NFL Football - 2012 Season Thread

[-Jrabbit]

So he's still a young man, and a proven producer. The Bears have benefited from having a Pro Bowl caliber RB on the cheap for 4 years, and have had just as long to figure out how to lock him up long-term. As rah pointed out, they have rewarded aging LBs and CBs, a DT with a degenerative back condition, and an "maybe someday" WR in that time.

An RB1 you can count on is a rare and valuable commodity - one the Bears have been searching for since Payton retired. That's why no other team has let their stud walk. To suggest that the most physically demanding position on offense shouldn't be rewarded is just asinine, especially considering that Forte is still in his prime.

Spring/summer 2011: "Don't hold out, Matt, we're committed to signing you long-term."
Result: no holdout, but no contract.
Autumn 2011: "Give us all you got this season, Matt, and you'll get your paper."
Result: leads all RBs in total offense until injured. No paper.
Winter 2012: Forte plays in Pro Bowl to prove he's healthy.
Result: "Our contract offer remains unchanged, even though your market value has risen. Consider yourself franchised, and better hope you don't get hurt again. BTW, we're telling our lapdogs in the local media to start calling you a whiner."

For a team that's supposedly trying to assemble the talent to make a SB run before the defense dies of old age, failing to lock up your proven RB1 while trading for a $9million mentally ill WR makes no sense at all.

[SlowwHand]

I hate to say it, but if I was Forte, I might just walk away from Chicago at earliest opportunity.

[Al B. Sure!]

Yeah Devin Hester has a very lucrative contract for a guy who sucks except on special teams.

Another thing, Jrabbit... one the Bears have been searching for since Payton... you guys had Thomas Jones and traded him to move up in the draft. That was a terrible move.


Also, that mentally ill WR is really good. An offense with Marshall, Forte, and Michael Bush could be pretty scary. Better hope the Bears don't screw this one up.

[MRT144]

I hate to say it, but if I was Forte, I might just walk away from Chicago at earliest opportunity.

Where does he go though? The Jets would actually be a great fit because Shonn Greene sucks.

[SlowwHand]

Here's an answer, wrapped in a question. All seem to agree that he's a Top 5 RB. Why don't you tell me where he couldn't go?

[-Jrabbit]

Another thing, Jrabbit... one the Bears have been searching for since Payton... you guys had Thomas Jones and traded him to move up in the draft. That was a terrible move.

Most people in Chicago would agree with you. But most people outside Chicago don't realize that TJones requested the trade. Why? Because they had all their RB money tied up in Cedric Benson and couldn't give Jones the long-term deal he wanted. (Stupid, I know. But at least there was a reason.)

Also, that mentally ill WR is really good. An offense with Marshall, Forte, and Michael Bush could be pretty scary. Better hope the Bears don't screw this one up.

Yes, it's awesome that the Bears have top talent at two positions. I've got nothing against Marshall. But he's a suspension/arrest waiting to happen. Forte, at least you know he'll be there for you. So if I'm deciding how to spend my resources, I would lock in Forte as a higher priority.

[SlowwHand]

I think Tannehill is going early and I think he'll be successful. Maybe Miami. The last time I named any player at all was Matthew Stafford leaving high school.
Some argued, some still do, but I nailed that one. I think I'll nail this one, too, although to a lesser degree as I didn't start on him until his Jr. year in 2010.

[Lorizael]

Slowwhand: nailing high school students since 2006.

[Al B. Sure!]

Cleveland Browns will have 13 draft picks to fix up that team:

The Browns have been awarded four compensatory picks in this year’s NFL draft, giving them 13 to revamp a roster with plenty of holes.

The club gained two sixth-round picks (Nos. 204 and 205 overall) and a pair in the seventh round (Nos. 245 and 247l). The Browns have the No. 4 overall pick and three of the top 37 selections.

In addition to the compensatory picks, Cleveland owns Atlanta’s first- and fourth-round picks and Denver’s fifth-round choice.

Before this year, the Browns had only received two compensatory picks since the league first started awarding choices in 1994.

Under league rules, a team losing more or better compensatory free agents than it acquires in the previous year is eligible to receive compensatory picks. Compensatory free agents are determined by a formula based on salary, playing time and postseason honors.

Let's see if the Browns can actually do something right.

[-Jrabbit]

Trade them all for Ricky Williams?

[ColdWizard]

Better than trading them all for Herschel Walker.

[Demonbinder]

CSN Chicago is reporting Bears have made a "strong offer" to Matt Forte, but no details as yet. So they probably have improved on what was offered last year. Hopefully it will be enough for Matt or close enough so they can continue talking.

[-Jrabbit]

That's just media talk.

Phillips says that the offer is a strong, fair one: "I think not only do we appreciate him and have told him so, but I think the offer we've made him shows that, too. Now, different people can disagree on the ultimate value. But we feel we've made a strong offer to him and are still hopeful he accepts it."

You'll notice he does not say that the offer is "new" or "bigger" -- just that it's "strong, fair" (whatever THAT means). And I think it's fair to assume that if the offer was new or bigger, or that progress had been made in talks, he would say so.

In other words, this is just posturing in the media. There's nothing here to indicate anything has changed.

Quick confirmation analysis: http://chicago.sbnation.com/chicago-...act-bears-news

[Al B. Sure!]

Irsay talking Luck to IND is not a sure thing. Probably just trying to throw teams off but I will say more and more pundits are coming around to the idea that not only is RG3 better than Luck but RG3 would be a better fit in Bruce Arrians' spread offense whereas Luck would play better in the playaction bootleg offense that the Shanahans prefer. I don't know how good that argument is, though, since RG3's mobility would give him an advantage on bootlegs.

[-Jrabbit]

Man, I have no feel for how to decide between these two. It seems pretty well accepted that both will succeed at the next level.