categories: Football, Sports
Big day for me… and any other Chicago Bears fan… they finally spent some dough to try to get a decent team together. I was pleased to wake up this morning and have this headline pop up on my google news feed…
They did what they had to do after disappointing season; now will free agents pay dividends
Ted Phillips, you’re a terrible liar.
But Bears fans will stand in line to forgive you after a day they never will forget.
They don’t want you to stop telling tall tales now either. Fib your way back into the playoffs if you can. Tell Bears Nation another whopper about being out of money after committing $121 million, including $55 million guaranteed, to three players Friday so you can’t afford a safety.
Then go out and pursue a safety your team still badly needs. A veteran offensive lineman might be available on the cheap too. And by all means keep shopping for wide receivers. You’re not done.
Admittedly that sounds like nitpicking after one of the most eye-popping offseason days in Bears history that saw defensive end Julius Peppers, running back Chester Taylor and tight end Brandon Manumaleuna sign long-term contracts at Halas Hall, football’s Fort Knox for a day.
That’s where the league’s most aggressive buyer surprisingly struck on the first day of free-agency. Just two weeks ago, Phillips answered a question about the impact of labor unrest by saying, “We’re not going to be one of those handful of teams sometimes that just goes hog wild in free agency.”
I suppose Phillips defines hog wild as expenditures exceeding $121 million.
In or out of context, nobody who understands NFL supply and demand believed a word the Bears team president said anyway. Everybody knew the Bears had no choice Friday but to respond to the urgency of their situation the way a team in the league’s second-largest market should — regardless of Phillips’ empty rhetoric.
Surely Phillips never has enjoyed being caught in a white lie more than Friday.
The Bears continued to debunk the outdated myth that the franchise is cheap, adding to a payroll that ESPN ranked fifth in the NFL last year. They reached deep into the McCaskeys’ pockets and then kept digging.
click here to read the rest of the story on the Chicago Tribune website…
I’m stoked about the possibilities!
Dude! We shall see. It will be good to see them bounce back. With them and the 49ers and the Raiders sucking so hard, I haven’t been able to pay attention much. Hope they get some guys that can deliver.