Let's get right into it...
1) How will Devin Hester's holdout hinder his development at receiver?
I was flabbergasted by some of the reaction to the Urlacher situation (more on that in a sec), so I wonder how everyone feels now about Hester. After all, Urlacher didn't really complain as much as some would like to believe and never missed a day of camp. Now here's Hester- the people's champ- blindsiding the Bears by skipping day one of Bourbonnais without notice. Really, I have no problem it. Here's what Hester told another news outlet:
"I can't go out and play this year making $445,000. Come on, man.''
That sure sounds reasonable to me, especially for a guy like Hester who probably faces the chance of injury more than most footballers. Of course, Hester doesn't need training camp to continue his role as the greatest return man in NFL history, something he could probably do that with his eyes closed. Where this is troubling, obviously, is in the Bears' plans to make Hester a full fledged wide receiver. I wasn't totally sold on the idea from the start, but if Hester misses a significant amount of time now, the idea should definitely be shelved. Getting Hester's hands on the ball is always a good idea, but you can't take him away from doing with he does best, something I hope Lovie and crew realize. If Hester ends this holdout quickly, sure, throw him in the slot a bunch in camp so he at least knows what he's doing this time around. But if this baby drags out, I guess the Bears will have to settle for Hester only being the most dynamic return man in league history.
2) Is Urlacher set for a killer comeback?
To this, I have vote an emphatic yes. Urlacher wasn't nearly as bad last season as some would like to believe and his offseason situation was nothing out of the ordinary. We all realize that contract disputes happen every hour in the NFL, right? Just ask the Eagles who are currently trying to deal with Brian Westbrook and Lito Shepard.
Urlacher never missed anything meaningful, and the worst part of the ordeal (when he considered retirement) happened because of good reporting, not an intentional leak from Urlacher's camp. Anyways, most of the money the Bears gave Urlacher counts against the cap this year. You know, money the Bears had leftover. If the Bears had leftover dollars, wouldn't you rather have it in the players' pockets than the owners? Of course. Urlacher has been nothing but a great football player and great guy since he has arrived. People blew his contract dispute 100% out of the proportion. The reaction by some fans and media members was laughable ("NOW BRIAN HAS TO EARN IT!", gimme a break). A happy Urlacher is probably much more productive than an upset one, and I expect a big season out of him and the entire defense.
One more quick thought on the Urlacher dilemma: Though I'm a little young to remember, there seems to be parallels between the Urlacher situation and the one the Bulls faced with Scottie Pippen. Both cases saw a star sign a long-term contract (his choice), outplay it, then see the market sky rocket. I believe the Bulls chose to tell Pip "Hey man, you signed the contract, live with it", as was there right. But you know what happened? The Bulls dynasty ended prematurely because Reinsdorf wouldn't swallow his pride and rework the deal. Kudos to the Bears for rewarding the best player they've had since Walter Payton when they really didn't have to. Here, the Bears did the right thing by paying Urlacher, and fans should be happy about this, not upset.
3) Does inserting rookie Chris Williams at left tackle and sliding John Tait over to the right automatically improve the offensive line?
Here's where things get tricky. Honestly, I have no idea if enough was done to fix the Bears' weakest area from last season. So much of football is decided in the trenches, but the offensive line is clearly the hardest position for outsiders to evaluate. Anyone can tell you the Bears offensive line was a joke in 2007, and maybe Williams will make all the difference. But I'm not positive. For a team with a bad quarterback (yes, until further notice Rex and Kyle both qualify as bad, since whoever wins the derby is probably still the league's least desirable starter) and a rookie running back, this offensive line better be good. Let's hope Jerry Angelo did enough.
Roman Modrowski is an assistant sports editor for the 
I think there's a song "On my way to Bourbonnais"
If there isn't, there should be!!!
Jerry as usual stopped short of finishing the job. LeCharles Bentley is still attainable and a Pro Bowl offensive line man would look real good next to a rookie even to bring a healthy Rueben Brown or a disgruntled Larry Allen would be a good temp fix and mentor for the Gaines Adams and Beekmans of the roster. Jerry needs to fix this before the defense needs the same type of overhaul the offense needs.
Angelo says he's surprised Hester would hold out since they are negotiating but the question is if they weren't very far apart from reaching an agreement would Hester be holding out? It tends to make one think they're nowhere close. Face it as long as Soldier Field is sold out every sunday the owners don't care.
1. Hester couldn't remember the playbook last year. Sitting out won't help that situation any. Look for a sub par year if the holdout lingers.
2. Urlacher is only as good as the d-line in front of him. If the d-line is solid (ie, no Mark Anderson), then Urlacher will have a good year.
3. Does Joanie love Chacie? Does Archuleta miss tackles? Yes, the line improves just by getting younger. Will that lead to improved game day performance? Only time will tell. The Bears should feature a two tight end offense set early in the season to help Williams out. They have two good tight ends, one who runs almost as fast as their receivers (and faster than Booker). Help the rookie out for the first few games, then run more of a pro set.
Of course, this assumes we have a wise and crafty offensive coordinator. But we have Ron Turner.
Devin Hester's mere presence on the field with the offense is a weapon for the Bears as defenses look to find him and let each other know he's out there, 'double-team' him, and put their best 'cover' guy on him. If Hester can work to become more 'fundamentally and technique' sound as wide receiver then he'll be more dangerous for the Bears offensive attack.
I believe Ron Turner should 'wear out a path' to Jerry Angelo's office to get Hester a raise and into camp ASAP. The whole Bears offense benefits with him in the game plan, even if he's used a decoy. Then, Turner can plug in the other offensive players into a 'offensive' plan and not make play-calling a 'guessing game' or 'crap-shoot' again.
If Hester isn't signed ASAP and worked into the offense soon, it's doubtful any of the other offensive players will draw 'double-teams' and open up the field for Kyle Orton or Rex Grossman to exploit and pick apart. Plus, not having Heater in the game is a sure bet for games to be 'low-scoring, field goal' games.
When it comes to sports, it's funny when people try to justify greed and selfishness with "market value". The concept of HONORING A CONTRACT is always forgotten. That's all I gotta say about that. Here are my answers to the questions for Day 2:
1. Yes, the holdout will hinder Hester's development as a wide receiver. The problem here is that Hester probably wants to be paid like an elite wide receiver, but he's not there yet, not even close. The Bears have reportedly offered him to be the highest paid special teams guy in the NFL, so what's really the truth here? All I know is that Hester is under contract for 2 more years. If he excels at the receiver position, the guy can make a killing in salary at the end of the contract. Otherwise, take the Bears' offer to be paid as the top special teams guy in the league (if this is true) and stay freakin happy with your money for a couple more years while you develop as a receiver. Now that's fair.
2. Caving in to Urlacher's whining set the precedence for other star players on the team to follow his act and now the Bears are paying for it with Hester in the form of a Training Camp holdout. So call it what you want... cater to the stars or side with team business philosophies. This is an endless debate among many sports fans. As for Urlacher's killer comeback, we'll find out if his injuries last season doesn't carry into this season. It all depends on whether his neck and back problems are truly chronic or not.
3. Nothing is ever automatic, but it looks better on paper. I would have liked to see the Bears step up their efforts in improving the O-Line by signing someone like Alan Faneca, but like the Bulls, they are not known for shelling out huge bucks to outside free agents. Let's hope that it can't get any worse than last season, but difficult to tell right now. We'll know soon enough from the preseason games. I know Ricky and his pals enjoy the constant ribbing on Rex and Kyle, but I'd rather have both of them over Kitna, Tarvaris Jackson, Aaron Rodgers, Kyle Boller, JP Losman, Cleo Lemon, Byron Leftwich, Chad Pennington, Brodie Croyle, Josh McCown, Damon Huard, etc. among others any day. You can put Carson Palmer in this Bears offense right now and I guarantee you he'll get crushed back there as well. Like I said before, give those 2 a better surrounding cast and then we can better assess how bad or good they really are or can be.
Is it true Dusty Dvoracek is known as 'HGH' by his teammates? (He Got Hurt)
I have a question..
How can the ST both Change the Format of this blog and also force me to wade through 8000 words of written throwup from guys who take Wolves pre-season tickets as payment and still expect me to post my press shush...thoughts?
What has two thumbs and aint posting again this summer until Roman is back?
THIS GUY!!!
Proviso - If someone says something so stupid that I cant contain myself, then I may post again, but thats it.
Ricky responds: Only three exclamation marks and just two words in all caps? I'm disappointed. The bculz I used to know and love- the one wearing the pink White Sox hat- would have capitalized every letter. Just when you think you know someone, right?
Would you guys prefer three sentences that involve no interesting thoughts or opinions? Because, you know, I can do that, and it's a lot easier than doing it this way. Sorry for attempting to give people something to read. Especially when my only compensation is preseason Wolves tickets (how'd you know!?)
I'd also like to point out that Koster is a staff writer, so his posts should be a notch above written spew. Me? Well, I got that that sweet fantasy blog...
Must I remind all the Bears fans out there (In this blog, I am naming myself here as well) that Hester is only a kick/punt returner? He caught a couple of passes last year, but Jeez, I can't help but remembering how he casually let a perfect touchdown pass from Rex Grossman, the Rex Grossman everyone has made the offensive scapegoat, hit his left shoulder pad, and fall harmlessly to the ground last autumn. The Lad needs to stop listening to Deion Sanders, and get his head out of his A$$ and go PROVE he can be an NFL reciever. He was not drafted #1 overall, and he neds ot prove himself. Idiot...
How about #4...when does Lovie start coaching like a muli-$M head coach?
In part to his decisions around drafting and new contracts we still have:
- bad QBs...
- bad O line
- bad RBs
- bad receivers
- OVERated D
7-9 at best this year
As Norman (The Couch Slouch) Chad would say; "Pay the man Shirley!"
All Hester's agent has to do is walk into Angelo's office and ask a simple question:
"Insofar as putting points on the board is concerned, name me one other game changing / difference maker that you currently have on your roster."
He could then interupt the ensuing silence by naming his terms.
Notes from Day 2:
So Seedy, I was waiting for you in the parking lot of the Steak & Shake in Bourbonnais today after practice. You said you'd come looking for me and the sure-to-be broken down Rexwagon, and in fact, I got a flat tire there. I'm trying to ignore the ominous and ironic twist to this, because Rex didn't look half bad today. (notice I only said half) If it weren't for the frequency of his catastrophic mistakes in real games, he'd appear to be the front-runner in this little QB competition we have here. Now if the goal is to make somewhat consistent passes that are no more than 20 yards deep and you have a thing for facial hair, I'd go with Orton.
Chris Williams lasted 45 minutes, then walked off with a slight limp. Apparent back spasms, but is anyone else thinking "here we go again"???
The WR merry-go-round is laughable. I predict Earl Bennett's going to be a major stud, the rest of 'em are, well we know who they are. Wondering if Brandon Lloyd played for Ron Turner @ Illinois?
Matt Forte is much bigger than I expected. He was breaking tackles and blocking better than any other back on the field.
Kellen Davis is going to hold his own at TE, and I'm not just saying that because he's a Spartan. He was catching balls all day long - did not look like a rookie. He's also very big.
Robbie Gould is still quite proficient at those 0-49 yard field goals, but not an inch more. He and Brad Maynard should take up knitting or mah jongg or something to pass the time during practice.
As usual, if you are able to go to training camp, you totally should - it was a blast. Except for the flat.