Resigning these guys takes care of the problem if you believe they can do the job. One of my observations is that with few exceptions -- every Super Bowl winner has an All-Pro "shutdown corner" to neutralized the other team's star receiver. I don't see any of our current guys doing that, which is why I wanted Ward in the first round. Time will tell whether Smith is better than Ward. The jury is out.
Well we re-signed both our starting CBs and our Slot CB so that takes care of that. Pace also released Cooper then re-signed him, we have a former two year CFL starter in Jonathon Mincy, and we signed two UDFAs with some potential; Tolliver and Joseph. CB just wasn't high on our list of needs.
If either Amos or Jackson go down I feel we're vulnerable at Safety which is why I've been pulling for Pace to sign ex-SF guy Eric Reid whose played for Fangio and Donatell before. I see him as a major upgrade over guys like Bush, Hall, and DeAndre Houston-Carson but so far Pace has passed on him.
Fuller is being paid to be that guy. If we didn't believe he could play at that level we shouldn't have committed $29 mil to him. We also committed another $18 mil over two years to lock up Amukamara to start opposite Fuller.
No matter how good Ward may be or how much we may have liked him committing yet another $18 mil to a CB would have been a poor use of that #8 pick and would have left us thin at LB. Smith will have an equal impact I'm sure.
Resigning these guys takes care of the problem if you believe they can do the job. One of my observations is that with few exceptions -- every Super Bowl winner has an All-Pro "shutdown corner" to neutralized the other team's star receiver. I don't see any of our current guys doing that, which is why I wanted Ward in the first round. Time will tell whether Smith is better than Ward. The jury is out.
Well we re-signed both our starting CBs and our Slot CB so that takes care of that. Pace also released Cooper then re-signed him, we have a former two year CFL starter in Jonathon Mincy, and we signed two UDFAs with some potential; Tolliver and Joseph. CB just wasn't high on our list of needs.
If either Amos or Jackson go down I feel we're vulnerable at Safety which is why I've been pulling for Pace to sign ex-SF guy Eric Reid whose played for Fangio and Donatell before. I see him as a major upgrade over guys like Bush, Hall, and DeAndre Houston-Carson but so far Pace has passed on him.
Prince was that guy last year, he was rarely thrown at, and when he was the player didn't catch a ton. Fuller might be that guy in the future also; but imo he has shown he's a really strong shut down 2 cb. His best years were when he wasn't asked to cover the WR1 all the time.
My guess they'll go OLB and CB and RT next year early.
Resigning these guys takes care of the problem if you believe they can do the job. One of my observations is that with few exceptions -- every Super Bowl winner has an All-Pro "shutdown corner" to neutralized the other team's star receiver. I don't see any of our current guys doing that, which is why I wanted Ward in the first round. Time will tell whether Smith is better than Ward. The jury is out.
Fuller is being paid to be that guy. If we didn't believe he could play at that level we shouldn't have committed $29 mil to him. We also committed another $18 mil over two years to lock up Amukamara to start opposite Fuller.
No matter how good Ward may be or how much we may have liked him committing yet another $18 mil to a CB would have been a poor use of that #8 pick and would have left us thin at LB. Smith will have an equal impact I'm sure.
Fuller is being paid to be that guy. If we didn't believe he could play at that level we shouldn't have committed $29 mil to him. We also committed another $18 mil over two years to lock up Amukamara to start opposite Fuller.
No matter how good Ward may be or how much we may have liked him committing yet another $18 mil to a CB would have been a poor use of that #8 pick and would have left us thin at LB. Smith will have an equal impact I'm sure.
As they say you pay your money and you take your chances. At 5'10" and 180lbs Ward is a little smaller than Fangio prefers his CBs to be so in reality we may have used him in the slot and that's a lot of money to have tied up in three CBs.
I'm good with Fuller and Amukamara and I've always liked Callahan as a slot guy. He's been a bargain as an UDFA. I just wish he could stay healthy for 16 games is all. None of these guys may prove to be a pure shutdown CB but the quality level of all three is as good as we've ever seen throughout the secondary once we throw Jackson and Amos into the mix.
I believe convincing Fangio and his entire staff to return will have just as much or more impact on the defense than the talent which has also been upgraded via both FA and the draft. Roquan Smith will be the next All Pro Bears LB. The kid is that good and a can't miss pick. I like our 4th and 5th round picks too. Both are talented small school guys.
The defense is good and should keep getting marginally better. It's Trubisky and the offense who need to bring up the level of their play for us to compete and I feel once they shake out the early mistakes learning a new offense they will. We have a lot of talent on that side of the ball now too and coaches who can scheme it.
If the front 7 plays well, that will take pressure off the CBs. I see Smith as more the next Lance Briggs than the next Brian Urlacher. Either way, we're golden!
I see your point about the $$$. Now we have to see who can earn it! Fuller definitely improved last year.
As they say you pay your money and you take your chances. At 5'10" and 180lbs Ward is a little smaller than Fangio prefers his CBs to be so in reality we may have used him in the slot and that's a lot of money to have tied up in three CBs.
I'm good with Fuller and Amukamara and I've always liked Callahan as a slot guy. He's been a bargain as an UDFA. I just wish he could stay healthy for 16 games is all. None of these guys may prove to be a pure shutdown CB but the quality level of all three is as good as we've ever seen throughout the secondary once we throw Jackson and Amos into the mix.
I believe convincing Fangio and his entire staff to return will have just as much or more impact on the defense than the talent which has also been upgraded via both FA and the draft. Roquan Smith will be the next All Pro Bears LB. The kid is that good and a can't miss pick. I like our 4th and 5th round picks too. Both are talented small school guys.
The defense is good and should keep getting marginally better. It's Trubisky and the offense who need to bring up the level of their play for us to compete and I feel once they shake out the early mistakes learning a new offense they will. We have a lot of talent on that side of the ball now too and coaches who can scheme it.
If the front 7 plays well, that will take pressure off the CBs. I see Smith as more the next Lance Briggs than the next Brian Urlacher. Either way, we're golden!
As they say you pay your money and you take your chances. At 5'10" and 180lbs Ward is a little smaller than Fangio prefers his CBs to be so in reality we may have used him in the slot and that's a lot of money to have tied up in three CBs.
I'm good with Fuller and Amukamara and I've always liked Callahan as a slot guy. He's been a bargain as an UDFA. I just wish he could stay healthy for 16 games is all. None of these guys may prove to be a pure shutdown CB but the quality level of all three is as good as we've ever seen throughout the secondary once we throw Jackson and Amos into the mix.
I believe convincing Fangio and his entire staff to return will have just as much or more impact on the defense than the talent which has also been upgraded via both FA and the draft. Roquan Smith will be the next All Pro Bears LB. The kid is that good and a can't miss pick. I like our 4th and 5th round picks too. Both are talented small school guys.
The defense is good and should keep getting marginally better. It's Trubisky and the offense who need to bring up the level of their play for us to compete and I feel once they shake out the early mistakes learning a new offense they will. We have a lot of talent on that side of the ball now too and coaches who can scheme it.
Wasnt Ward gone long before our pick? Dont tell me we were supposed to trade up for a CB...
Resigning these guys takes care of the problem if you believe they can do the job. One of my observations is that with few exceptions -- every Super Bowl winner has an All-Pro "shutdown corner" to neutralized the other team's star receiver. I don't see any of our current guys doing that, which is why I wanted Ward in the first round. Time will tell whether Smith is better than Ward. The jury is out.
Well we re-signed both our starting CBs and our Slot CB so that takes care of that. Pace also released Cooper then re-signed him, we have a former two year CFL starter in Jonathon Mincy, and we signed two UDFAs with some potential; Tolliver and Joseph. CB just wasn't high on our list of needs.
If either Amos or Jackson go down I feel we're vulnerable at Safety which is why I've been pulling for Pace to sign ex-SF guy Eric Reid whose played for Fangio and Donatell before. I see him as a major upgrade over guys like Bush, Hall, and DeAndre Houston-Carson but so far Pace has passed on him.
Well Ward went 4th overall...so we didn't have the opportunity to draft him anyway...so whether Smith is better than him or not doesn't really matter for us. Ward wasn't an option, and the only way to make him an option would have probably cost us a lot.
If the front 7 plays well, that will take pressure off the CBs. I see Smith as more the next Lance Briggs than the next Brian Urlacher. Either way, we're golden!
As they say you pay your money and you take your chances. At 5'10" and 180lbs Ward is a little smaller than Fangio prefers his CBs to be so in reality we may have used him in the slot and that's a lot of money to have tied up in three CBs.
I'm good with Fuller and Amukamara and I've always liked Callahan as a slot guy. He's been a bargain as an UDFA. I just wish he could stay healthy for 16 games is all. None of these guys may prove to be a pure shutdown CB but the quality level of all three is as good as we've ever seen throughout the secondary once we throw Jackson and Amos into the mix.
I believe convincing Fangio and his entire staff to return will have just as much or more impact on the defense than the talent which has also been upgraded via both FA and the draft. Roquan Smith will be the next All Pro Bears LB. The kid is that good and a can't miss pick. I like our 4th and 5th round picks too. Both are talented small school guys.
The defense is good and should keep getting marginally better. It's Trubisky and the offense who need to bring up the level of their play for us to compete and I feel once they shake out the early mistakes learning a new offense they will. We have a lot of talent on that side of the ball now too and coaches who can scheme it.
I'm really excited about watching Smith play this year. I'm hoping he is our next great LB here.
Also...who is the shut down corner for the Eagles?
They don't have one. But they do have a nasty front seven, though. And that's what I've been saying for years, a great front seven can make average DBs look good. DL & LB is more important than the secondary.