Jared Allen is officially a Chicago Bear

[dkoby]

This was a monumental mistake for the bears. JA is a turf player. He's over 30 and will be playing outside on grass and in the cold. He is undisciplined in his pass rushing often taking himself out of the play in order to get a sack. The reason he signed with the Bears is that they think he can play in all situations. Truth is that he cannot hold the point of attack any more.
He is tenacious, but on grass his motor is negated and he will have a tough time.

I would run right at him, he will be a liability in the run defense.

As for going to Seattle, he said it himself, he wants to play every down and NOT come out of the game, or take a situational role. I guess the Bears feel he can still hold up.

[Mothman]

I don't think that you have to be ALL about the money, when choosing a team that pays you 8m a year, over someone offering 4mil a year. The bears are not Oakland, Jax, or some other team that seems to have no chance in even getting to the playoffs year after year. Unfortunately, Chicago is an contender.

Exactly. The NFC hasn't been represented by the same team in back-to-back Super Bowls since since the Packers went to the big game after both the '96 and '97 seasons so how likely is it that Seattle will win it all again this season? The Bears have put together a top 10 offense and they're working hard to improve their defense. They could become a serious contender in the near future. I'm not saying they will but it's certainly possible.

[PacificNorseWest]

All this "dynasty" talk about the Seahawks is cracking me up. It's ridiculously premature. Let's see if they can even make it to back-to-back conference championships before we start talking about a dynasty-like run of Super Bowls.

Have to agree.

I will say though, just to play a different side here, that out of any team in the NFL's most recent past, the Seahawks have the makings to do one if any team did.

We'll have to see though.

[Mothman]

Have to agree.

I will say though, just to play a different side here, that out of any team in the NFL's most recent past, the Seahawks have the makings to do one if any team did.

We'll have to see though.

It could certainly happen but the only team of the free agency era that I think could legitimately be called a dynasty is the Patriots and I don't see a similar set-up in Seattle. My guess is that free agency, cap issues, etc, will prevent them from establishing a dynasty just like it's prevented pretty much every other team from establishing one. They'll probably have one year more year with Wilson playing under his rookie contract and after that, his contract will have to be addressed. With a Super Bowl win on his resumé, he won't be cheap. If they actually do manage to get another title this season, he'll cost even more. They're a young team so he won't be the only player with a big payday coming soon either. If they're going to become a dynasty they'll have to navigate that minefield and draft very well to counteract the inevitable attrition they're going to face as players become free agents and seek lucrative deals.

My guess is, like the rest of the NFC teams that have made the big game in this century, they won't repeat as conference champs.

[720pete]

What do you guys hate the Bears so much for?

I hate the Packers, but the Bears and Lions I don't have any hatred for.

[PacificNorseWest]

That is the worry -- paying those young guys in the next year or so.

However, so long as they keep hitting in the draft, they do have the recipe. The thing about those Patriot teams was their ability to get value in most rounds of the draft. For the past few years, Seattle has been doing just that. They have depth at all the key positions to lessen a blow if someone walks. Right now they're team is mostly a carryover from last year, but with needs now being WR and reserve O-lineman. Both very doable in this draft. To retain depth at the CB spot, there's also guys in this draft that can provide them with it. Given Schneider's track record of talent evaluation, I think if they have another great draft, they'll be good another 2-3 years.

However, that's the key with most teams and it shouldn't be a surprise to GM's of the NFL. Even though sometimes they make their jobs look painstakingly difficult by making the wrong decisions, it's still hard to continually draft so well by consistently finding so much value in the later rounds of drafts or via the undrafted free agent route. Just think of the success Seattle has had with that. Two of their leading receivers (Doug Baldwin and Jermaine Kearse) went undrafted. Those are huge finds given how much they produced and helped in that Championship run. They also won't command high dollars on the open market making them similar to the old group that Brady and Bill had during their runs with Branch, Givens and Brown.

I can see it as a real possibility, to be honest. And most of all, did I mention Russell Wilson is uber-special?

[KSViking]

This was a monumental mistake for the bears. JA is a turf player. He's over 30 and will be playing outside on grass and in the cold. He is undisciplined in his pass rushing often taking himself out of the play in order to get a sack. The reason he signed with the Bears is that they think he can play in all situations. Truth is that he cannot hold the point of attack any more.
He is tenacious, but on grass his motor is negated and he will have a tough time.

I would run right at him, he will be a liability in the run defense.

As for going to Seattle, he said it himself, he wants to play every down and NOT come out of the game, or take a situational role. I guess the Bears feel he can still hold up.

He played outdoors and in the grass in Kansas City, and obviously played well enough to get the Vikings to trade away picks and pay him alot of money based on that performance. I don't see how he is going to suddenly suck now that he is outdoors on grass. Truth of the matter is, since he has been in the League, he has more sacks than any other player over that time frame. He continues to put together 10+ sack seasons, regardless of how competitive the team has been. Playing the run is not his strong point, but outside of last year, he had made quite a few plays against the run as well.

[allday1991]

The Bears are contenders? lol I have a bear fan as a close friend and even he will admit there not..

[HardcoreVikesFan]

Eh, after Moss left, I promised myself that I would never try to get too upset over a player leaving us. It pains me more to see Kevin Williams gone than it pains me to see Jared Allen gone. I appreciate everything Allen did for us. However, the team wanted to move on. I wish him all the best.

[J. Kapp 11]

I don't think that you have to be ALL about the money, when choosing a team that pays you 8m a year, over someone offering 4mil a year. The bears are not Oakland, Jax, or some other team that seems to have no chance in even getting to the playoffs year after year. Unfortunately, Chicago is an contender.

Agree about the difference in offers. I never said I would blame him for taking a better offer.

I'm just saying it's not about winning ... because I completely disagree with you about Chicago being a contender.

Reputation and potential and media-fueled-Jay Cutler-man-love don't make you a contender. Making the playoffs does.

If we use that very simple measuring stick, the Bears are the only NFC North team to fail to make a playoff appearance in the past three seasons. They've made just one playoff appearance in the past seven seasons.

Yes, they made the NFC championship game in 2010. So what? The Vikings made it in 2009. In fact, by playoff appearances, Chicago is less of a contender than Minnesota is -- the Vikings have three playoff appearances in those same seven years. But you'll never hear the media say that.

Jared Allen walked away from a chance to win in Seattle because he wants to play every down. So I admit that I should amend my earlier comment -- it's about more than the money.

But it's certainly not about winning.

[S197]

All this "dynasty" talk about the Seahawks is cracking me up. It's ridiculously premature. Let's see if they can even make it to back-to-back conference championships before we start talking about a dynasty-like run of Super Bowls.

I don't even think it's possible (okay highly improbable) to have a dynasty in the NFL under the current salary cap rules. There's simply too much turnover. You would have to be a Jedi Master type scout that's leaps and bounds ahead of 31 other teams and I just don't see that as feasible. It's one of the things the NFL has done right over, say, MLB. Now this should suggest that the Vikings will eventually get their day to shine, lord knows we've all been waiting

[PurpleKoolaid]

Why would Allen pick the Bears over Oakland, if the raiders offered him more money. That makes no sense. Unless he wants to play against the Vikes a few times a year.

[Purple bruise]

Hmmm let's see. Why would Allen want to play for the Bears and not the Raiders Maybe because the Raiders are the worst team in the NFL? Or he said to himself wow I get to play against the Vikings twice a year. The team that paid him over 60 million dollars in his stay there. Do you think he hates the Vikings? Not according to what he has said in his press releases since leaving to go to the Bears.

[Mothman]

I'm just saying it's not about winning ... because I completely disagree with you about Chicago being a contender.

Reputation and potential and media-fueled-Jay Cutler-man-love don't make you a contender. Making the playoffs does.

Correct... so let's see if they make the playoffs. It's not about if they were a contender, it's about if they are a contender and that remains to be seen, doesn't it? Jared Allen isn't playing for the Bears of the last 3 years. He's playing for the current Bears. He may very well believe they can be a contender.

[Eli]

I'm just disappointed that he didn't end up with the Packers and saddle them with both his contract and his declining play. The Bears? Nobody is worried about the Bears, not even the last place Vikings.