[JohnE]

How you like this? From the heart of the beast...DUMP REX...

http://www.suntimes.com/sports/mariotti/1065614,mariotti072108.article

(I couldnt care either way, honestly...)

 

[sanjuro]

Harsh...

Fact: If Favre wants to win, he'd be an idiot to join the Bears, who have no defined running back, wide receivers or offensive line but do have a fine kicker to try field goals while opponents are scoring touchdowns.

 

[BurlyShirley]

Just as an FYI, nobody likes Mariotti. Nobody. Im not even going to attempt to read whatever drivel he has attempted to form into an article. He's an idiot and a coward. Afraid to go to the press conferences of the teams because he writes inflamatory garbage for the sake of selling papers, and more than one coach/athlete has publicly threatened him
He's a Pennsylvanian douche who somehow landed in Chicago, and consistently refers to the Chicago as "the city of weak shoulders" in his "articles". He is basically the rush limbaugh of chicago sports. A gaseous blowhard, retard that people who want rational opinions tend to avoid.
So he doesn't like Rex? That's and endorsement for the guy as far as Im concerned, because Mariotti is as wrong as they come. I hope he dies of AIDS.

 

[JohnE]

Well, they re-signed Brian "Pay me now or I will pout" Urlacher. He better ****ing kick some ass...
What a baby. I used to like him. Now he is an overpaid idiot who better show us something.

 

[BurlyShirley]

Well, they re-signed Brian "Pay me now or I will pout" Urlacher. He better ****ing kick some ass...
What a baby. I used to like him. Now he is an overpaid idiot who better show us something.

Yeah, he better "show us something," after all it's not like he's led the team in tackles every single year he has played and gone to 6 pro bowls in 8 years while also winning an NFL Defensive MVP award and leading the Bears to their first superbowl appearance since 1985 and 3 NFC north titles or anything. It's not like he had 5 sacks and 5 ints last year along with 156 tackles or anything.
The Bears promised to re-do his contract if they got Briggs re-signed and he held them to their word. Anyone who follows the team with any regularity understands this, so since you're quite obviously out of the loop I'll just assume you're another semi-casual sports fan who gets his opinions spoon-fed via Jay Mariotti and Skip Bayless and tries to spout off here and there like he knows something.
Want to talk Bears? Educate yourself first. Anyone who thinks Urlacher needs to "show us something" and that Favre should be a Bear is completely clueless.

Edit: That came off a little more harsh than I meant it to.

 

[johnbryanpeters]

Yeah, ...yadaya... clueless.

How about them pork plows?

 

[BurlyShirley]

How about them pork plows?

They sound delicious.

 

[fuzzynutz]

He's an idiot and a coward.

I can't figure out why he's still in this city. Biggest douche bag.

The Bears need to give Hester whatever he's asking, that is, once they can understand what he's actually saying. It's good they signed 54, but he's past his prime. He's still a force, but I don't know if he can last through 2012. I hope he can.

 

[JohnE]

BS, just poking at you...I know you love Da Bears. I love them too, and am glad Urlacher is back and hope he is happy. I admit to being put off at his churlish attitude and idle threats to retire if he didnt get his way (Something Butkus, Singletary and even Fencik NEVER would have done...) but will be glad to see him back...

Marrioti is a clown, just as Rozner is. They are both sensationalists who print crap to sell papers.

Now, if they can just keep things together. And get Hester into camp.

And oh yeah, I dont want Favre. Maybe10 years ago...but now he needs to stay retired.

 

[sanjuro]

More good news for Burly:

Hester's risky business
Shocker of a move could cost dollars, service time, delay in free agency

July 24, 2008
Recommend (3)

BY MIKE MULLIGAN mmulligan@suntimes.com

BOURBONNAIS, Ill. -- As much as you might admire Devin Hester as a player, like him as a person and respect his Stick-It-To-The-Man negotiating tactics, understand this about his decision not to report to training camp in a demand for more money: It's either a bold act of genius or an act of complete madness.

Clearly, the Bears were stunned by the escalation of tactics. And that was before Hester told the Sun-Times on Wednesday evening that he was ready to sit out the season to force a new deal.
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Hester plays hardball

''I talked to his agent [Eugene Parker] a few days ago,'' general manager Jerry Angelo said. ''He floated it out there, but I didn't really take it serious because we are still talking. We're still in the process. There's no closure.

''Usually when you say, 'Hey, it's over, take it or leave it, we're out of money,' you might get a reaction like that. But as you're continuing on in negotiations as we have been, it is surprising.''

Hester would gain nothing from his threat to take his holdout to the limit, even if he was sincere when he promised to stand by his decision to sit out until ''whenever in the season or the end of the season. No matter what.''

Two problems there. The first is the fact his contract would be essentially frozen if he sat out a season, and he'd have to come back under the current terms of the four-year, $2.88 million deal he signed as a second-round pick in 2006. Next comes a report from Mike Florio of profootballtalk.com that states Hester would not accrue a third NFL season in 2008 if he does not report to camp by Aug. 5. The issue is a bit cloudy because of the status of the collective-bargaining agreement, but two league sources said Florio's report made perfect sense.

Regardless, the real problem with Hester's holdout is that it denies him the opportunity to develop as a wide receiver. Offensive coordinator Ron Turner said Tuesday that Hester was slated to open camp with the starting unit. If he's not in camp, he can't get better at that position and thereby earn the kind of money he's seeking.

Why is that significant? Because Hester never is going break the bank if he's strictly a return man, even a potential Hall of Famer who is likely to shatter every league record before he retires. In fact, sources say the Bears already have offered to make him the highest-paid returner in league history, with incentives to pay him significantly more if he continues to develop as a receiver. He has played the position for only one year in the NFL after beginning his career as a cornerback and won't improve if he's not playing.

Given the Bears' concerns at quarterback and throughout their offense, you can understand if he is reluctant to agree to an incentive-based deal that could be difficult, if not impossible, to maximize.
Possible missed opportunity

As frustrated as Hester might be by seeing so many of his teammates get deals before him, sitting out now could squander his opportunity to be a go-to receiver when the season starts. The holdout will not affect his ability as a return man because teams are unlikely to kick to him even if he misses all of camp and reports only for the season opener Sept. 7 at Indianapolis.

Teams already have begun a strategy of not kicking to Hester; just ask Denver Broncos coach Mike Shanahan what happens when you decide to let Hester into a game. According to research from Pro Football Prospectus, 58 percent of the kickoffs against the Bears were squibbed or otherwise intentionally short. Opponents opted to kick out of bounds against the Bears 11 percent of the time, compared with 2 percent for the rest of the league. Also, 34 percent of the punts to Hester were kicked out of bounds or into the end zone to deny a return, compared with 20 percent league-wide.

Clearly, those tactics will remain in place, even if Hester misses significant time in camp. His ability as a returner is reaching historical proportion. In just two seasons Hester has 11 return touchdowns, already fourth in league history. It's 13 if you count the 108-yard return of a missed field goal in 2006 and the opening kickoff of Super Bowl XLI.

He's a feared man in that role, but if he can translate those skills as an every-down receiver, that's how he'll make his fortune. And he might be able to do that. Hester scored two touchdowns on offense last season, when he had 20 catches for 299 yards -- a 15-yard average. His 14 regular-season touchdowns the last two years are tops on the team.

The big question now is how the Bears will respond to the holdout. Angelo said it will make a deal difficult to achieve.

''It is very difficult given the situation,'' he said. ''It's probably one that I won't ever experience again quite like this. But again, we're working at doing it. We want to do it. He's earned it. He is a very, very good player for us. We're all in agreement on Devin's value.''
Tired of waiting

Hester is fed up with waiting. He feels misled because he took part in voluntary offseason workouts with the understanding his contract would get done, and then it didn't happen. But in fairness to the Bears, they went to him after only two seasons and started negotiating a deal. It was an unprecedented move. Even Brian Urlacher had to wait three years into his five-year rookie deal to get paid.

And the Bears have paid other players in similar circumstance who have outperformed their contract, including Alex Brown and Urlacher this offseason. It's Hester's turn to get paid, and everybody knows it.

 

[JohnE]

This is why extending Urlacher like that was a bad idea. Now Hester thinks he has the Bears over a barrel. And he does. But he has 2 years left on his rookie deal. At least Urlacher had been around a bit and crushed some heads.
Imagine if one of us did this to our employers...

Get your ass into camp Devon.

 

[BurlyShirley]

This is why extending Urlacher like that was a bad idea. Now Hester thinks he has the Bears over a barrel. And he does. But he has 2 years left on his rookie deal. At least Urlacher had been around a bit and crushed some heads.
Imagine if one of us did this to our employers...

Get your ass into camp Devon.

Every team deals with things like these though, even the ever-perfect Patriots have had holdouts in the last couple years from Deion Branch and Asante Samuel. It's just the nature of the business these days.

Hester doesn't make enough money to sit out and get fined $15k per day for long, and the Bears aren't a good enough team to win without him. They simply need each other too much for this thing to last. Hester will be in camp by Aug. 5 at the latest.

 

[BurlyShirley]

More good news for Burly:

Bears just signed Hester to a 6-year contract.

 

[JohnE]

Now we hope he doesnt collapse like other "big time" athletes who get the big $$...