Fellow Bears fans......

[Woodsy]

Anyone else disapointed with the Bears lack of free agent signings. We really could have used Archuleta. Randel El would have been nice as well, but I see that as more of a want then a need. Has anyone heard who they may be targeting next.

[T-HO]

Draft a corner with the first pick.Defensive players seem to make more of an immediate impact.Then go get(if available):
-A good blocking FB-The last ten years or so,how many of the top 3 rb's every year had a good blocking fb.Maybe they don't have one,or they do,or they don't use one...
-go grab kevin curtis-D'angelo hall says "I ain't racist or nothin,but that is the fastest white dude I have ever seen"Stretch the offense.
-Go get Zach Hilton-my spidy senses are tingling on his POTENTIAL.6-8 264...
-J Mccown-how much can he want/get with his name so close to mcnown?...
Bears have:
-easiest schedule
-all 22 starters returning
-3 good rb's
should we trade TJ/A peterson?

[Woodsy]

Well I agree we need a backup QB and for the right price Mccown will fit well or maybe Greise. Not sure he would went to be a backup though. As far as the DB what about Ricky Manning Jr. He is a restricted free agent. Trading TJ also might be a good idea for a DB before he gets broke....

[Steve_L]

My thought was they should possibly go after David Givens. I am kind of glad that they didn't over spend on Randle El and Archuleta because both of those players got enormous contracts that they probably didn't fully deserve.

[Goatwhacker]

So far the available FA's have been pretty expensive and I'm glad the Bears haven't overpaid. They are taking the attitude of watching and seeing what the market is offering players - what I'm afraid of is this will translate to doing nothing while the other teams pick up the worthwhile players.

[Heimholder]

I'm ok with the Bears staying away from the major bidding wars up to this point. As was already said, many of the available FA's just cost too much. The Bears do have weaknesses they should address at WR, DB, and QB. However a team coming off an 11-5 season & returning all the major cogs has little reason to go crazy in free agency.

I will be pretty upset if they don't eventually land a decent veteran QB to back up Grossman or even compete with him for the starting gig. McCown could probably fill that bill, or even Jon Kitna - he's still available, right?

[saundman2000]

I think the CBA kind of messed up the Bears' plans. After every team (including the Redskins) had an extra 10 Mil to spend, every free agent suddenly had more suitors.

All the free agents also became more expensive and had more leverage. Maybe it's smart to let other teams overpay these players that are now free agents.

Once many teams go above the new cap, teams that manage their contracts well like the Bears will have a competitive edge after all the buzz has come and gone. Maybe this is their strategy.

At any rate, I think they are set with the QB's they have. Orton has shown that he's serviceable. They are going to go with Grossman which they've been doing every year that he's looked healthy at the beginning of the season. If Grossman gets hurt again, then he's going to be gone for good. But maybe, just maybe he will stay healthy. If they can get a veteran in there, it should be a veteran that has some mentoring skills because it's not likely that they are going to throw a veteran into the starting lineup even if Grossman goes down.

I think the Bears need to look for DB help via free agency and via the draft. Their first draft pick should be TE if they can get one of the top 2 guys at that position. I'd also like to see them get a little more depth at O-line and maybe a good WR prospect in the later rounds.

I think the Bears are solid at LB, DE, DT, C, RB

[Sixxgunn]

DO NOT PANIC. The Bears have been one of the best teams in the league in picking up bargain players that are starter material after the initial FA push is done, and will do the same now. When everyone has spent their dough, there will still be plenty of decent players out there that will now have to accept less than they initially wanted due to the lack of competition. Supply and demand my friends. The Bears have the cash, they just need to not overpay for a run stopper like Archuletta when we have a run stopper in Brown. They already have a plan to move guys around in the secondary, and are likely only looking to upgrade at CB and PR and leave that D alone. WR is nowhere near the issue everyone thinks it is. Berrian was coming on strong when he got hurt, Muhammed is returning, and Gage is starting to pick up some as well. Give a consistent QB situation (that's the scary part) and these guys can gel into a cohesive unit.

TJ/Benson/Petersen is a formidle backfield that most any team would envy, so there is no need to do anything there, and this team is built to NOT use a FB, so it isn't feasible to look that direction. O-Line is good, but needs shoring up with some younger players, so that's where they draft IMO, along with a safety-valve, pass catching TE and things look pretty good.

[Goatwhacker]

Berrian was coming on strong when he got hurt, Muhammed is returning, and Gage is starting to pick up some as well. Give a consistent QB situation (that's the scary part) and these guys can gel into a cohesive unit.

I think you mean Bradley was coming on strong when he got hurt; Berrian was hurt early and came on strong late.

I am not as optimistic about the Bears WR's. I think a dependable veteran receiver would be a great addition (we all hoped Muhammed would be that guy), right now the Bears are dependent on young players, one of whom will be coming off a major knee injury. I don't like to be in the position of hoping players will get better which is where we are at. Gage has not been a reliable receiver so far. Berrian looked good at the end of the year, mainly on deep plays.

I also feel the Bears need a veteran backup QB. We are not far from the situation of last year, only now our backup is Orton instead of Hutchinson. Orton may be a good QB some day, but the bottom line is last year he was not very effective at moving the ball and scoring points.

[skibrett15]

I would encourage the bears, though I hope the packers sign him... to look at moulds when he is released. He runs good routes and will be dependable if not flashy.