OT - NFL Free Agency Opens at 4PM EDT
Or now. First thing I saw is my Bears got Brandon Marshall from the Dolphins for 2 third rounders. Reunited with Cutler, hopefully he can keep his head on straight.
Post any deals/crazyness whatever here. Off the top of my head:
Randy Moss is a 49er, Hardwick stayed in SD, the Saints kept Colston....
That guy is a bona fide hot-head. It's as if he suffers from Napoleon complex. Wouldn't want him on my team.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=hM3-v22uvHE
that Pro Bowl dude was gonna get paid for sure. What did he end up with 180 yards and 3 touch downs? I gaurentee he gets a heathly pay raise from Da Bears.
from the Chiefs is better and less of a risk. I was hoping the Browns might go after him to pair him up with Haden, but it appears they have decided they don't need to do anything in free agency. Here we go Brownies, 4-12. Woof woof
this is the greatest freaking recap of the Browns and the way they play, use free agency, and draft lol. Not a fan of the Browns, though my team is just as bad well use to be untill Al Davis passed. I think the new Raider regime is gonna bing the black and silver back to Just Win Baby. But your stance on the Brownies is just perfect.
The first big move is not Free agency related, Bear traded 2 third rounders to the Dolphins for Brandon Marshall
(edit: Sorry having problems with the computer)
Lions need a corner and a LT asap
Two third round picks for Brandon Marshall???? What a steal!
Still gonna lose to the Packers.
Brandon Marshall is not anywhere near worth the trouble. He only shows up half the time and if I had to put money on the next player to end up in jail, it would be him. Jay Cutler + Marshall = most overrated QB/WR pairing in the NFL.
With that said, for two 3rd rd picks you cant really get mad at the Bears for doing it.
In 2007 and 2008 when Cutler and Marshall were together, here are Marshall's stats:
2008: 104 Receptions for 1265 yards with average yards per game at 84.3 and 6 TDs
2007: 102 Receptions for 1325 yards with average yards per game at 82.8 and 7 TDs
And then at the same time, you said one can't be mad for trading two 3rd round picks for Marshall. That sounds like you think it's a good move for the Bears and that he IS worth the trouble.
You get a 3/10 but all three points are entirely because you made me respond to your dumb posts twice.
Thanks for the yet-to-be replicated, five year old statistics.
No one denies that BM is as talented as they come, but other factors make him less attractive.
1) Since his first couple years in the league he has been rather mediocre. You can say that part of it is due to poor quarterbacking, but when balls are hitting you in the hands and you are not catching them, you have no one to blame but yourself. Seems to me that he was motivated his first few years in the league to prove to everyone that he was better than a fourth round draft pick, and now that he has gotten paid, he could care less. Do I think he could be decent with the Bears? Sure. But I do not think his heart is in the game, and compounded with the off the field issues, I don't like him. Which leads nicely to the next point.
2) BM is a criminal who belongs in jail. Anyone who denies that he has been involved in multiple domestic abuse issues is as naive as they come. Any non-athlete would either be in jail, or dealing with other major punishments. Domestic abuse is something I take very seriously for a multitude of reasons, and for that alone I do not like BM.
3) Saying that "you cannot be too mad" is quite different from approval. If I were a Bears fan I would "not be too mad" about this deal. I do not like BM. I think he is a very dangerous player to bring into your organization. I think he is at best a decent #1/good #2 receiver. Two third round picks are worth that price normally, but when you combine that with BM's personal issues, it gets a bit foggy. I am not gunna bash the Bears since they didn't give up much, but I will bash the ever so predictable Chicago fans for acting like this deal automatically makes them the favorite to win the NFC North next year.
and vastly improves a Chicago receiving corps that ranked near the bottom of the league. And he's only 27. Plus the Bears got him at an exceptional value; that is reason enough to consider this deal a positive one. One 3rd round pick this year and next year is a very low price to pay for an elite WR in the NFL. And make no mistake; Marshall is an elite receiver.
Frankly, I don't condone what he did in the past. However, he's taken steps to improve himself and embrace the fact that he has a condition. Additionally, as a fan I don't really care about off field issues as long as a player can produce on the field. We can debate morality all day but I don't care too. I care most about the Bears winning a Super Bowl and I feel this move gets the Bears closer to that goal.
The reason I used those statistics is because that's the last time Cutler and Marshall were paired up. Since they're both in the primes of their careers, I see no reason to consider these stats irrelevant.
As for the drops, those are common for any high-usage WR, which Marshall is. Check out this chart and you'll recognize that there are many big name guys on this list:
http://stats.washingtonpost.com/fb/leaders.asp?range=nfl&type=receiving&rank=232
I haven't mentioned the fact that the Bears are now the NFC North favorites this year, but I definitely think they can contend for the division and Wild Card this year along with Green Bay and Detroit.
March 13th, 2012 at 11:01 PM ^
I disagree that he is an elite receiver. I see Earl Bennett having a better year with BM drawing attention away from him (which obviously makes the team better, I know..). Agree to disgaree though. I guess I just have a bad history with many Chicago fans and the franchise in general lol. They are the NFL's version of Ohio to me.
March 14th, 2012 at 12:12 PM ^
Any change in opinion now?
I believe that Marshall announced after his trade to Miami that he suffers from Bipolar Disorder and had been working with medication and psychologists to better control his behavior. The fact that his fiance (I think?) stabbed him last year or the year before really worries me though. That's not normal behavior.
Hopefully Jay can motivate him and be a positive influence. Since that was a trade for picks, what are we gonna do with the rest of our cap room? OL, DL, and S help please! Oh, and for the love of Lloyd Brady get us a backup QB.
Rumor is Jason Campbell will be the Bears backup and Brandon Marshall admitted he had borderline personality disorder last year, not bipolar. FWIW
Well, there goes my theory that Manning and Wayne would be Dolphins. I thought Peyton, Marshall and Wayne would be a good squad. I'm hearing it's down to the Cardinals and the Broncos. I think he should go to the 49ers if he really wanted a ring in his first year. Especially now that they signed Moss. Oh well, though. He's still no Tom Brady!
Lions have no room to do anything. Not being able to sign Calvin to a long term deal is killing them. I would not expect many big names to come popping up since they are 10 mil.? over the cap as it is.
but no money even after Stafford, Nate B., and Suh all took pay cuts this week to allow the team some spending room? I thought they had money before and now have even more right?
Yes, they are below the salary cap. Possibly by more than 10 million, but who knows. Anywere from 5-10ish million below the cap.
Yesterday, Stafford, Suh, and Burleson restructured their deals, so the Lions are now below the cap. Probably only enough to get Calvin a long-term deal, though.
Yes, this was my understanding too. Sorry I did not get the deets on how much cap room they saved, but I got the impression they were saving some for Calvin. i do not expect any fireworks.
Martellius bennett to visit giants
Curtis Lofton lb -- signs with bucs
Pierre Garcon and skins talking
Robert Meachem is a bill
Chad Henne talking to Jags and Jets
mario Williams to visit bills first
Laurent Robinson to visit Jags
Tulloch to visit Dolphins
CB Cortland FInnegan will visit the Rams first.”
Eric Winston visiting with Miami.
Bears to make run at Carl Nicks
and for humor--Albert Haynesworth and JaMarcus Russell to make a run at Golden Corral
Garcon a skin
Jason campbell and bears talking
Carl Nicks and Bears talking
Vincent Jackson to Bucs close to done
Adam Schefter?
Bears' most glaring need was wide receiver. Fans wanted them to back up the truck for one of the WR free agents.
This trade, though, confirms the rumor of the last few days: Bears are not going to spent the free agency & on a WR, but instead must be going HARD after Mario Williams. With him on one end and Julius Peppers on the other, Bears are trying to assemble the greatest pass rush in the NFL to chase Packer and Lion QBs.
Brandon Carr visiting cowboys
Hutching visiting titans
Brandon Marriweather to visit Broncos
Pierre Garcon announced he will be signing with the Redskins
Vincent Jackson to the Bucs !
Vikings may have interest in Mario Manningham
Kyle Orton visiting with Dallas
Kamerion Wimbley officially released by the Raiders.
Bucs and Eagles pushing to get Carl Nicks in their building first. Tampa lookin to use some of that big cap space quickly it seems!
keep him out of chicago !
Cowboys and Carr - 7 M is the rumor
Josh Morgan to Redskins looks like done deal
Lofa Tatopu to falcons is the rumor
I am surprised that the Lions did not take care of the needs of Avril and Johnson earlier. Obvious those deals are hindering them.
I love both the Titans and Lions and I can honestly say that Finnegan is a great player. You love him on your team, hate him on any other. He's feisty and aggressive. Hope he stays in TN or goes to Detroit. Only visit he has planned I saw was St. Louis?
Sound like he wants to play for Fischer.
I really hope he doesn't go to St. Louis. He would fit in well with Suh and Tulloch in Detroit.
Lions interested in tulloch, david hawthorne,and laron landry
G/T Geoff schwartz visiting lions soon
Carl Nicks is a Buc
LaRon Landry to make visits. Interested teams are Jets, Philly, Det, Chi
San Francisco, Washington and Tampa Bay all pursuing free-agent CB Eric Wright
Patriots expect to sign WR Matthew Slater back today and working on a few other deals...
TE John Carlson has a visit set with the Chiefs
Report: Flynn race between Seattle, Miami
Titans DL Jason Jones has visits set up with St Louis and Seattle and other teams continuing to inquire
Drew Stanton to visit Jets
Redskins re-sign DL Adam Carriker to a 4yr, $20M deal with $7M guaranteed
Ben Grubbs to visit Saints
Lofa Totupu to visit falcons
Jet's are pursuing Chaz Schilens along with the Cardinals.
TE John Carlson receiving interest from the Chiefs, Colts, Cowboys, Buccaneers and Giants.
Eddie Royal is a Redskin.
potential backup quarterback for the Raiders is Matt Leinart
Michael Bush talking with Arizona..ad Chaz Schillens as interested in zona
Chargers are interested in Laurent Robinson who is on the way to Jacksonville at the moment.
Panthers cut starting LG Travelle Wharton
Eddie Royal a redskins - 3 wr in one day
Seattle holds on to DT Red Bryant