Bears
- John Mullin at CSNChicago.com in says the Bears should be proud of their finiancial data. For those who ae still interested in the details there’s also some good lockout-related information here as well as in Sean Jensen‘s report at the Chicago Sun-Times.
- Jensen quotes an interview former star quarterback and current Broncos vice president of football operations John Elway did with KXDP-FM (87.7) in Denver:
“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
- Bart Hubbuch at the New York Post gives us the probable reason why the Bears only have two linebackers on their roster at the moment:
“Scouts say as many as nine outside linebackers are getting no worse than third-round grades from most teams, which is astounding.”
- Carolina tight end Dante Rosario on the offseason workouts aways from the team facility during the lockout (via Joseph Person at the Charlotte Observer):
“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.”
- Toni Monkovic at The New York Times thinks that the player who scores the touchdown should be required to kick the extra point.
- “Rafael” at the Cowboys Nation blog offers interesting insight into the draft history of the Dallas Cowboys under Jerry Jones:
“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.
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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.”