Author: Tom Shannon

Why Lions Fans Cry Like Babies and Other Points of View

Bears

  • Brad Biggs at the Chicago Tribune questions the optimism surrounding the Bears headed into this season:

“Amid the optimism that is running wild for 2012, keep in mind the 7-3 mark through Week 11 wasn’t good enough for general manager Jerry Angelo to keep his job. Angelo wasn’t fired because of the backup quarterback mess — GMs make or break their futures with what they do with front-line players. Angelo was let go after President Ted Phillips (and likely Chairman George McCaskey) didn’t like how the Bears roster measured up against the Packers and Lions.

“’Ultimately, we look at our division and say we need to close that talent gap,’ Phillips said at the time of the firing.

“The NFC North champion Packers are coming off a 15-1 season and the Lions reached the playoffs for the first time in 12 years. So, you have to ask yourself if the Bears have closed that talent gap during the offseason under new GM Phil Emery?

“Two weeks from the start of camp, it looks like the Bears have added one starter to the depth chart in wide receiver Brandon Marshall. Could more new faces in the lineup emerge after training camp and preseason? Certainly. But after the trade for Marshall, free agency was largely about re-signing a host of the team’s own free agents while adding backups and help on special teams.”

  • Having said that, bless ESPN’s NFC North blogger Kevin Seifert for so ably defending the Bears during his chat with fans last week. Though I kind of agree withe the Lions fans in that I think they may be the better team (its certainly close), I dislike the way that they take exception so strongly when ever someone disagrees with their views.

Dealing with these and other Lions fans has taught me the value of maturity that comes with having a team that competes most years.  Bears fans as a rule will defend their team as well as anyone.  But most won’t violently claim that you can’t be right if you don’t have them in the playoffs because its just part of the conversation year after year.  Whether the Bears are going to be in the playoffs is almost always an issue.  Its never been an issue until very recently with the Lions.  They aren’t used to having people disagree with them because most of the time there hasn’t been anything to discuss.  As a result, they get emotional and cry like babies.

“At 29, [Bears quarterback Jay] Cutler no longer can be regarded as a young gun. But he still has the capacity to improve. The needed help he has received should be a great aid. He has to utilize all of his targets and not be fixated on feeding the ball to [wide receiver Brandon] Marshall.

“Cutler has reduced his interceptions the past two seasons and there should be some natural concern that figure could rise if he gets too enamored with Marshall and the idea that if he just puts the ball close, the physical wideout will make a play for him. But no matter how you dissect it, the reunion of Cutler and Marshall should mean big things for what too often has been a punchless offense.”

Cutler did the same thing with former Bears tight end Greg Olsen his first year with the Bears.  The result was ugly.  Here’s hoping he spreads the ball around.

  • Running back Matt Forte is optimistic that a long term deal will be reached by Monday.  However, he wasn’t particularly forth coming about what he would do if that didn’t happen.  Forte will have to play the season for the franchise number but doesn’t have to go to camp – or play at all – if he doesn’t want to sign it.  From Sean Jensen at the Chicago Sun-Times:

“There was one awkward moment. [ESPN’s Adam] Schefter asked Forte what would happen if there was no deal by Monday.

“’I think we all know,’ Forte said.

“Schefter asked again, and Forte just shook his head.

“Schefter asked if Forte wouldn’t show up to training camp, and Forte again declined to answer.”

“Bush can make a difference between the tackles and that could give the offense an added dimension. According to ESPN statistics, over the last two seasons Forte has had 50 rushes up the middle for 151 yards — a 3.02 average. Bush averaged nearly a yard better on runs up the middle the previous two seasons for the Raiders gaining 612 yards on 156 carries up the middle for a 3.92 average.

“But Bush doesn’t have the lateral quickness, moves and speed Forte possesses. Still, Bush will be a load to bring down in the open field and some thought he was the best back available in free agency.”

Probably most important, Bush won’t have Matt Forte’s vision.  He’ll be a valuable second option, though.

Something else to keep an eye on in camp will be what the Bears do about the full back situation.  Biggs explains:

“It will be interesting to see what happens with fullback Tyler Clutts, who carved out a niche after the Bears scooped him up from the Browns. He provided something the offense lacked but consider that historically [new Bears offensive coordinator Mike] Tice has not used a fullback.

“During his span as the Vikings head coach (2002-05), he employed a full-time fullback in just one season. Tice likes versatile tight ends who also can be used in the backfield and that was the Bears’ thinking in selecting Temple’s Evan Rodriguez in the fourth round of the draft. The Bears have also had tight end Draylen Ross working with running backs during positional drills throughout the offseason.

“So, Clutts likely will have to prove his value to stick around, especially if the Bears desire to keep four tight ends.”

Finally, Biggs summarizes:

“Bottom line: The offense will remain committed to the run. Despite [former offensive coordinator Mike] Martz‘s intentions, the Bears surpassed 2,000 yards rushing in 2011 and should use that figure as a benchmark once again. One thing Tice has done consistently wherever he has been is run the football.”

Let’s face it.  Its a passing league.  Mike Martz knew that. The Bears ran the ball pretty well and yet they failed to make the playoffs last year.  That’s because they failed in the passing game, something Martz knew they had to push the limits on despite the lack of offensive line talent.  If they fail in the passing game again, they aren’t going anywhere no matter what they do on the ground.

  • So having covered the ground game, Biggs also addresses the situation in the air by discussing the wide receivers:

“The Bears have not had a 1,000-yard receiver since [Marty] Booker in 2002 (1,189), the longest active streak in the NFL. The 49ers are next as Terrell Owens‘ last 1,000-yard season for them was in 2003.

“So, those who criticize new general manager Phil Emery for not addressing the offensive line in the draft need to consider the pressing need that was there in the second round when the club traded up five slots to 45th overall to select Alshon Jeffery out of South Carolina.”

Noted.

Elsewhere

“Thanks to a Super Bowl win followed by a 15-1 regular season, the Packers enjoyed record profits in the last year, according to a report in the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel.

“The Packers reported net income of $42.7 million last year, a jump of $25.6 million from the previous season.”

“The Packers are in a unique situation because they lack the debt many teams are saddled with, but any way you look it it, the numbers are astonishing.”

A 4% return on a 1 billion dollar investment is astonishing?  Really?  Most corporations would consider that to be a loss and consider selling the business and investing elsewhere.

“‘People may say I am not the classic nose tackle, but what is the classic nose tackle? Some nose tackles are big, some small,’ McLendon told Steelers.com. ‘If you look at Jay Ratliff for the Cowboys he is not a big nose tackle, but he plays very well. You look at Casey Hampton and he is a big nose tackle and plays well. I figure I will be in between. If I can move quick at nose and play strong at nose, it’s all going to work itself out for me.”

As is usually the case, it all depends on the scheme. Contrary to the “classic” way the 3-4 is played, the Cowboys have penetrating nose tackles where quickness takes precendence of bulk.  Traditionally, the Steelers don’t play it this way.   So if McLendon is going to succeed, I think they’re going to have to make some adjustments.

  • Gantt suggests giving the Packers a call if you need wide receivers. Somehow I doubt the Bears would be able to take that route.
  • Supposedly the new collective bargaining agreement was going to make negotiating with draft picks.  So why hasn’t it?  Seifert addresses the issue:

“All eight picks will get fully guaranteed contracts, and the specific numbers are dictated by slot and pretty much non-negotiable. But teams are trying to protect themselves if one of these picks is a bust.

“[ESPN business analyst Andrew] Brandt: ‘Teams want language in their contract … saying if they cut the player at some point, and he signs another contract, they are ‘offset’ the guarantee. So they cut a player. He signs for $1 million somewhere. That $1 million comes off what they owe.’

“Otherwise, the player would be able to double-dip: Earning the remainder of his guarantee from the original team and then whatever his new team is willing to pay him. In the example above, the offset clause would save the original team $1 million.”

One Final Thought

Can you imagine what it would be like if Bears tickets were $30 instead of the actual $100-$175 range they actually are?  Because that’s what they’re paying in Tampa Bay this season.  Via Mike Florio at profootballtalk.com.

Earl Bennett Has the Surest Hands in the NFL and Other Points of View

Bears

“THE GOOD

“Earl Bennett

“Statistic: Lowest drop rate (3.15 percent) of any NFL receiver

“Comment: Bennett dropped four passes in 127 opportunities, partially explaining why quarterback Jay Cutler has so much confidence in him. ”

“THE BAD

“Brandon Marshall

“Statistic: No. 1 overall in raw drops (35).

“Comment: Marshall also had the third-most opportunities over that stretch, 303. That made his drop rate 11.55, the 10th-worst mark among receivers. ”

“Devin Hester

“Statistic: Had 15th-highest drop rate at 10.3.

“Comment: Overall, Hester dropped 14 of 136 opportunities. If he gets more opportunities this season, as promised, well …”

As a fan who finds drops particularly irritating, I’m not spurised that Bennett rates so well.  And I’m also reminded to brace myself for what I’m sure will be a frustrating year from Marshall in this respect.

“Urlacher was asked when he felt his knee started to return to form.

“‘I don’t think it will ever be normal again,” he said with a hint of sarcasm. “But it probably started feeling better near the end of May.”’

  • ESPN has been running a special series of segments called “5 In, 5 Out.”  For 16 consecutive years five teams that made the playoffs the year before missed the next year.  The ESPN experts have named the Bears as being in (with reservations) and the Lions as being out.

A couple points

1)  The Bears have the THIRD BEST odds of making the Super Bowl on the NFC side in Vegas.  As you might expect, they’re getting better odds than a lot of very good teams.  This means a lot of gamblers are buying into the Bears.

2)  I think a lot of the reason for this sudden positivity is the change in the offense.

I, personally, like Mike Martz and think that most of the criticism of him is unfair.  I also have no faith in Mike Tice and it would appear that Lovie Smith doesn’t have a lot more becuase the first thing he did after promoting him was look for a “passing game coordinator”.  For those who have been hiding under a rock, the passing game is about 80% of running an offense so you might as well say you aren’t completely convinced he can do tha job.

Having said that, I think it likely that the new offense will be a better fit for Cutler.  He obviously can’t throw with anticipation and now he won’t be asked to do it.  Letting him get out of the pocket and wait for something to open up will be more his thing.  That could make a big, big difference.  That is the single biggest reason for optimism.

There are probably at least two reasons for this.

1. The top 100 were rated as players not QBs. That probably is what got guys like Tim Tebow onto the list despite being ranked the 30th best QB by Jaworski.

2. The top 100 was voted on by Cutler’s peers.  As with the attacks on Cutler by fellow players after taking himself out of the second half of a Bears playoff game two years ago, we are faced with the fact that for whatever reason, the other NFL players around the league just don’t like Cutler

Elsewhere

One Final Thought

Jared S. Hopkins at the Chicago Sun-Times brings us a very thorough look at the life of the “new” Brandon Marshall.  He re-states the problem with Marshall’s off field issues.

“A pattern has emerged: trouble, then promises he has changed, charges that go away, then more trouble. Two days before the Dolphins traded him to the Bears in March, a woman accused Marshall of punching her outside a New York nightclub at nearly 4 a.m.”

“‘I want you to observe me for who I am,’ he says in the car. ‘There is a perception out there that is unfair, and there really is another side that I think will help your story.'”

I’m as sure as an average fan can be that Marshall is sincere in his wish to be a better citizen.  But having said that, there are a lot of things in this article that lead me to be very doubtful that he’s done it.  This statement is one of them.  What Marshall doesn’t understand is that the perceptions of him are not unfair. They’re entirely based upon fact and he is what the facts say he is.  Its not about perception.  Its about changing who you are.  This is something that he needs to acknowledge.

Another striking feature of the article is the parallels between Marshall’s history and that of his father.  Here’s one example amongst many:

“COURT RECORDS, PENNSYLVANIA: On Nov. 17, 1987, Marshall was riding in the back seat of a car with his younger sister, London, on Larimer Avenue, the main strip in their neighborhood in Pittsburgh. Up front, an argument between his parents escalated.

According to court records, Freddie Marshall punched his wife, Diane, in the eye. Freddie stopped the car in traffic, then got out and walked around to the passenger side and punched Diane in her other eye. She kicked at him, but Freddie grabbed her feet and pulled off her skirt. Diane hustled to the driver’s side and drove to a stop sign. Freddie caught up to her, got back in and hit her again, leaving bruises under her eyes.

In the back seat, the two children screamed and cried. Marshall was 3. His father would be ordered by the court to stay away from the family home for four months as part of an order of protection.”

Marshall flat out refuses to answer questions about his relationship with his father.

“What did your dad teach you about marriage? ‘This isn’t no Q-and-A.’

“I sigh. Marshall turns on the TV. He says he is still skeptical of my story. I try to explain that his family’s past is just one piece, not the only one. He cuts me off midsentence, uninterested. ‘If you’re going to go writing about John Kennedy right now, you’re not going to look at his father’s police reports. You’re not going to talk to his ex-wife.'”

This statement is laughable.  As anyone could tell you, most biographies of not just Kennedy but of anyone would start with the childhood and its influence on later life.  Indeed, you would be hard pressed to find one that didn’t.

Eventually even he is eventually forced to acknowledge that this is a factor.

“’My upbringing, it definitely contributes to who I am today,’ he concedes eventually. But answering questions about that topic, he says, lends credibility to the perception people have of him as a volatile person.”

Once again, what’s bothersome to me is the way that Marshall talks about his nature.  He’s worried about image – perception.  But its not perception.  It is fact.  Marshall is a volatile person.

Bottom line, I doubt very much that Marshall will ever be what he wants to be without facing who he is first.  And that makes me continue to wonder how much of a struggle the Bears still have ahead of them with their “new” wide receiver.

“Money” Does Not Equal “Respect” and Other Points of View

Bears

“[Defensive coordinator Rod] Marinelli said playing in space didn’t bring out the best in Melton at end as he had a tendency to ‘look around.’ But he quickly showed the pad level and leverage necessary to be effective inside. The switch was in the works at the start of his rookie season in 2009 before he was placed on injured reserve with a minor ankle injury. His assignment was to bulk up for the move inside and he did that.”

  • Special teams coordinator Dave Toub on how they are trying to make the best punt returner in the NFL even better.  Via Biggs:

“’We’ve been working on [Devin Hester] catching the really short punts, going up and getting those instead of letting them drop,’ Toub said. ‘That has been our emphasis. He really has done a good job. Devin has had a great camp, not only as a wide receiver but as a returner too.’”

  • Steve Rosenbloom at the Chicago Tribune has been uncharacteristically high on the current Bears team.  In a limited way, he even finds a way to talk around the fact that the Bears failed to add to the offensive line:

“But there might be a more notable reason the Bears ignored improving the unit that usually defines great teams: The Bears plan to have [quarterback Jay] Cutler run away from the bad blockers.”

Yes, that’s a good part of the game plan, I think. In fact, though I haven’t bought a single thing the Bears have actually said about this topic, this one thing that they haven’t said seems to be the one reason for optimism:  that when Jay Cutler was at his best last season, it was because he made plays on the move despite a poor offensive line.  Nothing proves that more than seeing what happened to the targets that replaced him after he was injured.  The guess here is that the Bears plan to use more designed rollouts and bootlegs the way the Broncos tailored their offense for him in Denver.  And, indeed, it might work.

“One of the areas that we wanted to improve across the board was our hands, using our hands better, keeping the players away from us. We know we have guys that can run, so that’s going to help our running game. That’s really all we can look at right now.”

“Jackson (Tennessee)

“Who wins the Bears LT competition? [J’Marcus] Webb or [Chris] Williams?

“Kevin Seifert

“I think they want Webb to win it. If [offensive coordinator Mike] Tice thought Williams could do the job, he wouldn’t have moved him to guard a few years ago.”

“…

“You don’t move a productive left tackle out of that position if he is in fact productive. It’s much easier to find a guy to play guard than tackle. It was a reflection on Chris to a large extent.”

  • Hayes hypes up the Bears wide receiver corp.  I have to say that I’m not completely buying into the hype here either.  If the Bears are smart enough to play thier smaller, speedier wide receivers inside to match them up with nickle backs and allow them to get off of the line of scrimmage, that will be a plus.  But even given that, as far as I can see a lot is going to depend upon Alshon Jeffrey.  He’s a big target that could demand a double team which he won’t get as long as Brandon Marshall is on the field.  The problem is that wide receivers rarely produce in their first year.

Frankly, with all of the high expectations being generated in the media for this team, I have to wonder if they aren’t being set up for failure.  The Packers are still the class of the division and if the Lions play up to their potential, as far as I’m concerned the Bears are still the third place team in the division.

  • Joe Cowley at the Chicago Sun-Times tells us what Matt Forte thought of his teammate’s comments about him as he continues to stay away in a contract dispute.

“While [Lance] Briggs had Forte’s back, Forte didn’t appreciate quarterback Jay Cutler recently speaking for him.

“Cutler said he ‘would be shocked if [Forte] doesn’t sign his tender by July 15, or whenever it is, and show up.’

“‘I don’t know, it depends on how we’re doing in the negotiations,’ Forte said when asked if he would sign and be in camp on time. But it kind of looks bad when other people speak for you. [Cutler] doesn’t really know what’s going to happen. He’s not in the negotiations. He’s just being optimistic.’”

I thought at the time that Cutler made those comments that it was an uncharacteristically stupid thing for him to do.  Forte has now confirmed that impression.  Forte’s only leverage in negotiations is the threat of a hold out.  If his friends and teammates are saying that he’s not going to do that, it can only hurt.

  • Nathan Enderle, we hardly knew ye.  Hell, we never knew ye at all.   Via Biggs.
  • I, personally, loved it but Dan McNeil at the Chicago Tribune didn’t seem as thrilled with the blanket Bears coverage during their minicamp:

“This Bears minicamp media blitz, however, is maddening. It’s got me worried about those in my fraternity.

“In case you’ve missed the local newspapers, sports radio or the television sports magazine shows lately, you’ve been spared Bears blather of epic proportion. The kind of overkill that hasn’t been seen around here since the 1985-86 woof woofers were packing for training camp in Platteville, Wis.

“Slow down, boys. Almost all of these stories will stand up when the Bears start smacking each other around in the sweltering heat in about six weeks.”

Elsewhere

  • I hope you all will forgive me but I’ve about had it with the Saints bounty scandal and I’m just not going to talk a lot about it.  I’d like for the thing to just get done and over with.

Having said that, I did find one comment from Browns linebacker Scott Fugita regarding the players appeal hearing interesting.  From Dave Zirin at SI.com:

“‘People said I was stupid for confessing to paying for big plays.  I didn’t think of that as a big deal,’ Fujita said.  ‘Is it against the rules?  Technically, yeah, it’s against the rules, but that’s the way it was done when I was a young player and I’m not ashamed of that.  If that’s what I’m going down for, let’s call it for what it is.  The problem is that the league has billed this thing as being this super-organized pay-to-injure scheme, which it never was.’”

What caught my attention was the first sentence.  Many players and union representatives have questioned why commissioner Roger Goodell has not shown the players all of the evidence against them.  This comment is probably why.

As I see it, the process of gathering information in the NFL is like going before a federal grand jury.  Prosecuting attorneys in this situation don’t have to show you the evidence against you before you testify and they frequently don’t.  The reason is simple – they want you to tell the whole truth, not just confess to what you know they have you nailed on.  They don’t want you to tailor your confession to the evidence.

If the “people” who are telling Fujita he’s stupid for telling the truth are other players, particularly other players implicated in the scandal, then I think we all know that the NFL is handling this situation the right way.  They’re going to have to force these players to tell them the truth or they’ll never get it.

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  • Also from The Sports Pickle haters finally have the proof they need of Tim Tebow’s hypocrisy:

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One Final Thought

Cowley quotes Forte further:

“Even if Forte and the Bears reach a deal, Forte said the process has left some ‘scars.’

“‘That’s what happens when you get into the business side of sports,’ he said. ‘There’s an easy way to get over those scars, but we’ll see. Everyone looks at it and says, ‘Oh, it’s only about money.’ It’s not only about money. It’s about you going out there and putting your heart and soul on the field, being respected for what you do, and then being rewarded for it.’”

If I had to point to one problem across all sports, especially professional sports, it is the idea that athletes get into their heads that “money equals respect”.  Many if not most of the greatest men and women in history were not rich.  Indeed, I would say that most of the very best were poor.

What Matt Forte is really saying is that this negotiation is about pride, the greatest of the seven deadly sins and the one that is the root of them all.  I’m all for using every point of leverage to negotiate a contract and Forte is well within his rights to do as he has done so far.  But if the negotiation gets to the point where it really hurts himself or the team, I’m going to be very disappointed.

Cutler’s Success Will Be Determined by His Receivers More than Ever and Other Points of View

Bears

  • Mike Florio at profootballtalk.com thinks the Bears offense might look a lot like the Viking’s offense a decade ago.  He makes and interesting point:

“While all of this may be good news for the fantasy football crowd, the reality is that, under [Bears offensive coordinator, Mike] Tice, the Vikings went to the playoffs only once in four seasons.  If that pattern repeats itself in Chicago, he won’t be the offensive coordinator for long — because there will be a new head coach.”

“[Gabe] Carimi’s return is critical. While [Phil] Emery has shored up key positions, he has left himself open to criticism by leaving an average offensive line virtually untouched. The line is better than critics think. With a makeshift lineup, the Bears were ninth in the NFL in rushing, and Jay Cutler was sacked nine times in is final seven games last season. But disastrous games with Cutler running for his life against the New York Giants in 2010 and the Detroit Lions in 2011 still define our image of the line.”

As well they should.

  • Former Bears left tackle Jim Covert has some suggestions to improve Chicago Bears’ pass blocking.  From Fred Mitchell at the Chicago Tribune:

“’The technique nowadays is dreadful,’ said Covert, now president and CEO of The Institute for Transfusion Medicine. ‘You very rarely see guys punch(-block) people with their hands, get separation.

“’In these days of the three-step drop … the short passing game … you can essentially shock the guy at the line of scrimmage and almost fall down and (the defender) won’t get to the passer. Yet these (offensive linemen) continually back up and catch people and it is just frustrating to watch.

“’You can’t catch people, you have to shock people at the line of scrimmage. You have to stop them. Pass blocking is controlled aggression.’”

  • Brad Biggs at the Chicago Tribune on the challenges Bears guard Chilo Rachal faces with a new offense in Chicago:

“The 6-foot-5 Rachal is listed at 323 pounds but says he is about 310 right now, the weight he reported to camp at last summer after dropping “30 some pounds.”  He possesses the size and athleticism to do some of the pulling offensive coordinator Mike Tice likes in the running game.

“‘I’m in real good shape,” he said. “I feel explosive. I can move good.’”

“Mike Ditka was among those honored with a Ring Lardner Award on Wednesday night.

“‘I am honored, but for me to get any kind of broadcast award, you guys have got to be nuts,’ joked Ditka during the organization’s annual dinner at the Union League Club in downtown Chicago. ‘You must have (gone) to the bottom of the barrel and turned it upside down.’”

“If Chicago wanted to be host to a Super Bowl, it should have done two things differently in 2001 when the city decided to rebuild Soldier Field.

“It should have made the capacity significantly larger, and it should have put a dome over it.

“And MetLife Stadium, where the Super Bowl will be played, has FieldTurf. Soldier Field has grass. In February, Soldier Field has a mixture of dead grass, mud and sand.”

“So the chances of Chicago having a Super Bowl are roughly the same as the chances of Jupiter having one.”

“This is by far the largest scouting staff the Bears ever have had. The 2012 Bears personnel staff will have 18 scouts, six more than the 2011 staff.”

“Despite making exorbitant salaries, 60 percent of NBA players are broke within five years of retirement, according to a 2009 Sports Illustrated article. And 78 percent of NFL players are broke within three years.”

So what would former Bears tell the current Bears?  I thought former tight end Dez Clark has the best advise:

“You play football and you let people who manage money manage your money, but you always know what’s going on with your money. And if you think it’s too good to be true, it probably is.”

 “I am a Matt Forte fan, but if he is going to be more of a distraction and not be in the Bears’ long-term future, is there any thought to trading him for a first- or second-round pick?  Michael Bush is a solid running back and when given the chance has performed at a high level. Mr. L, Woodstock

“I highly doubt any team would give the Bears a first-round pick for Forte, and I wonder if a team would even give up a second-round pick. It’s possible that a desperate team that loses its runner to injury could part with a second-rounder. But Forte is worth much more than that to the Bears.”

Two points:

1)  I am constantly amazed at the insistence of fans that current players are worth as much as they are in trade.  Teams hang on to first and second round draft picks like gold.

2)  I’ve heard words like “expendable” thrown around when referring to Mat Forte.  But I can tell you truly that Michael Bush cannot perform at a level anywhere close to Forte.  He’s a big back who runs and blocks like one and I like him.  But he can’t catch passes like Forte nor can he run with Forte’s vision.  Believe me, the Bears would miss Forte badly if they went into the season without him.

“Does Shea McClellan look big enough to compete at defensive end? He looks undersized and less than intimidating. He also seems to lack strength, only doing 18 reps of the bench press. How does he look up close? Eric Johnson, Las Vegas

“He certainly does not look like Julius Peppers or Israel Idonije. But that in and of itself does not mean McClellin cannot compete and excel at the position. McClellin, at 6-foot-3, 260 pounds, would look plenty big next to Dwight Freeney (6-foot-1, 268), Robert Mathis (6-foot-2, 245) or Elvis Dumervil (5-foot-11, 260). Some of how he copes with not being the biggest defensive end depends how the Bears use him. If the Bears line up McClellin squarely over the tackle on every snap, they may be disappointed. But put him on an edge and let him use his instincts quickness and speed, and they should be very pleased. Some smaller defensive ends believe their lack of size is an advantage because it enables them to get underneath the pads of bigger blockers. McClellin, not surprisingly, has been pretty good at playing the leverage game during his college career.”

I would only add that Phil Emery, being a former strength and conditioning coach, undoubtedly took McClellin as much because of the potential he saw in his body as anything else.  I’ve got a suspicion McClellin’s going to get a lot bigger.

Elsewhere

“I can’t believe Roger Goodell would risk having scab officials ruin games.  The NFL might be better off cancelling games than having every game called into question because of the perception of inferior officiating.”

I don’t think I’d go that far but I do see a lot of trouble on the horizon.  For instance, here’s what rookie Bears defensive end Shea McClellin said about adjusting to the NFL game: (via Mitchell)

“Everybody says speed (in the NFL) … is probably the biggest difference.”

He’s not wrong.

I remember going to see my first NFL game live like it was yesterday.  I’d seen many college games before and figured, based on what I’d seen on television all of my life, that what I was about to see wasn’t that much different.  I couldn’t have been more wrong.

The speed of the NFL game is just incredible.  The first think I remember thinking was that even if I had the physical traits, there was no way I’d be able to play linebacker in the NFL because the speed of the game requires that you react by instinct.  The second thing I thought was how tough it would be a referee.

  • If only it were this easy…  From The Sports Pickle.
  • “Rodgers” is Apparently Harder to Spell Than “Favre”.  Also from The Sports Pickle:

 

One Final Thought

Greg Cosell at NFL Films provides insight into quarterback Jay Cutler:

“You may recall one issue raised in the evaluation process was Cutler’s tendency to force throws into coverage. Those who said that were wrong. Cutler was throwing to wide receivers matched one-on-one on the outside. Here’s the way it works in the passing game: The best you can get is man coverage. When that happens, the quarterback expects his receivers to get open. If your receivers do not win, it’s not the quarterback’s fault. At Vanderbilt, Cutler threw a lot of passes to receivers that could not win against more talented SEC corners. That was viewed erroneously as a troubling indication of poor judgment and decision making.”

“Cutler is often what I call a ‘see it, throw it’ passer. By that I mean he must see his receiver break open before he pulls the trigger. His powerful arm allows him to do that. He’s not a true anticipation passer, throwing the ball before receivers begin their breaks. He’s capable of it, and there are instances in which he has done it, but that’s not the signature of his play.”

These are good points.  They explain why Mike Martz’s offense was never a good fit for Cutler.  Martz requires his quarterbacks to throw to a spot and trust the receiver to get there to catch it.  It failed on both fronts with Cutler both because he’s not mentally wired to throw with that kind of anticipation and he (rightfully) did not trust his wide receivers.

It’s possible that Cutler will do better with Tice.  But it will be more important than ever that he have wide receivers that can battle for the ball one-on-one in coverage.  Earl Bennett and Brandon Marshall have shown they can do that.  Alshon Jeffery was drafted because the Bears think he can do that.  The rest of the Bears receivers…  well, we’ll see.

It’s the Dan Pompei Show Today and Other Points of View

Bears

Things are pretty quiet so I kept this short.

“‘[Bates] has a really good feel of what I like to do and what I don’t like to do,’ Cutler said after the Bears’ second organized-team-activity workout. ‘There are plays out there today that I told him, ‘I don’t like them. Let’s think about getting rid of them.’ He’s fine with that.'”

So correct me if I’m wrong but aren’t you supposed to talk to the offensive coordinator about getting rid of plays?  This brings to mind the situation that the Bears were in last year where players talked after the game about offensive line coach Mike Tice diagraming new plays on the sidelines.  It appears that there’s no one person in charge of the Bears offense.  Instead, one gets the impression that Tice will be sharing the duty with Bates just as former offensive coordinator Mike Martz shared it with him.

“Another likely carry-over for Tice is his ambitious use of tight ends. In Minnesota, he used multiple-tight-end formations 43 percent of the time. One of his favorite personnel groupings included one back, two wide receivers and two tight ends.

“Tice didn’t have Pro Bowl talent at the position, but a tight end led his offense in receptions twice and finished third twice. The player who led the Vikings in receptions twice was Jermaine Wiggins, a journeyman who never came close to having the kind of numbers he had under Tice in four previous NFL seasons.”

Sounds like good news for Kellen Davis.

  • There’s also this great article by Pompei which breaks down the problem of Matt Forte‘s contract dispute.  It seems clear to me that this dispute isn’t going to be solved easily.  Basically, Forte’s going rate is about 8.5 million dollars per year on average for a long-term contract.  The Bears are paying him $7.7 million this year with the franchise tag and about $17 million over two years if they do it again.  The Bears do take care of their players but the never overpay.  And there really isn’t much incentive financially for the Bears to come to terms.

Elsewhere

  • Pompei at, this time writing for The National Football Post, explores the characteristics that make Packer’s general manager Ted Thompson such an exemplary draft guru.  Thompson bucked his usual trend of trading down in the draft by frequently trading up this year:

“Trading up felt good this year, but there were some unusual circumstances that led to Thompson changing it up this year. First, the Packers had 12 picks, including four compensatory picks. That was a big wad of cash in Thompson’s pocket. Given where the Packers are as a team, they didn’t need 12 players. They needed impact players.”

  • Its worth noting the the Packers weren’t the only ones known for trading down that did the opposite this year.  The New England Patriots did the same.  This is likely in part because it was a poor draft.  Teams who do a good job of evaluating talent usually have multiple players that they feel comfortable with when their time comes.  But this year’s draft was generally considered to be poor with little depth.  So those same teams found themselves trading up to get one of the few guys they thought were good value.
  • Pompei also noted the Bills acquisition of QB Vince Young:

“One of the reasons the Bills were sold on Vince Young is they took the unusual step of putting him on the board for a couple of hours when he visited their facility. It is common for teams to talk schemes with rookies, but less common for them to do it with veterans. Given Young’s history, it was a smart move by Chan Gailey. And Young’s knowledge was sufficient enough for the Bills to take a chance on him.”

You want to know if Vince Young has grown up enough to be an NFL QB?  Make him the punter’s personal protector and see what he says then.

  • This quote from Peyton Manning is for all of those people who don’t think offseason workouts are important.  Via the Chicago Tribune:

”I’ve always believed you develop your timing for the passing game in the offseason. You can’t just show up in September and expect to be on the same page. Offseason workouts, it’s a great time to make an impression on the coaches. Coaches are always evaluating.“

One Final Thought

Pompei on the importance of height in a QB:

“[Charger’s GM A.J.] Smith notes that [Drew] Brees has become better at compensating for his lack of height as he has become more experienced. ‘With Sean Payton in New Orleans, Brees gets himself back [in the pocket] to get that vision,’ Smith said. ‘The arm is better now, the release better. You can do that as a pro. Drew figured out his deficiencies and improved.’

“You might even say he grew as a quarterback.”

Ugh.

Will the Bears Show More Zone Blitz with New Defensive End McClellin? And Other Points of View.

Bears

“‘Has he been charged with anything?’

“It’s rarely a good sign when the first question for the general manager after announcing a draft pick is about a felony assault charge.”

“They envision him as what [GM Phil] Emery called a ‘move tight end,’ a player who can line up in multiple positions, competently block defensive ends and stretch the field for the Bears’ offense.

“‘What that does to a defense is it forces them to stay in more of their base [defense] instead of bringing in a nickel or sub-package personnel and match up with a straight-seam tight end,’ Emery said. ‘We really believe that Evan provides that for us.’”

This almost certainly is a pick for Mike Tice.  Many Bear fans have bemoaned the loss of former TE Greg Olsen but have failed to realize that Olsen was a glorified WR.  Mike Tice would have never started a TE who couldn’t block any more than former OC Mike Martz would have.

“Say an offensive tackle was trying to reach to my outside,” Emery said. “He instantly has a feel for feeling that block, getting his body in the right leverage position and working off that block to the ball; taking as natural and as quick a path from blocker to ball as possible. Some people possess that at a high level. Some don’t. They get stuck on blocks.”

Brad Biggs at the Chicago Tribune continues:

“If there is one area that stand out for me as an evaluator and our coaches and our scouts, we all came away from looking at him as having high-level football instincts,” Emery said. “This is a very natural football player. He plays with very low pad level. He finds the ball quickly through blocks, which is a skill in itself, he reads pressure well. He can feel where the ball is going. He has very natural ability to find the right path to the ball.”

  • Lovie Smith debunks the idea that McClellin will play linebacker but does note that they feel he can “drop into coverage”.  Perhaps we’ll see more zone blitz this year.  Smith also mentions that weight is “overrated” when it comes to players like McClellin in schemes like the one the Bears run.

“McClellin will keep the accountability level high at Halas Hall. Players like Quinton Coples or Bruce Irvin might have lowered it.”

‘‘I would say I have a great work ethic,’’ Jeffery said. ‘‘I mean, I’m fast. When I get to Chicago, hopefully you can see for yourself first-hand and the team as well. I’m just ready.’’

I think the fact that Jeffery defines “great work ethic” as being “fast” tells us all we need to know.

“Bears Insider (@bears_insider)
“4/27/12 7:11 PM
“New #Bears WR Alshon Jeffery bench pressed 225 pounds 18 times, which was one fewer than Shea McClellin.”

Note that Hardin worked out at East-West Shrine game as a corner and played an aggressive press style defense at Oregon.  This would make him similar in some respects to seventh round pick Isaiah Frey.  From Biggs:

“Downside: Late-round picks face an uphill battle, and the Bears have a host of veterans in the mix here. Still, this could be a blessing for Frey as they need to develop young players at the position. He needs to transition to playing zone defense as he played almost exclusively man in college.”

The guess here is that one reason the Bears liked Hardin was his ability to play man coverage and match up with tight ends and slot receivers when necessary.  Similarly, Frey maight have to learn to play zone but he’s already got man coverage skills, something whcih the indications are the Bears may covet more now than they did in the past.

Lovie Smith has played a lot more man coverage over the last year or two than he did before that.  Its possible that he was on board with these picks.  On the other hand, as Pompei notes, Phil Emery’s picks this year seem to be more scheme independent.  So if there’s a new head coach next year, he will find at least some personnel who aren’t strictly cover two zone-type players.

“Having lived and worked in Chicago the last 11 years, I know one thing: the media can be very tough.

What makes it hard for Phil Emery in conducting his first draft is that the local media didn’t trust previous GM Jerry Angelo and because of that there is a carryover effect to Emery. They want to believe but aren’t sure if they can.”

“The Bears announced Sunday that they agreed to terms with offensive tackle A.J. Greene of Auburn. Greene turned down an invitation to the NFL scouting combine in February and last month he showed up for his school’s pro day merely as an observer. Greene said he was preparing for a career in the music industry despite teammates and coaches urging him to give the NFL a try.

“‘Some people have criticized me for this, but most of those guys — all they understand is football,’ Greene told the Montgomery Advertiser at the pro day. ‘They can’t grasp the idea of not wanting a life in the NFL. A lot of kids grow up thinking the NFL is the ultimate dream. I just want to make music. I’m not going to pretend I want to play football when I really don’t.’

“Perhaps Greene had a change of heart.”

“‘Devin’s role has not changed,’ Emery said. ‘We see him as a guy that is going to help our receiving corps in a big way. I know that Coach Tice has done a lot of planning. We want to make sure that we have a special plan for Devin, we have the Devin Package, a package of plays as a receiver. You never know where he is going to line up and I don’t want to get too far ahead of that in terms of telling other people what we’re going to do with him.’”

Sounds exciting.  But I’ll be happy if they just line him up in the slot where he belongs every once in a while.

“Wide Receivers (11): Brandon Marshall, Devin Hester, Earl Bennett, Alshon Jeffery, Devin Thomas, Eric Weems, Johnny Knox, Dane Sanzenbacher, Terriun Crump, Brittan Golden, Chris Summers”

The Bears will keep five or six wider receivers.  Marshall, Hester, Bennett and Jeffery are locks and Weems probably is, too.  That leaves  Thomas, Knox, and Sanzenbacher competing for the last slot.  That’s if they keep six.

This will be a position to keep an eye on in camp.

Potash also goes through the defensive linemen.  Right now they have 3 reliable DTs in Henry Melton, Stephen Paea, and Matt Toeaina.  They’re fools if they go into the season without at least one more.  The same goes for the linebacker position where they have no reliable personnel outside of starters Brian Urlacher, Lance Briggs and  Nick Roach.

  • Pompei answers your questions:

“The Bears have five games indoors this year, with three of the last four games on the road in domes (Vikings, Lions, and Cardinals). What is the Bears’ record indoors under Lovie Smith? Brian Helser, Thornville, Ohio”

“The Bears are 12-11 in domes since Smith became head coach in 2004.”

When you look back at last season you find that the Bears offensive line was particularly miserable in domes where you can’t hear the snap count.  That’s because those are the situations when you find out how much talent you really have.

All three of those dome teams above are in the NFC and two are in the Bears division.  Assuming nothing else significant  gets done about the offensive line, if the Bears aren’t 9-3 going into the last four games, they’ll have an up hill battle making the playoffs.

Elsewhere

“In many draft rooms, there wasn’t the same kind of enthusiasm over who was chose as there normally is. ‘There were a lot of reaches on the first two days,’ one personnel director said. ‘A lot of teams were not feeling comfortable with their picks, based on my conversations with other personnel people. It wasn’t’ a great year. There are a lot of guys with holes.’”

“In the same SiriusXM Radio interview in which Jenkins said teams who passed on him are ‘gonna pay,’ Jenkins addressed the immediate comparisons that were made between him and the last troubled defensive back drafted by Jeff Fisher, Adam “Pacman” Jones.

“Asked by Adam Schein if Fisher possibly was interested in Jenkins because of similarities to Pacman, Jenkins scoffed.

“‘I mean, no, because I never shot up a strip club or nothing like that,’ Jenkins said.

“This guy is gonna be great for business.”

“What is most interesting about the Packers’ draft is they chose four defensive players who some perceive as better fits for a four-man front than a three-man front. Could the Packers be considering a defensive conversion? Or at least a shift to more 4-3?”

“Defensive coordinator Dom Capers is known as a 3-4 guru, but he did preside over a four-man front with the Jaguars.”

“‘I had no discipline. I had all the talent in the world,’ he said. ‘You know, great body, great genes. But I had no work ethic and I had no discipline. The better you get, the harder you have to work. The better I got, the lazier I got.'”

  • The Sports Pickle asks “Which NFL 1st Round pick was the most puzzling?”  Here’s one answer:

“Brandon Weeden to Cleveland — Miami or Arizona would have been a better fit for him, as those are places old people move.”

One Final Thought

Tony Perry and Sam Farmer, writing for the Tribune newspapers, relate this interesting anecdote of deceased linebacker Junior Seau:

“Leaving USC after an All-American junior season, the Chargers made Seau the No. 5 pick in the 1990 draft.

“But Seau did not feel immediately embraced by his teammates. He experienced an attitude shift in the seventh game of his rookie season when he successfully called a defensive huddle. His team was not victorious on that day, but, in a way, Seau was.

“’My dad called me and said, ‘Oh, sorry you didn’t win,’ Seau recalled years later in an interview with the South Florida Sun-Sentinel. “I said, ‘Don’t worry, I won. They huddled for me.’ That is what I would call a turning point in my career.’”

The Effect of Phil Emery’s Strength and Conditioning Background on His Draft Views

Filtering through the media reports and videos associated with the draft, the frequency with which Bears GM Phil Emery refers to his background as Navy’s strength and conditioning coach interests me.  For instance, this clip from an Emery press conference where he mentions getting inside information on TE Evan Rodriguez from his contacts with the Tennessee and Temple strength and conditioning coaches (at 2:55 and at 3:19, respectively) is a good example of what I’m talking about:

But perhaps even more interesting are subtle comments from evaluators outside the Bears organization on the players Emery selected.  For instance there’s this almost off-hand reference from Dan Pompei at the Chicago Tribune in relation to new Bears DE Shea McClellin:

“An AFC college scouting director said when the other pass rushers stripped down to their skivvies at the Senior Bowl weigh in, it was clear McClellin did not have the same kind of body.”

And McClellin wasn’t the only one whose body got some attention.  Pompei relates this factoid when writing about new Bears wide receiver Alshon Jeffery:

“He played at 232 pounds for South Carolina. He got down to 216 at the NFL scouting combine, but looked soft according to scouts.”

I have to believe that Phil Emery took one look at Jeffery and saw him through the eyes of a strength and conditioning coach.  Where other scouts saw Jeffery as being “soft”, Emery undoubtedly saw “potential for improvement” along with a corresponding projection in performance.  Its probably no coincidence that Jeffery was the first Bears signing after the draft (Mark Potash at the Chicago Sun-Times).  Both the Bears and Jeffery’s agent Eugene Parker undoubtedly want to get him into a professional lifting regime with a proper diet as soon as possible (Brad Biggs, Chicago Tribune).

The same view point undoubtedly affected Emery’s impression of McClellin.  In a sport where college safeties can become NFL linebackers, its doubtful that Emery looked at McClellin and just saw a guy who “did not have the same kind of body”.  The guess here is that he saw a guy who could look like Brian Urlacher a year down the road.  If you are a Bears fan, that could only mean good things both now and in the future as we watch how Emery runs the organization.

Emery’s First Draft May Suggest a Worrisome Future

Former NFL tackle Seth Payne said a mouth full in 140 characters Friday:

“Seth Payne (@SethPayneTrain)
“4/27/12 7:05 PM
“Alshon Jeffrey is big enough for Cutler to see through his earhole as he’s laying on the ground with two defenders on top of him.”

Most Bear fans can appreciate the sentiment.

Why didn’t the Bears take an offensive lineman in the draft?  Dan Pompei at the Chicago Tribune tries to explain:

“They ended up not selected an offensive lineman or a defensive tackle because of the way the draft broke. The Bears took players at other positions who were graded higher, which is the way you are supposed to do it.”

Indeed, that is the way you are supposed to do it.  But fans weren’t the only ones who were left wondering if that matched reality.  Tribune writer David Haugh also tried to puzzle through the way the Bears handled the draft:

“I asked [GM Phil] Emery if selecting [Shea] McClellin meant the Bears considered defensive end a bigger need than the offensive line — my interpretation.

“’No, it just says that player was the highest-rated player among the seven (players the Bears targeted),’ Emery said.”

And the Tribune’s Dan McNeil seemed to be just as flummoxed as he gets to the heart of the matter:

“I wanted a big guy Thursday night when Emery made the 19th selection in the first round, but I wanted one whose jersey number begins with a 6 or a 7. Stanford’s David DeCastro, the highest rated guard in the draft, was still on the board. Iowa tackle Riley Reiff also was waiting to hear his name called.”

I can understand not taking Riley Reiff.  He was projected to go high in this draft but you could argue he was overrated as one of the few potential left tackles.  But David DeCastro is a completely different story.

DeCastro is considered by some to be the best offensive lineman to appear in years.  He’s certainly considered to be the best guard in at least the last 10 drafts.  Whatever the real reason why DeCastro isn’t a Bear, its going to tell you a lot about Phil Emery and the way he handles the draft.

I have two potential explanations for this.  Both disturb me.

Emery had a plan going in – not a bad thing.  He knew that defensive linemen were the strength of the draft and figured that there most likely would be a number good ones available when the Bears picked.  He had his list of potential picks and he was glad to go down it and take the best defensive lineman he could get.  There’s just one problem:  things don’t always go as planned.

The Bears picked at #19 and there was a serious run on defensive linemen in front of them.  Six defensive ends and tackles went starting with the Chiefs at #11 and ending with the Chargers at #18.  This had two effects – a) it depleted Emery’s list and b) it caused DeCastro to fall into their laps.  Instead of grabbing DeCastro to provide a huge upgrade at a position of – albeit lesser – need (as, for instance, the Lions would have done), Emery chose to stick with the plan.  He took his pass rushing defensive end instead of the best player available.  That’s worrisome.

The second potential reason is even more problematic.  All of Emery’s picks in rounds one through seven were at high impact positions.  Emery’s main goal was to get weapons – and he did that.  He got pass rush, he got receiver, he got speedy defensive backs.  He’s said over and over again that he wants players who show up on film.  He got them.

The problem?  Guard isn’t a flashy position that is going to stick out as you watch game tape and you have to wonder if Emery may have undervalued DeCastro because of that.  Even worse, he may have wanted the defensive end because he wanted his first draft pick to make a statement.  And he wanted that statement to come in the form of sacks not in the form of a guy who would labor for ten years in an unheralded, blue collar interior protection role.

If Emery’s pride got in the way of taking DeCastro, Bear fans might be in for a rough ride.

In any case, my read is that Phil Emery took the guys he had in mind going into this draft rather than adjusting his thinking on the fly and letting the draft come to him.  Shea McClellin may well turn out to be a very good player.  But over time, this is a method that most scouts and general managers will tell you is not the way to play the game.  Hopefully Jay Cutler won’t have to wait and see if that’s true through his ear hole.

Bears Offensive Draft All About the Quarterback

Bears quarterback Jay Cutler spent much of his first three years with the Bears worried about the lack of big receivers.  It appears that someone is finally listening.

In the second round Friday night the Bears traded up to claim WR Alshon Jeffery and followed that up with TE Evan Rodriguez in the fourth.

Cutler once described WR Devin Hester as “not really a back shoulder or jump-up-and-get-it [guy].”  He didn’t say it but he was probably thinking of former Broncos and now current Bears WR Brandon Marshall when he made the statement.  He definitely won’t be saying it about Jeffery who was described by the Chicago Tribune as a “post-up” WR.  GM Phil Emery called him the best wide receiver in the draft at adjusting to the ball:

He should be a hand full as long as he keeps his weight under control.  Dan Pompei at the Tribune comments:

“With hops like that, 33-inch arms and a 6-foot-3 frame, Jeffery can be a matchup nightmare. He can catch the ball away from his body, so he takes advantage of his length and explosion. As long as his belly isn’t lined up offsides, Jeffery can force coverage adjustments.

“It’s difficult for NFL secondaries to match up with one big receiver. It’s almost impossible for them to match up with two. The Bears now have two — Jeffery and Brandon Marshall.”

Indeed, if one were to pick a current NFL player that Jeffery is most like, its Marshall.

Rodriguez will will help Cutler in a more subtle way.  He will stretch the field as a vertical tight end.  Emery comments:

The Rodriguez pick has offensive coordinator Mike Tice written all over it.  Tice, who used the tight end to effect as the head coach of the Vikings, would have never settled for a receiving tight end who couldn’t block like Greg Olsen.  Instead the Bears found him a guy who can catch the ball but who, they hope, will be a good enough blocker to force defenses to respect the run by staying in thier base scheme.  If that’s true, he’s going to be a great asset as another big target while helping the passing offense indirectly by improving the running game.

As he stated in the Alshon Jeffery clip above, Emery’s draft partly aimed to be about adding offensive weapons.  Somewhere Jay Cutler is smiling.

Bears Top Picks Signal Defensive Metamorphosis

One of the buzz words commonly used when describing prospects during last year’s draft was “scheme versatile”.  I didn’t hear it once yesterday but if I did, it would have described the first half of the Bears draft reasonably well.

The Bears started the draft by taking Boise St. linebacker Shea McClellin.  And “versatility” was the word McClellin used when comparing himself to Patriots linebacker Mike Vrabel:

In fact, it was suggested (not by the Bears) that McClellin might find his way onto the field as a strong-side linebacker on first down while using him as a rush defensive end on passing downs.  He could eventually even be a replacement for Brian Urlacher at middle linebacker down the road.

In any case, New England was on a lot of people’s minds on Thursday as it was rumored that they were interested in McClellin and might have even moved up to get him.  Via Sean Jensen at the Chicago Sun-Times:

“That versatility is one of his greatest assets, the reason 3-4 teams such as the New England ­Patriots and Green Bay Packers were among those intrigued by him, the reason why he skyrocketed the last couple months from a potential third-rounder to a first-rounder.”

Dan Pompei at the Chicago Tribune also noted this, possibly thinking that Lovie Smith may be replaced after next year:

“There is a hidden advantage with McClellin. If the Bears change their defensive scheme, he will adapt.

“He will fit in almost any defense. You can’t say that about many defenders.

“In the pre-draft process, he was linked most often to teams such as the Packers and Patriots, who could have used him as an outside linebacker in a three-man front. When Emery was with the Chiefs, he evaluated McClellin as an outside linebacker for a 3-4. At the Senior Bowl, most of his work came as an outside linebacker.”

Flexibility was also apparently on the Bears’ mind when it came time to make their third round pick.  They took Brandon Hardin, a big hitting player who the Bears apparently have in mind for strong safety.  But unlike the ones the Bears already have, Hardin was also known as a reasonably good cover corner for his size in college.  That means they might very well put Hardin to covering pass catching tight ends:

So in Hardin’s case, the magic word comes directly from Mark Potash at the Sun-Times:

“Like 2011 rookies Chris Conte and Dom DeCicco, Hardin, at his size, is a hybrid-type player with versatility the Bears are looking for under Emery.”

Its not surprising that the word “versatility” would come into play when it comes to teams like New England who are known to value it and know how to use it.  But it isn’t ordinarily connected to head coach Lovie Smith’s defense.  However it may be now and New England might be indirectly responsible for the change.

Most of Smith’s years with the Bears have been characterized by the cover two defense.  Smith’s attitude was, “We’re going to do what we do and we’re going to do it well.”  Then in November 2010 the Bears played New England at home and got whipped 36-7.  WR Wes Welker burned the Bears over and over again as New England moved him around and created mismatches against a zone defense that simply couldn’t handle him.

That game may have been a turning point for Smith.  The only way to beat teams like the Patriots is to match up with them in a man-to-man defense.  Smith eventually realized that and tried to do it but his personnel was drafted to play the cover two.  It became obvious that if he wanted the team to compete at an elite level, they were going to have to do at least a passable job of changing things up.  Enter 2011 where the Bears began to effectively disguise coverages and play more man-to-man defense.

But if the Bears are going to excel, they need to do more than switch up coverages.  They need to acquire personnel who can play effectively in multiple defenses and schemes.  They aren’t there yet but we may look back at the 2012 draft as having been the first step towards doing that.