Jake

McCown has been started 7 games in a row twice. The last time, his team went 6-7 with him on the field and 0-3 off. The only other time he had significant starting time was three years later in Oakland where he replaced a just 30-year-old Daunte Culpepper, who didn't fare any better than McCown did. This is the just the second time he's consistently started, the third our fourth time in a decade that he's had appreciable playing time, and the first time he's had a decent supporting cast around him. In Arizona, he had two rookie wideouts that turned out great -- Boldin and Fitzgerald. Arizona replaced McCown with Kurt Warner, who went 2-8. While McCown is almost surely not this good, it is not impossible that he is much, much better than the McCown of the past that played sporadically for horribad football teams.

QUOTE (RockRaines @ Dec 10, 2013 -> 11:26 AM) Either has McCown. Except...right now. It isn't so much that McCown is Jesus Christ incarnate, it's that he has exposed the possibility that what we are getting from Jay Cutler is not worth this much money and drama

It is hard to reconcile the fact that I don't believe Cutler has ever had a 6 game run like this -- certainly nothing even close while he's been a Bear.

FWIW, UZR is not very helpful over a 60 game span. Borderline useless, really.

Eaton is indeed an exciting player, but I wouldn't expect the general fanbase to really know that. He's hardly played in MLB

Eaton is a super fast, 5'8" lefty that could best be characterized as a prototypical leadoff hitter. He often walks as much as he strikes out, steals bags really well, puts the ball in play to make his speed work, and plays good defense all around the OF. Has a good arm despite his size. Maybe not an out of this world defender in CF, but definitely good enough if you believe years of scouting reports.

I'm a big fan of Eaton.

QUOTE (RockRaines @ Dec 10, 2013 -> 09:50 AM) I think its better to have an amazing offense and an improving young defense than have both units be average. The defense this year is incredibly injured, what are the odds that we lose that many players next year? Plus the LB core will actually have some experience and we can fill with draft picks. What about this offense looks average? I've never seen a Bears offense look as good as it has during the "McCown era" starts

If I could trade Jay Cutler for a handful of defenders right now, I wouldn't hesitate

Catch the ball Brandon, we have better options

QUOTE (chw42 @ Dec 9, 2013 -> 09:37 PM) McCown's almost thrown two picks so far in the second half. Two dodged bullets. That most recent one would have been an unbelievably good play

2003 and 2006 lines were better. This line isn't as good as it is well-coached. Nobody ever runs free at the QB and the plays are called well enough that we have options for dealing with rather frequent pressure.

Jeffery might be the best WR on this team. Also, I see no need for Jay Cutler on this team. At some point, the way this team is playing w/ McCown stops being a fluke.

I don't think Mel Tucker has much of anything to do with this

I usually shop at Target. When I lived in Colorado there was a Target and Sunflower next to each other -- I'd go to Sunflower first and fill in the gaps at Target

There's no way Uribe can play an MLB caliber SS at this point. You sign him to play 3B and that's about it. You assume you're getting Keppinger-like defense at this stage in his career.

In my first place league, somehow my weakest position has been QB. I drafted RG3 with the general expectation that he'd be great again. I recognized that he is still a risk, so I spent a relatively high pick on Mike Vick, who ended up becoming my starter early on because he was so hot. I assumed between RG3 and Vick, I'd always have a good option. Now I'm in first place, but it looks like my starting QB will be Andy Dalton. Not a lot of options out there. Have to think this will cost me before it is all said and done. The rest of the team: WR Brandon Marshall WR Eric Decker WR Mike Wallace RB Chris Johnson RB Jamaal Charles TE Vernon Davis W/R/T Shane Vereen BN RG3 BN Martellus Bennett BN Denarius Moore BN Eddie Royal BN Greg Jennings BN Jonathan Stewart (hurt, so will be replacing with somebody) Not sure if I'll have enough guns to make up for the Dalton/RG3 mixture at QB, especially with Mike Wallace as a weak link at WR. He's been all over the place. Denarius Moore was doing well for me earlier in the season, but hes been hurt and I don't know what to think he'll do when he comes back to play with Matt McGloin. Thinking about grabbing up Cordarrelle Patterson, but it seems like I'm looking at a Wallace-esque reward with a lower floor than Wallace. Also wonder if I should pick up Ryan Tannehill instead of Dalton.

You need people to live there. Urban renewal is a tricky thing and there's little consensus in how to do it, but I think the key thing that hasn't been stressed in Detroit is trying to get people to live there. Hell, several of their big business developments have crowded out neighborhoods. People will care about the town, want things to be there, etc. if they actually live in it. Right now, nobody feels invested in the city's future because they all live outside of the city. They only care about the parts of the city that serve them. When you live there, the entire thing matters. Your neighborhood matters. The drug store down the street matters. The beauty of your home matters.

Keep in mind with Dom Brown: this dude is literally a worse defensive LF than Dayan Viciedo. Just think about that. I'm not saying you definitely don't get him, but you're looking at a team with a bunch of corner OF.

I never have strong feelings about Mizzou, but these games are always intense and generally very exciting.

Also, by no means does trading Sale automatically make us unable to compete in the near term. It's a big hit to the pitching staff, certainly, but it's one guy. He plays every five days. We'd be able to make it, especially given that we'd probably receive a player with similar potential in return.

I guess to me being an ace is not a state of being. You either are one or you aren't. You might be able to impersonate one for 35 starts, but it becomes quite clear over your career whether or not you are one. We have always known that Chris is an ace. Before he had ever pitched like one, we knew that was what we had. Jose Quintana could go 22-2 next season with a 2.8 ERA and we will still know that he is not an ace.

QUOTE (KyYlE23 @ Dec 9, 2013 -> 12:41 PM) Contreras finished out that season as an ace. And continued that through the beginning of 2006. He was just filthy after the break But of course, he wasn't an ace. That's the cool thing about having a lot of really good pitchers. Chances are, at any given moment one of them will pitch like an ace. Contreras was super inconsistent and just got hot. That's why he only cost us Esteban Loaiza, who was also an ace for five minutes. Nobody comparable to Chris Sale on that team and that's okay.

I'm of the opinion that an ace is one of the most overrated possessions. I think having a great rotation is the best thing to have, but having an "ace" is not all that different from having a really, really good pitcher. What ace was on the 2005 team? It was filled with guys we'd say were 2s and 3s.

I'm happy to deal Sale if the price is right. And no, it doesn't have to be some dick measuring contest with the other GM. It just has to make us better