Chicagoist: Jones to Jets, Briggs Next to Go?

matty

Tue, 06 Mar 2007 14:02:48 -0600

f jay marriotti right in the ear.

Chuck

Tue, 06 Mar 2007 13:12:28 -0600

Well, there's Mike Mulligan's analysis of the trade, which he thinks is good. It allows Benson to become the top dog, while letting the Bears restock through the draft. It keeps the focus on both the short and long-term talent level of the team. there's also the possibility of pairing the Jets' pick with another pick and moving up in the first round. Or, you could take the Jay Mariotti "Misers of the Midway" approach and say that the Bears are one sep away from a 6-10 season by trading away Jones. The Bears are still the class of the division, if not the NFC.

Andy

Tue, 06 Mar 2007 11:28:32 -0600

I'm a big fan of TJ, but the reality is, those two running backs didn't get along and didn't like sharing duties. I think they put their egos aside last season because the Bears were doing so well, but next season who knows what would have happened. Add to that Thomas Jones age (turns 29 this year), and really, how many good years does he have left at this point? So yeah, I definitely think they should have gotten more from him in trade, but I don't think this was a bad move, overall. It sounds like they're going to need that early second round pick to draft a linebacker now!

Mike

Tue, 06 Mar 2007 10:57:56 -0600

CB is highly paid but Thomas Jones isn't...he's making about $2 mill so it doesn't make sense to dump him just for salary. There's no reason why the Bears couldn't have hung onto him for one more year. Shockingly stupid move, compounded by the fact that they got nothing in return.

m

Tue, 06 Mar 2007 10:56:03 -0600

Strike that, it was Michael Pittman who tried to run over his wife. TJ just had a non-football injury (broke his hand answering the telephone?) and was suspended without pay for six games.

m

Tue, 06 Mar 2007 10:47:34 -0600

let's not forget TJ did try to run his ex-wife over with his car. so not really a "character" guy With the salary cap you can't have two highly payed players at a single skill position and CB is HIGHLY paid as a number 1 pick. For this same reason early 2nd round picks are valuable cause you can still get excellent talent without parting with first round money.

mike

Tue, 06 Mar 2007 10:33:12 -0600

They were going to deal Jones one way or another, but I'm surprised at how little they got for him. Maybe they have a lot of confidence in Adrian Peterson. Maybe they feel that Benson can handle a full workload since he's been splitting time the last couple years (a bold decision, considering his injury history). As for Briggs, he's doing what he has to do: fighting the franchise tag every step of the way. Look at players who've been franchised over the last five years and you'll see that more and more of them (probably at the behest of their agents) go for the franchise's throat in an all-out PR campaign. This won't end soon.

Da Coach

Tue, 06 Mar 2007 10:27:48 -0600

YOU SUCK BENJY!