"New"running back?

[Sixxgunn]

Rumors have been flying about the Bears switching back to a more smashmouth run oriented offense,and wanting to acquire a bigger between the tackles runner than Jones.Why did we alienate Thomas then?Isn't that EXACTLY the kind of runner he is?Since there is no real interest in him,and he will end up being a backup elsewhere,why not offer him a nicer contract here and give him the starting gig and make Jones the change of pace,or put them both in the backfield?That must make too much sense.

[kevinoc81]

When the Bears alienated Thomas they had no idea that they were going to fire Schoop, hire Turner, and return to this smashmouth run team.

By the time Schoop was gone it was too late as Thomas is too disgruntled and personally, I don't blame him.

It would seem so great to re-sign A-Train and draft Edwards or Williams, but I don't think that is possible now. When they brought in Jones last year, they basically just pushed A-Train aside and he has every right to be pissed off about that.

[Goatwhacker]

I'm not sure what to make of Anthony Thomas. He had the one really good year, then went downhill. He did look good at times last year. You could say he was the victim of coaching decisions, but if he was really that great I can't see a coach keeping him on the bench. Plus I haven't heard of any great interest in him from other teams. Maybe I'm missing something, but I don't see him as the savior.

[Sixxgunn]

I just found this on NFL.com:

Turner also gushed about Thomas Jones, agreeing with head coach Lovie Smith's assessment that Jones is a complete, every-down running back.

"I think Thomas Jones can be an outstanding back," Turner said. "I saw him in college. We played against him at Illinois, so I studied all his film.

"I think he's very explosive and very elusive. He's great at seeing the holes. He has tremendous vision and a great burst coming through. I think he can be a very effective inside runner, but he's also good on the perimeter."

Could this mean they were just laying smoke on the talk about grabbing another back,or are they just pumping Jones up so he doesn't become disgruntled?It's so hard to tell with the Bears sometimes what their intent is.

[kevinoc81]

I just found this on NFL.com:

Turner also gushed about Thomas Jones, agreeing with head coach Lovie Smith's assessment that Jones is a complete, every-down running back.

"I think Thomas Jones can be an outstanding back," Turner said. "I saw him in college. We played against him at Illinois, so I studied all his film.

"I think he's very explosive and very elusive. He's great at seeing the holes. He has tremendous vision and a great burst coming through. I think he can be a very effective inside runner, but he's also good on the perimeter."

Could this mean they were just laying smoke on the talk about grabbing another back,or are they just pumping Jones up so he doesn't become disgruntled?It's so hard to tell with the Bears sometimes what their intent is.

It's very hard to tell with any team at this point. Every team is saying and doing things. You obviously don't want to give away your draft strategy. Could be truth. Could be a smokescreen. Who knows?