LAKE FOREST, Ill. Custom Washington Nationals Nike Jerseys . - Chicago Bears general manager Phil Emery was so busy in free agency he didnt mind having a few extra weeks to prepare for the draft. Times just about up. The three-day proceeding starts with the first round Thursday and the Bears, owners of the 14th pick, still need help on defence even after some big moves. So a little extra time to study the prospects suited Emery just fine. "I love it, honestly. Ive heard reports of people complaining about it," he said. "I dont know what theyre complaining about." The draft was pushed back about two weeks because of a scheduling conflict at New Yorks Radio City Music Hall. Emery said that allowed the Bears to have "less-rushed conversations" as they try to weigh short-term gains against long-term benefits. The defence ranked among the leagues worst a year ago and was the biggest reason the Bears missed the playoffs for the sixth time in seven years at 8-8. The Bears have been busy addressing that, bringing in Jared Allen and parting with Julius Peppers in an effort to spark a defence that ranked 30th overall, last against the run, and tied Jacksonville with a league-low 31 sacks. They still need help on the line, at linebacker and in the secondary, particularly at safety. Chicago has one pick in each of the first five rounds (Nos. 14, 51, 82, 117 and 156) and two in the sixth round (183 and 191). With that in mind, here are five things to know about the draft. STILL ON THE DEFENSIVE: Emery said he has six candidates for the 14th pick assuming the Bears keep it, and theres a good chance hell go with a defensive player even though he wasnt ruling out offence. Pittsburgh defensive tackle Aaron Donald, Alabama free safety Ha Ha Clinton-Dix and Oklahoma State cornerback Justin Gilbert could be strong possibilities for Chicago. ROLL THE DICE: Emery showed in his first two drafts hes not afraid to take a chance on a first-round pick. He gambled on Shea McClellin in 2012 and did it again with Kyle Long last year. The results? Hes batting .500 so far. Long was a hit at right guard even though he made just five starts in his lone season at Oregon. McClellin is a swing and miss so far and is moving from defensive end to linebacker. At least Emery hit it big in the second round in 2012 with receiver Alshon Jeffery, who broke out last season with 1,421 yards receiving. PASS ON QB?: Emery insisted hes comfortable with Jordan Palmer backing up Jay Cutler and that hes not in favour of grooming a quarterback drafted in the later rounds as a potential starter down the line. "That developmental theory doesnt hold a whole lot of water," he said. Starting with the 2006 class, Emery examined how quarterbacks drafted after the third round fared. He didnt find a long-term starter, let alone another Tom Brady. Mostly, it was a collection of third-stringers, many of whom did not last long in the league. "Most of the starters in this league come from the first and second round. So thats where you need to take a quarterback," he said. The idea of pairing a late-round QB with coach Marc Trestman doesnt seem to interest him. "Im more intrigued with how Marc matches up with Jay and Jordan and Jerrod (Johnson)," he said. PLAYING IT SAFE-TY: Emery declared the starting safety spots "wide open" with the struggling Chris Conte back and Major Wright gone. Theyve brought in Ryan Mundy and M.D. Jennings and figure to add more help in the draft. The Bears have also scouted college cornerbacks with length with the idea of converting them to safeties, although that carries some risk. MAKING A MOVE: Emery said hes fielded calls from teams looking to move up to No. 14. He also indicated trading up is unlikely, saying such moves are "expensive." ___ Online: AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and http://twitter.com/AP_NFL Custom Milwaukee Brewers Nike Jerseys . "Weve given ourselves now a tougher task," said Carlyle after the Friday practice, the Toronto head coach notably chipper and upbeat throughout. "But the bottom line is we just have to win our share of games [and] not worry about what anybody else is doing. Fake Custom Nike Baseball Jerseys . Hattestad managed to avoid the carnage midway through the mens final, as a crash took out three skiers, essentially leaving two men vying for gold. The Norwegian posted a time of 3:38.39, outlasting Swedens Teodor Peterson, who took silver with a time of 3:39. https://www.custombaseballnikejerseys.com/?tag=custom-los-angeles-dodgers-nike-jerseys . - While he appreciates suggestions from Packers fans of remedies for his sore left calf, Aaron Rodgers is not necessarily going to listen to the advice. MINNEAPOLIS -- With bags under their eyes as big as the ones they had to pack for a rugged five-game road trip, the weary Memphis Grizzlies trudged into Target Center knowing they had one more fight before they could get back to the comforts of home. The Minnesota Timberwolves gave them all of that and more and sent the Grizzlies packing with a costly defeat. Kevin Love had 24 points, 16 rebounds and 10 assists for his third career triple-double in Minnesotas 102-88 victory over Memphis on Wednesday night. "A lot of time zones. A lot of travelling. A lot of battles," said Grizzlies point guard Mike Conley, who had just seven points on 3-for-15 shooting. Ricky Rubio had 14 points, seven assists and three steals and Kevin Martin scored 21 points for the Timberwolves, who are trying to play spoiler down the stretch of what has been a disappointing season. "We wanted to find some sense of motivation and thats what we found tonight," Love said. "We just wanted to knock off a team that is fighting right now." Marc Gasol had 18 points, seven rebounds and four assists for the Grizzlies. But Zach Randolph had just four points on 1-for-8 shooting and Memphis dropped a game that coach Dave Joerger called a must-win before tipoff. The Grizzlies (44-31) entered in seventh place in the jam-packed Western Conference, but with Phoenix (44-30) and Dallas (44-31) all in the mix for the last two spots. ""We were just kind of running in mud the whole night," Joerger said. "Youre going to have games like that, where youre very heavy-legged. Weve been playing with a playoff focus. Each game has meant so much since like Christmas. Youre starting to see the effects of it now." Ronny Turiaf had 11 points, seven rebounds and three blocks in his first game since Feb. 19 and the Timberwolves shot 53 per cent despite missing Nikola Pekovic with a sore right ankle. The Grizzlies were a tired bunch when they arrived in Minnesota after splitting the first four gamees of the road trip. Custom Detroit Tigers Nike Jerseys. With three teams essentially fighting for two spots, they just dont have time to be tired right now. The Wolves led by seven at halftime, and Rubio attacked Memphis right out of the second-half gates. He had six points, a steal and an assist in the first 4 minutes and kept the pressure coming. He drew three fouls on Conley to force him to the bench midway through the period, hit a 3-pointer and fired a 50-foot outlet pass to Kevin Martin for a layup during a flurry that helped build an 18-point lead. Rubio left the game briefly with a sprained left ankle after a spill under the basket, but the damage was already done. A 12-2 run in the fourth pushed Minnesotas lead to 100-80 with 3 minutes to go. "Everybody else has something on the line," Wolves coach Rick Adelman said. "So we want to go out and play as well as we can and spoil it for them and see if we cant be a factor in it." Randolph, Conley and Tayshaun Prince combined to shoot 7 for 32 and the Grizzlies gave in to a team that appeared to have given up on this season after falling out of contention in the hyper competitive West. Randolph finished with single digits in scoring for just the fourth time this season and first since Jan. 15. The Grizzlies now return home to face the Nuggets before going to San Antonio and hosting Miami in a tough three-game stretch. The Suns get the Clippers, Trail Blazers and Thunder this week while the Mavericks start a four-game road trip. "Youve got to put this one behind us," Randolph said. "Weve just got to forget about it. We know this aint us. We know we can play better." NOTES: Wolves C Gorgui Dieng had eight points and nine rebounds and received a big ovation before the game when it was announced that he was named Western Conference rookie of the month. ... Memphis F Jon Leuer, a Minnesota native, finished with four points in 3 minutes. ... The Grizzlies only turned the ball over 11 times, but it led to 19 points for Minnesota. ' ' '