Category: New England Patriots

Bear’s Olsen Was on the Trading Block for Eleven Minutes and Other Points of View

Bears

  • Neil Hayes and Sean Jensen at the Chicago Sun-Times report that the Bears have interest in Brad Smith in free agency.
  • Bob LeGere at the Daily Herald explains why Oregon State center Alex Linnenkohl and Ohio State wide receiver Dane Sanzenbacher , both undrafted free agents who signed with the Bears, are players to watch.
  • Brad Biggs at the Chicago Tribune reports this fascinating story about Greg Olsen and the possibility that the Bears might be offering him as trade bait:

“His agent Drew Rosenhaus sent a mass email to the league’s general managers and personnel people at 7:56 p.m. Wednesday night announcing the Bears were making Olsen available for trade. The email went to scores of people, including Bears general manager Jerry Angelo and contract negotiator Cliff Stein.

“’The Bears have granted me permission to seek a trade for Greg Olsen,’ Rosenhaus wrote. ‘Please let me know if interested. Sounds like the Bears will be very reasonable on the compensation in return for Greg.’”

“But 11 minutes later, Rosenhaus sent another mass email to the same recipients, including Angelo and Stein, asking them to ignore his previous message.

“’Please disregard my previous email regarding Greg Olsen,’ the one-sentence email said.”

Not very likely, Drew.

I can’t imagine what’s going on here.  But between the messed up trade with the Ravens during the draft and things like this, Bears management isn’t exactly inspiring confidence in their organizational skills.

  • The Bears apparently wanted former Jacksonville Jaguars linebacker Justin Durant but the Lions got him.  That’s unfortunate as the Bears have needed an upgrade at strong side linebacker for a while.  It will be interesting to see what direction they go in now.
  • The Bears are apparently targeting offensive tackles in free agency rather than guards.  ESPN’s NFC North blogger Kevin Seifert says that the Steeler’s Willie Colon and the Saints Justin Bushrod are on their radar.

Elsewhere

“Never did I think the Minnesota Vikings would draft a quarterback No. 12 overall, declare him their Matt Ryan/Joe Flacco — i.e., an instant starter on a veteran team — and then acquire a veteran to start ahead of him just before training camp.”

“With the Seahawks pouncing in back-to-back days on former Vikings quarterback Tarvaris Jackson and former Vikings receiver Sidney Rice, it’s possible that the folks in Seattle have confused the latter with Jerry and the former with Joe Montana. Or Steve Young.

“The reality is that, during their mutual time in Minnesota, Jackson and Rice never really clicked, even with running back Adrian Peterson pulling a safety to the line of scrimmage on just about every play.”

Assuming he doesn’t take his foot off the gas after getting big money, Rice is a good receiver.  But Tarvaris Jackson is never going to be a consistent quarterback.  I would agree with Florio is that he’s a very leaky vessel to pour much hope in.

One Final Thought

DJ Gallo at ESPN’s Page 2 blog gives us this handy chart to follow for NFL Free Agency:

Ryan Mallett: Are the Patriots Right, Again?

Dan Pompei at the National Football Post addresses this interesting issue:

“There are two Ryan Malletts floating around out there. The first is the one most people think he is. The second is the one the Patriots think he is.”

“Some scouts will tell you it will be a strong armed passer who can’t move. A player whose lack of athleticism is underscored by poor footwork. A cocky guy who likes to party and has a history of immaturity.”

The problem with the NFL draft is always separating fact from fiction.  I think a lot of personnel men listen to each other talk and every time a story gets repeated it grows on their minds and suddenly mole hills become mountains.

One of the above concerns is an absolute fact in my mind.  Mallett is a statue in the pocket.  I don’t mean he can’t run.  I mean he can’t move at all.  Tom Brady has what many players call “phone booth quicks”.  He can move just a little to the side at the last minute and cause rushing linemen to charge by him with barely a touch.  Jay Cutler has them too and its one of the things that makes you think that if he ever realizes his potential, he’ll tear up the league.

Mallett doesn’t have that and it definitely is a cause for concern.  But its not a huge gamble to believe a guy with such a big arm could, with a good line and time to develop, demonstrate enough mobility to get by.

It’s really the second factor, the intangibles, that apparently caused Mallett to fall to the third round.  Here’s what the Patriots think:

“Mallett’s character actually enhanced his stock with the Patriots. They don’t think drugs or other substances are an issue. All that is on his record is one arrest for public intoxication outside a nightclub near the Arkansas campus.”

It’s that last sentence that says it all in my eyes.

Ryan Mallett has been made out to be a Cam Newton-type problem.  But here’s the difference.  Mallett has one black mark on his record and its one that a lot of college students could claim.  Newton?  Stealing notebook computers, cheating on exams, being thrown out of Florida and, unless you are an incredibly naive Tiger fan drinking the burnt orange and navy Koolaid, taking money to play at Auburn.  These are verifiable facts that no amount of smiling and talking nice can make go away.

As former Bears director of college scouting Greg Gabriel wrote a couple months ago for NFP:  “The bottom line is the only things that you can really believe is what you know to be true.”  For the record, based upon what we actually know about Mallett, the Patriots have once again used common sense to get right what other teams continue get wrong.

More Preparation Time Gives Some Teams Big Lockout Advantage But Not Bears

Dan Pompei had this comment in last week’s Sunday Blitz at the National Football Post that stuck in my mind:

“Some people around the league are anticipating some interesting game planning and scheming early in the season, more so than normally is the case. Why? Coaches have more time on their hands this offseason than usual without players to coach. Bill Belichick, for instance, tells me he has been spending some of his extra time studying opponents.”

I bring it up because Bears head coach Lovie Smith confirms that the Bears coaches are also spending the extra time studying film in this video from ESPNChicago.com.

This all strikes me as significant.

The lockout is going to give certain teams more of an advatange than others.  For instance, everyone agrees that this time off is killing teams with new coaches who are bringing in new systems.  This may be another case of that.

Its great that Lovie Smith is spending time looking at film.  But they don’t exactly play fancy, “make a lot of adjustments and do something clever” defense in Chicago.  As former NFL safety Matt Bowen put it very well, again for NFP:

“Teach landmarks, run-pass keys and specific techniques that apply to the front seven and the secondary. The rest? Just play football. The exact theory behind the Tampa 2 scheme under Tony Dungy and what we see today in Chicago with Lovie Smith.”

On the other hand, as Pompei points out, this could be huge for teams like the Patriots and, I’m sorry to say it, the Packers.  Dom Capers looks to me like he could do good things with this time off.

Its possible that Bears offensive coordinator Mike Martz might be able to sit down and think of some more interesting things to do against upcoming opponents.  But that doesn’t help the Bears without an offense that can execute to make those ideas a reality.

All and all I think the Bears strength as a team is in thier fundamentals on defense.  And you can’t work on those without players no matter how much opponents film you study.

Lovie Smith the Victim of High Expectations and Other Points of View

Bears

  • There was plenty of lockout news that I won’t be talking about at the Chicago Sun-Times and the Chicago Tribune.
  • J’Marcus Webb and Anthony Adams are your Piccolo Award winners. This is notable because Adams is not curently a Bear and because both players apparently treated the situation with such honor and respect.
  • Brad Biggs at the Chicago Tribune quotes Webb:

“I wish (playing left tackle) was possible. They are real secretive. They haven’t necessarily talked to me about it. I would love to be in any position ready to do the job.

“I played four years in college and I feel natural there. It’s the premier position. That’s where players get paid. It’s a big challenge. That’s what I am all about.”

  • Michael C. Wright at ESPNChicago.com reviews the cornerback position in the draft. He acknowledges that the Bears will probably address the position though they already have a “wealth of talent” there.  Needless to say he likes D.J. Moore as the nickel back better than I do.
  • Wright makes some good points in this video:


“A lot has been made of Mike Tice’s desire to draft Wisconsin OT Gabe Carimi, but he is projected to be picked higher than 29. Is there a chance the Bears will make a short jump up into the early- to mid-20s to get a player like Carimi? Darryl, Winnipeg, Manitoba”

“I would be very surprised if this happened, for two reasons. The first reason is the Bears don’t have extra picks to trade in order to move up. The second reason is Carimi is not perceived as a slam-dunk difference-maker. If he falls to 29, he’d be a fine pick. And there is a chance that will happen. But I don’t think he is the kind of player that teams are targeting in a trade-up. There is enough depth at the offensive line position that a trade-up for a player like Carimi probably would not be very smart.”

I might add that Carimi is generally projected to be a right tackle. Arguably the Bears already have three of those.

“Interestingly, Austin says he has no regrets. You have to wonder how teams interviewing him accept that answer knowing that by stepping out of bounds he took himself out of the game.”

  • This unsigned article at the Chicago Sun-Times (Neil Hayes?) speculates upon players at the Bears might take if they fall even though they aren’t at positions of highest need. I’m absolutely in favor of the Bears taking the best available at any position but quarterback and tight end.

Elsewhere


  • Mel Kiper at ESPN plays “skeptic or believer” as he goes over draft rumors.



“Mark Ingram and Mikel Leshoure will be picked in the first round.”

“Alabama’s Mark Ingram won’t get past Tampa Bay at 20 because of his strength, balance and rare vision. Illinois’ Mikel Leshoure, who is ahead of Ingram on some boards due to injury concerns regarding the former Heisman Trophy winner, will not get past New Orleans, New England or even Green Bay at 32 as 2010 breakout rookie James Starks and veteran Ryan Grant have both lost significant time to injuries in recent years.”

“Max Kielbasa
“Pittsburgh Steelers, 1943

“Max Kielbasa played two seasons at halfback for the Steelers. It can be presumed he then went on to open a sausage shop and/or star in adult films in Poland.”

One Final Thought

Pompei also gave this thoughtful answer to a fan question:

“Love Smith is one of the most successful Bears coaches in the history of the franchise. All of his players love him and play hard for him, and he has engaged in no controversial activity during his tenure. So, why do so many in the media call for his ousting? Is it because he doesn’t make for good copy? Mike Anderson, Evanston

“Interesting question. Lovie probably isn’t helped by the fact that his public persona is perceived as bland, and he isn’t very open in news conferences. But the reason he isn’t embraced more by the media and public probably goes well beyond that. My theory is the media and public probably would want any coached fired after seven years, assuming the coach isn’t winning Super Bowls regularly. It has less to do with Lovie than it does us. It’s just the fickle nature of the business and how demanding we have become of our teams. If a team isn’t collecting Lombardi Trophies, it is perceived to be failing. People forget this now, but back in the late 80s and early 90s, there were a lot of critics calling for Mike Ditka‘s head. Twenty years later, you would think he should be put up for canonization.”

Saying It All About the Draft and Other Points of View

Bears

BEARS: There are several good offensive tackles in this draft, and the Bears should be able to get one with the 29th pick. USC’s Tyron Smith will be long gone, but Mississippi State’s Derek Sherrod or Colorado‘s Nate Solder might be on the board. The Bears also could use a defensive tackle — maybe Baylor’s Phil Taylor or North Carolina‘s Marvin Austin — to fill the Tommie Harris void.

I’m astounded at the number of people who seem to think Phil Taylor is a viable fit for the Bear defense. He’s a nose tackle and though I’ve heard he can play the three-technique, I just don’t see it. Could be wrong.

  • Here are the five names Rob Rang at CBSSports.com has on the Bears draft board:

–CB Brandon Harris, Miami (Fla.)
–CB-FS Aaron Williams, Texas
–OT Nate Solder, Colorado
–OT Derek Sherrod, Mississippi State
–OL Danny Watkins, Baylor

Elsewhere

There’s a team in the draft that has a deal on the table — I’m guessing New England (surprise!) — with a team trying to come back into the first round. The deal will net the team dealing the first-rounder the following: a second-round pick in 2011 and a first-round pick in 2012. The deal, I hear, is contingent on the player the trade-up team wants still being there. Could it be Tennessee trading into the bottom of the first round, at 28, to get Jake Locker or Andy Dalton? Stay tuned.

  • Farmer continues with the Vikings needs:

VIKINGS: They need a quarterback and likely have to trade up from No. 12 if they want Auburn’s Cam Newton or Missouri’s Blaine Gabbert. However, there’s a good chance Washington’s Jake Locker, TCU’s Andy Dalton and Arkansas’ Ryan Mallett will be around. Locker is enticing at that spot. Cornerback is a glaring area of need, too, as is defensive tackle, where the Williams Wall once stood.

I think the chances are better than “good” that those quarterbacks will be around when the Vikings pick. Locker would be a reach – which is not to say the Vikings still wouldn’t do it. But I would hardly call him “enticing” that early.

  • Speaking of Locker, Greg Gabriel at the National Football Post breaks him down and he’s not pulling any punches:

“At the Senior Bowl practices, it was more of the same. He flashed but overall he was indecisive with his reads. He just didn’t trust what he was seeing and would be late getting the ball out of his hand. This caused accuracy problems and also gave defenders time to make plays. Overall, Locker is going to need a lot of time and good coaching. Because of his football character, I would never want to bet against him but he is a long ways away from being a starting NFL quarterback. He will do whatever it takes to improve, but I’m not sure his lack of natural instincts will ever be able to be overcome. Needless to say I would never draft him in the first round. Because of his intangibles I might want to take a chance in the third if I really had a need at the position.”

  • Bill Parcells tells ESPN a little bit about the week of preparation leading to the draft as he previews his draft special tomorrow night:

  • ESPN also does one of its “Sports Science” features on Florida’s Mike Pouncey:

“And this is supposed to surprise me how?”

Marshall was stabbed by his wife Friday.

One Final Thought

Also from King:

“Finally, this Tweet from our friend Greg Cosell of NFL Films, after examining all the quarterbacks in the draft: ‘Very anxious to see where QBs go. A bad draft but many teams need one. Could be lot of reaches. Not a top 20 QB in draft. It’s about hope.’ That just about says it all.

The Bears and the NFL Top 100. And Other Points of View

Bears

  • Well, the Bears drew an interesting schedule.  As everyone now knows they will be traveling to London to play Tampa Bay.  I addition to that, they drew a Christmas night assignment at Green Bay.
  • Brad Biggs at the Chicago Tribune says that the Bears won’t be playing in London if there’s no labor deal by Aug. 1.
  • ESPN’s  NFC North blogger Kevin Seifert wonders if the NFL didn’t purposely schedule the Bears to have more than the usual number of early home games because the turf would be better that time of year.
  • For those who despise night games as much as I do the Bears currently have four on the schedule.
  • Charles Tillman and his wife went on Oprah to meet the mother who donated her son’s heart so that Tillman’s daughter could live.  Via Sean Jensen at the Chicago Sun-Times.
  • Matt Williamson at ESPN’s Scouts Inc, ranked the NFC North offensive lines.  The Bears were dead last.

“In 2010, the Bears’ run blocking was terrible. But the pass protection was horrendous. In fact, it was probably the worst in the NFL, as evidenced by the league-leading 56 sacks Chicago allowed. Even though the coaching staff did a great job masking these insufficiencies, there will be changes. It is amazing that the Bears got as far as they did in the postseason with that group of linemen.”

“Fixing the Bears’ offensive line will be a two-part process. They’ll need to bring in better players, but more important, they’ll also have to coax improved play from a group that our resident scout sees little promise in.”

We all have to hope that there’s more promise that Williamson thinks in the Bears young offensive linemen or 2011 could be a long year.

  • The Bears website did this nice little feature on Director of Player Personnel Tim Ruskell:

“We brought in Chester to be a complement to Matt [Forte], which he was… I know the numbers weren’t there, but Matt’s numbers were up. You’re just looking for the running back position’s numbers to go up, which they did.”

Whatever.

“If Brandt is right, and neither [Anthony] Castonzo or [Gabe] Carimi can protect Jay Cutler‘s blind side, it may behoove the Bears to take an interior lineman or the best defensive player available.”

“Texas gave the Bears Nathan Vasher, and [Aaron] Williams is a 6-foot cornerback in the tradition of Charles Tillman. Because of the value of the position and the need to get a Tillman replacement in the pipeline, this pick solidifies a spot that has bedeviled the defense since Vasher’s precipitous decline from his one-time Pro Bowl level.”

  • Nolan Nawrocki at Pro Football Weekly reviews the character issues (good and bad) surrounding some of the to talent in the draft.  Amongst the players connected at some point to the Bears are Marvin Austin, Rodney Hudson, and Ryan Kerrigan.
  • Jensen picks Derek Sherrod for the Bears in a mock draft for NFL.com.

Elsewhere

  • Regulars here know that I’m purposely avoiding most of the details of the labor negotiations that aren’t directly football related.  In fact, I’m not even reading the articles.  However for those who care, profootballtalk.com seems to be all over it.  Mike Florio is a lawyer so there’s even a slight chance that you can believe some of it.
  • Jeff Fisher says he wants to coach again in 2012.  Florio continues to express his skepticism about Fisher’s history with the Titans.
  • Tom Pelissero at 1500ESPN.com doesn’t think the Vikings should be looking defensive end in the first round.  He points to fourth rounders Ray Edwards, Brian Robison and Everson Griffen as examples of good defensive linemen who can be found late.  Yes, but how good would they be without Jared Allen?  I think last season answered that question as Allen had a down year and so did everyone else.  True Allen, was a fourth rounder, too.  But the Vikings had to go outside the organization to get him and I don’t like the odds of finding another one of him.
  • Evan Silva at profootballtalk.com might as well just say out right that there’s no way Redskins quarterback Donovan McNabb gets traded.
  • Michael David Smith also at profootballtlk.com, indicates that, to no one’s surprise, the Patriots are willing to trade draft picks.  Historically they’re pretty good at it:

“One of [Bill] Belichick’s favorite draft-day tactics is to trade a pick this year for a higher pick next year. This year the Patriots own the first pick of the second round (and thus the second day), and it’s quite likely that some team will call Belichick before the second round starts to offer the Patriots a first-round pick in 2012 for the right to choose first in the second round of 2011. So the Patriots won’t just use all those picks to bolster their 2011 roster; they also may look to build a stockpile of 2012 picks.”

  • One season into his NFL career and Jimmy Clausen may already be done in Carolina.  Former NFL safety Matt Bowen relates his experience at a similar point in his career for the National Football Post.  If I’m Clausen and the Panthers draft a quarterback in the first round, I’m ignoring all other factors and doing my best to get onto a team with a history of developing quarterbacks.
  • And finally, the last of the series, the Carolina Panthers are on the clock at ESPN:

One Final Thought

Pete Prisco at CBSSports.com rates the top 100 NFL players.  There were only two Bears, only one of whom was drafted by the organization and he was not drafted by GM Jerry Angelo.

Lovie Smith “Favorites” and Other Points of View

Bears

“Number of picks: 43
“Still on team: 21
“Starters: 7
“Best pick: WR Devin Hester, 2006
“Worst pick: OT Chris Williams, 2008

“Overall: Hester, a second-round pick in 2006, has been to three Pro Bowls and was named first-team All Pro three teams, too. He has been one of the most dynamic returners in NFL history.  Matt Forte, a 1,000-yard rusher, was selected in the second round in 2008. Their first pick that year, Williams was drafted to be the left tackle of the future. Instead, he’s just the left guard of today, as he has fallen far short of expectations. The Bears haven’t had a pick within the first two rounds since ’08, but they landed Johnny Knox in the fifth round in ’09.”

“The Bears have two linebackers in place, both veterans in Lance Briggs and Brian Urlacher. That also ties up substantial payroll, meaning the Bears will not invest heavily at the position in free agency, particular for a player who projects to be a two-down role fit at least until either Briggs or Urlacher are substantially less productive.”

“Headed back to pittsburgh…. would be shocked if i wasnt in a dallas uniform nxt year! The draft is april 28th so we will see….”

“Some earlier mock drafts had the Bears tabbing Miami OT-OG Orlando Franklin at 29, but he had a lousy Pro Day, which could drop him all the way to Round 3. That could leave the Bears with a choice between Mississippi State OT Derek Sherrod or Baylor OG Danny Watkins if they want to go O-line.”

“’I think they can,’ Kiper Jr. said when I asked if they could land an impact offensive tackle without moving up in the first round. ‘If they went with a Nate Solder or a Derrick Sherrod where they are picking, Solder being from Colorado and Sherrod from Mississippi State, they could help their offensive line there and wait until the late second round and take maybe a Marvin Austin [from North Carolina], who would fit their scheme very well. If Marvin Austin would’ve played this year he would’ve been a late first-round pick. He could be gone by then but if he’s there he could be a guy who could certainly be in the mix. Allen Bailey, a kid out of Miami, if you move him inside [to defensive tackle] in their scheme he could fit what they are looking for. He wasn’t productive at defensive end this year and could move inside. Then maybe in the third round take a look at a Stefen Wisniewski or one of those versatile center/guard types. That’s what they need as well, like John Moffitt from Wisconsin and Rodney Hudson from Florida State. There are a lot of those center/guard combo guys they could look for at that point in the draft.’”

“29. Chicago: Marvin Austin, DT, North Carolina
“Austin’s name has been picking up some steam over the last week and the Bears have a need at the DT position in Lovie Smith’s defense.”

Elsewhere

One Final Thought

Jeff Dickerson at ESPN continues his series on Bears biggest draft steals and busts.  These two are on Charles Tillman and Matt Forte as “steals” and Michael Okwo and Dan Bazuin as busts.

I’m having a hard time understanding how Tillman, a guy taken in the second round and 35th overall (which is roughly where he was projected to go), can be a “steal”.  The choice of Forte as a “steal” isn’t much better.  My gut feeling is that Dickerson has chosen these two guys who are just living up to expectations because he couldn’t find five steals.  I’ll bet finding the busts was a lot easier, though.

Anyway here’s the line on third round pick Okwo:

“A favorite of Bears coach Lovie Smith coming out of school, Okwo confounded coaches and teammates with his inability to pick up even the simplest concepts of the Bears’ defense.”

I spend a lot of time on this blog trying to read between the lines in articles like this because there are so many things that are either off the record or that no writer simply wants to say outright.  That means a lot of speculation on little comments here and there.  And in this case I’m stretching it a lot and I want to freely acknowledge that up front.

Having said that, many of us who like Smith as a head coach have always had a niggling concern that he has too much influence in the draft room, especially since the Bears’ Super Bowl appearance.  So Dickerson’s statement makes me wonder how many other draft busts were “Lovie Smith favorites”.

Lots of Bear Potential in Prospects at North Carolina Pro Day and Other Points of View

Bears

“After compiling data for 57 mock drafts, [Derek] Sherrod leads [Gabe] Carimi 8-7. Illinois defensive tackle Corey Liuget and Boston College offensive tackle Anthony Castonzo are next with six apiece. Florida guard/center Mike Pouncey, mammoth Colorado offensive tackle Nate Solder and Villanova tackle Ben Ijalana each have four votes.”

“Players have always used these facilities for offseason and sometimes in-season extra work. It’s less the case now but players at one time were so unhappy with some of the strength and fitness directives coming from a (now-gone) strength coach that they covertly went to private trainers and facilities while at the same time complying with what the team was requiring. And they were adamant: Keep it a secret.

“That’s changed in recent years with Rusty Jones, the director of physical development, athletic trainer Tim Bream and some very sophisticated technologies for rehab as well as basic programs.”

  • ESPN‘s NFC North blogger Kevin Seifert provides his take on Smith’s comments regarding Devin Hester during the NFL owners meeting.  Seifert starts by noting the fall in Hester’s offensive numbers:

“That dip in production came even as Hester played on 66 percent of the Bears’ snaps, the second-highest total among the team’s receivers, according to Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune. Unofficially, the Bears targeted Hester on only 68 of the 646 total plays he was on the field for.

“That’s the pivot point Smith said he hopes to address this offseason. He didn’t put it in so many words, but if I had to read the tea leaves, it would go something like this: More targets, less plays.”

Elsewhere

  • Tom Hauser at KSTP is reporting that the Vikings stadium bill will include “a surcharge on pro football player incomes”.  That should go over well with free agents.
  • Seifert comments upon the “decision-makers” and takes a shot at former Vikings head coach Brad Childress in the process:

“Vice president of player personnel Rick Spielman has run the team’s draft for the past four years, although former coach Brad Childress had considerable influence when it came to quarterbacks. That’s a big part of the reason why the Vikings are all but barren at the most important position in the game, and that’s why it’s been almost a singular focus for Spielman and his staff over the past few months.”

I’m not a big Childress fan but you can bet he had a lot of influence at more than just quarterback.  Percy Harvin comes to mind as a player that Childress gave the definite impression that he pushed hard for.

For the record, I’m not a Spielman fan either but that dates back to his time with the Bears and, to a lesser extent, with the Dolphins.  Its now years later so I’m trying to keep an open mind.

I’m a big believer in Bears general manager Jerry Angelo‘s approach to the draft (just not his execution).  Angelo has said on multiple occasions that you can’t afford to fall in love with one player.  It almost always gets you in trouble.  But having said that, I do wonder if the quarterback position isn’t the exception…

  • The Jaguars are on the clock at ESPN:

  • Omar Kelly at the South Florida Sun Sentinelreviews the top running backs in the draft, including video footage.  The Dolphins figure to have a need there.  Kelly’s also not a fan of quarterback Chad Henne:

And its obvious that he thinks speed will be the theme for the Dolphins this year:

“To me, if the Cowboys do anything with a player who wears a number lower than 50 in the first two rounds, I will think they made a mistake. Their needs are clear. Offensive line and defensive line. Everything else can wait.”

  • They say that men with large video boards are compensating for a small…  something else.  If that’s the case the Dallas Morning News has some bad news for Cowboys owner Jerry Jones.
  • People love to pick on the Raiders but I’m with them on this one.  Via Ian R. Rapoport at the Boston Herald:

“Given the choice between former Patriots defensive end Richard Seymour or the No. 1 draft pick his team traded to acquire him, Raiders coach Hue Jackson left no doubt: ‘I’m taking Richard Seymour.’”

One Final Thought

Detroit Lions receiver Calvin Johnson stars in this clever commercial:

Many Prospects Connected to Bears “Overrated” and Other Points of View

Bears

“Wilson competes with Nevada outside linebacker Dontay Moch as this year’s most impressive workout warrior linebacker. Wilson struggles locating the football, making him significantly slower on the field than the 6-4, 250-pounder timed at the combine (4.46-second electronic time). This is particularly troublesome for Wilson considering he’s played linebacker for three seasons with the Illini, as opposed to Moch, who starred as a defensive end. Wilson might measure like a first-rounder, but his tape says he’s closer to a third-round pick.”

Amongst the other potential Bears picks that Rang thinks are overrated are Titus Young, Nate Solder and Mike Pouncey.  Not good.  Amongst the potential underrated players, Rang has Ricki Stanzi as being undervalued.  The Bears probably are looking for a developmental quarterback but Stanzi may go higher in the middle rounds than they’d like.

  • The Bears are not known to take chances on players with character issues but former NFL safety Matt Bowen at the National Football Postthinks that if Colorado cornerback Jimmy Smith fell into the late first round, he might be hard to pass up.
  • On a related note, the experts at NFP take a look at the Bears draft room in a couple videos here.  For those who aren’t familiar with the staff at the Post, former Bears director of college scouting Greg Gabriel and Bowen, a former safety (and a Chicagoan) who played previously under head coach Love Smith with the Rams are on this panel.  Let’s just say they know the Bears pretty well.  This video is well worth watching.  Its a shame they won’t allow it to be embedded here.
  • Gabriel also breaks down offensive tackles Solder and Tyron Smith.  Some mock drafts have Solder falling to the Bears.  Gabriel has this interesting comment about him:

“Because of his narrow frame, you have to question whether or not he will get much stronger in the lower body. Over the years I have seen players like this make weight room gains but not functional strength gains.”

Elsewhere

  • Andy Benoit at The New York Times does another one of his “What the Film Revealed” studies, this time of the Pittsburgh Steelers.  Here’s an interesting take:

“Myth Buster

“3-4 defensive ends are just run anchors

“For most teams, this is true. But for the Steelers, the defensive end position is where favorable defensive mismatches in the run game are created. Brett Keisel’s agility, more than his power, makes him a force. (This is also true for Aaron Smith…when he’s healthy.) Keisel creates congestion along the line of scrimmage primarily through lateral movement and penetration. Having this kind of mobility at defensive end gives [defensive coordinator Dick] LeBeau more variations in his scheme.”

“Joe Flacco, the prototype quarterback,  continued his growth, but he still wasn’t consistent between the numbers. Far too much of the passing game took place underneath and outside, where the reads tend to be simpler… The running game sputtered a bit compared with 2009, largely because the offensive line occasionally struggled to generate raw power. Michael Oher, moving to the left side, was disconcertingly average, at least given the hype around him. At this point, saying Oher is a budding star is akin to  nominating a folksy but cliché-ridden feel-good family sports movie for Best Picture simply to appease the mainstream audience.”

One Final Thought

Mike Freeman at CBSSports.com interviews former NFL quarterback Warren Moon who believes ciriticism of Newton is “racially biased” and that he is “extremely angry” about it.  Which makes me extremely angry.  Fortunately Mike Florio at profootballtalk.com does a good job of debunking this nonsense so I don’t have to.

Five Apps Every Sports Fan Needs and Other Points of View

Bears

“Asked if [Jay] Cutler would still be a Bronco if he were in charge at the time, Elway said, ‘There’s a good possibility, yeah.

“’I would say that. But I don’t know. I wasn’t in the middle of that. I didn’t know Jay real well.

“’But I would have done everything I can, especially when you have a talent like you have in Jay. Those guys don’t come around very often.’”

  • ESPN NFC North blogger Kevin Seifert answers your questions: including this one about whether the Bears need for a receiver:

“melliott74 writes: I remember a few years ago the Steelers were looking for a bigger receiver, and they drafted a ‘steal’ in the 2nd round named Limas Sweed. You’re welcome to take him.

“Kevin Seifert: Well, to be fair, Sweed’s career has been derailed for reasons other than being a big receiver who didn’t play that way. Most notably, he ruptured an Achilles tendon last spring.

But I understand what you’re saying. As they prepare for the draft and free agency, I don’t think the Bears should over-prioritize height for receivers. All I’m saying is that coach Lovie Smith is right to note that he doesn’t have a big receiving threat.

Tight end Greg Olsen could fill that role sometimes, but it’s not the same as having a speed-based threat who can ‘go up and get it.'”

Elsewhere

“Scouts say as many as nine outside linebackers are getting no worse than third-round grades from most teams, which is astounding.”

“I would say that one thing you definitely miss is that team camaraderie.  There’s a few guys that come out here daily, so we get a little bit of it. But it’s not the same as a traditional offseason, where it’s 50 guys out there and you’re all working towards one purpose. For the most part, though, we’ve been pushing each other very well.”

“The Jerry 2.0 years started with seemingly effectiveness, as he has retained many of the player templates installed in the [Bill] Parcells years.  Every player from Dallas ’08 draft remains in the league and the one player Dallas cut, 6th rounder Erik Walden, just earned a Super Bowl ring with the Packers.

“That said, the high-round gambling which dogged Jerry 1.0 [between Jimmy Johnson and Parcells] appears to be creeping back into the Cowboys drafts.  Martellus Bennett is a physically imposing, but equally immature tight end, a fact the ’08 Hard Knocks made plain.  Bennett continues to progress slowly, but thus far represents a poor return for a 2nd round pick.”

  • The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are on the clock at ESPN:

  • Of interest to Bears fans is this entry in the Whispers feature at Pro Football Weekly:

“Not many people expect the Patriots to keep both their first-round picks (Nos. 17 and 28). The Pats also start the second round with the 33rd overall selection. The 28th appears to be the one for sale, and a report surfaced from the owners meeting in New Orleans that the Chargers could be a suitor. The Patriots have more holes to fill than you would think for a team coming off a 14-2 record, with a young defense and an aging offensive line. However, that shouldn’t end the Draft Day tradition of Bill Belichick making a deal and trading an early pick for a future pick.”

The Bears have the 29th pick, the one immediately after the relevant Patriots spot.

One Final Thought

This time of year the news in the press (and subsequently much of what you find referenced in this blog) is dominated by what people say about the draft.  So these statements by Bears director of college scouting Greg Gabriel in the National Football Post have particular relevance, especially to the teams fans:

“I used to tell people in the last few weeks leading up to the draft that the first thing I have to do when the draft is over is go to confession and beg for forgiveness for all the lies I told the previous two months.”

“While I was with the Bears, I would change things every year so the media could not be certain as to why we were doing things. One year I may bring in for visits many of the players we were interested in and the next year not bring in any and then the next year only guys we may want as potential free agents. Of course then there were some years when you would bring in the big “smoke screen” candidate only to let other clubs “think” we were interested in that player. I felt you could never have a pattern on how you did business; you have to change from year to year especially when dealing with the draft. If I was ever asked about a certain player’s injury, I would always say that it was a concern even if it wasn’t. If that answer would throw off what a few clubs thought we may want to do then it was the right answer.

“The bottom line is the only things that you can really believe is what you know to be true.”