2011 - 20?? Bears Offseason(s) Thread

[Eli]

Since they started requiring college players who lose their helmets to sit out a play I became aware of how common an occurrence it is.  Or did they recently start to design the helmets differently?

They do have a new design from Riddel, but remember Mark Kelso from the Bills?  He had that huge helmet.

Here it is, in fact:

Quick, someone post a picture of Rick Moranis from the Mel Brooks comedy movie Spaceballs.

[CubFaninHydePark]

I wouldn't propose limiting practices, as this bill does, but informing players seems to be appropriate, no?

That's all I'm saying. Are a bunch of moran state legislators of whom the vast majority supported Rod Blagojevich twice and who have yet to do anything to address the state's shit economy and albatross pension obligations really needed to tell a bunch of professional educators and parents how to do their jobs?

Totally solid point.  That being said, I'm sure most of them (or some) are smart enough to multitask on legislation, but...you know, this pension shit is hard and concussions are in the news lately, so DISTRACT THE PUBLIC!!!

In all seriousness, I question whether football will look anything like what we see today in the next 15 or 20 years.  As the issue of long-term brain injuries come into focus (and not just the singular "concussion issue"), how many parents are going to be willing to allow their kids to play football?  If kids lose interest at the younger ages that cuts off the feeder high schools, which in turn cuts off college football, and then the NFL. 

Or will the various levels of football just have to come out and say this is a dangerous sport, this is what can happen to you (that science knows so far), and you need to sign this, this, and that before you can play?

This is one instance where I favor the nanny state - kids obviously can't give informed consent, and the long-term health implications make this the sort of thing that should never be allowed to be waived on their behalf.  This isn't the permission slip to go on a field trip, this is way bigger.

And all it takes is going to watch the meathead parents at a pee-wee game to know that none of them will be smart enough to make the right decision for their kids.

I couldn't be happier that I won the battle against my parents on playing football when I was younger.  The risk wasn't worth it, let alone to play for a perpetually 3-6 HS football team.

[Tonker]

Since they started requiring college players who lose their helmets to sit out a play I became aware of how common an occurrence it is.  Or did they recently start to design the helmets differently?

They do have a new design from Riddel, but remember Mark Kelso from the Bills?  He had that huge helmet.

Here it is, in fact:

Quick, someone post a picture of Rick Moranis from the Mel Brooks comedy movie Spaceballs.

Okay:

[Saul Goodman]

I enjoyed this video.

[Saul Goodman]

DPD.  Bears stayed at #20 and selected OG Kyle Long, Oregon, 6'6 313 lb.  NFL GM Hub Arkush says Emstink "blew that pick."  Why won't the Bears just hire Hub already?  He's so much smarter than everyone.  "This is the second year in a row, not just according to me but people I really respect, they just didn't get value for the pick."

[CT III]

DPD.  Bears stayed at #20 and selected OG Kyle Long, Oregon, 6'6 313 lb.  NFL GM Hub Arkush says Emstink "blew that pick."  Why won't the Bears just hire Hub already?  He's so much smarter than everyone.  "This is the second year in a row, not just according to me but people I really respect, they just didn't get value for the pick."

For the record, these people all went to Michigan, and they assure Hub that David Terrell is going to be gangbusters.

[SKO]

Things I learned tonight:

1)Kyle Long will suck because how did the last two first round linemen the Bears drafted work out? Even though Emery didn't, you know, draft them.
2)Bears fans have every right to blame Emery for the Bears having shitty drafts for the last fucking decade because DA MCCASKEYS STILL RUN DA SHOW.
3)Even though the Colts at 24 and Cowboys at 31 supposedly wanted him, every fan on twitter has inside information that the guy would have been available for the Bears in the second round, or something.
4)Sharriff Floyd is a better pick even though they have a Pro Bowl DT and an above average young NT in Stephen Paea, because he went really high in mock drafts and fell hard, so he must be awesome.
5)Despite bitching for five years that the Bears haven't done enough in the draft to fix their o-line, the one time they do so it was a bad fucking idea.

In short, I hate all Bears fans, and you people, and probably myself.

TEC's good, though.

[Saul Goodman]

Things I learned tonight:

1)Kyle Long will suck because how did the last two first round linemen the Bears drafted work out? Even though Emery didn't, you know, draft them.
2)Bears fans have every right to blame Emery for the Bears having shitty drafts for the last fucking decade because DA MCCASKEYS STILL RUN DA SHOW.
3)Even though the Colts at 24 and Cowboys at 31 supposedly wanted him, every fan on twitter has inside information that the guy would have been available for the Bears in the second round, or something.
4)Sharriff Floyd is a better pick even though they have a Pro Bowl DT and an above average young NT in Stephen Paea, because he went really high in mock drafts and fell hard, so he must be awesome.
5)Despite bitching for five years that the Bears haven't done enough in the draft to fix their o-line, the one time they do so it was a bad fucking idea.

In short, I hate all Bears fans, and you people, and probably myself.

TEC's good, though.

That's exactly where I'm at. How many years have Bears fans and the likes of Hub tore their garments in two because the Bears didn't take O-linemen throughout the draft? Now they finally do it and the world is on fire.  Out of curiosity, SKO, given who was available, who would you have taken? I'd never heard of Long but what do I know. (Pex will back me up on that last part.)

[SKO]

Things I learned tonight:

1)Kyle Long will suck because how did the last two first round linemen the Bears drafted work out? Even though Emery didn't, you know, draft them.
2)Bears fans have every right to blame Emery for the Bears having shitty drafts for the last fucking decade because DA MCCASKEYS STILL RUN DA SHOW.
3)Even though the Colts at 24 and Cowboys at 31 supposedly wanted him, every fan on twitter has inside information that the guy would have been available for the Bears in the second round, or something.
4)Sharriff Floyd is a better pick even though they have a Pro Bowl DT and an above average young NT in Stephen Paea, because he went really high in mock drafts and fell hard, so he must be awesome.
5)Despite bitching for five years that the Bears haven't done enough in the draft to fix their o-line, the one time they do so it was a bad fucking idea.

In short, I hate all Bears fans, and you people, and probably myself.

TEC's good, though.

That's exactly where I'm at. How many years have Bears fans and the likes of Hub tore their garments in two because the Bears didn't take O-linemen throughout the draft? Now they finally do it and the world is on fire.  Out of curiosity, SKO, given who was available, who would you have taken? I'd never heard of Long but what do I know. (Pex will back me up on that last part.)

I honestly don't know, Sterling. A lot of people wanted Sharrif Floyd because he was the best player available supposedly (because he was supposed to go at #2 and didn't go till #23...which gives absolutely no one any pause that maybe he wasn't actually the best playe available?). Otherwise Ogletree would probably have been my pick, but Arthur Brown is still on the board (and gasp, Te'O, who really wouldn't piss me off that much as a second round pick) so I'm not really upset about it. The consensus from Mayock and the like is that Long is potentially the most physically gifted lineman in the draft and could play any spot on the line but center. How this is a bad thing, I don't know. I mean, he could be a bust, naturally, but other than the inexperience factor (which would seem less important on OL than anywhere else) I don't see why he's caused so many red flags, other than that he got drunk an flunked out of FSU five years ago.

I just, Jesus...the 20th overall pick in the rookie wage scale makes roughly 2 million a year. The franchise is zero % fucked if Long bombs, and the NFL sent a clear message with the fewest skill position players in a first round in recent memory that the crop is generally considered to be weak. Phil decided to err on the side of caution in terms of drafting someone with a ton of potential at what is, free agent additions considered, still the weakest group on the team. I have zero problems with this. I'm not buying a Kyle Long shirsey, but Phil Emery's made enough moves for the franchise that I'm more than willing to wait and at least see how this plays out.

[Chuck to Chuck]

I don't see why he's caused so many red flags, other than that he got drunk an flunked out of FSU five years ago.

He told Kenny Williams to fuck off. So, he's clearly not totally stupid.

[morpheus]

Things I learned tonight:

1)Kyle Long will suck because how did the last two first round linemen the Bears drafted work out? Even though Emery didn't, you know, draft them.
2)Bears fans have every right to blame Emery for the Bears having shitty drafts for the last fucking decade because DA MCCASKEYS STILL RUN DA SHOW.
3)Even though the Colts at 24 and Cowboys at 31 supposedly wanted him, every fan on twitter has inside information that the guy would have been available for the Bears in the second round, or something.
4)Sharriff Floyd is a better pick even though they have a Pro Bowl DT and an above average young NT in Stephen Paea, because he went really high in mock drafts and fell hard, so he must be awesome.
5)Despite bitching for five years that the Bears haven't done enough in the draft to fix their o-line, the one time they do so it was a bad fucking idea.

In short, I hate all Bears fans, and you people, and probably myself.

TEC's good, though.

That's exactly where I'm at. How many years have Bears fans and the likes of Hub tore their garments in two because the Bears didn't take O-linemen throughout the draft? Now they finally do it and the world is on fire.  Out of curiosity, SKO, given who was available, who would you have taken? I'd never heard of Long but what do I know. (Pex will back me up on that last part.)

I honestly don't know, Sterling. A lot of people wanted Sharrif Floyd because he was the best player available supposedly (because he was supposed to go at #2 and didn't go till #23...which gives absolutely no one any pause that maybe he wasn't actually the best playe available?). Otherwise Ogletree would probably have been my pick, but Arthur Brown is still on the board (and gasp, Te'O, who really wouldn't piss me off that much as a second round pick) so I'm not really upset about it. The consensus from Mayock and the like is that Long is potentially the most physically gifted lineman in the draft and could play any spot on the line but center. How this is a bad thing, I don't know. I mean, he could be a bust, naturally, but other than the inexperience factor (which would seem less important on OL than anywhere else) I don't see why he's caused so many red flags, other than that he got drunk an flunked out of FSU five years ago.

I just, Jesus...the 20th overall pick in the rookie wage scale makes roughly 2 million a year. The franchise is zero % fucked if Long bombs, and the NFL sent a clear message with the fewest skill position players in a first round in recent memory that the crop is generally considered to be weak. Phil decided to err on the side of caution in terms of drafting someone with a ton of potential at what is, free agent additions considered, still the weakest group on the team. I have zero problems with this. I'm not buying a Kyle Long shirsey, but Phil Emery's made enough moves for the franchise that I'm more than willing to wait and at least see how this plays out.

DAT ARTHUR BROWN WOODA BROUGHT THE FIRE!

[Bort]

Things I learned tonight:

1)Kyle Long will suck because how did the last two first round linemen the Bears drafted work out? Even though Emery didn't, you know, draft them.
2)Bears fans have every right to blame Emery for the Bears having shitty drafts for the last fucking decade because DA MCCASKEYS STILL RUN DA SHOW.
3)Even though the Colts at 24 and Cowboys at 31 supposedly wanted him, every fan on twitter has inside information that the guy would have been available for the Bears in the second round, or something.
4)Sharriff Floyd is a better pick even though they have a Pro Bowl DT and an above average young NT in Stephen Paea, because he went really high in mock drafts and fell hard, so he must be awesome.
5)Despite bitching for five years that the Bears haven't done enough in the draft to fix their o-line, the one time they do so it was a bad fucking idea.

In short, I hate all Bears fans, and you people, and probably myself.

TEC's good, though.

That's exactly where I'm at. How many years have Bears fans and the likes of Hub tore their garments in two because the Bears didn't take O-linemen throughout the draft? Now they finally do it and the world is on fire.  Out of curiosity, SKO, given who was available, who would you have taken? I'd never heard of Long but what do I know. (Pex will back me up on that last part.)

I honestly don't know, Sterling. A lot of people wanted Sharrif Floyd because he was the best player available supposedly (because he was supposed to go at #2 and didn't go till #23...which gives absolutely no one any pause that maybe he wasn't actually the best playe available?). Otherwise Ogletree would probably have been my pick, but Arthur Brown is still on the board (and gasp, Te'O, who really wouldn't piss me off that much as a second round pick) so I'm not really upset about it. The consensus from Mayock and the like is that Long is potentially the most physically gifted lineman in the draft and could play any spot on the line but center. How this is a bad thing, I don't know. I mean, he could be a bust, naturally, but other than the inexperience factor (which would seem less important on OL than anywhere else) I don't see why he's caused so many red flags, other than that he got drunk an flunked out of FSU five years ago.

I just, Jesus...the 20th overall pick in the rookie wage scale makes roughly 2 million a year. The franchise is zero % fucked if Long bombs, and the NFL sent a clear message with the fewest skill position players in a first round in recent memory that the crop is generally considered to be weak. Phil decided to err on the side of caution in terms of drafting someone with a ton of potential at what is, free agent additions considered, still the weakest group on the team. I have zero problems with this. I'm not buying a Kyle Long shirsey, but Phil Emery's made enough moves for the franchise that I'm more than willing to wait and at least see how this plays out.

DAT ARTHUR BROWN WOODA BROUGHT THE FIRE!

Validated.

[Brownie]

Every one of you ripping Hub, where did you play your college ball?

Oh, nevermind. Huey Long would have improved the Bears guard corps and he's been dead since George Halas was mocking the New York Giants for wearing sneakers on the icy Polo Grounds turf. The fact that Kyle Long actually played guard for a few games in college and is a living, breathing human, and the words "Stan" and "Thomas" do not appear on his Social Security card, these are all good things.

[R-V]

Every one of you ripping Hub, where did you play your college ball?

Oh, nevermind. Huey Long would have improved the Bears guard corps and he's been dead since George Halas was mocking the New York Giants for wearing sneakers on the icy Polo Grounds turf. The fact that Kyle Long actually played guard for a few games in college and is a living, breathing human, and the words "Stan" and "Thomas" do not appear on his Social Security card, these are all good things.

This is my only issue with the pick - given the age of the defense and the fact that this could be Cutler's last stand, they seem to be a team in win-now mode. And given Long's rawness it could be a year or two before he's ready to truly maul some sons of bitches in the trenches.

[Quality Start Machine]

Every one of you ripping Hub, where did you play your college ball?

Oh, nevermind. Huey Long would have improved the Bears guard corps and he's been dead since George Halas was mocking the New York Giants for wearing sneakers on the icy Polo Grounds turf. The fact that Kyle Long actually played guard for a few games in college and is a living, breathing human, and the words "Stan" and "Thomas" do not appear on his Social Security card, these are all good things.

This is my only issue with the pick - given the age of the defense and the fact that this could be Cutler's last stand, they seem to be a team in win-now mode. And given Long's rawness it could be a year or two before he's ready to truly maul some sons of bitches in the trenches.

He's got enough size and mobility to make up for lack of technique, for now. I think he's got the potential to be a Jumbo Elliot-type.