Fan in Chicago

Just because this thread has veered away from the original question, I will humor you and say this - I think he is worth about a 5th or 6th rounder and a salary close to Holcomb's. His worth is about that of a second stringer or a project QB.

Also, how many passes did the 'future hall of famer' (sic) Moss drop yesterday ? I counted atleast 4 drops that would be made even by an average WR. TO, Keyshawn and Moss must be the three most selfish players in the league.

Won't happen but wouldn't it be cool if two teams from the 'weak' AFC East were to end two unbeaten streaks on consecutive weekends ?

As several have said before - this is unbelievable that such as question can be asked on a fan board. You 'don't want to see' your team win so another team can go unbeaten in the season ? Who cares what people think of the old Dolphins ? Think the other seven teams on Indy's remaining schedule will think this way too ?

Grossman is the next coming of McMahon and Chicago's defense can overcome any disastrous situation the O digs them into. Oh wait, you say it isn't true ? Chicago is not winning the superbowl ? Phooey to you. More seriously, there is little chance we can win next week. But atleast we should put up a fight and now lay down for dead against the last unbeaten team we played. {I am presuming Indy stays unbeaten}

Pressure on a QB will allow more hurried throws and more INTs. I think the front office should be negotiating with NC NOW and getting him to sign up long term when his value (as judged by this season's production) is low.

Maybe. But unless we have good blocking from the primary OL, the TE will never get downfield and be open for the pass. Our failure to involve the TE in the passing game is restricted as the TE has been the supplementary blocker or kept back in max-protect schemes.

And have you considered the possibility that life is just a dream ? Stop asking unsubstantiated rhetorical questions in a debate. The stupid answer to your question is everything is possible including the hypothesis you state. Most here believe that the OL and DL are the core problems on our team and the skill positions (incl. QB) are adequate to good. There are others on this board who believe that QB is the biggest problem. Be that as it may, we have been debating this issue since before the season began. If you are going to make a statement, atleast offer some supporting evidence or your reasoned observations.

I agree. Also, if a FA is brought in, it is unlikely to be a 'veteran' QB. Consider the lack of success of such QBs over last season and this one: McNair - benched for a while Drew Bledsoe - replaced Kurt Warner - replaced Brad Johnson - benched in last game Plummer - playing Plummer and perhaps Kitna are having limited success. Plummer's is directly attributable to the Shanahan machine which does not rely on any one player. To come to the point I want to make - even veterans are not going to put teams over the top and will serve as caretakers of an overall well-built team. We need to go this route - build the lines. Having done that, bringing in a veteran would be just to provide a security blanket which Nall may well be providing anyway.

I think performers - singers, actors - should stick to what they do - sing and act. Why dabble in politics ?

No proof readers and no educated writers either ... " Without Aikman or Carter or Roger Staubach, the weary Parcells must input the remaining 10 games onto this season's Excel spreadsheet using Drew "Hi, I'm a PC" Bledsoe (bulky, old and unreliable) or Tony "Hi, I'm a Mac" Romo (sleek, quick and fancy, but prone to crash)."

Yes it is unusual to speculate on this board - every rumor is a fact

I have found that melatonin works great to induce sleep without side effects. Note we are all digressing here. Back to the main point - do we know to what extent he uses the sleeping pills ? We have very little information to base our speculation on.

Have to disagree with you. You have taken the offensive production (term used very loosely) and assumed that DB would have done atleast that and more. I think that is not a good assumption since some of the drives were kept alive by JP's scrambling. Also the first four games were largely turnover-free from JP's side while DB may have thrown a pick. This is purely a case of what could have happened if DB was still here, which he is not and if he were I don't think our W-L would be any different today considering the OL still stinks.

Very very funny !! I need to be careful what I read at work 'cos I literally burst out laughing.

Excellent ! I wish you would post more over here....

I feel foolishly optimistic. I say we win by 9.

Would you rather have a coach say that he is going to extend his recent record against the Bills to 12-1 ? Phony or not, it works for his team and that is all that matters. And, about those 'almost lost' games for the Patriots ? His team has been almost losing for several years now but they win many more than lose. I think for fans of a team, that is extra fun in watching such games than blowouts. Any of us would rather almost lose than almost win.

I don't disagree with you when we talk about next season. But, I was referring to last season when there just weren't enough quality players to spend the money on. And if Marv wants to keep Nate, he should negotiate now when NC is missing tackles. If Nate starts playing well in the last few games simply to get his market value up, we lose in the offseason - whether we pay him to stay or let him go. But stepping back, I think the oft-repeated item about our DL being the primary problem rings true. I find it tough to believe that the performance of both NC and McGee suddenly dropped off for no apparent reason. One player I can understand but two in the same part of the field is kinda tough to swallow. Extending that logic, maybe Whitner too will shine much brighter with a better DL.

I see your point about maximizing the use of cap dollars. But except for Hutchinson and Bentley, there weren't really any good offensive lineman to spend the money on. I am pretty sure we will spend to acquire what we need on both lines. This year, with the new coaches and new schemes, the only way to staff up was to look at past performance of the FAs and evaluate who would do well here or not. Same goes for our own players. Marv did a great job in keeping Nate for one more year to see how he fits. It is eminently obvious now that he does not. So in this coming off-season, we know exactly which of the existing players are not performing well in the schemes. Thus the needs list becomes more clear than it was this past offseason. I expect us to load up on the linemen this offseason and prepare for a REAL playoff push next year. We will probably end up dumping players such as Clements, Gandy, Tim Anderson and get their replacements + a real center. I wouldnt be surprised if Spikes is let go also.

Consensus amongst who ? Link please ? I have read four posts of yours so far and all they have implied is that JP sucks and Ben R is great. I would rather have JP. That is my individual consensus.

Depends where his brain resides ofcourse.

Man it is tough to dislike an opponent if it has fans like you. Kidding ofcourse. Thank you for being very gentle and civilized. We all got to experience your excellent offense and defense. Would have loved it if we put up a fight and really tested your team's resilience but that was not to be. And I was relentelessly scoffed at by my co-workers after the trampling. Good luck for the rest of the season. For the good of your team, I hope they face stiffer opposition during the season so you can go into the playoffs with a degree of caution. Winning tough games will avoid the kind of massive let-down experienced this January by Chicago.

Ouch !!! You may have a point there. The elevation to God-like status is as much as product of the media as that of the fans themselves. How many times have posters, on this board, wished we had drafted Lienart, Cutler, V Young etc. Isn't that pre-supposing their succcess and making a star of a totally unproven commodity ? Ben R was no different. He was asked to do very little in his rookie year and he did that very well. I must say, however, that I liked Philip Rivers' poise and accuracy in yesterday's game.

Count me in. A game like this had to happen this season with all the rebuilding. I am more interested in how the team responds in the coming weeks - do we fall off a precipice or regain our fighting spirit displayed in the first 4 weeks ?