Bears
- With all of the handwringing over the way the Bears lost to the Lions, at least one significant issue escaped most Bears fans in the immediate aftermath. From Mark Potash at the Chicago Sun-Times:
“Kyle Long did a nice job vs. Ndamukong Suh, who had 0 tackles, 0 sacks and 1 QB hurry.”
Long had lots of help. But still, you take the positives where you can get them.
- As long as we’re highlighting rookie performances I didn’t think Will Sutton had a bad game, either. I’d like to see more from Ego Ferguson though.
- Rick Morrissey at the Chicago Sun-Times argues that the Bears aren’t as talented as they and the rest of the league thinks. He doesn’t mention exactly where he thinks the deficiencies lie. So I’ll do it. I’m drafting the best available at any of these positions in the top rounds of the draft:
- center
- offensive tackle
- anywhere on defense
- developmental quarterback
As an addendum on the last item, the Bears desperately need to add speed to that linebacking corp and to the defensive backfield. If you are drafting an offensive lineman, concentrate on players who can block the run.
I know the Bears just drafted two defensive tackles in the second and third round in the last draft. If the best available is a defensive tackle, I’d take him anyway. I’m not entirely sure how Will Sutton and Ego Ferguson are going to work out but I subscribe to the Lovie Smith philosophy of drafting – you can’t have too many good defensive linemen.
I know that most pundits will laugh at the thought of taking a quarterback near the top of the draft with Jay Cutler sitting there for two more years. They laughed when the Packers took Aaron Rogers, too. If you like one, take him.
Its way too early to actually be putting together a realist mock draft. But give these sites some credit for at least recognizing where the deficiencies lie. Via the Chicago Tribune.
- The following list was posted to the Chicago Bears Fan Forum Facebook page by Michael Shoemaker. Here are my comments on each. Signings are assuming that the price is right.
Lance Briggs – up in smoke before the first game
Josh Morgan – gone
Charles Tillman – can he coach?
Christopher Conte – resign
Roberto Garza – release. They’re going to need to draft someone here.
DJ.Williams – release
Stephen Paea – sign
Darryl Sharpton – release
Brian De La Puente – sign as insurance but please don’t plan on him to start
Jimmy Clausen – sign as insurance but please draft a future here.
Sherrick McManis – sign
Danny McCray – sign
Trevor Scott – sign
Dante Rosario – sign
Jeremy Cain – release
Eben Britton – sign
Zach Miller – sign
David Bass – sign
Blake Annen – who?
Ryan Groy – who, again?
Brandon Dunn – are these guys really Bears? - Running back Matt Forte via Hub Arkush at chicagofootball.com:
“we’ve got a lot of talent, but talent only gets you so far.”
I’m not sure if he’s talking about a lack of execution, coaching or intestinal fortitude or all three but… well, that is some straight talk.
- Brad Biggs at the Chicago Tribune on the roughing the passer call on a third quarter Willie Young sack:
“Coach Marc Trestman said the explanation was Young had grabbed [Matthew Stafford’s facemask. He disagreed with that. The bottom line is defensive players run the risk if they end up high on a quarterback when they are trying to make a play.”
I’m pretty sure that Biggs is dead on here. It really didn’t matter what Young did. He came in high on the quarterback and if you do that, the referees are going to find a reason to throw a flag. That’s the way it is.
Elsewhere
- For those of you who care about teams other than the Bears, you really should be following the comedy that’s playing itself out in the New York Jets facility. The Jets, both players and coaches, correctly concluded after a week 8 loss to the Bills that quarterback Geno Smith was hopeless. But now by the account of Manish Mehta at the New York Daily New, management is likely forcing head coach Rex Ryan to start him again. Admittedly, given that the back up is Michael Vick, the choices aren’t great. Which, of course, leads to the real problem. The Jets are poorly run, dysfunctional franchise from the top down and there are no quarterbacks to start period.
“Smith fooled the organization with a marginally successful four-game run against non-playoff teams last December. [Jets owner Woody] Johnson shouldn’t let Smith’s play down the stretch in meaningless games cloud the big picture this time: The Jets must draft a franchise quarterback this offseason.
“Meanwhile, Ryan will try to toe the company line with a straight face.”
One Final Thought
Look, man, I know that things are tough for the newspaper industry. But does the Sun-Times really have to run ads for sites like this one? For heavens sake…
