Fan in Chicago

I meant Tull and Bills

I read in the Tribune that the Bears are thinking Superbowl. I about fell off my train seat laughing. Yea they may be improving and such but Superbowl ? They have been Rodgers' female canine for a while now and does anyone in their right mind think they can hold their own against the Seahawks ? 49ers ? Allow me to laugh a merry laugh and be more than happy to eat crow if proven wrong.

Welcome to this board. A few points: - I too am not hearing a lot of predictions of a week 1 win (yet) - Schwartz had a terrific front 4 at Detroit but the rest of the D was not much to write home about. He has a lot more overall talent to play with on the Bills. And as opposed to OL and WR, this is a proven bunch. - You are also falling into the same trap as you accuse posters here of doing. You are thinking addition of Allen, Houston and Fuller will instantly make the Bears D better. Allen and Houston are both proven, and better than the subtraction of Peppers. But there are question marks pretty much on every other group on D - Bears OLine is decent but injuries seem to be cropping up so we will see who takes the field in what physical shape - Cutler, Marshall, Jeffery and Conte are very very good. But the Bills RBs, as a group are better. Remains to be seen how Mike WIliams plays as a Bill and if Watkins is as good as advertised. The Bears DBs may be weak though with Conte kinda hobbling and Fuller being a rookie - Bears definitely have a strong home field advantage It will be interesting. Hope its a good, well fought game and not a blow out either way

I did not include WR, because as a group the Bears WRs have produced more than the Bills WRs. So, while the 3-dubyas may be better on paper, they have not had the opportunity to prove it.

I agree. QUestion marks on both teams at several positions so it will come down to which team filled their holes the best. On paper, save for QB and WR, the Bills appear better in every other department (yea, including RB)

This bias may be on the radio but the Chicago Tribune is not proclaiming victory. In fact there is concern regarding some injuries to the OL. If jethro_tull signs up for the party, I can discuss not one but two favorite topics with him/her.

Excellent post and kudos to you. Hope everything works out and your wife. Recently, a colleague's 17 year old son hung himself after battling ADHD and depression for a long time. It was gut wrenching to hear about their struggles and the ultimate end of the saga. The family had their usual time together in the evening. At about 8:45, the boy retired to his room and at 9:15, his mom found him hanging. Just like that, after months and years of struggle, he ends his life without warning. We cannot understand how a sick mind thinks, acts and behaves. All we can do is support those who are dealing with these issues. RIP, Robin Williams. You will be missed.

I have glanced at the overall thread so perhaps some of this may have lready been stated. I don’t think we run the type of offense that relies on a single RB and hence don’t have a true #1 such as Adrian Peterson. FJ has proven himself to be a very reliable runner with perhaps some goal line issues. CJ has proven himself to be a role player who may not be able to grind out the tough yards but can excel as a big play maker. In my mind FJ and CJ are both #1 for this offense for the reasons above. This is not a knock on either player. I realize that FJ is an older RB whose performance may fall off a cliff. But it didn’t till the end of last season and hence it is his job to lose. That’s how it is supposed to work. As a (weak) example, would you unseat Spikes for Preston Brown saying Brown is much younger ? There is currently no evidence that bumps FJ down to the #3 or #4 spot on the depth chart. Whaley is executing a very good strategy. He got Brown to cover for a possible drop off in FJ’s production (IMO, Brown is not competing for CJ’s role). He also got Dixon for a Jerrome Bettis type goal line punch. I would go out on a limb and say that the Bills have the best overall RB situation in the NFL.

You and I may disagree with even the thought of cutting him, but that hardly classifies as stupidity. It is a perfectly fine discussion to have, and a rather welcome break from the same old 'EJ Sucks' , 'Trade Spiller' threads.

Which specific idiocy are you finding in this thread?

I think the Bears' secondary is young or otherwise suspect. OTOH, they have a couple of good LBs (Briggs, DJ Williams) and a couple of questionable ones (Bostic, McLellin). I prefer we pass more than run, especially if the tackles can hold off Allen and Houston. On D, the DBs are going to be seriously challenged and have to come ready to play. Cutler will try to go to the air often to start the game and the Bills have to establish secondary domination early.

Looks like he had fresh super glue on his hand. Truly freaky

Funny considering it's the Bears FO that drafted him in the first. It's like us laughing at the Jets for signing Maybin. (Note- this is not directed at you)

Maybe he signs Parker. I agree. If CJ stays healthy, we will see the best he has to offer this season. True. Whether on draft day or now, if a trade is going to happen it should be for a player who can help the Bills immediately. Or, a 1st rounder in next year's draft which is doubtful unless you find another dumb team like the Colts.

Heck, Joe Flacco would make us SB favorites. We just need above average QB play.

Maybe so regarding Woods in the slot, but I am just not sure that he has good reasons. I can hope he does but not sure about it. Consider - - If he wanted to try woods at slot, why not make it Watkins-Woods-Williams as the 1's ? - If he wanted to try Woods outside, why not do Watkins-Hogan-Woods on the 1's ? Putting Woods with the 2s not only for the game but in TC yesterday also does not make sense.If disciplinary, I wonder how many days does Woods have to go stand in the corner to atone for it. Color me skeptical.

I vote for Orton, if he still wants to play.

After the solid rookie campaign that Woods has, I can't believe Marrone will think Hogan > Woods based on performance in training camp. Woods has repeatedly proven himself in game time situations. If suddenly Hogan is deemed to be better than Woods, I would doubt Marrone more than Woods. The issue in my mind is more about how Marrone is handling this situation. If he has a football reason to do what he is doing, he should state that literally or obliquely. I don't buy this 'he is not obligated to tell us anything' for each and every situation. He is fueling an unnecessary fire in the media, among us fans and some players (who have had to verbally state their support for Woods). He needs to diffuse the situation. It comes with the territory. Marrone has not proven much on the field to warrant a pass.

I agree on both points and would like to add one more. I am getting mildly concerned about his handling of Woods. Two reasons why putting him on the 2's may be justified: (1) Marrone is trying to juggle the combinations and he already knows Woods' versatility (2) he is trying to find the best positions for others such as Hogan. If it is a disciplinary action, it better be for good reason. Besides some minor anger issues (didn't a lot of us want players with fire in their belly ?) I have not seen anything from RW that would indicate behavior issues. No matter what, it would not hurt for him to simply state what he is doing and get all the angst behind him. Again, he does not OWE us a response, but there doesn't appear to be any good reason to be so vague about it.

I am waiting for Bill in NYC to weigh in on this

I must say Whaley knows his lineman and WRs. Both lines can be flat out dominating

Let's get confirmation from him regarding retirement. I am not too sure he wants to.

I have been advocating that irrespective of how Tuel and Thad develop. IMHO, there needs to be atleast one proven vet on the roster (Thad isn't proven). I was under the impression no backup QB of note was available and am glad this thread informed me that Orton is. In his time in Chicago, Orton was not spectacular but adequate. He is the kind of guy who can guide a team and would be quite a good backup. Plus he is, what 31 ? Which isn't too old.

:thumbsup:

My point was that if Henderson earns a starting job over CK, the OL could look like Glenn-Williams-Wood-Hairston-Henderson. If CK>SH, then it is likely Glenn-CK-Wood-Urbik-Hairston So who develops faster matters to the line as a whole