The WR/TE thread

[JustAnotherBearsFan99]

Bennett can catch (over the past 3 seasons he led the entire NFL with the fewest drops). And he is an exceptional route runner. Keep him.

[short faced bear]

Bennett can catch (over the past 3 seasons he led the entire NFL with the fewest drops). And he is an exceptional route runner. Keep him.

Plus he can throw it to someone OTHER than Marshall that he trusts/has rapport with.

[JustAnotherBearsFan99]

Plus he can throw it to someone OTHER than Marshall that he trusts/has rapport with.

Great point, I forgot about that. Cutler does have a rapport with Bennett.

[XaosGorilla]

The Bears WRs are:
Marshall: Keeper, No explanation needed
Jeffery: Keeper, will get better, particularly if Marshall helps coach/train the rook..
Bennett: Keeper, still under contract, Cutler trusts him, and, love or hate, he is a proven commodity whom Jay has gone to in "clutch" situations in the past. Remember, last year our offense was most effective when Cutler, Forte, and Bennett were on the field TOGETHER.
Hester: Probable keeper, Not keeping him as a WR, but as a return man. Without the WR thing cluttering up his head, he should get back to being the dynamic returner we have seen in the past. Given his slump, kickers/punters may well start kicking to him again. Just like last time the bears tried to turn him into a WR...
Weems: Probable keeper, The Bears like to have a one-two punch of returners, Weems fits this. Plus, he got some time as a WR in one game this year (iirc), and,to me, he looked like a better WR than Hester.
Sanz: Unknown, Personally, I would prefer to keep him. He shapes up as a good backup to Bennett, but due to not seeing the field much this season, is still an unknown quantity. There is value in a player who can make himself available to his QB even if he is not a "prototypical" player, particularly in the short to mid yardage game, IF he can catch the ball. Usually the largest improvement a player makes is between year one and two. We haven't seen what his second year looks like.
Knox: Probable cut, I don't think that Knox will recover enough from his injury to play at this level. I may be wrong, but Knox will have a lot to prove.

The TEs. I will have to get to them later, (gtg). But I will echo the comments about how underwhelming KD has been. However, the bears finally used him to his strength last night against the Cards, giving him the easy short yardage throw, then letting him carry the ball from there. If the bears do this more, KD might become serviceable.

[MPBears68]

The Bears WRs are:
Marshall: Keeper, No explanation needed
Jeffery: Keeper, will get better, particularly if Marshall helps coach/train the rook..
Bennett: Keeper, still under contract, Cutler trusts him, and, love or hate, he is a proven commodity whom Jay has gone to in "clutch" situations in the past. Remember, last year our offense was most effective when Cutler, Forte, and Bennett were on the field TOGETHER.
Hester: Probable keeper, Not keeping him as a WR, but as a return man. Without the WR thing cluttering up his head, he should get back to being the dynamic returner we have seen in the past. Given his slump, kickers/punters may well start kicking to him again. Just like last time the bears tried to turn him into a WR...
Weems: Probable keeper, The Bears like to have a one-two punch of returners, Weems fits this. Plus, he got some time as a WR in one game this year (iirc), and,to me, he looked like a better WR than Hester.
Sanz: Unknown, Personally, I would prefer to keep him. He shapes up as a good backup to Bennett, but due to not seeing the field much this season, is still an unknown quantity. There is value in a player who can make himself available to his QB even if he is not a "prototypical" player, particularly in the short to mid yardage game, IF he can catch the ball. Usually the largest improvement a player makes is between year one and two. We haven't seen what his second year looks like.
Knox: Probable cut, I don't think that Knox will recover enough from his injury to play at this level. I may be wrong, but Knox will have a lot to prove.

The TEs. I will have to get to them later, (gtg). But I will echo the comments about how underwhelming KD has been. However, the bears finally used him to his strength last night against the Cards, giving him the easy short yardage throw, then letting him carry the ball from there. If the bears do this more, KD might become serviceable.

Great breakdown, X. There's nothing you said that isn't totally reasonable. I'll just add a few tweaks of my own, representing nothing more than my own personal "2 cents worth" of biases.

Marsh/Jeff/Bennett: It amazes me that this trio has been so underwhelming impact-wise this year (outside of number 15 of course). Bunch of reasons why this has been so...injuries, rookie-ness, bad OC, bad OL, etc. I absolutely love this trio as one of the most promising in the NFL, on paper at least. With better health, pass pro, and coaching, no reason this shouldn't be one of the best WR cores in the league.

Hester/Weems: Right now they occupy 2 WR roster spots although neither of them is a quality WR beyond #5 at best (ie, "last ditch"). I'd really prefer to keep only ONE of them and get a young draft pick (Knox replacement equivalent) prospect with speed to be the #4 WR and #2 returner. Hester is the better pure-returner and still can flash that "break one open" potential but Weems is the better overall ST guy as he also is solid in kick coverage, where Hester doesn't even play. I'd make a choice based on all the factors--cap cost, Hester trade value?, ST needs, etc--and bite the bullet by keeping one only. I just can't justify keeping two players who can't play defense at all and add very little on offense too.

Knox: Sadly, I agree that he's unlikely to ever make it back. His value-adding characteristic was his breakaway deep threat speed and that's not gonna ever be the same I fear. It's a shame because a fully healthy Knox would be an ideal #4 WR and backup returner for our needs.

Sanz/Anderson: I like Sanz (assuming he's over his case of the "rookie drops" from last year) but he's really on the bubble due to his lack of size and ST utility. Anderson seems to have that and he impressed as a WR in preseason. I'd like him and Sanz both get a good hard look next August and probably only one of the two makes the final cut.

TEs: I'd cut Spaeth and Davis to free up a few mill in cap space which we need for other purposes. We really do need a competent all around TE in the worst way and FA seems to offer a few possibilities there. Any TE past the 2nd round will be a major project and we will likely have bigger fish to fry with the 2nd round pick anyway. This is probably our thinnest position right now.

[Rakk]

Sanzenbacher waived today.

Link to article
http://chicago.cbslocal.com/2012/12/...-sanzenbacher/

[short faced bear]

Sanzenbacher waived today.

Link to article
http://chicago.cbslocal.com/2012/12/...-sanzenbacher/

Well too bad he didn't get some garbage time but then again it's not like they would throw to him much less gameplan HOW. Best of luck Dane.

[JustAnotherBearsFan99]

I wish Sanz the best too. It seems like an odd time to cut him. Wonder what that's all about?

[The Benjamin]

I wish Sanz the best too. It seems like an odd time to cut him. Wonder what that's all about?

does it matter? Sanz is not a difference maker. He is just another Aromasadu.

[MPBears68]

I wish Sanz the best too. It seems like an odd time to cut him. Wonder what that's all about?

Seems that Conte is out with injury and we are down to 2 safeties (Wright & Walters). Making room for a 3rd safety somehow? What a mess...