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Let's look at this window closing situation that the Chicago Tribune referred to today, and that L.Holmes, and a few others keep mentioning as fact.
QB's - With Grossman needing to put up or shut up, would the window really be closing here? It actually hasn't opened more than a crack yet. No real loss there if he doesn't pan out because we never had anything. Griese, on the other hand, is locked up for 5 years. He's older, but he's looked solid, so that window is just opening this year for him. I'd say we've got another couple before it closes. Orton isn't going anywhere, but doesn't really do anything for me. Hence: window opening...
RB: Thomas Jones enters the season as the starter and the situation is contentious, at best. We all know the Jones story. This has a great chance to be his final season with the Bears. They will probably deal him in the offseason with a year left on his contract. If not, he'll have one more disgruntled year as a backup. But before you close that window, the Bears have Cedric Benson. Benson, a top 5 pick, has some impressive pedigree when you look at recent trends at the draft. Of the 18 1st round RB's taken since 2000, 12 of the 18 are already productive starters in the league (67%). That percentage is far higher for top 10 picks at the position. Of that 12, nearly 40% are already stars on their teams, not just starters. Again, much higher percentage for top 10 picks at the position. That means that a tandem of Benson (if healthy) has somewhere in the neighborhood of 80% chance of being a solid starter for the Bears at RB and slightly better than 50/50 shot at being a superstar in this league, which I don't consider Thomas Jones right now. I don't see how that window is closing anytime soon. Then they locked up Peterson, who is a quality #2 in this league.
WR/TE: Muhammad is an old man, but I don't consider 800 yards receiving from a #1 receiver an open window. Do any of you? If Muhammad rips off 1200 this year, then I'll be concerned when we lose him a year or so later. Right now, I feel comfortable replacing 800 yards from our #1. Berrian and Bradley are just babies and have nothing but upside. Rashied Davis looks like a diamond in the rough. I see the potential for three quality #2 receivers with a chance that one of the three can develop into a #1. At TE, again, can you call it a window closing if it was never open?
O-Line: Here we've got some window issues. Brown may be in his last year this year and if he's not, he's waning. Next year, he'll be 70% of the Guard he was two years ago. Probably in need of replacement. Miller has a couple years left, but he'll need replacing soon too. Tait is good for quite a few more years and he's our LT. Garza is young enough to have some time left and Kruetz is still in his prime. That leaves two holes on the O-line that will need future replacement and one is a RG position. We should be solid here for quite a bit barring catastrophic injury and needing to replace that RT position.
D-line: No windows here. We are young and very deep. Alex Brown and Ogunleye are studs. Mark Anderson and Idonije have a lot of upside with many feeling Anderson should have been no later than a 2nd round pick. Inside, Tommie Harris is one of the best young DT's in the league and Tank Johnson has shown enough ability to prove he may not be far behind. Boone could be on his way out and who knows what's up with Ian Scott, but most experts were saying Davoracek showed enough in preseason camp and games to warrant starting at DT for half the teams in the NFL as a rookie. This window is opening wide with Harris, Johnson, and Davoracek.
LB's: Urlacher was the MVP of the league last year on Defense. He's probably the front runner for that title again this year. Maybe he shrivels to a measily Pro Bowl caliber player over the next 3-5 years, but that's OK with me. Briggs is an issue and it could get ugly, but the team can tag him next year and the year after meaning they can assure themselves of three more years of Lance Briggs before he hits the open market. Hillenmeyer just got locked up and is pretty young at the other spot. He's just hitting his stride. Jamar Williams and Leon Joe are showing that they can play with the 1st unit of the Bears meaning they could be starters themselves on half the teams in the league (at least Leon Joe).
Secondary: The Bears need to lock up Vasher next year. Period. Tillman has been on the downside since last year, so no shock there. But with a young Manning Jr and Wesley with a developing playmaker like Devin Hester, we should be able to plug and chug if Tillman crashes and burns. In the secondary, Mike Brown's injuries have left his dependability questionable with the team. He could be gone from this team after next year. That would mean a future of Danieal Manning and Chris Harris anchoring the safety spots. Both are young, athletic, and loaded with upside.
K/P: Gould is a stud in the making now that his leg came alive this year so far. Maynard's getting up there, but he's a punter for God sake. They can play until they're 68 years old.
I see a wide open window for years to come. Maybe I'm just an optimist. Anybody care to weigh in here?
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