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       #Post#: 162736--------------------------------------------------
       Re: 2014 NFL Draft
   DIR By: boogie
       Date: December 30, 2013, 1:43 pm
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       Mr Peppers has not performed this year.  Not only to his pay
       grade, but to the minimum acceptable level for a rookie.
       #Post#: 162739--------------------------------------------------
       Re: 2014 NFL Draft
   DIR By: WshflThinking
       Date: December 30, 2013, 1:59 pm
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       They were talking about Bears personnel moves this off season
       and somebody called in about the Cleveland situation and the
       possibility of the Bears going after Ward. How does that sound?
       #Post#: 162742--------------------------------------------------
       Re: 2014 NFL Draft
   DIR By: yapper
       Date: December 30, 2013, 2:01 pm
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       Even more so than Peppers lack of impact plays on the field, I
       have been very disappointed by his lack of leadership this year.
       With all the injuries our DL took earlier in the season,
       somebody needed to pull the remaining players on that unit
       together and it never happened. There were huge stretches of
       many games where only one or two guys on the DL even looked like
       they were trying at all.  You just never got the feeling that
       Peppers was ever in it this year for anything more than the
       paycheck.
       #Post#: 162743--------------------------------------------------
       Re: 2014 NFL Draft
   DIR By: boogie
       Date: December 30, 2013, 2:05 pm
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       Even if Peppers was on board with the program, and I DONT think
       he was, he is waaaay to quiet and mild mannered to be a vocal
       take charge leader.  I just dont think that was ever going to
       happen.
       #Post#: 162745--------------------------------------------------
       Re: 2014 NFL Draft
   DIR By: yapper
       Date: December 30, 2013, 2:11 pm
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       Peppers was most assuredly NOT on board with the new program.
       Or he was playing a lot more injured than anyone ever let on.
       Possibly both.
       In any event it's time to move on from him.  He certainly isn't
       going to be any better from here on out.
       #Post#: 162873--------------------------------------------------
       Re: 2014 NFL Draft
   DIR By: yapper
       Date: December 31, 2013, 10:29 am
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       I think it's a given we will be drafting a LOT of defensive
       players in May.  At least I sure hope so.
       The question is, are we finally gonna be smart about it...  not
       just in picking guys who have the ability to play, but guys who
       will fit the system?
       If Tucker is going away, then the Bears brass needs to have some
       idea by now of who they want to replace him since they are
       supposedly starting draft prep meetings next week already.
       OTOH, if the [bad] decision is made to keep him, then Emery
       already should have a good idea of what kind of players Tucker
       thinks he needs to turn that unit around.
       #Post#: 162874--------------------------------------------------
       Re: 2014 NFL Draft
   DIR By: Sportster
       Date: December 31, 2013, 10:36 am
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       Pepper's play all season has been half-azzed for a guy with that
       big of a contract. Someone said his play isn't even at a rookie
       acceptable level and I'd agree. He's been just awful this year!
       His play is lackadaisical, he's just not into it and needs to
       definitely go.....
       #Post#: 162878--------------------------------------------------
       Re: 2014 NFL Draft
   DIR By: yapper
       Date: December 31, 2013, 10:44 am
       ---------------------------------------------------------
       I, also, have been extremely disappointed in Peppers this year.
       The problem is that with his contract (thank you Angelo), we
       still incur a pretty big cap hit to let him go.  So Emery has to
       decide if he can find a guy to replace Peppers whose production
       will be better than Peppers, yet will play cheap because at the
       point we cut Peppers we are essentially paying 2 salaries for
       one position (Peppers' cap hit + the new guy's salary).
       Now, I think, if we can trade Peppers then the team we trade him
       to is on the hook for his salary. So then even if we can only
       get a 4th or 5th round pick for the guy, the trade is worth it
       for cap relief alone.  But for the exact same reason, no team
       may bite on a trade deal.
       One thing we know about Emery is that his decisions are based on
       production, not emotion.  For as much as Peppers has frustrated
       Bears fans this year with his lack of production and leadership,
       Emery isn't gonna let him go just cause of that.  If he feels
       the value equation (production vs. outlay) justifies Peppers
       staying on the team, that's how it's gonna be.
       #Post#: 162884--------------------------------------------------
       Re: 2014 NFL Draft
   DIR By: Sportster
       Date: December 31, 2013, 10:54 am
       ---------------------------------------------------------
       I'd say if we can get anything for him we should jump. Heck,
       even if it's a fifth rounder, at this point it's better than
       what he's given us this season. He's old, slow and
       ineffective....
       #Post#: 162885--------------------------------------------------
       Re: 2014 NFL Draft
   DIR By: yapper
       Date: December 31, 2013, 11:01 am
       ---------------------------------------------------------
       What's interesting is that all the things that irked Bears fans
       about Peppers this season are exactly the things you heard from
       Carolina fans his last season there.  Takes too many games/plays
       off...  not consistent...  poor leader... not enough production
       for his salary/talent etc.  I remember when we signed him I
       thought there would be a huge outcry from Panthers fans but a
       surprising amount of them were like, "for that price, you can
       have him."
       The difference of course, is that when we signed Peppers he was
       in his physical prime.  Now... several years and a few injuries
       later... you can hardly say the same.  So it's really hard to
       know without being a coach that works with him daily, whether
       his physical skills really are slipping  or if he has just
       checked out mentally like he seemed to do at the end of his
       Carolina run.
       I'm actually a lot more interested in the Peppers situation than
       the Cutler one because I think Cutler is a done deal to stay...
       it's just a matter of numbers.  Peppers I am not nearly so sure
       of.  He could be kept status quo, kept with a paycut, traded, or
       released outright. We just won't know till we know.
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