TO Cut In Dallas...Should The Bears... (Poll added)

[emperorjones]

I'd love to see TO wind up in San Fran with Singletary. The Youtube highlights would be priceless

[SportsWorld]

T.O. to the Bills

[Chewie]

T.O. to the Bills

With Trent Edwards throwing him the ball ?

Sounds like the beginning of the end of T.O.'s career. Hello 700 yard season!

[SportsWorld]

Should have offered him a 1 year deal. Nothing to lose at all.

[Chewie]

Should have offered him a 1 year deal. Nothing to lose at all.

Besides our soul and dignity you mean ?

C'mon - you should be loving the fact he landed in Buffalo of all places. BUFFALO !!! When you see how he acts up with Trent Edwards at the helm you'll appreciate the fact we don't have him.

This is classic.

[BuLLs>LiFe]

I'm going to have to agree with SportsWorld. I really dislike TO and was against signing him if it meant signing him to a long-term deal (pretty much anything over a year is long term to me with him), but this is reportedly for 1 year and $6.5MM. If we're sticking with Orton as the starter, why not put the weapons around him to have him succeed? Hester as your #1 and a draft pick as your #2 is not getting it done IMO.

Worst case scenario TO is a flop for us, but it only lasts a year and we should draft a WR anyways, so we're basically in the same boat as now, no worse off. Best case scenario, our offense might actually be decent.

[Chewie]

I'm going to have to agree with SportsWorld. I really dislike TO and was against signing him if it meant signing him to a long-term deal (pretty much anything over a year is long term to me with him), but this is reportedly for 1 year and $6.5MM. If we're sticking with Orton as the starter, why not put the weapons around him to have him succeed? Hester as your #1 and a draft pick as your #2 is not getting it done IMO.

Worst case scenario TO is a flop for us, but it only lasts a year and we should draft a WR anyways, so we're basically in the same boat as now, no worse off. Best case scenario, our offense might actually be decent.

If Kyle is so fragile that he can't handle some competition that may take away a few of his reps at camp, what do you think having T.O. call him out in the huddle/sidelines/locker room is going to do to him? He might just go fetal on the spot. Then we'll have Hanie or Basanez at the helm because Angelo didn't see fit to pay for a vet backup. Awesome. Then T.O. can bitch about them.

I pretty much always pull for the guys on my team, but having TO on the Bears would be akin to how I felt when John Starks and Jalen Rose were Bulls. Some people you just can't root for.

[BuLLs>LiFe]

If Kyle is so fragile that he can't handle some competition that may take away a few of his reps at camp, what do you think having T.O. call him out in the huddle/sidelines/locker room is going to do to him? He might just go fetal on the spot. Then we'll have Hanie or Basanez at the helm because Angelo didn't see fit to pay for a vet backup. Awesome. Then T.O. can bitch about them.

I pretty much always pull for the guys on my team, but having TO on the Bears would be akin to how I felt when John Starks and Jalen Rose were Bulls. Some people you just can't root for.

Are you saying Kyle is fragile based on what he's done so far or based on what Angelo has said in terms of getting a vet back-up who can challenge him for a starting job? Those are two different things.

Basically, if we got TO, him and Forte would be our offense. TO would get plenty of opportunities to have the ball thrown to him. Now, whether or not Kyle can get it to him is another story. I guess I just don't see the real (significant) downside of having TO for just one year at that price. You surround Kyle with weapons on offense and see what he's got. If nothing works out, then what did we really lose?

[Chewie]

Are you saying Kyle is fragile based on what he's done so far or based on what Angelo has said in terms of getting a vet back-up who can challenge him for a starting job? Those are two different things.

Calling him fragile based more on the fact that Angelo is hesitant to bring in any kind of competition - whether it's a vet or rookie. JA is treating him as if he's too sensitive to handle a "QB controversy". Orton's complained in the past, though, about needing the majority of reps in camp to build a rapport with his receivers.

Basically, if we got TO, him and Forte would be our offense. TO would get plenty of opportunities to have the ball thrown to him. Now, whether or not Kyle can get it to him is another story. I guess I just don't see the real (significant) downside of having TO for just one year at that price. You surround Kyle with weapons on offense and see what he's got. If nothing works out, then what did we really lose?

If it doesn't work out we've lost development time for a young WR in an effort to appease a attention starved baby. We risk shattering Orton's confidence when he gets chewed out for not throwing TO the ball right into his hands. We'd be the laughing stock of the league as yet another team that foolishly took a chance on Owens thinking it would be different. He wore out his welcome in SF, Philly, and Dallas - why would things be any different here for a running team with an average (at best) QB? He chews out coaches and teammates on the field and sidelines when the ball doesn't come his way - who really needs that ?? If we were a player away from a Superbowl I'd say maybe. MAYBE. But it would've hurt like hell to do it. Talk about selling your soul. Good thing we're a great many players away from the Superbowl.

I would've loved to have gone after a non-prick vet WR like Coles or Bryant but Angelo chose to ignore that route for some reason. There's plenty of talent at WR in this year's draft - let's go that route.

TO is Jauron's problem now - be thankful for it. BTW, there's a pair you won't find at the same parties. Owens and the Bills are a marriage made in hell - just like it would've been with us. Watch.

[BuLLs>LiFe]

Calling him fragile based more on the fact that Angelo is hesitant to bring in any kind of competition - whether it's a vet or rookie. JA is treating him as if he's too sensitive to handle a "QB controversy". Orton's complained in the past, though, about needing the majority of reps in camp to build a rapport with his receivers.

Depending on the context of that quote, I don't really see a problem with it. I actually agree with it. As far as JA, I'm confused as to what he really wants and expects from this team. A lot of his comments this off-season seem to contradict one another, specifically the talk about shoring up the QB position and then saying you don't want to bring in anyone who's going to compete with Orton.

If it doesn't work out we've lost development time for a young WR in an effort to appease a attention starved baby. We risk shattering Orton's confidence when he gets chewed out for not throwing TO the ball right into his hands. We'd be the laughing stock of the league as yet another team that foolishly took a chance on Owens thinking it would be different. He wore out his welcome in SF, Philly, and Dallas - why would things be any different here for a running team with an average (at best) QB? He chews out coaches and teammates on the field and sidelines when the ball doesn't come his way - who really needs that ?? If we were a player away from a Superbowl I'd say maybe. MAYBE. But it would've hurt like hell to do it. Talk about selling your soul. Good thing we're a great many players away from the Superbowl.

I would've loved to have gone after a non-prick vet WR like Coles or Bryant but Angelo chose to ignore that route for some reason. There's plenty of talent at WR in this year's draft - let's go that route.

TO is Jauron's problem now - be thankful for it. BTW, there's a pair you won't find at the same parties. Owens and the Bills are a marriage made in hell - just like it would've been with us. Watch.

I think the probability that TO being a bust in Chicago would have been probably pretty high or at least greater than him succeeding here. I won't disagree with you there. I just feel like in the NFL, there's really no such thing as a development year. Pretty much every team has a shot at the Super Bowl every year (obviously some teams more than others). There's more parity in this league than any other as you probably already know.

As far as the development of the WR. He would still see time as the slot receiver. I don't think that would be too much of a problem. With Orton, if he really is that mentally weak and unable to do well with the weapons he would have at his disposal (ie Forte, Hester/TO/rookie, and both TEs) than I don't really see what's the problem anyways. I think he's a mediocre, borderline starter QB at best. If he can't do well in that situation with the talent there, I don't see how he would fare any better with no TO and just a rookie WR added to the offense.

[WAYSA]

Trent Edwards is a lot better than Kyle Orton.

The Bills are a nice fit - good OL talent, Lee Evans, Roscoe, Lynch, etc..

[Chewie]

As far as JA, I'm confused as to what he really wants and expects from this team. A lot of his comments this off-season seem to contradict one another, specifically the talk about shoring up the QB position and then saying you don't want to bring in anyone who's going to compete with Orton.

^ You'll get no argument from me on this point. He doesn't come right out and say Orton's our guy and yet he doesn't exactly say we're looking to get better at QB by looking at the draft or free agency.

[Balance-a-Bull]

http://blogs.chicagosports.chicagotribu ... eaper.html

T.O. comes cheap; Bears go cheaper

It’s Monday, and I have all the answers . . .

The Bears blew it on Terrell Owens. They got pantsed by the Buffalo Bills worse than anyone could’ve dreamed.

This isn’t exactly the Bears’ falling out of the stupid tree and hitting every branch on the way down. But it’s certainly the Bears’ falling off the stupid stool.

Owens signed a one-year deal for about $6.5 million. That’s not a contract. That’s a tip. That’s also the perfect situation for any team that wanted to test drive that player.

Owens’ history says he’ll give you two years of prove-it production, then hit 11 on the Stupid-O-Meter, so if you could’ve gotten the guy for just the two years, then you’d be living the dream.

And here the Bills got a 13-touchdown, 1,000-yard receiver for about half of what the Bears paid Tommie Harris last year. Who do you think would make more of a difference?

The Bears have gone longer than any team without having a thousand-yard receiver, and they wouldn’t take a shot at this guy for one year at this price? Or maybe even less, seeing as how the Bears could offer a bigger market in which he could star and salve some of his image. Yeesh.

The Bills finished 25th in total offense. The Bears finished behind them. The Bills had a team quarterback rating of 81.3. The Bears finished behind them. The Bills determined they needed a No. 1 receiver. The Bears apparently can’t count that high.

The Bills knew that Lee Evans was good, but also knew that he needed more talented weapons around him for everbody to get better. The Bears, who tried to sucker fans that Mark Bradley was a No. 1 receiver last year, are telling you that Devin Hester’s just fine drawing pass interference penalties. Nice gameplan.

Yeah, Owens is a diva, a crybaby, a mental marshmallow more fit to play small forward for the Bulls. He also calls out quarterbacks and drops too many passes. Bascially, he’s a luxury version of Muhsin Muhammad.

But so what?

At this point, if you’re close the way Bears coach Lovie Smith claimed -- pause, laugh, that “close’’ stuff just never gets old -- then a guy who had nearly as many touchdown passes by himself as the Bears’ entire 53-man roster would seem to be the choice.

At this point, let him call out the quarterback the way he has everywhere else. I mean, doesn’t everybody in Neckbeard Nation scream “Noooooo!!!!!’’ everytime Kyle Orton goes to Rashied Davis? Or anybody who isn’t Greg Olsen or Desmond Clark?

Look, it would’ve been for one year. It’s not like the Bears haven’t done potentially stupid things for a year. I mean, BFF Bob Babich was defensive coordinator, right?

Remember how Bears general manager Jerry Angelo said at the combine that he didn’t believe wide receiver was a need in the draft? Apparently it’s not a need in free agency, either.

Let me say this: I don’t often endorse any part of fantasy leagues because I think they force you to live in a parallel universe, but I think Angelo needs to immerse himself in fantasy to see how this thing we call football in my country works.