“‘[Bates] has a really good feel of what I like to do and what I don’t like to do,’ Cutler said after the Bears’ second organized-team-activity workout. ‘There are plays out there today that I told him, ‘I don’t like them. Let’s think about getting rid of them.’ He’s fine with that.'”
So correct me if I’m wrong but aren’t you supposed to talk to the offensive coordinator about getting rid of plays? This brings to mind the situation that the Bears were in last year where players talked after the game about offensive line coach Mike Tice diagraming new plays on the sidelines. It appears that there’s no one person in charge of the Bears offense. Instead, one gets the impression that Tice will be sharing the duty with Bates just as former offensive coordinator Mike Martz shared it with him.
“Another likely carry-over for Tice is his ambitious use of tight ends. In Minnesota, he used multiple-tight-end formations 43 percent of the time. One of his favorite personnel groupings included one back, two wide receivers and two tight ends.
“Tice didn’t have Pro Bowl talent at the position, but a tight end led his offense in receptions twice and finished third twice. The player who led the Vikings in receptions twice was Jermaine Wiggins, a journeyman who never came close to having the kind of numbers he had under Tice in four previous NFL seasons.”
Sounds like good news for Kellen Davis.
There’s also this great article by Pompei which breaks down the problem of Matt Forte‘s contract dispute. It seems clear to me that this dispute isn’t going to be solved easily. Basically, Forte’s going rate is about 8.5 million dollars per year on average for a long-term contract. The Bears are paying him $7.7 million this year with the franchise tag and about $17 million over two years if they do it again. The Bears do take care of their players but the never overpay. And there really isn’t much incentive financially for the Bears to come to terms.
Elsewhere
Pompei at, this time writing for The National Football Post, explores the characteristics that make Packer’s general manager Ted Thompson such an exemplary draft guru. Thompson bucked his usual trend of trading down in the draft by frequently trading up this year:
“Trading up felt good this year, but there were some unusual circumstances that led to Thompson changing it up this year. First, the Packers had 12 picks, including four compensatory picks. That was a big wad of cash in Thompson’s pocket. Given where the Packers are as a team, they didn’t need 12 players. They needed impact players.”
Its worth noting the the Packers weren’t the only ones known for trading down that did the opposite this year. The New England Patriots did the same. This is likely in part because it was a poor draft. Teams who do a good job of evaluating talent usually have multiple players that they feel comfortable with when their time comes. But this year’s draft was generally considered to be poor with little depth. So those same teams found themselves trading up to get one of the few guys they thought were good value.
Pompei also noted the Bills acquisition of QB Vince Young:
“One of the reasons the Bills were sold on Vince Young is they took the unusual step of putting him on the board for a couple of hours when he visited their facility. It is common for teams to talk schemes with rookies, but less common for them to do it with veterans. Given Young’s history, it was a smart move by Chan Gailey. And Young’s knowledge was sufficient enough for the Bills to take a chance on him.”
You want to know if Vince Young has grown up enough to be an NFL QB? Make him the punter’s personal protector and see what he says then.
This quote from Peyton Manning is for all of those people who don’t think offseason workouts are important. Via the Chicago Tribune:
”I’ve always believed you develop your timing for the passing game in the offseason. You can’t just show up in September and expect to be on the same page. Offseason workouts, it’s a great time to make an impression on the coaches. Coaches are always evaluating.“
“[Charger’s GM A.J.] Smith notes that [Drew] Brees has become better at compensating for his lack of height as he has become more experienced. ‘With Sean Payton in New Orleans, Brees gets himself back [in the pocket] to get that vision,’ Smith said. ‘The arm is better now, the release better. You can do that as a pro. Drew figured out his deficiencies and improved.’
“If Quinton Coples begins to fall in the draft, should Chicago trade up and select him? If so what would it take for the Bears to move up five to seven selections? — Scott Dennler, Columbus Junction, Iowa
“I wouldn’t move up for Coples, and I’m not even sure I would take him if he fell to me if I was picking 19th. He has top-of-the-draft talent, but Coples doesn’t always play like it. NFL scouts question his motor, his passion for the game and his coachability. I think he is going to drop in the draft. To move up five to seven picks in the first round probably would not be cheap, either. It depends on how badly the trading team wants to move and if there is competition, but I would say it would probably cost a third-round pick for such a move.”
This answer surprised me because I’ve read a lot of good things about Couples. He’s currently at number nine in the Scouts Inc. Top 32 and number 13 on Mel Kiper’s Big Board at ESPN (though he’s slipping). So my initial thought was that the Bears would be extremely happy to have him. But obviously there’s a strong difference of opinion among scouts and where he goes could be one of the more interesting stories of the draft.
ESPN’s draft expert KC Joinerhas Stephen Hill as the best wide receiver in the draft. He has Ruben Randall as the second best. The Bears would likely trade down to target Hill but Randall is a legitimate possibility in the second round. Via ESPN’s NFC North blogger Kevin Seifert.
“Quick off the edge, Mercilus utilizes great anticipation and some natural gifts as a pass-rusher, with closing speed and long arms once he has the quarterback in sight. He’s coming off a brilliant final season for the Illini, and Rod Marinelli could do wonders with him. The Bears could use some pass-rushing insurance with Julius Peppers not getting any younger.”
He has them taking Randall in the second round.
And Los Angeles Times columnist Sam Farmer came out with his mock draft:
“Chicago: OG David DeCastro, Stanford — Andrew Luck says DeCastro plays angry, and that’s just the kind of player who can help Chicago’s line. This also could be a spot for a receiver.”
I think most scouts would agree that DeCastro would be good value at this pick and the Bears would consider themselves luck to have him. They really need a tackle more than a guard but if they are going to be serious about drafting the best player available DeCastro’s probably their guy in this situation.
Steve Rosenbloom at the Chicago Tribuneassesses the current state of the Bears:
“Anyway, [Brian] Urlacher’s point was that [GM Phil] Emery filled so many needs in free agency that the Bears don’t have to make the killer mistake of drafting for need, which leads to reaching for a player, which leads to bad evaluation, which leads to empty drafts, but enough about [former GM] Jerry Angelo.”
Its worth noting that Angelo worked this way, too. The problem is that, though he could often take the best player available, he couldn’t identify him. That’s know as a problem in execution, not planning.
“I know it’s still early and J’Marcus Webb hasn’t given up a sack yet, but I see a lot of Bears momentum right now. The arrow is pointing up for a team coming off a death spiral. I don’t just see them as a playoff possibility, but I expect them to challenge Green Bay and the Packers’ sloppy defense atop the division.”
“No, Stevie Sunshine isn’t smoking anything. Fortunately, the Detroit Lions are.”
Mike Kliss at the Denver Post thinks Jay Cutler, Brandon Marshall and Jeremy Batesare a good fit for the Bears as they become the Denver Broncos east on offense.
White Sox GM Kenny Williamsdoesn’t seem too thrilled by the fact that former Saints defensive coordinator Gregg Williams encouraged his players to hit his son in the head. His son plays for the 49ers and he has a history of concussions. Via Mark Gonzales at the Chicago Tribune:
“Personally, suspension or not, it’s probably best I’m never in a room with Gregg Williams and wonder if such an order crosses the line of the aggressive, competitive spirit we all know and love about the sport; and leans closer to a criminal act and therefore a litigious matter.”
The Chicago Tribune reports that the new Nike uniforms will have built-in foam padding in the knee, thigh and belt. Many players remove such padding to increase their speed on the field. Though the story describes the padding as being “adjustable” one wonders if these players aren’t going to be forced to keep those pads in now.
Though I believe the Saints deserved the punishment they got from the NFL over the “bounty scandal”, there is a part of me that figures that they aren’t the only guilty parties out there. As a Bears fan, you just hope it isn’t everybody and, in particular, you hope it isn’t your team. So it was nice to see ESPN’s NFC North blogger Kevin Seifert’s post which seeks to destroy the “happens all the time myth”.
From Mike Florio at profootballtalk.com we have this abject lesson for the Bears with their apparent recent change in philosophy regarding finding guys with “football character”:
“Three of the Lions’ five draft picks last year have been arrested for possessing marijuana since the season ended, and that’s bringing into renewed focus what many observers said about the Lions’ 2011 draft class at the time: Detroit brought in some talented players, but some questionable characters.”
The “Christmas Ape” at Kissing Suzy Kolber goes off in this rant aimed at the Washington Post’s Michael Wilbon:
“Today’s shining example of Wilbon repugnance began with a rant about the Redskins. There’s nothing wrong with going off about the Redskins, per se, but when Wilbon does it, it’s usually in the service of defending a player for the wrong reasons or because it’s a player Wilbon claims he’s friends with. In this case, it’s Donovan McNabb, who last week got all pissy in saying he wasn’t used properly by the team, a story that clashed with the reality that McNabb had nothing left by the time he arrived in D.C.’His blast was the same as mine; it was great,’ Wilbon said. ‘I called him and said ‘Good, I’m glad you had the guts to say it. I know you’re getting ripped. Good.’ I’ve said it on our show. The Redskins, if the next Joe Montana fell out of the sky, why would anybody look at them and give them the benefit of doubt that they could get it right?’ Their quarterback utilizing skills are JUNK. Did you know that Wilbon is friends with McNabb? Has it dawned on you since the last four dozen times that Wilbon mentioned it? Makes sense; you would have to be extremely close with McNabb to compare him as a faded 34-year-old to a Hall of Famer in his prime. If you can’t gameplan for bounce passes to a receiver, what can you do?”
Brad Biggs at the Chicago Tribunereports that the Bears appear to be unlikely to resign Amobi Okoye.
“The Bears missed adding a defensive end in free agency when Jeremy Mincey re-signed with the Jaguars. They were successful in bringing back starting end Israel Idonije but now they could be faced with trying to add a third end and finding a replacement for Okoye and nose tackle Anthony Adams, who was released. That’s work that likely will have to be done in the draft.”
Biggs conclusion would appear to be further supported Vaughn McClure’s report, also for the Chicago Tribune, of the signings of cornerbacks Kelvin Haden and Jonathan Wilhite. Hayden is very experienced in the cover two defense from his days as a Colts. Unfortunately he’s also been often injured.
These were low risk, on year signings that weren’t for much money. But they were sorely needed. The depth at CB was practically non-existent and now that they Bears have some insurance at the position, they can take the best players available. As Biggs points out, the Bears obviously believe one or more of those players will likely be defensive linemen. McClure also points out that the Bears do plan to add depth at safety so that’s a real possibility as well.
In any case, one look at the roster tells you that the Bears are looking to draft a fair number of defensive players this year.
“Devin Thomas has never taken off as a wide receiver in the NFL.
“What are the odds he will with the Chicago Bears? That’s hard to say right now. But the Bears certainly don’t have the kind of depth chart Thomas was up against as a member of the New York Giants. Opportunity could come with his new team.”
Vaughn McClure at the Chicago Tribune reports that DT Amobi Okoye met with the Bengals last week. This may be a situation to keep an eye on. The Bears are light at DT and most people are guessing that they’d like to have Okoye back.
“Despite what Dolphins owner Stephen Ross allegedly told a fan, the Dolphins had no intention of cutting Brandon Marshall without getting anything in return for him. It is true, however, that the team was intent on purging Marshall at some point. Marshall was persona non grata in Miami for a number of reasons. He was perceived as a quarterback killer because of his complaining. New coach Joe Philbin was looking for a different style of receiver. Marshall is high maintenance off the field. And the Dolphins needed cap space. However, if the Dolphins couldn’t have traded Marshall in the offseason, it is likely they would have brought him to training camp to see if a trade market might develop for him after teams started losing players to injuries. As it turned out, they received two third round picks from the Bears.”
As if those negatives weren’t enough, Rivers McCown at Football Outsiders and ESPNreviews the Bears “curious” off season moves by looking at the statistics. Marshall’s aren’t as good as you might think:
“Unfortunately, by our numbers, Marshall hasn’t exactly played up to that skill set. Last season, he had a 9.8 percent DVOA, good for 36th in the NFL. (DVOA is Football Outsiders’ defense-adjusted value over average metric, explained here.) That was his best career ranking in DVOA and only the second time he finished a season with a positive score. Despite his eye-popping traditional numbers, Marshall has had just one season with a catch rate above 60 percent. His statistics deserve some slack since Marshall has always been the focal point of his team’s passing game, but when you consider the opportunity cost of two third-rounders and Marshall’s fairly hefty contract, trading for Marshall wasn’t exactly the slam-dunk move many have called it.”
WR Michael Floyd: Notre Dame (6-3, 224)
DE Whitney Mercilus: Illinois (6-4, 265)
OT Jonathan Martin: Stanford (6-6, 304)
DE Quinton Coples: North Carolina (6-6, 285)
WR Kendall Wright: Baylor (5-10, 190)
I’m guessing that there’s no way Floyd, Mercilus or Couples falls that far. It seems to me like a fantasy but if scouts are right about Coples and he is there, you take him and start doing cart wheels.
Martin is intriguing and could fill a need but a lot would depend on how much OL coach Mike Tice thinks he can coach him. Most scouts seem to thin he has a pretty low floor and the Bears don’t need to draft a tackle who turns out to actually be an average (at best) guard (*cough* Chris Williams *cough*).
“What do you make of all the attention this week on Kendall Wright? Is it due diligence or real interest by the Bears? I’m sure he is a good football player, but don’t we have enough 5-10 wide receiver experiments? I would preferMichael Floyd and if he is not avail at 19 then Stephen Hill based on speed and frame. Do you think Phil Emery will stick to his comment, which I support 100 percent, about football being for big players? Andrew Los Angeles
“Look, Kendall Wright is a pretty good prospect. You can be 5-10 and be a lot better player than someone who is 6-3. I wouldn’t turn up my nose at him just because he isn’t big. There have been plenty of outstanding receivers who are shy of six feet. The Bears already have a big receiver in Brandon Marshall. If the Bears draft a receiver, they need to draft the best receiver they can find, regardless of how tall he is. Emery likes big players, but he likes good players more. In Kansas City, he drafted 5-foot-8, 170 pound Dexter McCluster.”
Dexter McCluster is a multi-demential player who was drafted as a slot receiver. Drafting Kendall Wright for the Bears would be like getting another Johnny Knox for the Packers to knock off the line of scrimmage and sit on. Like McCluster, he’s too small to be anything but a slot receiver and Earl Bennett has that pretty much wrapped up.
Pompei, this time writing for the Chicago Tribune, quotes Bears head coach Lovie Smith on Wright:
“‘When I watch video, I don’t want to see all these bad plays,’ he said. ‘If we’re coaching a guy up to his max, OK, what can he be? It’s about the ceiling, always. This is what he’s capable of doing.’”
I found this to be interesting because it clicks together with another quote from Smith via Pompei, this time about his relationship with GM Phil Emery:
“We watched a little tape together. It’s on video what type of guys we like. And it’s constant communication, normal flow of day, going over everything we want at every position. It’s continuing still.”
Hard not to notice that Emery’s emphasis on evidence-based evaluation and watching tape is catching on with Smith. I like that.
On a related not, from Mark Eckle at the Times of Trenton we have this comment on DT Dontari Poe:
“He’ll be overdrafted,” one personnel man said. “He did all of that at the Combine, so some team will take him way higher than he should go. I mean watch him play, just watch. He didn’t do anything. And he wasn’t playing at a very high level, either.
“All I know is he had one sack last year and it came against Austin Peay. You probably didn’t even know Austin Peay had a football team.”
Poe might be available for the Bears at 19. If he is it sounds like a good test of GM Phil Emery’s philosophy to judge prospects primarily by seeing what show up on tape.
“Are you as sold as Mike Tice is on J’Marcus Webb as our left tackle? I like him as a person but I think he’s a swing tackle at best in the league. Also, Tice and Lovie Smith need to remember that Webb was a seventh-round pick from a tiny school that nobody had ever heard of. He was never meant to be a starting left tackle in the NFL. I think the Bears should trade up in the early teens of the first round to secure Jonathan Martin, who I’m sure would eliminate the only question mark on our offense now. Jim Lee, Platteville, Wis.
“It’s possible Webb could develop into a starting left tackle you can win with. He has done enough good things for the coaching staff to have faith in him, it’s just that he hasn’t done them consistently enough. He clearly still is a work in progress, as you might expect someone with his background to be going into his third season. There have been Hall of Famers who have come from “tiny schools that nobody ever heard of,” so that is not an issue. What is an issue is Webb allowed 14 sacks, tied for most in the NFL according to Stats, and that he was flagged an NFL-high eight times for false starts and five times for holding. It’s important that everybody, especially his offensive coordinator, understands this isn’t Anthony Munoz. Don’t expect him to be able to handle the best pass rushers in the game one-on-one, and he’ll have a chance. But there is no question he has some serious improving to do in order to be the Bears’ long-term left tackle.”
Former Bears Director of College Scouting, Gabriel Gabriel, on QB Ryan Tannehill for The National Football Post:
“Yes, Tannehill will get drafted high and I know of at least three clubs that are praying that it actually does happen because that drops a good football player to them. It has been my opinion all along that some evaluators and people in the media are ‘creating’ a player just as they did Blaine Gabbert last year and others like him in previous years. Don’t forget, J’Marcus Russell was the first pick of the draft the year he came out.”
And, as if to prove Gabriel right, from Pro Football Weekly’s Whispers column:
“The Vikings continue to hope that the Ryan Tannehill buzz keeps flowing. After his strong pro-day effort, there is more buzz about teams having to trade up ahead of the Browns at No. 4 to get the athletic-but-green quarterback. The Vikings will be all ears — they would love to slide down a handful of spots, pick up additional picks and still get a top-rated player. It would be the ideal situation in their minds.”
“The union possibly has deferred comment on the situation until it has a chance to obtain more information. The NFLPA is in a tight situation on this one, balancing its obligation to protect both the alleged participants in the bounty system and the targets of the bounty system. It’s possible that the union will eventually contend that the players who participated were coerced by their coaches, making both the player-participants and the player-targets the victims.
“Frankly, any other argument would make it hard for the NFLPA to aggressively and properly represent the interests of both ends of the bounty spectrum.”
“Line him up as an H-back. The players who have been most successful as package quarterbacks have been the ones who are on the field in other roles. If a player comes off the sideline only when he’s part of a package, it’s a red flag for defenses.
“And Tebow can play H-back. ‘Look the way he’s built,’ McCarthy said. ‘He’s an athletic, powerful man. He’s bigger than people realize.’”
I don’t know that Tebow will ever be a good QB. But I’m reasonably certain he’s a player. He can do a lot of things on the football field.
“You can improve in the offseason not just through free agency. We’ve improved every year with our offseason program and I believe that’s going to be the case again this year.”
Want to know why the Packers are successful as an organization? Notice that McCarthy concentrates on what he does best when commenting on how to improve the organization. Its fairly evident that he never stops coaching while letting GM Ted Thompson do what he does best in evaluating players.
Former NFL safety Matt Bowen at The National Football Postprovides some coaching points while reviewing tape of North Alabama’s Jenoris Jenkins.
Jon Gruden gives QB prospect Andrew Lucka hard time about this play. It’s really just guess work but watching the film and judging from the way that Luck goes right to the receiver without a glance to the left, I’m guessing that he’s being a good soldier and covering for a poor play call. Its even posible that Gruden is baiting him in an effort to get him to call the coach out. To his credit, Luck doesn’t give in to the temptation.
Gabriel tells lots of Bear fans what they’d like to hear as he describes the big wide receivers available in the draft.
I actually laughed out loud when I read this headline from profootballtalk.com before I even read the article. Glad to know Donovan McNabb is still good for something.
Like most people who have been in this situation, I don’t know whether to laugh at this or cry. From A Factory of Sadness.
The Sports Pickle wonders what might have been had Internet commenters been around to ruin great moments in sports history. Here’s a good example:
One Final Thought
If anyone needs any further evidence as to why Jerry Angelo deserved to be fired, this excerpt from Pro Football Weekly’s Whispers column provides some:
“Packers head coach Mike McCarthy said at the annual NFL meeting that 2011 third-round RB Alex Green is well ahead of schedule in his recovery from the torn ACL that cut his rookie campaign short in Week Seven. McCarthy also said that 2011 first-round OT Derek Sherrod, who also suffered a season-ending injury (broken right leg), has been conscientiously rehabbing on a daily basis at the Packers’ facilities.”
This is the kind of thing that drives Bears fans insane. The Packers lose thier first round offensive tackle to jury and they nearly go undefeated. The Bears lose theirs and the whole right side of the line falls apart.
One look at the statistics, as reviewed in this very good article by McCown, tells you what you need to know. Also taking into account his analysis of Brandon Marshall above, he sums up the Bears offseason moves:
“The Bears did upgrade another area of weakness by signing QB Jason Campbell to back up [Jay] Cutler. But unless they start working to improve their offensive line, the Bears are in for a season much like the past two: one in which good defense and solid quarterback play are undone by an inability to punch the ball into the end zone and in which goal-line sweeps are buried in the backfield due to missed blocks.
But at least there will be one key difference: This time [Michael] Bush gets to be the scapegoat instead of [Matt] Forte.”
“‘There are some things you have to do to help [J’Marcus Webb] out a little bit more at times, which we plan to do,’ Smith said, per Jensen. ‘So you can make a case and throw out stats on what he did.’
“You can, but not many Bears fans will be willing to do it. Instead, Bears fans will hope, and perhaps pray, that the stated faith in the team’s offensive line is part of a broader plan to dupe other teams into thinking the Bears won’t be targeting guards and tackles in the draft.”
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.
“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.
“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 Grahamhas 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?
“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.”
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.comreports thatJeremy 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.”
“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 Hogelikes RG3 better (vai Florio) and there are certain aspects of his game that Greg Cosell at the NFL Films Bloglikes 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:
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.
Khaled Elsayed at Pro Football Focus and I see eye-to-eye:
“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.
“[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:
And the New York Postis gearing up for Tim Tebow’s arrival, as well. Via The Sports Pickle:
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.
“[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 Tribunebottom 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.”
Sean Jensen at the Chicago Sun-Times points out some of the many positives about the Bears trade of two third round draft picks for wide receiver Brandon Marshall:
“The Bears were linked to Vincent Jackson, a two-time Pro Bowl selection. But Jackson is nearly two years older than Marshall, who turns 28 on March 23, and his price tag was much higher. Jackson signed a five-year contract with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers that averages $11.1 million a year, nearly $2??million more than Marshall.”
“Marshall joins the Arizona Cardinals’ Larry Fitzgerald and the Atlanta Falcons’ Roddy White as the only receivers to top 1,000 receiving yards in each of the last five seasons. He holds the NFL record with 21 catches in a single game.”
“What Marshall can do, with size and explosiveness, is make big plays. He had 16 receptions of 25 yards or more last year, which was fourth most in the NFL according to Stats.”
“He was the star of stars at the last Pro Bowl and was awarded the most valuable player award for catching six passes for 174 yards and four touchdowns. He owns the NFL single-game record for catches with 21 against the Colts in 2009.”
“Marshall should make Cutler better quickly, according to one pro scout, because he will give him more margin for error.
“’Brandon is bigger than Devin Hester or Johnny Knox, so Cutler can throw it to an area and Marshall can go get it,’ he said. ‘That makes Cutler more accurate.’”
“If history is an indicator, Marshall will be high maintenance in the locker room and away from Halas Hall.”
“Marshall better get the football.
“If he does not, he can be disruptive. Marshall has a history of complaining and pouting if things don’t go his way.”
And Brad Biggs at the Chicago Tribune also makes a good point:
“Marshall, 6-foot-4, 230 pounds, is also known as a rugged blocker in the running game, something that will make him an ideal fit for new coordinator Mike Tice.”
At least I think we’ve seen the last of this anyway:
“Symbolically and otherwise, striking with the Marshall trade so soon after free agency began illustrated [general manager Phil] Emery understood the urgency of fixing the Bears’ offense before anything else.”
No matter what you think of the moves Emery made yesterday, one thing is certain. He did act decisively and with urgency to fill some needs. A good sign. A better one will be if he turns out to have gotten the right guys.
Jensen also points out one major disadvantage to the trade for Marshall: the fact that he eats up a lot of their available cap space. The Bears had roughly $24 million in space before the Marshall signing and he will account for almost $10 million of that. $14 million probably won’t allow them to sign a Mario Williams and take care of their draft picks and other free agents at the same time. So Williams is probably not a possibility any more.
Pompei agrees that the Bears are likely out of the running for Williams. He suggests alther options such as re-signing Israel Idonije and/or making a run at Kamerion Wimbley if the Raiders cut him. The Raiders need to either guaranteed $17.5 million by Sunday or let him walk. They don’t currently have the cap space to do that.
“Although veteran Josh McCown did some good things toward the end of last season, some in the organization view him as a No. 3 quarterback.”
I think your number 3 had better be a developmental guy. An interesting question that will need ot be answered in the coming months is whether Nathan Enderle will be that guy or will it be someone else?
“’I always respected what he did and how he worked at his craft — and he’s not the biggest guy, he’s not the strongest guy,’ [49ers special teams coach Brad] Seely told the Associated Press this last season. ‘But he’s one of those guys that his whole is much better than the parts. What he brings on Sunday is really a unique situation for us in special teams in the sense that he’s really good at his job.’”
“’I’m happy. I’m satisfied,’ Jennings said. ‘I got it over and done with. I just wanted the Bears to show me love. I feel like I’ve put in a good amount of the work the last few years. I didn’t really want to test free agency out. I just wanted to be wanted. Free agency wasn’t an option.’”
“The move means the team no longer has cornerback as a major need, though the Bears still could use a corner. It is likely the team will either draft a cornerback or sign a free agent who is not in high demand.”
“The Bears coaching staff would like to see him make more plays on the football.”
Yes, the Bears still need a corner. Jennings is good insurance but they’d rather have someone better, I think. After all is said and done, fans will recall that the Bears did bench Jennings at one point last year for allowing too many big plays. His resigning is probably more an indication that they didn’t see anyone in free agency that they thought they could sign at the right price and they didn’t want to gamble on finding the right guy in the draft.
“What are the chances of the Bears signing a left tackle and a wide receiver in free agency and going heavy on defense in the draft to add some much needed youth on that side of the ball? — Steve Larsen; Sebring, Fla.
“I like the way you are thinking Steve. I wouldn’t get too excited about landing a left tackle in free agency though. The left tackle free agent class will be very, very thin — possibly non-existent. And the last we heard, the Bears are confident that J’Marcus Webb can improve enough to handle the position. But the idea of going with defense in the draft is a good one. The Bears defense doesn’t just need to add good players, it needs to add good, young players.”
I really don’t understand why the Bears are stuck on J’Marcus Webb as the left tackle of the future. Virtually everyone else who has eyes can see that Webb doesn’t have what it takes to handle the position. In a division full of excellent defensive linemen, they need a left tackle badly.
On a related note, Khaled Elsayed at Pro Football Focus tells us how much they love free agent Eric Winston, who was just released from the Houston Texans. Winston is a right tackle but the Bears could be in the market if they’re willing to move either him or Gabe Carimi to the left. Probably the best free agent lineman is still Jared Gaither, who is a true left tackle. He is still a possibility.
“Given how hard it is to get good, starting offensive tackles in free agency, should the Bears draft an OLT in the first round and use free agency to upgrade at WR and DE? If not, who will be the Bears swing tackle in 2012? — Paul Taylor; Chandler, Ariz.
“If a left tackle who is an excellent value is available at 19, I’d have no problem if the Bears selected him. I don’t suspect that will be the case, however. There probably are three offensive tackles worth taking that high — Matt Kalil of Southern Cal, Riley Reiff of Iowa and Jonathan Martin of Stanford. My hunch is all three will be off the board by the time the Bears pick, and better values will be available at other positions. The Bears’ swing tackle in 2012 very well could be Chris Williams, or, if Williams wins a starting offensive tackle job, the swing tackle could be Webb. Either way, at this point it looks like Williams is moving back to tackle.”
I note that Mel Kiper at ESPN has both Bobby Massie and Mike Adamsranked aboveJonathan Martin in his position rankings. Adams, at least, projects as a left tackle. In fact, Kiper has him going to the Bears in his latest mock draft. Adams posted disappointing numbers in the bench press at the combine. But I’m guessing that how Adams performed on tape is what’s going to count with Emery.
Adams was an inconsistent performer but when he was on, he showed immense talent on the field. He might be a guy to watch.
“Will the Bears draft an outside linebacker and start him or sign a free agent? Nick Roach is an average linebacker at best. — Tawone Miller, Chicago
“I think there is a good chance the starting linebackers in 2012 will be Roach, Brian Urlacher and Lance Briggs. I don’t believe the Bears will actively try to replace Roach, though there is a chance they could draft a linebacker in the high rounds with the thought that he will be an eventual replacement for Urlacher or Briggs. If that player can be an immediate upgrade from Roach, he could start out as the strong side linebacker this year. The only other complicating factor in the linebacker scenario is Briggs’ unhappiness with his contract. There remains a chance Briggs could play elsewhere this season, but I think it’s a slim chance.”
Its been easy to ignore the linebacker position with Urlacher and Briggs as steady performers. But I think everyone agrees that its high time the Bears paid some attention to it.
Head coach Lovie Smithhad lunch with wide receiver Stephen Hill, a potential draft pick. Hill impressed at the combine with his size and speed but isn’t known for having very good hands. He sounds to me like a Raider but safe to say the Bears are interested. Via Biggs.
On a related note, ESPN NFC North blogger Kevin Seifert points out that Smith was on hand to watch wide receiver Justin Blackmon workout. As the Bears have absolutely no shot at drafting Blackmon, I can only assume there’s another Okalahoma State player on their radar.
Elsewhere
Probably the most disturbing aspect of the New Orleans Saints bounty program isn’t the involvement of defensive coordinator Gregg Williams. Its the involvement of a somewhat shady character named Michael Ornstein, who is profiled by the web site Dead Spinhere. Ornstein is a close friend and confidant of Sean Payton.
“Ornstein on at least four occasions pledged his own money to the Saints’ defense’s bounty fund. In 2009, $10,000 toward knocking an opposing quarterback out of the game. In 2011, two separate contributions to targeting the quarterback. And on at least one other occasion, Ornstein pledged his money in an email to Payton, which spelled out the details of the bounty program.
“The NFL knows this because it has that email, a highly incriminating paper trail that makes it impossible for Payton to argue his innocence, or for the Saints to claim the bounty never left the locker room. It might be the single most damaging piece of evidence, based solely on Ornstein’s history.”
NFLPA spokesman George Atallah told The Associated Press that they asked the league to hold off on any punishment for the Saints until they were done gathering information from their own investigation. I still don’t understand why the union is investigating this at all.
The Redskins move up to the Rams #2 spot in the draft so they could take Robert Griffin III prompted this interesting observation from Seifert:
“As you assuredly know, the Vikings were on track to have the NFL’s second-worst record before they defeated the Redskins 33-26 in Week 16. (Tailback Adrian Peterson also suffered a major knee injury in that game, an unrelated but no less serious event.) After Friday night’s trade, we now know the difference between winning and losing that game was two future first-round picks and a second-rounder.”
Evan Silva at profootballtalk.com says that the 49ers are bringing in Brandon Lloyd for a visit. They already signed Randy Moss and with Lloyd they will be well stocked with big receivers. They could be a hand full. The Bears play at San Francisco next year.
“What were people saying at the beginning of last season? With no OTAs or much time for installation — the veteran teams that kept it simple and relied on one playbook instead of three would be the ones left standing. There were a lot of other reasons for it, too — don’t get me wrong. But I think there is a lot of truth to it for the last four coaches that were standing.”
“Yet according to sources, Tebow paid Broncos defensive players Von Miller, Brian Dawkins and Elvis Dumervil more than $50,000 each over the course of the season for helping opposing players back to their feet after tackling them.”
Where does it all end?!
And finally, The Onion scoops everyone with this headline: “Wes Welker Signs 2-Foot Extension With Patriots”.
One Final Thought
Apparently Biggs had the same thought a lot of us did when he heard about the Brandon Marshall trade:
“But it’s more than curious the Dolphins would let go of the 27-year-old Marshall for so little, especially since the offense new coach Joe Philbin is installing relies on wide receivers more than any in the league. Also, the Redskins went all-out for wide receivers in free agency and Marshall’s former coach Mike Shanahan didn’t deal for him.”
Of course, there are the usual concerns that we all knew about, a list of transgressions, arrests and general troubles that is about a “mile high”.
“Marshall has had issues off the field. In school at Central Florida, he was charged with assault on a law enforcement officer. He pleaded a DUI arrest in Colorado down to driving while impaired.
“The Rocky Mountain News reported sheriff’s deputies were called to Marshall’s home 11 times in a 21/2-year span. In 2008, he put his arm through a television set, a story he originally explained by saying he slipped on a McDonald’s wrapper. In March 2009, he was charged with disorderly conduct following a disagreement with his fiancee, now wife, in Atlanta.”
And lets not forget this one:
“Last April, Marshall’s wife, Michi Nogami-Marshall, was arrested after allegedly stabbing Marshall.”
All of this was explained away as Marshall said after the April incident that he was diagnosed with borderline personality disorder, a mental illness that leads those who suffer from it to struggle with relationships, mood control and emotions.
So he’s been troubled and he has a history of mental illness which he now has under control right? So what’s with the low price tag? Suddenly, late last night, the reason was revealed:
“Monday night, [Marshall] 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. He said Marshall took his wife to a hospital where she was treated for ‘serious injuries’ and Marshall hopes to ‘assist authorities’ regarding the matter.”
Of course, given that he initially claimed that he “slipped on a McDonald’s wrapper” in the 2008 incident above, you knew this wasn’t going to be the end of the story:
“The New York Post, however, reported the episode took place around 4 a.m. Sunday and that Christin Myles filed a police report saying that during the fracas Marshall hit her in the left eye, blackening it.”
For those of you who think all of this is irrelevant and that all that counts is what he does on the field, think again. Given the laundry list of troubles above, I think you can count on at least a four game suspension is any part of that New York Post story turns out to be true. Indeed, Florio also makes this relevant point:
“The question then becomes, if the Dolphins knew, did the Bears? And will the Bears care? There could be some rule or bylaw somewhere allowing the Bears to bail on this one if the Dolphins were aware of pertinent information and failed to share it.”
I think a lot of Bear fans would also like to know if their new general manager hasn’t already blown his first major acquisition by not investigating the situation throughly enough.
Regardless, whether the Bears knew about the incident or not, I don’t think the Bears are going to bail on the trade. Besides the fact that they are unlikely to admit that they didn’t do their due diligence, they need Marshall too badly. And that highlights the real problem.
This is what happens when a franchise is mismanaged the way the Bears have been over the last five or six years. It all comes down to the draft. Without players in the system, you are left to try to make up the talent difference through other means. That means picking through other teams trash in free agency or, as in this case, actually paying for it. That was the case in 2009 when they traded for Jay Cutler because they couldn’t draft a quarterback and its the case now.
What’s worse, because the Bears have decided to compete now rather than playing for the future, they paid for Miami’s trash in draft picks. And that’s really why this trade is disturbing. Just like the situation three years ago with Cutler, the Bears now have fewer options in the draft to solve the real issue. Which means they’ll probably have to dip into trades and free agency even more in the future to make up the difference. Its a spiral of death that any Washington Redskin fan can appreciate.
The Brandon Marshall trade highlights how desperate the Bears long-term situation really is. And it also highlights the short-sighted direction they have decided to take in order to solve the problem. Given that they are trading draft picks to maintain competitiveness and that even the ones they have will take years to accumulate and develop, we won’t probably see things get better for a long time.
As most fans know, the Bears will have plenty of cap space available to spend in free agency. What’s really interesting is tha tno one seems to know how much. Sean Jensen at the Chicago Sun-Timessays the Bears will have $32 million available. But Brad Biggs at the Chicago Tribuneputs the number at $28 million.
The problem appears to be in the league office where they are still trying to figure out how to handle the cap numbers under the new collective bargaining agreement. Its one of those rare times when the league doesn’t seem to have its act together. Here’s hoping they won’t be making a habit of it.
“Over time, Emery’s style and approach will become more clear.
“The only thing he’s delineated is his desire to continue to be on the road, getting an up-close look at college players during the season. He said he plans to watch college games on Thursdays and Saturdays and be around the Bears on Sunday through Wednesday.”
“After his news conference last month, Emery provided insight on his philosophy for evaluating players. He said he’s careful about ‘pre-judging an athlete’ because he has seen so many ‘do amazing things that people didn’t think they could do.’
“‘We call it in the scouting business, ‘Instant evaluation,’ ‘ Emery said. ‘ ‘Boy, he’s not going to do this.’ Watch the whole picture. Make sure you’re right. Watch the extra tape. Watch two extra tapes.
“‘If you see something, try to find out if he can do it again. Sometimes, that was an anomaly. But if a guy shows you he can make a spectacular catch or a great run, hone in on why that happened. What are the traits that allowed that to happen?’”
Bears pro scout Dennard Wilson is expected to join the Rams as a defensive assistant coach. Dan Pompei at the Chicago Tribunedescribes the problem:
“Wilson’s anticipated departure would leave the Bears thin in pro scouts leading up to free agency, as assistant director of pro personnel Kevin Turks and pro scout James Kirkland are the only men at Halas Hall who have been committed to studying NFL personnel.
“Former director of player personnel Tim Ruskell had spearheaded the pro scouting department, and he has not been replaced. Former general manager Jerry Angelo also spent a good deal of time on the pro side.”
“It is likely Emery will lean on the Bears coaches, as well as Turks and Kirkland, to help him through his first free agent period.”
“Smith said while the Bears blocked secondary coach Jon Hoke from interviewing with the Minnesota Vikings for their defensive coordinator job, Hoke was allowed to talk to Greg Schiano about that position on his new staff with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.”
Very few people would argue that Smith knows the defensive side of the ball. But its evident that he’s reached a critical juncture in terms of his tenure as head coach primarily because of the decisions he’s made associated with the offense. Biggs comments:
“It’s worth wondering if Smith is on his last offensive coordinator — if [Mike] Tice will be the final man he’s allowed to hire for the Bears. It’s easy to blame Angelo for failing to produce with offensive draft picks. Last season, [Matt] Forte became the first offensive player drafted by Angelo to make the Pro Bowl since 2002. But Smith shares some of the responsibility.
“Smith didn’t talk about any sweeping changes on offense, and Tice has said much will stay the same, including the verbiage and the running game. Smith fell back to an easy goal when talking about offense — scoring more points — and acknowledged the Bears have to be better in the passing game. That starts with improved protection, something Tice should deliver. Then it comes down to upgrading [Jay] Cutler‘s targets.”
Cutler appears to have some strong opinions about what the Bears should do at wide receiver. Via ESPN:
“Appearing Monday morning on ESPN 1000 , Cutler sung the praises of his friend and former teammate Brandon Marshall, currently a member of the Miami Dolphins, but said: ‘Anyone really over 6-2 at this point is going to look good.’”
“’Chemistry in the room often is a problem, and chemistry with the quarterback too,’ said an NFC general manager. ‘That position can mess with a team more than any other. They are the biggest chicks on the team. They often have a very high opinion of themselves. As a rule, they don’t approach their jobs with the same degree of professionalism players at other positions do.’”
Michael Floyd may have solidfied his position as the second best wide receiver in the draft after running an outstanding forty yard dash at the combine. However, Pompei reads my mind as he comments further:
“Sober scouts will point out that even though Michael Floyd was fast on the track, he may not play as fast as he timed.”
Something tells me that Emery is unlikely to make the mistake of over looking this. He seems like a guy who is going to rely heavily on game tape to evaluate prospects.
“A lot of pre-draft boards have the Bears taking Michael Floyd at No. 19. If Courtney Upshaw fell to that spot, would you take him? — David Comiskey, Chicago
“I would rather use that first-round pick on a defensive end than a wide receiver if all things were equal. The foundation of most great football teams usually is big men. And linemen tend to be safer picks than wide receivers. Upshaw might not be a bad pick, but I think Whitney Mercilus or Nick Perry would be better ones.”
“When he was asked which teams had shown interest in him, Mercilus listed the ‘‘Bears, Chargers, also the Bills’’ — in that order. Ourlads.com, a well-respected scouting website, projects the Bears to select Mercilus with the 19th pick in the first round.
‘‘’Mercilus is a speed rusher with excellent athletic ability,’ one NFL scout said. ‘The question [is], will he be a one-year wonder or an up-and-comer? He could be productive as a 3-4 outside linebacker or a 4-3 edge guy.’’’
According to Biggs, defensive tackle Anthony Adams has been let go. Adams lost a lot of playing time last year and, though it may have simply been due to under-performance, my gut tells me that there was more to it. Perhaps it will eventually come out.
“Whoever signs Williams probably is going to have to make him the highest paid defender in the NFL. For the Bears, that would likely mean having to forgo signing a No. 1 receiver. But if adding Williams were a possibility, some sacrifices elsewhere would be well worth it.”
“Cornerback is one of the needs on defense this off-season for the Bears. Wouldn’t Brandon Carr be a good fit with the Bears? He has good size and Phil Emery has to be familiar with him considering the KC Chiefs background. — Matt, Montreal
“Carr is a fine player and would be an upgrade for the Bears. But it’s going to take mucho dinero to sign him. The Bears have more pressing priorities, I believe. And if you look at their history with Lovie Smith‘s defense, they have never gone after big money cornerbacks, or even drafted one in the top two rounds. The belief is you can get by in the Tampa Two without a premium corner.”
I’ve a sneaking suspicion that this philosophy may no longer completely apply. I agree that the Bears will never pay premium prices for cornerbacks but I think Lovie Smith is beginning to recognize that they need corners who can do more than play the cover two. That means they’re going to have to invest more in the position.
“’[Special teams coordinator Dave] Toub re-signing with the Bears doesn’t really factor in much with my decision unless there are no teams out there interested in me on defense,’ Graham said. ‘If all the teams are only interested in me on special teams, then I would love to come back and play for Toub.
“’But if any teams are interested in what I can do on defense, then Toub re-signing means very little because even after three interceptions in very limited plays this year, the Bears coaching staff still doesn’t see me as a defensive player.’”
It doesn’t sound like he’s gong to be resigning. Even the dumbest teams are going to tell Graham he will have a “chance to compete” on defense without making any promises. Graham has a good idea of how he stands with the Bears so even that will be an improvement for him.
On a peripherally related note, the NFL caused a storm of media coverage by stating that they were investigating allegations that former Saints defensive coordinator Gregg Williams helped put bounties on the heads of opposing offensive players. Players were paid for knocking opponents out of games. From the full press release:
“‘The payments here are particularly troubling because they involved not just payments for ‘performance,’ but also for injuring opposing players,’ Commissioner [Roger] Goodell said. ‘The bounty rule promotes two key elements of NFL football: player safety and competitive integrity.’”
Of course, this generated the usual calls from fans to sports talk radio all over the country about putting skirts on players. David Haugh at the Chicago Tribune explains why they’re wrong.
“The Saints bounty issue isn’t a referendum on violence in pro football. This is the NFL rightly reacting to one team’s formal plan encouraging dirty play as the league tried curbing it in the midst of the concussion-awareness era. This isn’t further emasculation of the NFL. This is necessary league intervention to remind teams where the line exists between the hard hitting that traditionally makes the game great and hired thuggery.”
Judy Battista at The New York Timesmakes the case that injured players could sue Gregg Robinson and player who injured them under bounty system. There’s precedent.
There’s only one reason why Benson would continue to support Loomis despite the fact that he supposedly disobeyed his direct order to have the bounty system in New Orleans stopped. Its because he didn’t. Loomis is undoubted covering for Benson, who is one of the lowest class owners in the league and who is just the kind of guy who would allow a bounty system of this type to continue.
“There are several good photo-sharing services that work with Twitter: TwitPic, Lockerz and yfrog among many others. However, if you have photos that need to be enhanced in any way — such as for size — you may want to look into signing up for Instagram.”
One Final Thought
David Kamp at The New York Timesputs things in perspective as he looks back on his life as a football fan:
“One of the few aphorisms I have committed to memory is a Nick Hornby line from ‘Fever Pitch’: ‘The natural state of the football fan is bitter disappointment, no matter what the score.’”
It was a surprise to me when Mike Florio at profootballtalk.com included Lovie Smith in the “Possibly Fired” coaches category. Florio says he wouldn’t be but, to say the least, I’d be shocked.
Dan Pompei at The National Football Postwrites about a deep 2012 inside linebacker class. The Bears have to be at least considering doing something here. Their linebacker depth is putrid and, though he’s still playing at a high level, Brian Urlacher isn’t getting any younger. These guys don’t always gradually decline. They often crash and the Bears should be prepared.
I’m guessing that Tim Jennings earned an offseason offer from the Bears. From the Tribune:
“Q: How important was it for you personally, going into a free agency?.
“It was definitely positive. Every guy stepped up in the last game like that. For me to come up there and make a few plays with the guys, it’s a plus for me. I enjoyed it.”
I’d say that the failure of Zack Bowman to show what he needed to against the Packers didn’t hurt Jennings’ status, either. Bowman is almost certainly gone they’ll want Jennings as insurance against the success of whatever option they take to replace him.
Oh, yeah. Its because they’re following the lead of thier head coach. For those of you who missed it, Jim Schwartz was (once again) so out of control on the side line that center Dominic Raiola, one of the players he was supposed to be leading, had to settle him down on the sideline.
The Lions are trying to extend the contract of Cliff Avril. The team may regret waiting until late in the season to try to lock up the defensive end, who has 11 sacks and six forced fumbles. His value has skyrocketed through the course of the season. At 25, Avril is just starting to come into his own. ‘He is an elite, playmaking pass rusher who is going to get better,’ Avril’s agent Brian Mackler told me. One way or another, the Lions are not likely to let Avril hit the open market. The franchise tag for defensive ends this year is expected to be in the vicinity of $10.5 million, and that remains a viable option if the two sides can’t come to an agreement on a long term deal.
I don’t doubt that Avril has benefited from the attention Ndamukong Suh gets. But if he can benefit in the same way from playing with Peppers, I’m all for it.
“Managing the blitz: Entering Sunday’s game, no NFL quarterback had been blitzed on a lower percentage of his dropbacks (23.7) than the Lions’ Matthew Stafford. That makes sense, considering the number of skilled Lions pass-catchers who are left in favorable coverage against a blitz. But the Saints love to blitz under defensive coordinator Greg Williams, making for an interesting fulcrum point in this matchup. It’s worth noting that Sunday, the Packers blitzed Stafford 34.4 percent of the time and dramatically limited his production on those plays. According to ESPN Stats & Information, Stafford completed nine of his 21 passes against the blitz for 154 yards and an interception Sunday. Against the Packers’ standard pass rush, Stafford completed 27 of 38 passes for 366 yards, five touchdowns and one interception.”
“The first [Bears touchdown Sunday] was a blown coverage on the 22-yard touchdown pass to Roy Williams in the second quarter. Vikings safeties Jamarca Sanford and Mistral Raymond failed to pick up Williams, who ran uncovered into the end zone. The safeties were left looking at one another.
“‘I saw it three plays before that, they blew the coverage,’ Williams said. ‘We ran the same set and they did it again.'”
The Chicago press aren’t the only ones who have begun the process of trying to figure out how to fix an organization. The Minnesota presses also now getting into full gear. Tom Pelissaro at 1500ESPN.com starts by speculating about the overhaul of the coaching staff.
“The wild card is Mike Singletary, a longtime friend of [Leslie] Frazier‘s who was viewed as a coordinator candidate when he joined the team as assistant head coach/linebackers coach in January, less than a month after the San Francisco 49ers fired him as head coach.
“Concerns about Singletary’s strategic acumen followed him to Minnesota, and his approach to preparation has raised red flags. According to two sources, Singletary has left assistant Jeff Imamura in charge of some position meetings, skipped all of the Vikings’ meetings the night before last month’s game at Detroit to attend a wedding and has occupied himself much of the season with side projects instead of the next opponent.
“That all makes it far more likely Frazier will try to engineer a soft exit for Singletary than promote him into a coordinator position for which many experienced candidates could be available. But their close personal relationship complicates the issue.”
Pelissaro also has thoughts about what should happen at the top:
“Vice president of player personnel Rick Spielman has been the Wilfs’ guide on football matters for years, so giving him final say over (and accountability for) the roster wouldn’t be a total shock.”
“The team needs one voice – and not the voice of Rick Spielman, who suffered season-long laryngitis, refusing to comment on the mess he helped to create.”
Jared Allen on what he would have done if he’d broken the NFL sack record Sunday. Via Seifert:
“‘I probably would have thrown my helmet into the crowd,’ Allen said, ‘jumped up, ran up, kissed my wife and my baby in the suite, walked into the locker room and quit. No, I might have done some turf angels. Probably would have cried. [The Chicago Bears] probably would have gotten a first down — a 15-yard penalty on me. I probably would have taken my shoulder pads off. So probably a good thing I didn’t get it, right?'”
I’ve said this before and I’ll no doubt say it again. Allen is impossible not to like.
“Jackson’s solution for all the problems: More Hue Jackson.
“‘I’m going take a stronger hand in this whole team, this whole organization,’ Jackson said. ‘There ain’t no way that I’m going to feel like I feel today a year from now, I promise you that. There’s no question. Defensively, offensively and special teams. I aint feeling like this no more. This is a joke. . . . Yeah, I’m going to take a hand in everything that goes on here.'”
I’m not the biggest fan but even I was surprised at this Audible from Pro Football Weekly. I wonder what’s behind it:
“Cincinnati has a quarterback. They have a great receiver. The defense is playing their (butts) off. The one piece they have to think about replacing is Cedric Benson.”
The Sports Pickle takes us through sone of the most embarrassing NFL records:
“Most Times Sacked in a Season: 76 — David Carr, Texans, 2002
“No attempted murder charges were ever brought against Carr’s offensive line. A true black mark on the criminal justice system.”
One Final Thought
Pompei attributes the Bears victory Sunday to a large extent to finally getting some luck that had been missing the previous five games. He’s right but I’d attribute it more to a few other things. Over the previous five games:
Turnovers: 14
Penalties: 31
Broken coverages and other assorted bone headed mental errors: No stat available. Fortunately.
Every game has an opponent. But these are the real enemy.
Glad to see that Marion Barber will be back tomorrow. He should look like a freight train to the Carolina defense after Matt Forte floats around in front of them for awhile.
Perhaps someone could explain to me why this nugget was relevant to Sean Jensen’s report in the Chicago Sun-Times:
“Rookie right tackle Gabe Carimi went to a 10 a.m. service Thursday for Rosh Hashanah.”
A lot was made about the fact that Carimi was jewish when he was drafted and fair enough. But now that the season has started I think such things should fall by the wayside unless he misses practice. I’m sure many players will go to mass on Sunday and hold days of obligation. No one reports on it nor should they.
“Second-round pick Stephen Paea has yet to be in uniform for a game, and the team made the curious decision to dress third quarterback Nathan Enderle last week over the defensive tackle from Oregon State.”
“’He’s right in there,’ defensive coordinator Rod Marinelli said. ‘I think he is really gonna be a heck of a player. He’s got all the stuff we want. We’re just a little deep at that tackle position. To me it’s a great to bring him in the right way, earn your stripes, come in and work your way up. I feel really good.’”
Marinelli’s comment aside, Paea was getting well handled by third string offensive linemen in the preseason. He looks like he’s got a long way to go before he’s going to be of any help.
“Even when [offensive coordinator Mike] Martz looks like he is going to start off the game with some running plays, he uses a delayed handoff, I’m assuming so that he could try and fool the defense. Why doesn’t he just call normal running plays? Sounds like a simple enough question, but apparently it isn’t. — Pete Hasa, Monterey, Calif.”
“I agree the Bears should call for more downhill running plays. The slow developing plays that have been called have a greater chance of turning into losses of yards.”
The delayed handoff is designed to cause linebackers to hesitate and allow pulling linemen to get across to where they are supposed to be to block them. The problem with the Packers game was that the linebackers didn’t hesitate. They crashed the line and got into the backfield too early. I’m pretty sure that one of the reasons Martz stopped calling runs was because these delayed runs were a major part of the game plan and they had no hope of working. I agree with both the emailer and Pompei that this has to be fixed.
A little advice for those of you headed out to the Bear game:
Be sure to adjust so that everything goes with the color of the uniform they’re wearing that day. Wow, what nonsense!
Steve Dahl argues that he’s not a jinx in this episode of “Angelo’s Ashes”:
Jimmy Plocharczyk thinks he’s Walter Payton in this cute little video:
You forgot the Vicodin and Tylenol at the end, Jimmy.
Biggs writes that Erik Walden got fined for a blow to Jay Cutler’s head last week. A penalty was called and Walden doesn’t think he should have been further punished. I’m all in favor of protecting the quarterback but I think he has a case. Personally I’d rather have seen the Saints’ Roman Harper fined for sticking his helmet into Earl Bennet’s ribs the week before.
Congress wants to talk to the NFL and the NFLPA about why HGH testing hasn’t been implemented. The NFLPA has agreed to testing in principal but they are stalling to give the players time to find a way to beat the test question the safety and reliability of the test.
“‘He was asking a lot of questions about what we did defensively,’ said Belichick, who then was the Jets’ defensive coordinator.
“‘You kind of don’t want to give too much information because, you know, he’s running the defense. He wasn’t really too interested in talking about offensive football.’”
“‘It really seemed like a waste of time, because I felt pretty certain that he wouldn’t hire a defensive coach, because he hasn’t since Eddie Erdelatz in [1960],’ Belichick pointed out. ‘It’s a parade of offensive coaches out there. He’s really a defensive coordinator and has been. You know.’”
“Let’s see. If Berrian has been doing all the same things as usual, and he’s getting open, what could the problem be? Could it be new offensive coordinator Bill Musgrave or new quarterback Donovan McNabb? Berrian didn’t mention their names, but if Berrian is getting open and still isn’t getting the ball, it would seem to be an issue with the play calling or the quarterback.
Berrian has been on the field for 132 snaps, or 74.2 percent of the Vikings’ offensive plays. A receiver who’s on the field that much and has just one catch is basically a waste of space on offense, but he says he’s not stressing about everyone pointing out that he’s not much of a contributor.”
“The fans are revolting in Kansas City. They don’t have a head coach or a quarterback that can take them anywhere. I’m sure (GM) Scott Pioli had a plan, but what you find out once you start wearing the big-boy pants, sometimes you don’t get the time you need to carry it through. This is a what-have-you-done-for-me-lately league. They gave Matt Cassel a big contract. The one thing he needed was talent around him. (Tony) Moeaki and (Jamaal) Charles went out with ACLs. They have caught some bad breaks, no doubt, but look at how many injuries the Packers had last year. The Patriots got hammered by injuries when they were going to those Super Bowls. How many guys did the Saints have on I.R. when they won it? The good ones adapt. You look for excuses in this league, and you’re done.”
In fairness, all of those teams had years to build their roster. A good part of Kansas City’s problems are probably associated with head coach Todd Haley. Haley is extremely tough and there’s only so much of that you can take before it beats you down. There’s a good chance he’s already lost the team.
“Recently, Jerry Angelo blamed the Bear’s losses to poor execution and inconsistency on the part of the players. That may be partially true, however, perhaps a greater portion of the blame may revert to draft day and not drafting a player who could develop into a speedy go to receiver for Cutler and not drafting a bevy of potentially talented, offensive linemen with the rest of the picks. In addition, I sincerely feel the Bears played two of the top four teams in the NFL and they had a lot to do with the Bears’ losses. What do you think? — Gerald Healy, Rugby, N.D.”
“The Bears have been underdogs in all three of their games this year, so actually, they have done better than they were supposed to do. Their two losses may have come to the two best teams in the NFL. That being said, the nature of the losses has been disturbing. It’s safe to say we still don’t know who this team is. I’m not ready to write off the receivers or offensive line yet, either. Remember, Earl Bennett and Roy Williams have missed time at receiver, and Gabe Carimi and Lance Louis have missed time on the line. The offense needs some time to come together.”
I spent most of my week trying to talk Bear fans off the ledge and convince them that it would be OK. A big part of the Bears offensive problems in the Packer game were drops and penalties. Judging from what we’ve seen from this team in recent years, these mistakes are not typical. The Bears don’t usually beat themselves with these kinds of mistakes, at least not to that extent.
For the record, I had the Bears going 11-5 this season and that was accounting for losses to both the Saints and Packers and the upcoming Lions game in week 5. People who read this blog or know me personally know that I’m not the wildly optimistic type. I stand by that prediction.
I’m not saying there isn’t cause for concern but as Pompei says in answer to another question later in the article, “Deep breath, everybody.”
“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.
Almost all of the injured players returned to practice for game week including Briggs whose “knee injury” probably had more to do with his contract situation (via McClure). Bears fans will be sure to embrace him if he comes in out of football shape and gets a real injury after taking the entire preseason off.
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.”
“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.
“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 Timeswrites 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.
The Associated Presshas an interesting explanation for the woes that the Colts are facing before the season even has started:
“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-Sentinelpoints 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…
“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.
Though its been mentioned, I don’t think enough has been said about just how well the offensive line did on Saturday night. John Mullin at CSNChicago.com puts some perspective on it:
“The grading out was perhaps even higher considering that film revealed that the Titans brought extra pressure on 48 percent of the snaps. The conclusion: The offensive line not only played better and longer than at any time this preseason, but also did it under pressure.
“‘That [blitz percentage] is almost every other play,’ [offensive line coach Mike] Tice said. ‘So that’s good for us because our identification was very clean throughout the game.’”
The line did a superb job of adjusting to the blitz. The Titans aren’t the Packers but it appears that the line is gelling.
“The Chicago Bears’ front office makes it too easy for those who like to clown on its misadventures. In the past few months alone, we’ve seen a botched draft-day trade, a practice canceled because no one knew about the poor conditions at Soldier Field and a veteran running back bolt the practice facility after (mistakenly) believing he had been released.”
“You can go all the way back to 2002, when a paperwork error left the Bears unable to collect compensation for the potential loss of two restricted free agents, receiver D’Wayne Bates and linebacker Warrick Holdman.”
Seifert also gave GM Jerry Angelo some credit for building a Super Bowl team. But even given that the continuous blundering is hard to overlook.
Former Bears head of college scouting Greg Gabriel, now with The National Football Post, writes a very nice article on what it means when a player is a “bust”:
“What is the primary reason a player busts? I’m going to say in most instances, he lacks football character. He lacks a passion for the game and the willingness to do all it takes to be great. If a player is playing for the money and not the love of the game he won’t succeed. The game is far too tough to be playing at a high level without passion.”
The entire article is recommended reading.
Michael Vick’s new deal continues to drive sports talk radio around the nation. The Eagles aren’t known for making a lot of personnel mistakes but I’ll go on record and say this was a big one. I don’t care if Vick is black. I don’t care if he went to jail for dog fighting. I don’t care if he makes exciting plays with his feet. If you can’t accurately pass the ball consistently, I don’t even want you to be on my team, let alone to pay you $100 million for it.
“Helmet-less, pizza-carrying ‘Cocks QB knocked unconscious in moped wreck”
“To be honest, I never thought I’d ever have to string together those particular words in a headline, at least one that didn’t also involve the words ‘Stephen Garcia’, ‘nude’ and ‘half-finished six-pack of PBR’.”
“Considering his familiarity with the Bears’ defense and the team’s need for depth at defensive end with Corey Wootton injured, Brown would seem to be a good fit. Nick Reed and rookies Mario Addison and Jake Laptad are behind Julius Peppers and Israel Idonije on the depth chart.”
I heard an Brown conversation about a month ago with WSCR’s Zack Zaidman where he finished the interview up by trashing Bear fans. He talked about the lack of fan support in Chicago and about how much happier he was in New Orleans where fans would cheer for players regardless of performance.
The Bears are a tough team in a tough town. If Brown doesn’t want to be in that environment then he’s better off not coming back. I’m sure he can stay in New Orleans where the fans will cheer him for bringing water out to the players between quarters.
