Fan in Chicago

Makes two of us.

if it was an either/or situation between Brad Smith and an OL, I would agree. a 4yr/$15M contract is not massive considering our available cap space. We can still sign Clabo and Burnett. Never underestimate the impact of having multiple impact players. If Smith displaces a perennial underachiever like Parrish, I am okay with that idea. Again, acquiring Smith does not negate the possibility of getting OL or LB help. As an example, just imagine Smith and Spiller on the field in a wildcat formation. What does an opposing D do ?

I am not on board with this idea. If we lose Evans, we are left without a veteran WR who is capable of being a #1. Easley is unproven, Stevie needs to prove that last year was not a fluke, Parrish is only a slot receiver. Getting Olsen as a midrange, flat and EZ threat is very tempting but not at the cost of losing Evans.

And Martz is not too big on utilizing TEs in his offense. The Bears also have two other semi-veteran TEs on the roster so Olsen may indeed be expendable. I wouldn't mind getting him for a 5th or lower, if we dont go after/get Boss.

I agree that if Poz wanted to play in a 4-3, it would imply there was nothing we could do realistically do to keep him. However, I disagree with the money aspect. If it took 7 M to keep one position manned adequately, we should have done it. Right now, we have yet another hole and short of signing a replacement, have only rookies to fill it. I agree with the strategy to build through the draft and keep our good performeers. But those two strategies work in tandem. We have a lot of rookies slated to fill important roles on the D. And last year we saw that the rookies will be brought along slowly. Which implies we are going to be short of experienced and proven D players this season. If we lose Whitner and Florence, I will officially stop with the (so-far) blind support of Nix and Co.

I think that sounds like a BS reason - much as I wanted to keep him , his performances seemed quite similar in the 4-3 and 3-4.

Not a spectacular movie but an adequate popcorn flick. Could have been hugely better than it was given the premise, actors and director involved. But, worth a watch. Was quite cool that Ebert was sitting in our row during the screening.

This is where I am at. So far I have been a staunch defender of Nix & Co. but this the first time I am disappointed that they failed to retain Poz. I realize it was not a question of money, but there should have been something the coaches and FO could have done to keep him. While not spectacular, he was solid and I am pretty sure part of Nix's strategy was to keep our own. If he starts failing in that aspect in addition to not being a big player in free agency, then we are sunk as we will never catch up.

I got advance screening tickets for "Cowboys and Aliens" tonight. Can't wait !

Interesting - depends on the date of the game. BTW, how much do the tickets run ?

27 Club. Pretty sad. (not a singer but) Heath Ledger was just a year older at 28.

Strangely, I had the exact same thought. And now I realize that I had been unfairly blaming marijuana all along.

Very true. I think one situation where a remake is warranted is for very old sci fi movies. If handled well, the new technology with original story can make for compelling viewing. Then again, there is 'The Day the Earth Stood Still' where that concept can still be botched...

Just a few weeks back I saw 'The Thing' again after many years and it still looks good. I have no idea why it needed a remake.

You wouldn't have proven yourself to be very loyal if you did that

Likewise. I am furious but feel like I have no options. Lately the additions to the streaming library have been pretty bad. Most new adds are B and C grade stuff that I never heard of before. So, given the balance it is tough to decide which one to keep. Can't see myself paying $16 every month for both. This segment is just begging for competition - especially the streaming part. Netflix has been making some very questionable moves over the past year which stinks of abusing their near-monopoly status. Raised prices for all plans last year, got rid of the communite feature and now this big price increase again

I enjoyed Transformers 3 far more than Tr-2. Though thats not saying much, it is a fun film primarily for a non-purist like me. But I echo your feelings about LeBouf. Guy is a talentless, uncharismatic, under-built, unfunny person masquerading as an actor. I have no idea why Steven Spielberg continues to pimp him so much. He is a product of successful movies and not the other way around.

I was disappointed that Rafa did not win it. Djoko has improved his game a lot. Given his dominance overr Rafa this year, if Rafa is to win another slam he has to solve Djoko's game. Johnny Mc seemed to think that the uncharacteristic number of errors from Rafa were induced by the way Djoko was playing. I was hoping it would go to five and see how both hold up. I think Rafa's temperament complements his game a lot and which is why he has won double digit Grand Slam tournaments.

A blocker+ pass catching TE is difficult to find. Part of our trouble is that due to the weakness of our OL, we have needed the TE to stay back and block. Which limits the coaches ability to involve a TE in the passing game. Strengthen the OL and then go with a TE who is more of a receiving threat than being the primary blocker. See our offense take off after that.

Sorry to put you on the spot - but who, at the RG position, do you feel comfortable about ? Only one I can think of is HanG and that is because he may make the transition easier due to experience.

Perhaps I am not making my point clearly. I am not saying that expecting young players to get better is a wrong thing. What I am saying is that our expectations about our OL play needs to be tempered till we have seen proof that they are better. For far too many years, expectations have been high for off-season changes (Fairchild comes from a good offensive system, Trent is ideally suited to run the no huddle offense, Maybin will improve and emerge in his second year, we will be fine without Jason Peters, ......). All I am saying is that if we are going into the season with no significant FA additions on the OL, the possibility of an ineffective running game and poor pass protections should be expected unless proven otherwise.

Thanx for replying to eball's question. I, for one, am worn with these pre-season rosy outlooks that so-and-so will be better with (a) different coaches, (b) one more year experience © different scheme (d) rosy predictions ad nauseum .... I would like to see someone with (good) experience brought in. If one of our existing players indeed blossoms and plays well, then we have a good problem. But, no way we go into next season with high hopes from the same players.

And I agree with you on your disappointment with Super 8. I am a Spielberg fan and seeing as this movie is supposed to be a homage to the Spielberg movies of the 70s, I was quite excited to see it. However, it dwells too long on the coming of age part and too little on the overall tale. If anything, Spielberg just has a feel for the moment on camera. He knows when to tug at your heart strings and when to get you charged up for an action scene. Unfortunately, JJ Abrams displays none of those characteristics in this movie. Just when the movie begins to pick up pace after a seemingly long 1 hour, he falls back into scenes of discussion and consternation between the kids and adults. The grip is immediately lost. Again, (without putting spoilers), the actual unfolding of the monsters story is very lacklustre and ends with a big whimper. No excitement, no emotion, no thrills. After a terrible Cloverfield, Abrams redeemed himself with the excellent Star Trek but loses himself once more. X-Men and Thor were pretty good.

I am not at all confident in our OL's right side and that is being kind to Bell. Even if Wrotto, Pears and Urbik are healthy, it is little cause for optimism. We cannot expect better results with the same cast of characters with the prayer that one year's experience will make a world of difference. One can only hope that one of those reliable FAs on your list is acquired by the Bills. All of the above is hope only and that is not a strategy. Best to go into the season with a realistic viewpoint and not set ourselves up for disappointment.