jiggadhu

Okay to sum up so far the Bears have lost Brendon Ayanbadejo and Bernard Berrian. They have re-signed Lance Briggs and signed Marty Booker.

My prediction is that they will sign one offensive lineman probably Shane Olivea, Jake Scott, or Floyd Womack and call it is day.

Draft -

1. Kenny Phillips (FS - Miami) - The Bears clearly are not going to address the safety position in free agency. Phillips is the best avaiable safety in the draft and could make an immediate impact on a secondary unit that is shaky at best. Phillips could open the season as starter assuming the Bears move Mike Brown back to strong safety and Danieal Manning becomes a back up.

2. Gosder Cherilus - The Bears still need help at the oline even with a free agent acquisition. Gosder could still be around. If not look for them to take Baker, Collins, Nicks, or Cousins. They'll definately go with oline somewhere in the first two rounds. Too bad I'm going to have to return my Joe Flacco jersey cause he's not going to be there in the third.

3. Steve Justice (C - Wake Forrest) - The mistake the Bears made was too let their oline get too old before getting ready to replace them. While Olin Kreutz is still playing at a very high level, he can't have that much left in the tank. It's time to start grooming his replacement.

3. Heath Benedict (OG - Newberry) - He'll probably be the second gaurd that gets taken in the draft and will fall to the end of the third round. I'm not sure why Josh Beekman never got the opportunity to play last year because the Bears really should have seen what they had in him.

4. Michael Hart (RB - Michigan) - The Bears need legitimate competition at the RB position. He has great hands out of the backfield but is a bit undersized. He's bigger than Garrett Wolfe but two inches shorter and 20 pounds lighter than Cedric Benson. But Mike Hart will actually give you an effort and it's clear in today's NFL that you need a legitimate 1-2 punch at RB. Hopefully in next years draft the Bears can get the "1".

5. Adarius Bowman (WR - OK State) - At 6'4" 220 LBS, scouts say he's a good route runner, shows great open field acceleration, great body control, and most importantly is a hard worker in the offseason. The negative here is that he got busted at UNC for pot which is why he tranfered to OK State. Had to have lasik sugery to correct his 20/900 vision because he couldn't catch the deep ball very well. Scouts compare him to Braylon Edwards. Fastest time in the 40 at the combine was 4.55 seconds which isn't bad. I think he's the best WR on the board at this point.

6. Colt Brennan (QB - Hawaii) - A long time ago, I was a huge Colt Brennan fan. His numbers were flashy and he seemed to overcome his off the field issues. Then the Sugar Bowl happened. The the Senior Bowl. I started to look at other QBs and really liked Joe Flacco when he was a 3rd or 4th round prospect. Now that he's a high two or low one, the BEars have other needs. I think he can turn it around though. While he's not NFL ready he is a very accuarate passer, has great mobility, the ability to put on more wieght without losing speed (could take a couple of years but he won't be asked to play before that anyway), makes good pre-snap reads, can adjust to defensive coverage, quick decision maker, and has a quick relaease. The guy can't have 21 NCAA passing records and suck completely. Even if he does, we lose what, a 6th round pick? I'll take that chance. Depsite being in a spread offense foe his collegiate career he throws a great short to intermediate pass which is pretty much the Bears offense anyways. The biggest adjustment he will have to make is taking the ball from under center as opposed to in the shotgun but as I said earlier, as a 6th round pick, I'll take that chance.

7. Andre Flullen (DT - FSU) - Had a great Senior Bowl and at this point is the best DT left on the board.

I would also then invite Jeremy Leman to training camp.

Free agency has got to be the most rediculous time of the NFL season. Sometimes a free agent CAN really make a difference on a team. The Patriots and Randy Moss are prime examples of this. They were one game away from being arguably the best team in NFL history. Granted Moss's contract with the Patriots was greatly reduced to $3 million dollars and he was the bargain of the century and it is not the norm, but at no other time can an average to above average player get paid like a Super Star.

Bernard Berrian's deal with the Vikings is a prime example. Berrian is a deep threat with average hands, a modern day Willie Gault. He has never had more than 1,000 receiving yards. He's never made a probowl. He's never had double digit TDs in a season. He is now getting a 6 year $42 million dollar contract with $16 million in garuantees. On average he will get $7 million a year. Terrell Owens get's about $8 million a year. He has multiple years of  having 1,000 yard seasons, double digit TDs, and several probowl appearances. The same is true with Randy Moss. Bernard Berrian is no Randy Moss or TO, but he's getting paid like it. Perhaps the Vikings believe it is worth it since by acquiring Berrian, they would be strenghening a need while making a divisional opponent weaker. Perhaps, but that is one expensive gamble to take. $16 million to be exact.

The contract is rediculous to be sure, but let's also take this into account:

Lance Briggs is arguably one of the best OLBs in the league. He's had a couple of Pro Bowl appearances. His new contract pays him less than Berrian on a yearly basis and less garaunteed money.

Absurdity, I give you NFL  Free Agency.

Assumtptions:

Bernard Berrian and Lance Briggs leave via free agency. The Bears get Bryant Johnson, Floyd Womack, and Max Starks.

The Bears trade the 14th overall pick to the Seahawks for their 25th pick and 56th overall pick.

1. Sam Baker (OT - USC) - The Bears need help at oline and the 25th spot is the perfect spot to pick Sam Baker whose stock has dropped recently.

2(a). Joe Flacco (QB - Delware) - I'm going to go on a little rant here. What the Bears are doing to Brian Griese is completely classless. They know they won't get anything in a trade for him but they won't cut him so he can shop himself. I'm a huge Bears fan obviously but this is embarrasing. Anyways the Bears draft, yet again, the QB of the future. He may still be at this spot because a lot of scouts after the combine have indicated that the only QB that will go in the forst round is Matt Ryan.

2(b). Mario Manningham (WR - Michigan) - Manningham's stock has also fallen as of late. Not sure why but he's a steal here.

3(a). Marcus Griffin (FS - Texas) - Personally I would feel more comfortable with a depth chart of Mike Brown, Danieal Manning, and Marcus Griffin. Who knows, maybe Griffin could move to the number 2 spot in training camp.

3(b). Steve Justice (C - Wake Forrest) - As I said last week, Olin Kreutz  is getting older. I don't see why wouldn't shouldn't prepare a replacement now as opposed to letting Olin go the way of Fred Miller (getting too old to be effective and have no replacement for him). Manelly is getting up there too.

4. Mike Hart (RB - Michigan) - The Bears need a running back to compete (or eventually replace) Cedric Benson. If Hart can prove to be better than Benson, the writing is on the wall and the Bears will part ways with CB as soon as humanly possible.

5. Wesley Woodyard (SS - Kentucky) - Brandon McGowan will be an UFA next season. Adam Archuleta proved to be a waste of an acquisition. Unfortunately for the Bears, there FA crop is pretty weak at this position and so is the draft.

6. Adrian Arrington (WR - MIchigan) - Normally I wouldn't have the Bears taking two players at the same position (Manningham/Arrington) but I think he's the best available and he has the ability to surprise a lot of people.

7. Andre Flullen (DT - FSU) - I thought he performed very well in the Senior Bowl, but his stock has dipped after the combine. I personally don't put a whole lot of stock in the combine and he could be a decent back up DT.

Because of a recent surgery Jeremy Leman had he couldn't participate at the combine. I think he's fallen off of most draft boards but there's no reason why the Bears couldn't sign him as an undrafted rookie.He would be a solid signing for for any team willing to give him a shot.

Assumptions -

Bears get Max Starks or Flozell Adams, reisgn Lance Briggs, let Bernard Berrian go to free agency, sign Jake Scott or Floyd Wo