DMN: The Bears are the new Redskins

QUOTE: “The great object of Education should be commensurate with the object of life. It should be a moral one; to teach self-trust; to inspire the youthful man with an interest in himself; with a curiosity touching his own nature; to acquaint him with the resources of his mind, and to teach him that there is all his strength, and to inflame him with a piety towards the Grand Mind in which he lives.” -- Ralph Waldo Emerson, essay 'Emerson on education'

And so it begins…

Free agency started and the Bears appear to be the 2010 version of the Washington Redskins. With no first or second-round pick, the Bears need free agency to get their team competitive with two playoff teams, the Packers and the Vikings, in their own division. With Peppers, the Bears now have a legitimate left end that can rush the passer and create problems in their opponents’ protections. But he is not a one-man show as the Bears will need the rest of their defensive line to play well.

Many teams were willing to look at Peppers, but once the money went north of $10 million per year, some teams dropped out. The Bears were never dropping out and they were committed to make this work, in spite of the rising cost of the contract.

A $13 million mistake…

Jake Delhomme is no longer a Carolina Panther, but he is going to walk away from his former team with $12.6 million. Why would the Panthers cut Delhomme if they owed him over $12 million? For one reason and one reason only: the Panthers are all about next year. They need to dump this bad contract into the uncapped year, take the hit on the deal and hope that Delhomme signs somewhere else so they gain an offset and then as a team be cap-friendly for the 2011 season.

Carolina does not have a first-round pick this year, its head coach is in the last year of his deal, the team has lost its best defensive player and now the franchise dumped a player owed $12.6 million. If all those moves do not send the message that the Panthers are all about 2011, then you are not paying attention…

Will send more updates as the day moves along…

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