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QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Mar 10, 2015 -> 09:39 AM) Should have a decent system in place in 2015. The fact is, if the system is nice, the Bears offense can be pretty good with Cutler at QB even making his typical mistakes. The kissing up to Cutler is over. I can't stand the guy, but I'm am positive the Bears can win games with him at QB. They have before. He is paid way too much without a doubt, but the "he can't win a Super Bowl" crap is crap. No QB could have brought the 2014 Bears to the playoffs. It was only a few years ago Cutler got hurt and people were upset he wouldn't return into the game. Now he sucks, he always has sucked, he always will suck. He isn't the elite guy most thought the Bears acquired when they traded for him, but he is middle of the pack. Ideally you would like your QB to be a leader, which he is not. That does hurt him, but he is still the best QB the Bears have ever had. I guess that is sad. You have to remember those good Bears team Cutler has "lead" had an elite defense. They won only 8 games 2 years ago with an elite offense but a s***ty defense, and that offense is long exposed and is now gone. With the aging players on defense and the money that we have tied up on offense, and it's hard to build up a defense that is good enough to bring us to the playoffs knowing that Cutler's mistakes will always cost us games. If we moved Cutler, it would give us more flexibility to rebuild the defense. Pair even an average or below average QB with a great defense is a recipe for playoffs, we've proven that with Rex and Jay. If we could have moved Cutler, sign a couple of impact player at the LB and secondary positions, I am happy even if we roll with free agents like Colt McCoy, Jake Locker, draft a QB in the mid rounds, and let them battle it out for for the starting job. That's just my personal preference.

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Mar 10, 2015 -> 08:40 AM) The Bears are only 1 season removed from being 2nd in the NFL in points scored with Cutler at QB. Cutler could never live up to his contract. His dopey looks at press conferences and during games does him no good, but this isn't like Moses Moreno is lining up behind center. Seriously, that is so misleading. We were 2nd in points because of the system, not Cutler. What were our offensive ranks in other years with Cutler? How did McCown fare vs Cutler that year? The system aimed to simply the sets and the throws for Jay, and by the second season, the entire NFL had us figured out. How many times did we score over 30 last season? 0.. That system is gone, Marshall is gone, the system was exposed. Don't hold your breath to wait for Cutler to "lead" us to 2nd place scoring in NFL again.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Mar 10, 2015 -> 07:38 AM) Q back: if the Bears hold onto Cutler this year, what's the cap hit like to remove him next year? They tied up so much guaranteed money the first couple years that even if they trade him it's hard to see them getting lots of savings this year IIRC. They certainly don't recoup the full $18 million in cap space, if they trade him I think it's like $10 million in dead space or so? You can do some things with $8 million in cap during a lost season, you could front load a deal to a veteran, but things can't even be as bright as you'd want there - you don't get $18 mil in cap space back even with a trade. This was posted by scs earlier. We should get back most of the $18 mil, and I'd rather see us spend that money on defense than Cutler. But it's water under the bridge now, as it doesn't look like anyone would want to touch that mess. Trading... QUOTE (LittleHurt05 @ Mar 10, 2015 -> 08:04 AM) That team is automatically worse than if you keep Cutler on his current contract. As bad as everyone thinks Cutler can be, you can do so much worse in the QB department. Doing worse than what? 5-11? With the way backup QB's have performed for us the past couple of years, I think your point is highly debatable.

QUOTE (raBBit @ Mar 9, 2015 -> 07:51 PM) I wasn't trying to compare Alexei-Cutler but rather expose the flawed argument that you move someone for the sake of "they won't be on the next playoff team." People said that about Alexei but I think it's pretty likely he will now be on the next playoff team. If you successfully move Cutler for a minimal return, what is the alternative at QB? Is there someone who is going to be able to win the big game or succeed in the big moments? I don't see anyone out there. I like Brett Hundley but the Bears aren't really in a position to draft him unless they trade down. I wouldn't mind getting rid Cutler's contract but it's not all that likely and if they were to dump him, they're not going to be in a better position at QB. Cutler at least has the skill set and natural ability to be a Super Bowl QB despite what he's shown so far. With no one else offering more potential you might as well hope he gets some tact and learns how to stop turning the ball over while rebuilding. You misinterpreted my comment. In Alexei's situation, people have made that comment because his contract will expire when Sox are ready to compete. In Cutler's situation, I am saying I don't think Cutler is good enough to lead us to a another playoff berth, not with Rodgers and Stafford in their prime, and for reasons I mentioned earlier on his inability to perform in pressure. What's the alternative for Cutler? A rookie QB, a free agent QB, hell, even give me Jimmy Clausen and $18 million where I can spend on 2-3 key defensive players. With Cutler absorbing that much cap space, it's hard to find an identity for this team. Are they an offensive minded team? Last year proved not to be the case. Are they a good defensive team that relies on the run? Could be, but it's hard to rebuild a defense when you have that much money tied up on a below league average QB.

QUOTE (GoSox05 @ Mar 9, 2015 -> 03:56 PM) Titans won 2 games last year. What does Cutler get them to? 4 or 5 wins. Is that worth 20 plus million and some decent draft picks. If you are going to give up decent draft picks, why not trade for Nick Foles. He's at least young and could maybe get better. Plus he's cheap. Exactly. Cutler isn't even worth 20 mil in the open market, why would anyone want to give up high round picks for him? Unless we absorb another contract from them I guess. Rumors are just rumors. All of the good teams have a QB in place, and the rebuilding teams aren't looking to Cutler as the solution, especially with his salary. If Ryan Pace manages to find a taker for Cutler without taking back a big contract, I'll wash his car for a week.

QUOTE (raBBit @ Mar 9, 2015 -> 03:55 PM) Ugh, this argument. I know you're a solid poster but this argument is the worst. Seems like just yesterday we were hearing about how Alexei wasn't going to be the shortstop for the next White Sox playoff team. Obviously the Bears have a very, very slim chance of going to the playoffs in '15-'16 but this is the NFL. Roster turnovers are too significant and there isn't one formula to win. The more I look into this, the less likely I find it to be that Cutler is going to get moved this offseason. I agree with you that there isn't just one formula to winning, but Cutler is a negative variable to any formula. We've made some many adjustments to make the Cutler formula work, HC, OC, QBC, O Line, WR, mayors... Cutler is still the same Cutler. Any chance you can get rid of him now to clear cap space and rebuild for the future, I think you need to jump on it. And you can't compare the importance of an SS in baseball to QB in football and Alexei certainly doesn't take up cap space like Cutler does. Cutler puts a constraint on the roster both with his play and his salary cap. I think we've seen enough of Cutler to realize that he doesn't play well in big games or play well in pressurized moments. You could with two hands the number of 4th quarter comebacks Cutler has led in a Bears uniform. Another stat for you, Bears under Cutler had TWO (2!) TD's inside the two minute warning all of last season. The two worst teams in the league had 4 and 6 respectively. For the record, even Jimmy Clausen led a 2 minute warning TD in the only game he started. I would also like to think the rise and demise of Josh McCown also speaks to the position we put QB's in to succeed.

QUOTE (bmags @ Mar 9, 2015 -> 02:52 PM) Sure, but none of those QBs are available to the titans, if they do not like Mariota or value the 2nd for someone like Williams more. Titans execs need to win. They have shown no ability to improve for 5 years now. But honestly for a fifth rounder there is no reason to trade cutler considering they will not have any upgrades possible. You may get more value next year with a much more reasonable contract. He also won't be the quarterback of your next playoff team. It's also understandable if you want to get rid of his contract and invest somewhere else. Getting positive return for him is a win IMO.

QUOTE (Chisoxfn @ Mar 9, 2015 -> 02:29 PM) I think they will get more. Something like swapped 2nd's plus a 3rd or like a 2nd or 3rd round pick on its own. I still think possibility exists for swapped 1st round pick and I'm sure that is what the Bears are pushing for. I highly doubt we will get more than a 5th rounder. You can honestly name 15-20 QB's who are better than Cutler, and most of them make less than him.

QUOTE (bmags @ Mar 9, 2015 -> 02:16 PM) poll: what do people think Reasonable return is for Cutler. Honestly, swapping a 3rd for a high 2nd is too low. I would only take honest to god picks, or swapping firsts with titans. We would then have lots of ability to trade down and accumulate more picks. We would also be tuwwible next year. WOW. Not sure if you have been paying attention, NFL draft picks are EXTREMELY valuable, especially the top 3 picks. In 2004, Giants traded the 4th overall pick, another 1st, 3rd, and 5th round pick to move up and draft Eli at number 1. 3 years ago, Redskins traded 2 firsts (1 being the 6th overall) and 2 second rounders to move up and grab RG3 at the 2nd pick. In other words, you are expecting Cutler to at least worth both a 1st and a 2nd round pick. That's not going to happen, not to mention the $16 mil he's making next year. In fact, Cutler provides little to no trade value, we'd be lucky to grab any return for him, that's why there were rumors of cutting Cutler later this week.

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Mar 6, 2015 -> 09:20 PM) Anyone see the stat that despite his monster numbers, the last 2 games the Thunder are +21 without Westbrook on the floor, and -23 when he is playing. Just saw this. 2 games. Sample size. Also look at how terrible rest of their starters are, Andre Roberson, Kyle Singler, and Enes Kanter, who is notoriously bad on defense and whom the Jazz basically gave away for free.

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Mar 8, 2015 -> 01:01 PM) Minutes behind Brandon Jennings and Derrick Rose if he was healthy are very different. DJ signed earlier than Hinrich. Brooks isn't the downgrade from DJ people want to make him. He has been awful lately, but DJ can have really bad stretches as well. DJ Augustine doesn't make the Bulls a title contender. I don't think anyone should put these words together in sentence again. No one honestly believed Rose could stay healthy for a full season, that was also one of the reasons Melo didn't sign here. We are also not mentioning the obvious fact that Thibs likes the 2 PG rotation late in games. Putting it in perspective, Brook is only average 2 minutes less than Augustin when both played as reserves, and we still had Hinrich on the roster. If we let Hinrich walk, DJ would have gotten a lot more minutes both as a starter and as the first guard off the bench. I don't think DJ makes us a title contender, and no one is saying that. But DJ is more of a capable starting point guard than Brooks is if Rose goes down. He at least won't put a hole at that spot. I think going into next season, we need to look for someone who could step in to start to back up Rose, preferably someone even better than DJ. If we rely on a backup PG to start for Rose again, it's going to be a waste of a season.

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Mar 8, 2015 -> 03:35 AM) The Bulls needed to clear space in case they signed Carmelo. IIRC, DJ signed with Detroit before Carmelo officially stopped playing the Bulls. Anyway, it is ridiculous arguimg DJ Augustine. How many teams has he been on the last 2 years? Besides, with Rose coming back, how do you know DJ even wanted to come back to be his back up? And you can't be sure another $250k less a year doesn't have Pau in a different uniform. He did go to Detroit to backup Brandon Jennings didn't he? If I were DJ, I would have taken a $250K paycut to backup a oft-injured Rose on a playoff team and not to mention playing in Thib's PG-oriented scheme than to go to Detroit. I think it's pretty obvious we could have Hinrich or DJ for the same money but we chose Hinrich for what he's done for the Bulls org/known for in the past versus how he would fare going forward.

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Mar 7, 2015 -> 01:42 PM) DJ is gettimg more than Hinrich. I'd rather have Pau than DJ. Also Brooks is shooting better than DJ this season. By DJ makes 250K more than Hinrich, it wouldn't prevent us from getting Pau. Also, there is no doubt that DJ or any other flier PG's we had played better under Thibs. And comparing DJ under Thibs, his 56.9TS% is far better than Brook's 52.7%, DJ also had a higher assist and turnover ratio than Brooks. On top of that, Brooks is probably the worst defensive PG we have had, and yes that includes Nate and JL3.

QUOTE (LDF @ Mar 6, 2015 -> 11:10 AM) i was somewhat thinking that while catching up today. is it me, but does this team preform better when the superstars are not playing??? As I said earlier, replacement players often outperform expectations when starters are out, so it gives the perception that we can win without our best players. I think Thib's teams win with effort as much as talent, especially on defense and rebounding. When we are the favorites or when we're playing ahead, guys get complacent and start coasting. We lose the advantage in the effort department. It's a bit frustrating at times, but I think it's true.

QUOTE (PlaySumFnJurny @ Mar 6, 2015 -> 09:30 AM) For the life of me, I can't figure this Bulls team out. In a weird way, Thib's system's maximizes the value of most any players on the floor. No matter who he puts out there, they can win games. In some other weird way, this team is better when playing as underdogs with its back against the wall. When they had as much talent as they did a month ago and were expected to win games, they were embarrassed big time. It's weird, but that's how I feel about Thib's teams.

QUOTE (SoxAce @ Mar 5, 2015 -> 08:56 PM) Funny thing is, Rose had better numbers across the board except for agility (better sprint numbers though) in the combine. I think people forgot how insane of an athlete Rose was 3 knee surgeries ago. Most explosive PG I've ever seen come out. Would of said that regardless of where he was drafted. I think Rose has the slight edge but I wouldn't look too much into the DX combine numbers. Rose is a better two foot leaper, and you jumper higher leaping with 2 feet. Westbrook is a better 1 foot leaper, and you take less time to gather jumping with 1 foot, that's why we see a lot more of Westbrook's nasty stuff. In terms of speed, I think they are pretty close coast to coast with the ball.

BTW, 3-way tie for 2nd place right now in the East. Bulls wins tiebreaker over Raptors and Cavs and Raptors wins over Cavs. If only this is the final standing in the regular season, Cleveland facing Wiz in the first round and Hawks in the second round would give Bulls easiest path to ECF.

When you combine Rose's athleticism with Patrick Beverly's motor and Blake Griffin's explosiveness you get mutant Westbrook. That man is just ridiculous and so much fun to watch.

QUOTE (Rowand44 @ Mar 2, 2015 -> 01:40 PM) So who gets hurt next? Gar Foreman. Losing a fist fight to Thibodeau.

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Mar 2, 2015 -> 01:15 PM) If it isn't Rose, it will be Butler, or Noah or someone else. It really may be the most fragile roster in professional sports. Dunleavy was out 20 games, Doug was on the shelf for a while. Taj sprains his ankles every week, Kirk is always dealing one thing or another. 34 year old Gasol might have been the healthiest player this year. Every time someone says the Bulls are a dangerous team when healthy, I shrug and laugh in their face.

I missed the part of yesterday's game where he got hurt. How did that happen?

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Mar 1, 2015 -> 01:37 PM) Butler was taken to the locker room after an arm injury. Rose, Taj and now Butler. It's a downhill battle.

Aaron Brooks has no business defending Chris Paul or even just defending the pick and roll.

Golden State is mad

I think he will comeback, right before the playoffs. Then he will play like s*** for 2 weeks or so because he always has a lot of "rust" in his game returning from injuries, and we will probably get knocked out in the second round.