he is getting hit like crazy. We saw this with Rex Grossman and we are seeing this with Jay Cutler. I also think lovie is a limp dick HC now that he gets paid a ton of money, he lacks the ability to made adjustements when our team is getting pounded. His use of his challenges are another black eye along with him bringing in all of his buddies and keeping them on the team when they fail.

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Originally Posted by GrizzlyBear91

you can't blame both coach AND GM. it's one or the other.

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Yes you can blame both HC and GM.

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Originally Posted by GrizzlyBear91

Look at our solid D right now... look at that talent. who's responsible? answer JUST that Question.

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I would say playing the cellar dweller teams have made our defense look great yet now our defense is showing weakness.

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Originally Posted by GrizzlyBear91

and if you way WHAT talent... you go right back to hating on lovie for having Crap talent..

So WHICH is it? Lovie or JA?.... it ain't both brother.

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If I were GM I would focus on protecting the Franchise qb.

Second Lovie and JA need to go.

I don't believe a team with a bad o-line should use the entire draft. But when you don't prioritize your own philosophy then eventually you DO have to draft quite a few. A FA or a bare minimum attempt with our wasted Lefevor pick (who is probably better than Collins our lovely #2 qb) at least speaks to the PROCESS.
The mere fact that Tice had to lobby for 7th round Webb intensely speaks volumes.

He's right, finding talent in the draft is important. Not finding Benson, Grossman, Gilbert, Iglesius, etc.... you can't strike out in the top 3 rounds.

Maybe Jerry Angelo should follow his on advice and actually draft some real honest to God talent for a change.