Day: May 3, 2016

Who is the Real Back Up Quarterback?

Adam Jahns at the Chicago Sun-Times characterizes the Bears up coming post-draft position battles:

“Quarterbacks

“Starter: Jay Cutler.

“Reserves: Brian Hoyer, David Fales, Matt Blanchard.

“Main competition: Hoyer vs. Fales. Pace wanted an experienced backup behind Cutler, but he still thought enough of Fales to prevent the Ravens from signing him off the Bears’ practice squad late last season. Fales, a sixth-round pick in 2014, has an edge to him, and this might be his last chance with the team.”

This could be true but I think most of us believe that Hoyer is a lock at the back up position at this point. He’s a veteran and he’s familiar with offensive coordinator Dowell Loggains. I’d be surprised if the battle wasn’t between Fales and Blanchard for the third QB spot.

It wasn’t really the focus of this post bet because its in the same article I’m going to add my thoughts on this comment on the Bears status at wide receiver:

“Meanwhile, [Daniel] Braverman, a seventh-round selection, is the only true slot receiver. His development and integration is worth monitoring at training camp.”

I generally like Jahns but this was a bone-headed comment. Anyone who has come to the conclusion that Eddie Royal isn’t a true slot receiver wasn’t paying attention last year. Lack of depth and his desire to show that he was more than that pushed him outside to the detriment of both himself and the team. He never performed up to his capabilities until the Bears moved him back inside.

Giants Looked Blind-Sided by Bears First Round Trade

Bart Hubbuch at the New York Post reviews the Bears draft:

“Bears: B

“Threw everyone — but especially the Giants — a curveball by swooping into the top 10 to take Georgia outside linebacker Leonard Floyd, who needs to add some bulk before making a big impact. Used three of their nine picks on safeties.”

I would agree and I was surprised that the Giants didn’t get more flack for their next choice in other places:

“Giants: C

“Doesn’t appear to be anywhere near the home-run draft GM Jerry Reese needed. Caught flat-footed by the Bears moving up to steal Leonard Floyd, and scouts are divided about top pick Eli Apple.”

Reese is widely believed to be in some trouble in New York and with some justification. Tom Coughlin took the fall for a bad season with a talent-poor roster last year.

I’m convinced that the Bears trade to leap over the Giants did, indeed, throw them for a loop and they reacted poorly with what is widely believed to be a reach. I like Apple more than most because of his length but almost no one believed that he was a top 10 pick. It had the look of a panic move by a team that didn’t have a plan if the guys they had targeted all went early (no one anticipated Laremy Tunsil‘s fall and that pushed guys like Floyd up the board a slot or two).

Predictably, Reese defended the pick:

“‘Well, when somebody doesn’t know what they’re talking about, it’s easy to depict it that way because they don’t know what they’re talking about,’ Reese said. ‘We clearly went through this scenario that Apple could be the player we would pick.'”

If you say so.

The Bears reacted better when the Packers leap-frogged them to take Indiana tackle Jason Spriggs in the second though general manager Ryan Pace claims that it had no effect on their draft they immediately traded back for the second time in the round when Spriggs went off the board.  Though Cody Whitehair is a good pick, a good offensive tackle made a lot more sense than a guard at that point.

But if the Packers out maneuvered them for Spriggs, at least the Bears were ready and got good value.  The Giants really didn’t.