John Paxson made it no secret that he was actively attempting to unload Ben Wallace and his 60 million dollar contract. After coming to terms with Ben Wallace on July 4th, 2006, the Wallace signing was praised by many people. The signing was expected to bring the Bulls to the NBA Finals. A year and a half later, all Chicago is overwhelmed that Big Bust was shipped out of town.
What the Sonics got:
The Sonics got nothing more than salary cap relief, something which they have wanted. There's not much more to say but give them an A+ for unloading Wally Szczerbiak's contract.
What the Cavs got:
Dan Ferry received alot of heat for not having been able to complete a trade receiving either Jason Kidd or Mike Bibby. A minute before the trading deadline, Dan Ferry was able to welcome Delonte West, Ben Wallace, Joe Smith, and Wally Szczerbiak to the organization. Now first of all, Delonte West is not a true point guard. He's also shooting it at only 39%, 33% from the arc, and 67% from the charity stripe. Now Szczerbiak is a great shooter, but for every shot he makes, his opposition gets it right back due to his inability to play defense. He is also only 27% from the arc during playoff time. Joe Smith is a good player. He is capable of hitting the mid range jumpshot and is a solid defender. Ben Wallace is more of a substraction than an addition at this point. Even though he works two hours before the game practicing his free throws, he remains the worst free throw shooter of all time in the NBA. In fact, he could very well be the worst all around offensive player in the league. His inability to make a dunk, layup will kill the Cavs. He has also fallen in love with the mid-range fadeaway and running hook, which will make Cav fans rather have Larry Hughes shoot jump shots. Now I've read many people claiming the old Ben Wallace of the Detroit days would be back once he suits up in a Cavalier jersey, but the dude is done. He is an undersized center and has relied with athleticism throughout his career. With his age, he has lost that athleticism and hasnt been able to do much at all on defense. If you play him for over 30 minutes a game, your offense will totally ruined. If you play him for less than 30 minutes, he will be a cancer to the team. Is it a coincidence that a day after Benedict Wallace is no longer with the team, the Bulls offense scores 135 points? Even though they gave up 121, nothing could be done with J.R. Smith jacking up 3's and making them. Is it a coincidence that for the first time this season the entire Bulls team smiled, chest bumped, cheered on the bench, and played with joy? That just proved what kind of cancer Bum Wallace was for the team.
Paxson got rid of Wallass' ugly contract by taking on Larry Hughes' contract, which Cleveland considered just as ugly. Larry Hughes, the oldest player on the Bulls at 29, was plain terrible in Cleveland. Much can be blamed on the way Cleveland utilized him, which Hughes himself, claimed to be the reason he was ineffective. With the Cavaliers, Hughes was expected to be more of a shooter. Hughes best work is without the ball, and slashing to the basket. He was unable to do that with LeBron James on the team. Hughes has also averaged 19 points a game on 44% shooting in February. Even if Hughes is unable to reach my expectations, he will at least not be a cancer to the locker room. John Paxson was able to get Drew Gooden, someone whom he had an eye out for, for quite some time. He is now reunited with 3 year college teammate Kirk Hinrich, and could provide some low post scoring. Shanon Brown and Cedric Simmons could possibly become decent role players. A huge part of the deal for me would be the trade exception we receive. With Gooden's contract expiring next season, Gooden, Nocioni, and the exception could possibly get an Elton Brand or Al Harrington type player.
Yes he fumbled the ball twice, yes he got intercepted once today, but he did lead his team back to victory. He lead his team back to victory even though his O-Line is #### and his receivers dropped 7 passes. He lead his team back to victory from 14 down. So has Grossman taken that step to becoming an NFL quarterback? On the 2 fumbles, Rex did the right thing by stepping up in the pocket and showing some mobility. As for the interception, Berrian could have put more of a fight for it, but quarterbacks have to get picked off once in a while. And I guess it's acceptable if you haven't been picked off in your last game and a half.
what do suns gain? They get rid of the upset Shawn Marion, get a solid replacement, and Joakim Noah, someone whom they were highly interested in this year's draft. also get some cap relief with khryapas expiring contract
what do lakers gain? kobes finally gone and could use brown 9 mill expiring with the 8 million for a huge trade. get a scorer in gordon and an allstar in shawn marion.
Well the Bears season hasn't been all too joyful. A still inconsistent Rex Grossman, a non existant running game, injuries, and dropped catches. So say the season ends right here, what would the Bears offseason look like?
QB: Griese isn't the long term answer. First player who comes into a Bears fan mind, Donovan McNabb. If the Eagles miss the playoffs, they may be consider giving the job to rookie Kolb and trade McNabb to his hometown. Other option would be to go into the draft and take a quarterback. First rounders that come into mind: Matt Ryan, Colt Brennan, Brian Brohm, Andre Woodson. A long shot is going to be free agent Tony Romo who went to college in Illinois.
RB/FB: Benson has better prove something now or Chicago will be looking for a new "franchise" running back. This should be either addressed in trade or free agency. Top options would be Michael Turner or Thomas Jones' brother, Julius Jones. As for fullback, it is not needed as Ron Turner plans on playing alot of 2 TE formations.
WR: With Berrian signing with Rosenhaus, the agent of Lance Briggs, it isn't a sure thing he will resign with Chicago. Other than Berrian, the rest of the receiving group is mediocre. The free agency class is weak, so drafting or developping one of their young receivers is most likely the best option. More time for Mark Bradley, who had a solid rookie season before a season ending injury, could be one of the young guys that will turn into a reliable receiver. Bradley caught 18 passes for 230 yards in 7 games his rookie season and 14 catches for 282 yards and 3 touchdowns the following season, year 2006.
TE: There is no need here as their 2 TE's Desmond Clark and rookie Greg Olsen is one of the top tight end combos in the NFL.
OL: The offensive line is aging and needs some upgrades. The best option would be to go into the draft and take some with the early picks. They could also go into free agency, but they would need in at the right price.
Slot Receiver: Rashied Davis Fullback: Jason Mckie
DE: Nothing should be done as the 3rd string defensive end would be a starter on pretty much every NFL team.
DT: Resign Tommie Harris is about all what can be done. With Dusty Dvoracek and Darwin Walker missing a couple games to injury, you can't expect too much from a 4th stringer.
MLB: Brian Urlacher. It can't improve.
ILB: Hunter Hillenmeyer isn't doing anything outstanding, but he isn't doing anything wrong. Solid option.
WLB: Will Lance Briggs be back or not? Would he truly consider coming back? If he won't, is Jamar Williams the answer? If not, Jonathan Vilma comes into my mind. He has said he wanted out of New York, as the 3-4 scheme is not his thing, and performance wise, he hasn't played well. In the 4-3 scheme, Vilma was a pro bowler and a defensive rookie. Worth the risk? I think so, even though MLB is his natural position.
CB: TIllman and Vasher have been locked up long term, and with Ricky Manning Jr. in the nickel, nothing needs to be done.
FS: Mike Brown is a beast, but he can't avoid injuries. What do the Bears do? I would keep him as the starter, but draft or sign a quality backup in case he goes out yet again. Gibril Wilson?
SS: Archuleta has been nothing as advertised, which leaves a hole in the Bears defense. I would keep him, and if he doesn't perform well enough next season, move Mike Brown to SS and Daniel Manning to FS, and if Brown gets hurt again, Gibril Wilson as SS.
How would I want the defense to look?
Dvoracek
OgunleyeHarrisAnderson
Hillenmeyer Urlacher Briggs(if not Vilma or Jamar Williams)
Tillman
Vasher
Brown
Archuleta
(apology the way i wanted the blog to look didn't turn out as expected. I wanted it to look like an offensive and defensive formation. You will now be able to tell the positions with color coding)
Will he come to Chicago? Will he even be traded? Do the Bulls want to give up Luol Deng and/or Ben Gordon? What would a Bulls offer be? My trade offer would be: Ben Gordon, Andres Nocioni, Chris Duhon, Viktor Khryapa(Du and Khryapa combine for 5 million expiring), Joakim Noah, and future draft picks for Kobe and Vujacic with possibly Brian Cook if they need to dump someone to even the roster number. Is this too much or too little?
How the Lakers would look:
PG: Crittenton/Farmar/Duhon/Fisher
SG: Ben Gordon/Maurice Evans/Crittenton(not sure)/Luke Walton(not sure)
The Lakers would obviously be loaded at point guard and at forward and thin at Kobe's position. So should they then package Noah and Duhon(or Farmar) for a shooting guard? Would the Lakers be better off than they are now? I would say so, as they get great depth and could make another trade to even out the team. If the Lakers look at it this way, there is a chance the offer gets accepted.
How the Bulls would look:
PG: Hinrich/Sefolosha/Curry/Vujacic
SG: Bryant/Sefolosha/Hinrich/Deng
SF: Deng/Sefolosha/Thomas/Griffin
PF: Thomas/Smith/Deng
C: Wallace/Gray/Smith
Chicago would improve defensively as BG7 gets replaced by an all defensive player. The lack of depth is crucial as one injury could kill their season. Thabo would have to take over the 6th man spot and hit his shots, while Thomas would need to step it up and play more maturely. They could go into free agency though and try to pick up PJ Brown, who would get playing time and at the same time, play for a contender. Are the Bulls better off? It's a tough call as the team truly relies on the sophomores.
After starting the season off 1-3 and having people question whether the Chargers are who they thought they were, Norv Turner's squad blew out the Denver Broncos, their divisional rivals, 41-3! Are the Chargers okay after all?
What went wrong game by game
So what made the Chargers suffer more defeats in 5 games than all of last season?
Week 1: The MVP carried the ball 17 times for 25 yards and had negative yardage until there was a minute till the half. Should not have been too much of a worry at that point as they played the best defense in football(when healthy) and won the game.
Week 2: Again Tomlinson looked bad getting 2.4 yards per carry. On the defensive side, Maroney reached 77 yards with a 5.1 average, and Brady killed the Chargers secondary with passes to Moss and Wes Welker. Each caught 8 catches, and caught 196 yards combined(105 for Moss, 91 for Welker). This loss started to get people to question the Chargers as they got blown out by an AFC title contender.
Week 3: While the passing game and run defense was solid, Favre threw like crazy on them for 369 yards, and Tomlinson played like the LVP for the 3rd straight week. Driver received 126 yards and a score, Jennings got 4 passes for 82 yards and a celebration in the endzone, and 3rd string receiver James Jones caught 6 catches for 79 yards.
Week 4: LaDainian came back to life with 132 yards, but the passing game took a step down completing 50% and throwing 2 picks with no 6 point throws. Damon Huard wasn't great, but rookie Dwayne Bowe caught 8 for for 164 and a touchdown. The run defense though let LJ get 123 yards on them.
Week 5: When you win 41-3 not much can go wrong huh? The Broncos were missing Javon Walker which could have played a role to give us an answer whether the Chargers pass defense has stepped it up. Tomlinson went back to the bad side, but backup Michael Turner played like the MVP getting 147 yards on 10 carries.
What went wrong for the season?
Basically the Chargers lack consistency. The pass defense has been terrible as they give up too many yards to a single receiver, and don't cause turnovers. The famous running back of last season has been a different person by doing nothing. When he finally went north, the passing game went south.
What is their AFC West competition?
Oakland- Yes, the team that went 2-14 trying to take the division from the team that went 14-2. Oakland has improved, but shouldn't be a threat for San Diego.
Kansas City- A solid team, but if the Chargers play to their ability, San Diego can take the division from them.
Denver- 41-3? Denver obviously didn't have a good game and should win the division if San Diego doesn't. Travis Henry might get suspended and his future with the Broncos is uncertain.
How good are they at this point?
Wildcard- This team should make the wildcard even with it's struggles. The schedule has been a bit tough at this point and will get somewhat easier.
Division Champs- To be division champs, this team needs to step up a bit and stay healthy. Achievable goal at this point.
AFC contender- No, not at this point. An AFC contender must be able to have their star be a star, and be consistent. They must also beat top teams and not get blown out.
Superbowl winners- See above.
In conclusion, the Chargers are okay if they can be consistent, and if Tomlinson starts running the ball. If not, the wildcard is still a possibility, but they aren't contenders.
Bears lost to the Lions! I find this funnier than embarassing! Well obvious if you don't have Briggs, Brown, Archuleta, Vasher, Tillman, Dvoracek, and Harris only playing half the game a loss isn't that surprising. Griese struggled, and the receivers dropped too many passes. Benson only started to run the ball decently in the 2nd half.
So this is the list for what the Bears need to do:
1) Stay healthy- Obviously they can't do anything about this, but injuries have been killing them.
2) Get the other running back. I don't have a problem with Benson starting, but we need another back that will do the job Benson did last year. Give the opposition a player that must be gameplanned for so that the focus isn't just on Benson. My top option is Derrick Ward. When Jacobs is back, who knows what becomes of Ward, so a 2nd rounder for Ward maybe? Or a first for Ward. My 2nd option is LaDell Betts, but it doesn't seem like if the Skins would want to give him up with Portis always out with some injury.
3) Use the tight end. When Rex was doing well in Chicago, it was because he constantly looked for the tight end. We haven't seen that in a while. Olsen has yet to be seen this season, and yes he is back from injury.
4) GET A NEW QUARTERBACK!!! WE WANT MCNABB! WE WANT MCNABB! If the Bears could get Ward for a 2nd rounder and maybe 3rd or lower, they should try to see if the Eagles would trade McNabb for a 1st and Muhammed(to match salaries).
5) Use Mark Bradley! He had a solid rookie season until he got injured, and did nicely in his limited time last season.
If the Bears lose next week, I say tank out the season, get a top 10 pick, and draft that QB from Hawaii.
Ha! Where are all you Aint trolls now? 0-2, blown out by the Colts, and beaten bad by the Bucs! At least the Bears lost in a close one to the Chargers(the team that is getting blow by the Pats EL OH EL) and beat a playoff team, 20-10. So let me break down the contenders of the NFC. (Aints aren't considered contenders for me anymore.)
Packers:
Yes, even as a Bears fan, I think the Packers should be taken seriously. I don't think they will go far, but they are a team to look out for.
Eagles:
If they keep playing like they did in Week 1 against the Pack, take them off this list. Good defense, with a nice offense if McNabb is healthy.
Bears: Defense is better than ever with Babich as the new defensive coordinator, and last years defense was suppose to be as good as it gets. Running game looked good this week, and who expects a good running game against a top 3 run defense(Chargers)?
Cowboys: Romo is looking good, and their defense is good. Probable NFC Championship. Will battle for the "Best of the NFC" next week against the Bears.
Seahawks: They dealt with alota injuries last season, and if healthy, they are a very good team. We'll need to see how well Branch can be in Seattle.
Cardinals: They have a very talented offense including, Anquan Boldin, Matt Leinart, Larry Fitzegerald, and Edge James. If they can play to their potential, watch out.
Mike Brown suffered yet another season ending injury, and he might end his career here. If it is over, this is the petition to make him the DB coach of the Chicago Bears.
GREAT JOB YOU ####!!!! PROBABLY ENDING MIKE BROWNS CAREER!!!!!!!! LOOKED PRETTY OBVIOUS YOU TRIED TO HURT HIM ON PURPOSE!!!!! MIKE BROWN IS ONE OF THE FRIENDLIEST NFL PLAYERS AND HE WAS IN TEARS SINCE THE INJURY APPEARS TO BE BIG!!!!!!! SUSPEND LORENZO NEAL FOR LIFE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! MAYBE HE SHOULD GO AND USE SOME OF MARRY'S ROIDS!!!!!!! AND THIS IS NOT CAUSE IM PISSED THE BEARS LOST CAUSE THE CHARGERS ARE MY 2ND OR 3RD FAVORITE TEAM. #### YOU LORENZO NEAL GO SUCK YOUR MOM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
So I was checking out the stats for fumbles by a Chicago Quarterback, and it looks like if Rex shouldn't get all the blame. Maybe it's Olin Kreutz's fault, but it's hard to blame him since he is one of the best centers in the NFL and if you would tell him that, your jaw will be broke.
Here are the stats:
Bears QB's and Fumbled Snaps (2001-2005)
It
looks like every Bears QB has had this problem. It makes me wonder if
this isn’t more of a Kruetz issue than Grossmans.
2001 Regular Season
Mathews – 2 games -1
Miller - -14 games - 4
2002 Regular Season
Miller – 10 games - 5
Chandler – 5 games - 1
2003 Regular Season
Stewart – 7 games – 2
Chandler – 7 games – 1
Grossman – 2 games – 2
2004 Regular Season
Grossman – 3 games – 0
Quinn – 2 games – 0
Krenzel – 6 games – 3
Hutchinson – 5 games - 4
2005 Regular Season
Orton – 14 games – 5
Grossman – 2 games - 0
These stats are all from NFL.COM
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Looking at that, makes you think, maybe it is Kreutz. That or fumbled snaps are more common than most think they are.
By the way did anybody catch David Ball's once handed catch? THAT WAS SICK, THE BEST CATCH I'VE EVER SEEN! Too bad he caught it out of bounds. Hass has a pretty sick catch as well that resulted in a touchdown.
I mean shouldn't the NFL test him if he's on something? Is he smoking to much Wisconsin cheese up there? "That was a huge game," says wide receiver Donald Driver. "They made
the Super Bowl last year, but that day we beat them in all phases. We
proved we were a better team than them that day." Asked if he thinks
the Packers are better than the Bears today, Driver says yes: "Remember
-- we owned that division for three years, before [2005]."
So what is wrong with Donald Duck Driver?
Donald: "So Brett do you like the way I touch your nipples?"
Yes, today I was being chased by the cops. Well I first went over to my friends place to play ball and everything was fine. We decided to call up some other friends, and join them. So we head to the train and get to his place. Since he lives close to our school, we all decided to go to our school playground and play soccer. So we're playing over there, and this guy that lives around the neighborhood tells us something. We couldn't understand and asked him to speak up. He then decided to call the cops and started cussing at us. So we decide to leave, but this guy follows us and continues cussing at us. We then tell him to go lick his mom's #### and go search for his #### and stuff. We then decided to run and hid in a parking lot for 5 minutes. Then there are police sirens close to where we are so we decide to go further away. We ran to a coffee shop and sat in a corner for about an hour. Then 2 friends seperate themselves and decide to go back to their place, while the kid living close to school and the one I played ball with head to his house. There still are the sounds of police cars. My friend and I stayed at his place for about another 2 hours before heading back to our place, and this one cop car in blocking an intersection while some others are riding bikes in the area. We stayed calm and acted normal like we don't know anything, so nothing happened. Those dumb cops couldn't catch us. Now someone tell me the reason why they came after us? For playing on our schools playground and not the property of that old hobo?