Thread: Screw The Expensive WR's, Sign These Two And We Improve 100%..........

I start to like the idea of trade down and get an extra pick

You can draft Floyd or Jeffery it's still going to take a few seasons to ripen them. Add Drake to the equation and you can retard their progress even further. If FA produces a DE and a WR(s) I could see a trade down being very viable.

Bears chairman George McKaskey assured that "money is not going to be an issue" for GM Phil Emery heading into free agency.
With the defensive nucleus of Brian Urlacher, Lance Briggs, Julius Peppers, and Charles Tillman inching toward their mid-30s, the Bears seem likely to go "all-in" this season. Much like the Bucs and Cowboys, they intend to make waves in free agency. A second-tier receiver such as Mario Manningham or Robert Meachem could be tops on Emery's shopping list. Related: BearsSource: Chicago Tribune Feb 17 - 8:56 AM


Source:
Fantasy Football player news, injuries and analysis - Rotoworld.com

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Comparing Michael Floyd to Larry Fitzgerald is ludicrous. As first round picks they aren't even close to being in the same league and 5 years down the road from now they still won't be in the same league. Larry Fitzgerald is and always has been an elite WR. Michael Floyd is not an elite WR.

Justin Blackmon is the best WR in this draft class but if he was in the 2011 draft he would still be drafted behind Julio Jones and A.J. Green so he'd be no better than the 3rd best receiver in that draft and all the rest of this years prospects rate below that. If we compare Floyd to someone it would be far more like Jonathan Baldwin who was the 26th pick in last years draft. Michael Floyd should be ranked in that same area and any comparison to Larry Fitzgerald completely ignored. He's nowhere near that good.

If we were going to take a risk on a 1st round WR I'd take it for Randle rather than Floyd. Neither one will be a polished WR day one but at least Randle has some speed and is most likely undervalued because of the conservative offense he played in. Randle is no Randy Moss either. He doesn't have that kind of elite speed or the ability to launch himself for passes like a power forward going for rebounds. I think a slightly smaller version of Marques Colston would be a better comparison.

I wouldn't make a decision on any WR pick first round or second until after the Combine. If guys like Floyd and Jeffery don't run any better than their currently advertised times of the mid 4.5's to the mid 4.6's and a guy like Randle runs a true 4.5 or better and show decent strength the whole WR deck will get shuffled with Wright and Randle gaining ground and Floyd and Jeffery losing ground. Like Andrew Brandt pointed out in his column, WR is a "stopwatch" position and the old adage is true. You can't coach speed, or the lack of it.

Originally Posted by jwmann2

What is another free agent wide receiver going to solve if Jay Cutler is getting smacked every single play? Good offensive lineman are hard to come by and a great offensive line will allow any NFL starting QB to shine. Look at the veteran line the Colts had all of those years. The Bears have proved time an again that all you need is a defensive-minded team and great special teams play to make the playoffs.

You are correct that the line needs to be improved. However, while most of the sacks came because the line got destroyed and Jay had no chance (most notably the Saints game), a good number of his sacks came because he had to stay in the pocket and hold the ball forever waiting for a receiver to actually get open. It was either that or throw the ball away 50% of the time. Adding three good receivers who can run routes, catch and keep from falling down regularly would help decrease the sack numbers nearly as much as adding a franchise LT, in my mind. That's how bad the clown-car of Knox, Williams and Hester was.

Originally Posted by soulman

Comparing Michael Floyd to Larry Fitzgerald is ludicrous. As first round picks they aren't even close to being in the same league and 5 years down the road from now they still won't be in the same league. Larry Fitzgerald is and always has been an elite WR. Michael Floyd is not an elite WR.

Justin Blackmon is the best WR in this draft class but if he was in the 2011 draft he would still be drafted behind Julio Jones and A.J. Green so he'd be no better than the 3rd best receiver in that draft and all the rest of this years prospects rate below that. If we compare Floyd to someone it would be far more like Jonathan Baldwin who was the 26th pick in last years draft. Michael Floyd should be ranked in that same area and any comparison to Larry Fitzgerald completely ignored. He's nowhere near that good.

If we were going to take a risk on a 1st round WR I'd take it for Randle rather than Floyd. Neither one will be a polished WR day one but at least Randle has some speed and is most likely undervalued because of the conservative offense he played in. Randle is no Randy Moss either. He doesn't have that kind of elite speed or the ability to launch himself for passes like a power forward going for rebounds. I think a slightly smaller version of Marques Colston would be a better comparison.

I wouldn't make a decision on any WR pick first round or second until after the Combine. If guys like Floyd and Jeffery don't run any better than their currently advertised times of the mid 4.5's to the mid 4.6's and a guy like Randle runs a true 4.5 or better and show decent strength the whole WR deck will get shuffled with Wright and Randle gaining ground and Floyd and Jeffery losing ground. Like Andrew Brandt pointed out in his column, WR is a "stopwatch" position and the old adage is true. You can't coach speed, or the lack of it.

They are not the same prospect, in fact all the comparisons are too potential HOF players.

As a prospect Floyd is ranked simialrily to Kenny Britt a top 20 guy, with rough edges.

Their playing styles are similar. Floyd's game and his 4.6 speed are similar to Fitzgerald obviously not as good but similar.

Again, why do we have to go through with drafting a wide receiver in the first round? It's going to take two years at least to develop a receiver, and as shorty said, we have Darryl Drake as our receivers coach. We can address the depth of this position later in the draft. I'm more interested in getting the 20 oz Porterhouse portion of my meal in free agency. I don't care if we go after Colston, VJax, Meachem, Wayne, Royal, or someone from BFE. The point is that we come away with one to two receivers in free agency and probably one in the draft. Doing that would completely overhaul our weak wide receiving corps.

The only receivers we have who I'm willing to continue giving opportunities to progress are, of course, Earl Bennett and then the young Dane Sanzenbacher. Sanzenbacher had a bad year last year with holding onto the football. I can assure from his college days at Ohio State that he was one of the surest handed receivers you will ever have seen. He was a First Team All-Big Ten, and I am shocked that he didn't get drafted. I see the potential for him to be a lot like Wes Welker if he can learn to get a grip on the football. He always gets open somehow, and that's not something that is taught, but rather is instinctual.

Originally Posted by Rogelio

You are correct that the line needs to be improved. However, while most of the sacks came because the line got destroyed and Jay had no chance (most notably the Saints game), a good number of his sacks came because he had to stay in the pocket and hold the ball forever waiting for a receiver to actually get open. It was either that or throw the ball away 50% of the time. Adding three good receivers who can run routes, catch and keep from falling down regularly would help decrease the sack numbers nearly as much as adding a franchise LT, in my mind. That's how bad the clown-car of Knox, Williams and Hester was.

You're on target but we really don't see 3 new receiver. Bennett should be moved to flanker as the #2 man and if we don't sign a guy like Eddie Royal we can get by with Sanz and Hester in the slot. We need to draft one in there somewhere but more importantly we need an established vet in FA that won't break the back to start at WR with Knox backing him up.

As much as Cutler was put in a bad situation last year so were the receivers. Martz absolutely refused to alter is tactics to get the best out of the talent he had. He misplayed people constantly especially Knox. He should never have been asked to run 8-10 yard slants like the one Cutler was injured on in the first place. He's a sideline downfield guy who teams have to respect due to his speed and if he's used that way he's fairly effective. Martz sabotaged a lot of players and games last year because he's either a complete stubborn arrogant asshole or he's completely off his rocker and I believe it's the latter.

Originally Posted by soulman

You're on target but we really don't see 3 new receiver. Bennett should be moved to flanker as the #2 man and if we don't sign a guy like Eddie Royal we can get by with Sanz and Hester in the slot. We need to draft one in there somewhere but more importantly we need an established vet in FA that won't break the back to start at WR with Knox backing him up.

As much as Cutler was put in a bad situation last year so were the receivers. Martz absolutely refused to alter is tactics to get the best out of the talent he had. He misplayed people constantly especially Knox. He should never have been asked to run 8-10 yard slants like the one Cutler was injured on in the first place. He's a sideline downfield guy who teams have to respect due to his speed and if he's used that way he's fairly effective. Martz sabotaged a lot of players and games last year because he's either a complete stubborn arrogant asshole or he's completely off his rocker and I believe it's the latter.

I think, soul, that Rogelio was meaning that getting three receivers could do two things: 1) Completely revamp our WR corps from the piss poor unit it is now to what it could be like, and 2) most important, to build quality depth since Roy Williams and Johnny Knox will most likely not be on the team next year.