Category: Dallas Cowboys

What It All Comes Down to on Defense and Other Points of View

Bears

  • Dan Pompei at the Chicago Tribune puts his finger on one of the major problems Friday night that got little attention. Jay Cutler had a poor game accuracy wise. That should, I hope, be an anomaly.
  • Biggs brings up the other point, which I think is much more of an issue and which is weighing heavily on my mind.:

“But the pass rush as a whole has left plenty of room for improvement, especially when you consider the Bears will face Aaron Rodgers in Week 2 at Lambeau Field. They’ve got to dial up the pressure.”

The entire defense is predicated upon the fact that the front four must get pressure on the quarterback. Eli Manning was an extremely comfortable man Friday.

It’s not that the other, more heavily criticized units looked good. But the game of football is still played at the line of scrimmage and ninety perent of the time when the Lovie Smith‘s defense isn’t performing well, its because of lack of pressure. I’m really surprised that this hasn’t been brought up more since the game ended. I can almost guarantee that Smith will tomorrow.

  • Steve Ronsenbloom at the Chicago Tribune pinpoints another issue I think we’ll hear about as well:

“Quick, someone tell the Bears it’s OK to practice tackling in games.”

  • I think we’d better get used to this. From Joe Cowley at the Chicago Sun-Times:

“Receiver Alshon Jeffery had become a very reliable target throughout training camp and the first two preseason games, but he had an awful-looking drop in the first quarter that would’ve put the Bears at the Giants’ 3-yard line.

Jeffery redeemed himself with a catch of a tipped ball that he turned into a first down, but it was his only reception.”

1) Jeffrey was pretty much know for his dropss in college. He might not kick the habit easily. 2) It worth noting that the ball was tipped because, like much of the game, he was covered like a blanket.

Room for two? Former Mayor Richard M. Daley suggests the NFL should put a second franchise in Chicago, something that seems a little farfetched when Los Angeles remains without a club. Of course, the Cardinals used to call Chicago home.

I think its more likely than getting a Super Bowl. And that’s not very likely.

  • Oh, yeah. And Daley also wants a new stadium. From The Huffington Post.
  • Cowley on rookie defensive end Shea McClellin:

“And as far as dropping McClellin back into a zone coverage in certain situations? Not happening.”

“We run our package with him,’’ Marinelli added. “Where the league is in terms of mobility of quarterback, the speed, and or guys that can step up and avoid, you need speed coming at the quarterback. You are looking for athletic guys. Henry Melton is athletic, Julius [Peppers], Izzy [Israel Idonije], this guy is athletic, so you are looking for athletic guys that can play in space, and he can do that. Once you start moving a guy around a lot it diminishes your skills.’’

Anyone who watched these preseason games can see that the Bears are already dropping McClellin into coverage. But whatever.

“With Chris Williams looking decent the other night at right tackle, and J’Marcus Webb struggling, why isn’t anyone talking about Gabe Carimi at left tackle?  He dominated at the position for his entire college career, yet they wrote him off over there after two practices, I’ve never understood why. Brad, Chicago

“The Bears drafted Carimi to be a right tackle.  They believe he is better suited to play right tackle than left. Even though he played left tackle at Wisconsin, Carimi was not asked to do much traditional pass protecting there because the Badgers didn’t rely on a lot of dropbacks. They were a running team.  And run blocking is what he does best. A lot of people doubt that Carimi has the foot quickness to be an outstanding left tackle in the NFL.  There is much less doubt that he can be an outstanding right tackle.”

“Yeah, I think I will,” Williams said.

Then he’s the only one.

“All offseason, both Brian Urlacher and the Bears organization assured us his knee would be fine by training camp.  Given the class with which Urlacher has handled the business side of football, I hate to even ask, but since I’m also very cynical when it comes to pro athletes, here goes:  Do you think he’s really hurt, or is there nothing wrong that can’t be healed by a visit from Dr. Contract Extension? Mark E., Arlington, Va.

“I think anyone who knows Urlacher will tell you he does not operate that way.  It’s hard for a player to achieve greatness if money is his primary motivation.  He has to play because he loves the game.  Urlacher does. He is a warrior and a professional. I think his knee is really hurt.”

  • However, I’m happy to say that I can follow it with this one:

“With the change in offensive play-calling, do you expect the Bears to take fewer early-game timeouts to avoid play-clock penalties? Ken L., Brownsville, Minn.

“Yes I do. One of [former offensive coordinator] Mike Martz’s strengths — and one of his weaknesses — is he was intent on getting the perfect call on every play.  He was very deliberate in his play calls, and he wanted to consider all of the circumstances before pulling the trigger.  This sometimes led to big plays.  And this sometimes led to delay-of-game penalties.”

“The best offensive coordinators are innovators and are more of the intellectual type.  Mike Tice seems more like a tough guy and perhaps better suited to the offensive line.  If the offense isn’t deceptive enough, defenses will know what’s coming and stop it.  Do you think Tice’s offense will be deceptive and tricky enough to be successful?  How important do you think deception is? Jim P., Chicago

“I think you are stereotyping Tice and coaches in general.  He is a tough guy.  That doesn’t mean he also isn’t “more of the intellectual type.”  Tice has a few tricks in his bag. But the most important thing for the Bears’ offense is execution, not deception. The best teams in the league aren’t playing shell games with opponents; they are out-hitting and out-blocking them. If players don’t play with good technique and fundamentals and beat the players on the other side of the line, no amount of deception in the NFL could help them.  Deception only is valuable when all the basics are covered.”

I would say that the best teams in the NFL are doing both.

  • I thought this comment via Biggs from defensive tackle Nate Collins before Friday’s game was interesting. Collins spent some time on the Giants 2010 practice squad.

“‘It will be good to go against some of those guys I used to always go against in practice and you’re kind of like the dummy,’ Collins said. ‘It’ll be good to go in there and get a chance to really play and compete and see what I can do.'”

  • I thought the third preseason game was more worthwhile than the first two. But I had a hard time getting as excited as this guy was:

Elsewhere

“Lost in all the opponent stomps, roadside
arrests, practice sucker punches and handshake fracases is the fact that
the Lions are mighty fine football team that keeps getting better.

“General manager Martin Mayhew has surrounded Stafford, the No. 1 pick of the 2009 draft, with seven
skill-position players who were either first- or second-round draft picks.”

“Schwartz publicly has downplayed reducing penalties but privately has made it a mission.
Players say he has railed about penalties in meetings. During offseason practices, when a player did
something that would have been called a penalty in a game, he stopped practice and made the team run.
At the start of training camp he showed players a chart comparing the Lions’ penalties to the penalties of
teams that advanced past the first round of the playoffs, which the Lions failed to do.

His message was clear: The Lions need to cut down on penalties if they want to go further in 2012.”

One Final Thought

Glad to see that Pompei’s Sunday Blitz column at The National Football Post is back. This comment fascinates me:

“No surprise to see Shawne Merriman out of football. He was a player who needed to believe he was invincible in order to be his best, and he probably no longer could believe it. In a 2006 interview in the film room at Merriman’s home in San Diego, this is what he told me. “I take pride in trying to be the best, in being dominant, and my work ethic. I talk a lot of stuff to my teammates and coaches that I almost have to take the extra step to live up to it. You can’t go around this league talking and not go out and do it… I can’t envision somebody beating me one on one. I have so much pride that I can’t. It’s going to happen. Everybody in the league has been beaten, no matter who you are, whether it’s in a race, or somebody is a step quicker than you, or stronger than you. But in my head I can’t envision losing a battle. I take that very seriously. I don’t plan on it happening.”

 

Quick Comments: NFL Draft First Round

  1. Did the Vikings play the Browns?  Hard to tell. Tampa Bay may have been threatening to move into the pick.  Trent Richardson was considered to be the best prospect in the draft by some analysts.
  2. Why so many trades?  It’s likely because there’s a rookie wage scale. Teams are a lot more likely to trade picks if they know it won’t cost them an arm and a leg in addition to draft picks.
  3. I’m guessing that when Tampa Bay traded back to the seventh pick they thought that they were going to get Morris Claiborne. Then Jaguars took Justin Blackmon and the Rams were likely going to go to another need position.  The Cowboys probably foiled the plan when they traded up to jump ahead of the Bucs. Mark Barron is fine but there wouldn’t have been a thing wrong with Stephon Gilmore in that slot, either.
  4. The Eagles needed to trade ahead of the Rams at 14 because they would have grabbed Fletcher Cox in a heart beat. Nice work getting into the 12 spot by trading with Seattle.
  5. Bruce Irvin at 15, Seattle?  Really?
  6. I was sure the Bears were going to go with left tackle Riley Reiff when he got past St. Louis. Instead they went with the defensive end.
  7. I experienced some disquiet when I saw the Lions benefit from the Bears pass to take Reiff.
  8. Quinton Coples fell but not too far to the Jets at 16.  He’s going to be fascinating to watch.  If he becomes a higher effort guy, he could be one of the best players from this draft.
  9. The Patriots traded up twice in the first round?  Who saw that coming?  I can’t say it was a bad idea, though.  Chandler Jones at 21 and Dont’a Hightower at 25 were both great pickups for their defense.  I’m sure Houston would have nabbed Hightower at 26 and if not them, then Baltimore later in the round.  Jones was a fast riser who might not have lasted long, either.
  10. Shea McClellin does fit the Bears in a lot of ways. I thought the Bears might be scared off by the reported three concussions that McClellin sustained but perhaps they bought into McClellin’s denial that this was the case.
  11. McClellin is apparently a high motor, high effort guy who I think most Bear fans are going to like.  He has the reputation of being a tweener who many thought would be a better fit as a 3-4 linebacker.  Assuming he plays end with the Bears, he won’t see as many double teams with Julius Peppers on the other side.  He’ll probably need work against the run.
  12. Pro Football Weekly has McClellin rated as going at the top of the second round.
  13.  The Bears filled a need but was he the best player available?  I have my doubts.  There were a lot of high rated offensive linemen on the board that the Bears probably didn’t anticipate would be there.  They used their offseason to set up to take a defensive linemen only to see Riley Reiff, David DeCastro, and Cordy Glenn fall to them.  They recently signed guard Chico Rachal with the possible intention of moving Chris Williams back to tackle.  I’m wondering if they might have handled their offseason differently had they known DeCastro and Reiff would be there.

Forte Not Doing Himself Any Favors and Other Points of View

Bears

  • Brad Biggs at the Chicago Tribune reports on the Bears acquisition of running back Michael Bush.  This was a good signing, I think.  You need two good running backs these days.  Bush has good size but moves well and is almost kind of a slasher.  At minimum, he’ll be a good replacement of Marion Barber and he’ll probably be better in short yardage situations than anyone on the roster.
  • Bush’s signing generated this somewhat petulant response from Bears free agent Matt Forte on Twitter:

“There’s only so many times a man that has done everything he’s been asked to do can be disrespected! Guess the GOOD GUYS do finish last….”

Dan Pompei at the Chicago Tribune has a potential explanation:

“Perhaps the reason Matt Forte is so sensitive to sharing the meeting room, shower area and backfield with Michael Bush is he knows Bush can be more than just his caddie.”

The problem that I have isn’t that Forte feels disrespected. Its just that when someone offers you more money than most people will make in a lifetime, I don’t want to hear you complain about it.

His situation is totally different from yours and mine and I do understand that. I just don’t want to hear him cry about how “good guys finish last” on Twitter as if we’re supposed to be sympathetic.

Forte has an agent who is in charge of negotiating his contract and making public statements when warranted by things like this.  He would be a lot better off dumping Twitter, concentrating on football and letting his agent do his job by catching the flak.

  • Pompei answers this good fan question:

“There were six other NFL teams that finished with the same record as the Chicago Bears. The Arizona Cardinals pick 13th in the upcoming draft and the Bears will select at 19. How was draft order determined, and how badly do you think this will impact the Bear’s ability to get the player they want?”
“— Norb Gecewicz, Deer Park

“The first tiebreaker in the draft for teams with identical records is strength of schedule. Because the Bears played a stronger schedule than the Cardinals, Cowboys, Eagles, Jets, Raiders (their pick now belongs to the Bengals) and Chargers, they pick last among all the 8-8 teams. And picking 19th as opposed to 13th definitely could cost the Bears dearly. If you say the Bears’ biggest need is an edge rusher, the Cardinals, Cowboys, Jets and Chargers all could use one as well (though each of those teams runs a 3-4). If you say the Bears really need an offensive tackle, the Cardinals, Jets and Chargers are threats to take one of them. And if you still want another receiver, the Cardinals, Jets and Bengals all could ruin the Bears’ plans.”

  • For those looking to see the Bears bolster the defensive line, Pompei gives some draft analysis:

“The four best defensive ends in the draft that fit the Bears’ scheme, in alphabetical order, are Melvin Ingram from South Carolina, Whitney Mercilus from Illinois, Nick Perry from Southern Cal and Courtney Upshaw from Alabama. There is a chance the Bears will have their pick of these four, but I really think there is a good chance Mercilus is off the board at 19. I also think there is a good chance Quinton Coples from North Carolina could be off the board, but I don’t see him as the kind of player the Bears will be looking for. Different players will rank these ends in different orders based on their schemes, so we can’t be completely sure how they will come off the board.”

“According to the West Virginian Times, Smith and Pittsburgh Steelers coach Mike Tomlin were both on hand Friday, probably to get a close look at defensive end/outside linebacker Bruce Irvin.”

Despite the fact that he was at the combine for interviews, Biggs says that the Bears will have him in for a visit before the draft.  He may require an extra hard look because of his checker past.  In fact,  after his pro day last week, he was arrested for allegedly damaging a sign outside a Jimmy John’s sandwich shop.  But given the Bears new focus on “on field character”, it probably won’t matter much.

Pompei reports on what scouts think of Irvin for The National Football Post:

“The fear is that at 245 pounds, Irvin isn’t big enough to put his hand in the dirt, and he doesn’t have the understanding of the game to play outside linebacker. Coaches will have a hard time trusting him as an outside linebacker, but it may be the only thing he can do.”

  • Pompei answers another very good fan question:

“With Mike Shanahan looking for weapons for Robert Griffin and the price for [Brandon] Marshall being so reasonable, why do you think the Redskins did not trade for him? Marshall had his most productive games playing for Shanahan. With the trade for RG3 and the signing of Pierre Garcon and Josh Morgan, it’s obvious that draft picks and money are not the issue. Does Shanahan know something we Bears fans don’t? — Mazhar Paliwala, Buffalo Grove

“My sense is Shanahan had his fill of Brandon Marshall, but I could be wrong. In 2009, ESPN’s Chris Mortensen reported that had Shanahan stayed in Denver, he was preparing to cut Marshall because he believed Marshall hurt the Broncos more than he helped them. If Mortensen said it, I believe it. He’s as solid as they come. Then again, the Marshall that Shanahan knew might not be the Marshall that Lovie Smith is going to know, if Marshall is to be believed. Marshall says his treatment for borderline personality disorder has made him a new man. We’ll see. But there is another reason why the Redskins might not have been in the Marshall trade discussions. Even though the compensation requests from the Dolphins were reasonable, the Redskins don’t have much trade ammunition after the RG3 trade. They already are missing a second-round pick this year and first-round picks in 2013 and 2014. They really are not in position to be giving away two more picks.”

“You have to be careful with players who did not produce a lot in college, especially wide receivers. I think he would be a fine pick in the second round, where taking big risks makes more sense.”

  • Pompei also quotes former Redskins GM Vinny Cerato on new Bears QB Jason Campbell:

“He has a big arm, a very good arm.  He’s athletic. He can run. He can make first downs with his legs. He can make all the throws.

“The negatives are he holds the ball too long at times. He fumbled a lot from the pocket. And he has just average anticipation. He gets in trouble some from holding the ball.”

  • ESPN’s NFC North blogger Kevin Seifert delivers some bad news regarding Brian Urlacher:’s late season knee injury.
  • Mark Potash at the Chicago Sun-Times reports that Corey Graham has signed with the Baltimore Ravens, presumably because they promised him a chance to play in the defensive back field.  They promised Brandon Ayenbadajo the same thing.  How’s that working out?
  • Pompei, this time writing for The National Football Post, on former Bears running back Cedric Benson:

“The Bengals’ backfield makeover isn’t about dissatisfaction with Cedric Benson as much as it is about molding the offense to suit Jay Gruden’s offense… The Bengals are looking at backs with speed, receiving skills, and the ability to pass protect.”

So it’s about dissatisfaction with Benson.

Elsewhere

  • Last week I wondered if the Bears might not pursue defensive end Andre Carter.   Ian Rappaport at the Boston Herald provides a pretty good clue as to why they haven’t.
  • Fans wondering why the Bears didn’t pop for Mike Wallace will find thier answer here.  From Matt Barrows at the Sacramento Bee.
  • Mike Florio at profootballtalk.com reports that Jeremy Shockey is seriously considering a law suit against the NFL Network’s Warren Sapp after Sapp reported that he was the snitch who gave information on the Saints bounty program.
  • It looks like the Redskins and Cowboys are also feeling litigious.  They might sue the league over the penalties they incurred for dumping salary in what was theoretically an uncapped year of the last labor contract.  It apparently wasn’t and the teams are now paying for violating a rule that wasn’t a rule even though it was.  If you get my meaning.  Via Mike Florio:

“It’s unknown whether the Redskins and Cowboys are bluffing in order to force a compromise, or whether they indeed truly intend to file suit.  Reducing the allegations to writing necessarily will expose that the league was engaged in collusion in 2010, which could have all sorts of unintended consequences for the entire NFL, including the Redskins and the Cowboys.

“And so the real question is whether the Redskins and Cowboys are angry/crazy enough to drop a grenade into a room they won’t be able to escape.

“The answer very well could be yes.”

  • Cowboys QB Tony Romo takes a lot of heat.  So this statement from a Brownsville Herald interview with Hall of Fame QB Troy Aikman is going to take some people by surprise:

“Herald: Who do you think is the better quarterback, you or Tony Romo?

“Aikman: ‘I think Tony already is a better quarterback than I was. I know how quarterbacks are judged but as far as his play-making ability and the things that he is capable of doing, he is a far more athletic quarterback, capable of making more plays than I ever was able to. He has a good team around him and hopefully, and I believe this will happen, I believe that he will win a Super Bowl before he is done playing.’”

“You know, you can’t … everyone has their opinion.  You go out there and try to help your football team win, and I just happen to play with an edge to me. I never want to hurt the football team, but also want to make big plays and help this football team win and lead this football team.”

Translation:  “Yes”.

“Quinn will now be reunited with coach Romeo Crennel and new offensive coordinator Brian Daboll, both of whom worked with Quinn in Cleveland.  It actually gives Quinn a bit of an edge over incumbent starter Matt Cassel.

“‘You can’t make every decision in life based on money,’ Quinn told the Kansas City Star, via NFL.com.  ‘For me, personally, I had to make the best decision I felt like for me.  And Kansas City was the right choice.’”

  • Former Bears Director of College Scouting Greg Gabriel, now at the National Football Post, doesn’t think much of writers (and bloggers) who think they know more than scouts and general managers about prospects.
  • The NFL is apparently considering making some changes to instant replay.  The proposals call for moving the entire operation to the replay booth without the involvement of officials on the field and expanding the automatic use of replay to all turnovers:  interceptions and fumbles.  The full list of proposed rule changes can be found here.  Via Florio.
  • To ESPN’s great joy, there’s some momentum building for Robert Griffin III as the number one overall pick instead of Andrew Luck.  Merril Hoge likes RG3 better (vai Florio) and there are certain aspects of his game that Greg Cosell at the NFL Films Blog likes better as well.  On the other hand, the scouts that Pompei trusts aren’t buying it.

Both Cosell and Pompei, who is writing for The National Football Post, agree that Luck is the most NFL ready in terms of his experience in a pro style offense and that Griffin has the stronger arm.  But the differences in opinion are notable:

1)  Cosell believes RG3 shows better ball placement, Pompei’s article disagrees.

2)  Pompei’s people believe that Luck avoids pressure in the pocket better.  But what Cosell says in this regard about RG3 is significant:

“[Griffin impressed me with] his patience and composure in the pocket. He did not move when the bodies started closing it down. He threw effectively out of what we call a “muddied” pocket”. He did not need much functional space to deliver the ball with velocity and distance. Surprisingly, in my 5 game breakdown of Luck, he exhibited a tendency to move too quickly, to leave the pocket too early. The result was often a positive because of his athleticism and ability to throw on the run, but I am very anxious to chart this element of his game in the NFL.”

What sticks out to me about Griffin is his unconventional throwing style.  But its not necessarily a bad thing.  He seems to throw over the top a lot which will keep the ball from being batted down and he his release is reasonably quick as he literally seems to flick the ball out.

I don’t know if I like him better than Luck but I definitely do like him.

“I understood why the Dolphins wanted Peyton Manning, possibly the greatest quarterback of all time. I even understood the pursuit of Matt Flynn as someone who has a potential upside worth exploring. But you have to draw the line somewhere and accept that you’re no longer seeking to upgrade the position, but rather just looking to replace Moore for the sake of it.”

“If you watched Matt Moore last year, you’ll know that the Miami Dolphins really don’t need to. Which begs the question; just what were they watching?”

“So why are the Dolphins having a hard time luring free agents to South Beach?  Steelers safety Ryan Clark has a theory.”

“Clark later says, ‘It’s my honest opinion. Not a good guy making decisions.’

“Here’s referring, presumably, to G.M. Jeff Ireland.”

“If it’s true, the Dolphins need to find a way to fix the situation.  If it’s not true, the Dolphins need to find a way to reverse a false perception.”

I’m not so sure its Ireland that Clark is referring to.  Stephen Ross, the owner of the Dolphins, doesn’t seem to have the sense of integrity that most of the other people around the try to NFL exhibit.  I think his attempt to secretly interview Jim Harbaugh for a position that Tony Sparano still held told us all we need to know about him.

I might add that he didn’t do his trading partner on the Brandon Marshall deal any favors either.  Via Izzy Gould at the South Florida Sun-Sentinel:

“[Miami fan Jason] Lawrence said he asked [Ross] about the decision to trade leading wide receiver Marshall to Chicago for two third-round draft picks. Twice, Lawrence said, Ross would not say if the Dolphins were rebuilding. He told Lawrence moving Marshall was not about money, but more about protecting team morale.

“’[Ross] said they had been shopping [Marshall] for a couple weeks,’ Lawrence said. ‘Nobody would return their phone calls about getting him. If Chicago didn’t take [Marshall] … they would have ended up cutting him very shortly after that, and got nothing.’”

So basically the Bears gave two third round picks for a wide receiver they could have gotten for a lot less because no one else wanted him.  Setting aside what this means for the Bears, the fact that Ross would embarrass the Bears by letting this out speaks volumes for his integrity or lack thereof.

Teams are likely to be very careful about dealing with the Dolphins in the future.

  • Looking at GM Jeff Ireland’s Wikipedia page, some Dolphins fans have apparently chosen to protest the teams recent moves in their own unique way.  Via The Sports Pickle:

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One Final Thought

For those wondering why the Saints got such a severe penalty for carrying on a bounty program, you might want to read the official statement from the NFL.  There was a lot of lying going on, here.

Its fairly evident that head coach Sean Payton was, to say the least, taken by surprise (even though he shouldn’t have been).  Via Florio:

“[Jay Glazer on NFL Network] said, ‘Are you OK?’ And he said, ‘No, I’m not OK.’ He is stunned. He’s going to lose about $8 million. He is beside himself here.’”

Steve Rosenbloom at the Chicago Tribune bottom lines the situation:

“Some people contend that every team has run something like the Saints’ pay-for-pain idea. Maybe, maybe not. But the Saints did it, continued doing it and got caught. So, consider this a tax on the stupid, as well.”

Bears Shifts Philosophy Under Emery. And Other Points of View.

Bears

“Rasheedah Watley has known Brandon Marshall since he was 12 and laughed when I asked her Wednesday if the Bears can change Marshall in ways the Broncos or Dolphins couldn’t.

“’It’s very foolish to think that,’ said Watley, Marshall’s high school sweetheart. ‘I don’t know how many chances you can give somebody. I’m really fearful for someone’s daughter or sister. The guy needs some real help.’’

“Watley has a pending civil suit against Marshall based on a history of alleged domestic violence.”

‘‘I have only had positive experiences with Brandon.  He is misunderstood. Once you get to know him, he will give you the shirt off his back.”

‘‘My thing is this: Get to know him, the man, before you pass judgment.’’

“In due time, the truth will be out, and we’re excited about that.  Given my history, I definitely understand the concern and the questions.”

Ya think?

Personally, Im assuming it was just the story from Marshall’s lawyer.  According to Dan Pompei, also at the Tribune, general manager Phil Emery “declined to say whether he called the New York police, talked to bouncers at the club, hired a private investigator to look into the matter or simply relied on the word of a colleague looking to move a player.”  He also “would not say whether language was included in the deal to protect one of the draft picks if the player winds up with a long suspension this year.”

That sounds good until you realize that the Bears really never have rehabilitated a player.  They’re really better known for cutting guys like this.  I respected that.  Until now.

“Yeah, I’ll take that responsibility,” Cutler said. “Brandon will take that on as well. He knows what he’s done wrong in the past.  Any support I can give him, I’m there for him.”

“Emery got into an uncomfortable exchange with a reporter at one point when asked if the trade, the first big move of his tenure, could be seen as symbolic of his philosophy or simply a matter of timing.

“‘In terms of bringing in big productive playmakers, yes,’ Emery said. ‘In terms of bringing in people we feel are going to fit … our goal of winning a championship and someone (who) is mature and (has) shown … courage to improve as a person, yes.’”

Biggs also pointed to the change:

“Time and time again, the Bears did their best to shift the conversation to Brandon Marshall the football player, not the man off the field.

“[Emery said,] ‘Also, the performance on the field reveals the person’s football character in terms of his passion, his toughness, his competitiveness. We know Brandon’s one of the top players in the NFL, and that speaks volumes about his football character.’

Head coach Lovie Smith also seems to be on board:

‘“Every employee you hire, there’s some risk,’ Smith said. ‘But you weigh that, which we did. I looked at what we had in place here. Having Jeremy Bates here, being his position coach in Denver, helps a lot. Having him work with Jay and knowing that relationship, a relationship between a quarterback and a receiver … is very important. That helped a lot also. And we’re trying to win games.”

Finally, Potash also emphasized the new bottom line :

“A question about the risk of acquiring oft-troubled wide receiver Brandon Marshall elicited a nearly five-minute soliloquy from Bears general manager Phil Emery on all the factors that convinced him it was worth it to trade two third-round draft picks for a three-time Pro Bowl wide receiver with a litany of personal-conduct issues.”

“That’s all well and good. But it took coach Lovie Smith about 45 seconds of his own babble to cut to the heart of the matter when asked a similar question.

‘‘’We’re trying to win games,’ Smith said.”

So if Marshall spends his offseason beating women, its only a reflection of his ‘football character’.  Under the new regime, that’s what counts.

  • In fairness to Emery, based upon the calls to sports talk radio I’ve heard, this seems to be OK with a surprising number of fans, many of whom can’t see past the uniform.  But even those fans become quiet when you ask them this:  “How often will Marshall show that character if he’s suspended and not on the field?”
  • Assuming that Marshall does eventually find his way onto the field, the good news for those fans is that the Bears seem to have gotten a wide receiver who was superior to anyone else out there.  Biggs compares him to top free agent Vincent Jackson:

“Marshall, Emery pointed out, has the second most catches of any receiver in the NFL over the last five seasons, behind only the Patriots’ Wes Welker. What he didn’t say is Marshall has almost twice as many catches (474 to 242) as Jackson over that period.

“‘We really like who he is as a route runner,’ Emery said. ‘We like who he is in terms of his flexibility of alignment. Brandon can be an X, or he can be a Z or he can be an inside slot because he has that great combination of size. He’s 230 pounds. Length, he’s taller than 6 feet 4. And he has great route feet, you know, body control, hips, and he has great strength to move defenders out of the way to get position and make the catch.’”

“One executive who has studied both players said Jackson is faster and a little better with the ball in his hands. But Marshall competes for the ball better, is a superior blocker and a significantly better route runner.”

“In 2010, Marshall had a drop percentage of 8.5, which ranked 60th in the NFL that season. That means 59 receivers caught a higher percentage of the catchable passes thrown their way.

“In 2011, Marshall’s drop percentage was 6.9, ranking him No. 52 in the league.

“In this case, the percentage confirms what the raw numbers suggest. Marshall’s drops weren’t only a function of his high involvement in the Miami Dolphins offense. He missed more catchable passes than dozens of other NFL receivers.”

“As we discussed Thursday, it would be difficult to reconcile any suggestion that Marshall has turned a personal corner if the allegation from Sunday’s incident — that he punched a woman in the eye — is true. It would make Friday’s news conference performance a high-quality con job.”

Seiferts comments highlights the difference between words and deeds.  And history indicates that even Marshall’s words aren’t trustworthy.

In terms of the current incident, here’s what Marshall said (emphasis is mine):

“Monday night, he was involved peripherally in an incident at a New York club in which his wife was hit with a bottle during an altercation neither of them was part of, according to a statement from Marshall’s attorney, Harvey Steinberg.”

And here’s what the police reportedly say:

“New York City Police received a report Monday about the alleged assault outside the tony club Marquee in Manhattan at about 3:30 a.m. An argument between a group of men and Marshall that had begun inside spilled outside when Marshall allegedly hit her.”

So, basically, we have yet another lie from a player who has had plenty of practice doing it.  The next thing you know, we’ll hear that she slipped on a McDonalds wrapper and his fist hit her on the way down.

  • Many fans have pointed out that the victim might be simply trying to take Marshall for some money.  But the woman’s motivation is irrelevant.  What’s important is that the Bears just bought a receiver who is likely headed towards a suspension before he ever sees the field as a Bear.
  • Seifert compares the Marshall acquisition to that of a sports car.

“You’ve read the reviews, which include a long history of high performance and extensive maintenance. You’re hemming and hawing. You figure you’re a great driver, never had an accident, and feel relatively immune toward the chances the car will break down on you. The dealer offers one final test drive. As you careen around the final corner into the lot, laughing the whole way, the transmission drops to the ground.

“What do you do? Write it off as a random and unpredictable incident? Or do you connect it with the documented history of this model and head to the minivan dealer?”

“It wasn’t clear if Marshall intentionally struck [Christine] Myles or if he meant to hit one of her friends, according to the [New York Daily News] report.

“Only buying that if the other friend was a woman.”

“A strong sales pitch for defensive end Jeremy Mincey fell short. He was minutes away from joining the Bears Tuesday night when the Jaguars lured him back with a four-year contract.”

  • Seifert comments on the re-signing of Israel Idoinije:

“The question is whether the Bears intend for Idonije to resume his full-time role, or if their pursuit of Mincey (and possibly others) indicate they will continue searching for another starting option. The Bears don’t have much depth at the position, which is why they were forced to play Idonije — a longtime reserve/swing lineman — on 84.4 percent of their defensive spans last season. “

The signing of Idonije, along with Jennings and Steltz, is simply insurance.  The Bears are now working in free agency to make sure they don’t take a step back at any position of need.  They’ll now look to draft the best players available to compete at these positions to make themselves better knowing that if no one falls to them, they are covered.

“It does not sound as if the team is intent on finding a new starter for the offensive line, however.

“Smith indicated he was excited about Gabe Carimi and Chris Williams returning from injuries. ‘I like the look of our offensive line with the guys with have signed up right now,’ he said.”

Though I most certainly do not like the idea of J’Marcus Webb at left tackle again, I do recognize the Bears’ problem.  Teams usually don’t let good ones get away and there’s not much out there.  For instance, Seifert comments on what was probably the best left tackle realistically available:

“Veteran Marcus McNeill visited earlier this week, and his situation is a perfect example of how left tackles who are available often are damaged goods in some way. McNeill is a two-time Pro Bowler but has had two neck surgeries and suffers from spinal stenosis. It would have been hard to count on him for more than a year-by-year basis.”

Emery seems to have the right idea:

“Asked about adding a lineman, Emery said the Bears will always be searching for depth.  He said they could look at other free agent linemen, and the team will look “very hard” at offensive linemen in the draft.”

“Outside of [Peyton] Manning there are no “marquee” players left. On a short term deal though I think once he is healthy, and as he showed last season in New England, Andre Carter can really provide a boost to a defense. He’s not a long term option but if you’re a contender, running a 4-3 defense, with a hole at defensive end you can do far worse than to sign Carter on a one year deal. If I was theJacksonville Jaguars I’d take a look at him.”

You could say the same for the Bears, I think.

  • Biggs quotes Emery on new backup quarterback Jason Campbell:

“Arm strength is very important because of our weather and the teams we play.  That to me was a prerequisite moving forward.”

“Cutler joined coach Lovie Smith in raving about tight end Kellen Davis, who signed a two-year contract. ‘He can be one of the premier tight ends in the league if we use him correctly and he stays healthy and all the stars align,’ Cutler said. ‘He’s such a talented guy, so big, so strong, fast, catches the ball well. So we’ve got to design a package that sets him up for success.’”

Davis is probably an adequate tight end but he’s never going to be a star in the league.  He’s good for short passes of 10 yards or less or the occasional pass down the seam but don’t count on him to do much with the ball after the catch.

Elsewhere

  • Mike Florio at profootballtalk.com highlights the conflict of interest that results from players with competing interests are represented by the same agency, in this case Peyton Manning and Alex Smith:

“Both players are free agents, and the 49ers surely will want to keep Smith if the 49ers don’t land Manning.  In order to best represent Smith, his agent should be trying to persuade the 49ers to make a decision sooner rather than later.  In order to best represent Manning, his agent should be trying to persuade the 49ers to wait on Smith until Manning makes up his mind.”

“More specifically, the two teams are contemplating suing anyone and everyone connected to the sudden removal of $46 million in total cap space over the next two years, based on the contention that their treatment of the term ‘uncapped year’ too literally somehow created a competitive disadvantage.  Even though no rules or policies were violated.”

  • Sally Jenkins at the Washington Post explains:

“The word is that [Washington owner Dan] Snyder is beside himself, but he has only his uncontrollable self-interest to blame. What happened was this: Back in 2010, when the NFL entered hardball negotiations with the players union for a new labor contract, the owners warned each other not to use the situation to get a leg up. They were in an uncapped year, with no limit on player salaries, and entering a tense and emotionally fraught labor situation, and they asked each other not to abuse the circumstances.

“In essence they said, ‘Don’t try to set yourselves up to be in a better spot when this is over.’ Think of it like a yellow caution flag in a car race: The drivers agree to hold their places and not to accelerate until the track is clear.”

“Snyder is said to be lawyering up and alleging ‘collusion,’ but experts say a legal challenge will be tough. For one thing, colluding in this instance means improperly acting collectively to suppress salaries. But salaries weren’t suppressed. They were just moved around, manipulated by the Redskins for the purpose of evasion and gaining a future competitive advantage when the cap was reinstated. For another, the group that the NFL owners supposedly colluded against, the union, has signed off on the punishment.”

I’m sure the league got advise from their lawyers before they did this but I have to say that I’m not at all sure there’s no case here.  When owners “warn each other” it sure sounds like collusion and I’m not at all sure salaries weren’t suppressed.  Jenkins probably says that’s the case because the cap room the Redskins lost was distributed amongst the other teams in the league.  But had the owners not “spoken to each other,” who knows how many other franchises would have dumped cap the way the Redskins did.  And who knows how high the effective cap would have been this year had all of that extra cap been distributed amongst the other franchises.

In any case, to me “uncapped” means “uncapped” no matter what the owners whisper amongst themselves.  Anything less seems to be illegal to me.  Or at least it ought to be.

  • Seifert points out that the Packers need a center now that Scott Wells has left for the Rams.  Look for them to draft one early.  Wisconsin’s Peter Konz is a good possibility.
  • Pompei, this time writing for The National Football Post, digs out this interesting nugget:

“In fact, Bucs owner Joel Glazer was quoted as saying this in 2007. ‘Free agency can be almost like a drug. You look for that quick hit, that quick feel-good. I know teams that year in and year out are the Super Bowl champions of free agency, and amazingly enough it doesn’t seem to happen for them during the season. If you can resist the urge for about six weeks, you’re often better off.’”

The fact that the Bucs are eating up cap space by signing free agents like its going out of style this year doesn’t diminish the truth behind this quote.  The only proven way to consistently compete in the NFL is through the draft.

  • Free agent tackle Samson Satel’s timing rivals Brandon Marshall’s.  Via the Honolulu Star-Advertiser.
  • Sam Monson at Pro Football Focus has a few observations from the first week of free agency that I thought were interesting:

“The schematic balance in the NFL continues to shift.”

“This offseason cornerbacks are raking in big money, but the shift in value seems to have come at the cost of linebackers, who are once again experiencing a slow market. Last offseason several high profile and talented players saw a complete lack of interest and ended up signing on for cheap, short contracts in the hope that they could try again down the road. At the time some of this was put down to the chaotic and truncated nature of post-lockout free agency, but now it looks more like the league has begun to value smaller defensive backs who can play the pass over linebackers, many of whom are now rendered two-down players by the ever expanding passing game.”

“Some teams evidently don’t watch tape

The Vikings signed John Carlson to a healthy contract worth around $5m a season. It’s a five-year contract that can be dumped after two seasons, but regardless, the only way you could decide that is good value is if the last bit of John Carlson tape you watched featured a golden dome and Touchdown Jesus.”

“This is a move that seems speculative at best, blindfolded dart-throwing at worst.”

“Quarterback Dominos”

“The Manning sweepstakes is now only down to a couple, but the market for Matt Flynn, another potential answer to a team’s QB issues, is being hampered by the shadow of the Kevin Kolb deal last season. Flynn has shown huge ability in flashes, and teams have thrown big money at those players before, but his current options seem reluctant to pay him for performance that they can’t guarantee he’ll hit. The Cardinals sunk a lot of money into Kevin Kolb on similar potential, and after a stinking first season in the desert, they just had to bite the bullet and pay him another $7m bonus because they have no viable alternative. Nobody wants to repeat that same mistake with Matt Flynn, while the evidence of what it means if you guess wrongly staring them so plainly in the face.”

“Mario Williams: Signed with the Bills after other teams were unable to clear enough cap room to sign both him and his pectoral muscles”

One Final Thought

WSCR’s Steve Rosenbloom did an interesting interview of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel’s  Omar Kelly.  On whether Marshall’s treatment for borderline personality disorder will affect his on field performance: “He’s trying to kill ‘The Beast.’”

Angelo’s Relationship with Ownership May Have Led to His Demise and Other Points of View

Bears

“An intriguing figure here is Bears receivers coach Darryl Drake.”

“[Drake] has a good relationship with [Mike] Tice, shares a smash-mouth philosophy that involves wideouts blocking (or sitting on the bench) and was part of the Bears managing to have nine different receivers with at least 18 receptions this season, the most since 10 in 1994.”

I hope the Bears look outside of the organization to fill this position.  Specifically I hope they use it to attract a top notch quarterback coach like former Bear coach Greg Olson.  Whether Olson would want to come back to the Bears after experiencing what he undoubtedly felt was a dysfunctional situation at the time is another question.

One of the many reasons why the Green Bay Packers are so successful offensively is that they have two quarterbacks coaches on their staff if you include the head coach.   The Bears don’t have any and arguably didn’t have any worth the name at all last year. Remember that Jay Cutler went outside the organization for coaching in the off season due to the lockout. I’m sure Mike Martz is OK with quarterbacks, especially as the X’s and O’s go.  But I would argue that Cutler probably got a lot more out of his offseason with a real QB coach than from either Martz and Shane Day during the season.

  • On a related note, Brad Biggs at the Chicago Tribune makes this valid point:

“Cutler might push for Jeremy Bates, who he worked with previously with the Broncos. Bates was out of the NFL this season after one year with the Seahawks. How would [Lovie] Smith perceive him after Bates declined overtures from the Bears for an interview two years ago? Maybe just fine. Sources said [Jerry] Angelo turned off Bates.”

I don’t know that Bates is the best choice.  But whatever else you think of him, at least he’s a quarterback coach who should have some idea of what he’s doing after serving under Mike Shanahan and as offensive coordinator under Pete Carroll.

“April 27, 2008:

“‘We’re in the business of winning football games. We’re not going to prostitute character. We don’t put winning in front of character.'”

“April 2011, on a botched trade with the Ravens:

“’Believe me, I am going into my 31st year in this league. There has been a hell of a lot worse that has been done, believe me, on the clock and there have been things out there documented so let’s not get into judging souls here. If there is something that needs to be done, I trust the league will do their due diligence and so be it.’”

 Angelo’s first quote is laudable and, in fact, I think he generally did his best to live up to it.  That makes it all the more disappointing that he badly failed in this respect by not making good on a botched trade with the Baltimore Ravens by giving them the fourth round pick they should have had in last year’s draft.

  • Dan Pompei  at the Chicago Tribune gives his thoughts on the way the organization is handling the search for a new general manager:

“[Ted] Phillips says he is unconcerned [about the search]. ‘There are a lot of candidates out there that would be proud to work with a coach like Lovie Smith,’ he said.

“Certainly, the new GM could do a lot worse than Smith. That’s not the point.

“The point is the coach should be an extension of the man he reports to. And it’s the GM who should decide if Smith can be that extension.”

In principal I agree with Pompei.  But in reality, as I look around the league teams with head coaching openings aren’t waiting to hire new general managers to make offers.  So, right or wrong, the Bears aren’t alone in approaching the situation this way.

  • Having said that, there is reason to question why Smith managed to keep his job.  Again from Pompei:

“Angelo gave the coaches the players they wanted. If he had a failing, it may have been that he gave in to them too much and wasn’t more forceful with his opinions. Angelo was hired because he was a consensus builder; he may have been fired because of it as well.

“So there is culpability on the part of Smith and his assistants for whatever personnel problems the Bears have endured.”

I totally agree.  This is a pretty good summary of what is perhaps the Bears biggest problem.  Smith is a good head coach.  He has managed to compete in the NFC North despite the talent gap that we all accept is there.   The challenge is to hire a GM who takes complete charge of supplying Smith with the players he needs without letting him have undue influence over the process or the decisions which are made.  It will be very interesting to see how the new man manges the situation.

  • Matt Bowen at the Tribune makes the very valid point that almost all of the players at Halas Hall have been put on notice:

“However, with change and new direction at Halas Hall comes the loss of that sense of security for the players.

“Angelo won’t be there to protect “his guys,” and although coach Lovie Smith is coming back for at least one more season, a new decision-maker won’t owe these players anything.

“He didn’t draft them or sign them to an offseason contract. No handshakes or false promises here.

“His job is to replace them with upgrades.”

This sense of discomfort and the extra effort that comes with it might make the Bears better next year.  Sometimes change no matter what it entails can be good.

“What defined this unit was its ability to create pressure and its inability to finish plays. The Bears tied for 19th in the league in sacks despite entering the final week leading the league in hurries, according to STATS.”

  • ESPN’s NFC North blogger Kevin Seifert makes the claim that the trade of tight end Greg Olsen look bad for the Bears now.  I disagree.  Olsen had only 4 more receptions with the Panthers last year than he did during a mediocre 2010 season despite performing in an offense that supposedly fit his skills (though he did have more yards).

Olsen was nothing more than a big, slow wide receiver.  Opponents generally stopped him by simply treated him like one and going into a nickel defense.  He was a liability when run blocking.  If Mike Tice really wants to maximize the receiving potential of the tight end position, the Bears were going to have to find another one anyway.

Elsewhere

“Saturday night’s 45-28 loss to the New Orleans Saints should be the last time the Lions are graded on a curve, cheered for their effort or applauded for an accomplishment other than a victory. It’s true: No one expected them to beat the Saints, who now are 9-0 at home since the start of the regular season. And few if any will have harsh words after the Lions collapsed in the fourth quarter against the NFL’s hottest quarterback.

“But after returning to relevance this season, the Lions have earned themselves big-boy treatment moving forward, both inside the organization and outside.”

Seifert’s got a point.  The Lions have been cut a lot of slack this year as a young team fighting its way out of a losing tradition.

But that has also worked against them.  I think right about week 11, analysts started to seriously underestimate the Lions, giving them little shot to make the playoffs.  Those of us who watched them all year in the the NFC North division knew better.

They played mighty well Saturday night and if they play with discipline from here on out, they’re going to have no trouble living up to the “big-boy treatment”.

“A trend is emerging among NFL teams in that they are seeking young, flexible general managers with strong personnel backgrounds. They want men like Falcons general manager Thomas Dimitroff and who understand the big picture, are unafraid to make bold moves and are willing and able to deal with media and sponsors as well as agents and coaches. That’s why Eric DeCosta, Les Snead, Marc Ross, Tom Telesco, Ryan Grigson, Jason Licht and their ilk have been popular candidates for openings.”

  • Also from Pompei:

“The problem is not having captains, Rex Ryan.  It’s having the wrong captains.”

and

“The Raiders needed a guy just like Reggie McKenzie. And now they need to let him do his job.”

“APRIL 19 Draft babble reaches fever pitch. Your cubicle neighbor, who spends autumn Saturdays watching VH1 music countdowns and thinks Stanford’s nickname is the Trees, wants you to know that he does not think Andrew Luck is that good.”

“As the 2012 NFL playoffs begin, coaches across the league find themselves in agreement on one fundamental aspect of the game: Punting the ball sucks, because the other team gains possession of the ball.”

“In his final season at Stanford, 28.7 percent of his passes fell uselessly to the ground and cost his team a down while conferring absolutely no benefit whatsoever.”

  • I know its not football related but this clip of Charles Barkley talking about the Weight Watcher’s program during a period where he thinks the camera’s off is still worth posting.  Via The Sports Pickle:

One Final Thought

A couple more interesting quotes from Angelo:

“Dec. 16, 2011, after receiver Sam Hurd‘s drug arrest: ‘When we do our homework on players, we have a very sound and tested mythology that we go about researching all players in college to veteran free agents and it starts in college.’

“Dec. 16, 2011, after being asked whether Hurd’s shocking arrest would impact his future:

‘Whistle Dixie.'”

George McCaskey did his best to separate the family from the decision to fire Angelo.  But if you take a careful look at his words, you will note that he never actually says that the idea to fire Angelo came from team president Ted Phillips.  Via Biggs:

“‘It was Ted’s decision,’ McCaskey said. ‘He asked for my input. I gave it to him. I gave him the input of the rest of ownership, and Ted made the decision, which we fully support.'”

It’s entirely possible that McCaskey “input” was to suggest that Angelo be fired.  I’ve no doubt that he then left the final decision in Phillips hands.  And I’m sure Phillips is smart enough to know what to do in that situation.

Phillips insisted that the decision was made strictly on performance.  But in this respect, Pompei makes the a valid point:

“It’s not like Angelo and Smith put together an inferior team. ‘It can’t be that he was fired for the performance of the team,’ said one AFC  front-office man, who is not a friend of Angelo’s. ‘It has to be something else.'”

Exactly.  And lending credence to the idea that Phillips didn’t plan to see Angelo go before meeting with McCaskey is the fact that he’s only just now doing his “due diligence”.  While the Rams and Colts are interviewing candidates like potential republican presidential nominees, Phillips appears to be just now getting familiar with the landscape.

It’s all speculative because ownership didn’t make it clear.  But the fact that it wasn’t clear seems to me to be suggestive.  And no one who has thought about it would blame the McCaskeys for wanting Angelo’s head.  Let’s be honest.  From the checkbox fiasco right down through the Baltimore trade where the McCaskeys had to personally try to settle down Baltimore owner Steve Bisciotti to the Hurd situation, Angelo’s management of the front office was a frequent source of embarrassment to ownership.  In retrospect, Angelo deserved his fate on that score if for no other reason.

A Lament for Fans Everywhere and Other Points of View

Bears

‘‘’Which of our younger players? Brian Urlacher, Lance Briggs, Julius Peppers,’ Smith said. ‘You’re talking about those .?.?. players? Or younger players?’’’

  • Despite Smiht’s hesitation, John Millin at CSNChicago.com points out that the Bears do have some youth at some key positions. I’d say its not great youth but I’ll acknowledge that they do have some to build on. On a related note, I’ll also do something I rarely do recently and compliment GM Jerry Angelo by saying that I didn’t think last years’ draft was a bad one.
  • On the other hand, I’m having a hard time disagreeing with Pat Boyle at CSNChicago.com:

“Angelo has had plenty of time and some success over the past decade plus with the Bears. Unfortunately, much like his roster, Angelo has too many holes in his game and he hasn’t been the difference making leader this franchise desperately needs.”

“The defensive line needs a growth spurt. The Bears head to Minnesota with 31 sacks and stand 27th in the league in sacks per pass play. They’ve had one or zero sacks in eight games.

“Peppers and tackle Henry Melton (seven) have more than half of the team’s sacks, magnifying the need for more production from others.”

  • The Bears are projected to have about $20 million dollars in cap space in 2012.  Almost $8 million of that will go to Matt Forte if the franchise him.  I’m still wondering why they sat on most of the cap space they had available in 2011.  It appears that much of it is going to go to waste.
  • Mullin also thinks the Bears will take care of Lance Briggs.
  • McClure writes about the Bears struggles at cornerback.  Everyone who reads this blog knows that I pushed hard for cornerback help last off season and will do so again this year.  But I’m also starting to wonder how safe the job of defensive backs coach Jon Hoke is.  They didn’t cover themselves in glory and one could argue that they should have done better in single coverage than they did, even given the miss match in talent.
  • Dan Pompei at the Chicago Tribune answers your questions. Though I agree with Pompei, I like the way this fan thinks outside the box:

“Am I the only person who thinks Craig Steltz plus 20 pounds could be a decent, if not very good, strong side LB? He can hit and play the run, but his coverage skills seem weak. With NFL training programs the weight gain is feasible but what about the position shift? — Dan; Jackson Hole, Wyo.

“As a strong side linebacker, Steltz always would be undersized. Even if you put 20 pounds on him — which you can’t assume you could do — he might struggle to keep it on. And it might slow him down to the point where he is no longer effective. Steltz is 6-1. That’s shorter than you’d like a strong side linebacker to be. I think he’s doing just fine at safety.”

“I like what I saw of McCown on Sunday, but I haven’t seen enough of him. I’ve seen enough to think I’d like to see him in camp next year competing with another player for the No. 2 spot. Remember, everyone evaluated Caleb Hanie off his one performance in the NFC championship game and thought he could be a fine No. 2. One game doesn’t tell you anything. Sometimes an entire camp and preseason doesn’t tell you enough. Usually, you don’t find out everything you need to know about a quarterback until he gets an extended playing opportunity in games that count.”

  • Which is why I mildly disagree with him here:

“We understand the Bears want to win the game. No one is suggesting they shouldn’t.

“But they should try to win with [Nathan] Enderle playing at least a good portion of the game.”

Pompei makes some good points and I wouldn’t object strongly to seeing Enderle get some time late in the game depending on the situation. But Enderle has plenty of time to develop. Remember, he didn’t have an off season to work with Mike Martz. Martz would probably like to have one with him before he threw him out there. And, bottom line, we know Enderle’s going to be on the roster next year. We don’t know about McCown. Both need to be evaluated but the need for McCown is more immediate.

“’I feel like I made plays when the opportunity came,’ Williams, 30, said Wednesday at Halas Hall. ‘Of course, everybody is going to bring up the negative, which is fine. But for the most part I think I made enough plays. I would be happy to re-sign, but if not, you know I will continue on elsewhere.’”

With the possible exception of Mike Martz, Williams is everyone’s favorite whipping boy. But I’m going to stick my neck out and say I agree with him. Williams habit of dropping the first or second ball thrown to him every day is intensely irritating. But he also made some good catches this year.  All you have to do is think back to the way that the Packers dominated Johnny Knox at the line of scrimmage last year to appreciate that Williams can at least use his size to help the Bears.

“After watching the success of New England’s Wes Welker, can the Bears useDevin Hester in a similar role?– Harry Tram, Chicago

“Yes they can, and they probably should. But Welker is a much better receiver than Hester and can catch a greater variety of passes. Hester has better speed. The two have similar short area quickness and elusiveness. Both cause matchup problems for defenses. And both are outstanding after the catch.”

  • Jay Cutler comments on ESPN Radio 1000 on whether Mike Martz should be retained, Via Seifert:

“‘I don’t want to learn a new offensive system, I know that,’ Cutler said. ‘I think we have a good thing going here. …

“‘We’re building something here,’ he added. ‘If you look at the offenses around the league that are really good — Green Bay, the Patriots, the Saints — there is consistency there. They’ve been in the same system. They’ve had the same offensive coordinator. They’ve had the same receivers, tight ends, guys around them that have grown up in the system.

“‘If you want to be an elite offense in this league, that’s what you have to do. You can’t keep shipping guys in and out. You can’t keep doing different offensive coordinators left and right. It’s hard on quarterbacks and it’s hard on everyone to learn that kind of stuff.'”

“Those at Halas Hall who find the offense a convenient dumping ground when things go south will have a hard time pinning this on a unit that dominated time of possession to keep the defense fresh.”

“Those at Halas Hall? Who are these “those at Halas Hall” that are undermining Martz? I think we know the answer.

Jerry Angelo is nothing short of a frustrated coach wanna be. I’m tired of hearing about this apparent in fighting between him and Smith over Martz. I’m going to tell you right now, and I think a lot of fans would agree, if it came to a choice between Smith and Angelo right now, Angelo would be the one to go.

For the good of the organization, Angelo needs to get his nose out of the coaches room and into the film room. As Smith’s frustrated responses to reporter’s questions about Martz this week indicate, this kind of stuff only creates bad feeling and works to destroy the coherence of an organization.

  • Pompei answers a fan who doesn’t seem to pleased with the coaching staff:

“Lately it seems all we can hope for is a close first half of the game before the opponent opens up and ultimately beats us in the second half. I realize our offense is a mess, but it sure seems the opponents make half time adjustments and we are challenged in that task. Over the years, I have noticed that half time adjustments aren’t Lovie’s strength. Am I way off base here? — Pat Cassidy

“I understand where you are coming from, but I actually think the Bears have gotten a lot better with in-game adjustments over the last couple of years. I think what you are seeing now in the third and fourth quarters is the Bears are just wearing down because they don’t have as many good players as the opponent. The Bears are losing games in part because they lost the war of attrition. On offense alone, they are without their quarterback, their best offensive player (Forte), the offensive lineman who was their best blocker as per Mike Tice (Gabe Carimi), another starting offensive lineman (Chris Williams), and their best wide receiver (Johnny Knox). The lack of depth has really shown up on special teams as well.”

I’ll buy this but it doesn’t explain the collapse of the defense in the second half of recent games. They’ve been reasonably healthy and the time of possession hasn’t been unbalanced. And its not like the opposing offenses have been extraordinarily healthy.

Something is off with the Bears defense. If it isn’t in game adjustments then we are left to occlude that they are losing mental intensity. We haven’t had to say it often over the last decade but they need to toughen up.

Elsewhere

“(715): i was drinking at the bar last night with a guy with no bottom teeth, wearing zubas and a polka dotted hat. if that isn’t the definition of wisconsin, i dont know what is.”

  • Rafael Vila at the Cowboys Nation blog on America’s team:

“There is at least one organization which advises new hires that, ‘the minute you start thinking like a fan, you’re on your way to becoming one again.’  What does it say for us that the biggest ‘fan’ in the building this year was the owner?”

  • Charlie Casserly found out what the NFLPA has proposed to congress on HGH testing. Via Mike Florio at profootballtlak.com:

“First, under the NFLPA’s proposal there would be no in-season testing.  Second, only 10 percent of players would be tested in offseason.  Third, players could decline to be tested.
“Again, players could decline to be tested.
“One more time, players could decline to be tested.
“Fourth, players would receive 24 hours notice before testing.  Fifth, three positive tests would be required before discipline would be imposed.”

Let’s face it. Most of the league is on HGH and the NFLPA knows it. How DeMaurice Smith could have agreed in principal to testing is beyond me. Ultimately its about player health but the current players aren’t going to thank him. It’s going to ruin a lot of them.

One Final Thought

It was in 2001 after a particularly tough loss to the Bears when I found this cry from a Viking fan on the Internet.  Long time readers of my blog posts at various sites over the years know that I have made a tradition of reposting it during Viking week.

My admiration for this anonymous fan is almost as strong as my sympathy for anyone who is stuck rooting for what is traditionally one the most gutless teams in the NFL.  We all understand this pain but I think that, more than any other organization, the Vikings have probably made the least out of the most talent over the last twenty years.  But I will never be able to express that sentiment with the eloquence of this poet.  Enjoy.

I’ve had it! I can’t take this shit no more! I’m done! THIS TEAM IS A  GODDAMN EMBARASSMENT AND I HAVE HAD IT! I BURNED MY VIKINGS FLAG YESTERDAY, CHUCK FOREMAN GAVE IT TO ME WHEN I WAS A KID! I BURNED THE FUCKING THING AND MY WIFE FREAKED OUT SO I ENDED UP FORKING THE FIERY RAG AND THROWING’ER IN THE WEBER GRILL. GODDAMN RACCOONS! AND GODDAMN THE HEARTLESS VIKINGS AND ALL THEIR GODDAMN EXCUSES! I WANT MY DEVOTION BACK! AND ALL THOSE GODDAMN GAMES, AND ALL THOSE GODDAMN HEARTBREAKS!.

I QUIT. I CAN’T TAKE IT ANYMORE!.

ARE WE CURSED? ARE WE CURSED?!!

As a bonus addition, I’ve added the radio call of the last Hail Mary pass in the Vikings’ (gutless and predictable) loss to the 3-12 Arizona Cardinals in the final game of 2003.  The loss (and the play) knocked the Vikings out of the playoffs.  Just listening will immediately warm any Bear fan’s heart.

Game Winning TD, Vikings-Cardinals, 2003

Lance Briggs Continues to Act As If He Has a Choice And Other Points of View

Bears

“On the business side, if the organization and management says that they’re not willing to talk about my deal or willing to deal with my deal now or during the season or during the end of the season or next year, then I know that my days here are numbered.’’

I’m sure that I’m like everyone else when I ask exactly what he means by “my days here are numbered”.  My gut feeling is that Briggs estimates his value to be considerably higher than the Bears (and many of their fans) do.  As Mike Florio at profootballtalk.com points out, Briggs would likely be forced to return a portion of his signing bonus is he did held out, meaning he’d be losing  money he’s likely already spent.  Right or wrong, I’m pretty sure the Bears will let him do so and pay him nothing if that’s what he and his many dependents prefer.

Of concern was the fact that runningback Marion Barber didn’t return meaning his calf injury might be more serious than the team (publicly) thought.  As expected, Corey Wooton also wasn’t ready to practice yet.

  • How much immediate help new Bears safety Brandon Meriweather will provide is an open question.  He’ll need to learn how the Bears play defense.  The Chicago Sun-Times quotes Chris Harris:

‘‘As a safety you have to learn ­everything that’s going on.  A corner doesn’t have to learn the entire ­defense. As a safety, you need to know what this linebacker’s doing because of run gaps. You need to know what this linebacker’s doing because of pass coverage or what this corner’s doing or what the other safety’s doing.”

But I doubt Meriweather will have much trouble.  Via Brad Biggs at the Chicago Tribune:

“We do things differently, we call things differently,’ [head coach Lovie] Smith said. ‘But once you kind of get by some of the different terminology, most coverages are pretty much the same. Most defenses are pretty much gap control. When the ball’s in the air, you go get it. When a guy’s running with the ball, you go tackle him. There will be some challenges, but when you have a veteran like that they normally pick it up pretty quick.’” 

 

  • You have to wonder how much the signing of Meriweather has to do with the paucity of turnovers the Bears have generated in the preseason.  Meriweather is a risk taker who can give up big plays but he’ll also make big plays.
  • Much to my surprise, the Bears chose to waive cornerback Joshua Moore rather than one of the many undrafted free agents they left on the roster (again, from McClure).  Moore, who was essentially redshirted in 2010, isn’t particularly big at 5’11” but the Bears knew that when they drafted him.  Apparently he didn’t show enough in terms of making plays in camp.
  • Pro Football Focus asks four NFC North questions of four analysts.  I don’t have a last name for “Ben” but I like his thinking in this excerpt.

“Who is the one player from this division you see having a breakout year?”

“Ben: With Pisa Tinoisamoa gone from the Bears the door is open for Nick Roach to really make an impression this season. Roach has impressed in limited action at both MLB and SLB in the last two seasons and with a full time starting spot now apparently his, even as a two-down linebacker, this is the year that the Bears re-discover a strong linebacking trio. Brian Iwuh could get a chance to make a similar impression if Lance Briggs’ injury and contract issues continue to be an concern through the season.”

  • Scouts Inc.  previews every NFC team.  Here’s what they had to say about the defense of the Bears first opponent, the Atlanta Falcons:

“Pass Defense:
“Atlanta’s conservative 4-3 scheme is especially vanilla in the secondary. Without an elite cover group, it plays assignment-oriented football. That shifts pressure onto the front four to generate a rush, but the Falcons had only 31 sacks last season, 13 coming from DE John Abraham.

“Rush Defense:
“The goal of the D-line is to eat up blockers while the back seven fly to the ball. But the Falcons gave up 4.6 YPC last year, so a healthy Curtis Lofton must be a game changer at LB.”

Schematically this sounds like an ideal defense for the Martz offense to attack, especially in the first game when a confusing mix of blitzes might be disastrous for an inexperienced offensive line.

Elsewhere

  • The penalty from the StarCaps case has finally come down.  Kevin Williams and Will Smith are paying big time for the delay.  each is suspended two games but they are being fined four game checks.  According to Mike Florio at profootballtalk.com had they taken the penalty in 2008, they would have each paid roughly one-fourth of what they are paying now given their current salaries.  Add in the legal fees and your talking big money.

 The only winner in the deal was Pat Williams who, as we all know, was simply delaying the penalty until his career was over so he wouldn’t have to pay.

  • William C. Rhoden at The New York Times writes about the “Dream Team” Philadelphia Eagles.  Vince Young stupidly put a target on their backs when he used the term to characterize the team which will always be over rated as long as he and the inconsistent Michael Vick are playing quarterback.

This team has set itself and its fans up for some serious disappointment.

“Fans in every NFL city think the Super Bowl host jinx is just a myth until it lands on their town. But there’s a variety of reasons why no team that has provided the stadium for the big game has ever played in it. And at the rate they’re piling up reasons, the Colts — host of February’s title game — might be the first knocked out of the running even before the regular season kicks off.”

  • Rafael Vela at the Cowboys Nation blog takes an interesting look at a couple of the blitzes that the Cowboys will see tomorrow night against the Jets.
  • Omar Kelly at the South Florida Sun-Sentinel points out the dangers of carrying two quarterbacks.  This is becoming a more common practice throughout the league but it could be a particular problem for the Dolphins.  Why?  Because they’ve gone from the starter to the third QB in a game twice in the last two years.  Not a good trend…

One Final Thought

Bengals runningback Cedric Benson is happy to be out of jail.  Via Joe Reedy at the Cincinnati Enquirer:

“I didn’t want to spend my bye week sitting in jail and wanted to get it behind me and focus on football,” Benson said.  “I’m not fit for jail. No one is. When you experience that you realize how much you don’t want to experience it again. It was a nice little wake up call so to speak and it was nice to taste that and hopefully never have to do it again.”

“hopefully”? “have to do it”?  Like its not avoidable and there might be another time when you have to do it?

I’ve got the under on whatever the length of time it will take Benson to stupidly get in trouble again.

Ben Roethlisberger Really Does Do All of HIs Thinking Below the Waist. And Other Points of View.

Bears

“Quality Fits:

“Chris Conte, Chicago Bears: Conte played cornerback for the first three years of his career at Cal, so when he made the switch to free safety as a senior, he flew a bit under the radar for most. However, while Moore earned most of the attention in the Pac-10, Conte was the more reliable tackler and coverage defender despite his limited experience. The Bears have experimented with undersized safeties for years under Lovie Smith, but in the 6-2, 197 pound Conte, they get a rangy center fielder with a legitimate combination of size and speed. The learning curve will be steep considering his lack of experience at the position, but Conte will prove a starting caliber free safety early in his NFL career.”

“I don’t understand why more kids don’t go to schools like Rice, Northwestern, Stanford and Vanderbilt.”

“Chicago (B-)
“Pro Bowlers: 5 (t-21st)
“Draftees Active in 2010: 38 (t-20th)
“Players with 50+ Career AV: 4 (t-6th)
“Players with 20+ Career AV: 21 (t-4th)
“Best Pick: LB Lance Briggs (3rd round, 2003)
“Worst Pick: WR David Terrell (No. 8 overall, 2001)

“Summary: The Bears have found a lot of later-round gems, but have really struggled to hit on their first-rounders. Only Tommie Harris was a true success, with Marc Colombo and Cedric Benson not finding their niches until the Bears gave up on them (apparently too early). The second round has been their forte (no pun intended), where they’ve gotten Matt Forte, Devin Hester, Charles Tillman, Tank Johnson and Danieal Manning.”

“A 4-3 one-gap team does not trade up, which the Bears did, for a nose tackle. It trades up for a three-technique.”

I’d agree and add that the Bears already have an adequate player that fits inside to sign and fill out the lineup in Adams. If not him , then there are a number of other options. But if they put Paea there, what will they do at the three technique? I think its obvious what the plan was when the drafted him.

“The father of Chicago Bears defensive end Julius Peppers has lost his law enforcement job after being charged in North Carolina with felony possession of cocaine.”

George Thomas Kurney was a sheriff’s deputy.

“What are the chances of Andy Fantuz starting for the Bears at WR? Brandon, Wisconsin

“He has an excellent chance of starting — if Johnny Knox breaks his leg, Devin Hester retires, Earl Bennett blows out his knee, and whoever the Bears sign as a free agent breaks his arm. Otherwise, he doesn’t have much of a chance.”

Elsewhere

“Last season, the NFC West became the first division in the modern era to send a losing team to the playoffs. The Seahawks made it at 7-9.

“So, Larry, seeing as three teams have uncertain quarterback situations, is the NFC West the league’s most fluid division?

“‘Yes,’ he said. ‘Fluidly bad.'”

  • For those who still listen to his blather, Mike Ditka basically tells the Detroit Free Press that he thinks referees should ignore the rules. On the positive side he also gives the Lions the kiss of death by joining the crowd of experts who love them this year.
  • The Lions haven’t won anything yet but head coach Jim Schwartz has already dubbed his defensive line the “Silver Crush”.
  • Pompei also answers your questions:

“What are the chances the Bears go after Nnamdi Asomugha? Mike, St. Charles

“If the Bears go after Asomugha, it will be completely out of character for them. Given the defensive scheme they run, they have not prioritized high-priced, shutdown cornerbacks. They need physical corners who can tackle and who have ball skills. I don’t see that changing now.”

The Bears are almost certainly not on the list of teams that are going to be on the phone to Asomugha. But it seem like they’re one of the few that aren’t. Asomugha is almost certainly the number one free agent this offseason. His telephone is going to be mighty busy about five seconds after free agency opens. Three teams in the NFC East, Washington, Philadelphia and Dallas, would seem to be right at the top of the list. It going to be fascinating to see where he goes and for how much.

“If Andy Reid thought Kevin Kolb was so good, why would he be trading him? He knows quarterbacks. Good quarterbacks don’t get traded when they are young by good coaches.”

“Bee Master: You are wrong. Next speller. Ben Roethlisberger?
“Roethlisberger: Hit me.
“Bee Master: Your word is ‘no’.
“Roethlisberger: No. Y-E-S. No.”

One Final Thought

The boys at The Onion take us through the ins and outs of player-led workouts. Here’s a typical drill for the Bears:

“Defensive players practiced their team fundamentals by having linebacker Lance Briggs hit the tackling dummies while linebacker Brian Urlacher got all the credit.”

Will the Bears Players Organize Offseason Workouts? And Other Points of View.

Bears

“The Bears cut DT Tommie Harris this offseason and needed to find a three-technique tackle to replace him. They filled their two most pressing needs with their first two picks, improving both lines. Paea possesses both strength and quickness and could help at either interior position for the Bears. He’s capable of manning the nose or playing in gaps, where he is more comfortable. Rod Marinelli should be able to light a fire underneath him.”

The Bears picked a guy in the second round who needs a fire lit underneath him?

  • ESPN‘s NFC North blogger Kevin Seifert talks about the misconception amongst at least some NFL experts that Stephen Paea will be a run stuffing nose tackle in the Bears 4-3

“Today, you might laugh at the thought of putting John Randle, Warren Sapp and Stephen Paea in the same sentence. But we do so more to describe a mentality than assess his skill level. I would be worried if a second-round draft pick was hoping to become, say, the next Ted Washington or Tony Siragusa. All I’m saying is the Bears are hoping for — and need — more than run defense from the No. 53 overall pick of the draft.

Seifert is under valuing the nose guard position but the Bears are running a 4-3 not a 3-4 so he’s got a point.

“With the high amount of collisions required at the safety position in Lovie Smith‘s preferred defense, GM Jerry Angelo seemingly must address the position every year. There’s a chance Danieal Manning could depart, as well. Conte was a late riser who really impressed secondary coaches in the evaluation process. He plays like a poor man’s John Lynch and elevated on draft boards in a weak safety class.”

and of fifth rounder Nathan Enderle:

“Enderle is a big, smart stationary passer who too often over thinks the game. He has the mental capacity to handle all the demands of Mike Martz‘s complex offense. The key to Enderle’s development will be how much Martz can hone his instincts and teach him to cut it loose and trust what he sees.”

“If you think it’s too early to look into next year’s class, consider that NFL teams meet to share notes on 2012 senior prospects every year at this time. It’s the tipoff to the draft process starting anew, the initial gathering of information shared by scout services that aids in lining up travel schedules for scouts who return to college campuses beginning in August.”

Here’s what he said about the Bears 2012 “pick”:

“15. Chicago Bears: *Stephon Gilmore, CB, South Carolina

“Gilmore’s thin build belies a toughness and attitude that all cornerbacks need to succeed. Though no guarantee to be a first-round pick without a strong junior year, his upside warrants this projection.”

He doesn’t sound like a prototypical fit for the Bears defensive system but I’ll bag that pick when we come to it.

“Chicago committed 27 blown blocks that led to sacks or penalties, according to Football Outsiders’ Game Charting Project, the third-highest total in the league, but blown blocks tell only part of the story. The Bears ranked 30th in the league in adjusted line yards on runs up the middle last season, where [Olin] Kreutz and Garza do most of their dirty work. The FO game charters noted many instances of missed blocks by Garza that led to stuffed running plays, and even Kreutz whiffed on his fair share of blocks against quicker defenders.”

“Frank Omiyale could move from left to right tackle, allowing J’Marcus Webb (7.5 blown blocks last year) to move inside to challenge Garza.”

“‘There are very few people in the NFL who understand football techniques and schematically know the game as well as him,’ [former offensive line coach Harry] Hiestand said.

“A couple of years ago, Kreutz would have told you he had no desire to coach. Now, he says ‘we’ll see what happens.’ If the Bears can identify an heir apparent, he’d probably handle a mentoring role well.”

“Obviously, we gave up a lot of sacks but we were still able to get to the NFC Championship Game. We’re not too far off. We have to make improvements and get a couple more guys in there. We’ll see what happens.”

“Q: Where does Herman Johnson fit into the offensive line plans?”
“– Mike (Valparaiso, Ind.) ”

“A: At 6 foot 7, 360 pounds, Johnson definitely fits the mold of the humungous players coveted by offensive line coach Mike Tice… Johnson’s best shot at competing for a chance to contribute in 2011 is to report to the team (whenever they’re allowed to) in tip-top shape. The Bears have told me they’re not concerned about players reporting out of shape. But with a guy as big as Johnson, you’ve got to be at least a little worried.”

“Is there any way the Bears bring back Tommie Harris on a cheaper contract or incentives-laden contract? Tom C, Columbia, Mo.

“If you look at the history of the Jerry Angelo/Lovie Smith regime, when they turn the page on a player, they typically do not go back. They did it with Chris Harris, but he was a different case than most. I think we have seen the last of Tommie Harris in a Bears uniform.”

This is about the third time I’ve read a fan question revolving around this issue. I’m having a hard time understanding it. Tommie Harris had about as good a year as he’s going to have last year and it was very average. Its fairly well established that the three-technique tackle has to make that defense go.   The Bears need an upgrade and Harris would just be taking up a roster spot without playing special teams.

  • The Lions, Cowboys, Saints and Jets players are all working out on their own together. Will the Bears?  To answer that question, I’ll just say this.  The Saints have Drew Brees. The Bears have Jay Cutler.


Pompei basically answers the question the same way I did but in professional news publication language rather than the blogger language of hatred and vitriol:

“Some of these workouts are overrated. Unless they are done under the supervision of coaches, their value is limited. The primary benefits of these types of workouts are building camaraderie and working on timing between quarterbacks and receivers. These types of workouts are not going to decide who wins the Super Bowl. That being said, the Bears quarterbacks and receivers should have been working out together long ago. If they have not been (and I am not completely sure they have not been), it shows a void of leadership on the team.”

Having said that, ESPN NFC North blogger Kevin Seifert has an alternative thought:

“It’s possible that some players are awaiting a ruling from the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in St. Louis, which is determining whether NFL owners will get a permanent stay to keep the lockout in place. If that’s the case, the earliest teams would re-open for business is the end of June. You could expect more players to start organizing themselves if that comes to bear. We’ll keep you updated.”

“What scared me about (Washington’s) Jake Locker is that won-lost record. It was ugly. Look at the personnel at Stanford. It’s not great outside of Andrew Luck. Look at Jim Everett at Purdue. Look at Mississippi since Eli Manning left. If you are a great quarterback, no matter what you have on the line, at receiver and running back, I think you go 8-4, 7-5 and play in bowl games. How do you start four years and go 15-25?”

I think this is something that you could generally apply to all quarterbacks, pro and college. I’ve heard the excuse made numerous times that Jay Cutler lost so many games because he played at Vanderbilt. But I look at his body language and his leadership skills and I wonder. Does that really hold water?

Elsewhere

“When we interviewed (TCU QB) Andy Dalton, he said the accomplishment he was most proud of was gathering 750 kids to listen to his ministry every week, not winning the Rose Bowl. When we asked him how he is going to handle guys on the field when the bullets start flying and his teammates are yelling at him, he said the first thing he is going to do is pray about it. I couldn’t help but think, this might be the next Danny Wuerffel. If you are talking about (Dalton) going to be your starter, I would be nervous.”

“But executive vice president Stephen Jones wondered last month how the labor issues would affect their pursuit of these hidden gems.

“‘It will be different,’ he said. ‘We’ll see if it is a disadvantage.'”

“There is obvious reason for concern. Because of the lockout, all 32 teams will have more time to research the strengths and weaknesses of the undrafted rookies. Not much else is going on, after all. There are no mini-camps being conducted, no organized team activities to plan and no roster moves to be made.”

  • The Cowboys might be at a disadvantage in another way (along with almost everyone else). Eric Edholm at Pro Football Weekly says that six unnamed agents told him that they’d been contacted by teams about undrafted free agents (against the rules). In fact Missouri center Tim Barnes actually named the Bengals, Ravens, and Dolphins as having contacted him.

“‘It was almost like a normal year in terms of contact, a little less (phone contact) than normal maybe, only without the signed contracts at the end,’ one of the agents said.”

Edholm told WSCR last night that from the information he’s gathered it looks like as many as 10-12 teams may be involved.

“Williams told ace Texans reporter John McClain he played at 290 pounds last year. There is no prototype of an outside linebacker who weighed that much. The Texans have pointed to DeMarcus Ware as an outside linebacker Williams can be like. But Ware weighs about 30 pounds less.”

“Offenses will try to force Williams to drop. The Texans will counter by moving him to the other side of the formation. But that will mean another linebacker, likely [Brooks] Reed, will have to drop and cover a tight end or back. That’s not an appealing option for the Texans either.”

“The Vikings long have been connected with Redskins QB Donovan McNabb, who could be traded or released, and we hear there’s still a decent chance that the Vikings could get involved with him.”

  • Jared Allen thinks he’s going to get 17 sacks in 2011 to put him over a hundred for his career. Allen is nothing if not entertaining.


“’Our thought has been we have always been looking to make our program as effective as it can be,’ said the N.F.L. executive, who insisted that he not be named because he was not authorized to speak publicly about the matter. ‘There have been some things, H.G.H. is one of them, that the union has resisted,’ he added. ‘When we get to the point where there is not a party involved, maybe we should consider what we consider important to keep pace with science and trends.’

“’If we had some clarity of where this thing was going to end up,’ he said, the league ‘might have more clarity of what we would do.’

“George Atallah, the spokesman for the National Football League Players Association, said the group would have no comment.”

For those who aren’t reading between the lines, this is a negotiating tactic. The NFL knows full well the extent to which HGH is used in the league and how much it will impact the current players if they start to test for it. Careers based upon how well a person’s body responds to HGH would likely rapidly go down the tubes.

  • Alan Schawz at the New York Times takes an in depth look at the brain trauma discovered in almost every pro football player who has so far been examined:

“The set of 15 players tested by B.U. researchers to this point is far from a random sample of NFL retirees that could represent the wider population. Many of the players died under conditions that could be related to CTE: [Charlie] Waters and [Dave] Duerson by suicide, John Grimsley from a gun accident, Tom McHale from a drug overdose. Their families then donated their brains largely to seek an explanation for the mens’ behavior.

“‘There’s a tremendous selection bias, so you can’t make any conclusions about the incidence or prevalence of disease,’ said Dr. Ann McKee, the B.U. group’s lead neuropathologist and director of neuropathology at New England Veterans Administration Medical Centers.”

One Final Thought

For all that its universally acknowledged that the Bears had a good draft, thier free agency needs look an awful lot like the pre-draft ones. Via Brad Biggs at the Chicago Tribune.

Duerson’s Brain a Cautionary Tale for Critics of New Rules and Other Points of View

Bears

“‘I am very comfortable with these three quarterbacks,’ Martz said when asked if the need for a veteran backup still exists. ‘Nathan will compete with Caleb for the backup position. I would expect that Caleb will end up being the guy, but Nathan is good enough to be that player.'”

I’m guessing that the fourth quarterback on the roster, Matt Gutierrez, must be feeling good about being all but eliminated from consideration in May.

Pompei also had this for those who say Enderle was a reach in the fifth round:

“Critics wondered why the Bears chose Enderle so high when they had other needs. Enderle represented good value in the fifth round. I had a fourth-round grade on Enderle based on opinions from three front-office men from other teams I spoke with prior to the draft.”

“Enderle doesn’t have a cannon like Cutler. That’s OK. The three things Martz prioritizes in a quarterback are accuracy, intelligence and toughness.”

Martz goes on to say that he doesn’t have to make mechanical changes with Enderle, and he played in a “very sophisticated offense” that asked him to do a lot of the things he will be asked to do with the Bears.

I’ll accept that Enderle might be competition for Hanie but the odds are very low that he’ll do so effectively if the lockout doesn’t end reasonably soon.  Despite what Martz says, from what I can tell, Enderle has a lot of work to do shortening that occasionally long wind up of his.

“Nate Enderle took a boatload of sacks at Idaho, so he’ll fit right into Mike Martz’s system.”

“Free safety Chris Conte (California) was quietly viewed by some as the best developmental prospect of this year’s weak safety class. Speaking of developmental prospects, Idaho quarterback Nathan Enderle, at 6-4, 240 pounds, has the build and arm strength well worthy of his fifth-round selection.”

“Now, more than ever, I believe the Detroit Lions, not Chicago, is the team to challenge Green Bay in the NFC North. With Nick Fairley and Ndamukong Suh paired at defensive tackle, the Lions’ D-line becomes an extraordinary pass defense, while the addition of Titus Young gives the club an explosive wide receiver opposite Calvin Johnson. Yeah, I know, the Lions still need cornerbacks, but quarterbacks won’t have much time to exploit whoever is there. I’m already making Detroit this year’s sleeper, and there’s plenty of room on the bandwagon. This is a vastly improved team that won its last four starts — including one over Green Bay — and just beefed up an already impressive defensive line.”

Elsewhere

  • Rob Rang at CBSSports.com gives his thoughts on the draft:

“No. 1 pick Nick Fairley gives the Lions a potential tandem at defensive tackle, with Ndamokung Suh, that is the best not only in the NFC North, but in the NFL. Suh is the Lions’ best defensive player but Detroit strengthened that area in a way that also projects to aid the secondary with improved pass rush.”

Did anyone else notice how angry Fairley looked when they finally called his name?  He wasn’t happy lasting to 13 after being projected so much higher in January.  I would expect he’ll start trying to make the rest of the NFL pay for their doubt.  (Picture from US Presswire)

Fairley

  • Tom Kowalski at mlive.com contrasts current GM Martin Mayhew‘s draft room with former GM Matt Millen‘s.  He repeats this storry about the 2006 draft when the Lions were on the clock debating about whether to take guard Max Jean-Gilles.  Kowalski doesn’t mention it explicitly but the first problem was that they hadn’t worked this out in advance rather than debating it for five minutes while actually on the clock.  Here’s the second problem:

“The Lions spent so much time talking about Jean-Gilles that, when they decided not to draft him, they didn’t have another option ready to go. As they wondered what to do, a voice in the back of the room (the identity of which I haven’t confirmed yet) said ‘Take Brian Calhoun.’ So they did.

“In his two-year career in Detroit, Calhoun had 54 rushing yards and 55 receiving yards and never scored a touchdown.”

“Look, Mayhew isn’t going to be perfect and he’s going to whiff on some draft picks (cough, Derrick Williams, cough). But one of the tricks to a successful draft is limiting your mistakes by being thoroughly prepared. It’s one thing to miss, it’s another thing to not know what the hell you’re swinging at.”

“Don’t tell me the lockout didn’t have an impact on this year’s draft because it did. I’ve never seen so many reaches, starting with Aldon Smith with the seventh pick of the first round, continuing with quarterbacks Jake Locker and Christian Ponder and moving through the bottom of the round, then on into the next two days. There were stretches everywhere, and I have to believe it was because clubs drafted for need. Usually, you hear “the-best-player-available” explanation for choices, but not this year. The past three days clubs gambled everywhere to fill needs they would have already solved through free agency or trades.”

“The Seattle Seahawks allowed opponents to score 33 or more points in nine of their past 12 starts, including the playoffs, and ranked 25th in points allowed. So what do they do? Draft offense with three of their first four choices. Someone please explain.”

Not only did they take offense, they didn’t even take good offense, reaching for guard James Carpenter in the first round:

“OT James Carpenter to Seattle: Most people had him rated somewhere in the middle of the second round, yet the Seahawks took him with the 25th selection … with Gabe Carimi and Derek Sherrod still on the board. The Seahawks envision Carpenter as their next right tackle and say they love his versatility and nastiness. OK, I’ll buy that — just not at the 25th spot.”

How much of a reach was the selection of Carpenter?  Even Alabama coach Nick Saban couldn’t believe it:

Finally, we have this from coach Pete Caroll:

“’We are happy with Charlie and hoping he is going to continue to flourish and blossom. I’m not feeling like we missed out on a quarterback opportunity’ — Seattle coach Pete Caroll on Charlie Whitehurst and the Seahawks’ failure to draft a quarterback.

Bottom line Caroll is starting to remind me why he didn’t make it with the Jets all those years ago.  With him at the helm the Seahawks may have been as good last season as they’re going to be for a few years.

“I’ll tell you what I find intriguing about quarterback Blaine Gabbert: When the Washington Redskins had a chance to choose him they didn’t. Instead, coach Mike Shanahan traded out. Shanahan knows how to develop quarterbacks, and he needs a good young one in Washington. But instead of taking Gabbert after he unexpectedly lasted until the 10th pick, Shananan passed. Then he just avoided the position altogether, refusing to use any of his draft picks on a quarterback. Keep that in mind as Gabbert’s career unfolds”

The guess here is that Washington didn’t “avoid the position altogether” on purpose.  They probably traded back thinking they could pick up Christian Ponder.  The Vikings were rumored to like Jake Locker and the Redskins probably thought they’d pass on Ponder.  They didn’t.

“When one team held an audition for him, no receivers from Auburn showed up. You got to be kidding me. You’re Cam Newton, and you can’t get anyone from your offense to come to your workout?”

I’ve heard people say that Newton’s character concerns don’t necessarily translate to the field.  I think this translates.

“With so many pressing needs on the roster, they still want to fix RB? And they get Murray who is best known for his ability to catch the ball (he had 71 receptions in 2010). This redundancy with Felix’s new-found catching ability is quite a statement.”

“True, Elmore has posted videos of him both jumping out of a pool and into a truck on YouTube. But it’s also worth noting that Elmore actually had more production last season than his more-famous teammate, defensive end/linebacker Brooks Reed.”

Wonder how he would have done without Reed on the other side garnering the attention.

  • Sturm also had this to say about the fact that Cowboys owner Jerry Jones called Larry Lacewell, Butch Davis and Barry Switzer for advice on various picks:

“Previous draft disappointments haunt the Cowboys. And when Jerry tells us that he is not listening to his scouts, but more about how he listens to his old buddies about picks, then we should assume that the draft process has not changed very much. I needed Jerry to tell me that Tom Ciskowski and his staff have targeted this player and we trust them. Instead, he tells me that Switzer signed off on the Cowboys taking an Oklahoma RB.”

Amen.  At least when Jerry Angelo stands in front of the media, he can tell you how much his coaches and area scouts whose business it is to watch these prospects for months and years like the picks and why.

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again.  No matter what else you think of them, thank heavens the Bears have ownership that doesn’t interfere with the day-to-day running of the personnel department.  Generally speaking it is a route to disaster long term for any franchise.

“Detroit Lions — Nick Fairley and Ndamukong Suh give the Lions two young, strong players who can help carry Matthew Stafford off the field when he’s injured”

One Final Thought

Finally Judge welcomes Patrick Peterson to the NFL with this sarcastic response to a quote from him:

“‘Everybody loves the game of football. I can’t see the world without it. How do you think the world would be without it?’ — Arizona CB Patrick Peterson. I dunno, Patrick, but why don’t you ask the people who survived the 57-day strike in 1982. Better yet, ask someone in Libya.”

I’ll tell you exactly how they the world will be.  Full of people surprising themselves by finding better things to do on Sunday.  NFL beware.