Bear(ing) the News – A Chicago Bears Blog

Mark Potash at the Chicago Sun-Times thinks the Bears have drawn a tough schedule next year:

“Things can change between now and Sept. 8, but at first blush, it doesn’t appear [Bears head coach Marc] Trestman and his staff will have the wind at their backs. The Bears will face 12 teams that made the playoffs in at least one of the last two seasons, including in each of their first 10 games. That’s more than any team in the NFL.”

Yes, ordinarily its perilous to try to judge the schedule based upon past records.  Things go up and down in the NFL very fast and teams you thought were going to be good can turn into duds very quickly.  And teams with low expectations can rise above them just as fast. Consider the Vikings last year as a prime example of a team no one thought would win many games.  They were competing for a playoffs spot in the second half of the season.

But the Bears face a special situation this year.  They’re playing every team in the AFC North including the Steelers and the Ravens.  They’re up against every team in the NFC East including the Giants and the Cowboys.  The Bengals and the Redskins both finished strong last year.  Add the Saints into the mix and you’ve got a real problem.

Its not that the Bears can’t beat these teams.  In fact, they did beat the Cowboys in a poorly played game last year.  And they should be able to handle the Browns.  But beyond that, both of these divisions are extremely competitive and  the teams in them are uncommonly consistent year to year.  While most of the NFL see-saws up and down, you can count on the Steelers, Ravens and the Giants to be looking to make the playoffs nearly every year.  And you can count on the Cowboys, Eagles and Bengals to give you a pretty rough time most games.  Even in what is considered to be down years for most of those teams, they’re going to make you earn every game more than most.

That means that we aren’t likely to look back on 2013 and say, “Wow.  That turned out to be easier than I thought”.  More likely, the Bears are going to have to play above their heads – and a lot better than they did last year – if they are going to make the playoffs.

Brad Biggs at the Chicago Tribune reports some good news on defensive end Shea McClellin as he writes about how crucial it is for last years draft class to step it up this year:

“The team can get a big boost on both sides of the ball if defensive end Shea McClellin and wide receiver Alshon Jeffery are prepared for bigger roles in their second seasons. McClellin has bulked up some as he has been able to train for football rather than predraft tests such as the 40-yard dash, bench press and agility drills.”

“McClellin was mostly a situational pass rusher who played 34.7 percent of the time in 2012 with 21/2 sacks.”

“McClellin said he has added 5 to 7 pounds and is about 258, meaning he was playing below his listed weight of 260 last season.

“‘I need to take a big step,’ McClellin said. ‘That is what I am planning on doing. … Still trying to get quicker and faster. Working on hands, everything in pass rush.'”

Adam L. Jahns puts it even more bluntly:

“Is he a three-down player?

“‘He’ll get what he earns,’ [defensive coordinator Mel Tucker said.”

Let’s hope he earns a lot of playing time because, despite the perception that there’s depth at the position, they may need a lot more from McClellin than anyone thinks.  Corey Wooton had a good year for the Bears last year but I’m still not sold on him as a starter.  The Bears are still trying to sign Israel Idonije.

McClellin played really small last year.  He’s quick but he was far too easy to push around, especially against the run, to be a regular starter.  Physically he looked like a boy amongst men.  If he gains a more weight and upper body strength this offseason without losing a lot of quickness, he’ll be much more valuable.

I’m sure general manager Phil Emery was counting on that when he drafted him as it was apparent that both Jeffery and McClellin were projects that were likely to take a year to bloom.  That might be something to bear in mind as we approach the draft this year.  Emery looks like he might be a lot more likely to take a player he thinks can develop rather than one who he is counting on helping much this year.

Matt Bowen at the Chicago Tribune runs through things he wants to see about Marc Trestman’s new offensive and defensive schemes and personnel during this week’s minicamp.  Amongst the things he’s curious about are how Trestman and offensive coordinator Aaron Kromer will use new tight end Martellus Bennet.

“With Bennett, and second-year pro Evan Rodriguez, the Bears can bring their Ace personnel (two receivers, two tight ends, one back) on the field to create matchups versus base defensive fronts and try to exploit the second level of the defense. There will be opportunities here for [quarterback Jay] Cutler to use the tight end to beat up the middle of the field.”

Only if they can run the ball with that personnel.  If both Bennett and Rodriguez can block well enough to force an opponent to use a base scheme against that personnel, they’ll be able to do something.  But as of now if I’m a defensive coordinator, the Bears will rarely see a full compliment of linebackers against that personnel.  Certainly not in anything that looks even close to a passing situation.

The problem is that you won’t really be able to evaluate that in a mini camp.  The Bears won’t really know what they have until the players get out of shorts and start hitting people.

I thought this comment from the Friday Buzz feature at The National Football Post was interesting:

There is an uncomfortable and eerie feeling in the agent community. More players than ever have been ask to take pay cuts and the amount of unsigned quality players still on the street has agents feeling uneasy. From one veteran agent: “I’m not sure if this is just an anomaly in the market place because of a flat cap this year, or if there is some informal collusion going on amongst owners, or if this is a trend that’s here to stay. If so, it looks like the back end of the second deal is just window dressing and the chance for a third deal is dead.” We won’t really know until next year.

First, I despise the word “collusion” when it comes out of an agent’s mouth only marginally less than I do when it comes out of the mouth of a representative of the player’s union.  The NFL doesn’t need any more lawsuits, particularly from the union.

Having said that, I really doubt that its justified.  Teams are spending to the cap.  In fact, to some extent they’re obligated to spend to the cap.  As long as they’re doing that, I can’t see how there can be a complaint.  If they’re spending less cash up front its almost certainly because the cap won’t be increasing to accommodate the back end of those contracts like it used to.  At least not for the next year or two.

My message to the players is “welcome to the real world”.  Finances are tight all over and, to a certain degree, the NFL is probably feeling it.  Your cap might be flat for the next couple years but be grateful you aren’t dependent upon government funding right now.

Brian Urlacher is really going to wish he’d taken that $2 million from the Bears.  Its not that I’m unsympathetic to the players’ situation.  But looking back on it, no one should be surprised.

Sean Jensen at the Chicago Sun-Times gives a list of players who mock drafts going to the Bears (without reference or links to whose drafts they are):

1. Alec Ogletree, LB, 6-2, 242, Georgia

2. Manti Te’o, LB, 6-1, 241, Notre Dame

3. Jonathan Cooper, G, 6-2, 311, North Carolina

4. Sylvester Williams, DT, 6-3, 313, North Carolina

5. Arthur Brown, LB, 6-0, 241, Kansas State

6. Chance Warmack, G, 6-2, 314, Alabama

7. Desmond Trufant, CB, 6-0, 190, Washington

8. Tyler Eifert, TE, 6-6, 250, Notre Dame

9. Tank Carradine, DE, 6-4, 265, Florida State

This promises to be a good draft for the Bears.  Some of these players, particularly Ogletree, Cooper and Warmack, are expected to go higher than 20.  The team can afford to sit back and take which ever steal falls to them.  A nice situation.