MurcieOne

QUOTE (Chisoxfn @ Jan 12, 2018 -> 01:35 PM) 3yr deal per Schefter. Staff coming together nicely...hopefully we see most of Fangio's coaches staying as well. As DA said, lets keep developing the existing talent but now to FIND MORE TALENT!!! 1 or 2 pass rushers, please.

Glad to see Saladino back in the line-uo.

QUOTE (NorthSideSox72 @ May 21, 2015 -> 08:00 AM) He's definitely a catcher, that's basically all he's played in the org and that's what they signed him as. As you said though, big college hitter at a small school. He's a backup, so he's an org guy and I wouldn't invest much there. That said, its worth noting that the org released or traded a whole bunch of other backup C's and even some guys that looked like starters earlier, during the offseason, but kept Plourde. And guys like Zac Fisher are still unassigned. So they clearly think more of Plourde than some others. Thanks to both for the insight provided. I ran across Plourde the other day and couldn't find much about him, he does seem like he can hit a little (albeit in a very limited sample size). He's 23 and still in Low-A so his prospect status is definitely iffy to non-existent. Then again, he's a catcher and catchers usually take a little bit longer to develop.

QUOTE (NorthSideSox72 @ May 20, 2015 -> 12:21 PM) Kanny getting destroyed. Lowry got battered, but it was his first bad outing of the year. Can you (anyone) tell us about Ryan Plourde? He looks like a minor league free agent Catcher. Hitting well in a limited sample size. There is very very very little available on him online.

QUOTE (NorthSideSox72 @ May 20, 2015 -> 12:21 PM) Kanny getting destroyed. Lowry got battered, but it was his first bad outing of the year. Can you (anyone) tell us about Ryan Plourde? He looks like a minor league free agent Catcher. Hitting well in a limited sample size. There is very very very little available on him online.

QUOTE (NorthSideSox72 @ May 7, 2015 -> 12:38 PM) I very intentionally did not ask him about his brother. Everyone asks him that - everyone. I wanted to focus on him, and I prefer to ask questions that are either more prospect-focused (skills, goals, etc.) or are unique and don't get asked by the mainstream press (like, how a pitcher hits, lol). I figured as much and I can totally see how that line of questioning could be exhausting for him and actually undermine the purpose of your interview (Ohhhh another Klay question, yeah this guy isn't a serious baseball guy - I better give him the cliche answers or else he won't understand etc...)

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ May 7, 2015 -> 12:37 PM) http://chicago.suntimes.com/baseball/7/71/...custom-t-shirts "I'm the guy who runs into outs" Awwwww I still love him.

QUOTE (NorthSideSox72 @ May 7, 2015 -> 11:33 AM) You may notice an odd exchange with Erik Johnson in there. The description doesn't do it justice. The takeaway is this - Erik is a very intense and serious guy. That isn't a good or bad thing - just very different than the laid back Davidson, or talkative Thompson. Fascinating to see the personalities on all these guys. Great stuff, as always. It seemed like Erik was reading more into that question than you intended (hitting? what have you heard? am I being traded? are they moving me to catcher?) I was looking for a question to Trayce about Klay Thompson. I'm sure he gets asked about him a lot, but it's cool that Klay is dominating this year and the Warriors are poised for a deep run in the NBA playoffs. Again, he probably appreciated the focus remaining on him. Great stuff.

Nice to see Davidson with a HUGE game. He had started to regress a little after getting off to a nice start.

QUOTE (SoxPride18 @ Apr 29, 2015 -> 02:17 PM) Adam Schefter @AdamSchefter · 18m 18 minutes ago Before Seattle traded for Jimmy Graham, it had trade discussions with Bears about Martellus Bennett. Could have been Bennett Bros in SEA. I don't mind the idea of trading away Marty, but there is basically nothing at the TE position after him. I know he wants a new deal, but we've still got him under control for two years at a really reasonable price. Not sure that a 3rd/4th round pick is worth trading away a guy with his skillset at age 28.

QUOTE (Y2JImmy0 @ Apr 28, 2015 -> 12:37 PM) Well because it's a hobby of mine and I scout players. That's how I feel. Many people that aren't in the "big draft" portion of the national media don't like Ray all that much either. I don't think he's a bad player. Just not a top of the 1st round guy. Now he definitely won't be. Talent aside, if Ray is already in the drug program, then he's 1 failed test away from 4 games and 2 failed tests away from a season long suspension (I think that's the new policy at least). Even if Ray is worthy of a first round selection, there is a chance he might make himself unavailable at some point because of this habit.

QUOTE (GoSox05 @ Apr 27, 2015 -> 11:23 AM) @ChrisKuc 3m3 minutes ago #Blackhawks lines during practice: Saad-Toews-Hossa, Bickell-Richards-Kane, Sharp-Vermette-Teravainen, Desjardins-Kruger-Shaw. No Versteeg. Please do this. Please. If Versteeg sits, then who will gain the blue line, reverse ice to create room, create no room in doing so and then get stripped of the puck for an odd man rush going the other way? Who? Tell me Q, who will take up that role?

QUOTE (Buehrle>Wood @ Apr 20, 2015 -> 02:31 PM) Doug Buffone died That's a bummer. He was a great Bear (or so I'm told) and a lot of fun on the radio. Bears postgame was an entertaining listen with Doug and O'B.

QUOTE (SoxPride18 @ Apr 2, 2015 -> 10:51 AM) You can blame Emery and Trestman for that. Zero depth and aging players. At least Pace/Fox have brought in young free agents on prove it deals. Blame Angelo/Lovie as well. They had trouble drafting/developing the last 4-5 years of their tenure.

QUOTE (bmags @ Mar 17, 2015 -> 12:39 PM) I'm surprised there would be concussion issues at lower levels of hockey. I don't remember any contact and I played until 12. Agree. I've played my whole life and don't remember anyone getting any serious-level injuries until 12-13 and older - when kids are allowed to check. Things started to get intense when I got to high school and you had some kids out-weighing others by 50-60 lbs. At that point I don't know what to do other than rely on parents/coaches to make responsible decisions on whether some kids should continue to participate.

QUOTE (Rowand44 @ Mar 13, 2015 -> 03:29 PM) Are you trying to tell me that Twitter isn't always 100 percent accurate?!? My bad. No, just thought it was an interesting enough factoid that it was worth looking up. It's pretty damn depressing that the Bears have retained so few draft picks in recent years.

QUOTE (Rowand44 @ Mar 13, 2015 -> 11:54 AM) Saw on Twitter that the Rams now have more 1st rounders on their dline than the Bears have on their entire roster. Cutler, Mclellin, Fuller, Long, Rolle vs. Long, Quinn, Brockers, Fairley and Donald. Looks like they have the same number. Still very depressing.

Rams signed Nick Fairley to a 1 year deal. Rams DL looks like this Quinn, Long at DE and Brockers, Donald and Fairley at DT. That's gotta be the most talented front four in all of football.

QUOTE (KyYlE23 @ Mar 13, 2015 -> 10:09 AM) Allen is gonna be a weird thing next season. He is really a man without a position in this defense Yeah. . . seeing Allen playing stand-up OLB is gonna be ugly. Maybe he puts on some weight and tries to play 5-tech? I don't think that will look good, either. Gotta wonder if he'd agree to some type of buyout . . . get a chance to play for a SB contender.

QUOTE (scs787 @ Mar 12, 2015 -> 01:22 PM) Murray to the Eagles. Makes the McCoy trade look a lot better now. Both Murray and Alonso are making less combined than McCoy. Josh Norris retweeting old tweets from Eagles fans is fantastic. It looks like something is going on with Ryan Mathews' deal with the Eagles. He hasn't signed his contract and he went for some "off-site" physical. It would be extremely lame for the Eagles to try and get out of their deal with Mathews because they changed their mind and wanted Murray.

QUOTE (bmags @ Mar 12, 2015 -> 12:47 PM) He was playing mike in a 4-3 in tampa, maybe they see he'll be better suited in 3-4. Hopefully. True. Not to mention playing MLB in the Cover-2, where dropping back in coverage is essential and expected. Maybe he'll do better as an ILB in our new 3-4.

QUOTE (Chisoxfn @ Mar 12, 2015 -> 12:33 PM) Aaron Leming ‏@AaronLemingNFL 10m10 minutes ago Was told Mason Foster was targeting a deal close to $5M annually. Could see something close to 3 years/$15-16M. #Bears I like the youth/size/speed of Foster, but can he play? IIRC, he was pretty bad in Tampa last year. It could be the product of being on a bad team, but I dunno. . . Pace is a pro-personnel guy, so I'm sure he watched a ton of tape on him. Hope he's right.

QUOTE (Chisoxfn @ Mar 11, 2015 -> 03:23 PM) Way I see it; Keeping Jay means we can at least be in contention for possible playoff spot before season starts. Given where we pick, any other direction we would have headed would have pretty much been a 2-3 win team, imo. I wouldn't be surprised if Jay plays better this upcoming year and we still move in another direction, but Jay's contract becomes more cap manageable going forward and if he can repair some of that reputation you could actually be talking about a decent asset. I have more faith in this staff than any staff the Bears have had in a long time. I also like the methodical approach they've taken to FA. Jay's cap number ranges from 16.5 to 17 through 2018. That puts him as the 10th biggest cap number for quarterbacks for the next four years. The cap is going to go up and QB salaries will as well. If you can rehabilitate Jay and get him playing within the confines of the system, minimizing turnovers, I think that's the quickest way this team gets back to competing for a super bowl. LOTS and LOTS of ifs there, the track record indicates that it's unlikely, but if they can get him to play slightly above average . . . he's still has value moving forward. I would hope Pace and Fox give him a clean slate and let him try to be a better player/leader. There is no benefit to having pre-determined that they will cut him at year's end. If it doesn't work out, cut him. If he makes strides, I don't see the benefit of cutting him for the sake of change. My best guess is that Jay will prove all of his critics right, because he's Jay and hasn't appeared to get better on or off the field and that will lead to his exit. But if he's going to be around this season, they may as well give him a chance to succeed.

QUOTE (kevo880 @ Mar 11, 2015 -> 02:39 PM) So Houston is going to be an OLB in the new 3-4. For some reason I had the impression that he would be more of a DE in a 3-4 since he's not really a pass rushing specialist. Now I am confused as to who actually fits as a 3-4 DE. Can somebody fill me in on what type of player is ideal for that position? Yeah, I definitely thought Houston was ticketed for 5-tech. I think he will end up there. They said that is where they have him as of today. Maybe they see Jay Ratliff playing DE (assuming they find other options at NT)? Will Sutton? Ego (probably a NT)? This is going to be interesting to follow.

QUOTE (Chisoxfn @ Mar 10, 2015 -> 06:33 PM) Or not. Evidently they get 2nd rounder no matter what, but get a conditional pick back depending on certain circumstances (i.e, how much Bradford plays). What a coup for the Rams. They get the better QB and better draft picks. WTH. So the Rams get Foles a 4th and a 2016 2nd for Bradford and 5th? In addition, Philly gets to add an additional 13mil to their cap? That's gotta be one of the biggest head scratchers I can remember. Can we talk to Chip about a Cutler/Bradford swap? Maybe pick up an extra first, second, and third rounders?